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An historic record and pictorial
description of the town of.,,
Charles Bancroft
Gillespie, George Munson Curtis
)Ogle
r
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i
I
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*
Uigiii^ea by GoOgle
AN
HISTORIC RECORD AND PICTORIAL
DESCRIPTION
OF
THE TOWN OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT
AND MEN WHO HAVE MADE IT.
FROM EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO CLOSE OF ITS FIRST CENTURY OF
INCORPORATION.
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN
THE SILVER CITY.'
Issued as the Official Souvenir History by Authority of the
General Committee at the Centennial Celebration,
June io to i6, 1906.
CoMPiLSD BY C. BANCROFT GILLESPIE.
Early History by GEORGE MUNSON CURTIS.
WITH PROrUSI ILLUSTRATIONS OP THB PAST AND PRBSCNT.
Journal Publish i no Co.»
mekiden. conn.
1906.
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THE NEW YOr^v
ASTOB, LEKOXANO
TtLLt N FOUNOATIOIit.
R 1906
CfipyrlKht. 1;>'m;, |.y
C. Bancroft Quxbspis.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART T.
CH APTFR 1 LauE.
nist"n'c;tl Skt'tcli «if Colonics of Coiinfctictit .md Now HaviMi. First Notices <»f Tcr-
rUor> of \t<T!(!en. Dispvitfs In-twccn thf Tvyft 0>l«>nifs Relative to l)>vi«lint^ Lint*. 5
CHAPTRR II.
J'^nathnn Gilbert. Meridon's I-'irs,*^ Landowner. Mcridon Farm. Kdward HigUec's In-
dian Purchase. Andrew and Jtuiatlian HelcluT own Meridcn l''anii. QUI Tav-
ern and Stoiif House or Fort. ; . . . . . 15
rWAPTFR 111
N'fw Haven Colon\'s Purchase of Land of Indians. Rev. John Davenport's Letter to
(governor John NVintlirop. Marly I''xtcut nf Territf>r\ Inchidcd I'nder Name
f'f Meridcn . . . . . . -^i
CHAFI KR IV.
Oriyin of tFe Names of Meridcn and Pilgrims' ll.irlx^r. . . . 42
CHAPTFR V.
Milktnj^ Yard, l-'alls F*!ain or Hanover. HangiuK Hills Wooi
Is. .
5-
CHAPTFR VT
N'rtrlhcm Half fif .VIeriden. Purchase from .\dani Puit. Indian. Di
spnte with
Middle-
town. Setting off of Parisli of .Meriden, 172.S.
67
CHAPTFR VII.
^>rant< of F^arms to James Mishop and William Jolu•^. Mai,n<tr:ilt >
of ("(«!( tin-
of Co)1-
nec»icut. Some Old Meriden Farms
75
CHAPTFR Vlll.
Further Account of Old Meriden [•"arms and Landowner^. Capt.
Jr>^i;ill Ro
hin^on's
Tavern
CHAPTFR IX
Old Meridcn Farms Continued. Rev. Theophihis Hall. . . ip:;
CHAPTER X.
(jld F.anns of Meridcn Continued- . ^ , , 1 y,
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I
CH APTFR XI Page.
Ruilifiii^ iif |-'irsl. St-coiul and "I hird .Moetiii>; Houses- Clitirch and Parisii History. i.-S
( H APTFR XI 1
/ C H A I- 1 I'.R
/Life ill Mcriden During the iMf^litcenth Ctntury.
V* 1 1 1
A 1 I 1 .
Inrlustries. \Vallinf?f»>rd and Mer-
J idon Stores atul Store KeepL-rs. 'I'averiis.
MuMiiK. ICarly l^hysicians. .
209
rn APTFR
Indians. NeRro Slaves and Slavcrv.
XIV,
242
TT? APTFR
W itchcraft Persecutions in \\ allinuft 'nl.
XV.
rn APTFR
^Meriden and WallinKf(»rd in tlie Wars.
XVI,
260
rn APTFR
, Tories in Meriden and Walhncrford
XVTl
2»X)
niAPTFR XVIII.
ItanRall. I'urther .\ccotint of Meriden Farms and Landowners. Walhngford and
.MiddUtown Boundary Disputes. Mt. Lanientation, Leonard Chester's Adven-
ture. Beset Mountain. . . ; ; . . 308
CIIAPTFR XIX.
I SoC)-- Meriden a Town. The Village Streets. . , . . : XU
rn APTFR XX
Farly Strr},^)>les of Meriden to Become a .Manufacturing Town. Success Crowns the
CH APTFR XXT.
.Merchants of the Middle of llie Nineteenth Century. Hotels- Places of Amusement
and Res:)rt. Town Hall- Coul1a{,?rations. .Meriden a City, i8()7. Newspapers.
Farly Lawyers (^or.chisit)ii. ^ ^6t
APPi-xnix
Lists of Representatives in the General Assembly. State Senators. Town Clerks.
}''irst Selectmen. Jutly:es of Probate- Mayors of the Citv. City Clerks. .^95
FARLY VITAL STATISTICS.
I-^irly Vital Statistics Marriages. Ba;)tisms and P.urialv . . 400
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX
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iMERIDEN'S EARLY HISTORY.
BY GEORGE MUNSON CURTIS.
CHAPTER I.
ALTHOUGH the history of Meriden as a township certainly does not begin
until 1806, the year of its incorporation, still the story of its set-
tlement starts many years previous to that date, at a time when historic Ply-
mouth was only forty-one years old and scarcely twenty-five years had elapsed
since the founding of Hartford, while New Haven had little more than attained
its majority.
W hen the white man rtrst bej^jan to clear the primeval forests that covered the
land now embraced within the territory of Meriden, Wallinjjford settlcnient had
not even been thotii^ht i»f. it is a tact that t'ne Tinmc of the daughter antedates
that (»i ilie niothcr town oii \hc colonial recurds bv lour years, for as early as i(v>6
the name of Meriden a])|)ears in tlie lists of the General Court. In all probability,
no Indian villajje was ever located within these borders, and yet the land wa'^
clainit d as his heritaLce by three different re<l men who each in ti?rn >■ 'Id it to
the while man. In fact, the greater part of Meriden was Ixjuglu of ihe aix »ri{?inal
inhabitants five different times. licrc the dusky savage came to follow the clia<e
cr trap the beaver and many were the hunting parties that roamed these hills and
valleys.
All tliat part of Meriden lying north of Main street was for many years in
Hartford county and, in turn, jurisdiction was claimed by the Colonial court,
Wethersfield, Farmtngton, Middletown and Wallingford, and records of very early
purchases of real estate must be searched for hither and thither, one can never
be sure where. With such an uncertain lineage and such a complexity of juris'
diction it would be strange indeed if some stories of the past could not be gleaned
from the early records that will hold the attention of those in whose hearts there
htrks an affection for the town where so many of us were born, or have placed
our hearth-stones and built our homes. We may not have a continuous town his-
tory of unbroken local government, but our homes have been laid in a country of
lovely hills and vales, and our eyes are daily confronted by as beautiful a land-
scape as can be found in Connecticut and those who have not been neglectful of
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6
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
the beauties that surround us love every inch ol her ruppcd cHflFs. hrau linj; brooks,
uoodlaiKl paths and siuiHng, cultivated meadows, swelling and sinking in ever
changing vistas of loveliness.
It will assist one to better understand and appreciate our early annals if, on a
bright and clear day in summer, a climb is made to the summit of West Peak,
or better still to the grey tower known as Castle Crag, standing on the verge of
the dizzy cliff that, like a sentinel, dominates all the landscape to the west of Mer-
iden.
In a vast panorama spreads the valley to the north and south, dotted with
]>onds, lakes, meadows, woodland and villages, and cl^ked on the east by moun-
tains and crags whidi distance clothes in a purple haze, half veiling the ruggedness
of grim old Lamentation, Higby and Beseck, torn and rent by the storms and
frosts of ages. Like a map the country lies below us, for we are more than a
thousand feet above the sea. Away in the north gleams the gilded dome of the
Capitol in that gentle depression which holds in its lap Hartford, Windsor and
Wethersfield, washed on the east by the waters of the Connecticut and swelling
in the west into the wooded slopes of Talcott Mouritnin, while further south and
west the spreading waves of pioneer life extended the colony into the valley of
tlie Farmington river. With :i strong glass we even fancy we can see the spire
of the old meeting house in Farmington peci)ing above the green elm trees of the
villacre street; near at hand. He New Britain, Berlin, Bristol and Southington,
all settled by the same movement which drew the pioneers into the lovely Tunxis
A alley and all for many years ]>arts of the town of FarmiuLxton.
On the borders of Pitrlin and Meriden gleams like a spot of burnislicd silver a
large lake, or pond, now u.scti by a Hartford Coiiij>any as an ice reservoir, but in
those days of long ago. no pond would have met our eyes, but instead a vast mo-
rass or swamp alive with Ijeavcrs and water fowl and curiously called by the old
Dutch name of the Fly or Vly. Just south of this pond was cleared the first set-
tlement in the territory of Meriden. Glancing to the east over Meriden and the
summit of Lamentation we suspect rather than see the ancient town of Middle-
town, in those early . : . s called Mattabesett, the seat of the great Sachem Sow-
heag, from whose son, bearing the euphonious name of Montowese, was bought
by the English of New Haven the land extending northward from its bounds up
through North Haven and Wallingford as far as where Kensington avenue in
Meriden winds to the northwest on its way to New Britain. Just at the foot of
the steep side of the most eastern of the parallel ridges close at hand, Cold Spring
pours forth its ice cold water, now almost forgotten by a generation which re-
members not the attractions of the place before the Cold Spring Home or poor-
house had contaminated it by its depressing association. The fame of Cold
Spring was once so great that it lent its name to localize all the territory for at
least two miles to the north, east and south.
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EARLY HISTORy.
7
On the southeast, hc}nnfl \N'alIingford, the range of Lamentation and Bescck
Mountains stretches the bold front of its trap-rock cliffs into the town of Bran-
ford, known there as Totokct Mountain : while towards the south on the horizon
vise the sharp hills known as Hast and W'c-st l\ocks and over their svnnniits we
catch irlimpscs of Lon;^^ Island Sound, indcntinc^ the land in a little bay where
liic ' Ji;innipiac ri\er. winding quietly through this southern valley, finally pours
its waters, gathered from the hill? and meadows of Bristol, Southinglon,
Meriden, Wallingford and North Haven. New Haven we cannot see, for East
Rock, capped by the monnnuTit t reeled in memory of tlie dead of the Civil war,
hides and shelters it from the north.
It is aa historic as well as a beautiful panorama on whieh we arc gazing and
students and historians have many times told the story of Connecticut and New
liavoi; colonies and it may seem unnecessary to give in these pages even the
slightest sketch of this early history, but Meriden's earliest settlement depends so
largel}- on the relations of these two rivals that the attempt will be made to re-
fresh the raeniory of those who have forgotten.
In 1635 a little band of Englishmen who had but lately arrived from the mother
oomAryt began to regret their decision to reside near Boston. Resenting the re-
ligious and civil intolerance of the lately settled towns in eastern Massachusetts
and lon^ng to found a commonwealth on a more liberal basis, they gathered up
their possessions and turned their faces towards the Connecticut river at Hartford.
Driving their cattle and herds before them they traversed on foot the long and
tedious journey and by 1636 they had founded the three towns of Hartford, Wind-
sor and Wethersfield. Here, under the leadership of Rev. Thotnas Hooker, they
laid the fotmdation of constitutional government in this country, for it was in
Hartford that was drawn up the first written constitution of which history gives
us any record.^ Hartford was the birtliplace of American democracy. These
three river towns were the nucleus of the colony of Connecticut and hardly an
event in the settlement of Anierica was of more importance than the cornerstone
of free government laid by these early pioneers, for here grew tip the theory of
govf>mment "of the people, by the people, for the people,"^ that American idea
of a free and equal government where every freeman in good standing is entitled
to the hailnt and can register his ai)|)rfival or disapprnval of men and measures.
In 1638 another company of Englishmen landed in Boston, the mo?t opulent
of ,!i;v C'f these early migrations across the sea. Led by the London merchant,
Theophilus Eaton and the Rev. John Davenport, they were not satisfied l>y the con-
ditions thev found in the towns around Massachusetts Bay, and, m bpite of in-
Ouccmeuts to settle in iIk- neigh Ijorlujud where they bad landed, they sought for
a virgin field where they could establish the religious and political ideas they had
1 JotnaUttk'B CoBLU. Am. Comnionwcaltli series, p. 63.
i Mem. p. 70
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8
A CENTURY OF MBRIDEN.
brought with them. Thc>' finally decided on the meadows near the mouth of the
Quinnipiac river as the place where they could safely try their experiment in civil
government. Called at first Quinnipiac, after the tril)e of Indians from \\hom
the land was bought, the name was soon chanj^ed to New Haven. Other baiicl-^
of pilj^rims soon arrived and Milfnrd. F>ranford and Guilford were founded and
these four towns were soon welded into the colony of New Haven.
The methods of government were very different from those of tlie colony of
Connecticut at the north. In New Haven the l')i1)le was the constitution and no
one was entitled to the ballot who was not a cbureh member in L;oud standini^.
In other words, the colonx was «^ovcrncd by what may be called a church oligar-
chy. It nia\ rcatlily be imauined that the commonwealth with a center at Hart-
ford was speedily to become much more popular than the one located on the
Sound. It grew more rapidly in territory and numbers and soon embraced
the newly settled towns of Stratford, Sayhrook, New London, Farming-
ton, Fairfield and Norwalk, while New Haven never extended its original bounds
except to settle and absorb the town of Stamford.
Here, then, were two rival colonies only thirty^six miles apart, but as widely
SQMirated as the poles in methods and theories of government. Just half way
between was the territory of Meriden, a buffer as it were between two rival push-
ing bands of land-hungry Englishmen.
Without doubt the oldest highway of any length in the state of Connecticut
is the Old Colony road, leading from Hartford to New Haven and still bearing
tliis descriptive name as it passes through Meriden ancl W'allingford. Probably
there was an Indian trail occupying the same general position before the white
man's advent, for, according to credible tradition and written records the Indian.^,
although never inhabiting the valley between Lamentation and Hanging Hills,
resorted hither from the vicinity of Hartford and New Haven to follow the chase.
Although travel between the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven could not
have been very frecjuent during the first few years, still tlie nld records preserve
evidence? of communication between the two rolnnirs. In 1639 letters troin
Ontnnipiac were demanding the attention of the tieneral Court in Hartford^ and
the same year it was tbnngbt best h > send to Quinnipiac counsels relative to de-
fense against the Indians and Mr. Webster and Mr. Willis were dispatched on
the errand.-
A few weeks later Edward IIu})kius. of Harlb^rd, set ont from that town for
Stratford wdth a drove of cattle and passed through New Havrn ■ and afterwards
he confesses to frequent journeys over the same road wlicn be writes "I remember
with what pleasure he (Gov. Thcop. Eaton) would come down the street that
1 Cono. Col. Rec., Vol. I., p. 2S.
2 Idem, p. 82.
8 ld«tt. 35.
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EARLY HISTORY,
9
heinig^ht meet me w Ik h I came from Hartford unto Xcw Haven."' In 1640 word
was sent to New Haven of Indian depredations- and in 1645 the New Haven
court ordered a bridge built over ''East River in the way to Connecticott."^ On ^
September 13, 1649, the Connecticut Court directed Mr. Ludlow and Mr. Tayle-
coat (Talcott) to ride to \ew Haven to-mormw to confer with Mr. Raton relative
to the Indians.'' In 1653 the New Haven court i)assc<l ihc following vote "for hire
"f horses the owner shall have from Xc\\ liavt-n C 'onncirticote tenii sinlliiiu's."-^
I he^^e extracts show that there must have been more or less communication l»e-
iwcrii the tw o coloiiics which j^rew as the years went hv and populatii >n increased.
Doubtless, Kev. Mr. Hooker, of Hartford. Kev. Mr. Davenpurt, of Xew Haven,
nn<i Rev. Mr. Whitfield, of Guilford, who had been intimate friends in iMigland,
»ometunes visited (.ach other to discuss the many ])ri )l)kn)s w hich vexrd them and
to devise mean> to o\erconie the wiles of the Devil, who in this new country of
inibrokrn wilderness and ti-rrible solitudes was cunningly devising new tempta-
tions to draw the souls of the faitliful from the straight and narrow \v;t\.
Con.<;equently, the country in the vicinity of Meriden soon became familiar to
many of the colonists in ilartiord and New Haven and other towns. If these
ancient worthies had lime and inclination to admire the beauties of nature they
•nust have been impressed as they entered the valley between Lamentation Moun-
tain on the east and the gently rising Hanging Hills on the west, which, gradu-
ally climbing higher and higher, with here and there great si)aces of rock, grey
with the frosts of ages, drop precii)itonsIy into the plain extending to the Sound.
No other place on their weary journey could have compared in beauty and pic-
turesqueness with this little valley. But even the beauty of hill and dale can hardly
have repaid them for the hardships endured during the long and weary thirt^'-six
miles which lay between Hartford and New Haven, with hardly a house to break
the monotony of the journey. There were only two methods of overcoming this
distance : one must travel afoot or on horseback over a path without bridges and
with the directions blazed on the trees of the primeval forest.
The necessity for caution in following this road through the wilderness may
be judged by the following extract from a letter written by Rev. John Daven-
port, of Xew Haven, to Gov. Winthrop at Hartford, dated 6 month, 1660:
**I received a former letter from you by Mr. Bishop who, in his return from
your parts hitherward, tooke a wrong path twise and was so bewiltlered that he
lost his way from W'ethersfieUl and lay in the woods in a very cold night and
came not to us til the last day of the weeke towards noone."^
1 Mather's Magnalia. Ed. 1820, Vol. I, p. 134.
2 Conn. Co). Rec, Vol. I, p. 58.
3 N. H. Col. Rec , Vol. I, p. 188.
4 Coon. Col. Rcc, Vol. L. p. 1»7.
5 N. H. Col. Rec, Vol. II.. p. S.
e MmM. HI*. Soe. Ool.. 3rd SerlM, Vol. X. 37.
lO A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
l^HH :is late a? 1672 the Governor of New York in his instructions to post
riders from that cnlcniy to P.oston states, "You are principally to apply yourselfe
to tlic Governors csjiccially Governor W'inthrop (at Hartford) from whom you
sliall receive the hest directions how to form yc best Poast Road. When you
think it requisite yon are to marke some Trees that shall direct Passengers the best
way.''^ "The Indian paths were good thougli only two or three feet wide and in
many places the savagfes kept the woods clear from underbrush by burning over
large tracts. ' and doubtless the colonists followed the same method. "Thus the
'blazes' stood out clear and while in the dark shadows of the forests like welcoiue
guide-posts, showing the traveler his way/'^ And \et, ahvass haunting one, like
a ghost that will not be exorcised, was the fear of the lurking savage and wild
beast ; and at any sudden noise there was a tenser strain of the nerves and a tight-
ening grasp of the trusty rifle, that constant "vade mecum" of the sturdy colonist
The Rev. John Davenport, in a letter to Governor Wtnthrop, dated April 2, 1660,
gives us a little story which illustrates the perils of the journey and which for
dearth of other material may well be inserted :
"Honored Sir — received yours by Brother Benham, whom God preserved
from being drowned in his journey homeward. The river by Mr. Yale's farm
was swollen high ; his wife was fearful of riding through it God provided an
help for her at the instant by a passenger who traveled from Windsor to Bran-
ford to Mr, Crane's, whose daughter he had married. He helped Sister Benham
over a tree. But her husband, adventuring to ride through, a foot of his horse
slipped, so he fell into the water, and his horse, as he thinketh, fell upon him or
struck him with his foot, for he had a blow on his head. But through the mercy
of God he is now well." * * * This was doubtless at the crossing of Pil-
grims' Harbor Brook, for no one could cross the Quinnipiac River when swollen,
by means of a tree or log.
But they were a brave and imdaunted people and notwithstanding the bidden
terrors of the wilderness slowly but riK ntlessly the van of the settlements was
constantly advancing, and as the numbers increased the question of a dividing line
between the sister governments of Connecticut and Xiw Haven began to attract
attention. It is easy to imagine that, when bounds bad been described only in
deeds from tlie Indians, drawn up when limits were not considered of moment,
accuracy in tracing tliese bounds would cause nuich friction. At last New Haven
determined to leave no room for doubt as to the extent of her territory, and at a
General Court held April 23, 1660, "the Governor desired that the bounds of a
p'cel of land towards Connecticote might be sett out for the prevention of future
differences that might otherwise arise betwixt us w'ch motion was approved and
thereupon it was ordered yt Mr. Yale, Wm. Andrews, John Cowper, John Brock-
1 N. T. Bv«nlDS Post. F^b. IS. 1899.
2 Barle's Hom« U(e In Colonial Days. p. 880.
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EARLY HISTORY.
II
t, Nathaniel Merriman with the help of Mantowecs. an Indian \e late pprictor
lall set out the bounds wth lasting marks wch is to be done wth the first con-
enyence.
It is interesting to note that two of these men were leaders in the settlement
f WallinL^'ford ten years later, and prol»al)ly their first acquaintance with that
icinity was made during their service on the committee to execute this vote of
le General {.'ourt.
As soon as s]»riiig has really c<nne we may in fancy see these men. clad in
aihcrn doublet and breeches, accompanied by the dusky warrior, Alontowese,
I riding along the road leading to "Connecticote," crossing the bridge lately built
wr the Oninnii)iac. and settint:: their faces towards the north where in the hazy
isiaiicc can l)e traced the dim outlines of the Hanging Hills. First, we note the
turdy form of Xatlianiel Merriman. a veteran of the I'equot War of 1636 and
icstined later, as captain of dragoons and accompanied by his son, Nathaniel, Jr.,
D play his part in the great swamp fort fight of King Philip's War; where, alasl
nany of the flower of Coimecticut's young manhood perished, Nathaniel, Jr.,
mong the rest Our veteran as he firmly strides along is now in the prime of
ife; bom in 16 14, the son of George Merriman of London, who died there in
656,2 he early cast his lot among the New Haven planters, and when Wallingford
vas settled in 1670 he was one of the pioneers and until his death in 1694 was
onspicuous and honored in that community. He is still represented among us
ty worthy and respected descendants.
Next we see Thomas Yale who came to New Havoi a youth in charge of Gov.
rheophilus Eaton, who had married his widowed mother, the daughter of Thomas
>Iorton, Bishop of Chester, England. He evidently was fond of pioneer life, for
vhen New Haven had grown to be a larger town he settled in North Haven *, he
Iso has left many descendants among us who still maintain the prestige of his
ame. Then comes John Brockett, who also served in King Philip's War; he
vas frequently employed as a surveyor and many of the early roads in New Ha-
en Counfy were laid out under his direction; after him comes Wm. Andrews
vho accompanied Gov. Eaton to New Haven at the first settlement and was for
nany years the keeper of the only inn in that town ; and last of all is John Cooper,
prominent man in the community, for many years manager of the iron works
tnd frequently a representative at the General Court.
In December, 1638, Theophilus Eaton and John Davenport had bought of
Tontowese, the son of the sachem at Middletown, a tract of land ten miles long,
ying north of a purchase previously made of an Indian sachem named Momau-
4in. This purchase was added to by a subsequent deed in 1645 which has been
est Our committee, intent on carrying out the instructions ol the General Court,
1 N. H. Col. RM.. Vol. II. p. m.
2 N. B. niK ud 0«D. R«K.. Vol. LIIL, p. 21.
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I
12 A CENTURY OF UBRIOEX.
follow iiiL,^ tlic lead of Montowcsc, pass up the road through what was later Wal
lingford and over the hill by Walnut Grove cemetery until they come to Pilg^rims
Harbor. Here, we fancy, some little time was consumed in crossing the brod
where Lyon & Billard 's office now stands, and in picking their way through th
swamp which formerly made this locality almost impassable. On they went u]
what is now G>lony street until quite to the present junction of that street an«
Kensington avenue.
As far as this Montowese clainu'd his domains had extended and here the;
placed "lasting marks" which would define the I'oundaries between Connecticu
and New Haven colonies. Their work done, doubtless, they leisurely proceed€<
home, possibly lingering a little while on the hill where the future Wallingfon
was to lie.
It was not long l)efore the (iencral Court at Hartford had been infonned o
New Haven's action and although no record ol <lohate or action appears on th<
minute*;. \\c know that a prnfcst was sent and that the action of Xe\v Haven wa;
not sutlcred to pass without comment or o])position. Rev. Mr. Davenport's lettei
of October 30th, 1660, to (lovernor W inthro[) was unqtiestionabl y an answer t(
some complaint from Hartford colony and it is well to quote those passages relat
ing i<» ilic (|uestioT) in dispute ' Loncet ning the matter of the Indians. 1 hope Mr
Gilbert hath or will give a clear account." Nor will there be an\ tiling; (l<»iie V-'
any of ours to hinder your Indiana in iheyrc hunting. But for the purciiase
was made above 20 yeares pa^L witiiout any seeking, on our part, upon an oilei
made to our Govemour & Co. It was t>t Monloweeze that the land \\a> lK>uglit
\\]ierel)y N. H. bounds extended ncarc unto the Cold Spring beyond Pilgriuii
Harlii mr."*
Tiui latter throws a flood of light upon the c<in<lition, at that lime, of the ter-
ritory now embraced in Aleriden. It shows that it had been usetl bv the Indian?
as a hunting ground and it indicate^ about where the Xew Haven committer haJ
placed the "lasting marks."' This action of New Haven in accurate!) nKirki;._£;
the botmds between the two colonies was one of the earliest acts in that tlrai c,
the closing scene of which was the absorption of New Haven colony by Connccti*
cut in 1665.
The Genera! Court at Hartford ajiparently did not formally present a protest
until 1661. At a General Court held in New Haven May 29, 1661, the follow ing
vote was passed: "It was alsoe ordered that a committee be chosen by this court
for the treating with and issuetng of any seeming dififerance betwixt Connecticot
Colony and this, in reference to the dividing bounds betwixt them and of some
seeming right to this jurisdiction which the\ r)retend in a letter sent to this GenT
Court." The letter in question was from Sec'y Clark of Hartford and read tn part
1 Maat. His. aoc. Col.. 4tli Series. Vol. VII.. pp. S17-5iO.
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EARLY HISTORY,
13
follows : *'This Court havin^^ receaved infonnation not onl} In what appeares
one of yor Lawes respect ; the purchase of land from yc Indians wherein there
a seeming^e challcng of very large intrests of lands and likewise by what intel<
ence we have had of yor strechting yor bounds up towards us by markeing
«s on this side Ptlgroomes Harbour wch things as ye intrench upon or intrest
i they are not satisfying or contentful,"^ etc., etc.
Meanwhile Connecticut did not content herself by letter writing only. She
IS determined to forestall any attempt on the part of New Haven to absorb the
rritory north of Pilgrims' Harbor. On Aug. 28, 1661, she granted to Jonathan
Jbert, of Hartford, "a farm to ye number of 300 acres of upland and 50 acres
meadow/'^ which he immediately proceeded to take up, at Cold Spring, in the
^rthem limits of our town, for on May 15. 1662, he is granted permission "to
fep an ordinary, or inn, at his house at CoUl Sprinf?/'^ And on Oct. 15, 1664,
dward Higbce. of Connecticut, bought of a Hartford Indian the land between
r. Gilbert's farm called Merideen and Pilgrims Harbour River or Brook.^ Thus
a somewhat high-handed way Coiniecticut had secured possession of all the
rritory of Meriden north of Harhor l>nx)k, not\vithsian<ling that Kev. Mr. Dav-
iport had asserted in 1660 that New Haven had bought the same land of Mon-
w c>e about 1638.
The rival claims to this territory resulted in an anomalous situation. For
any years the land was a part of no township. It forme<l a sort of huffer be-
ccn Wallingford and Farniingtdn. altliough it was a i)art of Hartford Countv
I'H >nnic time in the next cenuir\. In i''t8A the (^cTicral Conrt in anticii)ation
the pns.'-il>le loss of the charter thron};h the action of .Sir l-jlinund Andros fof
[larter Oak fame), took such steps as would secure the colony a-aiiist the fu-
rc exactions of an arbitrary governor. 'I'he court was cm] n iw rrrd to fli'^pnse
all vacant land^. It granted "'to \\\ ihi r^tu !d. M id'llrii >\\ n ami l aniiington all
ose vacant lands between Wallingford bounds and the bounds of those planta-
»ns to make a village therein."
It mu-^t nnt !)e forgotten that wlun the linnl^ of Wallingford were assigned at
^ planting in lOjo its northern Ixjuutls endcrl at a line drawn ca-^t and west at
>iit where Colonv street crosses flarlxir T.rook. In 1U83 W allingfnrd hovji^hl
" ]uhn Talcott, oi liarlfiird, all tlu- laiul iKtucon this east and west hnr and (iil-
•rt's farn; called Meriden who, in turn, had iKUight it of Adam lV.it. an Indian
f T*odunk :' so that the action of the court in assigning the lands to Wetherstield,
I i<ldletown and harniington was clearly illegal. These lands were for many
cars called Wallingford Purclmse Lands and its anomalous position did not
1 N. H. Col. Rw.. Vol. II., p. 409.
^ CmiSL Col. Rec., Vol. I., p 372.
3 1d«ia. p. 382 <uid aooo «slM ]f«rld«0).
4 r< rViti-'' in^torlcal SlwCetacB of lleridm, |». 104.
Z> Id^. p. lOv.
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14
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
cease until it was t'lnally sot ofl to Wallitij^ford about 1728 as a parish by 1
name of Mcridcn. It is interesting' to note that practically all the land bctwc
the Colony street crossinj^ of Harbor I'rook and the Belcher, or Meriden. faj
was bouj^ht of the Indians thrtv separate times; first by Xew Haven of Moil
wese in 1638, then of Seaukeet by Ivlward Hij^bec in 1664, and lastly by In
Talcott of Adam Puit in 1683. There were also two other deeds confirinaic
of previous grants.
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EARI^Y HISTORY.
'5
CHAPTER II.
Whclhcr ConiicclicuL s protest sent to New Haven against the action of the
utter colony in placini? "lastinL,^ marks" or bomids in this vicinity was brought
i.bout by a Inlief that the laixls in question were coniniercially vahiahle or simply
)y a desire to push back any attempt ai further expansion by New llavcn, of
:ourse we cannot tell. But the action of the General Court in granting a farm
>f 350 acres to Jonatliaii Gilbert perhaps shows that the wilderness about Meriden
was of value in one way at least For many years after fhe colony was settled
ihere was a considerable trade in furs and the immediate locality of Gilbert's
Eiarm certainly abounded in beavers and other fur^bearing animals at one time. He
)uilt across the river from Hartford a warehouse whence he shipped to Boston
Furs and other produce of the country. Just north of his farm was the old "Fly"
ilready mentioned. This word is of Dutch origin and is in common use in those
^arts of New York and New Jersey first settled by the Dutch.^ The original
Form of the word was Vly or Vley ; then corrupted into Fly* and was the Dutch
sxpression for a swamp or morass. From time out of mind the old swamp now
named the Peat Works Pond was called The Fly and the Old Ry, and so far as
the writer can learn this locality is the only place in Central Connecticut that
bears such a name, although the word is sometimes met with in the extreme west-
ern part of this state. Are we to believe from this use of the word in Meriden
that the locality was known to the Dutch who erected the Good Hope Fort at
Hartford before the arrival of the English and that they were in the habit of re-
sorting hither to trap the beaver? Albert Norton, of Berlin, the owner of a large
part of the old Meriden Farm, says that when the disastrous attempt was made by
the Aetna Peat Works to manufacture marketable peat at the "Fly" many years
ag^o, in several places excavations were made at least fifteen feet in depth and in
each instance trunks of trees were frequently found even at the bottom of the holes,
90 perfectly preserv ed that they still bore the marks of the teeth of beavers made
centuries ago. The Dutch knew Central Connecticut well and one of their early
niaps indicates the mountains at Meriden as well as East and West Rocks at New
ITavcn which they called Rodenberg (Red Mts).^ The vote of the General Court
of Connecticut which granted to Mr. (iilbert the right to keep an inn at his farm
in Meriden reads as follows, under date of May 15, 1662: ''This colony grants
1 A point lu illufetratioo is tbe Fly Market in N. Y. City wber« there was formerly a swamp.
2 Cetititrr Otctlonair*
3 KsRmtivv Md Grit. Hist of AvMrtea. Vol.. IV., p. 4S8.
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16 A CENTURY OF MliKJDEN.
liberty to ye Marshall Jonathan Gilbert to keep an ordinar>' at his hoii.se at Cold!
Spring for releiving of travellers according to their needs," showing that, although 1
the fann had been granted to him August 28, 166 1, he had already built a houKj
on it the following May, hardly time enough to liave erected a stone house which
later records show was standing there subsequcntl)'. This farm as first laid out
was on tlie west side of Colony road and extended from the laneway just south
of the house of Albert Norton in Berlin, southerly to a line a little south of the
house now occupied by L. Michaelis, but formerly owned by James Bartlett and'
known to most Meriden people as the Belcher farm. It was bounded on the east
by Colony road and on the west by a stone wall still standing about three thousand
feet west of the railroad track and running parallel to it. The old house proba*
bty stood between the Michaetis house and that of Mrs. E. H. Yale, a little to
the north. As Meriden's settlement originated with this farm it does not seem in-
appropriate to devote some space to it and to Meriden's ftrst land owner, Mr.
Gilbert. The fact that this farm was originally granted to Mr. Gilbert seemed
to have been entirely foigotten until Dr. Davis brought the fact to light in his-
History of Waltingford and Meriden. Dr. Perkins, in his interesting Historical
Sketches of Meriden, says:^ *'It appears that one Mr. Belcher very early, but how
early we cannot precisely ascertain, had a grant of a large tract of land on our'
present northern border. Whether this was a colonial grant or a royal grant we
do not know for no trace of deed or grant can be found in the state records or
tow n records." This seems even now to be the generally received opinion and
yet it is entirely erroneous and it is singular that a man so discriminating and
painstaking as Dr. Perkins was should have utterly overlooked records that were in
the Capitol at Hartford. The first white man to own land within the present
limits of the town of Meriden was Jonathan Gilbert.
( PHicslmlle of Blgniiture taken from bis will.)
Tie was one of the earlir^i <i ttlers at Hartford and a man of marked iniluenci
in that community and at his death left a large estate. At one time he w as em-
ployed as interpreter in negotiations l»v the colonial government with the Indians,
indicating that he had mixed mucli with the savages. His profession was that 0'
inn keeper at Hartford, a position at that time of much respectability. He wa:i
also marshal of the cnlrun aiul freriuently a member of the < iencrni Cnnrt. Ht
was engaged al.so in the fur trade with lioston, as already mentioned. The produoi
1 Page 13.
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luAKLV HISTORY.
17
of tl'.c conntry he suld was carried in the ships of his soa-iii-law. Amhcw
liclchcr. In all his undcrtakini^s he appears to ha\o heoii a man of energy and
push. .Mr. Gilhert <licd Dcccniher lo, 1682. Sonic idea of his weahh may he
^ined by noting that his inventory among other things contained two gold rings,
gold shoe buckles, guUl tooth])icks, gold shirt buttojis and one himdred and forty
ounces of plate. His house in Hartford was a large antl commodious one and
his total inventory ammtnted to £2484- ij-*; — a large fortimc for those days.
After Mr. Gilbert had acc(uired his farm at Cold Spring he put in charge of it,
apparently , Edward Higbce, who seems to have been of a singularly roaming
disposition, for he was located at different times in New London, Stratford, Mid*
dletown, Meriden and Jamaica, L. I. He probably died at this latter place. One
of his sons did not accompany him but settled in Middletown near Higby Moun-
tain, and his descendants are hereabouts to this day. So far as we can learn
Edward Htgbee (or Higby as spelled now) was the first white man to take up
his permanent abode in Meriden. Savage, in his Genealc^cal Dictionary, says
he was an inn keeper in Middletown in 1674. That he lived on Mr. Gilbert s
farm is certain from the contents of a deposition made by his son, John Higbee,
in 1683, in which he says "* * * when my father, Edward Higbe Sen. lived
at Mr. Jonathan Gilbord's farme called Meriden."^ We know that Mr. Higbee
was in this vicinity very shortly after Mr. Gilbert acquired his farm, for Mr. Per-
kins in his Historical Sketches of Meriden.^ copied a deed from Seaukett. Indian,
to Edward Higbee conveying all the land between Mr. Gilbert's Meriden Farm
ancl Pilgrims' Harbft flrook. Seaukett was an Indian whose nrme apf)ears in
Windsor documents, h is variously sp<llofl Seoket and Scacet. Dr. Stiles in l)is
History of Windsor says he was one of the Poquonnock Indians. The deed is as
follows:
Oct. 14, 1664.
Kn'>\v al! men by these presents that I Seaukett Indian (abiding in or about
Hartford on Conec't) Saclum owner and true proprietor of a large tract of land
in the woods towards New Haven att and about the lands now in possession of
Mr. lonathan (jilhcrt entitled atid known by the name .Meridt en doe sell t iitu Va\~
ward Higby on parcell of land adjoining to the lands of Jonathan Gilbert afore-
said— TTills, Rocks, Swamps and all other appurtenances hounded n!id formerly
(formally) defined by marked trees and l>y the land of say'd Jonathan Gilbert
and Pilgrims' Harber Rrook or River — all uhich say'd parcell of land wiili aH
prerogative'^. ]iri\ile(Iu:cs and nuv kind of ai>i 'nrtfitnT-ircs thereon rnnl ilieremilo
belon^^'ing. it shall he I-aufnl iar the say VI Edsvard IliL:lH\. hi> heirs and n^^^itMis
to improve, possess, enjoy and that forever as fully and as freely as the said Sea-
1 Volume called Prlvata CJoatroveralOT In Um St>to Library In tke CBnltol «t Hartford.
2 Pace 104.
2
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i8
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
kct ever did or might have done in witness whereof by these presents I bind my-
self, my lieirs and assigns, quietly and peaceably to leave in the full ] possession
of all the premises the say'd Edward Iligbey never to be molested by me the say'd
Seaket, my heirs or any other Indian or Indians whatsoever and so subscribe
my name.
In presence and witness of Bryan Rossetter and Mary Gilbert.
Mr. Rossetter was a man of prominence and a physician and lived at Guilford
and his son John afterwards married Mr. Gilbert's daughter. In this deofl is the
first recorded use of the name Meriden. After Mr. Higbee had acquired the In-
dian title to the land in question he was confirmed in it by the action of the General
Court October 12, 1665. On the Middletown land records under date of July 15,
1668,^ is a further description of the proper^ which is considerably contracted from
that of the Indian deed just quoted. It is somewhat difficult from the certainly inac-
curate survey and description to locate the precise limits of the tract of land. But
from later deeds when the land was sold and divided one would say that the
boundaries were about as follows: i'-cginning at the Center street crossing of Har-
bor Brook draw a Hnc west one nulc long, thence north another mile, then east
half a !nile ; thence southeast to about w hore r>road strc-et crosses Harbor Brook
thence to tlie starting point at Center blreet. Just where his Iiouse stood we can-
not positively state hut it was probably on the south side of the junction of Ken-
sington avenue an<l Colony street. Tliis deed takes us back to a time when there
were, in all iirubability, only two houses in Meriden. one Mr. Higbee's and the
other the inn of Mr. Gilbert, and our townshij) was almost an unbroken wilder-
ness. Some idea of the amount of travel between IIartfor<l and New Ilavcn may
be gained by the following extract from the Conn. Col. Records under date of
Oct, II, 1666.
"This Court orders that Edward Iligbey for makeing and maintaining the
way over Pilgrooms Harbour passable for man and horse shal have his estate and
farme free of countrey [Rates] for tl^s yeare and next he maintaindng the way
soe longe as aforesaid."^ One who remembers the condition of the "Comer'*
many years ago will confess that Mr. Higbee fully earned his exemption from
taxes. It probably involved much more than building a bridg^e
over the brook which is not mentioned. Notiliing would have made the way
passable except a corduroy or log foundation. How long Mr. HifC"
bee continued to live in Meriden we do not know ; but Middletown records tell
us that in 1673 he sold his "housing and land near Pilgrims' Harbor" to Henry
Cole, of Middletown, and shortly after removed to Jamaica, L. I.
1 Middletown I^nd Records. VoL I., p. 111.
2 Coon. Cot. RiCCordB, Vol. II., p, 62.
The mark of
Seaukeet.
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EARLV HISTORY*
19^
But to return to Jonathan Gilbert and his farm. Shortly after he
had ol)taincd it he built his inn. Mr, E. H. Yale many years ago
in digi^ing a well just south of his house, unearthed the remains of
the ancient foundation. The inn wa*^ doubtless a famous place and
many an interesting tale must have been lold around its hospitable hearth of
witches and goblins and hairbreadth escapes from the savage Indians. X^tliinir
now is leit but a name and a few facts gleaned from musty records. Could these
sturdy pioneers return again to this spot and in the dusk of a summer evening
watch the ghost-like bicycles and automobiles fleeting by on the smooth macadam
road which now skirts the farm, what tales of wonder and mystery they would
tell— 01 how witches have discarded the awkward broomsticks and now bestride
the back of an iron goblin, or, borne by a snorting, flaming dragon, they i)ass one
like a breath of wind to their nocturnal orgies; while the roar and rumble of a
train on the other side of the larni would certainly convince them that the
powers of hell were waxing strong indeed. But those old days are gone never
to return and so utterly are they forgotten that the few facts we can save from
oblivion merely sketch like a wisp of mist events we would fain see more clearly.
It should be constantly kept in mind that at this time the name of Meriden was
applied solely to Mr. Gilbert's farm. It was not until many years later that the
name was used to describe the whole territory we now know as Meriden. What
to-day we call colloquially the "Comer" was then known as Pilgrims' Harbor and
the brook acquired its name because it flowed through the locality. After Mr.
Gilbert's death in 1682 there followed a bitter controversy among the heirs which
resulted in probably one of the first, if not the first, contested will case in Con-
necticut The documents in the case are on file in The State Library in the Cap-
itol at Hartford in the volumes known as Private Controversies, and they g^ve
an interesting picture of the times. Mr. Gilbert left nine children and a widow.
The eldest child, Jonathan, Jr., bom of a previous wife, was cut off by the terms
of the will with a small portion of his father's estate. He had been wild in his
youth and evidently always a ne'er-do-well who had caused his father much dis-
tress, about which he had conversed with Edward Higbee at Meriden Farm. Thi
will, which was dated in 1674, had left Meriden Farm to a son, Nathaniel, but as
this son died before his fa^er, the farm became the joint inheritance of all the
surviving children. The contested will case was finally settled by Jonathan, Jr. tak-
ing some land on the "East side of the great River in Haddum" in settlement of
his claim and the widow, Mary, bought his interest in the Meriden Farm on January
9, 1684. On September 6, 1686, all the other children sold their right in this
farm to Andrew Belcher, of Charleston, New England, mariner, stating in the
deed that the place was commonly called Merriden Farme and that it was then,
in whole or in part, in the occupation of Samuel Elmor. The date of Elmor's be-
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I
20 A CENTURY OP MfiRIDEN.
coniinq- ;i tenant is not known : he was from Windsor and his father, h'.dward. was
killed in King Philips war in lOjG. The Belcher cmiiieetii m with the farm made
sucii an impression that to this day the locahty is known as the r.elelier farm and
the Belchers, father and son, were men of such im]>()rtance in W w KnL^land that
these farts on.nht tn create in us a romantic interest in their person-
ality and ownership of this farm.
Captain Andrew lielcher had married Mr. Gilhert'^ daue^hter Sarah
July I. 167(1. He was horn in Camhridtre, Mass.. January 1. i^qS.
and was sun of Andrew llclcher, inn-ker]KT. who miij^rated from Dan-
bury, Essex Co.. England.^ We know of Amlnw, jr.. first as a
mariner plying hdwrm }»oston and Hartf'>r<l and his name occurs frt<|nentlv
in the Colonial Records and he evidently amassed a considerable fortune in his
ventures, for he finally achieved the reputation of being the most opulent mer-
chant in New England. He was shrewd and energetic and evidently was capa-
ble of driving a hard bargain. W' hile he was one of the counsellors of Massa-
chusetts the selectmen of Boston, having objected to his sending com to Cura-
coa in the Dutch West Indies on account of a scarcity of that article in New
England he tartly replied, **The hardest fend ofif : if you stop my vessels I will
hinder the coming in of three times as niuch.'*^ He was in trouble in 1682 for
breaking the navigation laws and his vessel was seized at Boston,' and in 1688
he was accused of trading with a "pyrate" for hides and elephants* teeth.* After
the terrible swamp fort fight at South Kingston in R. I. Dec. 19, 1675, in King
Philips war. the hardy soldiers were in great distress for tack of provisions, but
that very night "it mercifully came to pass that Captain Andrew Belcher arrived
at Mr. Smith's with a vessel laden with provisions for the army which must oth-
erwise have perished for want.'** Whether the merciful appearance of Captain
Belcher's vessel was caused by his love of gain or by patriotism, let whom will
decide. His success in life was pronounced and evidently atoned for some short-
comings for after his death he is described as "a man of integrity and honor, a
friend to religion and learning.*'* He certainly was an illustrious example of a
"free trader" for he seems to have traded where he listed without fear of laws
or consequences. His son Jonathan wrote a letter to Mr. Prince, giving an es-
timate of his father's character as follows: "Sir * * * What you desire re-
spectincj my deceas'd Father and myself is a tlifTicuIt Task and I know not when
I shall be able tti undertake it. For altho" this be a little ( iovcrnment (New Jer-
sey] yet it calls for much attention and attendance for the King's honour and for
1 N. E. Hist, and Gtn. Keg., Vol. XXVU., pp. 230-240.
2 SMTBira DiaiT. M»y 20. ITlS.
.1 Who^doT) s Ei nu. Scclal Ilia. K. B , Vol. I., p. 239.
4 Idem. Vol. i.. p 342.
6 Hutcblmon'B HUl. MftW.. E4. 179IS. Vol. I., p. 272.
6 N. B. Htat. and G«n. Reg.. Vol. XXVI II., p. 230.
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EARLY HISTORY.
21
seeking the good and welfare of the people and my large correspondence to New
England and larger than heretofore to Great Britain, keeps me in full employe.
These things, notwithstanding. If you would tell me your Design and State any
questions to me I would Indeavour to answer them. My father was as great a
Genius as his Coiintr) cnttld boast of but wanted an Education to Improve and
polish it, (Gov. Dudley) wlio was a good Judge used to say Mr, Comissary Bel-
cher would make a good Minister of State to any Prince in Europe, Especially
in the Article of Finances. His late Earewell and Blessing of me show'd his
strong thoughts and great modesty. Its fresh in my Memory and will be till the
Fr.ist of Aire seals up that Faculty; he called me to his Bedside, took me by the
hand and said — Son you may expect me to bless you in a better manner and
ctylc tluni I rini able to do for (iod did not put it into your (Irand b'ather's power
to give me the Education he Inabled me to give you, but remember my Last Words
to you are — May the Blessing of the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and *
the Gn/I of Jacob rest upon you and your seed forever. Amen. Farewell. Neith-
er tlie Tatriarchs nor Apostles could have done it better. Iu«t as ho wn=: Ex-
pirmg :he ]*.!rink<t was offensive to His Face so he rais d hinisdf a little from his
Pillow and said to the Late Mndarn Sewall who watcht with liini. give me the
sheet for it is my winding sheet; iheti he r.iiroU'd his arms in it and said T will
kr. nir <l<Avn and dye in Peace and l''.\iiirM in a n^innte. I shouhl not have 'rroul)led
y. >Ti with this Acc' but as it may make some Little i»art of :m .Afiswcr to what ^■o1l
have desired * * * j thank you for the .^ermon preacht npun the death of
my Late dear and Excellent Sister which has given me nntch pleasure in rea<lg.
Rev. and \\'orthy Sir
Very much your Friend and servant.
J. BELCHER.
Burlington, June 7, 1748.^
Why Capt. Belcher should have desired to own Meriden Farm we cannot
certainly know. It is probable that the returns from the farm at this time were
considerable. It was an important place evidently and possibly the proceeds from
beavers in the vicinity were considerable. But beyond any apparent returns from
the surface there was always the alluring possibility of hidden wealth in the ground.
Our Puritan forefathers were always chasing a will o* the wisp of this sort. Many
of the old deeds bear witness to the truth of this statement and the mountains in
the vicinity of Meriden seem to have excited the expectation that some day the
diligent searcher would be handsomely rewarded. On the hills west of the farm
there are still to be seen places where excavations were made in the hope of find-
ing iron or copper or even gold. "Many of the adventurers to North America
1 N, S. Hl8t. and Gen. Reg., Vol. XXVII.. pp. 240-241.
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22
A CENTURY OF MERXDEN.
were strongly possessed with an idea of the riches of North as well as of South
America. They conceived that its mountains and hills abounded with precious
metals and minerals ; and that, however rich the soil might be, yet that the bowels
of the earth would afford them much greater wealth. Much pains were, there-
fore, bestowed on various parts of the country to discover these sources of
wealth."^ A man of CapL Belcher's wealth and widely extended business ven-
tures could not have spent very much of his time on the farm; still he kept in
touch with its needs and possibilities and he certainly expended considerable sums
in improvingf the property. On June i8, 1700, he bought of the widow, Mary Gil-
bert her interest in the farm^ and in October, 1703, the Colonial Court, in con-
sideration of the "amount of money Mr. Belcher hath expended in improving
the land and building tcnnantablc houses and settling tennants therein and other
improvements which are like to be a publick as well as private benetilt the said
tencnirnts bring convrnienily situate lor the relief of Iravailers in iheir jourtuying
from jilace to place, for his incouragement to goe forward with his improvements
doe see cause to grant his petition and doe now give and g^ant unto the said An-
drew Belcher all the said four hundred and sevcntic acres" he had bought di ihe
Gilbert hcirs^ and the following May gave him in addition the land from the
East Side of the farm to the top of Lamentation Mt., "consisting of steep rocky
hills and very stoney land, judged to be very mean and of little value."* Mr. Bel-
cher's farm was now a very large one and with other purchases he had made ad-
joining, contained about twelve hundred acres and l» now called it "My Meriden
Manor." It is probable that Capt. Belcher built the stone house that made the
farm noteworthy. But it disappeared many years ago, no one knows how or
when. There are many traditions still extant, for the personality of the Belchers
impressed itself strongly on the locality. Of the wall which bounded the farm
on the west the following story is told by Mr. Kendall in his Travels Through the
Northern Parts of the United States in 1807-8.^
1 TrumbuH s IHst of Conn.. Vol. II., p. 40.
2 Recordu: Offlca iJecretury of State.
8 Col. RecordB, Vol. IV., i>p. 450-451.
4 Idem. p. 475.
i Vul. I., p. 122.
(F«c*imll« of signature taken from a letter In possesttlou o( tlie writer.)
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EARLY HISTORY.
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When Mr. Belcher owtwd farm "the Indians were at tiiis time tronble*
some ; and mention is made of a wall built by Mr. Belcher as if for purposes of
defence. In this way, however, it cotdd be of no use ; for it was of more than a
mile in ciraiit and formed of tnicemented stones, raised only four feet high, like
the walls at present common in the country. This wall, however, had some ex-
traordinary personages amonj? its builders. It is current in tradition, tliat four-
te€» or fifteen settlers caiTie into Mr, Belcher's neighborhood, from the town of
Farmington, of whom the whole band possessed unusual strength and stature.
Two were of the name of Hart. Of these one, whose son at the age of seventy
>ears is still alive, is said to have had bones so large that an Indian, who. with
others, was passing througli the settlement, stopped and examined him with sur-
prij^c. Mr. Hart and his fellow giants were enip^tycd by ^T^. P.elcher on his wall."
This stone ?kirtcd the then load to Kensington which long since ceased
to be used, but it is still possible to trace this old road, once the usual route of
ir,'i\cl to that yiarisb. If one starts at the old Way place now owned by Mr. I". H.
Higginson and ft)ll()ws the road running west over the railroad track, within per-
haps a f|i!art( r niiU- a point is reached whe re the road turns at rii;ht angle and runs
south to Colony street, reacliing it just below the old Malleable Iron C'o. factory,
now ownctl 1>\ The Meriden Fire Amis Co. if, nistead of turning south at the
right angle mentioned, one keeps on to the west the lane is soon found turning
gradually to the north and soon one has the ancient Meriden Farm on the right.
At times the traces of this ancient highway are difficult to follow; but per-
severance, afttr a while, brings one to win re it is again a well traveled road.
There wa:^ aiK'ther road to Kensington which began where Kensington avenue
leaves Colony street and followed the present line of the aveniu' a< far as the
present trotting park ( there was then no road through Cat Hole Tab^j. Here it
turned toward the north and finally clinilK'd the steep sides of the mountain, com-
ing ort near Botsford's or Corrigan's comer. All that is now left of this road is
the old Bailey road, skirting the west side of the trotting park. There was a road
branching from it which jdned the one already described as bordering Meriden
Farm, on the west. Over these old roads now neglected and almost lost to sight
in a tangle of briar bog and forest our great grandparents plodded their way on
foot, or in saddle or pillion on horseback were carried over these weary luiles to
Kensington Parish or Farmington Village. The southern limits of Farmington
at this time were bounded by the laneway just south of Albert Norton's house in
Berlin, so that none of Meriden Farm was in the town of Farmington.
For some years after the colony had coniirmed Capt. Belcher's title to the
farm and enlarged its bounds we learn nothing to add to our annals. It is proba-
ble that the captain frequently visited the farm and gave careful attention to its
needs and with his tenants made frequent search for the minerals which the rocky
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24
A CEN T UK V Ul- Mif^KIUEN.
sitles of Lamentation had sccnicd to promise, but evidently witlunit success. ( )n
Oct. 22. 1707, he deeded to "My sun Jonathan m\ mannor nr farme of Meridcn
near to a place called Cold Spring now in tcnnance and occupation of Joseph Hop-
kins. Sam"l IVck and Samuel Hubbard, their under tenants or assigns" and hence-
forth his coimection with Meriden Farm ceases ; he died ( Vt. 31. 171 7.
And n(^w enters a character, the nicest famous in (ntr early annals. In his day
the most distint^uished of the sons of Xew luij^land ; charming in his manners,
delijihtful in his vanity ; pictures(jue in his lortlly w ay of dispensin;^ hos])italitv
and always conscious that he was his majesty's most imposing representative in
these Puritan commonwealths.
. ( Pnc>»tiiit!e of tlgnature taken from document lo pomenion of writer.)
son of Captain .\n<lrew and Sarah Miilbt'rt ) lUlcher. was born in I'.oston Jan. 8,
1682-3, He graduated at Harvard collej4:e in the class «if and liien .-pent
some lime in tra\ cling in l-".ngland and on the continent to prepare himself for
the large inheritance liis father was to leave him. He ha<l an honorable reception
at the Court of the Elector of Hanover and that of St. James in ICngland. Re-
turning home he followed in his father's steps as merchant, representative in the
General Court of Massachusetts and member of the Council. In person he was
graceful and attractive ; he had a cheerful countenance, a hearty voice, a demon-
strative gesticulation and an habitually affable address ; altogether he was a man
of society and of the world.^ An heir to a large fortune, he had been accustomed
to dispense it in ways to draw attention and give him consequence. His acquaint-
ance with Connecticut people was wide and in 1729 he acted as agent for this
colony in England. While there he threw out intimations in high quarters that
the view he once held regarding the king s prerogative had undergone a change.'
Returning he was appointed royal governor of Massachusetts, which position he
held until 1741. His administration, while considered by some a fairly good one,
has been accused by others as honeycombed by political corruption. He had the
usual troubles with the colonial court ; and his character, prone to small resentments
and foolishly irritable, did not tend to smooth matters. He was not troubled like
his differently constituted and differently trained predecessor by pride and obsti-
nacy abouts points of honor. He loved intrigue and underhanded methods.
1 Palfrey s Hin. of .\. E.. Vol IV,. p. 530.
2 Nar. and Grit Wst. of Am.. Vol. V.. pp. 131-132.
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KARI-Y HISTORY.
25
The ways of thinking of his early traininjj kept their hold on his exi)erience(l iniiul.
He brought into politics some habits of trade. W hen finally removed from his
position in 1741 he was appointed f:^overnor of Xew Jersey, where he jjoverned
with success and satisfaction to himself and the people for sixteen years. The
following anecdote illustrates the governor's vanity to perfection. He lived in
grand style in a mansion he had built at Milton. Mass.. which was surrounded
by large grounds, modelled on the style of an luiglish estate ; and he had many
G<)VKRXt;R r.ELCHiiR.i
servants and equipages. In laying out the avenue to his proposed mansion he
told his architect that he wished it execute<l with such i)recision "that friends and
visitors on their first entrance upon the avenue might see the gleaming of his
gold kneebuckles as he stood on the distant piazza." This house was burned
in 1776. Governor IJelcher. as .stated before, acquired the title to Meriden Farm
( )ct. 22. 1707. For some years his ownership left no impress on our records. But
he doubtless was familiar with the property and frequently visited it for his ac-
quaintance with people in central Connecticut was considerable. He kept a book
in which were j)reserved drafts of all his letters so that we have a record of a
great deal of his correspondence which has been printed in the Massachusetts
Historical Society collections. It has already been stated that the elder IJelcher
was probably induced to buy Meriden Farm by the alluring pros])ect of hidden
I This rut taken from Memorial History of Boston follows a portrait painted In 1721) by Lcopoldt. It
hanf^it in the gallery of Mans. HlHt. Sor.
26
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Stores of copper and other minerals in the rocky sides of the nearby hills and had
left die still visible traces of diligent prospecting at difTerent points. But in 1712
there appears in the records of the General Court^ the first positive evidence that
the Belcher family had at last discovered sufticient traces of this hidden wealth
to A r rrant an actual investment of pounds, shillings and pence to bring it forth
to the light of day, and from that time on for many years Jonathan Belcher and
his partners poured forth a steady stream of good colonial money in the vain
endeavor to mine copper in sufficient quantities to make the investment a profitable
one. In the western parts of Wallingford and in Granby the mines were located
and miners were imported from Germany and other places. Not only was Jon-
athan Belcher a loser in these ventures but the craze infected all classes and the
records of Wallingford abound in minins' leases to men and women in Boston,
New York and Wallingford. Some were niined and lost their all in this mad hunt
for wealth, among others Adam ^^'intll^lp, a threat -grandson of the first governor
of Massachusetts. The venture w as an untortimate one for ( lovernor Helcher. and
his losses were very larqe for the operations were carried on for many years. Rut
this is i.f it the plaee to tell the story of coi)pcr mining in Connecticut. Goverfior
r»eiclier nuist have spent much time at his Meriden i-'arm during the copper min-
ing venture, for his correspondence hook contains manv items relating to pcr)y)lc
m this part of Connecticut. In the year 1720 he plaeed Eleazer Aspinwall. of
rirookline. Mass., in charge of his Meriden Farm and thereafter there are con-
stant refcrenecs to this farm. Aspinwall. d<)ul)tle.ss, kept up the tavern or iiin
and gaitied what income he could from the soil and paid a rental to the owner
and so far as we know this arra!iL;enirnt was satisfactory to Mr. Belcher and the
relation between landlord and tenant was harmonious for many years. But in
the year 1731 Mr. Belcher was appointed royal governor of Massachusetts and
naturally his interest in the far away Connecticut farm began to wane. To add
to his dissatisfaction the copper mining ventures had proved anything but profita-
ble. He wrote in 1735 that during about twenty-three years he had disbursed
upwards of fifteen thousand p' unds in this vain quest.^ Added to this Mr. Aspin-
wall had become dilatory in pay ing his rent. Altogether the governor thought it
high time to dispose of his Meriden Farm. From 1731 to 1735 we find in his
draft book various letters to Rev. Etisha Williams, rector of Yale college, Rev.
Samuel Whittlesey of Wallingford, Joseph Pitkin of Hartford and Rev. Ebenezer
Williams of Pomfret. All these letters betray great anxiety to sell Meriden
Farm and the last one of the scries says, "I am content to sell my Meriden Fartne
if you can meet a chap that will give a reasonable price and pay the money down
when I execute the deed." In Oct., 1732, he sent his son, Andrew, to Connecti-
1 Col. K«corda Cono., Vol. V., pp. 323 and 455.
2 PheliM Hint, or SlBurtKliTt Onnbgr and Canton, p. 115.
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EASLY HISTORY.
27
ut to look after his interests there and his letters to Aspinwall about hi& unpaid
ent became quite peremptory. Whether it was ever paid we do not know, but the
tisgust of the governor now became so great that he determined to get rid of
be farm at any cost and the only victim he seems to have been able to find was
lis son, Andrew ; perhaps on the theory that adversity is a good teacher and that
f his son could make an income out of the farm he would acquire a talent and
genius for business that would make him a rival to his grandfather, (lovernor
Belcher during his ownership had spent much money on the farm, and had evi-
lently tried to make it an attractive "Manor." The pond which now spreads
)ver seventy-five acres of its meadows, due to the dam built by the Hartford Ice
Zompany, had a predecessor, for the governor durinpj the days of his pride in
he estate had also built one about three hundred feet north of the present
)ne and the remains of this old dam now shaded by lordly old oaks and hickories
ire very easily traced.' On a recent suimucr day the writer followed the brook
IS it wanders through the lueadows, unirmurint,^ and gurgling as it dici in the days
>f the beavers and the aristocratic old governor. He paused at the gap between
ligh banks where his excellency had once caused the dike to be built, and he sud-
ienly found himself confronted by four genuine knights of the road. Three were
'n<^t aslcej) on the grassy bank, their dirty and ])eaceful laces shaded by the sun-
lecked shadows cast by a sturdy old oak. The fourth, wide awake, and absorbed
n a copy of the New York Journal, looked up and asked "looking for anything,
.M^s." "Yes,'" was the answer, "a dam that used to lie here." "Well, boss," said
he tramp, "this has been one of our resting places for fifteen years and I never
-vcn no dam here." He t)rovcd to be a philosophical knight tor alter a short
alk lie said, '"purty here, isn t it. and handy to the railroad? I'm better (iff than
vr,u, boss, for you want to stay and have got to go. l)ut I can stay until I'tn tiretl
>i it and then go to another place just as f)urty." A parting glimpse from a dis-
.ance showed the tramp busy hanging a can of water over a fire, preparing a re-
Dast of one knows not what concoction. We have followed the career of the gov-
ernor through many years and it would not be displaying proper respect to leave
him here. A few brief facts will be added to this sketch and then we will say
^ijod bye to him when he enters "the undiscovered country from whose bourne no
traveler returns." He was twice married ; first to Mary, the daughter of Gov-
ernor Partridge, of New Hampshire. She died in 1736, and her funeral was on
so magnificent a scale that the streets and housetops were packed with sight-
seers as the cortege passed through the streets of Boston. His second wife was
a Miss Teal, of New Jersey. Of his children, it is only necessary to mention
two— Andrew, to whom Meriden Farm was deeded, and Jonathan, Jr., who be*
1 F»nnln^n R^cordu Aur. 17, 1714: Samuel XeweU sold to Jonathan Belcher the right to drown
or ttood blB laods bjr any dam or dams not exceeding 12 foot tiigh (rom t>ottom of work.
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28
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
came Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia, They were both the cause of mud
annoyance to their father on account of their idleness and extravagance. Andrew
in particular, did not aspire to the rank which his father's ambition had niarki(
out for him. The event in his Hfc which is most intercstitis:^ to ns is that whci
Bishop Berkeley sent his library to Yale college in 1733, the gift was consigmc
to Andrew Belcher,^ The governor died Aug. 31, 1757. at Elizabcthtown, N. J
W'e learn from the I»oston Xcws Letter of Dec. i, 1757, "The corpse of his excel
lency, Jonathan Belcher, Esq., late Gov. of New Jersey, was brought hither lass
week from \cw '^'ork and deposited in a new tomb built for that pur}>ose at Cam-
bridge agreeable to the desire of his Excell'y before his death." In a funera
sermon preached by Rev. Aaron Jhirr, president of the college of New Jersey, it
i? stntcrl. "His father was the Famous Andrew 1'., r.^T}.. one of hh >Tnjc?:ty's Coun-
cil in the rnn ince of Mass. Bay. justi}' cstecnuci an oniatiKiit and lilessmg to hii
country. (The Governor's ) excellent endow niLiils t>\ mind ( karning and travel)
wore set off by a i)eculiar beauty and gracefulness of ])ers(jn, in which he wa«
c ■ M i iknl by no niau of bis day. TIhtc was a dignity in his mien and *^le|»orlmcii1
which commanded resjiect. This jnincil with \]\c frank, open ami generous man-
ner in which he treated his frienfl>. his |inHte and ca>\ behnvi<uir Inwards strangetl
rendered him the delight of the one and the admiration of the other. The schol-
ar, the accomi/iisiied gentleman and the true Christian were seldom ever more
happily and thoroughly united than in him." Gov. Hutchinson, in his Histon
of Massachusetts, states thai lielcher was the victim of political intrigues while
governor of that province and his view of bis character docs not at all agree with
tl e slurring remarks of nuire modern historians. C)n the Wallini: i'or<i land rec-
ords- under date June 9, 1741. Andrew lielcher, of I'oston, sold to Jedcdiah Sor-
ton and lohn ^'ale of W'allingford for £1950 "all thai tract of land contain'
ing by estimation 670 acres, being that jiart of Meriden Farm, so called, lying
west of the Country Road leading from Hartford to Xew Haven." To this day much
of the old farm still remains in the hands of the Yale and Xorton families. On
March 4. 1742, Andrew P.elcher sold to Samuel Peck, Nathaniel Edwards and
Zebulon Ptvk. all of Middletown for £19^5, ''all that farm of land called
Meriden, lying eastward of Country Road and containing 350 acres, bounded
easterly on top of Lamentation Aft./' etc.* Thus came to an end aJl connection
of the Belcher family with our Meriden Farm ; a connection so noteworthy tint
to this day the property is still frequently called the Belcher Farm.
Sijice \hv fnrcgning chapter was put in print the w riter has gained <=ome addi-
tional information relative to .Meriden l arm. which he thinks of sufficient im-
portance tu add in the form of a note or appendix.
1 N. H. Col. Hist 80c. Collections. Vol. I., p. 162.
2 Walllngford Land Records. Vol. IX.. pp. 18-19.
3 Idem. pp. 30-31.
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EARLV HISTORY.
29
A careful study of the Wallin^ford records has convinced htm that the
mthcm boundary of the farm extended to the road or laneway running west
loni the old Eli Way place on North Colony road» now owned by Air. E. H.
[igginson. This road was the ancient highway to Kensinj^on, which has al-
•ady been described. It is fully a quarter of a mile south of what the writer
previously believed to be the southern boundary of the farm.
From Mrs. Hiram Riclinif^nd (a daughter of Selden Merriam and grand-
aughter of Sidney Merriam who came into i)ossession of the tavern or inn and
lany acres adjoining about the year 1812) has been fi^ained the fact, that in 1S33
le old building was moved to tlu rear for a wood slu d and carriage house, and
10 present house was erected on the ancient site, now CKCUiMcd by Mr.
lichaclis. Refwocn this house and that of Mrs. F. H. Vale to the north, stood
iiat Mrs. Richmond liad sn])]'!occd was a stom- fdrl which disapi)rared long be-
^re the Mcrriams acquircl the i)r')])ertv. 'I'lic reason for bel!e\ iii;^-^ tliis building
) have 1)1 cii a fiirt was the existence <>f subterranean stf)ne chambers in the rear
lat \\ ( rc called powder magazines, which were filled in probably fifty years since,
his uM >tone building was doubtless erected fur purposes of defense and was
?ally a lurt, but it must have had the general outlines of a hun>e for (he olcl rec-
rds refer to the old building as "stone house." The entries relating to stone
ouse farm are many and are always usvi\ in comuction with this particular part
f Mcridcn ur P.elclicr i-arm. Had the biiihling been in shape like a lort the rec-
rds would have called it stone fort farm.
Xearly sixty years ago, the late Henry S. Wilcox, then a Iwy of ten, wrote a
3mi)osttion on the early history of Meriden. There was no history of the town
len in existence. There are so many early dates and facts given in this article
lat are corroborated by recent examination of the early records that there is
le strongest evidence that the boy got his data from some one who knew many
lets long since forgotten, and who had seen the old stone house. From thi&
oy*5 composition, we learn that the building was welt constructed to withstand
n Indian attack, for the door was filled so full of spikes that a bullet could not
e shot through it, and instead of windows there were port holes, through which
ne inside could use his rifle with deadly effect.
The probable explanation of this stone house seems to the writer to be this:
iz, that the building was erected during the troublous times of 1675 and 1676
rhen all Xew England was in great apprehension on account of the war of ex-
erniination begun by the Indians, which is commonly called King Philips War.
>Vallingford was so alarmed by the outlook that armed guards or pickets were
•nstanUy maintained and the village fortified. W hat more natural than that
he owner or fK-cupant of a farm improtected and alone in the w ilderness, .shotdd
:rect a stone building adjoining his ordinary habitation, for refuge is case of last
30
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
resort? It was doubtless built hastily, and therefore did not last as long as tli
wooden building adjoining, built much more leisurely. This wooden house wa
very o!d when removctl to the rear and has long since disappeared ; it was prol
ably the building erected bv ^T^. Gilbert when the farm was granted to him t
i66i, and was consequently 172 years old when abandoned as a dwelling.
(Facsimile of book plate used by Andrew Belcher, 8r.
From original in possession of writer.)
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EARLY HISTORY.
31
CHAPTER III.
Copies of land deeds and documents relating? to the purchase of lands to the
northward show in j:;^ the basis for the statement tlmt the planters of New Haven
made purchases of land from the Indians extenduifx from Xcw Haven harbor
northwardly as far as the junction of Kensinijton avenue and Colony street or one
mile north of where Colony street crosses Pilgrims' Harbor brook.
INDIAN DEEDS
OF
THE PLANTATION OF NEW HAVEN.
Articles of agreement betweene Thcophilus Eaton & John Davenport & others,
English planters att Ouinopiocke on the one partye & Moinaugin y® Indian Sa-
chem of Ouinopiocke & Sugcogisin, (Juesaquauch, Caroughood, Wesaucucke, &
others of his counsell on the other partye. made & concluded the 24^*' of Novem-
b'" lO^S. Thomas Stanton beinp: interpreter.
That hee y® s'^ sachem, his counsell & company doe jointly jirofess, affirme &
covenS [th]at he y® s<^ Momaugin is the sole sachem of Ouitiopiocke, & hath an
absolute and independant power to give, alien, dispose or sell, all or any part of
the lands in Quinupiocke, & that though he have a son now absent, yet neither
his s'^ son, nor any other pson whatsoever hath any right title or interest in any
part of the lands, soe that whatsoever he, y*" forenameil sachem, his counsell
\ rest of y® Indians present doc & conclude, shall stand tirme & inviolable
against all claimes & psons whatsoever. —
Secondly y® s** sachem, his counsell company, aninuLrst which there was a
squaw sachem called Shampishuh sister to y® sachem, whoe either had or p' tend-
ed some interest in sonic part of y^ land, remembriu':;^ and acknowledging the
heavy taxes & cnuueut dan<::;ers w^'^ they lately felt & feared from y** Pequolts,
Mohaucks & other Indians, in regard of which they durst not stay in their country,
but were fr»rced to tlic, & to scckc shelter under the English at Conecticutt, and ob-
serving safety & ease y' other Indians enjoy nearc y® En,L,dish, of which benefitt
they have had a comfortable tast already since the English began to build t't plant
at Quinopiocke, which w*** all ihankfullnes they now acknowledged. They jointlv
& freely gave & yeilded up all y*" right, title & interest to all y® land, rivers &
3*
A CEXTURY OF MERIDEN.
ponds, trees with all libettyes & appurtenances belonging unto same in
Quinopiocke to y« utmost of their bounds East, West, North, South unto Theophi-
lus Eaton, John Davenport & others, the p''sent English planters there, & to their
heires & assignes for ever, desiring from y*^ y^ s^ English planters to receive
such a portion of ground on the Hast side of the Harbour towards y" fort at
y** infiulh of y* river of Conecticott as might be sufficient for them, being but
few in number, to plant in ; aiul yet within these limitts to be hereafter assigned
to tlicm, they did coveu^ & freely yeild up unto y* s** English all the meadow
ground lieing therein, with fidl liberty to chuse & cut downe what timber they
please, for any use whatsoever, without any (luestion. licence or consent to he
asked from them s*' Indians, and if. after their portion & place be limited &.
set out by the Knglish as above, they s'' Indians shall desire to ranove to any
other place within Quino[)iockc bounds, but without y^ limitts assigned them,
that they doe it not without leave, neither setting^ up any wigwam, nor breaking
up any j^round to plant coriic. till first it be sett [oujt & appointed by y* fore-
named Fnglish jilanters for them.
Tiiirtlly y*' s'^ sachem, his counsell & crunpaiiy dfsireincj liberty to hunt &
fish [withijn the hounds of Qtiinopiocke now v.'\\ vu and jjraunted to the Enjjlish
as before, doe [hereby] jo[injtly coven^ & bind thetuselves to sett noe traps ncare
any place where y*-' | J whether horses, [oxjen, kine, calves, sheep, goates,
hoggs or any sort [
tu laivc] any h>\\ nat of any ware belonj^inj^ to any Kni^lish, nor to dt)e any thintj
neare any .mrIi ware as ti> ili>[iiirl»l or atYri^ht away any hsh to y^ p^'judicc of
sv.ch ware ur wares; that upon discovery of any inconveni [en ]cy prowinj; to
y*^ ICnijlish by the Indians disonlerly huntiuL:. tin ir liiintin.ij shalhe rri^uLited and
limited f(jr the p'veniin^ of any inconvenience, li: \el wilh as litle damage to
Indians in their hunting as may he.
l"'ourthly, y® sachem, his counsell it company doe hereby covenant and bind
themselves y^ none of them shall henceforth hanker about any of y« English
houses at any time when the English use to meete about the public^ue worship of
God ; nor on ye Lords day henceforward bee scene within y® compass of y^ English
towne, beareing an\ burdens, or ofifring to truck with y« English for any comodity
whatsoever, & y' none of y™ henceforward without leave, oijcu any latch belonging
to any English mens dore, nor stay in any English house after warneing that he
should leave the same, nor doe any violence, wrong, or injury to y*" pson of y*^"
English whether man, woman, or child, upon any p'^tence whatsoever, and if the
English of this plantation, by y"^$elves or cattle, doe any wrong or damage to
y^ Indians, upon complaint, just recompence stialbe made by y^ English; and y^
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EARLY HISTORY.
33
none of henceforward use or take any English mans boate or canoe of what
kind soever» from y* place where it was fastened or layd, without leave from the
owner first had & obtayned, nor y* they come into y« English towne w**» bowes
& arrowes, or any other weapons whatsoever in number above 6 Indyans soe armed
at a time.
Fifthly y« s^ sachem, his counsell & company doe truly covenant & bind
y™selves y^ if any of y*" shall hereafter kill or hurt any English cattle of w^ sort
soever, though casually or negligently, they shall give full satisfaction for the loss
or damage as the English shall judge equall. But if any of y™ for any respect,
wilfully doe kill or hurt any of the English cattle, upon proofe they shall pay y^
double valew. And if, at anytime, any of them find any of the English cattle
straying or lost in the woods, they shall bring them backe to the English planta-
tion, & a moderate price or reoompence shalbe allowed for their paynes, provided,
if it can be proved any of y" drove away any of y* English cattle wlicrcsoever
they find tliem, further from y* English plantation to make an incre[ase] or ad-
vantage, or recompence for his paynes finding or bringing y"* back, they shall in
any such case pay damages for such dealinc:s.
Sixthly, the number of y® Quinopyocke Indyans, me[n] or youth growne to
stature fit for service being forty seven at p^'sent, they doe covenant and bind
y™selves not to receive, or adiuitt any other Indians amongst them without leave
first had & obtayned from y* English, & that they will not, at any time hereafter,
entertaine or harbo^ any that are enemies to y« English, but will p'"sently ap'^hcnd
such & deliver y™ to English, and if they know or heare of any plott by ye In-
dyans or others against y* English they will forthwith discover & make y® same
knowne to y™, & in case they doc not, to be accounted as partyes in y* plott, and
to be proceeded against as such.
Lastly y^ s^ sachem, his counsdl & company doe hereby promise truly & care-
fully to observe & kecpc all & every one of these articles of agrecm*, & if any
of y™ offend in any of y*^ p^'niisses, they jointly hereby subject & submitt such of-
fendo'" or offcndo^s to y*' consideration, censure 8c punishm' of the English mages-
trate or oftkers appointed among them lor government without expectincf y^ y<^
English should first advise with about it, yel in any such case of punishm^
if the s'^ sachem shall desire to know the reason & equity of such pceedings, bee
shall truly be informed of the same.
The former article being read & interp^'tcd to y"*. they by way of exposition
desired >^ in y*^ sixth article it might be added, that ii any of the Engli'^h rattle
Ik killed or hurt casually, or negligently, S: ]>ri'r.fi- made it was done by some
( I the (Juuiopiock Indyans, they will make satisfaction, or if done by any otbrr
Indyans in their sight, if thev doe not discover it, & if able to bring y® ottendo''
to y* English they wilbe accounted & dealt with as guilty,
3
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34
A CENTURY OP MEKIDHX.
In consideration of all wliicli. they »!i sire from y* Kn^lish, that if at any time
hereafter they be affrighted in their d\vellinj;s assijjried by the English unto y"*
as before, they may repayre to the Enjjlish i)lantation for shelter, & that Eng-
lish will therein a just cause endeavo'" to defend y"™ from wroncie, l^ttt in any
quarrell or warres which they shall undertake, or have w''' other liulyans, upon
an\ occasion w's h vcr they will manage their aifayres by y'"selves without ex-
ptctintj any ayd from the Knglish.
And the h'njjlish planters brfftre mentioned acceiitiiiL; antl j^rauntinj^ acc<^rdincr
to y*" tenor of tin ])'inises. dec further of their owuv accord, by way of free &
thankefull retribution. L;i\i' i n[to| y*' s'' snchcni, coimscll S: company of y* ( juin-
opiocke Indians, twelve coats of I'jiuli^h trucking cl<>ath, luiKc alcumy sp<K)iK--,
twelve hatchetts. twelve Ikh-'^. two i!'i/en of knivts. twelve poreiiLjers & fourc
cases of French kniw N and si/ers ; All w hich beiii:^; tlianki'ulK acce])1ed bv
afores^' & aj^reeiiKiils in all point> ijerfected ; for latlitRation \- full confirma-
tion of the same, the Sachem, his counsell & sister, to these p'sents have sett to
their hands or markes y*^ day & year above written.
Momaugin
hte marke.
SiigcogiBm
Qucsaquaush c-
his marke.
his mark.
Carroughood
Weesaucuck
8h«oni|>i«tiab
her
marke
his marke.
hiB mark
I, Thomas Stanton, being interpreter in this treatVi doe hereby profess in y*
pi'sence of God, y* 1 have fully acquainted the tndyans with y* substance of every
article, & truly returned their answer & consent to the same, according to y* ten-
no' of the foregoing writetng, the truth of which, if lawfully called, 1 shall read-
ily confirme by my oath at any time.
Thomas Stanton.
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EARLY HISTORY.
35
Articles of agreem^ betwixt Theopiiilus Eaton, John Davenport, & sundry oth-
er English planters at Quinnypiock on one part, and Mantowese Sonne of an
Indyan sacheni liveing att Mattabezeck, and nephew to Sequin on y* other part,
made & concluded the ii^^ day of Decemb^ 1638.
First y* s^ Mantowese in p^sence & w*** allowance and consent of Sawseunck an
Indyan w^^ came in company w^ him, doth profess, affirme and covenant, to &
^rth y« 5d Theophilus Eaton, John Davenport & others above, that y* land on
both sides the river of Quinn>'piock from y* Northerly bounds ofy* land lately
purchased by the English of y^ Quinnypiock Indyans, namely from y* pond in
y* great meadow, about two miles above y* great hill, to y* head of y* river at
y* great playne toward y* plantations settled by y* English upon y* river of Quin*
tecutt Southerly, which is about tenn miles in length from north to south, the
bounds of which land run alsoe eight miles easterly from y* river of Quinnypiock
toward y^ river of Quintecutt, and five miles westerly towards Hudsons river, doth
tniely & solely belong to him y* s' Mantowese in right of his deceased mother, to
whom y* s** land did appertaine, & from whom it justly descends upon him as his
Inheritance, soe y^ he hath an absolute & independant power to give, alien, dispose
or sell all or any part of y* s' land, as he shall think good ; and y^ neither his s^
father, or any other pson whatsoever, have any right, title or interest in any part
of >•* land described and limited as above, whereby he or any other may here-
after justl> question what y« Mantowese now doth, or lay any daymc to any
part of s'^ land now disposed of by hini.
Secon<11y the s*^ Mantowese being fully acquainted w^'' y*" a.c^recm'" lately
f>assed betwixt y* EngHsh planters & y® sachem of Quinnypiock, his counsell
& company, did freely, of his owne accord, upon full <5v seritms deliberation, give,
grant and yeild up all right, title and interest to all land mentioned and bound-
ed as above, with all the rivers, ponds, trees, and all liberties and appurtenances
whatsoever belonging to y* same, to the s** Theophilus Eaton, Jolin Daven|)ort
and otfier English planters att Quinnyi)i(X'k. and to their heyrcs & assignes for
ever, desireing irom them, the I'lnglish planters, to receive such a small portion
of land by the rivers side about two miles l)eN ond \ ® tree over y* river, in the pas-
sage from hence towards y« towncs at yuinteenlt, as may be sufficient for his
small company, being but tenn men in number, besifles women and chiUiren, w*
portion of land they desire may hereafter, upon a view, be assigned, appointed
and limited unto them by y® s*^ English planters, reserveing alsoe to himselfe and
his forenamer! company, liberty in fitt seasons & due manner without p'*udice t<»
y* English, to hunt. & fish & kill beaver, yet therein alsoe to be rei::ii!ated by y®
English upon discovery of any annoyance, as the Quinnypiock lutlyans are in
that case.
Lastly, the «aid Theophihis I'atnn. John Davenport Sec accepting from Manto-
wese this free gift of his hand as above, doe by way of tliankfuU retribution, give
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36
A CENTURV OF MERIDCN.
unto him eleven coates made of trucking cloth, and one coate for himselfe of Eng*-
lish cloth, made up after the English mancr, %\ being thankfully accepted by the
s*^ Mantowese, and the agreements in all points pfected, for ratification, and full
confirmatioa of y^ same, Mantowese and Sawseunck have hereunto sett their
hands or markes the day and year before written.
I, John Clarke, being interpreter in this treatie, doe hereby professe in the
p'sence of God that I have fully acquainted the Indyans with the substance of
every article, to y* w**** they have frc» 1} agreed, that is to say y* Mantowese have
given to Mr. Davenport & Mr. Eaton all his land w^^ he had by his deceased
mother, w*^** he saith is from y* head of y® great playne to the pond w**** he professe
to be his, & promise to make it good to o** English, & for this hee is satisfyed with
twelve coats, onely reserve a piece of land by the river for his men which are lo
and many squaws, to plant in, & when o** cowes come there what harme their
doggs doe to o' cattle, they will satisfye for, and we for what hiarme o** hoggs doe
to them in come, & as for hunting & fishing, to be free to them as o<*selves, pro-
vided o** cattle suffer not by them, & with these particulars they are acquainted,
& doe freely consent to them, as their marke wittness, the truth of which, if law>
fully called, I shall readily confirme by my oath at any time.
We Robert Coggswell, Roger Knapp and James Love, doe hereby renounce all
right to any & every part of the forementioned land.
Mantowese
Ills mrko
per me John Clarke
IPittnes out hands Jiereunto
Robert Coggswell
James Love
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EARLY HISTORY.
37
Letter from Rev. John Davenport of New Haven Colony to John Winthrop, Jr.»i
of Connecticut Colony.
To the Right Worshipful! John Winthrop, Bsq^*, Governour of Connectacute,
these present at Hartford
Honoured Sir — Scio sapiunt Phryges.- If I had as wel used niy Upmrna^ in
preparing a letter as I was dtUigent in barkening after opportunities for transmit-
ting it, I had not bene thus surprized, bef ore I had begun my letter. Brother
Benham just now tells nic that liis conii)anie is gone before: & he is going to
Hartford. I blame him for not letting me know last night, but in vaine ; yet I
urge his stay a very little, that I may write these few lines, while he is buisied
alK>ut making up your Curtaincs which had bene with you before now if my wife
could have procured him or John Thomas to have carri ed them. I hope you
will now receive them by him. Concerning the matter of the Indians, I hope
Mr. Gilbert hath or will give you a cleare account. If the Indians you are pleased
to mention should revenge themselves upon ours they will greatly wrong the in-
nocent: for our Indians had no hand in that buisenes nor have spoken the least
w ord for ought I can learne, to animate our men to what is done. And that which
it seemes bro. Yale & bro. Cooper have spoken to your Indians, I never knew nor
heard of but by your letter. Nor will there be anythincf done by any of ours to
hinder }"Otir Indians in thcyre hiintincr. But for the i>iirrlin5e it was made above
20 yeares iiast. without any seeking, on our part upon an offer made to our then
Governour & Co. It was of Mantowceze that the land was bouGflit, whereby N.
H. bound.^ extended ncare unto the Cold Spring beyond Pilgrims Harbour. But
of these things if you desire it our Governour will give you full intelligence
when he shall be able, which 1 hope will be shortly, for the wrightings of that
transacti<Mi are in his hands.
My selfe wife and son present our atlfectionatc salutacions to yours. I rest
Yours exceedingly obliged
John Davenporte
New Haven the 30th day of the 8th m. 1660.
This letter shows that New Haven, in Mr. Davcn[)ort*s opinion, had bought
of the Indians, land extending north of Pilgrims' Harbor as far as Cold Spring.
In V^olume I. relating to colonial lands and on file in iho office of the secretary
of state in the capitol at Hartford is a deed from the Indians to the proprietors
1 Mam. Bl«t SoclctT Col., 4th Series, Vol. VII., pp. 617-61S.
2 K<7iii% :ii(-iit to oor aajlDs "ft Tankee'i wit eemee too I«t«.*'
3 ForeUioucbL
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38
A CENTURY OF M£R1DEN.
and inhabitants of Wallingford, dated May 24, 1681, a full copy uf which ap-
pears in Dr. Davis' llislory of WalHngford and Meriden, p. 27. Only a jxirtion
of this decfl is here l^mvcmi. which shnw? that an Indian deed had been executed in
1645 extemiiiig the grant of 1638 ten miles farther to the north.
Wheras our predecessors Mantowesc Sachem in the year i()38, Dcceinl)cr the
eleventh, hv a general deed of grant alienate<l. enfeoUed and sold a tract nt !an<i
to Theophilus Eaton Esq*"., Mr. John Davenpurte minister & to other Kngli5.h
planters of Quinijnog alias New Haven as by an instnmient at larpfe doth ap-
peare, alsDc by a second (Irant as l)y an iuitrunient dated in the year 1643 in the
monetli May of the sayd year renewed the former grant and tract of Land to run
from a great pond in New Haven east meadow twent> miles North & to be thir-
teen miles in breadth luist & West which sayd tract ut land was made over unto
Theuphilns b',aton Esi\^ Mr. Stephen (loodyear & Mr. Thomas Gregson Gen-
tillman, o\ the aloresayd New Haven"' etc., etc.
This deed of 1645 is probably not now in existence as a very diligent search
has failed to reveal its whereabouts. The i;reat pond in New Haven East ^fead-
ow is of course Lake Sahonstall and twenty miles north from the "".crreat pond"
would more than cover the statement of ]\ev. jolm I)aveni)ort that New llawn
had purchased of the Indians land extending " iieare unto the Cold Spring be-
yond Pilgrims' Harbour."
In the Connecticut State Library in the Capitol at Hartford are {^reserved
many nianuscript documents. Among these archives in Vol. IV., Document 66.
of "Towns and Lands," in a petition dated October 10, 1722, and signed by sev-
eral of the inhabitants of Wallingford, praying to the general court for relief
in a certain land dispute and controversy, occurs this passage : "Humbly Shew-
eth That whereas there was a purchase of Land obtained by y® ancient Proprie-
tors of New Haven in year 1638 ; of one Mantuese an Indian Sachem w*** pur-
chase extended northward even beyond y* northemiost bound of y* w** is now y«
Township of Wallingford; and IJvery of Seisin was made to Gentlemen of
New Haven b) \ « s** Indian Sachem of this Tract of I.And being eight miles from
N haven East River eastward and extending into y« north to a certain tree marked
by said Indian sachem (w<^ tree is about a mile north of Pilgrims harbour.)"
Pilgrims Harbour was a territory of considerable extent and deeds early in the
i8th century locate lands fully half a mile north of where South Colony St. crosses
Harbor brook (just east of the office of Lyon & Billard Co.) as in Pilgrims Har-
bor. If the territory was indicated in the above petition rather than the ford or
crossing, then New Haven s purchase of the Indians must have extended to a
point a little distance north of where Colony street is crossed by the Meriden,
Waterbury and Connecticut River railroad.
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EARLY HISTORY.
39
A few words as to the extent of the territory called by the name of Mcriden.
Mr. Alfred Andrews in his Genealogy and Ecclesiastical History of New Britain^
says: •'This locality at the the 'south eastern boundary of ffarmington* called
above 'Great Swamp' had an early English name, which seems to have been aban-
doned for this of 'Great Swamp/ viz, Meridun, Mertdan or Meridon» a name
tnially given 1725 to the present town of Meriden to take the place of 'Pilgrims
Harbor.' But to settle the <|uestion of the old name to this locality I quote from
a deed of Captain Daniel Clark, of Windsor, to Jonathan Gilbert, dated 22 April.
1672, of 300 acres of land (forty of which was to be meadow, by j^rant of the
colony to S** Clark) lyin^, sit\iate, and laid out at a place called Moridan where
Jonathan Gilbert's fann is & iKjinided partly on the Mattabesick River where it
may be allowed of the town of Farmington" "This deed is in possession of the
( iilbert family living 1867 on the same farm said above to be owned by Jonathan
Gilbert previous to 1644" (1664).
Now this farm stated to be still in possession of the ( iilbert family is about
one mile northeast of the railn)ad station in Berlin on what is known as Christian
Lane. The very ancient brick house is still in existence, built probably by Kben-
ezer, son of Jonathan Gilbert, The first church of Creat Swamp parish was lo-
cated several hundred feet south of it and this whole locality was known as Great
Swamp parish. It is fully four miles north of Jonathan (Gilbert's "Meriden
Farm** as we know it. Had he been in possession of these two farms and the
land between he would have owned several thousand acres iti the vicinity when
be died in 1682. The best judjje of what he owned was Mr, Gilbert himself. In
liis will, dated 1674. he says, "T ijive to my son Nathaniel! Gilbert my farme at
.Meritlen with all the houses and land thereto bclongiuj^:, I give to my son Kben-
ezer Gilbert Si his heires forever all tlial tlircc hundred acres of land I bought
of Capt, Daniel Clark in I'annini^^ mi I'.nwnds with all priviledj^es thereunto be-
loriL^ini,' & also that purchase of land \ Ixnii^ht of .Messaccup. conMUonh' caUcd
&: known bv name of Pagon ChaumischauL:."- Tn the inventory du- Mrriden
Fann is valued al £110 and I'agon Challmi^c■llauu; at £120, This sIhjw s tliat
Mr. Gilbert owned two distinct and separate larms— one at or called Al(>ri<l>ii.
and the other on Christian Lane in Berlin where stands the brirk house built
by Ebenezer Gilbert and called by the Itiflian name. Mr. .\ndixu>. was misled bv
the fact that Daniel C lark was crnivvun^ two .separate tracts of land in the same
deed, into believing thai ImjiIi tracts were one and bore the name of Meriden,
and the nu>t,ike was a very natural one.
That X\\<< separate and distinct tracts were j^ranted to IXinirl Clark is proved
by the following extracts from the Colonial Kecords of Connecticut. On .March
1 Pw 17.
2 Dr. Trambun was unable to give tbe DWftnlns «l tbMc Indian wordn.
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40 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
13, 1661-62 "There is granted to Secy Daniel Qark & John Moor the number
of 400 acres of land upon forementioned tertnes whereof 80 acres of meadow
w*^^ is to be divided between them and if it can not be found together they have
liberty to seek it out severally." On Oct 12,. 1665, "The secretary hath granted
unto him an augmentation to his former grant to y® sum of one hundred acres
of upland and he hath liberty to take it up for his meadow the remainder
of the meadow that i? not taken up at Jonathan Gilbert's farme if it be there to
be had with an hundred acres of upland adjoyeningf and the rest to make up his
former grant at some place upon Mattabeseck River where he can find it free
from tho«e limitations inserted in his former grant." What ]\Ir. Clark did was
to take up ijo acres adjoining Mr. Gilhcrt's Mcridcn Farm and the balance else-
where. This is i)ruved by FarniinL;tnn land rcmrds Vol. I, page 50, where it
n-ads as follows: ''Land in Farininqton IxlonfjiuL; to Mr. Jonathan Gilbert &
to his heires forever in y« iuri>diclion 01 Conccticut and county of Hartford,
viz. one p'scll \\ hi( li lu bought of Captin Daniell Clark Lying and being a':>out
Cold spritig in y« roade from \Velhcr5ticId to Xew Haven containing sixe ' •
acres butiinof p'tly on Mr. Gilbords owne land given him by y® country and p lly
on coinon land to y® south, to y*' east nearc to the roade aforesaid & to y*^ west
and the north on comon land. "
**One p'sell more contayning nighne* score acres which was allso bouj^ht of
Captin Danicll Clarke lying & being about the branches of Metabesit River butting
to y® north p'tty on comon land & p'tty on p'ticuler lots. To south on p'ticuler
mens lots and to west on p*ticuler lots now belonging to farmingtowne & to y*
east on comon land belonging to Farmingto>vne."
That these tracts were not contiguous is proved by the boundaries.
To put it in modern English^Mr. Gilbert bought of Sec'y Clark 120 acres
which adjoined his Meriden farm near Cold Spring and 180 acres on the branches
of the Mattabesitt River— a separate and distinct tract — ^making 300 acres in all,
and all conveyed in the one deed which Mr. Andrews said was in the possession
of the Gilbert family living in Christian Lane in 1867.^ This shows how the con-
fusion or error arose of thinking that the name of Meriden was used to describe
the territory aftem'ards called the Great Swamp, The words Cold Spring iden-
tify the locality of the first or 120 acres for that name was used some time before
the recorded use of Meriden to describe the territory within two or three miles
of our famous sprinc rn ar the poorhouse. In the deed quoted by Mr.
Andrews the quantity rf land conveyed was mentioned as 300 acres: On
the Farmington records it is given as "sixe score acres" and "nighne
score acres"; exactly the same amount. The writer has deemed it wise
1 Ri tual form of the word on Uk' rn'Mirls,
2 The Gilbert family live tlit're uo loiii^er.
Digitized by Google
EARLY UiSiUKV.
to jjivc this explanation because it cannot be other than an error to say
that "Meriden"' ever went wandering away up into Berlin. The error is
repeated in the Memorial History of Hartford G^unty,* and Mr. Camp in his
interesting: work, the History of New Britain,^ says what is equivalent to the
same thing. As a matter of fact, Capt. Belcher did not buy Meriden Farm of
Mr. Gilbert, but of the Gilbert heirs on Sept. 6, 1686, when they sold him "Meri-
den Farme bdng partly or all neere the comon roadway between Wetherslield
and Wallingford, estimated at 550 acres/' The deed is recorded in "Colony Rec-
ords and Deeds*' in Secretary of State's office. Curiously enough, the 120 acres
adjoining, bought by Sec'y Clark went to Ebenezer Gilbert with Pagon Chaumis-
chaug and was sold to Capt. Belcher on June 18, 1700, by Ebenezer as "6 score
acrcf. being about the Cold Spring bounded partly on Belchers farm & commons
Gi* V'juth. east neare the Road west & north on commons." In the Connecticut
Colonial Records^ this distinction of the grants to Sec'y Clark being in two sep-
arate pbces is specifically mentioned as "three hundred acres of land for the same
*> be taken up partly* upon the branches of Mattabesttt River and partly
upon the road from Wethersfield to New Haven at or neare a place called Cold
Spring on the west side of a ridge of mountainous land comonly called or known
by the name of the Lamentation Hills." Although it is not distinctly stated, it
is probable that the i8d acres or ''nighne" score acres adjoined the land called
Pagon Chaumischaug bought by Mr. Gilbert of Messacup, lying in Christian
'Lane in the Great Swamp parish.
Jonathan Gilbert^ in the record just quoted, is also said to have acquired the
"native (Indian) right of the land adjoining his 470 acres, amounting in the
whole to one thousand acres." This must have been land cast of the 470 acres
and east of Colon\- road, for when Andrew Belcher was granted the land from the
cast side of the farm to the top of Lamentation Mountain in 1703, it is stated
as 280 acres only, whereas the land from the east side of Colony road to the top
of mountain would liavc been considerably more than 280 acres. Lastly when
the farm was sold by Andrew Belcher. Jr.. in 1741-2, he conveyed 670 acres to Yale
&' \orton Sz 350 acre? to Peck. Edwards & Peck, and the whole deed is of land in
Wallingford bounds and is only recorded on Wallingford land records.
1 Vol. ir., pp. 278-279.
2 P. 2".
3 Vol. IV., p. 450.
4 Ualics are not ia records.
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42
A CENTURV OP ilRRlDEN.
CHAPTER IV.
The or^in of the name of Mcriileii has for years been a subject of more or
less interest to many of the residents of this town, and several theories have been
advanced as to the derivation of the word.
One hypothesis iir^ed, and wliicli sconis to be accepted as satisfactory by many,
is that the old tavern or inn situated in that part of the town which first bore the
name was a ]ilacc of so much carousing and merriment that the house soon be-
entile known as the " Alerry-den," hence Mcriden. This attempt to ex]i!atn the
name reminds one of the effort of the school lx)y to translate the first three w*>rds
of Virpfil's Aeneid, "Arma vinimque cano," by the astounding rendering" "M'ui
witii a (1i>l: in his arms." The boy was able to advance the argument that 'Anna"'
nuan^ ■ arnis," "virum" is a man. and "cano" is much like "canis," a dog. The
advocates of this theory also thow ignorance of the character ut our first Con-
necticut settlers. A very grave and austere peo])lc they were, and had they lor
one moment suspected that a house of enteriainmenl of such repute was within
their l)or(lers. they would have considered it as the headquarters of the Devil,
and would liavc proceeded tu demolish the house and drive the proprietor out of
the ct)loiiy.
Again, it has been suggested that the name is a corruption of the word "Mer-
idian." Some time ago one of our local papers printed an extract from Bradley's
Register fur the year 1847, reading as follows:
"Its name (Merideu) is ])robably a corruption of the word Met isiiau, the town-
ship being ecjuidislaut from the two semi-capitals, Hartford antl Xew Haven—
from Hartford seventeen miles and from New Haven seventeen miles."
That meridian means "equidistant" is probably news to all our readers. As
every one knows, meridian is an astronomical or geographical term; but when
used in a non-technicat sense it indicates culmination. Moreover^ the farm to
which the name was first applied is not equidistant from Hartford and New Ha*
vcn; it is about sixteen miles from the fonner city and twenty miles from the
latter. This farm, now sometimes called the Belcher Farm, was granted to Jon«
athan Gilbert, of Hartford, Aug. 28, 1661, and a full account of it has been given
in a previous chapter. See pages 15-16.
Just when the name of Meriden was applied to the locality, we do not know.
The first recorded use of the name was in a deed of land to Edward Higfaey,
dated Oct. F4th, 1664, which has already been given in a previous chapter. It
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EARLY HISTORY.
43
is a well known fact that almost every township name in New England was taken
from England. Names of rivers, lakes, and mountains are frequently Indian in
their origin; but the names of settlements seldom have but one derivation, and
that is the mother country of the colonists. Cotton Mather says :
"For as there are few of our towns but what have tlieir names sake in Eng-
land, so the reason why most of our towns are called what they are is because
tVic chief of tlie first inliabitants would thus bear up the names of the particular
places there from whence they canie."^
Danbury, Norwich, Hartford, Windsor, Wallingford, Miltord. Stratford, Dur-
ham, and a host of others arc all familiar names on the map of Jilngland, Mcri-
tlen also appears on the map ci i .ngland. In the "History of Wallingford, A^er-
iden and Cheshire - it is stated:
"There cannot be a shadow of a doubt but that Mr. Belcher ^^xc the name,
and tliat it was taken from Meriden, Warwickshire Co., England. In the parish
church at Meriden in England are deposited the remains of the Belcher family
for nian\ generations, llic resemblance of the valley in which our town is sit-
uated, with the stone house or inn, with the town in England and otiier associa-
tions douhtless suggested to him tlie propriety of giving the name to his tract."
Dr. Perkins, in his Historical Sketches, also suggests the same derivation.
And, indeed, the inference was a natural one, and without any other facts to guide
one it would be reasonable to conclude that the matter was settled and that Meri-
den was surely called after the village of the same nnine in Warwickshire, England.
UntV)rtunately, however, the theory will not stand when a careful investiga-
tion is made. In the first place, Mr. Belcher did not name the farm. At the time
-f the first recorded use of ihe name, viz. 1664, he was a lH»y, living in Cambridge,
^iass., and it was not until 1670. at the age of 22, that he married Mr. Gilbert's
daughter, Sarah, and not until 1682 or aft-^r the death of Mr. Gilbert did he ac-
quire an interest in Meriden P'arm. Moreover, the Belcher family in question
did not come from Meriden in \\ arw ickshire. The home of the family previous
to emigration was in London and Danhnry. I'.ssex comity.'^
The writer has made a careful search in the parish register of Meriden in
Warwickshire ami not a name can ])v found iti it similar to that of any one of our
early settler' and there is not a iKleluT huritd in the parish church; and there is
no top<:>i::rapliical similarity bitween onr Meriden and the one in Warwickshire
lor the viilar'e over the water lies in a tiat valley about half a mile wide with gently
sloping bills aroimd. It is embraced in the territory of the forest of Arden, fa-
mous as one of the haunts of Robin Hood.
1 Maifnalia. Ed. 1820, Vol. 1.. p. HV,.
2 iv i.-;9-i6<:».
3 N. B. Hist, and Qen. Res., Vol. XXVII., pp. 239-240.
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
A few years ago, while reading a book called "England, Picturesque and De-
scriptive," by Joel Cook, the following singular paragraph was noticed. The
Parish Churth Raster of Dorking, Surrey Co., among other curious entries,
records the christening in 1562 of a child, whose fate is stated in these words:
"Who, scoffing at thunder, standing under a beech was stroke to death, his
clothes stinking with a sulphurous stench^ being about the age of twenty \ ears
or thereabouts, at Mereden House."
Naturally, it was at once concluded that there must be a locality near Dorking
called "Mereden." A resort to the maps failed to show such a place, but later
a careful examination of a section of the ordinance survey of Surrey Co., Eng-
land, with the aid of a strong reading glass, revealed a place about three miles
south of Dorking, called Meriden Farm. The coincidence was striking. Here
was the very name by which Mr. Gilbert*s farm was known two hundred and
thirty years ago. This English farm is in the civil parish of Dorking, and lies
in a valley of the same name ; it is not a village. It was some time before any
definite information could be gained. A search through tiie pages of Manning
& Bray*s History of Surrey furnished the following meagre facts.
'*In the Borough and Maner(sic) of Westcote is a vale called Mereden, com-
mencing between Cold Harbour and Boar Hills, in which is a Farm of the same
name belonging to Abbotts Hospital in Guildford and in a wood or coppice belong-
ing to this Farm is a spring called Meg*s Well, the water of which is of great
beauty and uncommon coldness."
The writer, when in London a few years ago, easily persuaded himself that
it was a duty that he owed to his native town to go down to Dorking and see what
sort of a place Meriden Farm was. He had previously corresponded with a Mr.
Alfred Mitchell, in whose charge was the care of this farm, and so on a beautiful
day in spring, when the hawthorn hedges were bursting into leaf and the tender
green of the English meadows was suffused with sunlight and bathed in a gentle
haze, duty and inclination, assisted by the railway train, soon carried him over the
twenty miles that separates Dorking and London, and placed him in the care of
Mr. Mitchell, The farm is a part of the large estate of Mr. Robert Barclay, a
wealthy London brewer, and Mr. Mitchell, his father and grandfather have been
faithful stewards of the property of the Barclay family during nearly a hundred
years; and singularly enough his aunt, Mrs. Arrowsmith (since deceased) was
an inmate of the Curtis Home in Meriden, Connecticut, and was bom on Mr.
Barclay's estate. This fact and his natural courtesy led Mr. Mitchell to do every-
thing in his power to assist to a thorough acc|itaintancc with Meriden Farm, and
a tramp over the hills and through the vale to Cold Harbor just below, gave one a
fair knowledge of the lay of the land and the appearance f^f the country. The
topography is very similar to the valley in which lies our Meriden Farm, only it
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iiAKLY HiSTUKV.
45
is on a smaller scale, and the hilb are not so grand and rugged as Lamentation Mt
and Hanging Hills, This valley in England is called by many the most beauti-
ful in Surrey Co. It lies between panUd ranges of hills running north and
south, that on the west rising gradually to an elevation of nearly one thousand
feet. From its sununit can be had a view over a beautiful country extending to
the sea twenty miles away. It is called Leith Hill. There are two stone cottages
in the valley which is well wooded and now used as a game preserve. A mile to
the south beyond Leith Hill lies the hamlet of Cold Harbor. Less than a mile to
the north lies Wotton House» a fine old estate once the home of John Evelyn, the
celebrated botanist and diarist of the reign of Charles II. Here he passed many
years of his life and one of his favorite walks was through Menden Farm to the
top of Leith Hill. The estate is still in possession of the Evelyn family. Near
the entrance to the vale as one comes from Dorking is a small el^nt mansion
once the property of Daniel Malthus, and here was bom and lived Thomas Robert
Malthus, the scientific expounder of the principals of population, and freqitently
called Population Malthus. In the woods on. the side of the hill is a spring that
is celebrated the country round on account of the great coldness of the water.
It is called M^'s well, but this is a comparatively recent name as time is G0unte«l
in England; a century and a half ago it was one of the haunts of a witch-likc
creature and many curious l^ends are told of the woman until like Norna in
Scott's Pirate the character of Meg is more mythical than real. The Vale of
Meriden in Dorking cannot boast of a single historical event. During all the
centuries it has rested in peaceful loveliness; for a long time the farm was in
the possession of Abbott's Hospital in Guildford, not many miles away, an endow-
ment gift from Archbishq) Abbott, who founded the institution. But about five
years ago it was bought by Mr. Barclay whose estate quite surrounded it. Dork-
ing itself has had nearly as quiet an existence as the Farm of Meriden and we
should hardly know of it were it not for the peculiar breed of poultry with five
claws which originated here, and that Dickens chose it as the scene of some of
the adventures of the immortal Weller family. Here was located the "Markis of
Granby" where Mr. Weller, Sr., lived and smoked his pipe and practiced patience,
while the "Shepherd" imbibed hot pineapple rum and water until Tony Weller
could stand if no longer and the Rev. Stiggins was ignominously kicked out and
(lucked in the horse trough in front of the inn ; and here the father imparted to
Samivel the oracular information that "Vidth and Visdom alvays grows topfc tlu r.'*
About three miles beyond Cold Harbor lies the parish of Ockley. The Rev. Henry
Whitfield, who with his flock settled the town of Guilford, Conn., was from 1618
tn 1638 rector of this |>nri^li. He was, of course, a clergyman of tlu- Church of
England at that time, but he had pronounced Puritan sNmpathies that finally in-
duced him to leave the church and join the great Puritan migration across the
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A CENTURY OF MBRtD£N.
ocean. During his ministry in Ckkle} his home was a place of refuge for non-
conformists in their trials and tribulations. The Rev. John Davenport of New
Haven, the Kev. Thomas Hooker, of Hartford, and others frequently found
refuge in his rectory,^ and two of Mr. Whitfield's parishioners in Ockley came
with him to Guilford, Conn., and many of his flock in this country were from
Surrey Co., England. With the many striking resemblances between Meriden
Farm, lying between Lamentation Mt. and Hanging Hills, and Meriden Farm in
Surrey Co., England, does it take very much imagination to believe that some one
of these men saw the likeness and gave the name to our farm? Both farms lie in
pronounced valleys. In both cases the name was that of a farm and not of a town ;
each valley has a spring of uncommon coldness ; each valley is screened by a lofty
hill whence may be had a glimpse of the sea about twenty miles away. Another
point of resemblance is that each has at the entrance to the valley a harbor. Ours
is called Pilgrims' Harbor ; the one in Surrey Co, is called Cold Harbor. Now it
is a sing^ular fact that these names are interchangeable. They both mean the
same thing. The Century Dictionary gives the definition of Cold Harbor as "a
protection at a wayside for travelers who arc benighted or benumbed with cold."
The term is not an imcommon one in England. Now as to the origin of the name
of our Pilgrim Harbor, one thing is absolutely sure and certain — it was not so
called because the regicides or judges of King Charles T. found protection and
>lulter on the banks of our stream when pursued by the king's officers. The
letter from John Davenport to (lovernor Wiiithrop dated 30th day of 8th month.
i^Tio, and printed on page 37 of this iKJok, proves Hiis conclusively, for at that
date the regicides had not left I'nston and did not cnmc tn Connecticut until the
follow iiii; sjiriiiL:.- Moreover it will be observed that the name of Pilgrims Har-
bor was well known at the date of this letter. Tt was written to a man in Hart-
ford by a \ew TIavcii man and there is no aitenipl 10 explain its location, so that
the name nnisl bavc lieen in use for some lime. Dr. Ezra Stiles, president <'t
^'ale College lor many years, born 1/2/ and died 17<X=;, was responsible either
f^>r the preservation or birth of ihis tradition- ami it is one of those stories that
will never die no mailer bow often it is shown to be entirely nn«^npported hy fact•^.
SingnlarK rnougb Dr. Stiles' diary, lately publishe'l. gives a clue tu the verv fact
that wc are louking for. Under date May 7. 1793, be says "Rode to Meriden and
loged at Capt. Webb's, aet wife 82": on the 8th follows, "Tra-
dilion at Meriden and about here ( llarliurd ) i'ilj;run's Harbor, so
named from two men stopt here till they could make a float, .\fter-
wards Public built a shed for Pilgrims caught here by high Freshes.
1 St«lner'« Hist, of Guilford. Cdhii.. p. 16.
2 Pnirrp.r'ft uiki of .New BuKlutid. Vol II.. p. 40d. or aoY otb«r bbtory treating of tbe regicides.
A SUle» Hisl. of the Three Judgei'. p. JOS.
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HISTORY.
47
Mr. Meriain' aet say 35 lives at the Bridge — intelligent — tells the common story
— 2 pilgrims — bi:t nothg of Regicides — rather persons travellg fr. X. H. to Hart-
fd'.*' The next year (1794.) Dr. Stiles' History of the Thrtc Judges was pub-
lished and so notwithstanding the information he had picked up in Meriden and
Hartford^ he started this stor>' about the Regicides and Pilgrhns Harbor Brook —
a story that will always have perennial youth and like the brook will go on for*
ever. Dr. Stiles tdts the story in this way: ''there is a tradition of their mak-
ing a lodgment at Pilgrims Harbor, so called from them, being twenty miles from
N'ew Haven at a place since called Meriden, half way between New Haven and
Hartford.*' The Rev. Mr. Perkins, in his Historical Sketches, repeats the story
but Dr. Davis in his History of Wallingford shows that there can be no truth
to the tradition. Now note the similarity of the meaning of Cold Harbor as given
in the Century Dictionary and that of Pilgrims Harbor as found existing in Mer-
iden over a hundred years ago and stated in Dr. Stiles' dtar>'. They both mean
a refuge for travelers by the wayside — not an inn or a tavern, but simply a sheU
ter. There must have been other places of like character in Connecticut during
those days of sparsely settled country, but to one only was the name of Pilgrims
Harbor given. So is it not fair for the sake of argument to admit that the nam-
ing of Pilgrims Harbor was, like the naming of Hartford or Windsor-— a calling
of localities by the old names of the mother country, and that the original form was
Cold Harbor but that it was changed to Pilgrims Harbor to avoid confusion with
Cold Spring only a couple of miles away?
From a topographical point of view there are again striking coincidences.
Cold Harbor, in Surrey Co., lies not far from the entrance to the vale in which is
nestled Meriden Farm. Pilgrims Harbor here is not far from the entrance to the
valley in which lies our Meriden Farm. Back of Cold Harbor in Surrey Co. to
the northwcist is an escarpment or steep hill very like the sudden rise to the north-
west that one would observe standing at the corner of Colony and Main streets
if the Meriden House and other buildings did not hide the view of the elevation
crowned by Prospect and Mt. Pleasant streets and Washington Heights. Two
or three miles to the west we see the heights of West Peak range ; a mile or two
to the west of Cold Harbor is the elevation known as Leith Hill. Besides these
remarkable coincidences of names and topc^raphy we have learned that a num-
^ er of people in this colony had lived or visited near Cold Harbor and Meriden
I arm in Surrey Co. To the names of Thomas Hooker. John Davenport and
1 lenry Whitfield, wc may perhaps add the name of Edward Higbce, whose Indian
<leed. printed or. pages 17-18 of this book, contains the first recorded use of the
word Meriden in this colony. The records of the parish church in Dorking show
I BenJuniD Merriam. bob ot lieojaiiilu Merriam. wbo di«d In lb07. and owned the Meriden llou^e
roriKr Md fvt rid« of Colonr Mrwi aiao. HIb hoUM rtood on Rtte ot the Meriden Hott«e.
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
that in 1602 a John Highey was livii^ near that town. Savage, in his genealogi-
cal dictionary, suggests that Edward Higbee was the son of a John Higbee. Of
course this docs not prove that the two men named John Higbee were one and the
same person, but in this first recorded use of the word, Meriden, it is spelled Mer-
ideen, which denotes an intimate acquaintance with the correct and early si>eU-
ing, as will be seen later, at a time when others in the colony were writing it Mer-
idin, Meridan and even Meridon. It is very likely that this Indian deed was
drawn up by Higbee. Mr. Gilbert in his will dated 1676, written by himself»
wrote the word Meridin — that is he spelled it as he thought it was pronounced.
Mr. Gilbert was not from Surrey Co. in all probability. With so many individuals
in this colony who were acquainted with this particular locality in Surrey Co. it
is not difficult to believe that the resemblance to be seen in Connecticut on the
highway between Hartford and New TTavcn was sooner or later recognized.
\ecessarily the question is incapal)le of an al)?;olnte solution. But th'- coin-
cidences in natnes and topography is remarkable and one may surely be par-
doned for believing or trying^ to believe that our Meriden Farm took its name from
Meriden Farm, Surrey Co., I-Lni^land. It is a curious fact that tlie country folk
who live around our Fne^lish namesake, display the same tendency to explain
the origin of the name by its evident sound as tlieir Yankee cousins in Connecticut.
The story g-oes that 200 or 300 years ago there was a cave in the vicinity where
smugglers were in the habit of resorting with their ill t^otteu guods to make a
fair division and to celebrate tbeir exploits by a carousal and hilarious merry-
making— hence Merry-den. When Mr. Barclay bought the farm he acquired the
old deeds that went with the property and the earliest one was dated in the twelfth
century, over seven hundred years ago and the form of the name was then Mer-
rideen.
And now it is time to ask the (jucstion. What does *Meriden* mean? What
is the derivation of the word? Will etymology teach us tts primitive signification?
The naming of towns and localities in England was an entirely different pro-
cess from that employed in New England. Here, the forefathers borrowed the
names of Indians, or else they endeavored to quiet the longings of their home-
sick hearts by using the words made familiar to them in the Mother Country.
In England, however, names of places were not borrowed ; they were indigenous,
and grew up with the people, so to speak. In every case a name embodies some
local peculiarity of physical aspect, or perpetuates some historical fact. DeQuincy
says* "they are not inventions of any active faculty, but were passive depositions
from a real impression upon the mind." Dean Trench has written of words as
"fossil poetry'* and "fossil history," and the comparison is fitting. Almost ever>'
town name in England illustrates this simile ; thus, Boston, in Lincolnshire, was
1 Essay on Style,
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EARLY HISTORY.
49
anciently ••liotulfeston/' or "Botulphs town," preserving: the fact that a monastery
was built by him in 654, around which a town grew up ; Oxford was "Oxenford,"
and was just what the name implies; Windsor, centuries ago was "Windelsora,"
frcm early English "Windcl," to wind and '*ora," a shore.— that is, a winding
shore, referring to the course of the Thames at thnt point ; Rochester was ages
air^ "Hrote," a man's name, and "ceaster," a fortified place, — i. e., "Hrofeceastcr" ;
VVallingford. one rif tlu most ancient towns in England, on the Thames a little
below Oxtor.l. was by the Britons called "Guallhen," that is "Old Fort;" the Sax-
ons added "ford" to it on account of the crossing of the Thames at that place* and
it became "Guallhcnfordc." that is, the Crossing by the Old Fort ; but the curious
lingTjal inclination of tlie Saxons to change a **g" of a Romance tongue to a **w"
(as perhaps best illustrated in the French "Guillaume" which became ''William" in
the Saxon mruith). corrupted the word to "Wallengaforde," which easily bcciine
the modern \\ .illingford.' And the illustrations might be extended indefinitely.
^ The word "Meriden" is no exception to this general rule, and from it may
be extracted a little fossil poetry. The prefix, Meri, Merri or Mere is imdouhtedly
a corruption of Mt rry or Merrie, The definition of "Merry" as used to-day is
sportive, playful, or mirtlu'iil, but its early meaning was decidedly different. Per-
haps the host illusiration of tlic distinction will be found in the following examples:
In the J'snhcr of tlic I'ook of CVunmon Prayt-r ( wliich is the .same as the Book
of Psalms in the Great Hible of Henry \Til., published about I54l)> the second
verse of the Sist Psalm reads as follows:
"Take the psalm, bring hitlvr the tabret, the merry harj) with the lute";
but in the Bible of 1611, commonly known as the King James Version, the same
verse is as follows :
"Take a psalm and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltry,"
Dnring the time between the two translations, the character of "merry" has changed
ami no l<)nL,^cr means "pleasant.*'
iVnother example ; an early English song runs thus :
**Aferry sung the monks within Ely
That Cnute King rowed thereby ;
Row Knights near the land
And hear we these monks' song"
A Latin translation of this sojig made at about the sante date renders "Merry"
as "dulce." and the modern translation of Mulee " is umjuestionably "sweetly."
In 1528 Sir Thomas More wrote his wile as follows:
"I pray you be with my children and your household merry in God." He un-
doubtedly wished her to understand him as bidding her be cheerful. .\o one
1 C«»4Hii'a Britannia* Gtlwon'* edition, 1686, p. 140.
4
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5"
A CliNTUKV OF MERIOEX.
would for an instant think he wished her to be sportive or gay or mirtlilul in Ck)d.
It is difficult to realize to how great an extent our language has changed dur-
ing the last four or five centuries. Had a man of the time of Chaucer been
asked to describe a sweet and amiable girl, he would doubtless have spoken of her
as a '"Merry Wench/' What self-respecting young inatd of to-day would submit
to such a classification? Illustrations might be added indefinitely, but enough
have been employed to demonstrate that the early meaning of ''Merry'' or "Merrie"
was cheerful, sweet or pleasant.
The suffix "den" is very common in Surrey, and, indeed, in all parts of £ng«
land. Not far from the Vale of Meriden are Oakdeane, Morden and Cotmanden.
A beautiful country seat near Dorking was called, in the time of John Evelyn, Dip-
den, but the present proprietor has revived the ancient form of the name, and it
is now Deepdene. The place is appropriately named, for it is surrounded by an
amphitheatre of hills. This suffix "den" was anciently dene, or dean, and was the
early English term for valley, or vale.
With the. information we now have, what does Meriden mean? "Meri" pleas-
ant, "den" vale or valley ; that is. Pleasant Valley.
There were, or are, several places of this same name in England. In the time
of Edward I., i. e. the 13th century, there was a village in Shropshire called
"Meryden."^ Camden, in his "liritannia" written in the i6th century, mentions
a village called "Merival," north of Coventry. The same book speaks of "Meri-
field" as a "delightful meadow." There is to-day a "Merrivale" in Devonshire.
Sir Wm. Dnp:<^'il<^. >" his Anti(]uities of Warwickshire, states that Meriden, near
Coventry, is derived from Mire-dene, meaning a muddy valley. Even that fonn
would not prove his definition correct, for one of the early forms of "merrie"
was "mirie" or "myrie." We know, however, that etymology in the 17th century
was anything but a science, an<l we find that long l>eforc his book was written
the place was recorded as "Mcryden." and every one who has visited the place
describes it as a pleasant valley.- Human nature is always the same, and we still
find evidences of this desire to describe one's residence as attractive. \ crniont.
Connecticut, New York. New jersey, Pennsylvania, and many other states, each
has its Pleasant X'alley which may he found on the map. Did we still use the
primitive language of onr remntr forefathers, these places would all he Meridens
or Merivals. We have learneil th.it "Meriden is the loveliest vale in Snrrev
and Surrey is one of the fairest ui all the counties of England, full of picturesijue
hills and dales. Have we not, then, extracted the fossil poetry from "Meriden/*
and may we not safelv conclude that it means Pleasant Valley?
1 Colleclauea Toponruphlca ot Genealoglca, Vol. I., p.
2 The writer liax a niap printed in (he 18ih century, In which the name nppenrs m Meredmi, the
MBte (orm an w« Sod first recorded for Surrey.
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EARLY HISTORY.
51
It may be urged that after all it is not a nmttcr of great iiionicnt that we
should know the orig-in of the name of Alericleii. The writer as gracefully as
possible acknowledges the force of the criticism. The only apology he has to of-
fer for the .jrreat length to which this chapter has grown is that he is a son of the
soil, and anything that relates to the early history of Meriden appeals to a particu-
larly susceptible part of liis mental makeup.
Note— Siaee this «!ketcb was put in print, the writer bin* come Into poRHCHsion of a little book en-
titled -Notes on Staflordshire Place Niinies. * by W. H. Duifcnan, publiithed In L<ondoa, 1802. The
preface states that Rev. Walter William Skeat (professor of Anglo-Saxon In CambridKc untveralty aod
probably the greatest IItIbb aviliorltr OD Early Engllnh) and Mr. W. H. Stevenson. Fellow of Exeter
College. Oxford, are Id a measar* sponsors for the iicholar»hlp of Ui« UUte book« for tbelr adrice and
•uggestions have been conatanttjr aoatht and Riven. The arrangement of the work in that of a diction-
ary, and the author has this to «ay under the word '"Merrldale, an aiuitMit csintf- <tf 1 i-a ni. f. W. nf
Wolrerhampton. The mediaeral forms are Muridene, Meriden, In Warwickshire was ilyridvuc. (Prob-
abljr A. S. if yrw/e, pleasant, frweet, dellghtfal Meny, and Oene valley. This wonld account tor th« 1 la
Muridene, w. H. s.)" An old nuaiiing nf Mt-rry. was as stated, llerry/ England: the 'MerrjT month of
May.' mean sweet, pleasant, not Jocund or mirthful."
The InltlalH W. H. 8. Indicate that the brackets enclose the note of W. H. Stevenson.
Her" then w.- liavf aiioth'-r form of Meriden eiiilhiK Iti "ilah" that has not bc»cn mfntloned in the
fbresotns paxcs, and also aa good an endorsement as could be asked, for the theory that the writer of
«hls chapter advmnfwa, vtz. that the ancient meaning of Meriden wa« pleasant valley.
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A CENTURY OF MESIDEN.
CHAPTER V.
The sror\ of Meridcn I'anii lias now been told and its romantic chapter is
closed, for liic last of the Uclchers lias shaken its dust from his feet and hence-
forth its annals deal only with the qniet and uneventful life ot laniiHes C(.)nipelled
to get their livin^^ from its soil hy the sweat of their brows and an unremitting
stnigg^le with the rugged conditions of rural life in New England during the
eighteenth century. To go back in imagination to those days of simple living
when nature wax almost man's master. in>tead of servant; to picture to ourselves
the isulaiiun of lite, the lack of conmuniication with the outside world, the dearth
of incident except the grinding ceaseless toil rctiuired to subdue a couiury of un-
limited forests and unknown possibilities, require a power that no one possesses
except in a limited degree. ,
Life could not have been attractive Iruni our point of view. There were few
amusements and scarcely any inventions to add to the comforts of life, and the
grinding toil and struggle with a barren soil amid rocky hills left little chance to
cultivate the amenities of social intercourse.
"The machinery- of production showed no radical difference from that famil>
iar to ages long past. The Saxon families of the eighth century enjoyed most
of the comforts known to Saxon families of the eighteenth century."^ ,
Life under such conditions is, to us of the twentieth century, almost incon-
ceivable. But the result, however, was a race of men and women of rugged
constitution, and indomitable will; this combination influenced by the religious
training and belief to which they were accustomed produced a condition of life
with which we are utterly out of sympathy. They cannot have been an agreeable
people and many doubtless would be ready to subscribe to the sentiment 'Xet us
thank God for having given us such ancestors; and let each successive genera-
tion thank Him not less fervently for being one step from them in the march of
ages."
The conditions for telling the story of Meriden are not the most felicitous,
for imtil 1806, this territory was only a suburb to Wallingford, second even to
Cheshire, which was made a separate township in 1780, twenty-six years earlier
than our successful attempt to go without leading strings.
It is not proposed to tell the story of Wallingford except so far as may be ab«
solutely essential to the prefer understanding of events in the. parish of Meriden.
1 Hcory Adams ii\H. ot V. B., Vol. I., p. 16.
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EAKLV iilSiORY.
53
The colony of New Haven was absorbed by that of Connecticut in 1665,
and, ahhough the attempt was made to heal the wounded sensibilities of the peo-
ple by making New Haven twin capital with Hartford, the result was received
by many of the inhabitants with disgust, and good John Davenport left the town
m sorrow and took up his residence in Boston. ,
By 1669 many of the first settlers of New Haven were dead and a new gen-
eration had grown up. In that year began the movement which resulted in the
settlement of Wallingford, and in 1670 the foundations had been laid and a new
town had been bom in the colony. ,
At a court of election held at Hartford May lath, 1670, the following vote
was passed: "This court haveing been moved to state the bownds of the New Vil-
lage that is settled upon the playne as you goe to New Haven, doe grant that their
bownds shall com from the Brook at the south end of the great playne to the
northward tenn miles; and from the said [Brook] sowthward to Brandford
bownds, and on each side the river five miles ; that is five miles on the east side
and five miles on the west side the river, provided that the sayd village be car-
ryed on and made a plantation w^^out any relation or subordination to any other
towne and provided the bownds hereby granted to the sayd village doe not preju*
dice any bownds formerly granted to any plantation or perticuler person, or doe
not extend to the north any further then wh[ere] the old road to New Haven
goeth over Pilgrimes Harbour. The Court orders that the plantation on the playne
in the Road to New Haven, be called Wallingford."
Thus at the very birth of Wallingford the old limitation of the northern
boundary by the Pilgrims' Harbor ford comes up ; the same limitation which had
been a bone of contention between New Haven and Connecticut Colonies ten
years previously. It is difficult to understand why Wallingford should not have
been allowed to extend its bounds up to those of Farmington for this limitation
left a territory three miles wide, which was not a part of any township. ,
The names of those who subscribed to the plantation agreement of Walling-
ford are as follows :
Samuel Street
Nathaniel Merriman
Abraham Dowlittle
William Johnson
Benjamin Lewis
Sami Whitehead
Eliasaph Preston
Eleazer Holt
Samuel Andrews
Daniel Sherman
Sannicl Munson
John Harriman
John Mosse
Jeremiah How
Daniel Hogge
Thomas Hall
Thomas Curtis
John Beech
Jehiel Preston
Samuel Hall
I' Raster Peck
Samuel Potter
John Peck
Francis Ileaton
John Brockett
2^chariah How
John Miles
Nathaniel How
Thomas Yale
John Ives
John Hall
Joseph Ives
Joseph I'lcnham
Simon Tuttlc
Samuel Browne
Samuel Cook
Samuel Miles
Nathan Andrews
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54 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
All these men with the exception of Thomas Curtis, Thomas Beach and Ben-
jamin Lewis (who were from Stratford) were residents of New Haven. This
shows what a distinctively New Haven movement was the settlement of Wal-
lingford and possibly indicates why the court of election inserted in the vote of
May I2th, the precautionary clause "provided that the sayd village be carryed on
and made a plantation w'^'^out any relation or subordination to any other towne,**
and explains why it was first proposed to call the new settlement New Haven
villa.c:c.
But when, in tlie same year, the house lots were assigned, the names of sev-
eral in the previous list are missing and the record of assignment reads as fol-
lows :
A record of y® house lots in y^ town of Wallingford as they were first sit-
uated upon y** hill on y*^ east side of y^ Great Playne commonly called Xew Ha-
ven playne and of y** order of place and quantity of acres to each person allotted
for his house lot by order after some land was left for other use, y® first
house lot for John Brockett Senior 6 acres; y* 2*' for John Mosse Senior 6 acres:
next to that a piece of land was left for a planting field. Next to that y® 3'"'^
house lot for Abraham Dowlittle Senior 6 acres; 4th house lot for Daniel Sher-
man 6 acres 5^^ house lot for James Eaton :^ y^ 6^'' house lot for Samuel Street
6 acres. These 6 lots having some land being at y*^' liuI of y™ towards Whar-
tons Brook it is ajjreed by y® Comitte y* it be distri1)utcd to y® aforesaid persons
as a part of tlu ir other outlands. hiewaN < xr* ptcd. Xcxt to y^ aforesaid 6 house
lots it is ordert'd l>y y® aforesaid first coniitte y^ llicrc shall be a hieway cross y^
hill from cast to west of 6 rods broad and from these a long hieway of 6 ro<U
broad on to[) y*^ hill to run northward and on each side of it two ranges of li< >Hse
lots at 6 acres to a lot, one range on y® one side eastward and one range on n*^
other side westward and these lots to be distributed to i)ersons as follows : y*'
first lot on y^ east side and y* first lot on y* west side of y*^ long hieway ; and <m
y^ north side of \^ afurcsaiil hieway : each of y™ (> acres is by s** commite granted
to \ath' Mcrriman .Senior: y« one () acres for hi> house lot y*^ other 6 acres « >n
other side with respect tu other outlands as tn y' other persons before mentioned.
Next to these on y^ east side of y® afores** lonj^'^ hieway y^ 2^ house lots to Sam*
Cooke j^^*^ to Sam' Hall 4th to Joseph i'.enhani 5*'^ to John Hall. At y end of
these on y* west side of y® aforesaid long hieway 2^ Xath' ^lerriman Jr. 3"^** to
Sam' Munson 4th to 5^'^ y^ ministry.
a hieway a hieway
on y^' east side on y*^ west side
6 Eleazur Peck 6 John Harriman
7 Samuel l*otter 7 Samuel Brown
8 Nathaniel How 8 Nathan Andrews
1 Perhaps HeatoD.
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EARLY HISTORY.
55
9
Zachanah How
9
Samuel Andrews
lO
Joseph £iv€S
lO
John Miles
r f
tt nicvvtfj
a niewav
r
13
John Mix
12
John Eives
Daniel Hopper
13
Simon Tuttle
M
Samuel Thoip
t4
Thomas Curtis
15
Thomas Hat)
15
Samuel Royce
i6
David Tuttic
i6
Thomas Yale
a hie\va>
a hicway
»7
Xelu tiiiah Roycc .
>7
Xathanii'I Royct*
i8
Samuel Kovce
i8
llcnjaniin Lewis
Throiis:h the courtesy of Rev. J, E. Wildnian. of Wallingford. a niaj) of the
village is here inserted. This map is a copy, not a facsimile, of a verj- ancient one
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S6
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
broiigfht to Mr. Joseph P. Bcacli. of Cheshire, by Elihu Yale, in 1852, to he trans-
ferred to stone and lithographed. Conseqnently the handwriting is Mr. Beacli'-.
The two names, Jo. Lines and John Lines should have been Jo. Eives and John
Eives. The middle name of Mr. Beach is Perkins, under which name he \vri>
then running his lithog^raphing establishment in New York City. The orig^inal
map has disappeared from the office of the town clerk in Wallingiord. James
Eaton, Daniel Sherman and David Tultle did not finally join the plantation, their
lots being taketi bv John Beach, Elisaph Preston and Eleazer Holt respective]) .
Mr. Beach thinks lIic words "Old Colony road." "long highway."' "cross highway
the first laid out," "common fields," ''wilderness" and "planting tield," etc., were
on the original map, but to the writer this seems <l(>nl)tful.
So the town began w ith all the planters settled in a compact little village with
home lots of six acres each, arranged on a street at the top of the hill — the pres-
ent Main street. At the south end were grouped the elderly men. while at the
northern end were yc)ung men, several nut then married. W e can imagine what
a busy community it nuist have been for some time: the building of houses, the
laying out ut streets, the clearing away of forests, the breaking of virgin soil
under the plow, must have kept every member of the lillle town thoroughly oc-
cupied. Material of all kinds and household furniture and supplies were large-
ly brought from New Haven in boats, for at this period the Quinnipiac river con-
tained much more water than at present, as we will learn by subsequent records.
The first houses built were probably of very rude construction for none of this
period have survived the destructive hand of time, while a number built fifty
years later are still in very good condition and seem capable of lasting many
years.
The town government having been organized, the home lots assigned and
the houses built, the next question to engage the attention of the people was the
distribution and division of lands for farms. The whole community was agri-
cultural in its pursuits and the only source of wealth was the produce of the
farms. The rank of a man in the distributions was proportioned on what he
was able to pay in taxes, and divisions were made in lots or multiples of four, six
and eight acres. Naturally, the older men were able to pay larger rates than the
younger, and generally it will be found that those who received the largest al-
lotments of land were the elder men of the town. These divisions of land re-
mind one of the methods of a modern business corporation in distributing its
surplus earnings among its stockholders. After the first division which assig^ned
lands on the banks of New Haven East (now Quinnipiac) river, the planters
seem to have been privileged to take up their allotments of land where they
pleased providing they did not conflict with any previous grants or reservations :
and the rights seem to have been inherited by descendants of the first planters in
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EARLY HISTORY.
57
addition to those they held as living inhabitants or land owners : so that frequently
these inherited rights were sold to newcomers by those who had removed from
the town. In other words, the original corporation of the town was kept alive
by inheritance until all the vacant or unoccupied lands had been distributed, and
a separate ledger or "original proprietors* book*' was kept which gave a strict
account of all such transactions. But no land owner was allowed to sell his
land or future rights to a stranger f ntil the character of the new comer had been
thoroughly looked Into and approved in town meeting. A man had the right to
join the higher grade and receive a larger allotment of land by expressing his
willingness to pay a bigger tax. On May 22, 1678, it was voted in town meet-
ing that "a man of lower rank may take a higher rank by payinj? rates accord-
ini,^^' for the future, viz. : 20 shillings a >ear for 7 years provided they decide
before next town meeting which if they do not 'then ye town will looke att them-
selves att liberty whether they will grant it or not'." The rate of taxes paid by
those of the highest were double those of the lowest rank and one-third more than
those of the middle rank and divisions of lands were based on these proportions.
Frequently assignments of lands were made to persons who had in< »\ cd to other
towns, because they were descendants of the "ancient" or first planters. Some-
times lands were granted to particular individuals for meritorious service; as,
for instance, service in wars ; in other words, a pension. This was a cheap way
to confer a gift that cost the giver little, and yet was of value to the recipient.
Allotments were made to the minister simply because he was the minister. This
added considerable to his income beyond what he received amnially frotri liis flock.
This methcKl of flivi'ling lands seems to have been ,i,a'neral througiiout the colony
of Connecticut. 1 he following;; vote is illnminatiniL: and interesting:
"At a town metting in Wallingford lebruary y® 12 1712 X'oatcd in town
melting; that y^ town look upon y® several parsons whos names are nprm record
in several rank viz first 2'^ and 3''^ rank thair hairs & assigns reeordetl in Ranks
and onkr in y«* year i(»72 are y® sole propriitt >rs of all y'' undivided Lands in
^^'a!lingfor<l to^^ether with such other })arsi)ns as have formerly by y^' towns
I.iave Sc C'ln^rnt enmc into town one or other of these Ranks menlioncd \u v®
ro' i:n of >un(lr\ ])arsons recorded in y^ above s'' ranks that went awav inrni y®
town & lost \ *■ lots they had taken up: and tharupon y^ j>roprieiors are to take
v*^ best mctluHls they ean in settling & securintr the titels (*\ all those parsons that
I'ornierly obtained grants or divitions of land from \ '' tow n so that they may niver
be molested and Disturbed in y® possession of such lands when ever such parsons
dcsir it."
Tlie orc:anization of the "Ancient Proprietors" was kept alive luiiil the year
1803 when it formally released to the town ail inicrest, right and title to the un-
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58
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
divided lands, and then ceased to exist. The date was April 25. Probably aU
the land had been, by that time, distributed.
'"Race suicide" was not popular in those days in Wallingford, or elsewhere,
and the record of vital statistics teem with the entries of births and marriages,
and a family with ten children was only moderately large. Naturally the ques-
tion of farms for the support of the present and the coming generations was onr
to engage the attention of the town, and the allotments of lands soon began to
be taken up in what is now Meriden ; and Cheshire also, for at that time, Wal-
lingford bounds stretched not only as far north as where Colon}' street crosses
Harbor Brook but extended away over into Prospect on the west, so that more
than the whole of modern Cheshire was included in the township.
The first entry on the town records that refers to the territory of Meriden is
a vote passed at a town meeting held Sept. 10, 1677, reading as follows : **That
every planter now in seizin shall have according to their ranks 4 acres, 3 acres.
2 acres, of the choice land upon the river hopp ground land beginning at Pil-
grims Ilarkmr and what that place doth not afford they are to please themselves
elscwheare/' On Nov. 17, 1679, the record rcSids "Town grant to Nath^ Roycc,
David Hall, Thomas Hall, Daniel Mix and Joseph Holt each 3 acres of land ly-
ing on east side of meadow called Dogs Misery by the southward branch of Pil-
grims Harbor brook." At a meeting held Nov. 24, 1679, it was "granted to
Nehemiah Royce, Isaac Curtis each 3 acres and Nathaniel How and Isaac Royce
each 2 acres and all at dogs misery."
Tho r|uestion arises, where is Dogs' Misery? It is in the extreme eastern part
of .Meriden, south of the Middletown road and half a mile west of Black Pond
In going north on Paddock Ave., after passing the home of Rollin S. Ives, one
comes to a road turning to the right and running northeast.^ This grass-^rowii
road is still called Misery Bar road and runs through the very heart of Doi:>'
Misery, a swamp even to this day, almost impenetrable with its growth of alders,
briars, brambles, and trees. Perhaps not so swampy as it once was, but still aa
extremely unpleasant |)hice for a woodland walk. The southern branch of Vi-
grims' Harbor brook flowing north from h'oster's pond passes through tliis
swanii>. Tlie eastern branch flows from Black pond and joins the southern
branch at Baldwin'? pond. There is a tradition that when the country was fivri
explored this swamp was under water because of the dains that had been btu.i
by the beavers. I he story goes that alter the beavers were all killed the dat- n
were destroyed and the territory then became a hideous swamp, and a rrfuc'
for wild animals when pursued by men and dogs. Xo furtlur explanation < !
the reason for the name is needed. Black pontl was also a famous place fur
beavers. Mr. Erwin Beardsley, who lives in the old Crocker place on the Mid-*
1 The Meriden dlrvctory hw a map which ''liidteateft rural strcetR and taneit
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EARLY HISTORY.
59
dletown turnpike, almost at the Middlctown line, liad occasion when a young
man, to work on the shore of the pond and found in the black nnick many short
logs or heavy sticks still preserving the niark> of the teeth of the beavers. Mr.
Perkins also speaks of the beaver-gnawed logs in his Historical Sketches.^ As
already noted the whole territory of Meriden was famous for its game and was
used by the Indians as a hunting ground. Many localities still preserve names
indicative of this fact. Thus we have Cat Hole, in the northwestt r!! part of the
town; Cat Swamp, south of the junction of Charles street and Parker avenue;
Deer Hill, now called Meeting House or Buckwheat Hill ; Beaver Dam Brook, flow-
ing south from the swamp north of the state fair prnunds and also draining the
swanip north of Kensington avenue and west of the railroad track ; this swamp
was once known as Wolf Swamp. Beaver Dam Brook is now usually called Sodom
and runs under the W'aterbury railroad bridge on West Main street. Then there
was Cat Swamp on the road to Southington, and Beaver Pond, adjoining the
Olcl Fly, on the borders of Berlin. But it was not for game that Meriden's early
settlers desired these lots in the vicinity of Dogs' Misery. They seem to have
been considered very choice and valuable bits of real estate and were only distrib-
ntcd in lots of two, three or Inur acres and were callerl "hopp lots." Every one of
the planters had his *'liopp lot" eitlier in the neighborhood of Dogs' Misery or in
the lowland liordering Hnrbor brook, .south of West Main >trcct, all the way to
the Qiiinnipiac river. And on Wharton's bruuk and on otlu r brcwks in Walling-
I'ord there were "hopp" lots also. Mr. iVrkins. so often (juoted. savs: **This 'hopp
crronnd land' was that which produced the material for makini; hoops |ho|)ps].
Such land. llKuit:Ii swampy, was then the most valuable in the town, i-'or in the
deartli c>i a circulating medium and of means for purchasing all foreign produce,
these liiX)ps [and staves also] always found a great demand, and a ready sale in
the XVest Indies. Oi course, our farmers in trading with the New Haven mer-
chants, found these hoop poles as useful as cash."
This seems a doubtful explanation for several reasons. First, hoops for bar-
rels are always made from hidcory and hickory does not grow in swamp ground,
such as Dogs' Misery was and is. Again, those versed in such matters, say they
do not know of any wood grown in swamp land that could be used for such pur-
poses. Again, the word in the Wallingford records is invariably "hopp." Here,
as elsewhere, during these early years the spelling is a fearful and wonderful
phenomenon and one is prepared for almost any combination of letters to mis-
represent a word. But after 1735 the penmanship in the records is excellent and
frequently beautiful and the spelling good, and yet this word is still hop or hopp.
Waterbury and Wethersfield, and doubtless other towns, had their "hopp
lands ' and the use of the word in this same way is found in the Colonial Records
1 p««« 11-
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6o
A CENTURY OF MERIOEK.
of Connecticut. If hoop had been intended, somewhere, somebody would have
been found to give the right form to the word.^ Consequently, one is forced to
the belief that the word bore some relation to hops or the hop vine. Hops^ must
have been raised in the early days of the colony, for they are as indispensable in
the making of bread as wheat itself, for bread without yeast or something^ to
make it rise would have been the last resort of a desperate housewife. England
for centuries, has been a great consumer of hops, and our early settlers, after using
what was needed for bread^making and home-brewed beer, would have found a
ready market for their surplus produce by selling it to New Haven to be shipped
to England.' Consequently hop poles were needed and must have been in great
demand. Hops are not grown in swampy or moist ground but hop poles are.
A gendeman, now a resident of Meriden, whose boyhood was passed near Dan-
bury, says that in those days hops were grown in large quantities in that locality
and that the farmers in winter, when the ground was frozen solidly, invariably
resorted to the swamps to cut poles for use the next season in supporting the
hop vines. This then seems the probable use, in the opinion of the writer, to
which "hop land lots" were put. It is not disputed that there wras a large business
in hoop-poles, but the farmers must have resorted to the forests for the source of
si'pply. As a matter of fact, timber was exported in large quantities and at last
became so serious a question that the town took action as follows :
At a town nictiiiq: in Wal! hilt ford descmber 25th 1705 The town considering'
the great destruction that hath bene of timber by reason of j^ecting and transport-
ing of pipstaves^ which to prevent the town voted and agreed to put a stop to
the same and that no man shall have liberty to transport any staves after the
tenth day of June next insuing the date hearof on the penalty of the Law in
that case provided and to afeect that mater the town doth desire at least tow of
the townsmen to give notis to all the marchants that used to traid in seach waire
with the peo])le of our town that whatsoever staves are shipt on bord or landed on
shoore side to be shiped for transportation after July next shall be seased ac-
cording to law also the s<* townsmen shall desire the grand jure men at Newheav-
en to make search after and present the same."
That tliis action did not accomplish what was desired, or else that the trade
had again started up is evident by aiiotlier vote.
1 In IfiTOi the !iim niory ot Henry Cole dccM was rerorded In the Court of Probate In Now Haven,
Col« was a cooper &nd amoog articles scheduled were casks, barrels and hoop*. A (ew pases beyosi'
tills list tbe records fhow the Inventory of an Individual who owned **hopp^ lots, and tbe word ta apeUc«
as it i< in the Wallingford rtn-ords. In both instances Nathaniel Merriman, of W:iirnii;ffir<l. vta^ tfc--
appraii^er. This proveH coacluslvely that wbeii Walitngford people wanted to spell hoop they kaew how,
2 Hops ar« still raised to Meriden In small 4|ii*ntltie«.
3 There are many entries in the early prol>ate records of hops in the same catesory wlUi wbeat, m
etc.
4 Pipe— A wooden wine measure.
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EARLY HISTORY.
6l
"Town meeting Deecember first 1724
X'oatcd: tJicrior tlic more eft'ectually preventing unlawful transportalion of
tiii htr Mi:t of this town of Wallingford the town considerinr^ the great Damage
tiuirV.il] in^uc upon the town by gitting & transport great ((uantitxs of stavs &
;:Kr timber which to prevent it is enacted by tlie inhabitants ni the town in
tuiwi nietintj crnivciiied : to witt that for the filter no person shall be allowed to gitt
or traii^p^.rt out of this town an\ staves of what sort soever or any board plank
slit work ur '^tlicr limber whatsoever without a lycence first had & obtained ac-
cording to law; under the hands of the niajoure part of y® stkctnun tur the lime
htmg. * * * * that lor such butt staves as are already ,l;oI the persons that
s'"tt the janic cuniing lu the selectmen paying down to thcni ten shillings money
p'^ thousand for y^ use of y® town and so pro rater for greater or lesere quant ityes,
may have b cence to transport y^ same & in no other manner ; & for hogsed staves
ei|^ shillings per thousand & for pipe staves seven shillings p*^ thousand & for
barrel staves six shillings p** thousand; and for whitewood & cheestnut bords
seven shillings p** thousand ; & for oak bords eight shillings per thousand and for
plank & slttt work ten shillings p' thousand & so proportionable for greater
&ieser quantity. ***♦*"
The vote then proceeds to hedge about the selectmen with fines and penalties
in case they do not rigidly enforce the town vote. The action shows that the trade
in pipestaves, hogshead staves and general lumber was considerable. It is very
likely that the words, "slitt work/' was a term used for barrel hoops.
I^iit to return to the **hopp lots/'^ they were carefully alloted and recorded
and for a number of years there are many entries of distribution and sale of 2,
3 and 4 acres. The regulation or usual shape of these lots in Dogs' Misery was 5
r<xls by 120 rods, although where adjoining differences in the ground, either in
quality or topography, interfered with the breadth of the crrowth of the shrubs
or small trees, away from the brook, the size or shape of the lots varied and ap-
proximated 10 by 60 rods. The distance along the brook (frequently called Mis-
ery brook) divided into these long, narrow lots, was considerable. A map of a
portion of this distance made up from the records is here inserted and explains
the arrangement at a glance. Each lot was bounded north and south by the lots
of adjoining owners, one on each side, and on the east and west by common or
undivided land.
By most people a foot is more readily compreliended than a rod; so that
1 Thm Uwrasfat oocitrfl thnt ax nwamp land i.o frequentljr or genemUy full of bogfl. and In walking
a^rcm It. on^* is conprNfd to Jump or hop from on* bog to another, thnt this farf mny bo th^ renson
tor tbe oame. Our aoce^tors were quick to embody mme striklug peculiarity In their local nuojencla-
ttrt. DmncOT for many ycam fcav« iMen eaU«4 hoipp.
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62
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
when it is saifl that these "hopp" lots were 1980 feet long (more than a third of
a mile) by 82^ feet wide a better idea of their shape and size i> conveyed.
There seems to have been more than the usual amount of work for the town
committee or surveyors in laying out these lots anrl we finfl the fnllowing vote re-
corded Dec. 16, 1679: "Whereas it was formerly granted thai every planter there
in bcuig should have a proportion of y* hopp ground lands > ^* coniraite are to liave
dogs' misery lots.
4** per acre for theirc paynes in laying nut y'' snme," A road ran tn the locahty,
from Wallingford that the old record in owv place says is 20 rods wide — a mosti
extraordinary width. Probably because the territory was swampy and if in one
place the road was impassable it might be comparatively dry in another.^ Tins.
1 ThiB •xtrwrdinary width of highway n<it r.,i<.nnod to Wallftigford. Posslbljr the explaoAtioo i
that tht>r<> might bo a .settlement day «loDs ibti stre«t aod It would theo be « sr««a suCh M I
8«i>u iu so mauy New Euglutid villages.
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EARLY HIMUKV.
63
-oail was called Misery road ami the old grass grown Misery Bar road that now
runs through the heart of the swamp was probably constructed at the same time
for the convenience of the owners to reach their various lots. The name of Dogs*
Misery was applied to a much larger territory than that covered by the swamp.
A name had to be employed and our ancestors were nnt particular as to the eu-
phony^ of a word providing it expressed the idea intended to be conveyed and
90 we find that those who took up "lands for farms in the district bounded by
the morntains on the east and Meeting House or Deer Hill (as it was then called)
on the west* were propert\ owners in Dogs' Misery. It is probable that homes
were built and settlements made in the neighborhood of Dogs' Misery Swamp as
early as i68c>. With so muii) property owners in so contracted a quarter and land
grants so closely joined it is not surprising that disputes arose and appeals were
made to the courts in New Haven. Capt. Yale and Ensign Royce became in-
volved in a bitter quarrel that drew in many of the other lot owners. The im-
mediate cause was a dispute about a watering place. Appeals were made to the
town authority and one petition signed by twenty^four different men is a par-
tial directory of the lot owners. A copy of the petition and names of the signers
is given in Dr. Davis' history, page 132. Encroachment on a lot by an adjoining
holder was not uncommon and the evident value of the lots makes it easy to un-
derstand how easily disputes would arise. Of course, these lot owners were
constantly buying and selling 'until there was finally an accumulation in a few
hands. The first house to be built in Dogs Misery was probably that of Daniel
Hall, which stood not far from the present Julius Hall homestead, now occupied
by his son and daughters on Murdock avenue. He took up his land grants in
the vicinity until he had a farm of several hundred acres.
As already noted, there was a division of '"hopp" lots taking place at the same
time along Harbor brook, south of West Main street. It was a repetition of the
allotments in Dogs' Misery, although the lots were not so long, as the configura-
tion of the land would not admit of it, for the depressions here are more narrow
and the course of the stream more winding. In this territory was a large tract
called *'town farm*' sequestered for public uses and on the Andrew Coe farm hi
South Meriden, a short <Iistance west of the highway and half a mile south of
the stone "castle" there is a ledge called "Town Rock." Few are aware of its
existence and fewer still know that it is so calletl because it marked the western
side of this town farm. This farm was one hundred and fifty acres in extent and
was a lonj:;^ narrow lot that extended across Pilgrims' Harbor brook just above its
unction with the Quinntpiac river, and ran well over toward the hill on which
Walnut Grove cemetery is situated. It was afterwards granted to Rev. Samuel
Whittlesey, of Wallingford, and held by him and his descendants for nearly a
1 Wctbersflicld had a Mramp called "Hanf; Doc"
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64
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN
hundred years. The name of Tilgrinis' Harbor localized a territory as far south
as the junction of Cook and New Hanove r avenues, west at least to Lew is ave-
nue, north lo (_01iinil)ia street and perhaps farther, east certainly to liie junction
of East Main and Liberty streets, and deeds have been noticed granting tracts of
land on Broad street that defined the real estate as in Pilgrims' Harbor. It was
a name that did not ha\ e pr* ci.>c or definite l imiidaries. and they were shitted ac-
cording to the notions of tlie grantor or grantee. iUil all that portion where
"hopp lots" were located was very swanip\ ami very likely just as uninviting in
apj>earance as the swamp land of Dogs Miser Indeed, the early deeds of lands
in Pilgrims" Harbor speak of it as "ye wihUrness" — a term not applied to any
other i)art of Mcriden, which shows that this central part of the town was en-
tirely uncleared, with no meadow land — nothing but swamp and an almost impene-
trable growth of trees and brush. The line uf the northern extent of Wallinu-
ford at the Colony street crossing of Harbor brook was marked by two "mere"
stones — so-called in old deeds ; one on each side of the brook. Of course, there
were "hopp" lots north of this t>otindary but they were private pro[)erty and did
not belong to Wallingford to dispose of ; as we will see later. Another portion of
Meriden that was attracting the attention of the planters at an early date was that
south of Walnut Grove cemetery that we now term the Farms District. It was
known as **MiIking Yard.** On Dec. i6, 1679, record reads "town agreed
and voated that y* land about y* Milking Yard and on y* north side y^ broke at
y* head of y* Little Playne w*^** was formerly designed for that end be viewed
& provision made for settling of planters as they shal appeare." This name seems
to have been derived from a brook that crosses Colony road a little south of the
Dr. Archer place. Mr. Perkins says the brook was *'so called because cattle were
of old there driven into a pen to be milked." The land below was a common and
used as pasturage for the herds of the planters living in Walltngford village,
with provision for gathering the cattle to a common point at nightfall. As in all
other towns the live stock was branded with each owner*s particular mark which
was carefully recorded. The following vote seems to show that the tradition
of the pasturage and milking pen is correct. In 1672 the record reads "no more
house lots granted except on west side y« river or above y* brook at y" head of
littel playne called y* tow mile playne ; that all lands from thence downwards
be for convenence of pastures & towne lands for home lots already granted on
hill east of y« g"^* playne**' This milking yard plain was also called "Little
playne/' to distinguish it from the ''Great playne" west of the village, and "Falls
Playne." This locality seems to have been particularly attractive to the Royces
and several members of this numerous family took grants of large tracts of land
in Milking Yard and their farms ran up Colony road for nearly a mile, and the
district was later called Royce's farms.
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EARLY HISTORY.
65
No part of Meridcn seems to have been rcgarcled so favorably by the pioneers
as the territory now known as Hanovtr. or South Meriden. It is a beautiful
spot. As one stands on the hili west of W aluut ( jrovc cemetery and looks down
on the little village nestled between bold hills and half circled by the waters of
the Quinnipiac sweeping: from the deep wooded valle\ known as Or^on, and
then in the northwest beholds the glorious view of the ruj]fg:<^'<l' serried ranj^fes
of the Hanging Hills, one admires the judgment of the i>lanters. It is an ideal
spot for just what seems to have l)een intended by the action of the town on Feb.
19, i68y. The ground had been laid out with a two rod street running north
and south through the middle of the plain and the land on each side staked olT
T'lto sixty-three lots. The street was eighty rods long and the lots ran from it
• > tho hill on the w» st and the river on the east. The vote reads. "At a l^awfnl
1 owne meeting February 1689-yo y^ Towne voted that y^ Falls Playne shall
he cast lots fur and laid out according to y^' written platform or map. lots be-
ing cast each mans lot a'^ fnllnuetli." etc.. etc.
The event wn< r(>n>itlered ol i,uch importance that a nia]) was drawn and
spread v.]Hm the land record.*; — the onlv map evtr thv.'^ \vi\h^\-r>\ by Wallingtord,
A r« production on a small scale is shown. I he phu i was called I'alls IMain
rniil well into thr nineteenth century, but there was no attempt to settle tm it
at tl c tni :e. It will Le ol, served that there is no mention of t!ie place IninL; in-
ten'l«.il a> a village. Indee<l. one can hardly avoj<l the suspicH.n that jxrliaps
this rat tie of lots and laying out ni a hiirhway was another case ot hop]) lots."
The long narrow grants look sus])iciou>ly like i1k».sc of iJog.s* .Misery and it is
certain that there were con.slanl irausl'ers of hopp lots at I'alls IMaiu.s ihereafter.
.A. tew of these lots were verv narrow — too narti w [n have been used as house
lots : lor instance, lot So. 23. IxKinging to William ( ole. was 8(j rods long east
and west, and 3 rods and (> feet wide, or 1.3JO x 55;/.. feet. That of Joseph Roycc
was 80 rods long and 5 ru(U and 4 t\ct wide.
But ihcrc cannot have been swaniji l.antl on ilir plain for it is too samh to ad-
mit of it. Tlu re was a fall or rapids in tlic rivi r mar and just aliove the present
site of the Meridcn Cutlery Co., which gave ihc name to the [jlain. but there was
no lake north of the village as that was lacking until the dam was built.
That part of Meriden north of the Quinnipiac river and northwest of Falls
riain or Hanover, which rises in foot hills extending to the base of Hanging Hills
\ivas called Hanging Hill woods and early in the next century the land records
begin to frequently refer to this district* Allen avenue, leading from " Crow Hol-
low" on West Main street to Cheshire street on the other side of the long hill,
takes one through the heart of Hanging Hill woods. The land was fertile and
some of the most profitable farms in Meriden were located in this territory. It
was so called even down to the foot of the hilts east of Cheshire street.
5
66
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Interest in these outlyinjj: districts is not sufficient to warrant further atten-
tion ; we will return to that part of Meriden north of the W'allingford boundary line
FALLS Plain
DIVISION.
Februa-r y 49?
16 P
at Pilgrims* Harbor ford, a large part of which was at the date to which these
annals carried us in 1676, in the possession of '*Hennerie" Cole.
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EAKLV HISTORY.
67
CHAPTER VX.
AInicsi from the inception of tin- settlement nf W'alliiigford the planters
lookcil with longing c>cs on the lurljiddcn territory north of PilpnnL- Harbor
ford. 1 hey desired it and they intended to ^^et it. A considerable portiun of the
country uliicli the colonial court had granted the Lnwn in 1670 was ahsolulely
barren and not susceptible of cultivation. To-day one enters this tract in going
south on the railroad a short distance below the Yalcsvillc station. There are
places where the sand plains are fully halt a mile wide and they extend sonlh in-
to North Haven. Geoloijists tell ns that the "great j)layne," as it was called,
was once the bed of a large river — perhaps the Quinnipiac, or possibly the Con-
nectiait before it broke through the rocky walls at Middletown. Moreover, they
saw the enormous extent of Farmington, which at that time included the towns
of Southington, Bristol, Burlington, Avon, New Britain, and a large part of
Berlin. Middletown, on the east, was another large town which then included
Cromwell, Portland, Chatham and Middlefield. There seemed no reason why
this strip of country, three miles north and south and between five and six miles
east and west, which was a part of no township, should not be incorporated into
the town. John Talcott, of Hartford, a great Indian fighter and a man of con-
scqnence, was apparently the friend of some of the Wallingford planters and his
influence was asked to assist in getting possession of the coveted land. Tt was im>
possible to procure a grant from the general assembly, so, by the aid of John
Talcott, an Indian title to the land was bought. The experience in this vicinity,
and doubtless elsewhere, was, that no sooner was a title bought from one In-
dian than another would present himself, claiming that the first Indian's title
was ''no good," but tiis was the genuine article. Already New Haven had bought
the land as far north as Kensington avenue and Edward Higbee had bought the
right to a large part of Meriden's soil of Seaukett in 1664 ; and now Adam Puit
of Podunk presented himself with a clear and unsullied title to the land extend-
ing five miles south from Jonathan Gilbert's "Meriden farm." The deed tells
its own stor}-:
"Hartford, August 10. 1684.
"Know all men whom this may concern, that I, Adam Puit, Indian belonging
and now resident at Podunk have and doe hereby mortgage all my land lyeing
upon the roade towards Newhaven beyond and adjoyning to Jonathan Gilbert*s
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68
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
farme which tract of land being in length east & west six miles and in bredth
north and south five miles with all the swamps rivers and meadow lands lyeing^
within the bownds & limits thereof to John Talcott of Hartford in Conecticutt
& his heires forever. In case I the sayd Adampewitt do pay for & make full
sattisfaction for one parcell of trucking cloth in liand received of the sayd John
Talcott within one full year after the date hereof, & in case we the sayd parties
agree about the sayd land before the end & terme of one full yeare (to say) for
the purchase or sale thereof the sayd Adam is to receive foure coates more as
full sattisfaction for the purchase thereof, the premises not being performed as
above sayd, I the sayd Adam Puit doe freely & fully resigne & deliver up the
sayd land to John Tallcot & his heires forever to be theirs to possess & enjoy &
to hold as their own porcon, as witness my marke the day and year above sayd.
Witnessed by us
Samuel Tallcot, Dorothv Tallcot.
Xesehcj^an Indian, Cherry Indian & W'ennmpa Indian helonpnjj to Tiinxis
& TTartford all ai)i)eared at Hartford on this i8th of ( )ctober & testify & witness
that Adam nnit above written in the deed of guift afoarsayd had sole right &
title in the land above sayd being al :ont six miles east & west & five miles north
& sowth beyund & next adjoyneing to jonalhan Gilberts farme in the way to Xcw
Haven whieh we understand is now sold to Major John Tallcot this we certify
& kn nv to be true tt■^tify iititr. x*" veare & flay above written before me. Rob-
ert I redt, Dep: gnvci iior, which three Indians above sayd Xe«chcLrcii Wcnainpis
& Cherry being examined about the contents of this sayd writing whicli they tes-
tify unto, and they all nf tliom Jnviith and severally answered in I'.nglisb tluit
they well understood tlu >a:ne lis: d<R wiims- the same in all the particulars
thereof this day & yearc above written bf nic Robert Treat Dtp :Govr.**^
1 M;il>>r Tah-ott haO provioiiyly obtniiK-«l flip iintlvo drpds frrim (■•rtali! Tmliiiiis nf tin- l;iiul ur.ir.teil f.>
Wulliiigford by Ibe General court in lti7o and the uames of tbe»e ludlan.H are woutlerful examples of tbe
ablHtr to combine letters Into words that «re almost impossible to pronounce. The names of Ute srant-
ori* and mHh' —' S are N<'ssainbni i nitu Manappnsh, SunkKqua Mntoef r ?i ni WetaMMn, Mjrmesiiiitt
Accaueut, Wayashunt, Peltuquatton, Wyu-shur, Nccaiiaiiip. Nudauuco and Awttwosis.
Major Talcott sent a letter to tbe Walllngford committee %lth tbe deeda wtatcli la quaint aod lii<-
terp-ting.
"Worthy Oentillmau: After BallutatioDS prcrcDtcd ttaette may enforme you that I have sent you
yaur long watted for Indian deed purcbam by my Coaean Sammuell Wakeman : It was finished on tbv
"-tioiid day of tbe present week. Gcntlllmcii 1 mUHl i •tif niv mafiv errorM bv n«n!^<>ii of the oftfti
IlloU also at the p'ning of U: raUuk« a name or two iu ibe am part but rcov«red in the latter part
so that I hope nothing therein will prove above the nature of a cJrcumstantlall ermr: a« for tbe sub-
staiue. it will hold finr.e and good In law for your Mtrnrity : the trniTi T wiis -liorfnrrl for timr nnd
having but one dav after the Court to write in and draw the model I of the deed before the Indians
were appoynted to be at my bouse and there came a ooniiderable company, that I oould not doe any-
thing In reference to drawing It over more faire, being willing to gain as many bands and ae&la m t
The mark of Adam
Puit.
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ii.\RLV HISTORY.
69
John Talcott then gave an assignment of the above deed to Wallingford and
both doaiments are duly recorded on the town books and also tn Deeds and Patents
to Lands in the office of Secretary of State.
This deed from Adam Puit conveyed land as far south as YalesvtUe, notwith-
standing that all south of Pilgrims' Harbor ford already belonged to Wallingford.
Five miles south from Jonathan Gilbert's Mertden farm would measure fully to
that point This transaction must have convinced the Wallingford planters that
it was only a question of time before the colony of Connecticut would confirm this
Indian deed by allowing the town to absorb the land by actual extension of its
bounds to the southern bounds of Farmington. This Indian grant only put Wal-
lingford in the position of owning the land just as a private person might, but gave
the town no right to tax the individuals who were living in the locality. Already
Henry Cole held an Indian title to the same territory or a good part of it which had
been given by Seaukett to Edward Higbee and by Higbee to Cole. It would
have been better for all concerned had the colony decided at once to incorporate
the land in the township of Wallingford. But instead, in view of the impending
advent of Sir Edmund Andross to assume the reins of government, the land was
^ven to the towns of "Farmington, Wethersfield and Middletown to plant a vil-
lage in" as has already been told in Chapter II. The act was certainly unjust, but
it was probably done in the heat of excitement. As we, of course, know, the
land was ultimately incorporated into Wallingford, but not until bitter land dis-
putes had been occasioned by the anomalous situation. Not until many years
later did the territory receive much attention from these favored towns and then
the struggle to take away whatever rights Wallingford had under her Indian
grant was carried on mainly by Middletown. The struggle lasted more tlun
fifty years. W'licn last Our attention was given to tliis northern territory Henry
Cole with his family were practically the sole inhabitants, and little attention
seems to have been paid to it by the four surrounding towns. But on Dec. 20,
could then ; otberwire it should huvo been more prepared aod presented to vour view ; aud at time
of drnwlnii. many pf ople crowding in upon me pat me beyond ray ordinary pace and the Indian names
boiiii; many and odd wcro hard and difficult to rctaine and diKtlm tly and pr«ris«>ly to oiitt^r : and hath
ofttu beeo in mr tbougbu to bave renewed it but bave feared that I sbould not get the Indians to-
cctber to sign ; tber lived In sueb a Mattered way and a great dlstanee one from another that another
year In reason would havo h(M n little enough to have brouKlit this niatt<'r to pass and thounht prrhap«
aotna might die whose naineg were in as ealers* as was almost the case ol the young sunk saua so tbat
I thoaglit it to b« so tedlout a baalneis to adventure upon that whieb had proved aoe troublesome a1«
reacSy : »ome of V'>u n. ntHItiif n may rtim luht r what Court It wax that the IndlanH aKrccd In Mr. Adams
orchard tbey would meet at my bouse at that time. I had but a day as 1 sayd before me to write and
draw : now boplog worthy gentlltmeo and frienda you will eseuae me wherin I bave fatleo abort of your
expectation!*, cnirititik: your favorabi>' :u(<ptance Of What I have herewith presented to your view wlio
am bonord. Gcntillmeu and friendti your reull
friend and faltbfttll Servant,
JOHM Tai-cott.
* An obaol«t« word ; neaolng lellara. that Is grantors.
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70
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
1708, this vote was parsed in town meeting b) both Wcthersfield and Middlctovvn
"Whereas the Gen^^ assembly of this colony having formerly granted unto the
townes of W'eathcrsfield Middletown and l-arniington all that tract of Land ly-
ing between Weathersfield Middletowne and l-'anniiigton and Wallingford not
before granted, this town appoints Capt Robt Wells, C'apt Joshua Robbins &
Lent Benja Churchill a comniiucc they or any two of them, fully Iinpowering'
to do any Law lull act or acts w^'' we are able to doc in order to a Survey of the
said tract & what further the\ may Judge meet in order to the settling of the
same with Inhabitants or Its distribution for our use and to make return of what
they do in this affair to this town as soon as they can perform the trust com-
mitted to them hereby.'* These votes were in identical language and passed on
the same day, which shows that it was concerted action, and an attempt to take
advantage of the grant hy the Colonial government in 1687. That same year a
Wethersfield man had bought a large part of Henry Coles* farm of his heirs, and
possibly some action was deemed necessary to protect him in his purchase, for
Wallingford had insisted that the deed should be recorded in her land records.
Two years later the latter town made this individual buy her Indian or native
right to his purchase, held under the deed, from Adam Puit. Nothing further
transpired to show that Wethersiield and Middletown were giving attention to
the disputed territory until 1722 and 1723. In those years two petitions were
presented to the General Assembly by two groups of Wallingford men, show-
ing that the dispute over these lands had broken out again. The petitions are in the
Connecticut State Library among the archives entitled Towns and Lands.^ The
first one reads as follows: "To y* Hon**^* The Gov"* & Councill and Representa*
tives in y® Gen" Court Assembled at New Haven October ii*^ 1722. The Pe-
tition of Joseph Moss of Derby, Thomas Yale, Nath" Yale, John Yale, Hawkins
Hart, SamueTl Hall, Joshua Culver, John At water, Thomas Miles, Daniel Tuttle,
Henry Williams, y^ heirs of John Moss deceased, Gideon Ives, and Thomas Halt,
all of Wallingford: and the heirs of John Burroughs deceased: Humbly Shcw-
eth: That whereas there was a purchase of Land obtained by y^ ancient Pro-
prietors of New Haven in y^ year 1638; of one Mantuese an Indian Sachem, w^*^
purchase extended northward even beyond y^ northermost bound of yt w^' is now
y^ Township of Wallingford ; and Livery of Seizin was made to y^ Gentlemen
of Newhaven, by y^ Indian Sachem of this Tract of Land being eight miles
wide from Nhaven East River eastward, and extending into y* north to a ccr-
taine tree, marked by y^ Said Indian Sachem (w'' tree is about a mile north of
Pilgrims harbour). And whereas y® Proprietors of y® Town of NHaven were
in actual Seizin of these Lands (as all y*' Rest of their lownship purchas** of
y® Natives) for many years before y® date of Connecticut Charter without Dis-
1 Vol. IV.. Doc. 66.
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EARLY HISTORY.
71
turbance or Interruptions of any person or persons laying claim tlicreunto, or any
part thLTcof: And Whereas ah' \^ year 1669 some of y® Inhabitans of Nhaven
inclining to settle themselves in northern parts of y* Lands belonging to Nhaven
& to make a village or new Town there; The Town of Nhaven (accordint;: to
y^ honest and well-meaning customs of those times) did in full Town imeting,
by vote grant all their Ris^dit of Lands, in y'" northern jnirt of their purehase, un-
to such persons as would Inhabit there and Incorporate themselves in a Ttjwn or
\ illa^c Society, for y® Setting up and Stipporting y« ])nhH(pie VV'nrshi]) of God
according to Gospel Institution, etc.; V\ hereupon Sundry Persons y*' Ancestors and
Proj*rietors of y« Petitioners Removed tliitlitr and ( )htained from y*^ Gen'^ (^ourt
A (iranl of a Township with priviledges of a Town, w' is now called Wallmg-
lord . but only when Wallingford obtained their Paltenl from y*' (kn"' & Com-
pany tor y* better holding their Lands, their bounds were not extended nurih-
wanl so far as their just claims from Ancient purchase and Grant from Nhaven,
Reason of w^ was (as our Ancestors have told us) viz \^ W'or.ship ill Major
John Talcott Deceased (sometime before W ailingfords I'atient was moved for)
had obtained a Mortgage from some one Indians of Connecticut River
of these verv Lands w*^ were \'- Xorthern-most part of Nhaven's |nu chase of
Mantuese as abovesaid, and he y® s'' Major Talcott being at yt luue \\ aUing-
ford's great Patron for obtaining a settlement from y*^ Gen'' Court: therefor
Wallingford did not earnestly move for y^ bounds of their Pattent to be ex-
tended any farther northward than was pleasing to yt s'' worthy ( ientleman. but
since yt Time >'* Town of Wallingford have purchas'd y« mortgage of
abovesaid Major Talcott yt they might have y® good likeing of y® above said
Major Talcott and might be sure to obtain an undoubted Native Right & Title
by Purehase either from Mantuese as abovesaid or by these latter Indian Claim-
ers, who mortgage d to y^ abovesaid Major not knowing wt Indians might have
y * most just claim to those Lands: And Whereas now in y* one or y* other of
methods abovesaid y® Town of Wallingfd Sujjposing that they had obtainM
an undoubted honest Native Right above y^ bounds of their Township, they did
thereof in a T^wfull Town*meeting Authorize and Impower Capt Thomas Yale
and Cap^ John Merriman and Sergt Tho^ Hall as a committee to sell any of
those Lands above y* Township and yet within their Indian purchase w<^ Buyers
should appear willing to take of : and to Deposite y^ money w' Should be so ob-
tain'd into y« Town Treasury: whereupon your Petitioners (being y* heirs and
assigns of some of y* Ancient Inhabitants of Wallingford) did severally pur«
chase of y^ above said committee severall parcells of those Lands abovesaid and
took Deeds from y* committee as followeth viz Joseph Moss and John Moss
deceased as partners for 150 Acres. Thos Yale loo Acres. John Yale loo Acres,
Nath" Yale 80 Acres, Hawkins Hart 100 Acres, Samuel Hall zg Acres. Joshua
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72
A CliXTUKV OK MEKIUKN.
Culver 100 Acres, John Atwater loo Acres, Thos Miles 50 Acres. Dati" Tuttle
So Acres, Henry Williams 200 Acres: Gideon Ives 20 Acres, and Thomas Hall
100 Acres, John Burroughs 480 Acres: wherefore y« rVa>cr of your humble Pe-
titioners is yt this Hon**** Assembly in their Wisdom, Justice and Equit) , would
Grant a confirmation of y* several parcells of Land Specified above unto y* Persons
above named for y"" better holding of those I^nds to them and their heirs for^
ever: according to y« Laws of this Govcrnmt, and y® Royal Charter of King
Charles y* Second of blessed memory and y* Petitioners as in Duty bound shall
ever pray &c
John Moss &c.
The year following a like petition was presented by Gideon Ives and Nathan-
iel Curtis wlio had each purchased under like circumstances two hundred acres.
The purchases of the first petitioners had been made in the extreme northern part
of the disputed tract on the other side of Cat Hole pass and adjoining ; and the sec-
ond group had bought the land in the extreme northeastern part known as Notch
Meadow near Middletown. ]k)th seem to have been test cases ; and each purchaser
found his land claimed by people in the neighboring towns. The petition while
it stated the case fairly showe<l ignorance of the records, for John Talcott did not
obtain the mortgage from Adam I'uit until 1684. fourteen years after the set-
tlement of Wallingford, and he coidd not have had a claim to the land wlien
the bounds of the town were granted. Moreover X( w l laven had not been in
quiet possess! II of tlic lands in question "'without disturbance or interruptions
of any persons laying claim thercimto." lint more tlian 50 years had elapsed since
the date of the union of the two colonies and the memory of man is short anrl
in the main the petition was a just claim. The General Assembly appointcil a
committee to view the land, and set such price on the land as said committee
should think just and proper. Thrs the petitioners had to pay another purchase
price in order to buy the right of the colony to tliese lands. I'ut the colonial
government then settled once and {or always, the jurisdiction over the tlispnted
territory, for at the ( )ctoher session. 1723. the folhnving resohitioji was i)assed:
"That the (lolls and rateable c^trtfr nf rdl tlie inhahitants living on a tract of lain!
bounding ea<t nn Middletown. \u>ri]) mi Jonathan lielcher lisq'' his farm, imrtli-
westerly on KarniinL:tnu. south on W ailmgforel. ' h:\]] b( jti'l into the general list
of the town of \\ aiimj^^ford : and the said inluil it ;int> are to give in their lists
to the listers of the town of W'rdlingford ( rpon law ful waniin- given them by
said li<itris) do., ctc "^ At llu' .May session. 1725. tlu- iMllMwing resolution ap-
pears: "l pon the peliiioii ol l!u north farmers in W'alliiij^iord and tlK>se inhab-
iting the land northwar<l of said \\ allingforil. commonly called W allingford Pur-
1 Colonial RecordK of Conn.. Vol. VI.. p. 414.
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E.\JU.V IIISTORV.
73
chase Lands. This Assembly grants that they be a separate society for setting
up and carrying on the publick worship of God among themselves, with all such
liberties, powers and priviledges, as other such societies in this colony have and
do by law enjoy ; and that the bounds of said society shall be as followeth viz. :
all that part of said Wallingford Purchase Lands not already granted to Wal«
lingford West Society^ or to Farmington South Society,^ which lands adjoyn to
said Wallingford north bounds, and also that part of said Wallingford township
bounded as followeth, that is to say: that the river shall be the line from the
bounds of the West Society down the stream unto the south side of Joseph Coles
farm, and from thence i-nto the country^ road north of Amos Halls farm, and
from thence a straight line unto the highway below Amos Camp's house at the
east end of said highway, and from thence an east line unto the mountain ' and
if these lines shall happen to cross any man's land, the said piece of land shall
wholly belong unto that society wherein the owner dwells.'*^
In the main these bounds are the present boundaries of Meriden. except that
J«»nailian l>elcher's farm called Meriden was not inchided. At the May session,
1728. "L pon the pra>er of the North Society in Wallingford: It is now ordered
that Merridan farm shall be annexed and the same is hereby annexed to the said
society ; and tliat all the lands heretofore ordered by this Assembly to belong to
srJd society, tojjether with said farm, is hereby annexed to the town of Wal-
lingford and to the County of New Haven, and that said society shall l)e called
and known by the name of Merridan. "'^ Thus at last the status of the parish
was established and christened by the name of Meriden, the name heretofore
borne only l'\ the farm in the northern [)art.*''
The new boundaries gave Meriden parisii a straight line on the north and in-
cluded the territory in modern Berlin up to the laneway running west, just south
of the house of Albert Xorton. and so it continued until the last years of the eight-
c». nth centiTv. Those farms lyit\g arornd what is known as r.otsford's Corners,
^•evond Cat Hole pass in Kensington, were then also inchuled in Meriden. lUit
:lic disputes about lintmdnrics were not settled even by this action of the ( ieneral
A.ssembly and during niany years \\ .ilIirL^furd mid Middletoun were almost an-
nually involved in controversiis that brought out ihe co;!nt) surveyors, the se-
'J (;rent Swanin SacietV or RenclnstOD.
3 Cf»|ju>- U>acl.
4 Colonial Rfcnrdu of Conn.. Vol. VI., p. 521.
Colonial Kfcords of t'onn.. Vol. VII., p. li>f\.
6 The abMirpttoo of Uils fann loto tbc parlsli of Meriden was not pleasing to Bkuzf-r Asiiinwail who.
It wfll b0 remembered, was Oor. Belelier'8 tenant at thle time. At the October hcis^Ioii Ik' petitioned
th*' General A^srmbly that he didn't wi-h to boloiiK to th«" now parish hut to KeiisloKton pari->h where
lie had attended Hince the start; bul the petition «»s refused uotwitbHianding It was fortified br an
andnvit rrom Rev. Mr. Bumbam, of Ken»lnston, rnjrinK tbat Aaplnwall bad paid bis ratow to Kenalnv-
too Mrfah from 1717 until 1727.
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74
A CENTURY OP MERIDCN.
lertnun of Ixnh towns and adjoining property owners until it seemed as if the
matter never would he settled. These troubles will he related later.
At any rate much had been accomplished. The long coveted land north of
Pilgrims' Harlnir ford was now a part of the township of W'allingford and a new
society or })arish had heen formed out of this newly ac(|uired territory and a por-
tion of what had heen incorporated in the township in 1670. and henceforth
when one spoki- of Mc-ri«len the name covered ahiiost identically the same stretch
of mountain, hill and dale that it dues to-day.
MAP FRKPARRI) nV JOSEPH P. BEACH OF CHESHIRE.
EARLY HISTORY.
75
CHAPTER VII.
Retorc iIk Indian deed given by Adam Puit had been obtained by Walling-
(1 thruuKli the mediation of Major Talcott, the colony of Connecticut had
lined two large tracts of land in the territory north of Pilgrims* Harbor ford
two prominent men : one James Bishop, the other William Jones, both of New
Lven. Each gift was probably a pension or reward for valuable services per-
med. Both men had been conspicuous in the colony of New Haven before the
Ion with Connecticut and both were influential in the councils of the colony-
er the union.
The name of James Bishop does not a[)pear on the New Haven records until
^h, so probably he was not one of the original planters. Evidently he was a
m of ability and high character, and after 1661 he was conspicuous and in-
ential. Tn that year he was elected secretary of the colony and continued in
it office until the union. In 1668 he was chosen one of the magistrates of Con-
rticut and was re-chosen annually until 1683 when he was made deputy gover-
r. To that office he was re-elected each year until his death on June 22, 1691.
William Jones,' who had been a lawyer in London, came to America in the
ne ship which brought the regicides Whalley and Goffe in i66o. He had mar-
d in London, Hannah, the youngest daughter of Governor Theophilus Eaton.
New Haven. The governor had died in 1658 and Mr. Jones came to New
Lven to look after his wife s estate and there he made his home. He was a man
good talents and the fact was soon recognized, for in 1662 he was chosen one
the magistrates of the colony of New Haven. In 1664 he was elected deputy
vemor. Upon the union in 1665 he was elected a magistrate of Connecticut
i was annually re-elected until the death of James Bishop in 1691 when he was
cted deputy governor to succeed him. He was each year re-chosen until 1698
ten he refused to continue in the office longer as he was then 74 years old. He
:d Oct. 17, 1706. at the age of 82, and the General Assembly which was
»ii sitting in New Haven voted to give him a public funeral and appropriated
s funds to defray the expense. The most interesting fact in his life was his.
nnectioii with the two judges, Whalley and Goffe. While they were hiding in
ew Haven, Mr. Jones' house was their place of refuge for eleven days, and he
ems to have shared tlu honors with Rev. John Davenport during this exciting
isode in the history of New Haven.^
lliii father was executed aa om of tto Judgca of Kins Cbtrle* 1st: me Palfrey's Hiiitorr of N.
Voi. II., PL 604.
CavnccUcat Masaslne: year 1906. p. 5S9.
76
A CENTURY OF UERIDEN.
At the October session of the General Assembly. 1669, the following vote wa
recorded: * riiis court .grants Mr, James Bishop three hundred acres of lan<l. \n<
vided he takes it up where it does not prejudice any former grant," and the fol
lowing year the "Court appovnts Mr. John Mosse and Mr. James Brockett t*
lay out to the Hon^'i * * * * j^^^. James Bishop that land that was for
merly granted by this court." The fami or grant laid out for Mr. Bishop wa
in the very heart of Meriden, and although we cannot locate the exact bounds w
can approxiinate it very closely.
Start a( the bridge over Harbor brook, just east of the office of L>(>n ^ Ril
lard Co. — the southwest corner, and follow the west bank of tlie brook until w
reach the northwest corner of the Center street bridge over Harbor brook. Thei
draw a straight line westward to the intersection of Springdale and Capitol ave
iiues; thence <lue south to Main street, and then by a straight line to the startin:
point. The northern line of this land errant crosses Colony street
little north of Foster street and the south line runs just back of or through al
the business blocks nn the south side of West Main street. The MrnMon Cri
tannia Co. factories and all the business blocks on West Main street and ncarl;
all on Xorth Colnnv street are iu the Bishop farm, and it includes within it.
bovnds the most valuable part of Mcrideii's business center. But at the lime tin
grant was made, it was what may well Ik termed a "howling wilderness." hi';
what use Mr. Bisiiop niatle ot it we cannot tell. Doubtk'>s he s^ld limber wliid
was floated down TIarl)or hronk and Quinnipiac river, and perlia|)s. after part "
the land was cleared lie put xonie otu in charge to till the land and raise crops. Ii
an inventorv of his estate made after his death in iC¥)\ this farm \\a> valued a
£40, or sa\ S_n)i). Of course this sum is ridiculous when compared \s ith the valua-
tion tl).'il two lii'udred vears of >cltlenK'nl and progress have ad(lc<l U> ii.
Lapt. John Brout. a mariner of New Haven, and a man of large wealth, mar
ried one of .Mr. Bishop s <laughters and evetitually gained iiossission of the farn
There is no record of ihe boundaries until it was sold 1)\ Capt. Trout ani
his wife, Mary, for to John Merriam on Nov. 3. 1716. In this deed it if
dc-xribed as ".^uo acres in the wilderness at Pilgrims llarhonr. butting south
W allingford old line, north on Cole farm, east on a brook formerly Mr. Willian
Jones, west on land lately laid out to sundry ihtsous by the town ot Wallin?-
ford." The phrase "south on \\ allmi.: ford old line." is the key by which \u,
arc enabled to roughly locate all the ancient farms in .Mcriden that were in Pil'
grims' Harbor. It should be mentioned here that there never was an attempt tc
establish a village in Meriden. The land was granted in large tracts scatters
here and there, and they were solely for fanning purposes. That a village «"«
finally formed was due wholly to unconscious gravitation towards a convenient cen-
ter. In other words it was a form of evolution.
^uj 1^ .0 i.y Google
EARLY HISTORY.
77
In the description of the Bishop farm, the eastern boundary is given as butting
I a br€x>k or Mr, WilHani Jones, Mr. Jones' farm was laid out in 1680 by vote
the General Assembly and two additions were granted him at a later date by
allingford an<l the colony so that eventually he had 550 acres. The description
the first or colonial grant is as follows,' "bei^innint^ by W allingford Bound
ake on the south (,or east) side of Pilgrims Harbor River and from thence east-
ir 1 bv the line of Wallingford bounds a mile in length to a waltnit tree marked
. I., from tlicnce a line varying from a perpendicular eastwarrl trianglewise to
white oak standing upon the land of the aforej^aid river marke<l W . I., and from
etice the TPayne branch of the aforesaid river to the i'^ Mementioned stake by the
yd river in the old road from New Haven to Hartford." This grant is very
sy to trace on a mcKlern map except that the eastern line is a tritle indefinite,
art at the southeast corner of the Colony street bridge over Harluir brook just
St of the office of }.y<m & Billard Co. and draw a straight line eastward running
rough tlio Main Street iJaptist church and then np Liberty street until
rient strec* i> reached, or a spot just a mile from our starting poitU ; then by a
-aight line running; northeast to the southeast shore of lialdwin's pond; then
ck to our starling point, following the bank of the p'nul and Harbor bnink.
was th " fiTS-t ?:rant and contaiiud 300 acres. The s<^^un<l i^rant was wholly
\\ allmui'Td territory and contained 150 acres and is dateil in 1^^*80. Tlu-
nndaries nie as follows: Start at the southeast corner uf the bri^lge wlicre lirsL
ant startctl and then by a line south to the intersection of Colony and ( )iive
■ccts. tlieijce eastward by a line parallel \<y Libert} street to a point due south
•ni the junction of that street and < 'rient street . then northerly to that junction
cf thence westward by the south boundary of the first grant or Liberty street
'^>iir r^riginal starting point. The third grant containetl 100 acres and was made
i r'>K7 lo "Debity" governor Junes, by the culuny. acting by the hand of her
K' accrctlitcd agent Mr. Thomas Yale, not only by the delivery of a deed, but
I>\ an old I'.ngli>h cu.^toni dating from time iniinejnr/rial. viz: the delivery of
irf and twig."- It was wholly east of the first grant e.f i,i >o acres. Its south-
1 Tjonntlary was simply an extension of the same line which began at South
k»ny street bridge and ran up Libertv street to Orient, mentioned in the first
mt. It was extended now until it reuclieil the br(K)k'^ on the east and then
: line ran down the brook northerly to the norihcar^i corner of the first grant
-Volume entitM D««d« Md Patonta of Lands, Vol. 11., p. 148 In tb« ofllce of iceretary of Btate,
Xhi** in«;tht>d of taking poMcnlon iras formerly required by English lav. It« origin aiite<li»t«s the
of writtPti document.H ; a twig broken from a tree and a sod cut from the turf of the property sym-
<1 tb9 traaafer. Tlie later written deed siinply took the plac« of tbis symbol. See Andrew's
^ r Tamaa of Cniii. JobBi Hopkins Volvoraltjr Studies, p. 41.
SotxMm call this WfUow Hill Brook: The anetont nam* was South Branch of Pllcrtms' Harbor
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78
A CENTURV OF MERIDEX.
by lialflw in's pond. Consequently this third grant and the first i;avc liini all tl
country boiin(!e<l cii the cast, north and west by the brook and on the south b
the straij^ht hnc niciilioned. Here then were two jrreat farms p:iven to Mcssr
Bishop and Jones that really embraced a very great part of the business genu
of modern Meridcn.
It ahnosl seems as it these gentlemen had a prophetic vision of what the fi
ture was to be when choosing their grants in territory that was to contain so larg
a part of Meriden's business activity.
It is now time to describe the "northern bound line of WalliniJ
ford" or "vValhngiord old bounds," which has been mentioned in th
foregoing descriptions. Its location was as much of a puzzle in th
early days as it is to-day. The one point already located — its intersection wit;
Culouy street at Harbor Urook bridge is easy to remember. As land transfers )k
gan to increase the selectmen found it necessary to locate this line in a way il
could not be mistaken. It was particularly necessai) lur this reason. All grant
south of this line wen- L^iven by the town of Wallingford — the town was, there
fore, the fountain source. Liul land north of the line had been granted by ib
colonial government or the "Country," as the old records express it, and wa
governed and taxed by it. Wallingford had nothing to do with these north farm
previous to 1723. except that she held the Indian or native right after 1684 througi
the purchase from Adam Puit, and made some grants under it. The re
suit is interesting. The northern territory was settled almost wholly by peopl
from Wethersfieldy Middletown, Famiington, Durham and Massachusetts, whili
the southern or Wallingford section was settled by the inhabitants of that town
This rule was not invariable, but it was general. A lack of knowledge of the lo
cation of the northern boundary line made it easy for one man to encroach on an
other's property. It is anticipating events somewhat to describe how this bouft
dary line was marked for we have to jump from the year 1687 to 1 721 — a yesi
when the Jones farm had begun to be broken up into smaller holdings. In Oc
tober, 1721, the town committee or selectmen laid out a "two rod highway be
ginning at Pilgrims Harbor brook at the Country road to follow the town line t
Middletown bounds/'^ Later deeds show the exact location of this road and i
is a straight line the whole distance to Middletown. The Rev. Theophilus Hal
and Aaron Lxman acquired the southern part or second- grant of the Jones farm
and their northern bounds both from their own frequent descriptions and fron
tradition were on Liberty street. The old Brenton Hall farm in the extrenw
eastern part of Meriden, originally granted to Rev. Samuel Hall, of Cheshire
was also bounded on the north by this old town line or highway. Imagine Liberti
street exten<iing westerly until it reaches the Colony street bridge over Harbot
I Wallingford Land Records, Vol. lit., p. &20.
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EARLY HISTORY.
Crook and also easterly, running in a straight line on its present course, atul it will
give us the highway laid out by the selectmen in 1721. In order to picture it
as it was, it is necessary to obliterate, in our minds, East Main street from Colony
f-irect to the Center Congregational church, as that street was laid out at a much
later date,^ One's mind is so dominated by this more important street that this
ancient layout cannot be understood until we imagine or picture Liberty street
as the one highway running from what is now the center of the town to the cast.
This old road, as it ran east from Harbor Brook bridge. [)assed just south of the
n.ifldle of the present location of the Main Street Baptist church and came out at
the northern end of what is now Willow strict, and it will be readily seen that
this is on the line of Liberty street. This old section, now obliterated, was in
existence within the memory of people still living. Mrs. Breckenridge in her
■Recollections of a Xew England Town." mentions it.- This old Liberty street
(as we may call it ) can still he traced at many points. If one stands on Preston
avenue whefe the old Booth place formerly stood in the extreme eastern part of
Mcriden and looks west, one can see the old grass grown road bordered by old
ytone walls and running tlirnui^h the meadows muil the hill hides it from view.
:ind on the horizon in the same line one will perceive on a clear day the old *'!?iir'
John.son place in the extreme western part of the town. It is ca<:y to follow the
ri^ad on foot for a long distance, hut here and there the traces are lM>t hecanse the
Tontid has heen cultivated. The John 'S'camnns place, built over a hundred and
>evcnty year.-, ago. seems to front only tm the mea(i<iws iTtitil tine (h'^t-<n'cr'^ tliat
*t faced this old highway, which has been closed since 1780. at which time the
electmen 5o]d to John Yeamans i,200 feet of it west of his house.^ The sit-
latiun of ihe i'.renton or Caspar Hall place is not intelligible until one has in one's
nind the fact that the old highway rmming in front of it was once the onl> road
'rojn Pilgrims' ILirh.ir running east. ( Jne hundred years ago I'renttjn Hall was
probably the most prominent man in Meriden and when his house^ was built at an
1 Main Street from Broad Street to Llbertr Street wee laid out tn 1782 and from UbertT te Ctolony
;tre«t in 1812.
Z P. J 05.
3 Vallloeford Laod Records. Vol. XXtV.. p. 84.
4 ThI-i f'M hoiis' wri-< torn down a year agti. If or;>' rides to the cji^l of tVif elorirlt- car line
It East Merldeo and then walkt up the road running to the north, cue ii> on Preston Avenue. At Uie
ot> of tbe hill, alwttt an ettbth at a mile from the car tracha, one reaches thie old hlghwajr runnlnK
HMt and wpst That part of thf hlphwav r-n^t. of Prfsfon Avenue 1h still In u^n and rlimbs a hill, at
ix« top of which DO tbe south side of the roaU i<t4Jod the old Caspiir or Brenton iiall place. From thib
K»lBt the view la heaatlfttl ; In the aouth extends the range of Beeett or Beseck Mouotains with Black
at the foot mlrrorinc the niiCRf<1 rlffT«j In Its <«ombre waters, while in the west a charming stretch
»i meadow, wood and vale fndn with the Kcuud ranee of the HanginK Hills. About half a mile to the
W««t on the same old higbwar stands the John Voamans house with its old stone chlniuey still undls-
urbe<l ftnkon rlown Rinee tbli* was written). This boose was bullt by Daniel Baldwin about 1730.
::bimDey Hill derives ita name from the old atone chimneys of twn or three old hooaea. left standins
tfter the bausoe had disappeared. These houses also faced this road. Several old hooses once stood
>B thhi stfesc that have oompletelr disappeared.
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8o
A CKXTURY OF AIliKlDEN.
early date by Rev. Samuel Hall of Cheshire, it was on the main thoroughfare and
the present Middletown and Mcriden turnpike was not in existence. In the year
1744 (twenty years after Wallingford had acquired the northern half of Meridcn)
bitter dispuies about land boundaries were agitating the farmers, and it was
deemed wise to define and lay out the western half of the ancient Wallingford
north line. Therefore, on Jan. 25. 1/44-45' the selectmen engaged the services
of the New Haven county surve\ or, John Hitchcock, to run it. He ran **the old
north line beginning at northwest comer hy Farmington bounds" (now Southing-
ton) down to the "white wood stub by west end of Pilgrims Harbor bridge" and
stakes were driven every eight > rods the whole distance to define it. Then the
selectmen laid out a highway just south of this line beginning at Farmington line
and running to the "road that goes west through John Merriam's fann."
In 1735 John JMerriam had sequestered land for a road running through his
farm, 2 rods wide, beginning at the Country road just north of his house and
running west past Beaver Dam brook now known as Sodom brook ; this was the
first lay out of West Main street. What was done by the selectmen was to run
the road now known as Johnson avenue (down the steep Johnson hill just south
of the Parker Clock Co. shop) until it came to West Main street, a short distance
west of Capitol avenue.^ The extreme western part of Johnson avenue begins
at Southington line and is skirlerl for half a mile on the north by that town { 1745
Farmington). H one is fortunate enough to own a copy of the 1851 map of Mcr-
iden (one of the most accurate maps of Meriden ever made and particularly val-
uable because it delineates the whole township) and will take a long ruler and
place one end on Johnson avenue and the other end on the bit of road running
in front of the Brenton Hall place in the extreme eastern i)art of Meriden. the
ruler will show tlie ancient northern boundary r>f Wallingford and (ine will find
this line coming down Johnson avenue and thence running very closely to the
line of \\ est Maiti street until it reaches r.utler street when the line cuts <K>\vn
through the hnildings on the south side of West Main street, coming out in fr<mt
of T,yon & i'illard Co.'s office, over the bridge and through the south part of the
Baptist church, uj) Liberty street, and so on until it runs in front of the Brenton
Hall place t<; Middletown, just as it was laid out by the selectmen so long a^. to
>:how the farmers the northern boundaries of what had been the jurisdiction of
WiUingford until 1723. i'lic coast survey map of tlu- Meriden district publishe<i
hy the state will also give this line accurately. 1 hus the ancient Wallingford
boundary line cuts the town into two nearly Qi\\v<\\ parts.
Mention !ias been matle of the Country road. It was thus that our forefathers
called C olony -trect. meaning. iMt thnt it was in the country, but that it belonged
to the country or colonial govcrjunent ut Connecticut. Tills is proved condu-
1 Wallingford Land Record*. VH. XI.. p. 498.
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EARLY HISTORY.
8l
stvely by a vote of the General Assembly passcil at tlie May session in ij6o,^
A committee reported "that upon viewing the road thro' Wallingford Plain they
found the same too narrow, and tlie passing of travellers greatly hindered and
obstnicted by gates, bars and fences being made and erected across said highway
and that they are of opinion that said ir^tcs. fences and obstructions should be
removed an«l a highway of four rods wide at least laid open. etc.
"It if, therefore, rcsohed by this Assembly, That said gates, bars and fences
l»e removed, and the highway thro' Wallingford Plain be laid open at least
four rods wide, and the town of Wallingford is hereby retjnired to remove said
obstmctions and lay open said way accordingly," etc., etc. Had the road not
!H?en a government highway the Assembly would not have given the town of
Wallingford directions regarding it. It was invariably called Country road
until about the year 1800. After that date it was called the Old road until our
modern name of Colony street was adopted, which has exactly the same signifi-
cance as the earl) name. They were conveying precisely the same meaning as
when we sp!-,ik of a highway as the state road. There was another Countr\- road
leading from Farmington to Wallingford that i)asscd just west of Mcridon ter-
ritory. There was only one other in Mtriden that had a name in those
earfy da\s. and that was Misery road or path leading from Wallingford village
to Dogs Misery.
John Merriam Ixaight the P»ishop farm in and nia\ haw found the liousc
in existence or built it ; we cannot tell which, for no mention is made oi it in the
<leed. It St >od on the west side of the Country road, the north end extending
north as far a> the W est Main street car tracks, while the south end of the house
would, if now in existence, jut into the store of X'ictor Schmelzer, No. 6 West
Main street, pos>il)ly touching Griswold. Richmond & Cdock and Church Si Morse,
adjoining. The well was on the north side of the house and will he remembered
by many as the old well that once was located in the junction of Colouv and Main
streets, and w hich was filled up more than thirty years ago. The old house had
probably disappeared before the turnpike (now known as East and West Main
streets) was cut througlt in 1812. The extra width of Main street west of the
junction with Colony street is due to the addition of the turnpike to the road two
rods wide north of his house opened by Mr. Merriam in 1735. He made this
road so as to reach his saw mill, located a little west of where the Waterhury rail-
toad station stands. North Colony street where it intersects Main street was
once much narrower than it is to-day. In 1831 Dr. Isaac I. Ilou^h and Major
Elisha A. Cowles conveyed to the town for highway purposes a strip of land
twenty feet wide on the west side of Colony where it joins Main and extending
north about 300 feet. This was in front of the present location of the Meriden
1 C«ioBial Records of CoDn., Vol. XI.. pp. 4$0'481.
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82
A CENTUKV OF MERJDEN.
Honse, Ho!ne Xaiional r.ank and the Wilcox blcHrk. The western side of the
street befftre that date was ahoiii where the west car track lies. It wa« as narrow
as South Colony street where it enters Main street between the Rotters blix^k and
the store of Griswold, Riehmond & Glock. Would that some generous soul had
made a like gift at that point ! To properly undcrstatid the situation of John Mer-
riam's house as first built one nuisl divorce from one's mind East and West Main
street. The house stood in a wilderness fronting Colony or the Country road
that passed through Pilgrims* Harbor, and turned a little at this point, so as to
cross the brook. It faced the east and there was no change until Mr.
M'erriam laid out the narrow road just nortli of his well. His barn stood on the
other side of the Country road, in wiiat he called his Harbor Meadow, and judg-
ing frnru inference only, the Rogers hloek must stan<l on ])arl of its site. His ap-
ple orcliard occupied the meadow northwest of the house and ran up the hill where
the (. t>rner school stands an<l hack of the First Congregational church.^ To prop-
erly luulersland the ancient layout of this, the most central and active lni>ii)ess
point of Meriden. a >kelch has been prepared which will show at a glance what can-
not be so clearlv exi)lained hv words.
It is evident that the encroachiiient on Colony street had been nearly as great
here as on the plain in Wallingford. But il look place long before any one i\o\\
living was born.
We will not leave John Merriam- (the ancestor of all the Meriden families of
that name) itntil Wc have given i few more facts concerning his career. He was
bom in Lynn, Mass.. April 25, 1671, the son of William, of that place. He and
his brother William (three years older) came to Connectiait in 1716. John bought
the Bishop farm, as already told, while William settled in Cheshire in the vicinity
of Roaring Brook or "West Rocks," as it was then called. John brought with him
his half grown family consisting of four boys. Nathaniel, John, William and Jo-
seph, and four daughters, Rebecca, Ruth, Abigail and Susanna. The family took
a prominent place in the commimity and the sons, when they came of age, built
their liomes in Meriden, near or on their father's farm, and here they lived and
brought up their families and their bodies lie buried in the old cemeteries on Meet-
ing House hill and Broad street. There are four of the old Merriam houses still
standing in Meriden: Nathaniel, the oldest son, in 1730 bought thirty acres of the
Jones farm, lying east of his father s home and probably about the same time built
his home which until about the year 1866 stood on the present site of St. Andrew's
church. Here Captain Nathaniel lived and died, and his descendants after him ;
1 An ninrmnt!'- apjile trt'o, tliirty-oiK- iiirhos in itlani(>t<>r ilirougli the Irunk. frrnr feet from the
grouuU. ."tuiMls ba<'k of the Kir-t ('oiign-gutlonal church arnl just i-outh of the rchliloace of Mr*. Geo rg«
R. Curtis. It In not a modern nomrd »perleit and the fruit Is worthlera. It Ut pertop* OM of tboae
set out by .)ohn Mi-rrl.-im in'arly ypars ap^ : il c. rlaiiily is vi^ry ancient.
2 The >UTri;.ni fuiuily i.> an cntlrtly distinct mid separate family from that of the .Merrlman*:.
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l/r»mn by Jani«*h A. Toner, of ("ny l^iiRlnc^ - s efl'cc. from rioKs furnl-hi il bv wri'rr.
AN'ClhNT ROADS WD P. t 1 1 .1 )I \ ( ;S OUTLIXKD IN UKAVV lU.At K LINKS.
IdOUi^X UUiLDlNGS AND STREETS KEPKESENTEU BY IXJTTEU LINES.
<
84 A CENTURY OF MKKIDIilN.
until they moved away in 1800, when the house became the proi)erty of the Bames
family, and after them it was occupied by Cornelius Hull, until finally it was moved
around to Miller street where it stands oj>positc the office of Manning, Bowman
& Co.
The gambrel roof proclaims its age, but its shape alone is about all of the ex-
terior that 's old. The old stone chimney of giant proportions on the great hearths
of which once blazed the fires that wanued and cheered Capt. Nathaniel, has long
since disappeared and m its place stands a pigmy substitute tor its great predeces-
sor. But the sturdy rafters that Capt. Nathaniel put in place still support the
C.\PT. NATHANIEL MKKRIAm's HOUSE.
roof, and the great hewn beams and joists are yet doing the duty they began 175
years ago.
The second Mcrriam house still standing is a very ancient one to all appear-
ances, and was certainly built as early as 1744 and doubtless earlier. Age is de
picted in every angle and line, but the great oaken beams and rafters arc still as
sound as the day they were cut and hewn in the surrounding forests, and bid fair
to last another himdrcd years without any diminution of strength. The old stone
chimney ad<!> dignity and strength, and its massive base covers fifteen feet square
in the cellar and the capacious old fireplaces have blazed with logs that would
blush with shame if crowded into one of our modern fireplaces, were it possible
to do so.
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EAKLV HISTORY.
8S
This house was built by Joseph, the youngest son, and is still occupied by a
descendant — Edward M. Mcrriam. a great-great-grandson. It stands on Johnson
avenue, perhajjs hall a mile west of the junction with West Main street, and
it is necessary to climb a very steep hill before one can gaze on this venerable old
monument of early days. The writer has explored it in all its ramifications and
it bears the appearance of being in almost the original condition in which it was
left when the last nail was driven by the carpenters of colonial days.
The third Merriani house has drifted from its ancient moorings and is now
stranded on Camp street, No. 94, near the office of the H. T. Smith Express Co.,
JOSKIMI MKKRIAM'S HOUSK.
moved there bv the late Horace T. Smith. If is so changed from its original ap-
pearance that one would never know it. William, the third son. lived in this
house and it stood where the Home Club house is now located, at the corner of
Colony and Foster streets. His father, John, presented the house to him with five
and one-hali acres of land on March 28. 1735. It is unquestionably the original
house, for before its removal and alteration it bore every mark of antiquity, and
manv will remember its venerable appearance. Asaph, the grandson of William,
here lived •^nd reared his family and his sons, Selden, Sidney, Lauren^ and Xoah.
were the ancestors of most of the Merriams of modern Meriden.
1 L,aur(>n was the fnth«T of Ijniren and Nc>lFon and built a houne thnt formerly ptood near Ihe house
of the l.'»tc Cttorge W l-vrn. IPS Colony fJtrrft. Ifi'; fnrm rxtrndrd wr«t and Included a large part of
Grove Strret. It wa* of him thnt ho many Irishmen bought their building lots.
86
A CliNTUKY OF MKKIDKN.
The foiinli house, biiiU by John. Jr., is in a condition that wouUl distress its
builder could he see it as it stands fronting the street — its joists and beams, like
the ribs of some vertebrate monster of prehistoric days, exposed ; and showing
through them the interior is revealed to him who looks.
The old house is certainly a wreck and as it is now would be much better de-
cently buried. It stands on the west side of South Colony street a sht>rt distance
south of the plant of The Meriden Rlectric Light Co. The lot was bought by
John. Jr.. in 1737. of Stephen At water, and doubtless he built the house soon
after. He lived there for several vears. but after his father's death he sold it
JOII.V .MKUKIAM, JU. S IlOU.SK.
and it went through a succession of hands, finally becoming the home of Christo-
pher Atwater. I-.arly in the last century the pro]>erty was acquired by Capt. Lit-
tle. Of him children used to tell mysterious stories with bated breath. After-
wards it ! ecT. c the property of Alfred Sjiow. Tlien I'lortnce W. Shelly was the
owner and later it became the home of Kate McGlynn. It is now owned by John
W. Coe and I'mma L. Cook.
A fifth ?derriam house was standing until within a year or two at the west side
of the junction of Capitol avenue and West Main street. It was built probably
about 1760 by Joseph, Jr., the son of the first Joseph. By people of the last cen-
tury it was known as the Asahel Merriam place. He died many years ago and of
late vears the house had been deserted.
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EARLY HISTORY.
87
The question may arise, how can we be certain that these houses are the ones
actually built and occupied by these different men? Of course there is no way to
absolutely prove it. We have only probability to guide us. When an ancient
house occupies what is known to be the site of the original one, the inference is
that the present one is the original, without it can be shown that the first one
was destroyed by fire or was grossly neglected. There is no reason why one of
these old houses should not last indefinitely providing it has good care. The main
cause of the destruction of old dwellings was that frequently there was no ven<
tilation in tht cellar. This caused the floor beams to decay and took the life from
the foundation walls. In many cases the floor beams and sills have been
replaced by new ones and the foundation walls reconstructed and recemented. One
house in town, almost positively known to have been erected as early as 1740,
is in the best state of preservation of any ancient dwelling in Meriden. This is be-
cause it has always had the best of care. With proper attention one of these old
homes ought to last 500 years. The reason they do not get such care is because
people want new homes, and the old ones have been sold to those who have not
been able to expend much money in their preservation. There are houses in Hart-
ford, Farmington, New London and other places that are known to have been
built 250 years ago, and they are still capable of lasting much longer. There is one
feature al)oiit the ancient dwellings of Meriden that makes it hard to form an esti-
mate of their ai^e. In the towns mentioned mud or clay mortar in foundation walls
and chimneys is a sign of a very early building.' but in Aleriden this method of con-
struction was followed up to the beginning of the last century.
1 Bc« i>ag« 186, "Earlr ConneeUeat Houfe«." by l.ham aud Cruwn; two Rhode Itiland arebU«cta. wbo
hMvt nuidc mu exli»u«Uv« study of the luhjeet.
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88
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
CHAPTER VIII.
In the story of Meriden Farm, related in Chapter II., we learned that Edward
Higbee made a purchase of a large tract of land of Seaukctt, Indian. This was in
the year 1664 while he was probably a tenant on Mr. Gilbert's farm. In 1668 the
colony confirmed this purchase by a grant that was much contracted from the
boundaries given by Seaukett ; but still Mr. Higbee and his successor, Mr. Cole,
who bought the title in 1673, were in actual possession of at least 800 acres not-
withstanding the colonial grant of only 257 acres. In other words, while in ac-
tual legal control of the colonial grant they were squatters on the rest of the farm.'
Apparently no house was standing on Mr. Higbee's farm in 1668 but when he
sold it to Henry Cole in 1673 the deed included "housing."
The Meriden boy's^ composition written nearly sixty years ago, already qubted,
said that the house of Hiram Foster was built in 1669. As the first Meriden an-
cestor of Mr. Foster acquired a large part of this old Cole or Higbee farm, and
was the first purchaser to buy any portion of it, we may safely take it for granted
that the house occupied by Hiram Foster, which stood on Colony street south of
the junction with Kensington avenue, at what is now No. 464, was the one built
by Edward Higbee about 1669 ; the date given in the composition fits in exactly
with the records and is another proof of the accuracy of the schoolboy's informa-
tion. This old house was no longer in existence when the composition was writ*
ten and the present Foster house occupies the same site.
The residence of Mr. Cole on this farm made no impression on the records
until his death on May 12, 1676. In that year the inventory of his estate was
filed in the ronrt of probate in New TTavcn. Although the owner of so large a
farm his wealth was not large, for the land had probahly been only slightly im-
proved and land was worth but little until it had been cleared of forests and broken
under the plough and until there was sufficient population to make a demand for
farms. The inventory is curious and interesting for it shows how simple was tlic
life of these early pioneers and how few of the comforts of life were in their
possession.
1 There were undoubtrdly ntAtiy ca^e^ of thin ktnd In tb« Colony. When tlie New Haven Committee
m IH.'.S btiUKlit nf MtuiiottiM- •fi ti n il' n 1. nnth fiom Noitli t;> Smtli * they fniim! whitw :ilr«?a<ly
In possfKi^ioD of a portion of this t«rntorv Hud probably for a cous^ideralion Ute following clause was
added at the end of the dred : "We, Robert Coggfiwell. R^Rer Knapp and Jamea Live, doe hereby re>
iHiiinrt' rivtit t<> any niid tMorv pari of tlio forepoenUoned land:" thta WAS duljf atgDed by lhef<e
aieu. Sf«* N. ii. Colonial Uetttrtlh, Vul. I., p. 7.
2 Tbe late Henry S. Wilcox.
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EAKLV HISTORY.
89
AN INVIiNTORy OF YE ESTATE OF HENRY COLE WHO UEl'AKltU THIS I. H E
MAV 12, 1676:
40 acres of land in Middleiown bounds 20 lb: the t'arnic koad to llartiord
90 lb: ' 40:00:00
4 bush oi indyan corne & some bedding 01 : 12:00
2 oxen 12 lb : 3 cows 12 lb : one 3 yeare old heifer 3 lb : a bull 4 yeares old 3 lb : a 2
xvare old steare 2 lb: 32:00:00
J calves .;o'»: 7 swine at 5 lb 5« : 3 Ir^scr swine 12": a mare 30*: a two yeare old
cah I lb: 09:17:00
A yeare old colt 15": a feather bed, bolsters & the blanketts 4 lb 6* 03:01:00
3 blanketts 2 lb: a beare skin & deare skin 3*: bacon i lb: an iron pot i lb: an
iron pot 15**: 04:18:00
A brass kettle i lb 2^: a brass skilletti 6b : In pewter 158: 5 piggins^ 90 : a can
c^- wood bottle : 02:15:00
A Crying pan 5": a payre of tongs tramclM & pot hooks 6»: 00:11:00
In porke 2 lb 3 bush* of wheat 13* 64 : 5 bush" & peck of Rye 1 lb 2* : 10 bufih*
Indyan Com 30*: 05:05:06
A mente bnrrcll • n ninlett' 2'^: 1.^ <ir\ c;i>ke i lb: a bene liarrrl : 6**: ni :o~ :o6
2 <:piiiiiuii; whorls H-" : 2 oha\ rs 4^: a ciu-st 8^: by wearing cloath- 2 11): 03:00:00
^ payre oi sheets 2 lb: homespun cloath 7 lb 7« : a bible a payre of cards^ 2^. o):\^:oo
Cart, hoops, boxes, i lb 16"; chayne plow irons, span shakle i lb lo": 03:00:00
2 guns 2 lb : powder ft shott iS" : 2 swords 12" : 2 stubbing hoes & 4 hoes I2>' : , . . . 04 :oa :ao
2 brogul hoes S* : a saw 5" : 2 axes 5" : coopers tools 3 lb 10" : 04 :o8 :oo
127:17:00
taken by us
Nath'-'- Merkiman,
£LISAt>H FrESTOK.
Henry Cole was a cooper, which accounts for the tools and large number of
boxes, barrels, casks, etc. It is interesting to notice that there is no mention of
a bedstead and that the total value of this large farm of at least 800 acres was
only £20. The low valuation of the bear and deer skins show that '*Hennerie'*
(as the old records sometimes quaintly called him) did not wander far from his
door to obtain them. The mother with her ten children continued, probably, to
reside on the farm until they were old enough to marry and move away. She
then resided in Saybrook where she died in 1687. In that year a document was
drawn up and signed by the various heirs, which appears on the probate records
in New Haven in 1692.
1 A fvan with feet and tons handle.
2 Wood*n «Jlp|»cr.
3 lmf':*m«nt in ftnj.itire cn wLlth to hcDR culinary veKCh.
4 fiifbtfea galloo iMirrel.
5 For carding wool.
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90
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
WethersBeld Jan y« 23 1687
Whereas there is a certaine estate in land & other personal estate formerly of
Right belonging unto our hond**"'* father Henry Cole sometyme since dec^ at
WalHngford in y* latc^ colony of Connecticut in New England left in in y*
possession of our hon"*** mother lately alsoc deceased at Saybrook w*^** s^ estate
had never yet orderly distribution between theirc children. We therefore y*
children of y« s^ Henry Cole & his wife dec** whose names are hereunto subscribed
in order to a loving yssue of y* matter have mutually & unanimously ag^reed that
y« estate shall be divided between all s^ children in equall proportions. And
to y^ end have alsoe agreed to desire & Impower two of our Beloved Brethren
with our trusty & beloved friend Nath* Royse of WalHngford afore''^* to settle
& distribute the same accordingly. And alsoe to make sale of a certaine parcell
lying within y* Bounds of Middletown belonging to us containing by estimation
twenty acres be it more or less. And having soe don to distribute y* effects
unto us y* s** children
In wittncss hereof that this is our unanimous agreement we have hereunto
set o^ hands or marks this 23''^ day of January An^ Dom one thousand six hrn-
dred eighty & seven
The husbands signed this document in place of those daughters who were
married.
The two Beloved Brethren mentioned in the above document were James and
William Cole, who continued to reside in this locality^ James for a while in the
homestead, while William took a farm on Clapboard Hill, south of the present
residence of J. Hobart Yale on Yale avenue. John became a school teacher in
Boston and Samuel lived in Wethersfield.
A curious question arises when considering the southern boundary of the Cole
or Higbce farm. The colonial grant to Edward Higbee. which is recorded on
the Middletown land records, says, "257 acres more or less abutting on Pillgrims
Harboi:r Rivtr south till it comes to the way which goeth to New Haven & from
1 Tb« »"«rd refer* of cour!*e to the usurpation of the Colonial governnieut by Sir Edmoud AndroM
at tbiR time.
Samuell Cole
Aron Goofe
Hannah Coie
the mark of
James Cole
Wm Cole
his mark
Rebekah Cole
her mark
John Stevens
Samuel Taylor
Rich* Goodale"
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tAULY HISTORY.
91
thciice siraight to a river at iIr- end of tlu- iiioiniiain which lycth west," This
would natrrally lead ore to hciievc lliai «>ik- si u i t the iHiuiularv wa.s jH>siiively
determined. Chi the other hand, when tlu (leneral C ourt or Assembly granted a
farni to James P.i>iio[j the lolIowiiiL^ year hi^ southern bovMulary was on a line
running w^^st from where "Pillgrims 1 larlxtr River conies to the wa\ wliich ijoeth
to Xew Haven." Tlie natural inference would seeiu that |anK> r.i>hop had
borght up Higbee's claim to that jiarticular tract, at least, for the southern boun-
daries cannot be the same for two distmct farms. Hut. unfortunately for this
tlieory, we tind that when iii^hee sells his farm to Cole in 1^173. he give^ iden-
tically the same boundaries that are mentioned in his grant from the colony.
W ere there two crossini::^s that nii^lit each he considered the Way tliat g<»eth to
Xew Haven?''" There were, if the following records can be interpreted in that
\ . :uu\ there seems to be no alternative. As already mentioned, the reason for
staking the old north bounds of Wallingford in 1744 was because disputes had
arisen between the farn.ers relative to land divisions. These contentions lasted
some time, and in the year 1748 it was found neccssar\ to take the de]«isition of
Robert Roycc who lived in wliat is now known as the Dr. Archer ])lace in South
Famis. tlien called Milking Yard or Roycc's b'arms. Tlie fight had been carried
to the (jencral Assembly and Deacon Koyce was either summoned to appear or
else a special agent was sent to see hini. The deposition now in the State Library
at Hartford reads as follows :
"Robert Ro\ce of Wallingford in y'' count\ of New Haven of full age Testi-
fie*; and Sa\s that he is now and hath been well acquainted for sixty years last
I :^t w ith the north line of the town of Wallingford as it was shown to him sev-
trall Times by Old Mr. Yale who Informed him he was with ( 'oinmiltfc that
Laid out the Township of Wallingford and that he hath been Severall Times
appointed w ith old Capt Yale to Perambulate the line or lines of y^ Township,
that the North West Comer, Something in Farmington, Rounrls the line
* * ") down to Pilgrims Harbour to a white wood stubb near where the
l-ridge now Staiuls which Stubb is the South West Corner of Jones's farm and
mntinuc;- down to yc South Fast Corner of Streets farm where Daniel I'lalding
now Lives^ and the Town farms were always laid south, uj) to the Said Described
l.ine and that y*^ Country farms that lay north of said Litie were all bounded
South on Sr.u] Fine and that he is well knowing to \^ Improvement & Hounds
of the farms hoth C ouu.trv Town Bounding on Said Fine, and hath had Severall
of them y« Said Farm> Comuutted to his Watch Care and that the other sup-
[>osed Road over the Harbour was nothing otherwise than a Road laid out by
I Joba Yctinam place on Be« L«n«.
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$2 A CKNTI KV HI- MKUIDUN,
Old Capt. Yale to accommodate Mr. Cole to go to Meeting and went by the name
of Cole's path and this 1 often heard old Capt. Yale say, and further the Said
Koycc Saitli not
Taken in Perjietiiam rei Mcnioriain
Robert Rovs
Waliniglord I'eby 1747-48
Robert Roys personally appeared and made oath to the truth of the foregoing
evidence before me
Xath'* Stanly Assistant**
This document shows that there was another road that was considered by some
as the "Way that Goeth to New Haven." James Cole is probably referred to
and his home was at the comer of Colony street and Kensington avenue. To go
to meeting for him meant to go to Wallingford for there was no chuich in Meriden
until long after that early date. If he was looking for a short cut or a way to avoid
the swamp and muck and mire that formerly existed at the Colony street cross-
ing of Harbor Brook and to escape the sand flats beyond Yalesville« the natural
way to go would lie somewhere near the present line of Center street, and after
the summit of the hill was gained then down Broad^ and Curtis streets, and so on
to Wallingford. When what is now called Curtis street was laid out in 1721, the
records state that it "goes as the road now goes up Pole Hill'*' and is 6 rods wide,
and nms north to the end of the bounds, or ''Wallingford North bounds." In
other words the selectmen were following an ancient road and were merely adopt-
ing it as one of the town highways; and when Rev. Theophilus Hall laid out
Broad street from Curtis street to the new meeting house in 1752, which he was
then building, he simply sequestered this same path or road that led just west of
the church and then down to Liberty street — the Wallingford north bounds.
Could this path from North Colony street down Center, Broad and Curtis streets
have been in existence before Capt. Yale marked it out for Mr. Cole to go to
meeting ? i t he iaid it out. he was laying out in the Center street part a path in ter-
ritory that tlid not belong to Wallingford until nearly fifty years later,' If he
was marking out a highway that had already been in existence he was merely
performing the part of a surveyor, which position he held. Now there was a road
other than Colony street, evidently at an earlier date, that is mentioned in the
anciert rect)r.U.
) llro* il Strpit Miiilj i f tjjc h iH imri wilh thatii- Sint t ntt latU oul X\wn.
2 Tb» blti down which the Roiithern imrt« nt Curtis and Br»Kd Stnete denmd watt CKll«d Pol* HI I!.
LnyiiiK out i\ rtMid piUli 'n th<)'«^ <';trh days in ii aiiy locations nicjiiit i-iinply to "blaxo" and cul
out a few iTi ef ui d liuslits. ()t t i.tnild U'U <'U'ily f )ll;)w .stii h a path ihrut:gli llie Irat kless (or«i<U witb-
out Koizie onp rnnrtaulU* renewpd thne awrks and "bluzen."
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EARLY HISTORY.
93
At a General Court for New Haven March I2, 1654-55, "Mr. Goodyear was
desired when he goes to Conecticote to g:o the new way & take notice of it and
let the Court understand how he finds it & that if they see cause they may send
futtx rrcn to mark it ovt." The southern boundary of the Cole farm was cor-
uinly almost, if not quite, on a line drawn due west from Center street bridge,
h is a problem that is not now possible to solve. But certaiiil> the evidence looks
as if Mr. Higbee thought that about where Center street bridge is now located wa&
where the **way that goeth to New Haven" was located.
The beloved biethren and trusty friend, Nathaniel Royce, did not soon find
customers or purchasers for the Cole farm. The power of attorney authorizing
them to sell the farm was executed in 1687 and not until January 29, 1707-8 did
they sell a rocxl. On that date they sold to Bartholomew Foster, of Wethersfield.
ship caqienter, "2-10 of that howle farm known as Cools Farme set on Country
road near South side of Belcher's Farme.*' Mr. Foster was originally from
Gkwcester, Mass., where he was bom about 1649, where he remained until
i^Kj6: he was engaged in the ship building business. Then he came to
Wethersfield and made a purchase of John Curtis of a piece of land with a "Man*
.Mon house*' on it. There he probably made the acquaintance of some of the Cole
family and was persuaded to buy a part of the farm in Meriden.^ He bought
niore during the two or three years following. Bartholomew Foster came to Mer-
idcn with his two sons. Thomas and Timothy, and the family has always been
prominent and influential. When the church was formed Bartholomew was ac-
tive and conspicuous in the negotiations and served on various committees, such
as purchasing a farm for the new minister, etc When considering these two ad-
joiaing farms of the Fosters and Merriams and their neighbors the thought strikes
one that the name of a prominent manufacturing company of to-day applies with
peculiar descriptive force to the community on Colony or Country road in those
early days, viz. Foster. Merriam & Co.
Meantime, an agreement appeared on the Wallingford records under date of
March 12. 1708, whereby the Cole heirs divided the farm into ten parts, five
I>arts on each side of the Country road. It would be tedious to follow up the
different transfers but we will notice one or two items relating to the farm that
are curious: One of the heirs was Samuel Taylor, of Wethersfield, who had mar-
ried a daughter of Mr. Cole, His share of i-io was 80 acres and it lay in the
>outhem part adjoining the Merriam farm on the south. Mr. Taylor died in
Fel»n]ar)% 171 1-12, and his portion of the Cole farm was inventoried as "Farm
1 X«B* Of Ui««e ancient Fo8t«r bouMs are uow In existence. Thomas, by the tormR of hie father's
cet Ok* henae wtwidlnx at tb« comer of Colony Street and Xenftlngton Avenue prevtotM to 1848.
the bou^<• of TitP<,t],v too.] probably on wbat la now tbe property of the State School fbr Boys
vb*n it froat* on Colony Street.
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94 \ CKNTrKY (II- MKRIDKN.
in the \v(X)dN called Cole's farm. 80 acres, £20." It is on file in the records of
the court ot probate. Hartford, and there is no location jjiven other than that
quoted. Aaron (iofTe. of W'ctherstield. who had married another of Mr. Cole-
dauj^hlers, had an inventory which mentioned his 100 acres near Pilj^rims" Harbor
as worth four shillinp^s. 1
For nearly a hundred years if there was a transfer of any part of this great
farm of Henry Cole's the deed always mentioned that the land was a part of Colt
farm, l»y the year 1725. after two or three transfers, that part of the Cole farni
that had belonj^ed to Samuel Taylor became the property of Josiah Robinsoa
CAPT. JOSIAH ROIIINSON's HOUSE FROM S. \V.
Note condlllon of Colony Street lu 1876.
He bought some a<l joining land until he had a farm of more than icx) acres.
It fronted along Colony street, beginning at about where the Mcridcn Silver I'latf
Co. factory now stands and running up to. perhaps, where the residence of Arthur
S. Lane is located. No. 341. Mr. Robinson's house was located where now stands
the home of Mr. E. J. Doolittle, Xo. 285. The fami stretched off towards th<
cast across Harbor Urook and nearly to Hobart street line. There is evidenct
that he huilt his home shortly after he bought the farm, and it continued to stand
there until iSjr), when .Mr. Doolittle bought the house and lot and demolishctl
the buiMing. I'rom its enormous chinniey. which was a regular quarrv, he waf
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EARLY HISTORY.
95
able to buiM the whole foundation of his present house and wall up the bnxjk on
l»oth sides, that flows in the rear, and had a quantity of stone left to sell. Of all
die ancient houses in Merideii, it was the largest so far as we know.
Mr. Robinson' was an important man in the community and for those times
had considerable wealth. He was captain of the train band and was always
called Capt. Robinson, and in 1750 was one of the delegates to the General As-
sembly for the town of Wallingford. I'or many years his house was the tavern of
the parish.-' He had five slaves at the time of his death named Phoebe, Lennnon,
Rose. Primus and Jennie, who probably helped take care of the farm or waited on
^icsts in the inn. The house in its day must have been a fine one and its size made
it impctsing even in age. The addition in the rear was i>erhaps made by (ieneral
Walter P*ooth who owned and lived in the house from 18 16 to 1843. It was
<loiibtless a tin shop as he, in his younger days, was engaged in that business.
C.AIT. JUSIAII KOUINSO.N S IIOLSK l UO.M .\. W.
The first notice we find that Capt. Josiah Robinson's house was an inn appears
in the record.= of Xcw Haven county court in 1751. At the April session each
\car licenses were issued and duly recorded. In 1763 .Ames' -\lmanac began to
give a list of the diflPerent post roads and towns between Xew York and IJoston
with the names of the best taverns.
Robinson's is the only name given for Meriden and it continues so until the
u-ar 181 1. It is the onlv one mentioned in Meriden bv Green's "State
1 Captain Robiti'^on probably came h<'re from Dorchesier, Muss., perhaps through the influence of
Bartholomew Foestpr.
2 Tbfr« in ■ tradition thet Gcnrral Warhtngton stopped at this Inn. INrlinpn be did; but If we are
to believe all the tr3ditionf< relating to the houses in New EnKland. that are .said to have been honored
by the preM^nce of General Wa-^hlngton at one time or another, we are forced to the conclusion that
:Q«tMd of attendinK to the military ufTalrH of the Colonies and later assumini; the dutlcn of Chief .Mag-
utrat* of the Nation he was Hpendlng his time In haunting the hostelrles and wu» better fitted to
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96 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Register.'* an accurate and reliable publication full of statistics relat-
ing: to Connecticut. Capt. Robinson died in 176O and left an estate |
valued at £1636. He owned 261 acres of land, but not in a connected tract.
He had a law library containing eleven volumes, so that he probably occupied |
somewhat the position of a legal luminary among his neighbors. Back of the
house, which was valued at £165, stood a barn, a horse house, a Dutch barn-
and a malt i^oiisc. The inn was continued by his son, Josiah, until 1771 when he
died also. He had evidently lived a rapid pace or been unfortunate in his in-
vestments, for his estate was found to be insolvent and a list of his creditors
contained the name of almost every man in the parish. The two widows (the
elder being the daughter of John Merriani) continued the tavern for some time.
It then went into a succession of hands who all ran it under the
name of "Robinson's :" among them Caleb Bull. Seth D'Wolf and Giles
Foster. Finally Jotham Mitchell owned and lived in it until his son-
in-law. General Walter Booth, l)()u^rht it in 1816, Then its fame as
an inn ceased and it was used by General Booth only as a residence
until 1843, when he sold it to Deacon Elah Camp. He sold it and one acre of
land to Keyes S. Hathaway in 1852. Mr. Hathaway lived there until 1876 ancl
then sold it to E. J. Doolittle. wbo pulled it down. .Vorth of Cajn. Robinson's
farm was a strip of land belonging to Bartholomew Foster, which ran up to the
road that is now called Britannia street. North of this was a tract of some 140
acres which was taken by Aaron Goffe, of Wethersfield, in the settlement ni the
Cole estate. Nothing was done with the land until Solomon Goffe bought his
brothers' interest in the property in 171 1 after his father's death. The deed, re-
corded only in Wethersfield, reads that the farm is in the woods and bounds west
on the Country road and extends north, east and south. Truly a somewhat
indefinite description. Mr. Goffe moved to Meriden and built his house in 171 1.
that is still on the east side of Colony street a little north of the Grisvvold street
junction and is now known as the Samuel Clark place. It is undoubtedly the
oldest house in Meriden and certainly has a venerable appearance. We know noth-
ing about Mr. CofTc except that he lived here ten years, married a Wallingford girl.
Mary Doolittle. and the birth of one child is recorded. In 1721 he sold the place to
Tliomas Andrews, of Wallingford, who, apparently, lived there Tintil 1729, when
he sold it to Jonathan ColMn?. of Middlctown. The old house was enlarc:ed. pcrhap>
soon after iMr. Collins bought it, for the addition looks as old as the rest, but
w rit. ;i ^;ui(l« VkioIv to Ncw Englatid. giving tlie names of the best tavcrii-- tliiin In }><• i ailed (lif father
of his country. He may have »topp««l h«re to get a bile or qu«acb his thirst but there is no record
of tli» fact. DOtwittafftandins tliat an tttnerary of his trawls has been published. When Jottrneylay
to Boston in ITTi'i to tnVf charRe of the armies (his first trip thm'iph Now Encl.mdl Tir left N>*
Haveo ia the morning and reached Springfield that ulghU The larger towns of Hartford aad New
Haven were ao near that U Is very doubtrul If he ever stopped at Roblnaon's.
2 A bay bouse with no sides, but with a roof supported by four corner posts.
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EARLY HISTORY.
97
hat there has been an addition is plain to be seen. The dormer windows in the
Did gambrel roof are probably a later addition, and there have been apparently
»ome changes in the interior. That the house is the one built by Solomon Goffe
ivill be apparent to any one who will examine the old rafters and the huge floor
L>eams. The chimneys in the cellar are enormous and the stones were cemented
with clay mixed with straw as were the foundation walls, a sure sign of an early
house ; another indication of age is the split laths, used in very early houses.
The Collins family continued to own the house until 1796 when a son, Jonathan,
Pboto by R. S. Godfrey. J0\ AT1I.\N COI.LI.NS' IIOUSK,
Jr.,^ sold it to Samuel Taylor of Chatham. Mr. Taylor doubtless lived in it until
1806 when he sold it to his son-in-law. Partrick Clark. The Clark family own
the house and farm to this day although they no longer live in it. It is now
rented to a German named Charles Hackbarth.
Jonathan Collins was the son of Robert, of Middletown, and the father came
to Meriden two years earlier than the son.
1 ThU Jonathan Collins removed to Turin, N. Y., where he became very prominent
7
98
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
In the settlement of Henry Co1c*s estate the son. John, who was a sclux)! teach-
er in r.oston, took ^^50 acres on the west side of Country road just opposite the
Solomon Goffe farm. It had a frontage on the road of 2,270 feet, and extended
south nearly to the Mcridcn I'^irearms plant and ran north quite a ways Ik-
yond the VVaterbury railroad crossing. It extended in the west quite to
Hole mountain. In 1721 Mr. Cole sold the farm to Samuel Cutler and Dr. Eben-
czer ("oojHT, and these gentlemen ai)parently huilt a house on it and ]>robably
lived in it. Dr. Cooper was so far as we can Icara the first physician 10 live in
Meriden. The deed calls him a ""phititian." He afterwards live<l in the sor.ih-
eastern part of Meriden and on December 30, 1739, Thcophilus Hall bap-
tized his son Thomas. Beyond tliese three entries we know nothing ahnvit him.
In 1727 Butler and Cooper sold the farm to R >1»lii Collins,^ of Middlct»'wn.
He came here with his two younger sons, Rohen and Edward. The lioust. be
bought w ith the farm was late in the century sold to Joseph Twiss. of Cheshire,
the ancestor of the Twiss family in Meriden. It stood near llie northern limit?
of the farm close to the Country road and this part of the farm was some ye.ir>
since the links of the -Mcridcn Golf Club. The old house was destroyed by ftrc a
great many years ago.
In 1737 Rohert Collins gave to his son, Edward, a tract of land containing
100 acres, in the southern part of the farm, and proh.ihly very soon after Kdward
built his house, fur on Aug. 29, 1738, he married Susannah Peck, of Walling-
ford. antl his home was in the house now occupied by Junius S. Norton, at
596 Culuny street.
The house is a very ancient one, mi(ine>tionahly, although it has been greatly
altered. The picture shows it as it was some twenty years ago. Even then it
had been greatly changed from its original condition. The front door was at
first in the nu'ddle of the street side, but at the date of the picture was on tlit
south side. The old house is in somewhat the condition of the boy's jack knife:
a new blade and a new handle, but still tlie same old knife. The great chiinnev
cemented by clav mortar, and the old split laths still to be seen in the attic, an-
unquestinnable evidences of its age. Here was born on February 16, 1741, Dan
Collins, afterwards known as Capt. Dan, who was a very prominent tig\ire in
Meriden early in the last centurv. He married in 1774 Susannah, the daughter
of Esq. Aaron Lyman, and lived in the old Lyman home that stood on East
Main street, cast of Broad street, ami was pulled (ie»wn m.uu yr-ir-; ago. Tliat
farm is still Collins property. The Edward Collins house had a munber of own-
ers before it came into the possession of Mr. Xorton. It was sold late in the
eighteenth century to Reuben Stocking and by him in a few years to Ira Yale.
1 He WM born In Brmntord Is 1668.
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EARLY HISTORY.
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It later became the home of a Mr. Tennant and Mr. Norton bought it of the late
Eli Butler. North of the Collins fann on the same side of the road was another
large tract of land reaching to the road or laneway that runs west from the resi-
dence of Edward Higginson, already described as the southern boundary of the
Belcher or Meriden Farm. It contained 400 acres and extended west 400 rods,
or 6,600 feet, and had a frontage on Colony street of 150 rods or 2,475 ^^et.
The Cole heirs sold it in 1710 to John Hurroughs, of Stratfield, a grandson
of Edward Higbee, a previous owner. Burroughs' son, Edward, sold to
Richard Hubbell 120 acres of this land — the south part — and he to John
EDWARD COLLINS' HOUSE.
Dcnnie, a rich P.oston merchant in 1734, and Mr. Dcnnio immediately built a
house that is still standing, once called the Stephen Bailey place, but by many
known as the Grimes house. It stands about a quarter of a mile north of the
Waterbury railroad crossing on the west side of Colony street on a high bank
with a stone wall in front, and is shaded by several large maple trees. That Mr.
Dcnnie never lived here is certain, and he must have leased the farm to some one
in Meriden. The house does not look as old as it is, for it has been newly clap-
boarded and painted. But let any one examine it from cellar to attic as the writer
has done, and he will soon be convinced of its age.
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
In some respects it is the oldest appearing house in Meriden. It is very prim-
itive in its construction, and on the second Hoor only one room has been done
off and that is on the south side. On the north side an addition has been built,
very roughly, in such a way that the ancient oak clapboards are part of the inside
finish. The inside walls are mostly boarded over and around the mantels there
is some paneling. There was originally no ventilation in the cellar and as a re-
sult the huge oak sills and many of the floor beams decayed and have had to be
replaced by new ones. Late in the eighteeenth century the farm was bought by
Stephen P»ailcy (1795). and remained in that family for many years. h
is now the property of William Nelson and is occupied by a Dane named James
Rasmersson.
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
STEPHEN B.MLEY's HOUSE.
The northern part of this 400 acre tract, belonging to John Burroughs origi-
nally, eventually became the property of the Yalcs and was by them sold to the
Edwards family of Middletown. On the old road described as running west
from the old Eli Way, or now Edward Higginson farm, stands a poor, forlorn
old house, bereft of its sides and looking the picture of desolation. It stands
about three hundred feet west from Colony road and is on the north side of the
old road or laneway. It is shaded by large maple trees and has a forbidding
and sinister aspect, as if its old walls had once hidden some mystery. It is a
very old house and was built by one of the Belchers, probably by the governor.
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E.ARLY HISTORY.
lOI
and thus dales previous to 1741. It was standing when the farm was bought
by John Yale.
Here Hvcd the Jonathan Edwards family for many years, and their interests
seem to have been more closely identified with Middlctown than with Meriden
parish. At the end of the eighteenth century the farm was bought by James
Avery Hough, and the old house was identified with that family for many years.
In the middle of the last century it was the home of Cyrenus Booth, For several
years now the h.orsc has been abandoned and it is only a question of time
before it will follow the way of all the earth.
On Colony street stood, until some ten or fifteen years ago, an old house
known as the Eli Way place, which has been mentioned many times as opposite
Photo by R. S. Godfrey. JOSEPH EDW.ARDS' HOUSE.
the old Kensington road. In the division of the Cole estate a tract of 50 acres
was sold to Thomas Miles, blacksmith, in 171 3. In every case when the Cole
heirs sold a portion of their farm it was necessary for the purchaser to pay toll
to W'allingford by buying her Indian right acquired from Adam Puit, so that
the Cole title was not considered valid without buying Wallingford's title. Gen-
erally this secondary charge was paid by the Cole heirs. Thomas Miles was no
exception to the rule and we find him buying or at least acquiring a secondary
I02
A CENTURY OF MERIDliN.
deed from Walling^ord's commissioners. His north line abutted on the Belcher
estate and the farm was on the Country road on the east side and the old Way
house stood on this tract. That he lived on the farm is not probable for when
he disposed of it in 1724 to James Scovill, of Middletown, no house is mentioned
in the deed. But when Mr. ScoviH sold the farm to Eden Burroughs in 1733,
a dwelling house was included. As the Way house was very ancient in appear-
ance it is possibly the one built by Mr. Scovill. The farm was S(Ad in 1742 to Asa
Yale and by him in 1745 to Samuel Yale. Without stopping to give all the trans^
fers we will state that in 1796 it was sold to Elisha Cowles, the father of Major
Elisha A. and Roswell Cowles.
Mr. Cowles was a mason by trade and probably made many of the old grave-
stones in the Broad street cemeter)' and doubtless many of the old chimneys and
foundations in Meriden were the results of his labors. North of this house on
the west side of the road there is a ledge w-hich looks as if much stone had been
quarried from it. After his death the house and farm was sold by the heirs to
John B. Douglass and it did not become a \\ ay place until sold to Elilby Avery
Hough in 1823. To the writer it seems probable that the house was built by
Elisha Cowles, the old oiie having disappeared in the description in otic deed.
Just south of the Jonathan Collins farm, now the Samuel ( place, and
north of the strip owned by Josiali Robinson, was a sniaU laiin 01 thirty acres
belonging to Jacob i'arson> ; it fronted west on Colony street and there was a
house on it that disappeared long ago. Parsons bought it of Thomas Andrews
in 1722, who at that time was the owner of the lann that he later sold to Jon-
athan Collins.
In the n.jrthern part of the Burroughs tract of 400 acres on the west side of
the Country road, and just south of the I3elcher farm, was a small tract of some
thirty acres that was abont 1720 sold to Timothy Jerome and on which he was
living at thai time, although the tract was shortly after acquired by the Edwards
family.
The first farms and houses on Colony street have now been located and it can
be seen that the owners formed a community by themselves. I'ntil 1728 the ter-
ritory was not fornialiy made a part of W'allingford, although paying taxes in
that town. These farms were far a\\a\ from VVallingford church and all the
conveniences of that community, and the situation must have at times been irk-
some. On October 8. 1724, they presented the following petition to the General
Court then assembled at New Haven:
**The Humble petition of the Subscribers Humbly Sheweth
That we are under great disadvantages for want of a Pound nere y* Merriden
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EARLY HISTORY.
103
or Stone House and arc compelled to drive unruly Cattell ncrc 6 or 9 miles to
y« nearest pound which if we had one ncre it w ould save us a Great Deal of troble
and wc would carry the marks and brands of those CatteU impounded where the
Law directs, to the next towns unless the Honorable assembly, would pleas to
Constitute a man among us to Despose of Unruly Creatures as the Law directs.
Therefor your Humble Petitioners Pray that there may be order for a Pound
near y« Mcridcn, or Stone ITouse, and an officer to Despose of impounded
Cattell and your Petitioners as in duty bound will Ever Pray
N. Merriam J. Parsons
N Merriam Jr Eleazer Aspinwall
Wm Merriam J. Merriam Jr.
Tim* Foster B, Foster
J. Robinson T. Andrews
Thos. Foster I>. Rich
T. Jerrum J, Scofell."
That this petition was granted cannot be learned.
Ekaztr Asiiinuall was. at this time, a tenant on Meriden or Stone House
farm, and it is probable liiat David Rich was also. Thus we have followed up the
grants to the difFeretit owners and located all the lanns on Colony street and in
several instances the titles have been carried to the present day. Meriden was
settled in a niaa;u r so different from most Xew England towns that it has seemed
to the wrircr better to locate the different farms in the jxarish of Meriden, so
that when v.e come to the formation of the church and scan the roll of those faith-
ful pioneers who wished a church in their very midst, we may know who they
were, wher.' they lived, and have a lair general idea of the topojjraphy of the
cnnntry. To the wiiic: the old houses are of a peculiar interest for they con-
nect us with the past as nothing else docs. H one of our forefathers could return
to his foniKT li' ine and walk about our streets busy with tlie hum of mod-
ern life, how nmch would he find as he left it? The old highways have changed
their courses, or been closed and new ones opened. The whole face or topog-
raphy of the country he would find greatly changed. Where was woodlatid, now
lie broad fields, and where he left meadows and pastures, are blocks of houses
and factories. With the exception of the eternal hills standing like sentinels on
each side of the town, and a few old houses, nothing would be as it was when
he closed his eyts i(»rever.
Something of palhoi. should swell within our breasts as we gaze on these old
homes, the only visible reminders of an age that is gone, of names that have
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I04
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
vanished and of hands that have been dust these hundred years. They are the
only witnesses of a life that we know no more — a life of simple pleasures and
primitive conditions. The phantoms of many generations pass before our eyes,
generations that were once as we are now, busy with their ceaseless round of joy
and sorrow, of marrying and burying, of feasting and mourning, of laughter
and weqjing and of play and work. And these old houses have seen it all.
Through the door of each have passed the husband and wife, newly wed, the
first to call it home ; and then, children's feet have pattered through, and chil-
dren grown to men and women have hastened hence to build them other homes.
And so, one generation after another, they have come and gone, and still the
old house stands, perhaps sheltering people of an alien race, and sometimes de-
scended to uses that, are low. And the names of those who built them and first
lived within their walls have been entirely forgotten, and all that is left to tell us are
a few old musty records, with only a name and a date, as witnesses that they have
ever lived. And, as with these old houses, so will ours be soon. Other lives
will be passed beneath their roofs ; and our names — only a memory, and soon
utterly forgot.
rUKni OK TIIK OI.I) WILLIAM JOHNSON
I'LAfK, UN JOHNSON AVKNl'E.
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EARLY HISTORY.
CHAPTER IX.
The boundaries of Dq>uty Governor Jones' laige farm have already been de-
scribed. Naturally he did not live in Meriden but, nevertheless* he must have
made frequent visits of inspection to ascertain the condition of his farm and to
see that it was properly cared for. In charge of it he placed Captain Thomas
Yale of Wallingford. Just a glimpse of the relations of the two men is given in
a deposition made in 1757 by Theophilus Yale, the son of Capt Thomas.
"About y* year 1740 I went with Mr. Hitchcock y^ County Surveyor and Dea-
con Robert Roys upon y« Desire of Dan" Baldwin to Wallingford North West
comer bounds and we run from thence eastward along by y* line of Marked Trees
which my Hon*^ father Thomas Yale informed me was Wallingford North Line
iintill we came to Pilgprims Harbour bridge which my s^ father informed me was
y* place where people Constantly pased over, and then we came to y* Southwest
comer of Mr. Jones'es Farm which farm was Laid out in y* Country Land (So
Caled) and then we continued y* same course as far Eastward as y* South East
comer of Mr. Streets farm now Dan*' Baldwins « * » I remember when I
«
was young y* Mr Jones Desired my father to take care of his s*^ farm and renew y*
bounds, and when my father was old Mr Jones Desired him to take me with him
and Shew me y* bounds of y^ farm, and I remember I often went with my father
to renew y* bounds of &^ Jones'es farm. I see all y* bounds thereof and well
remember y^ y* south bounds of s^ farm joyned on Wallingford north line," etc.,
etc^ Theophilus was at that time 82 years old.
Of course in th»s deposition Theophilus was speaking of the Colonial grant.
After the death of Mr. Jones the farm remained intact until 1722 when the heirs
divided it.
It would be tedious to follow these divisions, so we will take the year 1735 as
a convenient date to show the ownership of this great farm.
It requires a good bit of imagination to go back and see in one's mind's eye
what it looked like then — a stretch of meadow and woodland, with scarcely a
house in all the great tract. All roads and streets must be obliterated fri mi one's
mind except the old Liberty street running east from Pilgrims' Harbor bridge;
and Curtis street running in its present course and coming down to Liberty a
little east of the course of present Center street and so on to North Colony road.
The farm of 30 acres belonging to Captain Nathaniel Mcrriam has already been de-
1 OoloDlml LunOa, Vot. vni.. 170. State Libnrr-
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io6
A C£NTURY OF M£RIDEN.
scribed. It fronted on the north side ot Liberty street and extended as far east as
the Meriden High school property, his barn probably standing on the site o£ that
building. Ilis land was hounded north and west on Harbor Brook.
The next larni was that of Timothy Jerome. It also fronted on I,ihc rt\ street
on the north side ; it extetidcd as far east as present School street and was bounded
on the north hy Harbor Brook. His house stood very nearly on the sit*- of the
present Waller Hall house, No. 202 Liberty street. How long it continued
stand cannot be told, but shortly after his death in 1750, his son, Samuel, built a
house that was standing until ten or twelve years ago and will be remembered by
many as the Ui)son place, just south of the residence of the late Reuben T. Cook.
No. 608 Broad street, liefore Broad street was opened in 1799, Wall street
joined Liberty street near what is now the south end of Hol)art street, and ])assed
between the house and barn of Timothy Jerome, as is told in the layout of Wall
street, made hy the seleetmcn in 1739.
T he SamiH-l Jerome honse formerly faced south on this old extension of W all
street to Lilierty, and when Broad street was projectt-d in 1799, there was at first
the sugge>lIon that the house would have to l)e mi>ved farther west, which was
finally avoided by moving the road slightly to the cast. When Broad street was
widened in iSfK;. it left this olti litmse jntting into the road ei,L;hteen feet, and the
common cotmcil ordered it moved back. So it was shifted twenty-five feet to the
nar and turncl at right anuK s so as to face Broad -street, at which time it lost
its old stone chimney. It has been imfiossifile tr> obtain a i)ictnre of this old Samuel
Jerome place. Timothy, the father, emigrated to America about T717 and he evi-
dently came directly to Meriden. lie was ])rohal)l\ from the Isle of Wight
and the family is believed to have been of Huguenot origin. As already noted, he
seems to have lived at first on a tract of land just south f>f Meriden farm and he
bouglit his portion of the J«>nes farm in 1722. Tunoihy was a man of consider-
able wealth for at the time oi his death in 1750 his inventory included four slaves,
named Lon'.p. ko.sc. Jenny and Prince.
The valuation placed on these slaves was enormous, viz: £460, £295, £ njo
atid £tj5 respectively. 1 liis was because the valvie of the currency was at that
time nineh (iepreciated. His wearing ai^parel iiuluded such articles as a straiijht
bcnHed coat of pale blue, a red vest of bavse. a black vest n\ cailimanco and leath-
cr breeches; mixed colored coat and ve^t. a beaver hat. etc.. tic.
Alte>Lrethcr Timothv Jerome nnist have been very smartly attired when ar-
rayed for n.eeling or exfwcting guests: and he mu>t have often liad frieiKls at
his home wlio \NVre not disinclined to hilarity, if we may judge from the list i»f
seven punch howU. a case of bottles, large drinking glasses and sixteen pewter
tankar»ls mentioned in his inveniury.
It should interest all \" know that the brilliant di>tricl attorney of Xew \'ork.
William Travers Jerome, is a descendant of Timothy in the sixth generation.
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EARLY HISTORY.
107
Chauncey Jerome, the well known clock manufacturer of Xew Haven fifty years
ag^o, \va? also descended from Timothy. Samuel Jerome moved to Stockbridge,
Mass., and sold his farm to Abel Ctirtis iti 1771. and Abel later g^avc a consider-
able portion of it to his son Levi, who lived in tlic old house many years. It
A as bought years ago by Benjamin Upson, and his widow died in it in 1888 at
Lhe ripe oM r;i^c of ninety-six.
That p:irt of the Jones farm that was south of Liberty street became the
pr ^K-rty of Stephen Atwater from Xew Haven and Daniel Harris, Aiwaler s
part was bounded west on Colony street, north on Liberty, snulh on Olive and it
extended eabt as far as Pleasant street. His house stood at the junction of Olive
and Colony streets on the south side, on a piece of land Utught of Eleazer Feck.
This old house disappeared many years ago. His farm extended also across Har-
bor brook t ) the wst. probably as far as Cook avenue. This Atwater^ family
continued to dwell here until the beginning of the last century.
Daniel F^arris came here from Durham and bought the east half of this south-
ern purtion of the Jones fann as early as 1726. He continued to hold it until
1739 when he sold sixty acres to Rev. Theophilus Hall, together with a house and
a barn on it. There is a tradition that the parson l)uilt the old house, afterwards
known ai the Central tavern in 1752 for his son Samuel. As this son was only
thirteen years old at that date it cannot be that there is any truth to the tradition.
It seems nmch more i)robable that this building was the one standing when he
bought the t'arm of Daniel Harris.
Samuel was only twenty-eight years old when his father died in 1767, and the
house with adjoining land was left to him in the will, as well as the barn, which
^i* vod not far from the site of the IVoad street Baptist church. The house cer-
tainly was a very ancient building and as the parson's home was where the Wil-
lard Hal! house now stands, .'^outh of the junction of Curtis and Ami i>treets, on
the southeast corner, there seems to have been no reason for building the old
lior.se in 1752. It is probable then that it was the one built by Daniel Harris as
carl\ as 1730. at least. Of course, this refers to that part covered by the gam-
brel roof only. The rest of the house was evidently a combination of after
Th< »ughts, built as the demands of the tavern increased, by Dr. Insign or his son,
Dr. Isaac L Hough.
The house was the scene of many an interesting event in the earl\ history
of the town, although its imjKirtance as a t.ivLiii was nnt until after 1811 when
Kobinson's ceased to be mentioned. It stood on the site of the residence of Fran-
cis .\twater, No. 510 Broad street.
The eastern boundary of the Harris fann was a line perhaps four hundred
1 Hits Stcptacii Atwater wm ft dewendant of tbe New Haven family of that name vetr promtnent
there: One of tbe name. J«iiatliao. wa* one of tbe ri«heet men of the Colonjr.
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EARLY HISTORY.
feet east of and parallel to the old Curtis street which ran on the western edge of
the present Broad street and would, if now in existence, run through the western
part of the Center Congregational church.
Aaron Lyman came here from Durham about the year 1732 and bought a
portion of the Jones farm both north and south of the old Liberty street. His
fami at first consisted of 130 acres and it lay just east of the Harris-Hall tract,
and extended south a little beyond the present Charles street and north consid-
erably beyond Wall street. It extended on the cast to the top of the hill beyond
A.VROX LYMAN PLACE.
Orient street. His home stood about 200 feet northwest of the house now occu-
pied by Benjamin W. Collins, 450 East Main street.
This house was torn down about thirty years ago and much of the timber is
now in Mr. Collins' barn. The picture is a reproduction of a crayon drawing and
is a faithful representation of this ancient house. Mr. Lyman was an important
man in the community and possessed of large wealth for those days. The old
probate records bear abundant evidence of the numerous positions of trust he
\vas called on to fill. He was twice married and left only one child at his death
who was the wife of Captain Dan Collins and it was thus that the Collins family
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEX,
became identified with this part of Meriden, and all evidence of the former res-
idence on North Colony road was forgotten. Esq. Lyman largely increased his
land holdings and at one time his farm extended down, east of Meeting" House ,
hill, rimning over on what was then known as Little Success hill, which is east I
of and just about as high as Meeting House hill. The home of Charles Z. Mur-
dock stands on the southern slope of Little Success hill. Esq. Lyman also bought
a part of the Jerome estate and his farm extended north as far as the residence of j
Dexter VV. Parker, No. 8i6 North Broad street. Many acres of the old farm are
still in the possession of the Collins family.
Daniel Baldwin, of Milford. came to Meriden about 1725, and bought a farm
in the eastern part that was bounded on the south by the old Liberty street that
Pboto by R. S. Godfrey.
D.\.NIEL U.XLDWIN, OR JOHN VIIA.MANS PL.\CE.
has been described. It was a jiart of a farm that had been granted to Rev. Sam-
uel Street, of W'allingford, in 1680, by the colonial government at the same time
that Deputy Governor Jones was given his farm. This Street estate was just east
of the Jones tract, from which it was separated by the south branch of Pilgrims*
Harbor brook, or Willow Hill brook as it is now sometimes called. Daniel Bald-
win immediately built his house, and the old building is still in existence and is
still sound and staunch and good for many years more.
Daniel died in 1777 and half the house an<l a number of acres were given by
his will to his daughter, Lois, the wife of John 'S'camans, and later Mr. Yeamans
bought the remainder of the land adjoining and the other half of the house and
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EARLY HISTORY.
Ill
here he and his son and grandson lived many years. The house is still called
the Yeamans place. Daniel had a saw mill on the brook west of his home. The
old place is now the property of Fred A. Baumann.
The house looks lonesome, standing as it does in the meadow, with scarcely
another within view. The old road on which it formerly faced has long been
closed, although it can still be traced distinctly in its course to the east; that part
was in use long after the western portion had become private property.
North of the Daniel Baldwin tract was another great farm that was bought
by John Way at a date as early as 1725. The house stood on what is now known
DR. ALEXANDER WOLCOTT, NATHANIEL PENFIELD^
OR WILLIAM IlL'llBARD YALE PLACE.
IS Baldwin avenue, a little west of Bee street, and not very far from the north-
■ast district school house. It disappeared many years ago and its site is now oc-
npied by a modern dwelling. The Way family continued to own this farm many
ears-
West of the John Way and Daniel Baldwin farms was another great tract
)f land that was purchased by Dr. Alexander Wolcott in the year 1735; part of
\aron Lyman and part of the Jones heirs. Dr. Wolcott was of Windsor and was
ifterwards of New Haven where he was a prominent physician. He apparently
ived in Mcridcn a short time and he built a house that was still standing until a
ew years ago.
1 12
A CENTURY OF MERlDliN.
A curious deed appears on the Wallinjjford rccortls under date uf March 3.
'739"40, reading as follows: "1 Alexander W'olcolt^ in consideration of £300
paid to me by Lydia Wolcott, lately my wife, and likewise in consideration of said
Lydia Wolcots obtaining a divorce from me at my request and desire," etc.. etc.
The deed grants to the said Lydia this Meriden property. It certainly was a pe-
culiar tfansactkm and is like nothing else that the writer has seen on tlie Wal-
Hngford records.
This Lydia must have afterwards married John Elliott, of New Haven, for
on December 30, 1747, she and her husband deeded to Nathaniel Peniietd this
farm of 160 acres that had been granted to her by her former husband. For two
or three years previous to the deed to Lydia Wolcott the farm was leased to Da-
vid Rich, but when Penfield obtained it he moved here from Guilford and for
many years he and his sons continued to live on the farm. Late in the eigliteenth
century it became the property of Nathaniel Yale and he and his son Jonathan
and grandson, William Hubbard Yale, were the subsequent occupants of the
house. The photc^raph taken a few years ago shows the rear of the dwelling
with its owner, William Hubbard Yale, standing at the well. It stood on Gravel
street on tho east side, a few hundred feet south of Baldwin avenue. It met the
fate of so many of these old landmarks, for it was burned to the ground, per-
haps three 3'ears ago. ,
Little Success hill has already been described as lying just east of Meeting
House hill: north of it was what was called for many years a "town farm,*"^
sequestered by Wallingford about 1703 for some purpose unknown. It extended
as far north as Liberty and just east of it was the f^;in of Nathaniel Roys.
He was the "trusty friend" of the Cole family who, with the "beloved breth-
ren," had disposed of much of their large farm ; and, indeed, he was the "trusty
friend" of others for he was several times appointed executor or administrator of
different estates at a time when there were very few to care for; he was evi-
dently quite a man of afTairs. He was five times married, his fourth wife being
the widow Abigail lloyt, in whose life had occurred a gruesome tragedy— a not
imconunon event in tlmsc days of savage Indians and frontier life,
Slu' had previously been the wife of Deacon David Hoyt, of Decrfield. Mass.
Two hours before daybreak on February 29, 1703-4, a party of French and In-
1 Dexter s "Yalr Biographies" says, •'hts wife was rompencd to fri»t a divorce from him on account of liU
trwgul.ir li;iblts." He was considerable of a pott, and a conl« ii;;ior:iry said of him "Very tall, eiwt
as a plane tree, with hair haogins 4own hie 8hould«r8, of silvery wbiteoess, and with an eye and eye*
brow and complexion of a dark line: tals appearance very noble."
2 Tills town farm must not be rMi.i .iuKit.t) with tin on' imtth nf tli.- liv.r in South Merifl^-i)
description of thii one in Ka»t iicridun was as foUowH. taken from the town records. "1703 town farm
80 acres lies atrnve Leatel Success Htit 4 score and 12 rods north and south and 8 score rod* •ut and
w.:>t bnum!..! mi .Tones' farm on wept (thr lonth portion) on ye town 1t;if M.lborty ?^tri'i't1 on
ye north, on Benjamin Roy's farm on ye east and nouUj aliio and south on Common land ; allowancs
for blghway through ye land upward."
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EARLY HISTORY.
113
dians under the command of M. de RouviUe, swooped down on the sleeping town
and butchered many and captured a number of others. David Hoyt, his wife
Abigail, and four of their children were among the prisonersi and, suffering such
tortures as may be imagined on a winter trip under such conditions, they were
started on the way to Canada ; one child was killed on the road and David died
of starvation at Cowass in N. H., near the mouth of Wells river. She was finally
brought back from Canada and married Nathaniel Roys in 1708.^
In the year 1687 he was granted his farm of 207 acres by the town. It was
thus described in the records: ''lying near upper end Misery Swamp, beginning on
y* east side of y* river^ near Middletown mountains to north of his hog sty, then
west iigyi rods, then south 160 rods, then east towards y* mountains 94 rods, then
north 160 rods." As the only landmarks in the boundary are the hog sty and
the river, its location might be termed a trifle indefinite. Kut as a subsequent
deed shows that it joined the town farm on its western side, it is safe to sa> that
it was located between Paddock avenue and Gravel street on the west and Misery
Bar road and Ike street on the east. It was probably tK>unded by the "WalHng-
ford north hounds" on the nnrtli.
It was between this Nathaniel and Cai)tain Thomas Yale that the quarre l ara';e
in 1696 rccTcinling a watering place which involved so many of the W'allingford
planters.^ The watering place was. doubtless, where Misery liar road crosses
the south branch of Pilg:rims' Harbor Brook. His house, perhaps, also stood on
this road, for at that date there was no other highway in the locality. In 1701
Fnsign Xathaniei gave to his son, Benjamin, a farm of seventy-two acres, a part
of this same tract. There is no record of where his house stood and it must have
disappeared many long years ago.
East of the farm of Nathaniel Roys was one belonging to i-lbenezer I'rindle.
The house was situated near the north end of Misery liar road, a link »uth of
its junction with Pomeroy avenue, but \ms l>n^ since disappeared. Mr. Prindle
came here from Milford about 1722 and evidently in some way was connected with
The William Jones family, for he obtained his first laiul in Meriden as a Jones
heir. He was the owner of another large tract ot land extending quite a dis-
tance north of old Liberty street and east of the Daniel Baldwin farm in the so-
called Country land. His two daughters married Abraham and John, sons of
Daniel Hall.
Mention has already been made in a former cliapter of the farm of Daniel Hall."*
Murdock avenue runs through the heart of it and it contained a very lat^e tract
T
1 See ShcMoa's Rtatory ot D«erileld. Vol. I. pp. 283-284.
2 Thfsc i?ngli»bm«n were u««d to smaU liTera at home, hence thejr commooly called Harbor Brook
a nver unUl a contidenibljr later tfato.
8 See pace 68.
1 Thi^ TIall family were det^f^ndantt of the 9«me «tock ae Rev. Theophllus Hail: a venr prominent
race in tbe annala of Wallingford and Meriden.
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114
A CENTURV OF MKRIDKN.
of land. The house owned by Daniel Hall was undoubtedly the first one erected in
the east part of Meriden — perhaps as early as 1685. It stood immediately south
of the present dwellinj^ of John P. Hall,' a descendant, but became uninhabitable
and was pulled down many years aj^o.
The line of the Halls, owners of this fann is Thomas, Daniel, John, Joseph,
Julius and John P. and his sisters. The farm is still a large one and undoubtedly
represents the longest continued ownership in the same family of any land in
Meriden.
South of this Hall fann. perhaps three-quarters of a mile, ort the cast side of
Murdock avenue, and just north of the dwelling of George B. Murdock.
stood the house of Benjamin Whiting.- He -came to Meriden in 1725 from South-
HOU.SI-: OF l).\.MHL HALL.
ampton, L. 1.. and bought some sixty acres which he subsequently added to until
he owned a large farm which extended on l)oth sides of the highway. I''or many
years he served as a deacon of the church and died in the year 1773 at the age of
seventv-ciglit. Of his three sons only .Samuel remained in Meriden and he died
more than a hundred years ago. He left no .sons, so the name became extinct in
Meriden. but his two daughters. Lucy and Sarah, married two brothers. Joel and
Levi iMister. rcsi)ectively. and it was thrs that some of the fann is now owned l>y
George A. Foster.-* a descendant. The old house built by Benjamin Whiting dis-
appeared many years ago.
1 Tho writer here arknowledges his ludeblediiefis to .lohn P. Mall for much valuable iiiformntloD re-
lating to the aiieient farms in East Meriden.
2 Deaixin WhitInK was a hou of the Uev. Joseph (Harvard Col. 1061). minister at Southampton. L. I.
Sco Pres. Eira Stiles' diary. Vol. 1.. p. 2S!i.
3 FoKter Uros." |H>nd is on this old Whiting farm.
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EARLY HISTORY.
"5
South of the Whiting fann uas tlic larj^^c one hclDiijj^ing to the Ives family.
The old house stood, in fact stands, in the dwelling of George B. Murdock. Bur-
ied in tlie de|»ths of this modern house is the kernel or nucleus of the one built by
John Ives at an early date.^ In the year 1723 he appears to have taken up his
residence in the parish of Meriden. He died in 1738 and the house and east pnrt
of his farm passed into the possession of his son. Captain Bezaleel. He died in
1798. and his only child, Captain Samuel, then hecame the owner and at his death
in 1803 it became the property of Ivah Curtis, who had married his (Umghter,
Hannah, f lere was born Rev. Sanuiel Ives Curtis, whose son, Rev. Samuel Ives
Curtis, Jr., lately deceased, was probably as great a Hebrew scholar as this coun-
try has ever produced, and professor in Chicago Theological Seminary. About
tlie middle of the last century the farm was bought by Zina K. Murdock, and
he made the changes and additions to the old homestead. The farm of John !ves
was a large one, comprising several hundred acres and stretched down on both
sides of the highway nearly to the town line or farm of Amos Camp. His son.
John, in the division of his father's estate, took the western part and i)robably
built tlic house many will remember as the Othniel Ives place, a ft-w hundred feet
west of the dwelling of Mr. Murdock. It was erected very likely about the year
1745. It was bought many years ago by j ( leorge Schwink and perhai)s ten years
Ti^o was burned to the pfround. In it was born Levi Ives, who was the father of
Levi Silliniar. Ives, who became the ['rotestant Episcopal bishop of North Car-
olina. In the year 1852 he pro<luced a great sensation by leaving the church and
embracing the Roman Catholic faith. The Ivt-- funnily has always been numerous
and influential in iMeriden and the old rect)r(ls ahuund in frequent evidences of
this fact. Almost due south from the house of George l». Murdock stantls the
home of John Francis, just inside the Wallingforc! line; it occupies the site of
the house of Cato Freeman, i)robably a brother of Chatham Freeman ; both were
freed negro slaves: from the mad just west of the house there was formerly a
lancwav leading to the lionse of Amos Camp. perha|>s three hundred feet to the
north. Consequently it was just withiti the Meri<K n hue and was one of the land-
mark*: nsed in describing the first boundai) of the pari>!i «if Meriden. He cnme
here at an carlv date fmm Durham and bont^dit at different times land from Sam-
uel Hall. W illiani ( "le and John daylord, which was variously described as near
Hurnt Swamp. Clapboard Hill, etc. Most of this lan<! is now in Waihngford, l)ut
the house stood within the Meriden line and, c« insc i|uently, he belonged to the
parish. Hi*: familv moved away fully a hundred years ago. and they were verv
di<itnnt]v related to the Deacon Elah Camp family that moved to .Meriden in the
middle ' •! the !a?t century.
Paddock avcTiue north of where Misery Har roafl leads to the norilu.i^t is
called a enmparatively modern road, nevertheless, there was a road running north
1 Sonw doubt has httn exp^rcMcd a» to this statement : at any rate tbe sites are the same.
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ii6
A CliiXTL KY OK MKKIDKN.
perhaps a litllt- further west, at an early date, on which a Gideon Ives was livinj:
in the middle of the eijijhteenth century. His farm was l)Ounded south on the
Berry farm (to be described) and land of Dr. Isaac Hall, and east on the liij^hway
and not on Misery P>ar road. He was a son of John and brother of Bezaleel
Ives. Some of the farm was given him by his father and some he purchased of
Benjamin, the son of Nathaniel Roys. East of this farm, on the other side of the
road, just north of the Paddock homestead, once stood the house of Michael Mitch-
ell, one of the early settlers of Meriden.
Miller avenue, which runs west from Misery road (now called Paddock ave-
nue) and bejjins its course between the home of William B. Rice and the south-
Pholo by R. 8. Godfrey. s,las RICE PLACE.
east district school house, is an ancient hij^lnvay and was laid out in 1723. and
runs to Vale avenue. The Rice house occupies the site of the dwelling of Cap-
tain Divan P>erry, of Revolutionary fame. His father's ( Divan. Sr.) home was quite
a distance further west on the same road but disappeared long ago : there are people
still living who remember the site by the depression marking the cellar. Divan.
Jr.. bought the house at the corner of David Ives and six acres also, bounded
north and west on his own land. Divan died in 1785 and the house and si.x acres
soon became the property of Levi Ives and it was doubtless here that Bishop Levi
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EAULV HISTORV.
»'7
Silliman Ives was bom. The house was biilt before 1740 by Dr. Ebenezcr Cooj)-
er, Meriden's first "phititian." About 1796 this dwelling was destroyed by fire
and Levi Ives immediately bejjaii the erection of another, but before it was com-
pleted he sold the half finished house to Deacon Silas Rice on October 3. iji/).
So that really it is a Rice place and is now occupied by a descendant, William
B. Rice. Levi Ives, after sellinpf his home, removed to Turin. X. Y.. called at that
time in the Black River Country, where so many other Meriden families moved at
about the same date. The Berry farm was a large one and extended west on
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
EPiiR.MM i:i:kkv, or a.\run iir;i{i:v i'l.\ci-:.
Miller avenue over Little Success hill to Swayne avenue and quite a distance to the
north. ^
There was another Berrv farm not far awav, and on it stands a r»errv
house, a fine substantial dwelling, probably the best type of a colonial house in
Meriden. In the year 1743 Thomas Vale sold to Kphraim licrry of "Chilsy"
(Chelsea) Mass., fifty-foi r acres of land lx)unded south on the ten rod highway,
1 The writer mentioned to Cban. Z. Murdork that his houne ntands on the old lierry farm and he re*
plied, that when be was a rhild h\f nunt had rallfd the fleldn the Kerry lots; he supposed (he tiTui In-
dicated that berries once grew there — a natural infpren«e.
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A CENTURY Of MERIDEN.
now Atin street and Mcctiiii; House Hill road, north on Hcnjaniin Curtis and east
on highway ( Swayiie avenue). With it he sold a barn. Shortly afterwards Berry
mortgaged the land and on it then, were a house and a bam, showing that the
house had been built in the intervening time. The late Mrs. Julia Knight, who
owned it, told the writer that a few years ago the barn was taken down and on
a beam was found tlie date 1735, and that her father. Aaron Higbcy, had told her
the house was standing when the old meeting house was in use. This tixcs the
date very close to 1743 and the pedigree of the dwelling is practically certain.
Ephraini was. doubtless, a brother of Divan Berry, Sr. He finally moved from
Meriden on Xoveniber 22, 1756, and sold the house and farm to Stephen Perkins.
The I'erkins family occupied it many years, the last one being Liberty, who
Ijassed a good part of his life developing a cliaracter commonly denominated as
crusty ; he married late in life as his second wife the widow of one of the sons of
Squire Darius Benham of Colony street, who with her son, Henry W. Benham,
came to live in the old house. The boy, who had high ideals, did not get on well
with Liberty and many stories are told of the hardships endured. The story in
detail can be found in Mrs. Breckenridge's ''Recollections of a New England
Town," page 49.
The lad afterwards became a general in the arm} and had a very successful
career. In the first half of the last century the dwelling became the property of
Aaron Higbey. The house has been kept in perfect repair and no one of the very
old homes in Meriden is as well preserved as this. There is much fine paneling
and everything about the house indicates how carefully it was built and kept in
repair. It stands on the east corner of Parker avenue and Ann street.
The name of Captain Thomas Yale has been frequently mentioned in the fore-
going pages. He was born in New Haven in 1647^ the son of Captain ThomaSr
Sr. He was a grandson of Ann, the daughter of Bishop Lloyd, of the diocese
of Chester, England. Her first husband was Thomas Yale, of Wrexham, Wales.
He died about 1719 and she then married Theophilus Eaton, a merchant in Lon*
don, who afterwards moved to New Haven and became governor of the colony.
Captain Thomas, Jr., was first cousin to Elihu Yale, after whom Vale College was
named on account of his benefactions to the institution, and who, although bom
in New Haven, was afterwards a member of the famous and rich corporation
known as the East India Compan> of London and later became its governor.
Captains Thomas, ^ Sr. and Jr., although so well connected, seem to have pre-
ferred the life of a pioneer on the frontiers, to that of a man of affairs in the center
of Xew Haven colony, for the senior early moved to a large farm in North Haven
w bile the junior was one of the original planters of Wallingford in 1670 and at
1 No reliance can be plaofd on tlje early pediRree of the Yale family, found in the pntcs of the K»^n-
ealogy oompilcd by Ellbu Yale and pubiiebcd in 1850. Sc« N. E. Hist, ood Qen. Resistcr. VoL
XXXVIII.. p. 317. Vol. L. p. 72 and Vol. UII.. pp. 82-83. The atatement made on 11 of tbio
book Uiat Tho». Yalo'a moUipr was a daughter of Thou. Mortoo. Bishop of Ghcator, was a mlatafea.
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EARC.Y HISTORY.
119
various times held almost every office his fellow townsmen coiiUl bestow (M1 him ; he
certainly was a very important man in the community. At an early date the town
j^ranled to Thomas Vale a large farm which cannot he precisely stated because the
"ledg^er book" containing most of the original surveys of W'allingfonl is not to be
lOuntl among the archives of that town. There is a descriptif)n of an addition
in 1702. and judging by inference when portions of the farm were sold at a later
tlate, he originally had a tract bounded on the east by Swayne antl "S'ale avenues ;
on the west by an ancient highway a few hundred feet west of the southern i)art
of Curtis street (this was really the first layout of the southern part of Curtis
street ; it is now closed) and by Curtis street ; on the south by the town line, and
on the north by Ann street and Meeting House Hill highway (which were one and
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
NOAII VAI.E. OR J. IIOIIAKT YALK I'l.ACE.
the same road originally). Another section ran north of this old highway. Cap-
tain Thomas had his home lot in Wallingford village so he used the large farm
in Meriden for agricultural purposes only. In 1703 he distributed a great part
of it to his sons, Thomas and Xathaniel, who were shortly afterwards married.
For a while they both lived with their families in a house that nuist have stood
very close to the junction of Yale and Miller avenues, for it was just half a mile,
or if3o rods south of Meeting House Hill road, as described in a deed when the
two brothers divided the farm in 170^). .Xathaniel died a young man in 171 1,
leaving three .sons, Asa, Moses and .Abel, and it was of these three sons that the
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120
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
committee^ appointed b>- the church in 1728, bought the western portion of this
farm, which they later (1729) disposed of to Rev, Theophilus Hall and which be-
came his homestead farm. In the deed it is described as bounded north and west
on higluva.\s (Curtis and Ann streets) and east on Thomas Yale. Julius and J.
Hobart Yale and Levi Yale are descendants of Thomas Yale and much of his
old farm is in their possession. The house erected as early as 1706 disappeared
many years ago and was probably the one occupied later by David Levitt, who
bought quite a farm of the Yales at an early date. There are two Yale houses
still standing in Meriden, one on Yale avenue and occupied by J. Hobart Yale that
was erected by his ancestor Noah, the son of Thomas, in the year 1761.
The house was certainly a fine cme for those days and contains much
good paneling and wainscoting, and is yet a comfortable and dignified dwelling
and for years has been a landmark in that part of the town. Mr. Yale has re-
moved the great chimney and thereby obtained much additional room and has
established .1 water supply in the attic and a steam heater in the cellar, so that it
is now as well equipped for comfort and convenience as though it were within the
dty limits. The house in all its lines shows that it was built by a man who was
in good financial condition and desired to make it an exponent of his comfortable
position. Another ancient Yale dwelling is on East Main street, that was built by
Abel Yale about the year 1735. It is on the north side of the street perhaps 500
feet west of Paddock avenue. The first mention of it on the records was in 1737
when his brother Moses quit claimed to Abel all his interest in the house and
farm. It stands on a part of the "town farm," which the brothers had bought
in 172?^ after disposing of their father's lands to the church committee. It was
evidently a comfortable and substantial dwelling: and it is still in such shape that
it may last man\ years. Of course, it is considerably changed from its original
condition, particularly in the interior.
The old iean-to roof is one of the sijjns of its antiquity. The last of the Yales
to own it was Jonathan- who died in i S.vV ' )rchard ( iuy. his brother-hi-law, who
owned and built the old house, three hundred feet west, about 1793. bought the
Yale homestead after Jonathan's death, and in 1844 sold it to S. C. Paddock. It
is now occupied by a German family who keep a grocery store in the west room
of the |[jround floor.
Mention has been made of the Orchard Guy home. It is of much later date
— probahlv about 1795. In this hou.se was b(»rn t!ic late Joel H. Gm . and also hi<;
brother and sister. Gcnri::e W. nnd Esther. She became Mrs. Melvin C. Lee and
mother of Mrs. Georjje S. Secley.
1 Coiiinjitt»'o wns Harttiolnmpw Foster, Saniurl Hny^ nnd Snniuel Ives.
2 EUhu Yale ia his grnealogy says that .lonathan dud a biu-helor In Ih;^:^. But Daniel Hall In his
will dated June 19. 1804, and proved Nov. 1. iso.'i. says ixii ithan was his son-in-law and husband of
bis daughter. Ksther. Mo.M people Will be Inclined to believe tbat Daniel Hall bad tbc moat raltebte
information on the .vubjirt.
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EARLY HISTORY.
121
122
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Between Yale avenue and Misery highway or Paddock avenue and bounded
on the north by Miller avenue was a large Curtis farm which had beM granted
to Sergeant Nathaniel Curtis, whose homestead was near Falls Plain or Hanover.
He was the son of Ensign Thomas Curtis, who was bom in Stratford in 164S,
a son of the original John, and (;ame .to Wallingford» one of the company of first
planters in 1670, probably through the influence of Captain Nathaniel Merri-
man, whose dat^hter Mary he married. Ensign Thomas was active and influ-
ential and during his sixty>six years of life in Wallingford held at various times
almost every office on the list. He died the last of the original planters in May.
1736. This Curtis farm originally extended all the way from Paddock avenue
to Vale avenue and was bounded nortli on Miller avenue and extended south
towards Clapboard Hill. Nathaniel divided it between two of his sons, Moses and
Enos, but as Moses died young:. »t finally became wholly the property of Etios,
who resided on the farm until 17(^7, when he sold part of it, and his home
to his nephew AbeP and removed to Stockbridj^e, Mass., where he settled near
the "Howl" and his farm there is now i)art of the Anson Phelps Stokes estate,
known as Shadowbrook. The Meriden home stood on the summit of the hill
on the sonth side of Miller avenue. It disappeared sometime early in the last
century. It was a cold, bleak place for a dwelling, and the magnificent
view of the Hancrinir Hills and Lamentation ranpfe in the north and east, with
jjlimi^srs of Hast Kuck anf! Mnrnl ( armel in the south can hardly have repaid
Enos and Abel for the terrible winter l)lasts that must have whistled down from
the summits of Meeting Hnnse and Little Sitocess Hills. ^
Another Curtis farm I'rcnted on Curtis street and oxten(k'(l rastrrly until it
climbed the steep sides ot Meeting House Hill and ran ([uite down to Swavne
avenue. It had a fronlaj^e of only a few hnnilrcil feet on Curtis street hut spread
out fan-like in its easterly coui si- until it cunipi iscd ucarl\ jno acres. ' It was
<leeded by Nathaniel to his son. ileniamin, in i/Jt;. 1 his I'.enjaniin was the an-
ce>t<)r of most of tlie Curtis family 01 Meriden. I lis house stood on a site between
the (Iwellinp^s of the late Lenniel f. ancl I'.dwin 1'.. Curtis, Xos. 128 and 112 Cnr-
tis street. It di.sappeared aliout the year 1830, some of the timbers beinjL: n>cd
in constructing a barn that stnod in the rear, r.enjaniin died a comparatively
young man in 1754. a^ed hfiv-nne. and hi^^ body lies in tlie old Meeting- Hou>e
Hill cemeter\, while that of his wife, who tlicd in 177''. Hcs in the Broad street
graveyard. His son. IJenjamin,-'' who was born in 1735 and died in 18.22, was
not a believer in the race suicide theory evidently, for hv had a family of fourteen
children. .\s his house was not a large one, he, unlike the "old woman who
1 Great grandfather of Floyil Curtis.
2 .1uf<t went of the Soutbeant district school house and the barn of Wm. B. Rlc« is • swamp that was tJl
ot]i' time tniirb larger tJbian it is to-day and extoiHl< <1 north and south for H^tt* K 41StMIMk It «bi
c«li«d lovlndbl* swamp and la (requeatlv mentioDcd ia the old records.
3 Gr«DdraUi«r of Uie late Bdwln B., L(mu«l J., Ofors* Alfred P.» Homer Curtift and othcuo.
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EARI-Y HISTORY.
123
lived in a shoe." knew what to do; for he built a house, probably about 1795, into
which he put those members of his family for whom there was no room in the
old homestead.
This old house is a substantially built one and is located at Xo. 54 Curtis
street. It is in good shape to-day and ought to last many, many years. That it
was positively built in 1795 is not sure. AW we know is that in that year he deed-
ed a part of it to his son, Benjamin, and called it his new house: this may have
been only a relative term to distinguish it from his old one. It was his brother,
•Abel, who bought of his uncle, Enos Curtis, the farm on Little Success Hill.
The farm bought by Rev. Theophilus Hall in 1729 has already been mentioned.
He paid the church committee £250 and as they had given the Yale brothers the
year previous £300 for the same farm, the difference, perhaps, represents a con-
tribution given the minister at his settlement.
Photo by B. S. Godfrey.
BE.XJA.MIN CURTIS HOUSE.
This home farm comprised eighty acres, afterwards added to, so that it con-
tained all told ninety acres. The north line was Ann street which at that time
was a ten-ro<l highway or 165 feet wide ; the east line was on the west slope of
Meeting House Hill, east of the brook, and it extended south probably some
ways l>elow Booth's pond ; on the west it was bounded by Curtis street
or the "highway that goeth up Pole hill." His house stood where the \Villard
Hall dwelling now stands, Xo. 212 Curtis street, but he did not build it until 1734
in all probability, for he did not come to Mcriden to reside until that date (the
year he was married), although officiating in the church after 1728. The high-
way that now runs south from Ann street through the farm beginning a little
east of Parker avenue was not laid out until 1820. Back of his dwelling he later
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124 A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
built a "cyder'' mill, a chair^ house, a horse house and a barn. In addition to
the home farm he bought, later the Levitt farm of sixtysix acres south of it, so
that his land must have extended well towards Miller avenue. Then he owned the
Harris farm which has already been described as around the old Central tavern,
or farm house as it was then. This consisted of seventy-one acres, as he made
a purchase of additional land after buying out Harris. He also owned forty
acres in what was called the Notch Meadow, on the road to Westfield, and
a large farm in KiUingworth, and also 151 acres in Southing^on. Consequently
he was a gentleman of large landed estate, in fact, wealthy. He owned five
slaves, viz: Jack, Phillis, Prince, I'rinuis and Dinah, at the time of his death in
1767, and possessed a total estate of about £4,000, or $20,000. He was a very
rich man for his generation and in all his actions gave evidence of being a
shrewd man of business, in fact, one is constantly impressed by his strength of
character. He was certainly the st-ronj; man of his parish and seems to have com-
pletely governed his tlock in every way. His contemporaries speak of him as a
strong preaciier and a forcc-ii;) man, although small of statnre and slight of
physique. The more one studies the early annals of Mcridcn the more one ad-
mires Parson Hall.
He wns born in W'allingford village on April i, 1707. the son uf Samuel and
Love'^ (Royce) Hall He was of disiinguislicd stock and many of his relatives
became very [)ronniK'nt. His uncK-. Hon. h>hu Hall, was for eight years one
of the governor s assistants and ancestor of Hon. Lyman Hall, governor of Geor-
gia, and a signer of the Declaration of In(k j)cndence, and he was a cousin to Rev.
Samrel Hall, ji.ist.ir .if the church in Cheshire.
Rev. Thcophilus graduated at Yale in the class of 1727. and after a course in
theology lie came to preach in Mcriden in 1728 and was ordained pasiur oji tlie
29th of October, 1729. The Rev. Dr. James Dana, of the church in Wallini^i. r I.
who was a contemporary of the Rev. Theophilus for eight or nine vears. in his
Century Discourse,^ 1770» says: "Mr. Hall was a gentleman of strong intellectual
powers, much esteemed as a preacher, of great finnness antl stability, and a zeal-
ous advocate for civil and religious liberty." Rev. Edward Huugerford, in his
Centennial Sermon,* delivered in liie Center Congregational church October i,
1876, says : "Theophilus Hall was a man of powerful intellect, and of large heart.
As I have searched among old papers, it has been an inspiration to come into con<
tact with the earnestness, and the vigor of this man who began to preach a hun-
dred and fifty } ears ago/' "This man's words flashed ; his short, quick, clear cut
sentences went to the mark. His familiar style with its 'don't' and VonV
1 A ctiAiM or two-wheei«d gig.
2 A daugbter of Nathaniel Royce who was the trusty friend of the Cole family.
3 Pag6 41.
4 Page 16.
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EARLY HISTORY.
125
makes it easy to listen, while his sentiments belong more to a future age than to
the one in which he speaks/' "I do not hesitate to say that if he stood in one of
our pulpits to^y, he would stand there as a thoroughly popular preacher whom
men would love to hear/'
The Rev. Tfaeophilus Hall published three sennons : ist, The Righteous pertsh>
ing. andno man laying it to Heart, Illustrated. Two Occasional Sermons [from
Isa. Ivii:i], delivered at North Haven, June i, 1760, soon after the Death of the
Re\'. Isaac Stiles.
2. The most important Question Considered and Answered: or A Saving
Faith, Scripturally explained, in Two Sennons [from Acts xvi:30, 31], preached
atMeriden, August 10, 1760.
3. The Ministerial Work great and important, arduous and difficult; yet
pleasant, noble ami honorable. A Sermon [from I Cor. i:i7]. Preached at the
Ordination of the Rev. Mr. Matthew Merriam, to the Pastoral Office in Berwick,
25** Sept. 1765.
Matthew Merriam was the son of Captain Xathanicl and Mr. Hall fitted the
\oiinp man for college and then made a journey of over 200 miles to the province
of .Maint u < i>rt ach at his ordination/
-Mr. Haii married May 21, 1734. Hannah Avery and he died of pleurisy in
Meriden on March 25. 1767. at the age of sixty, survived by his widow and seven
children and iiniver<;a!1y lamented.
h is a |»iiy that there is no portrait ot Mr. Hall in existence, and that there
irt M> icw facts in his life lliat have cnmc down to ns. He left to his beloved
church a sum of money with which tn buy a ■■fashionable"" ci iiiininiiion cup, which
the writer is undi r llie iini>ressiun is .still in existence. Hi> IhmIv lit.s in the ceme-
tery on .Meetini,' 1 louse Hill and the slab that covers the grave is in better ccMidi-
tion than ahiiosl any other stone in the \ ard
There arc a few of his descendants still living in Meriden.
1 See Dnter** Tale Blocraphles mod Anmls, Vol. I., p. 3B3.
Fkcalatle from s rocaipt In poflSMslon of Wn. B. Rice,
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126
A tEXTURY OF MEUIO£X.
CHAPTER X. I
Had Tarson llall occabiun to go to Pilgrims' Harbor on a day in 1740 to call j
on his friend, John Mcrriam, he would have left his house on Curtis street and
turned to the north up the road and perhaps stopped a few moments to chat with
his parishioner; Daniel Bradley, busy at the anvil in his blacksmith shop beside the
house. We can fancy Daniel hastening to the door, cap in hand, to pay his re*
spects to the dominie and inquiring if the last job of horseshoeing had been sat-
isfactory; Daniel had onl\ just come to Meriden, having bought the house that
was built by Lazarus Ives, son of John, who lived on Misery road. Lazarus had
built the place about 1 73a, and lived in it quite ten years. Daniel Bradley stayed
here only a few years and then sold the place to Daniel Hough, who lived in it
many years ; he was the father of Dr. Insign Hough and of Mindwell, who married
Benjamin Curtis, and became the mother of the fourteen children. It was owned
by Isaac Lewis for a while and in it the late Isaac C. Lewis, his son, was bora.
A great many years ago it was bought by Samuel Curtis and in it his son, the
late Captain Alfred P. Curtis lived and here were born Mrs. George A. Fay. his
daughter, and Alfred W. Curtis, his son, who still lives in the old house, but has
altered tt so much that if Daniel Bradley were to come back to look for his for-
raer home and blacksmith shop he would never dream that the dwelling, No. 160
Curtis street, was the place he was seeking.
The photograph was taken in 1868; against the fence leans George A. Fay.
Mrs. Fay is just behind it and Captain Alfred is in the background at the right,
and his son, Alfred W., in front, while at the extreme left stands Frank S. Fay.
Following the steps of Rev. Mr. Hall we would go up the street, past the lunisj
of Benjamin Curtis, until we reached a spot a little south of his new dwelling;
here the parson would turn to the left to follow the street leading to Pilgrims' Har-
bor. At this ctjrner, on the south side, was a house that disappeared probably
nearly a hundred years ago. In it lived Captain John Webb. For many years
Captain Webb was a well known figure and inlluential man in Meriden, and pos-
sessed of considerable wealth. He came here from W'ethersfield in 1729 and built '
his house which stood perhaps a hundred feet east of the present home of Mrs.
Juliette Y. Curtis, No. 309 Broad street.
Captain Webb and his wife lived until 179O. When he died he left no children
and willed tlie irreater part of his estate to his kinsman, Renjamin Hart, whose aunt
he had marricM. Me dnubtlc^'^ tnrc dfnvti the rA(\ house and erected the present
home of Mrs. Curtis on the then new turnpike.
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128
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Captain \\ ebb's kiiuWiess of bcart was so great that he left his two negro
slaves, Joe and Daphy Prinn, a handsome competence, and ^ve them their free-
dom. They afterwards lived on Paddock avenue, near the home of another ex-
slave, Chatham Freeman (wlio had earned his freedom by serving in the Revolu'-
tion in place of his master, Noah Vale). His house stood oti I'aildock avenue, near
the private driveway leading to the home of Charles Z. Murdock. The commis-
sions of John Webb as lieutenant and captain hang in the Curtis Memorial library.
The farm was a large one and extended westerly quite to the property of the
Curtis Home, and was bounded on the north partly by the liluhway to be de-
scribed and the farm of Rev, Theojihilus Hall. This highway passed to the
west from Curtis street, following the general line of New street until it reached
prcsiMit l*^lm street when it turnpfl dinf^onnlly tf^ the northwest iTTitil it met ClHve
street, and then westerly in the same (hrrrtinn ii<nv followed hy that street to
Coiintr) road or Colony street. At its junctHm on the south side was the home
of Stephen Atwatcr already mentioned. Olive street, east of the junction with
this uld street was not in existetice until many years later. This highway now
described must have been tlie course of the parson to the house of his friend, John
Merriam. standing in what i> iu>w the jimction of Main and Colony streets.
If the parson liad wished to visit his friend. Deacon Sanuiel Royce. he wi'iil ]
have passed south down Curtis street until he came to the road that runs wot
and comes out on C nlony street just somli of the South harms school house near
Archer's corner. This road passes just south of Sacred Heart eeineter\ and is
the only means of approach. The land in that vicinity for many acres aruund
once belonged to the CowIe> t.uuily. In houses that have long since disappeared
north and Mjuth of the road lived Deacon Ebenezer Cowles and his sons. Joseph.
Jr. and Ebenezer, Jr. In the house on the south side was born Elisha, the father
of Major Elisha .\. Cowles. the most prominent figure in Meridgn in the hrA
half of the last century. This Cowles family was not related to the Cole family
that owned the large farm in the north part of Meriden, so far as w« know, al-
though the names were the same originally. The first of the Cowles family to
live in Meriden was J(ise;>h, who came here from Famiington, and married Abi-
gail, the daughter of Samuel Royce on July 13, 1699. His father-in-law gave
him a farm just south of Archer's corner in South Farms district and in the year
1701, 107 acres up the hill on the old highway down which we can fancy the good
parson descending after stopping, perhaps, to chat with some of this Cowles fam-
ily, who were always very prominent in church matters. It is difficult to believe
that on the summit of this hill, called Ox Hilt, there was once a colony of Cowleses
and also Rices, for so far as the writer can discover there is not the least remnant
of the depression of a cellar to mark the site of a house anywhere in the victfiit>':
but there is no doubt that here they lived for several genetattons. The highway
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EARLY HISTORY.
129
was laid out in 1723. following a path. It runs through from Colony street to
Yale avcnue.Jiist north oi the famihoiise of Levi Yale.
As has already been mentioned tlie South Farms district was at first called
Milking ^'ard and later Royce's (or Rices as \vc may now begin to call it; for at
this elate the name began to assume the modern form) T'arms. But this later
name embraced a nmch larqer tract than that known as South Farms.
It began at the town Ime and extended up Colony or Country road on both
5:de<=. nntil it enihrnred a lartre part of what is Waltmt drove cemetery to-day and
;t '^trelclied over the hill t«J the west, for smne distance, perliaps including the farm
01 Rev. Sanuiel \\'hittk>e\. <>nce known as Town l^^arm, which has already l)een
descril'td a-> hMuiide<l (Jii tiie west by Town Rocl\. and on the snmh 1)\ the river;
and als'» the Kice farms to the north. Fvery member of the Kice lamil) in Meri-
deii excrpt Xalhanicl. seems to have located lii> Imnic farm in this territory, al-
th^ ■•^^h like .-11 tlu- ..tlur planters they ow ned otlu r tract> in various parts of the
tou n. Rm1.( rt Koyce, the j)ioneer. canie to this c^unury about 1631 and landed in
Boston just in time to get into tliat tlicological disjnitc which twisted the budding
town into a turmoil of religious controversy and centered arountl Mrs. Hutchin-
son and which wa> ^rlch a niixttire of metaphysical and religious problems that
it is rioubtful if any one tr)-day knows what it was all about. Kohert L^ot away
>cii'ci\ and went to Stratford and the next wc know of him he was in New Lon-
don, where he wa>- elected a delegate to the General Court in liurlford. and was
a respected and intluentia! man. His four sons. Xehemiah. Sanniel. Xailianiel and
Isaac, came to Wallingford among the first i)lanters. and all of them except Xa-
thaniel took the major part of their land grants at Milking Yard, although, doubt-
less, having their homes in Wallingford village. These four sons were the fath-
ers of nnmerous sons» and to many of them were given the paternal and fraternal
names, with utter disregard to the trouble that was to be the lot of those of modem
days wfK> should attempt to assign to each his pro^KT place in a genealc^cal tree.
But out of the tangle we can, at least, extricate these facts. Samuel had a son,
Rolicft, bom in 1674, to whom he gave a large tract of land in 1706, at the south-
ern end of Milking Yard, and adjoining the farm of his son-in-law, Joseph
Cowles: it was notth and west of it. One gift conveyed 100 acres and there were
subsequent gifts and purchases. It was this Robert who made the deposition in
1748 about the Country farms and Cole's Path.^ His farm extended beyond the
river on the west, and was bounded on the east by the Country road. His house
stood where the Archer homestead is located. This house cannot have been built as
long ago as r7o6, although it is a very old one. The earliest notice of the present
one was in 1740 when the highway running west from it was opened. This road
went directly across the river and did not curve towards the northwest and cross
1 8«« pas* 91*
9
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A CKNTL'UV Ol- MliUIDKN.
at the point wIktc tlic bridge is r.uw located. This (hvclliiigf is one of the best pre-
served of the old colonial homes in Meriden.
It has been kept in fine repair and there have been many additions, notwith-
standing which, the line of the lean-to can be plainly traced. The interior, perhaps,
better preserves the appearance of age than the e.xterior. Robert, like several
other members of the Rice family, was a deacon and a man of substance and in-
fluence. At the end of the eighteenth century a part of the farm containing the
dwelling was sold to John Xott by one of the Rice heirs and on December 5. 1801.
he sold it to Caleb Wilcox. .At his death about 1830. Mrs. Maria Carter, an heir
of Mr. Wilcox, became the owner and in 1866 she sold it to Mrs. Harriet A.
Archer, the wife of Dr. H. A. .Archer. It is now owned by their daughter. Mrs.
Agnes C. Butler.
Photo by II. S. Godfrey.
DE.XCO.V ROIJKRT ROVCE, OR DR. H. .\. .\RCHER PLACE.
North of the Robert Rice fami was one that originally belonged to Isaac Rice,
but later was bought of his heirs by Dr. William Hough as early as 1730. The
greater part of his farm is now included in Walinit Grove cemetery. Dr. Hough
was the second physician mentioned on the Wallingford records. He was the
uncle of Daniel Hough who lived on Curtis street and great uncle of Dr. Insign
Hough, Daniel's son. Dr. William Hough leased a part of his farm "west from
his house.'' to an ass«xiation of Meriden men for mining copper in 173^). It ad-
joined the Golden Parlor Mining Co.'s operati(Mis <in the west, and as every one
knows, the remains of the shafts of this latter company can still be seen in the
.i^Lo I y Google
EARLY HISTORY.
west part of the cemetery. Dr. Hough hved here until 1740 when he moved to
Cheshire and later to Haddam.
That this is tlic original house it is imixjssible to assert. Rut it is certainly
a very old dwelling and it occupies the site of the Dr. Hough home. Age has
raised havoc with the floor beams and sills in the cellar, and it has been found
necessary to reinforce and strengthen them. After the doctor moved away, his
son William lived here and had a blacksmith shop adjoining his house, for he
was the smith of Rice's farms. About the year 1800 it was bought by Cornelius
Hull who lived in it a few years, hi the year 1807 Ichabod Wood, who came here
from North Haven, acquired the property, and he and his son, Xorman, lived
here with their families many years. At his death in 1843 Ichabod owned a farm
of 1 12 acres, which was inherited bv Xorman, and the old house is known to most
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
DR. WILLI.XM HOUGH, OR NORM.W II. WOOD I'L.VCE.
Meriden people as the Norman Wood place. The house and farm were bought
more than twenty years ago by the Walnut Grove Cemetery association. There
is no prettier stretch of meadow in Meriden, rolling as it does in gentle slopes that
open here and there with glimpses of further hills and dales, while in the distance
the spires 01 Wallingford lend a quiet and peaceful charm to the landscape that
is in harmony w ith the environment.
We left the Reverend Theophilus coming down O.x Hill and by this time he
lias doubtless had his little chat with Deacon Robert Rice and is now well up the
road towards Doctor Hough's, so we will join him and continue on his course.
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132
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
Stopping a moment while he steps to the door of Daniel Holt's to see that all is
well within. The site of this house is now occupied by a modern dwelling, a
square, flat-roofed structure opposite the north entrance to the cemetery. The
road now running east a few hundred feet north of this house is an old one and
was laid out in 1723 and we call it Holt's Hill road. It ran also west from
Colony road until it joined the road that was laid out in 1744 to mark
W'allingford north bounds. Much of the west highway is still in existence, al-
though the entrance to it on Colony street is now almost a cliff owing to the cut
that has been made in this latter road. The parson passes on this road to the west.
EZEKIEL, OR OLIVER RICE PLACE.
bordered by fields and meadows belonging now to Daniel Holt and now to Sam-
uel Rice, in an inextricable confusion that only the original owners could disen-
tangle : no house meets his view for a long distance until he descends the hill and
crosses Pilgrim*:' Harbor brook. Here in the meadow, south of the road, was
the home of his faithful friend. Deacon Samuel Rice, the son of the original Sam-
uel who came to Wallingford at the birth of the town in 1670. This house dis-
appeared many years ago and it is doubtful if now the remains of the cellar could
be discovered. Deacon Samuel and his uncle. Nathaniel, the trusty friend of the
Cole family, were frequently deputies to the General Court and were prominent
Google_
£ARLY HISTORY.
in every way. In the (>1<! house lived SaniucP an{l it was afterwards (iwiicd by
his son, Ezekiel, who was a buldicr in the French and Indian wars an<l rejoiced
in the title of Esquire. His son. F.^ckiel. Jr., who was a soldier in the Revokitionary
war, built the house now standinj^, un land p^iven him by his father, in 1781.
It is a style different from any other aneient dwelHntf in Meriden in that it
i;a^ two ehiinneys. one at either end. and thruugh the middle runs a hallway.
The iiousc is s(» sheltered by fine old trees and the ground is so graded to meet
the style of dueilinf^ that there seems to be a sort of mutual adaptability, the ef-
fect of which is heij^hlened 1)\ the small picket fence in front. AUoj^ether the
hou«<. has the appearance of belon.^iu^ there because it grew there, and about it is a
ijJaKitness and quiet charm tl.al is very pleasing and restful. The broad
acres of the larm extend in all directions in pastoral lieauty. and the effect of the
homestead is so striking thai ii is only necessary to call it the t Jliver Rice place to
identify it in every one's mind who has lived in Meriden long enough to l)ecome
faniiJiar with the country round about. In their ancestral home still live .Miss
Anna C. and William T. Rice with their mother, the widow of the late Oliver
Rice, while another daughter, the wife of Dr, E. W. Smith, lives in a house not
far aiv-ay. built by her husband on a part of the home farm.
Among the first planters of Wallingford appears the name of Samuel
Andrews, son of William, who signed the Fundamental Agreement of New Ha-
ven in i6j9, and was one of the twelve appointed to choose among themselves the
men who were to be the pillars of the new church, and built the first meeting
house there. Altogether this William was an important man in New Haven
colony. Samuel, the grandson of Samuel the first of Wallingford, bought several
tracts of bnd in Meriden parish during the decade from 1720 in the western part
of the town that aggregated 200 to 300 acres. It may be roughly stated as bound-
ed by the ^[er^iam farm on the north or West Main street, the Stephen At water
farm on the east, or Cook avenue ; it ran south to Harbor brook and perhaps some^
what beyond, certainly including Hemlock grove, and on the west it ran over
nearly to Allen avenue.
It is impossible to give thoroughly accurate bounds of any of these old farms,
for the planters were constantly buying and selling land, and in proportion to the
inhabitants the number of transfers were vastly greater than they are to-day.
I^nd and cattle were about all they had to sell, and the old records fairly groan
under the number of entries, and the position of town clerk was no sinecure.
The Andrews family, like most of the others, was numerous and their position
.x\ the comnumity was always an eminently respectable one, although their early
illiance with the Church of England seems to have i)revented their holding many
town oAkes. The house of Samuel Andrews stood in the rear and slightly to
1 He bad a Umily of 10 rhndrpn.
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134
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
the cast of the old house at Xo. 412 West Main street. It probably was buih as
early as 1727 but disappeared many years ago. In it were born all his family.
One son, Laban. who lived in W'allingford village, until late in life, was se-
lectman during, or a good part of. the Revolution, while another, Samuel the
younge.st son, was minister of the Episcopal church there and had a not very plea>-
ant experience during the same war. One of the sons, Moses, built a dwelling,
MOSES .ANDREWS PLACE.
probably about the year 1760, that is still in existence and stands on West Maia
street, at Xo. 424, a large, comfortable old colonial house that is still in good re-
pair. W'iien St. .Andrew's Society was formed in 1789, the organization ioc^
i)lacc in this house and here for several vears the Sundav services were held, Mi>>«3
Andrews frequently acting as lay reader.
For many years this family was the mainstay of the Episcopal church "
Meriden.
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EARLY HISTORY.
The higlnvay leatling from the Oliver Rice farm, wliich orij^inally came
ip to West Main street abuut in the line of Capitol avenue, was opened in
he year 1780. This is the hij^hway that runs on the west side of the William
Jradley place now used by the Meriden (lolf Club for their links. If we re-
urn by this hip^hway to the road running by the Oliver Rice place we can follow
t on its old course eastward and when we come to Colony road we still keep on
II the same direction up Holt's Hill. To the south was the farm of Daniel Holt,
s alrea<ly noted: on the north was that of Arthur Rcxford. who came here
bout the year 1737 to run the Golden Parlor mine on the Dr. Houjjh farm. Rex-
>rfl*s^ farm ran from Colony road well up the hill: bounded south by Holt's Hill
)3.<l : it extended north nearly as far as the Curtis Home property and althouj^h
ic Rexfords did not stay here many years it was known by their name for a long
me. During the time of the Revolution it was the property of a man named
aiincy. who joined the enemy, and conse(juently the farm was confiscated by the
>loniaI or state government and sold as a Tory farm. Jauncy never lived here,
lis home was in Xew York and he was a rich man. W hen we reach the top of the
ill we come to the Plumb farm. This house, standing on the south of the road
I lie bouKbt hi>i farm of Daniel Holt and Ab4>l Koyce.
136
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
near the junction of Gale avenue, was once probably the home of Abel Rice. At
least, his house was on this site and the present one is apparently a very old
dwelling:.
Abel Rice was the son of Samuel and was born in 1700 and this land came into
his possession in 1722, a gift from his father. He appears to have been livings on
this farm as tarly as 1733. The house is certainly a very ancient one ; although it
has lost some of its original features, it still preserves sufficient to show that it
was built in the days when the great massive beams in the ceilings of kitchen and
parlor showed their strength by boldly crossing from the great chimney to the
outsi<le walls without being concealed. The great chimney has disappeared and
there have been several additions built.
JAMK.S IIOLHUI, OK JAMKS 1?AU)WI.\ IIO.M F-STKAD.
The house continuetl in the Rice family until the last years of the eighteenth
century when Solomon died and his wid«>w married Israel Hall. It was then
known by this latter name. I'inally William Vale bought it and at his death in
1833 it was left to his daughter Mary, the wife of Francis A. Gale, and has con-
tinued in that family since. It is now the home of her daughter, the widow^ of
W illiam W. Plumb. The |)hotograph was taken about thirteen years ago, before
some of the present additions had been built.
1 Deeeafied since th>« was written.
^ I Google
EARLY HISTORY.
There were two other ancient farms of which no mention has been made. The
•^rst was the Hough fann in the northeast part of the town. It was located on
what is known as the Westfield road, and inchided a large tract of land. Samuel
: Hough, the immediate progenitor of the Meriden family, owned a tract of land
.that is at present known as the Joseph Hou^h farm ; it is south of the old Yale
farm, just ovcr in the Wallingford line, and it inckules the Spruce Glen or Gutter
xlistrict, where Samuel apparently owned and worked a sawmill at an early date.
-J*' He was the fatiier of Dr. William Hough, whose home has been described, and
also of James Hougli. who in the year 1730 bouj^ht of the Way family two acres
^ of land in the bend of the Harbor ; sufficient as the deed says for a sawmill to
stand on. In the early days that part of Harbor brook was always called the
"bend." The pond was then constructed and the mill site we now know as Bald«
^ win's; but it cnntinned to be known as Hough's until iji/) when James Baldwin
boug^ht an interest. He was the ancestor of several of the Baldwin families in Mt r-
idcn, notably Moses (whose son, Nathan S.,^ still has his home in the northeast dis-
A trict) and Ransom, w-ho was the father of Mrs. Russell Hall and Mrs. Benjamin
L Kennard, of this city. The old James Hough homestead was built probably as
li early as 1740.
As may readily he perceived, it is a very ancient huildinj;-. and when the i)hu-
tog^raph was taken it still [jreserved its stoiu- cliimiiev. It was ac(|uired liy James
Baldwin after he bought the mill property and it is now the home of ( ianlner W.
Re\ ii' »!ds. !♦ stands on the north side of the road, several hundred feet east of the
" mill. l .a-~t of it stood until a few years ajjo an old holise ktmwn as the Thineas
Houg^h dwellinj^. hiiilt by a son oi James. Xorth an<l east of the llou^h |»nt|»erty
was the larj^c farm of James Scnvill. He came to Meriden as early as frmu
Middletown. and f<tr several .^eMe^ali(Ml^ the Scovill family was prominent an<l
'^j well known in Meriden. I)ut the name has become extinct in this vicinity. The late
|l Henrv' S. Wilcox and his sfMi, Albert are descendants of this family. The
<1| Scovill hou.ses have all disappeared, one or two of them by fire.
The hij^huay kadinf^ to these Houjjh and Scovill farms, known now as Bri-
tannia street and Wcstficld roa<l. was laid out in 173'). Wall street, which was also
laid out in the .same year, le«l from Liberty street to IlouL^h's or Baldwin's Mill;
both roads when laid out or adopted by the selectmen followed ancient paths.
1 ICr. and Sfn. Nathan 8. Baldwin bare glTen the writer much Information pertaining to the old
farmii and rarly inliabiliuits of Ifertden.
2 Tho writer Is indebted to Albert IL Wilcox, clerk of the First Congregattoual Society, for much
ipf aattstanre In gatUag tDflormatlon from the old eburch records.
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138
A CEXTLKY OF MERJUliN.
CHAPTER XI.
Having now iiia(>ped out the various farms and located their owners in
the parish of Meriden those who have had the patience to follow the narrative
ought to have a fair idea of the topography and general appearance of
the country which has since grown into the town of Meriden. There was no pan
that bore an appearance of a village, for the farms were scattered here and there
and the homes of the fanners were seldom contiguous.
• The first notice of distinct religious services held in Meriden appears in a vote
on the town records of Wallingford under date of December ist, 1724^ as follows:
"In respect of y' north farmers the town voated that they may hire a Minister
four months this winter on their own charg^/'
The clistancc from Wallinpf* 'kI was considerable and the request to be al-
lowx'd to hold separate services in the winter was such a reasonable one that it
could not be refused. This vr.tc was the first act that in any way separated the
territory of Meriden from Wallingford or that recognized that these nortli far-
mers were a distinct community. The year previous the General Assembly had
added the territory nortli of Liherty street and south of Meriden Farm to thf
lists of VVaUiiif?ford, as has been told in a i)revious chapter.
At a meeting held in "Wallingford Aprill y*' 27 1725: the town voated
agreed conserning our North fanners petition — that in case the Generall Courte^
will ji^rant v^' land north of our hounds called purchase land to joyne to them lliai
they shall he a society by themselves and shall have such hounds as shall be thousrht
proper in y' case sett out by a conimittee chosen for tliat work by y* town." The
1 The followtiig tittttlui) WHH prfN^-iUed to the General A^Hprnbly :
To tho Honble the Govr As.sistaiils and Deputies In Oeiill Court assembled May 13th il2f> — The
Prayer of .Nadianii M. ly .in In bebiitf of blmsflf .and oclgbbours Inhabitlns la or near tbe Nortb put
of WallingXord Humbly Sbcweth
That the Town of Wallingford att their meeting April 27th: 1725 Did by their vote grant thmt
thore should be a Society in or near tsd north part of wallingford upon the Condition in sd vote men-
tioned and appointed a committee to State bounds for 8d Society or Sucb part tbereof ae 1» Intended
to be taken out of Sd walllnirford wb together with tbe lAnde Commonlr Called Walllnfrford pttrehaw
L not already Rrand il tu W.itliiiKfi'id vM"-t Sih ii ty or to Furmirttnn > ntli Society \vc hop. ;ir*'
and will be Capable of Carrying ou aud Hupportiug tbe work of a Society atid the Gospel ministry
amons tbemselvee (eapeclaUy If Mr. Beleher'e farm were added) and tbe ad Inbabltanta LlTlng veir
Remot<> from anyplace of Publirk woL hiji \i/ at t^t dlKtanee of G : 1 & ^ in * , nd the nearest i
Wee therefore urged by tbese pressing Dltnculties and Encouraged by yor Honbl wonted paternal Car«
and foodneBs Do Humbly Pray tbis HoDble Aeeembly that we may (wUta tbe addition of Mr. Belcheis
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EARLY HISTORY.
< leneral Court did grant the lands "North of our boimds" as already related and
ihey therefore became a separate society in May, 1725. Ih May, 1728, tlie farm
' 1 Aferidcn was added and the parish henceforth was known under that name as
has been related on a f« irmer page. It is a fair inference, tlu refore, that from De-
ccmt)cr I. 1724, the Meriden farmers held sq>arate church services in their own
territory.^
The story of the building of the church has been to\(\ so often that
the tradition must be familiar to everv one who has paid any attention to our
tarly annals. To thoroughly understand it one must picture in one's mind's eye
•he appearance of Ann street. A highway ten rods wide, it ran from Curtis street
eastward tip MeeliiiLi liouse or Dctr Hill, over the brow and nearly down to
uliat is now Swayiie avi-iuK. Tlie burying ground was in the highway and so
was the church. The writer limited in vain for an act of the town or of a pri-
\ate person, sequestering tlie land for these sacred purposes, until he suddenly
discovered that the r<>ad was 105 feet wide; then the situali<in was apparent.
Vale avenue w as not in exi.slcnce, and instead of by tliat rouie. »»ne coming to the
Uirying ground from Miller avenue used a road that can still be traced a little
west of Swaync avenue and reaching Meeting House Hill highway a little east
<ji the burying ground.
The tra«litton telh t!s that the farmers living in Milking Yard, Pilgrims' Har-
Ixr and south of Merideu I-~arni wished the church to be located near the junction
of Curtis and Ann streets, while those living alxnit Dogs' Misery desired it to be
placed further east on the spot that was finally chosen. The material was all in
place in this latter locality, ready to be put into shape ; but during the night a parly
of men, presumably the Royces, the Merriams. the Fosters, the Collinses and Rob-
insons, brought teams and hauled the material up the hill to the west, to the place
i*xm Ator^ sd> be made u Distinct Society for SettlnK up and Carryfn? on and Supportins the Pub-
Uck vomiiip of God among or selves with Such Llbtrtlfs powers ai.d priveledgtb at> olhtr Such So-
tittim taav* and do hj Law B&Jor
And yor Petitioners ShaU Ever pray
' Nathaniel Merrlam
This petition was accompanied by iiiK/ther sheet containing; the following name* — all parsona
<lw«Uuif in Meriden and evidently fcjlow petitioners with Nathaniel Merriam.
John lve«
Samll Ives
Kirk Rob4>rd8
Benjamin Ive«
Israel haU
Stt*Mi«r pringla
Jbha wvj
Benjamin Wbiting
Timothy jcrram
WtlUam bough
fMtcr
Jo'^iah robeson
jarol) persona
.John Meriam
Abel I roy8
Blelser p< < k
Wiltlam Meriam
Samuel! andnu
Thomas andrua
Joeiah rojrs
John martam
Iiaae raya
Samuel roys
Nnlhaniell meriau
Tbeopfallus mix
James ScbovIIl
Thomas yala
John /ale
Roberd roya
William Cole
Nathaniel roys
Amoa Camp
Joieph Gala
Kzekiel roys
William andriaa
Timothy foster
Joseph meriam
Nehexniah may
Benjamin levlt
Jonathan Seemer
Mirael mi'ihrll
Samuel butler
Bbenaier Cooper
1 T*« TO 1 a tradition that until the meeting hoaea waa built the aervlcee were held In the Daniel Halt
kooeiitcad.
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I40
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
where they wished tlie meeting house located. The next day when the act was di*
covered there was great wrath on the part of the Dogs' Misery residents, and ik
Iveses, the Yales, the Levits, the Whitings and the Halls compelled the men. whfl
had worked all night to carry out their darling project, to spend the following dai
hauling the same material back to the spot whence they had removed it. Whethet
there is any truth to the tradition one cannot tell, but it was firmly believed fifty
years ago. Mr. Perkins says that the church was about thirty feet scpiare. anij
built in the very plainest style. ,
VIEW OF MEETING IIOU.SE HILL FROM THE WEST.
Arrow No. I IndirateH the remains of the stone wall which was the northern bcundarjr of the
rod highway. Arrow No. 2 indli-ates the trauhler markin)r( the Kite of the first ineetinf! hoUK'. »' -
arrow No. 3 points to the south boiindnry of the highway. The graveyard Is at the top of the hill.
From various evidences in the land records of which he has made a careful
study the writer is convinced that the old meeting house site is accurately marked
by the great l)oulder set on the western slope of .Meeting House hill, by the l ir^'
Congregational Society, in the fall of 1904. .\round this church there were pro'>-
ably several Sabbath day houses. There certainly was one. which was distinctly
mentioned in a deed in 1740 as standing on the land north of the church. Thert
is no record of one in the highway except in an inventory of the estate of Robert
EARLY HISTORY.
141
kCt*. The first house mentioned was just a rod square, or at least the land
i. on which it was built. One as larjje as this would perhaps be used by two
more families ; of course, durinjx the "nooning," between "meetings," to re-
• the ravages caused by too close attention to long, doctrinal sermons: to thaw
one's niimbe<I extremities, before a blazing fire after sitting in an absolutely
icated church in the dead of winter ; and to consume a little {oo(\ during the
"t intcmiission, in order to be fortified against a second doctrinal discourse,
'ing the summer, prol^ably the vicinity of the spring, under the grateful shade
by the old oaks around its source was the usual place of refreshment of those
lived too far away to go to their homes during the noon hour,
rhe meeting house was finished in 1727 an<l the farmers must have hired
>ns ministers to preach for them during the following year. On December
1728.^ the Reverend Theophilus Hall began to preach here and probably reg-
y thereafter. Early in the following year a petition was presented to the
rral Assembly, for at the May session the following vote was passed :
lurch R^oords.
142 A CeNTUftY OF MERIDEN.
"This A$seni1)]\ do ^rant liberty to the inhabitants of the society of Meirida
in the town of Wallingford, to eniliody themselves into church estate and sett]
with them an orthodDx gospel minister: the said inhabitants first obtaining ih
consent of the neighboring churches/'
The first church record, made by Mr. Hall, reads as follows : |
"Wallingford (Meriden in Wallingford) Oct 9th 1729
on the 8th day of this inst the C liri>tian I'.rethren of Meriden the Xorth Socid
in Wallingford met together at their meeting house with myself to come to 3
agreement as to matters of discipline in said church that was about to be setti^
in that place.
And tlie agreement between them and myself according to which it should
practiced in the church when settled, is principally comprised in two things.
1st the admission of members which was that such as desired admissioi^
full communion should stand propounded a fortnight at least, and none 01 1
Brethren making any motions or objections should be admitted.
2d as to duty witii ofYenders that the church should have a vote in order to p
a sensure upon any, and at the conclusion of the meeting I repeated the agreemc
as above written and told them that I should look upon it as an unanimous agn
ment if none objected and not one did object anything against it.
Theophilus Hall"
This prei'minary having been settled, on "tlic 22d of October a churcli v^i
gathered on a fast day observed by the society : and the 2qth of the same nioq
Mr. Hall was ordained their pastor. The number of communicants was then
males 21, females 30."^
The roll call was as follows :
RohiTt Royce John Hecock and wife
v^anil Rnycc and wife John Cole
'rh(»n!as Yale and wife ^ The wife of W" Hough
John Merriam The wife of John Yale
Bartholomew Foster 1 he wife of Joseph Cole
Robert Collins The wife of Nath^ Royce
David Levit The wife of David Rich
K7ckiel Royce and wife The wife of Daniel Harris
Abel Royce and wife The wife of S. Andrews
1 Or. Dana's Century Discourse 1770, pu 41.
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EARLY HISTORY.
Benj. Royce and wife
Xath* Merriam and wife
John Merriam Jr. and wife
Joseph Merriam
Dan Balding and wife
Amo9 Camp and wife
Benj. Whiting and wife
Saml Ives and wife
Ebenczer Prindle and wife
The wife of Tim Jerome
The wife of Benj. Curtis
The wife of John Ives
The wife of J. Robinson
The wife of \V^ ]VIerriam
The wife of Jos, Royce
Widow Royce
Mary Hough
Eunice Cole
John Way and wife
Although Mr, Hall bej^n to preach in Meriden on December i. 1728, he did
X become a resident in llic jiarish until Aug. 24, 1734.^ At this time his house
:the sonihcast comer of Curtis and Ann streets was probably finished and hence-
Kth his residence was in Meriden. This delay in coming here to dwell was
irhaps due to the small amount paid him for his services. He did not begin to
tep accurate parish records until this date, showing that his whole time and at-
nv.on had not been g^iven to Meriden parish previously.
Ihjt the ijood parson after his removal to Meriden was faithful and unremit-
in his attention to his duties and his forceful character made a gfreat and cn-
fnn£: imprc^vinn on his little flock; discipline was tiniily enforced in his cliuicli
i'l liic early records contain numerous evidences of this fact. The mnst «:trikiiif^
>c is told in the following votes taken from the records. Tlie ( Kiie;al Statutes
the colony ccmtaincfl a clause at that time thai lurbade young men from meeling
aether after nine o'clock at night on the streets and frotn "making any Rout" or
'^'.mitting "any disnrders at any time in the night season, the penalty being a
e of six shillings. Seven yiung men one evening in March. 1745. impelled by
r desire to gi\ f vent to the exuberance uf their feelings, met together and made
isiderable noi>e wiiii bells and horns, to the great scandal oi those who desired
sleep in peace and (|uiet.- These young Tiieii were all neighbors ami Hved in
: terni.ir\ south and cast of the church. They were inimedialely apprehended
tlw civil authority ; autl the church, not to be backward in any good work, met
:cihcr and pa^-sed the following vote on March (>. 1745: "The case of I'.nos
rtis. Benj'' Vale. John Livingston, >auaiel Levit. Xoah Yale. David Lcvit and
vid Ives, as being under suspension from the holy communion, on account of
;d disorders committed in the night season, for which they were prosecuted
the civil law — was laid before the cliurch & the same remaining sitb-judkc &
Mr HaU*!! r«rord of burialfi.
P'TtufNi to celebrate the departure of some of ibeir friends for the Nova Scotia campaign whii h
Jtid la th« raptvre of the ntrong fortress of Louisburg. One young M< rtil< n mall. SslDuel Hi>yre.
( aF a mldler Id UiU expedition and paid the penalty with his life. The troops embarked in
cl». 1745.
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144
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
not yet dclcrniined in the civil law. the qiK>tion was put. whether the said easel
lating to the said persuns, a> it imw hes before the church, and under tlic prf^i
cireuiii.st.'inces. should he sus])eiide(l till the third Aiunda}- in April next for
sideratiun & voted in the afhrniative.
Test, Theo. Hall, i'astor.
At a church meeting in Meriden April 15. 1745, the case of the al)o\^ irei
tic>iK <l brethren was laid bchire the church for consideration, beini: broui^hi on I
the alle^led copy of the complaint to civil authority & the iud^eineni of
against them, for disorders in the night season in asseml)bng togeibt-r with Kj
& horns, etc., which was laid before the Church & the said l-.nos C/uriis. Xu«ih
& David Ives before the church acknowledged that the said actions were uri'i
justifiable nor comuiendaljle they were really sorry that they hatl any 1 ;^
in it & promised that they would do so no more di: the church by their vote accrjj
ed them to communion — & .said Henj" Yale Samuel lA'vit & David Lcvit \n<:i
mg their conduct in said affair, the church unanimously voted to apply thciiiso'ij
to the Association of N. Haven County at the next session for advice in tiie cas<|
& then chose Mr. John Ives & Capt Nathaniel Merriam, their agents to la> t|
said case before the said Association, at the said session. Test. Theo. H\
Pastor." '
I
Mr. Ives refused to act and Capt. Merriam was made sole agent. The
ciatton advised the church to hold the recalcitrant members tinder suspension 1
til the} agreed "to do so no more."
This action shows that the member.': of the communitv were held severeK
dieck and illustrates how closelv the parson guarded his flock from worldly o
tamination.
The General Statutes also contained this clause :
"And that whatsoever Person shall not duly Attend the Public Worship of <!
on the Lord^s Day in some congregation by Law allowed unless hindered by s»
ness or otherways Necessarily Detained or Hindered shall incur the penalty
Three Shillivgs for every such Offense."
This law was not a dead letter b\ any means. Among the papers treasurd
the Oliver Rice homestead in South Meriden is one of which the folIowin|r j
copy :
"WalHngford february \^ 4*'' 1 754 : I the subscriber Do Enter this Cotnpl
to Ezekiel roys Esq. and say : that Icabod Stark is guilty of the breach of the I
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EARLV HISTORY.
by not .Vttendiiig the public worship of (iod: on the Second third and fourth Lords
day of January last past in any Congregation by Law A lowed
Ebencztr Cowles; grand Juryman. "
It b fortunate for many that there is no such law now in force and that good
Deacon Cowles has long been gathered to his fathers.
There are.many references in old records to the custom of "dignifying the meet-
ing house." It was a fonnal undertaking and one that required great care and cir-
cumspection. Perhaps a better idea of the rules observed can be gained from the
foHowtng vote passed in a Wallingford town meeting on Nov. s* ^7^t than by an
attempt at a more elaborate description.
"Y* rules that s^ committee are to attend in y* work of seating are as follow-
eth viz. to have respect to y* aged amongst us that has been ser\'isable in y* town,
this to be left to y* comitee to do in y' matter as they shall think most just decent
& reasonable & y^ s^ comittee shall have respect to those men that do St have borne
commissions as they are to have respect to y* aged as above s^, that is to say what
is just decent & reasonable & voated the generall rule for y« comittee in seatting
y* meeting house shall be the lists on which y* charge has been raised heads only
exempted & layed a two penny rate to be raised on this present list for the defray-
ing the charge in finishing the meeting house*' etc., etc. "April 25 1721 voated that
no young men shall go up into y* upper gallery to sitt there on y* Sabbath day un-
der iS years old."
Would tl'at wf could have an a(le(|iiate picture of this little church half way up
the slope of Meeting House ilill with its faithful ])astor and devoted tlock. Pcr-
liai)> we wrong them in calling it church. rhe>e Christians of colonial days bit-
terly resented such a term for their house of worshi]). Tn their doctrine, the
church was the Ixxly of believers and thev ^auj^ their sonj;s of prai>e. followed the
the prax ers of the mini'>ter. and listened i(» his exht trlations. in the "nu etinj; house.**
If on the Lord's day one of these early Meriden farmers had been asked 'are you
going to church?" the reply would have been swift and in no uncertain tones, "no
Sir! I am gc>ing to mectin'.**
The temperature of the meeting house in winter imist have been frightful at
times, for there was never any artificial heat allow-cd <xcept that the women in
bitter weather carried foot stoves, little square metal boxes, filled with glowing
coals from the home hearth anil replenished. i)crhai)s. at noon from the hearihslone
of the Sabba* -day house. These were all that made the icy cold bearable to the
women. "Men with bald s{)ots on their heads were often conipi-llecl to put their
mittens thereon to keep their heads warni,"^ and the stamping of feet sometimes
1 i7''th AnalTWMiT Int CMsniatloiua Boelttr, |». 21.
10
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146 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
quite drowned the voice of the preacher. The congregation stood while the tntn-
ister led the prayers, and the sermons were timed by an hour glass which wasj
sometimes turned twice before the word **lastly'* was heard; while the tithing
man saw that order was kept, particularly in the galleries^ and prevented aav
"tired** individual from leaving before "meeting" was ended.
The singing must have been anything but pleasing accordii^ to our
modem ideas, for there was never instrumental accompaniment. At this
date there were no singing schools^ and each congregation evidently had
■ its own idea of producing sweet melody, and the results must have frequently
been atrocious. Just what version of the psalms was used in Meriden we do not
know. It may have been that contained in the Bay Psalm Book which was used
in many New England churches. This book was anything but creditable to New ^
England scholarship, for the versification was appalling, and the meter and rh}-thm
was something almost ludicrous. But the hymns were certainly sung and prob-
ably answered the purpose until perhaps Stcrnhold and Hopkin's version %Nai>
adopted. "A New Version of the Psalms of David by N, Brady and N. Tate"'
could not have heen used until after Parson Hall's death for we find on the society
records of W'allingford at about that date, a record that for a number of monihs
at Dr. Dana's desire they had made trial of that version and have now decidtvl
to adopt it permanently.^ ProhaM\ Mcridcn fell in line shortly after. We tind
now and then a society record relating to the choir as, for instar.ce. on "Feb 7
1774 voted that choristers shall sit in next i)e\v north of pulj)it" : on March 8, 1777.
"voted that Jonathan Vale and Caleb Merrinian Jr assist the choristers." Feb. 3.
1783, "voted that Joel Rice assist in singing," and on Dec. 26, 1786, "Bamabo
Meky was chosen assistant chorister/'
The j)eoi)le were summoned to meeting by the beating of a drum, and tht
records of W'allingford contain one or two references to the election of an o6ker
for this duty.
The election of deacons took i)lace shortly after the organization of the societ\.
On December 14, 1729, Samuel Royce was selected the first deacon, and some day>
1 Tli«^re were probaM>' no ^;;iK<-ri<'^ In tti'' flr^f n><'' t i n k; tious-'
2 At a socteiy mcetiug held lu 1808 it wa» vot<-d tbut the committee provide for teaching slDsins. Al
a meeting held In 1821 It wm voted that the einglnf committee be authorited to UDlte witb the Epleeopil
Society iQ emploTlng a slngtng t««iAer. These are tbe only referencea to itnglnK eclioola on the coirtr
recordH.
3 At the annual society meeting In Wallingford Smt eoclety 1st Tuesday of December. 1T««. th«
following from Revil Mr. liana wnf* road In said nipt'tlnf?:
"Oentm — Since agreeable to a very full vote of tbe cburch I bave read to you Orady & Tati-s v«t-
Rion of the Pealms In the afternoon of Lord* days and on other oecaelona for near a year paat itpai
Trial whereby you h:i\' Im • n :ible to form :i jud»?ment <if th. - inie 1 woult! now rofor It to von ■»bt-ib-
er I shall continue to read it or desiKt. You are senxible that the old version of the Psalms hta Imf
loma time been laid aside by almost all the congregations of this Government : and tt it la yoor Jaig*>
meat to roeelva Brady & T.>t<-^ tn its room you will know it will be very accoptablo to
OtMifin your friend & servant iu the Uoiipel Ja& Dana.
Then tbe question was put whether Mr. Daoa be desired to slag the version of Bradjr as4 Tair
wholly — ^Voted In the afllrmatlve."
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EARLY HISTORY.
147
later Robert Royce was elected as his colleague ; both these men lived in the south-
western part of the parish, in or near to Milking Yard. They were undoubtedly
of great asssistance to the pastor, and must have been satisfactory to the congre-
gation as well for they served without additional colleagues until 1748 when Ben-
jamin Whiting and Benjamin Royce were elected in November of that year.
The little meeting house on the western slope of Meeting House Hill continued
in use for at least twenty-five years. As the inhabitants increased in numbers it
was seen that it had ser\'ed its purpose and that a new house must be provided.
We have learned that there was a very decided disagreement not to say quar-
rel when the location of the first meeting house was chosen. Apparently the same
condftions arose in deciding where to place the second. The society was
unable to come to an amicable agreement, so the matter was brought to the at-
tention of the county court at New Haven. At the January session, 1750-51,
Josiah Robinson and Benjamin Royce as agents for the parish "preferred a me-
morial representing that the inhalntants of parish had agreed by their vote to
build a new meeting house, and praying the court to appoint a judicious and dis-
interested committee to repair to s' parish and view the same and affix a place/'
Accordingly the court appointed John Hitchcock, Deodate Davenport and John
Hubbard a committee and what they did appears in the following memorial on
■ file in Vol IX. relating to ecclesiastical matters in the State Library at Hartford :
*'We. the subscribers. Did on y* 16*^ Day of March, 1751, repair to s* Society and
affix a place and set a stake and stones around it near a highway that is called Ly-
man's h^hway^ at \^ west part thereof. In our fixing s* stake we alowed in our
ccmtptttation 2000 acres more north of stake than there was south of s^ stake by
reason of broken & rough land, which [has] among s^ broken land & north of it
within y* bounds of s^ Meriden about six or seven hundred acres of passable good
land as we judge. In our setting of y* stake at s^ time we did suppose y*" high-
way to be narrow runs northerly & southerly & thought we had set s** stake
on y* edge of y* Rev** Mr Halls land. But if it be six rods wide it stands a rod
& a half in highway from y* westward side thereof." This location was very
displeasing to Ezekiel Ro\ ce and Daniel Hough. The former, as we know, lived
near Milking Yard and the latter at the comer of Curtis and Ann streets. There
were, undoubtedly, others who agreed with them. These two men were so dis«
turbed that they presented the following petition to the May session of the Gen-
eral Assembly 1752: "The memorial of Ezekiel Royce, Daniel Hough, and others
* * * * humbly sheweth That application being made to y* county court
• * * for a committee to fix a place to set a meeting house * * * the
• court appointed ***** a committee for that purpose who pitch* upon a
Place which being gretvious to your memorialists who are near half of the said
1 ApfwrenUr I^miM'B blgbmy «m« the iiBiiie of prevent Ba»t Main street trom the church nianlag
«Mt It otfMled BO tartber weet unUI 17S2,
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Society * * * * * and by the Doings of said GMirt Concluded of the Place
for our meeting House to our Greivious Disadvantage, and indeed to y* Disadvan*
tage as we suppose to the Society in general and without relieve unless by the
Interposition of this Hon^^ Assembly whereupon your memorialists beg leave to
observe that the Place set by the said committee is upon y* Rev' Mr Theophilus
Halls land which renders it impracticable to use the Place for the Purpose pro-
jected. 2<* The s*' committee acted by mistake supposing the center of said society
to be north of the Place where truly it ought to be esteamed by reason of much
mountainous aiid wast land in the northern part of said society and sundry par
eels of Land received in, which ought not to be. 3^ There is another place South
of the place set by the said committee much more commodious and to which the
People might resort with less Travel and which your memorialists are apprehen-
sive the maj' part of the society would be better pleased than the Place now stated.
Whereupon your Honours memorialists humbly pray this honorable assembly to
take y* aflFair into your consideration and annul set aside and make void the Doings
of the said county court and appoint another committee" etc., etc.
In answer to this petition the Assembly summoned Joseph Merriam and Sam-
uel Hough and the rest of the inhabitants to appear and make answer. After
hearing both sides the Assembly refused to annul the action of the County Court
and the committtee.
During the year the house «was probably finished, for on December 19. 1752.
Mr. Hall deeded a highway across his farm. It was to be four rods wide and
to run north and south and to tenninate north of the new Meeting House. In
other words he deeded a highway already in existence. This was not an unususl
circumstance.
On February 16, 1753, Mr. Hall deeded the house to Nathaniel Merriam. Jon-
athan Collins, Amos Camp and Timothy Andrews, a committee represent iner the
society. The society records until 1755 are missing. The first entry foun<l relat-
ing to the new church is under the date of December it, 1755. when a receipt is
entered of £ 150, advanced by Mr, Hall for builrlinp:. It would apjM ir therefore,
that the church was built by Mr. Hall and that the s(Kiet\ gradual!} rc]>aid
him the money advanced. His salary at that time was £50 and firewo'nl aniuiai-
ly. The onlv contemporary record of the size of the church tliat tlie writer has
been able to find was made hy I 'resident Ezra Stiles of ^'ale I olUgc. Mr. Stiles
was accustonied to preach in .\leriden (juite often during the ministry of his broth-
er-in-law, Kev. John ?Inbbard. In his diary, under date of Sej)ttmlHT 25. 1772.
he says: "'Meriden meetiuLr liouse 64 x 44." This old churcli was eoiisiderably
east of the lr*eation of the present one. The east end was about wlierc the car
tracks are located on liroad street. lUck ot it ran the highway, four rods wide,
continuing on to Liberty street.
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EARLY HISTOBY.
149
After Broad street was opened in 1799 the church stood in a triangle
boandcd by highw ays, and so it continued until 1830 when the present church was
built and die old highway in the rear was closed. East and north of the church
stood at least thirteen Sabbath-day houses, and perhaps more. The first entry on
the land records referring to these houses was made on July 23, 1757, under which
date we find Theophilus Hall deeding to "Deacon Benjamin Whiting, Ensign
Amos Camp and Bezaleel Ives a spot of land suflicient for ^ Sabbath-day houses
with stables adjoining of the dimensions of those how standing on said spot lying
nigh and a little east of the meeting-house bounded north by the highway leading
to Capt. Lymans and east south and west by my own land.*' These men lived in
the extreme southeast district — too far away to admit of their going to their homes
daring the "nooning" on Sundays.
Others who owned houses of this sort were Jonathan Foster, Ephraim Hough,
who owned the Hough Mills on Quinnipiac river, near Cheshire street, Joseph
Edwards, who owned a farm south of Meriden farm, Reuben Rice, Phineas Hough,
owner of what is now Baldwin's pond and dam, John Yale, who owned a portion
of the old Meriden farm, Samuel and Dan Johnson, who lived respectively in Milk-
ing Yard and on Johnson hill in the west, Ezdciel Rice, the son of Deacon Samuel
Rke, and the Cowles family, living on Ox Hill in Rice's farms. Two of these
houses were twenty feet square and stood north of the church, and may have been
used by two or three families each. The others stood on a tract of land east of
the present location of Eli C. Birdsey's dwelling. The church must have presented
a singular spectacle with all these small buildings in the vicinity. The only other
buildings in the tuighborhood were what was afterwards the Central Tavern
and the bam near tlie site of the present Broad street Baptist church. Immediate-
ly in front of the church to the east was a parade ground where the local train
hands performed their evolutions^ and we find one contemporary accoimt of their
impression on him in the diarj' of Ezra Stiles who says under date of Septem-
ber 28. 1772 : "Training day at Meriden : Company 93 Rank & file — 119 on the T .ist.
N'ot above 3 or 4 above aet. 40." At this time John Couch was captain, Bezaleel
Ives, lieutenant, and John Hough, ensign.
From 1755 the records of the society are fairly complete. The first meeting
recorded was held December 4, 1755. Aaron Lyman was moderator and Jon-
athan CoUins, Robert Collins, Abel Yale and Samuel Austin were appointed so-
ciety's committee. Rev. Mr. Hall's family was assigned a pew for life,
and then, as the question of pastor's salary was brought up. they adjourned and
cam€ together again on the nth and voted to give him £50 and wood. This
salary question was frequently bothering the parish and in 1757. after adjourning
twr> or three times, it was finally agreed that the pastor's salary should be £54
and firewood. It took a committee of five to settle this momentous question,
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
and even the £54 did not decide the matter for it took another arbitrating commit-
tee to agree whether to pay the sum in money or in provisions, ytz. wheat, rye and
Indian corn.^ In 1760 Mr. HalKs salary was made £70 and firewood, and that
amount was thereafter annually paid him until his death in 1767. It is certain
that it was not the size of his salary that made Mr. Hall a wealthy man. The par-
ish in their annual meetings performed the functions of a town meeting, for they
appointed school coinniittees and laid a tax to support the schools and mapped out
the school districts.^ They appointed a grave digger and a sexton. The names
of Captain Robinson, Esquire Lynian. Samuel and Ezekiel Rice were al\va> s con-
spicuous in these meetings, and the other names that we have met in describing
the farms, occur with differing dcj^rccs nf frefjuency. Now and then, a new one
appears, as, for instance, that of John Couch who was elected one of the society's
committee in 1760. lie was afterwards a captain in the Revolutionary war. In
1764 the southwest district, that is Milking Yard or Rice s Farms, was given lib-
ert\ to keep a school.
In 1765 a committee was appointed to buy the land east of the Meeting House
as far as Aaron Lyman's Fsf[^ 1 his was probably for a parade ground. At a
triecting held February 23, 1767, we find the first record of the custom of dignify-
ing and seatin*^ the meeting house. The first notice that the mcti and women
were separated in the church services aj^pears as follows: *'I\1) 7 1774 vcned the
society comn.ittee advise with those that sit m llie fore seat and if they think best
take away the bench from the womcns side."
l-'rom vnriotis references in the reeords there seem to have been doors on tlw
north, cast ami ^<*nth sides of the cliureh. Tliat on the north side was, about 1772.
closed and 1;< tiled and appears to have hcen vised no more.
There were, pithaps. no formal pews until I7^»7. In that \ear it was vf»ted
"to take uf) seats in square hody^ except the fore seat and make pews" and it
also was vi'ti'd " tii ehoosc a eoinmittee to ^ee that the work was done anrl tt^ dii:-
nify and se t the nieetini; hoii.se." In fact, wlienever repairs to the pcw» were
made the members were reseated according to their position in hte. Xew pews
were apparently "the first diLrnity." This question of dignity was always an im-
portant one. For instance, on Jan. 29, 1801, /\aron Johnson promised to pay
1 At a meeting held in Doc, 1T.'>8, the scarcity of money l8 mentioned on accoUDt ot th0 war and It
was Toted to pajr Mr. Hall's salary to provlsloos until after tbe war Is over.
2 "F«b 0 1774t, Voted ye Society Gonmlttee shall eall In ye Loan a excise money that belonip! to
y« Piirii-h for the um- of srlunil- lu vt Man li S \> i it (nit with ^kckI si-furity ui>oii lawful Iiiti-rest to b*
paid yearly to said cotumlttce (or use ot tcbools only A to let not less than £5 to one man nor let it
more than two years at one time.''
'"Die C, 177" \(it4<l til hiv ;i T'iito nf otu> fnrthinc vxwn the Pound fnr ye use of sl•l^o<>I^ and fArh
quarter or school to have tbeir proportioa of »il money according to ye 11:4 of eacb quarter." Tbic
shows that even at that early date Heriden was divided Into school districts.
" Tlif >« were undoubtedly the square, high-barkoci prwf bo common a century and of vbicb
a (ew examples Btlll remain. There were only three of thege p«wa on each aide or six altosether, •»
appears 1»y a later rote.
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EARLY HISTORY.
the yearly lax for the support of the Presbyterian religion providing he and his
tiunily are ^ven seats according to his standing in life. The "dignity'* commit-
tee, after duly considering the matter, voted to accept the proi)osal of Aaron and
give bim a seat according to his list and age.
In 1767, on March 25. the Rev. Theophilus Hall died. His loss was a great
blow to the little parish for he had been the strong man at the helm who always
steered a wise course. While there may have been frictions during his pastorate
they were alt confined to the question of salary. His personality was so strong
that he held his flock with a vigorous hand. That there were discordant elc'
nients^ is proved by events in the pastorate of his successor, but they manifested
themselves ver>' feebly during the life of Mr. Hall. The parish, probably as a
token of respect, paid the funeral expenses of the pastor, and then took up the
question of choosing his successor. On Nov. 7, 1767, the majority of the parish
made choice of the Rev. John Hubbard, of New Haven, but he did not suit the
discordant element which has been mentioned and there were numerous confer-
ences which were unable to arrange a compromise. Mr. Hubbard was not or-
dained until June 22, 1769, and the minor party would take no part in the pro-
ceedii^s but withdrew and formed a separate society and maintained another place
of public worship for several years.*
The Rev. John Hubbard was bom in New Haven Jan. 24, 1726-27, and grad-
uated from Yale in the class of 1744. He studied divinity and was licensed to
preach in 1 746, but instead of following his profession he went into business in
New Haven with Chauncey Whittlesey. He preached occasionally but had no
parish until he was invited to Meriden. There was a suspicion that his beliefs
vftn somewhat unorthodox, which accounts for the troubles in Meriden. He
married Jan. 25, 1749-50, Rebecca Dickerman of New Haven. President Ezra
Stiles, of Yale College, married Mr. Hubbard's sister and to this fact was due Mr.
Stiles* frequent visits to Meriden. There are frequent references in his Literary
I A&d even in Mr. llaU M pastorate thet«e di^cordaiit eltuncnlB tnuui(«iiU'd thctriKclveK. For instaace,
00 Majr 24, 1762, Bbenezer Prindle. Gideon Ive». Jr.. and Noah Yaia aatarad a eomplalnt to Ui« conao*
elation b(«au»^ Mr Hall had «^xf haiiKf'd pulpit?! with Rov. .TftK. Dana, of Wallinpford. who^^r nrfhoflnxy
«a« kUBpected by many. Tbe cunaociation turned a deaf ear to the complaint and hardly dignified it
Inr a Comal bcarlns.
S That this •chiam embraced an lafliiantial pari of tb* population iB proTed the roll of those who
vfthdr€w. Tbpy were :
Dr laaac Hall Levi Yale Peter Penfleld Stupben Perkias
John Ivea Amoa C«nip, Jr. Bh«n«i«r Prlndlo John Hall
Elijah Scofel Timothy Ivea Aain^ Cntnp Sairuu 1 Srnvel
Samuel Penfleld Abel Yale Nathaniel Penfield Daniel Hail
Tbeec scparateK met each Sunday in a bouse belonging to Jonepb Sbaylor, which stood on Gravel
•treet a short distance north of th« Panfleld house on th* othar Kid* o( th« street. It long since
disappeared. Tbe locality bears tbe name of WInket.
Isaac Rail, 8rd
Brenion Halt
Dan Collins
BdvnH OMIhM
EIi<>ba Scofel
Yalo Bishop
R^nolds Beekwltb
Honk Yale
Oldeon Ives
Blnathan Ivea
John Berrr
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Diary to these visits and as he was one of the most distinguished men in New
England, the people of Meriden must have congratulated themselves that they
had the c^portunity to hear this famous man so often.^ Mr. Hubbard bought a
farm of some ten or twelve acres and built a house in 176^) which occupied a site
somewhere near that of the present residence of Kdwnrfl Miller, Xo. 360 Piroad
street. The house is still in existence ; it was bought in 1795 by I'.enjaiiiiii C ur-
tis and by him given to his son, Ivah C urtis, who lived in it until 1800 when he
sold it to Cornelius Hull ; he in turn in two or three years sold it to Seth D. Plumb,
who maintained a tavern there for many years. Mr. Miller, when he built his
present residence in 1866, moved the old house to No. 229 Broad street, and there
it still stands.
After M'. llul)har<l was ordained it was voted to give him a salary « f £80
law ful money per year, une-half to be paid in w heat, rye and Indian corn, the other
half in cash provided he .supplies the pulpit in case of his own intirniities.^ Mr.
Hubbard was a forceful preacher and a gentleman of tact ; these (|ualities com-
bined with an estimable character and wiiming manners gradually drew back tu
the society those who had seceded, and the parish was prosperous and liarnion-
ious during the latter part of his ministry. In the winter of 1783-4 he was thrown
from his sleigh and seriousl\ disabled, which made it necessary to engage a col-
league to assist hini. At a meeting of the parish held September 6, 1784, a com-
mittee was ap|)ointed to supply preaching and September 22, 1785, the Rev. John
Willard was pennanently engaged, but did not become pastor until June. 1786.
Rev. Mr. Hubbard died November 18th, the same year, survived by his widow^ and
two sons.
About this time there begin to appear on the parish records notices of with-
drawals by various persons to unite with the Baptist and Episcopal societies which
had been recently formed.
1 In an entry bjr Mr. Stll«« to bis di*ry under date of September 25. 1772. be menttoiui that there
was a congreRatlon of 200 preaent In meeting on Sunday In Meriden. And tn a letter to Mr. TTnMNird
ia .Jurif , 1775, Mr Stilts s;iys : ' Thr jjloomy & dang<Tous Prospect of Things 6 the evt'tu^ fori-e. ii by
many as coming upon Newport (tho' I dont so clearly forsee tbem) bave determined me to send Kezia
(bla daugbter) ft commit ber to your care .... I ahovM like ribe might be kept to Iraalnem.
SpiiHilDR. Milking &r so us to lay a fotinda of a notable woman. Pray rounsri hrr on tho great Things
of Religion & Virtue and Sobriety & call upon ber daily to read her Bible." During the "BriU«b
InvMlon" of New Haven In 1779 Mr. SUlea sent hi* daogbtera, Uuth and Polly, to Merldaa to atay
with Mr. Hubbard. (From ITRfS to' 177R Mr SHIf»«j was pastor of the 2d CongregaUonal ^lirdl of
Newport. K. I., and from the latter year until his death pre«>ldeDt of Yale College.)
2 On Dee. 11. 1778. It waa voted to pay Mr. Hubbard only la proylalona. Tbla was protably doe
to the bard times caused by the Revolution. The prlCeB were &n follov^s :
8 Tbia wtdfinr wai his second wile — a Mrs. Frost of Newport, R. f., bom Mary RttsaoH: Pres.
Blsra Stiles Is supposed to have made the mateh.
Wheat at 6m 8d per busb
Rye at 4s 6d per bunb
Indian Corn at ;1s 6d per bttsb
Oata at 28 Id per buab
Poric at £1 13a Od per cwt
Beef at £1 6s 8d per cwt
Wool In tbe fleece at 2s 8d per lb
Flax lOd per lb
Butter l9 Od per lb
Good cheese Os 7d par lb
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E.\RLY^ HISTORV.
Mr. Wiliard's theological tendencies were not pleasing to many of his par-
ishioners and the church grew feeble in numbers and suffered a severe decline.
At this time tnost of those who were alive when the parish was organized were
dead and a new generation was in control. One of the last to go was our old
friend, Esq. Aaron Lyman. He died in 1801. Others who died about the same
time were Widow Ruth Merriam, aged eighty-nine, Captain Bezaleel Ives, aged
seventy'^two. In the issue of August 24, 1796, of the Conn. Journal, published
in New Haven, was the following item :
"On the I2th of August the fnllowinj^ persons dined at the house ul Doct
Hou^h in Meriden viz. Aaron Lyman I'scj 8y years old: hi;; wife 80. Capt John
\\\-h\) 8<-j and his wife 84 and have Ix^mi married 64 veurs. I'liinclias Hoiii^h 83
aii'l his wife 8j. Noah Vale 82 and his wife 81 have been married (w )ears. Fhe
widow Sarah Vale age 84.
After spending the afternoon in agreeable C(jnver>ation on the thing> (»f this
world and the wurld to come, they went to their respective homes expecting not
to meet again till they meet in Heaven."
Sarah Yale was probably the widow of Abel. They lived in the old house
still standing on Kast Main street a few hundred feet west of Paddock avenue.
Noah Yale died in 1803 and John Webb and his wife^ in 1799. Mr. Willard built
a house, probably about 1787, at which time he bought a lot. This house is still
standing, a square ])uil(ling witii a roof fashioned somcw^hat like those we term
Mansard. It is the second house on the southeast corner of Rrnad and lJl)erty
streets, N'o. 583. It formerly stood i)erhai)s one hundred feet farther north. In
the year 1791 it was voted to divide the parish into seven school districts, pre-
sumably for the purpose of having seven separate school houses. There seem to
have lieen two school houses in the center of the parish — one located east of the
meeting house beyond the Sabbath day houses, and the other a few hundred feet
s-aitii near the burying ground. Both these school houses are distinctly men-
tis mt-d in deeds of this period. The names of tin- school districts were southeast,
• '(''t, northeast northwest, west, southwest and the center. In 1804 a census of
I lie inhabitants belonging to the society is given on the records and their resi-
(K iices are k cated in the diflFercnt school districts. The list follows at the end of
.the historical portion of this book.
The s'lnriety appears never to have been satisfied with Mr. Willard. The records
for a number of years contain constant references to disputes and disagreements
relative to his salary. His theological tendencies were not pleasing to the people
and the numbers of those withdrawing to other religious bodies were ra])i<lly in-
creasing. He finally left here in 1802 and removed to Vermont, but died in Mer-
iden and is buried in Broad street cemetery.
1 Bnor: Ifn. Webb di«d In IBM.
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
In February, 1803, the Rev. Erastus Ripley was engaged as pastor, and while
there was no question as to his orthodoxy, his personality was not pleasing. He
was apparently a man <if great inrcrity but was totally lacking in tact and had
no hold on his people. He probably was an ultra conservative person, who did his
best to repair the damapfe caused by his predecessor's long stay in Meriden, but
without success, for the desertions to other churches continued even more rapidly,
until the society became di>mayed and began to wonder if the chorch wDuld be-
come extinct. While here he built and lived in the house just north of Franklin
T. Ives, \o. 629 Broad street.
To the £^rcnt relief of the society, he left here in 1822, and the same
year Rev. Charles J. Hinsdale was engaged and was ordained on January
15, 1823. Mr. Hinsdale was a man of another stamp. He had life and
energy and immediately began a scries of revivals which brought numbers
into the society. He was a good preacher and had tact and sociability to a large
degree and xvas very successful in his work in Mcridcn. During his ministry the
present Center Congregational church wns built. During many years there were
references to repairs made to the old church. Much money had heen spent m these
attempts to save the building, but in 1829 the situation had become so serious
that it \va> deemed wise to appoint a committee tt) look into the matter thi^f )nL:l;l\
and report to the soeiety. Although the church had been slan(hng only sev-
enty-seven years, the conunittec. couhisting of Silas Rice, Fenner Ihish, Nathaniel
C. Sanford. Asahel Rice and Henjamin Hart, reported on Septeniber 28. i82»). that
the front gr- nnd sill hn(\ heen spliced three times, many other beams were rot-
ten, that the 1. earns in the ^teeplc^ were in the same condition, antl that the whole
bnihhng was in a state of general dilapidation, and was not worth repairing. So
on October <s, 1829. a subscrif)tion paper was drawn up and a committee appoiniol
to circulate it. and S(xm the erection of the new church was begun, and wonderful
to relate! it was voted to place in it two chimneys. The church was ap])aren!lv
finished in 1831 for in that year Mr. Hinsdale was instructed to "make suitable ar
rangenieius lor the dedication of the new meeting house." and at the wmie time
he was given pennission to use the basement for a private school. Mr. 1 Vrkins
states that the cost of the church wtis $7,000.
It was almost the first building erected in Meriden of any architectural pre-
tensions.
Its front is in the form of an aneiLiit (jreek temple: the pediment being sup-
ported by six Doric columns of excellent proportions. The sjiire reminds one of
the work of .Sir Christopher Wren and doubtless the motive was borrowed from
him, although it is not a copy. It resembles very much the spire of the old north
church on the green at New Haven. There is reason to believe that the late Sid-
1 Tbc itoeple wm added to Ibc church In 1S02 and ben bought.
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E.AKLV HISTORY.
ney M, Stone, of Xew Haven, was the architect of the Center Congregational
church. Mr. Henry L. Gay, of Chicago, who was at one time employed in Mr.
Stone's office in Xew Haven, has the impression that the building was designed by
Mr. Stone and the drawings made by a Mr. Galway.^ The design is a very pleas-
TIIIRD CIIUKCII.
ing one and the color, white, is in complete harmony with the architecture. The
congregation is to be congratulated for having never attempted to "improve" the
severe classic lines or to change the color.
1 The writer In under obllsations to Mr. L. W. RobtnKon. architect, of New Haven, for these facts
relating to Mr. Stone.
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A CENTURY OF MERIDBN,
Dating from the organization of the town government in 1806 the old meeting
house had heen used for town meetings, and there had finally grown up the senti-
ment that it was not a proper thing to do, for in 1823 it was voted that a **com-
mittee be appointed to arrange a compromise with the selectmen, so that one-third
of the town meetings only would be held in their church, provided the other socie-
ties (the Episcopal and Baptist) would open their doors for this purpose the rest
of the time." "If such an arrangement could not be made the selectmen were
prohibited from holding further meetings in the society's house." This vote cre-
ated considerable friction, for the selectmen made the claim that the society did not
exclusively own the church antl that it was really a part of the town property.
Then the society voted to close the doors against the town. This resulted in an
examination of titles, with what results we do not know, for the records are si-
lent. When the new church was finished an arrangement was made whereby
the tow n was allowed to use the basement for public meetings. In 1831 a stove
was bought to warm the church and at the same time it was voted to insure the
building, and the next year a second stove was bought. Henceforth, the members
could worship in midwinter without danger of freezing.
In March, 1836, Rex'. Arthur Grang^cr became the pastor. lie was here onlv
two years. His stay was cast in stormy times. It was in the midst o£ tlio Alx>li-
tion aj^itation wlu-ti stronc;^ feclinf^s were in play and an attempt to give a lecture
on the subject in the church by a Mr. Ludlow rcsuhcd in a small sized riot. The
Rev. Charles Rich officiated during the vcars 1X40 i. On May 19, 1841. Kov.
Georpfe \V. Perkins was cn^aj^cd as pastor. It is nnpossible to speak f)t Mr.
Perkins except in words of praise. A genial, cultured, attractive man. he at once
won all hearts. He was a strong, forceful preacher, a man of convictions who
was not afraid to express them, a leader of public opinion, and a great force in tiic
community. His little history of Meriden is admiral)le in tone and accurate in
its statements and he seems to have l)cen the first individual in Meriden to excite
an interest in the past. His jiortrait in Dr. Davis' History shows a face that
must have been an inspiration to all who came in contact with him. The numbers
of the society were lari::^ely increased during his stay, and in fact, Mr. Perkins' pas-
torate may be callofl the turnint,'^ point in the history of the Congregational society.
Mr, Perkins was born in Hartford February 12, 1804. He graduated from
Yale in the class of 1824 and then taught school in Cambridge, Mass.^ During
the incumbency of Mr. Perkins the society was divided ; the larger body calling
themselves the First Congregational society, removing to what was then West
Meriden. Mr. Perkins in his history says, "But as the population increased rap-
idly there soon was need of another house of worship. As this increase was
mainly in the western part of the town, it wras decided to erect a new house at
1 One of his pupils was Margaret Fuller, afterwards Marchioness Ossoli, the briiliaot woman wbo ,
was til* frlMd of Hawthorne and other leading literary tights.
^ujui^ .o uy Google
EARLY HISTORY.
the point usually styled 'the Corner,' or 'West Meriden.' Accordingly, the
house we occupy at this time (1849) ^^'^^ ^^^^ ^" expense
of $8,000. It is 90 feet in length, and 56 feet in width. In addition to the cost
of the house the land w^s purchased for $800." Mr. Perkins remained here un-
FOURTH CHURCH.
til 1854 when he resigned and went to Chicago to the First Congregational churcli.
The ministers succeeding Mr. Perkins were Rev. George Thatcher, 1855-1861 ;
Rev. Hiram C Hayden, 1862-1865 ; Rev. W. H. H. Murray, 1866-1868. Mr. Mur-
Digitized by Google
158
A CENTURV OF MERIDEX.
ray's pastorate in Mcriden will long be remembered. He was a brilliant and
forceful preacher and achieved a national reputation. His church was crowded
each Sunday by a congregation that fairly devoured his burning words. His ser-
mons were models of style and eloc|uence. Such a man could not be expected to
stay in Meriden and he was called hence to the Park Street church in Boston the
latter part of 1868. He died in 1903.
Rev. W. L. Gaylord, 1870-1874: Rev. Alfred H. Hall. 1874-1879. a man be-
loved as few ministers have been; Rev. Thomas M. Miles, 1879-1881 ; Rev. Llew-
ellyn Pratt, 1882-1883: Rev. Charles H. Everest. Oct. 1884, to July, 1885; Rev.
Charles H. Williams, 1886-1889: Rev. Asher Anderson, 1890-1902: Rev. .\lbert
J. Lord, 1902-.
The present granite church was begim in 1876 and completed in 1878.
FIFTH CHURCH.
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY. I59
CHAPTER XII.
Some fifty rods east of the first meeting house was located the first burying
ground and, like the house itself, it stood in the highway or common. A few
of the mouldering grave stones, memorials of these early settlers, are still in
existence. The view from the sacred place is beautiful. To the east lies Little
Success Hill, and over its summit loom the somber crags of the Besett range,
while in the foreground to the south stretch the beautiful rolling meadows, pas-
ture and woodland of the old Yale farm ; in the distance are the spires of Wal-
lingford, while Mt. Carmel or the Sleeping Giant like a great bulwark forms the
horizon in the southwest, and at its left we catch glimpses of the Sound on a clear
day.
I The date of the first interments in the old burying ground wc do not know, but
* it was doubtless as early as 1727. However, from the date of the first burial noted
I by Parson Hall in his records, tmtil 1771 when this graveyard was al)andoned
as a place of sepulture, there were recorded 357 bi'-^ials in the parish. But when
the shaft in the middle of the lot was erected by the town in 1857, it was possi-
. blc to save from oblivion the names of only twciit\ -nine persons, who were there
Ieotombed. To-day there are not more than twenty stones that are in a fair
stntc of preservation. The rest have practically utterly disappeared. The isola-
tion of the place has made possible this vandalism. It is sad to contemplate, and
yet perhaps it could not have been prevented without maintaining a constant guard.
It i> l^ard to realize that this place was once the center of the parish. Just below
P to the east stood the home of Deacon Moses Mitchell, at the foot of Little Success
liill, and just thif; sifle of tlie liousc were his tan vats and yard, for he was the
tanner of the parish one hundred and thirtv vear.>^ rnj"'*. Mr. Julius Yale can re-
^ meinlKr. as a boy, that the remains of the vats half buried in the earth were still
in existence.
If one stands at a point in the hipfhwny perhaj^s a lumdrcd feet east of the
burying ground the nld road can be seen running to the south and meeting Miller
avenue at its juncticm with Swayne avenue. Tlie latter mad is quite modern.
Standing at this same spot east of the huryinj^ ground, one can trace the old
road which woimd around the hill, to the northeast. It came ntit on the Middle-
town turnpike near the old Abel Yale place, and terminated on nravcl street,
perhaps half a mile north of the turnpike. By this route those in the northeast
and east came to the old meeting house, or to bury their dead in the old cemetery.
Digitized by Google
I
l6o A CENTURY OF MERIOEN.
The roll of the twenty-nine known burials as recorded on the brown stone
shaft erected by the town in 1857 is as follows :
On the north side: On the West side:
Rev. Theophilus Hall, Pastor of the First Benjamin Curtiss, Oct. 29, 1754, ae. >t
Church, Mar. 2$, 1769, ae. Aaron Curtis, Dec. 1$, 17^ ae. aa*
Mchitable Hall, Sept II, 17(7, ae. 16. Rebekah Lyman, Nov. 8, 1748. ae. 44.
Timothy Jerome, Feb. 23. 1751, ae. 62. Joseph Cowles, Nov. 30. 1760, ae. 85.
Abigail Way, Sept. 12, 174 1, ao. 12. Mindwcll CowUs, April 17, 1770. ae. 89^
Daniel Hough, July 25, 17^, at. 49. Sarah Bishop, May 31, 1766, ae. 43.
Thos. Beech, May 14, 1741, ae. 83. Elizabeth Merriam, June ii, 1767, ae. 70-
Phebe Merriam, Febi 23, 1753, ae. 33. Elizabeth Penfield, Nov. ao, 1765, ae. t&
Hannah Ives, Nov. S, 1770, ac. 70. Deacon Samuel Royce, May 14, 1757. ae. ?5
Christopher Robinson, Dec. 6, 1760, ae. 60.2 Ezekiel Rice. Fsq.. Sept. 4, 1765, ae. ttx
Capt. Josiah Robinson, .\pl. 2, 1766, ae. 67. Ebenezer Roys, Oct. 18, 1752, ae, 39.
Theophilus Mix, July 3, 1750, ae. 53. Benjamin Roys, Jan. 20, 1758, ac- 53.
Rachal Andrus, Jan. 11, 175!^ ae. 33. Joseph Merriam, Aug. 24, 1753^ ae. 491
Timothy Andrus, Nov. 25, 1743, ae. 23. Deborah Merriam, Aug. 12, 1761, ac 53.
Hannah Royce, Jan. 12. 1761, ae. 91. Ruth Merriam, Nov. 12, 1755- 7^
Samuel Johnson, March 2, I777y ae. 23. Mindwell Rice, June 15, 1769, ac. 27.
On the south side of this shaft is the following inscription:
Erected
By the town of Meriden
1857
On the east side it reads :
In .Memory of the First Sdtkrs of the Town of MERIDEN
who were buried within and near this enclosure and
whose names so far as known are inscribed on
this Monument
The Meeting House in which they worshipped, and the
first erected in the town, stood about SO rods
west of this Memorial
1 he inscriptions on tiic lew gravestones remaining are given below :
Here Lies ye Body
of Eunice D.itig""
Phebe Daughter
of Titus & Dmah Benjamin ft Phebe
Merriman She .
died Septbr y „ ,756 f5 ^57 m
in y 2d year of her ^ ^'f
Age
Age
1 Bnor: he died 17C7, net. 60.
2 Brror; bo died ae. 26.
3 Ho WA8 thrown from a borci» aod killed.
Digitized by Google 1
£ARLY HISTORY.
i6i
Here lies Body of
James Son of Jf)lin &
Azubah Couch he died
Novbr y« 12 1755 in y« jfd
year of his Age
In Memory of Mrs
Sarah Wife of Mr
^ ale Bishop died
May 31 1766 in y«
43** year of her Age
and was buried with
her Infant on her arm
In Memory of
Mrs Deborah Wife of Joseph
Merriam died Augs^
12 I 761 in y« 52
year r,\ Irt Age
Deaih tho Awful
is but a sleep
To them that Gods
Comrnandments keep.
Here lies y^ Body of
Oliver Son of Mr Ebene
zer & Abigail Roys he died
Decbr y« 6«h 1753 in ye 7th
yer of his Age
These four things
Remember well
death tt Judgement
heaven & hell
In Memorv of
Mr«; Hamiah
Wile of Mr John
Ives Deed She
died Novbr ye 5111
1770 in 70*^»
year of her age
Mintlwell
Wife of Mr Joseph
Cowls She died
April 17 1770
in ye 8r.)t^ year
of her Age
II
In Memory of
Encn Daniel
Hough died
July 25 1768
in y« 49^^ year
of his Age
Here lies y*
Body of Rehekah
Wife of Mr Aaron Lyman
She died Noveui>>«'"
ye ijth 1748 in j-e 44111
year of her
Age
In Memory of
Mr Christopher
Robinson died Dec^^'
6 1760 in 26t>»
year of hi*; Age
as you are now
so once was I
Prepare for death
for you must die
Here hes y^ Body
of Joseph Merriam
who died August
y« 24 1752 in his 49
\'enr
Li»ving Friends h<'bf>!d
My Body turned 10 dust
O now prepare for death
For follow me you must
Here hcs iiucrnd
y9 Body of Mrs. RutM
Meriam formerly wife
of Mr Jolni Webb
but died v\'*lo of Mr
William Meriam
on Nov"" 12 A. I). 1755
Aged 72 \ears
In Memory of
Mr Joseph
Cowls Who
died Novt>r $olt^
1760 in yp 83WI
year of his Age
Digitized by Google
l62
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN'.
Here lyes y« Body
of Ebcnezer Roys
who died October
18 1752 in His
39th year
For Sin Man being curst
His Body turns to Dust
But Christ will Raise
Hi^ Saint-< in endless
Pardise
Here lies y Body of
De<^n Benjamin Roys
he died Jcn«T y« 2 O
1758 in ye 53rd year of his
Age : Bhold & see as you
Pass by : as yon are now so once
was I as I am now so mnst
you be Prei>are for death 6c
follow me
In Memory of Miss
Mehitable Hall
DaMK'li"" of the Rovrt Mr
i lu'Mphilii'; & M.im
Hannah Hall died Sept**'
II 1767 aged 16 years
Happy y« dying youth
Whose early steps have
Trod y* Christinn road of
Pious virtue up to god
Dea" Ezekiel Rice Esq
A.m'il years
Departed tins Life Sept 4 1763
To God and Man a faithful friend
In Serving both his life did spend
His Sun is set his work is done
Lies here beneath this Gloomy Stone
So Great & Ciootl t^ntli Hi^h & I.nw
To Conquering Death their knee must bow
In Memory of
Theophilus Hnl!
I'asior of y" church who having for 37
years discharged the duties of his function
with distinguished fidelity and accomplished
Christian life, the uniform disciple of Jesus
Christ deceased Mar 23 1769I
In the (lOlh year of his Age
They that be wise shall shine as y* bright-
ness of firmament
In 1904 Kiitli Hart Chapter, D. A. R., erected an iron fence around the old cem-
etery and in the following spring a hedge of Japanese barberries was set out just
inside. In digging the trench the laborer noticed that it iinniediately filled with
water ; and to such an extent that he called attention to it for fear it might hurt
the shrubs. The time was the latter part of April. This situation of affairs bears
testimony to the accuracy of the schoolboy s infonnation in the composition^
already mentioned. In it he states "The first Burying Ground was so wet that
the} had to have another."
The old cemetery was abandoned in 1771. .\mong the old papers in the
Oliver Rice homestead is one of which the following is a copy :
Whereas the Inli.ibitani-; of the Parish of Meridcn did in their Meetnig on the
FebrT last, agree to purchase a piece of Land of the Rev*! Mr. Hubbard for a Burying Yard.
We the subscribers being de<iirou3 of a speedy accomplishment of said affair do herewith our
1 A«t already uoI«h1 thl^ rboutd be 17i>7.
1 Pafte 2».
Tn memorj' of
Mr Aaron Curttss
he died 1M*r
i$fh 1763 in y«
19th year of
his Age
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
163
tianies su'^j-scribe the ^«*vera! <tnTi< thnt we will u'' ? "^vrirtl-; pnrchasing said piece of Land.
And do promise to p;i\ them in l'» tlif Pari-h Lonimiticc wultin Nine M'>iilhs after said
Coni^** shall receive a Deed of said land to secure the same to llic use of liu* Parish as afore-
said— ^Meriden, March 11, 1771.
f 6 d £ s cl
Abel i law ley, . .0 2 0 Josaih Merriani. . .10
Ebenezer Cbwies 36 Ezra Rice^ 20
Samuel Johnson, 30 Titns Rice, 14
EzekicI Rice, 16 Thomas Merchant, . . . 16
Sol<»m'>n Rice. . . . . 10 Aaron llnll, . . . . .10
I>aniei Hc-»\vlt, . . , • 3 (> Moses Hall 1 3 o
Ebcnezer Cowles, Jr., , 10 Thos. Berry. Jim 2 0
Joseph Cowles, -30 Benj. Rice, 20
Wait Rice, 10 Timothy Foster, -34
Samuel Whiting, . . ,16 Aaron T yman. . . , .040
Bezaleel Ives. . .20 Abigail Rice, VVid., . . . .20
John Miles, Jun 10 Aniasa Rice, . - . . 10
Timothy Cowles, r 6 Samti*l Leavit, -40
Theo Hallp 2 0 Hannah Hali, 20
Thomas Hough 0 Noah Yale. .20
The following is a literal and believed to be a complete copy of the inscrip^
tions on the old tombstones in the Broad street cemeter>* that are still legible ; a
number of the stones are in such condition that the names and epitaphs are for-
ever lost
In
^femnry nf Mr.
Archclaua Alien
who died
Atig 24, iSA in
his 79lh year.
Sacred to
the Memory of
Mrs. Prudence Allen •
Wife of
Mr. Archelaiis Allen
She departed this Life
Novr. jgth A. D. 1807
A£. 61
Free from this dream of life, this maze of
care
The tender mother re^ts. nird friend sincere:
She foll<nv'd virttie n< ht-r truest guide.
Liv"d like a clin>tian. hive a christian died.
Aaron Andrews
Died
Oct 18 1845
AE. 80L
Charlotte Ann
His Wife Died
Dec I J 1851
AE. 81
III
Memory
of Mrs.
Abigail
Andrews
wife of Mr.
Denison
Andrews
who died
()ct nil A. P.
(o \ears
Digitized by Google
164
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
In Memory «if
Mrs. Thryphena Late
wiff of Mr. Arcluhms
Allen & formerly wife
of Mr. Simeon Perkins
who died March 2d.
1832 Aged 8t
years.
In Memory of
Mabel AUin Daughter
of Mr. Archelaus &
Mrs Prudence Allen
who died I>ec 6th A. D.
l8o2 A 2J \ ears
Ah! cheerful reader pause the
tombstone view
Behold the grace of her whose
soul is fled.
Think! the Almighty God may
cnn<i|^n you
Soon to the clay cold regions
of the deatl.
Aaron
died at Coventry
South Alabama.
Nov. 1840, AE. 35.
Alexander F.
died at Arkansas.
Sept: 1840 AE 25.
Sons of
Aaron & Ann C.
Andrews.
In
Memory
of Miss
Rebecca
Daugh of Mr.
Denison
and M rs
.Abigail
.Andrews
who died
Aug. 24th A. D.
179-', in the
18th year of
her age.
In
Memory of
Abner .Xiuirews
who died
Dec 22 182s
Aet 69
Also Betsey hil wife
who died
March 24 1846
Aet. 86
Oarissa R.
Wife ut
.Anion .Vntin-vvs
Born Dtx 15th
1808
Died April 11
1844
Aged 35 years
Here lies the body of
Mr.
Denison Andrews
who died June 30th A. D.
18-57 AE. 77 years
He was a friend to morality
& L-piscnpnl discipline.
O mournful thought & must I
die
& in a silent mansion He
What is my hope my GiHst
my all
Into thy arms my spirit call
In Memory of
Mr. Elon Andrews
Who died Sept. 22d
A. D. 1784.
in the 63d
year of his age.
Sarah Andrews
died Apr 30, 1797
Aet. 60.
Mrs
Hannah Andrews
died
Sept 12 1825
AE. 18
EARLY HISTORV.
Erected
In Memory of
Mrs. Hannah
Andrews late Consort
of Mr. Marvel Andrews
who departed this Life
Jaa jist A. D. 1801 in her 29th
year Also their babe
departed this Life
Jan. 31st A. D.
Let not the dead forgotten ly
Remember that you all must die
Jajic G. Andrews
Died
Sept II 1870
AE. 68
Harriet Andrews
Died
Sept I iXjH
AE. 7«
Sacred
to the Memor}- of Mrs.
Huldah Elizabeth
Andrews, wife of
Mr. Marvel Andrews
who died Nov. ao A. D.
1819 in her agth
year
TboQgh in the paths of death I tread
^^lth gloomy sorrow overspread
M.v steadfast heart >hall fear n.. ill
^^t thou O Lord art with n»c still.
Levina daughter of
Oliver ft Hannah
Andrews, died
Oct. 28, 1827
in her 25 year
Wnt H. son of
Ohver & Hannah
.\ndrews. (iicd
May 29. 1827
in his 21 year
NLirvcll Andrews
Died Dec. 5, 1848.
AE. 83 years 2 mo.
Our Father has finished his
work and rests in peace
Sacred
to the Memory of
Mr. Moses Andrews
who departed this fleeting scene
Nov. 24, 1811.
Aged 77 years
The benificent Father of the
universe whom he feared, richly
endowed limi with wi'-(li>in
of genius, and the adoreable
Redeemer of mankind, whom
he tov'd liberally blessed him
with ()ict\ r)f x xhiess : adorned
with all these noble gifts of
nature & grace this christian
man became a bngiit &
distinguished member in
the Lords Church. Reader
follow carefully his virtuous
cour.se; it ends in peace.
Imitate his example: it
leads to God
Moses Andrews
Died
Oct 2 i860
AE. 76
Luc>' Andrews
Died June 13 1832
A£. 86
Lucy Aiulicws
Died
Aug 25 1888
AE. 81
In Memory of Mr.
Nicholas Andrews
Who died Decembr
ye 21 A. D. ijRi. In
The 59 Year of
His Age.
i66
A CEMURV OF MERlDtN.
In
Mcinor>* of
Oliver Andrews
Who died
Feb 16 1831)
AE. 68
S:icrc(l
to thf -Mciimry of
Mrs* Sally
wife of Mr.
Marvel Andrews
who died Oct 3Mh
1816 in her 44
year
I know whom 1 have
believed, aiid am persuaded
that he is aUe to keep that
which I have committed
unto htm.
In
Memory of Mr.
Saniue! Andrews
Who died Aug.
ye 5th A. D. 1874 In
The 87 year of his
Age.
Likewise
The Remains of his
Wife Mrs .Abigail
.\ndrews Who Died
Febr ye 13th A. D. 1786
In the 8pth year
of her Age.
The sweet Remembrance of the Just
Shall flourish when he sleeps in dust.
In Memory of Wrs.
Elizabeth Atwater
Consort to Mr. Stephen
Atwater. She Died
Jnly 2<1 A. D. 1793; in
the 80th year of
her Age
I end a long and tedious life,
I leave a world of care and strife :
And while I pass through deaths dar': road
I hope to rest in thee my God
la
Memory of
Mrs. Jane
late wife of
Mr. S.ininel Atwater
formerly wife of
r>ea. Isaac Hubbard
who died
March 25, 184^
Aet. 82.
The menior\ of the Just is
blessed.
In Memory of Mr.
Stephen Atwater:
Departed this Life March
.7th A. D. 1784: in the dptii
year of his Age
Let not the dead Forgotten Lie
Remember that your Bom to die
In Memory of ;
Stephen Atwater
He Died on the 27
of January A. D. 1817
AE. 74.
Surviving Friends you here may see
What I am now What you must be
In
Memory of
Mr. Daniel Austin
who died .April
29, 1828 .\et. 66
Life is the time to serve the Lord
The time to insure the great reward
And while the lamp holds out to hum
the vilest sinner may return
In
Memory of
Mr
Joshua .Austin
will" (!('i)nrtcd this Life
March 4th A. D. 1809.
AE. 74 years &
4 months.
Learn to live well that thou tnay'st
die so too
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
Sarah
wile of
Daniel Austin
died
July 2t 1837
Art. 7^
Mrs.
Am rill is Babcock
wife of the late Rev.
Cyrus Babcock
of Colebrook & formerly wife of
Jesse Hnwley : died April
I2th 1826 in her 42d year
Stephen Bailey
died Tulv 3 1842
AK. 82
Lydia
His wife
died April 6 1848
AE 90
Alma
Daughter of
James ft Bethiah
Baldwin
Died
Feb. 17, 1803
AE. 17.
Tn
Memorj* of
Achsah
wife (jf
Samuel HaUlwin
Who Died
April 9th 1829
AE. 57.
Asahel Baldwin
Died
Feb. 4. 1865.
Aged 74
In
Memory of
Samuel Baldwin
who died
March I 1844
Act. 66
167
James Baldwin
.March 3, 1838
Aged 78
Bethiah
wife of
Janus Baldwin
Died
June S, 1798
Aged 34
Also
Mary his wife
Died
July >8, 1838
Aged 84
JiiiiK's Baldwin
Three Years a
Kcvoiutionary Soldier.
Charles Baldwin
died July 17, 1818 *
AK. 67
God my Redeemer Iivp<,
.And ever from the skies
Looks down and watches all niy dust
Till he shall bid it rise
Mary .M
Wife of
Giles G. Baldwin
Died
April II, 1844
Aet. 20.
In Memory of Mrs.
Patience Wife of Mr.
Danniel Baldwin
who died March y® I3tl»
177 1 in ye 89 year of
her Age.
Vincent Baldwin
Son of
Charles ft Susanna
Baldwin,
died Sept. 2nd 1S18
AE. 24
He \c also ready for in such an hour
As ye think not the son of man conieth.
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
Lucy Ann
Wife of
Augustus Barnes
April 24» 1&49
Act 26 y'rs
Darius Benhaiu,
Died Mar. 4, 1855,
AE. 71.
Cynthia C.
died Aug. 4. i^^^s. AE. 42,
Nancy B.
died Nov. 1, 1835, AE. 46
Wives of Darins Benham.
Grace Ann
Wife of
K. VV. Bctihain.
(iietl Dec. JO. itS49
Aged 20.
Jared Benham Jr.
Died At Quebec L C.
Aug. 1817 AE. 37.
Rtf)Ci,oa.
His \\ it\ Daughter o£
Capt. Joseph Hill.
Of H. B. M. Army,
Died at Guilford Ct
Jan. 7, 1857. AE. 73.
Mrs
Nancy
late wife of Mr.
Darius Benham
& forroeriy wife of
Mr. James 0»uch
died Nov. I. i8.^5
Aged 46 years
Jared Benham,
Died May 8. 1829,
AE, 73-
Elizabeth Benham.
Died Dec 5. >84»-
AE. 83.
Here Lies the
Body of Capt
Divan Berry
Who Departed this
Life Decew 30
A. D. 1783 In y*
49th Year of his \E.
How Loved How VaUicd Once
A vales thee not
By VViionie Related or by V\ home l)egot
A heap of Dust
Alone Remains of thee
Ti> thou art
And all that Live shall Be
Here Lies Intend
The Body off M»
Bethiah Berry Daug'*^*'*
to Mr Di\an 8c Mary
Berry, \Vh(» (k-parted this
Life April y« 251!' A. D. 1781
In y« 22d Year of her Age
Behold Young Friends. as You Pass By
Come View the Ground Where I do He
Ive Clianged tny Dress ft Qridal bed
(Rest illegible)
Julia
Daughter of
Ger shorn & Lucy Birdsey
died Mar. 17, 1S30
Aged U) y'rs
May you dear youth cunie view niy age
And be prepared to quit the Sta^
Renounce the world with all its charms
You then may rest in Jesus arms.
Sevelia
Wife of
.'\ustin Bishop,
died Feb. 14. 1851
Aet. 33.
Loyal Booth
Mary Hall His Wife
Eliza Booth Sage
Their Daughter
Apr. 13, 1822. Aug. 21, i8g8
Alice Daughter of
Philip ft Eliza Booth Sage
Googl
EARLY HISTORY.
Ebenezcr W. Booth
Died
July 21. T843
AK. 65
Betsey Mis Wife
Died
Feb 7 1 84 J
AE. 56
James Bradley
died at Newbury
S. C. Sept. 9, 1820
Aged 24
Harriet Bradley
died Oct. IJ. 1825
Aged 27
Wm. Bradley
died at Union. S. C.
Dec 28. 1841
Aged 4»
In Memory of
Mr.
Titus Brocket
who died Dec. 23d
A. D. 1805 in his
49th year
Also Ira, son of
Mr Titus & Mrs
CathariiK' Pi rocket
he died Aprtl 14th.
A. D. 1797 in his
14th year.
In
Memory of Ruth
wite of
William Bull .
Who Died
JanV 8» 1835
Aet. 45-
Mrs
Catharine
Brocket wife of
Mr. Titus Brocket
died March 23d A .D.
1816 Aet. 66 y.
Harlow son of Mr.
Titus & Mrs
Cathariiu- HriK-ki't
died Feb. li^tli iHio
Aet 14 \.
In Mem6r>-
of Mrs.
Abigail Butler
Wife of Mr.
Divan Butler
who died Dec. 2ad
A. D. 1841 in her
34th year.
Lord I commit my soul to thee
Accept tbe sncred trti>it.
K»cci\c tins nobler part of nie,
& watci) my sleeping dust.
In Memory of
.Mr.
Cnnifort Butler
who died l eb. 19, A. D.
1826 in his
83 year.
The aged saint wean d from the earth
Longs to enjoy his heavenly birth
In
Memory of
Mary
wife of
Mr. Comfort Butler *
Who died Oct 28^ 1823
In her 82 year.
In
Memory of
Albert Butler
who Died
Nov 28 1844
Aet. 43
John Butler
Died
Oct 6th. 1852
AE. 82.
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Divan Butler
Nov 2i 1838
AE. 79
Mary Little
his wife
Died Jan 20 1863
AE. ^3
Philomela
wife of
John Butler
Died Mar. 20, 1809,'
AE. 3^
Philomela
Dnugliter of
John & Siis.miiah
Butler,
Died July 17, 1814,
AE. 2 yrs, 4 mo.
Lemuel Butler
Died
Dec. II, 185^
AE. 78L
Salina
Wife of
Lemuel Butler,
died Sept 2?, 1842
Aged 5b years
& 6 months.
Samuel Butler
died Nov. 6, 1822.
Aged 55 years
Lois His Wife
died Sept, 6, 1837
A I-:. 66.
J aniiy Butler
their daughter
died July 14,
1839. Aet 33.
Susannaii
wife of
John Butler
died Mar. i. 1865
AE, 83.
Ruth
wife of
John Butler
died Sept. 30, 1799
AE. 22
Julia
daughter ol John & Ruth
Butler
died Oct 2, 1799
AE. 8 mos.
In
Meniory of
Xemena
wife of
0/i.is Camp
and daughter of
Deac. Nath'el &
Harmah Yale
Who died Nov. 7,
1814
AE. 2^
Lewis C. Carter
died at Barbcr-Ville Ala.
Nov. 27, 1840
Act 4a
Harriet C.
Daughttr of
Lewis C. & Maria Carter
died Jan. 261 18146
AE. 17
Orange A. Carter
Died
Feb. 15, 1849.
Aged 23.
Blessed are the dead who die in the LorJ.
Gilbert S. Carter,
died June i, 1849*
AE. tt.
Far from afHt^n, toil and care
The happy soul is fled:
The breathless clay shall slumber here
Among the silent dead.
EARLY UISTURV.
171
In
Memoiy of
Jesse Churchill
Who Died
Mar jf). 1842
in his bo year.
Mr.
David Clark
died Aug. 12
A. D. 1825
AE. 39.
D.nvi.l C):"':
Died June ly, 1828,
Aged 42 yrs.
( llkgiblc )
H.s Wife
Died Nov. 16, i860
Partrick Garlc
Died
Aug. 28, 1851
AE. 76.
L>.lia. His Wife
died St pt 8, 1853,
AE. 70.
In
Memory of
Polly Qark
Who departed this life
Nov. 13» 1843.
Aet ^
Sarah G.
- Wife of
Remick K. Clark
Born
Fell 10 1805
Died
Jiuit 7 1H44
Agetl 3Q years
3 months
And 28 Days
Her record is in
Heaven
Hiram
Son of
David 8c Adah
Clark
died at Aikrn, S, C.
Feb 19 1844
Aet. 21
His end was peace
Hope.
This Mun\iineut is
erected by his friends
St associates as a trihute
to the memory of
Curtis H. Collins
son of John B. &
Catharine Collins
who died Feb. 22
1834 Aged 17 years
How short tiie race our friend has run
Cut down in all his bloom.
Sacred
to the Memory of
Capt.
Dun Collins
who died Nov. 9th A. D.
1819 Aet. 79,
years
This stone
is erected 1>y her bereaved children
to the memory of Susannah
wife of Capt. Dan Collins
who died Oct. 14, 1821
Aged 67 years
Her pious Life & conversation
is the only consolation for surviving
friends & the best pledge of her
happy exchange of worlds.
In
Memory of
Mr
Edward CoUins
who died Nov. 11, 1826.
Digitized by Google
172
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
c.
L. C.
In
Memory of
Lv-man Collins
Who Died
March 3, 1856
Aged 71 •
E.
In
Mcnif>ry of
Khzal>eth
Wife of
Lyman Collins
Who Died
Nov, 7. 1845,
Aet. 4&
Sacred to the
Memory of Mr.
lU'H Couch
who died April 21,
A. D. 1826
Aged 3S years
He was humane & charitable &
through life maintained the
most unsulied integrity.
In
Iklemory of
Ira Coucli.
Who Died
Dec. 1845,
Aet. 4t.
In the midst of life we are in death.
Erected
In Memor)' of
Mr.
John Couch
who died
April nth A. D. 1806
in his 82
year.
In
Memory of
John Couch,
wlio died
Sept. 12, 1828:
aged 34 years.
Erected to the me
mor>' of Mrs Azubah
Wife of Capt. John
Couch, .she died May
25. 1799. Ak^'(1 7.^
And in the Lively hope of
iieeitig Jesus as he is
Pile
Pass not by this monumental
Till you have stood and paus'd
awhile
Ore this niy Gra%c, for you
must die
And be cntom'd as well as I.
John Couch
died Sept 3. 1807
Aet 44
Anna Merriman
formerly wife of
John Couch
died Feb t 7. 1843
Aet 83
The dust returns to the earth as it was
and the spirit to God who ^avc it
But the trumpet shall sound
and the dead shall 6e raised.
In memory of
Mr.
James Couch.
Who died Oct 27
1824
aged 39 years
By his conjugal & parental solicitude
& affect i' .11 lias left the best consolation
to his afflicted companion & bereaved
children thnt of having died like a
(Illegible.)
In Memory of
Mrs. Mary Cowl
Consort to Deac.
Ebcn'" Cowl
died April 22d
A. D. 1777. AE. 5D
Memento Mori.
Digrtized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
^73
Joel Cowles
Died
July Q, 1810
in his 6ath
year.
Erected to
the Memory of Dca.
I-'Henezer Cowl*;
W ho died Aug 12th
A. D. 1800
in his 83 year
Farewell my friends
A short farewell
Till we shall meet
Vou all again.
Erected tO
the Memory
of iMr.
EHsha
Cbwles
who (licfl
Nov. 23d A. D.
1709 AE.
50 years.
Also of
Mrs
Rebekah
Wife of
Mr. Elisha
Cowlcs
who died
Aug 15th A. D.
1785 AE.
30 years
Heaven ^ive* friends
Why should we complain
If heaven resumes
Our friends again.
Elisha .Mien Cowles
Died
Aug 27 1853
Aged 44 yrs
Allen D.
His Son
Died Dec 8 t85t
Aged 14 yrs
In Memory of
Phebe Cowles
daughter of Elisha
who died Jan. 1 1,
1830 in the 36
year of her
Age.
In Memory of
Mr
Moses Cowles
who died April
16th A, D. 1804
AE. 52 years
Man like a flowV soon faids
away
Nor long cont{nne.s in one
stay.
Here lies deposited untill the
resurection the body of Mrs.
Rebekah Cowls. Wiff of the
late Mr. Jf>seph Cowls she
departed this life .May 13.
A. D. 181 1 : in the 88 year of
her age
at her right hand lies tiie
body of Mrs Rebekah Mitchel,
wife of Mr. Jotham Mitchell
she departed this life May
15 A. D. 181 1 in tlu 54 year
of her age
\W must through much tribulation
enter into the kingdom of Heaven
Acts 14. 22.
Roswell Cowles
Died
July 24 1848
AE. 68
ht
^!^^lo^^' cA
Laura Wite of
Roswell Cowles
who died April
24 1827 Aged
44 years
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
In
Memory oi
Harriet, Wife of
Roswell Cowles
Who died March
Sth 1833 in
lier 43fl
year.
In
Memory of
Mary Ann,
daughter of
Roswell &
Laura Cowles
who died Oct. 10,
182O Aged
21 years.
In
Memory of
Aaron Curtis
who died
Dec. 24, 1841
Aet 77.
In Memory of
Mr. Abet
Curtis
Who died Nov.
ist A. U. 1797
AI£. 67
Memento Mori
Alfred P. Curtiss
Died
July 21, 1870,
AH. 5.^
Emcline Amelia
Wife of
Alfred P. Curtiss
& Daughter of
Levi & AWt^nil Ann
Bradley
died July 19, 1847.
Act. 27.
Sarah M. Hitchcock
Wife of A. P. Curtiss
died Dec. 3 1857
Ae. 24
In
Memory of
Patience, Wife
of Abel Curtis
Who died Dec. 22
1828 Aet 86.
In
Memory of
Mr.
Benjamin Curtis
Who died Jan. 16,
A. D. 182 J
AE. 86
Time how short Eternity how long
Erected In immory
at .Mrs.
M indwell Curtis
Wife of Mr
Benjamin Curtis,
SIk- (Iccea^t June
8lh A. D. 1807, in her
63d year
Tlic (lust has to the dust returned
& tears bedew"d the lonely way,
The silent corpse lies now intombM
Beneath the cold and dampning day.
But oh ye mourners cease to weep.
Receive with joy some cordial channs,
9t view her in the world of bliss,
Encircled in her Saviours arms.
Tn Memory of
Benjamin Curtiss
who died
Oct. 23, 1843
Aet 76,
One ho^^r in apparent health
the next cold in death.
Mrs
Mary Wife of
' .Mr.
Benjamin Curii-;
Died 1- eb. 20, 1835
Aet. 60.
The righteous hath hope in his death
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
1/5
In Memory of
Betij. Upson
son of Mr.
Asahe! & Mrs.
Mehitable Curtiss
who died Sept
2d i8t35 Aged
i8 years.
Mr.
Chauncy Curtis
died Dec. 6, in
his 45th year.
Mrs.
.\nna Curtis
hi- wife died Nov.
5ih i8j6 in her
41st year.
In
Memory of
Elisha Curtiss
Who Died
July 26^ 1&I7
Aet 74
■Vark the perfect man and behold
th^ upright t >r tlie end of that man
li peace Ps. 37. 37
Mary his wife
died .\ug. 29, 1857
AE. 72.
Weeping
friends Erected
this Monument to
perpetuate the memory of their
most dear and valuable friend
Mr. Aniasa Curtis
He was snatch'd from Life & all his
ttwiforts & pleasure very suddenly
in the jytli year of his age
Dec. 2 A. D. 1806.
Living he was much esteemed and
ned & dying was greatly lamented
i'r wra* s very kind Sc nflToctionatc hus
Jutd Father ik iriend he was a mild
^peaceable Neighbor & Citizen he loved his
C vintiy ft most ardently wished
happiness of all mankind.
In
Memory of
Elisha Curtis
who died
July 24 1831
Aet 80
in memory of
Mrs Sarah wife of
Mr Elisha Curtis
who died Nov 29
1825 Aet 77 y*«
Mrs
Abigail Curii-
Wife ot Mr.
Elislia Curtis
died Feb. aS^ 1826
Aet 47
Watch therefore for ye know
not what hour your I.mhI .L.tli come
Alath. XX iV. 42
Mrv
Polly Curtis
Wife of Mr.
Aaio& Curtis
died April jo. A. D.
i8r8 Aet 31 y.
Maria Curtis
Daugh. of Amos & Polly
Curtis died .\pril 13
A. D. 1818 Aet 12 y.
and Ruth died Dec.
3d A. D. Aet 3 y.
Polly
daughter of Amos
iK Polly Curtis
died April 10. 1826
Aet. 14
Amelia
wife David Gilbert
& daughter <>t Amos
& Polly Curtis died
July 15. i8j7 in
her 24th year
Digitized by Google
1^6
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Hannah
Wife of Uah Curtis,
died Oct. Sth 1844,
Act. ()6
Mary R.
their daughter died at Otis
Mass. July ist, 1832
Aged 21.
Then soft be thy slumbers in thy lowly bed
Though rudely earths tempests swe^ over
thy head
The Saviour remembers thy slumbering dust
And will wake thee again when He calls
for the just
Laura Curtiss
Died
Aug. 5. 1872
Aged 74
Juliannn Curtiss
Died
I>ec. 13» 1856
Aged 55.
Ill Memory of
Mrs Meriam Curt'*
Wife to Mr. Benjam
Curtis Deceast Who
Departed this Life
May y« jgth A. D. 1776 In
y« 74 year of her Age
W( eping
friends erected this
monument to perpetuate
the memory of Mr.
Marcus Curtis
son of Mr. Jesse & Mrs.
Martha Curtis who
died Doc. n, 1812
AH. 31 years.
In Memory of
Willinni Curtis
son of Ain-I &
Patience Curtis
Whose life was
closed Oct. 14th A. D. 1800
in the 19th yvnr '
of his Age
In
Memory of
Sarah
W^ife of
William A. Curtiss
Who died
March 24^ 1847
Act 50
There shall be no more death
Samuel Curtiss
died Nov 8 18^38
Aet. 57
Polly
His Wife
died Nov 5 1846
Aet 61
Rhoda Panttin
Wife of
Jesse Curtiss
died Awg 10 1844
.•\K, 54 ys 6
From her labors she doth re^t
Ami in Christ I hope slu's blest
.Asenth
Wife of
Darling Dayton
Died Aug. 13* 1845
Aged 52-
Tn
Memory of
Darling Dayton
who died Jan. 24, 182O
.\et. 34
My breath is gone my spirit's fled
My body's mouldering with the deatf
But Jesus my redeemer reigiis
He's paid the de!)t he's bro'<e the chains.
And eas'd my body from its pains.
Erected to the
Memor\- of M rs.
Lydia Davenport
consort of Mr.
John Davenport
who died Jan.
25 A. D. 179-2
Aged 45 years.
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
In
Memory of Mr.
John Dot^ass
who after a severe illness
died June 22d A. D. tSti in
his 53d y.
He was .1 kind Husband
Parent & Neighbor He was
re-fK*cted as a Christi.in and
uncrver sally esteemed upright
in his dealings
On God for all events depend
Yoo cannot want when God's
}-onr friend.
Wile oi
Ariel Ensigrn
Bom Apr. 14, 1785.
Died Oct 29, 1840.
In
Memory of
Mr. Joel Foster,
who died Nov. 20th, 1814
A£. 48
My fiesh shall slumber in the gr<>"nd
rill the last trampet joyful sound
And burst the chains with sweet surp''i**
And in my saviours image rise
In
Memory of
Mr. Levi Foster
Wlwi died Dec. 19th
A D. 1814 AE. 42
Nor pain nor grief nor anxious fear»
Invade thy l»r»nnd>. no mortal woes
Can reach the peaceful sleeper here,
AikI angels watch his soft repose.
.\lso in Memory of
Mr. Homer Foster
who died at Pittsburg
Pcnn July 1st 1832
Agerl 2() years
In the midst of life we are in death.
12
In
Memory of
Levi Foster
who died
Sept. 2. 1844,
AE. 38.
Sarah
Wife of
Levi I'oster
Died
Aug. 28. 1849,
Aged 74.
Lucy I'V'Ster
Died
June 4, i8go
AE. 91.
In Memory of
Mr.
Matthew Foster
who died I'l l). 13
li^io Aged 54 years
Blessed are the dead who die hi the Lord
In
Memory of
Noali I""-ter
who died March
27, 1833 in his
64 year.
Tn
Memory of
Purlina
Widow of
Noah I'ostcr
who died
May _'5 1843
AIC. 73 y's
Mrs
Anna I'osier
wife of Mr.
Noah Foster
died Dec. 2d 1824
Aged 51 years
The future worid repays with bliss
The trials saints endure in this.
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MESIDEN.
Luc}'
Widow of
Joel Foster
Died
Dec. 12, 1863
AE. QO.
In
Memory i»f
Othinel Foster
son of Mr,
Noah & Mrs.
Anna Foster
who died Aug jtli A, D.
l8i8 in hi>. i9tli
3 car.
As blooming ri«i\vers that fade at noon
So lovely youth may be cut down.
In Memory of
Mrs. Thankful
Wife of Mr.
Timothy Foster
She died March ye
9th 1771 in y« 69th
year of her Age.
Jn Memory of
Mr. Ozias Forster
Who died July 11th
A. D. 1789 in his
^oth year.
Let not the dead
Forgotton ly
Rememl>er > ou
Were born to die
Charlotte
Wife of
Matthew Foster
died May )8. 1838
Act. 53
The righteous rest in hc^te.
Miss
Laura Foster
died Nov. 9, 1835 in
her 39 y<ar.
Samuel W. Foster
died at Penn Yan
State of New York
July 24, 1831 in his
39 year
In Memory of
Mrs Elizabeth Foster
Q>nsort of Mr. Thomas Foster
who died Dec. 19th 1815
AE. 77
Death is to us a sweet repose
When we in faith do die
Believing what the Lor<l hath >aid
That we shall reign on high
Elisha Frary
died March 21, 1842,
Aet 58.
In
Memory of
Mr. Samuel Frary
Who died May loth
1826 Aet. 84
And of Mrs.
Lucy his wife who
died Sept. 17, 1812
Aet. 61
In Mtuiory of
Miss Anna Guy
Who departed this Life
Jan'y nth A. D. 1789
in the 21st year
of her age
Orchard Guy
Died
Jan. II, 1850
AE.80
Lois
Wife of
Orchard Guy
Died
Aug. 31. 1862,
AE. 86.
Digrtized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
Memory of
Giks O. Griswold
Who died
Nov. 13. 1840
AE. 65
Also Lucy
his Wife
died Feb. 22, 1823
AIL 42
To the memory of
Mrs. Eliza Ann
wife of Mr.
Giles O. Griswold 2d
who died Aug. 27, 1836
Aged aS years.
How tender tiie tears and ^ nglis
A husband and orphan bestow
Sweet spirit look down Irom the skies
And pity the mourners faelow.
Jesse Griswold
died Apr. 21 1840
AE. 62.
Fantiy
his wife
died Jan. i.
AF. 4«
Angeiiue
their daughter
died Nov. 95. i8ao
AE. 9 y's
Mr.
Cyrus Griswold
died Feb. 15, 1836
Aged 30 years
& II Months
Mr. Giles Griswold
Died Sept. 10, .\. D.
1818. Act. 70.
Mrs.
Eunice, his wife
died Oct 25, 1826 in
her 74 year
Our Saviors smiles dispels the gloom
And smooths the passage to the tomb.
In Memory
of Mrs.
Lois Hall
wifi' of Mr.
Abner H.ill
who died Dec. 20
1832 in her 22 year
A virtuous life & a
peaceful death.
Polly
wife of
Augustus Hall
died Aug. 31. 1819
in the 33 year
of her age.
In
Memory of
Sarah wife of
Benjamin Hall who
died March 17, 179a
in the ig year
of her Age.
Beri Hall
Died
April 6. 1832
AE. 19 y"rs
Son of John W.
& Polly Hall
Sweet peace and heavenly
hopps and humble joy.
Divuiely beam'd upon his
pious mind.
In
Memory of
Mrs Rebecca Hall
wife of
Mr. Coliens Hall
who (lied
April 16. 181 r
In the 37th year i>f her age
In
Memory of
Mr.
Daniel Hall
He died Oct. i6th A. D. 1
in his 79th year
i8o
A CENTURY OF MERIDEM.
Also in memory of Mrs.
Patience, wife of Mr.
Daniel Hall, she
died July A. D. 1756
AE. 30 years
Also in memory of Mrs
Zcrviah wife of Mr.
Daniel Hall, she
died Oct. 6th A. D. 1777
AE. 41 years.
Brenton Hall Esq.
Died Nov. 25 i8ao
AE. 82 y's
Abigail
his Wife
Died May 5, 1837
AE. 88 y's
In
Memory of
Daniel Hall
who died
Jan. I, i.Sjg
in his 60 year
Some walk in honors gaudy show
Some dig for golden ore
They toil for heirs they know not who
And straight are seen no more
Elizabeth
Wife of
Daniel Hall
Died
Mav 5. i8s9
AE. 83
Grand i son Hall
Son of
Casper & Lcvinna
Hall
died May i, 1833
Aged 18 years
The hour is coming and now is when the
dead shall hear the voice of the Son of
God : and they that hear shall live.
This monument is erected to fhe
Memory of Col.
Solomon R. Hnll
who died at B alt i 1110 re-
March 18, 1825, Act. 44
Charles E. son of Solomon
& Jerusha Hall died Oct 11
1810 AE. 5 y 3 m. 20 d.
Susan their Daughter died April
24, 1812 Aged 1 y. 7 m. 16 d.
& Also of Andrew J. their son who
died at Baltimore April 30, 1815 Aged
3 years.
Tis God that lifts our comforts high
Or sinks them in the grave
He gave & oh my soul be still
He took but what he gave.
Sacred to Memory
In this Sepulchre lies buried
Doctor Isaac Hall,
who departed this Life
in the Faith and Hope of the Gospel,
on the 27th Day of March A. D. 1781
Aged 66 years,
to the great Loss and Grief of his Friends
and universally Lamented as
A Physician
of eminent Rtinitatioii and Usefulness
very skilful in the various Disorders of
the human Body:
and in Clinical Practice excellent
laborious and successful.
The lowly Cot and lofty Dome
With joy his hcaltnis' art pmclaiin
And teaming Nature sav d from Death
With grateful Tears embalms his Name.
In Memory of
Mrs. Mary Hall
Consort to Doc
Isaac Hall
Who departed this Life
Oct 9th iTgi in the 7Sth
year of her Age
I end a long and tedious life
X leave a world of care and strife
And while I pass through deaths dark road
I hope to rest in thee my God.
Ly Google
E*\RLY HISTORY.
I8l
In Memory of
Mrs. Ruth, Wife
of Deacon
John Hall
who died Sept 9
1829 in her
64 year.
Mr.
John iiall 2d
died July 9,
1836 in his
29 year.
Dea. John Hall
Died
April 21. 1851
aged 83
In Memory of
Mrs Elizabeth
wife of Mr.
Jolm Uali
who died Oct 3ith
A. D. in
her 71th year
In Memory of
Iluldah Daugh
to Mr T'motliy
& Mrs lluldah
Cowls. Who
died Sept. 29th
A. D. 1795 AE. 17
years
In Memory of
Mr.
John TIall
who departed
this life May 15th
A. D. 1795 AE. 72 years
Thrice happy if
PrqKired to meet
A change so awful
& so great.
In Memory of
Mr. Moses Hal!
Who died July 4th
1835 aged 87
years
Maria Hall
Died
May 5. 1&46
in the 31 year
of her age.
John VV. Hall,
died .April 24. 1865,
AE. 79-
Pol]y> his wife
died May i6» im, AE. 79.
years
Hall.
Sons & Daughters of
J. W. & P. Hall
Beri,
died Apr. 6^ 1832.
AE. 19.
Erastus,
died .Aug. 5. 1847
AE. 20.
Lydia,
died Mar. 3, 1836
AE. 6.
Clari:>sa,
died Nov. 23, 1863
AE. 44.
In Memory of
Mr.
Joseph llali
Who died March
13th 1831 in his 61
year
In
Memory of
Mr. Phinehas Hall
who died Dec. 27, 18 19
in his 69 year.
William Hall
Died
In Brigiiton Ohio
May 13. 1877
AE. 61
Digitized by Google
X82 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
In Memory of
Samuel Hall
Who dic<l March 9th
1795
AE. 26 years
Nor let Soil Slumbers close your Eyes
Before you've recollected thrise, the train
of actions
thro' the Day
Where liavc m\ iVct chose out their way
(.copied as lar as can be read)
In
Memory of
Mr.
Thcophilus Hall
who died
May 17th A. D. 1804
in bis 63d
year.
in
Memory of
Maryett
Wife of
William Hall
Who (lied
Sept 18, 184I
AE. 27.
Let not your hearts be troubled :
ye believe in God believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many man
-sions if it were tiot 1 would have told
you. I go to prepare a place tor
you.
To The
Memory of
Wtiliam ii. Hall
Aged 28
Perished in the Conflagration
of the Manufactory of
Julius Pratt & Co.
Nov. 27, 1846.
Marv Ann Hall
' Died
April 12, 1894
AE. 76
In
Memory of
Mrs.
Elizabeth Hall -
wife of Mr.
TheoP Hall
Who died March
17, 1824, AE. 74
Blessed are the dead
which die in the Lord.
In Memory of
Mr.
Benjamin Hart
who ilu(i Oct 7
\^i<> Aged
85 years
Jeru>h;i Hart
Died
Aug. 26, i8j2
AE. 76 y're
wife of
Benjamin Hart
Lucv Jane
wife of
Philo Hart
died May 23, 1847
AE. 23
In
Memory of
Julia Harrison
daughter of
Leonard &
Lucy Harrison
of Southington who
died Nov. 7» 1820
Aet. 18.
Mr.
Jesse Hawley
died at Wallingford StpL
5th 181 1 Aged 30 years
Daniel Holt,
Died
Dec. 20. 1806
AE. 78.
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
Mary hi$ wife
Died Jan. lo, 1821.
A£. 90.
Sacred to the Metnoiy
of Mrs. Abtah Holt
The Consort of Mr Ben
jamin Holt who ditf!
Oct. 31st 1703 in the 32^
year of her age With
A lively hope of a blessed Resur
recti on
What age or sex can death defy
Mortals be wise prepare to die
Shall the delights of fences & time
Keep you from joys & bliss Devine.
Abigail
their Daughter
Died Sept 19, 1826
AE. 65
There is rest in Heaven.
Charles E. Holt
Co I 20 Regi,
C 'lm Vols
Djcd 1874
In
Memory of
Mr.
Daniel Holt
Jun who died
July 15th A. D. 1802
in his 48th
year.
In
Klcniory of Mrs
Sally Hooker
W'iff nf Mr.
Scth Hooker
who died March
28th A. 1819
AE. 24 years.
Mrs
Elizabeth Hotchkiss
died June ig, 1833
AE. 80.
Ambrose Hotchkiss,
died Jan. 25, 1825.
A£. 5a
Lucretia
his wife
died Oct. 9.
AE. 73.
their ^.uu
died Mar. 21, 1827.
AE. 2a
Sophronia Hotchkiss
Wife of
Henry C. Butler,
died April 17, 1841
Aged 34 years.
Dea
Ambrose Hough
bom Sept 2, 1754
died June 30» 1825
AE. 7a
Sally Bradley
Daughter of
Dr, Insign & Mer^r
IToukIi
Died Aug. u, 1864
AK. 85.
Lucy Hough.
Died N*«)v. 27. 1848
Act 51
In
Memory of
James A. Hough
who died
May 9. i8j7
Aet. 37.
In Memory of
Mrs. Hnnnnh wife to
Mr. Ephraun Hough
Who died Ivb.
i6th A. D. 1777
In the 6i>t
Year of her Age
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
In Memon' of
Mr Ephraiiu Hough
Who died Feb. i6th.
A. D. i;8i.
In th« 62^
Year of his Age
In Memory of
Huldah Daughr of
Mr. Phiiu'lias &
Mrs Huldali Hough
who died April 2nd
A. D. 1777
Aged 8 Months
Death is a debt
to nature due
Which I have paid
and so must you
John Merriam Consort to
tlu- Rrlict of the late
Mr. Phinehas Iloiigh Jun^
hJlh iireclcd this Monument
to his Memory.
He died in the service of his
Country Aug. ist A. D. 1776,
In the 31st Year of his Age.
And lies buried in the
Presbyterian Clmrch Yard
at New York.
Who can giieve loo much, what
time shall end
Our Mourning for so dear a friend.
In Memory of Mrs.
Lucy Hough
ye Consort of Mr.
James Hough, Who
Departed this Life Oct.
ye 5th A. D. 1775. Aged
34
In
Memor>- ot
Sarah Merriam
formerly wife of
James A. Hough
Who died
Nov. 21. 1842
Act 7S-
In Memory of
Dea.
James Hough
Who died
Sept. 14th A. D.
1794. AE. 51
The sweet memory
Ot the Just,
Shall flourish when
They'r laid in dust
Doctor
Insigii Hough
died Dec. 3> 1813
Aged 67
Mercy
wife of
Insipn Hottph
died l eb. 0, 1820
Aged 73
In Memory of
M^" Chloe Wife
of Doc'^ Insigii,
Hough Who died
June y«: 24th: 1771
in ye : 26th : Year of her
Age Daughter of Mr
Mapes & Mra. Mary Yaie.
In Memory of
Ira son of
Dr. Insign and
Mrs. Sarah
Hough
Who died July
27th A. D. 1777
In the 5th year
of his Age.
In Memory of
Rosetta
Daught of
Dr. liisiKMi and
Mr**. Cloe
Hough
Who died Ma
rch 9th A. D. 1778
In the 8th year
of her age.
Digiii^ou by Go
BAKLV HISTOBY.
I8s
In Memory of
Mr«. Sarah Wife of
Dr. Ill-tun Hough
Who died Jan iith
A. D. 1775
In the 31 year
of her age.
Life's Uncertain
Death is stire
Sins the wound
And Christ the
cure.
Doctor
Isaac J. Hough
died FelK 26, 1852
Aged 71
Hear Lies Interrd
Sacred to Memory the
Body of Den John Hou
gh Ksq. Who in hopes
of a Glorious Resurrection
Departed this Life In Peace
Febr 24tb A. D. 1788 In the
53d Year of his Age
left the not
How loved How Valued Once avai<
By Whoiiu' Related or By Whom b^t
A heap 01 Diist Alone Remains of thee
Ti$ all thou art & All the Proud shall be.
In Memory of
John Hough Jun,
y« Son of Esq.
John & Mrs.
Lois Hough:
he Died Dec. y«
5th A. D. 1776 in
ye 10 year of
his Age.
In
Memory
of Mr.
Phinclias Hough
Who died Sept ith.
A. D. 1797
In the Qsth
year of his age
In Memory of
Mrs Lucrecia
Hou^h OMisnrt to
Mr. Levi limigh
Who died April 2d
A. D. 1797 in her
23d year
Death is a debt
To nature due
Which I have paid
& So must you
In Memory of Mrs.
Elizabeth the Consort
of Mr. Moses Hall
who departed this Life
June 23d, 1777
Aged 43 Years
Sudden death bespeaks
The human
thought
And cries prepare
111 Mi!nor\' of
Mrs. Mehetahel
Hough ye Consort
of Mr Saml Hough
Who died Dec.
y« 2Sth A. D. 1774
in ye 62nd year
of her Age.
In Memory of
Mr. Samuel Hough
Who Departed
this Life .\ugust ye
26th A. D. 1776 in
y« 66th year of
his Age.
Mortals Give Ear attend these faithful lines
The Lord of all the Weighty Truth enjoins
Love God, his will obey on Christ rdy
Then sleep in Death abov* the sky.
Yale I Hough
died April 23d
1819. Aged
44 years
L.icjui^L.u cy Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Ira Hough
died May nth
1822 Aged
23 yfaf;.
Sacred
to the Meni'iry
of Lucy Hough wire
of Yale L Hough who
died Feb. 4tb. A. D. 1807 AE.
26 years & 2 tnonths.
The Children of Yale & Lucy
Hough. Minerva died
Nov. 22 A, D. 1^03 AE. I year
& II months.
Daniel died Sept. loth A. D.
1805 AE. I year & 11
months
Mary died Sept. 15th A. D.
T805 AF 8 ^^.
Kcsurcction cheurmg thought
In
Memfjry of
Aurill.i
Wife of
John Huhbardt
Who Died
July 17. 1844-
Aged 49.
In Memory
of the Revtl
John H<it)1iard A. M.
Pastor of tiie Church in
Meriden
Who died Nov. i8th i;96 Aet.
6a He was a rational
and .serious Christian
Exemplary for Gravity Integrity
Piet\ and Benevolence. Me was
an ai)le Minister of the
New Testament and Beloved
By alt his Flock For his Faithful
ness and apostolic Dih'geiice In the
W'-rk .if tlir Mint>tr3 and for the
rnidt nce K.iiiUncb> ii; Himianity
Which adorned his manners
and rendered him
a most excellent Pastor.
Mrs ^L1ry Huhbard
rehct of
the reverend John Hubbard
died 2d March 1806
having that day completed her Toth
year
An early Christian profession
was adorned hy her livinj^ !a Christ
With a rare tenderness of conscience
she kept in view the glory of God
in all the duties of her
relations and conditions
Remarking the providence which
numbereth the hairs of our heads
«hc improved by every incident.
The comforts of vital piety which she
sensibly enjoyed were subject to. intervals
of extreme mental darkness
Light is sown for the righteous
Mrs.
Eunice, Wife of
John Hubbard
dii<l March 25, 1837
Aged 39 years
in death
She was supportid by a christian hope
Also James their son died
March 12, 1829 Aged 5
Months.
Erected to the
Memory of Mrs
Sarah Hull
wife of Mr.
Aarnn Hull
whit died Sept.
22d A. D. 1807 AE.
56 years.
In
Memory
of Mr.
Miles Hull
who died
April 24th
A. D. 1801,
in the 31th
year of his
Age.
L.iyui^cd by Google
E.\RLY
In Memory
of
Deacon Isaac Hubbard
Who died July 5, 1806
in the 44th year of his age
loC oruamcnt of a metk
and quiet spirit
a conscience void of offence
saA attention to the duties of
e\-ery relation
readtrcd h':m a grncral respect
Faith and hope
Sare him victory over death
Mark the apright
His end i$ peace
Also 01
Mrs Deborah
Wife of Mr.
Miles Hull
who died
Oct. 31st
A. D. 1802,
in the a6tii
year of her
Age.
In
Ikfemory of Isaac
Hubbard son of Deac.
Isnac & Mrs. Jane
Huhbard Who died Feb.
17th A. D. 1812 AE.
22 years
He was supported in
Death by a
christian hope
John Hubbard
Died
July 21. 186(2.
AE. 70.
Amasa Ives
died Dec. 13
1817 Aged 73
Rebecca his wife
died at Sullivnn ( S. Y.)
Sept 12, 1826
Aged 71.
HISTORY.
Erected In memory of
Mr.
Cornelius Hull
who died at Jamaica
on Long Island in the
State of New York
Sept. 6th A. D. 1805 in
his 35th year
Also Mariah Daugh of
Cornelius & Susannah
Hull died Svpt nth A. D.
1802 in her 2d.
year.
Krectid ti. the Memory
of Capt. Bezaleel Ives
who died Nov. 24, 1798
Aged 72. In early Life he
became a follower of Jesus
& through Life supported
the character of a faithfull
friend a Kind hu?^ban and
an affectionate parent and
died in the lively hope of
future bliss. The Memory
of the Just is blessed.
In Memory of
Mrs. Hannah Ives
wife of Capt
Bezaleel Ives
who dictl M.trch 21st
A. D kSj5 in her
Sjth year
Sure of cudic'.-is jo>> j»o.i>is>nig
Sin and death had lost their power
Future prospects rich in blessings
Cheered her last departing hour
John Ives
Born July 4, 1729.
Died Feb. i8i6l
Father of Othnicl. Titus,
and Ten Other Children.
In
Memory of Mr. Gideon
Ives Who died January 31
A. D .1777 In 37 Year of
His Age.
i88
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Manila,
Wife of
JoM- Ives.
Died
Oct. 12, 1865,
AE. 85.
In
Memory of
KHns V Ives
wlio died Oct.
19, 1829, in his
year.
Erecied m Memory
of Jervisha late
wife of Isaac Ives
of Danbury who died
of a consumption on the
18 day of \ii(?Hst A D. 1795
Aged 23 years.
In
Memory of
Jesse Ives
Wlin Died.
Feb. 12, I1S3O.
Aged 61.
Hear Lu-s Iiiti-rrtl Sa-
cred to Mo'"nr\ the Body
of Mrs Mary ivcs the laic
Amiable & Virtuous Con
sort to l^r John Ives
she Closed her Eyes in det'^
Febrv ye 15th A. D. 1788 In
The 46th Year of her .Xgc
Why do we mourn Departing friends
Or >?hakc at Death's alarms
Tis but the Voice that Jesus sends
To Call them to his Arms.
Titus Ives Esq.
died March 12 1834
Aet 50.
Watch thee therrfnri- tor ye know not what
hour your Lord dotli come
Matt. XXIV, 12.
In Memory of
Rosctta Ives
W'ifc of I>ca.
Othnicl Ivc^
Who died March
3d 1833 Aged
36 years.
In
Memory of
Mr.
Timothy Ives
who died Jan. lOth.
A. D. 1812 AE..
LXXX.
years
The strong know that they must die
Beneath the clods there dust must lie
They'll have no share in all thau done
Beneath the circle of the son.
Sarah I\cs
Wife of Mr.
Othnial Ives
died Nov. 24, A. D. 1814
Aet. 32 y'rs
Also an infant Aet 4 days
^fay we who survive consider
that no age is exempt from death
Our Life is ever on the wing
And death is ever nigh
The moment when our lives begin
Ye all begin to die.
Erected to the
memory of
Dea.
Othniel Ives
Who died
Nov. 22, 1829
aged 52.
Susan L.
daughter of Titus &
Lodema Ives
died June 14. 1833
aged 12 years
Go home my friends dry up your tears
Here I must lie till Christ appears.
Digrtized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
189
in Memon- of
Capt Samuel Ives
who died Oct 18th 1803
AE. s>
L'niverMliy Lamented as an active
:• rnd to Christianity and public '
'>> :cl & in the comfortable hope &
prosit of unini >rtnl blessedness
beyond tlic gra\e,
Tr.. Powr alone, U faith can death deform
Break all his Darts and all his fierce
4 ness charm
In
Memory of
Cornelia Wife of
Elias Y. Ives.
who died Nov.
21, 1827, Act
19 years
7 Months and
20 days
A UoominK Dower thus early cut
down in the morning of usefulness
is a lesson to her associates
Be ye also ready.
In
Memory of Mr.
Aaron Johnson
WTio died Sept.
2d A. D. 1808 in
bis 40th year
In the comfortable
hope of eternal
Life.
Sacred to the
Memory of
Aaron Johnson
son of Aaron and
Rebecca Johnson
who died Uct 7,
A a 1836 AE.
tS years
Remember now thy Creator
in the days of thy youth
Thi^ monument is erected
by bis two yoangest Sisters.
In
Memory of Mr.
Israel Johnson.
Who died March 21, A. D.
tSao, in his 72d
year.
Take comfort christians when your
friends
In Jesus fall asleep
Their better being never ends
Then why dejected we^.
riuldah
Wife of
Israel Johnson,
Died
Jan. 10^ 1850^
AE. 961
Sacred
to the Memory of
Francis King Esq.
Who died
May II, 1837:
Aged 40 years.
In
Memory of
John O Lane
who Died
May 0, t8^3
AE. 26.
In Memory of
Mr.
Samuel Leavitt
He died
Dec. 30th. A. D. 1803
AK XCIII
years.
In Memory of
Mrs
Adah Leavitt
Consort of Mr.
Samuel Leavitt
<1ic (lied Ft.'!.. <)\h
A. D. T.^i AE.
LXXIX
Digitized by Google
190
A CENIVBY OF MERIDEN.
Silas B. Lawrence.
Died
Aug. 4, 185a,
AE. 72.
Old ape aiul death retard our Steps
From all uur >ouiliful toils
Erected to the
memory of
\Vm. Henry Lester
who died
April 25, 1837
Aged 37 years.
Wtlliam A. Ltnslor
died Oct 7th 1841
Aj^ed 66 years
"My flesh also shall rest in hope"
Abigail T.
wife of
William A. Linslcy
died Feb. 2, 1820
Aged 35 years
"I shall be satisfied when I awake
with thy likeness.'*
William
Son of
Wm. A, & A. T. Linsley.
died Nov. 13, 1812, AE. 11 m. 14 d.
Harriet A.
their daiii^fluer
died May 5, 1812, AE. 3 y » 7 mo
"Hope looks beyond the bounds of time
When what we now deplore
Shall rise in full immortal prime
And blcx>m to fade no more."
Harriet
wife of
William A. Linsley
died May 24. 1841,
Aged 52 years.
"When he shall appear we shall be
like him for we shall see him as he is."
.\mKi Lyman
Died
April 8 1858
AE. 70
In Memory of
Mr. Aaron Lyman
E<?q. Who departed
this iifc iiov. i5ih A, D.
1801 AE. 94
The public offices he sustained
he discharged w^ith honor
he was a patRMi of good
order and a friend to rcligioa
he manifested a lively sense
of the worth of relij^on
and died in the lull hope
ot coming to tlie resur-
rection of the Just.
In Memory of
Mr.
Phinehas Lyman
who died April 16 A. D.
18^ aged 71 years
and of Mrs.
Huldah Lyman
his wife who died
March 16, 1804
aged 46 years.
J. W. L.
John W. Lyon,
born at Meridcn
Feb. 5. t8ai.
died at
Springfield Mass.
Sept. a6, 1842.
Ruth Maria
Daughter of
Asahel & Elizabeth
Merriara
died Dec 3 1843
Aged 31 years
Anson Merriam
Died
Oct. 14, 1833
AE. 29
Our
Fathers Grave.
James E. Merriam
Wtlliam B Merriam
^ by Gt
EARLY HISTORV.
191
In
Memoiy of
Asaph Mcrriam Esq.
Who <lu-ii July 27th
l8j6 aged 77
years
In
>remory of Mrs.
Daniaras Wife of
Asaph Merriam Esq. .
who died Aug. 24
i8a6 in her 63
year
Weeping friends
Erected this to
perpetuate the meni'-
orv of Selden son
of Asaph Merriam
Esq & Mr?
Damaras Mirriam
Who died
April mh A. D. 1806
in his 22d.
year.
In .Memory of
Mr. '
Benjamin Merriam
Who died suddenly
the f4th of Feb A. D.
i^yj AF 76 year?,
Ble^^e»l arc the dead that
die in the Lord.
May sudden death remind us
all
That old or young Death soon
may call.
In Memory of
Mr. Edmund
Merriam
died Jan. 25th
A D. 1791 AE. 30
L>eaih h a debt
To nature due
That I have paid
9s so must you.
In Memory of Mrs.
Mary y« Wife of
Mr. Benjamin
Merriam she Died
March 14th 1772
in ye 30th year of
her Age.
Mrs, Beulah
Wife of .Mr.
Ephratm Mcrriam
died Fcl). 18th.
18-^7 in her
68th year.
In Memory of Mrs.
Mary Merriam
y« Consort of Mr.
Eiisha Mcrriam Who
Departed this life
Nov. y« rsth A. D. 1774 in y« aoth
year of her Age.
A soul prepared needs no dehiys
The summon?; come, the saint olx'j-.s
Swift was her Hight, and short the road
She closed her eyes and saw her God;
The flesh rests here till Jesus come
And claims the treasure from the tomb.
In Memory of
Mr. John .Merri
am W lio Died
May 2<). 177J in
y« 75 year of his
Age
Let not the dead
forgotten h'e
Remember Friend <?
tliat you must die.
In Memory of
Mary Merriam 2d.
Consort of M"^ John
Mcrriam Who died
Decern'* 6th 1756 in
ye -j^th year of her
.\gc. as I am now so
must you be (indecipherable).
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Mr.
Ephraim Merriam
died March
22d A. D. 1834
Act. 77.
Erected In iiieniory
of Mr.
Joseph Merriam
who died April 30th.
A. D. 1807 in his
75th year.
Behold and scc as you pass by
As you are now so once was I
As 1 are now so you must be
Therefore prepare to follow me
Erected In memory of
Mr.
Nathaniel Merriam
Who was born at
Merriden Jan. 16th.
A n. T734
His tern-trial course was
suddenly terminated
August 5th A. D.
1807
In Memory of
Mrs. Mary Merriam,
Wife of Mr. Mnrshel
Merriam \V iio Died
February y« aoth A. D .1780
in the 30th year of
her Age
She gave to her friends cause
of great consolation
.\nd died in good hopes
of eternal salvation
Sacred to the
memor}" of Mrs
Mindwcll
wife of
Jo>t'(ili Merriam
who died Oct. 15
1839, in her 100
The memory of the just is blessed
In Memory of
Capt. Nath«l Merriam
Who died-
A. D. 1775
81 St year o£
In Memory of
Mrs Martha
Consort to Mr.
Nathaniel
Merriam Who
died Dec 28th.
A. D. 1797 AE. 61.
Calm resignation cro-
wned
Her latest hours.
In
Memory
of Mr.
Thomas Merriam
who died
April 1st. A. D. 181 1
in his
80th year.
Mrs
Ruth Merriam
Wife of Mr.
Thomas Merriam
died .\pril 6
1827* in her 8;7tti
year.
In Memory of Lieut
William Merri
am. He died Octr
ye 4th A. D. 1 751 In
The $2 Year of
His Age
Likewise the Rtnia
ins of his wife Mrs
Ruth Merriam.
she died No^t ye 4
A. D. 1784 In ye 81
Year of her Age.
£.\KLV HISTORY.
In Memory of
Mr.
Howel Mcrriman
lie died Oct. 29th.
A. D. 1805 in the
33d year of
his age
He wa» much respected
in Life & equally
lamented in
Death.
In
Memory of
Dinah Merriman
Relict of
Titus Merriman
who died Sept. ist.
A. D. 1813 in her
85 th year.
Mr. Ives Mcrriman
died Oct. 3,
A. D. 1825,
Act. 33
His (lonjeslic virtues endeared
luni to a large circle of relatives
& friends &, his christian walk &
brnnble hope in death left them
the htst consolation in his loss.
Mrs
Pr)l!y Merriman
Wife of Mr.
Jc5.sa Merriman died Aug.
13 A. D. 1 80S Aet. 42 y.
and Mr. Joel Merriman
died much lamented Oct. 18, 1819
Aet 35 y. in the midst of flatering
w'^rldly pro4;j>«.'ct<= nnd yet with
l>ecoming r«. >-i!s'ii;it:( in comfortable
hopes of elernai Life.
Our life 19 ]iice a summers day
't seems so quic':Iy past:
<Hith is the rooming bright ft gay
^"d if tis spent in wisdoms way
^Ve meet our doom without dismay
And Death is sweet at last
Here all is rest ft sweet repose
Here all ottr sorrows cease
•■""r Jesits needs our spirit there
And kindly whispers peace.
13
In memory of
Mr.
Titus Merriman
who died
Dec. 24th A. D. j8o6
AK. 80 years.
Tho* strict in his Christian
walk for many years he
was much distressed in his
sickness thro' anxious
fears for his soul, but died
at last full of joy & triumph,
If the righteous scarcely
be saved where shall the
ungodly ft the sinner ap
pear.
1 Peter IV. 18.
In
Memory of Mr.
Jesse Merriman
who died May
8, 1827, aged
68 years
Mrs
Mary Roberts
wife of
Ephrnim ^^p^^iam
died July 7, 1816
Act. 23
In
Memory of Mr.
Jotham Mitchel,
who died Nov. 3, 1825
Aged 71 years 7 months ft
T r!ay
In Lite respected &
In death lamented
Also in memory of Betsey
dautr of Jotham ft Rebekah
Mitchel. she died the 26 Nov.
1784 A£. 13 months ft 8 d's.
In Memory of
Mrs Mary Mitchel
Contort to Mr Moces
Miiclicl. she died
May the 14th A. D. 1776
In the 52nd year of her
Age.
Digitized by Google
194
A CHMURV OK MERIDRX.
In Memory of
Mary Mitcliel
Who died NFarch
12th A. D. 1806 in her
49th year. Live while
you live that when grim
Death approaches the re-
collcctioti of \(nir past life
may force a smile even
from that formidable
tyrant
In Memory of
Mr.
Mnse*; Mitchel
Who died Nov.
7th A. D. t707 Ai:. 75
Forbear to niutirn for inc my
friends
But for your sins and follies
mourn
Short is the time on earth
you spend
& then to dust retum.
Sacred
To the Memory of
Sarah
Wife of Zanak Murdock
& Daughter of
Levi & Sarah I'oster
Who
Died March 26, 1836
Aet 28.
Si> luar. -n kitid, so gentle, so sincere
So iov d so early lost must claim a tear
Yet mourn we not if the life resumed by
heaven
Was spent to every end for which twas
given
As huiubk- trust in thy Redeemers love
Matured thee early for the courts above
We cease thy death too fondly to deplore
For naught could the longest life have
added more
In Memor)' of
Mr.
Joel Mix
who died Dec. 7ih.
A. D. 1813 AE.
27 years
My weeping friends as you pass by
Remember you are bom to die.
In
Memory of
Lucy Mnran
Who died
June I, 1846
in the 68 year
of her age
Here lies deposited untill the
resurrection the body of Mr.
Moses Mitchel Son of Mr. Joth-
am & Mrs. Rebekah Mitchel, he
departed this life July 4. A. D.
181 1 : in the 25 year of Ins age.
at his left hand lies the body
of Mr. Aaron Mitchel Son of Mr.
Jotham & Mrs Rebekah Mitdiel,
he departed this life June II»
A. D. 1811: in the 18 year of
hi*; aijfo
Thy cartlily hopes fond youth arc but a
dream
Ore all things here I claim a power
supreme
While love prepares the nuptial torch toHg''*-
1 f]ti«"iu'h it< iplenrlors in sepulchral night
My name is dcaili ; sec here my victims h<-
Renounce thy pleasures & prepare to die
In
Memory of Mrs.
Eunice Miles
Formerly the Consort
of Lieut. Josiah
R< >1iiii>nn
died July Ji>th
A D. 1787 Aged 61.
If bright the prospect
We the Grave defy
Trust future .\ges
And conten^d die
^ J . .cl by GoogI
l-.ARLV IIISTORV.
Henry
Son of
Amos & I^Iannah
Newton
died
Feb. 3, i8j9.
AE. 32.
John C
Sou of
Amos & Hannah
Newton
Died
Oct 20. 1841
Act. 20.
Our friend .'ukI brother lo! is dead
The cold and lifeless clay,
Has made in dust ils silent bed.
And there it must decay.
In
Memory o£
Nancy
Late Wife of
Andrew Norton
& F'Tmerly wife of
John Hough
who Died
Sept. I, i8j9
Aet. 53.
E. H. O.
In
Memory of Mrs
Eunice H. Olds
Wife of Mr.
Jar<<l OMs
Who dad April i8th
A. D. 1843 AE.
28 years
Each friend by fate snatched from
tis is a plume pludced from the wings
of human vanity ft from their grave
how soon we disingage.
Samuel Paddock
Died
Aug. 7, 1869
AE. 95.
In Memory of
Mr.
Samuel Paddock
who died Nov.
ai. 1825 in the
68th year of
his age.
In
Memory of
Mehitabel
Wife of
Samuel Paddock
Who departed this life
July I, 1817
AE. 59.
This is a debt all natures due
Which I have paid & so must you.
Charlotte
Wife of
Samuel Paddock
Died
May 31, 1864,
AE. 67.
In Memory of Mrs.
Tcinpi-r.mcc
Parnick'C Consort to
Mr. Bani Parmdee
who died Oct. 5th
A. D. 1797 in her 42^
year.
Death is a debt
To nature due
Which ] have paid
& so must you.
Susanna Peck
rt'lict of
Deacon Phineas Peck
ft formerly consort of
Stephen Hinc
died Nov. 22, 1810
Aged 74
Death like an • verflowing stream
Bears all its suns away
They fly forgotten as a dream
Does at the opening day.
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MEiUDEN.
In Memory of
Mrs. Hannah
Wife of
Mr. Xnthaniel
Fcntield Who
died June s*>*,
1777 in the 72^
Year of her age
In Memory of
Mrs. Sarah, wife of
Mr. Libcrt> Perkins
Who died June 3, 182S
Act. 44 Y.
Huidah their daugh.
died Aug. 20, 1802 A£. 4 Y.
Hiram & Elias their »
Sons died March 31, 1801
A£. 4 Y. & April ao, 1807
AE. 1 Y.
Amanda
wife of
Sherlock Perkins
Died
Dec 22 1842
Aet. 4^
Polly
Wife of
Samuel Paddock
Died
Oct. 26, 1822
AE. 41
In Memory of Mr.
Nathaniel Penfield
Who died January
the 5t»» A. D. 1776
Aged 679 Years
Corrected date — protwbly 79 year*.
The grave of Mrs.
EHzaheth wife
of Mr.
.Seth D. Plum
*ho died June 4th
1826 in her
45 >ear.
Death is certain and may you all
prepare to meet your God.
In
.Memory of Mr.
Scth 1). Plum
who died May 16,
i8j6. Aged 57
Years.
In
Memory of
Russel Harrison Plum
son of Mr. Sv\h D. & Mrs.
ElizahethPlum
Who died Jan. 22^ A. D.
1816. AE. 2 years &
7 Months
Beneath, the lovely Quid doth lie
To earth his boddy's lent,
More glorious shadl hereafter rise
Yet not more innocent
sound
When the archangels trump shall
& souls to bodies jcun
Millions & millions here around
Will wish their lives as short as
mine
In
Memory of
Jchicl I'rcston
Who died
Aug. J I, 1820.
aged 65 years
Also Permelia
daughter of
Jehiel &
Molly' Preston
died
(illegible)
In
Memory of
Molly» relict of
Jehiel Preston.
Who died
Jimp 15, 1S33.
A\n:i\ 74 years.
The grave is now an honor'd spot
To saints who sleep in Jesus blessed
For there the wicked trouble not
And there the weary are at rest
Digrtized by Google
EARLY HrSTORV.
197
Anil Eliza
Wife of
Freeman R. Randall
Died
Apr. 7, 1857
AE. 18 y*s & 8 mo's.
have loved her. Oh how fondly,
Wc have laid her down to rest:
She has gone to dwell with Angels,
In the mansions of the blest
•She was lovely far too lovely
III this cold world to stay
Her spirit pure and holy
To Heaven winged its way.
Ill
Memory of
Mrs. Ann
the wife of
Augustus Redfield
Who died
July 4, I&I4,
in her 75 year,
Horace R. Redfield
Died
Dec. 31, 1851
AE. 58
Lucy Curtis
His Wife
Died Mar. i, 1882
A£. 82.
In Memory oi Lieut.
Allin Rice
Who departed this Life
May y« 2*1 A. D. J776
Aged 40 years
1 trust in Thee and know in Whom T trust.
Thy call I follow to the land unknown.
In Memory of
Mr* Phebe
Wife of Dea"
Benjninni Rice
Who died June
y« 13th 1776 in
the 4^th Year
of her Age.
Erectf f! \< >
Aleniory
of Mr!
Amasa Rice
Who departed
this Life
Dec. i-'tl> .A. D.
1797 ill the
47th year
of his Age
Also of
Miss Thankful
Rice Daagh.
of Mr.
Amasa &
Mrs, Mary
Rice Who
died Feb. 19th.
A. D. 1794 in
the year
of her Age.
^ In Memory of
Dtan I'cnjamin
Kicf Who died
February y« 7th
1777 in the 47th
Year of his
Age.
In Memory of
Mrs Mindwell
Wife of Decon
Benjninin Rice
Who died May
ye 13*'' 1776 in
the 741 1» Year
of her Age.
In memory of Capt.
Ezekiel Rice who
died Sept. 3<i 1808
Aged 69 years
The race is run in dutys path
faith
Fought the good 6ght & kept the
hreast
Xow leamng on my Saviours
My spirit seeks its final rest.
Digitized by Google
198
In Mciiiury of
Mr. llalscy son
of Dea. Benjamin &
Mrs. Phebe Rice
Who died May 2^
A. D. 1/8^^ in the
Year ut his
Age
Thrice happy if
Prepared to meet
A change so awful
& so great.
In Mt-mory of Mr.
Jo>ci)h Rice: he
Departed this Life June
ye 5th A. D. 1777 in
ye 22n<» Year of his
Age
See hloniinjT youth
My niournfull fate
Prepare for death 0
In Memory of
Jemima Rice
daughter of Mr. Ezra
& Mrs. Anna Rice
Who died Jan. 23d.
in the 20th
year of her age.
Time what ati empty vapour tis
And days how swift they are
Swift as a fcatherd arrow flies
Or like a shooting star.
Erected. In memory of
Rachel dantr of Titus & Rachel
Rice. She perished in the fiames of
a dwelling house occupyed by
Jotham Mitchcl Oct. ^ 1784;
in the 9 Year of her age
Melinda
wife of
Reuben J. Rice
Died
Mav I. 1833.
AK. 22.
Prepare to meet thy God.
In
Memory of
Charlott Rice
daughter of Joel &
Eunice Rice, who
. (lied Aug 18. A. D. 1829
Aet. 40
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.
In Memory of Mrs
Mmdwell Rice consort
to Mr. Lyman Rice
who died April 14^1^
1805 in the 23^ year
of her age
Youth in the blossom must resign
to Death the end of all mankind
But hark the Gospel doih proclaim
The dead in Christ shall rise again
In Memory of
Mr.
Oliver Rice
who died
April 28ih A. D.
1794, AE. 34
In faith he died,
In dust he lies
But faith forsees
In Memory of
Mrs. Ruth Royce
Who died March aoth A. D. i8ot.
in the 25th year of her age
With joyful hopes of future bU»
Behold the saints rejoice to die.
For heaven shines round their heads
And angel guards prcpar'd to t\yi
.\iicnd their fainting beds.
In
Memory of
Jane Daugb. of
Dean Silas & Mrs.
Rebeckah Rice
'fho died Feb. ij A. D.
1824 in her 19 year
Lifes imcertain Heath \<. sure
Sins the wound & Christ
the cure.
Digitized by Google
EAKLY HISTORY.
199
Rev
Erastus Ripley
Pastor Of The
Congregational Church
In Mcrulcn
JO years
Died Nov 17 1843
Aet. 7J
Blessed are the dead which die in the
Lord, from henceforth yea saith the Spirit
'fiat they may rc?t from their labors
iud iheir works do ioliow them.
In Memory of Lieut
Josiah Robinson be
died April 17^11 1771
in y« 45*^ yea of his
Age. Death ore all
nature casts a shady
Gloom. Believe & look
With triumph ore
ye tomb
in .Memory of
Sarah Russell
Who died April 14
1833 in her 20th year.
When hlooming youth are torn away
ily deaths resistless hand
Onr heart* the mournful tribute pay
Which pitty mtist demand.
In Memoiy of
Mr.
Elijah Scovill
Will) died
March i8th A. D.
1798 in his 24th year
Death is a debt
To natare due
^Vhich I have paid
& so must you.
Khzabeth
wife of
Eleazar Scovil,
died July 24, 1849
Aet. 66.
Erected
In Memory of
Mrs.
Try pi una Selby
tlic amiable Consort nf Mr.
David M. S. ll.y
who departed
this Life May 2^ A. D.
1804 aged 43
> ears
Confined within this narrow tomb
The lovely «;k'eper lies
Hut when the grand .Morn shall come
May she with joy arise.
Mrs
Electa Sr>nTiiir
Wile ot .Mr.
Stephen Seymour
died Jan. 4, 1820 in her
32* year
Daniel their son died Oct.
180K in infancy
AK. 1 y. II m. 18 d.
Phebe Aim their Da ugh.
died Oct. 13, 1818 AE. 3 y. 3m.
& 14 d.
Sacred t*j the Mcukhv of
Mrs Rachel S'^aylor
Consort to Maj.
Joseph Shaylor
Who died Xov. i8th
A. D. 1790 AK. 41
r.o(l yjivc^ frirnds
I lien wliy shouid *e
complain
If he resume i
Our friends again '.
Ill Memory of
Mr Joseph Shaylor
the only son of
Maj. Joseph & Mrs
Rachel Shaylor who was slain by the
Indians at Fort Jefferson Feb li A. D. 1792
AK. 15
His Surviving Sisters Consecrate
this Inscription to his Memory
200
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
In Memory of
Mr. James Scovil Jun'"
Who departed this Life
June the T776
Aged 43 Years
In the midst of Life we are m Deat^^
In Memory of M'""
Thankful! SluMon
Daug^'' <»f M' Asa and
rh.iiikfnii
Sheldon of New
Matborough She
Died Jane y« 9th 177a
in y« i8^>i year of her Age
Come Blooming Youth
When This You Read
O See My Fate.
In Memory of Abigail
SiUiman: y« Daughter
of Mr Hezekiah & Mrs
E"nilia Sillimrm: she Died
May ye 31 si A. D 1776 in ye
gth year of iicr Age
Why arc friends ravished from
us: Tis to bind
By soft affections lines on human
hearts the thought of death
I'licicd to I lie Memory
ot Mis. Mary Simpson
Wife of Mr. Samuel
Simpson Who died
A|»ril 2nd A. I). I7W AE.
34 years. .Also their
l)al)r died l/^W-
I leaven gives t ricnds
Why should we complain
If heaven resumes
Our friends again.
Tn
Memory of
Solomon Smith
Who
Died Sept. t, 1844
Aet. 76.
^ In memory of
Mrs. Emiice
wife of Mr.
Robert Smith
who died
Feb. 2d, 1837
Aged 69 years.
In
Memory of
Lucy, wife of
Solomon Smith
who died
June 13 1831
Aged 63
In Memory of
Orrin Smith
son of Darling &
Rachel Stuart
Who died Jan 2
1821 Aged 18
years
Temperance, Fortitude, Justice.
I, O. R
Emery li. Siierman
Died July 10, 1846
Act. 21
"We will drink no wine; for,
Jonadah» the son of Rechah, our
Father, commantU'd u> saying
Ve shall drink no wine."
Sarah
wife of
William Talmadge
died Jan 21 1843
AK. 28
Sarah
wife of
Daniel Talmagc,
Died
Aug. 24, i8SS.
AE. 7^
Mr Abner & Mrs.
SarahTibbals died
Wallingford Oct 6^ !8oi-I799
A£. 75-80.
Digitized by Google
EARLY UISTUUV.
201
Mrs. Lois & Mrs. Chloe
CompanioiiSi ni Mr. Sanniel
Tfbh.t!s (lied Oct. l6, 1803. Feb
I, i8jo. Tile former at Branford
AE. 36— 42
Also two infant sons of Mr.
Samuel & Mrs Chloe
c';< >! Oct. 21, 1805,
Dec. j\, I Si 5
"t-ssed are the dead tli it die in the Lord
ta so saith the sp'ri; tor they rest
trum ihctr labors
Sacred to the
Memory of Mr.
Samuel TibbaU
Who died July 14
1829 AcL 64.
Sacred to the Memory
of Mrs. Polly Consort to
Mr Cnleb Todd
Who departed this Lue
March io"» A. D. 1792 in the
35** year of her Age
Here my dear Polly lies
Obscur'd in the dust
Thas all but virtue .dies
Whose memory cannot rust
There Shall Be No More Deatli
Mary Elizabeth
Wife of
Lauren Tutlle
died 26, 1843
AE. 26 y's
''Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints."
Fs C.X.VL IS.
In Memor}' of
Philomela Twiss
late Consort of Mr
Daniel Twis.?
she suddenly departed
this life M^lrch
6th A. D. i&>s» in the
j6th year of her age
also Champion
son of Daniel &
Philomela Twiss
died May Ot'» i8cx)
AE. 6 Months
Though sudden gone
yet still in mind.
Erected
to the Memory of
Joseph Twiss
Who Died
May 15, 1842
Aet. 81
Lois C.
Daughter of
Austin & Vincey Twiss
Died Dec. 24,
Aged 19 Years
FiiciKls nor physicians could not save
My mortal body from t^rrme
Nor can the grave coniinc nie hew
When Christ my Saviour doth appear.
Bolivar A.
Son of
Austin & Vincey Twiss
Died March 25, 1844
Aet. 18. •
Abigail Twiss
Daugh. of Mr
Joseph & Mr»
Lois Twiss
died June 2, 1819,
.\ct. 24 yrs.
Great God thy goodness hath no
bounds
W'c hope our friend hath mercy
found
Her mind o'ercast with dismal
gloom
Has sought a refuge in the
tomb
Darkness & glooni shall rlee
away
At the great opening day.
Digrtizeo Ly <jOOgIe
202
A CENTURY OF M£R1DEN.
Lois Austin
Wife of
Joseph Tiss
Died Jan 3«. 1848
Aet. 85.
In Memory of
Joshua A. Twiss
who died May
29t 1829, Aet.
26
This world is all a Heeling show
For man's probation given:
The smiles of joy the tears of wo^
Deceitful shine deceitful flow:
Theres nothing true but heavea
In Memory of
Mr. Hiram Upson
who died Sept. 23, 1836
Aged 33 years.
And of Mrs. Silvia
bis wife who died Oct
26, 1833 Aged 29 years
Also Sophronia their
daugh. died Sept 22, 1833
Aged 10 weeks.
Erected
to the Memory
of
Charles Way
Who Died
Dec 4, 1842
Aet. 36.
In
Memory of
Betsey, wife of
Samuel Way
whn died
Ma> 2. 1831
Aged 50 years
Also
Sherman their son
died May 30, 1811
Aged 2 j ears
Also
an infant son
died Sept. 3. i8t&
Abner Way
Died
May I, 1841.
Aged 88
Eunice Way
Died
Aug. 15. 1551
Aged go.
John A Way
Died
Oct. S, 1848.
AE. 70
Deborah
Wife of
John A. Way,
Died Apr. 6, 1^
AE. 70
Samuel Way
Died
Oct. 27, 1844
AE. 83.
In
Memory of
Sherman P. Way
who died
Apr. 8, 1840
AE. 28
The memory of the just is blessed.
In
Memory of Mrs
Esther Webb
wife of Capt.
John Webb
who died March
^th A. D. 1806
AE. 94 years.
Erected to the memory
of Capt John Webb who
died May 6» lygg aged
02
He was a Man of real piety
and Integrity Public spirit-
ed, kind to the poor. And
through Life a patron of
Religion peace & order
in Society
The Memory of the just is
blessed.
Digrtized by Google
liAKJuV HISlUKY.
In Memory of
Anna Wetmore,
wife of the late Rev^
lirahiah Wctmore
of Trtimbtill
Who died July 1812,
AE. 70 years
unites
Hoir blest the pair whom christian love
nights
Joy smiles upon their days atul crowns their
In peace their happy moments glide away
TiU both arc welcomed to eternal day.
In Memory of
Deacn Benjamin
Whiting he died
Octbr y« 2nd 1773 >n
ym ygth year of his Age
The sweet Remembrance
of the JiisT. ^^'hen dying
Nature sleepij in Dust.
In Memory of
Mrs. Rebekah
Relict of Dea
Benjamin Whitins
mo died July 6th
A n. 1790 AE. 91
Behold all ye
Who do pass by
If %ou live long
Yet you must die.
Erected in Memory
of Samuel Whitmg
Esqr. Who died Feh. 15th
A. D. 1803 in his 6oth year
In the various offices of trust
which he sustained he ever
'•jpporte'! the character of a
'cspectaMc mcmlK-r of socictv — -
A just at)d faiihtui magistrate—
A kifid husband— an affectionate
I»arent— A friend and supporter
' f religion & morality — and a
humble, pious & exemplary
christian & died in the lively
hope of future bliss, through
the merits of a Saviour.
In Memory of
Caleb V/ilcox
who died
Sept. '19^ 1826
AE. 57
His death was ocasioned by a sudden
and unexpected fall which he received ten
days previous to his death.
Therefore be ye also ready for in sudi
an hour as ye think not the Son
of man cometh.
In Memory of
.Mr.
.\mos White
who died Atiff.
21, 1825 Aged
80 years
In Memory of
Mrs. Hannah D. Wolf
Wife of
Mr. Seth D. Wolf
who departed this Life
March nth 1791 in the
27th "S'car of her .\gc
Virtue & ^r:u\- adorn'd her mincl
Her thoughts & passions were resign'd
Her innocence so fair so clear
Who can restrain a falling tear.
Mr.
IchaI»od Wood,
Died
Dec. 10, 1842^
Aged 65 Years.
Mr? Mary
Wife of Mr.
Ichabod Wood
died May 2, 1835
Aged S3 years
GMne all my children that survive
And let us mourn together
In
Memory of
Asa Vale
who died
Aged 30
ijiyiiizea by GoOgle
204
A tllMlKV or MtKIULX.
Abel Yale
Died
Sept. 23, 1859
Aged ^5-
Mrs
Polly Wife of
Abel Yale
Died
Aug. 15, 1840 in her
49 year
Dearest Sister thou hast lost us
Here thy loss we deeply feel
But tis God that liath bereft us
He can all our sorrows heal
In Memory of Mr. Abel
Yale: Departed this Life
April 8th 1784 in the y9^^
year of his Age
The seciis are changed, our days are fled
All earth bom joys are o'er
Mortals must follow where we're lead
And reach the Eternal shore.
Erected to the Memory
of
Mrs. Sarah Yale,
the Consort of
Mr. Able Yale
She departed this life
Deer. 2ot»» .\. D. iHoo. in the
89th year of her Age.
Mr. Daniel Yale
died March 28, 1834
in his 84th year
Deceased friends to you 1 come
To rest my body in the tomb
My soul with you sliall rise above
To shout & sing redeeming love
Mrs Phebe Yale
his wife
died Nov. 17, 1833
in her 80 year.
James M. Yale
Died
July 30, 1842
in his 23 year
Fond clustering hopes have s"nk with thc«
That earth cannot restore
Love casts a garland on thy tur£
That may not blossom more.
In
Memory of
Ira Yale
Who departed this life
Dec. 9. 1814
AE. 56.
Also his wife
Betsey
Who departed this life
April 5* 181 1,
AE. S7
and Also Mehitable,
Who departed this life
Dec. 6. 1 81 4.
AE. 28.
Isaac Yale
Died
1864
AE. 81.
Diana Yale
His Wife
Died
Apr. 15 1862
AE. 79.
In
Memory of
Eli Yale
Who died
June ts, i843t
in the 32 year
of his age
Our life how short a groan a. sigfa
We live and then begin to die
But oh how great a mercy this
That deaths a portal itito bliss
ijiyiiizeQ by GoOglc
EARLY HISTORY.
205
In
Memory of
Anna daughter of
Isaac & Diana Yale
who tiled Dec 23, 1829
Aged 22
She died in the full faith of her Redeemer
In
Memory of
Mr.
Joel Yale
Who died Dec. 14th.
A. D. 1805, in his
47* h year.
Farewell my carihly friends adieu
VaiB would I bid farewell to you
Now in the dust my head I lay
To mingle with my native clay
^Vhile my immortal soul has fled
To meet the Judge of quick & dead
Voa too must moulder in the
tomb
Prepare to meet your final
doom
Esther
Wife of
Joel Yale,
died Nov. 13. 1848
Act. 82.
Here lies interred
sacred to the Memory
the body of
John Yale
who died Jan 6 1782
AE. 95
Here lies uiterred sacred
to the Memory the body
of Mr. John Yale Jwa
AVho departed this life,
in the fauh & hope of
the Gospel on the 28 day
of March A .D. 1795. In the
65 year of his Age.
Death is a debt to nature due
Let not the dead forgotten lie,
Remember that your bom to die
In Memory of Mrs.
Sarah Wife of Mr.
John Yale Who
died July 2"*' 1774
in ye 84* h year
of her /Vgc.
In
Memory of Mrs
Eunice Consort of Mr.
John Yale late
Consort to Capt.
John Cottdiy Who
died March sth A. D.
1800 AE. 71 years
Surviving friends altho you mourn
Let this console I shall return
The righteous Judge can by his word
Bring me triumphing with the Lord.
Mr.
John Yale
died
Aug. 8, 1833
AE. 76
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord
Rev. xiv. 13.
Betsey
Wife of
John Yale
Ann Yale
Daughter of
John &
Betsey Yale
Died
Dec. 21, 1828
AE. 21
The sweet remembrance of the just
Shall nourish when they sleep in dust
Mr.
Jonathan Yale
died Feb. 18,72
in the 39'^h. year
of his age
Partner & friends a long farewell
Oh be prepared with God to dwell.
L.iyui^L.u cy Google
206
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Sacred
to the Memory of
Mr
Jonathan Vale
Who died Nov. 23
1823 in bis T7 year
His exemplary Life was a testi
mony to the power of excellence
of that religrion which he early
professed & his death an evidence
of those consolations & hope
which it can alone inspire.
In Memory of
Esther wid. of
Jonathan Yale
who died Oct 12, 1825.
Aet 74
She honoured a diristtan profession
by a pious life & liberality toward
the poor and the church of Christ
In
Memory of Mrs.
Polly
Wife of Mr.
Levi Yale
Daugh. of Joel &
Esther Yale who
died July 13th A. D.
1810 AE. 20 years.
In Memory of
Mr Levi Vale
he died Novl^r
28th year of
his Age.
In Memory of
Mary Yale
Who died
Nov. 21, 1837
Aged 27 years
Miss
Esther Yale
died Aug. 24 A. D.
1825 Aet
24.
In
Meinory* of
Deac. Nathaniel Vale
who departed this life
Dec 12^ i8t4
AE.6a
The grave is honorM where
the Christian lies
Beyond the Skies Immortality
In
Memory of Mrs.
Anna Yale
wife of Mr. Noah
Yale died Sept.
8tb 1809 in
her 84th years
In
Memory of
Hannah
Wife of
Dea. Nathaniel Yalc
Who died
Feb. 28, 1847
AE. 86.
In ^^cn1ory of
Rebekah Uaugtr
of Mr. Noah &
Mrs. Anna Yale
She died Nov^r
15th in ye 6tU
Year of her Age.
In
Memory
of Mr
Noah Vale
Who died Feb. 27th.
A. D. 1803 in his
8oth year
Tho long you live h many
good days see
Yet to the grave you all
must follow me
From dust tho« art & must.
to dttst return
In silent language speaks each
moulderinir urn
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KAKl.V lUSUiKV
In Memory of
Mr. Russel Yale,
Who died April 28th.
A. D. 1794. In the 19th,
year of hi& Age
Behold vain youth as you pass by
-A.-J think how suden you may di,
C :nc view mv i»rave S: read my age
Prtpar* for death while 011 the stage.
In Memory of Mr.
Samuel Yale
who died Sept. iStn a. D.
1810 AE. 48 years
Alio in Memory of Mrs.
Mahitabel wife of Mr.
Samuel Yale who died
X<K. igth A. D. 1808 AE. 28 years.
Erected
In Memor)' of
Mrs.
Eunice Yale
Late Consort of Mr.
Samiul '^'.Llc
who died Aug.
i8th A n. 1834
iti her 44^'".
year
My busband dear & children ail
^**rgiet me not tho I am gone
The way of truth dont you des
pise
4 Heavenly joys shall be the
prise.
Our Father and Mother
William Yale
Died Jan. 23. 1833
AE. 49
•Mary Yale
Died .\pr. I. 1854
AE. 69.
Susan Silence
Wife of
Samuel H. Yale
Died
June 8 1847
Aged 26 yrs
In
Memory of
Selden D. Yale,
Who died
in the City of N. York.
March 17, 1836,
Aged 19 years.
Thus while the dew of his youth was
so fresh upon him, he was summoned
from the midst of a large circle
of affectionate relations and friends.
But he died in the full hope of a
blessed immnrtalit\
As sets the morning star —
which goes not down behind the darkened
west, nor hides obscured among the
tempests of the sky. But melts away into
the sight of heaven.
This
monument is erected
to perpetuate
the memory of
Silas S. Yale
by his affectionate
Brother Levi
who departed this Life
June 30, 1811
AE. 26.
In Memory of
Mr. John Yeamans
who died Jan ist.
1835 in his 81 St.
year
and of .Mrs
Eunice
Lis wife who died
Eeh. 5. 1835 in her
76 year.
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20S
A CliXILUV Ol* .MtklDIiN.
In Memory of
Mrs. Sc'Iina
Wife of Mr.
John Ycnmniis
Jr. who died Oct.
II. i8jo Act. 2H
Also luinice tlieir
Daugh. died Feb. i6
1817 Act. 4 m. &
21 da vs.
Caroline
Wife of
Solomon Yeanians
Died Feb. 10. 1855
.\gcd 39.
Sarah A.
their daughter
died Feb. 9. 1839
aged 1 1 mo s.
EACH IN MIS N.^RRO\V CELL FOREVER L.MD,
THE RLI'E FOREF.\THERS OF THE HAMLET SLEEP.'
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Ei\RLY HISTORY.
209
CHAinER XIII.
'o faithfully and fully portray life in Meridcn as it was during the eighteenth
5rv i<; of coiTrsc impossible ; but many facts have been gleaned from the records
at least shed light on the conditions then existing, aiul which will make it p< is-
for one with a little imagination to catch glimpses of tl;e daily life of this
forg^otten generation and to accpiire a slight ac(|uaintance with some of the
icters that were once the central tigures in this tiny coinnumity of more than
itiiry ajro.
"liis parish was a very isolated farming settlement — a rural suburb of \\ al-
ord — one of the larger towns of the colony. Every family lived on the prod-
its farm, or by the proceeds t»f some rsefnl trade which was secondary to
vork of tilling tiie soil. There was no great difference between the various
lies ill the value of their possessions. There was not nnich wealth in the hands
IV one man. neither was any person ver\ poor, except he were some poor un-
iTiate to whfim nature had denied an ordinary mental e(|uii)ment.
lanv of the ImiT-cs hnve been portrayed, and more will be .*;hown later. Life
crn was of a Spartan-like simplicity. Then.' was little news from the 01 t^^ide
(1 : there were no daily newsj)apers and \vr\ little to read of anv dcscri] aion.
•oiirsc the I'.ib'c was read and reread, faithfiillv and devoutly in a manner
hich we can hart 11 \ form a conception.
"he early IHiritan rca<l the ['.ibic to such an extent that his mind was fairly
ized as some one has expres.sctl it. and hi*; sticccssor of the eighteenth centtiry
^ ;int of other material was nearly as faithful in his devotion to it*; sacred pages.
lie few presse'> in the colony wen- always busy printini^ the mormons of fh'f-
it eminent [ircachcrs. which were wide1\' circulated and read. ['ar-^MH Hall
c-red a .semion on .August 10, \jty\ Liitiiled ".A Saving l'\iith Scri|)t\irallv l^'x-
icfl** that was afterwards published, and a c^p^• (h'g ont of the ruhhi^h ot an
.\leriden attic. \\ lu re it had slumhered in an ancient pelt covered trunk for
:a«-t ?>eventy-five \ear<. hear*^ the marks of most diligent reaihni.;. Tt^ 56
s are stained and worn with constant use. P.eside it was a I'ible in the same
lit ion. 1'hey are silent witnesses of the dearth of reading material in those
of long- ago.
niie annual almanac was a noteworthy event, and it was read diligently, used
farmer's log book, and by some the weather ]'redictions were iinplicity be-
tl. About the only book for children was the New England 1 'rimer. Out-
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2IO A CENTURY OP MERIDCN*.
side of the school books it was almost their sole mental pabulum and stimulus
Even when the library was established in Mcriden in 1796. the \\>i < »t books mJ
catalogue has hardl> a single inviting title. Truly it was a time of literary him
All the dwellings in Meriden were farm houses; tliere was no village >iro
where could be found the homes of those who had accumulated sufficient wcab
to indulge in a dignified architectural rei)resentation of their position and tanj
Meriden houses were plain to severity. There was little or no attempt at
mentation on the exterior. Inside there was frequently to be found some
paneling and wainscoting, or a handsome mantel, or a quaint and ]deasing o
cupboard. On every house the clapboards were nailed directly to the stud
and in the earliest there was no plaster on the inside of the outside walls, boar^
being used in its place.
Such houses were comfortable enough in summer; but think what the cood
tion must have been in winter! Of course, the cold of the rooms was tempen
by the huge fires maintained on the ample hearths. But as such fires only raj
iate heat as they do light, one part of the body would be roasted, while over i
1 The wrUer has a litUo book eiiftthd "T\u- Srhool uf Odo.I Maiuui>." iniiited In K<»w T.>a4oa
1754 by T. A J. Gr«eu. It wsm designed for the Instrucllon of cbildrea and thi» copy iuui btiem **
thumbed. A picture of the times le presented In tbe follovfOK extnK^: "Make • Bow alw^ vt'
you ooiiH- Home iiiul be immediately uncoverd ' : "Never Sit in tho Ttv-ience of Thy Paronts »ifii*i
bidding, tbo' uo Strauger be present." "Never speak to tky Parenta without Dome Title of Reject. )|
Sir. Madam. «c." "Sit not down at Table till tbou art bidden br titr Paraota." "Speak not it t|
Table." Bite not thy Bread, but brealc it; but not wttb aloveolT Pincers nor with the saiue vksj
with thou takoRt up thy Meat." Apparently there were no forks. !
There wa.s another book, widely circulated In N. B. entitled 'The Day of Doom,"' by Mlebael ▼'i
gleswortb. Tyler (in his History of American Literature) says *'it« pages were asiiisned in crj\
to little rhildrrn. to Unnied by heart, along with the catechism." The pictures of the tornj«BtJiJ
bell are nio!it graphic and it in .scarcely conceivable that such a book should have been put i> 1
banda or children at tbe impressionable age. At tbe taut judgment the words spoken to untaia
cblldren are as follows:
••Yoti "iTiinTH nre : and aucb a share
As .sinners, may expect, ,
(tueb you shall have, for I do sava ^ (,rtme It Is ; therefore In bliss
Noiio but min.' own ch-or y,,^, ^^^y jj^pp dwell;
Yet to compare y >ur »in with their um I shall allow
Who lived a longer time, Xlie easiest room In- hell."
I fli) ( niift s= yourB is much le^^s
1 IkhikIi every .Kin s a crime.
Thi loi itients of those in hell are tlnis M rtn liingly dnscrlbed :
With iron bauds ihej bind their band» Far day and night, lu tbeir despite
And cumed feet together: Their torment's smoke aseeadeUi; '
And <a.st them nil. both great and small. Tht'lr pain and Ert>»f have DO relief,
into that lake forever ; Their anguLsh never endetb.
Where day and night, without respite. There mart they live and never die
They wail and cry and howl. Ttnviiy;)i dying every day.
For torturing pain which tbey suetaiu, T))«>re mui»t they, dying, ever li\'e.
In body and in soul. And not consume away.
This milk for babes and Intellectual htlmulus for adults, was absorbed down to the beglnalng
last century.
EARLY HISTORY.
211
Other, the drafts genetated by the huge fires would pla\ an accompaniment t. j ack
Frost outside. If this was the lot of one in the sitting room or kitchen, it is easy
ID imagine the situation in a bed room and to understand the use for warming pans
and feather beds. They were absolute necessities if one did not wish to freeze
to death.
Of course, no water could be kept in a chamber in such a frigid temperature,
and as there were no bathrooms or places of ablution except in the kitchen, the
habits of personal cleanliness to which all are accustomed to-day must have been
almost wholly lacking. One will look in vain in the ancient inventories for such
items as washbowls and pitchers. There was now and then such an article as
a pewter or an earthen bowl, but water was not considered the necessit}- it is deeriied
UHlay. Even at a much later date when our forbears had begun to use the earthen
ware bowl and pitcher the diminutive size is a confession, that even in warm
weather at that date, the maxim of Lord Bacon that "Geanliness of body was
ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God" was more honored in the
breach than in the observance.
There was certainly an abundance of food of various kinds, l)ut fresh meat
coald only be had when a "butchering" took place, and every farmer was accus-
tomedin the fall to salt down a hog or a side of beef for use during the long winter
•nontlis. Poultry there was in plenty, and cgg>. milk, butter and cheese, and veg-
etables of various kinds. But the cooking can hardly have been of a nature to
tempt the modem appetite.
Game must have been in abundance at first, but even as long ago as 1760 there
Hfas a law in force on the colonial statute book regulating the killing of deer, and
forbidding it each year between the first day of January and the first day of August,
tinder a penalty of four pounds for every offense. In several cases the writer has
noticed in the ancient inventories tlie mention of wild pigeon nets, showing that
wr ancestors were prepared to take advantage of the great flights of pigeons that
annually took place, and to have a great feast of these toothsome birds, besides
i«ing the feathers for beds and pillows.^
Troublesome game was more abundant than deer. In the issue of the Xcw
London Gazette Oct. 10, 1766, appears a letter from Hartford saying, "There are
die greatest number of bears come down among the towns that ever was known ;
die)- destroy great quantities of Indian corn and make great havoc among liie
sheep and swine. Last Tuesday morning a large He IJcar was discovered in an
inctosute opposite the Treasurers and being pursued he took to the Main street."
etc., etc. **In the evening he was roasted whole and a large company sup'd on
him-*'
' Tnimbuir*. Hlhtory of Conn. Vol. 1., p. 20, ed. 1S98, >miI> » : ••Thnre were sm-h lucredible numbers
pivm» In Stm Bnclsnd. wb*ii tb« Bogllch li«cam« Aral acquainted with U, an flUed them with a kind
■'■ *"ti>til>hment Surh iiuint rou^ ami extensive flo<"k'< wnuM fcii tlyiiiK for j^omo lioiirs. In the moro-
"Jic. ttiit thejr vould obscure the light." Thli« cuntiiiutd until well luto the elBbtevutb century.
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212 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Again, on Feb. 2, 1767, a Hartford letter says in same newspaper. **( >ne nig
last week a panther killed nine sheep in a yard at Windsor." W hen such thi
could happen in towns as large as these it can easil> be imagined how plcnt
game was about Meriden. A bounty was paid for all troublesome game
stroyed; notably wolves. On one occasion Thomas Yale killed a she \volf w' a!)
was about to litter. The town voted to i)ay the bounty for the old wolf but balke^
at the "young wolves that were in the belly of the wolf he killed.
These illustrations of the primitive conditions then exi.'^tin^^ uiight be multipliii
by accounts of the household work of the women, in weaving the wool into gs
ments, and the flax into linen for sheets and undergarments ; of home-made »^
and candles : and of the various domestic makeshifts for what is now to be f ur<
chased read) made at any store. iUit enough has been written to make us reaiiai
the truth of the statement made by Henry Adaius in his History of the I'nita
States, saying that "neither their ImuHt s. their clothing, their food and drink, ihci
agricultural tools and methods, their stock, nor their habits were so greatly at
tered or improved liy time that the c t ls and ceorls of Offn and Egbert would haw
found much difficulty in accommodating their lives to that of their descendants^
the eighteenth century."-
All worked with their hands, either at farming or in following some w^chi
trade SI ch as that of a blacksmith, a carpenter, a shoemaker, or a tanner. Mt*
of the clothing was homespun, woven at home by the women, as well as na4
up into suits and gowns by them.
It was common to apprentice young boys to a neighbor to learn a trade, an<i ibi
papers and documents drawn up and execiiied on such occasions were of .i v r>,
formal and binding nature. Daniel Hoitgli, who lived at the comer of Cunts a^'
Ann streets, was a blacksmith and nail maker. I
In 1746 his uncle, W illiam Hough, the diKtor, whose house still stands in W al-
nut Grove cemetery, placed his son, William, with Daniel, to learn the trade. T^c
following is a copy of the document that was executed at the time:
"This Indenture ma<lc this twenly-forrth day of March in ilu- ninctciiuh >eal
of the Reign of King (ieorge y*" Second .Anno(|. Domini I74'> r>elwccn W'illuu^
Hough ui .Menden in \\ allingford in Xew Haven County in Connecticut Cuk.!
1 A Kfn»lni:«ii who was n boy In M»rtci»n in 1S;<0, not long hko wrote as follows: It may in
oome ot your sporUroeo to know that In 1830 tbe streams aU the way from Black Pood to the "C^mef*
w«n> tbe babltat of great numbers of speckled trout, and tbree-pouader* have tieeo taken from Prai^
vlllf pond by a boy with a short pelt', h pifff of twine, and u common hook baited with a wurm lhkH
Ki-f n Sherman l^wrence about ISl^n, tarryiug a string of trout of lai^e ttize, wbicb be bad causbt •A
the primitive g*ar of that day, in the stream Just above the brldue at the "Carner."
Lovers of the gentle art of Izaak Walton would have found a paradK< m this territory dwrlaje t
eishte<-nth eentury : but it is doubtful if trout were ajs highly esteemed then as they ire lo-ia^
The writer has heard sec-oud-hand from one who wa** a boy then, that the strcauis were so full of i
that DO effort was required to catch tbem.
2 Vol h, pp. 16-17.
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E.\RLY HISTORY. 213
n New England & his son William Hough on the one part and Paniel Hough of
Meriden in County & Colony afores<* Blacksmith & Nailer, on the other part
mmesseth
That the William Hough minor by & with the advice & consent of his father
I th Hereby bind and put out Himself unto the s** Daniel Hough as an apprentice
to Sent f'>r the full space of six years to be compleated from the twenty-fourth
liv (if thi^ Instant March. During all which term of time the s** apprentice his s**
Ma>ter <i: Mi^trc^s^ shall faithfully ser\'e. their Secrets keep and all their Lawful
Comnian<ls obey : During s** term the s** apprentice shall not fornication committ
DOT Matrimony Contract, neither shall he spend his time in idleness, nor in any
Tlher unlawful way during all s*^ term, neither shall He purloin his s** Masters Es-
iiic. nor do any Rong thereunto, nor suffer it to be done by others without due in-
formation thereof, nor absent himself from his s'^ master's service during all s**
erm: Bui shall do His Honest Endeavour to promote his Master's Interest & his
•'^ Maiiter & Mistress shall faithfully Serve as an apprentice ought to do During
ill temi.
And the Daniel Hough dotli Hereby birul and oblige Himself unto the s*^
i;»i»renticc that he will teach & instruct him or cause Him to Ik- well tau^^lit an<l
carnt in the art & mystery of a Blacksmith and also of a Nailer and teach and
ibtruct him in writing and cyphering so far as to be able to keep a Hook of ac-
tJmpts. and that he w ill well provide for the s** apprentice suitable Meat Drink ap-
larel washing \- lodging Both in Sickness Health Durin*; all s'' term. And at
He end of s*^ term, that he will Dismiss the s*' aj)prentiee with two (iood Suits of
-PI»arcl to all parts of his Body the one for work Days & the other for holy days,
fi witness whereof the partys Have Hereunto interchangeably set Hands & Seals
be Day & Date tir>t mentioned.
Signed Sealed & Delivered in presence of \\ illiam Hough
Thetjphilus Hall Wil' hoi gh
ilamiah Hall Daniel Hough"
NNTiether the terms of this indenture were faithfully ke|)t we do not know ; per-
taps not, for on Dec. ]f> ( >i tlie following year Daniel sued Dr. Hough and attached
lisfcal estate in Meriden. Wm. Hough. Jr.. afterwards carried on the blacksmith
msiness in Rice's Farms in a shop near his home. These apprentices sometimes
au«d their masters trouble and now and then ran away. The following adver-
i:«nient is from a Xew Haven newspaper:
"Run away from the subjcriber. on Tt:esday. the 4th inst. Se|)t. an auincntice
0' the name of Cull Malory, about 20 years old. 5 feet high, light o .mplcxi iu.
Ahoever will return saitl boy shall receive one cent reward ami \)<> ehargcs. All
lersons are forbid harboring or trusting said boy on penalty of the law.
Joseph Twiss."
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214
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Evidently the notice was for the purpose of disclaiming all responsibility for
bills the boy might contract rather than to get him back. Joseph Twiss lived on
Colony street in the old Robert Collins place.
Naturally the first industry to locate in Meriden, other than farming and some
of the minor crafts such as shoemaking and blacksmithing, was milling. The first
mill of which we have a record was one owned by James Hough. On May 14th ,
1730, he bought of the Way family two acres in the **bend of the Harbor where 11
was most convenient to build a saw mill/'^
The "bend" was the name given to that part of Harbor brook where it changes
from a northerly course and bends towards the southwest. Very shortly a grist
mill was added and the old records sometimes mention one and sometimes the
other.
James Hough was the son of Samuel, who was proprietor of a mill somewhere
in the vicinity of Spruce Glen or Gutter, just over the Wallingford line. Samuel
in his will dated in 1714 mentions the mill and gives it to his grandson Samuel
who afterwards sold it to his father James, so that James at one time owned two
mills.
When Wall street was laid out in 1739 it terminated at Hough's Mills, accord-
ing to the records, joining the road leading to Middletown. These saw and grist
mills continued in possession of James and his son Phineas, during the greater
part of the eighteenth century.
The first outsider to obtain an interest in the mills was Joseph Shaylor, who
on May 7, 1790, bought a quarter share from the heirs of Phineas Hough. His
venture was not successful for a little later he was forced out on an execution for
debt. Then Joel Mix and Jonathan Collins became part owners. On Dec*
1796, James Baldwin obtained a quarter interest in the saw mill, and the ymr
previous Titus Brockett bought all rights in the grist mill, so that for a term 4if
years it was known as Brockett*s mill. James Baldwin eventually obtained bodt
mills and also bought the James Hough homestead now owned by Gardner Rey-
nolds. The mill, as every one knows, is still Baldwin property. That the saw and
grist mills were contiguous is a natural inference, but just where each was located
it is impossible to tell for the present mill is modem and so is the dam. Some
thirty-live years ago when a new dam was being built it was swept away by a
freshet ; the result was a flood that inundated that section then known as West
Meridcn.*
There was another Hough mill in the town, still known by that name. It is
located in the extreme western part on the Quinnipiac river— almost in the town
of Cheshire. The first mention of this property that the writer has been able to
1 WiilliiiRfonl land rnonl}* Vol. VI., p. 'A2'.K
2 In 18i*7 Saum»l aud WMItaii) Yale bought a right in the suvi mill which they coullnueii to owu
far a few yearn.
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EAKLV HlSUiRY. 21$
was made in the year 1776, and then incidentally in the transfer of a piece
I estate near it. rrobably the mill was established much earlier tlian this
»\as known as the Ephraim Hough* mill and was used Ixjth for sawing logs
inding grain. The illustration from a photograph taken twenty years ago,
a building that is evidently ((uite ancient and may be the original grist mill,
is a tradition that corn was here ground and then carted to New Haven
.hipped to the W est Indies. It is said that spoons were once manufactured
old building. Certain it is that this mill and the vicinity was once a very
lace and the center of more trade than was then carried on in Meriden.
rontinued in the Hough family solely until 17S4 when James IJaldwiti bought
.•rest in it — the same Baldwin who later purchased Hougli mills in the north
hough's mill.
'ction of the tow n. On Dec. 12, 1792, he sold his right to Caleb Atwater and
he property was acquired by a firm called Wadsworth, Hull- & Atwater.
f.' the last century it was for a long time owned by the Bristol family. It is
•ccupied by George McKenzie. who still grinds grain at the old stand and
.«;es the water power for polishing marble grave stones which are cut in the
idjoining.
the east f)art of Meriden on Black Pnnd brook were a saw and a grist
lat should be mentioned. The earliest notice is in a deed dated Mar. 3. 1783,
was a son of James Houfch, owner of mill in N. E. pari of .Meriden.
»ral» James Wadsworth of Durhnm and Andrew Ilnll of {'heshire.
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2l6
A LliiS l URV 01- MiiRllHIX.
in which Levi Hall i;ivos to John Ives. Jr.. a half interest in a grist mill on Blac
I*on(l brook, halt a mile west of the pond. In 1785 the two owners admitte
Joshua Ives into tlu- partnership. Apparently the location of this mill was a littl
c.i>t of where the Charles I'arker Co. spoon factory is now situated, the east en
of a small pond still in existence markings the site. In 1785 Silvanus Nichols, c
M iddletown. boug:hr this property, who in turn sold it to Joseph Drigg^s. of th
same j)lace in 1792. In 1794 Constant Miller lx)ught it and had added a fullin
plant to the establishment by 1796- \ ery shortly, the records call it solely th
fulling mill and in the early part of the next century it has grown to the dij^nity c
a clothier s shop, and is the property of Stephen Miller, who sold it to his thre
sons in 1816: in 1829 the records call it an establishment for "carrying on th
clothier's and dyer's business and carding wool." On Nov. 2, 1837, Joseph Millc
sold the mill to Samuel Cook, who conducted the business for a number of year:
Quite a distance southeast of the Miller clothier's shop, in fact, near the dar
or outlet of Black Pond was a saw mill that was probably run by lirenton Hal!
It was then abandoned and probably disappeared, for on Xov. 9, 179^>, Brentoi
Hall leased to Phineas Hall 2d. the "saw mill place where the saw mill formerl;
stood," and by the terms of the lease Phineas was obliged to erect the mill aiii
give to lirenton half the net proceeds. It was apparently run for a number o
years by Phineas Hall, Many years later Edwin Birdsey owned a saw mill a
the same location, where he later manufacturetl wooden drawer pulls, woodet
combs and bone buttons. The shop was afterwards destroyed by fire.
In the year 1735 John Merriam, Sr., owned a saw mill that was run by waiei
power supplied by Sodom brook. The first mention of it was when he opened
a two rod highway, starting at the Country road just north of his house, ani
running west to his saw mill. As previously mentioned, this was the bcginniiuj
of West Main street. The stream was at that early date called Beaver Dun
brook. Sodom was at that time a name for a tract of country lying west of tin
State School for Boys. This Merriam saw mill in all |)robability was situate-
where Nathan Fenn's mill was located many years after. The pond was draino i
off when the Watcrbury railroad was built, and the railroad station stands in wliaJ
was formerly the bed of the pond and is a short distance east of the old mill site
Merriani*s saw mill is frequently mentioned in the records during the eighteeml
century , and for a number of years after the nineteenth century had opened.
The first notice found of Andrews' mill was in the >ear i7(>8 when Ezekic
Rice sold to Ambrose Hough a piece of land oti which to build a grist mill and a»
the same time Moses Andrews leased to Hough a tract of land to flood when h\<
dam should be built. The following \ ear Hough disposed of the property and il
was soon in the hands of Giles Foster and then included a kiln dryitig house, show*
ing that a saw mill had been added, and later the records say a gin dty
tillery was installed. Two years later Eli Barnes, who was then living n
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217
the house now known as the Calvin Coe place, bought the mill. It would
be tedious to follow the dilYercnr transfers until it finally drifted into the hantU of
the Andrews fannly by whom it was run as a ^rist mill many years during the last
century. The olil establishment is idle now and it has f:rround its last bag of grain
for the dam and pond have disappeared, and tlic old building stands as a monu-
ment of departed days and conditions. For tho>c' who fin not know the old names
and places, it may be stated that the mill is on the road to Hanover or South Mer-
idcn. a few hundred feet cast of the Oliver Rice place.
The rea.son that Ambrose llonijh (who was a son of I'phraim Hough, owner
of Hough's mill near Cheshire street) sold the .Andrews mill, was l)ecause be bad
cast his eye on a site nearer the center of the [)ari^lL Cat Swamp, just south of the
Ornain Fixture factory on I'arker aveiuie, is the source of a small stream that runs
nonh and crosses I'road near Liberty street and runs down near the reservoir on
Hobart street, and tinrdly makes its way westward under (.'enter street and the
.Manning. Bowman & Co, factory until it comes to Harbor Urook. At the point
near the intersection of Hroad and Liberty streets it was known a htmdred years
ago as Roaring Gully. In the year 1800 Levi Curtis, who lived in the old S.iinr.el
Jerome hou.se and owned a f)art of the farm, leased to Ambrose Hough a piece of
land southwest of iiis limine and extending west across the south end of present
Hobart street to erect a dam and fonn a ])ond for his grist mill that he was to buiU!.
The land in the vicinity has now been filled in t > such an extent that it is difficult
to realize that there was ever a pond and a null m that locality. The brook must
have a much larger stream than it is to-day to have gained such a formiilable
name as Roaring Gully. At about the same time y]^. Hough built a house in which
he lived, that is still standing and owned by Walter P>. Hall. No. 202 Liberty street.
The position of the house so far below the level of the street is a strong evidence
of how nmch hllmg in has taken place at that point. Mr. Hough's mill nuist
have «;tor>(l a ^hort di:>tance east of Center and north of Liberty streets. There are
many people living who remember this pond called Jordan, in which the Baptists
formerly immersed their ctmverts.
In 1804 a gin distillery was added to the establishment nn<l William ( )lds was
admitted as a partner, and later I'artrick Clark became a pan owner. How long
the mill and distilling plant continued to be used the wi.ter has ' ecu unable tc
I -arn the last notice of it was in 1828 when it was owned by Jonathan Nicliolson
and ^ "yrns M anvil of New Haven,
Full ini^ mills were necessarv establishments in a comnumitv where most of the
cloth worn was woven in the farm hntises by the wives and daughters, llefore
this home >^pini fabric could be userl it was necessary to have it treated in fulling
^t'Krks or tiotighs. where it was made thoroughly wet with warm soaj) and water.
f»r fidler's earth in place of the soap. It was here vigorously pounded bv great
oiaken mallets worked by water power. This process cleaned the web, and at the
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2l8
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
same time thickened and shrunk it. A nap was given by *'tcazelling*' or scratch-
ing the surface with a large prickh bur or thistle grown on a plant that was cul-
tivated for the purpose and called fuller s teazel. If a color was to be given the
cloth was immediately placed in the dyeing vats, and afterwards taken to the tenter
field, where it was spread to dry.
Naturally, there were shops and mills in Wallingford many years before any
were established in Meriden. As a matter of fact, as long ago as 1746, there was
a ship-building } ard on the Quinnipiac river that must have been on the other
side of the stream opposite where the factory of R. Wallace & Sons Mfg. Co. is
located. On Book 10, Page 208, of the Wallingford land records, Lent Munson
transferred to Daniel Clark "2}4 acres of meadow land on the west side of the river
a little south of Parker's bridge near against the middle of the town at the Ship
Building Yard." The word "ship" indicates that boats of considerable size were
constructed, perhaps as large as a small-sized sloop. David Cook, of Wallingford,
an active man at this date, was a ship owner and had vessels that were sent to all
parts of the world, and were used in bringing negro slaves to this country. Who
owned the ship-building yard no one knows.
That section of Wallingford, now known as Yalesville, was once called Tyler's
Mills. In the year 1748 Samuel Tyler, of that locality, owned a fulling mill which
must have stood a little east of the present dam, for the meadow where it was
located was bounded on the east by the river, but his clothing shop was on the hill
west of it, perhaps where the Parker box shop now stands. In the year mentioned
Tyler leased the mill and shop to James Hazard of Blanford, Mass., for the term
of three years, with all utensils belonging to said mill for carrying on the clothiers
trade, such as mill ''tainters/* hooks, shears, presses, dyes, dye stuff, coppers, etc.,
and also the help of his two sons, Lothrop and Samuel Tyler, who were to be
taught the art and mystery of the clothier s trade. Tyler was "to provide Hazanl
with sufficient meat, drink, washing and lodging, and keep the mill in repair/* and
was to receive as remuneration half the proceeds. This lease appears on Book
10, Page 494, of Wallingford land records, and is the first mention the writer has
found of a fulling mill in the town of Wallingford.
One of the mills in Meriden of this description has been mentioned. There
were two others : the first was near the Ephraim Hough mill at the Cheshire line.
The earliest mention of it was in 1769 when Ephraim Hough gave to his son
Ephraim a piece of land on which stood a fulling mill he had built for him. It t$
mentioned again incidentalj\ in 1793 and afterwards there is no further notice
to be found. It stood just west of the grist mill.
In the September 12, 1797, issue of the Connectiait Journal, New Haven, ap-
pears the following advertisement :
"Blue Dyeing: The business of fulling, dyeing and dressing woolen cloth blue
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EARLV HlSiOKV.
219
sand other colors) is carried on by the subscriber: also, woolen, cotton, and linen
}am dyed blue. i liose who wish tor work done in the above business, are in-
Mitd to call on the snbscrilxT ai his shop in Meriden, where he wishes to serve
the public to their sati^factioll. Noel Ives.
Meriden September 12 1797. '
The writer is unable to positively identify the site of this fulling mill. There
is, however, a strong probability that it was on that branch of Pilgrims* Harbor
brook which flows north into Baldwin's pond.
Many persons know the location of a huge trap-rock bowlder standing on the
edge of the brook» about a quarter of a mile east of Gravel street, which is called
Flicbe rock. Children used to resort there years ago for picnics and afternoon
txcursions. Some three or four hundred feet south of this rock on the edge of
the brook, can still be plainly traced, depressions marking the site of a wheelpit
and raceway ; while some ways to the south are to be seen the remains of an ancient
dam. There is not the slightest sign of a building or machinery.
William Atwater, who has lived more than fourscore years and ten and is
still in vigorotis health, resides in a house on Gravel street, directly west of this
mill site; he led the writer to the spot one summer afternoon, during the year
just passed. Trees and shrubs now shelter the place with a thick shade, and the
brook glides quietly by on its way to Baldwin's pond to the north. William Hub-
bard Yale, who died a few years ago an old man, once pointed out the site to
Mr. Atwater and told him that long ago a fulling mill was located there,
but whose it was he did not know, although he, his father and grandfather had
owned the adjoining farm for a hundred years at least. There seems to the writer
little doubt that Mr. Yale pointed out to Mr. Atwater the site of Noel Ives* full-
ing mill and further evidence that this mill was located in about the spot mentioned
is found in the following advertisement from the Middlesex Gazette of Mar. i,
1797:
"The Subscriber respectfully informs the Public, that he is about to set up the
dyeing of Cotton and Linen Yarn Blue, at Meriden in Wallingford, one mile east
of the Meeting House at the Clothier's Shop occupied by Noel Ives. I hose that
'.vfll please to favor him with their custom may depend on having good colours and
♦iotie with Dispatch by Joseph Rogers."
In the year 1781 a stocking; wcavinjj: ^hop was established, somewhere, appar-
t ritly. on the Cf vuntry road in Rice s farms, for in the Connecticut Journal under
• iate of October, 1781, the following advertisement appears:
"James Vautie, stocking weaver, Has removed into Meriden, about four miks
north of Wallingford Meeting House, on the road to Hartford, where he carries
220
A CENTURY OF MERtDEN.
on his irade of Stocking-weaYing and asks the contintiance of the Favour of bb
former customers, and others. Said Vaude wants a journey man Stocking- weaver,
who may have constant employ and good wages. Also an Apprentice to said Bus-
iness."
In the issue of the Middlesex Gazette dated April 20, 1801, **J<)i^th^ Yale iih
forms the public, that he intends carr\ tug on the business of Dyeing yarn Mne
and stamping handkerchiefs at his dwelling house in Meriden/'
On Colony street, on the east side, perhaps about opposite the foot of Wilcox
avenue, was once a shop for manufacturing potash. The first mention of the es-
tablishment was in the year 1771 when tt was owned by John Barrett. In the
Connecticut Journal July 30, 1777, appears the following notice:
"On Thursday the 7th day of August will be sold at Robinsons tavern in Mer-
iden ; The dwelling house, both potash works, and utensils, together with the land
on which they stand, in quantity about an acre and a half, situate in said Meriden.
being the same latel\ owned by Mr. Barrett. The potash works are as complete
as any in the state : the house has been built but a little while and that with the
other buildings are in good repair. The vendue will begin at three of the docic
P. M. A title to the aforesaid several houses, bams &c will be given by the sub-
scribers of said New Haven.
Samuel Bishop JunlMr
David Austin
Pierpont Edwards'*
Matthew Betlamy bought the works and John Carter, Jehiel Preston 9WH^Jbtm
Hooker were later owners.
In the year 1795 Amos White bought the comer adjoining the present fidHlo^
of Eli C. Birdsey and erected a store, and we find in the Middlesex Gazette^ iifclu
date of May i8th. 1796, the following:
"New Goods: Just opened and now ready for sale, a few rods east of the
Meeting House in Meriden, a general assortment of Dry Goods, Groceries and
Hardware, which will be disposed of on very reasonable Terms for cash or shon
approved credit. Amos White & Co."
The "Co." was a man named John Hooker, for he seems to have been
closely associated with him in business. Amos White was later the first town
clerk of Meriden. This store was probably the first one opened in Meriden. The
lot was bounded on the east by Sabbath day house and horse shed lots according
to the deed.
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KAKLY HISTORY.
221
Another store, started shortly after, was owned by Amasa Curtis, whose part-
ner was Isaac Lewis, father of the late Isaac C. Lewis. It was at first on the east
*ide of Curtis street near its junction with liroad but in the year 1800 it was
I>jcated just opposite, in the old house which is still standing in the point formed
by Curtis and Droad streets.
The business was carried on in the northwest room, and continued until the year
1808 when Aniasa died, only thirty-nine years old. He built the house and bought
the lot in i/^^i^j. of IJenjamin Hart, the consideration being a beaver hat. There
was just an acre in the plot and it was bounded on all sides by streets, the high-
.V.MOS CURTIS HOl'SK.
way running west from Curtis street being then in existence ; it has already been
•!e<crihed.
The house was bought of the .\masa Curtis heirs by .\mos. his brother, and
most people know it to-day as the Amos Curtis place. In it were born his children,
the late William A., the late Sylvester |., a st()ckbroker of Xew York and the late
•Mrs. Edgar Mun.snn (Lucy Maria), of W'illiamsport. I'a. The writer has heard
niany limes of the trips to Xew York made by .Amasa to buy goods for his little
countr>' shop : of how his wife and neighbors wouhl gather around and throw old
•hoes after him as an omen of good luck, when he started on the perilous trip to
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I
222 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
the great city, which involved perhaps several days in a sailing vessel on the watcrse
of the Sound, or two or three days in a stage coach.
Wallingford village, ias compared to Meriden in those early days, was a laigt
town. There were several stores there, a short account of which may not be aintsx
One was run by the immortal Roger Sherman, of New Haven, an ardent
patriot, and signer of the Declaration of Independence. In an advertisement in
the Connecticut Gazette of March lo, 1 761, he speaks of his stores at New Haven
and Wallingford. In two entries of the town records he levied execution on twn
different farms in Meriden showing that he must have had business in ^is vicinit}.
Under date of January 17, 1761, the Connecticut Gazette prints, "Just im-
ported and to be sold by Samuel Holt, Wallingford, an assortment of English
goods."
Under date of March 4, 1778, THc Connecticut Journal prints, "To be sold
by Jason Tyler, of Wallingford: West India and New England rum, currant
wine. Muscovado sugar of the best quality, indigo, pins, needles, choice bohea Tea.
alspices, Dilsworths Spelling Books, white holland cambric, gauze, fine twixeU
dimothy, chintz, calico, mohair, snuff, white and black shammy gloves, white lea 1,
Prussian blue, black ribbon, white tape, writing paper, a quantity of cyder ; Goshen
]KMs and cheese, bar iron, cart tire, crooked and straight combs, scissors and jack-
knives." What modern store in Wallingford can display a greater variety?
The year 1779, Jan. 24. the same paper says, "To be sold for cash at the store
adjoining Doctor Jared Pottef's in Wallingford — Rum, wine, etc." Dr. Potter:
was one of the most prominent physicians in New Haven county and his honse'
lot is now the site of St. PauKs Episcopal church.
The same year the doctor advertises, **Rum, brandy, coffee, tea, pepper, indie
nails, etc.," and again on March 24. 1779. "American manufactured steel to he
sold by Doctor Jared Potter, in W allingford."
On T une 23. 1779- ^^^^ Connecticut Journal prints, "Excellent earthen ware ' '
wholesale and retail, to be sold on as rea< n iMe Terms as the Times will admit 0^:
by Hosford and Hull at their Earthern Ware store in Wallingford near Capi'
James Rice's,"
On March 29. 1781. the Connecticut Journal tells us that "Hezekiah John>- n
has for sale at his store in Wallingford, West India Rum by the barrel or gallon
New England Rum 1)\ do. glass, tea & dry goods," and on >Tay 31 the same papc?
says. "To be sold by Newton Whittlesey at his store in Wallingford Dry GootK
knives & forks, spices, etc., together with West India goods." On Xov. 27. 17SJ,
the Connecticut Journal announces. "Isaac Bull, druggist and apothecary in W;i'-|
lingford Hereby informs his friends and customers in particular and the public
in general That he has just received a fresh and <:rf'"f'''al «;npply of the most use-
ful medicines ; also sundry other articles, such a» Madeira. Malaga and Port winc«.
Raisins, Figs, etc.*'
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E.\RLy HlbioRV.
On Dec. 5, 1783, "Oil of Vitriol oi the best quality, by the C. T. or less Quan-
iky. European and W est India goods to be sold by the Subscriber : Caleb At-
waier."
Dr. Potter had later formed a partnership with two other gentlemen. John
McGeavc and Elisha Wliittlesey, Junior, which was dissolved on Jan. i, 1785,
and the following notice printed:
''The Partnership of Potter, McCIeave & Whittlesey, is this day dissolved by
mutual agreement — all persons indebted to them by book or note, are requested to
make immediate payment, and those who have demands on said company, to ren-
der their accounts for settlement — ^it being necessary to close their accounts speed-
ily ; they flatter themselves, that this notice will have its desired effect/'
On Oct. 19, 1 79 1, the Connecticut Journal prints:
"Aaron Hackley has for sale at his store in VVallingford A Good assortment
of European and India Goods, which he is selling as chcai) as any of his neighbors,
.•^aid Hackley has set up a Button Factor\- in said Wallingford, where Gentlemen
Merchants and others may be supplied w ith Hard Metal Buttons of various Sizes
and Figures, wholesale and Retail as cheap and as good as they can bo purchased
on the Continent. All kinds of produce, woolen, Linen. Tow Cloth and Yarn will
l>e received for any of the above articles. Cash paid for P.lock Tin. old Pewter,
Brass & Copper by said Hackley: who wants a likelx, healthy well-bred Lad 12
or 14 years old, as an Apprentice to the Button-Making Business.*'
*
On August 26, 1 791, Caleb /\t water announces that he has gone out of bus-
iness and desires all persons owing him to settle their accounts at once.
On \ov. 28, 1791, the Connecticut Journal states:
"Stanley & Carrington have for sale at their store in Wallingford a few rods
east of the church, A General assortment of European and West India Goods,
which they are now selling on the most reasonable terms. They want to pur-
chase a number of likely Shipping Horses, and a quantity of barley, for which
good pay will be made. They also want to purchase a quantity of Pork for which
they will pay one-half in cash."
On March 14, 1793. Samuel Tyler and Jared Kirtlancl announce that ilic part-
nership heretofore existing between them is by mntual consent dissolved, and
that all persons indebted to them for clothier's work d .nc since Sept.. 1788, are
requested immediately to settle. This was at Tyler's Mills, now Valesville.
On March 27. 1794, the Connecticut Journal states:
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224
A CENTURY OP MEKID£N.
**To be sold by the Subscriber. ( Janlcn Seeds of all kinds. From that cele-
brated garden belonging to the Shaking Quakers in New Lebanon. Those per- |
sons not only take pains to save the earliest and best seeds, but they import them |
once in two or three years from their friends in London. Asahei Ben^am. |
N. B. Some of the seed called Scarcity."
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I
I
On March 19. 1800. the partnership existing between Joshua Atwater and "
Thomas H. Cook was dissolved. 1
On April 7, 1800, the following advertisement appears:
" I'lio Subscrilier has constantly for sale warranted axes made by one of the \
best workmen at his shop in VV allingford. James Carrington. '
'I'he follow inpf aflvertiscmcnl rchitinpf to the mills known as Tylers, now Vales- |
ville, appears ni the Connecticut Journal: '
"Tlu sc arc to inform the Public. That the snb.scril t.Ts have a uiachinc now in
nii'litjii. at Ml". Sannul Tylers Mills in \\ alliiii^ford. on the luri)j)ike road leadinj^
from Hartford to Xew Haven, where sheej)s wool will be broke and carded into
rolls on the shortest nolicu al 10 cents per pound: wool nn ^t be well picked \-
not more than one ounce of oil to one i)oun<l of wool. Rolls can be done up in
sheets or blaukel.s, and carried any distance without injury. Likewise batting wool
broke in the best manner at ' > cents per pound \11 commaiid> auemleii
to by the publics humble servants,
Strang, W oodruff vV: others.
W'allingford, July 25, 1803."
liesides paying so nnich attention to trade the citizens of Wallingford were
interested in matters educational. The following notices ai)pear in the Connec*
licut Jourjial :
"The subscriber has opened a school in Wallingford for the purpose of instruct-
ing young Ladies and Gentlemen in the I^tin, (ireek and English languages.
Arithmetic, (Jeography, Composition, etc. ■ Tuition will be low, and no endeavour
wanting to give satisfaction. George W, Stanley. 1
Wallingford, Julv i, 1794.*'
i
"Tioarding School. I he pnhlic arc respectftdly informed that a school for j
^'oung l adies will be opened in \\ aliingfcrd i^n tlic first day of May next, in the I
hfv-ce f<im:er!y occupied by the Rev. Mr. Andrews hrt now by Mrs. Hall and her ■
iJaughter from Xew ^'ork. in which will l)e taML:ht taml)orr work embroidery and
various kincis of fine needle work, by Miss Hall: and to such as choose, reading. :
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EARLY HISTORY.
225
ng. arithmetic and Geography, by the Rev. Mr. Hart : Good accommodations
>e provided by Mrs. Hall,
k'allingrford. April 16, 1795."
hoate School for Boys stands to-day on the site of Mr. Andrews' house,
nily, W'allingford must have been a veritable metropolis to the people of
den.
averns in those early days were very important centers of life in every com-
ty. There the farmers congregated to learn the news of the outside world
I 1
SITE OF THE OLD DELCHEK FAR.M.
rrow No. 1 indicates the site of the Gilbert or Helcher tavern : No. 2 IndirateH thi- «ite of the old
houre or fort, and No. 3 indicates retiidenre of A. R. Yale adjoining.
the chance traveler, to get their mail, and to exchange notes and observations
•ops and live stock. Xo one was permitted to become an inn-keeper without
ecommendation of the selectmen, and a license ol)tained from the county court.
\s a profession of eminent respectability, even if considerable liquor was sold,
here was one tavern keeper in Meriden who was relieved of the necessity of
ning a license, and he was the owner of the stone house and Belcher tavern
226
A CtN iURV or MIlKIUE.N.
on Mcriden I'ann. Jolni ^ ak. wlio with Jedediah Xt»rlon had hought the west-
t rii jiart of this ohl farm, in the dix is,io!i of the same witli Xorton. t(X>k the south-
ern half whicli inchidcd the tavern. He ran the iun lor a number of years and
then ^uve it to his son. Xa»h Vale, in 1750.
Xash continued as proprietor until 1763 when he sold it to Yale Bishop, of
Nevs Haven, perhaps a relative.
In June, 1770. appears the following advertisement in the Comiecticut Journal:
"To be sold or let hv the Subscriber: The tinted Hrnise and Homestead in the
Parish of Meriden. in the Town of \V alliiit^furd where he now lives, containiuji;
about one hundred acres w ith a suitable Proportion of Meadow, r'a^tnre. Plow ami
Wood Land. The Huildings are all cnincnient. and in gmxl Repair. The house
is a licensed House by the cnlrmv. \\ hoever I'lireliases the Premises will have a
right to keep a House of luitertaininent : it lies on the Great Road leading from
lioston to Xew "N'nrk thro" Hartford aiul Xew Haven, and is tho't by good judge-
to be the best .stand tOr a Tavernkeeper in the Colony, 'i he I'urchaser mav have
credit for the whole a nimiher (»f >ears. with good Security if required. '<u Interest
For the Terms either nf purchasing or hiring, apply to the subscriber, (m the
Premises, who will give a good Title. \'ale Bishop."
The wife ,of Mr. Bishop died in 1766 and lies in the old cemetery on Meeting
House hill and on her tombstone it is recorded that she "was buried with her in-
fant on her arm."
There has been for man) > ears a tradition that whoever owned the old ta\*em
had a right to keep a place of entertainment forever, and its truth is settled b>
the statement in the advertisement. The right had been given In the Genera!
Court in 1662 when it grante<l to Mr. Gilbert the right to keep an inn. In other
words the authority was above that of the county court to which every other tav-
ern keej)er in .Meriden or the colony was obliged to apply.
On May -'4. 1773. an execution on the tavern was taken by Jonathan Fitch,
of New Haven, and the place soon passed into the hands of James Jauncey of New
York. As Mr. jauncey was a Tory, the farm was confiscated .during the Revolu-
tionary war and sold by the state to Watt Hubbard. It is probable that Mr. Hwb-
bard kept a tavern here for a white and then disposed of it to Seth De Wolf. It
subsequently passed into the possession of Asaph Merriam, who gave it to his son,
Sidney. At what date its use as a tavern ceased the writer docs not know.
Mention has already been made of Josiah Robinson's tavern, which was the
really im[)ortant one, according to the ancient almanacs.
Aaroti Lyman was given the right to keep a tavern in 1757 by the county court
and the same authority conferred a like distinction on John Webb in 1 752 and 1 75J.
But the business was short lived in the case of these two gentlemen. Daniel!
Hough also maintained an inn for one year in 1767. Rrenton Hall in 1705 andi
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EARLY HISTORY.
227
U«zalc«l Ives in 1769-1772 and 1774 cltcl likewise. Dr. Insi}^n Hough bouj,Hu the
•Jd Central Hotel property in 1792 of the heirs of Sanntcl Hall, the son of Rev.
Thcophilus, and in it he very soon started his tavern. The writer has been unable
to discover the record giving him the authority to maintain an inn. W e liave al-
ready read the notice in the New Haven paper giving an acc uuii of the dinner
at his house at which sat down Esq. Aaron Lyman and his wife. Cai)t. Jolin Webb
ami his wife, Phinehas Hough and his wife, Noah Vale and his wife and the w i<l< i\s
Saiah Yale, which would indiciate that they were in a pubh\ h.»uso In tlu- Mid-
iksoc Gazette of Nov. 26, 1791. appears the following: "Lee Hall advertises an
ei^ant two story House in Mertden ; good for merchant or tavern." Mr. Hall was
executor of Samuel's estate.
ivCtter writing was probably not very coniinon in Meriden in the eighteenth
c«ntiir)% but taverns were used in lieu of post ofhces in small comnumities, and
the post rider left there the mail to he delivered, and took thence letters to be sent
away. We obtain a slight glimpse of the post rider in the issue of the Connecti-
cut Journal under date of Feb. 2, 1770:
"I^st Mondav t. \ t niiii;. the Hartford I\)st, having; arrived at his stage in
^\ allingford. and but just entered the House, wIkii hiv IIoko and Mail were
raken away: The Horse was soon found, but the Mail wa^ nii>^ing: after <earch-
\i,T several Hours, it was fcntntl, near a Mile from tin- siai^o. hmko diKii, tho*
■ne v»f the Letters were gone. The Villain who coniniitted this most audacious
' >ftciKe has not vet l>een discovered. "
For the i 1 iiu rnu tire f>f the traveling public wliicli was constantly growing in
'^^"iIk t- a- the c(»lony increa>c(l in population it wa> dctertninod h\ the ( ieneral
.--vuilii\ to erect on the great tli« iroughfares. mile >t.Mn-^. which would tell the
^•avfarer hi> <listance from the county town: so, at the i Jctohcr session, 1767. the
Luli^ming resolution was passed:^
"Be it enacted by the Governor, Council, and Representatives in General Court
Assembled, and by the authority of the same,
That it shall be the duty of the selectmen in the several towns on the several
post roads in this Colony, at the expense of such town to erect and kee|) up stones,
at least two feet high, near the side of the common travelling road, marked with
the distances from the county town of the county where such town lyes, according
to the mensuration lately made by public order."^
I Conn Col. Vol XII i-
J AUc* Hon* Earle In h««r •>n(ertainUig book eutiUed "Ilonte Llft^ In (\)loiiiiil l>»y(*" ba> Uiis lu
n^laUv* CO Mile cttHics : "Beajamln Franklio net mite stonei the entire way on the post-road from B«Mtoa
.1 Pbila<i«'lpbla. He rod* In n f hnist-> ovfr th^ rn:if! ; and u mnrhtn. A'li. li h>« hifl im . iif. il wi . at ■
.«ri»#4 (o th* cbalA*> . aud it ira.« c<frta)nlv the first cycloaieter tbat wetii on \hm roud, ovt^r wtiicli so
■aor eyriomttn* have paiwed duiisg the laat live years, tt roeasured the mllea as he traveled.
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228
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
There are three of these old mile stones still to be seen in Meriden, doubtless
erected in conformity with this law. One is on the east side of Colony street in
front of the Swift Company building. No. 57 ; another in front of the residence
of Junius S. Norton, No. 596, and the third a mile north, in front of the old Eli
Way farm, now owned by E. H. Higgtnson.
There was for a short time another industry in Meriden that brought good
luck to no one, except possibly to the workmen who labored underground to bring
to light the hidden wealth of copper or gold that was supposed to lurk in certain
localities in Meriden. A quite ftiU account of this enterprise is given in Mr. Per*
kins' Historical Sketches of Meriden. His information was gained from certain
papers and documents in possession of Deacon Silas Rice : the Deacon is long since
deceased but the papers are still in possession of his grandson, William B. Rice.
Copper deposits or veins were discovered in Wallingford in the year 1712*
possibly through the prospecting of Gov. Jonathan Belcher or his agents. At any
rate in that year articles of agreement were drawn up between William Partridge
and Jonathan Belcher on the one part and a committee representing the inhabitants
of Wallingford on the other. The right to dig for minerals was granted, and various
acts were passed by the General Assembly to safeguard and protect the industry.
The mines, were dug in what is now the southeastern part of Cheshire near or on
the old Bellamy farm. Other mines were established in Simsbury, in that part
now set off as Granby, which later developed into the famous old Newgate prison.
How nmch copper was mined in Wallingford there is no way of learning. We
know that Jonathan Belcher and his partners expended large sums in their ven-
ture and that it resulted in toss to all concerned.
As late as 1732 Mr. Belcher was still interested in the Wallingford mines, for in
that year he sent a Mr. North Ingham, of Boston, with a letter of introduction to.
Rev. Samuel Whittlesey of Wallingford, saying that Ingham was come to view
the mines and that he was a partner with Mr. Con" Adam Winthrop, of Boston.
Mr. Ingham was still living in the vicinity of the mines in 1740. Undoubted!)
more copper was produced in the Granby mines than in Wallingford.
The mines in Meriden had no connection with the Wallingford operations and
were sunk by an entirely different set of men. On Feb. 8, 1735-6, Edw. Burroughs,
of Stratford, leased to Jeremiah Atwater. Nathaniel Merriam, Samuel Austin, ana
others, a tract of land containing fifty acres for digging for all manner of minerals.'
The lease specifies that the land is located just south of the Belcher farm and in
the east part of the Burroughs farm. The spot where the prospecting was done
When he had ridden a mile he stopped; from a heavy cart loaded with mile stones, which kept alonRTt"!*
the chaii^e, a stone wao dropped, wblch was afterwards net by a gang of men." Mri.. Barle iloei* n^A
Blve Uie authority for thl« statement: but the writer does not believe Franklin was responsible M
the mile atones in Meriden. Tbe vote of the Colonial Court mnkea certain the pedigroe of CoBnectKut
mile RtoneK.
1 Walllncford land reeords. Vol. T. |>. 476.
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E.\RLV HISTORY.
229
■n a hill east of the Hartford trunpike aLxjut a mile noriii ot nritainiia street,
luiiful specimens of clear crystal quartz have been i)icko(l up on this hill by
TV now li\ ill^^ aiiil it was fondly hoped by our predecessor^ oi a imiidred and
eniy years ago that here ^old would be found. It is doubtful if an\ thing more
n a mere scratching of the surface was ever attempted by these gentlemen in
r vain quest for gold. There is no evidence that actual nnmng operations were
\m.
( )n the hill in the western part of Walnut ( /ruve cemetery are the rcuiains of
ancient working known as Golden I'arlor Mine. There are two adjoining
Its still tri be serii o. Inch were excavated to a de])tii of twelve or lifteeti feet,
•ni the shafts, galleries or drifts led to the west a good many feet. The farms
Jr. \\ iliiam Hough and Timothy Ro>s were adjoining and ran from the C onn-
road to the river on the west. That of Timothy's was whollv west of Dr.
ngh's and the common b*)undary was somewdierc on the hill or crest where
mines were dug. The Hough farm and quite a portion of the Roys holdings
e during the greater part of the last century in the possession of the Wood
;ilv. .and the writer has l>een told by Xorman .S. Wood and his nephew, Charles
ti.at when they lived on the farm it was possible to penetrate quite a distance
) the old drifts. In one of the shaii.^ the present su])erintendent of the cemc-
. 1 red F. Bowen, found quite a nugget of copper and also the remains of one
he ancient iron haimners, probably u.sed by the workmen in the olden days. It
lot positive that the present shafts were those of the Golden I'arlor mine on
Roys lease or were made by those who were digging for copper on the Hough
n. The mines were not far apart.
On the Wallingford land records under date of Feb. 2, 1735-6, api^ears a sale
the right to mine coi>per on the farm of Dr. Hough by Thomas Foster to
lhaniel Bacon and Josiah W'etmore, of Middletown, for £20.^ On Feb. 20,
5-6. Dr. Hough executed a new lease of the property to Samuel Dwight, Seth
tmore, Nathaniel Bacon, Josiah Wetmore and Edward Higbee of Middletown,
I Jonathan and Robert G>lHns of Meriden: the consideration being "one-fifth
t of all dug out upon said land at the end of every month/'^
On March 13, 1736-7, Timothy Roys leased the right to mine copper on his
: of the line, which perhaps subsequently grew into the Golden Parlor Mine.'
e lessees divided up the property in the following proportions: Edward Higbee,
part ; Thomas Thomas, 1-6 part ; Walter Henderson, r-6 part ; John Way, 1-30
t: Arthur Rexford, 1-15 part; Benjamin Roys, 1-15 part; Samuel Andrews,
5 part ; Daniel Higbee, 1-30 part, and unassigned 1-15 part.
Mr. Perkins copl^^ the documents relating to this mine, in the possession of
aeon Silas Rice, and they are here reproduced :
kVallinKfurd land records, VoL VII.. p. 401.
dcm, |K 48S.
dpTH, p 428.
Hti>torlral Skebobes of Meriden. p. 78, et ^eq.
Digrtized by Google
230 A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
"Articles of Agreement made and concltided upon this twenty Seventh da} • ij
April Anno Domini 1737 Between Edward Higbee of Middlctown and Walter
Henderson of Hartford, both of >• county of Hartford, and Thomas Thomas oi
New York, Arthur Rexford, Sam" Andrews, Benj Royse, all of Wallingford, is
}•« comity of Newhaven, and Colony of Connecticut, and Daniel Higba} of MiU-
dletown in y* county of Hartford afores'd. and Jostah Griswold, Thomas Goodwin^
Benjamin Stillman, John Pierce, all of Wethersfield in y* county aforesaid. Pro^
prietors and Joint owners of a certain piece of land or mines in said Wallingford^
as leased out to them by Timothy Royce of s^ Wallitigford, as will appear by sait^
Lease, reference there unto being liad to carry on the work in said Mines, Wit-
nesseth that we the s*d partys do covenant and agree to, and with each other, ami
do hereby oblidge and bind otir Selves to Stand to, and perform the following
articles viz :
1. That the name of s** Mine, shall be Golden Parlour.
2. That the W^ork to be done in said Mines shall be ordered by a vote of >'
Majority of y* owners, and y« costs and charge arising on y' work in said miiw
shall be paid according to y ** pr(»p<ni;ions of each owner's part.
3. That each owners vote shall be in prnpnrtion to what part he owns.
4. That if any owner or owners cannot attend y* meeting or meetings
pointecl by y^ Majority of y® owners in order to manage aflfairs of said mint
they shall have liberty to appoint any of y* owners to vote or act in his or ther
behalf* and said owner so appointed shall vote or act therein, shall be Esteemed as
gtxxl and valid as if the owner appointing was himself present.
5. That Mr. Benj. Royce be a Clark to Enter and keep y* votes that may fr« -
time to time be passed by the owners or the majority of said owners until! s* sa>l
owners shall chuse another in his room in which case said Royce is to deliver
y^ votes he has Entered and kept in y^ Hands of said owners.
6. That the last Wednesday of July, October, January and April, be dan*
Stated for y« mcctii^ of said owners at Meriden, to make up the acc'tts of saM
mine, and also to pay what Charge or Cost may arise between each Meeting to )*
Satisfaction of y^ tmdertaker, and if y* majority of y^ owners shall think fiit to
order a meeting on any other time or times besides those herein Stated y*^ meetinga
so ordered and y* affairs managed therein shall be good and valid.
7. That these articles be committed into y* Hands of y^ Qark for y* time l»^
ing, and if any of y* owners desire a Copy hereof, y* said Gark shall give it him a^
tested under his Hand, he or they satisfying him therefor.
In confirmation of y* above mentioned articles, we the subscribers* have hen*
unto Sett our Hands and Seals in Meriden, the Day and Date above mentioned
Rdwarcl lligbcc L. S. Sainnel Andrus L. S. Tb()ina> ( jeM>*lvvin b.
losiab Griswobl L. S. |obn I'icrre L. S. Hcniamin Roys L. S.
Aribnr Kcxford L. S. Tbonia> 1 lionias L. S. B. Stilman L. S.
Digiti^ca by Gcjo^le
.E.ARLY HISTORY.
in i^resciicc of
Amos hall Moses Parse Jr Win Hough"
irui}, ihc above is very much like a modern business docimicnl.
A kccunl kept by iJeiijainin Roys. Clark ai the proprietors ot the mines in
tht land of liiiU'tln l\(i\> in \v< illin^ furd
Febriiarv v i i irV /- 1 licii the owners ot the- inino in the laud oi l iniothv
•\"vs in WallniL; iMrd, bcini; Rcj^nlarly nu t tcwcilicr at the Iious of John Way ni
•VaHinjiiord. tlid then make up their Acounls ot the I'liarjije ex])fn<led in the
T;;i)ts from 8 of November 1736 W hich Charg ditl amount to the Sum oi 8(>£
4> id.
At a meelinv: "i ilic propricti ir> of the mines in the land of rnnotliy Kosv, in
v\a]lingford, February \^ w 1730-7. TIk said (jnccr^ did make A fair ai^ree-
T^triit wirh Arther kexl«»rd. one of tlu- nwiiers. to l^iij toti foot in the north Shaft
■I -aid nuiies ktrpnii^ tlu- Snioth wals i'a>t and wc-t and ahnm fi\ t.' font wide find-
Ti^^ him>elf TooK and niatt rial> for (In; .*~>anie tn he d«>ne in live months, loi' which
•>ork the said proprietors did r,nanimously agree to give Said Rexford the Sum
•jI eighty-one pounds — 81 £ no.
At a meeting of the Troprielors of y** Mine in Aleriden on y*' 27^'' day of .Vpnl
\ oted. that mr. ( Iriswold Shold he nKKk rati ir I'nr Said nioctincr.
That Thnnias I liomas be an nndcrtaker to carry on the work in Said Mine for
Space <»i thru- niontlis m-xt cnsviini^.
That y*" s d 1 ho-. Thoma< he allowed at tlu* rate of fifteen pounds per month,
t-r So much titne a- lie >ptn(l>« in said service, the time of pay to begin when tlie
Hands be<:,'in to work in said mine.
That Arthnr Rexford having desired to l>e released from a bargain he made
t" -ink a shaft c»l ten feet deep in s'd mine that he be released.
\t a meeting of y proprietors of y* Mine in Meridcn on y*^ 27"' day of July,
\ <>ted That .\lr ('irizw<ild be Moderator for s'd Meeting. Also \ Oted b\ a full
w,te the majority of y^ owners, that \' owncr< arconling to their pro])ortioiiable
parts. |)a\ to (ieorg l*ell the Stun of fuurt\ jkhuuU. upon his fini-hinL^ a job ul
Aork he ha«l niKk-rtaken to do in the (iolden Parler, viz: to ^ink twelve feel in
•he deq»er ."^hall ncrr-t to doctor houghs and to leave the liotttMU of the Shaft
Tiere the wedth and length that it now is, to find him Self with all materials &c.
:;t-cisarv and Sutable to cary on and finish .SaitI work.
And at <W meeting. July y** 27 1737. the s d owners made up their acounts
Ahich did amount to tlie sum of 132 £ 13s i<l."
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2$2
A CENTUKV OF MERIDEN.
These records comprise all the knuvvled^c ue have of the (luinj;> of the ( iolder
Parlor Mine association. There is a tniditiun that a cargo of oro w.is shipjxjd tc
England and the vessel was lo^^t .it sea and the owners were so discouraged In ihii
misfortune that the mines were abandoned.
I'.ijt Dr. Hongh was at work at the mines on his side of the hill l8 years later
At this time he was livmg ni Haddani and tlie farm was the homestead of liis son
\\ ilham Hough, Jr., the blacksmith. On March 21. 1755. ^'i*^ son mortgaged th<
farm t(j his father and this clause occurs in the deed: "Tlic condition of the n\y()\{
ubhgation is such that if the above W'ilHam Hough shall allow iii> .said lather tra
liberty at the mines on the west end ul his home lot to dig for ore as he shall .set
fit, and shall have liberty to cut timber for the use of the mines or digging draiiu
or whatever shall be needful for carrying on the work, and shall have liberiy v
pass to said nnnes, on the south side of his home lot, from the highway, to llu
mines for ea: ung."^ etc.. etc.
These records make it very donblful to the writer whether the remains of tlu
.shafts in the w estern part of W alnut Grove cemetery were those made by llu
Golden Parlor Mine Company or by Dr. William iluugh and his lessees.
It is a singular fact that in 1754 the mining fever should have found a victi:r
in one of Wallingford's fair damsels. 1 hat distinguished divine, Rev. Saniue'
Whittlesey, for many years pastor of the clnirch in W'allingford. and one of the \wi'
popular clergymen in the colon) , had a daughter. Kaiharnie. who married on Mai
8, 1759, the Rev. James Dana, successor in the jjastorate to the Rev. Samuel.
Nov. 29th, 1754" K.iiiiarine bought of liie heirs of Timothy Roys all right to th<
mines and minerals that bad formerly been leaded to the ( j<;)ldcn i'arlor Mining
Co.. and on December 4tlr" lullowing she bought of Timothy, Jr.. 18 acres, wliici:
contained the luines in tjuestion. What she did with the property there is no rccor<
left to tell us.
Mr. Perkins says that n itl one hundred and fifty years ago Dan John^'J
bought large tracts of land in ihe Hanging Hills district in the hope of hti.lm^
minerals in sufficient (juantities to make the venture pay and mentions " W ithin tin
'Notch' is an elevation called 'Miiung Hill.' winch is said by tho.se acquainiec
with Geology to abound in indications of valuable minerals. " Many will remenv
ber the (^bstaeie encountered by the city authorities when it was first proposed
locate the new water works or reservoir in the vaile\ where "Mining Hiil" ti
located. It was suddenly discovered or at least announced that the hill contaire*)
valuable deposits of gold and a large price was demanded. The hill is now i
thickly wooded i>^land at the S(>nlli end of Meriniere.
From what has l>ccn here recorded, it can rcailily be seen that Meriden hail
1 Wklllncford Und records. Vol. XV.. p. 5ST.
2 Idem, Vol. XI IL, p. 231.
3 Idem p. 230.
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EARLY HISTOKV.
rjutlf a mining craze for a number of years and much ni<>iK'\ nui^i luive Iwen lost
in the ventures, for no Calumet and liecla plum ever dropped into the pockets
ci Meridcn s homespun coats and trousers.
A curious infereiux' relative to the name Hanover ma\ bo lUawn from the cop-
per mining industry on .Milking Yard Hill, now a part of \\ alnut drove ceinetery.
Thij. name was atlopted for the village nt I'alls Plain, now South Meriden.
h the year Dr. Davis says in his History ni W'allingford and Meriden' that
:hc name was decided on bv the proprietors of the augur factory, and the result
aiHiuunccd to the people by Dr. Isaac I. Hough, on hine 1S32. This is
'5>ubiless so: but })crhaps the name has an older pedigree than one might be led
: J believe by this statement. It is a fact that the workmen engaged in the copi)er
ni.ning industry in this colony were nlo^tly ( lernians. This w as the case in the
Iklcher mines in Wallingford and also in Simsbury, now dranby. In I'heljjs'
-tistorv of Simsl)ury. (iraTiljy and C anton- the names of three of these ( iennans
preserved viz; John Sydervclt. Cas})ar lioofman and John Christian Muller.
Wry close to the mines in thai u»\\ n were the smelting works where the ore was
crushed, refined and smelted and the locality was called Haiu>ver. because these
'jemians lived there, and the name oi a large (lerman city was used to describe
the settlement just as to-day we frequently employ the name Dublin to designate
a C'j'lony of Irishmen.
The copper mining industry in Meriden was located on the hill jnsi <.ast of
Falls Plain and it does not take a large share of imagination to fancy that while
Hanover was formall\ adopted in 1832 to describe the new village, it may really
have been in use for a long time previously and applied to a locality in the innne-
fliate vicinity, just as the name Meriden, which belonged originally to the large
farm in ihe northern part of this town, was formally adopted in 1729 for the whole
parish.
PHYSICI.XNS.
While the practice of medicine cannot perhaps be called an industry, but rather
a science and a profesion, still it is always an important part of the daily life of
•verj- community, and the proper place to treat of tfie early medical practitioners
of Meriden would naturally seem to fall into that chapter devoted to the home life,
indt'strial pursuits and avocations of the people.
Incidentally two or three early physicians have been mentioned. The pioneer
Dr. Ebenezer Cooper, is first heard of in Meriden in 1724 when, in partnership with
a Samuel Butler, he bought of John Cole, the Boston schoolmaster, a tract of 350
'icrcs on the west side of the Country road north of the farm of Bartholomew
Foster.^ This land they sold to Robert Collins, of Middletown, on May 30, 1727.
t PiW
2 P»r. 117
3 Walllnsford laud records. Vol. V, p. 15.
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■234
A CKXTURY OF MEUIOEN.
Dr. Cooper mtist have lived on this fann for his name occurs in a list of Meriden
petitioners in 17^5-^ He next bought a small tract in the southeastern part of the
town and the house of Wm. B. Rice, corner of Paddock and Miller avenues, occu-
pies the site of the homestead of Dr. Cooper. He died in 1742 and was survived
by his widow, Thankful. She was a}}]K)inted administratrix of his estate at a pro-
bate court held on May 8, 174J, in New Haven, and an inventory was then filed
%vhich included the following items:
House and lot; a great Bible: an oUl P.ible: 5 books of sermons: a testament
and psalter: 1 sermon, 7 ])apcr books, a liook of authors and a ilictionary ; simdr}
bottles : phials and apothecary things : a lignum-vitae mortar & pestle : 1 p** small
scales, box and weights : 3 seives : 3 Lances and 2 glasses.
The estate uas found to be insolvent and in the Colonial Records of Conmc-
ticul- at the May session apjicars the following:
■'I'pon the memorial of Thankful Cooper, a<lministratri\ on the estate t)f
tor Ebenezcr Cooper, late of Wallingford, deceased, she wing this Assembly that
the debts due from said estate surmounts the moveable estate the sum of two
hundred twent> six pounds eighteen shillings, and a penny : and praying for lib-
erty to sell lands &c.''
The court empowered Ca])t. Satinu l Hall to dispit^c of su much of the real
estate as was iiccc>sary an<l l:r mjIvI ihc Ii< inu-suad tc l-.ino L iirtis: he in turn <>ii
Dec. 17, 1744, sold to David Ives "1 ' ; aoixs with a d\M'lHiig iimiM.-, barn, well anJ
l>um|), standiuj^' thereon, being the h<'im--tcad ihc late Dr. Fhcnezer C<M>|>er la>t
dwelt in: bounded wc.si l)y I )ivan lierry north bv Renj. Ivei. ami ca.st and M>ulh by
liigh\Nay>. ' Doubtless, the old physician lies Iniried in the cemetery on Meeting
House Hill.
The second ph\Mcian, Dr W illiam Hough, has been mcmiotied m> often an-!
so recently that it hardly secni> necessary tt» add Im \vhat has bccTi said cxcqn t-'
note that he was a broiher of James Hough, ulio owned the grist and i.a\v mill«
when lialdwin's Mills are n()W situated. Me \\a^ bi>rn in a house which st^M^d
somewhere on the farm now called the Jct>eph Hough property just within the
Wallingforil line and ^outh of the Yale farms oti ^'ale avenue. Dr. i lough left
more mining impressions on llie old reco^ ^l^ than medical nieinorie*- in the pari^^h.
He wa': the uncle of Daniel Hough, as ha« been mentioned. He removed to
Che.^^hirc j)ari>h and later to Haddam : he was living in the latter place in 1755-
Of the third i)h\>ician. Dr. Alexander \\'oicott. a few notices have appeared.
He owned a farm here in 1733 through the heart of which ran Gravel street It
1 r»r. PavJs' History, 144.
2 Vol. VIH.. p. bZZ.
a WaltlngCora laud ivrordn. Vol. XT., p 272.
I
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KAKLY lIlSroKY.
-235
certain that he lived here ; at any rate for a very short time only ; a brief
1 of him ap|>cars on paj^e 1 12.
i the fourth physician. Dr. Isaac Hall, considerable is kn(»\vn. He is called
r. Perkins and Dr. Davis. Meriden's first physician. This was. doubtless,
se the others had die<l or moved away so very lonj^ a^o that all memory of
had been utterly lost, even in the time of Dr. Isaac I. llouj^h. wh<» d<»ul)tless
-Mr. Perkins some of his facts.
r. Isaac Hall was the son of Jonathan Hall and was born probably in the
e of W'allingford on July 11. 1714. He married Nov. 5, 1739. Mary M<tss.
vriter cannot find that he owned land in the parish of Meridcn until ( )ct. 13,
IS.X.XC U.M.L, OK RUIJ.I.V S.| IVKS HOUSE.
. when he lK>u^ht of Ephraim Houjjh, eight acres of land at Dog s Misery
doubtless built his house at that time which stood jjerhaps two hundred feet
1 of the present home of Rollin S. Ives, on I\iddock avenue. The old site
till be seen at the corner where Misery liar road bends to the northeast. It
id that the rf»ad has been changed and that it formerly ran ju.st east of this
e. Mr. Ives* house is said to have been built by Isaac Hall, the son of the
•r. perhaps about the year 1770. It is a dignified old farmhouse, large and
nanding. and is in an excellent state of preservation.
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e
236
A CENTURV OF MtlRIDEN.
The writer has liad the privilege of a careful examination of an old account
book^ once kept by Dr. Hall. A portion only is left, but sufficient to show that
his practice took him at various times to Cheshire, Guilford. Westbury, Middle-
town, Middlefield, Northford. Durham and even Hebron. His charge ahvays
included travel to the patient which varied according to the distance. In Meridfn
the item is usually charged at one shilling. The medicine was a separate item, and
included such drugs as elixir camphire. hypochondriac pills, universal pills, War-
wick powders. Elixir Proprietatis (conunonly called nowadays Eli.xir Pro.). Bit-
ter powder, stinking drops (probably asafetida), rhubarb, contrayerva, vipcrane
salts of amber, etc. Among the list of patients we find the names of Deacon Ebon
ezer Cowles on (Jxhill. Stephen Perkins, whose house stands at the comer o
Parker avenue and Ann street, William Merriam of Pilgrims' Harbor. Lazar:^
Ives, Samuel Penlield, John Hall. Elisha Scovill and Daniel Baldwin.
Now and then he bleeds a patient, and finally we encounter an entry that fairt)
takes the breath away when we remember that in thu.se days no merciful anaesilic*
1 Through thv coiirJesy of Ives W. and his sister. Miss EII«mi Hart.
p.\(;k from is.v.vc hall's account book.
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EARLY HISTORY.
sa had been discovered to comfort the poor sufferer. On September 17, 1770, he
was called to the home of Ebenezer Hubbard, of Middlefield, for which he charged
"travel 4s" and then comes the gruesome item ''to burning his wffes cancer twice
IS." This probably involved nothing more or less than searing it with a red hot
In those days smallpox was dreaded even more than it is tO'day ; one terrible
Kourge devastated the parish of Cheshire in 1752 when eighteen people died in
a few weeks. The disease was always a possibility and every known precaution
used to avoid it. The usual remedy for rendering a person immune was in-
(cnbtiofi and it was a custom to form neighborhood parties and take the infection
togedter. In the Oliver Rice homestead is preserved a recipe to be t^ken during
mnctilation, of which the following is a copy:
A Receipt for the preparation for the Small Pox
Take one Pound of Blue Flafjgr root pound it well boil it in a Gallon «>f Water
a paste, strain it through a lawn, then add to its fourth Manna, then half the
Whole Castle soap Mix it well and make into Pills somewhat less than a small
pea— A Dram is a dose for a grown Person — Take a Pill each morning after In-
^ culack>n till the Symptoms come on."
In the Connecticut Journal for Jan. 31, 1793, appears the following adver-
tisement:
■"IiH cnlaricn. The Subscriber^ liei: leave to infnrm the public That they are
Crtfryirig 011 the business of Inoculation at the house of Col. Isaac Cook, a place
f xtremelv well situated for the purjiose about one mile ertst nf the meeting liou^e —
Any person fle-irous of receivin<( the infection may depend on the utmost punc-
tuality and attention b\ their most obedient servants
Aaron Andrews and
Bilious Kirtland"
W aiiingtord Jan 22 1793"
rhe writer ha> l)een told that Dr. Isaac Hall for a time carried on an inocu-
lating estalili>hnicnt in a house that once stood on High Hill in the southeastern
'^n of Meriflen.
He died March 7, 1781. His inventory included
Books on Physick, ii8 2 o
Medicines and bottles* £20 o 7
His son Jonathan was also a physician and probably practiced for a short
time in Mertden and removed to New Hartford, N. Y., in 1787,
In the Middlesex Ciazette, under date of March 16, 1793, appears the toiiavvin^
notice :
•
"Inoculation — The subscril>ers who the last season, inoculated in company for
the Small Pox, are now carr\ ing on the same in the eastern part of Meriden, sis
miles west of this city (Middletown) at Matthew Yales House, very convenienl
for that purpose. The same successful method will still be pursued — ^whoevei
wishes to receive the Infection by Inoculation, will have the closest Attention pai«l
them, by the Publics humble servants John Dickinson
Middletown Jan 12 1793 William B. Hall
N. B. \|)pl> to said Dickinson or HalK in this city or at Brenton Hall's Em]
near the Fest House."
There is a tradition in the Julius Hall family that there was formerly a pest
house located on High Hill road a little east of its junction with Thorp avenue, and
it probably was the house mentioned in the advertisement. Brenton Hall's home
was in the extreme eastern part of Merideni and to a person in Middletown it
would be near the pest house.
The introduction of vaccination in Meriden took place in 1814.^ At a town
meeting held Vpril 23rd of that year it was *'voted to appoint a committee of two
persons in each district to introduce the kine pock innoculation into this town.
l^r. Isaac I. Mough and Ur. Tlieophilus Hall for the Center district.
Partrick Clark and Matthew Foster, X. W. district.
Phinehas Hough and Elcazer Scnvel, \ I', tli.strict.
Samuel Paldvvin. Jr.. and Ira Hall. E. district.
( )thniel Ives and Ivah Curti*;. S. K. district.
IchalK>fl \\'<)<m1 an<l Moses Cowles. S. W. district.
Dan .Xuflrow s and I.cvi .Mien. W. district.
John Plyniert, Plyuiert district.
Voted That any person who is inoculated in this town for the Kine Pock bv
Dr Fanchcr may have the priviledge of being imioculated for the Small Pox fr«:
of expense under the Superintendance of Physicians of this town.'*
Dr. Theophilus Hall was a grandson of the Rev. Tlieophilus and was bom in
Meriden April 20, 1773. He married Mar. 24, 1803. Bethia, daughter of Eph*
raim and granddaughter of Benjamin Merriam. whose farm house stood where;
the Meriden House is located. He occupied the parson's old homestead. Not
1 lu Dr. Ru(u» W. MatUiewsuitV addressti ul ihv Stitli Annual Mt>ciing or Middle.«ex Co. Medical
In April 1877 tt l« »Utc4l that "In 1801. « few mooth* after Ist vaccination on this Cpotineat. Pr •
.fonuthtiii Itnll wtth Dr. Disign flmieh 1r>tro'lii<-pfl \Tif rinntini (n Uiis vU-Jiilty lx»Kftititng wtfh n Mr Pj^"
dock of Alcrldrn and a Mr. Bradlt-y of MlddlHowu, who were Induced to become >*ubJtt lN l'»r expertaKi '
»nd in view of the uneertntnty of th« results the phyalclnns agreed to attend the mea each on sU«r-,
Date days for 3 weeks."
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KAKI.V HISTOKV.
^39
much is known of his life here and he died at the age of 4J on Sept. j(>, 1S15. in
Lenox, Mass.. where he had gone on a visit.
Dr. hisign Hough, .^on of Daniel, the hlacksniilh. was burn in tlie old house
at the corner of Ann and Curtis streets on Sept. i, 1746, and began to practice in
i^H In 1792 he bought of the heirs of Samuel Hall tlie house whicii he soon
Vimtil into an inn. known at first as Hough's tavern and later as Central tavern
'M' h^nel, which st(x»d at the corner of IJroad and East Main streets, and now re-
placed by the residence of Francis .\t water. Here he combined the professions
•1 medicine and tavern-keej)ing. He was successful in both callings. He had
a|)parently retirefl from business of all kinds some time before his death in
hi.* mantle falling on
hi; son. Dr. Isaac I.
Dr Insign has l>een
<k.y.Tibed as of a
genial and lively dis-
pr-sition. and quite
.«litrht in body, al-
th^High his son was
a man of enormous
proportions, weigh-
ing at one time fully
350 pounds.'
Dr. Isaac I.
Hough was a man
of influence in the
^immunity, enter-
ing largely into
the industrial enter-
prises of the town,
and his success as a
physician was excel-
lent.
OR. IS.\.\C I. llOL'tWI
His face indi-
cates character and
.strength, and his
enormous bulk is in
evidence in the por-
trait. He was born
in 1 78 1 and never
married. He died in
Meridcn Feb. 26,
1S52. Many people
still living remember
the bluff old doctor
anrl his kindly ways.
His size made it nec-
essary that every ar-
ticle of furniture he
used should be built
especially for him.
His chair was so
large that an ordi-
nary person was lost
in it. If calling on
to have two chairs to sit in. His
any one he alwa\s found it necessary
orffin was ma<le several \ears before his death an<l stored in a loft in his
carriage houjie. Many anecdotes are still told of him and the following is
a good one on the doctor: His friend Captain Roswell Cowles occupied
a hfiL'se that stoo<i on the site of the old town hall : he was a mason builder and
iJ.<^» made the tombstones of the town, his stoneyard being located on the site
the George R. W'illmot place, on the opposite side of Main street. One day in
1 Mrs. BrerkfnrldKe In her Ret-ollertlonH of a N. E. Town writes entertainingly of her Rraud-
«bfr, Mr. IdmIko. and her unrle. IM-. Isaac I. Hough.
• Frwo an oil painting in (he poHiieHrdon of .Mi^.s Iilu C Tibbals.
240
A CENTURY OF MERIDBN.
passing the place. Dr. Hough saw the captain standing in his stoneyard, and
drawing up his horse to the side of the road, began to chatp and finally remarked.
"Well, Captain, I suppose you keep a stone for each person in town, duly in-
scribed with the name, and date of birth, and are only waiting to fill in the date
of death." "Yes," said the captain, "tliat's right, but in the case of your patient?,
I can calculate the date of dcatli so closely that it isn't necessary to leave it blank/
His tavern at the comer of Broad and Main streets was a famous place, ami
known the country round ; it stood just half way between Hartford and Xc»
Haven on the old turnpike, and was the headquarters for stage coach passengers^
for here horses were changed and a stop was made for meals, and his acquaint-
ance with travelers, of course, was large and he knew many of the promineni
figures of this and other states. Although, of course, liquor was dispensed at lus
bar he never drank himself, and. in fact, used his influence to dissuade others iTc<n
the practice. In Dr. Davis' History of Meriden is a verse that was composed »a*\
told to the doctor to his great enjoyment.
"Dr. Hough, he keeps good stuff,
.\nd lives just under the steeple
r.\ hook or by crook, he keeps his good looks
And takes the cash from the people."
It was lari^cly through Dr. Hough's efforts that the turnpike from Meriden tn
Middletown was built in 1809 : he and Hczekiah Rice of the latter place bein?
the incorporators. Late in life Dr. Hough lived for a short time in what is nov
known as the Rogers' block, corner South Colony and Main streets. He died if?
the house owned by Henry C. Butler on the site of which dwellinc: nmv sr-rvu tl>!
First National Bank building. In 1825 he formed a partnership with Dr. \V\1Ivj
Woodward.
Dr. Woodward was born in Snntbin.j^ton in 1801 and i^aadnated from Yale
ical school in 1823 and .soon after located in Meriden. lie died Mar. 31.
The followinir i-^ a list of physician'^ who succeeded those named, and while thc^'
were <>f a considerably later date, still it is so long since thev were among tbc^
living that the present generation has almost fori^fotten them.
Succeeding Dr. Woodruff was Dr. IkMijamin Latlin. for nearly fort\ vear*
active in this comnnuiity. and one of the foremost citizens of the town. Dr.
Wm. II. Allen was a conspicuous hgure during; the decade from 1840 to 185030^!
Dr. < lardncr liarlow from 1845 to 1850 is still remembered by many of the ol'ifJ*
inhabitants. Dr. Kdward W. Hatch for a number of years, nntil 1858. was an
active practitioner, when he became s\iperintendent of the State School for B*^\v
In. 1850 Dr '!"inK>tb\ F Davis bei^an to practice in the town and for ei^iccfl
years was an active and prominent physician.
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EARLY HISTORY.
241
In or alx>ui ihc year 1850. Dr. H. A. Archer moved to Meriden rmd at first
I'cated in the house now (n\ii]>ied hy Dr. Tait. He hi\amc well known in the
r iruniiniiy and afterwards mi>\ed to the old Robt. Royce place in South Farms,
uhere he continued his profession.
In the issue of the Connecticut Whij? April 7, 1854, appears the prospectus of
■\ .Meriden Water Cure Company. The responsibility for the institution was Dr.
^.rcher > but John. Charles and I'-dmund Parker and others were financially inter-
r>tcd in the undertaking, dud the sanatorium was located in the present homestead
f Dr. Tait. A start was made with a flotirish of tnnnpets and much was expected
•jI the hu>pital. but the project was ^hori-livrd aiul soun died a natural death.
Dr. Gruve Hcrrick W ilson came here dnrinj^^ the hard times of 1857 and soon
'Tut up a lucrative an<i successful practice, and the balance of his life was passed
U! Meriden. He was of the homeopathic scIickjI.
Dr. A«a H. C luirchill came here in 1858. and for many years uas in active
practice, but during; the latter ])art of his life practically gave up his [)rofession and
: -IiAwed another calling. Dr. Llias, J. Mansfield was a physician here for many
'•ears with a very larpfe atid lucrative practice and had a host of friends and fol-
lower*. He died a cumi»aratively young man a few years ago.
Dr. John fait has 1)een active in the practice of his calling for tnore than
Tihy _\ears in this tnun, and from 1854 to 1870, Dr. James Wylie, a brilliant and
tirdes*. ph\sician. ministered to a host of people, many of whom still remenii»er
^uccc-st'nl career. Dr. X, Xickersun, a faithful and conscientious phssician,
^^'f-M. although still with us. came here long etiough ago to be classed among
li:e>e mid-century j)hysicians. is too well known to need extendefl conunent.
f'iographies of other physicians of more recent dale will be found in another
jiart of this volume.
16
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1
242 CENTLKV OF MEKIDEX.
CHAPTER XIV.
I
As has been already stated, it is not probable that there was ever an Indian!
settlement in any part of the territory of Meriden. Nevertheless, Indians fre^
quently resorted here for game, and in journeying from the Tunxis Valley or the
country about Hartford to the waters of the Sound at New Haven, they followed
a trail which led through this valley in the general line of Colony street.
There were, however, Indians living in Meriden after it had become a separate
parish — probably a few stragglers from some tribe, perhaps of the Quinnipiac«
at East Haven. There is a 4radition in the Julius Hall homestead on Murdock
avenue, that during cold weather two or three of these stragglers were in the
habit of coming to the home of Daniel Hall, the first of Wallingford's pioneen
An the Dogs' Misery Country, and asking to be allowed to warm themselves before
the white man's fire. These red men were said to live somewhere northwest d
the old homestead.
Mention has been made of a large bowlder lying on the bank of Harbor Brook
about a quarter of a mile east of Gravel street, which is called Phebe rock. It u
said to be so named because the phebe birds build nests in the crevices of the rock
But there is a deed on file in the Wallingford land records^ which tndicatti
that the word Phebe formerly was used to locate a certain tract of land in tk(
vicinity of this rock. It was a part of the Penfield farm that had previously beca
the property of Dr. Alexander Wolcott. Nathaniel Penfield on Mar. 16, 1774
leased to Joseph Shaylor, a tract of land containing one acre and ntnet>* rods ttei
was bounded west on what is now Gravel street and east on Phebe Quive land
At that time there was no one in the parish of Meriden of that name owning hmd^
and never had been. Besides, this strip of land was wholly in the farm of Natfav-
iel Penfield ; his neighbor on the east being Daniel Baldwin. This name sonoA
very much like that of an Indian. Two or three persons whose opinions are oi
weight in such matters were consulted and each one thought it the name of ai
Indian woman. Now was there ever in Meriden an Indian woman named Fbcbe'
The records of Rev. Theophilus Hall were consulted, and the suspicion was coft
firmed. In his record of baptisms are found the following entries :
**May 9 1737 Baptized Phebe an Indian uuman privately upon a sick bed- *
On May 14, 1737, in the parson's record of deaths appears:
"Died Phebe an Indian Woman in mv house."
1 Vol. 19. p. 445.
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EARLY HISTORY.
On Feb. 20, 1744, the foUowmg entry was made:
'Died Phebe an Indian child in my house. ' Doubtless, a child of the first
Pbebe.
The day after the death of the first Phebe occurs :
"May 15 1737 Baptized iiiv Indian children Patience and Anthony.**
Again on Dec. 27, 1741 :
"Died an Indian child at Mr Sanfords."
While one person's opinion is as good, perhaps, as another's in such a ques-
tion, where absolute proof is impossible, still there is a very plausible inference
suggested by these facts.
While probably phebe birds build nests around the lonesome old rock, still
tliey cannot have given the name of Phebe Quive to the land adjoining. The
fancy is liable to arise in one's mind that an Indian woman of this name was
a squatter on the land, that she became very ill and that the good parson went
to see her and told her of the danger of death without faith in Christ and signaliz-
ing that faith by the act of baptism ; that then he took her from her rude shelter
10 his house where she died five days later, but not until she had his promise to
baptize her children, which he proceeded to do the day after her death.
Qiildren for years have been in the habit of going to this rock on excursions.
Pmhaps they used to visit the Indian woman there in the old days, and the
sunrival of the custom was simply a habit, for children are always imitative and
like to do what their predecessors have done. It is possible with such suggestions
to let one's imagination run riot ; it is a harmless form of amusement, but as these
juuals should deal only with actual facts as recorded, it is beyond the province of
the writer to attempt to weave a romance.
In the vicinity of New Haven at the time Wallingford was settled, viz. 1670.
there lived an Indian named Rum Tom. He seems to have been a peculiar old
tellow who was always getting into trouble through his love of firewater. There
^ se\-eral entries on the records of the county court of his being brought before
the grand jury on the charge of drunkenness and wanton mischief. His invar-
iable plea was that some white man had sold him either "cyder" or rum, and that
he had partaken of it intending no harm. Both the white man and Rum Tom
were invariably fined and commanded to do so no more. On one occasion he
veiy nearly caused the death of Isaac Royce, of Wallingford, who afterwards
owned a large tract of land at Milking Yard or Royce's farms. We will let Isaac
tell his own story as he did to the court on Nov. 8, 1676.
'*Isaac Royce of Wallingford complained y^ as he was going home the 6*** this
Instant betweene Sunsett and day light shutting in he saw fire upon the playnes
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244
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
& coming towards it & pretty ncarc there was a gun shott off & he heard the
bulHtts fly but how neare to him he knew not & it appeared to be Rum Tom as
he saw after. Rum Tom being called to answer S** That he strucke fire but he
was sorry he did soe: he he had drunke two cups of cydar that he scarce knew
what he did : after much debate with him about it Rum Tom was dismist & or-
dered to pay Isaac Royce for his dayes attendance & charge at the ordinary."
This was positively Rum Tom's last appearance, and the facts above recorded
comprise all the information the writer has been able to glean relating to Indians
in Meriden and WalHngford.
KEGRO SLAVES.
There is no fact in ow early history more difficult to realize at this day than
that our ancestors were holders of negro slaves and that they bought and sold
them as they did horses and cattle.
Any one, however, who burrows among ancient papers and documents is liable
at the very beginninj? of his researches to run against the evidence so forcibl\ .
and the facts accumulate so rapidly that he is soon almost persuaded that all the
early property owners were slaveholders.
Svch is not the case, tiowever, but slaves were sufficiently numerous in Meri-
den and Wallingford as elsewhere in Connecticut, to make this phase of colonial
life a very interesting one. it was a general custom all over the country and in-
deed wherever the negro was domiciled.
The earliest record that the writer has been able to discover of a negro slave
belonging to a ^Teriden man is contained in the will of that "trusty friend," Na-
thaniel Royce, dated April i, 1718, and proved in the probate court on June 15,
1726. One clause in the will bequeaths t<> his wife liis negro woman.
The records of vital statistics kept by Rev. Theophilus Hall abound in bap-
tisms of the children of negro slaves, and in accounts of deaths and burials.
They were as carefully recorded as those relating to white people, although
witli pe rhaps a little less dignity. For instance, we meet with such entries as
"March i 1741 baptized London servant of John Webb," "Sept 12 1742 baptized
Primus servant of Lazarus Tves, ' ' Wpril 24 1748 baptized negro child of John
Merriam." There are just twenty of these entrie>i.
The parson also recordetl the deaths or burials of thirty-four negro servants
entered as, for instance:
"1737 Aaron Lymans negro."
"May 7 1741 Dyed Kben*'^ Sanfords negro boy."
■'( )ctober 1746 two negro twins of Lemuel Hough."
"Dec 20 1746 London servant to John Webb."
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EARLY HISTORY. 245
• June 8 1758 my negro child Gin."
June 2y 1758 iny negro child Rose."
On the other hand although the baptisms and deaths are so carefully entered,
one will look in vain in Mr. Halls notes for a record of the marriage of a negro
oiople. In fact, there are only three or four such notices in the town records of
\\aI)in£^ord. Perhaps slave couples were married* by a justice of the peace, but
that there was a marriage service is beyond question. That the marriage was
r^rformed in a different manner from those of white people might seem possible
it one can believe that there is a kernel of truth in the following tradition :
Xoah, the ancestor of Julius Yale, was the owner of a slave named Chatham
Freeman, who earned his freedom by serving in the place of his master, as a
KAAvtT m the Revolutionary war. The story goes that when he at last became a
free man he told his former master that he "wanted to be married just like white
tulks." According to the Wallingford records, Noah Yale emancipated Chatham,
his wife Mercier and child Jube on April 29, 1782.
Some little time after the marriage he came to Mr. Yale and said he wanted
to he "unmarried as I never can stand it to be married to that woman." On
bctn^ told that there was no remedy — ^that now he was married he must stay so,
he went away exclaiming, with uplifted hands, "Oh Massa what I gwine do, what
I guine do?** Chatham afterwards made the best of his bargain, became a land-
owner and lived in a house that formerly stood on Paddock avenue just north of
the driveway leading to the house of Charles Z. Murdock. Another negro named
Cato Freeman, perhaps a brother of Chatham, lived in a house just over the line in
Wallingford. on Misery road. Its site is now occupied by the homestead of John
Francis. Fowler's "Historical Status of the Negro in Connecticut,** has this to
say:
**l'cui were set apart for the necjroes in the meetini^-hnu'^i's, where they <yQn-
erally were ])rcscnl ; tht-y were often ([uesli<Mic(l alxuit the scnnon heard on the
Sabbath. They joined llie church, if (inalitied; their cliildren were often otifered
in Ijaptisni. bv their believing masters nr mistresses. They were ni*. . nira^^ed tn
:narry and rear laniih'es. Some of these facts I get from ancient church reci)rd>;
->me from tradition : and sonic from statenient> which I heard, when young, made
^. owners ui .slaves, ur bv those who were Ijred u]) in famihes with them. Tn
>' 'tne of these records of l>aptisms an<l marriages, tlie names of the negro children
and tlie names of tlieir masters and mistresses who offered them in I'.apli>m, are
K:vcn ; an<i the names of their masters and their consent to the marriage, are given."
The negro was bought and sold without the dignity of a record of the event
on the town books. He passed with the delivery of a bill of sale, which was con-
fidered sufficient evidence of the new ownership.
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246 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
The following is a copy of a document that is preserved in the Oliver Rice
homestead :
"Bond to fulfill Indenture
I the subscriber Silas St John of Sharon do Promise and oblige myself and
heirs to fullfiU in every particular a certain Indenture Dated Sept. 21 1758
whereby George Trashen a Malato Boy is Bound to Ezekiel Rice Esq*" l^te of
Wallingford Deceased and to his Heirs the said servent falling into my hands by
Heirship and other Contracts, I stand Obliged & bound to fulfill to said servent
^4
IWLL OF SALE OF SI-AVE GIRL.
when he arives to the Age of freedom all the perticulers mentioned in said In-
denture and Indemnify all the Heirs of the estate from any burden or charge
from that quarter, in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand the 3''** day
of March 1767 Silas St John"
Ezekiel Rice
Ezra Rice
Esther Blakslee'
The above is a fac-simile of a bill of sale preserved in a Meriden household.
(^iyi.i<.Lo 1.-;, v3i.)OC'
EARLY HISTORY.
247
following appears in Dr. Davis' history:
*<Middletown July 8, 1760
LMved of Abel Curtis (of Meriden) Forty Pounds In full of a negro Boy
lien, about nine years old, which s<* Negro Boy I Promts to warrant and
ai^-amst all Lawful Claims & demands of any Person whatsoever as wit-
. hand.
George Phillips*'
laws of the colony relating to slaves were very strict. Granted the ex'
of slavery, such laws are absolutely necessary for the preservation of the
ion, for a slave is a species of property that can steal itself.
» negro, mulatto or Indian servant" could go from one town to another with*
cket or pass in "writing under the hand of a Magistrate or the owner of the
If the slave could not show such ticket on demand he or she was treated
naway and was seized and returned to the owner. No slave was allowed
bsent from home after nine o'clock at night without a special order from
liter or mistress. No free n^o was allowed to travel without he or she
:ertiiicate testifying to such condition of freedom.^ The state of the poor
lave was certainly not an enviable one.
1 yet notwithstanding these various laws and restrictions they were
with much kindness and consideration. It was not an uncommon act for
rr to embody a clause in his will making his slaves free, and even distribute
ertain amount of the estate for the support of the slave or freedoian. Capt.
Irodcett, of Wallingford, who died in 1773, by the terms of his will, gave his
Esau and Grace, their freedom after the death of his widow, and the widow,
at her death in 1777, left for the support of the dusky couple the use of
iiestead so long as they should live, together with cows, household fumi-
id fanning utensils.
t Rev. Samuel Hall, of Cheshire, who died in 1776, willed his negro slave,
to his vridow to wait on her as long as she should live and when she
die Charles was to choose which son he would live with and if not able
his living, some of the parson's property was to be used for his support.
>t. John Webb, who died in 1799, left to his servants, DafFy and Joe, whom
previously emancipated, a considerable amount of property for their sup-
Joe and DaflFy Prinn afterwards lived in a house on Paddock avenue on
it side of the street a number of hundred feet south of the turnpike. A
depression by the roadside filled with stones still marks the site of the old
The son of Joe and Daffy, Robin, married the daugliter of Chatham Free-
id after the latter's death, he and his wife lived in Freeman's old house, near
* L«ws of His Majesty'a Colony o( Conn. Ed. 1769.
248
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
the entrance to Mr. Murdock's driveway. A son of Chatham Freeman, Lemon,
lived in a house that formerly stood near the north end of Swaync avenue. Lemon s
son Richard died in this house some fifteen years ago. There are still many peo-
ple who can remember Robin Prinn, who was once in great demand on many
occasions, for he and his violin were famous the country round.
L>ut. notwithstanding the general kindness with which the negro slave was
treated, he yearned for freedom and once in a while took IVench leave and set out
for "fresh woods and }>astures new." It must have been difficult for the fugitive
to get away to an\ distance, and even if he gained the shelter of another colony he
was again liable to be impressed into new service and virtually kidnapped. As
soon as the master was aware tliat his servant had run away he hastened to the
nearest town where a newspaper was published, and inserted an advertisement. One
of tlie earliest of ilie^e notices inserted by a W'allingford man appears in the Con-
necticut Gazette under date of Oct. 21, 1758, and reads as follows:
''Run away from Nathaniel Curtis of Waliingford 3 weeks ago a negro man
named Jack aged about 23 or 24 years mark*d with the small-pox, a middling
stature strong and well set. can read and talk good English. He had on a blue
home-spun cloth coat. Whoever will bring home the said negro & secure him
and give notice to the subscriber so that he may get him again shall be handsomely
rewarded besides all necessary charges paid by
Natfianiel Curtis**
"Waliingford Oct 6 1758"
In the Connecticut Journal of Xov. 5, 1777, is the following:
"Twenty dollars reward. Run away from the Subscriber of Waliingford on
the night after the 27th instant a Mulatto Boy, named Adam about 20 years old.
about 5 feet 6 inches high, well made except hb right leg crooking in, talks good
English, and can write and read and its probable may have forged a pass: had
on and with him when he went away a beaver and felt hat, 2 checkt shirts, one
woolen, the other linen, two pair shoes, A Rifle Frock» a brown homespun vest,
and an old red Dufiil Great Coat. Whoever will return said boy to the Sub-
scriber, shall be entitled to the above Reward and all necessary charges paid bv
Elihu Hair*
"Waliingford Oct 28 1777"
.As already noted. Parson Ilnl! harl five slaves, and a stfiry has come down to
the present day, which is witlmut nuich doubt, based on fact. In the davs when
the parish still worshipped in tlie little clmrcli 011 Meeting House hill, the parson
was the owner of a slave w hts uri'^ <iirK aiul unrul) and whoin it was sometimes
necessary to chri*;ti*;t\ ( )nc Sunday morinnpf tlie parson was obliged to whip thi>
negro, and then went to his duties at the church. Some one saw what looked like
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EARLY HISTOSY.
249
; Mr. Hail's house which could be easily seen from the church,
congregation hastily adjourned and on reaching the house found
iurly negro had set fire to a hay rick closely adjoining it. For a time
as if the house would be destroyed but by hard work it was saved. A
e after, this negro climbed into a chestnut tree in the southern part of
and falling, broke his neck.^
Connecticut Journal for April 22, 1774, we read that **Last Wednesday
negro slave (owned by Mr John Ives of WalHngford) was brought to
sew Haven for abusing an Indian Girl.*' On the following week ''the
sentenced to sit on the Gallows with a rope about his neck one hour, and
ipt 39 Stripes at a Cart*s Tail. Which sentence was immediately ex-
Cook, a man of affairs of Walltngford, who has been mentioned as a
r and doing a business of importing negroes to be sold as slaves, at one
into serious diflSculty with the Colonial government, through the action
n, Phinehas. in kidnapping a swarthy white man and selling him as a
ve. Phinehas was a sea captain and commanded one of his father s ves-
is swarthy man was a Portuguese and his story told in his own words,
a romance, and it would be impossible to improve by either cutting out
: to it : so it is given as he told it to the General Assembly on February
Memorial of Joseph Deming (otherwise called Joseph De Mink) now
it Goshen in the county of Litchfield Humbly Sheweth — ^l^hat your Mcm-
as a free born Subject of the King^^i I\>r*iigal, a Xativc and an Inhabitant
and of Brava in the Indies one of the Cape De Verde islands w here your
ist's Parents not Long Since were, and he hopes are yet Living, That
in the month of March A. D. 1755 by Leave of his Father he went to
i of Bonavista one of the Cape de \ erde Islands tmrlcr the Dominion
King of Portugal, but a few Leagues Distance from y'" Memo^"^" Native
Ihatafte;; some Short Stay at said Island of lionavista your memorialist
ing an Opportunity to return home, and falling in Company with one
•has Cook, then Master of a \'esscl lying at Anchor at said Island of
I (who belonged to W'allingford in the s'* Colony of Connecticut) & he
your Memorialist that he was bound to P.arbadoes, and in his Way should
s** Island of r>rava. where your memorialist was going an<l would freely
• memorialist a Passage home to his Parents. That when the said Cook
y to Sail your Memorialist took Leave of his F-Vicnds and went on I'.oanl
. and within a Short Space arrived in Sight of said Island and l''.x])ecte<l
on Shore, but to your memorialists amazement, the s^ Cooke Steered off
ry wa» told to tb« writer by Wiltard Hall and hia m\t\*r, Mrx. Gntlup.
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250
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
and soon after arrived at Barbadoes, and there kept your Memorialist Confined
& would not Suffer him to goe on Shore, and in a few Days afterwards sailed iqB
New England. That after our Arrival at Xew England your menioriali*^! wal
Delivered up to Mr David Cook of sd Wallingford, owner of said X'esscll ani
Father and Employer of the s*' Phinehas Cook who together with the said Ph«nM
has immediately proclaimed that y*" memo'*^ was a Negro being lately brot from
someparts of Guinea, and presently sold your memorialist to Mr Noah Waddams
of Goshen aforesaid for a New Negro and as a Slave for Life, for the price o£
Fifty-two pounds ten shillings Lawful mony, with whom your memorialist hal
ever since Lived and Served and from whom much kindness and pitty has been
Shewn. That the s^ Mr Waddanis haveing been Long since Satisfied that yout
memorialist is no negro nor any Thing resembling, a Native of Guinea, saveiQ|{
in his Tawny and dark Complexion which is but Common to the Portuguese Na-
tion Especially in the Southern Plantations and being also satisfied that your
memorialist was very wrongfully taken away from his Native Country and Friendi
and greatly grieving to retain him as a Slave while Convinced of the Fraud and
InjtTfv tlone hira. He the s** Mr Waddams did sometime in the beginning of thii
month of February attempt to relieve your Memorialist and to that End bro't faH
action against the sd David Cooke, for Selling your Memorialist being a free maJ
as a Slave &c. That the said Cnokc being Served with the Process immeiliate]|
Compounded with the said Mr. Waddams, and Obliged the said Waddams to rd
turn your memo''*^ back to him, the Consequences whereof your memorialisj
greatl}' dreads, and has now reason to expect soon to be disposed of in some paia
remote where he can have no relief. J
Your Distressed Memorialist therefore lici^^s the Speedy aid and interposal ol
this Honor'''® Assembly that your Hon'*** would commiserate him as a poor youli
seperated from all his former Friends helpless in himself and Exposed to thi
Rapine conceived by y^ said Cooke. That your Honours would give me Leata
to appear in y' Presence, and to Convince your hono"^** by Countenance, by tni
Education by my proficiency in reading and writing of the Portuguese Language
and by other Evidence. That I am no Slave or Native of Guinea. |
And that your Honours would Vouchsafe me the same Protection that a Subj
ject of the King of Great Brittain could reasonably Expect from the Kii^ <■
Portugal, or from any of his Government with whom there has been, and utm
whom there hopefully may be Subsisting the most Lasting Friendship. And tha
y"" Honours would at Least appoint me a Refuge where to fly and a Guardiafi tj
undertake In my Defence, till it be Decided whether I am a free man or not oi
otherwise relieve your Memorialist and as in Duty bound ever prays.^ J
Thos SevTTionr Tun*" |
Prochein Ami To the Memorialist"
1 Vol. 11m BflKeUaiicouB Docunento, Ko. S8. State Ltlyrary. (
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EARLY HISTORY.
suit of this petition the General Assembly decided that De Mink waB>
and a subject of the King of Portugal, and was brought to this country
will, and David Cook was ordered to pay to De Mink £30 damages
pay his passage back to the Cape de Verde Island. Cook was also fined
jsts, and Capt. Thomas Seymour, of Hartford, was appointed guardian
< to assist him in procuring passage to his native country,
nope that he got safely back to his family and fiiends. No matter how
a slave was treated by his master the institution was an iniquitous one
story as that of De Mink must have made many realize what a blight
ion it was to hold in bond^^ one's fellow man even if the color of hi»
ack. It is only just to David Cook to say that De Mink's story was not
VVallingford.
t public condemnation of the sin of slavery made in Wallingford seems
■n contained in a sermon delivered by Rev. Samuel Andrews preached on
eneral Fast July 10, 1775. Mr. Andrews was the minister of the Epis-
:h there and a pronounced Tory in his views. Speaking of one of the
e people in which there should be reform, he said, ''And here, as we
be now contending for those liberties which God and nature have given
common with us, to all the human race : is it not worth our serious con-
whether our detaining in captivity, a part of our fellow creatures, can
ed willi our principles of liberty, and if not, to examine whether it is not
either to change our principles, or let the oppressed go free: for how
pect God will work that deliverance for us, which we refuse to give to
>claration of Independence, and the circulation among the people of the
^as and principles of civil liberty soon made many realize the absurdity
: the black man in servitude. The feeling against the traffic in slaves
le so strong that at the October session of the General Assembly 1774
.cted that whoever ''shall import or bring any indian negro or molatta
laves into this Colony to be disposed of "shall forfeit and pay to the
of this Colony the sum of one hundred pounds,^' and the State Assembly
ober session 1777 enacted "That if any owner of any slave shall apply to
len of the town to which he belongs for liberty to emancipate such slave
the duty of such selectmen to enquire into the age abilities etc of such
if they are of the opinion that it is likely to be consistent with the real
of such slave, and that it is probable that the slave will be able to sup-
T her own person etc : such selectmen shall give to the owner of such
-tificate, and that the owner of such slave hath liberty to emancipate such
/as a decided step towards the gradual emancipation of all slaves. And
was that the town books now began to bear records of slave transactions
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252
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
for the first time ; but instead of being transfers of the negro as a chattel, th<
were the blessed harbingers of the complete freedom of the negro race in Coi
nccticut.
The Walh'ngford books contain many entries of the emancipation of negi
slaves under the new law.
On Sept. 24. 1778, "I Rachel Johnson for divers good reasons afi<! causes bi
more especially because I believe all mankind should be free I do hereby niatium
my servant maiM Uolly who is about 8 years of age. that is I do make her in
from all bonds that she is under to me when she shall be 18 years of age."
Dec. 7, 1778, "I Ruth Merriam emancipate my woman servant Rhoda.*'
Aug. 19, 1778, John Hough emancipated his man servant. Cuff, and woma
Kate.
May 29, 1780, Gould Gift Norton and wife, administrators of the estate of D
Amos Hall, emancipated negro servant Ishmael.
Nov. 26, 1780, Martha Doolittle emancipated servant Rose.
Dec. 18, 1780, Miles Johnson emancipated Phillis.
March i, 1781. Ruth Merriam emancipated Lilly.
Mar. 26, 1781, Jno. lUirker emancipated Jubie and Peter.
Jan. 10, 1782. Dr. Jared Potter emancipated Jack.
Feb. 19, ijSj. S anmel Street emancipated Cuff.
June 21, 1782, Elisha lirockett emancipated Xancy.
Jan. 20, 1795. Turhand Kirtland emancipated his negro Isaac.
Aug. 6, 1795, Edward Barker emancipated Cato Warner.
Dec. 17, 1798, Abner Kiee omanripated negro woman Violet,
Oct. 12. 1786, Thomas Hall made an agreement with his negro servant Cat!
that if in the oi)inion of his ncii^hhors, David Hall, Jacob Francis and Edwari
Fenn, at the end of three years, he had faithfully served his master during all lii
interval, he would emancipate him. At the end of the three years the neighbor
duly certiHed that in their opinion Cato had faithfully carried out his part of thi
contract and he was duly made free.
But death was the only emancipator of many of these faithful old servants.
The pace of the state, however, was steadily towards the freedom of the slavi
and in 1784 it was enacted that,
"Whereas sound public policy requires that the abolition of slavery should b<
effected, as soon as may be consistent with the rights of individuals and the pubti<
safety and welfare," "no negro or mulatto, bom after Mar. i, 1784, should be heW
as a slave after reaching the age of twenty-five."^
The holding of sla\ cs wa's n ah^uluiely lurhiddeii in Connecticut until 1848.'
In the year 1833 there was founded tlie New Haven Anti-Slavery Society and a
1 Stcloer's HiRtory of Slurerjr In Conn. Jobn« Hopkins University StudtM pp. SO-31.
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EAKLV HISTORY.
mnvemeni was siartcd which caused a rapid growth of Abohtion sen-
over the itate.
vear 1836 a Hke society was started in this town called the Mcriden
ry Society. Its constitutiun stated that it was auxiliary to the Atiiericati
TV SrK'tcty. It no doubt aroused a consi<lerable local sentiment and
ct>nstitutcd its roll of nicnibers. The leaders of the movement were
Walter Webb. Harlow Isbell. T'enner Ihish. Zirvd K. Murdock, Julius
ner Curtiss, Maior I*".l!>ha A L'owles and their wives, Mr. C'uriiss had
were ardent members ul this soeiety and labored earnestly in its beliall.
T was enj^ai^ed to a considerable extent in the so-called "underi^round
novement and his son, Homer A. Curtiss, remembers as a b(\\ the mid-
; of fncfitive slaves, on their wa\ to C anada or others havens ot security,
either a hiding place or assistance to contiiuie their journey,
time two colored men named Kldrid^a' and loiies came north as jockeys
s to the tw(. famous racing horses rhantom and Fashion, On reaching
ia the-e mtn were told by the Quakers that they were free umler the
V, accordingly, escaped from their ma>ters and made their way to Mer-
Mr. Ci:rti«s gave them employment in his lock shop sitiiated where the
f F?ra<Iley & Hui)bard Mfg. Co. are now located. Their owners later
1 that the ex-slaves were in Meriden antl wrote tn the sheriff offering
ard if he would kidnap anil return them. The slk-rilT took the letter
r. Perkins who wrote them that under no circum.sianccs would they be
regain possession of the men. Soon after, one of tlie owners appeared
\ud <U-man<lcd of Mr. Curtiss that he t^ive up the men. and blustering
CTiing the intervention of the U. S. government. .Mr. Curtiss was not
and ortlered the man from his premi.ses. Xo furtlu r effort wa.-« made
• ruiiawavs but for a long time tbe\ were very timid and scarcely dared
le streets. They lived here many years.
)cdl was so carried awa\ by tlie abolitioti movement that he removed to
assist in the attcm|)t to make it a fne state.
irill of j8.^7 a Rev. Mr. Ludlow was re«iue>t<(l (o deliver a lecture in
now called the Center t'ongre^atioiial church, on the subject of slavery.
iigf was broketi up b\ a mob: ancient eggs an.l a nii.scellaneous assort-
ticlcs were thi*>\\ii at those attending the lecture, until as one man who
iripant expressed it. " they looked like a lot of pumpkin pies."" l>lo\\^ w ere
I altogether a most disgraceful attrick was made on those who were
r»r the good of a down-trodden race. A full account of this riot will
II Dr. Davis' History, p. 502
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:254 A CENTURY OF MBRIDEN.
CHAPTER XV,
When Wallingford was a frontier town of three or four hundred inhabii
^nd New England was ahnost an unbroken wilderness, when a journey m
Hartford to New Haven was an event to be contemplated with concern, and j
iorests were the abode of wild beasts and savage Indians, it is not surprising I
imagination should have been active in conjuring unknown terrors and thst
Itelief in witches, which from time immemorial had been the common heritage
the people of all lands, should have been particularly prevalent in the to«i|
New England.
It is difBcuIt in this age of wide education and altruism to understand thisj
perstition, and still harder to realize that Wallingford had its acute attack of 1
mental phenomenon. Hardly any one is acquainted with the facts tn the fid
indeed, the occurrence is barely mentioned in the "History of Wallingford i
Meriden," and even then the name of the accused family is given as Denhaif
Some facts relating to this case have come to the attention of the writer, i
they are sufficiently interesting to be given to the public. It is best to givej
names as' they appear in the records, because no descendant can possibly om
to such a course. It is no disgrace to have had as an ancestor one who it-as ^
pected of witchcraft Three reasons present themselves as probable causes!
.suspected cases of witchcraft. Sometimes it was the unconscious homage ^
stupidity paid to superior ability, in other cases, the unfortunate martyr was ^
a victim of a conjunction of circumstantial evidence, and, again, the result i||
brought about by the devious and tortuous workings of unprincipled and malice
persons. The unhappy family, which was the center of the witchcraft exdte#^
in Wallingford, was thoroughly respectable, and we can only conjecture as to«
it was the victim of this morbid superstition. '
However, the witchcraft trials of Connecticut did not result in such tra^
as those of Massachusetts, which culminated in the horrors of Salem in 1692. ]
list of trials and executions in Connecticut can be found in Orcutt*s Htstc
Stratford and Bridgeport, p. 156. New Haven County seems to have escaped
out one of these legal murders. i
Among the first planters of Wallingford in 1670 was Joseph Benham, soe|
John Benham, an immigrant at Dorchester, Mass., in 1630. John was un<ki^
edly the ancestor of all the Benhams in this part of the country. Joseph madl
in 1657 Winifred King, of Boston, and when the homestead lots were assigi^:
Wallingford in 1670 he received one a little below what is now Center stred(i|
EARLY HISTORY.
the east side of Main street. We know little about Joseph in his relations to his
nei^'hbors and townsmen unlil 1691. He seems then to have had some disagfree-
.^eni with the selectmen which caused him so far to foii^ci lum.scli ihai he was
pilty of some raiiicr strong expressions regarding the fitness of these gentlemen
their official positions. In those days, speaking lightly of dif^niitani s was not
permitted: in faci. i>ur present free and easy manner of criticizing ihc acls of our
twblic servants would have been looked on with horror aiui as something not to
be tolerated. At ihc County court held in New Haven June 15, i6<^i, Joseph
I^enhani was presented for trial. It is better to let the records tell the story in
Ibdr own quauiL phraseology :
'■Joseph Benham of Wallingford presented for speaking words in Reproach
ig' ye townsmen (selectmen) of Wallingford viz^ that they were noe more fit for
townsmen than Doggs w*^'' was upon ye last tuesday in Aprill and was now proved
^ him in Court by 3 witnesses & ye substance of ye accusacon confest by himself
lurir^h he was fined to pay 5® into ye County treasury before ye 1st of Nov. next
for his soe traducing & vilifying s^ townsmen."
We are not enl^htened by the records as to why Joseph so far forgot himself
as to make possible so serious a charge and punishment He may have been a
taaa of vblent temper, or he may have been provoked beyond endurance by the
acts and gossip of his neighbors and subsequent investigations by the "townsmen."
It is somewhat difficult to-day to realize the condition under which our ancestors
fivcd in these early Puritan days. To us now it would be intolerable. The or-
ganization of each community was aptly described by the old Puritan gibe, "The
«orki belongs to the saints, and we are the saints/' and woe betide the poor un*
foftnnate who had fallen under the ban of his fellow church members.
''Coosidenitions of the methods of interpreting Scripture and of theological
tiKQfks which were in credit wfll suggest explanatbns of the morbid vigilance"
cxerdsed by every church association. "In those days New England men meant
as they professed. Their convictions, covering the whole length and breadth of
their creeds, laid a wide basis for imagination and emotion." Every one felt at
liberty to spy upon the acts of his neighbor, and that this was thoroughly done
no one will doubt who has made an examination of early church records. What
t<Hhy is considered the act of a scandalmonger and busybody was then felt to
be the part of a conscientious man's duty. It can easily be imagined that life in
such a community was not pleasant They were a sturdy lot, and thoroughly lived
up to their lights.
The next appearance of Joseph and his family was under decidedly distress-
ing drcumstances. Of course, we cannot tell whether this situation was the re-
mit of underhanded work of malicious persons, or simply an explosion of the
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A CKNILKV (Jl MEKIDKN.
pent-up emotions and niorbiil imaginations of persons sincerely believing vM
they reported. Let us again turn to the records: ^
"At a meeting oi yc authority of New Haven, 25th of July. i(nj2,
Joseph Benham of Wallingford appeared according to summons before ]
Authority this day And being Examined upon Complaint and evidence bei|
brought ag^ him that he had lately threatened to charge his gun with two Btilli
& shoot Goody Parker if she come into his house about such matters or things npi
w^*> examination he ye s^ Benham Confest ye s^ threatning words in being- 1
he provoked by ye s^ Parkers casting some refleccons (in her speech) aba
witchcraft upon his wife yet not intending mischiefe to s^ Parker & blaming hii
self for his passion & such threatning expressions. The authority having col
sidered ye case & finding (besides his p^ Confession) ye s^ threatnii^ cleajj
proved by 2 witnesses viz^ Sarah How Sen'' & Abigaile Atwater did order ye J
Joseph Benham to acknowledge him selfe & his estate bound in a Recogntrance |
50^ to ye County treasury that he shall keepe ye kings peace towards all the
Mag^*^* Subjects £speciall\' ye Joseph Parker & Hannah his wife & theire fa
ily. And his s^ Recognizance to stand good ag^ him unttll November Conn
Court next and then he to appeare for his Release as ye Court shall see Cai!>e
in y« meane tymc to pa) just fees for y« psecution/'
Evidently Joseph did not relish the conscientious motives of his neighbors
seeking to show that his wife was in league with the devil and guilty of the ni<
strous crime of witchcraft. Conscious of her innocence and resenting this pi
ing into his domestic affairs, we can easily understand the wrath of 1
outraged husband and his desire to plant two bullets in the body of the over-anxic
Goody Parker. This Joseph Parker (whose wife was Hannah Gilbert) «as
son of William Parker, of Saybrook, ancestor of all the Parkers in this vicini
But the gossip regarding Winifred Benham had now grown to the proporti
of a great scandal, and was the subject of anxious solicitude to Rev. Mr. Stre
pastor of the Wallingford church, who, no doubt, was greatly disturbed to tH
the devil had gained possession of the body and soul of one of his flock. At t
same court, viz. 25 July, 1692:
"The Rev** Mr. Street appeared before Authority & he & Mrs. Street, D»o
Hall & Good\' Parker niencone<l many pcular things as grounds of suspicioti
Witch Craft reflecting upon Goody \\'inifred Benham then alsoe psent whereoii
the Authority desired and advised Mr. Street and others of Wallingford oonsei
to consid^* of ye matter being weighty & to p^'pare such evidences as could be cn
at for ye further di,scovery & conviction of ye p'ty suspected if guilt or deari
if Innocent & ye s^ suspected p^son facing a member of theire church twas left 1
I EAKLV iliSlORY.
Mr. Street he & ye church shoukl cunsid'" w* did or might belong tu them hup-
(jfHi wokl direct y™ on theire seeking Councill iruiii him or vv'"*''* to purpose
A f<)e ye matter was (Hsinist & loft till next County Court."
Dctubtless the time until the Xnvcmber session of the court was auxiuui.ly spent
the iicnhain family. The vviiole of Xcw luigland was stirred up by the ter-
'iWe tragedifs taking place at Salem and other towns. It was fortunate for W'in-
I'C'I Renliani tliat the trial was postponed until November, for by that time a
!:vt^ revulsion of feelinj;: had occurred, and ministers antl inac^Mstrales were re-
'i^iting bitterly the awful horrors enacted in Massachusetts. I'uor Winifred was
■Ji tuinij m Xew Haven m Xovember, and the record is as follows :
A County Court held ai Xew I laventhc 2** Wednesday in X'ov i(%)2
Present Robt Treat Esq. ( lov. W™ Jones Esq. Dep. Gov. Andrew Leei Assist.
Upt. Moses Mansfield Mr Tliomas Trowbridge County Com*"
"Winifred Benham ot \\ allingford beinu sumoned to appeare at this Court
ks" examiaacon upon suspicon of \\ itch Craft was now present. And ye w itt-
iesse< were callc<l to testify what ihey had t() say in the case accordintjly ^ave
■ theire testimonyes in writing w^'^ were Redd in ye hearins^ of the s'' W inifred.
Knd ?he being calletl to say what she had to sav for her selfe her generall Answer
ns that slie knew nothing of \ c niatici > loutictl and was not concerned therein.
aisoe gave in some testimonies fur her selfe were Redd.
"The Court having heard & considered all ye e\ idences ag* ye s*^ Winifred
fcnham and not finding sufficient grounds of conviccon for furtiicr prosecution
at present) of ye Wimfred Doe therefore at this tynie dismiss ye buissncs yet
<Wsing the Witiifred ISenhani solemnly to Reflect tipon ye case and groun<ls
•f Hispicon given in and alledged ag* her. And told her if further grounds of
BSf'icon of witchcraft or further evidences shold a])peare ag^ her by Reason of
JiKhiefc don to ye l)otlyes or estate of any preu mall ads prv<l ag* her she might
Wily icare and cxspeci to be brought tu her tryall f^»r it."
Fre.umably Josei)h & Winifred brealhetl more free!\ on their return journcv
s they thought of the peril she had escaped. But her life in \\ allingfonl C(Mild
W have been pleasant thereafter. Her neighbors looked at her askance, and
W>* act and word must have been scanned and twisted to suit the desires of
Iwsewbo sincerely believed she spent her nights riding on a broomstick in com-
•m- with the devil. They had a daughter, W inifred. who nuist have shared
iiuch of the unhappiness of her mother's life. This strained situation contimied
w 6ve years with no outbreak.
At last human nature can stand it no longer. Her neighbors are convinced
blall their misfortunes are due to Winifred's intiiuacy with his salanic majestv.
ttid poor little Winifred, only thirteen years old, is now believed to ride tandeni
m
/
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258 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
on the broomstick with her mother in her nightly peregrinations with the deii
Just try to fancy what a life this poor child must have led! On Aug. 31, 1697,^
her neighbors are again in New Haven, determined that Winifred and her dau^
ter shall surely pay the just penalty of their monstrous crimes and persecutions.
**A special County Court by order of the Gov'' held at New Haven the 31*^ (
Aug* 1697.
Present Robt. Treat Esq** Gov^ Jones Es% D. Gov*" Major Moses Manstidj
Assist. I
''Complaint being made to the Authority by Ebenezer Clark Joseph Royse i
John Moss Jun' all of Wallingford ag^ Winifred Bcnham Sen** & Winifred Ba
ham Jun'' her daughter that Sarah Clark daughter of Ebenezer Dark, Eltzabes
Lathrop and John Moss son of y* s^ John Moss Jun' were frequently and sord|
afflicted in theire bodys by ye 5^ Benhams, mother & daughter or dieire Appij
icon and as they strongly suspect by theire means or procurance by Devil i|
theire shapes. And therefore desire y* Authority as Gods Ordinance for thai
reliefe strictly to examine ye s^ suspected persons. In order to a due tr>'alt <j
them y* a stop may be put to theire sufferings; prevention of such mischeti^
among them for the future.
'The Court having seriously considered the Accusations & Informations 0
good testimony given ag^ Winifred Benham Sen^ & Winifred Benham Jun^ upo
suspicon of them for witchcraft, they or the devill in theire shapes afflicting sundi
young persons above named. As formerly accused & suspected in ye yeare lOf
And finding clere & Sufficient ground of suspicon ag* them after strict examifl
tion of ye persons apart & severally see just cause to bind over the said Ba
hams mother & daughter to appeare at ye next Court of Asst* in October next t
Hartford in ord** to theire further examinacon & tryall personally. And the \m
band of Winifred Sen' gave 40^ Recognizance for theire appearance accaii
ingly or that they be secured in person for theire s^ tryall. And s^ Benham to |^
ye charge of this County Court, Charges 21" exem" granted for s^ 21 shillin^^^
Also ye Death of s^ young child to be inquired into w**» w* i(
peared of spotts on s^ child and ye like spots on s^ Benham quickly vanishing.**
What transpired between the date o£ this Court and that in Hart for
we do not know; but mother and daughter were quickly released when tb
case came to trial, as a]:>pcars by the following extract from records in the o^
of Secretan* of State in Hartford:
"Att a Court of Assistants Held at Hartford October ifjyj Capt Oao*
Clark also at this (Court) as attorney in behafe of our Soveraign Lord the Kite,
appeared in Court and accused Winifred Benham Sen'' and Winifred Benham JnBi
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EARLY HISTORY.
both of WalHn^ford for having familiarity with Sathan the enemy of God and
rankind and by his aid doingf many preternatural acts by mischievously hurting
:Hti bodies and Goods of Sundry persons viz* of Jno Mosse Jun*" Joseph Roys and
Ebenezer Clark with Divers others to the Hreat Damage and disturbance of the
Pahlic peace. &c. This bill of charge with the testimonies Relating thereunto
tting referred to the consideration of the Grand jury they Returned upon the bill
l^nioramus/' That is "not proven/*
Fortunately, a more enlightened feeling had grown up in the colony, and for
th:> reason mother and daughter were henceforth not publicly {persecuted, but
'i'vibtless the memory of these terrible experiences never forsook them. From
late Dr. Charles J. Hoadley. state librarian, the writer had the assurance that
tiiii H-as the last witchcraft trial in Connecticut.
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26o A I KMURY OF AIERIUEN.
CHAPTER XVI.
Meridex and Wallingford in the Wars. I
I
KING PHILIP'S WAR.
Walliiigford's share in The IncHan W ar of 1675-6. coniiiioiily called Km
Phihp's. was doubtless thrilling: to the inhabitants even though it was not siitli
ciently stirring: to gain a notice on the record?; of tlie colony. The actual war 1*1
gan in an attack by the Indians on the town ot Swansea in Massachusctt*^. ij)
west of Fall River, on June 20, 1675. Troops were immediately raised in Iki
ton and IMMiioiiih anrl sent against the Indians, and Depni\ O>vernor Leete 4j
Connecticut sent men to ."^innitiglnn to defend that part of the country
As towns were sacked, inhabitants butchered, and disasters muinpliel tli
alarm throuirh the New I'njLjiand colonies soon became general. How mieui
the feeling was may be gathered from the following statement in Trmiibull's Hi
torv of Connecticut:
w
'*As the Indians had lived promiscuously with the English in all parts of il
country, they were generally as well acquainted with their dwellings, fields ai
places of worship as themselves. They were perfectly acquainted with the roaii
times and places of resort They were at hand to watch all their motions, to A
tack them at every difficult pass and in every unguarded moment. Except sodj
of the thickest settlements and the center of the towns, the countr>- was a \ii
wilderness. This enabled the enemy, not only in small skulking parties, but 1
great bodies, to make their approaches undiscovered, almost to the very midst 0
them: and. under cover of the night to creep into their bams, gardens and out
houses, to conceal themselves behind their fences, and lie in wait for them on ih
roads and in their fields. Sometimes they concealed themselves before their v^,
doors. No sooner did they open them in the morning than they were instand
shot dead. While the English were hunting them in one place they would li
sla\ ing the inhabitants and plundering and burning in another.*'
Although the towns in Connecticut did not suffer from attacks owing to tl
friendly attiiiule of the Indians of this colony there was no telling how soon til
wily King Thili]) would win them over by his arts and blandishments, and ih
towns of Connecticut knew not how soon the hurricane that had broken loo^e i
Massachusetts would sweep into this vicinity.
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EAitLY HISTORY.
The gathering storm looked ominous to the people ol \\ allitigtord and on
Asgnst 27, 1675, they met in town meeting and passed the following votes:
"In respect of the present danger of the Indians it was ordered that y* in-
ialittants secure themselves and the principal! of theyre goods by fortifying about
: ^ h.juscs w*^** houses are to be Mr Samuel Streets and Lieutenant Merrinians &
AxL this work of furtifyinsjf !)c set upon the 28*** August by y^ whole town, &
fcT' wed until it be effected & whosoever fails, to pay a fine of 5 shillings/'
Al>o that every man bring his anmes & amnnmition compleate upon the Sab-
ith ilay \^ he may be able in a fitt posture to do service if need require."
That y** select guard serve as sentinells on \* Sahath and y^ rest of the town
urd 4 nicTi everv Sabbath and 2 everv weeke dav & be warned bv order from v*
•.'';>table by y"" watch & called & y*^ they begin to ward when the watch breaks
and hold on till y* watch be sett again : \ ' they begin and end at y** dawning
shutting in of y® day: and y^ both watch & ward come to y*^ constable and y'
Lr-trc arms may be viewed if they lie accordiiiL,^ to law: this untill further order.
\:ded notwithstanding select guard is not hereby treed from warding on
.veeke days; it is alsoe ordered y« drum beat at y* setting and breaking up
n y- watch."
Sept. 23, 1675 "It was ordered y' y® day workers for y*^ cutting of r.riisli ho
Kri'-rmed y^ next Monday & Tuesday being y^ 27^^ & 28*'' instants \- y" \)v\\m
y '/cat in y* morning vK: y^ persons to work meet at Eleazur Peck's lunise ^ (li>-
Til'Jte 4 i)art> ir > work at y* view part oi y town & y* other 3 persons towards
* I .vver end ot tlu- town <S: that is about y^ South."
■ .*^pt 28 1^175 It was ordered ^ agreed hoping it may be n<» (*tYence to y* Hon-
■raMc Council that as in other towns they have abated of y* nnniber appoimed tor
^jnlin^ considering y- necessities of occasions and inability to hold to ward on
'j'ins of \** towne every day: we also have ])rcsunic(l to make some abatement
ofy* pre^ent until nmre danger appears or our superiors see cause to reduce us
O' lir lomicr injunction.''
"^)ct 5 1675 It was ordered y* those persons y^ live at that end of y"^ towne
there Mr Moss liveth viz Mr Moss Mr Hrocket Serg^ D-M ilitile John I'each Sr
ysiij.-iph Preston W"" Kbnatha, if they see canse to fortify any of their houses
djidi they can agree iii)on for their safety in their time of danger what their first
hatTjcis shall be defrayed out of y« town treasury: alsoe y* any that are willing
> be assistant to make flankers at Lieut. Merriman's barne shall have due reconi-
cnccout of y* town treasury."
"Dec 4 1675 towne consented to be at y® charge of fortifying one house at
* lower end of towne where Scrg* Doolittle liveth.**
**Mar 4 1675-6 these persons were allowed to belong to y« lower garriscm Mr.
-ioss EUasaph Preston W«» Ebnatlia John Peck Jeremiah How Saml Brockett
ibtz Brocket Insign Doolittle John Beach."
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262
A CE^JTURY OF MERIDEN.
*'Mar 4 1675-6 Mr Moss Lieut Merriman & llenj. Lewis chosen a commitie<
to see to the fortifications they be made sutiicient according to true imai
of councils order Mar 3 1675-6."
During the latter part of 1676 all danger from the Indian insurrection bcinj
deemed at an end, on "Oct 4^*^ it was agreed y* all y® labor that has been bestows
upon fortifications >hall be waved & no account be UK'ule al)oul them."
The l)ack of King Philip's insurrection was broken by the terrible tight whici^
took place in what is now South Kingston. R. I., Dec. 19. 1675. It \va> callci
the Swamp Fort fight because the Idians liad erected a fortification or palisaJe*
fort oil some solid ground surrounded un all sides by a horrible swamp. Xo bani<
with the Indians fought in New England can comi)are with it for fierceness
bloodshed except the terrible slaughter of the re(|uot Indians in 1637. ^^'-^
Swamp Fort fight the j)o\ver of the Indians was cunii>letely shattered in that jiai
of the country. Eighty Connecticut men were killed and wounded in this batik
one \\ allingford man, Xathaniel Merriman, Jr., apparently being among the nuir
ber of those slain. Xathaniel Merriman. Sr.. was made Captain of Drag^oons lui
New Haven county on Xov. i, 1675, at a meeting of the Governor and Council, an
was i>rol)al)l} engaged in this fight, judging by the votes of the town of Walling
ford at a later date.
On Jan. 26, 1684 5. " the town showing their respect to those that were enn
ployed in the countrx:^ service in the war flo grant unto Lieut Merriman 10 acrcl
and to the brothers of Nathaniel Merriman that was slain at the fort hght 10 acres
as to the rest of them 5 acres ai)iece which they are to take up together in Him
])lace viewed by the town>men that may not be predudicial to the town, highway
and other grants excepted,"
Feb. 14. 1686, "tile town granted to Lieut. Merriman 8 acres of his soldiers Uo'
joining to a swamp.
The tow n voted tliat John Moss, Jr., should have his 5 acres of soldiers'
in the common field." j
.April 9. 1688. "tow n gTante<l jahez Brocket 5 acres ot land for his ser\'ices ii
the war joining to his father's 40 acres "
Nov. 10, 1US7 town granted Samuel Brocket 5 acres of land for his ser\Ki
in the war joining to his swamp land." '
Dec. 27. 1687, ' town gave Joseph Benham. Jr., 5 acres of land for his servic
in the war joining to his 20 acres on the east side." " Also John Doolittle for 'd
service in the war 5 acre> at a place called Jonathan Meadow."
.\pril g. i(')SS, "town grantetl Roger Tyler 5 acres of soldier land."
Samuel Hough (father of James Hough who established Hough's, now knoui
a> Baldwin's .Mill in the uuriheastern part of Meriden ). was also a soldier in Kin;
Philip's war. fn his will dated in 17 14 he mentions his soldiers land in tli€ Xai
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EARLY HISTORY.
263
ngansett country, and in Bodge's "Soldiers in King Philip's War," his name oc-
curs axnon^ the volunteers (No. 135)^ who were granted land in Xarra^ansett
Township by Connecticut in 1701 as a reward or pension for services in the war.
At die time of his enlistment he lived in Norwich and did not remove to Wal-
lingford until about 1680.
From the foregoing notes the roll of honor of Wallingford men engaged in
Ring Philtp^s War is made up of the following names:
Lieut. Xathaniel Merriman, Joseph Ccnhani, Jr.
Xathanicl Merriman, Jr., John Doolittle,
John Moss, Jr., R<^>ger Tyler.
Jabez Bracket Samuel Hough
Samuel Brocket
I^UISUURG EXfEDiriON.
In the early spring ot 1745 the W w I".iiL,^land colonies sent out the troops on
the Caf>c lireton e.xpedition tliat resulted in the capture of tlic strong: French cita-
'Icl *.r fortrc';'; of Louishurg and filled all the colonics with joy ami c.\ultati( m. and
siirfiri^^ed the military authorities of luii^iand. The names oi a few Wallinj^ t'ord
n.cn have 1 een preserved who took part in tlic expedition. One was Xathaniel
F'etUe who lived in the first society and was appointed at the ]'>hruar\ session
•^'f the General A.ssenibly. "Lieutenant of a company in the regiment <it foot t(t l)e
raided and >eiit frmn this guvernmenl on the expedition against liis Maiesty s ene-
mies a* Caj>e r.reton." Another was Samuel Royce, of Meriden parish, >i'n ot
Deacon Ezekiei Royce. At the October session of the (leneral Assembly a])}>ears
the following : "MeTncrial of Capt. Ezekiei Royce of W allingford praying this
a^^enibly to grant to him the sum of £_'r»-ii-3 money old tenor to be paid out
of the jtnhlick treasury of this colony for that he c\i)en(led the same sum on his
s^n Samuel Rovce lately arrived from C"a])e lireton to \e\v London sick & there
dyed a soldier in the service of this colony." The pclilion was granted.
On the Wallingford record of vital statistics appears the following:
"Men of W allingford who died in Cape Breton.
Elihu Vale Dec 31 1745 Sanuiel Mott Mar 5 1745-6
Jesse Dutton Feb 4 1745-6 Thomas Holt Feb 27 1745-6
Thomas Hitchcock Feby 3 1745-6 Diodate Jones Mar 18 1745-6
Hl>ene2er Culver Feb 6 1745-6 Eleasaph ^lunson Feb i 1745-6
Xathaniel How Feb 27 1745-6
1 9-
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264
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
FRENCH AND INDIAN WARS.
During the scries of campaigns bcgiiming in 1755 and ending in 1762, amh
xnotily known as the b>ench and Indian Wars, Wallingford seems to have beci
represented, although to what extent it is impossible to state.
A number of muster and pay rolls, which narrowly escaped the junk dcaiti
and destruction, have been printed in Volumes iX. and X. oi the Connecticut Hift*
torical Society collections.
These rolls, although of course very incomplete, and a £ew entries on the Wal-
lingford death records, furnish all the information we have relating to the partici^
pation of men in this vicinity, in these very important wars, which sealed the dt-*-
tiny of this continent so far as the influence of France was concerned, for at the
close of this struggle it was settled, once and for all. that the English speakiog
races were to be the masters from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
In the muster roll of a company under the command of Col. Elihu Chauncey,
of Durham, in the year 1755 appear the following unmistakable Wallingford, Mer-
iden and Cheshire names:'
Sergt. I.al):iii Andrus
0>rp. F,van Roice
Samuel Pcntiold
Solomon ^ ale
Aaron Yale
Thomas Yale
Ahcl Curtis
Joseph \\'a\e
Ikujuuiin I'enn
John Davis
.iawkins Hart
Jos. Moss
l lmmas Merwin
Jac(il) I'raucis
Al)!-'" Hall
Titus 1 lall
Dan^i Mates
John Sutlitl"
Klihu AtuatiT
John Hitchcock
Elisha Steele
Moses Heach
Street Mall, of Wallingford. was made captain of a company of ConnectKii^
men on the pay and encouragements"- of Xew York, in the same year, but ap^
parently there were no men from his home town in his commaml. I
The colc»nies won a rather barren victory at Lake (ieorge on September 8ih
and two Wallingford men met a hard fate in the field. Abijah Ives, Jr., in Major
Isaac Foot's Comj)any, lost an arm in the battle*^ and James, the son of Evan Rovs^
was killed at the same time ; while Moses, the brother of .Abijah Ives, Jr.. tiled Xof.
13, 1755,^ and Justus Kellogg* on Xov. 17, 1755. both in camp.
1 Conn. UiHt. Soc. CoU VoL IX.. pp. 48-49.
2 Idem p. C5.
3 Idem p. 87.
4 Walllnsford rvcord of dcatbs.
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EARLY UISTORV,
Xo names of Wallingford men can be found in the rolls of 1756, but in the
Campaign of 1757, Ephraira Preston,^ of Wallingford, was made captain in Col.
Lyman's Regiment and we find the following representatives of Wallingford or
Meriden families in his command:
Ebenezer I'rindle Levi Muiison
He/ck'^ I>m-ket . Ichabod Stark
TiiTiuilu Llri^tnl Henry Look
.Ambrose London
These men were in service from eight to nine months and probably were in
Fort William Henry on Lake George, under the command of CoL Monroe,
«ho was forced to surrender by the Marquis Montcalm on August 9th, for one
member of the company, Israel Calkins, was carried a prisoner to France.^
Id the same campaign was the following company from Wallingford and Mer-
idea:
>ann;cl Hull, Captain -
diaries IVck
[•"-ir»s llrooks. Lieutenant
Saniiu'l lJuulitlle
Kl ci:c/cr r>iMinell, Lieut (of Cheshircj Abraham Stanley
j(»el ilolcouib. l-'.nsign
Hawkins Hart
l>enj. Culver. Scrgt.
A -a Francis
Stephen Culver, Sergt.
Charles Vale
Llnathan fves Corp.
Diamond Berrv
I^aac Ix'tys Corp.
Joseph Merriam
Joseph -Miles
Tim" Roys
Daniel I)iM)litlle
John T\cs
Uilci. Duolitile
Joshua Ives
Samuel Tyler
Lend Collins
1 liad'' Carter
Ebenezer Mattoon
Street "^'ale
Elijah Scovel
.\nios Hosford
Nath» Cook
In the campaign of 1758 when General Abercrombie made an unsuccessful at-
tonpt to capture Fort Ticonderoga, and gallant Lord Howe was killed in the first
charge, there was one company present in which were a few Meriden men. Daniel
Hough was ensign of Captain Wadsworth's Company and with him as a private
was his future son-in-law. Benjamin Curtis, as well as Moses Curtis, who died
July 21, Abraham Hall, Isaac Cook. Jr.. and Benj. Rexford. ^ and the Wallingford
death records give us the following information : Joseph Thorp died in battle on
1 damn. HlA Boe. Col.. Vol. IX . pp. 192-3.
I<l«'m pp 234 -."S.
3 I4ktak Vol. pp, 48-6.
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266
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
September 13, Br. Jesse Lewis died in camp October 20 and Benjamin Cook died
in the government service at Stillwater, N. Y., on October 28. In the same cam-
paign Caleb Atwater was injured in Rogers' fight August 8th,* and Abner Curtis
was in a Sotithtngton company under Captain Lewis.
In the campaign of 1759 the following Meriden men served in a company un-
der Captain Amos Hitchcock, of New Haven ; Abner Curtis, ensign ; Nathaniel
Yale, corporal; Ephraim Berry, Benjamin Curtis, Benjamin Rcxford, Samuel
Rovce and Ichabod Stark.^
Winfield S. Curtis, of Meriden, a descendant of Abner Curtis, has in his pos-
session an old powder horn bearing this inscription : '*£nsign Abner Curtiss s' Horn
made at Crown point Sept 26 1759." He was made ensign of 7th company in
regiment of foot commanded by Nathan Whiting colonel Mar. 22, 1759 and 2d
lieutenant of same regiment Mar. 24, 1760, according to commissions preserved
with the powder horn. The Wallingford records tell us that Moses Doolittlc died
at Lake George Nov. 13, 1759. In the campaign of 1760, Abner Curtis was second
lieutenant of Captain Hitchcock's company, and with him were Abraham Hall,
Ephraim Berry and AniluKsc London, of Meriden and Wallingford. and in a
Southini^^ton company under Captain Clark were llenjamin Culver, first lieutenant,
Daniel Hall and Michael Mitchell and probably Ebenezer Prindle, of Meriden and
Wallingford.^
In the campaign of 1761 Ebenezer Prindle and Waitstill Yale, of Meriden
served in Captain hitch's company and in Captain Hitchcock's company served
Samuel and William Andrews and Abraham Hall^ of Meriden. In the roll of
the company it is stated that the latter man died on Sept. 17, and this statement
is confirmed by the Wallingford death records.
In the campaign of 1758 a number of Meriflcn nnd Wallingford men were
engaged in transporting supplies to the army at Lake George. In the issue of
the Connecticut (iazettc of Dec. 30 that year appears a communication reading,
"whereas there has been a great number of teams employed in his Majestys ser-
vice to the northward in carting, and it appears that the contractors intend that
the owners t)f the teams shall pay for all the Indian corn and forage that they had
the \\hnle of the time * * * * * ,^,,,1 HK-ewise thcv do not intend to pav
but tor five days out of seven before the forces went over the Lake, " etc. ele. ; the
letter then says that a man has been sent to Albany to find out what can l>e done
and that all must act together, and ai»i»(»intini^ a meeting of the owners nu January
10 at Mr. Hinsdale's tavern at the Great Swamp (Kensington). This letter is
1 Conn. Hi^t. Soc. Col. Vol. X.. p. 92.
2 IdtJin jip- 1^"-S.
3 Aboer Curtis lived Id Hansing H1U« Woods district just w««it of th« Allea form. Ho r«moT«d to
F:irnifnRton in ITtU.
4 Conu. Hist. Soc. Col. Vol. X.. pp.
5 Idem pp. 266-7.
6 CODD. Hist. 8or. Col. Vol. X., p. 272.
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EARLY HISTORY.
267
ji^ned by the folluwing .Moridcn men: jcdediah Xortmi, Elnatlum Ives, Timothy
Krister, John (\>le. Titus Ives rind Edward Collins, and by Eliakini Hall, Street Hali
^.nd David Cuuk, of \Vallingfi>rd.
The next meeting; was called for February 7 at Mr, Kubinson's tavern in Mer-
i<kn. \\ hat was the outcome docs not appear.
REVOLUTIONARY WAR.
T!icse various cami)aigns of the French and Indian War, in which the Amer-
ican j cuplc had played so glorious a part, taught them their strength as a military
torce, trained officers and men in the game of war, and made them begin to real-
ize, dimly perhaps, the manifest destiny that the future had in store for the Amer-
ican people.
Both England and the colonies had gone to great expense in prosecuting these
campaigns, and although the Americans were already saddled with a great debt^
England was determined to get their aid in assisting her to pay for a war, which,
as her statesmen said, was waged purely for the benefit of the colonies. Conse-
quently the stamp act was passed, and every one knows with what fury the news
was received in this country.
Before the colonies knew that the obnoxious law had been repealed Walling-
ford freemen met in town meeting on January 13, 1766, and voted the following
ringing preamble and resolution :
''Whereas it appears from ancient Records and other Memorials of incontesta-
ble Validity that our Ancestors with a great Sum purchased said Township at their
own Expense, planted with great Peril, possessed and defended the same : (and we
were free bom) having never been in Bondage to any ; an Inheritance of inesti-
mable Value.
Voted and Agreed^ that if any of said Inhabitants shall introduce, use, or im-
prove any stampt vellum, parchment or Paper, for whicli Tax or Tribute is or
may be demandable, such Person or Persons shall incur the Penalty of 20* — to
recovered by the Selectmen of said Town for the Time being, for the use of
the Poor of said Town.
This order to continue in Force until the next meeting of said Inhabitants in
Town meeting."
This act was one of rebellion and independence ; it was not like a riot, wliere
the body politic can plead non -participation : it was the solemn vote of the free-
men in town meeting assembled.
That this was a mucli bolder note than was sounded by any other town of the
colony at that time seems certain, for Bancroft mentions it in his History of the
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268
A CEMTUBY OF UERIDEN.
United States^ in a way that shows he thought it deserving of special notice, and
the press of the period spread it broadcast through this and neighboring colonies.
The obnoxious act was repealed in January, 1766. That a second one should
have been voted by Parliament in 1767 seems like the act of insane men and almost
justifies a belief in the old saying: ''Whom the Gods would destroy they first
make mad."
The rapid succession of events which followed, intensifiecl the excitement and
ripened the American people for armed resistance and independence. The "Bos-
ton Harbor tea party/' the Massj^chusotts Act and Boston Port Bill w ere fitting
preludes to the coniinLr drama, and at last the mutterings of the great Revolution
bc.^an to be heard. What had been but a little fleck in the sky now overcast the
whole heavens and sorrow and anxiety filled the hearts of all.
Meetings and resolutions agitated the \vh(^le American people and W'allingford
was no exception to the rule and the following letter w hich a|)peared in the Con-
necticut Journal of September 9, 1774, is an evidence of the feelings that existed
in this community.
"WaUingford Sept i 1774
Although there are too many among us of tory principals ; yet there arc God
be thanked not a feic true sons of Constitutional liberty. As a demonstration of
this about an hundred of these respectable gentlemen did on Monday last as a
public proof of their sentiments and patriotic resolutions at an elm tree in this
town sacred to liberty erect a Liberty Pole an hundred and ten feet high : on
which they have this day hoisted a pendant bearinj^ Liberty and underneath the
British I'nion l lag bearinj^^ the words The Co>i::^ress in honor of the q^eneral Con-
gress which are to meet this (la\ at J Miiladelphia : and to testif\ their warmest and
sincerest wishes that a spirit of Liberty. I/nion. Wisdom and i'lrmness mav j>re-
vail in that rtsjjcctahle and imj)ortant Body: and kindle more and more through
every class of men in British America."
On Xov. 27. T774. a town meeting: was held at which a committor >f corre-
spondence was appointed " lu receive anil communicate snch intcllif^cnee as mav
tend to maintain Peace and I'nion in this and neii,dil>orine; colonies, " and a vote
of thanks was given Dr. Dana for opening the meeting with prayer and for his pa-
triotic speech.
The situation in Wallinglord onl\ scr\ es to illustrate the conditions all over the
cuunlry ; Ci>rrc5.pundence on the vital qn est ions at issue was flyins^ from town to
town: meetiners were being held, resolutions passed and the line of cleavage be-
tween England and the colonics was growing wider and wider. Events moved
fast and at last the storm breaks.
1 Vol. 111., p. 172^ Ed. 1883, aulhor's last revision, hiiys "The town ot WaUingford voted a One of
20 abllllnsB on mnj et lis lnb«bU*ntB 'that staouM vm or Improve mn? stomped Vellum or poper' : It*
Sooe of Liberty were mij to 'oppooe the uncondittoool stamp act to tbe lao^ extremltyt even to take
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EAKLV HISTORy.
269
At ten o'clock on the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere stands waiting on
the Oiarlestown shore watching the belfry of the old North church in Bos-
ton, to learn by a prearranged signal if the British troops are to leave Boston
^hat night in an expedition to seize Adams and Hancock at Lexington. At last
ihe lights are hung out, the signal is given, and into the blackness of the night
Paul Revere spurs his steed on that immortal ride. The alarm is given and all
»Ioog the line the British find the farmers prepared to receive and give them a
rann reception.
The news of the day at Lexington and Concord spreads like wildfire through
the cok)nies. Patriots hesitate no more and ardent* eager men go hurrying to-
wards Boston. WalKngford sends two companies* one from Meriden under
Captain John Couch and the other from the older parishes under Captain Isaac
Cook.
Under Captain Couch were 38 men as follows:
John Hough, Lieut.
Samuel Rice
Divan Berry, Ensign
Nathaniel Yale
Ezekiel Rice, Sergt.
Rufus Hall
Samuel Hall, Sergt.
Phineas Lyman
Phineas Hough, Corp.
Joel Hall
David Ives, Corp.
John Butler
Daniel M*' Mullen. I*ifer
( iideon Rice
Kphraim .Merriam, Fifer
Samuel Johnson
I'.cnjamin Rice, Private
John Merriam
I'ela Warner
John Pearce
Joseph Shaler
Seth Smith
Moses Hal!
Asael Deming
Samuel Collins
Israel Hall. Jr.
Jonathan Vale
Aaron Hull
Ensign Hough
Elnathan Ives
Enos Ives
Hpaphras Knott
Isaac Livingston
John .\Ilen
lienjamin Hart
Sanniel Rriggs
Christopher Atwater
Moses Baldwin
L nder Captain Cook were 59 men as follows :
James Peck. Lieut 16 days
>'imuel Barnes. Ensign 8 days
Samuel Culver. Sergt 8 days
•Wd Cwiey, Sergt.. 8 days
Isaac Dotilittle, Clerk.
Miles Sperry
Knos Mix
Ambrose Cook
8 days
8 days
8 days
8 davs
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Amos Austin 8 days
Samuel Mattoon 8 days
•Gi\leon Bristol 8 days
Joel Moss 8 days
Oleb Hull 8 days
John Ives, 3'** 8 days
Samuel .Merriam 8 days
•Ciiles Cook 8 days
Joel Matoon 8 days
Samuel Hall, 3'* 8 days
Daniel Slcad 8 days
Jonathan Slcad 8 days
Samuel Hull 8 days
Rice Hopson 8 days
•Ciiles Curtiss 8 days
Peter Peck 8 days
Abner Avcrcd. jr . . . 8 days
Joseph Dartlioloinew 8 days
Amasa Yale 8 days
diesler Hale 8 days
Aaron Ives 8 days
Amos Mix 8 days
Archelaus Allen 8 days
Ambrose Ives 8 days
Oliver Hitchcock, Jr 8 days
Titus Hall 8 days
Jesse Street 8 days
Ebenezer Warner 8 days
Chas. Culver 8 days
Joseph Wolcott 16 days
Calvin Hopson 16 days
John Booth 16 days
John Slade 18 days
Timothy Hart, Jr. 18 days
Nathaniel Hart, Jr 18 days
Ephraim Chambers, Sergt,...34 days
Daniel Johnson, Sergt 34 days
Amos Fowler 34 days
Amos Davies 34 days
Daniel Bailey 34 days
John Mecar 34 days
David Ward 34 days
Stanton ]\ichardson 34 days
Daniel Smith 34 days
Charles Tuthill 34 days
Samuel Mills 34 days
PcMijainin C'lirittonden 34 days
Thomas Dudley 34 days
Jesse \ orse 34 days
Daniel Lindsey 34 days
Samuel iicnham 34 days
The Alciidcn men were out only seven days, hardly time tn 21:0 to Bosiuii and
return. They doubtless received notice while on the marcii .li t iheir service-
were not needed. The news nt tlie ilattle of Concord reached \\ aihngford by noon,
on Friday, the Jist of April, and the companies set out on the expedition on the 23rd
and 24th. James Lockwood writing from \\ allingford under date of April J4lh.
says: "Col. Wadsworth was over at this place most of yesterday and has ordered
twenty men out of each company of his Regiment, some of which had already set
off and others go this morning ***** Jiie country beyond here are
all gone."* Samuel Kilboum rendered an account for ferrying "across Connec-
ticut River at Hartford" in the Lexington alarm Capt. Couch, of Meriden, with
18 men, 4 horses and i waggon * Also Lupt. Cook of Wallingford.
1 TtfTord of Cona. Men In the ReroluUon, p. 4.
2 Idem p. 24.
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EARLY HISTORY.
271
Shortly after the alarm the Legislature issued the first call for troops. The
reginiciil was recruited in Xew Haven county and about Sept. 28 it marched to
the Xorthern Department and took part in operations along Lakes George and
iliamplain under General Schuyler.
Captain Isaac Cook, of VVallingford, was in this campaign and in his com^
pany were the following Meriden men who had been in Capt. Couch*s company
doring the Lexington alann :
John Hough, ist Lieut. Isaac Livingston
Samuel Hall, Sergt. Phineas Lyman
Israel Hall Moses Ha}i
Gideon Rice Rufus Hall
John Pierce • Jared Benham
In the Siege of Boston, which took place after the Battle of Bunker Hill, there
were certainly Meriden men engaged, although the only official record of service
is that of Captain John Couch.^ Doubtless, several of the compan> he commanded
at the time of the Lexington Alarm were with him before Boston. He was in
Col. Wadsworth*s regiment which reached there towards the end of Januarv , 1776.
The names of only two men in Capt. Couch's Conipanx- have come down to us in
a trustworthy form. Among the papers in the Oliver Rice homestead is a letter
written by Ezekiel Rice when in camp at Roxbury in the early part of that year.
The letter mentions the name of another Meriden man as with him, viz. Samuel
Scovil.
'These lines to my family and all friends, wishing them health as through the
goodness of God I enjoi at present except a Bad Cold but not sick. Our people
are all well so as to eat there aLowance for it is as Good for soldiers as can be ex-
pected: we have a pound of good Bread a day : 17 ounces of pork and 2 pound of
Beef Salt or 2^ fresh for 3 days : not any saus only peas one day in a week : we
liave a good house to quarter in all the Company in one House the Sergeants and
the Corprils and Drumer are in one Room and a man freed from Duty to Cook for
[us]. I have not time to write much of the Sercomstances of things: there hath
not Ben any fireing from one Camp to the other sence we came Hear: the Regelers
went out 3 days after our arivel at Night & took six prisoners at Dojesters I Dor-
chester's] pint and burnt 5 or Six housen and bams : three of the prisoners are Re-
turned back: one man 2 women: the others are there: on the 22 instant I was on
gard and had the comand of the Gard at the Left hand fort down by the Neck,
our Centery is about 80 Rods out on the Mash the advance gard with in about 60
or 70 Rods of them. I had jest sent the Corperil to Relieve the Sentry when En-
1 Coon. Hi«L 80c Col. Vol. VIII.. p. 13-1.
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272
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
sign L.\ man came to me about 6 Clock at night and told me that he had liberty from
the General to try for there gard. I cmcdietly went the Rounds to the Sentry and
told them and in Half an Hour from that time he with ten men took of there ad-
vance gard which consisted of 3 men only which he Brought to our gard : he went
around then in the Dark of the evening in the storm of snow and hail and cam the
way that their Relief come and they thought it Relief for them till he demanded
their armes ; they are sent to Head Quarters : the same night between one and two
of the Clock I was ordered to bring the advance gard back in sight of the Brest
work which I Did and told them to be still and I would go and see if the Regelers
had set their Sentry again, when I went under the covert of a fence within about
12 or 15 Rods of their Lines where I staid about a quarter of an -hour and could
here nor see nothing : I went to the chimneys where their Station was but there was
no gard their that night: the above was their advance gard. We expect to go on
to Dojesters pint very soon and there an action will come on I expect. We have
Hard Duty once in three Days, on gard or on feteeg [fatigue] it is thought tliat
the enemy will Due their best if we strike Dojestcr. We Have had 7 or 8 Hun-
dred men to cut fasheans [fascines] for a week past to cary there, and how soon
we shall go I know not. I cant write no more for it is allmost dark. I would be
glad to have some of our friends come and see us and the extrordinary things which
are Hear for which I presume they will not Begrug their time and expense
^j^^ Anctious to hear from Home for I have not heard
a word sence I set out and Rather than fail I would irive something to have some
of our Brotliers come and see us: let them take the old mear if they want a florse
if she is in goofl state. I want not for money at present tho we have Received
none. We have sider at 2 Dolers a barril : we hope to Receive our bills but it is
unsertain when
I must Desist tho with Rch^rtance and Recomend you my Dear and our chil^
drcTi with myself to the Disposal of a kind providence who orders all things for
the Best hopinjj in Due time I shall be Returned in health and safty to you. So I
remain your AfTct tionate friend and Husband Ezekiel Rice
Rnxhtiry Camp Kcbruar)' y* 25
My duty to our Parents
Sanniel Scovil is sick with the i)Iurisy in the horspital tel Asahel to call Dady
and I hope I shall hear him in a Short time."
\\ itlnn Q'\^ht days after this letter was wi ilten W asliin.i;lon had found a place
for the fascines, for on the night of March 4th Dorchester Heights wa> seized and
when ni»>rnini; dawned the British saw witli astonishment the hastily constructed
fortifications and the siege guns in place, and on March 17 they evacuated r>osti)n.
The I'.ritish having departed (ieneral Washington and his army set out for
Xew York, and that the Meriden men went with him is certain although there is
no ofticial record of the fact.
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I
EARLY HISTORY. 273
But there are two letters in existence that prove this : one was written just
before the battle of Long Island which occurred Aug. 27, 1776. It is as follows:
*'Ncw York, August 24th, A. D., 1776
To Mr Oliver Rice of Meriden with care
Dear Cousin
After my regards to you I take this oppertunity to write to you and hope
tint these Lines will find you welt as they Left me and I pray God to continue
m health to me : it is a very sickly time with us here there has Six Died out of
«ir Regiment sence we came here two of them out of our Company. I have no
great Xews to write only that the Regulars have Landed on Long Island and our
make all the preparation to Defeit them that is possible. Meriden Melisha
^■■■i got in all well : there is a fine Number of men on our Side and with the help
f ' lod we shall be able to Conqur our enemy, I shall write no more at present
£at please to send me a letter so I remain your Loving Cousin and Htimblc Servt
Joseph Rice
Give m> regards to all inquiring friends. I would send Aunt Deborah but
paper is very Dear and so please exaise me."
{'lit the Continental troops did not win and the army was compelled to move
lit of \ew York. The next two letters were written by Ezekiel Rice, and evi-
iently do not display very bright hopes as to the future.
*'New York Sept. 7 1776
Lovinq^ wife These leave me in comfortahle Ilelth as I wish tliey may tind you
iv4 all our family: we are moved 2 miles out of tlie City. We have no tents but
t'ru<;h and many of our people are sickly: our living is very poor our Uoctcrs
y<i\'t jio things to Docter with and many of our folks Die. But none out of Mer-
':en yet tho there arc many sick: there is no likdy Hoods of any being Dismist
•\:tb out there is Sfunebody to helpe them home: they did Dismiss a numl)er at
i'>t and some of them well which made the Generals very sharp and at ])re-ent
■ley wont Keleas any. I do not exj)ect to be Released until ilic Regiment is: if
I hk\v my health and 1 know not when that will be. I wish it nu*»^ht ))c sooji for
to come home more than ever [ Did before. Xoah .\ustiu i.s gaining >o!ne.
' Hoiilfj Ixj glaf] tliat you would send me a horse as soon as you hear that the
•Iu.<;he arc Dismist: if it should come to New York T would not care: there is
» news to tell you of ******* * I uant to have vow write mc
line for I have not heard from yon one word sence I come from home —
UMcr Deborah my sincere I-ove to }ou and all the family
I am &c
l^ekiel Rice."
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274
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
"New York Sept 8 17;^
1 take a miiiits time to write a line to you in the op( mi field while I trust aii
hope you are at publick Worship which 1 am Deprived ot. Yesterday 1 wrote I
you by a Hartford man which he was to leave at the Widow Robinson : we 11
a mooveing to day about a mile further from the city. Last night the cannd
began to play on our fourt at Hell gate and they continue their fire today : it
expected that the enemy will exert them selves to the utmost against us and pc
haps we are in the greatest Danger of all most any as we expect they will laa
near by us : we know not when the trying hour will come on but it is expected soc
by the wisest men in the Army. God grant us success. We are very sickly wil
the Camp Distemper and many Die tbcrewitli and no Doubt but that many wi
be wounded and fall in the Day of Battle and wliy not I as well as any. I pn
God prepare for all events, there is no likely whods of our being Distrust soon as tt
situation of the Army is as it is. As to Business it is Sabath Day and I cant ^ti
much. But conduct it as well as you can with out over doing : provisions of 1
sorts are extreme Dear: the Inhabitence v:Wc five Dolers a 100 for tlower; wum.
9 pence a pound and other things as high and some higher in proporlion. Bi
I must Dissist. Commending you to the \\ i?e Disposal of our all wise God it
vently. Asking his grace for me and each <>f you that we ma\ be kept by hisi
mighty power tbrough faith to Etarnel Sulvatision through Christ. I am vflj
Desirous to here from home once innrc as I have not sin^ I came from thereJ
ask a Remembrence with you at the Throne of Divine grace as each of you ha
with me. Farewell my loving wife, Dear Sister and all the family.
EzekieJ Ric^
To Mrs Lydia Rice I
My duty to my r.irciit- .ni.l love to all. 1 have sent Brothers and Sisters «|
friends this is the forth kter." ^
The Continentals were compelled to evacuate the island of ^lanhattaii :\u
then retired to White Plains where the British again attacked them on ( )ct- J
But some time before this battle took place there had evidently been an cnc:iiip
ment of some sort where some Meriden men were stationed for a letter dated Hxi
seems to show that such was the case. i
"White Plains Angst 19 17;^^
Miss Shailer These Hues leve me in halth, hope they will find you so. *!
want to have my shirts which you mentioned sent by the first opi>ortiniity tljj
Presents. My coniplyments to all friends. 1
These from yours, Joseph Shailer 1
White Plains .Ai'gust the 20th since T wrote the above Elijah Hall hath
into camp, Saith Mr Cobin is a coming down on Monday next I should be gli
EARLY HISTORY.
2/5
iend me the art of speaking i£ Mr Cobin \\n\\h\ take the i rouble to
ill reward him well for it Yours Sincerely Jo. Shailer
(Addressed)
haiier: Meriden"
g is another letter of later date from Joseph Shaylor or Shailer to Eze-
"Constitution Island (West Point)
Feby 12 1781
e me in health : I ariv'd saif in Camp in four Days after leaving Mer-
' affairs are as usule. all hands hearty : we have Just enough to keep
idy from parting, but hope for Good times : Our Newengland Lines
ihemselves immortal Honour, in hairing with patience, those incon-
- which the Southern Troops have revolted, tho they were much better
n our line *♦*♦***♦****♦♦*
make my Compliments to sister and all Friends.
Yoi*r Most obedient
Jos. Shailer
haylor^ served continuous!} in the anny from the beginning to the
ar and attained the rank of 1st Lieutenant, and was a member of the
Cincinnati. He was in the battles of Long Island, White Plains, and
the storming and capturing of Stony Point under *"Mad" Anthony
1779* one of the most brilliant exploits during the war.
btful if the Meriden men whose letters have been given, viz: Ezekiel
Rice, were in Capt. Couch's company at the time of the campaign in
City and vicinity for the captain was at that time in Cot. Bradley's
Genera] Wadsworth*s brigade which ''was stationed the greater ])art
ler and early fall of 1776 at Bergen Heights and Paulus Hook (now
In October it moved up the river to the vicinity of Ft. Lee» then
'al Greene's command. In November most of the regiment was sent
iver to assist in defending Fort Washington which on the fall of the
ber 16 was captured with the entire garrison."-
Couch was taken prisoner and also the following Meriden men in his
■%» on Gravel ftrcet on the west side, a Itttl" -mth of liaUlwln avenue. It was In this
mioorily partj ot the church b«ld their Mervii-i-ii after Uev. John Hubbard began to
baylor later moved to Ohio.
In the Rerotutloo. p. 414.
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A CENTURV OF MERIDEN.
compativ: (Gideon Ives, John Pierce, Nathaniel Yale,^ Samuel Rice, Jonathan Hall,
Benjamin Austin, Gideon Rice, Stephen Atwater and Moses Hall.
John Couch was in a British prison on Long Island for some time after this
capture. In the State Library at Hartford in Revolutionar>' War documents, \ ol.
XIL, pp. 130-181, are preserved various receipts for money conveyed by the state
to men in prison on Long Island, 1777. John Couch's name is among the num-
ber oi those signing. He evidently gained his freedom during the year, lor !ic
appears as captain of a company in a militia regiment ordered to Peekskiil in
1777. His name does not ai^ain occur among the records.
Lsaac Hall, Jr., son oi JJr. Isaac Hall. ua> apparently captain of a company
of nulitia which was in 1776 attached to a regiment of Light Iriorsc. In 1777 he
was in service in Xew York and "parts adjacent," and in 1779, according to some
old military papers found in the W allingford town vault within recent years, men
were detached from Ci\\n. Isaac IlalTs company to go to Greenwich, and hih name
appears in the roll of those companies doing service in the Tryon invasion of New
Haven, 1779.
Divan Ikrry was second lieutenant of a company in Bradley's battalion. Wads
worth's Brigade, and was at Fort Washington but it does nut appear that he wa>
captured. From July to November, 1776, he was second lieutenant in Prentice's
comjiany and was at Ticonderoga under General ( iates. In the year 1779 he was
a captain under Major Smith's command, and was on coast guard duty at Ilor-^e-
ncck near Greenwich this state, during the time of the ilntish ex])edition up the
Sound under Tryon. In 1780 he was a captain in the 17th regiment.
John lluugh was a lieutenant iu Capt. Isaac ( Ook's Company. On Sept. 28J
1775. the regiment was ordered to the Northern Department under General SchuyJ
ler and was engaged in operations, along Lakes George and Chaiiiplam. They
assisted in the lednctiuu of St. John and were stationed for a while at Montreal.
Many se'hliers in this company became sick and were nuistered out Oct. -Nov.
John Hough was also in Captain Hammond's cumpany. Third battalion, imder Col-J
onels Spencer and Wooster in 1776 and 1777, which did service in this state. In
October, 1777, he was in Colonel Baldwin^s regiment ordered to Fishkill. In
1779 he was a captain in a company that served during the Tryon invasion andi
in 1780 he was captain in the Seventh militia regiment.
Asaph Merriam enlisted in the Sixth Connecticut regiment on April 24. 1777,
and served three years and was made a pensioner in 1832. He was in Captain!
etch's' company at the time so many were captured in 1776, but he was not made
a prisoner. The Sixth regiment saw a great deal of service. "It went into camp!
in Peekskiil in the summer of 1777. but frequently was detached on expeditions or'
1 Mrs. Nnthan nHUiwin sajrs Nathaniel Yale, who WM a carpenter, was sent aerofla tha rlTcr to do
work and was not captured.
2 Conn. Hl.'-t, Soc. Col.. Vol. VIII . pp. 20e.-2(»7.
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EARLY HISTORY.
outpost duty on the line above Kings Bridge. It served in Aug.-Oct. on the Hud*
son, in Parsons Brigade, under Putnam, and engaged in all movements made in
onsequence of enemy's move against Fort Montgomery. It wintered '77''78 at
West Point, and assisted tn constructing permanent fortifications, etc. In oper-
ations of 1779 it served with Connecticut division on east side of Hudson, and
perinps engaged at storming of Stony Point July 15, *7g. On discovery of Ar-
Dolds treason, it was ordered to West Point in anticipation of advance of the
oemy." Lieut. Joseph Shaylor was witii this regiment.
Chatham Freeman, the slave of Noah Yale, who earned his freedom by serv-
ing in the room of his master during the war, was in this regiment for three
^tais. He was made a pensioner in 1818. Others who served in this regiment
vere Moses, Rufus, and Jonathan Hall, Levi Robinson^ and Joseph Cohan.
In the month of October, 1777, Lieut. Colonel Baldwin's regiment of militia
ns ordered to the Hudson at Fishkill to aid the Continental army. They were
<»t perhaps thirty days, and probably saw no active service. In the regiment
^ere these Meriden officers,, viz. Capt. Bezaleel Ives, Lieut. John Hough and
CapL Dan Collins.
The following accounts of service by various Meriden men have been ex-
: tractcd from Record of Connecticut Men in the Revolution :
.^bner Andrews was in the 5th Regiment and served 3 years and was most of
die time stationed on or near the Hudson river.
I^mberton Clark is mentioned by Mr. Perkins as among the men from Mer-
iden who served, but he enlisted in Middletown and did not move to Meriden
until some time after peace was declared : he was drujiimer in Col. Sherburne's
r^^ment, and also served with Capt. Heart in the ist regiment.
Benjamin Rexford was in Capt. Leavenworth's ompany in the 6th regiment
for 3 years and saw most of his ser\'icc near the Hudson.
Edmund Merriam was a corporal in Capt. Robertson's company in the 2d reg-
iment and also in the 4th regiment : he was stationed at W'cst Point in 1783.
David Rol)orts, a pensioner in 1818, was in Capt. Shepherd's company in Gen-
eral Wolcott's brigade at Peekskill in 1777. and was also in Capt. Johnson's com-
{■any. W'adsworth's brigade at Fort Washington in *j6, and was made prisoner:
^ residence was in Middletown. however, until after the Revolution.
Jnthnm Hall, a pensioner in 1818, served in Capt. Richards company, 2d Reg-
iffient, and was in General Lafayette's army at the siege of Yorktown.
James Baldwin, at the time a resident of Cheshire, was in Capt. Barnes' com-
p^ny, militia refi:inK'iit. ijyj, enlisted in Capt, Sizer's company in a regiment of
artificers, 1778. and was at P>raii<l\ wine. Germantown. Mniimouth and elsewhere,
in .service with the regiment: he was a pensioner in 1818.
I GracdNOii of CapL Josiah Kobinsou,
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278 A CEN'TURV OF MBRIDEX.
Ephratm Merriam was a fifer all through the war and was with Capt,
company when Ft. Washington was captured in 1776: but the records do not
that he was made prisoner : he was in Capt. Barker's company under Lafayette
the siege of Yorktown and in Capt. Potter's company, 2d regiment, at West
in 1783. He was a pensioner in 18 18.
Isaac Atwater, a boy of sixteen, was in the campaign around New Yorfc
1776 and retreated with the army to Harlem and White Plains.
Josiah Merriam was in the first troop of .Col. Sheldon's Light Dragoons fn
1777 to 1783, and saw service at Germantown and under Gates against Burgon
David Hall, a pensioner in 1818, was in Capt Edwards* company in Col. ¥
terbury*s regiment on sea coast duty in 1781, but began his military career
Capt. Couch's company and was at Fort Washington in 1776 but according
records was not made a prisoner. In 1777 he enlisted in Captain Leavenwora
company of Sixth regiment and served three years.
Joash Hall was in the Danbury Raid April, 1777 ; his horse was killed imj
him, for which the state reimbursed him. |
Abner Rice was in Captain Couch's company and was with the commasxij
Fort Washington but evidently not taken prisoner.
Samuel Rice was paid a bounty by Wallingford to serve in 1781.
Black Boss, a negro slave of Abel Curtis, is stated in Perkins* Histor
Sketches, to have been a soldier in the Revolution : on a roll or report of the t«i
of Wallingford 1779 in the State Library, appears the name of Boston negro, n
to the name of Chatham negro.
Archelaus Allen, a soldier in the Lexington alarm, and afterwards in Ci
Street Hall's company in the 7th regiment, is generally accounted a Meriden 1
dier in the Revolution, but he did not move from the 1st society to Meriden 11
after the war. He was the grandfather of the late Deacon E. C. Allen, of M
den, and the late John Allen, of Saybrook.
Ebenezer and Joel Cole were both in Capt. Couch's company in 1776
probably they were the Meriden men whose Christian names were the same
whose surname was Cowles.
Xathaniel Douglas, Justus Rice, Joel Hall and Thomas Spencer were in C
Couch's company but, according to the records, were not captured.
Solomon Rice, who was also in this company, shared the fate of Capt Cn
and for some time languished in a British prison on Long Island.
Samuel Collins was first a musician and later a sergeant in Conn. Line ff
1777 to 1 78 1 and went south to Yorktown under Gen. Lafayette.
Phineas Hough was a corporal in Capt. Russell's Company, Wadsworth'f I
gade, and died in the army August i, 1776, just after being promoted
Benjamin Hart and Wait Rice were both pensioners, so they must have
Israel Johnson was a corporal in Capt. , HalVs company and enlisted for tli
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EARLY HISTORY.
cars in 1777. Isaac Rice was at W est i'uint in 1781 in militia reginient and Jothani
Rice was at \'orktown in Lafayette s army in 1783.
No doubt other Meridcn men saw service in the Continental army, but their
vkims in the official reconl>. if tlKic they occur, cannot he positively identified as
^don^rincr t<> men from tliih vicinity. The lack of a middle name, an almost uni-
versal cii>i<'iii at the time, and the failure to give the addresses of the great ma-
rity of the soldiers in the records, makes it generally unwise to assume an ad-
■Iress.
The PiHtish expedition up the Sound, under (leneral Tryon, came to anchor
Xcvv Uaveii harbor about midnight on Sunday, July 4, 1779. No doubt l)eacon
rri-s and sctirrying horsemen soon carried the new s throngli the surrotinditif^ eoun-
■!■}. aful probably by daybreak of the 5th. the various luibtia eoinj)anies in this and
ailioining parts of the state were on the iiuoch for \eu Haven.
The British trm^ps, about 3.000 strong, were landed al daylireak on tlie cast
and west shores, and New Haven was soon in possession of the enein\ , and .several
buildings were fired, a number of people killed and numerous outrages committed.
On the East Haven side there were many encounters with the local militia and
sharp fighthig a good part of the day.
The swiftly gathering companies from up the state soon convinced the British
that their positioti was untenable and on the evening of the 6th they endiarked and
wt sail for Kew York, stopping on the way at Fairfield and Xorwalk, where they
committed greater devastation and havoc than at New Haven.
From Meriden two companies and from Wallingford one, marched to New
Haven» probably starting on the morning of Jul> 5th. The rolls of these com-
panies as preserved in the State Librar> and printed in the Connecticut Histortcat
Society Collections. Vol. VI IT.,* arc as follows:
Capt. Collins* Company.
Dan Collins, Capt.
Jatnes Hough. Lt.
llrenton Hall, Ens. .
Saml Hall. Scrgt.
Henjamin Mcrriam
Amos Ives. Sergt.
John Merriam Sergt.
Dnniel James. Corpl.
Ezra kite. Corpl.
Sanborn Ford, Fifcr
John Couch
I'ezaleel Ives
Jesse Merriam
Stephen Perkins
James Cabon
IJenja Hart
Saml Johnson
Titus Merriam
Wm. Merriam
Joseph Mcrriam
Y:[\c I'ishop
johti r.ams
John Ives
.\bcl Curtiss
Cn»B. ll*ti In (he ReroIuUon. pp. 102-3.
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28o
A CENTURY OF MERtOEN.
Timothv Ives
Tared Reiihatn
Timothy P'oster
-Moses Hall, Jr.
John Miles
Insign Hough
Moses Hall
Daniel Hall
Caleb Merrinian
Isaac Hall
Elisha Scovil
Capt. Hough's
Company.^
John llijiigh, Capt.
Jeremiah l arringlon
Nathaniel Mcrriani Lt.
Simeon Perkins
Thos. Foster, iiiis.
Amerton \ ale
Scrj. Josci)h Edwards
Elijah Scuvil
Serj. Timuthy Hall
Elijah Vcomans
Serj. Jonath" Yale
Elisha Curtis
Serj. Comfort Butler
Wyllys Mekye
Serj. Giles Griswold
John Yale
Marshall Merriam
Moses Way
Elisha Merriam
Jesse Merriman
Phmefaas Hall
Abner Way
Phinehas Lyman
Israel Hall
Edward Collins
Wyllys Bishop
Enos Hall
Daniel Yale
Daniel Mekye
Nathaniel Yale
Jn*" Morgan
Asa Brown
Caleb Merriman
David Scovil
Thos. Spencer
Samuel Merriam
Amasa Merriam
John Robinson
Giles Foster
Samuel Rice
Ozius Foster
Capt. Stanleys Company of Wallingford ist Society,
in two alarms: one to New Haven on July 5, 1779, and the other to Fairfield Julj
8, 1779.
Captain .Vbraham Stanley Scrgt. John Davidson
Lieut. Solomon D<^olittle Sergt. Daniel Parker
Ens. Benjamin Preston Sergt. Abner Rice
Sergt. Charles Hull Corp. Jotham Gaylord
Sergt. Elihu Yale Corp. David Johnson
1 Conn. Ilea In tb» Revolution, pp. 192-3.
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EARLY HISTORY.
281
Corp. Joel Rice
Corp. Isaac Doolittle
Drum. Ebenezer Moss
Samuel Ives
Joseph Doolittle, Jr.
John Doolittle
Jedediah Button
Charles 'Parker
Joel Hough
Joshua Parker
Oliver Doolittle
Lent Plough
John Lewis
Ebenezer Hull
Eliakim Parker
Stephen Beach
William Atwater, Jr.
Nicholas Jones
Jonathan Johnson
Daniel Hitchcock
Abel Ward Atwater
Jehiel Rice, Jr.
Abijah Ives
James I'r tut
Levi Parker
Francis Wilcox
Caleb Merriman
The writer's lack of familiarity with the names of those resident in Walling-
ford and Cliesliire makes it impossible for him tu fully treat the Revolutionary rec-
ord of soldiers from those towns as he lia< tried to give those from Meriden. The
names of the ofticers, however, arc so conspjcuous in the records that it is an eas^'
task to give a brief record of each.
Colonel Thaddciis Hall was certainly the most prominent military official in
\Val!inc:for<l during the war. He was born in 1728 so tliat lie was not a y nnig
i:ian when hostilities began. He served under Washington in the campaign of
1776 and then bore the title of major. He was stationed at first near Fort Lee
and then at Wiiite Plains and later took part in the battles of Trenton and Prince-
ton. He was made a colonel in ( )clol)er. 177'). I le took i)art in the battle of Still-
water September 19, 1777. and was under General Gates in liis campaign against
Burgoyne to the northward.
Lieuteiiani C olonel Street nail received his commission July 6, 1773, and was
also appointed captain of the Second company: on Sept. 14. 1775, Washington or-
dered the regiment to Boston, and he served there until December tliat year. It
(loes not appear that he saw other service, although possibly he was in Colonel
Charles Webb's regiment at White Plains, Trenton and Princeton in 1776 and
■///'
Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Cook, who had charge of a company in the Lexing-
ton alarm, was also captain of the Seventh company in General Wooster's regi-
ment in 1775, and first was stationed at Harlem and Long Island and later marched
to General Schuyler^s department and took part in operations around Lakes George
and Champlain, and afterwards was stationed at Montreal. He was appointed
maior January 10, 1780, and in June, 1783, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Captain Nathaniel Bunnell was appointed second Itentenant of the Ninth
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282 . A CENTURY MERIDEN.
Company, First Regtiiient, May i, 1775, served arountl Xcw York and later
at St. John's and Montreal. In 1776 he was a captain of Seventh company, Fi^
Battalion, and was at the battles of Long Island and \\ hite Plains. He was al
Peekskill in 1777 with his company, to serve in aid of Continental Army, and I.t
1779 responded to the call during Tryon's invasion of New Haven, but the roll oii
his company is not given. He was apparently a Cheshire man.
Captain Ephraim Chamberlain was commissioned first lieutenant on January
i» 1777, and was promoted to captain Xovcmber 13, 1778. He was continaously
in service until 1781. In the Seventh regiment he was at Peekskill in 1 777 and
in September with \\ ashington in Pennsylvania; was in the battle of German^
town, wintered at Valley Forge and in June, 1778 was in battle oi Monmouth,
and at storming of Stony Point in 1 779.
Captain Jarius Wilcox, Lieutenant Titus Hall and Lieutenant John Osborn
in 1777 were in a comi>any attached to a regiment of artificers, whose duty it was
to serve under the directions of the quartennaster general. It was a pioneer and
construction cor|)s and saw service at Brandywinc. Cicrmantown and Monmootk
Captain Stephen Osborn and Lieutenant Samuel Hough were in a company at'
tached to the same regiment.
Lieutenant John Mansfield was in a coinpany of the Fourth regiment and laiei
in Connecticut Light Infantry, serving from Febniary-Novembcr, 1781. unde^
Lafayette: he was in service from 1776 to 1783, and while under Lafayette led i
'•forlorn hoia " at an assa' 't n a redoubt on October 14 and was wounded an^
complimented in Colonel Hamilton's report. He was a pensioner in 1818.
Lieutenant Lemuel Hitchcock, of Cheshire, was a sergeant in Captain Bun-
nelFs company in 1776, and saw service at Battle of Long Island. He was ma<!<
lieutenant of a company in the Eighth regiment and fought at Germantown, Fort
Mifflin, Mud Island, Pa., wintered at X'alley Forge, and was at the assault (J
Stony Point. He A\n< a ]i€nsioner in Xcw York state in 1818.
Lieutenant Titus Moss was in Captain Street Hall's company at the stc^c ofl
Boston.
Lieutenant Levi Munson was engaged in the Montreal expedition under CoRmm
Ftlian .Mien in 1775 ; he was captured with the others, and sent a prisoner to Eofj
land, and subsequently sent to Halifax where he was confined in a dungeon semi
months. He served in the Sixth regiment from 1777 to 1780, and his most str-
ious engagement was at Stony Point
Lieutenant Ambrose Hine liegan as a coqmral in the Eighth regiment in 17771
saw service at Germantown: wintered at Valley Forge, and was at battle ..f Mon-
nioutli : he was promoted to second lieutenant in the Fifth Battalion, WadswortfaV
hrij^Mfle.
Lieutenant Thonias .Shcpard was appointed second lieutenant in Captain Cooifd
company. First regiment, and saw service in the northern department under GoH
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EARLY HISTORY.
283
eral Schuyler at Lakes George and Champlain in 1775. He was captain of mil-
itia in Tryon*s invasion of New Haven but his company is not given.
Lieutenant James Peck took part in the Lexington Alarm, was an ensign in
Captain Cook's company of the First regiment in 1775 and served under General
Schuyler in the northern department; in 1776 he was in Colonel Ward*s regiment,
and took part in battles at White Plains, Trenton and Princeton.
Lieutenant Linus Hopson was in Captain Sixer's company in regiment of ar-
tificers.
Lieutenant Hawkins Hart was in Captain Bunnell's company in Fifth Bat-
talion of Wadsworth's brigade and took part in battle of Long Island in 1776.
Later was in a troop of light horse.
Lieutenant Miles Hull was also in Captain BunnelPs company in 1776. He also
marched to the front in Tryon's invasion of New Haven in 1779 as a captain.
Ensign David Hitchcock was also in Captain Bunneirs company in 1776. He
was also a captain in the Tryon invasion.
Ensign Samuel Culver, who was in Captain Couch's company at Fort Wash-
ington in 1776 was a prisoner from June 29, 1779, to June 2, 178 1.
Ensign Jonathan Slead, who took part in the Lexington Alarm, was commis-
sioned ensign in the Seventh regiment in 1777, and saw service at Germantown,
and wintered at Valley Forge, and perhaps the privations and exposure killed him
for he died March 10, 1778.
The following ofiicers joined the order of the Cincinnati:
Lieutenant John Mansfield, Lieutenant H. Peck, Captain Ephraim Chamber-
lain and Lieutenant Joseph Shaylor.
Dr. Jared Potter was surgeon of the First regiment in 1775 and again of the
Fifth battalion, Wad$worth*s brigade, in 1776W
As the first enthusiasm of the war wore away it was found necessary to make
an inducement for men to join the army; accordingly on March 31, 1777, it was
"voted, that the town will give a Bounty to those that engage in the Continental
service. Voted that eacli soldier that engages in the Continental service for the
quota of W'allingford shall be paid by the town the sum of five pounds lawful
money by the year for three years unless sooner Discharged: to be paid by the
beginning of each year."
This pa\Tnent of bounty was carefully recorded, and in April, 1779, town
reported to the State War Department a list of all those to whom bounties had
paid. A second report was made in December, 177«^ and at vari(tus times list-4
were furnished of those soldiers whose families were assisted by the town during
their absence in the field.
Tliese reports arc nil file in the State Library and from them the following
H'^t has been prepared <>i those men of Wallinglord who were in the service of
the government during the Revolution, but not members of militia companies. It
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284
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN'.
inckules all those who were in service during the years 1778 and 1779, according
to the best knowledge of the selectmen, and many during the years 1776, 1777» 1780
and 1 78 1. It embraces Wallingford, Cheshire and Meriden» but does not give the
commissioned officers.
Andrew Andrews
Jonathan Ford
Amos Andrews
Benjamin Ford
John Anthony
Ebenezer Fox
Titus Atwater
John Francis
David Burns, Cheshire,
Anthony Goodsill
Moses Barns
William Grant
Roswell Beach
Aaron Hall
.\sa Beach
Benajah Hall
Asa Bellamy
Daniel Johnson Hall
Samuel Blakeslee
David Hall
Elisha Bishop
Elisha Hall
Benjamin Bristol, Cheshire,
Jotham Hall
Kbenc7.er Brocket!
Moses Hall
William Brinton
Rufus Hall
James Brown
Samuel Hall
Daniel Bradley
Titus Hall
Levi Bunnell
Benjamin Hart
Joseph Clark
■ Titus Hart
Daniel C'a<ly
Timothv Hart, Sergt,
Abel Clark
John iia.sLiiij^s
Aaron Clark
Charles Hey don
Divan Clark
Benjamin Hndrie
Joseph Coburn
Ambrose Hine
James Coburn
Ichabod Hitchcock
Samuel Collins, Sergt,
Levi Hitchcock
Elihu Cook
Thomas Hitchcock
(icorge Cook
Samuel Holt
Joel Cook
Samuel S. B. Hotchkiss
Johnson Cook
Samuel Hoyt
Warren Cook
John Hulbert
William Cook
Daniel Hummiston
Thomas Davis
Abijah Ives
Israel Dodge
Thomas James
Thomas Dudlev
«
Benjamin Johnson
Edmund Field
Eliakim Johnson
Jotham Ford
David Johnson
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EARLY BISIORY.
285
Israel Johnson
Mob Hull, negro.
John Johnson, Cheshire,
*Dick Freedom, n^ro.
Luther Johnson
'''Sharp Yale, negro,
Charles Jones
*Adam Molatto
Samuel Jones
'''Buel, Affrica,
Thomas Jonts
*Peter, negro.
Benjamin Kendrkk
Timothy Page
Luke Kerns
Benjamin Parker
Charles Kimberly
Amos Parker
Hexekiah King
Abram Parker
Abel Lewis
Elisha Parker
Chauncy Lewis
Elijah Parker
Ebnezer Lewis
John Parker
John Lewis
William Parker
Charles London
Timothy Parker, Sergt,
Eliada Matthews, Cheshire
Charles I'eck, Script. Art., Cheshire,
Charles Merriman
Jehiel Peck, Sergt. Art.,
Enoch Merriman, Sergt,
Jesse Peck
Josiah ^ferriman
Samncl Parsons
Asaph Merriam
John Perkins
Edmund Merriam
Samuel Perkins
Ephraim Merriam
Eldad i'orter
James Miles, Seret.,
Medad Potter
Barnahas Mitchell
John Prince, Sergt,
Enos Mix
James Prout
Amos Mix
William Prout
Thomas Mix. Jr.
Benjamin Rcxford
Andrew Moor
Benjamin Rex ford, Jr.
P.cnniii Moss
Jotham Rice
Niali Moss
Levi Rol)iii<(in
Keulten Afnss
Elmer Kiissdl ,
\I?nond Munson
Job Sanderson
Lent Mnnson
John Sled
Oranqre Munson
Hull Shepherd
^Toncy, negro,
Daniel Smith
*I.emon Cimibcr, negro,
Seth Smith
* Boston, nej^ro.
Samuel Spencer
^ ( hatham FretiTian, negro.
Samuel Spellman
S.unson. neijro.
Selah .Stedman
*Pnni e H<Hclikiss, negro,
David Stone
* ProtMtbijr ulavM.
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286 A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
■
Abel Thoq) Jesse \'ose
Amasa Thorp Gideon Webb, Cheshire
Amos Thorp Joel WiHniot
Thaddcus Todd Lemuel Willcox
James Tibbels Joseph W'olcott, Jr.
Peter Tibbels Samuel Wright
Levi Tyler Xash Yale
Nathaniel Tyler Waitstill Yale
Job Tyrrell Total lOy men.
In the expedition to Lakes Gcurj^a- and Champlaiii in 1775 were several Men-
den men in Captain Cook s company. Many of the soldiers were taken sick and
the folIowin<:f bills were paid by the slate for medical attendance to Meriden men.
Dr. Insign lluu.t;:li pn scnicd a bill for going after Benjamin Austin to Still-
water, N. Y., on October 30, 1775;
To Horse liirc 130 miles at 2 ' per mile . . . £1-1-8
To my time 8 days at per Day .... £1-4-0
i o cash paid expenses on said Journey . . . 18-5
Simeon Perkins presented a bill for bringing home his apprentice Jared Ben-
ham from beyond Albany.
Lieutenant Joseph Shaylor was taken sick at Putney, Vt., after the northern
campaign and "was tended 16 days*' at an expense of £i-zcm) and then was
obliged to hire a man and a horse to bring him home, a distance of 190 miles at
an expense of £6-16-18.
John Stanley, of Wallingford, presented a bill for going to Fort George for
his sick brother, Salmon, in Captain Cook*s company.
Dr. Aaron Andrews, of Wallingford, presented a bill for doctoring Charles
Hall and Ephraim Chamberlain, two sick soldiers in Captain Cook's company.
John Austin, of Wallingford, presented a bill for going for his sick son, Amos,
six miles this side of Albany.
A soldier on his way home from the campaign was taken sick at Edward Col-
lins' home in Meriden and could go no further, so there he stayed helpless for
six weeks, with Doctors Insign Hough and Isaac Hall attending htm and Mr.
Collins furnishing nurses and watchers. The quantity of rum and brandy ad-
ministered to this sick man was prodigious during the two weeks when he was
"worst." He finally recovered and went on his wav, but his name is not given in
the bill.
The Wallingford records give a few particulars relative to mortalities in the
service, viz. :
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EARLY HISTORY.
287
ArchaUe McLean, soldier, belonging to company of Col. Street Hall, died tn
camp near Boston^ Nov. 11, 1775.
Jas. Frazer, a soldier, a regular, died Jan. 25, 1777.
Eliah, son Capt. Benjamin and Mary Hall, died in camp at New York Aug.
.\braham, son Abraham and Barbary Ives, died in army July 29, 1776.
Ambrose, son Abraham and Barbary Ives, died in army Sept. 4.
William, son Samuel and Elizabeth Merriam, died at New York in battle with
the enemy Sept. 16, 1776.
Pitt, son Laban and Prudence Andrews, killed in battle at Greenwich, denied
ctiarter by the enemy June 29. 1779.
Butler, son Charles and Sarah Ives, died a prisoner in New York with the
eneniy Aug. 15, 1 779.
As there was no manufacture of salt in this countr\-, the question of suppl> was
sn important one. A quantity was finally imported at Boston, and the state dis-
tributed it pro rata to the different towns.^ Its division among the inhabitants of
Wallingford was a burning issue for some time and during 1 777 there were many
votes passed at town meetings relative to the matter. At a meeting held Dec.
4. 1777. a committee to distribute it was appointed and it was voted "that the
committee set off the quantity of salt for every thousand pounds in the list, which
tlicv shall class, and appoint some meet person head of said class to receive the
salt that belongs to said class.
"\'oted that the head of every class of a thousand pounds that receives the salt
that belongs to cvcr\ class respectiveh- shall pay to the selectmen of said town
the cost of I)ringing said salt from RostDii."
At the same meeting they chose a committee to take care of the families of those
in the Continental service.
Un Dec. 16. T777. they ■voted a tax of three pence on the pound for the ben-
<'fit of the soldiers and their families that are now in the r<»ntincntal army.'*
On April 12. 1770 "voted relati\e to kee])im^ the iiMwdcr and stores helong-
inp to 5ai<l town, that the .'selectmen view the old I'owder house and if they think
proper, to repair the same, or otherwise to build a new one to put tiie town stores
in."
On June 26. 1780. a eommittce was api-ointed " to concert some measure for
raiding soldiers to fill up the Continental army.''
I-«'baiu»n. CfJUiHil of Safftv Oct. 2 ITTH
I "Wtier«u tbe great cry and want o{ the oecesftary article of salt tbreatene to disturb the publick
***** and aafctjr of th» state, that It tnakes it atwolutelj neceitary In order to supply both tho pub-
■<■< and privat«> n*c*«t(|t|p8 of the people and (hat ft> the most private and speedy method, therefore
and rcaolved that a suitable number of vesKele be provided at publick expense to be sent under
convoy In ord^r to Ret a speedy supply of that article and Capt John Desbon (of New lAHdon ao4
i:ife«tor of tbf i:)r<> Rev. Dr. Deshoii of tbts cUy] Is appointed as an agetit to Carry tbts resolve Into
euottion." Capt. Desbon got the salt.
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288
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
"Voted that whosoever demands more for any merchandize, labour or any other
article than he or they shall demand in Hard Money* or shall refuse to reccire or
pass the money lately emitted by the General Assembly of this state for any greater
discount than he or they would for hard money ; he or they shall be deemed at.
trampling on the Public Faith, and we will withdraw our commerce from htm ami
esteem him unfriendly to his country/'
The struggle for independence was long, arduous, and discouraging, and the
amount of money raised by taxation was an almost crushing burden for the dif*
ferent towns.
But at last the dawn came, and the glorious news of independence and peace
was trumpeted the length and breadth of the land.
XoTK- Altliiiugh not printed in cliruiK il< i.^ical ';eqnence this extract from the Connecticut
Gazette -uppKiiiL-nts i1k- vote appeann^i en jiam- -'('7.
■'At a meeting ot ihc Irue sons ot Liberty in Wallingi'ord, in New Haven County, on the
evening of the 13th day of January, i766» after duly formed by choosing a moderator and
a clerk, the following resolves were come into, viz.
Resolved i That the late act of Parliament called the Stamp act is unconstitutional
and intended to enslave the true subjects of America.
Resolved J That \vc will «>i>pose the same in the ln*;t extremity, even to tak-- tin- held
Resolved 3 That we will meet at the Court Mouse in New Haven, on the third Tutr--
day of l"ebruary next; and wc desire all the sons of liberty in each town in the county
would meet there by themselves or representatives; there to consult what is the t>est to he
done in order to defend our liberties and properties and break up the stop to public affa<rv
Resohed 4 That tliii meeting be adjourned to the first Tuesday of February next, there
to choose our representatives to attend the aforesaid mectinsr
A true copy, examined
P. p. CuUtK."
WAR OF l8t2.
With the exception of scattered Tticlian wars the American people were
dwell iti peace until the second war with Great Hritain in 1812. In one of the>c
Indian w ars, that of General St. Ciair s unhapi\v expedition to the Northwest Ter-
ritory in 1791, a few Meriden men were engaged. On the records of the First
Conurci^ational church are entered the followinq; notices:
Sept. 1791, Mr. Hotchkiss died in tlie army.
Xov. 1791. Mr. Goodrich killed in the army.
Xov. 1791. George Hall died in the army.
Feb. IT. 1791, J()se|)h Sh 1 1. r, Jr., slain l.\ Indians at Fort Jefferson.^
r>e'rnnd the^e i:\c\< nr>tlnng Itn^ been learned.
The war with i^ngland in 181 2 was not popular in New England for one of
the restilts was the embargo of the port of Boston and the effect was disastrous
on the business interests of this section of the country.
1 This Item from tomb»tooe tn Broad ftreet cemetery.
EARLY HISTOKY. 289
Nevertheless, Meriden men did military service in this war and a goodly num-
ber enlisted, but the writer has not been able to learn that they were ever engaged
«ith the enemy. The records seem to show that they were stationed either at New
Haven or New London for the period of a few weeks, viz.: from Sept. 5 to Oct,
JO, 1814.
In the old Merriam house on Johnson hill in the west part of the town, is
pieserved a little blank book in which is recorded the roll of a company. It is
tliat of the Second company in the Second regiment, commanded by Col. Elihu
Sandford. In it are found the following names that were certainly of Meriden :
Capt. John Butler Lemuel Butler
Lieut. Eltsha A. Cowles Elah Camp, ad,
Sergt. Matthew Foster William Merriam
Darius Benham William Merriam, 2d,
Salmon Hall Arba Merriam
Asahel Curtis Stephen Morse
Samuel Curtis Benjamin Buel
Ira Merriman Flonis Cook
James Wright - David Clark
Abel Peck Theophiliis Hough
John Collins Hervcy Johnson
Levi Allen Sylvester Merriam
John E. Bradley Simon H. Smith
William Andrews Solomon Smith, Jr.
This roll corresponds with the published records of the state.
In the Mexican War of 1847 there is evidence of Init one Meriden man who
t<l and that was Lemuel O. Anthony, who enlisted in Co. F. 4th Inf., on .\pril
8. 1847. and died July 14, 1847.
The account of the Civil war of 1861-65. ^*'om the pen of Colonel Charles L.
I'pham, appears in Part II.
>9
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290 A CEXTURV OF MERIDEN.
CHAPTER XVII.
According to an eminent authority *'in Connecticut the Tories were prohaU
more numerous than in any other New England Colony." The same authoril
says this was on account of its proximity to New York : but this reason does m
seem satisfactory. A more probable cause was the strength of the Church c
England among the people. The growth of this communion was remarkable fvoi
about the year 1740. It began at a time when religion was at a tow ebb in all
New England colonies : and when the attempt to arouse the people to a realiaatiD
of their low spiritual condition resulted in the movement known as the ''Gtti
Awakening." A revulsion from such methods caused many of conservatii
ideas to fly to the bosom of that church which had previously been so detested t
the colonists. But the question may be asked why should a member of the Churc
of England necessarily have been a Tory. The terms were certainly not synonj
nioiis for many of the L;rc;itest patriots and leaders in the Revolution were Episo
pAlians. viz. : W'ashiiiglun, Alexander Hamilton, Madison, Robert Morris. Rufi
King and many others. In the south, in several instances. Church of Engiaa
clergymen went (Hrectly from the i>ulpii into the field to tight on the side of pi
triotism, and the eliaplaii) of Congress <hiring the war, was William White, aftej
wards hishnp (»f reiin>\ h ania ; why sluuild it have been otherwise in Conncciics:!'!
Why did the clergy liere to a man maintain their loyalty to the British cro%rrj
Unquestionably, on account of the oath <>t allegiance they took at the time c>i :hei
ordination and their cnustaiU comnnniication with England as agents nt the ."S
ciety for the rrnpagation of tlie ( i< »spel in Foreign Parts, and tf> si»nic extent ''.^
cau.>e their stipend-, were almost wholly derived from the same organization Ad
other piiase of the .situation which was singular to say the !ea>t is the tact thra th
persenitif Ml of Loyalists in Connecticut was nnt nearly so virulent as in other ■■^^
onie> ['atriotisiii was as strong but it did not go to such extremes. I'rom ^iJrf
saclni^etts and New York large number.s of Tories emigrated to Canada aj>|
England during and at the close of the war but the number froni ( < "nnocticut ii
extremely small and the lists of conbscations of property were limited to a
cases. Connecticut thus early laid claitn to her title of " the land of stea.lv hab:!«^^
Her patriots barked as loudly as in other eoloiiies but they confined their etf'^rtj
to iiiiimidation and <eIiliMn resorted to extreme measures. An amn^iTiq- iHustr?
tion of this attempt to intimidate was the baptismal adventure of Dr. Leaminf
the Episcopal missionary at Norwalk, who was called in April, 1776, to Stratlart
wiyui^L-u Ly Google I
EARLY HISTORY.
to christen a child in the church under the name of Thomas Gage, in honor of the
British commander at Boston. Immediately the Committee of Inspection sum-
moned the doctor to give an explanation of why he should have baptized a child
%irh the name of such a monster of iniquity as General Gage. The poor man
^tated that he had no discretion in the matter but was obliged by the rubric to give
the name in baptism which the godfathers and godmothers desired. Of course,
the clergyman's position and reply were unanswerable and the Committee of In^
pection were powerless to punish him, much as they desired to ; so they contented
themselves with publishing the facts in the Weekly Gazette, in order that the
Friends of Liberty may pass judgment on the attempt of the clergyman '*to insult
and ridicule the Continental struggle in the defence of their just rights which are
most wickedly and injuriously invaded.'' How soon all the bitterness and enmity
of the war were forgotten may be judged from the fact that William Samuel John-
son, son of the first Episcopal clergyman in Connecticut, and a s\ nipathizer with
the British cause was one of the three delegates from this state to the convention in
1787, which formed our national constitution, and he was afterwards elected as
our first United States senator.
The Revolution found few Tories in Meriden, judging from the records. On
June 18, 1781, the state sold to Jonathan Meigs, of Middletown, sixty-four acres^
known as the Rexford farm, lately the property of James Jauncey, of New Yoric,
who had joined the enemies of the United States and whose estate had been con-
fiscated. Tfiis farm is bounded west by Country road, south by Holt s Hill road,
and north by Curtis Home pr.)i)crt>. On February 8, 1785, the state sold the
Stone House* farm, part of the same confiscated estate.
We have already noted that when the pioneers of Meriden chose their farms
and built their homes, Samuel Andrews and his good wife, Abigail, selected a
tract of land about a mile west of the present railroad station, on what is now
West Main street. Here, almost under the shadow of the grim and rugged Hang-
ing Hills, their children, eight sons, were bom and reared to manhood, and when
the pioneers erected their primitive little church on the slope of Meeting House
hill, just above that oak-shaded spot whence a bountiful and never-failing spring
l!fu$hes forth into a brook that forms a trout-lovers* paradise, Samuel Andrews
and hb wife were enrolled among the faithful members of Parson Hall's flock.
It was nearly three mites from their home to this little meeting liousc, and each
.^unday, doubtless, the family wended their way through the forest and up the
hill to this pioneer sanctuary, and no suspicion existed in their minds or in
those of their neighbors concerning their orthodoxv or lo\altv to the Puritan
faith.
: Land Records of Walliagford. Vol. XXH., p. 2n5.
2 IdcBt, Vol. XXIV., fk 146.
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292
A CENTUllY OF MERIDEK.
In the course of time it became necessary for one of the sons, Laban by name,
to go away from home to learn a trade ; SO he was apprenticed to Captain Macock
W ard, who Hved on Pond Hill, in the southern part of Wallingford, almost on
the North Haven line. Here the capuin Hved, respected by his neighbors and
prominent in the affairs of the town; for he was many times deputy to the Gen-
eral Cuurt, and served with distinction in caini)aigns against the French and Span*
ish. Governor Talcott, of Hartford, in 1740, wnting to the Duke of Newcastle,
mentions that he has commissioned Macock Ward, a lieutenant, and we also learn
tlial he was a captain in the Crown Point campaign of 1755. Captain Ward was
evidently a man with an inventive turn of mind, for the fact has come down to
us that tlic first pleasure carriage to be used in Wallingford, was owned by him
about the \ ear 1755. To it he had attached a sort of cyclometer arrangement.
The carriage was a (juc-horse chaise and the diameter of each wheel was about
tixe feet. means of niachinerv and a bell attached to one of the wheels and
put in mntiitii by the i)rogress of ilie vehicle, each revolution was recorded and
the driver was notified when a mile had been traveled by the striking of the bell.*
( )ne can imagine the sensattuu created by the doughty captain when riding al)OUt
the streets uf the town in his stranue and wonderful vcln'cle. He carried on the
inann facttire of reeds used in hatid looms and it is probable that it was to this
trade I.ahan Andrew s was bound a> an a]>prentice. ddie only cause of complaint
that the tnwii c<udd nri^e against the captain wa> iliat lie was a Churchman or mem-
ber of the Chnrch oi I'nj^dand. an organization tliat was decidedly not in general^
favor at this time in .\ew lingland. Indeed, the W ard tamilx generally seems to;
have been identified with this church, tor his grandfather. Andrew, was on the
register of members of the I'.piscopal churcli in Stratford a!id his brother. Am-:
bro.se, w as a vestryman of Trinity church. Xew Haven, during the years 1774-
177O, and 1778-1780. I'lUt these facts camiot have much oppressed the captain
or lie WMuld not have i>ccnpied so prominent a p(.>silion in the comnnmity and.
been .so iarL;ely the recijiient of tin- lavors of his fellow townsmen. Young .An-
drews, as was the custom in those days, was made one of the family, and forth-
with proceeded to fall in love with one of the captain's daughters, and was so
succc.ssftd in his suit that he was sorm the attianced lover of the young woman.
For .some reax.n this engn'^cmcnt did not terminate in a marriage, but during the
brief heyday of bli^s the >uimg wnman. mindful of the welfare of the soul of her
lover, .succeeded in converting him to the faith of her father; and the result was
so lasting atid thorough that tlie broken troth did not cause I.ahan to desert the
altar fmm which he had hoptil to lead Miss Content Ward as his blushing hri<ie,
but rather led him 10 chng more closely to it, and to become such a missionary in
1 From a nianuM ript Tllxtory of W.illi rurfnrit. ! > Cro. W. Stanley, and DOW In tha pOBMUlOB <lf tb«
CouD. Hiiit. Soc. Tbe i«kfUh whk prepund a hundrtril year^ ago.
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' EARLY HISTORY.
ts behalf that it was not long before his parents and brothers liad all become
nembers of the Church of England.^ Miss Content eVcntually married the Rev.
chabod Camp, who was missionary in charge at Middletown and Wallingford.
rheir home was in the former place and here she died some five years after her
narriage. Mr. Camp soon moved to the West and settled in old Kaskaskia,
^here he met a terrible fate. l)eing killed by an infuriated son-in-law while trying
0 protect his dai'ghter.
Samuel Andrews now determined that his youngest son, Samuel by name,
»m .\pril 27. 17.?/, should become a clergyman and to this end he and his sons
mited their means
ind Samuel was sent
0 Vale College. He
graduated in the
."lass of 1759, one of
lis classmates being
Benjamin Trumbull,
tvho became the or-
hodox minister at
SoTXh Haven and
he famous historian
)f Connecticut. Tra-
lilion says that these
wo godly men hated
:ach other as the
ievil is said to hate
loly water and it is
Jrohable that in this
»nnection tradition
5 correct. Samuel,
ifter acting as a lay
reader for a short
:inie in Wallingford.
RKV. SAMUEL .A.NDRKVVS.
From an oil portrait now In Knglund.
was sent to England
in 1 761, and in Au-
gust he was ordain-
ed to the ministry by
the Bishop of Lon-
don, and in January,
1762. he returned to
America. He was
now a missionary
regularly licensed by
the "Society for the
Propagation of the
Gospel in Foreign
Parts," an organiza-
tion formed in Eng-
land in I 701 to en-
courage the growth
of the church in the
colonies. The so-
ciety directed him to
take charge of the
work in Walling-
ford, Cheshire and
North Haven ; and there for a number of vears he quietlv labored in his appointed
field.
His personalitA' was charming, for in him were united not only a handsome
presence and delightful manners, but keen wit and humor, and affability and good
nature. He won the respect and warmest affection, not only of his parishioners,
1 The main facts of the story of the conversion of the Andrews family to the Church of England
ind the Wasblngton dinner lo Wallina^ford are taken from a sketch published In The Calendar of
March 30lh and April 6. 18.')0. by Rev. Htllard Bryant. He was rector of St. Paul s church. Wal-
lo^ford. 1841-50, and at that time there were many still alive who would have been eye-witnesses of
the dinner and only one generation removed from contemporarie!-' of the Andrews conversion.
294
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
but also of the whole comnjunky. The rectory which stood a little to the east of
North Main street in Walluigford rested on the same foundation which supports
the house until lately forming the home of the Choate School for Boys. He was
well provided for by the income of fourteen acres of glebe land, a stipend from the
Missionary Society and the contributions o£ his faithful parishioners. He mar-
ried on September 13, 176^ Hannah Shelton, of Stratford, and was blessed by
a family of six children and the manner of his living is indicated by the fact that
he had two negro slaves, St. Paul's church stood at the comer of Main and
Christian streets on the same lot on which the public school now stands, not far
from the parson's home. His life was a happy one» although laborious, for his
work extended over a large amount of territory.
The church was prosperous and growing and reflected much credit on the
zeal and faithfulness of the efiicient minbter. He was rewarded by the warm
regard of his flock, by the kind words of the venerable scKiety in England, and
lastly by a present of a gilded and much carved royal coat of arms which occupied
a conspicuous place in the little parish church of Watlingford. The rapid growth
of the church under bis care was probably largely assisted by the bitter contro^
versy which for some time had divided the G>ngregationalists in Wallingford into
two hostile camps ; a controversy so bitter that all New England was exercised
by it and the noise of the warfare had even penetrated to remote colonies. For
reasons too tedious to enumerate and which it is doubtful if we should understand
if related, the schism had become permanent, and henceforth for a number of
years there were two Congregational churches in Wallingford.' Dr. James Dana
was the pastor of the old society and the new or Wells society had called the Rev.
Mr. Waterman to minister to them. Tradition says that a warm personal friend*
ship sprang up between Dr. Dana and the Rev. Mr. Andrews: a friendship which
was doubtless much tested and tried by their radically different rdigkms and po-
litical views, but which lasted until the death of Dr. Dana in 181 2.
Most of the years of Mr. Andrews' ministry were uneventful until we ap-
proach the time when the American Revolution broke out. His brother, Laban,
for a number of years, was one of his church wardens, and his work was also as-
sisted and supplemented by two strong and influential men who were a tower of
strength to him in seasons of doubt and distress. These two men were our friend.
Captain Macock Ward, and Captain Titus Brockett, a man of considerable means,
and with very pronounced and not popular views on the relations which he thought
ought to exist between the king and the colonists. Captain Brockett was so staunch
a Tory that when he died in July, 1773, a tradition exists that it was only after
strong effort that his widow and friends were permitted to bury his body in
the old cemetery, and then, only in the easterly portion of the graveyard, where
3 A wbote chapter In Dr. TmmVuirv HiRtory of Conn. Im devoted lo tbtn controversy.
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EARLY HISTORY.
395
the ground was so soft and swampy, that the coffin could only be finnly fixed in
tlie bottom of the grave by the aid of two strong fence rails bound together where
tliey crossed each other diagonally just above the earth. As proof of the truth of
dus tradition it may be stated that the gravestone of the old Tory is in a neglected
and lonesome spot in the extreme eastern part of the cemetery, just south of the
tool house, and it is necessary to pull aside the hedge before one can comfortably
ROYAL COAT OF ARMS.
FbnnerlT in the BplcoiqMl churdi In Wnlllncford, now in All Saints' cburcb, 8t An-
drews, N. B.
fcad the inscription. *"In Memory of Capt. Titiis l)r(>ckctt who departed this Hfe
July 20 1773 in the 74th \ear of his age. " Near at hand a iiiouldcring and moss-
t'overed stone announces that it was erected "In Memorv of Marv Brockett who
died May ist A. D. 1777 in the 64th year of her age.**
As was quite customary among i)eople ((f means in tho^e days of long ago, the
opinionated and obstinate old captain had among his goods and chattels, two negro
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296 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
slaves, a boy named Esau and a i^irl called (jracc. Jn liis will he directed that
so long as his wife should live and remain liis widow, the slaves should l)e her
property; but in the event of her < loath or remarriage, Esau was to l>e free.
St. Paul's church was also handsomely endowed and the widow donated £50,
the income of which was to «;o to the poor. We note anions^ the personal effects
of the cajjtain a silver tankard (from which he douhtlos frequently drank the
health of King George and death to his enemies), six pairs of breeches, seveti
coats, seven waistcoats, a sword, wig box, hat case, gold huttons and silver buckles.
Truly he must have been a gorgeous individual when i)arading the streets of Wal-
lingford clad in his finery, his sword at his side, and followed b\ his ebony-hued
body servant, Esau.
The sensational attempt to i>revent the interment of Captain Brmketi > Ix nly
in the cemetery f which lie> ahout three hundred feet east of the present W'alling-
ford railroad station ) was but one of many evidences of the intensity of feeling ui
the country generally.
Wallingford was like every other town in Xew Eugland. Disgust with the
acts of the British parliament was fast ripening the people for almost any step;
it needed but a match to tire the i>ent-u]) feelings, and the day at Lexington and
Concord at last set free all re^lraint. Then on June i/th, 1775, came the battle
of Bunker Hill where the green and raw provincial forces showed a grim deter-
mination and bravery that should have warned the British of the seriousness of
the conflict which was impending.
Congress in Philadelphia had already appointed George Washington command-
er-in-chief of the Continental forces and on the 21st he started for Cambridge with
his retinue of officers to take charge of the army w hich invested Boston. On Sun-
day, June 25th, he reached New York and on Wednesday, the 28th, he arrived at
New Haven where he passed the night in the tavern of Isaac Beers, which stood
near the location of the present New Haven House. Everywhere his progress
was a triumphal procession and he was met with joy and acelamation. T|ie ne.xt
morning he dei>arted from New Haven attended by great numbers of the inhabi-
tants of the town. A New Haven paper of the times said: "They were escorted
out of town by two companies dressed in their uniforms and by a company of
young gentlemen belonging to the seminary in this place." One of this latter
company was Noah Webster who marched at the head pla> ing a fife or drum. At
the rate they were moving they must have reached Wallingford a little before
noon. This was on June 29th. Accompanying Washington was General Giarles
Lee, soldier of fortune, and also braggart and poltroon, who later went down to
everlasting infamy and disgrace at the battle of Monmouth.
Washington with his officers stopped to dine at the tavern and the clergy of
the town were asked to dine with him. As he was a Churchman, it was but nat-
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EAKLY BtSTORY.
tml that Parson Andrews should he invited also, notwithstanding his suspected
Royalist &ym{»athies. The Rev. Mr. Waterman of the Wells Society asked the
blessing, and became so voluble and continued the prayer to such a length, that
impatient General Lee could restrain his appetite no longer and sat down and began
10 eat while the prayer was still in progress. Tradition says nothing as to the con-
duct of General Washington, but it is safe to assume that, as usual, it was irre-
proachable.
After the repast Parson Andrews was asked to give thanks, possibly with the
idea that he would make some remark that could be twisted into treason to the
commonwealth, but he refused to be drawn into the trap and with a keen sense
of humor and with the idea of administering a rebuke to Parson Waterman for
his excessively bad taste in boring the guests with so many words, he repeated a
verse from Ecclesiastes, v: 2, **Be not rash with thy mouth and let not thine heart
be hasty to utter anjrthiog before God : for God is in Heaven and thou upon earth :
therefore let thy words be few," and sat down. To an ardent patriot the courag-
eous minister's words must have been like waving a red flag in the face of a bull :
bat, to a patriot like Dr. Dana, with an abounding sense of the ludicrous and a
not too pleasant feeling toward his rival, Mr. Waterman, the situation must have
been an enjoyable one but the occasion was remembered and Parson Andrews'
words rankled in the breast of many a patriot. *
After the repast General Washington and his retinue moved on to Wethers-
tield where they arrived in the afternoon and dined; then on to. Hartford and
Springfield, at which latter place they were met by a committee from the Mas-
^^achusetts Provincial Assembly who escorted the distinguished party to Cam-
bridge,*
In July a day of fasting and humiliation was proclaimed by the General Con-
gress in Philadelphia and Parson Andrews chose the opportunity to deliver a ser-
mon to his faithful flock. His text was from Amos v : 3i, "I hate, I despise your
feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies."
Naturally, as soon as the text became generally known there was a profound
sensation throughout the community. Some one communicated the text to the
Connecticut Gazette and New Haven Postboy and a very acrimonious correspond-
ence followed in the same paper. One correspondent stated that since Mr. An-
<^rcws had come to Wallingford three fasts had been proclaimed and that at the
time of the Stamp Act in 1765 he had preached a sermon in his church on this
text: "In those days there was no King in Israel, but every man did that whkh
I Wa«liingtoQ again visited Wallingford io 178». Hl« diary, under date of October 19th, after »
vltlwriof r«f«fmee to the Inn k«pt br om Carrlngton, flv*8 tli« following InterMtlos toforaatlon :
"At this plac«» i»e F'Pe the White Mulborrj* growinff. raisetl from th.- >rp(i. to fo.-.l ih<> -ilk worm.
We also saw samples of lustring (exceedingly good) which bad b««u uiauufactured from the cocooo
niwH in mis towD, tnd atlfc tbmwl, very fln«. This, except the weaTlag, li the work of private fam-
ilies, without loterferlnf with other buelneia, and la likely to turn out n beneflelal amuaemoat."
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298
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
was right in his own eyes," which showed his utter lack of sympathy with the
motive which inspired the fast. At the time of the fast in 1774 he told his con-
gregation on the Sunday previous that he did not think it worth while to read
the proclamation, that he should not open his church and that his hearers might
go where they wished. He himself was seen riding on his horse in the town
street at the time of public worship and some of his people spent the day in fes-
tivity. His conduct at that time gave so much umbrage that on the third fast
February ist, 177$, he opened his church for public worship. Mr. Andrews re-
plied to his correspondents and followed up the matter by publishing bis sermon,
to which was attached the following affidavit: "August 12, 1775, The following
discourse was examined and found to be a true copy of the original by Street
Hall, Caleb Hall." The sermon certainl\ does not show any sympathy with the
cause in which the country was now embarked. He warns liis hearers to pavise
ere it be too late, reminds them of the prodigious strength oi luigland. calls their
attention to the fact that it is absurd to prate so much about libert}- and equality
of ail men when so many men are held as slaves in varions parts of the country.
The sermon is mild in tone but it is anything but encouraging to the cause of
patriotism.
Hut notwithstanding the mild tone of the sermcn the harm had been done, an<l.
added to the disagreeable impression made at the tlinner to the generals, caused
excitement to reach a white heat. A meeting of the Insjiection Committee was
held and the j)arsnn was j)nt under heavy bonds to keep the peace and he was for-
bidden to go anywhere except to and from his church without permission of the
committee. The breaking out of hostilities and the Declaration of Tndcj)endeiice
must, of course, have cut off Mr. Andrews* stiiiend from England: and flnring
the long and wearv years, with some of ins tiock serving in the army and others
deserting to the enemy his life cannot have been a cheerful one. It is probable
that he did not continue to hold services in his church after the edict of the In-
spection Committee had been issued. There was an extremely hitter feeling in the
communitv against all Ciuircluncn, fur this term was generally considered
synonymous with Toryism. A very respectable Episcopalian had been shot for
being a Tory^ and it was rumored that the wells of several other Tories were to
be poisoned, iiut it is believed that after the order of the bishop of London was
.sent over in 1778 directing the clergy to open tlieir churches and hold services,
omitting the prayer for the king and royal family that the parson called his fright-
ened flock together and began once more to minister to his people.
Laban Andrews, who was a staunch patriot, was one of the Inspection Com-
mittee and also a selectman and presumably made life as easy for his unliappy
1 Tiilhi^ V:il. iiK ,1 l.<iy. hrurd that a Mr. Tyler, of Tyler's Mills, now YalesvUle. a strong Tory, was
sbot wblle going from bis mill to hi» bouM. No one was arrested, and no RttenUon «u paid to tli«
boiy for mnc time.
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EARLY HISTORY.
299
Inother as possible. Laban's son Pitt (no doubt named for the great Earl of
Chatham, the sturdy friend of America until his death) met a tragic end in the
tmy at the early age of fourteen.
the Wallingford records briefly state: ''Pitt, son of Laban and Prudence An-
drews, killed in battle at Greenwich: denied quarter by the enemy June 29^ 1779-"
Tliis, no doubt, was but a minor engagement with the British just previous to their
Vicent on New Haven in July, for we learn from some old Revolutionary rolls
lately discovered in the town clerk's office at Wallingford, that several companies
vcie detached to go to Greenwich the 15th of June, 1779.
We wonder if the parson was allowed to call on that rank old Tory, Governor
William Franklin of New Jersey (son of the immortal Benjamin), who was for
iome time confined in the old Carrington house on Main street, which stood just
noih of the present Simpson block.
Franklin was the last royal governor of Xew Jersey and a natural son. He
vas a man of fine appearance and on a visit to England with his father made
ach an impression on the celebrated Earl of Bute, that, on his recommendation,
^^e was appointed governor of New Jersey in 1763. During the first days of the
ii^fiute of America with the mother country, he became involved with his as-
^mbly which soon declared him to be an enemy to his country, and gave orders
that he should be sent a prisoner to Connecticut. He was accordingly placed in
the custody of a g^nard commanded by a captain who liad orders to take him to
*'Ovemor Trumbull. The officer in charge halted at Hackensack, and was re-
buked by Washington for his delay, as the commander-in-chief believed that the
^!eposed governor was designing to effect his escape ; basing his belief on the fact
that he had refused to sign the parole and that a letter to Mrs. Franklin liad been
intercepted.
He arrived in Connecticut July 5. 1776. He was immediately sent to Wal-
i^Tigford after he had siijned his parole. He was at first placed in the inn, then
^q*t by Captain Johnson. It was crowded with officers, soldier.*?, travelers and
townsmen whose sympathies were all on the patriotic side. Naturally his life was
^■:ade exceedingly disagreeable. He was insulted and jeered at and even threat-
ened with assassination. The Tories of the town who were among the most re-
spectable and wealthy families in the community, desirinsj: to assist the governor
and relieve him from his sufferings, applied to Mrs. Potter, the wife of Dr. Tared
f*"tter. for a suite of rooms in her s})acious, wcll-furnished house on the other side
■"I the street, pronu'sing to see that she was amj>ly reinil)ur<:ed. Dr. Totter, an
ardent and strenuous patriot, was away with the army, and so she agreed t.> the
Proposition and Govcrrior Franklin was quietly removed at night t(i his new
il<>de where he was kept secluded and comparatively secure. Xo one visited him
except a few of his Tory friends and. in the meantime, he amused himself as best
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300
A CENTURV OF MERIOEK,
lie could with Mrs. Potter's little girls, with whom he walked in the flower garden
liark of the house. He made himself as gay a companion as possible. [>la}ing,
cliatting and romping with them, nnd he would eagerly watch the clock to stB
the hands indicate the hour when they \\(>ul(l return from school. It soon lie-
came known that the governor was in Mrs. Potter's house and the patriots openly
proinised to visit personal violence upon him so that both parties became alarmed
at what might be the outcome of the sit:i iti ni. Rumors of poisoned wells
and personal violence were circulated. The Whigs noticed the frequent viski
of tlie Tories to the prisoner's apartments and believed that a plot was on
foot to take him quietly away at night to the seashore and put hitn on some British
boat in the Sound.^ Petitions were sent to Governor Trumbull asking him t<> re*
move the prisoner to a place of greater safety. The Governor agreed 10
do as he was asked and he was taken to East Windsor where he was quar«<
tered in the house of Captain Ebenezer Grant. In 1777 he reciuested liberty m
visit his wife who was sick in a house a few miles away. In reply to his requesd
General Washington refused to grant it, although he wrote him a s\Tnpathetii
letter. Mrs. Franklin continued to pine and finally died in great unhappine^is in
1778 and on a monumental t;!b!cf erected to her memory in St. Paul's church. New
York, we may read: "Compellod by the adverse circumstances of the limes td
part from the husband she loved and at length despairing of the soothing ho|>e ol
his speedy return, she sunk under accumulated distresses." In 1778 an exchangi
of prisoners was effected and Governor Franklin was removed. His course
a source of ic^reat mortification to his distinguished father.
Had Dr. Jarcd Potter ))cen at home it is very doubtful if Governor Franklta
would have been able to And refuge in the patriotic doctor's house for his lo>aUy
to the Continental government was so strong that he would hardly have tolerated
the idea of harboring a traitor m his house under any conditions.-
We wonder if the Inspection Committee gave the parson permission to condole
with and try to comfort his former parishioner, the unhappy Abiathar Camp, wbfl
was for a w hile confined on parole in his own house in Wallingford? Mr. Canip
was a resident of Xew Haven and followed the profession of shipmaster. The s^iiv^
ping news cohnnn of the weekly gazettes of the period are constantly mentiooi^s
the arrival or departure of Captain Abiathar Camp from or to such ports as St
1 See N. II. Colouv Hist Sot. Col. Vol. 11., pp. 320-1. for the main facts ol tbie aocoiuit d
Fnnkllo's detcnUon In Watltofford.
2 Dr. Potter wan a man of importance in the commuoity. and it was* bo who mfUrwmnI* introduMi
silk-worm culture into Walliugfora. H<> airr«iiponded with Benjanitn Franklin on tlw «abj«e(, um
stocked bis farm with mulb«>rr>- tn»p«!. the s^eed for which he r«*lved from Franklin. j
In 1805, that Duron Munrbuuf^eu, the Kev. SMUUcI P< t. r>. author of that lying book. **A Gmtof
History of Conneotlrut," visited Dr. Potior for some week>, having been referred to htm by Pre*id«!
JederMin in his etIorti> to acquire some laud:^ of which be had procured the titl«. The asperities
Uie war «er» ao tar forgotten that the dernrman and phyalelaa became Terr good McBda^ aad fcil
many a laogb over the clergyman's effort Id bl«torlcal literature.
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EARLY HISTOKY.
301
Martins, the Barliadocs ur Xova Scotia. He was evidently a man of considerable
Acalth. owning^, besides liis residence in New Haven, farms in Eastbury and W'al-
hngfurd. He was a veslr\ iiian <>t Trinity church, New Haven, and a man of
very resfiectahle position in the conmuniity.
He was cventnally allowed to leave WaHint^ford and return to his home in
Xew Haven, having become what was known as a Recanter, but at the time of
ihe invasion of Xew Haven by the British in 177U, he left with the enemy when
!hey retired from the town and settled at last in Xew Brunswick where he died
at the age of eighty- four years.
At a town meeting held in 1775, a Committee of Inspection was elected to en-
quire into all cases of suspected loyalty and to take such measures as were neces-
sary. The connnittee did not let the grass grow Under its feet. The members
were as follows: Eliakim Hall, Stephen Andrews, Deacon David Hall, Ensign
Caleb Atwater, Isaac BuIU Uriah Collins, Nathaniel Hart for the First society;
Captain Asahd Hall, Major Reuben Atwater, Captain Moses Atwater, David
Brooks, Samuel Beach, Esq.. Lieutenant Munson Merriman for Cheshire parish,
and James Hough, Ensign Divan Berry, Lieutenant Allen Roys, Laban Andrews,
Captain Hezekiah Johnson and Mites Johnson for Meriden parish : another com-
mittee was appointed Dec. 17, 1776.
In the Connecticut Journal Nov. 22, 1775. appears the following:
"At a meeting of the Committee of Inspection for the town of Wallingford,
in the county of New Haven, on the 6th day of Nov 1775 Benjamin Hall,' the
3rd, of said Wallingford, having been notified to appear before the committee and
answer a complaint made against him, for a breach of the Hon. Continental Asso-
ciation against his attendance. To the charge exhibited against him pleaded not
^ilty: whereupon the committee proceeded to hear and examine the evidence and
>ti a full and fair tryal are unanimously of the opinion, that the complaint was
tuUy proved against said Hall, and that he has violated the nth article of the
Continental Associatbn, in employing Asa Austin of said Wallingford, as a
schoolmaster who was then considered as an enemy to his country, and as such
h:i(\ been advertised in the Connecticut Journal, and that said Hall has also in-
itistriously nsed his influence and endeavours, to frustrate the designs of the
'irand Continental Congress, in representing them to be a hot headed absolute
U<]y of men, aiming at the subversion of the English constitution, and exercising
a tyrannical tlominion over the colonies: In justifying parliamentary measures,
aJKl in casting virulent reflections upon the committees acting under the Con-
;'r( «:s: such as being arbitrary in their proceedures — and meanly, and most ridic-
1 la tlM imtm «t Uie Coniieetlcitt Jounwl Apfll 12, 1780, the estate of Uenjatnin Hall, late of Wal-
iQcford. poiitfcAlly d«c«w«d. by Joining th« enemlen of the U. S. Is advertlMd n* to tb« bnnda o( nn
adJoiDlBtnitor.
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A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
uously employed to peep into old womcns tea pots and pots. Strictly adher-
ing to the doings of the Congress we now hang up to public view the aforesaid
Benjamin Hall, the 3rd as an inveterate enemy to the rights of British America:
and most devoutly recommend to all the friends of this once happy but now in-
jured and bleeding country, forthwith, upon the publication of this, to withdraw
all connections and commercial dealings from said Hall, as directed by the afore-
cited Congress in the tith article of their Association: And the Chairman is de-
sired to procure a copy of this judgment to be inserted in the public papers.
Signed by order
Caleb Johnson, Chairman.**
Asa Austin, tlie schoolmaster, was also in dire disgrace for rash remarks:
after considering the matter carefully he was ready to do penance for his transgres-
sion, and accordingly we find in the same newspaper, under date of Dec. 20, 1775.
the following:
"I, Asa Austin, of WallinL:tc)r<J, beinj^ sensible that I have contemptuously
violated the third article of the Honorable Continental Association, and treated the
Committee of Inspection with contempt, in refusing to treat with them when
duly notified to appear before them: and also in speaking unfavorably to the
measures taken by my country in defctice of her stipulated rights, whereby T have
j^^roatly oflFcndcd the good people of tlie United Colonies : which inconsiderate
conduct T heartily reflect tipnn, praying the forgiveness of all whom i have justlv
offended; and as I am hearty in my request, I promise that for the future T will
stand by my country, in defence of its sacred liberties, and utterly discountenance
and disunite from those wlio are inimical to the rights of British America.
Asa Austin
Voted, that the above confession is accepted upon the signer thereof, forthwith
publishing the same in the Gazette. A true copy examined.
Wallingford, Dec 1 1 1775 Per David Brooks, Clerk"
The power of this inspection or vigilance committee must have been great in
crushing out all independence of statement.
Parson Andrews* influence among his parishioners in behalf of the cause of
the mother country must have been far reaching and thorough. Abraham Blakes>
lee, of North Haven, Senior Warden of the parish there and captain of a military
company in the Second Regiment, having manifested his disaffection to the gov-
«mment by speaking contemptuously of the measures taken by the General As-
sembly was broken and cashiered from office and was summoned to appear at the
bar of the General Assembly to answer for seditious conduct.
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EARLV HISTORY.
In 1778 ten members of his parish in Xorth Haven sent the fcdlowtng letter
to ' John Martin, Commissary General at New York with speed, Morth Haven,
February 12, 1778, We the inhabitants of North Haven whose names are under-
written are the king's loyal subjects and well-wishers to his Majesty, George HI.
We have, therefore, provided a considerable quantity of provisions and tobacco for
the use of his army and intend to send at the first opportunity we have to New
York or Long Island. We have, likewise, several young men that intends to
j<Mn the regrulars the first chance the\ have.
We hope the God of Heaven will succor you in your endeavors to subdue the
rebels to your subjection, so we must conclude your hearty friends and well-
wbhers."
Fortunately for the signers of this document it did not become public until long
after the war was ended.
Parson Andrews' brothers in Meriden did not escape without a visit from the
same authority which was oppressing him. Moses, who lived on the old home
farm in Meriden, had been forbidden by the Inspection Committee to leave it under
any pretext whatsoever and Denison, another brother, was laboring under a like
situation. To Moses the most grievous part of his punishment was in being for-
bidden to worship God with his brethren on the Lord's Day and in his parish
church. He petitioned for permission to go to church on Sundays in Walling-
ford. The request was refused, but he was graciously given liberty to at-
tend the Congregational meeting in Meriden. To a Churchman of the An-
drews stripe this favor was galling. Finding that he would not be allowed to at-
tend the church of his choice he determined to have services in his own
house. Immediately his parlor was transformed into a chapel. Slabs and
locks of wood served as benches and the other Churchmen who were his neigh-
(x>rs were invited to attend. Moses himself acted as lay reader. This was the
beginning of St. Andrew s church, Meriden. The services here so humbly be-
iCiin. were continued in the same house for a quarter of a century.
It should not l)e forgotten that at tlie time of the Revolutionary War, Walling-
forrl was a much larjjer place re!ativi l\ than it is to-day. Ft had almost as many
mhabitants as Hartford and a trifle larger tax list. In fact, it was one of the
larjje towns of the state and was generally noted as a stronghold of patriots of
vhich there is evidence in the record of the taxes laid during the different years
f the war. In 1775 the tax rate was 2d. on the £, in 1776 id. in
'777 i.V^<i<l. in '779 39d, and in 1780 it reached tfic enormous sum of 6s. 4d. on
^He £, which was practically confiscation, or else it denoted a great depreciation
the circulating: medium. While Wallin^ford did not furnish any noted men
to the Revolutionary cause it had a large body of troops in the field officered by
able Waliingford men.
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A CENTURY OF HEKIDEN.
Wallingford served as a place of detention for many others who had been
voted inimical to their country. These prisoners were confined in different houses
and on January 21, 1777, it was voted that all regular prisoners t1 1 li ill 1 c sta-
tioned in Wallingford and quartered in the houses of different famihes shall not
be allowed to go about or abroad without license from the heads of these families.
A large powder house was stationed in the town which seems to have been the
cause of much anxiety to the selectmen and citizens generally. Guards were ap-
pointed to look after it carefully and see that the hated Tories might not find op-
portunity to cause the powder to be exploded. Wallingford was as susceptible as
any other part of the country to news of success or hope for the future, and we find
in the Connecticut Journal of May 6, 1778, a letter from Wallingford dated May
1st, which reads as follows: "Tuesday last a number of respectable inhabitants
assembled towards evening to celebrate in civil demonstration of Joy the late im-
portant intelligence from Europe brought by the frigate La Sensible. The re-
joicings were introduced with thirteen discharges of cannon, followed by three
cheers. To this succeeded the same ntttnber of volleys with small arms with the
rnder-mentioned toasts interspersed with the cheers repeated. The whole was
conducted with the greatest pro])riety and regularity and the company dispersed
early in the evening." W e will not give a complete list of the toasts. Among
them were the following which have some interest for us because they show the
cause of the rejoicing :
'Trance and Spain."
''The American Ambassador at the Court of France.'*
"General Gates and his brave army who gave the last deadly blow to the pride'
of Britain."
''General Stark and the brave militia who fought the battle of Bennington.**
**May monopolizers and withholders, Tories and Tyrants, meet with the confu-
sion thev so justlv deserve.*'
"May the internal Foes of America never taste the Sweets of Liberty."
"May the Union of the American States be perpetual and their Prize Free-
dom until time shall be no more."
Wallingford was intensely democratic in its sympathies and opposed bitterly
the attempt to retire officers with five years full pay ; and the idea of a Society of
the Cincinnati was too odious to contemplate. At a town meeting held in Sep-
tember, 1783, the local representatives to the legislature were instructed to oppose
all encroachments of the .\merican Congress upon the sovereignty and jurisdiction
of the separate states and to pursue a strict and thorough investigation of the great
and interesting question whether Congress was authorized by the Federal consti-'
tution to grant half-pay for life to the officers of the army.
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EARLY HISTORY. 305
But all things have an end and at last the w eary war was brought to a close
and the country began to resume a nomial condition. And this was a time
vbich has been well-called "The Critical Period of American liistory. " I*"or in
seme places anarchy stalked abroad and it began to look as if the liberty for which
10 much bl(x)d had been shed was but a mockery and a delusion.
Finally Air. Andrews recognized the inevitable, that the separation from the
ni ther country was irrevocable and complete, and in April, 1785. signed the
oath of fidelity to the state of Connecticut.
W ith many of his flock gone and the rest impov erished and discouraged, the
i:]«Hjk was not cheering. Broken in spirit and in health, he decided to leave the
ntry and settle under the British crown in Xew Brunswick. In spite of
:'::«ers and entreaties thither he went in the spring of ijSf^ and chose as his asy-
the town oi St. Andrews, where, from his home he could look across the St.
i\ river and see the shores of Maine. He returned to Wallingford in the fall,
III the spring of 1787 he bade farewell to his parishioners and with his fnmily
''a(!e the journey to St. Andrews, taking with him the rnval coat nt arms which
trs.lont: a time had been a conspicimus object in St. Paul s church. Doubtless
"ring the war of the Revolution it was safely hidden in some cellar or Ljarri t
rci:re from the ]>rving eyes of meddlesome patriots. But shortly after the ad-
int of Parson .Andrews in St. Andrews it was Ihiult '^'i the walls of .\11 Saints"
VTch. which was built about 1792. and altliough ilio old churcli i*! gone, still
lunyson the walls of the new sanctuary to this da\ I'rilliant with paint and gold.
Mr. Andrews Ixmi^ht at first a hnnie lot in St. .\ndrews. but on .March 15.
■ V!. "Samuel ( Khorn F-sq. late e< >niiiian<ler of his Majesty's ship the .\riadne
k1 now of Loiulnn, for £150,*" ><il(l tn Sanuicl Andrews, clerk and missionary of
f < !.. an island called Chamcook. c<)ntainini: 500 acres. ( hi this island, over-
' Iciii^ St. .Andrews. Mr. .Andrews built his h^iise and here he passed the re-
^ ndcr of his life. A large i)art of the island is uuw owned bv Sir William \'an
'' Hie. of Canada, and on it he has built a beautiful country seat. The island is
called Minister^ Island.
Mention ha> heen made of the friendship existing between Dr. Dana and .Mr.
JXircws. ( )n Lhristnia> day, 17S8. an cveiu c^curred which is >lrong evidence
'this fact, and considering the tVeling 01 Imsiiliiy at that time between the Con-
"■tiC^tional and Kpisc<»palian Ixidics it is evi<iencc of a kind we would not expect
*fiiKi. On this festival ilay Dr. Dana {jreaciietl a serniun in St. Paul's church
8 "The Xativity of Christ," and after the discourse delivered the lolU»wing
^*}tT, '*.\Iay grace and peace from God our Father and from the Lord jesus
Wst be niuhiplied to the flock of (iod who nsn.ill v worship in this saticiuarv .
ly they remember how they h ave received the nie»>ages of .salvation from their
te worthy pastor and hold fast and repent. We connnend him and his family
the grace of God. Grant him more perfect and confirmed heahli. Protect his
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3o6
A CEKTURV OF MERIDEN.
life and usefulness. May the wilderness and the solitary place be glad for iIk
good tidings he may bring and welcome him saying: Blessed be he that corned:
in the name of the Lord. "
Some time after his arrival in St. Andrews the good parson was stricken witl
a paralytic stroke which for a while incapacitated him for work in his new fteld
During the winter of 1792- 1793 he made a visit to Wallingford. How much o:
sadness must have mingled with the pleasure of revisiting the old familiar places
His friend, Captain Macock Ward, had passed away an unrepentant Tor>' to th<
Jast. He never received an office from his fellow-townsmen after being electee
to the Colonial Court in 1774 and he sturdily refused to the end to sign the oatl
of fidelity to the state of Connecticut. Dr. Dana had been called to the Firs
church in New Haven. Mr. Andrews' father, Samuel, and brother, Laban. ha(
been gathered to their fathers. Death had been busy in many places amon^ hi;
friends. But his brothers, Denison and Moses, were still living in Meriden an<
doubtless many of his hours were passed with them. He officiated to sonic ck
tent in the churches in Wallinq^ford, North Haven and Cheshire and pcrforme*
the marriage ceremony tor children of lii^ fornier parishioners.
And now the time ha<l come to return to his home in N'ew Brunsu ick : ihi
farewells were said and the sloop "Prosperity." Isaac Kirtlaml. of W allijigtord
master, was lying in Xew Haven harhor at Tomlinson's \\'han. In the Conncc
ticut Journal for several weeks there api)eared the following advertisement: 'Fiv
St. Andrews, New Brnnswick, the Sloop Pro.'sjK'rit) will sail early in .\pril. Vo
freight or passage appl\ to the Master in W'alhnuford or in Mr. Isaac Tonilinsor
in Xew Haven." The first week in .April the anchor was raised, the prow wa;
headed towards St. Andrews : < >n board were the Rev. Samuel .\ndrcws and hi;
wile, and his smi and wife. The voyage was i)r()sperons rntil they reached a le<l<:(
of rocks a few miles off the coast of Mt. Desert. I 'nfortnnately llie bt>at ran fnl
head on this letlge aUlioiigh the sea was sniiH>th and it was soon apparent thai
the hoat was to l)e a total loss. The pa.s>engers and crew were with difficidtN
.saved hnt they were finally landed on the shore in safety, and eventually the\
were trans])orted to St. Andrews.^ Evidently the memory of this shipwreck al
ways stayed with the good parson for he never again came back to W'allingtorr
to revisit the scenes of his childhuud and early ministry. He continued to lal)^)!
in St. Andrews until his death September 26, 1S18. at the ripe old age of eighty,
one \cars. 1 he local Canadian paper contained the toliowini^ ohitnarv notice:
"Died at St. .Andrews on the JOlh nlto. in the 8jil year uf his ai.,^c the Rev
Sam'l .Andrews, a venerable missionary from the S. P. G. and Rector of St
Andrews. This pious and amiable character has retired from the world full 01
years and full of the admiration and esteem of all wiio knew him — to his faniilv
and friends an irreparable los.s — and while memory holds its seat the recollectioti
1 From a New Haven newspaper of that perioU.
I
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EARLY HISTORY.
of his virtues ami of his worth will bo consecrated in the hearts ui all his Par-
lihioners. He was interred on Tuesday lIic 29th uk. aiter a sermon preached
':pon the occasion and his funeral was attended by the whole parish, the military
and a most respectable body of clergy and gentry from the neighborhood, and of
the .\merican shores, amidst the tears and griefs of a grateful people."
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308 A CENTURY OF MERIOEN.
7
CHAPTER XVIII.
If one takes the electric car line and rides to the end of the track in East Met-
iden, nearly to the Middletown boundary, one is in BangalL There are no predM
limits to the district, and one hardly knows when Bangall is reached or wben a
is left ; but still the name is there and has been for a long time» and
about it and try to explain its origin in various ways. The writer has
eral theories that attempt to account for it. ^
Dr. Davis gives this story in his history : "Capt. Benjamin Hall had # H^'
at the Xoah Pomero) place, which in those days was a place of great RMtt
parties who came from Middletown, Durham and Wallingford. One night 4
particular, a large party came from Middletown and kept up their frolics aB ^''^
in the words of Captain Hall, 'they banged all creation": from which ci
came the name of Bangall.**
Here is one yam that was told by its narrator to the writer as a veracious
count of the origin of the name : Years ago a man in the Bangall country
Samuel Baldwin was an eccentric character who. Instead of bursting into profamt
when stirred by excitement, always exclaimed, '*bang it all, bang it all."
were his emotions relieved, and thus he gave a name to the neighborhood.
Another explanation which the writer heard from an old man who hai ilu;
lived in the vicinity, is that the young men who worked in the Pomeroy tin
in that locality were so noisy and boisterous and full of horse play, that
arose in that way. In fact, one can hear various yarns from the older h
but they all agree in this particular, viz. that there was a great deal of
in the vicinitv.
If this were the only instance of the use of the word Bangall the writer
not be at all sceptical, and would be inclined to believe this derivation. But.
fortunately for these various explanations, there are six other Bangalls^ all locate
in New York state. The following is the list ; I
Ikni-all ]\ ().. Dulchess Co.
Bangall ( ( liiildcrsleevc P. ( >. ), Albany Co.
P.anpall ( 1 .ast \>nice P. ( ).), Cayuga Co.
Paiigall rravl-.r P. ().), Cortland Co.
r>aiiuall ( l'ari^h V. (). ), Oswego Co,
Batigall (Easton P. O.), Washington Co.
In every case, except the first, they arc all hamlets in townships.
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E.\RLY HISTORY.
The writer has no theory to offer but he can hardly beheve that the
Meriden story is a satisfactory reason : if it is, then \vc must assume that
the "banging^" habit was a general one in various parts of the country at some time
in the past. It seems more likely that it is an old place name, and that the various
)2ms, oflfered to account for its origin, are simply developments of the same in-
genuity which would explain the origin of the word Meriden by saying that it
was once a .Merry -den.
Mr, Berthold Fcrnow, the official translator of the earlv Dutch records of Xew
OLD BRENTON, OR C.\SP.\R II.\LL PL.\CE.
York, and a man of profound knowledge of early colonial Dutch and English,
suggested to the writer that perhajis the word is a corruption of the old English
place name of fjagnall.
But whatever the origin of the word, it is certain that if the early inhabitants
of the east part of Meriden were seeking a name for that locality which would
hxf descriptive, they could not have done better than to select that of Hall
Farms. A hundred years ago it would have been perfectly safe to address any
man one met in Bangall as Mr. Hall. Although the Baldwin family had secured
an entering wedge on the west side of the locality, their i)resence but served to
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310 A CENTURY OF MERIUEN. [
emphasize the prcdoiiiinance of the name of Hall. And they were all sdoos ol
the ancient Hall stock of Wallingford.
Perhaps the most prominent man in Meriden and certainly of his name, wi eo
the town was incorporated in 1806, was Brenton Hall. The Hon. Brenton HaD
he was called and he was a worthy representative of the stock. 1
He was born in Cheshire April 2, 17381 and was a son of Rev. Samuel of
that parish, and his wife, Ann, the daughter of Jonathan Law, governor of Cxyv
necticut. He was a great-great-grandson of Governor Brenton of Rhode Islami
Hence his name. His father, Rev. Samuel, had, at an early date, received a granl
of two hundred acres in Mcriden parish, in the extreme eastern part, fronting en
the north on old Liberty street. The farm ran dow n to Black Pond on the souti
and adjoined the Middletown line on the east. There is evidence that Brenton
was in Mcriden as early as 1760, and on February iS, 1762. he married Lament
the daughter of Jonathan Collins, whose old house has already been pictured
now known as the Samuel Clark place. In 1767 his father presented to Broi
ton the farm of 200 acres which then included a dwelling and other buildings.
The house is said to have been built by Rev. Samuel for his son at about th
date of his marriage, viz. 1762. A year or two ago, this dwcllinir. which was fas
going to decay, was pulled down. It has already been described as fronting 01
old Liberty street, several hundred feet east of Preston avenue, at the top of th
hill. This picture is a reproduction of one that appeared in the Hall GencalogA
According to the "Hall Ancestry," Brenton Hall was a man of dignified b<:ii
ing, a clear, tlark complexion, briglit intelligent eyes, and dark brown llair. H
was Meriden's first representative to the General Assembly, and had aeted in iii
capacity for the town of Wallingford previously, and was largely instranfiental r
having Mcriden set oft as a separate township. Brentmi was first coujUi of Co
.Street Hall of Revolutionary fame and first cousin of Lyman Hall, a signer of th
Declaration of Independence, and during the Tryon Invasion of New HiBVcn i
1779, Brontoti as ensign, marched with a company of Meriden men to the scene 0
action. He was twice married, his second wife being Widow Abigail Guy, 0
Bran ford.
He died Xov. 25, 1820. and his body lies buried in the old Broad street cemc
tery. His son, Caspar, inherited the homestead and many acres of the farm an
Mrs. Joseph Morse, of Meriden, is one of his children. Collins Hall, the seconi
son of f'renton, married in 1795 and, doubtless, built his home at that time. I
is still standmg on the east side of Pomeroy avenue, at its junction with East Mai
street or Middletown turnpike.
On Xov. 9, 1796, his father gave him a farm of sixty acres "on which he nn^
dwells," showinq: that the house was then built. The northwest comer of
fann is stated to be near Constant Miller's mill dam. Collins died in 1849. WTie
the house was built the turnpike was not in existence.
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EARLY HISTORY.
3"
Another son of Rrcnton. Augustus, was given a farm bv his father that fronted
west on Preston avenue, and the house he buiU is still standing and is located
'3nthat avenue on the east side, about 160 rods north of East Main street. Walter
Hall, the son of Augustus, lives in the old Ambrose Hough place, at the corner of
Liberty and Broad streets.
At the junction of Pomeroy and Murdock avenues formerly stood a very old
house which was bought and lived in by Xoah Pomeroy when he came to Meri-
:den about 18 16. It was that in which Captain P>enjamin A. Hall was supposed
to have kept the tavern that gave the section the name of Bangall. Many years
Pboto by R. S. Godfrey.
COLLINS H.\LL PLACE.
^0 the Pomeroy family moved the old dwelling a few hundred feet east of its
former location and there it stands to-day. A modern house occupies the old site.
It has lost the dignified aspect it presented when it stood on its former site
'haded by lordly old maples. Its ancient lines, however, are still apparent, al-
^gh it has lost its great chimney. The first mention the writer has been able
0 find relating to this house is dated March 25. 1751. when Israel Hall and his
•vife. Abigail, deeded it and si.xty acres of land to Phineas Hall. The land ex-
ended north to Black. Pond Brook and it was surrounded on three sides by the
and of Enos and Abraham Hall and on the east also by a highway. The descrip-
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312 A CENTURY OF MKKI[)EX.
tion is the same very nearly of the farm afterwards boiijjht by Xoah Pomeroi
and without much doubt the house is the same.
This Israel Hall was a son of Thomas and the brother of Daniel whose fari
was further down Murdock avenue and whose house has already been describei
It is probable, therefore, that it is a very old one and the date of erection wa> am
siderably earlier than that of the transfer in 1751. Captain Benjamin A. wa* cq
tainly a son of a IMiineas — probably the jjrantee in this deed. Here Xoah Poiner<>
lived for many years, I
If now we retrace our steps to Fast Main street and then follow Preston avc
nue towards the north, we pass, at the corner of old Liberty street, another oil
Hall homestead site: the house was known for many years during the last cci
1
HKNJAMIN A. HALI-. OR NOAH POMKROV PLACF..
tury as the Captain IJooth place and it stood just south of the present home ^
W illiam H. llooth. Before the days of Captain liooth it was the dwelling: of ai
other Phineas Hall. The house was a very old one. and when and by wlvoni
was built the writer has been unable to learn from either records or tradition.
After passing: the former home of Augustus Hall, we come within less thaiv
half mile to the Xelson Hall homestead on the left, and then just l)efore Baldw
avenue is reached, we pass the George L. Hall house on the east, now occupied 1
his widow and two sons. (ieorj2:e A. and Clayton F. From what has been writu
it can readily be seen that a larg:e portion of the eastern part of Meriden was ll
I V Google
EARI.V HISTORY.
domain of the Hall family. It is a strange fact that not one of all the roads in
this section bears the name of Hall.
But before we leave this interesting family neighborhood, there is another Hall
homestead to be seen. Just as we reach Baldwin avenue, on the west side of the
street, is the wreck of an old house that is in a most pitiable condition. All its dig-
nit>- has gone, and it is now used as a wood house.
As in the case of .so many of these old houses, it seems to have grown on its
site: the old builders, now and then, combined the hai)j)y faculties of harmony of
environment and utility. They frequently nestled their houses into some no<ik or
sheltered spot, in a way that is pleasing to the artistic sense.
M()SK.S H.M.I. HOI SK.
It was once known as the Mo.scs Hall place, built by Phineas for his son. but
just when, it has been impossible to learn. Moses was doubtless the soldier in the
Revolution of that name, so that it is .safe to assume that the house has a flavor of
very respectable anti<iuity. In the early part of the last century it was known as
the Loyal Booth place.
If now we go west on Baldwin avenue, we come within half a mile to the
homestead of Nathan S. Baldwin, located on a gentle knoll, where a sweep of the
eye takes in the broad meadows to the south, flanked on the east by the bold
ranges of Higby and Beset mountains. To the north lie Mt. Lamentation and the
Notch leading to Westfield parish. Here Mr. Baldwin has passed his life, tilling
the meadows of the farm Innight by his father. Moses, about the year 1815. of
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314
A TKXTURY OF MERIDEX.
Timothy Ives, Timothy was a carpenter and built the house in the year 1798.
Moses was a son of James who came from Cheshire in 1796 and boug^ht an
interest in Hough's Mills in that year. James was a soldier in the war of the
Revolution.
If now, after leaving Mr. Baldwin's house, we turn north on Bee street until
we come to the W'estfield road and then turn west, passing the mill site known
as Hough's or Baldwin's, we soon come to l»road street. A little south of the junc-
tion stands a house, No. 1065. known as the Asahel Curtis place. In it were born
the late Geo. R. Curtis, Mrs. Robert A. Hallam and Asahel Curtis, Jr. The house
was built probably by Joel Yale in the year 1807, and was his homestead for a num-
ber of years, until he moved to another part of the town. It was originally a story
N'.\TH.\\ n.NLDWIN PLACE.
and a half structure, and was bought with four acres of ground in 1813 by Isaac
Lewis ( father of the late Isaac C. Lewis) and Asahel Curtis. In a building ad-
joining the firm of Lewis & Curtis for a number of years manufactured metal
buttons, but in 181 8 the firm was dissolved and Mr. Curtis became the sole owner,
and shortly after moved from his father's ( Benjamin) homestead on Curtis street,
with his wife and daughter (Mrs. Jennett Clark) and here passed the remainder
of his life.
Now going down Britannia to Colony street, and then turning up Kensing-
ton avenue, we come within a few hundred feet of the junction to an old house.
No. 67, on the north side of the street and known as the Comfort Butler place.
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EARLY HISTORY.
He came to Meriden from Middletown in the year 1770, having married in 1765,
Mary, the daughter of Divan Berry, whose home was on Miller avenue, as already
described. Comfort in the year 1770 bought of Josiah Robinson, Jr., a tract of
seventeen acres, on which the present house stands.
The southeastern corner of the fami, according to the deed, began at a "place
known as Wolf Swamp pasture bars." The swamp north of the tract was then
known by that name. Although there have been several additions built, still the
old house erected in 1770 has changed very little. Comfort was a shoemaker, and
probably pursued that calling in Meriden. and carried on the tanning business as
well. He was a rival of .Moses Mitchell, who ran a tanning industry in the hollow
just east of Meeting House hill.
AS.AHEL CURTIS PLACE.
Comfort's son, John, was afterwards engaged in the same line of business, and
many will remember his tanyards and vats that were once located on Liberty
street, a little west of the homestead of Walter Hall. .Xs has been told, land in
this locality was once a part of the old Jerome farm, bought by Abel Curtis in 1771.
On March 15, 1796, Abel sold to John Butler and William Olds a piece of real
estate containing thirty rods, and these men immediately began a partnershij) on
the property, of tanning and dressing leather. They continued together until 1804
when Butler bought out Olds' interest and carried on the business alone until well
into the last century, and was a successful and shrewd man.
Comfort Butler's family and descendants were numerous and prominent, and
3»6
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
the roll call embraced such names as Henry C, Joel I.. Eli C. Hiram. Lemuel
and others.
There is one of the Yale houses still standing that is a dignified and substantiji
dwelling, and carries lightly its 1 18 years of service. It was built in the year i;
by John, a grandson of that John Yale, who, in comi)any with Jedediah N'ort'ffl,
bought the Belcher or Meriden farm in 1741.
The Yales had bought and sold much of the land in that locality, and. althougli
they originally iK'gan with the west half of the old farm, by 1788 they liatl soM
considerable on the west side and Ixjught much on the east, and the family
been successful and stood high in the community as this old dwelling wouM
Photo by R. S Godfrey.
COMFORT nUTI.ER PL.\CE.
dicate : the homestead continued in the Yale family until a number of year> a;
w hen John Yale, a great grandson of him who built it. sold the property to
Ham H. W'anKxrk. of Meriden. and removed to West Worthington. Mass.
A little more than a hundred years ago that country north of Cat Hole
as far as the roatl leading to the Meriden reser\'oir. that is. Merimere. was inclm!
in the townshi|) of W'allingford and was a part of the parish of Meriden: in t
the road mentioned was the county line. On that corner known now as notsf"''!*
or Corrigan's stood a farm house that was long since replaced hy the prc^eil
modern one. This house and six hundred acres adjoining were for a number d
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EARLY History.
317
years owned by James Hillhoiise of New Haven, very prominent in that town and
the state, and for a while United States senator from Connecticut. He acquired
ihe property in 1790 and it extended from just west of the Belcher farm and that
of Joseph Edwards, over the mountain to a point fully a quarter of a mile west
•>i Botsford's or Corrigan s corner. Evidently Mr. Hillhouse enjjagcd in lum-
bering to some extent for he erected a sawmill on the brook west of the corner,
and the pond which supplied the water power is still in existence and can be seen
Ptoto by R. S. Godfrey.
JOHN VALK HOUSE.
clo<;e to the road. He also owned the inevitable ci<ler mill. There is a tradi-
tion in Meriden that Senator Hillhnu.sc procured in Meriden the elms with which
he beautified the streets of Xew Haven, and if the tradition is true it must have
^)ecn on this farm that the younjj saplingK^s jjrew.
The farm was sold on Xovember 14, 1797. to Isaac Botsford, and a map of the
district made by Mr. liotsford more than a century ago is before the writer as he
i>ens these lines and it shows that there were manv more houses in that localitv
• • •
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
than exist to-day. It indicates the old road that formerly lunihered over themoua'
tain, coming out just west of the trotting park in Meriden. Cat Hole Pass road
was not built until 1803 and this same Mr. Botsford was the builder.
On Johnson avenue, which has already been described as a part of the old
Wallingford north bounds, and perhaps half a mile west of the old Merriam
house, stands a dwelling that is now unoccui)ied, and which was probably bulk
about the year 1785 by Israel Johnson.
WILLI.\M JOHNSON PLACE.
Jacob Johnson acquired a tract of 100 acres on this hill as early as 173-2. ^''^
Israel was his grandson: he bought his brother Dan's interest and then Ixrtran M
buy large tracts adjoining until he had acquired a large part of the mountain
north of his home, from the Hoadleys, Harri.sons and Hills.
It has always been supposed that Mr. Johnson bought the mountain lam*
e.xpecting some day to develop the property into a valuable mining tract, tor it]
was believed that prospecting had shown untold wealth of gold and copper '>"■
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EARLY HISTORY.
las! the metal never materialized and much of the good Johnson money was sunk
3 profitless prospecting and digging.
After the father's death, the son William and his sisters, Amanda and Huldah,
oniinucd to live in the old homestead : none of them ever married and there they
assed their lives gazing off on the ancestral mountain land and dreaming that
Dme day fortune would show them the spot where nature had buried her treas-
res. The family made some pretensions to polite and elegant living, and it was
■0 by R. 8. Godfrer.
LEVI ALLEN PLACE.
sidered quite an honor to be invited to partake of the hospitality of Uncle Wil-
1.
Ihey are all gone now and the ancestral |)eak has been divided among those
) think it a fine spot for summer cottages.
On .-Mien hill, or avenue, stands an old house that was built many years ago.
>ably by Titus Merriman, and the first record we find is dated in 1784 when
IS deeds it to Giles Collins, with its thirty-nine acres of lantl. all in Hanging
A CENTURY OP MERID&N.
Hills Woods: and here Giles continued to live until 1793 when he deeded the house
and farm to Archelaus Allen, who had previously lived on a farm in the north-
eastern part of Wallingford,
The house is interesting, both in itself and on account of those who were bom
and lived there. In the year 1815 Archelaus gave the house to his son Levi and
moved towards Meriden center, building the house known now as the Griswotd
place, opposite All Saints' church, No. 198 West Main street, where he died a few
years later. The dwelling has been raised or the street cut down and under it is
a Chinese laundry.
Levi continued to live in the old homestead and here were born his children,
the late John Allen in 1815, a successful man of affairs in New York who died in
Saybrook in 1901, the late William Allen, who died unmarried in New York in
1874 and who was a successful business man in that city, and the late Edward C.
Allen, born in 1823, who passed his life in Meriden on the home farm, a success-
ful and highly esteemed citizen, and died in 1887. He built the home east of the
old farm house and the delightful hospitality there dispensed, hallows it in the
memory of those who were forttmate enough to partake of it.
Levi Allen had bought largely of surrounding land and the farm was conse*
quently an extensive one, and his son, Edward C. took great pride in its manage-
ment and it had the reputation of being one of the best farms in the county. He
was a man of influence in the community and will be remembered for the great
interest he took in matters musical in Meriden, and his interest in the First Con-
gregational church was always deep. For years he sang in the choir and was
for a long time one of the deacons.
Levi Allen was the fifth in descent from Roger Ailing, who came to Boston
with Rev. John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton from England in 1638, and with
them helped found and settle the colony of New Haven in the same year. He
was the first treasurer of the colonv.
Perhaps a (|iiarier of a mile west of the Oliver Rice homestead is a house
known as the Calvin Coe place, where the latter for many years lived and man-
aged in a very successful manner the 200 acres that surround the house. Some
twenty years or more ago it was abandoned as the home of the family and the
large stone mansi(»n southwest of the nld place was built by .Andrew J. Coe, and
it has been christened as the Coe Castle. The only member of the family now
left in .Meriden is VV infield K. Coe, who lives in a house somewhat east of the
Oliver Rice place.
The old Coe homestead had a histr.ry i)revious to its becoming the dwelling
of Calvin S.. for in 1795 it was sold by Samuel Rice to .\sa Barnes, who caine
here from Southington. Samuel was cousin to Ezekiel Rice, who served in the
Revolutionary war and for nearly 100 years this farm had probably been Rice
Digitized by Google I
KARI.V mSTORV.
property. Asa I'arnes lived here for a number of years, liis son I£li inheriting
the farm and for a while running the Andrews mill.
Finally Kli sold the farm to thenezer i'eck, a retired sea captain of Xew Ha-
ven, who niaile this place his summer home. He had been one t)f the old line of
mariners who once made the port of .\ew Haven famous. He died in i8iy and
the administrator of his estate sold the farm to Calvin Coe in 1820.
On the Coe farm in the corner near Allen avenue is a ([uarry of sandstone of
very good quality that was once quite extensively worked lx)th by Mr. Coe and
bv his jjredecessors : the stone in the railroad culvert in Valesville came from this
quarry, and doubtless also the foundation stones of many of the old houses in
Meriden.
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
CALVIN COE PLACE.
Until if one living in the vicinity of the Rice or Andrews farms wished
to go to Fall> Plains or Hanover, there was only one public road to travel and
that was over the [iresent highway running south thmngh this Coe farm on which
the stone "C astle ' is now situated.
To be sure, the sruithern extremity was farther east than at present, for there
was then no dam at the falls or rapids, setting the waters back into a pond. In
the year mentioned a rf>ad was opened running south, starting just west of the
-Andrews Mill, and going through to Rice's bridge, which was exactly i.^»50 feet
south of Falls Plains bri<lge, according to the records.^ This would make it j^is-
sible for a surveyor to show exactls where Rice's bridge was located, for Falls
1 Wtlllngford Land Ke<t)rds. Vol. XXIX. pp. 14-17.
21
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322
A CENTURY OF MERIDKX.
Plains bridge was then precisely where it is to-day, viz. adjoining the land whert
the plant of the Meriden Cutlery Co is now located. Evidently Rice's bridge
either washed away or badly damaged during a flood in the spring of 1792, for al
a town meeting held April 13 that year, the question for consideration was whethcl
the town would replace or repair several bridges carried away during the last]
floods ; they voted not to rebuild or repair Rice's bridge, and perhaps Falls Plaina
bridge was built, after this decision, by private subscription. The present oki
house, now used as a sal(X)n and facing the east end of the bridge^ occupies th^
site of the original Justus Rice house, built perhaps as long ago as 1730. The
present one was built after I7f)0 by Justus, Jr. Rice's bridge was for many years
the sole approach to Falls Plains from the east and it was simply the continuation
of the road running west from the Robert Rice place, now called Archer's. ■
ASA BRAY, OR BALDWIN HOUSE.
The total length of this road running north from Rice's bridge to Andrews'
Mill was 381 rods, but it must have followed a private way or path already in e-x-
istence, for on it were standing the houses of Col. Asa Bray and Justus Rice.
The year following the layout of this north and south road, viz: 1799. a highway
was built running west from Falls Plains bridge — the present Main street of
Hanover.^ For ninety-two rods west from the bridge the road ran through Rice
property : this was evidently to a point just west of the old Chester Rice place.
Just south of the entrance to Hanover Park stands the house built by Col. Asa
1 Walllngford Land Kf cords. Vol. X.XI.X. pp. 3f>. 211. 212.
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EARLY HISTORY.
Bray, of Southington, in the year 1794: he had just bought the whole of the old
Whittlesey farm consisting then of 230 acres which ran away over to Town Rock
on the west, its south side skirting the river: at the mouth of Harbor Brook he
built a sawmill.
The colonel saw much service in the Revolution and attained the brevet rank
of major, receiving his colonel's commission after the war was over. He re-
mained in Meriden only six years, selling his farm and house in 1800 to Charles
Baldwin of Woodbridge, and his saw mill to Joel Cook. Mr. Baldwin appar-
ently employed his time tilling his large farm and lived here until 1818 when he
died.
JULIUS IVES HOUSE.
His will contained a bequest of $225 to aid in building a Methodist meeting
house in Meriden center: his property was valued at $15,000 — quite a large sum
at that time. The house and considerable adjoining land continued in the Bald-
win family for many years: it is now the property of the electric railroad.
The tract of land known as Falls [Mains or Hanover, boiintled on the north and
cast by the river, was at first divided into a multiplicity of small holdings in the
vear 1689, and a copy of the map of this land division has been printed on page 66.
The level tract extending south nearly to Yalesville, was also included under this
name, and as there were only two roads on the plain and very few houses, it is
difficult to follow intelligently the accumulation into farms.
Robert Rice, whose home was in the old house now known as the .Xrcher*
place, was a very large land owner and apparently acquired nearly all the northern
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3-24
A CENTURY ni MKKIDEX.
part of Falls Plains as far south as Plumb brook and runninj]^ west nearly to tM
foot of the hill. |
His son, Captain Moses Rice, inherited or bought of the other heirs, mo<T«
this land ; towards the close of his life he sold the homestead to John Xoti aa
distributed most of his land to his sons, Abner, Joel and Amos. In 1783 he .uii
to Abner nine acres at the north end of tlie plain which probably includetl tfl
site of the Chester Rice place, antl on the death of Moses. Abner inherited a hrd
tract adjoining, so that he must at one time have owned nearly the whole of m
north end which had previously belonged to Robert and Moses, father and sol
P»ut he did not live on it, aj)parently. for he bought on August u, 1795. a larg
ClIESTF-U RICE I'LACE.
tract of land up the hill to the west, where he at once built a house that is .<tl
standing, and in a fine state of preservation : it is a good example of a rooii
comfortable farmhouse of that day.
Abner lived there until 1800 when he sold the farm and house to Abel Sal
ford, of Woodbridge. In 1828 it was bought by Jesse Ives, the grandfather J
Julius and the late Amos Ives: it is now the farm of the former and it is orwl
the best in this part of Xew Haven county ; everything about the place denod
thrift and enterprise.
Abner Rice, after selling the farm on the hill, probably built the house no
known as the Chester Rice place on the Main street in Hanover, and his 5fl
J ^ . . i.y Google
EARLV HISTORY. 325
Chester, later acquired this homestead and many acres of land. He was an en-
terprising and successful man. The only persons in Meriden who are descend-
ants of Deacon Robert Rice and his son. Captain Moses, of whom the writer is
aware, are the Misses Lizzie S. and Emma L. Rice, who still have their homt
on a part of the ancestral acres : they are dauf^hters of Asahel, the son of Chester.
.\\vay down on the southern j)art of Curtis street, almost at the Wallinj^ford
line, stands a house known as the Lounsbury place.
It was built about 1778 or 1780 by Xoah Yale for his .son Thomas: but when
erected there was no street runninp: by the house: it was situated on a laneway
Photo by R. 8. Godfrey.
THOM.\S Y.\LK. OR LOUXSIU'RV l'L.\C K.
that ran up to Vale avenue st)mewhere near the homestead of J. Hobart Yale ;
the house docs not face the street which was not opened until 1820.
Away back in the early part of the last century, on account of its remoteness
from other dwelling:s. and because it was not on a highway, it was u.sed for a while
as an inocrlation hospital. This fact was told by the late Fulwin E. Curtis, who was
born in the year 1800.
Many people know the house built by Ransom P.aldwin in 1828, standing: on
Wall .street, a little west of tlie jilace whore the street trrns to the north: the
land around was once i)art of the fann owned by Captair [ohn Couch of Revo-
326
A CEKTURY OF HEKlItEN.
lutionaiy fame. His house stood in the spot whkh is now the junction of Wall
street and the road running east over Cherry hill to Gravel street, and the old
well can still be seen which was just north of the house. Captain Couch came
here in 1746, and bought roost of his farm of Aaron Lyman, so that he could not
have been a young man when the war broke out, which doubtless accounts for his
short term of service.
VVALl.INGl URD AM) MIDDLKTOWN BOUNDARY DISPUTE.
Away down in the soutii western corner of Middlefield, on top of Beset moun-
tain, once stood a poor old cedar tree that was the center of more interest in Wal-
lingford and Middletown than perhaps any other point in the two townships.
This tree marked the southwestern corner of the latter place, and during the nti-
merous boundary disputes between these two towns everything began, centered
and ended around this tree.
When the bounds of Middletown were stated at a meeting of the General Court
March 11, 1652-53, the description was as follows: "This court grants the bounds
of Middletown to extend four miles to y® South from y*^ meeting house and five
miles from y® said house westward."
In other words the court defined the southwest quarter of the town by two si«les
of a rectangle ; the other two being understood, and the northwest quarter was
defined in the same way.
The manner m which the soutliucsicni corner was determined was by draw-
ing a line from the meeting house due south four miles, the southern terminus be-
ing marked by a tree. Thence a line was drawn due west five miles to the notorious
tree on Beset Mountain.
Had the court not divided the northern hali oi Meriden between the towns
of Farniington, Wethersfield and Middletown in 1687, "to plant a village in."
these boundary disputes would probably never have taken place : but the division
was made and the bitterness of feeling engendered between Middletown and
Wallingford was so great that each accused the other of chicanery and shar\»
practice, and the matter w as brought to the attention of the General Court manv*
times, and was not decisively settled until 1773.
The dispute was first brought before the assembly in May, 1722, when Wal-
lingford stated that whereas Middletown's west boundar>' should extend north
from the cedar tree in a line parallel to their center line, they had so manat^evl
it that they had encroached on WalKngford's territory to the extent of three
miles and more, although the latter town's grant from the court had given tcrritorv*
five miles east of the Quinnipiac river ; and as a consequence there was only left to
them a distance of one mile and a quarter east of the river.
As a result of this petition the General Assembly or court "Resolved that a
north line by the needle of the surveying instalment drawn from the cedar tree
Digitized by Google
£ARLY HISTORY.
vi2. the reputed southwesterly corner bouTKhiry mark of Middletown shall for-
ever be and remain the divident line between the said townships provukU always
that Middletown have liberty with the assistance of the county surveyor io [ncas-
nre their said five miles from their meeting house west, at the end whereof a
wnh and south line sliall determine the bounds of Wallingford. providing Mid-
'iictown take the benefit of measuring said five miles before the hrsi of May
Dtxl, and give seasonable notice to Wallinpford to be jjresent al ilie measuring."
Accordingly, WaHinglord procured the services of the Xew Haven county
sur\'e}or and ran a line north by the needle from the cedar tree and supposedly
the matter was settled.
Rut, unfortunately, no. At the October session, 1726, Middletown appeared
beiorc the court and asserted that Wallingford by *' false misrepresentations had
obtained a (li>annulliug of their west line to Middletown's great loss" and pray-
ing for relief.
Accordingly, the sheriff was sent to Wallingford to siunmon the inhabitants
kfore the assembly : Theophilus Yale acting for the town entered appearance and
• presumably) presented a counter petition signed by four Wallingford men who
had made purchases in the so-called Country or Purchase Lands, and the matter
was apparently dropped for the time being.
At the October session, 1729, this perennial matter again came before the as-
sembly in the form of a petition from Wallingford stating that after the resolve
of the Assembly in 1722 they had procured the services of the New Haven county
surveyor to run the north line from the cedar tree, which they had had subse-
quently verified by the Fairfield county surveyor. But that Middletown, not sat-
isfied with this line, had procured the services of the Hartford county surveyor
who had so run the line that he had given to Middletown half a mile of Walling-
ford territory ; the main object of the petition was to ask why this north line should
not nut parallel to Middletovm's center line.
An examination of the map will show that all this disputed land was in what
is now the territory of the town of Meriden. The cause of the difference in the
lines as run by the several county surveyors, was a variation in the needles of the
instruments. A difference of one or two d^frees at the cedar tree would, of
course, cause a great discrepancy when a point as far north as old Liberty street
was reached by the north line. When the matter was brought to a vote, the up-
per house declared that Wallingford*s petition was a reasonable one: but the lower
boase voted in the negative.
In the meantime a dispute between Middletown and Farmington relating to
boundary lines, had broken out and the services of two surveyors, David Good-
rich and Thomas Seymour, had been employed in 1725 to affix the southeast cor-
ner of Farmuigton which adjoined at that time the northwest comer of Middle-
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A CKNTL'KV OF MEUIDKX.
town. The latter town was not satisfied with the line as nm, probably because the
surveyors after locating the corner had drawn a line south to old Liberty street to
mark the west boundary of Middletown adjoining W'allingford. An attempt on
the part of Middleto.\vn to rcnieasure this line between her bounds and those of
Famiington was frustrated by a man namol Hezekiah Hart, who refused to allow
the surveyors to cross his farm ; several times the attempt to remeasure was re-
sumed, but each time Hezekiah said "No! you cannot cross my farm": and ap-
parently acting within his rights, for no penalty or punishment resulted to the
doughty farmer. ,
Then the dispute between Middletown and Wallingford began again, and
dragged its wearv length along and finally aid of the Assembly was invoked for
Middletown had taken the matter in her own hands and rerun her western bound
and then sued Wallingford s selectmen in the sum of £5 each for not perambu*
iating the bounds with her. Wallingford, in concluding her appeal in 1734, said
''your honors have found a remedy for other towns in like predicament so please
allow the line of Xew Haven county surveyor to stand which is nearest the true
line or else settle the tine yourself.'* Accordingly, ^liddletown was summoned to
answer the complaint or petition, but the upper and lower branches of the As-
sembly were unable to agree on a decision and the matter was referred to the
May session, 1735.
As usual, the lower house agreed with Middletown at the May session and the
argument in her behalf was as follows: "the assembly in 1722 acted with the ut-
most care and caution and enacted that the dividing line between Middletow^n and
Wallingford shall be a line north by the needle from the cedar tree, with a proviso
that Middletown may extend a west line from their meeting house five miles, and
^n y* extent of that, a north and south line to determine Wallingford bounds, with
a further prpviso y^ Middletown should take the benefit thereof before the first
of May next coming ; in relation to which we observe first y* act or judg^ is ab-
solute and proviso is only a liberty granted to Middletown and if only a liberty
then not necessary for *till liberty and necessity can be blended together and con-
sidered as synonymous words or things, we cant understand that Middletown was
obliged to measure their five miles to establish their north line by the needle.
2**ly if Middletown were lai<l un<ler a necessity of carrying out their five mile line
then they were obliged to defeat their grant to establish it which is a contradic-
tion/' etc., etc.
The upper house to«ik an opi)Osite view and said "since Middletoun's extent
gives- them their width of five miles west from their center line through the meet-
ing linusc. then tiic hounds between the two towns should 1h a line paralel to the
center line, and when tlu a>sctnhly say upon a certain condition that a north line
by the needle from the cedar tree shall be the dividing line, it is upon a supposition
I
I
I
Digitized by Google
tIARLV HISTORY.
that tlic cedar tree statKls at the south end oi ihc a ' parak-ll line and that the line
from thence shuiud be run north from thai tree by the same needle that ran their
ceiitcT line."
Ai^ain, at tlic October session. 1735, W'allingford stated that "Middletown did
in \ without any order or directit)n from this court prfjcure another surveyor to
run another line to the great detriment and disturbance of the town of WalUng-
ford, the needle of whose compass varies above three degrees westward from the
ticedle bv which their center and other lines were run. If sufficient authority was
not gfiven to cither party by the act of 1722 to run and ascertain the line, then your
fionors should now appoint some suitable person or persons to perform it and that
>xm should supply what is wanting in s^ act by determining by what needle the s^
line shall be run. If there be more compasses than one in the world, and they dif-
fer from one another, and the act doth not determine by which of them the lines
should be run its necessary then the act should be explained by declaring the par-
ticular needle by which it should be performed, otherwise h must forever remain
uncertain which of them was intended.'*
Wallingfi^rd was insistent to gain what she considered her rights and again
brought in a petition in 1 736; such persistence could not be withstood and the
General Assembly finally at the October session enacted the following : "It appears
that this Assembly at their sessions October 11, 1722, did order that a north line
from the cedar tree to be run by the needle of the survex ing instrument should
divide said towns and thereupon Wallingford procured the surveyor of New Ha-
ven county to run said line, and afterwards Middletown procured the surveyor of
Hartford county to run said line, and also that neither of said lines passeth right
between said towns: that by New Haven county surveyor taking from Middle-
town and that run by Hartford county surveyor taking from Wallingford, It is
now ordered by this Assembly that the line dividing said towns shall be a line
ran from the said southwest corner of Middletown, parallel to their center line
as far northward until it intersects the south line [Liberty street] of those lands
called the Purchase Lands, and that then the line already ordered by this assem-
bly for the east line of said Purchase Lands shall divide said towns.**
The line was accordingly run on November 25, 1736.
When it had been finally decided as above the towns of Farmington, Middle-
'•»wn and Wethersfield called the attention of the Assembly to the fact that the
p urchase Lands now definitely given to Wallingford had been allotted to them
m 1687, *nd asked damages for their loss: but the Assembly absolutely refused
to grant any remuneration.
One would be pardoned for believing that the matter was at last decided for-
ever and that no further disputes could possibly arise ; but such was not the case.
At the May. 1742, sessbn of the General Assembly ten Middletown men pre-
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330
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
sented a petition stating that by the new line established in 1736 their town had
lost some fifteen hundred acres, which had been distributed to them and their
ancestors as early as 1671. .That the Assembly did in 1680 grant to Mr. Samuel
Stieet of Wallingford a farm of 200 acres which was bounded on the east by the
old Middletown line which was, therefore, recognised at that time. But now cer-
tain Wallingford proprietors claim the land formerly granted to the petitiooers
lying between the old and new west lines of Middletown ; therefore, they ask the
Assembly to sell the rights to them or else give them the right to sue the Wal-
lingford holders. This was essentially a private petition, but, nevertheless, it was
just as serious for the Wallingford holder of the land in question as if it were the
act of Middletown.
Accordingly, the sheriff of New Haven county served notice on Samuel Hall
(father of Rev. Theophilus) Thomas and Daniel Hall, Ebenezer Prindle, Israel
Hall, Jobe Camp, Daniel Baldwin, John Way, Jehiel Baldwin and Rev. Samuel
Hall, of Cheshire, to appear in Hartford and make answer to the complaint. Their
answer was apparently satisfactory for the petition was refused.
The names of the property owners, however, give a clue as to how much
of East Meriden was originally claimed by Middletown until the Assembly de-
cided the matter in 1736. Their old west line must have been located as far west
as Bee street.
Again, in 1757, Wallingford presented a petition which proved abortive ; but
in it occurs a clause which gives a glimpse of what had been going on for years :
it is as follows: "Since which endless law suits have been and still subsist to the
impoverishing and almost total ruin of many persons and families in this day of
great and necessary expense against foreign invaders.''
In 1771, Wallingford again appeared before the Assembly and stated that Mid-
dletown's southwest comer was now in dispute, and prayed that a ''committee mig^ht
be appointed to repair to the spot and ascertain the true location ; for adjoining
property owners have been in long and expensive quarrels and disputes ; courts
and juries having been much perplexed with disputes, sometimes giving: judge-
ments in favor of one claim and sometimes in favor of the contrary claim, and
still s^ disputes continue to the great detriment of the public and also to the preju-
dice of particular persons."
rhercforc, a committee was sent to the spot which made a report to the Oc-
tober, 1773, session of the General Assembly, stating that the cedar tree on top of
Besit mountain was now lost, and some now claimed that a rock oak tree marked
the comer, and others a heap of stones seventy or eighty rods north of the oak tree.
The committee made various measurements, took the statements or depositions of
several aged men. and decided that the rock oak marked the original southwest
comer of Middletown. Accordingly, the Assembly adopted the report and oon-
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EARLY HISTORY.
firmed the rock oak as staiuling in the true spot and henceforth no more was
heard of W allingford and Middlctown boundary disputes.
The foregoing account is an abridgment of a great qtiantity of manuscript doc-
uments on file in the volumes entitled "Towns and Lands," preserved in the State
Library at Hartford.
Many times in this book has occurred the word Beset as applied to the moun-
tain l\ ing cast of Black Pond and extending south, through Wallingford to Bran-
lord. Its northern terminus is the pass through which the turnpike to Middle-
town runs : this pass was once known as Royce's Notch. The old records have
three forms for this word, viz. Beseck, Besit and Beset, and it is doubtless a short-
ening of the word Mattabeset — ^the Indian name for Middletown.
Mount Lamentation derives its name from a romantic and rather distressing
incident in the life of one of the early inhabitants of Wethersiield ; the most plaus-
ible verskm appears in Stiles' History of Ancient Wethersfield,^ and is as foUows:
"Mr. Leonard Chester's Adventure — Prominent among the old-time legends
with which Wethersfield mothers and nurses were wont to regale their children,
was this 'o'er true tale.' " Sometime* presumably in the fall of 1636 he set out
akme (as Tradition saith) to seek a suitable site for a grist-mill which he proposed
to build» on the stream which flows through the south part of the town/' "His
exploration took him or would naturally do so, to near the source of the stream,
southwest of the village of Griswoldville of the present day. This whole section
traversed by the stream, was, of course, then an unbroken wilderness." "Before
the young explorer had made much progress on his return journey as to strike upon
any well defined trail or path which he might follow in the dark, night had fairly
ckised upon him, and he entirely lost his bearings for even the north polar star
was shut out from his sight by the dense foliage. So, when at last day broke, he was
really further away from his home than when he had started to return to it.*' *'In
the meantime, his neighbors at Pyquaug [Wethersfield] had become alarmed at
Us absence, and parties with drums, muskets, pails and pans of tinware, copper or
brass — anything, in fact, with which to make noisy sounds and signals — had be-
gun to search the woods in all directions. It was not, however, until the third day
after he left his home/* "that he. was found and in fact rescued from starvation by
bis friends. In his uncertainty as to his whereabouts and place of destination, Ches-
ter had dragged himself, with failing strength and in famished condition, to the
summit of a mountainous peak or ridge in the extreme southeast part of what is
now Berlin^ township. From that place, a distance which measured in a straight
line would be very near twelve miles from where he started, he hoped to be able
to see, if he might not be able to reach the little settlement which held all that
was dear to him. The result was more fortunate than he had expected. From
1 Vol I. p. S86.
2 TlM Mathcra bftif of ML LuwDUtloii is tn the town of Merlden.
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33^
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
that elevation, he was able, for the first tjme, to hear the noises and calls of his
friends, and (what must ever be considered a most remarkable turn of chance)
he descended in the direction whence these noises proceeded, and found himself
safe and unharmed in the hands of his rescuers. Fortunately, he had met no In«
dians, and though he had heard the howls of wolves and the screams of cata-
mounts, he had not been followed or attacked b}- either. It was in memory of this
«vent, which might have proved almost a public calamity, that the elevation in
question, received and has ever since retained, the historic name of *Mount Lam>
entation.'
Another version of Mr. Chester's adventure t in l in Rev. Charles A. Good-
rich's "Stories of the History of Connecticut," pulilished in 1829: but the story is
so embellished with fanciful pictures of Mr. Chester's emotions and prayers, that
it is easy to sec tiiat it was written for the amusement of very young persons.
In Barber's "Conn. Historical Collections," the story is given in an abridged
fonu, and the statement is made that a unicorn or gnffin carved on Mr. Chester's
tombstone was believed by some to have been one of the animals seen by him on Mt.
Lamentation : it was. of course, a part of his coat of arms.
Just ca?;t of Murdock and Pomeroy avenues in the eastern part of Menden is
quite a high elevation which was once known as Bowing hill. The name seems
now to be entirely forgotten.
There arc very few . if any. Indian names preserved in this locality with the
exception of P.e-ct and Quinnipiac. the latter used to describe the river in the
southwciteni |)art of the town. It was formerly known as New Haven Kast
River and sometimes called W'ailingford River. In Morse's American Clazetteer
|nil.li<hed in 1797 the statement is made that the old Indian name for the town-
ship of Wallingtord was Coginchauge.
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EARLY HISTORY.
3J3
CHAPTER XIX.
l8o(j — THE TOWN OF MEKIDKN.
In the year 1750 the total population of the parish of Meriden could not have
numbered more than 250 souls, and during many years therr ift( r the increase was
ven* slow. Few moved into the parish and after the Frt ncb and Indian war.
there began that steady drifting into far away cotninnntties in the northwestern
parts of the colony, into western Massachusets and Vermont and later into New
V rk state, a phenomenon common all through the longer settled parts of New
I{ngland.
Therefore, the parish did not ^ei the full advantage of its birth rate which was,
of course, large; but after the Revolution a slow but steady growth began which
^ nowhere better indicated than in the records of real estate transactions on the
ImmjUs of the tmvn of Wallingford.
Even at the close of the Revolution there could not have been a population of
more than 500 : but when the town was incorporated in iSoT) the indications point
to a community oi }ierhaps 1, 100; it was more than half as large as the older
parish of Wallingford.
The example of Cbcsliire. which was set off as a sej)arate town in 1780, was
< ne that the parish of .Menden was eager to enudate. and accordingly, the inhabi-
tants came together at the meeting house on April 12, 1786. and appointed Cape.
'>an Collins. Sanuiel Whiting and Capt. John Couch agents to present a memorial
t 'lhc General Assemlily praying that the parish might be constituted a town and
annexed to Middlesex county ; this document is as follows :
**The Petition of the Inhabitants of the Parish of Meriden in the Town of
Wallingford and County of Xew Haven, humbly sheweth: That from the Court
House m Xew Haven, the Southern part of Said parish is Distant about Seven-
teen Miles, and the Xorthern part of it Twenty three: and from the Court House
in .Middletown in the County of Middlesex, the eastern limits of S** parish is Dis-
tant but about five miles and its western limits about eleven and from the Southern
part of said Parish to the Town is four miles, and from the northern part about
eleven. That the Lists of Said parish is about £8000. And in attending upon
the Ordinary Business of the Town, Proxys, Town Meetings &c and upon their
Business at the County and Superior Courts, the Inhabitants of S* parish arc sub-
jected to great trouble, inconvenience & expence, from which they would be free'd
if constituted a Distinct Town, and annexed to the Countv of Middlesex. Where-
»
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334
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
fore your petitioners pray your Honours to take their case into your wise and equi-
table Consideration & enact, that S** parish of Meriden be Constituted a Distinct
Town by the name of the town of Meriden and included in, and made part of the
County of Middlesex, and that the Inhabitants have all the rights and privi-
leges usually appertaining to Towns in this State, except the right of Sending two
Rq>resentatives to the General Assembly instead of which your petitioners request
the privilege of but one and your petitioners as in Duty bound will ever pray &c.
Dated at Meriden in the Town of Wallingford the 13th day of April A. D. 1786.
John Couch, Saml Whitinjx Dan Collins
Agents in behalf of the Society."
The older parish had no desire to \oi>c tiie growing society at the north and
they met in town meeting on May 9, 1786, and
''Voted that this meeting will oppose the Parish of Meriden being a Town.
Chose OA Street Hall agent to remonstrate against the Petition of the Parish of
Meriden being made a Town at the next General Assembly."
The petition was not q;rantcd. and matters remained quiescent until i 704 when
on Sept. 29 at a meeting of the parish it was "voted that the Society be made a
town and annexed to Middlesex County. \''ntcd to call a town meeting for tbe
purpose and a committee be api)ointed to obtain a map of the society and tran-
sact any business respecting: the society beini; made a town."
The matter was postponed by a town meeting until the following year, and on
Sept. 7. 1705. the parish of .Meriden " V oted that the Society wish to be a separate
town and belong to Middlesex County. V'oted to petition the General .\<se!ii!)lv
and chose a committee of five persons to present it." .\ like vote was passed on
Sept. 22 the same year, and the matter was finally comjiromised by agreeing m
town meeting that one-third of the Town and Selectmen's meetings should be
held in the parisb of Meriden.
But this was a mere truce and makeshift, and the inhabitants of Meriden were
<letermined that the pari.sli should be a separate township, and accordingly a peti-
tion dated February 14, 1S04, was circulated and found ready signers and was
presented to the May .session of the General Assembly that year. The town of
Wallingford at a meeting held, exclusive of the inhabitants oi Meriden parish,
voted not to approve the petition : but the following year, as it was ."^een that it was
hopeless to keep u\) a continual uppositiitu to the desires of Meriden. it was vutci!
to refer the matter tu a committee selected from Wallingford or first societv an>i
Meriden. and as a result a report was drawn uj) agreeing to the separation an<l
the following vote was passed at a town meeting held Sept. 18, 1805; "Thereupon
it was voted that this Meeting do accept and approve of the same ; and said report
be lodged in the Town Clerk's Office.**
i
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EAKLY HISTORY.
335
Accordingly, it was resolved that Meriden should be a separate town and the
faOowing bill was passed:
At a General Assembly of the State of Connecticut holden at Hartford on
tbe second Thursday in May, 1806 —
Upon the Petition of Phineas Lyman and others Inhabitants of the Town of
iValiingford in the County of Newhaven shewing to this Assembly that the Par-
^hof Meriden in said Town constitutes, in extent, population aiui Property more
than one-third part of said Town, and they do not in their presem situation enjoy
thdr just rights to which they are entitled in common with their tellow Citizens;
graying that said Parish may be incoq>Qrated with the ordinary rij^Hits. privileges
:irl ininnmitics which irc enjoyed by other Towns in this Slate as by Petition
CT. File dated February 14th A. D. 1804 — This Petition was preferred to this As-
sembly at their Session holden at Hartford on the second thursday in May 1804,
ind was Iep:ally served on the Inhabitants of said Town and returned, and by legal
C' ntinuances came to this Session of said Assembly when the said Inhabitants were
i^r c umc^ publicly called and made default of appearance —
The Petitioners were heard and the facts stated in said Petition were fuily
proved to be true —
Resolved, by this Assembly that the Inhabitants livint; within the limits of
^ai'i Parish of Meriden be and thcv are hereby incorporated into and made a Tow n
>y the name of MERIDEN. and tint they and their Successors Inhabitants within
Hii'l lin its are and shall forever be and remain a Town and body politic with the
ordinary rights privileges and immunities which are enjoyed by other Towns in
■^^J- Slate b\ virtue of their respective incorporations: and the ri.L;ht to eli'ct and
>"id one Representative only to the General Assembly until by Law tiiey shall be
■ruikd to elect and send two; That the dividing line between the first Society in
i^i'i Wallingford and said Parish of Meriden be and remain the dividing line.
That all Persons who shall be resident in said Town including said Parish and
RJpported in whole or in part by said Town and Parish at the risin.L,^ of this As-
Wnibly, and also all liiliahiuints of said Tou u .iiid Parish who shall then be with-
W the limits of said Town and Parish, and afterwards retum and become charge-
•Wc. with all charges and expences whi'^li >hall arise by reason of an\ such person
w persons shall be apportioned bet ween said Town of Wallingford and said Town
Meriden according to the amount of their respective Ei.^ts for August 20th
as compleated and returned to the Town Clerks Office: said division and ap-
■ortionnient in case said Towns shall not agree, to be made by three disinterested
'ersons of whom two shall be chosen by said Town of Wallingford and one by
lid Town of Meriden ; and with a just reference to the tutmber, and expence
ecessary for the support of such chargeable Persons ; That all Debts which shall
edue from said Town including said Parish, and all Debts which shall be tlue to
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356 A CENTURY OF MERIOEN.
said Town at said date shall l>e divided and apportioned between the said Tow
according to the Lists and in the manner lierein before prescribed relating
chargeable Persons: That the said Town of Meriden shall repair and when n
sary build the Bridge of which one-haii is within the limits oi said Town of W;
lingford, across W allingford River so called, known and called by the name
Falls plain bridge* at the cost and expence of said Town of Meriden ; That all C
lectors of Taxes granted or which shall be granted before said liiiic. shall ha'
power to collect the same as full>- as if this Resolve had not passed ; That
town of Meriden shall hold their first Town Meeting at the Meetinghouse in s
Meriden on the third Monday in June next at one o^dock afternoon, and pr<x-
to the choice nf all Town Officers, the Moderator of said Meeting excepted ; b
Law allowed and established ; which Meeting shall be warned and by Wnr^n
signcfl by George W. Stanley Esquire a Justice of Peace for New Haven Count
and Posted on the Public Sign post in said Meriden at least ten days previous I
said third Monday, and said George W. Stanley Esquire shall be Moderator c
said Meeting : and in case of the absence of said Justice, Ephraim Cook Esquirei
Justice of Peace for said County is hereby impowered to sign such Warrant, li
preside in said meeting —
A Tme Copy of Record.
Examined by Samuel Wyllys. Secretary
Amos White Town Clerk.
While these struggles of the parish of Meriden to become a separate urn
were in i)rogress. two portions of her territory at the north had been cut off m
added to the town of Herlin.
Tn the \ear 1773 those farmers who lived on the northern half of the old >l
cher or Meriden farm i)eliii(>ned the (ieneral Assembly praying that they mi$^
be annexed to the town of Fannington and we accordingly tind tlie following
on the W allingford records.
"Special ri»wn meeting Ma\ 17 1773 (jnesliun \mis jnn wliethcr the ToW
would cli<»se an agent (»r age{U> to rcprc.sciu ^aid rown at the ( lencnd AsscnilJ(
Max instant on the memorial of the society nf W'ortliington b\ their agent
diah Norton Petitioning that ilie lands called tlie llelcliers Farm in the Socictv ^
Meriden and the nihahitants Included tlierein might belong and be annexed i
the CoinitN of llarttonl an<l Town ot 1 aniiingtnn. \ oted in the alVirinitive ihJ
the\ woidd a|iponu an agent. Chose Macock W ard Esq. to be their age« ^
represent said Town on said Memorial."
This petition ua> lUii graiUed. but at the ( k'tober scssioti. 1803. a second 01
signed by Andrew Xorton Sanujel Norton and .\braliani \\ right was prc^enw
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EARLY HISTORY.
337
and a strip of territory about half a mile wide north and south and extending
from the eastern boundary of the parish to the ledge west of the Belcher farm
was added to the town oi Berlin: this left the northern boundary of Meriden about
where it is to-day.
At the October session 1798 on the petition of Isaac Botsford, Harvey Parsons,
John Parsons, Josiah Hill, Sanniel Peck, Titus Bronson, Aaron Parsons and Jon-
athan Hills, a portion in the northwestern part of Meriden was annexed to Ber-
Ud. This is represented on the map by a jog which extends from Botsford's or
Corxigan's comer in Berlin to the southern part of Cat Hole mountain.
MINUTES OF THE FIRST TOWN MEETING HELD IN MERIDEN.
Ai a meetitig^ of the Iiihabitants of the Town of Meriden having been legally
^vamed agreeable to the resolve of the "General Assembly of this State** ordering
Town meeting to be held at the meeting house in Meriden on the sixteenth
day of June 1806 —
George W. Stanley Esq. Moderator of this meeting by order of Gen' Assembly.
Chose, Amos White Town Clerk.
Chose, Capt. Ezekiel Rice, Ambrose Hough and Stephen Bailey, Selectmen
for this Town.
Chose, Jared Benham and £H Barnes, Constables.
Voted, That an}- person may wear his hat in Town meeting "Except" when
addressing the Moderator.
Chose, £nos Hall 2nd, Giles O. Griswold & Joseph Hall Grand jurors.
Chose, Samuel Yale, Asael Yale, Jehiel Preston, Harvey Andrews, Aaron Mer-
nam, Benjamin Merriam 2nd & Levi Hall Surveyors of Highways.
Chose, Nathaniel Yale, Stephen Perkins & Insign Hough Fence viewers.
Chose, Seth D. Plum, Titus Ives & Asahel Merriam Listers for this Town.
Chose, Capt. William Olds Sealer of Leather.
Chose, Samuel Yale Sealer of weights and measures.
Chose, Daniel Yale, Sealer of dry measures.
Chose, Eli Bams, Nathaniel Yale, Levi Foster, Israel Hall and Elisha Merri*
man Pound keepers.
Voted, That the keepers of Pounds provide their pounds free of expence to
the Town.
Voted, To lay a Tax for the purpose of defraying the debts and expences to
%'hfch this Town now is or may be liable.
Voted, That a Tax of five mills on the dollar on the List for August 20th, 1805,
be granted and collected for the purpose of defraying the debts and expences to
' Hich the Town is or may be liable and that the same be collecte<l and paid to the
Town Treasurer within thirty days.
22
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338
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Chose, Abner Griswold Collector of the tax laid this day.
Chose, Samuel Yale Town Treasurer.
Voted, To appoint a committee of four persons to settle and adjust all business
between this Town and the Town of Wallingford respecting the Town poor and
all other business tlut shall be found necessary for said Committee to do.
Chose, Capt Ezekiel Rice, Ambrose Hough, Stephen Bailey & Eli Bams a
committee for the purpose making the before named setttlement.
Voted, That the Bill in form granted by the Gen^ Assembly for incorporating
Meriden into a Town distinct from the Town of Wallingford, be Recorded in the
b^inning of the Town Book for recording deeds of Land &c.
Voted, That no horse kind or neat Cattle shall be allowed to run at large on
the highway or Commons in this Town.
Voted, That Sheep shall not be allowed to run at large on the Commons in
this Town.
Voted, That if the owners of any Boar shall suffer him to run at large when
more than three months old, he shall be liable to pay a fine of one Dollar.
Voted, That Geese shall hot be suffered to run at large on the highways un-
less they are well Yoaked.
Voted, That the Selectmen of this [town] be allowed to give and take Deeds
in behalf of ibis Town at their discretion.
Voted, That the selectmen shall warn a Town meeting to be hoiden at the
Meetinpfhouse in Meriden on the second TiKSfja\ of November next.
After choosing the Clerk, and Constables; the motion was made and tried;
Whether Mose» Barns shall be allowed to vote in this meeting and \ oted in the
negative. Amos White, Town Clerk.
Meriden June i6th 1806.
And now at last Meriden was one of that " federation of independent towns en-
dowed with all the attrihutcs of sovereignty not ex{)ressly granted to the General
Court" of the state of Connecticut. The long .slrugi;lc was ended, and tlie town
could now grow and expand, unhampered by the vexatious conditions, inseparable
from its former state of suburban parish of a larger community.
Meriden must have been very priniitive in appearance even at as late a date
as 1806: it still retained its distinctive feature of a territory parceled out into
farms : to be sure, there was the beginning of a village settlement in the vicinity
of the Meeting House, for the advantage of locatii^ near the common center had
appealed to those who gained their livelihood by other than agricultural pursuits .
notably Ambrose Hough the miller, Butler & Olds the tanners ; Amos White &
Co. and Curtis & Lewis, who were storekeepers and sold everything from a spool
of thread to a gallon of rum ; and Seth D. Plum and Dr. Insign Hough, the tav-
ern keepers.
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EAKLV IIISTORV.
339
But the real central pivot was the tavern kept by Dr. Insign Hough at the
comer of Broad and East Main streets: here Avere the headquarters of the scleci-
cn and other town officers ; here the books of the public lilirary were kept and
re the farmers met to discuss the events of the day : and, last but not least, here
twice a day the stage coaches from Hartford to New Haven and vice versa, stoi)ped
to change horses and to give the passengers a chance to sample the iKxmtiful
larder provided by the doctor.
In the old days when the tavern was in its prime, and still the center of the
quiet little village, many a merrymaking was held around its generous hearth,
and hilarious fun flowed fast and free from honest hearts untainted by the guile
and sham that often mar conviviality of these modem days.
And when the annual town meetings and elections drew near, hot were the
uordy battles that resounded through the rooms in the eager attempt to change
some wavering vote: for Meriden was so close a town, that one man convinced,
sometimes spaimed the distance between defeat and victory.
Linus Birdsey, who carries lightly his more than fourscore years, remembers
those old days, when, youngster like, he would hover on the fringe of a group of
old political Nestors, and listen to words of wisdom and prophecy that unfolded
the hide<jus destiny of the Republic if it wavered frojn the good old Democratic
I'iith and followed the strange new gods of the renegade Whigs.
Another group he recalls of only five, called the Old Guard : survivors per-
liaps of a larger circle : men of wit and weight who had lived and learned : and
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340
A CENTURY OF MERID&N.
yet in the evening of their lives with vigor little changed, and with capacity for
fun as keen as ever, they would meet at stated dates and live again the old days
in retrospect, whiling away the hours with story after story of other times : and
perhaps now and then a spoon would tinkle in a glass with a melody most be-
witching : but of this the writer cannot tell as he was never there. He only knows
that he has heard that one cold night when the hour was late, and the time had
come to say good night, one of the famous guard left his friends, wended his way
to his home and had snugly tucked himself in bed before he remembered his pa^
tient nag left tied in the tavern shed more than a mile away.
The turnpike was opened in 1799 and the event was hailed with as much joy
and created as great excitement as did the railroad thirty-eight years later.
The layout of this highway was adopted in by the General Assembly on
the petition of Senator Hillhouse and others and work was immediately begun.
The damages awarded to property owners at the time, and recorded in a volume,
preserved in the office of the secretary of state in Hartford, make it possible for
us to eliminate the hundred years that separate our day from that of 1806, and
start at Ann street and walk north, noting the different houses just as one might
have done a century ago.
First we would have seen over on Curtis street, the old Parson Hall house, oc-
cupied by his grandson, Dr. Theophilus Hall, and north of that, on the other side
of Ann street, the Daniel Hough place, and north of that the Benjamin Curtis
homestead, where the old man and his family were still living, and a few hundred
feet further on, the new house, the residence of his son Benjamin, Jr., while just
across the road we would have observed the Capt. John Webb (levelling, and back of
that, and fronting on Broad street (the new turnpike), his nephew, Benjamin
Hart's new house (now the liome of Mrs. Juliette Y. Curtis). Just north of this
j)!are. in the fork of the roads (anil surrounded on all sides by highways, for the
mad nmiiiiiL: west to Colony street, already described, was still in existence), stood
the home of \inasa Curtis, in wliicli he and Isaac Lewis kept store. Across the
street to the west and a little north was Seth D. PUini's tavern.
All the^<.' places have hctn described before, and the risk of repetition has been
run so that the \ icw ui the villai^c street nia\ be made clear in one's mind. Al-
most opposite the I'lnm place on the ea>t side of the street bnt a little to the north.
>i<»od the Jereiniali i'arrington liomestead, which, although much altered, is still
standing, and now the dwelling of Frederick W. Ives, Xo. 391 I'mad street.
When this street or turnpike was cut tiirough it left the honse oi Samuel
Yale in a peculiar pliirht. He liad bought a lot on the east side of Curtis street
which then ran north and cunlinucd down to TJberty street. It is ditlicnlt to pic-
ture in one's mind just the situation* the hon^e nni>t have stood so that the west
portion would, if in existence, stand somewhere near the east part of the old
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EARLY HISTORY.
Methodist church (now occupied by the Meriden Curtain Fixture Co. office, 440
Broad). The turnpike took a course just east of the Yale house and left it with
BO backward. As the land from this house to the church was a public green, with
streets on the east and west sides,' the house became an eyesore, and at a town
meeting held May 17, 1808, it was voted "to make an accommodation with Samuel
Yale, to have his house at the south end of the green removed to some other place,
10 as to accommodate the public, and voted to buy the land where house stands.*"
The house was accordingly removed to the northeast corner of Broad and East
Main streets, and reposed there until the Bassett brick block was built, when it
again started on its travels and found a final abiding place a little to the east ; it
is perhaps the old building stilt standing there and said to have once been used by
Samuel, Jr., and William Yale for manufacturing tin ware.
South of this old house, before its removal, stood the center district school
house in what is n<nv the northeast corner of the old cemetery,* and where stands
•!« house of Dr. Frederick P. Griswold, No. 481 Broad street, was located the
boniestead and shoe store of John Butler.
On the other side of the street to the northwest stood the church, with Ros-
wel! Cowles' Sabbath day house soiitli oi it, and two or three other small houses
like it north of the church on the otlier side of the street. East of these buildings on
'he corner was the tavern belonging to Dr. Hough ; on the southeast corner of
Br ad and East Main, stood the store of Amos White, and the building served
as his dwelling as .well ; while east and southeast of it was another collection of
Sabbath day houses.
North of Amos White's store on the other side of the street was a triangular
piece of land which had been formed in this way: in 1782 Samuel Hall, son of
Rev. Theophilus, had deeded to the town a strip of land for a hi,<;bway, beginning
at East Main, just one hundred and sixty -five feet east of his house (later the
tavern) and running due north to Liberty street.' The land from the house to
this new street was the garden of botli Samuel Hall and Dr. Houq:b until tlie
turnpike on Broad street was cut through in 1799: this we learn from the descrip-
ti 11 in the deed when Dr. Hough bought the property in 1792. At the same time
tli.it tlii- TR'w street was opened, tbc town closed the north end of old Curtis street
ainning from just west of the meeting house, north to Liberty street, and also
1 Sainl Tale was given only $57 damage bjr the turnpike company for thus disturbioK the bouRe lot.
t T%1s «tto wM later MMpled hr the Baiitlct drarcb bvllt alMut 1881 and when the new church was
^aHt In 184B tbia old building became the academy where manv stiU living received tbeir education.
Ofi March 2.3, 1805. the i^electmen sold to Seth I). Plum a "strip of highway lying a little Mutb of Um
■eetfag bouw. running north and nouth from the school house to old Sabbath day houae belonging to
Bmw«11 Oowles ft f* 1 rod St 4 llnkn wide at north ond where Sabbath ilay housp l« and 1 rod & 8
lloks at the Soutb end." Wall, land records, Vol. .XXXII.. p. 18. On Feb. 22, 1831. Amos Curtis, acting M
ufmit for the Center acbool district sold this school house 8l(e to Wm. Yale for the Baptist society.
1 WaHiDKlort lud records, VoL XXIII.» p. 67.
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34^
A CENTURV OF MERIDEX.
Opened up a highway from the meeting house, running west and meeting Liberty
street at what is now the town hall site : viz. East Main street.
On the triangular piece of land east of the tavern* was a barn for the conven-
ience of the stage coach line.
Just opposite the old brick bank building on Broad street and just south of the
house known as No. 544, are still to be seen the foundation walls of an old dwell-
ing bnilt probably in 1792 by Moses Barns,^ sometimes of Cheshire and then of
Reading, Mass., and finally of Meriden; but in it was the homestead of
Jarius Mix ; later it was the dwelling of Isaac Lewis, who bought it about 181 3,
and afterwards it was the home of William Merriam and is still remembered as
a boarding place where Episcopal clergymen were carefully looked after. Mrs*
Merriam has the reputation of having been the first milliner in Meriden ; the house
disappeared a number of years ago.
The second house north of the Bams place is known as the Beckett home-
stead, but it was built in 1792 by Jared Benham and for many years he dwelt
there; it will be noticed that it does not stand square with Broad street, because
it was built to front on the highway deeded by Samuel Hall in 1782.
On the other side of the street stands the old Willard house built about 1787
by the parson, but as already stated, formerly located one hundred feet north of
its present site. In 1806 it was the home of Samuel Yale;^ west of this at the
corner of Liberty and liroad streets was the Ambrose Hough place already de-
scribed and now the home of Walter B. Hall.
Xorth of this house was the old Jerome homestead, occupied in 1806 by Levi
Curtis and at that time it was probably the last house on Broad street going north,
for the ].(hnnii(l Wilcox place, So. 721, was built about 1813 by Archibald riunj,
and the old Belden bouse, Xo. 692. was probably erected in the same > ear by Ira
Andrews, and the Asahel Curtis dwelling. No. 1065, just south of Britannia street,
was probably built by Joel Yale in 1807.
In going west from the meeting house we would have come first to the home-
stead of Samuel Tibbals, only a hundred feet or so west of it, and the old house
has only recently dissqppeared ; further down the road, and probably on tlie site of
Dr. John Tail's house, Xo. 244 East Main street, stood a dwelling built by Yale 1.
(the eldest son of Dr. Hough) but in 1806 the home of Gardner Tryon: on the
other side of the street on about the site now occupied by a small building, once
the office of Dr. Archer, stood a house occupied by Joseph Farrington, and west
of tlie 'Vr\<m dwelling, perhaps where George Clark's residence now stands. No.
222. was the home of Burracre Yale, who afterwards moved to South Reading,
Mass., and became a manufacturer of tinware. At this time his father, Amerton
2 H* dl«d In ISIS and hte taventonr cootalns tbe flrat notice w« hmv of s vIotv tat M«rlden. Tlw
Item npprnr^ ft« «-tf<v«» find plp<>
1 WttUJnKford land records. Vol. XXX.. p. 426.
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EARLY HISTORY. 343
Vale, was probably living with him, who had served in the Revolution and was
noted as a musician, being a skillful performer on the violin and flute.
OnJy one of the old houses of 1806 on East Main street is still standing, and
that is located just west of the homestead of E. B. Evcritt. Its number is 194,
und when the town was incorporated it was the dwelling of Timothy Richards,
and near at hand he had a shop where he made hats. He sold the honse in 1807
to Elisha A. Cowles and it was probably here that the Major first startc<l in the mer-
cantile business, for the windows bear the appearance of at some time having hccn
used for displaying goods. It was afterwards owned by Samuel l ihljals, and was
fcr many years the home o£ John Alccorney ; it is now the property of E. B.
£\tntt.
On the south side of the street, opposite the Mecorncy residence, was the dwell-
ing of Selden Wright, and on the tnwu hall site, stdod the home of Roswell Cowles,
the brother of the Major, and the property consisting of house and two acres, was
sold to the town in 1853 by Roswell's widow. His stone cutting yard has already
been described as occupying the site across the street where now stands the Wilmot
place.
Where stands St. Andrew's church wa-^ the old Nathaniel Merriam place (in
1806 the home of Giles O, GriswoUi i and on the site of the north part of Main
Street ]'.a[)ti>t church was the homestead of Simeon Perkins, afterwards occupied
by Sherlock, his son ; the old iMuldiug now stands on Veteran street.
Doubtless there were other h<nises in the central |)arl of the town in 1806 that
have escaped the notice of the writer, but in the main the buildings mentioned con-
stituted the village of Meriden. Accompanying is a map whicli at a glance ex-
plains the plan as related in the text.
Some of the early town votes are interesting and those relating to the rumiing
at large of geese, cattle and boars illustrate the primitive conditions of the time.
One of the first voles after the town was fully organized was one instructing
the selectmen to open the street now called Griswold : this was on Dec. i, 1806.
On Feb. 23, 1807, it was voted that the books of the public librar>' he kejjt by the
town clerk (who was then Isaac Lewis) and that they be loaned out for four
^•edcs only, and any one who kept a book longer than this was to be subject to
a fine of 25 cents and an increasing forfeiture of one cent per day until returned.^
Prevkws to 1807 Britannia street, east of Griswold, ran around the south side of
the swamp and the marks of this old section can still be plainly traced : on May
2S» '807, it was voted to change the layout by running it directly across the swamp.
In those days one was permitted to work out one's taxes by assisting in re-
pairing the highways and on Nov. 16, 1807, it was voted that the rate allowed for
this work should be 75 cents per day in the spring and 67 cents in the fall. On
j^V I4> i8i5> the rate was changed to $1.25 in the spring and $1 in the fall.
1 A Ml aecooDt of tbto Snt library wlU be foDod lo ma artiel« by tb« wHt«r on page 46. Part II.
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344 A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
On May 6, 1811, it was voted to sell strips of the old highway made no longer
necessary by the opening of the tumpike to Middletown which had been built in
1809. On Nov. 9, 1813, it was voted to close the highway from foot of hill run-
ning to Elisha A. Cowles no longer needed on account of the opening of the South-
ington turnpike in 1812. This was that part of old Liberty street which ran across
the present site of the Main street Baptist church and coming out at the South
Colony street bridge.
On Sept. 15, 1816, it was voted that the town bdl (tocated in the church
steeple) should be rung at 9 and 10:30 o'clock a. m. and i o'clock on Sundays and
on all other days at 12 noon and 9 o'clock at night. On Oct. 4. 1^2 j^, it was voted
to close the road from East Main to Liberty streets that had been laid out in Samuel
Hairs land in 1782.
On Aug. 3rd, 181 2, a large liberty pole was erected on the green, presumably
somewhere near the church.' Ainong^ the papers preserved by Mrs. ITiram A.
Yale is a bill of expense incurred in the undertaking which include the following:
To Asahel Merriam for oxen half a day 34
To Paid Daa Andrews for mending chain broke in service .... .2$
Paid for ensign 8.00
Paid for halyards 1.25
Paid for 10 Ihs. pawder * 8.78
Paid for carting pole 50
Paid for waggra ft time to Middletown i4»
Paid for Wm. Yale's bill for entertaining on Aug. 3. io40
Paid for 2 quts rum 67
Paid for cannon 2.00
These items with others to various persons brouglrt the total cost of pole
ensig^n and entertainnicMit tu $58.18.
Imprisonment for debt was common in those days and tlie following is a copy
of a letter written by one who was in torments dire.
"New Haven Oct 6 1825
Mr Samuel Yale Sir
Please to lett Mr Lawrence know what you tliink Lewis will do about keep-
ing me here after Monday and Please Be to sec Father or some other But speak
to him first about Being a Bondsman till Monday for I dont want to stay in close
confinement till then. Please to send me word about all I have writ
Yours respectfully
Samuel Tibbals Jr.
Please take this trouble for bm and X will pay you all yon ask."
1 Many Rtiil Utrlog remember a flag pole which stood where the elm tree now stands Just louth oC
imlertiit tmagh at Jaacttoii oC BMatf sad But Iteta etvMCa.
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EARLY HISTORY.
345
In the year 1812 an association was formed for the detection of thieves and
bringing them to their just deserts. Before the writer as he pens these lines is
a copy of the constitution of the society which is headed.
"G>nstitution of the
Meriden Association for the
Detection of Thieves and Recovery of Stolen Property"
Hie main object of combining in this way seems to have been to bring horse
thieves to justice. Article VII. reads, "It shall be the duty of the Secretary to
keep a box of tici.ets, with each member's name written thereon for the purpose
of drafting men, to pursue the thief or thieves, and to recover property stolen."
Tbe articles would lead one to believe there had been much crime of this nature
committed and that the society was more or less a "\ i^ilance Committee."
The sources of information relating to the life of the people in this quiet coun«
try village during the early years of the last century arc not abundant and doubt-
less events were few and far between and little of interest tran^ired that would
appeal to us to-day or that made much impression on those who were then ac-
tive on the stage of life. That Meriden was to have a life different from most
quiet conntry farming communities was hardly dreamed by any one of that
period. There was one man who insisted that the day would come when
a comer lot in the village of Meriden would bring as much as a thousand
dollars : but he was considered crazy and no one paid much attention to his vag-
aries or dreamed that his wild prophecies contained an element of truth, until he
vras dead and gone, and building lots had really begun to creep up to a figure that
arproached the hallucinations of his cloudy brain: then people rememl>crcd his
and w <^?n1ered if he did not ktK)w more than was suspected during his life.
The source ot the increase in real estate values in Meriden was, of course, in
the manufactures and the story of the beg;inning8 and early growth o£ the indus-
tries of Meriden dcsen es a chapter of its own.
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346 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
CHAPTER XX.
ThfR* was little abont the tnwn in its early days which indicated that -oinc day
it woidd grow to a place ot cuiiMdtrahlc size: it was simply a qnict, peaceful com-
munity, bent on getting- a living as best it could from the rather sterile snil ; and
that the farms were not as productive as they once had been seems to be indicated
in variniis ways.
The houses huilt alter 1790 until a cnii>i(leraljly later date were not su caj>aci«'U»
and roomy as those of an earlier ])eriod, aiul the inventories of estates had also lie-
gun to dwindle in amounts, and many of them were pitiiidly small wiien compared
with those of the first settlers. Kvidently the feeling became prevalent that --o'.ne
other resource besides farming was necessary to make the town a gruwmg, thriving
filace, and this feeling soon manifested itself by the establishment of many small
shops and factories.
As early as 1802 there was a shup uf sunie kind standing on a part of the land
now occupied by the lhadley & Hubliard Mfg. Co. .\ deed elated in that year con-
vexed from John Honker to Fli r.arnes a tract t)f land at the si western corner
of Culuny and Alain streets, containing eighteen acres, most of the extent being
in an easterly and westerly direction and it was bounded on the south by the land
of the linn of Rice, ^'ale <S: C o. W hat they made or who the parlies w ere is not cer-
tain, but the Vale was perhaps Sanuicl Vale. He seems to have been the first man-
ufacturer in Meriden, if we do not consider those who owned grist, fulling and
sawmills. Mr. Perkins in his history ays that in "i/yi Samuel Yale began to
manufacture cut nails. He and his son worked in a small shop on the hill, near
the present site of the Center Congregational church. Their little machine was
worked by their own hands, and each nail was 'headed* separately and by hand.
About the year 1794 the same Mr, Yale commenced the manufacture of buttons
on a small scale. They were made of pewter, and would be considered by us a
very rough article/' This shop was probably on land adjoining the old Methodist
church on Broad street, for in 1808 he sold to Seth D. Plum a piece of land where
his blacksmith and tinshop then stood, which was evidentl> a part of the same tract
on which the old house was presenting such an annoying spectacle to the public, and
which was removed at about the same date. He probably then established his bus-
iness on Liberty street near Ambrose Hough's mill ; he died in 1810 and his scms,
Samuel Jr. and William, carried on the same line in a building still standing back
of the Bassett block at the northeast corner of Broad and East Main streets. Wil«
Ham, who died much earlier than Samuel, Jr., viz. in 1833, apparently at that
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EARLY HISTORY.
347
time owned a small shop just north of his dwelling. This house is still standing
and known as No. 447 Broad street, and now occupied by James H. Kelsey. These
brothers, William and Samuel, were for many years quite extensively engaged in
manufacturing metal buttons and tinware, and must have employed many hands
tor they sent travelers, or peddlers as they were called, into various parts of the
country, and the writer has been fortunate enough to examine a niimber of papers
and documents,^ which reveal a little of the character of the business, and the man^
tier of conducting it. Following is a copy of a contract with a peddler that is in-
teresting:
Articles of agreement made and entered into by and between William and
Samuel Yale of Meridcn in New Haven county on the one part and Amos Francis
oi Wallingford in said count) on the other part witnesseth, viz. I the said Amos
Francis agree on my part to hawk, peddle and vend such articles as the said Vales
«hall deliver me for that purpose in any part of the United States they shall see
to sentl me for the term of ten months from the ist day nf Octoher next and
to fumish a crnrxj lK)rse, waggon and harness and to be faithful in their said em-
ploy (luriiiL; said term of time to be fully completed and ended ; And we the said
\Villiani and Samticl at:,^rcc to pay the ?aid Amos Francis for his said service?
thirty dollars per month certain wa.L^c^. forty dollars per month, it said hrancis
clears it over and above the tir>t oust of his load and expenses, and nne-half of
all profits cn er and above said forty dollars that he. the said Francis, shall
actually clear. Dated at Meriden, this 3rd day of Sept., 18 16
William Yale,
Samuel Yale.
Amos Francis."
The following is somewhat different from a modern communication of a
traveling salesman to his employer.
"Newburgh, West Branch of the Susquehannah River.
May i I, 1814.
Worthy Patron :
Where to begin or end my uncouth epistle I know not, but upon reflection
v^dl try to compose my mind while I inform you that I shall sink one hundred
dollars at least unless fortime turns the scale in my favor.
R. Paldwin and I have traversed the country from Dan to Beersheba, be-
'I'ies going to Albany, and I have not sold either buttons or spoons to any
amount. The reason which people give for not purchasing those articles is
^ ThtmHk the Mii4n««i o( lira, atmra A. Yale, widow of the sob of Samuel Yale, Jr.
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
that the embargo is repealed, an armistice on foot and peace at the very door,
when all these things are to be showered down upon them as Manna was to the
Israelites.
Moses [Baldwin] lias gone to Pittsburgh to see what may be done there
while T am cruising about here & there wherever the spirit moves as I thought
it would hardly quit cost for me to go any farther. Tin goes extremely well.
Your well wisher till Death,
Warren P. Stone.
Mr. Samuel Yale."
President Timothy Dwight, of Yale College, made a trip up this valley
on the way to tiic \N'hite Mountains in tlie early part of the last century, and
has this to say retj^ardinp: these salesmen :^ "The manner in which this ware
is disposed of puts to ni<,dit ail calculation. A younj^ man is furnished by the
proprietor with a horse, and a cart covered with a box, containing as many
tin vessels as the horse can conveniently draw. I'his vehicle within a few
vears has. indeed, been frequently exchan|n;'ed for a waj;on ; and then the load
is doubled. Thus pref>ared he sets out on an expedition for the winter. A
multitude of these young men direct themselves to the Southern States, and
in their excursions travel wherever they can hud settlements. Each of thetn
walks and rides alternately throu.q:h this vast distance till he reaches Rich-
mond. Newbern. Charleston or Savannah : and usually carries with him to the
place of his destination no small part of the gain, which he has accjuired upon
the road. Here he finds one or more workmen, who have been sent forward
to co-operate with him, furnishetl w ith a sufficient quantity of tinned plates to
supply him with all the ware which he can sell during the season. With this
he wanders into the interior countrv : calls at everv door on his wav ; and w ith
an addrrss and pertinacity, not easily resisted, compels no small number of the
inhabitatns to buy. At the commencement of summer they return to \ew York:
and thence to Xew Haven, by water; after sellini^ their vehicles, and their horse?
The original load of a single horse, as I am told, i> rarely worth more than three
hundred dollars : or of a wagoti more than six hundred. Yet this busmess is
said to yield both the owner and his agent valuable returns." "I have seen them
on the peninsula of Cape Cod. and in the neighborhood of Lake Erie: distant
from each other more than six liundred miles. They make their way to Detroit,
four hundred miles fai iher : to Canada ; to Kentucky ; and if I mistake not to New
Orleans and St. Louis." The Rev. President ua.xes eloquent ui his description
of the damage to the character of these agents and paints with a feeling pen their
gfenerally demoralizing conduct while engaged in ihis business : but as the career
of a salesman was then a novelty in this country, it is possible that the author
1 TravcH in New Bnglaod nod New York, Vol. 2, pp. 53-4.
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EARLY HISTORY. 349
^as undiilx nlariiied and that they were not so black in their actions and heart
as he belie \ cd.
His rtiiiarks were ^ivcn in his sketch of BerHn which was then a much more
inportant place in the business world than Meridcn, and where the manufacture
had been begun a long time previous to the Yale venture in Meriden. The pion'>
KT in Berlin was William Pattison, a native of Ireland, who settled there about
1740. Of Meriden President Dw ighi sa> s, "a small neat village on a handsome
oniiience in the center of the parish. The remainder of the township is distributed
mto farms." "The business of manufacturing: culinary utensils from tin plates
ins been considerably extended ; and is becoming a source of wealth to the inhab*
itants. Fruit trees usually blossom here on the Southern declevity of the hills, m
the valley at the bottom, three or four days earlier than at New Haven."
The Yales continued in the business for many years, and t>oth accumulated
for the times considerable propert) , and were held in high esteem in the com-
mniiify: the son of William, General Edwin Yale, was also extensively engaged
ID this manufacture, and his shops were back of his homestead, No. 405 Broad
street. He left here finally to engage in the hotel business in New York where
lie was for a number of years proprietor of the United States Hotel and later of
the Mansion House, Brooklyn.
Another early manufacturer of tinware in Meriden was Partrick Dark, who
as will be remembered, bought the old Jonathan Collins place on North Colony
road, of his father-in-law in 1806. He evidently at once engaged in the busi-
ness, for in 181 3, he was enough of a factor in the *'ttn world" to be one of the
si^rs of an agreement to maintain prices — doubtless the first document of the
sort ever drawn up in this vicinity. It is as follows :
"June 16 18 13 We the Subscribers each and every one of us agree not to sell
off tin ware Plain Bl Japann^ below the prices affixed to the several articles.
Shubael Paterson, Orin Beckley, SamI Paterson, John Dimham 2^, Samuel
Gilbert, John Goodrich Jun., Aziel Belden, John Bucknum, John Hubbard, Benj"*
^Villcox. Samuel Kelsey, Partrick Clark."
This agreement was followed by a list of the articles manufactured with the
minimum prices annexed. Evidently all these names were those of Berlin men
with tlie exception of Partrick Clark, and possibly later the names of the Yales
^^ere attached, for the original of the above was itself a copy, and was found
among tlie Yale paj>ers. where, perhaps, it was preserved as a memorandum.
Partrick Clark's shop was just south of his house where he was engaged in
Tuiniifacturing many years. His sons. Samuel, Partrick. Jr., and for a while,
Iiuige James S. Brooks, engaged in the 1)iisiness in a shop that stood on the pres-
nt ?itc of the Meriden Savinqfs P,ank on East Main street: the old wooden build-
ng: was built there more than fifty years ago. For many years the firm located
lere was known as Stedman & Clark.
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350 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Another prominent manufacturer in the early days of the town was Panrid
Lewis, who in i8a6 bought of Dr. Isaac I. Hough, the old tavern, and not onl}
performed the functions of "mine host," but also started a store in ihe oldlsiU
ing, probably in one of the additions, which plainly show in the illiistntfioo
they were not of the same date, as that part covered by the gambrd roof,
was then only twenty-five years old but was enterprising and energetic; and
also began at this time the manufacture of tinware in a small shop oa or
the spot now occupied by Birdsey & Raven's store. No. 294 East Main sticd
took as a partner Elias Holt, also an enterprising and resourceful man, and
to enlarge the business, fitting up a bam in the rear of the brick block whidi k
merly' stood just north of the residence of Eli C. Birdsey: here they
tea and coffee pots, candle sticks, molasses gates, etc., etc., and soon finding thi
quartets too small they built a shop just west of the junction of High aodGv
Main streets, which to-<1a> is a dwelling house and was once occupied b
Charles Parker and later by George C. Merriam. Mr. Lewis also built the hie
block just referred to, which was devoted to a general mercantile business. This«3
the site of the store and dwelling of Amos White. The young men did a but
business for the times, and but for some untoward circumstances which they cob
not control, they would have built up a large industry.^
But fate was unkind or human judgment, was at fault, for on January ^ i^il
on the petition of Mr. Lewis, the firm of Lewis & Holt was compelled to go itij
bankruptc)- with liabilities of more than $75,000.
A copy of this petition is before the writer as he pens these lines, and eootaij
a formidable list of creditors. The failure was considered a bad bbw to the
munity, for the citizens were proud of the enterprising young manufacturers vl
products embraced a wide variety of articles for household uses in tinware. S;
pathy seems to have been particularly felt for Mr. Lewis, for he was a noa
integrity and honor, and it was he who, when he knew the crash could
averted, insisted that the bankruptc} proceedings be taken at once rather thano^
ttnue and make a more disastrous failure later. Capt Almeron Miles took d
business and carried it on for a while but eventually Charles Parker bought t
factory at the comer of High and East Main streets, and later when he had b(S<
to manufacture in the factories which are the nucleus of the extensive ^
southwest of this spot, he altered the shop into a dwelling. |
Mr. Lewis, when profits were large and the future looked rosy with pW"
in the year 1830, built the dignified old mansion at No. 497 Broad street, sov*
home of Eli C. Birdsey ; it was the first fine dwelling to be erected in MerideSr>i
was well and carefully constructed, and the carved mantels and door casings *
paneling, and the mahogany stair railings and general details show that thethouf!
of failure was far from his mind.
1 The«e fart» !»r» from nirmorAuda fnrnli'hvd tht* Ijite Or. Cbapin bf tte tote Uwc C W*
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352 A CENTURY 01' MERIDEN.
Mr. Holt also built a substantial and pleasing dwelling in the same year, whidi
stands on the east corner of Main and High streets, and is now the home of Mrs.
Russell Coe.
Noah Pomeroy came here in the year 1817, and immediately bought the old
Renjamin A. Hall farm in Mast Mcriden. with the homestead which formerly sKod
at the junction of Pomeroy and Murdock avenues and has since been moved a
short distance eastward. He must have at once begun the manufacture of tin-
ware in shops which he built across the street from his house to the east. The
factories have now all disappeared, and one would never imagine from present
ELIAS HOLT, NOW THE MRS. RU.SSELL COE IIOL'SE.
appearances that this was for many years the busiest locality in Meriden, for 1
engaged very extensively in the production of this line of goods, and employe
more workmen than any other manufacturer in town, until 1845 when he retirt
with a comfortable fortune : his sons continued the business for a number of vear
The manufactories so far mentioned were the more prominent ones, and the
are all remembered by people still living, but an examination of the land recorc
has revealed the fact that there were in those early days, a number of other me
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
35^
tnf^aged in the production of tinware, metal and bone buttons and wooden conibs^
who probably in the aggregate sent large quantities of their wares into the markets.
Of course, the records will not disclose all these small shops, for one would not
be mentioned in a deed without the owner sold his plant ; in a few instances they
are included in the inventories of estates on the probate records.
In 1808 Sidney and Arba Merriam were manufacturing buttons in a shop that
was located somewhere in the vicinity of the Parker Clock Co. plant in what we
know as Crow Hollow and it was still in e.xistence in 1815 ; in 1808 Seth D. Plum,
as already related, bought Samuel Yale's old tin shop which stood near the present
site of the old Methodist church and continued the manufacture until 1835 • ^^14
MKRIDE.V CENTER .\BOUT 1834. LOOKING NORTH I KO.M THK JU NCTION OF ( l UTlS
AND BROAP STREETS.'
Thr building on (he l^ft. before which the i«tage conch is passing, is the Episcopal Church, the
next l» the Baptist Church (which ptood at the northeast corner of the gravevard. afterwards the
Merider. Arademv), the third is the Congregational Church, beyond which stands the old Centra)
Tavern.
Benjamin Tlucl was making buttons in a building on the land some yards north of
the Calvin Coe homestead on Coe avenue, and it was later owned by Jesse Curtis
and Spicer Leonard. In 1815 William Lawrence leased of Elisha A. Cowles a
button shop south of "Harbor Bridge." "as long as grass grows and water runs,"
1 From Barber'.* Historical Collections of Connecticut.
23
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354
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
and the same year Timothy Richards sold to Mr. Cowlcs a store standing near the
latter s tin shop ; this store stood on land just west of the present Record building
site. In 1816 Enos (Jrannis mortgaged to Avery Hall a tin shop that was located
somewhere on Ichahod Woods' farm which is now Walnut Grove cemetery, anc".
in 1817 Edward Collins sold to Walter Booth a half interest in his tin shop, wnich
Stood on land riow belonging lo the State School for Boys near tlie drivewa\ lead-
ing; from Colony street, and the inventory of Moses Barns who died in 1816 shows
that he had a till shop just west of his house ; he was then living in the old dwell-
iitg known As the Nathaniel Merriani plaife, standing where St. Andrew's church
is now located.
In 1813 Asahel Curtis and Isaac Lewis were manufacturing buttons in a shop
near the residence known as No. 1065 Broad street and at about the same date
Enos H. Curtis was making like articles on Curtis street, and Amos Curtis was
engai^cd in the same kind of business in a shop south of his house at tlic junction
of r.road and Curtis streets, and Henry I'cck w as making tinware in a building that
stood west of the IV'Idcn house, Xo. (x)2 I'road street. At an early dale Lauren
Merriain was in liie same business in a factory that stood a little north of the junc-
tion of I'oster and Colony streets.
And in the year 1820 Abel San ford was manufacturing spoons in a shop w hich
stood somewiiere on the farm now owned by Julius Ives on the hill just west of
the village of Hanover, tnr in that year he sold his farm to Jesse Ives, reserving
his spoon shi)]), and Ives sold the Meriden House corner to Sanford, reserving his
tailor slit^p standing on it.
This list by no means exhausts the catalogue of these small shops located in
various ])arts of the town. l)ut further e xtension would but make patience cease to
be a virtue and ennld st-rve no useful purpose.
In the year iSn/ .\iiiasa .Merriani leased to I,auren Merriam and Edward Col-
lins under the tirm name of ( ollins and Merriam the right to erect a dam twcnt\
rods northwest of their comb factory which had evidently just been built: this shop
stood where the present Parker Clock Co. plant is located in the west part of the
town, and in 1H22 we tind on the town records John l>. Collins c>f Hartford selling
to this tirm his invention for sawing ivory for combs. This wa> apparenth the be
ginning of the ivory comb business hi Meriden w hich w as for a time an important
industry.
In 1827, Collins having died, Merriam sold a half interest iti the business to
Walter Webb and Albert Foster and it was then continued under the tkm name
of Walter Webb & Co.. and for a number of years the manufacture was carried
on in two adjoining shops, one of which is to-day used by the Clock Co.
A few hundred feet west of this spot, on the north side of the turnpike, stands
an old house, on an elevation considerably above the road, that was built probably
all of a hundred years ago hy Xoah Merriam. and in it as ^arly as 1829, Albert
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E.\RLV HISTORY.
355
Foster was living, and iTianufacturing bone and metal buttons ami other attick*«?.
in a shop jxXSt across the street, and the outlines of the foundation of the building
an still be seen. At the same time John SutlitY was manufacturing t^oofls of a
like nature in a factory that stood east of the ivory comb shop, in the point fornuci
bv the junction of Johnson avenue and the turn])ike: it was afterwards used by
Dana Lewis as a button shop and burned down many years ago: sonie of the fomi-
lUtion stones may still be seen. West of Albert Foster's factory, at a point just
east of the foimtain, stood a small shoj) that was used by George Bull for mak-
ing (icniian silver spoons at nlmnt the same dale.
The two small plants of MithtT & l-oster were the bef^itiiiini^s of I'oster, Mer-
riam & Lo. aiicl for a while they ran independently, and then forces were joined
and Hiram I'oster and Asaj)!! and Nelson Merriaju were taken iti as partners and
the enlarged firm finally loeated on their present site in the decade following 1840.
Xear the main e!it ranee to Hubbard park nn the north side of the road, stood
until a few years ag(j, an old stone building known as the Julius Parker foundry:
it was built aboxit 183 1 or 1832 by Jonathan Leonard who came here from Canton,
Mass.; the land was owned by William jnhnsoii, and Leonard leased the ri.s^ht for
a term of years to erect a factory and oeen])y it. and here he carried on tlie business
"f c;iNtin<j various KmhIs of articles and was sueeesstul and enterprising.^ He sold
the ahup to C_ liark-> i\-irker aiid in 1833 l)on,L,du of Homer Curtiss a plant which
the latter had built in the east part of Meriden in 1831 in partnershiji with a man
named Walker, and here for a number of years Leonard continued the maiujiacture
Of the same class of ^.^oods he had ])ro(luee<l in ( "row H*)lIow. In the first mnnber
of the -Meriden Weekly .Mercury, dated March 24. i84g, appears an advertisement
signed by Jonathan Leonard in New Haven in which he otTers for sale "the Water
Privilege and Factory owned and occupied by him for the last fourteen years in
the easterly part of Meriden. " Lventually the shop came into possession of
Charies Parker and doubtless the original building is buried .somewhere in the
depths of the Parker spoon factory.
Mr. Perkins, in his history, says that Julius Pratt began to mamifacture ivory
combs in Meriden in 1822, and the factorv was at first located on Harbor l)rook on
the south side on land now occupied by Bradley & Hubbard Mfg. Co. and the old
<lam which formerly stood there furnished the water power: but finding it not suf-
(tcient for his purpose, he bought in 1824 a tract of land on Broad street which is
now covered mostly by Pratt's pond : here he built a dam, and a factory on the
south side, probably, and again began the manufacture of combs, and in the same
year he admitted as partners, Thomas Howard, of Providence. R, L, Alphcus Star-
^\ George Reid. John C. Rodgers and George Si>encer, of Saybrook. and Fenner
Bush, of Meriden: not finding the premises large enough, the firm, known as
Howard Pratt ft Co., In 1828, bought of Walter Booth ten acres, which gave suf-
1 BuMO." L«)nard, bit w»o. gave UiMe facts to the writer.
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356
A CENTURY OF MtKJDEX.
ficient room lor a racewa) , and a new factory at present occupied by Miller Bros.
Cutlery Co. on I'ratt .street. Tlie firm did a large business and was prosperous,
iiotwitli^tanding misfortunes by tire, etc. .Mr. Pratt was a man of resource and
enterprise and ranked high in the conmiunity ; his home stood just south of the
dam and the old dwelling is still there, while just north of the dam stands the
house built by his partner, Fenner Bush. The firm continued in business many
years and was later known as Julius Pratt & Co. Mr. Perkins gives a descriptkm
of the processes of manufacture, in his history, and Mrs. Breckenritlge writes en-
tertamingly in her ''Recollections'* of both Mr. Pratt and Mr. Bush and relates fact$
pertaining to the ups and downs of the business. According to the table at the
end of this chapter Mr. Pratt was making cutlery also in 1845.
Phib Pratt & Co. was the name of another comb manufacturing establishment
that was located at Hanover: the building stood on land closely adjoining the
present Meriden Cutlery Co. plant at the south end and the business was finally
absorbed by Walter Webb & Co., and this latter company took possession of the
factory and sold the old one in Crow Hollow to Charles Parker, where for a num-
ber of years he made locks.
When Julius Pratt gave up the factory where Bradley & Hubbard Mfg. Co.
is now located, it was leased by the owner, Elisha A. Cowles, in 1828, to N. C
Sanford & Co., of which firm the following gentlemen were partners, viz: Fenner
Bush, Julius Pratt, Nathaniel Sanford and Howell Merriman, and this company
began the manufacture of augers. They stayed there until 1832 when they moved
to Hanover and bought the plant of Carter, Goodrich and Bishop, who for some
time had been making bone buttons in a factory located just south of the old ten-
ement houses near where the road turns and comes out at Archer*$ Comer. The
remains of the old raceway can still be seen west of the road after leaving the
bridge, and running south to where the factory was standing. The firm of N. C
Sanford & Co. afterwards moved to Yalesville and the shop they built is now oc-
cupied by the Jennings & Griffin Co.
In 1834 the plant on Harbor brook abandoned by N. C. Sanford & Co. was sold
to Homer Curtiss and Harlow Isbell, trading under the name of Curtiss, Tsbell ^
Co., who hafl i)re\ i(.usl\ been located in a plant west of where the Meriden House
now stands, just baclv of the Lewis block. This firm was enterprising and suc-
cessful in making door latches, locks and builders' hardware. Mr. Isl)ell finally
moved to Kansas and Mr. Curtiss then formed a partnership with a Mr. Morgan
and the new company was known as Curtiss, Morgan & Co. and continued to do
business at this stand until January, 1854, when the firm, to the great regret of the
whole comnumity, was compelled to make an assignment through endorsing foi
Curtis L. North.
P.cniamin and Hiram Twiss began the manufacture of clocks in 182I
and located their factory near the east end of Pratt s pond where it could be seei
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£ARLy HISTORY.
357
from Broad street and they built for power purposes a datn which formed a pond
still known by their name: after a number of years the business was moved to
Canada.
In East Meriden, or Bangall, more than seventy years ago, Orsamus Crocker
t)tiiJt a factory in the point of land formed by the junction of Cone avenue and
Middletown turnpike, which was designed for the making of clocks, hut the bus-
iness proving a failure, it was occupied later by Crocker on the upper lloor making
wooden cnmbs and drawer pulls, while William J. Ives made suspenders on the
.'orer Hoor. Isaac C. Lewis was at one time engaged in making britannia ware
ifl the same building.^
David W. Ropes bcj^an the Inisiness of maniifacttirinj^ table cutU'iy in Meri-
den in i^^45, and located in Hanover just north of the Walter W'ehl) Co. factory
and later he formed a partnership with Julius H. Pratt and \\ alter Webb under
^ht timi name of Pratt, Ropes, Webb & Co., and in 1855 the business was merited
.ntn a corporation bearini^ the present name of Meriden Cutlery Co. and there it
has since continued, a successful and prosperous concern.
Henry T, W ilcox came to Meriden in i8j(^ and entered the eni])lo) of Julius
f'rati & Co. About 1845 he built a small sho]) a little south of his bouse. No.
400 North Colon} street, where for a number of years he made coffee mills, spring
l>alances. steclvards, iron bit braces and door knockers. The first shop was burned
I'l 1851, and a second built on the same site was burned in T853.
L'ndoubtedlv, manv of the earl\ industries have Ik-cu omitted in the forejjo-
ing pages, but sutfieient have been t^^iven to show that Meriden had become a per-
Jeci hive uf manufactories by 1S30 and this in the face of the fact that there \tere
few advantages such as are usually consitkred necessities when a coinnnmity is
en^'aged in industrial pursuit: that such a situation should have developed was
due wholly to the genius of the people: they were determined to succeed and they
<fid: and as one looks over the roll of manufacturers of Meriden since iS^m, one
IS conscious that there have been some great men amont; the mnnlier — men who
with more natural advantages would have achieved much bit^L;er residts
Some of the difficulties of manufacturing in Meriden in the early days will be
reafixed when it is remembered that there was a very liiuitcd arnotmt of water
power in the township, which probably accounts for the great number of tin shops
vhidi did not require such power : added to this situation it was necessary to cart
Ul finbhed and raw material to and from Middletown and New Haven, until the
ailroad was opened in 1838.
The population of Meriden daring the first fifty years was as follows:
1810, 1,249; 1820, 1,309; 1830, 1,708; 1840, 1,880; 1850, 3,559.
I Thin factnry, th* n i.wnrd tiy rvov LpwIp & Co.. wa» d" 1 1 oyi <1 by Arc, Thursday niebt. June 27,
^1. Tbe Recorder telU us Uiere wore tbr«e buildings in the group, and tbey wer* used tor nuklas
«9 •klita, aklct Upe ftiMl webblas.
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35B A CENTURY OF MEMIDEN.
Out {»t the 1.24*) y>crsnns in uSjo. 105 w ere cn^^'^agcil in inauuiaciuring ariL; (rf
the 1,880 ])C()i)lc in tuwn m 1840, 406 were working in factories, eitlicr as cirfjtluvfl
or employee, or 21^ per cent.— a very large proportion. To show the dittert-nffl
between the two communities at tliis date it may be stated that Wallingford. wid
a populfition of 2,204, ^^b' engaged in manufacturing, or aboul iivc («
cent.
A T nizetteer of Connecticut and Rhode Island by Pease & Nil^, publishtii u
1819, has this to say about Meriden:
**A spirit of enterprise and activity in business characterizes the inhabiianu- oi
this town. Various manufactures and mechanical employments are carried on
but those of tin ware and buttons are the most important. There are five dis'.-.i
Factories of the former, and equal number of the latter, for making metal buitor.^
and I Factory for ivorv buttons. There are also i Factory for ivory combs .
2 block tin or hard metal spoon Factories. The wares and manufactures of tk>
establishments, like those of other towns in the vicinity, are sent abroad for a iiiir
ket. This furnishes employment for a number of hands ; and it has been estiniata
that there are 20 to 40 persons tliat are constantly employed in vending the wnrf
that are manufactured in this town. Most of them are employed in the souiber
and western states, which atYord an extensive market for the products of our il
dustry. And this maricet will not be likely soon to fail, for wherever slavery prt
vails, mechanical ingenuity and industry will be excluded. In addition there ai
12 Cider Distilleries, 2 Grain Mills, i Fulling Mill, i Carding Machine and 2 Tai
ncries. There are 2 Nfercantile Stores and 2 Taverns."
•The Gazetteer of the U. S. published in 1833 has this to say about Herida
"An important manufacturing place but with little water power : $1,000,^00011
nually [)roduced: 1 company has 230^ hands in making britannla coffee pots, spooi
coifee mills, waffle irons, signal lanthorns: $200,000: other manufacture^ .ii
wooden clocks vahu S qo.ooo; ivor>', wood, boxwood and horn combs value
000: auger bits and rakes value $20,000; tin ware value $90,000: another manutii
turer of britannia ware $250,000 : there are other manufactures of Japanned wan
shoes, boots : some very useful inventions have originated here ; first branch (
manufacture extensively engaged in here was that of tin ware."
In 1833 the Meriden Bank was organized with a capital of $ioo,ooog ai
opened for business at once or very shortly after in the old brick block on Kort
Broad street still known as the '*bank building."
A very large percentage of growth was shown by Meriden in the decade frai
1840 to 1850 when the population rose from 1,880 to 3,559 or nearly 100 per ccd
The following table of manufactories in Meriden in 1845, compiled by How<
Merriman and filed with the Secretary of State, is a fitting ending to this accotn
of the early industries. The writer has sketched a short accoqnt of the eariy mai
ufacturers of britannia ware, which will be found on page 37, Part III, of this bool
1 Probably an exaK8«r«t«d atat^ment.
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EJiUl^Y ill&lpRY.
359
"A statement of the dilYtrcnt manufacturers in the Town of Meridcn. as
n(kr((l by the Secretary of State, agreeable to an act of the Legislature
passed ?t the May session, 1845.
d
Xamet* of
9 r
c -
S
a
mmm -■ _ m
mna or
a
1
il
ll
i.
-i
=
ManvfiictttiiM.
Manufficturers.
- *
1
S
1
8a
B ^
<9
55 ■
6
mm
- — — — - -
Tin Ware,
— -
17
L. T. Merrianii
$^>,ooo
$10,000
Tni Ware,
2
Sanittcl Yale,
1,000
J
Tin Ware,
32
Stedman & Clark,
18,000
3^,000
i
Tin War^
ao
Goodrich & Rutty,
7/xo
35*000
Tin Ware,
S
Hiram Bradley,
2,500
6,000
«
T 11 Ware,
4
Bitrr Andrews,
2,000
7.000
Tin Ware,
2
F. A. GaK-.
500
1.500
I in Ware.
4
H. W. Curtiss,
1,200
4.000
Tin Ware,
12
N. Pouieroy,
10,000
15.000
$44,200 $112,500
96
Britannia Ware,
7
Bull, Lyman ft G>uch,
3.000
9.000
J'-rtannia Ware,
■ 8
James A. Frary,
iliOOO
15.000
Britannia Ware,
3
De Witt Kimberly,
1,500
4^00
lirit.tnnia Ware,
2
Hnos H. Curtis,
1 .5no
-
Brsunnia Ware,
2
Edwin E. Curtis,
Ooo
1,000
Britannia Ware,
2
Lemuel J. Curtis,
1,200
Britannia Ware,
6
Thomas R. Holt ,
5W
10,000
Britannia Ware,
5
Isaac C. Lewis,
5JO0O
40,100
37
Ivr ry Combs,
45
Julius Pratt & Co.,
80,000
100,000
Ivory Combs,
35
W alttr Webb & Cc,
60,000
iSo.ooo
140,000
180,000
80
Cutlery,
50
Julius Pratt &. Co.,
15,000
25,000
15,000
25,000
50
Coffee Mills,
12
Chas. Parker,
20,000
Coffee M ills and Stiltyards, 3
H. T. Wilcox,
< I'fTee Mills,
2
Foster, Merriam ^ Co., ifiOO
2,000
■ -ffcc Mills.
3
AInieron Miles,
1,000
3.000
6,500
30,460
20
Skdyards, etc.,
2
Henry M Foster,
500
2,000
500
2,000
2
Boots and Shoes,
12
John iiuiltr,
6,000
7.400
Boots and Shoes,
2% Ira Preston,
300
425
l''>ots and Shoes,
1% Amasa Sizer,
200
350
6,500
8.I7S
t6
5
Clark & Aamson&R.K C
2,000
3.600
3
Blake. Jnlinsnn & Curtis, 1,000
^ too
3,000
6,000
8
Trunks and liarncss,
2
R. H. Beckley,
500
i,2O0
Trntiks and Harness,
2
Chas. Stedman,
600
^000
1,100
3>»o
4
I'rass Foundries,
10
Foster, Merriam & Co., 4,000
10,000
Bra". 5 Foundries,
12
Jared Pratt,
lO/XW
20,000
*I4,000
30.000
22
f lardwrsre.
4
W'n\. L. Coan.
1.700
4.000
i»700
4
Uoor Handles, casting, etc. 25
fsbcll & Curtiss,
12,000
25,000
* A <i«rlcal error Id tlie orlftnal maouicript made thl« amount rod $1,400 Instead of f 14,000.
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360
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Kind of
Manufactures.
'3
I
Nanu'- of
Manufacturer.^.
ti
It
3 3
it
T
— >
w a
Door Handles, casting, etc. 38
Charles Parker,
$14,000 $26,000
$36)000
$5iiOPO
Aagurs, Rakes, etc-»
28
Sanford, Newton & Co.» 13,000
20,000
13,000
30|000
Ink Stands. ctc.>
3
Stillman & Eastman*
800
3,500
800
3,500
1
Carriages, Wagons, etc,
9
Ezra Ives,
4,000
4.>oo
Cnrriago<5, Wagons, etc,
7
T W. Russell,
2,000
4.50*3
6.000
9,000
'i o<»li, i'umps, etc.,
20
Oliver Snow & Co.,
8,000
14,000
8,000
Casting.s, Scales, etc.,
H
Jonathan Leonard*
19.000
,11,800
19,000
^
House Joiners,
ao
Asahel Laurence,
5.000
iSiOOO
House Joiners,
13
Redficld & Butleri
lOiOOO
House Joiners,
4
John Davidson,
1,000
2,000
House Joiners,
5
W^m. D. Coan.
2,000
5,000
1 1,000
32,000
Flour Mills,
2
Almon Andrews,
2,500
2,500
3,600
2
Qothing,
7
S. S. Green,
TOO
15.000
Oothing,
13
E. and E. A. Rice,
1,000
3,000
Gothing.
4
Wm. Green & Mr. Wood, 500
1,000
3*300
4^
34
Stone Cutter,
4
Stevens & Peck,
1,200
2,000
1,200
2/XX>
4
Tin l-'.-ice Btittons,
4
Lewis & Hough,
200
750
200
4
Wnidow BU nds,
2
Elias Baldwin,
250
500
250
500
3
Lumber and Boxes,
3
Edwin Birdsey,
500
2,000
500
2,000
3
Blacksmiths,
4
Stephen Atkins»
3,000
4.000
Blacksmith,
3
A. R. Johnsons*
300
3,450
3.300
6v450
7
Suspenders and Webbing,
23
Wni. J. Ives,
4.000
10,000
Snspenders and Webbing,
6
Sannii'I Cook,
500
I2.0<X>
39
W cod Combs,
7
Orsanias Crocker,
1,000
2,000
1,000
m
t
Stone,
ao
Jared R. Cook,
2A)00
10.000
2,000
10,000
Bone Suspender Buttons
14
Harry Griswold,
6^000
10,000
6^000
toyooo
14
ToUl $35(M50 $65i»735 ^
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EARLY HISTORY. 361
CHAPTER XXL
MERCHANTS.
Mention has already been made of a few of Meriden's early merchants, viz:
Amos White and Amasa Curtis and Isaac Lewis, and to them should be added
iie linn of Butler & Olds, succeeded by John Butler alone, who ran a boot and
iiwe store on Broad street nearly opposite the Baptist church, and the
itisiness was carried on by him for many years.
Major Elisha A. Cowles began his first mercantile venture in the old Mecor-
ley House, at 194 East Main street, as has already been mentioned: in the year
811 he was in business on the corner bounded east and north by South
.olony and East Main streets, for in that year he admitted Joel Merriman to
artnership, selling him a half interest; but in 181 3 the firm was dissolved,
n 1815 Mr. Cowles bought a piece of land just east, where the Rogers block now
taods, and, according to one authority, he erected that building in 1840, in com-
>ny with Dr. Isaac I. Hough, and it was run as a railroad restaurant for a num-
of years ; it was originally a gable-roofed structure. In 1846 Mrs. Cowles
it to Hervey Rogers, and he ran it as a hotel for twenty years or more.
Major Cowles apparently sold everything that a country store could be ex-
acted to carry in stock, and he was in the undertaking business as welK for
le uriter has come across one bill for such services. In 1830, with James S.
rooks, he bought seven acres, which included the site where the Meriden
ouse now stands, ana these two gentlemen then engaged in business some*
here on tliis corner, and later, viz., in 1836, he was also in company with
andoiph Linsley, but located on the East side of Colony street ; he was in part-
irship with Henry C. Butler on the Meriden House corner in April, 1838, and
c writer has discovered one bill from c Ow lcs & Butler for coffee, chickens and
jslings, that w as receipted by Curtis L, North in the same year, showing that
at arch hypocrite was already in town.
Major Cowles was a shrewd and successful merchant and was interested
several of the manufacturing ventures of his native town as well, and he
d Judq^e James S. Brooks probably had more to do with having the N. Y..
H. & H. R. R. Co. tracks laid through Meriden in the present course than
y other men in Meriden; while the residents of the center were fighting
>th and nail to prevent the tracks being laid in that part of the town, for
Digitized by Google
362
A CEMLRV OF MERIDEN.
fear of damage to their cattle and live stock, Major Cowles and Judge Brooks
were quietly urging the present layout. The Major was one of the Board of
Directors of the Xew Haven an<l Hartford Railroad Company from 1835 to
1840, and it must have been a proud moment for him when he saw the firstj
train of cars come puffing into the station in Meriden, in November, 18)8.^
This was as far as the trains ran until Saturday. December 14, 1839, when
the road was so far completed that a train was conducted from Belle Dock ia:
New Haven to the Engine House in Hartford. Some idea of the small
amount of business done by the railroad at first may be gained when it is
stated that the gross income from passengers and freight for the first niM
months was $24,000.
The first railroad
station in Meriden
stood on the east
side of the track a
little north of .Main
street, but it was evi-
dently only a tempo-
rary affair. and
Hockey's History of
New Haven County
says it was located
in the Rogers block
from 1 840 to
In the latter year it
was changed to the
rear part of what
was afterwards call-
ed Conklin's Hotel,
which fronted on
Main street, just
across the street
from the Rogers
MAJOR MLISHA A. COWLES.
Fr3ni an oil painting owned by his Krand-
dnuKhteri^, the MiKsej^ Churchill, of Berlin.
building. On N'>
vember 18, 183J,
W illiam Hale solj
to the railroad a
tract of land- vvhidl
had been his gardet
plot and which w<
now know as Winth
rop Square, and il
the following yea;
the railroad com
pany erected lb
brick station on i
which conlinuetl ti
stand there and l|
used for that purport
until the present on^
on the other side <«|
the track, was read](
for occuf)ancy. ijj
September. i88i. |
Major Cowlej
died in March, 184^
leaving a good estate for a country town in those days. Judge James S. Bnx)kii
a much younger man, was a worthy coadjutor in Major Cowles' efforts, and
a director in the railroad from 184 1 to 1863, and acted as president in 1856. anj
signed the annual report as president in 1859. I
1 Walter Stit kney wa • a panHenger on this train, which only came as far as Jlarbor Brook Cn»»dii
2 WIMIam Hale M)Id his garden plot to the railroad company for S3. 000, and immediately pla<«
the sum with Ciirti«; L. North for invent -nent. On the ver>- next day North (ailed, aod tbiu* anotb*
man woh added to the li««t of hiB victims.
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
Xaturalh , the location of the railroad track so far west of the center of the
town, drew business tO what wgfi then known as West Meriden, and eventually
the Corner" became the real commercial center of Meriden, and the stage
coach line was soon driven out of business by its steam competitor, and its
shares, which had once been deemed a secure and profitable form of invest-
ment, soon became worthless.
Howell Merriman was another of the early Meriden merchants, and his
dwelling and store stood where the building now occupied by W. W. Mosher
is located, Ko. 13 Colony street: just to the left of his entrance may still be
seen a stone bearing the inscription, "Howell Merriman, June i, 1827." When
he opened the store the writer has been unable to learn, but an examination of
his account book, written in a neat, legible style, reveals his methodical habits
and painstaking accuracy, and gives his inventory in 1831 and again in 1832,
and shows that he carried a stock of dry goods, notions and jewelry : among
the latter articles are mentioned three diamonds. He continued in bttsiness
a nomber of years and finally entered a firm composed of Joel I. and Henry
C. Butler, located in the Collins building, who conducted a sort of private
bank, by discounting notes and arranging the placing of loans. Mr. Merri-
man^ was also interested in several of the local manufacturing ventures: he
died in 1858.
A picture of the business center, near the railroad station, in T842, is shown
in the accompanying reproduction of a poster distributed to the traveling
public in that year by Nelson Mcrriani and Ilcnry ,M. Foster. I lic observer
is supposed to be standing ju>l stmlh of wlu rc tlie Morse & Cook building is
ti"\v l(>cat('d. r.n tlu i-ast side of the bruuk : on ihc cxlmne left is sliown llie
building which Majtjr Cowks and Dr. Hough erected, now knuvvii as the
K'^^ers block, and for nianv \cars after the Maior's ticath usctl bv Hervev
Rotjers as a liottl. Opposite stands the hotel just opened (snvs the poster).
«ind ill front <>f it waiting the stage coach to convey pas-^tiii^rr^ ti» Afi'ldle-
town. Tiiis building was famous afterwards as Capt Coiiklin s hutcl, and in
The rear, just behind the engine tinder can be read the words. **Railroa<l Re-
tociory:" and under tliis sign was also the entrance to the ticket office and
pas.sen^er station: upstairs in thi*^ ainu-x. which ua^ afterwards enlarged, was
tile famous Conklin- Hall, where |>o]ilical caucuses and meetings were held.
Here also the \oung people held their balls and assemblies, and here, too, the
hardened criminal, or cue who was blushing for his first offence, was brought,
either defiant or humble. l)etore the jtistice of the peace for trial. ^ Ju.st to the
rij:ht of this hall in the background, stands the dwelling house and store of
1 Farr r of Mrs. John h PtJlard.
2 Known iaier a« liurdicK k Hall.
•1 Up*t9«» |wopl« at tblR tltii« the old Academy h«ll for an aHr^mblsr room.
J..
"ff
rr? <i\ ff> r® T?
ERlDlilN, CONN.
n il. Hiiliiicrll>pr<« rf*|H-ririilK niuiniinfr lo llicir rrii>n<U nn<l iIk' {hiIiIk ;.M nc rnll\ 1I1.H
nrw mill iii.K loilx ■•MfithliKliiiK lil,.cli^ilil\ Inrnli ti ;it llii- ihput of llic llarlfTil nmd tr
Jlareu Ittiil Itinnl, i<> n<i>t iipi-n for llii' rri'«*]iM<iii of ( 'iiiii|jaiit .
Tlio llini«o hii« bfPii fiiriiwlM <l llii rMi;;li<tiii mIiIi .N« « I'liriiiliirf, and rvrry nrrn3);mi«*nl
hiK lii'i'ti Al.'tilr In |ir<>iiiiili- tlir «:Olnr<irl niiil •■cum •■tiiriii'r nl' 4iiif'<.u.
I*ffrli4Wliir !iri<-iili<in will lie il«-voiri| to nil i'lirlim of' I'lranmre.
A IlKI'l^i "I'OU V i« roiiiii I It'll uitli ilir Iloiixo, whi rr n »nrirlj of Rl'f^<•■>llIn^nU arr
pr<<|>nr4i rnrllii- m • otiin»<Klntioii nf I'ASSIvM. T.HH IIV TIIK f 'A&S.
A ,}fml,Stiicr niii« lo niiil from f liis plni-r nml .MiilillrtiMvn ilniljr.
tt'inni Court ifanff* nft- alwa_v« in rontiinr«« lo rnrry l*nH«i-ii)>r>r( tu any oftbr adjoiiii-
lown«.
ICvcry rflort will be mailr lo ri<nil<<r tlir IIouko worthy of a lilxTal <ii)i|»orl
N. MERRIAM,
B. M. ROSTER.
p. S, Kui.crior nrroniinojlnlinn» for .^/flA/i»i<r. TravclrrH w isliiiig to Inarc thrir |Jor««4
fiT^ n lrn;:tn of litiii'. ninj rrly on having llivni wi-ll provided for.
MKllinr.N. .^'^,rrmf.n■. 1^12. ,
V
■4^
tiVW^
MMMMnnilKtiMMfiMnuiMM
iiirnviiiiMmviiimit
Digitized by Google
4
EARLY HISTORY. 365 .
Howell Merriam, and on the extreme right of the picture is the freight station
of those days. Capt. Conklin*s hotel fronted on what we now know as
Main street, but at that time called the Waterbury and Southington turnpike :
the picture just misses showing the old wooden bridge which formerly spanned
Harbor brook, a little to the right of the tree, and over which the stage coach
wilt soon be rumbling and towards which the ducks in the brook are paddling.
Before Lewis & Holt*s failure in 1834, the brick block at the southeast comer
of East Main and Broad streets had been sold to a firm named Potter
Shipman & Lewis, and these gentlemen were carrying on a general mercantile
business in what was then the real center of Meriden; in 1836 the building
was bought by Eli C. Birdsey,^ as well as the Partrick Lewis residence, just
south of it, and for several years he conducted a successful dry goods estab-
lishment in the front part of the brick block, while Alanson Birdsey carried on
a grocery store in the basement in the rear, with an entrance on Main street.
Eli C. died in 1843, and the business was then carried on by his son Linus and
John Ives, under the firm name of Birdsey & Ives. Mr. Ives' afterwards went
into business by himself, and erected the brick block, in 1854, which he now
uses as a dwelling. No. 489 Broad street, and here conducted a dry goods es-
tablishment for many years: after the war he admitted Col. Chas. L. Upham
and Philip C. Rand as partners, and later removed the business to the building now
occupied by Howard Bros., and later to the Winthrop Hotel block.
Another prominent merchant at the same time was Harrison W. Curtis,
who was also a tinware manufacturer ami made his goods in shops back of
his house on the south corner of Broad and Charles streets. He first started
his hardware store in- Franklin Hall, just after it was completed, in 1854,^ but
some ttmd 'after, .moved one of his tin shops to the northeast corner of East
Main an^XJenter\strje<t^ and there installed his store and continued at that
stand until hi^ deHb .i]i**i869. The business was then bought by Birdsey &
Miles, and the present firm, Birdsey & Raven, is a lineal successor.
In Franklin Hall was also located for a while the firm of N. P. Ives & Co.,
which de^t in such a variety of merchandise that it included the finest kind of
Boston tripe at one end of the list, and, at the other, an unexcelled line of the
most improved farming utensils.
H. D. Basett built the brick block at the northeast corner of Broad and
East Main streets, in 1857, and for many years he was there engaged in dis-
pensing groceries.
1 The prp^tnt F.U r. Is his son.
2 Mr. Blrdney then took William J. Iv«» an oartuer.
3 Bollt by RuMeH Ct».
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Google
EARLV HISTORY.
The old Hough, or Central tavern, after the failure of Partrick Lewis, had a
variety of ups and downs, passing through a succession of hands. In 1837.
according to a town vote, it was known as Smith's Hotel, and, whether due
to the quality of its liquor or to friction with the Church authorities, a special
town meeting voted to adjourn to the tavern and there wind up the matter that
had brought them together. After Mr. Smith had departed Evelyn Beck-
le>' was pfoprietor, and he was followed by a Mr. Douglass and Ira Twiss.
In 1844 it was in the charge of a firm of partners named .-\ndrews & Warren :
but the glory of the place was departing, and it finally degenerated into a
common drinking place. From the day the railroad was opened its doom
CURTIS L. .NORTH "S STORK.
^vas sealed, and could good old Dr. Insign Hough have returned to his former
haunts and beheld the low estate to which the tavern had descended, he would
have been the first to exclaim. *'Ichal)od, thy glory hath departed!" To the
great relief of all, it cea.sed to be a place of entertainment in 1873.
•Mention has been made of the store on the Meriden House corner, con-
ducted by Major Cowles and Henry C. lUttler. and their clerk. Curtis L.
^orth. A picture of the collection of buildings standing there in 185 1 is
J^hown in the annexed cuts. They are reproductions of illustrations that ap-
peared in the map of Meriden of that <late. Eventually North became the
owner of the store: and as he was energetic, enterprising and shrewd, he
368
A CENTURY OF MERIOEN.
built up a large business and added to it an insurance ardency and su-callrfl
private bank ; he was forceful, and pained a wide constituency, and becanic the
State agent for several large fire insurance companies, and his business extended
all over this section.
R. B. Loomis, now living in Hartlurd. wa-^ then a young man and in the crv
ploy of Mr. Xnrth. nnrl has told the writer many facts relating to the
disaster which befell Mcriden through the mad course of Mr. North. Had
he possessed balance, and less recklessness, he would undoubtedly have had
a great career in the business world ; but he was unwise in his speculations,
and at last became involved in a quarrel with the Meriden bank, and on no-
count of some fancied slight, he made the attempt to break the bank by buyinL:
U]> all the notes of that institution that he could lay his hands on; but unfor-
tunately his calculations were not carefully planned, and he succeeded only in
wrecking himself and friends.
Mr. North had been, apparently, a very religious tnan ; he wa«; a pr<iminent
leader in i)rayer meeting';, and his unctuous efforts in this directiou so im
pressed his fellow church members that to this cause, perhaps, we can ascril '
the fncr that he drew into the maelstrom of his mad spectilations and businesj
veiuurcs Homer Lurti^s. Mrs. Elisba A. Cowles, Luther W ebb and a host c
others. Mr. Curtiss <ince said that " Mr. North's most .successful ruse was t<
visit the home of some friend, and euL^agc in an earnest religions conversation
which would be followed by an im])ressive prayer and supplication to thi
throne of grace." Before departing, and while the odor of sanctity wa
fa'riv oozing from his [)ores. he would ask for and usually obtain the endorse
ment on a note which had iieen the niain^i>ring of all tlii-^ religious fervor.
At last the crash came, and Meriden w as astounded, and the state as well
the following is from a diary of the period:'
*\*^aturday, Nov. 26, 1853,
The past week has been a deeply painful and gloomy one for our com
munity. It seems as if the fomulatious of the business world were breakini
up. No less tb an seven failures have taken place within the past week, in
eluding our luo.^t enterprising business men and some substantial citizens wh<
w ere consi<1( red rich, and were rich. And it is all occasioned by one man
Curtis L. North, who, after pursuing a reckless course of hazardous business
accompanied by great extravagance in living, has succeeded in drawing ii
the means of a large nundier of persons who usually had a reputation fo
sagacity and foresight: and so he has at length failed, and carried down wit
him a host of Others, During this week there have been the foUowing £ai!
1 Kept br the l»te Georce R. Curti*.
Digitized by Googfe
I
EAKLV HISTORY. 369
ures; Curtis L. North, or tlic Mericlen Agency Co.; P. j. Clark, Curtis, Mor-
gan &' Co.. Walter Webb. Lutlier R. Webb, Mrs. Rosetta Cowles and others
of ie^> IK lie : ot course the whole community is in a state of great excitement,
and time will alone tell the tale.**
This of course was written immediatelx after the event was known, and things
tii'! not pn.ve quite '^o lilack as then thought.
Mr. North erected the house now owned by Edniuml A. I'arker, corner of
\Va>liin£,non and Colony streets, one of the best built dwellings in Meridcn.
His banking buildinjj^ had just been eonipleted and the money was all sub-
scribed to begin business at the time of the failure.^ It stood on the site now
^'cupied by the Home National Bank, but is not shown in the illustration.
'lich was made in 1851. The picture show^s, on the ritrht, the insurance
ortict. which occupied a site wdiere Circle Hall now stands, but it finally wan-
♦lered away to the n«irth corner of Camp and Colony streets. C)n the corner
south of the insurance office is .seen the dwelling- occupied by Mr. North until
Rebuilt his new house in 1853. This old dwelling, when the Mcriden House
was buih. slunk away, abashed, to Veteran street, and the banking house, at
slater date was moved to 38 West ^^ain street, and is now used by John A.
I'homas to cater to the wants of sportsmen. Rack of tiie insurance office, on
tlie hill, will be noticed the old Corner Schoolhouse, moved to King street
about 1868. Southwest of the dwelling, and on the west side of a sort of
Half quadra IV i:,de stood Mr. North's store, wdiich is seen in the second illustra-
tion, and it was here that he begati business: at that time its front, dignified
'>> four square columns, faced easterly, but when the Meriden House was
''Jiilt it wa«= turned at right angles to face Main street, and it is now (l(>i)j>ed
''tits two \sin<.,rsi. the store of F J. W heeler who has occujiicd it since i8(>2.
•Mr. North was never successful after his failure for any leui^th of time,
although his plausibility and versatility sometimes gave him a seeming tem-
!>'^'rary prosperity. He died a few vears ago in abiect povcrtv. The fol-
' 'Wing appeared in the Republican under date of November 3, iii69.
"Curtis L. Xorth. formerly of this city, and very well known among the old
residents of this place (some of them in fact knowing him too well for their
own happiness and pecuniary welfare, is now in Brooklyn, being settled
<fown in the insurance business. His office is at the corner of Fulton and
Broadway. New York. He is rapidly improving, and is superintendent of a
i i^rmet from dianr ol Mrs. Benj. U. CuUln. This was known Morldcn Savings Hank ami
BnlMing AModatloo. and wa« continupd after North h failure. It was an Institutlou somewhat like
''•■■iT modern Building and Ijoan A.«fEorlattons.
- Thin houf^e WBH buiU about 1843 by Kzrkiel A. Rico, who. for three or four ye.ir.'^ wa? the owner
en* Kt* ot ground at ihi^ cornvr. which coiilaincd the stort-. The latter was built bv Major
A. Co«l««. aoaie jrcsn earlier.
24
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370
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Sunday school and a leading member of the church. He recently put a $300
bill in a potato and presented it to his pastor.
We understand that he is niakinp: money at the rate of $50,000 a year. He
informs his friends in Brooklyn that he has effected a satisfactory settlement
with his creditors here.
What say the victims — is it so?"
In the Connecticut Whig, a weekly newspaper, then publislud in Mention,
bv the late Senator O. H. IMatt and R. W. Lewis. unck*r date .if lanuarv 1.
18^3. appears the notice that the project of building a new hotel is being
taken hold of with vigi>r. and the same ]>aper tells us in September that the
Meriden House has been starte<l and that A. S. Lawrence is buildinjj it for
a company of Meriden L^entlenien. Funds were iackintj. for a nuich better hotel
was 1)einj^ constructed than had oriji^inally been plannetl, and it was not fully
completed until 1855. It was upencd on the eveninjj of December 10. that
year, with a ban(|uet, at which most oi the prominent ijentlenien in town were
present. J. S. I*arnndce. who had been managinp^ the Mcnonoui^h limine in
Middletown. was the first proprietor, and W illiam M. Hate.->' was the clerk.
It was <kemcd as good as any in the >tnte, and the furnishings were con-
sideretl very fine, and .Meriden was in.slly prmul ol its new- hotel. The first
gas plant in town was eoimected with it. a manufacturing plant and storage
tank eighteen feet in diameter having beeii built in the rear of the hotel for
sii|>plying the means of illumination, and naturally its installation prodticed a
sensation in the community. Rut the hotel was really better than the de-
mands of the times warranted, and Mr. l^armelee was compelled to close it?
doors in Xovember. 1856. It w"as opened again Jantiary ^1, 1S57. by Fred
W. Bartholomew, of W'allingford, Mr. I'ates lending hi> as.si>tance to see that
it was started under favorable auspices. It ran afterwards, spasmodically,
under a succession of proprietors, which inchuled W. Lilley and Win. H.
CrossH'an, until Steplun J. Ives look the management, and then it started
oti a >uecessful career for a nunil)er of years. In i8J^i a tire damaged the
top tloe»r, and when the building \\;is repaired it was leased for otViee"- for
two or three years. In 18S5 it was 1)nuL;lit l>y W illiam P>, Ives, who replaced
the story that had been destroyed, and ag.iin rented it for an hotel, first to D.
W'. ( rippen and then to Lohman ^Sc .Sinclair. For the last tweh t" \ ears F-..
M. .snuih has been the tenant, and has conducted a successful and popular
house of entertaitniient.
I Mr. Ruh's. who ha.'* Klvm the writer the above fnrt», went from here to thf Scovni Honxe In
Walerbury, and from there to various promiiieut botiU lu thi& couulry. at firiit us clerk, and later **■
maniii^r or owner; tliey Indude St. Nlchola*. K«ir York: 0«.<«an Houm. Newport: Consrovi Holl.
Snrntona ; Fifth Avmue Hotel. New Yoik: N'«'w Southern. St. LouH, ntui for the past 12 JTMra lM«
be^u :<ruprlelor of Everett IloiiHe, New York, and will have Uie lielnioi.t when completed.
Digitized by Google |
£ARLY HISTORY.
37>
The year 1853 was a busy one in ihe building line in Meriden : during the
decade from 1850 to iSTo the town more than doubled in population, rising
irom 3»S59 to 7,426, and better and more numerous (|uarters were needed in
every line of business. The Whig for April 14, 1853, in an article entitled
"Building in Meriden"* says, "the new building of the Messrs. Collins is nearly
finished. It is three stories high, built of brick; the south half of the first
story is occupied by the Messrs. Collins, and the store on the north end is
occupied by Charles Blanchard as a clothing establishment: a small store
n<ar the center on the west side is being fitted up for a jeweler's shop to be
occupied by Samuel Dunham." The Messrs. Collins were Aaron L, and
Charles H., who carried on the grocery business here for a while, having at
one time been located in the old Curtis L. North building: the firm was later
Icnown as Collins & Brooks. D. F. Southwick,^ at a later date, was selling
boots and shoes in this building. On the second floor were located the
rooms of the Young Men's Institute, immediately after its organization, and
they continued to be put to that use until the Town Hall was completed in
T^55* Then, the Institute moving into quarters in that building provided for it,
the Home Bank, just organized (Nov., 1855), moved into the vacated rooms
in the Collins block. O. H. Piatt's offices were also on the same floor for a
while. At a later date the store on the south side, where the Messrs. Collins
bad been located, was for a time the home of the post office, with one en-
trance on Colony street and a second on the Main street side, by means of an
iron stairway leadintj to a balcony. The buildin;G^ was popular as a stand be-
cause so central : it was dc^stroyed by the i;rc:il tire of March 9, 1864, and the
Lewis & Hall block now occii])ios the sajne site, at the east corner of Colony
Sto<l Main streets: but the Lullins building extended considerably turtncr north
th,m its successor.
The newspaper article just fpTiUMl also states that Curtis I.. Xorth's
splendid house is now cuiiiplctctl and he is engajLjed in beautifying his grounds."
Hiis was hardly more than six months before his failure.
Another popular buildinir at liii> period was the brick Mock known as
Andrews' Exchange, which sttxid where the (i. A. R. hall is now located: it
w.'is ptrhaps erected in the year 1850. and in it the ow ner. Alinon Andrews,
had a hardware slure ; but. as in 1854 he had built a strain i;rist mill on Brooks
^-treet. at a -.put now occujMed by the north end of tlx- .Mrriden Britannia Co.
plant, he ^oUj his hardware business to Xewton V. iiart. who cotuhicted quite
an extensive store in the same line, and added to it a drug department, and
I In 1858 c. IL Golllnc •dv«rtl«eB tbat b« has open«4 « boot aod shoe 8tor« In tb» north atore. where
Thas. Blanth.-irrl ha»! rnrxiurted the rlnthing ostahlt^tiiiK iit, and Mr. Southwirk muvt h.ivi -u< r, . <I' (l
bim some rears later. In 18&8 Samuel Duiibam advertises that he has opened up u Ji<wc!r.v shop
two doon mtwt of High Scbool avenue.
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372
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
later took a partner, B. P. Footc, while in the south half of the building (where
H. C. & J. L Butler had carried on the grocery business, under the name of
Butler & Butler) Henry Stedman was attempting to rival the Messrs. Collins
in catering to those who needed provisions of all kinds. He was compelled
to make an assignment in 1856, and the business was bought by Henry T.
Wilcox. Mr. Hart believed in the efficacy of advertising, for the newspapers
of the period contained in each issue a column setting forth the merits and
variety of the merchandise he was offering to the "selection of a judicious and
discriminating public/' and he was evidently one of the most prominent of
Meriden's merchants of that period. He is still living, and resides in Engle-
wood, one of Chicago's suburbs. This building was also destroyed by the
fire of 1864, and the present one was erected by H. T. Wilcox shortly after.
The building known as No. 2 West Main street, at present owned by the
Wilcox Realty Co., and now occupied by Griswold, Richmond & Clock Co.^
was erected about the year 1851 by the late Horace C. Wilcox, who had not
long before started in business with his brother, Dennis C, and had already
begun to show that indomitable push and energy which was later to make
him such a factor in the growth and enterprise of Meriden: in 1853 the east
half of the first floor of this block was leased by him as an office to the Meri-
den Britannia Co., which had just been organized, while in 1854 the other side
.contained the jewelry store of F. A. Grover, but which had been replaced in
1857 by the tailor shop of J. H. Stevens, who had moved there from the west
store in the Rogers block, across the street to the east : he had been in Meriden
only a short time and was trying to impress on the Meriden public that Lewis
S. Green was not the only tailor in the world. Mr. Stevens was of a jovial
nature and popular, and became a well known character, and for many years
continued to clothe the forms of those of the masculine gender, apparently to
the satisfaction of his customers if not to that of his rivals. The earliest
advertisement in a newspaper that the writer remembers to have noticed,
probably on account of its constant repetition in invariably the same words
and arrangement, was an announcement which continued to occupy a con-
spicuous place in the daily press for at least twenty years, and ran precisely
as follows "Still they come, more new goods, cheap for cash, warranted to fit, J.
H. Stevens." This continual refrain so impressed itself on the boyish imagi-
nation that the belief became fixed that Mr. Stevens would never be able to find
a place large enough to store all these new goods, which fancy pictured as con-
stantly being dumped into his place of business by an unending procession of ex-
pressmen.
Upstairs on the top floor in this Wilcox block, Chas. Page in 1855 had opened
a studio for the production of daguerreotypes, or rather ambrot>'pes, as what was
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EARLY HISTORY.
373
considered to be an advance in the photographer's art was then called, and the
second floor was supporting the printing press, and furnishing a place of seclu-
sion for the editor of the ''Meriden Observer," and William H. Green, a skilled
dnugfatsman and engraver, (who had come to this country in company with Frank
Leslie of illustrated newspaper fame) was furnishing in an adjoining room il-
lustrations of their goods for various manufacturers of Meriden.
Just west of this block was a frame house painted white which had been the
Inme of Major Cowles and which Mr. Wilcox was then using as his dwelling:
i long stretch of lawn, ornamented with a rustic summer house and a flower
garden separated this house from the home of Mrs. Rosetta Cowles, the widow of
tlie Major, which she and her brother, Dr. Isaac I. Hough, had lately built ; in it
vvere also living at this time Henry C. Butler and his family, and his daughter.
Miss Lucy T., had just been married to William L. Squire (June i8, 1856), and af-
'er a notice of the wedding ceremony the editor of the Meriden Transcript had
inserted 'The Printer tenders his thanks for being generously remembered in the
<i;-;rihution of cake/'
This house, greath- altered, still stands in its original location, 20 West Main
"Street, just west of the First National l^ank building, and in one section of it Al-
Un Babb now dispenses druggists' supplies.
A little west of this in a building which has given place to the brick block in
w^ich Louis H. Church and James F. Gill are scrving^ the public in Nos. 30
' 3-' VVest Main street, F. E. Hinman^ was selling books and stationery and
maniptdating a hand power printing press in the rear, and just west of this stood
another small building in which Joel H. Cuy kept the West Meriden post office
^viien the fortunes of the political world had nut sent it across the street into the
l.etpinj; of Xoah A. Linsley as happened now and then. Mr. Guy's dwelling house
stornl immediately west of this building, and in it was the first home of the Meri-
fieri Savings Bank ; it stayed there for a year or two and then moved uptown to
Franklin Hall ; the dwelling house now stands on Morgan street, the present large
v^hite house, 34 West Main street, having taken its place on the first site.
Across the street, on the west corner of High School avenue, was a store in
which Ward Coe was trying to rival Aaron L. and C. H. Collins in the grocery
line, and on the corner just east in the brick block now known as Lewis' but then
owned hy Levi Eradlcy, R. L. WeV)h was celling rnnfcctinnery in the west store,
'atir sncccerlcd by William 1*. Smith in tlic same line, until he moved to Colony
^-trcet. while in 1854 Stocking & Church were occupying the east side of this
Bradley block with a selection of novelties and notions running from harmonicas to
bird cages. Walter Hubbard ( who was later to build up with N. L. Bradley the
1 When Mr. Hinman publifhrd Mr. Perklnn' Hlfiorlral Sketches of Meriden. 1849, be was located In
tti«> Rocfn block, tad a llttl* l>t*r li« was d«iiig busineM tn a llUle prtntlns shop whtcb stood about
*btTt Howard Bntlicni* atoro !■ altuatcd, Ko. t Colony.
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A CENTURY UF MEKIDEN.
great maiiufacli.ring plant of liradley & liiibbard Mfg. Co.), was also locaLeci in
this store for a while with a line of dry goods.
East of this block at 21 where R. C. Morse's teiloring shop is now located
and in the same building, Lewis S. < Ircen was carrx ing on the same line of bus-
iness, and as he was well liked and hnspitahle and fond of hearing the talk of the
dav. his tailor shoj) hccanic the rcndc/.vous of those who had a new story to tell,
a little gossip to retail, a new scheme to unfold or de-^ired to pass an idle hour free
from the cares (^f business. This little builduig must have been well crowded with
business for during several years Xoah Linsley occupied the same store with (ireen
in dispensing b(M)ts and slioes while down stairs in the basement in 1854 C. A.
Hotchkiss was serving what he called the "Meriden launch," and in 1856 in the
same place C. W. Bradley, with less ])atriotism in nomenclature, was running a
plain "eating saloon." but which he Hattered himself "could not be excelled in Mer-
iden in the variety and excellence of its viands.'*
In the block now occupied by F. J. Wheeler. 17-19 W est Main street, which
has already been described as the Curtis L. Xorth store, after the Meriden House
had been built, and this building had been fronted on Main street, S. U. Parmelee
in 1855 advertises that he has opened a grocery store; but he was soon succeeded
by D. & X. G. Miller with a large stock of dr}* goods, and there they continued
until itS62.
The Meriden House block wa>. course, considered a hnc stand for merchants,
and in 1S54. A. T.irdsey & Co., who had l^een located in the east part of the liird-
sey block, corner of P'ast Main and Uroad streets, and being impressed by the well-
worn ei)igrani of Ui.shup iierkeley that "westward the course of emjjire takes its
way " had linally yielded to the inevitable and rented the north store in the new
hotel block, on Colony street, where P. T. Ives now tempts the e}e with a glitter-
ing array of gold and silver novelties. Mr. I'.irdsey oj^ened with a stuck of cloth-
ing aiul just north of him in the building where Adam Orr now sells meats and
vegetables, William D. Smith was selling in 1856 ice cream and all sorts of delec-
table sweets.
In the Meriden House block just south of A. Birdsey & Co. in the corner store
was located A. C. Wctmore shortlv succeeded bv Charles V. Colt with an attrac-
live line of dry goods.
In the same block in the store now occupied by the Western Union Telegraph
office, Edwin L. Yale was selling newspapers and periodicals of the day and soon
succeeded b\ Jtdius Ives with a stock of merchandise which he was selling under
the sign of Cash & Exchange Grocery store, and the west store was occupied bs
Morris Levy with a line of ready-made clothing, and when he got through, the
room was used by the hotel as a bijliard parlor.
The banking building which had been erected by Curtis L. North just previous
to his failure, on Colonv street next to Church street, stood there sevend vears
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EAKLV iilSTUKY.
375
crevious to its removal to West Main street as has been described elsewhere, and
when the Home Bank decided to climb down and out of the Collins block they
moved into this ill-fated structure and sta> e<l there until 1863 when they built the
present banking house.
Xorth of this was the First Congregational church, presenting its dignified
front, graced by a pediment supported by six Corinthian columns and crowned by
a spire of pleasing proportions, aiid on the lot north, where the Winthtop Hotel
now stands, was the dwelling house of the widow Cordelia Couch who vied with
Mrs. Merriam of Broad street in producing in her millinery parlors those fasci-
nating creations so dear to the feminine heart and still more dear to the masculine
pocketbook.
On the other side of the street where the Byxbee House block now stands was
located the homestead of William Hale, which he bought in 1846 of Richard N.
the property included half an acre and we have already noted that he sold
his garden plot to the railroad company in 1853. Mr. Hale began the manufac-
ture of suspenders in the rear part of the house, and after a few years finding his
hasiness rapidly increasing, built a shop east of the house and fronting on the
railroad track : having begun to make carpet bags also he took into partnership*
about 1852 Hezekiah H. Miller and Edwin H. Loomis. He sold the carpet bag
business in 1855 to Jedediah Wilcox who had begim business in the same line
some years previously in a shop which stood where the house of L. C. Brown is
'!or located at Xo. 842 Broad street : from thence he had moved to a factory which
he had erected in the triangle formed by the junction of Pratt and Camp streets,
^nd afterwards building a shop where the Wilcox Silver Plate Co. plant is now
' K-ated, in order to accommodate his new line of balmorals and hoop skirts. Mr.
Miller went into company with Mr. Wilcox when he bought the carpet bag busi-
ti^^N and Mr. Hale continued in his own shop, taking into partnership J. S. Nor-
Sr., and making tape measures and also sewing-birds, once such an indispens-
able requisite to a woman's work table. Mr. Hale subsequently sold the plant and
house to Mr. Xorton and bought the Meriden House which he made his home
Limil his death. Mr Xorton finally sold the shop and business to the Bradley &
Hubbard Co. and both house and shop were destroyed by fire as described on a
subsequent page.
It has already been mentioned that the Rogers block was erected hy Major
Bowles in 1840 and sold by Mrs, Cowles to Hervcy Rogers in 1846. The latter
itibsequently enlarged the building and raised it. making the roof flat and there
vas complaint at the time that he had encroached on the highway. When George
^ Jeffrey came to Meriden :i1 rt 7^51 W fumd the north front of the ground
loor of this block occupied as a barber shop by Eldridge Jones. Jones* was the es-
1 On T.^Lv 2"3 ir t:it4-<l Utat th< naim - of tti.- two fuKitive slaves, to whom HomfT Curtiss navp
I^Her. were ElUrldse and JoneK. The person wbo g»v« tb« information was in error. "I^oa"
riTreir nj9 oM VM najMd HMrtdss Jofi««, tht oClMr Hlttton FMer.
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376
A CENTURY OF MERIOEN.
capcd slave who had come to Meriden and received shelter from Homer Curtiss.
Although the son of a colored woman his father was said to have been the brother
of James K. Polk, president of the I'nited States. Mr. Jeff rev stayed with Jones
a few months as an employee and then left Meriden: returning in a year or so
he found Jones had moved his shop to the Conklin hotel across the street in the
rear part wliere we liavf noted tlie words "Railroad Refectory."
The hotel was at that time under the management of Peter Near and later his
wife. Mr. Jeffrey worked tor Jones two or three years and then bought iiini out
(the latter moving to Si)ringtiel(l ) and after a lime Mr. Jeffrey moved his barber
shop, first to where Adam Orr is now located on Colony street; then to Wilcox
block, No. 2 \N*est Main street, and later to the Rogers block on the second flour,
and there continued a number of years and many will remember the large eml>laz-
oned poster which used to stare one in the face when recHniug in one of the barber
chairs: it reatl as follows: 'Tt chills niy blood to hear the great Supreme rudel\ ap-
pealed to on such trifling themes. Maintain your rank, profanity despise: to swear
is neither brave. i)olite, nor wise."
This sign was |)laced there after a scene which occurred one day w^hen the late
Rev. Dr. ( liles H. Deshon and h.dwin E. Curtis were in the shop to have their un-
necessary hirsute growth removed. A couple of young men or boys, happening
to be there at the same time, were indulging in a most foolish and unreasonable
(Iis|)lay of profanity. The doctor could stand it for a short time only and turned
and rebuked the >oung men : and then Mr. jetfrey, impressed by the weight of
the doctor's remarks, erected the sign.
To return to the Rogers block: in 1854 E. Levy was carrying on the clothing
business in one of the stores and in the other J. R. Clark &- Co. were selling hats
and caps, and C. V. .\lwood was using part of the room as a periodical aiul news
stand and at one time Asahel Curtis. Jr., was there selling cigars and tobacco: as
already noted J. H. Stevens was al>o for a short time selling his wonderful accuiiiu*
lation of "new goods" in thi.s building.
In the Meriden Recorder for Sept. 10, 1870, we read that C. Rogers & Bros,
(sons of liervey Rogers) are ahout to retire from the hotel business and wish to
dispose of the building and in the issue of September 2'> following it is announced
that the establishment is closed. On the 6th of the next month we rea<l that the
Rogers Brothers have leased their hotel to the Smith Brothers for five years. The
lessees will move their hair dressing establishment to the building and continue tlie
hotel as heretofore."
Where Grant's tea store is located in Paddock's block on the corner of State
and Main streets was a building^ in which Merriam & Blakeslec manufaciured and
1 ftirtclnp from n dtifl tn thf Hnrtfnrfl nrsfl N'<»w Hnv«>n Kallrond In IS^^i, this sam** biiJIcJIng or '^tte
was occupied at that lime by a flriu caUed TIbbals. Brooks & Co.. manufacturers; compo!*ed of Elisba X.
Cowles. W«lt«r Booth, Jmmn 8. Brooks and Isaac 1. Tlbbals.
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EARLY HISTORY.
377
sold tinware, and under it was a drug store and just a little further east was
Wilbnot's "furniture emponum" while across the street in the block bounded by
Perkins^ Main and South Colony streets and the railroad track was the lumber
yard of Lyman Clark, and south of it where Saleski's fruit store now stands was
his steam sawmill.
During this growing and developing period there had been formed a partner-
ship blown as Lyon & Billard, composed of George W. Lyon and John D. Bil-
lard, who had started in business in 1847 on Butler street. They were burned
out and at the time in question had settled down in the locality where the corpo-
ration known by that name still has its headquarters except that its growth has
largely extended the original premises.
Many, in fact probably a majority of the buildings mentioned in this mid-cen-
tury period, were erected by this enterprising firm.
.Many will remember the old wooden bridge that once spanned Harbor brook
at the Main street crossing: the brook must run under a part of Grant's tea store
on the north side and directly beneath Maurice O'Brien's market on the south, but
the stream is now so completely hidden by bridge and buildings that it is difficult
to give exact locations. In the Recorder for May 20, 1864, we read "as will be
MCD by our report of the town meeting, it was voted last Saturday to have a sub-
stuitial stone arched bridge across the Harbor Brook, on Main street. The new
bridge is to be sixty-six feet wide or twenty-eight feet wider than the present
hridge. It is to be completed during the coming summer and autumn and is to
cost a stmi not exceeding three thousand dollars."
Before leaving this description of the business center of the village of Meriden
between the years 1850- 1860, we must not forget one of the ineradicable features
which remain in the minds of every one who has a recollection of those days.
In the junction of Main and Colony streets stood an elm tree, a sign post, a hay
scales and a pump communicating with the well dug by John Merriam so long ago.
According to a letter which appeared in the Meriden Republican on September
5« 1868, from William J. Screen, this elm tree was planted by him in i s^^4 at the
request of Dr. Isaac L Hough. Mr. Screen found the elm in the woodland near
Cat Hole pass and dug the hole for it in the junction of the two roads, while Dr.
Hough trimmed the branches to the proper portions: and then it was planted while
Dr. Hough stood by and directed the work and finall} paid all bills. There the
tree continued to grow and flourish until it was scorched and badly damaged by the
great fire of March 9, 1864.
It was hoped that a few years would enable the tree to overcome the damage,
bat in 1868 it was determined to take it down and its valedictory appeared in the
Republican as follows: "The tree was planted and grew as the city grew, and as
*hc city throve and as manufactories arose, so did the elm spread forth its branches
and increase in beauty and in strength. Under its ample shade stump speakers
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378
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
have orated, lecturers have lectured, divines liave lield forth, and quacks have
g^ulled the pnhlir and carried thousands of dollars from the town. When the ped-
dlers of the futiu e dock to the usual trysting place they will find it no more ! their
profit as well as its glory has departed. " On Aug. 22, i8()8, the same paper says
that "stern necessity has compelled the removal of the old elm tree from the middle
of our most crowded thoroughfare and in view of the immediate removal o£ the
obnoxious old pump and sign post everybody is pleased with the change.**
The tempernnce movement^ which for .some time had aj^itated the community
finally crystallized into the establishment of what was called the Young Men's In-
.«titnte. The first meeting was held l-eh. 2. 1853, in the lecture rnnm that stood
in the rear i>f the l-'ir>>t Congregational church. It at once became popular, for the
membership embraced the most influential of the yomig men of .Meriden and
man\ of those of rii)er years: attractive rooms were fitted uj) in the Collins block
and weekly meetings were held, at which debates took place and a series of lec-
tures was given each year in the town hall or other convenient places. Many of
ilie most prominent speakers of the country were among the lecturers and the in-
stitution l)ecame a great help, giving young men a chance to acquire knowledge
and information who would otherwise have had jierliaps no inclination or at least
opportunity to come in ctMitact with the l)e.st thought of the time. A library of
several hundred volumes was contained in the rooms and the influence of the In-
stitute was felt in many ways through the whole comnumity. .\s already stated,
the rooms were changed to the town hall in 1855 and it was maintained for per-
haps a dozen or fifteen years, and when at last it ceased to exist the books were
inherited by the V. M. C. A.
Before l84<; Julius Andrews had opened a i>lace of anuisement and recreation
known as Hendock Grove, which speedily became very ])opular ; indee<l it is not
so many years ago since the Grove was still a popular place of resort, where Sun-
day school ])ienics were held and various societies and organizations availed them-
selves of the attractions afforded by its grateful shade and novel entertainments.
1 To show to what oxirfmfi the temperance movement was once carried in tbto town, tiM follftwllif
vote is quoted. pas8c4 nt a town meeting beld June 3. 1842:
"RemtvfA, That whereas the unlimited sate of Ardeot spirits Is, In Aur of»1nloB. Injurioos to the
purrhnser, and the laiise of a Krf.if proportion of our poor Tnxt s, and Uiat the sal*' Is*, tu our opinion,
a source of con.siderable profit to tbe neller. we arc therefore of opinion that all profit arising from
the »ale whottM go Into the Town Treasury to help pay our poor rates: we. therefore, the Tnhabltants
of this Town would authorize the Civil authority and Selectmen to apr»oiiit sonu- siiitablo pi tmhi to be
furnished by tbe said Selectmen with a good article of Spiritoua Liquors and Wines to be sold on ac-
count of the town, and the profits arising from said sale shall be paid Into the Treasury of the Town,
add that the perHons t^o authorized Khali be required to )<ecp a record of the quantity (told, tbe quantity
purchaised by cnch individual, with their names, sod a true report made to the next annual meeting of
this Town." Vote wa« adopted, ayes 85. nays 57.
Shortly afterwards the question again came up, because the previous act bad not been propdy
cnforofd by the Selectmen, and. naturally, the pendulum swinging the other way. a vote was proposed
which authorized any Inhabitant to have liberty of using or vending spirltuouii liquors. Tbe re«olu-
tlon stood, ayes 64 and nays 64. Tbe moderator, Penner Busb. then cast a aagatlv* vote and tba
resolution was defeated.
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EARLY HISTORY.
379
In the Connecticut Whig of October 20» 1852, appears the following advertise-
ment:
"Bowling! Bowling!
The Lovers of this hcahhful and ag^reeable exercise are respectfully informed
that the far-fanied
Hemlock Grove Alleys I
arc open to the public every day and evening in the year .( Sundays excepted).
The establishment is con(Uictcd on strictly temperance principles and nothing
nc{jlected that will contribute to the comfort of those who may favor it with
tiwir calls."
"n page 380 i> a reduced facsimile of a poster issued in 1857 which, in glow-
in? words, pictures the attractions of tlie place and gives an idea of how popular
the resort had Ixcunic.
Another place of resort was on West Peak where attractions had been placed
thi drew a multitude of nature's admirers.
In the Whig of February ly, 1853, we are told that
"Mr. W. J. Cadwell of Hanover, is. we understand, eng^ed in an enterprise
^vhich will make the 'Hanging Hills of Meriden,' and esj)ecially West Peak, as
i^iniiiiar as 'household words.' He is cnnstructing a road from the Waterbury
turnpike to the summit of the Peak, which will he of so easy a grade the ascent will
>Qrcely be felt. A house is to be erected on the Peak, and a telescope of great
[" wcr. which is now being manufactured in New York, at a cost of $8oo, will be
mounted on a revolving pedestal, affording a view scarcely surpassed in extent*
\ariety of sccncry and beauty. With West Peak, Hemlock Grove and Cold Spring
we shall have summer resorts superior to any inland town in New England."
The house was duly completed and tiie telescope installed ; hut the next \ ear
'twas being conducted by A. J. Hills and for several years it was one ot llie at-
tractions of the town. It was destroyed by fire all of forty years ago.
Capt. Geo. B. Conklin, who for several years owned and managed the Meriilen
Hotel already described, afterwards disposed of it to Peter Xear and his wife, who
^nstntained it for a number of years. Captain Conklin, however, did not intend
'0 ifive up the hotel business but had larger ambitions than could be satisfied by
he hotel at the comer of Railroad avenue and Main street. In the Whig of July
1^53' ai4>ears the following under the column entitled Brevities and News Items,
"Cold Spring House
One of the finest retreats in the country is at Cold Spring. Capt, C onklin has
tist finished his fine House, on an eminence near the spring, commanding a fine
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38o
A CENTl'RY OF MERIDEN.
view of a larjj^e tract of country, and himself and lady are prepared to receive
entertain visitors. The ice left in the ^lens, the wild scenery, the beautiful dm
in the neig^hhorhood. combine to make it attractive to all. Call and see the a
tain at his home, and taste his bountv and humor."
HEMLOCK
Tkr abstr mmmtr4 tiirvTr W Me* far « Ml«r* mm4 Car Ikr irriwuiaU— f
"THAT tLB ARM CHAW
tm4 rack af Ibr Irwier t% •» !■« IiIbk tftr. Hk
Mmt* MB*lr niM-B Itr wslrrrrf llie Iwrnetttra
mmrr •fthe ■Mlrrial tthlrh nakr* l,*w»i
rrr% a Urnr r«<k wMth il h
Ibrir fan) jrar* t«aB4rriB)(v
That "COMET did not hit our "REVOLVER."
m mm\m mm
teve rrrMlly p«l la "f(|» tmp" AHkr m wk* war rtma m ir«lf>.
. ar ■( Ito P«Mk llrlM*l« l« Ima tm ksir ilir mt aT!* ATI BBWimi, al aaj MM
t^**'*^ "EVERY DAY BRINGS SOMETN NQ MIW"
A DANCING BOARD
I af liiilaMilill^ Ik* r**«4. IM km tt*tt u llw Mlwr tirarll— i af Ihto fcaiiin mart. rwUn •
Hit (raaai ar Daariac Mttrt ttttuM wtrnk.* affMrallaa la vaaaa la ymial «aa^falalaw«l.
TW O. ■. «a jhriBCicwwl mnIc If appllfj I* to if ■■■■
Mtary baili la*a«>4 MM wr ka«i ■ TantM gfaaa4 vMak Maa (w^lMaa «*«a liriWia, i*i
rMrv 1.<«M C—r* an in|iicltaUy tafai»«« Ikal M l> a< Ikair aanlc* at i>nai, al aat Umt
Pa«an •M M ka a«a«»4 aa ika inaa^ ««k IMr -ira^" vlttMrt a pnam »aa tfk laliirhit.
IMT. OarMaaa->nralraMt>alaar*a4.'' JCUIH A5II
This building is now known as the old poor house, having: been abandon*
when the present *'Cold Spring Home" was built a few years ajjo. It was Cap
Conklin's desire to make a resort that would be jjatronized by people of Xew Y«ii
and other larjje i)laces seeking a spot for rest and recreation, and indeed, in thoi
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EARLY HISTORY.
lys it was a romantic and charming place; the Captain had built a rustic stone
5\vling alley and the spring at that time was celebrated on account of the great
>Idness of its waters ; for a number of years it was a place of resort for Meridcn
fiople, and it also seems to have had a New York clientage.^
The property was acquired by the town about i860. The writer is in posses-
ion of a diary of the period which gives accounts of excursions and picnics of the
nung people of that day and the names of Hemlock Grove, Conklin's Cold Spring
louse and Hill's West Peak House occur frequently in its pages.
It seems to have been in the period just mentioned that the attempt was begun
^ induce the public to buy building lots in that portion of Meriden known for
ian> years as New City.
If there is crystallized truth in the aphorism of Montesquieu stating that
Happy the people whose annals are blank in history-books" then Meriden must
ave been a very happy place during these and succeeding years. The town was
rowing rapidly and the people were prosperous but its history has made little im*
ression on the memory of those living.
The pages following are mostly gleaned from the diaries and newspapers of the
(ricfd and while there is nothing startling to cull from the different sources, a
iir idea of the events of succeeding years can be gained in this way.
In an issue of the Whig dated Sept. 15, 1853, attention is called to the rapidity
f the work in constructing the State Reform School building ; the location of the
^ TIm tollovtnK, taken from the Weekly Recorder, June 22, 1864, gives an Idea of the place before
* tforr h«d departed :
"CftM Sprlrtr. 'n the western part of the tc*n. rintlor the great monntnln, hnn frnm time Im-
•nwrUJ been a place of local resort, and bau acqutred Horae dl«tincllon abroad a« a watering place.
twelve Tears ago a large hotel was here built and, for two seasons, kept as the Cold ttprinir
ii^v. Tlu' nun y'r i f Noiirilfrs wpfc ronii>arii!!v( 1v frw, tn.iinlv N*cw York celebrUira, who could
I't pas* away a U'w wc-fkK pleasantly, amused with the natural beauty and romance of the place —
» drive oo the e|»acioiia race coaroo wtth rolllnK "nlne-plne" In the "oobble-stene" IwerilnK
'oon. or drlnkiriK mint Julep<^ and sherry cobblers concocted from the coo!. sn;irkliii>; water that
ared forth from the Iced spring beneath. Rut the Cold Spring House proved unprofitable as a
^ 1114. after exchaDgfog hands, proprietors, occupants and Inmates, times numerous. Anally, wltb
PTound^, became the property of the town of Merld«n, and here, for the three years preceding the
'** of January last, Mr. Nathan Fenn, a Connecticut Yankee, has cared for the poor of the town,
''•t the tame time carried on a very extensive manufacture of brimstone matches, his shop being what
^' nriKinally built for the boirling saloon of the Cold Spring House. Here he employs Home flfteeii
fri. boTs and girls, and put? up about two thousand KroBB of matches month. Cold Spring i«
aa outlet tor the water which, during the aummer, raelt» away from the large quantities of Ic©
n«lBiag Mdcr the hnce boulders of the Hanging Hills, and finds Us way, under the surface ot the
U} th('= ,i!,Tr.^^ Strnnpr- a? if may read to tho?;o whn hnvf nnf orulnr evldencr nf the fart. It
ttoac tha less true that Ice may be found around and under rocks in the vicinity of the spring through
• Bsaihs of July and August ! Although the crop ot Ice last winter was unusually email, vet Cold
f'nit hzi] ]U Jye proportion ; and a visit to its natural, out-door "Irt- housr on om' of thr- warmest
>" nl la.st week, revealed Its pl«uteousnes8. The temperature of the various localities betrays
nott Inttantly th« whereabouts of the cooling luxury. Here the air about one will be as cool as that
an ice-hou>*e. wbli* at a yard's distance the heated atmosphere of a summer s Pun. in its sudden
fstli. Is aiaio>'t oppressive. Ltt those who are skeptical as to the existence of ice, in mid-summer,
a Ditural surface, and expoted to the action of the elements, visit Cold Spring and satisfy tbem-
at Its reality."
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382 A CKNTURY OF MtRIDEN.
institution in Meriden havinj^ shortly before been determined by the le^slaliir
mention is made also of the new factory being erected for the Meriden Machij
Company ; it is now occupied by M. 15. Schenck & Co. : the work on the new ho*
now called the Meriden House is described : attention is called to the new bri
store that John Ives is buildinj^ on Broad street then called South Market stro
And at^^ain the article .speaks of the residence which is being- constructed forCharl
P. Colt on Colony street, which until a short time ago was the home of Major
OLD IXJWN ll.M.L.
Hurley: another dwelling, mentioned as partly built, is one that is to lie the hoc
of Hiram lUitler, which is modeled on the style of a southern villa: it is lo-<ta
the homestead of Judge James P. Piatt: and I-ranklin Hall, a brick block, unl
a few years ago standing immediately north of the Center Congregational churd
was another building mentioned.
At a town meeting held April 29, 1844. the movement was started to bniM
town hall, but nothing tangible was done until 1853. The diary already qiiot*
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EARLY lliSTORV.
vavs under dale of l'"ebniary 18 that year, " this aflcrnonti attended a town meeting
mcKI for the purpose of cunsidcriiifj;^ the expediency of bnildiiiir a town house: alter
n anijry di>oussion a motion was made to adjourn which was hnally carried after
li.ucii excitement." Another meeting was held a week later and there was as^ain
a clasli owing to a desire h\ u])town residents to liave the new building in their
section, and a h"ke w ish vigorously expresserl by <li)u ntown interests. A coni|)ro-
niisc site, nuduav. was tinal]\ selected and the pro])ertv of the widow Mt Roswell
Cowles was bought and the l)uil«ling was begun shoril\ alter a town meeting held
Sept. 17. 1853. It was considered a very iine structure when finished and the
cost is said to have been about $30,000. It was not completed tor use \uU il the
latter part of 1855 and the following copy of a newspaper announcement tells the
stury ni its hr>t use by the public :
•
GRAND COXORATULATORY FESTIVAL
The Citizens of Meriden and vicinity are invited to participate in a
SOCIAL FESTIVAL AND GRAND CELEBRATION
To be held at the
NEW TOWN HOUSE
on
WEDNESDAY EVE, DEC. 5TII. 1855
There to appr<^riately celebrate the completion of the above named splendid edilice
and to formally Dedicate the
LARGEST PUBLIC HALL IX THE STATE
The occasion will be enlivened by appropriate speeches, music, etc.
and by a
FREE O )LLA ] lON
The proceeds after paying Expenses will be given to the Meriden Young Men's
Institute
Admission 25 cents ; children Half I'rice
X. B. Should Wednesday evening be stormy, the Festival will be held on the
Srst pleasant day hereafter.
Per order
JULIUS H. PRATT, Chairman of Town Committee.
384 A CENTURY OF MERZDEN. . . J
The new. town house was duly and properly opened on the date announj
viz. Dec. 5, 1855, fi'^^ P^^ to ^^^^ ''Grand Congratulate
Festival*' was a lecture by Heni^ Ward Beecher on the evening of December 2M
under the auspices of the Young Men's Institute ; the subject was "Patriotism/' aa
the editor of the Weekly Transcript does not seem to have been greatly impressJ
by the famous man's efforts for he says under date of Jan. 3, 1856, *'As a tecturi
he is the most able, the most conceited, the most pathetic, the most silly, the mcl
elpquent, and the roost vulgar that we ever saw stand before a refined audience!
y The first town meeting took place in the new building Mar. 31, 1856. Prd
ytously the basements of the Center Congregational and the Broad Street Baptil
churches had been used, not only for town meetings but for elections as well.
As already announced, the rooms of the Young Men's Institute were moved to
the town hall and thenceforth the various lectures arranged by this associatiofl
were held in the hall and indeed all amusements that required a large auditoriunl
were held there. In 1889 it was decided to enlarge and remodel the building and
the work was finished in 1891. On the morning of February 14th, 1904, it was
totally destroyed by fire. On Tuesday, Aug. 17, 1858, a very elaborate celebration
of the completion of the laying of the Atlantic Cable or Ocean Telegraph, as it
was called, was held in the town hall. At 9 o'clock a. m. the Amerkran and British
flags were floated from the dome and a discharge of three signal guns notified
the public that news had been received of an exchange of messages between the
Queen of England and the President of the United States. Bells be^n to ring and
a cannon in charge of the Light Guards belched forth its thunder in a national sa-
lute of thirty-two g:uns in the morninjj and twenty-one guns in the afternoon. In
the evening a crowded meeting was held in the hall at which General Walter l>ooth
presided and ringini^: speeches were made 1)\ Rev. Mr. Miller. Judge James S
Brooks, Dr. James Wylie, Dr. Hatch, Dexter R. Wright and others. A brass banJ
was present, patriotic songs were sung, the hall was beautifully illuniinated. and af-
ter the meeting a procession through the streets took place in wliieli the Light
Guards took part, accompanied by bands from Meriden and Wallingford: the
streets were brilliantly lit by bonfires and an enormous one was made on West
1 'eak. Altogether it was one of the most spectacular events that had ever taken
place in Mcridcn.
The weekly press consisting of the Whig, the Transcript and the Chroniclt,
covering the period from about 1852 to 1859, contains little of local news but
mixh information was printed in the advertisements which have been freely
consulted in the foregoing pages Hut with the establishment of Riggs' Literary
Recorder in 1863 considerable o£ local interest was printed and one of the first
articles of this nature w liieli seems to the writer to contain matter worth inserting
in these pages in an abridged form is the following from the issue of Sept. 26.
1863:
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1
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EARLY HISTORY. 385
"PARKERS SNOW ft CO.^
We have during the i)a>i wt rk \ isited the extensive manufacturing: establish-
ment of Parkers Snow & Co. of ihi> town — a firm which enjoys a \ar^c amount of
capital and employs more workmen than any two manufacturing^ eslabhshinents
in the state.- Parkers Snow Sc Co. employ upwards of four hundred and lifty
men. and tlieir monthly pay roll foots up mure than eighteen thousand dollars.
This princely company manufacture machine work of all descripliuns, includinfj
Cimpbell's Country Printing" Press, Coining F'resses. Steam Engines, boilers and
apjiaralus for heatinj^^ dwellings and public buildings. Tn the gun works, alxnit
three Inmdred men are employed who turn out from eigliiy lu one hundred Spring-
field Kiticd Muskets per day," etc., etc.
On Friday, March 11, 1864, the Recorder printetl the following:
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE
$72,000 WORTH OF PROI'KRl V 1 >i:S I Rf)Vt;i)
ONE MAN killed: TWO SERIOUSLY INJURED.
The most destructive fire our town ever witnessed occurred Wednesday morn-
ing (\farch 9], consuming five buildings, seventy-two thousand dollars* worth of
property and burning seventeen different firms and families out of doors. The
fire originated in Andrews Exchange Building and was first discovered by
George A. Fay shortly after two o'clock (midnight) when he saw the reflection
of the fire upon his walls.' lie immediately arose and before he had succeeded in
getting dressed the light disappeared. He watched some five minutes to see if
anything more could be discovered : but seeing nothing he again retired. It did
not at that time occur to him that it might be a fire and he took no notice of the
matter tilt some twenty minutes afterwards when the fire was again reflected with
considerable brilliancy. Upon going to the window, he could plainly see sparks
and brands of fire dropping through the second floor into H. T. Wilcox & Co.'s
grocery store directly beneath. He immediately dressed, gave the alarm and
rushed down to Lyman ClarkV and caused the steam whistle to be sounded. At
ibis time and for half an hour afterwards, an ordinary fire engine would have saved
the adjoining buildings on either side. Mr. Fay now set himself about getting
out the safe and stock of Mr. D. F. Southwick^ who was absent in New York and
also made an effort to secure the valuable library of Hon. O. H. Piatt whose of-
1 Succ«KBor» of Sdow. Brooks A Co.. a flriu composed of Oliver Suow and James 8. Brooks. Parker
Bratbem* Onn factory i« tlie direct •ucoessor of rnrkerB, Snow # Co.
2 f'-rtaiiily an fxnj^terat.-rt •-tali'metit.
^ Hp was then rooming In what we now call the Circle Hall Building.
4 Whtrc telMkl'i talldlDK to now ■Itumtcd, 37 8. Golony •treat,
s Boot ui4 niioc d«»ler.
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386
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
fice he reached by ascending the water cntiductiiig pipes. lUil the intensity of the
atmosphere rendered it impossible for him to penetrate the room and lie was ohh'j^ed
to give over the undertaking. The rtames soon generated a gas amoni^^ the chem-
icals, and when the walls of the buildings became sufficiently weakened, they were
suddenly thrown outward. Some twenty persons were standing in front of the
building, on or near the walk, where the walls fell over, when they all rushed back,
receiving trifling injuries, but three men were seriously injured. Mr. Porter Ed-
gerton, engraver, was struck on the head by the fallitig w alls and rendered sense-
less. He was dragged from the ruins and carried to the depot and expired in half
an hour.** The buildings destroyed b\ this tire were Omklin's, or Near's hotel, the
Collins block, .\ndrews* Exchange, and the building stamling where Mosher s
Drug store is located, at that time occupied by W. A. Butler.
From the diary of George A. Fay the writer has learned of another fire which
broke out at 3 a. ni. on Se{)t. 5, i8(j2, in the machine shop just south of the rail-
road station when it was located on Winthrop Square. The shop was destroyed,
the house of J. S. Norton, Sr., just west of it. was also burned to the ground and
the passenger station badlv damaged. The shop at that time was occupied by
some one making sewing birds for Bradley & Hubl>ard Mfg. Co.
On Tulv 16, 1870, occurred the great tire which completely destroyed the two
top floors of the main building of the Meriden Britannia Co. The Republican of
that date has this to say :
"The most terrible fire which has ever afflicted this cit\- broke out this morning
in the Meriden Britannia Company's works." "The fire originated in the top-
most story at the north part of the brick building. At about two o'clock [a. m. ]
a disagreeable smoke was smelt in the composing room of the Republican oflSce
* * * In ten minutes afterwards the Britannia shop gong blew out its stern
summons. The 2 a. m. down train at this moment came along and added its warn-
ing voice* and the alarm l)ecomii^ general the cit\ fire department were soon an
the spot. * * * The flames spread rapidly and the firemen were unable to
stay its slow but sure onward progress. * * * in twenty minutes after the
fire was first discovered the flames burst through the roof. At 3 a. ni. the roof
fell tn with a tremendous crash and the flames increased in their intensity." Ac*
tive work saved the two lower floors from destruction, but the loss was great and
for several months the large force employed by the company was thrown out
of work, and the damage not only to the company but to the community at large,
was very great.
On March i, 1863, the Messrs. Byxbee Bros. (John C. and Major Theodore)
began the erection of a wooden hotel building just south of Winthrop Square (or
the passenger station of Ae N. Y. & N. H. R. R. as it was then) and for several
years conducted a well appointed hostelry: on Mar. 21, i868v the building was de-
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EARLY HISTORY.
Strayed by fire and for a time it was feared that the entire block of buildings south
to Main street would follow In its wake; but diligent effort by the firemen confined
the conflagration to the hotel. The embers had hardly begun to cool before the Byx-
bee Brothers had started to clear away the debris and soon the walls of the present
brick block were in process of construction.
The factory of the Meriden Woolen Co. was built by the firm of J. Wilcox &
La in 1865. Their factory had been previously located where the present plant of
the Wilcox Stiver Plate Co. branch of the International Co. is situated, on the south
side of Pratt street. On May 3, 1865, completely destroyed the old shop,
throwing the workmen out of employment and stopping for a while the large pro-
duction of goods which had been placed on the market in increasing quantities by
this enterprising firm. It was considered at the time as the most disastrous fire
that had ever visited Meriden.
In the year 1869 there was standing between the block now occupied by Gris-
woldy Richmond & Clock and the First National Bank, the old Elisha A. Cowles
residence, used at the time by Mrs. Moses Wright as a boarding house ; west of
that a structure once the home of the post office and immediately west of that, the
dry goods store conducted by the firm of Williams & Smith. On the morning of
I^' 3f 1869, at 2 a. m., a fire was discovered in the old post office building and
in spite of all efforts that structure, Mrs. Wright's boarding house and the dry
goods store were completely destroyed by the conflagration.
In 1870 H. C. Wilcox began the erection of the block which now occupies the
site of these burned structures, ground being broken Feb. 15. It was so much in
advance of any building previously erected in Meriden that it was called Palace
Block, a name which it retains to this day.
In the month of March, i860, occurred a very destructive fire which destroyed
the block of buildings on the north side of East Main street from State to Pratt
streets. It began in the "furniture emi>oriuin " l)eIonging to George R. W'ilhnot
and on acoount of the limited apparatus for fighting fire in those days the district
was swept clean. ^
In giving a list of places of amusement in Meriden during this period one has
1 '^cn Dniitted that was so bizarre, quaint and unique that a place in the list is cer-
tainly deserved. Reference is had to what wa^ known as I'agle Cottage on South
Colony street on ground now occupied by the Meriden Brewing Company. The
earliest reference to it that the writer can find is contained in the issue of the Re-
corder under date Xovember 13, 1863, and then evidently on account of one of the
^'ccentricities of architecture or ornamentaticm developed by that singular man,
N orman Allen, the owner of the place. All sorts of o<ld attractions were added as
the years went by, mainly mechanical contrivances designed to be excited by a
breath of wind to some surprising performance. On top of the house was perched
1 DIaiT 9t Mn. BenJ. R CmUln.
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388 A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
a counterfeit presentment of a man and a lion and when the wind blew the ; i2|
was convulsed into various contortions in his efforts to get the mastery of
beast of prey. Like arrangements were scattered about the grounds; the h
was painted in a most surprising combination of black and white, as if it had i>c^
raining paint on South Colony street, and in an apple tree was built a pai
where ice cream and lemonade were served. As the years went by the place
tracted so much attention that Mr. Allen determined to make of it a place of <
ment. According to the Republican of April 12, 1870, Mr. Allen was given pa\
mission that week to build a wooden house on his premises for the purpose of
ing a music room, menagerie and **happy family/' and on June 15, 1870,
ing to the same paper ''Norman Allen s picturesque residence, with its beaudi
grounds will be opened to the public this evening. Should the weather be fiii
able a grand display of fireworks will take place. The balloon parlor wiS
lighted with gas, the English lion ignominiously suspended in chains to the
of a very big spread eagle, the emblem of this glorious country, will roar grat^
the eagle will favor the public with its best screech, Norman Allen will deliver ^
inaugural address, the band will play and so will the fountains," etc
In the Recorder of June 5, 1871, wc read:
"The most noticeable feature of South Colony street is Mr. Norman AlU
Eagle Cottage and ice cream. We visited Mr. Allen's place on Saturday evcni
and were more than satisfied with what we saw and beards The Rocky Mount
scene interested us more than anything else. Here a train of cars, loaded wi4
passengers, has just emerged from the tunnel and is proceeding on its way. O
the side of the mountain, a little higher than the track, a saw mill with an a]>p
priate sign over its entrance is seen in operation/* etc. "In the museum are a lai
number of stereoscopic views * outside there is every convenience for t\
who wish to test Mr. Allen's ice cream/* A really surprising amount of mecl
ical ingenuity was shown by Mr. Allen in producing his different attractions.
several years the place ministered to the amusement of the people and then
the Arab he folded his tent and stole away to places where the shekels were
plentiful and the crowd of pleasure seekers more numerous. When one pa«4
the place and sees the complete metamorphosis, one realizes how true is the $a\ii^
that "the place that has known him shall know him no more.*' But who that c!
visited the museum will forget its strange attractions, or the son of the proprit
who used to parade the streets, bell in hand, announcing in a loud voice the
gramme for the coming evening.
An aTtcnii)t has licen made to picture Mcridcn as a village and airain as a c'
ini: town that \\a> beginning to feel that its increase in numbers liad l^ccn v.;»5'
cicnt tu vvarranl the adoption of whatever dignity, position and influence w I'l*
be gained by the incorporation of its central and more densely populated part mi5
I
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E^\RLV HISTORY.
a city. Its rapid growth had spread abroad the feeUng that Meriden was bound
to become a large coiiiniunity and now and then estimates of future growth had
been made, based on the rapid increase in ini[)ortance of some of the manufacturing
industries and the location and formation of new plants. As already stated, the
census of i860 showed 7.426 souls, or an increase of over 100 per cent, in ten
years. As a matter of fact, the showing in 1870 was only 10495, ^
apparent that some of the estimates had been over sanguine.
MERIDEN A CITY.
The city of Meriden was incorporated by act of the ( icneral Assembly Jiil\ 1 1.
1867. and on July 24, 18^)8. an aiiictidment to the charter was passed in order to
peniiit the construction of a water supply or city reservoir.
The first election resulted in the choice of the following officers: Mayor,
Charles Parker; clerk, John H. llano: aldermen, Willi in j. Ives, Hiram LJutler,
<ieorge \V. Lyon, Jcdcdiah Wilcox , conncilmen. 1. :r. J. Curtis, Owen U. .Ar-
nold. Charles L. Upham, Charles A. Roberts. MczckuLh H. .Miller. Eli Ives. Augus-
tus C. .\Iarkham. Eli C. Butler. Aaron L. Collins, Isaac C. Lewis. Jared R. Cook,
Jared Lewis. Horace C. Wilcox. Dennis C. Wilco.x, John C. Byxbee. Walter Hub-
hard : treasurer, Asahel H. Curtis; collector, Samuel O. Church; auditor, Joel H.
Guy.
This was certainly a selection of a ver\ liigh order ; they were all men of abil-
it>- and althouj^h etner]>risin.c:, they also possessed a t^'reat fund of business sense
and sagacity ihai >iarted the city under the best jKissiljle auspices.
The change seemed to inspire the community with a desire to take every meas-
ure or step that could add to the genuine improvement and api)earance of the city.
^Vithin a year or two the following dwellings were erected — all creditable to the
cit\ : George A. Fay.^ 1868; Lemuel J. Curtis.^ 1868: Julius Pratt,=' 1868; Edward
Miller.* 1868; Henry T. W^ilcox."^ 1868; Jedediah Wilcox.* 1870, considered at the
time one of the finest residences in Connecticut, and now the home of Dexter W.
Parker. The Comer district schoolhouse was completed and dedicated Sept. 4,
1868. St Andrew's Episcopal church was completed in 1867, and the Methodist
church was dedicated June 26. 1868, and the Main Street Baptist church was ded-
icated July. 1868, and in the same year the Center district schoolhouse was built,
and also the engine house and police station on Pratt street, now the property o{
the Turner society, and the N. Y.. N. H. & H. R. R. Co. began the erection in the
same year of the present freight station north of Camp street, and in the following
I H* Curtia utreet.
* 12s Curti»i mreet
118 Cokmy vtrMi, now lioiM of Floyd Curtto.
4 .?«o Broad ttreet.
5 ioo coUtuT street.
4 910 Braid strML
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390 A CENTURY OF MEHIDEN.
year after great debate and much hot discussion the city began the building ot
first reservoir now known as Merimere.
In 1868, after much complaint of the lack of adequate police protection,
cit\ decided to create a force which would at least be the nucleus of a future aoj
larger body of blue coated men. so on Monday evening, September 14th, the C'^m*"
nion council elected Jared P. Parker, chief of police, and on November 17. i868i
the following men were added to the force: S. S. Wilcox, A. H. M. J 'rati ivA
George \'an Nostrand. Un Mondax cveninj^\ DeceniUer 5, Mr. i'latt having iifc-
clined to serve, Capt. Roger M. Ford was elected to fill the vacancy.
Some of the arguments used in opixjsing the appointment of a i)<)lice force arc
rather amusing. One alderman said Middletown had given up their police f'>rBe
because they found they bred riots : another said he didn t believe we needed 1
police force, for \Vatcrl)ury liad only one man and he had nothing to do : anoibd
who was opposed to ])aying a fair rate of pay, said it was a lazy sort of life
way and he would be glad to take such a position at $2 per day.
During the year i8<><; the grading and widening of the following ^lreet^ ^1
begun: Hroad, Pratt, Colony. Main, Liberty, and Curtis. The great chango il
the profiles and widths produced many lawsuits but they were finally adjustn
by compromise or the decisions uf the courts, and Meriden began gradually wiU
her changed streets bordered by flag sidewalks, to take the appearance of the nKxi
ern city.
On May 9, 1870, the common council passed a by-law relating to the nunitter
ing of houses and lots and on May 23 the same year the council adopted the msm
of streets that are still retained by those thoroughfares then in existence.
The really final event to convince Meriden that it was at last a city was th
announcement in the Republican under date of Sept. 7. 1869 that "canvasser^; r.
now collecting the names of our citizens with a view of publishing a director)
NEWSPAPERS OF MERIDEN.
The newspajHTs of the period have been frcqnentlv mentioned in the fc^";
going pages and they evidently played an important part in the daily life ot
people
The t\r<\ m vvspaper printed in Meriden was called "Northern Literary Mo'
senger ' and published by O. G. Wilson. A copy in the w riter s possession dat«
Feb. ? iS4(). snvs it is "edited bv an Association of Gentlemen" and "Devoted
Literature and the Arts." This copy is No. 5 of Vol. IV., which would seen> il
bear out the statement in an article of The Meriden Press-Recorder under '
March 28, 1883, that the first number of the Messenger appeared in Septemi«ni
1844. The local news, as usual in that period, amounted to nothing but the aj
vertisements gave us a little information. The paper was printed in a buildin]
that stood just west of the Center Congregational church where the Central Hoij
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EARLY HISTORY.
39i
i> situated, Xo. 297 East Main street, but the number above referred to liatl hardly
made its appearance before its publication was suspended and on March 24. 1849,
the '"Meriden Weekly Mercury" made its bow to tlie public under the managc-
nient of O. d. W ilson and (ieo. \V. W eeks, as succchsor to the Messenger and in
an editorial the announcement is made that "The Messenger" "is dead! Stark dead!
It (lied a natural death on the 3rd uf February last, purely for want of breath
i e. California gold ) which caused its locomotion to stop." The Press-Recorder
alxn-e fjtioted says that the paper had been run under its new name only six weeks
when the building was ilestrox ed l)\ fire. It was then printed in the old Academy
building. How long it continued no one seems to know.
The >ame authority says "The Connecticut Organ" was started in 1851 by
Franklin E. Hinman as printer with ( ). H. Piatt as editor, but that Mr. Hinman
ycM out the paper early in 1852 to James X. Phelps & Co. and this statement
Hini". corroborated by a cc)p\ . before the writer as he ])en.s these lines, dated May
1^52 ■ the name of New Britain Journal had been added to the title: how long
it o ntiinied to be published is uncertain; perhaps the Connecticut Whig was suc-
ct-snr to it for a copy dated Mar. 30, 1854, says "Xew Series, Vol. 3, No. 36."
K. W . Lewl^ and O. H. Piatt were the ])ublishers of the Whig and Mr. Piatt
was also its editor. Geo W. Rogers was afterwards associated with Mr. Piatt.
The paper w as (iisconlinued about 1854.
Contemporary with this publication was a journal calle<l "Meriden Transcript,*'
pil'Ii^hed by Lysander R. Webb & Co., begun in 1850. and after the Whig had
Mi>ptiuled Mr. Piatt became editor also of the Transcrijit, This paper contijuied
to exist until August, 1856, when Mr. Piatt's increasing law business compelled
hmi to ce-'i^e all connection with newspaper work.
In the early part of the same year Robert \\ inton. a t, anadian who had been
f"' nnceted with newspaper work in North Adams. Mass., came to Meriden. and
bting encouraged and aided bv the leading manufacturers and merchants, estab-
lished a ne\vspa})er called the Meriden Chronicle, which was ])rinte(l in Wilcox
block where (iriswf)l(l. Richmond «S: (dock are now located, althougli on an upper
fltKjr. This publication continued three >ears. and was then bought by a ^Iv. .Snll
man who estaldished a paper called The Banner. It was Democratic in politics
and lasted only four weeks.
On .\ug. 20. 1863. Luther (1. Riggs started the Meriden Literary Recorder, the
]*nnting hou-e being located in what is now knt)wn as Circle Hall building on
Colony strict. His associate was a Mr. Dorman.
Mr. Riggs had talent and abilit\ but lacked balance and his course here was a
stormy one. and the controversies he engaged in brought him only great adversity
and more than one personal chasti^emenl.
AH these various publications so far described were ueekh sheets and there
was no daily newspaper until the Weekly \ isitor begun on March 21, 1867, by
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392
A C&KTURY OF HERIDEK.
Monroe Eaton commenced a daily issue on Jan. I, 1868, On March 16 it was
merged into the Weekly and Daily Republican which was at first under the edi-
torial control of Marcus L. Delevan and George Gibbons and later of William F.
Graham. The publication was continuous until March 1899, when it was con-
solidated with the Morning Records a newspaper established on Oct. 8, 1892, by
the same publishing house, so that since March 16, 1868, it may be said that this
same newspaper has been printed by this establishment. The editor at present is
Thomas H. Wamock.
There were various other short lived newspapers which may be briefly named,
viz: "Daily News/* "Evening Recorder" and "Morning Call," under the leader-
ship of Luther G. Riggs. "The Penny Press/' established by J. H. Mabbett in De*
cember, 1881, soon changed to the Evening Press and on Oct. 16, 1882, consolidated
with Riggs* Daily and Weekly Recorder, and was called the Meriden Press-Re-
corder and continued until 1884. For a brief period in 1872 William F. Gra-
ham published a newspaper called the evening Monitor which was soon merged
with the Republican.
On March 4, 1886, The Journal Publishing Company was incorporated with
Francis Atwater, president ; T. L. Reilly, secretary ; F. E. Sands* treasurer, and
Lewis Allen, editor. They immediately began the publication of The Meriden
Journal, a newspaper which has a wide circulation and which has steadily grown
in influence as the years have rolled by.
The publication of The Evening Times began May 22, 1905. The moving
spirit of the enterprise was Henry C. L. Otto, whose untimely death bn November
7r 1905, took away the mainspring of tlie organization, and the paper was discon-
tihued on March 2, 1906.
EARUV LAWYERS OP MERIDEN.
The first full fledged lawyer resident in Meriden seems to have been Benajah
Andrews whose homestead stood where the piesent residence of Mrs. T. F. Breese
is located, 501 East Main street. For several years he was judge of probate in
this district atid Iiis name appears many times on legal documents drawn up dur-
ing the first half of the nineteenth century, but the writer has been unable to learn
many facts relative to his life.
Dexter R. Wright came to Meriden immediately after graduating from Wes-
leyan College in 1845 and took the position of principal of the Meriden Academy
In 1848 he graduated from Yale Law School and began the practice of his profe^-
sion in this town the same year.
After Franklin Hall was built his office was in that block. His influence wa:
felt in many directions for he was a man of energy and resource. He attaine«
political honors while living here. In 1862 he enlisted in the 15th regiment an^
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KARLY HISTORY.
was made colonel but ill health compelled him to retire in 1863. He returned to
Meriden and sold out his business here and removed to New Haven where he
had an active practice.
Tilton £. Doolittle was located in Meriden several years after graduating from
Yale Law school in 1846. The map of Meriden made in 1851 shows that his of-
fice was located on West Main street just west of the Guy residence.
Hon. Orville H. Piatt, senior U. S, senator from Connecticut, came to Meriden
a young man in 1851 : he had studied law in the ofike of Judge Hollister of Litch-
field and was admitted to the bar in 1S49. His many activities and resources were
constantly in evidence during the early years of his residence in this town, out-
side of his profession as a lawyer, and those who were best acquainted with him
knew how great his abilities were and it is safe to say that none of them was sur-
prised by the eminence he attained in the service of the government as senator
during his career of twenty-six years in that distinguished body. It is not the pur-
pose to give his biography here as it has been printed in another part of this book.
IN CONCLUSION.
There comes a year in the cycle of time embraced in an historical narrative
sketching the growth of a present clay community, even though the story be of
so unpretentious a nature as the chronicles of a town like Meriden, when the rapid
accummulation of facts and multiplicity (^f details, render perspective distorted,
and prepare one to recognize the homely truth contained in the remark, that one
"couldn't see the woods for the trees that were in it."
We have followed the story of the development of Meriden until we have seen
the struggles of the early pioneers succeeded by a dawning of the consciousness
that there wns a future full of hope and promise for all who would energetically
continue the labors of those gone before. The town of 1806 has been succeeded by
the city of 1867, the spirit of enterprise is everywhere, factories are growing and
new ones springing up, and the \ ear 1870 seems a fitting period in which to write
the word finis to this part of the "Centennial Hook.**
And so at last, notwithstanding all that has been left untold, the end of these
annals is here, and at a very much later date than was anticipated when the w ork
was undertaken some ten months ago. Begun with the idea of writing a sketch
of some thirty or forty pages this story has grown in a most suq^rising manner
until with dismay page 300 has been seen and passed and courage is lacking to set
a limit to that one on which these hnal words will appear.
The writer, as much as any one who may chance to read these annals, is im-
pressed by the sins of omission and commission that are to be found b >tli in style
and construction. He can only plead in apoln:::y that the material has had to be
collected in great haste, and then digested with such a rush as to produce' the nu-
i
I
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m
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
merous examples of literary dyspepsia that the printed pages render only too fre-
quently apparent.
The great storehouses of information on which the writer has constantly relied
are contained in the land records of Meriden and Wallingford and the probate rec*
ords of these two towns reinforced by the earlier ones of New Haven. The weahh
of facts there found, has been largely supplemented by the memories of those
whose age enables them to give reminiscences that would otherwise be utterly lost,
or whose associations in the various localities have caused them to treasure up the
traditions and stories of the past that are handed down from generation to gen-
eration.
To give a list of the names of those who have patiently submitted to question
after question and who have voluntarily given information not sought for because
the writer had no clue to such sources, or who have assisted in ways too numerous
to mention would require almost another chapter. But although these names are
omitted the writer's gratitude is no less profound.
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EARLY HISTORY.
395
APPENDIX
K£PRES£>.TAT1\ES IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY FROM MeRIOEN.
COMPILED BY HERMAN HESS.
iSq6 Oct. session, Brenton Hall.
:f<or May session, Amasa Cnrtiss.
-^7 Oct. session, Theophilus Hall.
«:e«;fion, Amos White.
1808 Oct. >chsK>n, Nathaniel Yale.
1809 May session, Kaihan Vale.
»8og Oct session, Solomon R. Hall.
Jf^io May session, Jared Benham.
■ ^<io Oct. session, Solomon R. Hall.
May <;e<;?jon, P-irtrirk Clark.
^^U Oct. session, i'artnck Clark.
i^i2 May session, Samuel Paddock.
1812 Oct session, Samuel Paddock.
1^13 May session, Theophilus Hall.
^ Oct session, John Hall.
'•^14 May session. John Hall.
1^*14 Oct. !:e«?sion. William Yale.
1815 May session, William Yale-
t8i5 Oct session, James Baldwin.
1816 May session. James Baldwin.
J^^T^ Oct session, Stephen Bailey.
.May session, Stephen Railey.
1817 Oct session, Othniel Ives.
i8j8 May session, Othniel Ives.
1818 Oct. session, Elisha Curtis.
1819 William Yale.i
i^x) .\shbcl Griswold.
I?-' I Levi Yale.
18^/ Partrick Clark.
18^3 Samuel Paddock, Jr.
l8«4 Amos Curtis.
1825 William Yale,
^^f; Ashbcl Griswold.
'^^'7 ''iershom Birdsey.
J»iH Ashbel Griswold.
1 I'atn 1819 then wn two 0l«cttons anaiially.
2 THiM clKtlOM : Srst two nraltcd In tl«.
1829 Walter Booth.
183D Titus Ives.
1831 Ashbel Griswold.
1832 Noah Pomeroy.
• 833 Enos H. Curtis.
1834 Kli C Bfrdsey.
1835 Hczckiah Rice.
1836 Asahel Curtis.
18(37 Horace R. Redfield.
1838 Walter V,r.i.{h 2
iS^j James S. Brooks.
1840. Eli C. Birdscy.
1 84 1. Tic vote — no election.
1843 Ira Couch.
1843 Henry Stedman.
1844 James S. Brooks.
1845 Tie vote— no election.
18.J6 Elins Howell.
1847 .A.shbei Griswold.
1848 Isaac C. Lewis.
1840 James A. Frary.
1850 William J. Ives.
1851 Hiram A. Yale.
1H52 Tiilins Pratt.
•853 Isaac C- Lewis.
18154 Albert Poster.
185s James S. Brooks.
1856 i^evi Yale.
1857 James S. Brooks.
1858 Asahel Curtis.
1859 William W. Lyman.
1860 Andrew J. Coe.
1861 Owen B. Arnold.
1862 Isaac C. Lewis.
1863 Dexter R. Wright
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A CENTUKY OF MERIDEN.
1864 Orvillc H. Piatt.
1865 Oliver S. Williams.
1866 Isaac C. Lewis.
1867 Andrew J- Coc.
186S William A. Hall.
1869 Orville H. Piatt.
1870 John Parker.
1871 Joseph J. Wo illcy.
1872 H. Wales Lines.
1^3 Chas. H. S. Davis.
1874 Owen B. Arnold.
1875 Wallace A. Miles. Asahel II. Curtis.l
April 1876 Wallace A. Miles, Asahel H.
Curtis.
Nov. 1876 Wallace A. MjU-s, A. Cham-
berlain, Jr.
1877 James P. Piatt, George R. Willmot.
1878 James P. Piatt, Samuel Dodd-
1879 Emerson A Mfrriman, G. H- Wilson.
i88q E. A. Merrunan, W. W. Lyman-
i88r William W. Lyman, G. H. Wilson,
1882 John Morse. Reuben T. Cook.
1883 George O. Higby, William H. Golden.
1884 Chas. H. S. Davis, William Wallace
Lee.
1885 William Wallace Lee, Chas. H. S.
Davis.
iKS^. William II. Barbour, Louis H. Hart-
1888 James H. Chapui, E. D. Castelow.
1890 E. D. Castelow, Joseph H. Potts.
1892 Oscar L. Bradley, Timothy M. Crow-
ley-
i8')4 Benjamin Page, Jacob S. Morrill.
l8y6 William G Gallacrer. Geo. W. Couch.
1898 Geo. W- Couch. Geo. L. EHsbrce.
1900 August Maschmeyer, George £. Bick<
nelt.
1902 George E. Bicknell, Willis I. Fenn.
1904 Willis L Fenn, Fred'k L. Huntington.
List of State Se.nwtobs kwim AliiRiDEN,
CD.Ml'ILKU BV W. I). W. i'AKKEK.
IVoin iS(W) ci) 181 8 \vc lived under the orijjinal K'mg Charles ( liartor of
Durinj^ the period nuntinned there wa-> no office of state senator. thoi.c occupyiiic:
that relative position bcin^ called **assistant>." Xo authentic information iiiui-
cates that anv of the "assistants" were residents of Meriden. they being taken
from the state at lari^c.
From i8i8 (when the (Jctoher .sessions of tlie (ieneral Assembly were abol-
ished) "Senators" came into vogue, but not districted.
1833
.^shbel Grtswotd.
1871
George .'\. Fa v.
1834
Walter Booth.
1874
H. C. Wilcox.'
1837
Noah Potneroy.
1876
Joel II. Guj'.
1848
Fcnner Bush.
1879
1 1. Wales I.itK':
1849
Dexter R. Wright, speaker of the
1885
Wm. H. Gulden, Jr.
House, 1879.
1887
Edgar J. Doolittle.
1854
Julias Pratt-
1889
George N. Morse.
1861
Orvitle H. Piatt, clerk of the Senate.
1891
Seth J. Hail. "Dead lock year/'
1855; secretary of state 1857.
Seth J. Hall.
1862
Or\'ille M PIntt. spertker of the
1905
George E. Bicknell.
Hou-ie. i8(»^; United States
senator, 1879- 1905.
1 Beatnnioa In 1876 Meriden was entitled to two repreaeoUtlve*.
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early history.
Town Clerks op Meriden.
397
COMPILED BY HERMAN HESS.
i8d6 Amos White.
i&)6 Isaac Lewis.
1823 Partrick Lewis.
1826 Amos Curtis.
1830 Partrick Lewis.
1834 Albert R, Potter,
1834 Elt C Birdscy.
i^kJ James S. Brooks, apiminted Oct 9^
1843.
appointed Feb. g,
1844 Joel Miller.
t&l5 Lyman Btitler.
1849 Hiram HalL
1854 Linus Birdsey.
'854 John Ives.
i«6s Levi E. Coe.
1866 John H. Bario.
1878 Selah A. Hull.
1886 Herman Hess.
First Selectmen of Mekiden.
COMPILED BY GEO. W. MILLER.
iSoo Eickiel Rice, John Hall.
1807 Theophilus Hail.
•<o8 Marvel Andrews.
1809 .Marvel Andrews.
i><io Partrick Clark.
1^1 1 Partrick Clark.
i^u Partrick Clark.
1813 Partrick Dark.
1814 Partrick Clark,
i^tS Othniel Ives-
i}<i6 Othniel Ives.
i^i7 Klisha Curtis.
1818 Hlisha Curtis.
'8ip Ashael MerHam.
'830 Ashael Merriam.
'^^•21 .Ashael Merriam.
i«-f2 Scth D. Fhtm.
"^^3 Scth D. I'liHii.
Seth D. Plum.
'825 Seth D. Plum.
•826 Moses Baldwin.
'^•?7 Moses Baldwin.
1828 Moses Baldwin.
'829 Elisha Curtis.
1830 Elisha Curtis.
1831 Elisha Curtis.
'83-2 Orrin Hall.
Kli C. Birdsey.
lH^ Benj. I'pson.
•835 Calvin Coe.
1836 Calvin Coe.
1837 Notih Pumeroy.
Stephen .Atkuis.
1839 James S. Brooks.
1840 Moses Andrews.
184 1 Noah Pomeroy.
1R4J Xoah P< imcroy.
1K43 Noah Pomeroy,
1844 Calvin Coe.
184s Levi Yale.
i8l46 Levi Vale.
1847 Levi Yale.
1848 Levi Yale.
1849 Calvin Coe.
1850 Joel Miller.
1851 Joel Milter.
1852 Levi Yale.
1853 Levi Yale.
?854 I.ivi Yale.
1855 Levi Yale.
1856 Joel I. Butler.
18157 Othniel Ives.
1858 Othniel Ives.
\Hzr, Othniel Ives.
i«<.o Othniel Ives.
1861 Humphrey Lyon.
1862 Bela Carter.
1863 Bela Carter.
1864 Bela Carter.
1865 Othniel Ives.
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398
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
l86b Othniel Ives.
1867 S. C. Paddock.
1868 George Gay.
1869 George Gay.
1870 George Gay.
1871 George Gay.
1872 George Gay.
1873 Oliver Rice.
J 874 E. D. Castetow.
1875 £. D. Castelow.
E. D. Castetow.
1877 E. D. Castelow.
1878 D. S. Williams.
187-) D. S. Williams.
i6tio D. S. Williams.
1881 D. S. Williams.
1882 Geo. W. Miller.
1883 C. C. Kinne.
1884 C C Kinne
1885 C. C. Kiniic.
1886 H. E. Hubbard.
1887 LcGrand Bevins.
1888 Lc-Grand Bevins.
1889 l-cGraiid Bevins.
1890 LeGrand Bevins.
1891 LeGrand Bevins.
189J LeGrand Bevins.
1893 LeGrand Bevins-
1894 Geo. L. Ellsbree.
iS)S Geo. L. EUsbree.
1896 G«o. L. EUsbree.
18^7 Ernest A. Leigh.
1898 Geo. W. Miller.
1899 Geo. W. Miller.
1000 Geo. W. Miller.
1901 Geo. W. Miller.
1901 Geo. W. Miller.
1903 Geo. W. Miller.
1904 Geo. W. Miller.
IQ05 Geo. W. Miller.
igob Geo. W. Miller.
List of Judges of Probate for District of Meriden.
compiled by herman hess.
.Tames S. Brooks, appointed fay Legislature.
Renajah .Andrews, appointed by Legislature.
Join Parker, appointed by Legislature.
Hiratn Hall, elected 1831.
Orville H. Plait, elected 1852, 1853, 1854, 1855, 1856.
Hiram Foster, 1857, 1858, 1859.
George W. Smith, i86o» 1861, 1862, 1863* 1864* 1865. i8fi6. 1868. 1869, i873» 188^, 1884,
1886, 1888.
Levi E. Coe, 1867.
Emerson A. Merrunan, 1870, 1871, 187J, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1878, l88o.
John T. Pettec, 1876.
Wilbur F. Davis, 1890, 189a.
John Q. Thayer, 1894 to date.
Mayors op the City of Meriden.
Charles Parker, elected August 12, 1867.
Russdl S* Gladwin, elected June 7, 1869.
Isaac C. Lewis, elected June 6, 1870.
Chas. L. Upham, electeJ Doc. 17, 1872.
Horace C. Wilcox, elected Dec. 15. 1874.
H. Wales Lines* elected Dec 19, 1876.
George R. Curtis, elected Dec. 15. 1879.
E. J. Doolittle, Jr., elected Dec. 20, 1881.
Chas. H. S. Davis, elected Dec 2h 1886.
Wallace A Miles, elected Dec iS, 188B.
Benjamin Page, elected Dec 17. i88q.
.Andrew W. Tracy, elected Dec- 15, 1891.
G. Herrick Wilson, elected Dec 15, 189-2.
Amos Ives, elected Dec 19. 1893*
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EARLY HISTORY.
399
Uvi E. Coe, elected Dec i8» i8^ Edward £. West, elected Dec 19. 1^
Amos Ives, elected Dec 21, 1897- George S. Sceley, elected Dec. 17, igoT.
Thomas L. Reilly» elected Dec. 19, 1905.
Clerks of the City of Meridex.
John H. Bario» elected August 12, 1867. John H. Bario, elected Dec 6, 1873-
B. Frank PomeToy> elected May 29, 1873 Selah A. Hull, elected Dec. 19, 18176.
Herman Hess, elected Dec 21, 1886.
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400
A CENTURY OF liERIDEN.
EARLY VITAL STATISTICS
A transcript of the record of Vital Statistics of the First Congregational church,
Meriden, compiled mainly by Albert H. Wilcox, clerk of the society.
EARLY MARRIAGES.
An Account of the Number of Persons that I Have Married : the Number from October
Anno Domini 173) the time When I was Ordained till Jamiary i: st 173/^7 according to the
Best oi My Remembrance:
(Theophilus Hall)
SamJl Barns & his Wife: one Judd of Waterbviry to Rohert Royce his Daughter.
Isaac Brockitt, to one of Samll Cntvers Daughters: Caleb Merriman to Another and
Sam^i Tyler to Another:
one Baldwin of Brandford to Jacob Royce his Widow
Aaron Cook to his Second and third wife:
Thomas Royce to his second Wife.
one Holihert of Middletown to Thomas Royces Daughter
Giles Andrews and bis Wife:
Stephen Ives & his wife:
John Webb & his Wife :
Lazarus Ives & his Wife.
one of Joseph Curtiss his sotis to Elizabeth Parkers Daughter:
Hawkins Hart and his Wife:
Nathaniel Pentfuld and his Wife:
Moses Curtiss & his Wife:
John Austin & his Wife:
Timothy Gailord & his wife:
the number is 20 couples
iinus Curtiss & his wife:
Isaac Curtiss to his third wife:
Dan\^ Johnson to Joanna Preston:
John Hull to Mary Andrews
Joseph Parkers' son 8i hi« wife: .
Daniel Murwine to Mehitahcl Twist:
Daniell Ives and his wife:
Abraham Ives to Barbary Johnson ;
John Ward & his Wife:
Sam" Hough to Mehitable Royce:
Henry Stanton to Sarah Scofield :
Jonathan Curtiss to Deborah Mix:
EARLY HISTORY.
40 r
Jan :3 : Nchemiab Manross of N : (Ounbrig?) to Widow thankful Cooper:
Feb : 28 : David Ives to Elizabeth Merriam :
March : 19 : Abel Doolittle of Westbiiry to thankful Moss of Wallingford:
Octo : 16 : Al>e! Austin of Wallingford to Temperance Hough:
:3i :Mr. Ignatius Rhody of Lynn to Mrs. Sarah Merriam:
Decern 119 : Joseph Hoult of East Haven to Wid Joanna Johnson of Wallingford:
Couples :6:
Marriages Anno Domini 1737 :
beginning Jan'y . I«* .
Jan Married Joseph Adkins of Middletown to Abigail Rich :
Feb : ^ : Nash Yale to Sarah Emerton.
Jane : 20 : Nehemiah Pratt of Sea Brook was married to Deborah Hough of Walling-
iord.
July ::ii : Married Timothy Bartholomew to Mary Hull
Nov :3 : Jedediah Norton to the wid Eunice Curtiss.
Nov :a9 Eleazer Peck of Southintown to the Widow Ann Camp of Meriden:
Decern : i : John Hendrick to Ruth Daughter to Daniel Mix:
Couples : 7 :
Marriages : Anno Domini
Beginning Jaii^y : i :8t
March 127 : John Painter to Deborah Welshire:
May 4 : Benjamin Andrews of Middletown U< Taliitlia Sanford.
Aug so ; Zcrubbabel Jerom to Phchc Cook a second Wife:
Nov^r ; g : Joseph Gailard to Elizabeth Rich
Nov : 13 : William Jerom was Married to Elisabeth Hart
Couples : 5 :
Marriages A : D : 1739 : Begin : Jan^y : i»t—
Ptb :e : Married Ephraim Munsoh of Wallingford to Comfort Curtis»
Jane :6: Stephen Atwater to Elizabeth Yale
J'tnp : y-, : FCpliraim Royce to Eunice Harriss
Sept : 2i : Sam" Levit to Adah Curtiss
Couples : 4 :
Marriajit '^ A : D : 1740 : Begin : Jan : i rst
March : 17 : Married Andrew Andrews of Wallingford to Esther Royce
April : 2 : Zebulon Fnsbee to Luce Lewis Iwth of Wallingford :
July : 29 : Jonathan Preston to Sarah Williams of Waierbury
Nov : 5 : Timothy Shattnck of Middlelown to Desire Hall
Decem :3 Btnjam Matthews of Cheshire, to Luce Qark of Northbury
Couples :5 :
Marriages A D 1741 begin ijann ; j ^ •
July : t : Married Ebertezer Hawley of farmington to Mary Hart;
Octob : 14 Daniel Luttonton of East Haven to Susanna Clark
Novem : 19 : Mr. John Johnson of New Haven to Widow Joanna Royce of Wallingford
f>eccm : 15 Benjamin Brooks of Cheshire to thankful Hickock
Couples : 4 :
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A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
Marriages : A : D : 1742 : begin : Jannr : ist :
Jan : II : Married Joseph Stone to Abigail Jearom:
April : 21 : Thom'iS Heart to Hannah Coe
May : 12 : NeheiTiiah Manross to Sarah Royce
June : 2 : John Wat to Phebe ford:
Octo : 7 Gideon Royce to Marj* Dutton
Decern : 15 John Adkins of Middlctown to Eltatbeth Jerom
Decern : 30 : Amos Camp to Wid. Mary Andrews
Couples : 7 :
Marriaj^es : A : D : 174.1. beginning Jan^y i :
Novem : z : Samuel Foginson was married to Lois Royce:
Nov : 10 : David Rich Jun^ to Mehitabel Ives :
Nov : 15 : Phinehas Royce of Northberry to thankful Merrinian of Wallingford:
Nov :30 : Jehiel Baldwin to Mary Way:
Couples 4:
Marriages : A : U : 1744 :
Jan : 24 : Married John Way Jiuir to Hannah Royce;
Jan : 26 : Thomas Berry to Rebecca Yale :
Feb : 2 : Daniel Cowls of Kinsington to Martha Powet :
May : 24 : Benjamin Hart to Phelw Rich :
Aug : 2 : Noah Yale to Anna Ives:
Aug : 22 : Jonathan Collins to agtiis Linn: «
Sept : ig : Stephen Mix to Rebecca Ives: * "
Couples :7 : j ' ' ! '
Marriages : A : D : 1745 :
Joseph Cowls Jun. to Susannah Cook
Tiro: Jearum to Ann Norton:
John Prottt to Widow Royce:
Rcul>en Royce to Kesiah Moss :
Jo^fph Moss to Jones's Daughter:
Sam'^ Reach to Hannah Benham
Couples: 18:
Marriages : A : D : 1746 :
Feb : ao : Nathanael Yale to Hannah Weeks
June :23 : Abraham Hall of Wallingford to Mary prindle:
Nov. : 25 : Asa Royce to Annah Ri>yce:
Decern : i" : Noah Austin of W allinj^'f.ird t ) Abiali Hough
29 : Amos Beach of Goshen to Sarah Royce:
Couples : 5 :
Marriages : A : D : 1747 :
March : 25 : Married Gideon Royce to B. Wid. Rebecc'' Elenoth of Wallingford : ye 3f
wife:
May : 12 : Caleb Merriman of Wallingford to Margaret Robinson:
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EARLY HISTORY. 4O3
Octo : 13 : David Diitton to Widow Juda Vale both of Wailingford :
21 : Linus Beach of Go-hen to Dinah Royce
Maj 4 ; Mr. WaU<;r to Susanna Smith :
Couples : 6 :
Marriages : 1748 :
Feb :9 : Married John Coach to Aatubab Andrew* of Wailingford
IO:Jot' h r, of Wailingford to Rebfcca Merriam :
; 1747 ; in the Summer Nathl^ : p«ck& Son to David Cooks Daughter of Wal>
iingford :
Octo : 5 : David Way to Eunice Hall of Wailingford
Couples : 3 :
Marriages : 1749 : Married
Feb : 23 : Josiah Robinson to Eunice Ives.
May -.2 : jared Spencer of IIa<Idam to Susannah Dickinson:
4: John Hall to Elisabeth prindle :
10 : William Andrews to Widow Mary Vale ;
j ul> : ao : Tina Thomson of East Haven to Esther Curttss :
Nov : 9 : Thomas Soof el of Hadlime to Jerusha Soofel :
21 :Saumel Jcrum to Luce foster:
Decern 122 : John Vale Jun. to Eunice Andrews
Couples :8 :
Marriages : 1750 : Married
Jan :ri : James Cobbon to Irania Powol :
18 : John Whiting to Sarah Foster :
May :9 : Jesse Mcrriani to Mary Johnson:
July : 25 : Daniel Hall to patience Baldwin:
Octo 131 : Joseph trancis Junr to Mary tuttle ot Wallmgford.
Couples : 5 :
Marriages : 1751 :
Jan : : Married Joseph Mttchel of Deerfield to Lydia Foster
Feb.: 14 : John Ball to Anna Mitchel:
& Bar/eliel Ives to Hannah Merriam :
April : 24 : Gerslioiii George (?) to Mary Salter of Cheshire:
May 2g : WtUtam Merriam Jun to phebe Ives
Couples 5
Marriages : 175a :
March : 29 : Married Mr. Jaeob Demtng of Kensington to Mrs. Abigail Jerom :
Jtme :3 : Thomas Berry y« 2^ to Annah perkins:
Nov :9 : Samuel Andrews 2^ to Lydia Royce
27 : Nathan Cohbin of Deertield to thankful foster :
Marriages : 1752 :
Decern : 20 : WtHiam Hough Jun : to Mary Hall
V : Benj. Hall of Wailingford to Mary Daughter of Abijah Ives
Couples : 6 :
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Marriages : I753 :
Tan : 17 : Tim foster Jun'" to Elisabeth Berry:
24 : Nathli Hart of Wallingofrd to £lce Hall & Daniel Macky of Cheshire to tima
Yale:
Feb 122 : Joshua Curtiss of Cheshire to Sarah Psalter:
May : 8 : Stephen Royse of Comwal to Mary How of Walltngford
Juno : 26 : Benjn Tyler to Mehitabel Andrews of Walling ford :
Sept : M : Moses Blachley of Northbury to Hannah Dunbar of Waiitngford :
Nov : 28 : Joseph Rexford to Lydia Spenser
Of rem : iq : Bcnj" Merriam to Mary Berry
: 27 ; Amos Hall to Mary Johnson of Wallingford
: Aug : 1753 : Abijah Ives to Josiah Mixs Widow
II C
Marriages 1754:
Jan : g : Married John Berry to Luce Royce
16 : Matthia« HitclKock of Gieshire to Widow Sarah Hough
3J ; John i homson Jun"* of Wallingford to Hannah Eaton of N. Haven :
Feb :6 : Eldad Curtiss to Tabitha perkins:
March : 20 : Moses Hall to Elisabeth Johnson
May : 16 : John potter of Southington to Widow Elisabeth Spenser
Decern : Mr. John Moss to Widow fenn:
Couples : 7 :
Marriages : 1755:
Jan. Married Nath" penifield Jun*" to Lydia Bams
13 : Thomas Dutten Jun' to Anna Royce of Wallingford.
March : 13 : Jonathan Webb to Elizabeth Judd
Spt. 24. Will"! Merriam to Mar> Austin of Wallingford
Octo : 14 : Benj" Whiting' Jnii'' tn I-.'-thcr Merriam
Decern : 10 • J.inus Scofel Jun*" to Hannah Hotigh
Couples : 6 :
Marriages : 1756 :Jan. I :
John prout & Sarah Corbet:
22 : Thomas Merriam "to An Moss of Wallingford
March :ii : Abel Merriman of Wallingford to Kns Mf-rrimans Daughter
Morlo. A. Blachley to Stephen lve<; Danglittr of WalHngford:
May : 12 : perkins to Susanna Curtiss
13 James Scofel Jun*" to Hannah Hough
Aug : 18 Joseph Atwater Junr to phebee Holt of Wallingford :
Sept : 16 : David Wetmore to Sarah Stanton of MiddU town
Oct : 19 : Joshua How Jun^ to Merriam Blachley of Wallingford
Couples :9 :
Marriages ; 1757 : Jan 20
Asa Bronson to Achsah Curtiss
a6 : Timothy St John of Norwalk to Deborah Royce
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
J"cb ; 10 Asahcl Beach to Kcsiah Roycc of VVailmgiorci
17 : Recompence Miller of Middlctown to Isabel Ives
2$ : Gideon Horsford to Jerusha Cook & Amos Cook to Rhoda Horsf ord of Walling*
lord:
April 14 : Oin<;topher Robinson to Sarah Mix
21 : Enos tuttlc to Sarah francis
27: Thomas Shyoha (?) to Mary Hull ol Waiimgiord
Marriages : 1757 :
May : 5 : Moses Hull to Mary Ives of Wallingford
March Thomas Berry Jun** to Annah Mernam
May : II : Denison Andrews to Abigail Whiting
Aug : 9 : Mr. John Merriain to Mrs. Hannah Ives :
N'ov : 10 : Jotham Hall to Elizabeth Saxton of Middletown.
r6 : Abei Cook to Mary Atwater of Wallingford & Gideon Bams of Canaan to Luce
Vav
Decern : 8 : Thomas Atwater to Lose Hull of Cheshire
13 : Waitstill parker of Wallingford to Martha Hall
Couples : 18:
Marriages : 1758 :
Feb. 16 : Jesse parker of Wallingford to Dorothy Spenser
aa : Divan Berry Junr to Lydia Vale
March :g : Elnathan Ives to Annah Yale
28 : Divan Berry to Widow Andrew^
April :6 : Isaac Royce to Hannah petitheid.
May : 10 : Dennis Covert of N. Haven to Esther Jones of Wallingford:
Jvnc : I : Sam" pentfietd to Rebeca Scofel :
SQrElisha Goodich Jun^ to Sibil Mix.
Sq»t 121 : Joseph Higliee to Abigail Ives of Wallingford.
Couples : 9 :
Marriages : i7S9 : Married
Jan : 17 : Elijah powel of Middlctown to Mary Andrews :& John Ives to Mary Hall:
F?b 8 : Hczekiah Warner of Middletown to Lois pentfield:
March 7 AIkI Curttss to Hannah foster.
June 7 ; Ezekiel Royce Junr to Lydia Hough.
2t : Asa Bams to Lois Yale
: John Smith of Saybrook to thankful Curtiss
Xovem : 15 : Joseph Merriam to Sarah Austin of Wallingford
I') : Daniel Hall Jun^ to Zeruiah Whitmore
Deccm : 27 : William Andrews to Mary Curtiss
Couples : 10 :
Marria^c^ : ]~Go : Married ^
Jan ; 10 : John Hough to Lois Merriam
2y : Baniabas Hough to Eunice \V ecks.
Feb 121 : Thomas Foster to Elizabeth Berry
May : 22 : John Newel of farmington to Ruth Merriam :
June Bartholomew Andrews to the daughter of Andrew Andrews of Wallingford
^ kj i^uo i.y Google
4o6
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
July : I : Benjamin Rcxford to Esther Hall
Oct : i6 : philcmon Johnson of Wallinpfnrd Sarah Hall
20 : James Clark a streycr to the VVidow Vale
Decern : 4 : Allen Roycc to Miiidwcl Cowls
Cotiples 9
Marriages : 1761 : Married
March : 24 : Jnlin Pfni^^oti of J'.. Haven to Sarah Hough
A<>\ : 19 : Daniel Mecky Sarah Vale
Decern : i : Silas St John of Sharon to Abigail Royce
Couples 3
Marriages 1762.
Feh : 11 James Churchhil of Middletown to Sarah pentfield
May : 12 rjahlccl Clark to Kstln r \ ale Ik Jacob Tyler to Hannah Rigford:
27 : Robert Roycc of Walliugiord to Jerusha parker
Sept : zo : Decon Parker of Cheshire to Widow Ruth Mefriam
Nov : 18 : DanH parker of Walltngford to Merriam Curtiss
Matthew Grant of Torrington to phebe Foster : & William Grant of Torrisigttn I
Lois Foster
Decern 12 : Cornelius Coverling to Sibil iglestone
Couples 9 :
Marriages : 1763 : Married
Feb :24 : Joseph Cowls to Widow Rebeccah Rice:
March 31 : Rcnja"**' Curtiss to Mindwell Hough
Oct : 18 : John Morgan i.f MiddUtown to Ann Hall Daughter of Israel Hall
20 : Eiijali ScT.fi-1 to Jemima Slialcr
Nov : 10 : Isaac Parsons to Leah Clark
17 : Mr. Obediah AUin of Middletown to Widow Hannah Macky
2t : David Hotchkiss of Waterbury to Abigail Douglass
Dccmi : I : Nathanael Luttenton to F.lizabcth Macky:
IS : William Johnson of Wallingford to Hannah Cole:
Couples . 9 .
Marriages : 1764 : Married
Jan : 16 : James (or Janna) Meigs of Salisbury to Rebecca Whiting :6:3:
23 :Ephraim Allin of Kensington to Widow Azubah Yale. 3s:
Feb : 6 : Eldad Peck of Kensington to Mary Foster : 6s : & Jonathan Foster to RelM
Foster— 2/3:
May : 10 : Robert pattin to Eunice Curtiss : 2 /6
Sepl :6 : Isaac Hall Junr to phebe Ives of Wallingford 5/2:
Octob:4 : Ephraim Rice to Abigail Fox of Cheshire 3:1
1 1 Daniel Bradley of oblong to Rebecca Berry Jun : 6$ :
15 : Joseph Hall to Sarah prout : 2/9
Couples 9. 37s
NoTK. The figures followtiiK each mftrrlAge Rcorilpd in the year? 1764. 1766 aotf 17M, tf> <
cords of weddlog f«e8 kept in rbillinss and pence, and added at the clone of each vf^r
ALBKRr H. Wilcox. Clerk First CongreKHiiunal Cbunt-
Digitized by Goo<?(c
EARLY HISTORY.
Marriages : 1765 : Married
Jan : 16 : James (or Jaiina) Meigs of Salisbury to Rebecca Whiting :6/3:
May : 10 : Crmifurt P.iitlcr to Mnry Berry : '5
Sept : I2:ye Rev*^ Hun age Mcrnain of Stepna to Mrs. Hannah Rice 5/10;
Xov : J7 Joseph Yale to Martha Levingston 14/a:
Coiiplcs :4 : 16:5
Marriages : 1766 : Married
Jan : 23 John Miles Jiin to Abigail perkinS : Js:
Feb :27: San W hiting to Hannah Berry :3s:
Marriage : I7f>f» ; Married , ; I
June :2b :John Butler to Lois Cole 3/9 < ■ }
Decern : 11 :Tluinuis Mix Jnnr of Wallingford to Lots Collins. 65: ,
Couples :4 : 15/9
Marriages : 1767 :
Record of marriages by Rev. John Hubbard.
"I/S3. Novt>r 3 Saniuel Collins marrieed to Phebe Ives
December XI*h 1783 Lambrrton Clark married to Martha Rexford
fVhrnary 12, 1784. Married Ephraim Merriam & Bulab Galpin & Levi Robinson and
Elizabeth Yale,
Record of marriages by Rev. John Willard. j
Marriages : 1786 :
Sept 25 Mr. Hezekiah Miller of i\liddletcn\ n and Mi«:s Bradley of N. Havcn
'7*^7 Feby Mr- Edward Collins Mr^ M;ir\ Hall were married
Feby 28ih Mr. Dowd & Miss scovii were married
March 22. Mr. Moses Sibly of Ashford & Miss PatieiKC Yeamans
April: 19 Mr. Isaac Rice & Rachel pain
June 14 Mr. Levi Douglass & Miss Hall of Cheshire were married.
July n : Mr h>hu Merriam & Mrs- Johnson were married
July 19 Mr. Samuel Hotij,'Ii Jr X" Miss .Anna Pa>j<*
Sept 10 Mr. Shclden Johnson & .Miss Hannah Rice.
Kov. 15 Mr. Matthew Hough & Miss Martha Cowtes
1788 Feby. 14 : Mr. Ozias Foster & Miss Phebe Miles.
.^pril 23 : Mr. Dewolf & Miss Hannah Robinson
.May I : Mr. Todd & Miss Polly Rice were married.
NoTB. Th« forfgolBf; copy comprfMs all the record of marrlagM kept by Rev. Tlieopbilu* Hsif
durlnr ht' mtTii'-try Mr. Hnll illrfl March 17»'7 In thr C' th year o( his age. .iIhI in the .'?Sth v. .ir
<il bit rolnlj'try. He wa.s i<urc€fded by Rev. John Hubbard, and the (ollowtug ar«» all iht marrlagfx r*;-
twdtt dufins hta poMonCc wbieh can b» found. It Is known that many of Rer. Mr. Hnbbard's old
f '.TTh [iitpt r^ wpre stored In the nttli- a fn houne forratrlr locntrd in thf vouthf-nvf pnrt of Mrrirtrn at
tiurrb paper<< were stored in the attic ol a hou»e formerly located iu the .■iou(bea!^t part of Meridcn at
• place cmllcd Spmo* 01«n. Thto bouae watt afterwards owned by Mr. Hubbard's creat grandson. Imac
I Hubbard, and burned with npirly all Us f nntcnt.'^. Augu»^t ."^1. ISC.'^. It in Kuppoprd that many
ol Mr. Hubbard'si church records were dthtroytd at that time. Rev. John Hubbard died Novtrnlier 18,
1766.
Ai.BE.Tr H. WiLcox« Clerk First Congregationat Cburcb.
Digitized by Google
408
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
June 22 Aaron Lyman Esquire to the Widow Rebedcah Hou^
Oc 2"^ Mr. Solo Yale & Miss Sarah Andrews were married
Oc. 6 Mr. Jesse Merriani Jr & Miss Sally Andrews
Oc Mr. Hull & Mis^ Carter
Nov rj Mr. Ji-roin & .Miss I'olly Cohhoil
Nov Mr rim«)iii> Hall ot Chesiure & Mrs. Haiinah iiall ni Meridcn
1789 J any Mr. Josiah Norton & Miss Phebe Edwards were married
• Feby Mr. Samuel Hally & Miss Babbit both of Middlefield were. married
May 4 Mr. John Miles & Miss Ruth Atwater were married
June 18 Mr Levi ives & Miss Fanny SiUintan
Marriages i7<>o Tnny
Mr. Amerton Yale & Mrss Mercy Scovil.
Feby Mr. Matthew Yale & Miss Lucy Ives.
April Mr. Joel Mix & Miss Eleanor Merriam
May Mr. John (Richmon?) & Miss Rhoda .Adnans
June Mr. Bacon & Mrs. Edwards Septi':26L Mr. Fletcher Perkins & Mrs. Ounan
Miller
1791 Jany Mr. John Butler & Mrs Phel>e I'oster
Feby Mr. Thus Fester Jr & Miss Haiuiah Vale
May Mr. Barnabas Yale ft Miss Lois Merriant
Aug 24 Mr. Benja Hall ft Miss Sally Hall
Octr 20 Mr Matthew Hough & the Widow Woodruff.
Nov 4 Mr. Joseph Ives & Miss Clarissa Hall
Nov 17 Mr Hoiclikiss of Cl.eshire & Mi»s Keturah Huugh
1792 Jany. Mr. Hull & .Miss Rice
Feby 2 : Mr Elihu Ives ft Miss Hall
Feby 9. Mr. Joel Foster ft Miss Lucy Whiting
Marriages 17^2 .April 10
Mr James .Avery Hough & Miss Sarah l odd
Octr Mr Nath' Merriani &r Mi**; Eunice Curtis
1793 Mr Noah I'oster & .Miss .Anner Ives
April Mr Aaron Johnn & Miss Rice
Oct*" Mr Aaron Curtiss ft Susannah Cutler
Nov. 14. Mr Levi Hotigh Lucretia Merriam
Nov 14 Mr Talmage ft Miss Bellamy
tHoj Feb or March Mr Hall of Canada and Miss Hart daughter of Mr Benjamtn
of MLTiden
March Doct Theophilus Hall and Miss Bathiah Meriam
May or June Mr Yale ft Mrs Butler
August 29th Mr Lawrance to Miss Curtiss
September i Lyman Rice to M indwell Meriam
Nov. 10. John Way to Miss Delwrah Hough.
Decern 10 Saturday Seth Plumb to Miss Betsey Hall
Dec 20 John Bliss to Sally Foster
Dec 29 Matthew Foster to Miss Preston
Mr. Wlllard'a renulniiig records cannot be found. Mr. RJpley coiiim«ne«d tn 1S03. G. W.
EARLY HISTORY.
Jany 19th Jesse Hawlcy to Miss Aurilla Gmles
Septem nth 1804 Chancy Curtis to Anna Hall.
Joel Vale to Lucy Rice
October Sherman Rice to Roxana Mertam
Nov. 21 1804 Pbinehas Hough to Miss Desire Cook
Nov 2t i8d4 Ceaser Augustus Ste«venson to Elizabeth Cambridge
]8b4 Robert & Catherine Frccmati
ifos Sept Amasa Hall to Miss Permelia Sanford
Oct Mr Simth to Miss Douglass
Do 24111 Mr W Baldwin (?) to Rosetta Griswold
Nov Edward Johnson to Miss HuU
Obed Shepherd to Mary Yeomons
March 13 Levi Rice & Isabel Ives
1806 :Ja -20 Wrhh I Heart to Clarissa (Peck?)
April 2i»t iJioO Isaac Hough to Miss Piymert
do 23 Mr Richards to Esther Hough
Jidy or August Dortus Benham to Synthia Cone & Phmehas Lyman to Mrs Monsons
Oct Mr Veamans 2^ daughter
Nov Laura Stow
Mr Hall to Polly Preston.
EARLY BAPTISMS.
Meriden In Wallingford Novem^ : 2^ 1729 I Baptized Abigail ye Daughter of John Way
Theoph HaL Paster
this Instant 23 I Baptized Robert : son of Nathaniel Royce
December 28 I baptized Al>el ye son of Benjamin Curtiss —
January 2$ I Baptized S.iimiol >e son of David Rich 1729/30.
March 8 : I Baptized thankful Daughter to Jonath" Roberts —
March I Baptized Stephen, son of Josiah Royce.
April 5 I Baptized Joanna Daughter Abel Royce, Benjamin son of Benjamin Royce —
12 : 1 Baptized Mary ye wife of John Cole.
May 31 Baptized Sarah, linos, Israel Children of Israel Hall
10 : 1 Baptized John the son of John Meriam Jun>".
June : 7 1 Baptized Hannah : Lydia Daughters of Tim ( ?) Royce and son of Daniel
Harris
9 : Ezra— son of Moses Yale— privately
21 : Abigail and Jerusha children of James Scolield
July : 12 : Ezr.i ye son of Lt iit Roycc
August 2 John ye son ot John Yale
.\ugust : 9 Danison ye son of Sam'^ Andrews
16 : Samuel — Eunice children of Willm Andrews —
December : 27 1750 Benjamin ye son of Joseph Meriam
March : 21 : 173 [ F'nathan ye son of Klnathan Ives.
April : 4 : Sarah Daughter of thomas Foster
11 : thankful Daughter of John Cole
29 Abigail Daughter of Israel Hall
Rebeckah : Benjamin children of Benjamin Ives.
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
May 1 : Mary Daughter of Theophilus Mix— privately
2.^ : Thtmias son of Alrcl Yale —
(Sept ?> lo Samuel son of James Scoticld
Num : 34*
October 24 1731 Baptized Benjamin son of Insign Whitng
Thomas son of William Mcrriam
31 : I Baptized Joseph son of J«'lin W;iy Flisha son of Nathaniel Roycc Novembru:
Baptized Stisanna Daughter of Ht-njanun Cnrti>-< <>r Whmg (?)
24 Baptized Samuel & Mar\ twin ch* of Samuel Ives privately
26 Baptized Reuben son of John Hickock
December 19 baptized Hannah Dattghter of Benjamin Ives
January 16. Charles son of Josiah Royce
february : 13 : Elizabeth Daughter of Daniel Harris
20 Titu'^ ^on of John Ives Elizabeth Daughter of Ebenczer prindle.
27 Mary Daughter of Divan Berry
March : l uce Daughter ot Left. Eze : Royce
May : Ji : Jacob son of Abel Roycc and Luce Daughter of Tho ; foster.
June — of Tim Royce
July 9 titus son of William Andrews
Aug : 6 : Kphraim son f)f Sarg. Camp Marshal son of James AHin :
27 : Sarah Daughter of The*'- Mix Sometime after — Eldad son of Moses Curtiss
April :8 : 173.V John son Divan Berry Samuell son of Sani^l Ives-
Feb, ti. Abigail Daughter of Elnathan Ivcs
March — Titus son of Eng. Curtiss
April : 1 : Sarah Daughter of David Ives( ?)
April 29 S*il(.ni«.n of John Yale
Octoltrr 1733. Baptized Esther, Mary. David (Mery) ITainiah, Thomns. Eli/.alxth &
Abigail children of David Way & Rachel, Else William, Mary & Jonathan chddrcn of Wil-
liam Anderson
November : 11 : James son of James Scofield ft Dante (?) Daughter of aaron Aspinwd
25 : Arthur Rexford & Esther Daughter of Will"" Merriams.
Jamiary 6 : 1733/4 nathane! s<m of Cipt. Mcrriam
Febry : 10 : Rcl)cca of James AUin & Hannah o£ Thomas foster— privately
March. 17. Lois of Benj. Ives.
24 : Willm of Willm Andrews
31. Amy Daughter of David Way.
April . 14 Titus son of Ens, Curtiss
21 : Caleb son of Josiah Royce
May 5 : Rebecca Dautrhter of Ens. Whiting
June : 2 : Jonathan tti Jonathan Roberds
Jul> : 7 : John of John Hecock
July : 21 Samuel, Arthur Joseph & John of Rexford
Num 32'
August : 11 1774 Hripti?i <1 thatiktul wife of Tim Foster
Abigail Dangiiicr of Israel ( ?) Hall Mary, of Thco. Mix
18 Deborah of Left Zekiel Royce
September : i : moses & aaron of Sam" Andrews— twins
Digitized by Google
KAKLV HISTORY.
411
December 29 1754 baptized Anna Daughter of Joseph Meriam
February 28. 1734/5 : Benedic of Abel Royce ft Jerusha of Elnathan Ives
March : 16 : 1735 tapthcd my own Daughter Hannah
2g : Aml)rosc yc son of Thomas II.il
April : d : Joseph &• Jensc children ul John Ives twins.
JO .Mary Daughter 01 Will : Meriam
May : 4 : Samuel of John Cole & Divan of Divan bury
18 : Phebe Danghter of Sarg Nath Royce
June : 1 : Timothy, Lydia, thnakful, ft Hannah children of Tim Foster & Kilbrut of
Dan Hall ( ? )
8 : Christie son ot Josiah Robinson
'735 tilt; child born to Wid : Camp of her dec^ husband baptized privately
Sept : 7 : Ruth of Tim Royce & Abigail of Moses Curtiss
14. Mary of John Meriam
2\ : John of Samuel Houjih
N'ovr : Benjamin of Henjamm Cnrtiss
Feb : Abigail daughter of James AUin
March (.20?) Ann of Dan or (I^vid)? Way.
April : ti : 1736 : Baptized Timothy, Mamrci ft Lazarus, children of Lazarus Ives.
'4 IV :i) : Bapti;;ed Caleb <*f \ron Aspinwell. Baptized Ambrose of Lazarus Ives
July : n : David son of Hcnj. Ivcs-
July : 25 : Baptised Allin of I,<'ft F.zeqiel Royce.
August :K l'.;i[>ti.sed Theophtlus my hrst born son
Sept :t2 : i73<' Abigail Daughter of Ens. Whiting
October: 3 : Rtith paughter of Willm Meriam
17 : Luce, Daughter of John W'ay
Kovem : 14 (or 19 » Mary Dauj^hter of Enos Cuitiss
Drcfnr • V2 Jo«;eph <(>n of jolin ^"ale
19 . Rcl)t.cca daughter of 1 nn i'oster
Jan :3 : 173^^ Daniel of Arthur Rexford ft Thomas of Thomas Foster*
J3 ■ Mary Daughter of John Hickock
Keb ; () ; david of David Sanft>rd
*:Jotham of Israel Hall Davi<! of Abel Yale
March : 13 : Aaron of .Aaron Lyman
March : 27 : John of Sarg. Royce & Isaac of Josepli .Menam
(Num :23)
April : 3 : 1737 : Baptised Xf ehitabel Daughter of Abel Royce
24 : Tim sone of Joseph Cf»wk Junr
M;*v I • S;iml' of Sam" Aiuln us ^ Father of Asa Yale
9 : phelKT an Indian woman privately upon a sick bed
>5- Hannah Daughter of Jos Hills Junr
June . 26 : baptised my Indian Children, patience ft Anthony
Sii ! 4 ; Meriam Daughter of Bcnj. Curtiss
11 : Jf>hn of John Meriam
18 : Bethiah of Divnn Bern-
Octob : 16 : daugiucT *>t Dan' Harriss
23 : Samuel of David Way .
Decern : 4 ; My Second Son Avery ft Lois daughter of Nash Yale.
Digitized by Google
412
A CENTURY OF UERIOEN.
Jan : 29 : 1757/8 : Matthew of Capt Meriam
Feb : 19: Job of Benj"' Vale
26 : Levi of John &. J.>>iah of James Ailing
Marcli : ij : Kiith of l'>i-iij Ives
I J : iiannah of Flniiclias Hough
April : a : Luce, of peter Curttss
2j : Isabel of Laxanis Ives
June :25 : Sarah of Henry Stanton
Aug : 13 : S;irali of Doc Cooper
August : 1738 hhjuh of James Scoiield
(Nuni 2b)
Octo : 15 : 1738 : of Thomas Foster
16 : Benjm of Doc Hough privately — ^Nov. la : Susannah of Sarg. Will™ Merriasi
Janry : 7 : 1738/9 : baptised John of Ebenezer prindle Saml) of Samll Austin Ret
Asa Yale Lydia of Jedidiah Norton
March : 4 : Joatuia Daughter of John painter
18 : Josiah of Klnathan Ives
25: Mary of Tim Foster Thomas of Benjn> Yale
April Deborah of Joseph Merriam
May : 27 : Sarah of Benj Curtiss
July : 15 : Benjamin of Arthur Rexford
22 : Baptised my own son Samuel
Aug : 19 :Hannah of Jos Cowls Jim'. Sarnli of William Jerom
Sept :9 : Lois of Asa Yale Kesiah ot Joseph Hills — Jun^
30. Abigail Cooper adult
October : 8 : Ezekiet of Left. Royce & Burrage of John Merriam Jun*
Diet til : 23 : Hezekiah of Abel Royce:
30 : I homas of Doc Cooper : & Abigail of Alexander Douglass
Feb : 10 : 1740 : l.ydtn of Tim Jfnrotti
March ; 3 : phcbe uJ i ho : Foster privately
16: Lent of Joash Royce
23 : Joshua of Lazarus Ives
April : 1 1 : John of Sarg Will™ Merriam
June : i : Lydya of Phinehas Hough
8 : peter of peter Curtiss Ruth of Stephen Atwater
15 . Joash of Israel 1 lall
22 : David of Ben ; hes
Julv : 27 : Rebecca of James Scofel
(Num 36)
Ai L^iist : 3 : 1740 : Baptised Lois of Capt. Merriam : Anna of Enos Curtiss : (?) H
kiah & Ji^seph of Joseph Hall (or Hale)
10 : Benj'n of Benjamin Yale
17 : Eunice of Jcd^ Norton.
M indwell of Ephraim Royce
24 : Mary of William Andrews :
31 : Samuel of Ensign Whiting
October : 12 : Clark of Sargt Nathli Royce.
JnniJ : 18 : 1741 Abigail of Willn* Jearom.
25 . Bartholomew of Timothy Foster
Digitized by GoogI
EARLY HISTORY.
4X5
2;. Hannah of Divan Btrry privately —
Feb : I : Solfuion of Sarg . Benj"" Royce.
zi'AsA of Asa Yale
March : i : London Servant of John Webb
April : 36 : Joseph son of Joseph G>w1s Jun'
May : 10 : Son of Samuel Anstin
June : 4 : Ruth ff.rd.
July : ig : Abigail of Left. Kzckiel Royce
July : 26 . James Cobbon, Phebc, Zerubl Jeroms wife, & I homas of David Sanford
Aug : 2 : Robert of ZertiW* Jerom
23 My twins Theophitus & Luce & Abigail of Arthur Rexford
Sept : 13 . Sarah of Nash Yale
Sept : Ruth of Benjamin Curtiss
C)ctober 18 : Samuel of Joseph Merriam
I'ecem :(j : I._\(lya of David Way:
Juhn & Sarah twins 01 Thomas Berry.
27 Martha of Samuel Cowls
March : 14 : Lois of Thomas Foster
21 : Williain &• John twins of Willm Lusk
March 28. Lydia of Benjamin Yale
April : 7 : Andrew of Tim Jt-roni Jun*".
May : 16 : Kesiah of Ephraim Royce
May : 26 :ReucU (?) of (Theophilus) (?) Mix
1742 : May : 30 : Baptised Saah of Alexander Douglass
Tunc : 20 : Mary of Divan Btrry
July : 18 : Kesiah of Joseph Hills Jun>".
Srpt : 12 : Je5«e r>f J()n5h Rnycf Sc Fli/abcth of Joseph Stone
primus servant of Lazarus Ivc^ : Sonicliint ago
19 Alrigail of Joseph Cowls Jun^ Stephen of Stephen Atwater
^ Susannah of John Merriam Jun**
October : 17 : Elisha of James Scofel & Jane of John Livingston
Nov : 21 : Huldah of Abel Royce < v •
I>ccem : 5 : Jeflcdiah of Jed : Norton :
26 Rebecca of thontas Berry
:Nura 4iB ;
Jaa :9 : 1743 : Hannah of Ebenezer Royce:
March : 13 : Josiah of John Way & Sibil of Asa Yale
-7 • Amasa of Lai^arus Ives
April : 10 : Agift a child of David Hills.
June 5 John of John painter-
June 26 : My Daughter Mary & Levi of Bcnj™ Ives
July : 17 : Esther of Abel Yale St Enos of Sam» Cowls
31 : James of phinehas Hough
Sept : iP Thomas of Zerubbabel Jerom :
25 : Lydia & M indwell children of Ebeneter Cowls
<K:tobcr:2 : Sannu l of Ens : Whiting
16 : Abigail of Daniel Bradley
23 : Deborah of Joseph Merriam & Amos of Amos Camp
jo: Lydia of Timothy Andrews
Digitized by Google
I
A CENTURY OF MEiUOEN.
Feb. -.26 : 1744 *. AhiKuil nf Hphraini ll.)Ui;h:
March : ii : Reui>cn of Elnaihan ives :& plalie wife of John Way
April : 1 : Hultlah of Ebenezer G>wls.
April : 8 : Zebulon of Zebuton Peck
May : 6 : Nash of Nash Yale & Mary of Elijah Peck
13 : Hannali of Divan Berry
20 ! S:ir;ili ..f John Way & lliildali of The. Foster
June : 17 ; Levi of Sam'l ( Austni?)
July : I : James of Sargt Kathi Roycc & Comfort of Enos Curtiss
8 : Alexander & Rebecca twins of Alexander Douglass
July : IS : 1744 Fphraiin of Ephraini Roycc
Aug : 5 : Jehiel of Jchiel Raldwin
Sept : 2 : Joseph nf Jnsoph Stone
9 : Anna of Israel Hall
Josiah of David Rich Jun' & fortune servant of Sargt Jerom
Sept : 23 : Abel of David Way
5ept : 30 : Eunice of Stephen Atwater Timothy of Joseph Cole Jun»"
Nov :9 : Mary of Lnzarus Ives Enos of Benj™ Vale
Nov : II : Aaron of Henjm Curtiss
Decern : 30 : Kate Servant of Sam Hough : the number baptised 1744 *. *
1745 ; Jati : 27 phebe of Joash Royce titus of Gideon Royce.
March : 10 : My Son Elisha
31 : Benjamin of ye Widow Hart Ellis servant of John Ives
April : 2T : James of Willi" Lnsk
26 : Joel ot Jeremiah How Jun^ privately
28 : phebe of Asa Yale
May : 5 : Mindwell of Daniel Hough
12 : Asahcl of Ztnibbabel Jerom
26 Luce of Elijah Peck
June : f) : Levi t^f Koah Yale & Nehemiah of Thomas W eek»
July : 7 : Lament of Jonathan Collins.
21 : Elisabeth of Wilim Jerom
Aug : 1 1 : Rebecca of Abel Royce
]8 : a child of James Scofel.
Sept : 8 : Rhoda ford
15 : Susannah of Joseph Merriam
22 : Phinehas of phinehas Hough & Willm of Ichabod Stark
29 : Sarah of Epbraim Berry & Joseph of Joseph Hills:
Octo : 13 : Edward of John Painter
27 : Chloe of Moses Yale :
Decern : H : Martha of John Livinstone-
15 : allathere of John W ay.
22 : Asahel of Ens. W. Merriam
28
1746 :Jan :22 of Das id Rich of N : Cambridge
Feb : 2 : Elienezer of Ephraim Royce
■9 : Theophiltis of Stephen Mix
In March or April : Sarah of NathH Royce & Irania of Arthur Rexford
April : 27 : Katherine of Moses Mitchel
Digitized by Google
liARLY HISlUkV,
2$ : Grinn« of servent of Sargt Jcrom
June : i : Alexander of Alexander Douglass
8 : thankful of Sargt Benjamin Ives.
29 : Enos of Enos Curtiss
1746 : July : 6 : Moses of Joseph Cols Jun'"
20 : Rhode of William Andrews.
Aug : 10 : Mary of Gideon Ives : k tobiah servant of Widow Ives.
17 : abel of Zebulon peck
Sf pt : 7 : Tii>ijjn of DanH Hough
Ooto 5 Mary & Clare children of Joel Mitchel
Decern : Elisha of Timothy Andrews
In Meriden : 19
1747 : Jan : 18 : of Abel Yale & oxias of Benj Yale.
Feb : I : agnis of Jonathan Collins ft David of Jehial Baldwin
8 : Ann of Sam* foginson :
15 : Abigail of John Way
March : 8 : oiivcr of Ebenezcr Royce :
18 : or 13 : Ezra of Asa Yale.
22 : My daughter Eunice :
April : 26 ; abner of Joash Roycc
May : 17 : 1747 : John of Laz : Ives.
Lois of Will"' Jt-rom
Eunice of Nathn Vale
June :7 : of SamU Cbwis
t2 Mary of Abraham Hall privately
Caleb of aaron aspenwelt
Jtiiy ; 12 : Rebecca of Stephen Mix
26 : Lois of Nash Yale
Aug :g : Mercy of phinehas Hough
16 : anna of Tho» Foster & of Noah Yale
Sept :6 : D im,! of Stephen Atawter & Champe a Negro child of Lai. Ives
M MehitaMc of Jo.. Merriam & Dan of Saml (Austin?)
Oct(» : II : Eunice of Ephraim Ro\tp
25 : Elisabeth of Nathi penttield : & Rachel of Asa Royce •
(28:)
Jan : 10 : 1748 : Joel of Joel Mitchel
17 : Huldah of Elnathan Ives.
24 : Elijah of Dan" Hotigh
March : Eunice of Ehenezer Cowls privately
?7 : buel of P:i>enezer Hough
April : Joseph of Jacob Andrews Amasa of Gideon Ives
24 : negro child of John Merriam Junr
May : 18 : or ( 13) of Jonathan Collins ft of Josepli Cowls Junr
^3 : HisfKinson of Joseph Hills
July .24 : asaph of Moses Mitchel
Aug :7 : My Daughter Mehitabcl & Lydia of Epliraun Berry.
14 : Wait of Gideon Royce ft Susanna of John painter
Sept : Levi of Benamin Ives
I>eccm : Stephen of Stephen Mix.
415
Digitized by Google
4i6
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
18.
1749 : Jan : Rebecca of Sam" Mitchel & Mary of (Joash?) Royce* afterward Benf. YaiB
child.
Nr ah Yales child : Abel yales child :Tim Andrews child : (alether?) of John W^:
La? Ivt s child.
October : 29 ; Comfort of John Cole : tunicc oi Gideon Ives, Thomas of dan*^ Hou^p
afterwards Jonathan Collins child :
Dec 10 Jacob Andrews child
24 Samuel of Dantl Baldwin
Num : 19:
1750 : Jan :2J^:Mary of Stephen Atwater:
march : 25 : Justus of Ciicl Royce a child of Stephen Mix : a Negro child of Amoa CiS^
Apbil :8 : (perish?) of James Cobum :a child of phinebas Hough
May : 37 : Enos of Sami Austin : Mehitabel of (As^royse?)
1750: Baptisms : Jime : 29 ;(or 24) Elisha of Ebenezer G)wls.
Time Ser\'ant of Dec" Henj" Royce
JunetMo^es (if Moses Mitchel
July : ; Daniel of Abel Yale Barnabas of NathI Yale
Sept : 9 : Mary of John Way.
October 7 : Samuel of Sam^ Rexford
Nov : t8 : Esther of Joseph Cowls Jun
Decern : 30 : Rachel of Timothy Andrews
N'um : 1 7 :
17c;! I'.aptivin^ : Jnnv jy Mary of Jonathan Collins
Feb : J4 : Jerusha of Sanil Co'es
March : 17 : Samuel of Danll Hough. Elias & Gideon of Elias Roberts
18 ; Esther of Doc : I : Halt privatey.
24 : Elisabeth of John Yale Junr
May : 5 : titus of Will Andrews Samuel of Samuel Jerom
TU Sihr! of Iokc|)1i C"iirtt«i«;
Aug : 4 ; .\nna of liphraim Berry
18 : Eunice of Ebene^ Cowls My Daughter Mehitabel :
25 : John & Justus of Nehemiah Manrow :
Sept : 8 : Ivsther <^f Daniel Hall— afterwards Abel of Nehemiah Manro
Xdv : J4 : Benjamin of Jacob Andrews :
Decern : i : Samuel of libenezer Royce:
num : 20 :
175J : baptisms ; Jan : $ : amos of Gideon Ives-
T2 Samuel of Ba<*zelee] Ives afterwards anna of Noah Yale privately
Feb : 7 : Ruth Lothrop
(J Ciideon of Gideon Royce
It) t 'l'hodel?> of Samtic! Roxford k l.ucy of Sam^l Jerom
: Christopher of Joseph Mcrriam
In JanV a child of Elias Robcrds
175^ : Baptisms ; March : Benjn of Benjamin Yale & Lois of Enos Curtiss:
afterwards a child of Stq>hen Mix :
April yc IQ Ann of phinehns Hotlgh:
26 : Hannah of Danll Haldutn Ttmr
May ;3 ; Rebecca of David Ives & : Jeptha of Joseph Curtiss
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY. 41/
Aug : J : Man of Moses Mitchci & Josiah of John Vale Jun""
9 ; EIi:»abcth of Doc Hal & Seth of Asa Royce :
2j : Mary snn of Hez : Dickinson :
25 Elisabeth of Stephen Atwater privately
Sept J4 N" ^•tplK-n of Ephraim Royce
Oct 22 DaiHcl of John Lcvinston
Nov 19 Ezekiel of Hi-z Dickinson
2£ : phebc of La/.aus ivcs:
Dece ; 3 : phinehas of Tim : Andrews ;
10 : Lois of J<'-,cpli Hough
M : Martha of Dani Moss of Kent:
Xum : 28:
Baptisms : 1753 :Jan : 21 : Baptised Lois of Danl Hall
Feb : 4 : Asahel of tho : Dutton :
March : 4 : Joseph of Sam : Austin :
2$ • Eunice of Dan : Hough :
May :6 : Moses of Fhinc;'er Cowls:
-7 0"niithan r.f l'.])liraim Berry:
June : 10 : Amos 01 Heman Hall :
17 : thankful of Ephraim Hough : afterwards Nathanael of Abel Vale :
Octo : 14 : Eunice of Sam" Merriman Nath or Nash of Joel Mitchel & Joseph of Jo-
Xph Cowls Jun^
Decern; J : Ketnrah - f Jon : Col Wins Rachel of Reuben Royce : Enos of Gid : Ives :
xj'ore Beihiah of tim : Ko>ttT Jun*".
Num : 16 or 17.
John of John Parsons privately
Baptisms : 1754 : Jan : 13. Mary of Gideon Royce:
jr> Amo^ ,,f Thomas Mix:
haiiifl }|o!t
March 17 ; Llisabeth ol Daniel Baldwin Jun>"
April Jotham of Moses Mitchel & John of SamU Jerom:
21 : Eunice of Daniel Halt
^'ay rg : a child of Joseph Curtiss:
^ ■ Ef>ene2er : Allen of Tim : Brunson :
July : 14 : Joel of Noah Vale:
26: Ruth & John & Huldah of Josiah Kobnison Jun«- :& of Sam»i Galpin : after-
wards Asa of asa Royce : a chid of Stanley:
Sept : 15 : Susanna of Uft : Lyman : Justus of John Yale Jun'
Oct., . 13 Benjamin of Uz: Ives. Samuel of John Berry :& My Servant phyllys :a
^hild 01 Lbenezer Cowls :& one of Ephraim Royce:
Xum : J3
Baptisms : 1755 : Jan : Baptized 3 children att town:
fcb :2 :Dolle of Danll Hough, afterwards a Child of tinit»> Foster Junr
April: 20 :a child of John Livinstone:
May ; 25 : My Son Klisha :
Cowis'Tmir °' ^^''^^ : Jonathan of Jonathan Collins a child of Joseph
Aag : 3 : Molle of Hez : Dickinson.
<o :Tim :of Jerom :& David of David Spenser-
27
Digitized by Google
4i8
A CENTURV OP MERtDEN.
Octob : IJ : Jerusha of Gideon Ives ;
Nf^\' .2}, : philettc of fraticis Wetinore :
Aug: i-i child, ati town att one time:
Decern : 28 : Benjamin of tim : Andrews:
Num : 13 in the month : & 15 att town
Baptisms : 1756 :Jan :i I : John Coach & azniinh his Wife:
18 : Elisabeth of John Coach & John of Sam" Scofel :
25 : Mehitrihcl Timihy ; Moses & abncr of John Way :& Nathanael beedle & Samud
of Samuel Johnson.
Feb : i : Enoch of Caleb Merriman
Since rSam", Lydia, anna of David Royce Danll of Dan^t Halt (or Holt) a child of
Joseph Curtiss : Josi-ph < .f I'.zra Royce. a child of Sam" Galpin phebe of Will*** Merrtam:
June -.(^ : Mehitabel of John Rcrrv :
13 : phineha!^ of Nath" pcntlield Jun*"
July :4 : amerton of Nash Yale:
II : Lois of Ephraim Hough
Aug : 8 : Katherine of Danll Baldwin Juni*
19 : ( ) of Nash Yale
26 : Susanna & Mary of Will"^ Hough r
Decern : (iilt> of Tim foster Jun»" F.unicL- of J istah Robinson Sarah o£ John Coodi
Num : J2 : J : Scofel & Xoaiv \'aies
Baptisms : 1757 : Jan : 2 :
(S E Clark :ft Sam?) of Jesse Merriam privately : after Justus of Gideon Royce :9t a
child of Ebenezer Cowls
Feb : 6 : Hannah of John Way since a child of doc Hall one of Ambrose tuttle : one of
Danll Hough : a child of Sam'l Hall :
April : 24 : John of Sami' Jerom :
May : 8 : Mary of Robert Austin : Mar>- of Moses Mitchel : & John of John Yate :
15 : Gideon of Gideon Ives :
22 : Amos of Moses Royce.
June : 19 : Jedidiah of NatJian Scofel : after a child of Titim Merriman :
NOTK. — Remaining records of Bapttfius of Kev. Mr. Hall cannot be found. Most of the reord*
of iMptiRiiM bjr Rev. John Habtard are miming. Tli« fotlowlng mn mil known of.
November 16 1783 Elisha Merrimaus Chid named Orin
Thomas Spencers Child Matthew
November 23 Capt. Chamberlains Qitld Clarissa baptised
1784 Isaac Hubbards Child baptised January 18 named Rebecca
Israel Halls child baptised I'ebruary r named E!i<ba
February 8 1784 John Merriams Child baptised named Anna
Baptisms by Rev. John Willard
1785 July a Child of Mr & Mrs Hull named—
Aug a Child of Benjamin Curtis & wife named Asaliel
^ - ptr A Child of Mr & Mrs Farrington named Orrin
Septr A Child of Mr & Mrs Amasa Rice named I-ec By Mr Huntington
Sept. The wife of Mr. .\mmerton Yale.
Sept A Child of Ambrose Hough named :
Octr : s Children of Mr. Jonathan Collins & his Wife named as follows. Ketnrah. Levi.
Selden, Lament & Dema.
Digitized by Google
li.\RLV mSTORV.
Oct A child of Mr. Caleb Hough named orrin
Oct 2 A child of Mr> Eh'sha Merriman named Damaris
Xov 25 Capt n.iii Colli n>
Dec :6 : A child of Mr lilisha Cowlcs named Eldad :
Dec ji : A Child of Mr. AnIiIk I Beach named Samuel Bellamy
Dec 31 : A Child of i^hineas Hall named Noah :
March : 18 : 4 Children of Capt Dan Collins & his wife were baptized named, Molly.
Susannah, Lucy & Lyman.
Also a Child of 'Mr l^r.ul IlnM
April 29 12 Children of Chatham Freeman & Mareah his wife were baptized : Named
jube & Kate.
June A Child of Mr & Mrs Lawrence named billy.
Also a Child of Lieut Hough vK. his wife named Ruben
Dec JO. A Child of Capt Joseph I.dw irds & his wife named Betsey
17m
Jany ^n"^ a Child of Mr Ciriswold name*! Rnsetta
Feb 3 Mr Saniiu-l Collins, also 2 Children ■>{ his named Samuel & Hulsey
Note — No further record of baptifoii; until the year 1803, O. W. P.
Baptisms 1803.
A child of Joel Yale named Harriet
Do ot Iva Curtis named Samuel Ives
Do of A&ahe^ Yale named Keturah
Do of Dea- Yale na^ed Neomy hannah
May 39 5 children of Mr. Root named Samuel, JoeU Sophia, Sabrina & lucy
July 3 an infant of .Avery Hou^h
July 31 An infant nf Moses Hail by Mr. Miner
Xov 2oih An infant of (Samuel; Butler named Samuel
Jan I 1804 An infant of Silas Rice named Ruth Curtis
May 27 do do of Isaac Rice named Benjamin
July 29th 1804 the children of Benjamin Merriam Junior & Noah ["oster
By Rev Tames Noyse namely Julia & Benamin Ely, Meriam & Levi, Eli. Mary» Oth-
nicl & Gcor>4^e l-"austcr
Fall a child of ,\aron Johnson
July 7 1805 do of Iva Curtiss named Erastus
August ii^lt If I mistake not. a child of John Yale
Baptisms 180S Octo 13th The Wife of John Yate
iik)6 August 3 A child of Isaac Rice Titus Andrew.<«
August Fli Barns
do Three children of Kli Barns by Mr Snutii
Nov 2 Two of Theophiltis Hall
DEATHS.
A Bill of Mortatit}' or an account of the Number of Deaths in the parish of Meriden in
Wallinsrford began to be taken Feb.i 1736-7.
Tin- mmibcr of Deaths from Dccem^'' i : 1728 : the time T began to preach att Meriden
f'' \ it;u>t : 29 : 1734 • llie time I came to Dwell at .Meriden : (according to my best Re-
nt-inbrancc : )
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN
Isaac Royce & his Son ye wife of John Mcrriam Jun. & his child : 2 children of Theophi-
lus Mix : One Thomas Prindle : the wife of Moses Yale & her child : a daughter of Thomas
Yale . a child of Enos Curti-^ Tlunnas Seward 2 Infants of Sam" Ives twin*; : a child <^it
Divan Berry : the aged Widow Rubberd^ :a child of Ebenezer Prindles :one of Israel Halb
children
nrnn : 18
deaths from 1728-1748
The number of Deaths from Angst : 1734 : till January I : 173167.
Sam" Ives and his wife : Sarg : Cap & hi* Infant : Josiah Royce : I.ydta Yale : a daugh-
ter of Capt' Meriam :a child of TheoP Mix : I-'l>enezer Pruidles Daughter :a child of John
Menam Jun :a child of Moses Curtiss ;a child of Joseph Hills Jun- 2 Children of John
Hickox : a child of Wilim Meria"^ : 2 children of Thomas Foster : Aaron Lymans negro.
Deaths Anno Domitii 1737 : beginning Janv : I :
Feb : 20 : a child of Benj : Ives :
March : ,^ : I>ifd .Mo«;es Curtiss : ,
May: ^ ; Died i nnothy Royce
May ; 14 ; Died Phcbc an Indian Woman In my House :
May : 16 : Died Mary Infant of Zenibbabet Jeartmi
May : 22 : Dyed Sarah Daughter of Ens : Whiting :
the number f> :
Deaths Anno Domini ij.-S : I^e^in : JanV : 1 :
June ; j8 : Died John y** Son of John Merriam Jun :
Septem : 3 : Died Rachel Daughter of Lef Eikel Royce
Decern 30 of Thomas Foster :
number : 3 :
Deaths: A : D : 17,^9 : Be^in : JanV : r«t ;
I'eh : 4 : Dyed Loi* N'a^li ^ ale- eliild
l''el) : 14 : Dyed J«»hii. Hbcnezer Pnndles child:
May : 7 : Dyed my own son Theophilus Hall :
July: 14 :Dyed John ye son of Sargt Josiah Robinson
Sept : 18 : Dyed Lydia Jedediah Xortons cliild
Oct : 10 : Dvcrl Kesiah Jo-epli llilK Jun>" child :
Nov : 15 : Dyed Theo : Mixs Negro man :
Decern :3i ; Dyed Levi, John Ives child
number : 8 :
Deaths : Anno Domini 1740 : Begin Jsm^y : i»t :
Alarch : 31 : Dyed Susannah Sargt Willm Merriams child
May : j : Dyed Ksther Abel N :.k-s Wife
May ;7 ; Dyt-d Kben'* Sanlurds Nejrro Boy :
May 12 Dyed Deborah Joseph Mcrnams child :
June : 8 : Dyed Jonathan Joseph Cowls Jun child :
June :8 : Dyed Doc William Hough's wife ;
July :7:A >nn an infant of Robert Collins Jun :
Nov : 2 : Mr Bartholomew Fovtrr Died :
Deaths ; Anno : D ;i74i. Bcginmg Jan^y : i-si;
Janr;^ dyed Hannah Infant of Divan Berry :
Feb : 7 : Dyed Rebecca Rich :
M l' r.; : \( aged Thos Beach
May : 18 : dyed an Infant of Eben** Sanford :
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
May ; jt, : I>ypd a son an Infant of Abraham Hills
Sept ; 12 ; Dyed Abigail Daughter ot John VVa> :
Sept : 17 : Dyed Joseph son of Joseph Cowh Jun*" :
Decern : 9 : Dyed a son of Moses Yale :
Decern : 10 : dyed yc wife of John Way :
Decern : 27 ■ an Ifidian child att Mr. Sanfords
minihcr to
Deatlis; A ; D : 1742 begin Janury : 1 :
Jan : 23 : Dyed John : a twin of Thos. Berry.
Feb : 4 : y« wife of John Cole
March : 1 1 : Sarah other twin of Tho" : Berry :
March 29 : Doc Ebenezer Cooper
May : 2 ; Samuel a child of Eiis : Whiting :
Oclo : 21 : Eunice Vale :
Oct : 25 : Susannah Infant of John Merriam Ju»r
Num : 7 :
Denths : A : D : 1743 : begin JanX : r :
Sejn:23:the wife of Tho Berry
October : 15 ; Lydia child of David Way :
October : 19 : Sarah another child of David V\ ay :
Nov : 25 : Dyed ye wife of Timothy Andrews
number: 4 :
Death : A : D : 1744 :
I*el> : JO : Phel>f an Indian Child In my House :
April :ii ; an Infant of John Cole ;
Aug : 10 : Alexander Infant of Alx<l Douglas :
Sept ; 7 : the other twin of Alexander Douglas :
num : 4 :
Deaths ; A : I ) ; 1745
tcb: 16 : Benjamin Hart
Feb : 25 a negro child of Sarg^ Jerom
Jane : 18 : Joseph ye son of John Ives :
Aug :4 : John Ives
Aujf : JO : Robert Collins Senr
Aug : jf) : Tints the <ic\rt of Willm Andrews
Sept ; 4 : Samuel son of Capt Koyces att N. London
10: Levi a child of Sargt Benjamin Ives
: Mary a child of Gideon Royce :
Octo a8 : Mathew Infant son of John Way :
num 0
Deaths : A : I) : 1 746 :
Feb :g ; Samuel Ives
: M :Phebe a child of Asa Yale
March: 27 : Sarah daughter of Benjamin Curtiss
M ril 7 : An Infant child of Roljert Coltins :
•^lay : 2 : tlit- wife of Gideon Royce :
4 :a child of Curtiss
to : a child of Ebenezer Royce
la :a child of Moses Mitchel :
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
Jyly : 20 :an Infant of Joseph Cowls Jun«"
Aug : 3 Primus Servant of Capt<^ Merriam :
8 : My own son Elisha
26 : the aged widow Andrews
October : two negro twins of Lemuel Hough :
Decern : 13 : a negro child of Lazarus Ives
num : 15 :
Deaths : i747 •
April : 7 : a child of Edward Collins
May : 12"' : the wife ci Abraham Hall
June : 3 ; the wile ot Rolxrt Collins
July a negro child of Widow Ives
Aug : 10 : a child of Abraham Hall
18: ye wife of Thomas Vale
Octo :3 : Child of Noah Yale
17 : ye wiff of I'^phrntm Rnvce
27 : Dan Haldwln^ negro man
20 : London serv ant to John Webb :
: 21 : Samuel Houghs negro woman
num 12
Deaths : 1748
Feb :9 : Widow Ivis Negro woman
28 : Sargt Jeroni negro child
Marcli : 26 : ye wife of Ebenezer Cowls
April : 23 the wife of William Andrews :
24 : a diild of Ebeneser Cowls
June : 2 : Robert Powel
T^caths— 1748
Sept : 6 : a child of Jt-hiel Baldwin
8 : another child of Jeiiiel Baldwin :
10 : a child of Ephraim Hough :
1 1 : Moses Yale :
21 : a child of Edward Collins :
22 : ye wife of Jphici Baldwin
Octo : 0 : My <laughter Mehitabcl :
15 : ye Widow Mindwel Royce
Nov : 9 : ye wife of Aaron Lyman
num : 16 :
Deaths : 1749 :
Jan : IS ■ ^ child of James Corbett'
23 : a child of John Couch
May : 21 : a child of Asa Royce
June 122 : a child of Tim Andrews an Idiot :
July : 26 : a child of Edward Collins :
Aug :9 :a child of Abel Yales
Octo : TO T.ois daughter of Benjan Curtiss :
Deccm : i*' A child of Nath' Pentfield : a monster:
24 a negro child of Nath^l Yale
Num— 9 :
EARLV IIISTCRY.
Deaths : 1750 :
Feh ; 23 : Dyed Sargt Tim. Jerom ;
April :3 :a child of Joseph Hills
May : 13: Hristo negro of John Mcrriam Jun
Jul} : I : Thcophilus Mix
14: Gideon Royces negro man :
Sqit ; 6 : ye wife of Henry Stanton :
j6 : Mr. Thomas Yale :
October : 8 : A child of Nchemiah Manrow
14 : David Way
19 ; A child of Nehemiah Manrow :
39 : A negro child of Amos Camp
: Nov : 16 : A diild of James Corbit :
Niim : 1 1 :
Deaths : 1751 : Dyed
Jan : 5th ; a child of Jacob Andrews
: A Boy of Ben jn Yales
Feb : 10 : A child of James Curtiss
13 : 2 Children of Ichabod Stark :
24 : A negro child of Ebenezer Royce
April : 30 : the Wife of Mr. John Merriam
May ; 21 : John Merriam Jim' negro child.
Aqg : 7- : Sargt Jos Merriams negro woman
9 : a child of James Cobon
10 : the Wife of James Cobum :
23 : old Mr. Camel
35 : A child of Gideon Porter :
Sept : 6 : Henry Stanton
13 : A child of John Yale Junr
16 : John Way
'0 A-'ihurn Way.
Sept: a child of Joseph Hill
Octo .4 : Left. William Merriam :
6 : a child of Jonathan Collins :
Decern : 2$ : John Prout :
: 29 : a lad of Capt Robinson
nnm : 22 :
Uaths : 1752 :
Feb :9 ; Ruth Lothrop a girt att Lapt- Kobinsons,
March : Mr James Allin.
April : 19th : a child of Gideon Royce :
Heaths : 1752 : June : 27 : David Hough.
July: 19 : a child of Zadoc Doolittle :
3? :Sii'>annah Hough
Ai^: ^4 : Sargt Joseph Mcrriam
Sept : ao : N : S : an Infant of James Corbit
Octo : 3 : a child of Zadok Doolittle :
I." : the wife of Divan Beriy :
>8 : Ebenezer Royce
424
A CENTURY OK HERIDEN.
Num : II :
Deaths : 1753 :
1 eh : 23 :\e Wife of Willi.iin Mcrriani ;
April .24 :a child of Joscpli Curti^s:
30 : Bethiah Daughter of Divan Berry :
i«jay : 20 David Ives :
Aug : 15 : M> P/.titglitcr Hannah (?) at New London :
18 : an infant of Ephraim Hough :
Lecem : Oliver of W idow Abigail Roys.
Num : 7 :
Deaths : i754 :
an infant of John Salter
March 130 : Widow Elizabeth Im> :
Snmc time in the Snnimcr _» children of Warner :
Oct : II : Mr. Jolin Merriain
14 : a child or Hcz ; Dickinson,"'
15 : another of Hex : D:c inson
JO : Benjn Curtiss :
No\ 5 a child of Frcncis Wetmore :
9 : Jamo Hough :
15 : Capt : Wchh. M«>thcr Mcrriani :
Decern : 21 : Mary Tudrah or Tindrah?
Num : 12 :
Deaths : 1755 :
March :a fioy of Ambrose Tnttle :
April -.24 : the Wife of Eldad Curtiss :
June :2:My son i-lisha :
29 : a child of John Levinston :
Jnly : 17 : a child of John Berry :
a8 :a child of Asa Royce
Aug: 31 :a child of D<x't Hall
Sept 21 : a child of Jos Andrews of Soulhington
Nov : 12 . a child of John Couch :
13 : another of Couchs child :
Decern : 15 : a child of Widow Way
: 19 : Stephen Mixes Wife
Num : li :
Deaths : 175O :
Jan : ii ; yc Wife of Timothy Andrews
March : 29 : Moses a lad of James Scofel :
April 5 ;a child of Mos^s Miichel :
2\ . A Child "t Ichaho.) Stark :
Jnly :8 :a child of (iideon Ive* :
18 ; A child of Ichabod Stark
Sept : n : a child of Titns Merriman
13 :a child of Caleb Merriman :
Oeto : 4 : a child of Ephraim Royce:
8; Joseph Thorpes w ife
9 : a child of i-liihraim Rt»yce :
EARLY HISTORY.
24 : A child of Elon Andrews :
Nov :25 :a child of Will : Hough
Decern: i : a child of Jos : Curtiss ;
5 : ye wife of John Meriam :
8 ; Willm Andrews.
: before : a child of Abner Curtiss
Num : 17 :
Deaths : 1757 :
Jan : I : a child of Ephraiin Royce :
2 :a child of Jesse Mcrriam
April : 3 : Wife of David Spenser :
May : 14 : Deacon SamH Royce
July : 24 :the wife of Dan'l Hall Jun'r
Auk: 2 :a child of Ephraiin Hough
Octo :4 : AK^d Mr. Collins
Nov :a iniant of Beuj : Royce Jun''
N um ; 8
Deaths : 1758 :
Jan : 17 : an Infant of Asa Bronson.
20 : Decon Benjni Royce :
Feb : 3 : a Negro Girl r,f Josiah Robinson Jun*"
iy:the Wife of Eiios 1 uttle :
June : 8 : My Negro child Gin.
^9 : My Negro child Rose :
Aug : 11 :a child of Charles Bailey
Nov: 6 : an Ini;int Negro child of Sain'l Hough
after a Negro child of Left, Hnuj^h
Decern : 23 : an Infant of )*Jis : Hough
N : 10 :
Deaths : 1759
Jan : 1 ; D>ed an Infant of Divan Berry Jun'*
March t 11 ; the Wife of Decon Robe""t Royce :
19 : a Negro child of Capt : Rohinson :
30 : Smith a i»trangcr ik a single woman
Aiwil : 2 : Decon Robert Royce.
Al>out April or May a child of Noah Yale
July : the aged Mr. Harris
Sept : 2\ a child of lUtiainin Merriam
Octo ; 10 ; a child of Al>el Austins
II : another child of his
12 : hts Wife
^*ov : 13 :an Infant of Ezra Royce
Decern : 14 : a child of Ens* Abner Curtiss
N' : 13 :
Deaths ; iytx> : Dyed
July :24 :an Infant of Ezra Royce just born :
Sept : 13 : a Negro Child of Sam" Hough.
17 : a Child of Ezra Royce
Octo :8 : a child of John Hall
426
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Novtm : 6 : two Infant twins of Thomas Foster :
2y:The aged Mr. Joseph Cowls
Decern : 2 : Abraham Hall
6 : Christopher Robinson
7 : the aged Mr». Berry.
N : lo :
Deaths : 1761 : n> c-.l :
Jnn : i : Ephraiiti Berry
30 : Gideon Royce »
31 : an Infant of John Griswold just bom
March : 13 : Rhode Ford
June : 29 : a Oiild of Jostah Rotnnsoi) Jtmr
July : 19 : Daniel Meky :
20 ran Infant of Divan Berry Junr
Aug : 12 : the Widow Deborah Merriam
Oct : 22. : Joseph Blanchard
25 : an Infant child of Abner Curtiss Jim.
X : 10 :
Deaths ijfyj Dyed
Feb 4 a Negro Child of Left. Camp
March : 7 : Alexander Dotiglass
May : 8 : Joseph Dickinson
25 : Silas Curtiss son of Left. Curtiss
June : 6 : Mr Jf>siah Clark
12 ; a lad of Joliti Hall hcinp Scalded
July :2 ;a child of Benja™ Merriam, an Idiot :
JO : Isaac Rice
Sept : 14 : Ephraim Rice
26: an Infant Child of Thomas Berry Jun'
Oct : 5 : the Wife of Joseph Cowls :
10: Bartholomew Foster :
Deaths 1762 :
Oct : 14 : Rebecca Pentfield
: a child of Noah Yales
Nov : 30 : Barnabas a lad of Nath" Yales
Num : 15 :
1 )(ath"= : 1763 :
Dyed Jan ; .^8 : a Child of Timothy Foster Jun :
Feb : 6 : Mr Pentfields Negro Man :
April : 2 : Mr. Sam Houghs Negro W'oman Zill :
hi])c : 8 : David Vale was found Dead having hanged himself as the Jury Supposed
St pt : n : a Child <»f Allen Rice :
Octo : 15 : Capt : W ebbs Negro Woman Lille
Nov : 22 : a Child of Phinehas Hall by falling on a pen knife :
29 : a child of Enos Hall
Decern : 18 ; Aaron Curtiss
Num : y :
Deaths : 17(^4 : Dyed
April : 6 : a Lad of Left. Ebcn. Cowls :
Digitized by Google
EARLY HISTORY.
4^7
May :6 ; Lois daughter of Ens Yale:
agian Infant of Abel Curtiss
June : 3 : a Negro Child of Doct. Hall
13 :a Qlild of Benjamin Rice :
July : 2 : a Child of Asa Bams
6: the other twin of Asa Barns
Aug : 23 : Abigail Daughter of Joseph Coles.
Nov : ao : Elizabeth Pentlield :
N 19'.
Deaths: 176s Dyed
Jan : 30 an Infant of Thos Berry Jtinr
May : 3 : a Child of Joseph Merriam b>- Swallowing a Ky Ear
30 : Experieijcc Tyler an old Maid :
31 :the Wife of Jonathan Collins :
Jnly : 2 :an Infant of Isaac Hall Jtmi'
Sept '.4 : Dec: Ezekiel Rice Esq :
Num:6:
Death'; : 1766 : Dyed
Feb 4 PhcHr Daughter of Laz : Ives :
March :2i ;Juel a lad of Samll Jerora
April: a : Capt Josiah Robinson :
Nov : 10 : Mary Infant of Satnll Whiting.
Decent : 5 : Infant of Banja Hough
Num : 5 :
Death? 1 7^17
(The following records of deaths are not the handwriting of Mr. Hall, probably some
wVs.)
Rev^ Theophilus Hall died Mach 25, 1S67 aet 6o^^ an in y* 'S^h year of his ministry.
A diiki of Joesph Meriam
Joseph Merianis wife
a child of P.fujfi Meriam
Capt Meriams wife.
i>eacn Sanill Rices widow
A diild of Joseph Cole
a duld of Divan Berry Jmi>'
a child of Caleb Merriman
a child of Eliphalet Horton (or Norton)
Mrs Mehitabel Hall daughter of the Revd Theophilus Hall died Sept- U
The Widow Smith
William Mcrriams child
A child of Yale Bishop
No. 14.
The wh<de number of deaths in ye proceeding Catalogue from Decemr i 1728 to Jan^
1768
1 76}^— iJmion Berry
The Wife of John Livingston
Joty 25 Dan" Hough
UiQiiizea by Google
428
A CENTURY Of MERIDEN.
Deci* The Widow Eaton
12 DantlHall
The youngest child of Kpliraim Rice
1769 Elijah Scovils Child
June Ailing Rice's Wiic & Child
NoTK.-The next mrd o( doths !• that of R«v. Jolin Hubbard'a
f«ni*liM or the record* of thU eburch.
Novembe 25, 1783 Samuel Merriams Child Benedictt died
30 Nathaniel Douglass Child
Thomas Berry died.
DecemlK-r 3d Day diod Capt Divan Berry.
Record ..f deaths. l)y Rov. John Willard.
T-Kh July The W>te of Mr John Merriam
Jul\ I he Wife of Mr Samuel Johnson
July The Wife of Esq' Lyman
Nov' 18 The Revd Mr Joh" Hubbard died aged 60.
1787 Jan>* 13. One Jcrvis a transcnt person
JanV 19 Miss Sally Meky aged 17 :
March 25 a child of Mr Joel Yale aged a year & 10 months
A Child of Mr. Siimuel Balden
Mar Mr. Halsey Rjce
July 26. The Wife of Mr. John Miles aged 60.
Oc. The Widow Douglass aged about 84
Oc A Negro chiUl of Capt. Wehh.
Dec An Infant Child of David Foster,
Deaths 17^
Jaiify 4th. A Child of Chatham Freeman (Negroe)
Jan> 15. Oliver Son of Giles Collins aged 19:—
Feb> 15 Mrs Ives wife of Mr. John Ives aged 4$
Feby 22 Mr. Foster aged 88.
Feby 24. Deacon Hough Esquire aged 52.
March 27. Mr. James Scovil aged 88.
.'Vpril : Miss Polly Galpin
May I .V N«*Kro Child helonguig tn J,-ick & Bet.
May : .\n Infant of .Mr Jesse Merninan
May : -J7 : A Daughter in Law of the Widow Andrews.
July 7'*» Capt Joseph Edwards in the 46*>» of his age
IS An Infant of Mr. Jotham Hall
August 5. Mr. Moses Hall aged 53
Anirust. Au Infant Negroe Child belonging to Jack
Nov. The Wife of Mr. .Xnu-rton Yak-
Dec. An Infant of Mr Amcrton Yale
Dec. The Wife of Mr. i>aac Hall.
1789 Jan> II Miss Anna Guy
Jany a child of Mr. Ephraim Hough.
Feby A Child of Mr Benja Rex ford Jr.
March A child of Mr. Ezra Butler.
ILVRLY HISTORY.
Deaths— 1789>
May a Child of Mr. Daniel Baldin.
— IS- A Daughter of Mr. Simion Perkins aged l6.
July n. Mr- O/ias Poster
July 10. i lie wife ol Ezra Butler.
August 13 An infant Child of Mr Samuel Hongh being drowned in his Mill pond.
Scptr 30. Mr. Nash Yale Jr.
Oc Mr. Anthony 40
Nov. 19. an infant child of Mr. Simeon T\Tkin'?.
1790 March 6^^ the wife of Mr Je^^e Mt'rriam (lit'<l
March 21*^^. The Wife of Mr. Samuel Hail aged 45
Amil 6 (or 5) a Child of Mr Samuel Rice aged 10 years
April. An infant Child of Mr. Lambertcm Clarke
May Mrs Coverland.
.\fay .-(11 ''nfriiit of Mr. wade
June j(j thv wiff <'t Mr, Heckwilli :
July The Widow Whitmg aged 94.
Joly The wife of Mr Matthew Hough
July iB Samuel Langdon, Son of Revd John Willard aged a year & ten months^
Sept*" 27 A Son of Mr. Joel Rice aged 12 years.
Xov 17 The wife of Capt. Joseph Shalor.
1 791.
Ja" V 20 a child of Mr Isaac Atwater
Jan> 25 Mr Edmund Merham aged JO
Deaths — 1791*
Feby an Infant of Mr. Wades.
Feby An Infant of Mr Abel Bams
March an Infant of Mr. Berry
March an Infant of Mr. Dewolf
.March II the Wife of Mr. Dewolf
March the Wife of Mr. Sandcr.Min
March 29 Mr .Samuel Hall aged
Apl 19 Mr. Oliver Hough aged 21
May 12 the wife of Mr. Levi Curtiss
Jime Mr. Klihue Lawrence.
July .X child of .Mr- rpson.
July An infant of .Mr Barnabas Yale.
August 12. Mr. Jesse Merriam aged
August 24 The Wife of Mr. Phineas Hough Ae 67
Sepf Mr William Merriam aged 6j.
?>eptr Mr. Hotchkis.'i in the army
Oc. The widow Hall aged 74
Oc 28 An infant of Mr- Abel Barns
Xovr An Infant of Mr. Joel Rice
Novr The Widow Johnson aged 85.
^•ov. Goodrich wa.s killed in the army
N'ov. George Hall in the army.
Dec. 18. an infant of Mr. Jothara Hall,
Digitized by Google
430
A CEMLKV OF MfcKlDLN.
1792.
Jany. The Widow Davenport
Fc by. A transic'U person at Mr. Timothy Fosters.
Fcb> . 9. A Child of Mr. Asahel Berry aged 3 years.
Fchy. Joseph Shalor
March 2. An infant of David Foster.
March 10. The Wife of Mr. Caleb Todd aged 24.
March The wife of Benja Hall.
April. The Widow Hall aged 93-
June : an infant of Mr. Samuel Anthony.
Scpf. The wife of Klijah Hall
Octr an mtant of Lt. E]isha Merriman.
I79f). Deaths— (33)
March iS- a pair of twin Children of the Revd John Willard & Huldah his wife «
'died in the birth.
April An infant of Mr. Hookers
April The Wife of Thos Stone (or Stowe)
May. The wife of Mr. Olds.
Jitne An infant ot Mr. Joseph Hall
July 15 Deacon Isaac Hubbard aged 44
Aug. a Daughter of Mr. (Melorth?) Silby aged 3 years.
Sept. An Infant of Mr. Fitch Ives.
Sept. 12. a Daughter of Mr Giles Griswold aged 3 years.
Sept*' a Daughter nf Mr. GiK-^ firi^wold aged 5 years
Sepf 29. .\ female Infant of Mr (ii!e> Griswold.
Ocf 1. The Wief of .Mr. Dana .Andrews aged Oo.
Ocf. 2. An Infant of Mr. Amos Foster-
Octc Mr. John Miles aged 73.
Novr An Infant of Flienczer Baidin.
Dec'. 27. Mr. Raynolds Beck with aged 92*
1797.
Febj*. A child of Mr Sanderson aijed 2 years.
March. Hannah, a Child «»f Mr. Asahel Berry aged 14.
March 31. The widow Berrv aged 85.
April 2. The wife of Levi Hough aged 22.
April 14 A son of Mr. Brocket aged 14.
April 30- The Widow Sarah .Andrews aged 60.
May 12 The wife of David Sem il
July : -An Inf.nrit of Srmniel \'ale
July 16 The wife of Daniel Baldin .nged 75.
Deaths I797- (26)
August 6. Mr. Caleb Merriman aged 72
Sept"* 2. Mr. Phineas Hough aged 84.
-August 13. An infant of Mr. Moses Root.
18, The wife of N'o.ih AiHtin aged 77.
Oct' Mrs. I'ariualc aged 44.
Nov. 2. Mr .Abel Curtis aged 67.
None — Part of th* record of d«mtho |« mtMlQC.
Digitized by Google
EARLV HISTORY.
Nov. 6. Mr. Moscii Miichel 74
Nov. Mr. Abel Hawley 82.
Nov. an Infant of Aaron Merriam.
Nov. Au Infant of Jairus Mix
Dec"". Mr. Ama«;n Rtce n^cd 4S
28 The wife of X ithl \|orn;ini .igcd 6j
1788. (Error— siioulii L>c 1798.*
Jany— A Child of Mr. Crane aged 4 years.
March 18. Mr. Elijah Scovil aged 23.
March 31. A child of Mr. Joseph Merriam aged 3 years
June 5. The wife of jntnes Baldin aged 34.
Sepf. An Infant of Mr Bishop
Oct^ The wife of Mr. Nash Yale aged 84-
Novr. Capt Bezalel Ives a^d 72.
March 22. Au Infant of Mr. Simpson
Apl. 2. Mrs. Simpson aged 34.
Apl. 3. A Child of Mr. Joseph Twiss a>?ed 8-
May 6. Capt. John VVehb aged almost 92.
I>eath»~i799.
May 8. An infant of Mr. Asahet Yaie.
May ID. An Infant of Mr. .\aro« Merriam
May 18. An Infant of Fitch Ives —
May 24 Miss Eleanor Payne aged 44-
May. An Infant of Fletcher Perkins.
May 25. The wife of Capt. Couch aged 73.
Jttly A Daughter of Prindle Hall.
August I*. An Infant of Mr. Silas Rice.
August 14. An Infant nf Mr. Taylor.
-August 24. Mr Moses Tufts. 70
Sepf. The wife of Mr. John Austin aged 93.
Septr. 20. A Child of N^hl Merriam Jr- aged about 2 years
Septr 30 the wife of Mr. John Butler aged 21.
Octr I. The infant of Mr. John Butler
Novr jj. Mr. Eltsha Cowlo a^^ed 40 :
Beer 7. Mrs- Lois Yeamans aged 72.
1800.
Feby 9 Mr. Daniel Baldin aged 86-
NJarch 5. The wife of Capt Cone formerly The Widow Eunice Yale aged
Apl 29. An Infant of Mr. Daniel TwisS'
May r .\n Tfifrmt nf ^Tr L.evi Foster
July r>eacon Cowles aged 82
Ocf 13. William Curtis aged 18.
Dec*' The Widow Sarah Yale aged 89.
Novr Mr. Farrington aged 55.
1801.
Jany 31, The wife of Marvel Andrews & thrfr Infant.
Deaths 1801.
Feby i»t An Infant of Elnathan Ives Jr
432
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Peby 4yth The wife of Mr. Lea vet aged 80
Feb>'. ail Infa'U of Mr. Amos Cowles
March. An Infant of Mr. Moses Root.
March. The wife of Mr. Joseph Hal) aged 2t>
March 30th Xhe wile of Mr. Silas Kicc aged j-> ;
Apl Mr. Mites Hull died aged 32
CMT an Infant of Mr. Levi Foster.
Novr 9. The wife of Mr. Stephen Talor.
Novr 15 .^aron Lyman Esquire aged 94 wanting four days.
Novf" An Infant of Mr Thos Stow.
Novr .\n Infant of Mr. Asahel Rice.
Nov'' An Infant Giild of Mr. Aaron Foster.
Jan> J. Mr. Ldward CoHins aged ninety
Feby 7 An Infant of Mr. Othniel Ives, which died in the birth
Feby 14. The wife of Mr. John Plymet aged 40.
Feby. An Infant of Mr. Samuel Raid in Jr.
.March. .-X Child of Mr Joel Vale aged 4 yenr<.
March 30. Mr Nash Yale ajjed 88 2-4 \i.-nr>.
Records by Rev. Erasius Ripley
April A child of Aaron Mernarn.
Death— i8d2.
April. An infant of Mr. .\dkin8
Do do of Mr. Xoah Foster
I)(» Miss Clnrissa .\nthony aged 17
do An iniatu of Mr. Iva Curtiss
May 7. Mr. Noah Austin
do A Daughter of Mr. Andrew Hough aged 21*
June 6k Jack a Negro aged about 46.
iQ .A child of Heiijann'n Hall aged I year.
July Tfu- Wife of Isaac Hall .iLred 50
June _'w I'( 11 i ;iti;in <i<m fo l^.-mc Rn.r :i^ed 5 years.
July 10- I wo intaiu> oi Iknjauun Hall.
15 Daniel Hall Junior aged 46
August The Wife of Samuel Whiting Esquire aged 58.
Sept. 14 r>ied at Dea John Halls the Widdow Hall of Waltngford aged abo^nt 70 }W
15. .\ Daughter of Cornelius Hull aged l)4 years.
Wifldow Fli/nl^K'th Hal! aged 70
Widdow L)cburah Hull
Dec"! 6"». Mabel Al'en Deceased aged 22 years
Dec"* _^o'*' a Male Tnfant Deceased being a Twin Child of Dec» NatM Yale
Octr The Widow Deborah Hull Deceasd
Lois Daughter of Mr .\ndrew Hough Deceased the last summer
Nov. II John \n--tin :ip:rd years
James Daughter of Andrew Hough deceased the last stimmer
Deaths 1803.
Au infant of Deacon Vale.
Jan. 19 do of Samuel Way,
£ARLY HISTORY.
I'cb. 15. Saiuuel Whiting Esq. aged 60.
17 Almn daughter of James Baldwin aged 17 years
26. Xoah Vale aged Ho years
March 3. An infant of Amos Curtis
July 14 Miss Anner Rice aged 47
Da 15 A Son of Dean Nathaniel Yale aged 4*
August 21) A child of John Hooker aged i year
Svptcni. Axe daughter of AmtTton Yale aged 9 years.
Octf.iKT 8th The Widdow Muchcl.
Do. 9. Mr. Nathaniel Douglass.
Do. 15 Captain Samuel Ives aged 52.
Nov. 21. A child of Yale Hough aged 2 years.
Do 2() A child of Timothy Ives Junior aged 2 weeks.-
Ucc 29 Sannicl Leavet aged 87.
16 in all.
Fe1» 1804 .V child of Oliver Andrews.
A child of liberty perkins
Feb Mrs. Peck widdow.
March The- wife of Phinehas Lyman
May Mrs. Solhey
riiti'phclus Hall.
\i!gu>i 18 Wife of Saniuei Vale.
September a child of Mr. Conory.
N v ist ,804 Mr Phinehas Hall aged 90.
ilarch 1804 a child of James Bradley
10 in all,
1805.
Feb 17th Joseph Meriani aged 35.
Do 18. the wife of Berry Lyman 22.
•March 6th i he wife of Daniel Twist 5a
^':t\ >i). A child of .Moses Harns
May or JiMir A child of .\very H.dl.
June 9th tiie Wife of .Avery Hall 28.
Do a child of Abijah Bradlev .
July nth or 12th Nob Squaw 60 or 70.
August 28th a child of Mr. Simpson aged 15m.
S.ptcniher lo^h Widtnv .\nna Collins 67.
<"'»rnelu!^ f ftill about .^5.
Do loth a child of Vale Uouk'-
OcU) 19th Old Mr. Aust-n aged 85.
r>> a child of Mr Tibhcls a?ed i day
Do 26 Daniel Hall aj^ud 78
r>o 21). Howrl ^fcnnK^n about ,^6 or 37
Nov 29 Joth ini Hall aged 2\
1. Abigai .\iitchel age 19.
IJ« 8 1805 a child of Mr. Spencer.
Do 14. Mr. Joel Yale aged 47
Do 23 Mr. P.rackft ayi<! yi.
IH) 24. Miss Li'vina .Mitchel aged 20
Total 23
434
A CENTURY OP MEIlIDEN.
1806 Jan. 12. Joseph Cowls aged 96.
Jan. 2i«t An Infant of Mr Hllinds or AUins (?)
Feb. 23. a cliild of Kli Uarns z
March 3. The Widdow Hubbard 70.
Do I2tli Miss Polly Mitchd 49
• Do 23 A child of DanielTwist
Do 24 or 5. Widdow Webb aged 94.
April 9 or 10 A child of Yale hough.
Do Cap" Cooch aged 81
April 28th Scldcn Mcriani aged zz.
May, Child of Levi Curtis aged 3 days.
15 Patience Jolin.*;on 40 or 50
20 .\ child of Widow riv;ht agi d months.
Jnnc 7'^< Widdow Barns aged (>2.
Do 15 Jeremiah Winscot .igcd 21.
July 1806. Tabatha Rice aged about 19.
Do aptit A child of the Old Widow Hull aged 5
August a child of Patric Qark
Octo 9^*^ Mr rimnKis I-'oster aged 70
Do nth A fhild of Ciqi N Ive-s.
Nov. I. a child 01 Mr. Glcason
Dec. 19 Widow Lyman aged 90
Dec. 20 Captain Holt about 80
Do 24 Titus Meriman aged about 80
24 in all.
Digitized by Google
PART II.
Digitized by Google
Digitizec^Google
MERIDEN IN THE CIVIL WAR. * J
«
MERIDEN IN THE CIVIL WAR
By Cau Charlis L. Ufham
The firing upon the flag at Fort
Sumter caused intense excitement
throughout the entire North ; patriotic
men and nian>' whose sympathies had
been with the South at once deter-
mined to support the government and
^) maintain at all hazards the integrity
of the Union.
April 14th, 1861, the President caUed
for seventy-five thousand volunteers
"to repossess the forts, places and
property which had been seized, and
to maintain the perpetuity of popular
government."
On the 1 6th. Gov. Buckingham
called for volunteers to form one reg-
iment of Infantry to serve three
munths. Meriden quickly responded
with a patriotism that did not falter
(luring the entire four years of war.
The Meriden Light (lu.irds. Capt.
Theodore livxbce. was the onlv mili-
tary organization in Meriden. The
niorning after the issi:c of the Ciov-
ernor's proclamation and after a can-
vass of its members. Capt. Piyxhcc^'
drove to Hartford, reported to the Ad-
• At ibt> Uav. nior s caH for voluulcers for out»
tntaMot for tbrce ytmn. a csdvwm w»s mad«
thf LIuht Ouards. and n-^ th«>rf wa? n ef»n»ra1
^•lu 10 «Dhat, I at once opened a recruiting
«fliw and rt««|v«d mora than enough applications
'r( form a r )mpany. Thry nrKaiilrcd r»t onro and
tinted me Captain. As there was* no train for
"oaw hoara, I, lerompanled by Richard H. Foii-
jutant General his company as ready —
the first organization to respond to
the call.
April 19th, an immense war meeting
was held in the Town Hall, presided
over by the Hon. Charles Parker ; elo-
quent and patriotic speeches were
made by C). H. Piatt, Dexter R.
Wright. Rev. D. Henry Miller and G.
H. Wilson. It was unanimouslv voted
to instruct the selectmen to call a town
meeting immediately for the purpose
of appropriating five thousand dollars
to equip the Meriden Light Guard.
Mr. Parker announced his purjwsc to
give cnch member a Colt's revolver.
-April 25th a town meeting was held,
of which Eli Ives was mo<1erator. *'It
was voted that the town of Meriden
appropriate the sum of five thousand
dollars for the purj)ose of defraying
the e.xpcniies of clothing, arms, cash
advances, and ntlier outfit for the corn-
pan v of volunteers from this town,
lately nuistcred into the service of the
I'nited States and for any oilur cim-
pany of volunteers of Meriden wluch
ter, drove t j ilurtford and olTered my cuuipauy
to the Adjutant General. Govarnor Buckingham
WHS at hi- home In Nfirwioh A lelonrani wa«
mil liln> and bis reply wai* "accepltd." There
were pre'cnt a number of gentlemen Inelud-
i:ic niiitriil Hawl-'v and ("jlon".-! Biirnham. whr»
gave ;lir<<» tlmr.- (or tie fr»l * >mpaiiy oiVir«\;
and aorerted Thkodjrk Byxbkk.
Digitized by Google
4
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
may hereafter be mustered into the
same service ; also for the further pur*
pose of supporting the families of the
said volunteers now or hereafter to be
mustered into said service from this
town. Voted, That Isaac C. Lewis,
John Parker, Humphrey Lyon and
Moses Waterman be a committee to
receive said appropriation and to ap-
ply the same to the purposes and ob-
jects intended."
The military laws of this state were
such that the Governor had no author-
ity to order a regiment of militia be-
yond the state ; the Light Guard, there-
fore, was required to reorganize as a
company of volunteers and was mus-
tered into the state service April i8th,
and assigned to the First Regiment
Conn.' Vols., as Company F; was
mustered into the United States ser-
vice April 22nd, i86r, and left for
Washington May lOth, with the fol-
lowing roster:
Captain — Theodore fiyxbee, promoted
Major
First Lieutenant — Geo. Wilson, pro-
moted Captain.
Sbcoki) Lieutenant— Oliver S. Sanford,
promoted F'ir<.t Lieutenant.
SKk(.K\M> — David T. Lyon, promoted
Second Lieutenant; Richard H. Foster
Hiram Botsford, Frank B. Wright.
Corporals— Joseph H. Tole, Frank J.
Carter, Benj. W. Warner, Seager S. At*
well
Mr^iciANs — John Mackay, Thomas W.
Crawford.
Privates— Julius Adams, William J.
Brooks* Edward T Blodgett, Albert T.
Booth, Thomas Burns, F. Lewis Bull, John
C. Brooks, .\ njrn'^tti'; Campbell, Alhert A.
Carter, Daniel L. Comstock, Levi O. Curtis,
Julius O. Dcming, David E. Dcming^
Charles E. Everts, Horatio \V. F. verts, De-
Witt C. Isbell, Daniel 15. Johnson. Rendolp
Kauert^ Andrew W. Loomis, Frank B. Lax,
Chas. C. Lee, Wm. O. Levaughn, Abram
Minor, Edward McCarty, Dennis O'Brien^
Henr\- H. Pierce, Francis W. Parks, John
S. Quinn, Charles Robert?;, Alexander
Rache, Elijah Epgleston, Jr.. Henry
Eggicsion, George A. Ely, Roger M. Ford,
Geo. W. Flint, Raphael Gilbert, GoCtkit^
Gnsmdeo» Samuel W. Geer, Henry Grove,
Alfred P. Green, Frank Hun^ Dwight H.
Hall, Nathan B. Hoyt. Lauren Hall, John
W. Hall, Henry Hall, Edward Hihbard.
George K. Hyde, Newton A. Roberts.
Henry Rich, William L. Sewardt John
Splaguer, George M. Stevens, Benjamin
R Sherman, Theron Scott, Edward H.
Shumway. Milton Sagendnrf. Ceo W Tay-
lor. Peter Talbot, Edward Tallmadge. Jo-
seph S. Wright, Henry Wamock, John B.
Willitt, Zopher C Woodward, Enoch Wil-
cox, 2nd.
A second company to serve three
months was immediately formed,
which went to rendezvous April 29th ;
was assigned to the Third regiment as
Rifle Co. B, and mustered into the
United States ser\'ice May 14th, 1861,.
and left for Washington May 23rd,
with the following roster:
Caitain — J a red R. Cook.
First Lieutenant— Frederick J. Peck.
Second LiKurvNANT^Asa S. Cbwdry.
Sbiigeants — Charles L. Upham, Solomon
H. Woods, Wallace Bull. Isaac W. Cook.
Corporals— Thomas A. Knight, Eliph't
W. Bliss, R. Scott Cheney, Frederick £>oo-
little.
Musicians— Thomas Moesl^, George
W. Famham.
Privates— John V. Adams, George ff.
Bailey, Emil Berger. Elbert A Bell, John
Barlow, Henry C. Burr, Julius Bassett,
Digitized by Google
MERIDEN IN THE CIVIL WAR.
irwtll Booker, Frank H. Bo wen, John G.
tarrows, George W. Clark, Andrew W.
wk, Srivestcr J. Cook, Joseph Dainton,
olin K. Doolittle, Osborne F. Elwell, Wil-
w Fisk, William H. Fisher, John Finne-
n* William B. Greene, Albert P. Greene,
■i^rt J, Goodyear, Benjamin Gould,
'nmr-r Hnmilton, Warron Hall, (jcorcje
irsfhfchj, Henry W. ilirschfeld, Benja-
in L. Hough, James F. Lewis, Walter S.
ord, WtlUam G. Lewis, Chas. N. Lewis,
iMnias J. Leeds, Addison Lanfear, Jacob
cCall. Norris Matthews, William C.
amcs, Benjamin C Mallory, Michael Mee-
ih Gcorfje Mccorney, James Meachin.
'lUiam C. Moroncy, Giles J. Newton,
<c|>Ji H. Farlcer, Frederick Pfannekuchen,
no M. Redfield, John L. Richmond,
m« H. Riley, Edward Riker, Chas.
radcr. William H. Shaw, Chas. Sleeter,
orge A. Strong, William W. Thompson,
»than B. Tyler, Albert Von Esscr, John
Vorra, Thomas Wamock, Samuel C
Wianis, George C. Williams. Isaac Wil-
ti^. Henry H. White, Joel W. Yale, John
These Mcriden comi)aniLs were in
ves' Bripi^dc. Tyler's Division, anfl
re actively engaged at the Battle of
11 Run and act|uitted themselves
h credit. Colonel Keyes says, "The
lantry with which llie Second ^Taine
i Third Connect icnt icnts
rged np the hill upon the eneniy s
ilery and infantry was never in niy
tiion siiri)assed."
k-'ncral Tvler sa\ s: "T saw tlie three
iiucticut rcLjiments with two thou-
'I bayonets march under the gum
on Corcoran in .c^oud order, after
\nfr saved us, not only a large
nint of public property, hut the
titication of havinj? om standing
ps fall into the hands of the
5
enemy. I hope, General, that you
will appreciate this service on the part
of a portion of my division, and give
credit to whom credit b due/'
Upon the return of these two com-
panies at the expiration of their term
of enlistment, the citizens of Meriden,
to show the appreciation of their. ser«
vices, gave them on August 20th, a
grand parade and ball.
From an early hour in the day,
friends and strangers continued to ar-
rive from the surrounding towns,
some in cars, many on horseback and
in wagons, and hundreds on foot, until
two o'clock, when the procession was
formed, hundreds of noU'residents
were present. The procession was
formed at the Town Hall, the military
r.nder command of Major Byxbee. and
the civic under direction of Joel H.
Guy, Esq., marshal of the day, with
nineteen aides. The military pararl-
ing were the Tnimbull Guard, Capt.
D. R. Wright, the two companies of
returned volunteers ; a company en-
listed for the Seventh Regiment. Ca])t.
( ). S. Sanford. and the Veteran Guard,
of Meriden, the renuiant of an ancient
corps called the Meriden Greys. Capt.
Alfrcfl P. Curtis: followint^ the^c was
the civic procession on foot, on horse-
back and in carriai^es. The march
about town was a splendid ovation.
After a circuitous route the proces-
sion arrive<l at the Town Hall. At
four u clock there was a liiimer in the
hall at which huntlre(l> were i>re.sent.
.\fter hunger was satisfied. Judge
Tames S. Brooks called the assemblv
• *
to order, when Capt. Wright inaugu-
Digitized by Google
6
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
rated the sptakiii^ with a patriotic ad-
(lrc>>. .speeches were made by Cap-
taiti (.'ook, l^lder Swan and Fatlier
W'alsli of the Roinaii l athulic church.
In the evciiinj^ there was a ball, at
which the first iiu-ti of tlie towti were
active participants and the ladies were
out in full force.
THE THREE YEARS MEN.
Company C, tth Regiment.
In the summer of 1861 a company
was raised which was assigned to the
7th Regiment as Co..C. This rai-
ment left the state for Washington
September i8th, was in the expedi-
tion to Port Royal and was the first
to land, and their flags were the first
on the soil of South Carolina. These
Meriden men with their regiment have
a brilliant record and well entitled to
their reputation as a fighting regiment.
They saw service in Georgia, South
Carolina, Virginia and were at the
taking of Fort Fisher, North Caro-
lina.
ROSTER.
Captain — Oliver S. SanCord, prcmioted
M ajor.
First Lifi tknant — Ossian L. flatch.
Second LitLTEN.^^^T — Seagcr S. .'Xiwcll,
promoted Colonel.
Sbbcbants— John J. Hutchinson, pro-
moted First Lieutenant; E, Lewis Bull, pro-
nintcil Adjutant; Edward T Merrinm. pro-
moted .Second Lientenant, died of wounds;
Raphael (idbcrt, promoted Second Lieuten-
ant; Henry H. Pierce, promoted Second
Lieutenant.
Corporals — ^Alfred P. Green, and, Augus-
tn« Campbell, promoted Sergeant; Ira B.
Smith, promoted Captain ; Isaac K. Wester-
veldt, promoted Second Liruieiumt i
Artillery: Chas. E. Hamilton, Hcbart
Smith, promoted Sergeant; WtlliaoCC:
ler, Dennis O'Brien, promoted First Lf
tenant.
Mi siciANs— Wm. S. Edserton, ist. W
S, Edgerton, 2nd.
Waodmbr— Silas Davis.
PmvATBS— Wm. H. Augitr, procHM
Quartermaster; George W. Andnis, k-B
in action : Henry Aver\ . tlted ; W o.
Ackernian. du d ; \\ iliiam Augur, pt
moted Corporal; James W. Bdden.
of wounds; Isaiah L. Baker, wounded: z
win H. Bntler, wounded: G«<nge Btii
died; George Burrows, died; 0«nt
Bronson, wounded; Levi Barnc-. -hej
Bernard G. Bassett. Walter B.5rtbo!om !
John H. Bario, promoted Corpora] : I
Boucht, Watson Curttss, Edward E. Cr^
dell, Ralph P. Childs, Henry Deangeil
died; William H. Davis, John Dooahj
Watson W. Davis, promoted Corp>:«^
died; Isaac Dorman. \\'i!liani I!. F..|
Chas. H. Fuller, Daniel (lood^poed. ■ ,h
ander Goodspeed, George B. Gamtt, ^
moted Corporal; Anson S.
promoted Corporal; John W. GliBif^
promoted Corporal, wounded; Bwton
Goodenough, Chas. Ho!me<:, WilHor-
Hill, John VV. Hall. Jasper Male, Ed^
Hibbard> promoted Sergeant ; Charks
Howe, Edwin Illsbunr. Dewitl C ifti
John R. Jackson, Joshua Jonea^ ArI
wounds; Daniel B. Johnson, ptwm^
Scrpeant; Jrimc; Ki-well. wmmdcd :
Longden. iH-xtcr Latham. Jo^^t
Lego, died; Chas. R Lewis, kdlcd r
tion; John A. Leeds, pitMOOted Ser^
wounded; Chas. McWhinnQr, died m Pm
ence, S. C. ; James A. .Miller, killed ift
tion; Abraham Mii> - killed in actka:
kanah Morse, Jciiu \i. Mim«.on. TS;"v-
McCormick, Henry Marsliall. Jesrrr-
Jesse W. Perkins, George B. Fs^.
wounded; Horace G. PaintcT,
died in Ander>< )iu illc; Edward F*
hone, Chauncey W. Roberts, died in
ence, S. C; John Richards, Justin Kiifii
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MEKIDEN IN THE CIVIL W.\R.
7
Derrick A. RobcrtSi wounded; Samuel N.
Sperry, SMnuel L. Spencer* Edward Smitbj
George E. Sellewt Henry Slater, wounded;
James Thrall, RoUin Tenant, wounded;
Gilbert Talmadge, Robert Thompson,
wounded; Alexander H. Ventrus, Chas. F.
Waterman, died; Francis Williams, Thos.
V. Wells, Norman S. Wood, promoted Ser«
geant: Edward Westcrho<nl. kilUnl in ac-
tion; William A. Wedmore. William War-
ner, died in Andcrsonvillc ; Hnracc W.
Wright, Charles W. Yale, promoted Cor-
poral, wotmded.
Joined as Recauirs— Julius Augur, John
R}xl>ee, died; llonry A. Edgerton, acci-
dentally killed ; William Frazier, John 11
Flint. Wnhrr H. Mcrriam, wounded;
Nathaniel H. Rogers, musician; William
Soofield, died.
Company K, 8th Regimekt.
This Company was recruited late in
the siininuT of 1861 and was assigned
to ilie 8th Regiment as Co. K. It
left the state Octoljer 17th for Annap-
dis, Md., and was a part of the Burn-
side Expedition. From North Caro-
lina the regiment was sent to reinforce
the Army of the Potomac when Lee
invaded Maryland, and at the battle
of Antietam was conspicuous for hav-
ing advanced the farthest of any of
our forces on their part of the field.
Their losses exceeded iift\' per cent.
Kear Petersburg and at the assault
and capture of Fort Harrison it added
to its reptrtatiof). Company K was
composed of men of excellent char-
acter, and among those who carried
rifles were two clergymen. The
company was noted in the regiment
from die number of enlisted men (six-
teen) who received commissions dur«
ing its term of service.
KUS l ER.
CAPrAiN^-Chartes L. Upham, promoted
Colonel 15th, wounded.
First Liki'tenant- \ordi P. Tve<, pro-
moted Captain and Assistant yuartermas-
tcr.
Second Lieutenant— Roger M. Ford,
promoted Giplain, wounded.
Sekgea.nts — Wm. H. Johnson, promoted
Second I.ientcnant, died; John H. Vnrra,
promoted Second Lieutenant, wounded;
Levi C. Binghara, promoted First Lieuten-
ant, died of wounds; Mtlo J. Goodrich, pro-
moted Second Lieutenant; Frank J. Car-
ter, wonndt'd.
CnkfiiKAis — (Jrco. M. Stevens, promoted
Second Lieutenant; Sam H. I'ostcr, Win.
G. Lewis, killed in action; Isaac Williams,
Edmund A. Paricer, promoted Second
Lieutenant; Albert T. Booth, promoted
First Lieutenant, wonndt-d : ]<>hn H. Si-
monds, killed in action; Aliihtiis Starkey.
Musicians — Geo. W. i arnham, promoted
First Lieutenant; Edwin F. Strong.
Wagoner— Warren Hall.
pRtvATES — Francis L. Albcc, Levi Allen,
Chas. W. Allen, flicd of wounds; Lewis
Allen, wounded three limes; Lyman D.
Allen, wounded; Bartholomew Bailey, Gor-
don P. Bailey, Leonard Bailey, Isaac C.
Bartholomew, lleber L. Bassett, Charles
H. Bassett, Wallace W Rait ^, died; Ben-
jamin H. Beehe. hxiward G. Billett.
wounded ; Elijah W. Bingham, Seth I).
Bingham, Hiram A. Blakeslee, wotmded;
Henry C. Burr, wounded ; George Camsell,
wounded; Kelsey D. Clark, Morris C.
Clark, Wallace T. Cloud, promoted First
Lieutenant : John D Comstock, died ;
Lucius J. Cook, Ciiark^ li. Dagle, Geo. V.
Dagle, killed in action; Chas. S. Diddn-
son, Charles Dixon, promoted Chaplain
Sixteenth ; John K. Doolittle, died of
wounds; William E. Dudley, promoted
Corpoial. wounded; Jacob Eaton, promoted
First Lieutenant; Osborn F. Fllwell, Lem-
uel B. Evarts, Barney Fit* Haivist pro-
moted Corporal; Chas. P. Fairbanks*
Digitized by Google
8
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Henry Finlcen» killed in action; Albert H.
Forbes, Elam T. Goodrich, promoted Cap-
tain; George C. Gear, John B. Gear, Fran-
cis W. Gray, Patrick J. Gibney, Albert P,
Green, Robert D. Greenfield, Alfred F.
Griswold, died at Salisbury, N. C; Wil-
liam Hagadon, Timothy E. Hawl^t
Thomas J. Httffstidler, Heber S. Ives, pro-
moted Second Lieutenant Fiftcciitli ; Na-
thaniel C. Jonas, Henry W. L. Koach, died ;
George W. Lane, Chas. H. Lewis, promoted
Corporal, died of wounds; Benjamin C.
Mallory, Luther R. Matthews, promoted
Corporal; John L. Merriam, promoted Cap-
tain; Augustus W. ^!orse, wounded two
tunes; Frank H. Parker, Frederick TT. Par-
ker, promoted Sergeant; Henry G. i'arker,
wounded two times; John A. Parker,
Henry H. Parsons, promoted Corporal;
Warren M. Parsons, promnied Corporal;
Edward E. Peltnn. wounded ; John A.
Phelps, Daniel R. Pruden, Alonro I. Rich-
ards, killed in action; Willis B. Richmond,
killed in action; Newton A. Roberts, Jo-
sci)h A. Root, wounded ; Stephen M. Rus-
sell, Simeon Santa, Emerson R. Stevens,
F!!is M. Stevens, wounded ; Oscar A.
Sweetland, wounded ; Elihu 1 alinadge,
drowned; Myron £. Terrill, Leonard K.
Warren, Joseph H. Walker^ died of
wounds; Ambrose P. Watrous, Joseph G.
Wilham, promoted Sergeant; George S.
Wilcox, wounded ; Ogilvic Wriijbf. died.
JoiMEU AS Recruits — Sylvanus Brenton,
wounded; Hiram Botsford, Henry E. Da-
vis, Attgustus Fry, wounded; William H.
Fisher, Alvin C. Green, Wilbur F. Hart,
Syh-e»;t«T l.atie. ^T^^es T, ousel!. William M.
Pratt, pri'iniited Lieutenant Colonel: Wil-
bur Range, Edwin E. Westover, died ;
Francis Wallace.
Company B, 9TU KtomEXT.
This company, composed of Irish
citizens, was orj^anized in September,
1861, and assi^neil in the 9th Rc^\-
mcnt a« Co. P>. It left the state No-
vember 4th for Lowell, Mass., and
from there for Ship Island, Missis-
sippi Sound. It served with credit in
the Department of the Gulf until 1864
when, after a veteran furlough, it was
sent to Bermuda Hundred, and in Au-
gust, 1864, to Sheridan's army in the
Shenandoah Valley and took active
part in the battle of Cedar Creek;
later, it was for a time at. Savanaah,
Ga., and was mustered out Aug^ust
3rd, 1865. Though not entirely, its
membership was largely from Men-
den.
ROSTER OF MERIDEN MEN.
Captain — Patrick Garvcy.
SncEANT— John DuSty»
CoKPORALS—Micbael Reynolds, James
I^utler, Malachi Hackett, Edward Riley.
James Morrissey.
Musician — Patrick Cain, died.
Privates — Andrew Anderson, Patrick
Bohen, Jr., John Burke. Patrick Burke,
wounded; Andrew Carlin, died; John Car-
roll, John Casstdy, James Crevy, James
Donohue, died; James Doran, died; Thos.
Farrcll, John Ferris, died ; John Fraw iey.
Patrick Green, died; Joseph Harrington,
died ; Thomas Harvey, died : John Hazlett,
Michael Hughes, Patrick Hughes. James
Kellcy. John L. McKay, deserted; Michael
Ma^oe. died: Michael Molloy. died;
i honias McCormick, John Murphy, Luke
Quinn, died; Edward Rhatizan, promoted
Corporal; Thomas Roach, Daniel Ryan,
Thomas W aMron, died.
Joined as Rfxri'its — Patrick Craig. Wil-
liam Cashcon. Joseph Cassidy, Co. F; John
C. Coogan, not assigned ; James Morrissey,
Frank McGee, Co. D.
Lo.Ml'.VNlES A AND F, I5TH RlvGlMENT
Two cnnipanies were organized,
during^ the month of .\u^iist, 1862,
and were assigned to the Fifteenth
"Lyon*' regiment as Companies A and
Digitized by Google
M£RIDEX IN THE CIVIL WAR.
9
. While in camp August 25th on be-
3]| of the ladies of Merideii, who
'^re represented by Misses Helen
raJlcv and Mary P. rooks, Hon. O.
. I'lait presented thcni with a beau-
'ul .<ilk flag witli a most eloquent ad-
Col. Wric^lit, in behalf of the
i^inient, made a feeling and patriotic
^ponse. .Afterwards, Col. Wright
IS presented with a noble black stal-
'H. the g-ift of his personal friends.
jn Charle> Parker presented the
in behalf of the donors. Col.
right responded and closed his re-
irks, saying "I make no pledges in
^rn. of what I shall do. I simply
r. I mean to do my dnty. and I
1} God will give me courage and
rve to do that duty well."
^ regiment left ff^r Washington
gust 28th and was stationed for a
* at Long Bridge, \'a. It partici-
*d in the battle of Fredericksburg,
• Siege of Suffolk, Va.. by Long-
and in minor aflfairs in North
rolina. It was the provost guard at
w Berne, N. C, at the time of the
epidemic of yellow fever in
H and many died of that disease,
the actions before Kingston, March
to nth, 1865, it suffered severe
' and a considerable part of the reg-
it were taken prisoners,
'he r^ment was mustered out at
*• Berne, N. C„ June 27th, and ar-
d at New Haven July 4th, 1865.
f<OSTh:R OF MERIDEN MEN.
L/j.VEJ,— Dexter R. Wright, resigned.
lAi-LATx— D. Henry Miller, resigned.
•«axt-Major — Julius B. Bissell, pro-
d First Lieutenant
Commissary Sergeant — Elisha S. Cur-
tis.
Company A.
CAFTAtN— Julius Bassett, killed in action.
First Lieutenant— Marshall C. Augur,
died.
SEfoND LiKi'TEX ANT George C. Mer-
riam, promoted Captain 8ih.
Sergeants— Philip C Rand, promoted
First Lieutenant and Adjutant; Gilbert L
Goodyear, Joseph Dainton, John B. Willett,
promoted Captain t4th U. S. C L; Geo.
W. Flint.
CoKi^KALS — Geo. N. iiailcy, killed in ac-
tion; Levi Curtis, promoted Sergeant;
Geo. W. Allen* promoted Oq»tain 29th;
Thomas J. Sytnonds, Geo. Harwood, died
in Anderson V : Win. H. Catlin, Benj. R.
Sherman, died; 1 loaithy C. Root.
Musicians — Otis S. Kelsey, Norris S.
Burnett.
Wagoner— George W. Quinn.
Privatf.s— WilH.im H. .Mien, Eugene At-
wond. Michael Augur, Julius Augur, John
V. Builer, Lyman P. Butler, Chas. H. Bart-
lett, Thomas Brooksi died; Chas. F. Beck-
ley, Daniel J. Clark, Albert Clark, Freder-
ick II. Carter, Richard Crosby, Henry H.
Church, John Dainton, Thomas H. Day,
(lenerted ; Albert Dickinson. James W.
Derby, promoted Corporal ; Nathan Dar-
ling, promoted Corporal; James S. Ety*
died ; James O. Fisk, Frederick Foley, Hor-
ace F. Farnsworth, Alfred T. Finch, pro-
moted Corporal; James M. Ford, died,
Florence, S. C. ; John Ferns, Franklin F.
Field, promoted Corporal; Wilbur C. Fow-
ler, Nathan G. Fenner, Delison B. Foote,
David Gro!)il, Charles F, Green, wounded;
John H. Griswold, James Greenland,
wounded; Frederick M T-f untincftnn, pro-
moted Sergeant; Mortimer Haniblin, Theo-
dore Hayden, William Hughes, Franklin
Harrison, Andrew B. Hitchcock, died;
James H. Howard* Albert S. Motchkiss,
Bunting Johnson. Georc^e F. Johnson,
Charles A. Justin. John Keefc, Mark Kil-
bride, died; Frank E. Little, promoted
First Lieutenant, 107 U. S. C. 1. ; Jcftcrson
Digitized by Google
10
A CENTURY Ot; MtKIUtN.
I.ru\ Tfiicf. O-^car E. Larkin. prumoted Str-
gtaiit; Stcpljcn M. Millard, Eckford i.
Morse» John Maltby» P«Hx McCabei
wodnded^ Owen Mackay, Robert M. Mur-
dodi^ George L. Miner, William E. Old-
ham. Tobn \V. OiiKliton, Aaron J, Pratt,
prtnn(>t(.(l cOrpural, died; James B. Parker,
wounded, died; Joseph J. Quinn, John S.
Quinn* Joshua B. Rice» Andrew J. Rum*
metl, Robert Robinson, Henry W. Rich*
mend, Reuben Root, Willis Redlield. died;
J. George L. Roberta, died . James E. Stev-
ens. Laban A. Smith. ;ip]x)inted Hospital
Steward; Julius Shcpard, Frank P. Tal-
madge, died; Madison A. Treat, James C
Welch, Henry Wamodc, wounded; Ed-
mund P. Welch, wotmded ; Elbridge
Wright, promoted Corporal, wounded ;
Samuel Whittlesey, promoted Corporal;
Henry B. Wood, Michael York.
Reckuits for Co. A— Theodore T. But-
ler, Frederick Brant, Thomas B. Hawkins,
Lewis Lawrence, Frederick E. Quinn^ Ed-
ward J. Steele.
Company F.
Captain — Allen W. Harvey, resigned.
First Lieutenant— Reuben Waterman,
promoted Captain.
Seco.np Ljei tenant — Wm. W. Thon^
son. promoted First Lieutenant, died.
Sergeants — Henry B. Levi, promoted
Second Lieutenant, died; Lyman H. Hall,
John Guinang, Charles F. Harwood. pro-
moted Second Lieutenant; William H.
Snow.
Corpora L.s—Theron Scott. Chas. C. Whit-
ney, promotefl SerK'^ ant : Henry H.
Wriglit, promoted ScrKcanl; Henry J.
Church, David E. Dunham, Hezekiah W.
Hale, Frederick Doolittle, Frederick A.
Higby.
Musicians— Jonas P. Curtis, John R.
Sabin«
\Va(;o.ver — Alvin Ketmcy, died.
PaivA-nts— William A. Atwood, Henry B.
Andrews. Henry G. Atkins, Geo. W. Aver-
ist. Francis P. Baker, promoted Corporal,
killed; James R. Baker> died; P«tric'<
liowcn. Tiieodore F. H,-iik-\ . i >-t.ar M F,
lex. died; Hubbard C. Barrcll. S*niM
Bartholomew, James O'Brien, Noak
Baldwin. Phincas P. Bradley, Ly»
Beach, died; Jacob W. Brown, Hmr
Blakeslee. Tnmes Cunningham. AK">?
Cook, died ; Asa S. Cowdry. deff i
Lucius W. Curtis, promoted Corj-^j
John Camel, Philip £. Chapin, pnmi
Second Lieutenant, 2nd Artillery:
Carpenter, F'rankltn S. Carpenter, m
Edward C. Carpenter, Daniel Cojrf<
thwait, Geo. Couch, r).TnTe! Crowle^. ' 1
Abraham Dunn, deserted; Patrick Ul
John N. Davisr died: Jobo FmnJ
Michael Fttzpatridc, WtlKam Ferry. %
Kam F. Fay, Cord Finkcn. Jesse \V G
wold, Robert D. Greenfield. Al<>na>
Gallup. S>!vanii< A Hull, died; An*
Hazlitt, Levi Hotciikiss. John A Hani
promoted Corporal; James Judge, Fj|
A. Kenney* promoted Sergeant ; Asa K
land, George H. Lewis, died: Handi
B. Lindley. promoted Corporal, Lwtj
Lindley. Chas. F. Lindfley, pron?
Quartermaster Sergeant; Wiiham H i
chin, promoted Corporal; James B. Mii;
William McGlynn, John O. Marvd,J
Neace, Giles L Newton, Elislia IL V
eroy, Jr.. promoted Corporal : Thooi*? !
lion, Henrv Pearson, William W ?*i
Edwin C. Pinks. Henry D. Farde*, ;
moted Corporal; Patrick Re>-nold5^ Be
min F. Ross, Patrick Roby. Stepbes
RockwelU Joseph Ranoom, ^ed; Sfl
G. Simpson, Washington Smith. Ji
Smith, deserted; W^illiam R. ^c|i
Heinrick E. C. Tittel. Wm. A. Tcci»^
Charles H. Taylor, George C VVsI^
James H. Williams. Selden C WW
Hubert F. Wightman, Robert R
Noah J. Wettoti, Chatmc^* P. Wd
Benj W. Warner, F.mer«on J Woki
Recruits for C'> F- Frederick .V. Bji
James C. Butler, Frederick \V. BcacK.
gene K Bridgeman, Daniel W. tti
John Ford, died; Wm. G. Gallaaer. i
LoefUcr. Elliot L^wn. Jame$ T. Om
Edwin C. Clarke William J. -Wktgii
Digitized by Google |
MERIDEN IN THB CIVIL WAR.
II
Frank O. Gladwi», Joseph Grant, Harlow
R Isbell. Reuben W. Lowell, Wallace A.
>!iUs Clias A S>mon4s* Henry Sedg-
wick, Edward J. Steele.
CoMi'ANY G, 27111 Regiment.
This company was enlisted for nine
months and assigned to the 27th Reg-
iment as Company G. It was only
partly composed of Meridcn men.
Thev Were mustered into the L'nited
States service October 22nd» 1862, and
left for Washington, being assigned to
the Army of the Potomac.
They were actively engaged at the
kttlcs of Fredericksburg, Chancel-
It'fsville and Gettysburg. They were
mustered out of service July 27th.
I ^^3. on expiration of their term of
service,
ROSTL.R ()!• MF.RIDILX .MEN.
Major — T h eu ( 1 • • r c I > \ bee
Second Lieutenant — Frank B, Wright.
CouMissABY Sbrgbant— John H. Stead*
man.
Sergeants — George W. Taylor.
CotpoRAi.s — Wm. H. Stanni^:, wounded ;
C(Jlins Upson, .Mbert J. Puffer, George
^ Seyrooor, Gilbert Upson.
Musician— Thomas W. Crawford.
WAfionne-J^mes M. Warner,
MERIDEN MEN LN OTHER ORGANI-
ZATIONS. OMITTING SUBSTI-
TUTES WHO DESKR I ED.
Atkiivson. Johnson, Private, Co. C, ist
Cono. Artiller>-.
Atkinson, Johnson, Private, Co. C, ist
Cona Artillety.
Atkins, Wittiam, Private, Co. C, 1st Conn.
Artillery.
Aichler, Pct«r, ist. Private, Co. E, 1st
Conn, Artillery.
Aichler, Peter, 2nd, Corporal, Co. E,
Conn. Artillery.
.Aichler. John M , Corporal, Co. E, 1st
CoiHi. ArtilU-rv.
Adani>, .\rihur, Private, Co. I, ist Conn.
Artillery.
Anderson^ Andrew^ Private, Co. K, 14th
Conn., Infantry, died in AndcrsonviUe.
Allen, George W , Captain, Co. E, sgth,
Conn. Infantry.
Atkinson, John D., Private, Co. D, Sth
Conn, Infantry, d^erted.
Baldwin, Truman, Private, Co. B, 1st
Conn. Cavalry, captured, died.
Bates, Robert H., Prhrate, Co. F, 1st Conn.
Cavalry.
Bratlk.\, Flisha K., Private, Co. K, 1st
Conn. Cavalry.
Butter, Henry W., Private, Co. A, 1st
Conn. Artillery.
Reebe. Newell S., Corporal, Cb. A, IS|
Conn. .Anillery.
Birge, Lewis, Private, Co. I, ist Conn. Ar-
tillery.
BoUus, Thomas, Corporal, Co. D, 2nd
Conn. Artillery.
Button, Lucien, Private, Co. K» 3nd Conn.
Artillery, killed in action.
Bonrl. Patrick S,, Private, Co. F, 5th Conn.
Imaniry.
Becker Henry, Private, Co. H, 6th Cbnn,
Infantry.
Banc-r, Conrad, pDvate, Co. H, 6th Conn,
Infantry, wounded.
Behn^. .\ugust, Private, Co. 6th Coni\,
Infantry.
Berker, Conrad, Private, Co. Jf, 6th Conn^
Infantry, wounded.
Belden, Marshall, Private, Co. A, 7di Coniv
Infantry, killed in actinii.
Bn.(>k<. W illiam P., Private, Co. F, 7t^
Conn, infantry.
Barrett, John, Private, Cb. C, Sth Conn,
Infantry.
Barnard. Theodore C, Private, Co. I, 8th
Conn. Infantry.
Barts. Jehu, Corporal, Co. E, loth Coni\
Infantry.
Digitized by Google
12 A CEKTURY
Baker, Arthur A., Private^ G>. F, iith
Conn. Infantry, died.
Brooks, Jolin C, Private, Co. C, 12th Conn.
Infantry.
Butler, Joseph, Private, Co. H, 14th Conn.
Infantry.
Brown, Samuel R., Private, Co. £, a9th
Conn. Infantry.
Brinsmaid, Willis, Private, Co. F, 29th
Conn. Infantry.
Bullock, George E., Harland's Brigade
Band.
Bcnham, Henry W., Brevet-Major, General
U. S. Army.
Brooks, William P., Private, Co. A, loth
U. S. Infantry.
Butler, John P., Landsman, U. S. Navy.
Bristol, (icorge. Private, Co A, 31st Mass.
Infantry.
Bond, Patrick, Private, Co. F, ist Conn.
Artillery, deserted.
' Barnard, George I., Private, Co. I, 8th
Conn. Infantry.
Burns, Thomas. Private, Co. C> 13th Conn.
Infantry, killed in action.
Chupniun, John, Quartermaster Sergeant,
ist Conn. Light Battery.
Cochran, William H., Private, Co. E, ist
Conn. Artillery.
Crossman, Edward O., Private, Co. £, ist
Conn. Artillery.
Catlin, Horace S., Private, Co. H, ist Conn.
Artillery.
Cahill, John, Private, Co. I, ist Conn Ar-
tillery, deserted.
Cassidy, William, Private, Co. K, 1st Conn.
Artillery, died.
Caraher, James, Private, Co. K. ist Conn.
Artillery.
Clark, Kelsey D, Private, Co. D, 2nd Conn.
.\rtillcry, wnundcd. dost-rtcd
Cragie. Patrick, Private, Co. F, 5th Conn.
Infantry.
Canary, Michael, Private, Co. G, $th Conn.
Infantry, deserted.
Catlin. Chas. D., Private, Co. I, 5th Conn.
Infantry.
CoIlin«. Fdward 1 . frivnte. Co. F, 6tli
Conn. Infantry, died of wounds.
OP MERIDEN.
Clark, Russell N., Wagoner, Co. B, Tch
Conn. Infantry.
Cook, James, Private, Co. I, 7th Conn. In-
fantry, killed in action.
Qark, William* Private, Co. A, 8th Conn,
Infantry.
Cassidy, Joseph, Private, Cow F, 9th Conn.
Inf.Tntry.
Coogan, John C, Private, unassigned.
Cummings, John, Private, Co. E, 2d Conn.
Artillery, died.
Clapp, Anson D., Private, Co. F, ad Conn.
.\rtillery.
Clark, William .\., Musidan, Co. I, ad
Cotm. Artillery.
Carney, John, Private, Co. I, 15th Coim.
Infantry, died of wounds.
Combs, William C.» Corporal, Co. G, 17th
Conn. Infantry.
Coleman Jeremiah, Private, Co. F, aoth
Conn. Infantry, wounded.
Coy, tiranvillc. Private, Co, D, joth Cotin.
Infantry, missing in action.
Coy, Henry, Harland's Brigade Band.
Cox, David, Corporal, Co. A, 8U1 Coiul In-
fantry.
Davis Randolph, Private, Co. L, ist Conn.
Cavalry, died.
Derragh, ihomas, Corporal, Co. K, 1st
Conn. Artillery.
Duff, Patrick. Private, Co. K. ist Conn.
Artillery, killed.
Di.xoti, John, Private, Co. E, 8tb Coiul In-
fantry, died.
Diu ri St, Paul. Private, Co. F, 14th Conn.
Infantry, wounded.
Dale, Benj. B„ Harland's Brigade Band.
Dennis, Alfred, Private, G>. 0, 8th Conn.
Infantry, deserted.
riM'ii,MT<. Gilbert S., Sergeant, Co. K, ist
Conn, .'\rtillery. '
Ernest, Paulus, Private, Co. H, 6th Conn.
Infantry.
Eaton, Jacob, Chaplain, 7th Conn. Infantry,
lunanuel, Salvador, Private, Co. A, 8th
Conn. Infantry.
Kggleston. Elijah, Private, Ca G, 14th
Conn. Infantry.
Digitized by Google
MERIDEN IN 1
•liii, G«orgc, Private, Co. K, 14th Conn.
Infantry.
dix, Augusttu, Private, Co. B, 1st Squad-
ron Cavalry.
ostrr, Samuel H., Com. Sergeant Mf ist
Conn. Cavalry.
ranees, George, Private, Co. G, 13th
Coon. Infantry, died
Tdhua, Theodore P., Private, Co. I, ist
Conn. .Artillery.
'^ter, William. Private, Co. K, I4tb ConiL
Iniantry. died in Richmond,
lower, Artemas, Private, Co. K, 20th
Conn, Infantry.
CHAPLAIN JACOB EATON.
*!er, Isaiah, Private, Co. K, 1st Conn,
inillery.
vler, Abel C, Private, Co. K, 1st Conn,
irtflleiy.
igerald. William, Private, Co. I, 2nd
^n. .Artillery, killed in .nction.
Tell, Owen, JPrivatc, Co. I, 7th Conn. In-
intr)-.
«>cr, Joseph, Private, Co. I, 7th Conn,
afantry.
Jolui, Private, Co. G, ist Conn. Ar-
Her)-.
tnfidd. Robert, Private, Co. K, ist
onn. Cavalry.
w, Henry, Sergeant, First Light Battery.
E CIVIL WAR. 13
Guptil, Jacob T., Private, ist Light Bat-
tery.
Griflfai, Julian A., Private, Co. A, xst Conn.
Artillery, died.
Grimes. Michael, Private^ Co. B, xst Conn.
Artillery.
Gangloflf, Charles, Private, Co. H, 6th Conn.
Infantry, wounded.
Glaessner, Frederick, Corporal, Co. H, 6th
Conn. Infantr>'.
Gagion, John, Private, Co. A, 7th Conn.
Infantry, woi.ndcd.
Gode, William, Private, Co. K, 7th Conn.
Infantry.
Galligan, Thomas, Private, Co. F, 8th Cbrni.
Infantry.
Goodrich. Alfred N., Private, Co. I, 8tb
Conn. Infantry.
Giesecki, William, Sergeant, Co. C, iith
Conn. Infantry.
Gillon, Charles. Private, Co. I, X4th Conn.
Infantry, wounded, deserted.
Griswold, Hobart H., Private, Co. H, ist
U. S. Infantry.
Hogan, Patrick, Private, Co. B, ist Conn.
Cavalry.
Hall, William G., Private, Co. K, ist Conn.
Cavalry, died in Andersonville.
Haydcn, Hector C, Sergeant, Co. M, ist
Conn. Cavalry.
Hays, John, Private, unassigned.,
Harvey, William H., Private, Co. G, ist
Conn. Artillery.
Hayes, Patrick, Private, Co. H, 1st Conn.
Artillery.
Hawcs, Charles A., Private. Co. I, ist Conn.
Artillery, wounded.
Holloran, Simeon, Private, Co. K, ist Conn.
Artillery.
TTaj^crerty, Thomas, Private, Co. K, ist
Conn. .'\rlillt'ry.
Haggerty, William 11.. Private, Co. G, 1st
Conn. Artillery, wounded.
Horsefall, George H., Private, Co. L, tst
Conn. Artillery.
IliKbee. Charles C. Private. Co. D, 5th
Conn. Infantry, wounded.
Haas, Jacob, Private, Co. C, 6th Conn. In-
fantry.
Digitized by Google
14
A CENTUHV OF MJiRIOExV.
Handel). Chri:3tuii. Sergeant; Co. H, tth
Conn. Infant ry.
Hett» Frederick, Musician, Co. H, 6th
Conn. Infantry.
Haaga, Goltlcib, Private, Co. H, 6tb Conn.
Infantr'-
Heckler, Chnstiaii, Private, Co. H, 6th
Conn. Infantry.
Hotchkiss, Seth W., Private, Co. A, 7th
Conn. Infantry, died.
Hardy, John, Private* Co. A, Bth Conn.
Infantry, wounded.
Hmman. John S., Private, Co. C, 8th Conn.
Infantr>'.
Holden, Stephen L., Private, Co. D, 8th
Conn. Infantiy.
Hyde» IHiineas, Private, Co. I, 8th Conn.
Infantry, wounded.
Hart, Francis J., Privaler Co. C, 13th
Conn. Infantry, died.
Homan, Henry H.. Private, Co. G, 1st
Conn. Artillery, wounded.
Hitgali John, Private, Co. Df 14th Conn.
Infantry.
Hughes. Edward, Private. Co. D, I4tfa
Conti. Infaiitr\. dit-d in Ander'^anvtlle.
Hntkcv, .Inlius. rnvate, Co. H, 14th Conn.
Infantry, wounded.
Holden, James, Privatei Co. C, isth Conn.
Infantry, wounded.
Holmes, Joseph W., Private Co. G* ist
Conn. Artillery.
Hale. Cutler R., Private, Co. H^ ist Conn.
.-\rtillcry.
Ilildrcth, Edgar A., Private. Co. L, 1st
Conn. Artilleo'* di^.
Hoffman, Josephs Private, Co. B, 8th
Ci'un Infantry.
Hall, A I una, Private, Co, D, loth Conn.
Intair. ry
Ives, John \V., Private, Co. C, 15th Conn.
Infantry.
Jameson, Edward S., Quartermaster Ser-
geant, Co. M, 1st Conn. Cavalry, died
in Andersonville.
Johnson. Chainicey W., Private, unas-
sigiicd. deserted.
Kelly. Francis, Farrier, Co. H. 1st Conn.
Cavalry, died.
Kjiigiit, Oscar E., Private, Co. A, (it U
.\rtillery.
Kelsey, Henry C, Private, Ca E,
Conn. Artillery.
Kron, Jm»I^ Cocporal, Co. H, Cdi Q
Infantr>'. J
Kern, John, Private^ Co. H, 6th Coml
f;intr\ , died.
Koliienli'-r^. Christian, Private, Co. D, '
Conn, intamry, died in Andersonrlk-
Ktidewind, Adolph, Private^ Co. C 1
Conn. Infantty.
Knowhon, George H., Private^ Co. S< 1
Conn. Infantry.
Kanel. John. Private, Co. D, l6lh Cl
Infantry
Knowlcs, James M.. Second LieuteouiiUi
1, 1st Conn. Cavalry.
Kelly, John, Private, Co. G. 8tfa C00&
fantry.
Link, Gotdeih, CbrporaU Ca A, 1st
ron Cavalry.
Lewis. Charles X . Quartermaster J
geant, Co. K, ist Conn Cavalrv.
Laurence, Henry S., Corporal m h
Battery.
Link, Casper, Corporal. Co. H. 6ih O
Infantry.
Lathrop. Henry \., Private, Co. L
Conn. Infantry, died.
Leonard. William, Private, Co. !1.
Conn. Infantry, died in .\ndrr*f»nTll
Lane, Oscar B., Harland s Brigade Baa
Lane, Josiah W., Harland's Brigade Bi
Lane, Theo. F., Harland's Brigade BiJ
Leonard, Levi, Sergeant, Co. C» ist Ol
Cavalry. J
Lewis. James B., Private, Co. C, istt3
Cavalry
Lewis, Cliarles, Corporal, Co. C» i*t C
Cavalry^ wounded. *
Locke, James H., Private, ist Lqj^
tery.
Laniphcar. Harrison, U. S. Navy, SbL
Laniphere. Trvitig, Musician. Co. E»
Ct>nn. In tan try.
Marsh, George. Corporal. Co. A. lit Si
ron . Cavalry.
Digitized by Goo<?Ie
HERIDEN IN THE CIVIL WAR.
fpbr» ^rick. Farrier, Co. Q ist Conn,
'avalry.
Men. Janes, Private, Co. ist Ccnm.
avalry.
ler. Charles D., Private, Co. i, lat Conn.
avalr>'.
rray, Thomas, Prhraie, Co. I, 4»i Corni.
irtillery.
Rer, Henry W., Private, Co. H, and
JOML Artillery. ,
tthews, Wittiam S., Musician, sth Coim.
iifantr)".
ickie, John. Musician, 6th Conn. Infantry,
ichmcycr, Edward. Private, Co. H, 6th
jmn. Infantry, died.
i}tr. Jacob, Private, Co. H, 6th Conn,
infantry, died.
ivcr, Frederick, and. Private, Co. H,
>lb Conn. Infantry.
•rri^on, Edward. Private, Co. C, 8tb
^^>nn. Infantry, died of wounds,
•csikmeyer. Christian, Private, Co. C,
nth Conn. Infantry, wounded.
eGomey, Charles R., Private, Co. B, iith
Coon. Infantry, killed in action.
aBone, Thomas, Private. Co. D, 14th
0>nn. Infantry, wounded,
ackey, Kegan, Private, Co. H, 14th Conn.
Fiifantry. wounded.
eaghcr, .Vltr.xander, i'nvaie. Co. K, 1st
Oinii. Artillery, deserted.
crrtam, John, Musician, Co. B, 12th
C uin. Infantry.
cCrmrsrk. },>hn. V . S. Navy.
c<i! . I rank, Private, Co. D, 9th Cona
Infantry.
IcGltnn, Patrick, Private, Co. D, loth
Gmml Infantiy.
^i'artlan. Charles, Private, Co. K, ist
O'lin. .Artillery.
kl'artceji, Charles, Private. Co. K, 1st
C^nn. Artillery, killed in action.
IcGovern, Michael. Private, Co. K, isi
Conn. Artillery.
"vcomb, Jeremiah. Private, Co. I, 2nd
' • nn. .\rtillcry. wounded.
Uaac R., Musician, Co. A, loth
Conn. Infantry.
IS
Osborne, Jahn, Private, Co. I. tsth Conn.
Infantry.
O'Brien, }oh\^. Private, Co. D, 14th Conn.
Infantry, died of wounds.
Perkins, Endenck J., Private, Co. D. ist
Conn. Cavalry.
Plumbs Hemy A., Private, Co. L, ist Conn.
Cavalr>. died of wounds.
Pearson. William, Private, Gx £, 1st Conn.
Artillery.
Parker, William H., Corporal, Co. G, ist
Conn. Artillery.
Pratt, Robert R., Private, Co. I, ist Conn.
.\rtillery.
Parkinson, Anthony, Private, Co. K, ist
Conn, .\rtillery. ^
Parker, Thomas, Private, Co. K, 1st Conn.
Artillery.
Potter, Judson A., Private. Co. L, ist Conn.
Artillery.
Pfeifer, George, Corporal, Co. H, 6th Conn.
Infantry,
Pluinlj. William W., Sergeant, Co. E, 7th
C<nni. inianiry.
Peterson, William H., Private, Co. E, Sth
Conn. Infantr>', killed in action.
Plunkett, John, Private, Co. E, Bth Conn.
Infantry, wotfnded.
Pendleton. William. Private. Co C. 14th
Conn Infantr>. died in .Aiulcrsonviik'.
Frait. luigene il., Musician. Sth Coiui. In-
fantr}*.
Quinn, Felix. Private, Co. K, ist Conn. Ar-
tillery. ,
Rich, Henry. Corporal, ist Light l^ ittcry.
Reynolds, James H., Private, 1st Light
Battery, wounded.
Roly. Patrick, Private, Co. B, 1st Conn.
Artillery.
Re>'nolds, Gardner, Second Lieutenant, Co.
C, 1st Conn Ar(;iI<T\
Raymond. Mlicri C. I'lrst Lieutenant, Co.
I', 1st Conn, .\rtillcry.
Ryan. James, Private, Co. K. 1st Conn.
Artillery. ,
Richardson. William W., Private. Co. D,
.'11(1 riiiiiK Artillery, died.
Riley. James H., Private. Co. E, 6th Conn.
Infantry.
A CEKTURY OF MERIDEN.
I6
Robinson. Lorcn/.o, Private, Co. F, 6th
Conn. Infantry.
Rache, Alexander, Private, Co. H, 6th
Infantry.
Rebstock, Williani, Private^ Co. H, 6th
Conn. Infantry, wounded.
Rebstock, John, Private, Co. H, 6th Conn.
Infantry.
Roselius, Louis, Private Co. H, 6th Conn.
Infantry, wounded.
Robinscm, William J., Private, Co. B, 7th
Conn. Infantry.
Rogers, Emerson, Musician, Co. D, 7th
Conn. Infantry.
Rosa, Lewis, Private, Co. E, 8th Conn. In-
fantiy.
Ril^, Lawrence, Private, Co. E, 8th Conn.
Infantry, killed in action.
Ransom. John, Private, Co. H, loth Conn.
Infantry.
Remington, Thomas F.. Private, Co. K,
ilth Conn. Infantry, died of wounds.
R«SSS» Ranford, Private, Co. B, 14th Conn.
Infantry.
Ryman, Thomas, Corporal, Co. C, 14th
Conn. Infantrj".
Richardson. Robert, Private, Co. A, 30th
Conn. Infantry.
Rosenberg, Simeon C, Harland's Brigade
Band.
Ryder, John W., Private, 14th U. S. In-
fantry.
Rogers, Wilbur F., Sergeant, Co. F, 4th
N. Y. Infantry,
Rc»bin$on, Frederick S., Private, Co. C, ist
Conn. Cavalry.
Rogers. Matthew, Private, Co. G, 1st, Conn.
\rtillcry.
Siniih, Thtfiphilus, Private, Co. B, ist
Conn. Cavalry.
Somers, Augustus, Private, Co. A, ist
Conn. Cavalry.
Shields, Patrick, Private, 1st Light Bat-
tery.
Shelton, Charles F., .Private, Co. B, 1st
Conn. Artillery.
Smith, Lewis, Private, Co. C, ist Conn.
Artillery.
Sloane, James R., Quartermaster Sergeant,
Co. C, 1st Conn. Artillery.
Sloane, George F., Private, Co. C, ist
Conn. Artillery.
Stutter, John, Private, Co. K, ist Coon.
Artillery.
Stoddard, William L., Private, Co. D, Sec-
ond Conn. Artillery, wounded.
Skehon, Dennis, Private, Co. C, 5th Conn.
Infantry.
Schniipp, Conrad, Private, Co. H, 6th Conn.
Infantry.
Schuit, August, Private, Co. H, 6th Ccma.
Infantry, wounded.
Sellew, Oliver D., Sergeant, Co. A, Ttb
Conn. Infantry, wounded, died Florence^
S. C.
Sanfler'son, Frederic's, Private, Co. A, /th
Conn. Infantry, wounded.
Styles, Burrett, Private, Co. A, 14th Conn.
Infantry, wounded.
Smith. Charles, Private, Co. £, 29th Conn.
Infantry.
Smith. Charles T., Private, Co. C, ist
Conn. Cavalry.
Sanford, Joseph W.> Private, 1st Light
Battery.
Smith. Thomas. Private, Ca G, 1st Conn.
.\rti!k*ry, deserted
Snyder, James, Private, Co. I, 13th Conn-
Infantry.
Sala, Antoine, Private, Cm I, 15th Conn.
Infantry
Tanner. William L., Private, Co, B, ist
Conn. Ca\alry.
Tennant, Clinton V., Corporal, Ct. K, isi
Conn. Cavalry.
Thrall. William H., Private, Co. £, lit
Conn. Artillery,
rnrner, Cornelius, Private, Co. L, ist Conn.
Artillery.
1 inch, I rank, Musician, Co. A, 8th Conn.
Infantry, died.
Tuttle, Hezekiah, Priv^ite, 1st Light Bat-
tery.
i odd, Edmtuid B., Private, 3rd Light Bat-
tery.
Thrall, Alfred, Private, Co. E. isi Cuan.
.Artillery.
Digitized by Google
Thrall, John E., Private, Co. E, ist Conn.
Artillcn.'.
Vanden leit. Cornelius, Private, Co. D, I4tb
Conn. Iniantr}-.
Warriner, Edwin, Chaplain, 1st Conn. Cav-
aln*.
Wood, George H.. Private^ Co, D, ist
Conn. Cavalry, died.
WVrm. John C, Private, Co. I, ist Conn.
Artillery.
Wells .Ma reel! us, Private, Co. L, 1st Conn.
Aftilleiy.
Worstley, Thomas R., Second Lieutenant,
i6th Conn. Infantry.
Ualih. Michael. Private, Co. C, 5th Conn.
Infantry.
Welch, John, Private, Co. G, 5th Conn. In-
fantry.
Wright, William. Private, Co. B, 8th Conn.
Infantry, died of wounds.
Welch, Patrick, 2nd, Private, Co. F. 8th
Conn. Infantry, wounded, died Salisbury.
M. C
Williams, Thomas. Private, Co. K. 29th
Conn. Infantr\. •
W.Ich Frank M., First Lieutenant, 54th
Mass. Infantry.
WTiite, Henry H., Private, Co. G, 1st Ore-
gon Cavalry.
^'Vamer, Levi J„ Private, Co. G, ist Light
Batten,-.
^Vclls. John H., Private. Co. L, ist Conn.
Artillery.
Warner, Irwin E., Private, Co. I, 2nd Conn.
Artillery, deserted.
Warner. Melvin R., Private, Co. I, 2nd
Cf-nn. Infantry, wounded.
Zinimt-rman. Cn-jper. Private, Co. H, 6th
Conn, .\rtiller}-, deserted.
*'*®**— Ther* are undoubt.dly otlirri; who
In tht Navy but it ban not t>een possible
^ B^cvruin their name*.
COMMISSIONED OFFICERS i RUM
MERIDEN.
GcNCRAt-Henry W. Benham, Brevet
Major General U. S. Army.
CoLr,NELs-S a^.rr S. Atwell, 7th Conn.
^"'^nto ; Charles L.| Upham, isth Conn.
THE CIVIL W.\R. 17
Infantry; Dexter R. Wright, isth Comi.
Infantry.
LiEUTENA.NT CwjONELft— Wm. M. Pratt,
8th Conn. Infantry.
.Majors— ihcodore By.xbce, 27th Conn.
Infantry; Oliver S. Sanford, 7th Conn. In-
fantry.
CHAPLAiNS-^arles Dixon, i6th Conn.
Infantry, Jacob Eaton, 7th Conn. Infantry;
I> lUiiry -Miller, 15th Conn. Infantry.
Captalvs— (Jeorge VV. Allen, 29th Conn.
Infantry; Julius, Bassett, 15th Conn. Infan-
try; Jared R. Cook, 3rd Conn. Infantry;
Roger M. Ford, 8th Conn. Infantry; Elam
T. Goodrich, 8th Conn Infantry; Patrick
Garvev, 9th Conn. Infantry; Allen \V Har-
vey, 15th Conn. Infantry; X. P. hi^. As-
sistant Quartermaster; Geo. C. Mernam,
8th Conn. Infantry; John L. Merriam, 8th
Conn. Infantry; Ira B. Smith, 7th Conn.
Infantry; Reuben Waterman, 15th Conn.
Infantry; John B. Willett. T4th S C.
Artillery; George W. Wilson, 1st Conn.
Infantry.
FiKST Lieutenants— Marshall C. Augur,
15th Conn. Infantry; Julius B. Bissell. 15th
Conn Infantry; Albert T P.<>,»th, 8lh Conn.
Iiiianirv ; l.cvi C. I'liigham. 15th Cnnn.
Infantry; C. Lewis Bull, 7th Conn, infan-
try; Wallace T. Cloud, 8th Conn. Infantry;
Jacob Eaton, 8th Conn. Infantry; George
W. Farnham, 8th Conn. Infantry; Ossian
L. Hatch, /th Conn. lnfanlr\ ; Edwin A,
Kcnncy. 14th I'. S. C. .\rtiliery; Frank E.
Lutie, 107th U. S. C. Infantry; Dennis
O'Brien, 7th Conn. Infantry; Philip C.
Rand, 15th Conn. Infantry; Albert C. Ray-
mend, ist Conn. .Artillery; William W.
riminpson, 15th Conn. Infantry; Frank
.\1. Welch, 54th Mass. Infantry.
Second Lieutenants— Wm. H. .\ugur,
7th Conn. Infantry; William P. Brooks,
j(nh Conn. Infantry; Asa S. Cowdry. 3rd
Conn. Infantry; Milo J. Goodrich. Sth
Conn. Infantry: Charles l'. Harwood. 15th
Conn. Infantry; Ervvin D. Hall. 8lh Conn.
Infantry; Heber S. Ives, 15th Conn. In-
fantry; William H. Johnson, Bth Conn. In-
fantry; James M. Knowles, ist Conn. Cav-
Digitized by Google
A CKNTUUV OF MLKIDEX.
Reproduced from Davts" Hisiory of Mcrldeu.
cOMMissi()Ni:i> (»ffici;rs from MFRIUEN.
MERIDEX IN THE CIVIL WAR.
'9
airy; Henry B. Levi, 15th Conn, intantry;
David T Lyon, ^Ui Conn. Infantry; Ed-
mtind A. Parker, 8th Conn. Infantry;
Henry H. Pierce, 7th Conn. Infantry; Gard-
ner Reynolds, ist Conn. Artillery; George
M. Stevens. 8th Conn. Infnntry; George E.
Sellew, 6th U. S. C. Infantry; John H.
Vorra, 8th Conn. Infantry; Frank B.
Wright, 27th Conn. Infantry; Thomas
Worstley, i6th Conn. Infantry.
RALLT
10 TK SirPIIRT OF IK
WATIOW.
ill U llllilll IH
KU MA. IHtH. .1 t !.« »-rU^ I. .p.. I r*.
I mm m qw mnm, m.
'^TOiii /A^ tfetff Haven PaUadhnn of July
nth, 1862.
WAR MEETIXG IX MERIDEX.
The meeting in Aferiden last even-
ing was an honor to the town, and full
of hope and promise for the Union
cause. Amid the roar of cannon and
the roll of drums, the people came to-
gether to consult for their country.
When we reached the Town Hall
at an early hour, we found a large
audience already assembled and in a
few niifiutes every scat was filled, and
the aisles were packed from the door
to the platform.
The meeting was organized by ap-
pointing Judge James S. Brooks
chairman and a large number of Vice-
Presidents and Secretaries.
Speeches were made by Judge
lirnoks. I.ieutenant Colonel D. R.
\\ ri,e:ht. Hon. John B. Wright, of the
Senato. Hon. U. H. Piatt and Cyrus
Xorthru]).
Resolutions were reported by a com-
mittee that Meriden will furnish all
the men and money that arc required
of her to put down the rebellion ; that
the selectmen be requested to call a
town uieeting to vote $10 bounty tn
volunteers, and appointing a large
comnn'ttee in co-operate with a simi-
lar one in Xew Haven in encouraging
e'distmeiUs.
When the (juestion upon the pas-
sage oi tile rexilutions was put, une
mighty "aye" rose uj) from every part
of the hall and not a single "no " was
heard, "^raitors do not thrive in Mer-
iden.
At 10 o'eloek. when we left, the
tiieeling was still in pr(»gress and vol-
unteers were coming forward from the
aurlicnce.
The meeting wa^ not a noisy one,
but it was deeply earnest and thought-
ful. Men liad met to consult prepar-
KiOTV to action. Already the work of
enlistment has begun. Ten or twelve
of the best young men in Meriden en-
listed yesterday and it is expected that
the company now forming under Capt.
Rassett wilt soon be full.
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A CEMURV UF MKKIUliN.
20
Mtritlcn has already sent over four
hundred men to the war. Her quota
fur the new enlistments will be about
one hundred and twenty-five. There
is no doubt but that they will be fur-
nished and more if required."
ANOTHER WAR UEETING.
Tuesday, August 12th, 1862, the
Town Hall was packed with an au-
dience embracing all classes of society
and of all parties interested in the
prosecution of the war. Judge James
S. Brooks presided and the volunteers
of the new company now being raised,
were elected Vice-Presidents. Ad-
dresses were made by Hon. O. H.
Piatt, Rev. D. Henry Miller, H. Clay
Trumbull and others.
The meeting was a great success.
Great disappointment was felt in con-
sequence of the absence of Col.
Wright, who was detained with his
regiment in New Haven.
The expression of the meeting was
that there shall be no necessity for a
draft in Meriden.
.\nother W ar Meeting was assem-
bled at the Town Hall Frida>- evening,
IX'cemtjer i8th, 1863. to take into con-
sifleration some method of filling Mer-
iden's quota with volunteers.
The meeting was organized l)y the
appointment of President Dr. K. W.
Hatch. \ ice Presidents F.li Butler.
Bela Carter. Capt. Jared R. Cook and
Captain Luther G. Kiggs, Secretary
George W. Lyon.
.Stirring and i)atri(jtic speeches were
made by Col. Tieorgc P. HisscU, Hon.
O. H. Piatt and Rev. Jacob Eaton.
A committee of live, consisting of
Hon. O. li. i 'latt, Dr. E. W . 1 latch. I.
C. Lewis, Charles Parker, aiui Kcv.
Jacob Eaton were appointed to lake
into consideration some means for till-
ing the quota of the town by enlist-
ment.
The meeting then adjourned until
Tuesday evening, the 22nd.
THE ADJOURNED HEETINC.
The adjourned meeting was called
to order by the President and the fol-
lowing were appointed additional
Vice-Presidents — Chas. Parker, Gen-
eral Walter Booth, O. S. Williams,
Lieutenant L. E. Webb. Lieutenant O.
L. Hatch, Captain Hobart Smith,
Lieutenant J. B. Rissell, Edwin H.
Putler. Sergeant W ells.
O. H. Piatt, chairman of the com-
mittee, appointed at the p rev ions meet-
ing, made report and submitted the
following resolution which was passed
unanimously :
Resolved, That a committee of nine
be appointed by the chairman of this
meeting to devise ways and means to
obtain a sufficient number of volun-
teers to fill the quota of the Town of
Meriden.
The chair subsequently announced
the following gentlemen as comprising
tlie committee :
Jared R. Cook, Lsaac C. Lewis. Ed-
mund Parker. Eli Butler. O. H. Plan,
W in. W. Lee. Bela Carter, Jacob
Eaton and P. Hall.
.\ letter was read from Captain At-
well. of the Meriden Company, 7th
Regiment, stating one-half of his corn-
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MERIDEN IN THE CIVIL WAR.
21
pany had rt-enlisted for the war and
that many others were about doings so.
Earnest and impressive speeches
vere made by Giaplain J. M. Morris
"t the 8th, Chaplain D, Henry Miller,
<t the 15th, and Sergeant Dickinson
of die nth.
August 19th, 1864, a meeting of
those interested in filling the quota of
Meriden under the last call for 500,000
men was held at the Institute rooms.
The meeting was organized by elect'
ing Captain Jared R. Cook, chairman,
and Captain T.uther G. Riggs, secre-
tary. The chairman briefly stated the
object of the meeting to be to adopt
measures for averting the impending
draft and save the town the ignominy
of conscriptioo.
The following resolution was pre-
sented:
Resolved, That the selectmen of the
Town of Meriden be requested to call
a public mectinpf of the legal voters of
^aid town, at the earliest day ix)ssible,
f'^r the purpose of reconsidcrinj^ the
Vote of Tlnirsday week, and extending
the l>enefits of said vote to all j>ersons
who shall furnish an acceptable sub-
stitute to count on the quota of the
town.
Pending its passage remarks were
made bv Wni. P. Morgan, Hiram But-
ler. C has. Kingsley, Wni. A. Baldwin,
J C. Breckenridge, Chas. Parker and
others.
The resolution was passed without a
dissenting vote.
A committee of seven was ai)pointed
to prepare the busniess of the meeting
for action. The committee chosen
was Charles Parker, J. C. Brecken-
ridge, Jared R. Cook, J, J. Woolley,
Stephen S. Goodyear, Edward Miller.
They reported the following reso-
lutions :
Resolved, That we raise the sum of
fifteen thousand dollars, to be appro-
priated for the purpose of paying vol-
unteers, or acceptable substitutes, to
fill the quota of the Town of Meriden,
to be paid in the same rates as by the
town.
Resolved, That we lay a tax of ten
dollars and upwards on every enrolled
man in order to raise the above
amount, said tax to be paid imme-
diately.
Resolved, That we request the
Town of Meriden, at the next town
meeting, to swell the sum of fifteen
thousand dollars to a sufficient amount
to pay six hundred dollars to those
men who enlist for three years.
Rcsoh'cdy That a committee of one
in each <rfKK»I district except the Cor-
ner district, be appointed to collect the
amount subscribed by each individual.
Rcsoh ed. That the above conmiittee
report at an adjourned meeting to be
held in the Institute room Monday
evening, Augfiist 22nd.
The following persons were ap-
pointed collectors :
Comer district, Geo. W. Lyon, Jared
K. Cook, S. S. Wilcox; Center dis-
trict. Charles Kingsley: Hanover dis-
trict, j. C. Ureckenridge ; Xorth Cen-
ter district, Stephen \V. Goodyear ;
.'^toue Sclini>l House district. Oliver
Rice: Railroad district, James Tuttle:
East Side district, N. F. Griswold ;
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22
A CENTURY OF M£RID£N.
Prattsvillc district, Tlios. G. Hotch-
kiss ; Farms district, S. E. Johnson;
Sotitlicast district, Levi !*>. Vale; Ives
distriet. Julius Parker; Xortheast tlis-
tnct, .Merritt ] Baldwin ; Old Road dis-
trict, W. \V. Lyman.
Aui^-nst 22n(l. iS()4. pnrsnant to ad-
journnK'nt llie niectiuL; assembled at
the Institute nx.inis. Tlie Soliciting
Committee reprn ted there had thus far
been subscrihcd :>4,) 97.00. The fol-
lowing resohiticns were passed:
Rcsoh-Cii, That in case \vc do not
raise the sum of fifteen thousand dol-
lars, that we (h'vide the sum already
raised or that sliall be raised ecjually
between those men who shall enlist or
furnish an acceptable substitute, or
who shall be drafted, provided they
(the rlraftcd men) have sul)scribed
ten dollars or mure to this fund.
Resolved. In order those entitled
may be benefited, this money nnist be
subscribed and paid prior to the next
town meeting.
The resolutions were unanimously
adopted.
I'oted, That three trustees be ap-
pointed to receive and disburse the
funds subscribed, and that the follow-
ing L;eiitlemen be constituted such
trustees, namely, J. C. Breckenridge,
J. K. Cook. IL T. Wilcox.
Voted, To adjourn to meet Wednes-
day evening next.
August 24th, 1864, an adjourned
meeting was held in the Institute
rooms, J. R. Cook,, chairman ; L.
Riggs, secretary, Mr. S. S. Wilcox
stated for the honor of Meriden he
would be one of seventy to volunteer
and fill its quota. He produced an en-
listment blank when the following
persons signed their names : S.
Wilcox, S. P. Stannard, Alichad Mc-
Covcrn, E. H. Griswold.
1 'atriotic speeches were made by
Rev J. J. Woolley, Rev. E. M. Jer-
>.nie. lion. O. H. Piatt, W. A. Bald-
win, fiirain Butler, Geo. \V. Lyon and
others.
Voted, That a comnn'ttee of four
be appointed to solicit subscriptiuns of
one hundred dollars tor the ])urpose of
making the bounty seven hundred dol-
lars to each volunteer for three years,
provided the quota is filled.
The following persons were ap-
pointed on this committee: Hiram
Butler, J. J. Woolley, Jared R. Cook,
William J. Ives.
The following persons each pledged
themselves to pay one hundred dollars
if llie quota shouuld be filled: O. H.
I'latt. W. W. Lyman, Julius Merriam.
Hiram Butler, deorge W^ Lyon, Dr.
John Tait.
Voted, Thai the rc-ulution passed
by the previous meeting, viz: "in or-
der that those entitled may be benefited
this money must be subscribed and
paid prior to the next tow n nieeiing."
be so amended as that subscriptions
may be received till the fifth of Sep-
tmiber; provided, however, that .ol
moneys now subscribed be paid a>
soon as demanded, and that all money s
hereafter subscribed be paid at the
time of subscribing.
Voted, To adjourn to meet in this
place Saturday evening, the 27th, at
half-past 7 o'clock.
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MERIDEN IN THE CIVIL WAR.
23
August a7th» 1864. Tlioiigh not
large in attendance, this proved one
of the most earnest, enthusiastic and
patriotic meetings of the campaign.
After hearing reports from the various
committees regarding the number of
men already enlisted, eloquent and pa-
triotic speeches were made by Rev.
J. J. Woollcy, Rev. J. H. Famsworth,
Hiram Sutler, O. S. Williams and
others.
Voted, That the Rev. J. J. Wool-
ley and other speakers be invited to ad-
dress this meeting on Friday evening
next
Voted, That jared R. Cook be ap-
pointed a committee to invite and pro-
cure the attendance of the Yalesville
Band at our next meeting.
Adjourned to meet Friday evening,
ScptcTTiber 2nd, at half past seven
o'clock.
FAIR AND FESTIVAL.
CIRCULAR.
To the Citizens of Mcriden:
The committee appointed to make
arranjc^cments for a Fair and Festival
t') be held at the Town Hall, for the
Ijcnefit of soldiers and their famiHes
•''nm MeridcMi. take this opporUinit\ ol
commending the project to our citi-
zens.
This town has sent her l)est and
bravest sons to the war under the
Xot4? — We are unable to find any account of
a nMttos on 8«pt 2iid. tut do find • state'
ni<>nt that Meriden'!) quote waa filled and an
''xce»> of 29 men.
Til* Hftitford Oouraat aaya Xertden "beate
world Id fttrnlaliltig aoldiera."
pledge, both implied and expressed,
that their , families should not want
during their absence, and the soldiers
themselves should be taken care of in
sickness and, if disabled, should be
cared for on their return to our midst.
This pledge is a sacred obligation
which should be performed in the
spirit in which it was given. It will
not do for us to
"Keep the word of promise to the ear
And break it to the heart"
W e owe it to the brave men who are
battling for onr rii^hts and liberties to
raise such a fund as will relieve the
wants of all soldiers and the families
of all soldiers from this town.
To this end every citizen of Meriden
is asked to contribute with a liberal
hand to this Fair £Lnd Festival.
The manufacturers are asked to
give their wares, the merchants their
goods, the farmers their wood and
their produce, and cver\ man and
woman in Meriden is asked to con-
tribute according to their 1- lity, for
the benefit of this Festival. There is
scarcely an article which cannot be
made available, and turned into
money.
The proceeds of the Fair will be
])laced in the hands of a liberal com-
mittee and faithfully a]iplied tn the ob-
jects itidirated in this circular. The
l'\*stival will he held Wednesday even-
tnq-. Thursday and Frida\ afternoon
ami eveniiiLr. Dec. 30th and 31st. 1S63.
and January ist. i?~f)j,. It is exjKTtcd
that such entertainnient? will !)e of-
fered to the public as will make the
24
A CEKTURY OF MERIDEN.
occasion one of the most pleasant ever
known in the town of Meriden.
In conclusion, tlie committee ask the
citizens of Meriden to meet the de-
mands made upon them in a spirit of
generous liberality. The fund to be
raised should be counted by thousands
and not by hundreds.
Let us perform the promise we have
made to the soldiers. Let us keep our
plighted faith.
Committee— O. H. Piatt, L C.
Lewis, £. W. Hatch, EH Butler, John
Ives.
Meriden, Dec. 24th, 1863.
The Fair was an eminent success.
There were present each evening prob-
ably not less than seven hundred per-
sons. The hall was tastefully deco-
rated. There were tablets on which
were painted in large black letters the
names of local and national soldiers,
our lamented dead and the names of
.battles in which Meriden soldiers had
distinguished themselves. About the
room were numerous booths repre-
senting tents, in which refreshments
were served, and tables abundantly
laden with temptinfjf wares.
Thursday evening \\ii> devoted to
tableaux, pantomimes and music by
gentlemen from the Meriden Musical
Association. Friday evening the young
people enjoyed themselves with a
grand dance. Saturday evening the
articles unsold were disj^osed of to the
highest bidder. The proceeds of the
Fair netted about two thousand dol-
lars.
FAIR AND FESTIVAL.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednes-
day, February 13th, 14th and 15th,
1865, a great Fair and Festival was
given in the Town Hall, jointly in be-
half of the destitute families of the
Meriden soldiers, and the Ladies* Sol-
diers' Aid Society. Arrangements
were made on a most extensive scale
and a large number of <Hir most calla-
ble and energetic women and men
constituted the committees.
Executive Committee — Mrs. P. J.
Clark, Mrs. J. H. Farnsworth, Hon.
O. H. Piatt and Isaac C. Lewis.
Treasurer— Alden Clark.
The Festival was in every way a
decided success. Many thanks and
nuich credit was given Mrs. P. J.
Clark and Hon. O. H. Piatt, of the
Executive Committee for the leading
and active part taken by them. The
Fair netted upwards of thirteen hun-
dred dollars.
LADIES' SOLDIERS* AID SOCIETY.
In February, 1864, the ladies of
Meriden furnieil a Soldiers' Aid So-
ciety, their object being to incite tiie
people of Meriden to more systematic
and efficient elYort in tlie cause for
which they Ial)or. This organization
was an auxiliary to the Xew Haven
branch of the U. S. Sanitarx Com-
mission.
The officers were:
Directresses—Mrs. P. J. Clark. Mrs.
J. H. Farnsworth.
Treasurer — Mrs, John Ives.
Secretar}* — Mrs. Oliver Rice,
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MERIDEN IN IHt CIML W AK.
riard ij{ M^iiA^crs — Mrs. Lucas C.
clikiss, Mrs. Levi Butler, Miss
rgiana Larkcr. Mrs. Dr. Churchill,
.. A. E. Kull, Miss Helen liradley.
i. Kli C. Birdsey, Mrs. Fred Ives,
5. Lyman Clark, Mrs. Chas. I'age,
i. D. C. Easton, Mrs. I. C. Lewis.
>. Eli Butler, Miss I^ura Krooks.
». Jacob Eaton, Mrs. Elijah Rice,
>. John Evarts, Mrs. Edward Gris-
d-
It is prof>osed to canvass the town
^leriden to collect fund^i to furnish
Soldiers* Aid Society with money
:irry on its operation^. Citizens,
pray yon receive our messeiic^ers
1fv and give — rcnn niljcnng the
<k band of heroes for whom it is
ed."
he following reports for two
iiths wOl show how earnestly the
nen of Meriden worked for the
ifort of the soldiers.
he Ladies' Aid Society of Meriden
Xovember, 1864, donated $108 in
h subscriptions to the " Ten Cent
sd'* and likewise the following ar-
»: 12 cotton shirts, 2 surgical do,
annel do, 53 pairs flannel drawers,
air cotton f1ra\' crs. 26 pair woolen
ks, 33 handkerchiefs, 3 quilts, I
older quilt, 13 arm slings, 17 house-
tSf 40 cushions, 2 pillows, 5 pillow
es, bandages, rags and lint, 18^
dried fruit, 3 cans blackberries, 10
[ons pickles, sage, hops and Har-
B Weekly.
lie report for December, 1864, was:
pairs of ilannel drawers, 1 1 flannel
ts, 8 pairs of socks, i sheet, 6
<Ikerchiefs, 354 lbs. dried currants.
25
2 lbs. (jried apples, besides cotton and
linen j)ieces.
For purciiase of materials the con-
tribution was sixty dollars. The do-
nation and contrihntion to the "Ten
Cent Fund" bv tbe ^"oung Ladies
F'air, F'irst Congregational Church of
West Meriden amounted to one hun-
dred and forty dollars.
THANKSGIVING DINNER.
At a meeting of citizens held Xov.
14th, 1864, it was proposed that the
loyal citizens of Meriden send the sol-
diers at the front a Thanksgivinj^ din-
ner, and a committee was appointed
to solicit contributions of money and
eatables. Their report follows:
"The committee appointed to take
charge of the fund and provisions for
the Soldiers* Thanksgiving Dinner beg
leave to report that they packed and
forwarded seven cases containing one
hundred and twenty-live turkeys, with
chickens, spare-ribs, pickles, jellies,
pies, tomatoes, doughnuts, stewed
pears, cakes, etc., witli two barrels of
onions, three barrels of apples, three
barrels of potatoes, and two cases of
pickles, which we have reason to be-
tieve have reached the army and navy
in good order. The committee take
this occasion to thank the donors for
their timely liberality, and to congrat-
ulate the citizens of Meriden on hav-
ing the pleasure of bearing their share
in this outburst of loyalty and delight
so well expressed in a National
Thanksgiving, and for their sympathy
so well deserved toward our army and
navy, while in their untold privations
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26
A CEXTUftY OF H£R1D£N.
and sacrifices they stand by the t^ag of
our country. The committee have a
small balance in tlieir hands which
they purpose to appropriate to the de-
serving families oi the soldiers in our
midst.
Committee — R. Linsley, Eli liutler,
H. W. Hatch."
VOTES Ui- THE iuWN RELATING
TO VOLUNTEERS.
In pursuance of n<jiice, at a Town
Meetinijf hcl«i at iViwn II. ill uii Sat-
urday, June Jylh. at 2 o'cluck. (»i wliicli
James S. Hrooks, Esq., was appointed
niu<lerator, it was
l olcii. That ihc sum of $3,000
he appropriated by the Town of
Meridcu in a<l<liti()n to the sum of
$5,000 appropriated in town meeting
on the 25th day of April A. D., 1861,
and that said sum of $3,000 be placed
in the hands of four that day appointed
to be by them disposed of as follows:
First, So much thereof as may be
necessary to pay for the pistols fur-
nished Capt. Byxbee's company mus-
tered into the first of Conn- Vols.
Second, So much thereof as shall
be necessary to furnish pistols or other
arms for Captain Cook^s company
mustered into the Third Regiment
Conn. Vols, if in the judgment of said
committee it shall be deemed best to
furnish either said pistols or other
arms, and lastly that the balance
thereof, not expended for the pur-
poses liereinbefore stated be held by
said committee to be by them expended
if necessary for the support, of the
wives and families of said volunteers,
and for other pur])u^cs and objeci>
exi)ressed in the votes passed in town ^
meeting on said 25th day of April, .
1861. Also
/ 'ofed. Tliat if tlie committee shall
pnjcure i)ist<>ls. rilles or other arms for
Capt. Cook s company, they shall de-
liver the same to Capt. Cook up< <n his 1
airreement to return tlic same ii> the .
Town of Meriden when said company
shall return home, except such as may.
hv the fortunes ot war, have passed
from under his control.
In pursuance of notice, at a Town ^
Meeting held on \\'etlncsUay, Julyi
i()ili. iS()j. at 2 p. ni., uf which meet-
ing J. IC Cook was appointed chair-
man, it was
I'otCil, That the Town of Mer-
iden appropriate the sum of $50
boimty to be paid to each recruit who
shall enlist in any Connecticut regi-
ment now in the field, in the 14th
Connecticut regiment or any subse-
quent regiment which shall be organ-
ized in Connecticut, in answer to the
President's late call for 300,000 men,
provided such recruit shsdt be a resi-
dent of Meriden at the time of his en-
listment or shall enlist in a company
started or got up in Meriden, whether
resident of Meriden or elsewhere.
Voted, Second, That whenever any
recruit, resident of Meriden, shall
have a mother or other persons de-
pendent for support upon such re-
cruit, such mother and other persons
shall be entitled to receive from the
town the same monthly payment as is
now given by the state of Connecttait
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.MESRIDEN IN THE CIVIL WAR.
27
for the support of the wife and chiU
dren of volunteers, and the selectmen
shall determine who shall be entitled
to such monthly psiy under this vote.
Third, Voted, That said sum of fifty
dollars bounty be paid at the time such
recruit shall be sworn into the service
' 1 the I'nited States and that the se-
lectmen be directed to pay the moneys
appropriated by this meeting out of
any moneys in the treasury belonging
to the Town of Meriden ; and if no
Mich moneys be in the treasury, that
the selectmen be authorized and em-
powered to raise the sum by loan or
loans upon the credit of the town, and
to execute and deliver the proper ob-
li^iations of the town to repay such
or loans to the lender or lenders
thereof.
In pursuance to notice, at a Town
Meeting held on Saturday, August
2jrd, 1862, it was
Voted, That the town pay a bounty
ot one hundred dollars to each
volunteer from this town for the nine
months volunteers under the Govern-
or s call for seven regiments of volun-
teers, to a number not exceeding that
required to make one full company.
Voted, That the selectmen be au-
thorized to borrow the money to carry
out the above vote.
In pur>naiicc "t notice, a >pfrial
I<'vvn MictiiiL; was held on the 24tli
day 01 .\ugnst. of which Henry
C. IJutler was moderator, which said
meeting I'nanimot' sly passed the fol-
■'Aviiv^ preamble and resolution, to
u it :
Whereas, By the operation of the
Act of Congress approved March 3rd,
1863, entitled, "An act for enrolling
and calling out the National forces and
for other purposes," many of the in-
habitants of the town have been or are
liable to be drafted into the military
service of the United States whose
labors are required for the support of
their families and others dependent
upon them, and whereby the town^is
exposed to charge on that account, and
other inhabitants have been or are
liable to be drafted who have not the
means enabling them to pay the United
States the sum required to be paid for
the procuration of a substitute as pro-
vided by the 13th section of the act
aforesaid.
First, Voted, That the selectmen of
the town of Meriden are hereby au-
thorized, instructed and directed to pay
to each man from the Town of Meri-
den who have been hcrt-toforc. or who
mas- l)c hereafter drafted into the ser-
vice of the United States under the
act of ( "oni^ress ap])rovcd March 3rd,
1863, entitled "An act idr enrolling
and ralliiiL; out the Xational forces,
etc." the sum of $300, upon such
drafted man being mustered into said
service.
Second, Voted. That the selectmen
of the Town of Meriden are hereby
authoi izL'il. instructed and directed to
I>av to each man from the Town of
Meriden who has been heretofore or
who may hereafter l>e draitetl into
the service of the United States under
the act of ( nnirress. "An act for en-
rolling and calling out the National
Digiti-^eu by Google
28
A CLNTURV OF MCRiDEN.
f(jrccs, approved March 3rd,
1863, who turnishcs an acccptal)le sub-
stitute, the cost f)f such suhslitute not
exceeding in ca-c the sum of $3cx>,
upon such substitute being mustered
into the L'uitcd States service.
Third, I otcd, I hal the selectmen of
tile Town of Meriden be and they are
hereby authorized, instructed and di-
rected to pledge the faith and credit of
the Town of Meriden for the purpose
of raising the money necessary to
carry out tlie foregoing votes.
In pursuance of call at a Town
Meeting held at the Town House
Thursdav. August nth, i8^>4. at 2
o'clock p. ni., Jared R. Cook was ap-
pointed moderator.
Said meeting after free discu>sioti
passed the following resolutions of-
fered by Hon. O. H. Piatt, to wit:
Resoh edt That the sum of twenty
thousand dollars or so much as may
be necessary thereof he and the same
is hereby appropriated by the Tow n of
>Teriden for the purpose of enconr-
a^iug enlistments and of paying ex-
penses incurred in tilling the quota of
the Town of Meriden under the pres-
ent call for $500,000 men.
Resolved, That said sum be placed
in the hands of the selectmen for the
purpose aforesaid to be used at their
discretion.
Resolved, That said selectmen are
requested not to pay more than the
sum of one hundred dollars for the
enlistment of any man for one year,
two hundred dollars for two years, and
three hundred dollars for three years.
Resoh'Cii, That the selectmen are
hereby authorized to borrow said sum
of mone\ in the name and upon tlie
credit of the town.
In pursuance of call, a Town Meet-
ing was held in the Institute room in
Town Mouse on W ednesday, August
24th. itS^)4. at 2 o'clock p. m. 01 whici;
Heur\ C. Butler was appomted mod-
erator.
The following resolutions otTered
by O. H. Piatt, Esq.. were upon free
discussion, unanimously adopted, to
wit :
Rt'solfvd, That the selectmen of
Meriden be and are hereb\ audiMnzed
and directed to pay to each maii who
lias enlisted or shall hereafter eidist
counting upon the (|uota of the Tow n
of Meriden under the present call for
500,CKX) men a sum which with the
amount he may receive from the fuml
raised and to be raised by subscriptit^n
shall amount to the simi of six hundred
dollars if enlisting for the period of
three years, and three htindred dollars
if enlisting for a less period.
Resolved, That the selectmen of
Meriden be and are herd>y authorized
and directed to pay to each person who
has procured or shall procure a sub*
stitute counting on the quota of said
town under said call, a sum which with
the amount he may receive from said
subscription fund shall amount to six
hundred dollars, if said substitute is
or shall be accepted for three years,
and three hundred dollars if accepted
for a less period, providedf no per-
son shall be paid a sum which with the
Digitized by Google
MERIDEN IN THE CIVIL WAR.
29
State bounty shall be greater than the
amount paid by him for such substi-
tute.
Resolved, That the selectmen be and
are hereby authorized to borrow all
moneys required to carry these resolu-
tions into effect upon the faith and
credit of the town.
Resolved, That the resolutions
passed in town meeting Aug. iith,
1864. be and are hereby rescinded, but
Pboto by Akem t Pigeon.
MAJOR THEO£K)RE BVXBEE.
\\] acts done by the selectmen thereun-
Icr be and hereby are validated and
ronfiniiefl. Said meeting also passed
he following, to wit :
Resoh'ed. That the four several
janks in this town be hereby requested
o loan in ef|ual amounts temporarily.
the necessary funds to carry into ef-
fect the foregoing resolutions.
In pursuance of call, a special
Town Meeting was held at the Insti-
tute room of which Henry C. Butler
was appointed moderator.
U. H. Piatt offered the following
resolutions which, after discussion,
were adopted, as follows, to wit:
Resoh'cd, That the selectmen of this
l(nvn be and are hereby authorized and
directed to pay for the enlistment of
every volunteer for three years who
shall be credited to the Town of Mer-
iden, a sum not exceeding one hun-
dred dollars and shall also pay to every
person who shall furnish an accepta-
ble substitute for three years who shall
be credited to the Town of Meriden a
sum not exceeding one hundred dol-
lars, proinded that the number of vol-
unteers and substitutes for which said
amount shall be paid, shall not exceed
fifty.
Resolved y That the selectmen be and
hereby are authorized to borrow on
the faith and credit of the town suf-
ficient money to carry out this vote.
Ill ])ursuance of call, a special
Town .Meeting was held at the Town
Mouse Saturday. Jan. 14th, 1865.
Jared R. Cook was appointed mmler-
ator.
/ 'oted. That the selectmen be and
they are hereby authorized to pay such
sum for the enlisting of men or ob-
taining substitutes to apply on the
(|uota of Meriden under the present
call for 300,000 men. as they shall
deem fit.
30
A CENTURY OF MKRIDKN.
SPANISH- AMERICAN WAR
Although Meriden showed her pa-
triotism in pronounced degree by fur-
nishing all the men asko l iov by the
government, her sons had no oppor-
tunity of going to Uie front and tak-
ing an active part in the War with
Si)ain. They were, however, ready
anil even anxious for the fray but the
sudden and happy termination of hos-
tiUties made it unnecessary for them
to show the fighting material contained
in their ranks.
It was the first of June» 1898, that
Captain C B. Bowen, then on the re-
tired Hst of the Connecticut National
Guard, was commissioned by the Ad-
jutant Generals office of Connecticut
to recruit a full company of men for
the First Infantry, Connecticut Volun-
teers, a part of which regiment was
then in the field. The Meriden com-
pany was recruited by him and ready
to be mustered in June 15, but owing
to delays by the war office, the United
States army surgeons and mustering
officer did not report here until July
5. On that date began the physical
examinations of the men recruited,
and finally on the afternoon of July
9. [898, the entire conipan) , officers
and men, mustered to its full comple-
ment of 109, was formally mustered
into the service at the town hall,
at which ceremonv none but the
recruits, the mustering othcei
surgeons were allowed to be pr
All the recruits took the oath at
and that same evening, in cotnp
with orders, boarded a train fot
Knox, Me. Fort Knox is an ok
stone fort located on the banks
Penobscot river opposite Budi
Maine, alx>ut fifty miles from the
The Meriden company was desig
by the war office as L Company
First Infantry, U. S. Voluntecn
assigned to that regiment. The
ment had been mustered into th
vice May 4, 189B, at Camp f\
New London, and May 22 ws
signed to duty at different sta
The coloners headquarters, unass
field officers and six companies *
regiment were at Fort Knox
Company L arrived there. The
companies of the r^^ent wen
Honed as follows: With the Uem
colonel two companies at Plmri
and, N. Y.; two companies at
Preble, Me. ; one company at Gi
land, N. Y., and one company a]
Constitution, N. H; The fietd
other officers of this regiment '
colonel, Charles L. Burdett, Har
Conn. ; lieutenant colonel, A. G. ]
mond. of Fort Leavenworth, 1
major, John Hickey, South Mai
ter. Conn.; major, Edward Sd
Digitized by Google
SPANISH -AMERICAN WAR.
31
Harlford. Conn.; captain iind adju-
tant. J. M. Wainvvright, HaritOrd.
I im. : first lieutenant regiment quar-
termaster, A. H. Bronson, Hartford,
("onn. : fir.st lieutenant and battalion
uiijulaul, P. J. Cosg'rove, HartlOrd,
Conn. : first lieutenant and battalion
adjutant, F. E. Johnson, Hartford,
Conn. ; major and surgeon. T. F.
Kockwell, Rockville, Conn. ; first lieu-
tenant and assistant surgeon, R. S.
Griswold. Hartford, Conn.: first lieu-
tenant and assistant surgeon, J. i].
-McCook, Hartford, Conn.; cliaplain,
H. H. Kelse\ . Hartford. Conn.
The regiment at this time comprised
btit ten companies, but by virtue of
general order N'o. 61, Headquarters of
the Army, June r, 1898, providing for
the extension of regiments to twelve
companies allowed the mustering of
Companies L and M. the former of
which was furnished by Meriden. On
July i6, 1898, the war de|>artment is-
sued orders for the rendezvous of the
entire regiment at Camp Haven, New
London, and from there was ordered,
July 18, to Camp Alger, Va. The
r^ment at this time comprised 1,362
oflkers and men with band, and
on their way to Camp Alger marched
through Washington, D. C, where
thev were reviewed h\ the Secretary
of War. The regiment was assigned
to the Second Prigade, First Division
and Second Army Corps and on Sep-
tember 7 left Camp Alger for Camp
Haven, Conn., arriving two days later.
The entire regiment was shorUy after
fttrlotighed for thirty days, at the ex-
piration of which time it was rcn-
dezvotuse<l at Hartford. Conn., for the
tiual muster out, which occurred Oc-
tober 31 , iSoS
i )u the nienii»rial tal)lct, placed in
the First Keginieut arniury at Hart-
ford, in nieiuory of those who died
while in tin- service during the S[Km-
ish-Anierican war, is the name ot the
only man lost bv Company L during
the service, Artluir C. Lucchini, who
died C)ctober jo. 1898, while on a fur-
lough, from fever contracted while in
camp.
The roster of Company L was as
follow s : ( ajjtain. Charles B. Bowen ;
first lieutenant, Delbert R. Jones ; sec-
ond lieutenant, Raymond G. Keeney,
Somerville, Conn. ; first sergeant,
Philip T. Vibert; quartermaster ser-
geiint, Arthur A. Abel; sergeant, W.
H. Recs; sergeant, Howard L. Bar-
tram; sergeant, Walter L. Bevins;
sergeant, William H. Banner; corpo-
ral, Clifford A. Hauschild; corporal,
Charles E. Wachtelhausen ; corporal,
Fred H. Relyea; corporal, Frederick
C. Benziger, Yalesville; corporal.
Thomas P. Timothy, Wallingford:
corporal, Othniel Ives; musician, Jo-
seph G. Aichler; musician, Edwin F.
Bolton, Wallingford : artificer, Eugene
W. Early ; w agoner, Louis E. Couter-
mash ; privates, Alfred A. Abel, Hart-
ford, discharged August 11, disability ;
Louts Ammann. George H. Anthony,
Southington; Axel M. Benson, uuuis
H. Bickford, Ferdinand L. Borchard.
Maxwell Bofird. Clarence A. Bower,
Yalesville : Charles A. Brecklin, Chas.
S. Burdett, Albert A. Burr, promoted
to corporal; Walter W. Burr. Philip
^ kjui^uo i.y Google
!
A CENTURY OF MEKIUEN.
3-2
T. Carlin, Edward Carter, Anton Con-
rcaiiA. transferred to band : At tluir
Ccx)pcr, John J. Cox, Wallinyrford ;
Rollo Cobb. South Meriden . i rank E.
Dainton, Frank A. Dulicke, Charles
J. Deprcc, Frank \V. Durkin. Bristol ;
Alfred Dussault, John W. Fletcher,
Xevv Haven ; Henry E. Folse, John V.
Foran, John J. Francis, Wallingford ;
Thomas Galvin, Willis W. Gardner,
Louis Goldstein, Fred Gollnick, Mi-
chael Goodman, Josq)h H. Gracey,
Harry C. Granger, William G. Hiller,
Harry E. Harvey, Morris Hennessy,
John W. Hickey, promoted to corpo-
ral ; Edward Higgins, Edwin T, Ho-
gan, John Hopwood, James D. Hour*
igan, William G. Hyde, Michael J[irma,
Wallingford ; Herman Kaschube, John
Kay, John J. Kelley, John J. Kennedy,
Wallingford; John King, Joseph R.
King, promoted to corporal ; Chas. J.
Kline, Wm. J. Knoblauch, August O.
Kline, William D. Lee, Philip F. F.
Lacourciere, James J. Lenihan, Arthur
C. Eucchini. died C)ctobcr 20; John
G. McGoldnck, Kdward 1. .McLaugh-
lin, Patrick J. Mulroncy, William E.
Xoonan, August Niimann, Charles J.
O'Doiinell, Charles A. Olson, William
L. Penfield, promoted to corporal;
Frank W. Pickhardt, John F. Plun-
ket, Charles S. Perkins, Jr., promoted
to corporal ; Walter S. Reama, Eu«
gene C. Rogers, Walter H. Roycc,
Bristol ; Julius G. Runge, Lorenxo C.
Russell, Joseph Seneal, George W.
Shea, promoted to corporal; Patrick
J. Shea, Norwich, transferred from
Company A, Third ; Anthony A. Shee-
hcy, Wallingford; John J. Shtnkey,
Patrick J. Shortell, Herbert J. Siegel,
Leonard Skinner, promolied to corpo-
ral; Michael Smith, Harry Stanley,
discharged August 6, for disability:
Floyd W. Stillman, Thomas E. Tighe,
Whitney A. Todd, Yalesville ; Michael
Walsh, Fiank M. WoUschlager, Wil-
liam Wren, Middletown, and Wtlliani
G. Young.
Digitized by Google
mkriden's public parks.
33
MERIDEN'S PUBLIC PARKS
CITY IWRK.
MtTiden possesses at the end of the
rsi century of its existence, a park
the direct sn])ervision of that lx)ard.
The oldest of Meriden's parks is
known as City Park and has been re-
served as a i)uhhc l)reathin^ place
l.onKINc; IHWAUO W AI.I.INC.mUl; IKOM WKST I'KAK.
ysttm of which its resi«lents may well
K.- justly proud : for in both area and
cenic beauty it is unexcelled by any
ity in Xew Enj^land.
In i8t/j. by an anien<lnient of the
ity charter, a park commission was
reated and Mcriden's excellent park
ystem since that time has been under
since iSSo. The situation of City
Park makes it a ciMivcnient spot for
an hours recreation, beinj^ situated
<|uite near the business center and con-
tains about fifteen acres.
It is bounded on the south by
Ilrnktr avenue, on the west by hVank-
lin street, on the north bv Park ave-
34
A CEXTURV OF MERIDKX.
nue, and on the west by Warren
street, and adjoins lirooksidc Park.
For nianv vears Citv Park
was pfiven hut little attention hy the
city but since the creation of the park
commission many improvements have
been made.
oaks, red oaks, hickory, hard and soft
maple, wild cherry and stately elm
trees, and afford ample shelter from
the rays of Old Sol, to tired individ-
uals seeking respite from home and
i)usiness cares.
The city has generously provitletl
I.OOKIXr, WEST I UOM WEST PEAK.
t'ity Park contains some of the
stateliest shade trees in or about
Meri<len and many of them are
older than the town itself, .\ature
has richly endowed this park with
chestnut trees which bend with a
friendly nod to tlie pin oaks, yellow
this park with swings and there is am-
ple room on the well kept lawns for
children in gambol on the green.
This park contains a pavilion of gen-
erous capacity in case of sudden show-
ers and other conveniences nccessan
to a public park. Thert- is also a pip-
Digitized by Google
Digitized by Google
mkriden's public parks.
39
MEKIDEN S PL ltLIC I'AKKS.
41
house which is the home of a
e H(xk of these doiiicslic l)ir*ls
' >!nniTier and winter, t itv I 'ark
■ontains a water pool always
irom stagnant water and set-
ire also tu be foiuid beneath
HUBBARD I'AKK.
11 ihe western part of Meriden. and
K<1 in honor of its founder, is one
the largest, most diversiticd. inter-
na and strikni*^ parks. puhUc or
.ate. within the liordcrs of Xew
s'!ind- Inchided in its i.ooo acres
•re are the celebrated Mefiden
umg Hills, with their mountain
r> (over one thousand feet eleva-
n. with their crags, clitfs, etc.. and
>i:nding in features that suggest the
'hiess of the primeval period, while
re are to be found all around spots
s}lvan Ijcauty. These hills are the
Jk^i land on the Atlantic seaboard.
:hin fifty miles of the coast, from
line to Florida. They are higher
in Mt. Royal Park at Montreal.
HiUsnear P.oston. East Rock in
w Haven, or Ragle Rock of Essex
unty F«gks» New Jersey. These
t an^.^^ mountain parks of the
■^<^n <!toast All have rich beauty
•J iii^lM^ceut views of their own.
ch d||is so muQb from the other
>^ ('(Uttjirisons are not desired* but
i this certain — ^let a person jour-
y cvcf so far, be will never regret a
fit tolKvbbard Park. The scenerv
exceefingly wild and picturesque,
^ » pronounced by celebrated land-
scai)e architects to he the most strik-
ing reservation of natural scenery for
the use of a public j>ark possessed by
any Xew Rngland city.
With the exception of about eight
acres, a gift to the city In the Charles
J'arker Co. and that originall\
purchased l)\ tile city from the heirs
of William J«»hnson for reservoir pur-
poses, the land comprising the i)resent
Hubbard Park has been presented to
tlu' city of Meriden by Waller Hub-
hard, [iresident of the Pradley cK: Hub-
bard Mfg. Co.. and by whom the park
has always l)een cared for. developed
and beautiiied without expense to the
city.
The park is situated west of the
city, about one and one-half miles,
and can be reached h\ electric cars of
both Meriden aujl .Meritleii (K: South-
ington lines, which make frequent
trips, passing the entire south boimd-
ary which extends for more than a
mile, affording grand views of the
higher elevations. The founder, per-
ceiving the great natural advantages
this land possessed for a public park,
asked and received permission fn^n .
the city authorities to develop that
portion belonging to the municipal-
ity, and ihi city has set aside and ded-
icated this land for a public i)ark
(with the beautiful reservoir, Lake
Merimere, lying picturesquely be-
tween the cliffs and peaks) to which
Mr. Hubbard has added many tracts
of land, thus enabling him to present
to the public its now priceless pleas-
ure groimds, with its many fine roads
and walks, leading to delightful views
MERIDEX'S PUBLIC FARKS.
43
and scenes, and to its sparkling
springs, fountains, cascade and lakes.
When, therefore, the Court of Com-
mon Council of the Citv of Meriden
voicd to give Hubbard Park its pres-
ent name, it was but a just recognition
of Mr. Hubbard s princely generosity
and interest in his fellow townsmen.
The act which follows was present-
ed by Alderman H. T. King, March
7. 1898, Amos Ives, then mayor, pre-
siding:
"Resolved. That the tract of land
now owned by the city of Mcridcn,
and extending from the Southington
road to Merimere, or the old reser-
voir, and the property adjacent there
which is being improveil by W al-
ter Hubbard, and upon which he has
already expended large sums of nion-
t\ for the benefit of his fellow citi-
zens, be and the same is hereby des-
ignated, known and entitled by the
name 'Hnhhard Park.' in apprecia-
tion in a slight degree of Mr. Hub-
'^ard's noble and unselfish work in be-
tialf of his fellownien."
The same bofly r>n the cvenitiq: of
January 9. 1899, after the legislature
H^id authorized the City of Mcridon
to bring Hubbard I'ark witliin its mu-
nicipal domain, adopted the followinpf
n solution, introduced by Alderman
Brainard :
"Resolved. That the tract of land
iK-reinaftcr dc-^crilu'd. beloncfing to
fhe CU) of Mcridc!!. except so much
' t the same as is used for reservoir
purposes and is apjnirlenant thereto,
be and the same is hereby dedicated
and established as a public park, to
be designated and named 'Hubbard
Park.* "
The lakes abound with fish which
are not for for. the prey of the angler
but a delight to the seeker of restful
recreation and lover of nature. Trout
are in the trout pool ; pickerel at Mir-
ror lake, which jump and dart, and
in another part of the vast park is a
pool of gold fish.
The water fowl of Hubbard Park
comprise domestic geese and ducks,
and genuine Canadian wild geese
also inhabit the lakes of the park.
The large number of tame i)igeons at
the park are a source of delight.
There is also a large cage of squir-
rels, which, like the water fowl and
fish, are given the greatest care and
protection. The waterfalls of Hubbard
P&rk are marvelous imitations of na-
ture. A charming drive of about eight
miles is via the celebrated "Cathole"
I\iss. the Pdue Plills of Kensington,
and through the park, by Lake Meri-
mere, with grand scenery all the wa.v.
13ROOKSIDE PARK.
Most appropriately named is P. rook
side Park, a part of Meriden's park
s\"«tctn. Hie latifl wa-^ purchased h\
Walter Piubbard, in 1901, and i^nven
to tlic city by him for park puqjoses.
Tt extends from Camp to Broad
sireets, on both '^ide? of Harlmr Brook,
a distance of nearl\ three-([uarters of
a mile and now includes a richlv
vvnodt'd knoll, given by the Miller
Bros. Cutlery Company. The park
Google
MtJ<IUEN S PUBLIC PARKS.
derives its name troni flarbor IJrook
which flows throupch tlu entire park
and its swift running water of tlie
purest quality, adds greatly to its at-
tractiveness.
Brookside Park was endowed not
only with its name bv Mr. Hubbard,
but with all the vast improvements it
I '^sesses and until recently was main-
tained out of his private funds which
he has so freety expended. Retain-
ing walls have been built along the
banks of the brook; rustic bridges
have been constructed spanning
the same: and the land has
been largely remade. That Brook-
side and City Parks might be connect-
ed, several building lots on Bunker
avenue were purchase<l : an<t the whole*
45
is now covered .vuh a velvety lawn.
Three ptxils where gold fish and
beautiful pond lilies thrive add to the
scenic heauty of the park. All of
these p(M)ls possess fountains which
keep them well filled with water.
The park, with its many attrac-
tions, delights the visitor, and is fre-
quented by people from all parts of
Meriden, particularly by children.
The entrance to this park, on Camp
street, is defined by two rustic stone
pillars of large proportions. A newly
macadamized drive extends through
the entire park as well as numerous
walks and paths. The park is kept
in perfect condition by a competent
corps of workmen and gardeners now
paid by the city.
Digili^ca by Google
46
A CENTUfty Of HoanBtT.
I
I
MERIDEN INSTITUTIONS
CURTIS MEMORIAL LIBRARY.
Dr. Trumbull, in his History of
Connecticut, states that there were in
1818, 140 libraries in the state and
that they had been instituted since the
Revolution. Wethersiield had one,
begun as early as 1783, a purely sub-
scription libraryi its subscribers be-
ing shareholders in the corporation;
Farmington had one, started as soon
as 1785, and VVaterbury in its Bron-
son library has books which were once
in a library in existence there in 1797.
Meridcn. as befittctl a very small
comnniiiity, had a tiny library as early
as i7<X>.
In the home of Jolin W Hall, in the
eastern part <»f Meriden. is preserved
an old Bible bound in | i i in. that
was "Imprinted at I.ondcm i)y iJon-
ham Xorton .m i John I*.ell. Printers to
the Kinq:'s Most l{!xcellent Majestic
MDCXX\ III." ( )n the inside of the
front cover is this inscription:
PKESKNTED TO M£RH>EX
LltlRARY
BY
GAD ELY
OF
XEW YORK
Miss Grace, a sister to Jolin P,
Hall, has loaned to the Curtis Me-
morial Library the catalogue of this
first library and it is here reproduced.;
There are 153 volumes in this li.^t
mostly relating to divinity and theol-
ogy ; and the taste of the reading pub-
lic has changed to such an extent that
it is doubtful if anv one of these vol-
umes would now be drawn if they,
were on the shelves of the present li-
brary. The Meriden Library was a
subscription one like tliat in Wethers-
field and on the probate records in-
Wallingford (where Meriden estates
were then settled) there are several-
inventories which contain the item
"Share in the library" amounting to
about $1.65 each, viz: Deacon Eben-
ezer Cowlrs 1801 ; Samuel W'hitinc
1803: Daniel Hall 1805; and Ezekie;
Rice iSo(>. TM^ library was disc->t]-i
tinued and the books distribrted. hut
at wliat date no one kncnvsJ The
books were doubtless kept in the l>as<-
tnent of the old church tliat stotiii
where the present Center Congrega-
tional Church js locateil.
During the last century there wl-;
several attempts to start a public h-
1 At jtn adjoiirtied tovn meeting bpld Feby
23, IHOT. It was voted. That the Books b*J«n«-
Idk to th«' Town be left with the Town Cl«Tk
' Vnti d. That the Dooks b« loaoed oat tor tV
f'Tiii of four weeks.
■•Votod, That if the Book'* are kept over on«
montb the forfeiture shnll be twenty-five ewiti
with an increaeiog forfeiture of one cent t*T
day untU returned."
Digili^ca by Gooqic
CATALOGUE
Of
BOOKS
BELONGING TO MERIDEN LIBRARY,
BIVDimr AND ECCLESIASTICAL
HISTORY.
kautncxa Preacher, 4 v 8 to
^pc logy fof dniftbn Divinity, 1 v IS bo
fiaekus on Regeneration, I v IS mo
Backus'? Sermons^ 1 v 1*3 mo
BoiWs FourtoLd Sute, 1 v 1-2 mo
Blaii'f ScrfBoaty S v 8 vo
BejHties of Walts, 1 v 12 mo
Banbas's Pioos MemOTtals» 1 v 8 vo
Cvupn^Talk, I ▼ ISmo
DoddridgeV Ten Sernons, I v IS mo
- ^. L fe, 1 r I'? mo
■ ■ Muceiianeous Works, 5 v 8 vo
— Rife and FiragnA, It IS»o
DiTie's SCTTtions, 2 v8 «0 *
Diflriirfhn** Letters
UwvdiirtDilbftationif i y ISmo
I Difcouries, 1 v 8 to .
JEvaagdical Pi ioctples and Pradice
Fordjcf t Addreoesco Youag Mm
Fido*! Letters, 1 V 12 mo
' Gofpel if. o^m Witnefs, 1 v 12 no
■ — — Worthy of all Accrotataon 1 v 12
YML*% Hdbeadry Spiritndiaed, 1 ▼ 8 vo
Hiwiet* Church Hiftoiy
Hueict's Sacred Biograph/a 3 v 8 to
Htmy's Meditation*
iones'j Lectures
Joiicphtu't Hiftory of the Jews, 3 » 8 TO
Lift of Prefideot Stiles, 1 t 12 mo
Wi Trial of VSnoe^ 1 V ISmo
Labop^iMifceUafiiei
- Sermons
LmnuA on the Revelations, 1 v 8 vo
Maal aad Religioo* tn^oMjt 4 # IS mo
MortapeS Lf itcrf
McEwen oa the Types, 1 t l2mo
MaSOoBaad BdordaloaeU 8trmoM» 1 ▼ ISmo
Milton's Paradise Loft and Regained
Moore'i Sacr?d Dmma, 1 T ISmo
" Fenule iiducatien
KevtoQ (T) on the Proi>heciet, S ▼ IS mo
Kewton (J'») Cardlphonia, 2v 12 mo
KtUbQ*t Faa» and FeftiTals, I v 12 mo
fvi^nsf Semwns, 2 v 8 vo
Ledtirei, 1 v 8 vo
Pridaax's Comieaions, 2 ^ 8 vo
^'«W Sermons, lv8«0
StelrxV on Death
COMPLETE CATALOGUE OF
Swan's Dilcoaffet
Seabury^s Sermon;
- Difcourfcs
Stttrtn'k Refleftionv S v IS reo
Sherlock's Difcourfcs, v 4ih
Watfon's Apc!r*gy for the Bibla
Walker 'i Sermons,
Watts on thv Mind
Wefl on tlv: Refjrrc^l'on
Willi Aon on die Sabbath
Young's Nig!it Thoughts.
HISTORY. VOYAGFS, TRAV'ELS,
MiSCELLAiW, i:c. .
Ainerican Poemt
American Farmer
Beauties of HiOory
Btyden'»Toiir ibmugh Cicily and IKiltft
Cmcr'iTnvde
Cook's Voyagei
■ Lall V'oyajje
Camilla, 5 v 12rao
Cyrus' Travels
Emelinc, 2v
Fool of Quality, 5 r 12 mo
French Revolution
Giflford's Refidence in Franci?
Gordon's American Revolution, S v 8 vo
Goldfmlih's Roman Hilbr]r,Sv 8vo
Guthrie's Geography
Heathi's Memoirs
Humphrey's Worlis
Htftory \Df the French Rcvoluitoil
of Glafcow
HaWkiii's \'o) age
Knox's Etiiiys,
LyttcUon's Enc;l.!nJ 2v
Life of Do^lor Franklin
Locke on the Htiman Uaderftandiag, 3 v
Millot's Univcrfal Hiftory, 5v 8 vo •
Mills on Ar^rici'ltufff
Memo 1 i ct an Heireii
Modern TraTclsaad Voyages
Man of Feeling
NeaFi Jiiftory of Ncw.England, 2 v
Prophnne Hiftory .
Ramfay's America, 2v 8vO
Sav< ry's Egypt, 2 v
Sm.ia's Wealth of N.i:ior.s, 3 v
SpcilaioT, 8vo 12 mo
Voltaire's Hiflory of Chwle* 12'J}. I «.
Walhington't l«ctiei$.
FIRST MERIDEN LIBRARY.
48
A CENTURY OF MtRIUEN.
brarv. The Akridcn Republican in
its issue of May 26. i8^>8. said "St)mc
20 years a^io the ^'onn^^ Men s Insti-
tute oolleeletl /ixj or 800 vohnnes for
a library ; but it declined and the
volumes were scattered. Rev. Mr.
i haclu r. duriufj his pastorate i
), made an effort to start a pub-
lic library but failed. Rev. Mr. Hay-
den succee<led a little heller and was
instnnneiii.d in nljtainiui^ a charter
aiul ori^anizinjj^ a lilirar\ association:
but he w as foiled in attemi)ting to raise
^I'fticient capital to erect the neces-
sary biiildin-::. Xow the V. -M. C .\.
have a buildinj^ of their own fitted
with library and free rea«lin^ room.
They have the remnant of the Vouuij
Men's Institutr. and nr»w they appeal
for $1,500 to buy books." For years
this library was the nnh one of a pub-
lic nature in town, Jt was at first
kei)t in the small wooden building
wiiich stood on the present sit<? of the
\'. .M. ('. A. and when the present
brick building w as erected in 1876-77
it' was kept in the room where it is
located to-da\. The lxx>ks were free
to all for reference, but in order to
draw a book and take it home it was
necessarv to become a member and
m
pay annua] dues of $2. The books at
present number over 8,000 but on ac-
count of restrictions it is far from a
free public library.
Tnere have been various spasmodic
attempts to raise sufficient money to
start a free public library. On the
evening of .•Xpril 7, 1895, a public
meeting was held in the town hall to
devise means for forming a public li«
hrarv . Ixin^inc^ spcrclus \\\u \t
great enlluisiasin wa^ slvtun
and various comniiti(es \\\rc
ed to raise funds and outline a i«
ble plan. }'»ul the i^reat financiilj
pression then e,xi>tin^ hlighte^l
jiroject and the mnvciiKin
a natural death. iJunui: :1h ^
of 1897-8 the ladies of ihc liiiif^
Morning; Llub ^ave a seri<r> "i
lures which provcfl so surct--"'
at the close of the season ihc tu
of the club was found to have
a sum of money on hand,
briijht mind oi the club c<»ncciv«
itlea that it woufd he wise U'
this .sum to a frtc public librar
.\Ieridcn. Thus was the ir
started which has proved 5<
ful. At a meeting of the dub i ct^
niittee was appointed const^tii^g j
men as well as women to
work for the project: at
tdwn meeting held in Oct*
an appropriation of $i.odo
runninjTj expenses and
books) was voted, after
opposition, for supporting
lie library. At the same
following directors were el
carry on the work : M iss Jennie
Henry W. Hirschfeld, John L
for one year; -\lbcrt B. Mather.
J. H. Chapin, Walter S. BiUa
two vears; George M. Cuni<.
L. Reilly.Mrs, C, H. S. Davi
three years.
Thus was born a public
Meriden. It was decided Id
work at once. Two rooms in
J. Coe house, No. 104 East
Digitized by Googlj
MERIDEX INSTITUTIONS.
49
eet, were rented and Miss Lucy U.
adhams, of Torrington. was en-
jed as librarian, with Miss Corinne
Deshon as assistant. Meanwhile
number of ladies had associated
mselves as a Library Whist Club,
; purpose being to meet at differ-
: houses, and, bv a svstcm of fines
d fees, raise money to aid in sup-
rting the library. It is certain that
constant succession of gifts of money
and books and the library grew as rap-
idly as conditions and circumstances
woidd permit ; but the rooms were
small and the work was greatly hin-
dered thereby. In April Miss Wad-
hams resigned her position and Miss
Deshon was elected her successor.
Mrs. Chapin would not accept the po-
sition of library director and Mrs.
CURTIS MEMORIAL LIBRARY.
t ai(l of these two clubs in support-
the library during these days of
all beginnings was invaluable. The
rary was opened on the evening of
luary 30, 1899, for inspection only,
d on the next day began the actual
•rk of delivering books to the pub-
with probably not more than 1,000
lunies on the shelves. There was a
Caro A. Lyon was elected in her place
and Miss Hannah K. Peck was elected
as successor to Miss Jennie Page who
married and removed from Meriden.
On December 7, 1900, Mrs. George
R. Curtis announced that she would
contribute sufficient money to buy a
site, erect a suitable building for a li-
brary and thoroughly equip it, provid-
50
A CENTURY OF HERIDEN.
ing the town would vote to annually
appropriate $3,wx:) for running ex-
penses. At a special luwn meeting
held on the evening of March 12,
1901, it was unanimously voted to ac-
cept the olTer made by Mrs. Curtis.
Plans presented by W. U. Allen,
of New Haven, were accepted, but as
Mr. Allen at this time removed to
California, Richard Williams, his suc-
cessor, and who had drawn the
plans, became the supervising archi-
tect. The Lawrence property on the
cast corner of East Main and Pleas-
ant streets was bought and work on
the site was soon begun. The con-
tractors were The H. Wales Lines Co.,
of Mcriden, mason work ; Smith &
McQueen, of New Haven, carpenter
work; Sheahan & Groark. New Ha-
ven, heating; Mcnzies ^l- }^Ienzies,
New Haven, plumbing; John F. But-
ler Co.. Meriden, painting; C. F.
Wooding Co., Wallingford, electric
wiring; The Librar\ Bureau, New
York, furniture ; A. P.. & W. T. Wes-
tervelt, New York, book stacks, and
The Bradley & Hubljard Mfg. Co.,
Meriden, gas and electric fixtures.
On the afternoon of September 28,
1901, the corner stone was laid with
appropriate ceremonies and U. S. Sen-
ator Orville H. Piatt delivered the ad-
dress. Meantime an appeal had been
made for funds to buy books and the
response was liberal, for tip to this
time more than $14,000 has been con-
tributed for this purpose anrl many
gifts of valuable books have been
made. A bronze plate bearing the
name of the donor has been placed in
the stack room whenever a gift 01 S|
000 or more has been made ; there i
now twelve of these plates in ij
room.
List of those for whom alcoves ^
named: John D. BiUard, Dorence
Auvater, Clarence P. Bradley, Wl
ter H. Bradley, Isaac C. Leu
Frederick E. Curtis, Walter Ht
bard. Walter Hubhard, Nathan;
L. Bradley, Edward H. Whil
George A. Fay. Walter L. Ben^
Russell Hall. Aaron L. Col lias.
The autumn and winter pre;-!'?
to removal to the new br.ildi*
were busily employed by the libran;
and her assistants in buying and cal
logiting more than lo.ooo vohunc-
On the rvrninix of April 20. !■*
the new lil)rar\ building was formi
opened and a la ree number of Merid
citizens inspected the handsome e<
fice. The actual transfer of the pro
erty to the Town of Meriden tt>
place in the assembly room on the ><
nnd floor. The town was rcpresect
by George W. Miller, selectman, s
the presentaton of the deed was
by CJeorge ]M. Curtis in bcfhalf ot t
mother. Mrs. George R. Cuitis. 0>
ernor A. Chamberlain, the archiio
Richard W^illiams, and the cfwinj
ors, H. Wales Lines aad Ur ^
Queen were present and a. ttiBiibcr|
brief speeches were made. At
o'clock the next morning the h-^^
ing was opened to the general pul^
and the usual work of a librarv h
gan. There are now on its sl clv
more than 13,000 volumes. The c
rectors have already been named 1
Digitized by
MERIDEX liNSTITLTIONS.
51
AUGUSTA (mUNSON) CURTIS.
Google
I
52
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
officers are A. 1>. Mather, president;
Thomas L. Reiltv, secretarv, and
George M. Curtis, treasurer.
Corinnc A. Deshon is librarian;
Elizabeth L. Clark, first assistant;
Emma L. Woodley, second assistant,
and Edward Bvrns, janitor.
Richard Williams furnished the fol-
lowing architectural description of the
library :
The design of the building is classi-
cal, the motive adopted being that of
the Greek Ionic order as exemplified
in the Krccthion at Athens ; the rela-
tive proportion of all members of the
order to the diameter of the columns is
the same as in that mo<t bcuiliiul of
all temples. In workint^^ out the de-
tails the archilccl availed himself of
the most authentic wnrks and meas-
ured drau iag:» «>htainable, to reproduce
with exactness, ihc mouldings and ov-
naments of the temple, and thus em-
body in the Curtis Mimnrial Library,
a Ic-'^Dii in the nm^t tnii>licd cNample
of the most relined Order uf the
Five, and thus contribute permanently
to the n<lvnTircnient of knowledge
tbr«'i-L:h the expression of the arehi-
tecture of the building: in harmony
with the treasures of lore which are
housed within its walls.
The exterior of the bi ildiuL; is of
Wrmont white marble, the (Kinie is
covered with cn-rrvr. ajid tlu- inurinr
woodwork is quartered oak, iimied
finish. Ti e etitrance is approached
by ascending several step*; into a lo-ir-
gia which is floored with mosaic tile
with a border of a Greek pattern : the
walls and ceiling are covered with
white marble slabs, and lighted bv ii|
lophane glass globes supported
bronze wall fixtures on either hI
The vestibule is floored with worn
designed in the same patterns as I
the loggia, and wainscoted with
tered oak. It connects with ^<
livery room, the assembly hall on I
second floor, and toilet rooms ai
side. On the east wall is a bronzci
niorial tablet beariu^^ this inscripti
L.N M£MOBY OF UEB UUSSJLNO '
OHOBOB BCDITELO CUmS |
BOBX DECRUBEB 25 lB2o DIED UAt 20 4
AXO THBIB DAUOHm i
AGNES UESIIO.X CURTIS SQI IEC
BCHtN WKU. 10 ISli.'l IJIKIi MAV 20
TUIS IMMi nix; WAS £B£CT£&
19U1— 1902 '
BY I
I
Opposite this tablet is a bronze 4
relievo figure called An^t tr C ariia^, J
signed and cast b\ the celet)rat
sculptor, St. Gaudens. athi crcctoil
the members of the Thursday Mot
iug Club in memory of Agnes Desix
Curtis Squire, a furnier niembcr.
Opposite the entrnnct* to the >k'.i
cry room is the delivery evnnter u
the stack mom. 31x29 fctt. with ti
tiers of book shelves and space for
third and containing altogether rtc
tor 40.0: books. Each alcove i
iwecTi Look ca5t< has a wiiHlowatt'
end and the main corridor throniih;.
center is lighted by a large wiwia
at the end. ami a skylight admits
into the center of the rowi. Th
room is absolutely hreproof and s^J>
Digitized by Google
M£R1D£N INSTITUTIONS.
55
ated from the main buildin^^ by re-
olvin^ steel curtain;.. There arc two
ea-img rooms, 18x30 feet, with a rtre-
lace in each, set in a mantel of
ed Xuiiiitlian marble. The delivery
com, which occupies the center space
n<ier the assenil)ly r<u>iii and the
onie. h 30 feet by 30 icci. < )n the
onh wall hangs a beautiful clock i)re-
cnted by the Ladies' Library \\ hist
Kib. The assembly room is 30 feet
y 30 feci, and covered with a copper
onie, and has a stage and two ante-
>::»ms. The columns and entablature
f this rooui are designed in the Greek
'^rinthian order and the proportions
nd details are the same as in the
■horagic nioninncnt of Lysicrates at
Athens. Tiicrc i? on this floor a com-
littee room w lach opens from the lob-
y at the top of the stairs. The build-
15 is heated by direct and indirect
team radiation. Altogether the struc-
are is built of the best materials and
rorkmanship known to the trade.
The total cost of the site, building
nd fixtures was about $75 .coo.
THE CURTIS HOME.
On Crown street, on an elevation
liat commands a view of beautifully
iversified country to the south and
'est, is the Curtis home, founded
y one of Meriden's noblest citizens,
^nel J. Curtis, who heeded well
he biblical command: "Help ye one
nother."
The monument that tells, therefore,
f the loving memory of Lemuel J.
Curtis, with the highest praise was
this home, i)r ovided out of the good-
ness of hi> heart for worthy aged
women and children.
The estalilishnient of the Curtis
home was a wisely guided philan-
thropy that has achieved noieworthy
success in the good Mr. Curtis aimed
to accomplish. Its location is health-
ful and pleasant and fortunate are
those who can avail themselves of the
shelter there offered.
The first Iniilding of this institu-
tion was dedicated June 28, 1884. It
was the children's home and stands
tiow at the north end of the structures
that comprise the institution.
Lemuel 1. Curtis was for manv
years senior warden of St. Andrew's
Episcoj^al clnirch and one of its
stauiichest sujjporters. Besides the
erection of the first building which
cost $50,000. before his death, he tn-
dowcd the home with about $650,000.
i'eiliajjs llie act to incorporate the
Curtis home of Meriden, passed by
the General Assembly of the state of
Connecticut, March 19, 1885, will best
tell just the purpose and object !Mr.
Curtis had in mind when he created
the home:
"Resolved by the assembly:
"Section I. That Rev. A. T. Ran-
dall, Edwin E. Curtis, Lemuel J. Cur-
tis, George R. Curtis. Owen B. Ar-
nold, Levi E. Coc, Benjamin Page,
Joseph Morse, James P. Piatt, Hiram
A. Yale, John P. Morse, Samuel
Dodd. John W. Coe and William W.
Mosher, being those persons at pres-
Digilized by GoOglc
54
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
MERIDEX INSTITUTIONS.
BEDOTHA PIERPONT ( BUTTON) CURTIS.
S6
A CENTURY OF MtRIDEN.
cnt composing the membership of the
rectory, wardens ami vestr\men of
St. Andrew's parish of Meriden, the
same being a parisli of the Protestant
Episcopal church, together with such
persons as from time to time succeed
them in office, are hereby created and
constituted a body pohtic and corpo-
rate under the name of the Curtis
titute children, with the ultimate pad
])ose of procuring them permaiw^
situations and of fitting them to miift
tain themselves."
The late Owen H. Arnold was ma*
the first president of the corporatwJ
Rev. A. T. Randall, vice presid«<
Robert H. Curtis, secretary, and Wi
liam W. Mosher, treasurer. Messdl
CURTIS HOMK, CIIILDRK.N S HUILDING.
Home, and l)y that name shall have
perpetual succession and may sue and
be sued, plead and be imjileaded in all
courts whatsoever.
"The general object and business
of said incorporation shall be to pro-
vide a home, employment and in-
struction for aged and indigent
women, and for orphan and other des-
Randall and Mosher still continue ti
hold the same positions.
The Curtis home is, and rr-^
tended to be, strictly under Episc ; '
management, but inmates who be]
to other Christian lx)dies are hou'^-'
there. That the Home should be J
public institution was not the '
the founder. It was his aim. and il
by Google
MERIDEN INSTITUTIONS.
57
aim of those responsible, for the
rying out of his wishes that it
iild be conducted with the privacy
1 well ordered home,
lie board of managers that con-
led the home in 1885 was made up
follows :
Ir>. J. T. Pettee, president; Miss
ia J. Curtis, vice-president; Mrs.
W. Curtis, Mrs. George E. Howe,
Mrs. James P. Stowe, Mrs. A. T.
Randall, Mrs. George A. Fay, Mrs.
Charles X. W'inslow, Mrs. J. H.
Chapin, Mrs. Henry S. White, Mrs.
G. H. Wilson, Mrs. Joseph Morse,
Mrs. R. H. Curtis, Mrs. Chas. H. S.
Davis, Miss E. A. Landfear, Miss H.
E. Bradlev, Miss F. L. Twiss. The
CURTIS HOME, OLD L.VDIES nLII-PING.
E. Coe, corresponding secretary ;
s. Annie Palmer, recording secrc-
r. Mrs. George R. Curtis, Mrs. H.
lies Lines, .Mrs. J. H. Brecken-
?e. Mrs. Hiram A. Yale, Mrs.
irles C. Foskett, Mrs. John Ives,
s. George C. Merriam. Mrs. Hor-
C. Wilcox. Mrs. M. L. Forbes,
s. Harlow Brockett, Mrs. Alfred
matron was .Mrs. Annie Palmer and
the physician, Dr. C. H. S. Davis.
A glance at the above names will
show the reader to what extent in-
terest in the Home was aroused
among the best people in the town
and how, from the first, they lent their
hearty co-operation and support to
the institution.
Digitized by Coogle
A CENTURY OF MEiUDEN.
During all the years of its exist-
ence the Curtis home has been blessed
with excellent management and to
that fact its success has been largely
due.
The managing board divided itself
into a Visiting committee, a Purchas>
ing committee and Committee on Ap-
plications, so that from the first the
ladies did their i>art in a business-like,
progressive way.
It was not many years after the
opening of the home that the need of
more room to carry on the work out-
lined by the founder became apparent
and it was decided to build. The hand-
some light colored brick building that
cost approximately $100,000, was the
result, and was formally opened in
1896.
There are usually fifty or more old
ladies and children at the Home.
The corporation made this the Old
Ladies' Home and it was equipped
with every convenience for their com-
fort and happiness. It stands to the
south of the Children's Home and in
plain view of the country for miles
around.
Though this structure lacks the
many cos\' features of the first build-
ing:, it is handsome, nevertheless, and
fulfills all the requirements for which
it was intended.
Always alert to the needs of the
inmates of the Home and well aware
of the fact that the young people
who leave the institution, mus^ be
equipped to face th c w 'irld, the corpo-
ration voted recently to have a man-
ual training department, and also a
gymnasium. To that purpose was
erected a building costing several
thousand dollars, finished in 1904.
The building stands in the south of
the institution's property, is caor
structed of brick and has two stories
On the average twenty children re*
ceive instruction here. The buildings
are of brick with teria-cotta trim-
mings, heated with steam, furnished
with alt modem improv^ents, and
there are accommodations for a large
number.
The trustees of 1906 are: Rev. A
T. Randall, Benjamin Page, John W.
Coc, Samuel Dodd, William W. Mosh-
er, Watson W. Qark, George S. See-
ley, George M. Curtis, A. B. Mather,
Qarence H. Fiske, Charles T. Dodd,
W. J. Robinson and £. B. Moss.
President of board, Benjamin Page;
vice-president, A. T. Randall; treas-
urer, W. W. Mosher; secretary,
George M. Curtis.
The members of the board of man-
agers are:
Mrs. Hiram A. Yale, president:
Mrs. Levi E. Coe, vice-president:
Mrs. C. II. S. Davis, secretary: Mrv
A, T. Randall, Mrs. George A. Fay.
Mrs. Alfred W. Curtis, Mrs. George
R. Ctirtis. Mrs. George C. Merriam,
Mrs. Philip C. Rand, Mrs. Charles N.
Winslow, Mrs. LeGrand Bevins, Mrs.
Albert Babb, Mrs. John Ives, Mrs. W .
J. Robinson, Mrs, J. H. Chapin, Mr.v
E. A. Merriman, Mrs. L P. Butler.
Miss Mar>' Butler, Mrs. M. L. Forbes.
The superintendency of the Home
is in the hands of Miss Hannah K.
Peck, who was appointed in 1895.
Digitized by Google
MERIDEN
INSTITUTIONS.
59
s.iccceding Mr?. Mar>' A. Carter.
The matron of the Old Ladies' home
is Mrs. M. F. Weeks.
Lemuel J. Curtis endowed the in-
stiiiition with an amount which will
be ample to supply its needs in time
to come and sufficient to pay all ex-
penses of the home when filled to its
utmost capacity.
Motha Pierpoint Button Curtis,
the beloved wife of Lemuel J. Curtis,
was a native of North Haven, Conn.,
and married Mr. Curtis in 1835. She
survived both husband and children.
The beautiful Home is also an elo-
quent memorial to the goodness of
Mrs. Curtis, now deceased.
MERIDEN HOSPITAL.
Meriden is peculiarly fortunate in
the possession of a city hospital, not
excelled by any city in New Eng^land
o! like population. The accompany-
ing illustration shows the building en-
larged to its present proportions, the
work of which was completed at a
cost of $40,000, and the remodeled in-
$titutk)n formally reopened June 29,
^9>$' The hospital was first opened
in
To the public spirited men and
M'omen of Meriden was the credit due
for the establishment of the hospital,
vhidi has since been maintained with
growing usefulness every year. A
cliarter was secured from the Connec-
ticut legislature in 1885, and the
original incorporators were the fol-
lowing: E. J. Doolittle, N. L. Bradley,
John C. Byxbee, Robert H. Curtis,
Rev. J. H. Chapiii. ( Irorgc II. \\ ilcux,
Isaac C Lewis, 11. C. W ilcox, George
K. Curtis, John SutlitT, Charles Par-
ker, Seth J. Hall, Eli Ivcs, Levi E.
Coe, Walter Hubbard, H. Wales
Lines, William F. Graham and A.
Chamberlain.
February 2, 1885, a hospital fund
committee was appointed as follows:
N. L. Bradley, S. J. Hall, Walter Hub-
bard and the late Levi E. Coe, George
R. Curtis, Rev. J. H. Chapin, Charles
Barker and H. C. Wilcox. A short
time after a charter had been secured
from the legislature, the ladies of Mer-
iden met and appointed committees in
the several wards as follows : Mrs* E,
C. Allen, Mrs. A. £. Austin, Mrs. T.
F. Breese, Miss Ida Byxbee, Mrs.
Charles Casper, Mrs, Ada Converse,
Mrs. R. H. Curtis, Mrs. A. Chamber-
lain, Miss Alice' Derby, Mrs. George
A. Fay, Miss Emma Gay, Miss Louisa
Hitchcock, Mrs. Nancy Levi, Mrs. C.
F. Linsley, Mrs. W. H. Lyon, Mrs.
C. J. Mansfield, Mrs. George C. Mer-
riam, Mrs. Rufus Merriam, Mrs. Ben-
jamin Page, Mrs. A. Babb, Miss Rice,
Mrs. Francis Stevenson, Mrs. George
H. Wilcox and Mrs. C. N. Winslow.
The ladies elected the following offi-
cers : President, Mrs. A. Chamberlain ;
vice-president, Mrs. Albert Babb ; sec—
retary, Mrs. A. B. Mather; treasurer.
Miss Alice Derby.
Among the earliest undertakings of
the ladies in aid of the hospital fund,
were the rink party, February 13,
1885, concert and dramatic entertain-
ment, at the opera house, April 13 and
14, minstrel entertainment, at the
Digitized by Google
62
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Opera house, October 26 and 27, fair,
at the same place, December 8-12.
These entertainments netted handsome
sums as follows : Rink party, $446.52 ;
concert, $159.82; dramatic entertain-
ment, $201.20; minstrels, $768.91;
fair, $2,650.14.
The decisive step toward ^ving
Meriden a hospital was taken Febru-
ary 23, 1892, when the old Jared R.
Cook property was purchased from
Cornelius J. Kooreman who had
bought it with a view to remodeling
the dwelling and making it a fine ten-
ement house. The original value of
the property was stated, at the time
of purchase as $15,000.
Nearly every year since that time
some big entertainment h-^ been giv-
en for the benetit of the hospital, al-
ways successful, especially the annual
hospital fair of recent years, which has
become one of the principal social
functions of the year. To a great ex-
tent interest has been kept up in the
hospital by the earnest efforts of the
Ladies' Hospital committee, of which
Mrs. A. Chamberlain has been presi-
dent since its organization. Tn 1893
the state of Connecticut granted an ap-
propriation of $25.<XKj and a subsidy
of $3,oo') a year. The management
of the hospital has always been the
best and the success of the institution
has exceeded the most sanguine ex-
pectations of its founders.
The instittiti*)!! attempts and has the
facilities for caring for anv case which
may be brought to it<; do. ,t > for adnnt-
tance and maintains a training school
for nurses. The iiospilal witli its new
wards and private rooms has accom-
modations for forty patients and in
an emergency can take care of forty-
five.
From the matron's report of year
ending September 30, 1905* the fol-
lowing extracts are taken:
"During the year 220 patients have
been treated. Since the openti^ of
the new building about one-third more
patients have been treated than in any
other year during the same length of
time.
**Nine patients have received the
benefit of the Free Bed Fund for a pe-
riod of 33 weeks ; 30 town cases have
been treated, 22 from Meriden, 4 from
Wallingford, 4 from Southington;
number of patients in hospital Oct
1st, 1904, 9; whole number treated
during year, 220; discharged curoil,
144; discharged improved, 26; dis-
charged not improved. 9: number of
deaths, 29: numl)er of deaths within
24 hours of admission, 2 ; remaining in
hospital Sept. 30. 1905; 12; whole
number of hospital days, 4,722 ; aver-
age number treated daily, 13 ; averai^e
number dnvs for each patient. I3^J^;
weekly cost of maintenance and treat-
ment per patient. $11.85."
The present officers of the hospital
are as follows :
President, Nathaniel L. Bradley;
vice-president, Walter Htibbard ; sec-
re1ar\ . I'dgnr |. Doolittle ; treasurer.
I rank A. Stevens: auditor. Charles H
\\"(K»d ; directors. Xathaniel L. Brad-
ley John C. Byxbce. Walter Hubbarl,
John I.. liillaid. Sctli j. Hall. Augii^:
Schmelzer, Abiram Chamberlain. Ed-
Digitized by Google
64
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
gar J. Doolittle, Charles L. Rockwell ;
finance committee, Abiram Chamber-
lain, Seth J. Hall, John C. Byxbee,
Frank A, Stevens, Charles L. Rock-
well; incorporators, E. J. Doolittle,
A. Chamberlain. N. L. Bradley, Au-
gust Schmelzer, John C. Byxbee. E.
B. Manning, Robert H. Curtis, C. W.
Cahill, George H. Wilcox, John W.
Coe, Seth J. Hall, John L. Billar l
Walter Hubbard, Joseph S. Stokes, H.
Wales Lines, Oliver Swan; medical
board, Dr. E. T. Bradstreet, chairman,
Dr. E. W, Smith, vice-chairman, Dr.
E. W. Pierce, secretary ; physicians
and surgeons, Dr. F. P. Griswold. Dr.
J. A. Cooke, Dr. E. W. Smith. Dr. J.
D. Egglcston, Dr. H. A. Alecks, Dr.
E. T. Bradstreet ; diseases of the eye,
ear, nose and throat. Dr. E. A. Wilson,
Dr. E. VV. Pierce ; matron, Rose G.
Reed; pathologist. Dr. A. E. Van
Tobel.
HOSPITAL ASSOCIATE COMMITTEE.
I'resident, Mrs. A. Chamherlain :
lirst vice-pre^irlent, Mrs. T. l'. llrt-oc;
second vicc-i«irH<kni. Mr*;. J. L. Hil-
lard : recording >ecictary. Mrs. N*. 1'.
Griswolfl : corro])' online: secretary,
Mrs. L. Rockwell; treasurer, Mrs.
C. H. Stf>ckdtr.
The liM^pital -taft'. aided bv an ef-
ficient MipiMMnlciblcnt, a cap:il)lc ni.'i-
trnii and a cunipeient corps of trained
nurses, lias niatk- an enviable record
for this ho'jpital in tlie curing of dif-
ficult ca.-c> and larfurming of delicate
surjjical operations. The hospital has
had an efficient ambulance service
since October, 1900.
CONN. SCHOOL FOR BOYS.
The Connecticut School for Bov*;
beautifully located on a high elevatioa|
with large sloping lawns joining the
buildings witli Colony street, is thei
only state institution that Meridenj
possesses.. This comprises a tempo-i
rary home for boys who are delin-
quent and wayward and here they are
taught discipline and ^ood behavior
as well as manual training, farming^^
and several trades, and given a gen-
eral education, in all of which the
youths, who are committed there,
show remarkable results of gooJ
training and strict discipline in a short
time.
The "State Reform School" was
established by act of the Connecticut
I.es:::islatvMe in 1851, the first or main
building shown in tlie accompanying'
illustration, being finished two years
later. J^ince that time sev<.ral other
buildings, inchulinjj: a chapel and cot-
tapes. Iiave been erected, imtii the in-
>titution has the appearance from a
distance, of a colleL^e or seminary.'
The buildings of the institution, all
well coiistrncted, and mostly of brick.;
consist of oiu- ceiUral building. 3f»
feet lonir. four stories in height, pos-
se>>ing a wing 120 feet long: five cot-,
tage buildings; a church edifice cost-;
ing $15,000: a large boiler ami co^l,
house, an ice house, bakery, a lanjcj
hay and cow barn, a horse stable ands
carriage shed, cattle sheds, wool:
houses and other smaller bnildings.
In the rear of the institution is 1
farm of 195 acres suitable for raising
Digitized by Google
MEKIDEN INSTITUTIONS.
6s
small fniits and garden vegetables,
and through which a stream of pure
water flows ; and here there is also am-
ple pasturage for cows. About loo
acres of this farm are cultivated by
the boys who comprise the inmates of
the institution. The various indus-
tries of the school give employment
to over 400 boys. There is a tailor
shop where the clothing worn l)y the
.SUPT. I H AKLKS M . WIIXIAMS.
>oys is made and repaired : a printing
)ffice where all the printing of the
nstiution is done and from which has
)een issued for fifteen years, the
nonthly publication of the school
ailed The Dawn. There are also six
hair shops, where cane-seating is
aught ; a shoe shop where shoe-mak-
ng is taught, and a manual training
lef>artment where daily instniction is
I
given to over 100 boys. The institu-
tion is carried on with every regard
for economy ; and the laundry, din-
ing room, bakery, kitchen and sleeping
halls all re(|uire classes of from six to
ten boys each.
The boys are supplied with the
best of plain food and every care is
given to their mental and physical
welfare. The inmates of the institu-
tion are boys between the ages of sev-
en and sixteen years, committed to the
school by any court of record in the
state and also those who have their
boanl paid at the rate of $3.00 per
week, (|uarterly in advance, by their
parents or guardians. I'oys who ob-
serve the rules of this institution, even
though they have been sentenced to
serve a term there, may secure their
«lischarge at the expiration of eleven
months, no matter how serious the of-
fense may have been for which they
were committed.
From the fact that not all the boys
at the Connecticut State Sch(X)l are
necessarily bad boys, they are divided
into several grades and for good be-
havior they may win honor marks,
which means more privileges and more
freedom. It is seldom that a boy tries
to escape from this institution.
There is a force of about fifty offi-
cers and teachers employed at the
school, which includes some of the
l)est educational talent in the state.
The lx)ys are given at least two hours
daily for recreation and on Saturday
afternoon enjoy the freedom of ball
playing or to indulge in other games
that may suit their inclination.
Google
66
A CENTURY OF MEItlDEN.
A well trained band, composed of
State School boys, has for some years
been in existence.
Appended is a list of the trustees,
officers and teachers at the beginning
of 1906:
TRUSTEES OF THE SCHOOL,
Nathaniel L. Bradley, Meriden.
George P. Crane, Woodbury.
John C. Byxbee, Meriden;
Francis H. Parker, Hartford.
Joseph Hutchins, Columbia.
George O. Batch, Ashford.
John W. Coc, Meriden.
James N. States, New Haven.
Irving L. Holt, Meriden.
Charles B. Frisbie, Cromwell.
Clark C. Palmer, Griswold.
Zalmon Goodsell, Bridgeport.
OFFICERS OP THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
President — Francis H. Parker.
Secretary and Treasurer — Irving L.
Holt.
Executive Committee — George P.
Crane, John C. Byxbee, John W. Coe,
Charles B. Frisbie, Francis H. Parker.
Committee on Discharges — John C.
Byxbee, Nathaniel L. Bradley, John
W. Coe, Irving L. Holt, George P.
Crane.
Committee on Instruction and
Traiiiinpj — ^Joseph Hutchins, James N.
States, Zalnion Goodsell, George O.
Balch, Clark C. Palmer.
OFFICERS OF THE SCHOOL.
Superintendent — Charles M. Wil-
liams.
Matron — Mrs. Charles M. Wil-
liams.
State Agent— J. H. Parish.
Chaplain — H. N. Howard.
Bookkeeper — F. P. Owen.
Assistant Matron — Mrs F. P.
Owen.
Consulting Physician — Harold X
Meeks, M. D.
Clerk — Miss Marie L. Duis.
Supervisor Manual Training 1>-
partment — F. S. Hitchcock.
Assistant Manual Training Depart-'
ment — ^H. R, Stone.
Supervisor Printing Department-^
F. E. Tucker. i
Carpenter — ^H. F. Wilbur. |
Supervisor South Division and
Band Master — ^T. H. Maguire.
Supervisor Dining Room — Mrs. T
H. Maguire.
Farmer— H. W. Kibbe.
Supervisor Sleeping Hall — Mrs. H
W. Kibbe.
Gardener — Hugo Rcama.
Supervisor Chair Shop — ^C. P. Con-
nolly.
Supervisor Sewing Room — Mrs. C
M. Brandenberger.
Hospital Nurse — Miss Jutt^
O'Brien.
Supervisor Shoe Shop— Beman
Swenson.
Supervisor Boys' Kitchen — Mis
Harriet Furbish.
Supervisors Laundry and Ironinf
Room — Mrs. Alida B. Clarke, Mrs
Kate McCauIey.
Assistant Housekeeper — Mrs. J. ^
Fanisworth. j
Supervisor Bakery — B. Krcuil
berger.
Engineer — W. D. Bennett.
Assistant to Engineer — ^Edward S
Hall.
Digitized by Google
t/)
>•
o
a
u
72
5-
Digitized by Google
6B
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Supervisor Xorth Division — Paul
C. Booth.
Teachers in Congregate Depart-
ment— Harold C. Robertson, James S.
Farns worth.
Cottage .A.
Supervisor — \V. W. Lunt.
Matron— Mrs. W. W. Lunt.
Teacher — Miss Clarise Stowell.
Cottage B.
Supervisor — E. S. Berry.
Matron — Mrs. E. S. Berry.
Teacher — Miss Amelia C. Meckes.
Cottage C.
Supervisor — Xelson J. Wells.
Matron — Miss Mary I. Rand.
Teacher — Mrs. John H. Parish.
Cottage D.
Supervisor — C. C. Sawyer.
Matron — Mrs. C. C. Sawyer.
Teacher — Mrs. Lilla F. Davis
Cottage E.
Supervisor — R. C. Leonard.
Matron — Mrs. R. C. Leonard.
Teacher — Miss Ruth M. Hanks.
\ight Watchman — Issacher Cur-
rier.
Teamster — Dennis Keohane.
Cook Superintendent's Kitchen —
Miss Hannah Crowley.
Cook Officers' Kitchen — Mrs. Mary
Shandaroski.
MERIDEN YOUNG MEN'S
CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION.
The Meriden Young Men's Chris-
tian Association dates from the win-
ter of 1865-6 and was incorporated
June 27, 1866. The incorporators
were Julius Pratt, Dennis C. \Vi
Eli Butler, Hiram Foster,
Parker, Alden Oark, E. B. Ei
William A. Bacon, Eli I. M<
Charles L. Kingsley, Erastiis
bard, Edward H. Loomis, Jj
Breckenridge, Alfred E. Camp
Levi Yale, Jr. The present site]
purchased together with a small
en building by means of a subs
Photo by Akrrts it Pigeon.
GENERAL SECRETARY E. K. AI
of about $7,000. By its charter]
corporation was authorized "to
lish, keep and maintain a library
reading room, and to promote
other literary and benevolent obj
as it may think proper." In 1876
a subscription of a little more
$20,000, it commenced the
of its present building : the
M KKIDKN INSTH L TIONS.
69
stone of which was laid October 19,
and July 31, 1877, the building, at a
cost of $28,000, was finished, furnished
and dedicated. The last of the debt
was paid February. 1886. It was the
the building, so great became the '!c-
mand for a modern gymnasium, that
in 1897 entertainment hall on the
top floor was remodeled, the pillars
removed and truss work substituted
YOUNG MENS CIIKISTIAX ASSOCIATION BUILDING.
first building erected exclusively for
V. M. C. A. purposes in New Eng-
land and the property is now valued
at $50,000.
After twenty years' occupancy oi
to support the roof. These changes
have given the association the largest
and best equipped gymnasium in the
city. In 1889 the association secured
an amendment to its charter and under
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
the new organization the work has
Steadily developed in efficiency.
Its membership durini^ the past year
averaged 330, and with the addition
of about 175 hfe members, totals more
than 500 mcmliers.
The following; men have served the
assuciation as presidents since the in-
corporation :
J. H. Rreckenridgc, from July '66
to September '68 ; E, \V. Hatcli, from
September '68 to September '6« > ; F.
H. Wilhams, from September >)<) to
September '70 ; F. G. Otis, from Sei>-
tember '"o to '75; W. E. Benbam.
from Septem])er '72 to May '90; J,
L, Rutherford from May '90 to May
'93 ; \V. L. Squire, from May *()3 to
May V|6 ; W. H, Catlin, from June
'90 to May '98; M. V>. Sehenck. from
June "98 to May ujoo : \\ . II. Squire,
from May 1900 to May 03; \V. L.
lievins from May '03 to February '05 ;
(". A. Learned, from February '05 to
date.
i lie officers of the association at
this writinpf. are: President. Charles
A. Fearned ; vice-president, Arthur
F. Hall; second vice-president, Wal-
ter S. I'.illard ; recording secretarx , F.
L, ]^»mlei!,,di ; treasurer. W. M. gues-
ted ; librarian. U. R. Gardner. Fol-
lowing are the directors; Geor.ijfe S.
Seeley. F. A. Camp, Arthur E. Miller,
I. 1. Gardner. R. J. Merriam, Hubert
Little, Rev. R. J. Beach, \V. A. Hall,
George S. I'ratt The trustees are:
George M. Fnras, lyi^S: James H.
White. lOoS; J. L. Billard. lov;
George M. Curtis, i<)07 ; J. L. Kmb-
erfonl, 190^); W. H. Squire, 19LMK
The general secretary is E. K. Allen :
the physical director, J. Edward Rey-
nolds.
Digitized by Google
POLICE AND FIKE UErARTMENTS.
71
POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
The Police Department of the city
of Meridcn was created in Septem-
ber, i8^>8' the Common Council, with
Mayor Charles Parker at the head,
I niKF c. l\. ISOWIIN.
voting to rej)lace the constabidary witli
a pemianent and regularly ])ai(l force
to meet the growing demand for better
police protection ; in the same month
the police committee, consisting of
Hezckiah H. Miller. William J. Ives,
Walter Hubbard, Jared I -ewis and J.
K. Cook-, practically effected the or-
ganization of the department, and in
X(jveml>er the force began duty with
the following members : William Hag-
adon, chief ; and George \ an Xos-
trand, Roger M. Ford and Samuel H.
Wilcox, patrolmen.
The department at first had no par-
ticular headquarters ; the lock-up was
in the basement of the Town hall and
was a large plank box affair, located
at the west end of the building, the
entrance being at the east end.
The chief did duty from 6 a. m.
to 6 p. m. and the patrolmen from 6
p. m. to 6 a. m. At the beginning the
men wore badges but had no uniforms
and were distinguished by hats with
flaring brims, upturned at the side.
These, the first of Meriden's "finest,"
carried a club, revolver and twisters
of catgut and wf^od. A little later
uniforms were donned, the trousers of
which had white strij)es down the
seams. The chief was paid $2.75 per
day and the men $2.50 and they were
elected yearly by the city Council.
William X. P>each was the next
chief : and soon after his election the
department was transferred to a city
building on the site on Pratt street
now occujMed as the Turner hall,
where the fire dei)artment also had
quarters. Here there were cells and
the chief had an office. Under Chief
72
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
Albert L. Otis, who succeeded lieacli,
and Franklin G. Bolles. his successor,
there were but few changes.
With the election of Roger M. h'ord
to the head of the department in
radical innovations and improvements
|)olice surveillance, but the same
up was retained as before.
Ford had seven men and they
eluded Captain \'an Nostrand. I
chief. Patrolmen Herman Duis
Charles Kimball, still regular pa
y
Mi:un)!:.\ town 11 all, oicstkoved nv fire February, 1904.
were begun. The headquarters was
transferred to a room in the Rogers
block at the corner of East Main and
South Colony streets, a central loca-
tion and one that allowed of better
men, and Simon S. Hills, F. G.
and Emanuel Withey.
About four years later the d
ment was installed in safe and
fortable quarters in the remodel
POUC£ AUD FISLE DEPARTMENTS.
73
hall where were a main office,
office, patrolmen's rtx>in, s*}iia(l
and police coiiimittee room.
x:k-up then was well equipped
vided into sections for men and
1 prisoners.
1895, force consisted of a
:aptain. lieutenant, sergeant and
patrolmen and also a corps of
ix;cial policemen,
he previous session of the Leg-
e tlie jurisdiction of the police
tended to the limits of the town,
ic Police court was made the
ibunal for the hearing and dis-
n of criminal cases within the
boundaries^ abolishing the cum-
te and unsatisfactory system of
jurors formerly in vogue.
892 the Gamewell police signal
ilephone system was installed
patrol wagon was placed in ser-
luring Chief Ford's regime.
[ Mayor Ives* administration
resent municipal commissions
established and much of the
of the Police committee and the
:l became then vested in the
of Police Commissioners,
tgs went along smoothly in the
ment, with few noteworthy in-
s until February, 1904. when
mn hall was destroyed by fire
was necessary to hastily seek
*s eJ>c>viiore. A store m ihc
.* block on Colony street was
by the city, cells beintjf con-
d in the basement, pending the
tion of the new Town hall.
1 30, 1898, Captain \'an Nos-
was promoted to succeed Chief
Ford. Under him the department
was .S(M)n bruujtilit to a h'}^h standard
of efficiency. He ro>i.i;iu'<l t\l unary
I, 1906, and was succtedetl March I
by Charles U. liowen and at which
time aid James- J. Landrigan was ap-
pointed captain.
In 1903 the Legislature gfave the
four officers of the force the right to
apjx^al to the Superior court if dis-
missed or reduced in rank. In 1905
the Legislature granted an amendment
to the city charter, at the instance of
Mayor George S. Seeley and com-
missioners August Maschmeyer, C. .\.
King, C. L. Upham and Robert \V.
Carter, whereby a police retired re-
serve list was established. The Coun-
cil had defeated a movement for
a ^nsion fund. In August, Patrol-
man Simon S. Hills, who has been
on the force since 1882, was placed on
the list, and later at his own request.
Chief Van Nostrand was also placed
on the resTrve list.
The department is considered one
of the best in the state. Its mainte-
nance costs the citv $20,000 a year and
it is conducted on an economical vet
wise basis. In addition to four offi-
cers, twelve patrolmen and forty su-
pernumeraries, there is a superinten-
dent of the police signal system, a
matron of the police stati(jn ami a jan-
itor. Funds are provided by the city
for a physician for the pri>oners and
hospital service for the police. The
signal system costs $600 a year and
the patrol wagon but $125.
The department is provided with
up-to-date equipment of which one of
Digitized by Google
MtKlDEN I'ULICE FORCE, MARCH 1. 19^^.
Simon nomt?!
James M. ToUes Cta*. D. L*w»«
Lieut. John J. McGovern Capi. J. J. Landrlgan
James F. Orady J«9 H.Burke
Si Minn P HlllH JoFfph B. Dornn
Chaa. P. Kimball
Chief C. B. Bowen
Jeremiah J. McCarthy
Htrtnan F. Schutrtr
Herman D»u .
Serst- Wm. B.P
Edvlo A.
Howard H. r
ItlllK r -,1111 V
POLlCt: AND FIRE DEI'AR TM KNTS.
75'
est and most important addi-
fall the necessary apparatus for
japhing prisoners accused of a
yearly arrests average about
fines and costs nets a revenue
ity of about $5,000.
jrsonnel of the force is as
Chief of police, Charles H.
^captain, lames J. Landrigan ;
t, John I. McGovern ; ser-
[Williani D. Thayer : patrol-
lernian Duis, Charles P. Kim-
les M. Tolles, Edwin A. Puf-
irles D. Lewis, James H.
^ames F. (irady. Herman T.
fr. Joseph I>. Doran, Jeremiah
Carthy, Howard H. Hartram,
N. Lajoie and Biagio Guer-
last two of whom were ap-
March 19, 1906; reserve of-
jimon S. Hills and Geo. \'an
>EN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
leriden Fire Department had
small beginning which dates
he Cataract Engine Company,
>Vcst Meriden, formed in 1851
inhering 100 men. The first
>f that company is now proud-
ibited by the Meriden Veteran
s Association in parades and
occasions. The company
ers in a building on the site
ds occupied by the opera
iblock. Water was first ob-
from Harbor brook and cis-
conveniently placed : the old
ng pole on what is now the
liradley & Hiibbanl company's prop-
erty and the cistern on what would
now be W'e.^t Main street are as well
remembered by a few old timers as
the cry of "I'reak her down, hoys."
Robert ( )i!glUon, later chief engineer
of the fire department, was the first
foreman of the old Cataracts. Eater
S. h\ Linslev was first assistant fore-
Photo by AkPrs & Pigeon.
J(»II.\ C. r.VXHr.K.
man : R. Moss IJreckenridge, secre-
tary and treasurer. Some of the oth-
er members were: W. E. Iicnham,
William P. Clark. E. R. Merriam, E.
D. Castelow. A. E. Camp. H. P>. An-^
drews. Mark M. Linsley, James Bea-
dle, C. H. Warner. George Gay, J.
P. Parker, C. J. Hull, J. B. Stevens,
H. Botsford, Bela Carter, Wallace
BitH, C. D. Loveland, Truman .Stiles,.
76
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
John \'orra, W. J. Kirtland, Wilson
Carpenter, D. B. Comstock, Levi
Moses, Gordon Bailey, William Good-
will, Norris B. Bull, Milo Goodrich,
G. W. Lyon, and later on O. H. Piatt.
Some six years alter the fomiing
of the Cataract Engine Company, T.
J. Coe and other organized the Bucket
Brigade which had a short existence.
Charter Oak Engine Company, Na
I, and the company had quarter> a
the first engine house in Mcriden, !>
cated on State street.
John C. Byxbee was also instn-
mental in giving Meriden its second
company — Washington Engine cor-
l>any, Xo. 2. By subscription anothrf
and improved engine was bought and
Photo by R. 8. Godfrry.
CHARTER OAK HOSK IKirSK. ALSO HOME OF VETERAN FIREMEX's ASSOCIATION
The machine used by this brigade was
built after the style of the present
"trucks," and buckets hung from long
iron rods.
It was after the famous Corner fire
of 1863 that John C. Byxbee, after-
wards the first chief engineer of the
department, with others, started the
at the time the Pratt street statir-i
was dedicated, in 1867. was put M
test with flattering results.
The old engines still do good wou
but Meriden has made progress in li:<
matters and there is now no furtb?-
use for them.
The Charter Oak Hose Compan)
POLICE AND FIKK DKI'ARTM EN TS.
77
'o. I, began its usefu! existence in
863. as a companion to the Charter
>ak Engine Company, George O.
lighy being the first foreman. The
ompany's two-story brick house on
iutlcr street was the first of the
uildings erected by the city : and this
onipany holds an important place at
he present time in the fire fighting
tain of the company ; John D. Rob-
erts, lieutenant ; W. E. Tourgee,
clerk, and the hosemen are: Curtis
Rockwell, W. D. Francis, William H.
Rees, H. B. Penfield, B. I. Thompson
and the substitutes, Albert Kaschu-
bey and Oliver S. Warner.
At the outset, the Byxbee Hose
Company. No. 2, was known as the
Photo by R. s Godfrpy.
HELXEXJUARTERS OF BYXIIEE HOSE CO. AND D<X>LITTLE HOOK & LADDER CO.
Service of Meriden. Its equipment
comprises a hose wagon and a pair
fine horses skilfully handled and
wtll cared for by Driver George N.
Shtphcrd, who grew up with the com-
pany and was appointed in Chief
John Tracy's administration. The
other pcmiancnt man is Wallace R.
Lucas. William X. Goodrich is cap-
Washington Hose Company and in
1865, was associated with the old
Washington Engine Company. In
1870 the members joined the depart-
ment under the j)rescnt name and the
company has proved a very valuable
addition to the fire fighting force.
I'rank McPartland was the first reg-
ularly appointed foreman and then
78
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
•came William Seery with John Luby
.as his assistant. In 1885 the hand
"jumper" was exchanged for a new
hose wagon and horse and K. J. Cor-
rigan, the present driver, was ap-
pointed the driver. Mr. Corrigan
was the first of the permanent men
;and possesses a proud record.
The company is now hovsed in the
driver; John J. Coogan. Micha
Liddy, James Ford. Frank W'aJH
P. F. Corcoran. John M. Rcym
hosemen, and Robert J, Donahue
William H. Watts, substitutes.
The Parker Engine Company,
3. old, reliable guardians of the
town district, was organized il
building on School street 10 d
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
PARKER ENGINE CO.
commodious fire building on Pratt
street and has an up-to-date hose
■wagon with a pair ut the best horses
in the service. The beginning of
1906 finds the company personnel as
follows: John I'. Donovan, captain:
James J, Donovan, licutetiant ; Chris-
topher Seery. clerk ; E. J. Corrigan.
Originally this \yas a hose house
catcd on Cenier street opposite
Rose's church and in 1877 quul
on Fast Main street were dedioi
but shortly after the steamer ■
bought the present fine bunding %
erected on Broad street and the ca
pany's name was changed from \
uijui^co Ly Google
POLICE AND FIRIi DEPARTMENTS.
79
Parker Ho«e Co. to the present title.
Finding that the pressure of the
city water was low on the hill, the
Common Council voted to buy a
steamer and one was procured in July,
1884. Although not sufficiently sur-
rounded with modern equipment at
that time to prove its usefulness, the
steamer has since become a valuable
lieutenant ; X. C. Smith, clerk ; Wil-
liam C. Lucas, engineer ; (leorge C.
Coan, stoker; Charles A. Merriam,
l.oic driver: John H. Santaus, steam-
er driver: John Spencer. Charles A.
Herry. C. H. Thomas, John Stickel,
J. J. Thomas, \V. H. Beniont, hose-
men ; Charles L. Selka, John J. Mar-
quardt, substitutes.
PUotJ by R. S Godfrev
WILCOX HOSE CO.
a'ljiinct of the service and this .steam-
er is now drawn by three power fi l
horses.
When the Parker Hose Companv
was organized George Lee was elect-
foreman. The members of the
l^arker Lngine Company are: Wil-
liam R. Bailey, captain; M. J. Cullen.
The E. J. Doolittle Truck Company,
at present a very important adjunct of
the <L'j)artmcnt, was organized in
1868 and William Haggcrty was the
first foreman. The '*Hnoks" had
quarters in the old police building on
Pratt street but afterwards moved op-
posite U) share the present large and
8o
A CEXTLRY OF MERIDEN.
handsome fire house with the Bn xbees.
The company was first known as
the Kver Ready Hook and Ladder
Company, but the name was changed
when the present quarters were tak-
en, in honor of ex-Mayor E. J. Doo-
little. The first foreman of the "Ever
Readys" was William Hapjjerty. Lat-
er came C. H. Warner, William Mar-
er July i. 1887. Patrick Mo in
came next and he is the pre>eni do
er of the three horses that haul I
new Seagrave Trussed Hoi>ic
I -adder truck. The memberf
company are: John E. Motfeii
tain : Charles M. BlackwelL Hctr
ant : Walter C. Case, clerk and
man : Patrick Mc<lrath. <iri^
r5 of i
Photo by R. S. Ootlfiejr.
VOLUNTEER HOSE CO
shall. (leorge M. Barnes, Lew Allen,
L B. Hyatt and James O. Brainard.
Among the old "Ever Readys" still
in the "Hooks" are: Charles M. Black-
well, W. C. Case and A. S. Butler.
When the old hand truck was suc-
ceeded hy a modern one Julius A.
Lego was appointed permanent driv-
Charles E. Tyler, si)are driver; W
Ham Roselius. Jr.. A. S. Butler. S
uel Hobson, Thomas J. Roark. I
Hobson, Emil Rebstock. John Lt
man. John T. Ryan, laddermen;Fi
M. WoUschlager, Thomas F. 0
nor. substitutes.
The Wilcox Hose Company. N'o.4
POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS,
ne of the yoiinp'er companies but
; ago made up for its youth by
iful and conscientious attentinn
•ire fighting. It was started m
t as a volunteer company and in-
!ed by the city in the handsome
k house on Colony street in 1878
permanent and regular company,
n Inglish was the first foreman
his assistants were John Fitzpat-
and Oliver McCarthy. Later
n Fitzpatrick became foreman and
rwards John Kahaley and later W.
Byrne.
he Wilcox Company now has a
>tantial hose wagon and a pair of
horses. The make-up of the com-
y is as follows: Richard Shaw,
t tin ; Dennis J. Horgan, lieutenant ;
L. Hagerty, clerk ; John Rahley,
rer; Timothy L. Haggert}-, spare
r: T. 1^ Waldron. W illiam L.
dericks, Thoma> H. Haggerty,
Kenworthy, Daniel Alexander,
Hetneman, hosemen ; William J.
vling^ Michael Walsh, substitutes.
^ Hit otganized fire company is
V'eteran Volunteer Hose Com-
iy» Hoi; 5, located in comfortable
easy quarters on Camp street.
IS company came to be organized
yagh the removal of the " Wilcoxes *
m Camp street in 1878 to their
sent home. This left a thickly-
lolatcd district practically without
protection, so prominent citizens
together and the Veteran Volun-
' Hose Company was the result,
long the charter members were: P.
HuH, E. E. West, L. C. Brown, J.
Williams, C A. Miller, D. T. Lyon,
81
Robert Oughl(.ii. \V. T Church, H. L.
Sharkey, C. J. idemcman, K. Lee Is-
bell, T. AI. Smith. Robert Ougliton
was the first foreiiian and D. T. Lyon
succeeded him m 1884.
The volunteers have pulled their old
reliable hand hose wagon to many fires
in recent years, and they have done
good work, but the fine equipment of
the regular companies has made their
services less and less urgent and the
members now give more attention to
the social gatherings for which they
are justly renowned.
The officers and members of the
company are as follows: David T.
Lyon, captain; lienry G. Strickland,
first lieutenant; James Hirst, second
lieutenant; J. Messner, clerk; L. H.
Sutterlin, treasurer ; William Benzi-
ger, G. J. Griswold, H. L. Starkey, G.
(iehrman, I{. J. (!)efinger, D. Flans-
burgh, J. J. Cassidy, William Oefinger,
John Meiklem, William Benziger, Jr.,
Charles Milner, Harry Hirst, P. H.
Timms, Jacob Oefinger, Gustave Kis-
cTt hosemen.
The Meriden Veteran Firemen's As-
sociation, which has been in existence
only a short time, numbers among its
members many of Meriden's promi-
nent citizens. It gives frequent social
times that are very well received by
all the people. John C. Byxbee was
the first president; E. E. West, the
second, and John D. Roberts is now
president. The late Senator O. H.
Piatt was a member and when he died
in 1905 the association took appro-
priate action and many members at-
tended the funeral.
Digitized by Google
82
A CfcMLKV Ot Mt-KIDEN.
The Meridcn hrc alarm and tele-
graph s\slciii <latc> liack to i8(^y when
Charles W anicr w as chief engineer.
Under Lliiot John C. Byxljoc the
ward system of snundinL^ an ahirui
in case of fire \\a> adopted. In 1881
the fire alarm ulc^raph was intro-
duced and the alarm was sounded
from vSt. Andrew's church bell fur a
time, then the ]iri'sent tower bell was
ereclc(l on I 'ran >ireet. In i88«) the
fire alarm boxes were changed and
systematized much as at the prornt
time. There are now tower hells
in all the houses and the anxunu
of wire used in the fire alarm
telegrai)h is seventeen and one-lialf
miles. 1" rom the last annual report of
Superintendent William C. l.ucas. it
is found that there are also forty-five
signal boxes and one mile of under-
ground wire. The fire alarm tele-
graph system of Meriden is valued at
a))out $i5,n(X).
The volunteer fire department was
started in 1867, when Meriden was in-
corporated a city, and John C. Byxbee
was made the chief ent;inocr. His as-
sistants were Christopher Kehstock
aad Michael Carlin. Tin following
year J, W. Hiney was made chief and
he was assisted by Charles Warner
and Arthur J. Hughes. Warner, with
A. J. Hughes and A. W. Harvey, as
assistants, followed Hincy and that
same year, 1869, the water works was
finished, and the old hand engines
were abandoned. Arthur Hughes
succeeded Chief Warner and then
came Robert Oughton. He was the
last head of the volunteers.
The present paid fire dcp-n j
was started in 1873 and John C.
bee was made first engineer. He
also cliairmaji of the water boarl ii
fur both positions reeeix ed ^500 a
After two \ear> he declined to -tTl
longer and l-.dward Roarke wa*) iwt
ed. I'"i)luj\\ing Chief Koarke OuT
Linus Mn.Ne>. John K. f>ytlcr. Isaac
Hyatt, LHven iluran, Julin Trac)
hVank L. Cowing. Chief Hvatt >e
many terms, coming between Cla
Engineers iloran an<i Tracy a
1 racy and C "w ing. but after rna
X ears of efficient service he died .\fi
i<>r/i.
Jerome Kailey, assistant chief c^
neer for years and rightfully om'^
ered a valuable man in the depann^e
then became acting chief. Dav
Bloomfield has been the efiicient t
mar.*;hal for years.
The Meriden department is one
the finest in Connecticut It coaii:
of ninety-one men, sixteen horse? ai
there are about 9.000 feet ni lv>>e. V
appnrnti's is as feiUows: One hook
ladfler truck, one Silsby steam fire
gine. four hose wagons, one ci
wagon, one hand jumper, two t
horse exercise wagons ; in reserve,
two-horse hose wagon and one ti
wheeled hose jumper.
The property of the dcpartmerc
valued at nearly $1 00.00a. and tliei
partment is maintained at an
of about $28/300 a year.
The largest fire the departmcolM
to fight in recent years was the lii
ing of the old Town hall in Febm^
1904. and the force did nobly in ^
Digitized by Goog .
1\>LXCE AND FIKE DEPAKTMEKTS.
83
vrniiiiL,' the total destruction of the
Mcridcii':- latc>l great fire was tliat
of ihc Meriden. Opera House in 1900,
MERIDEX VE'I i:RAi\ FIRE-
MEN'S ASSUClATiOX.
This orq^anization. ns its natiie im-
U c imposed ni riieii who have
iiu»ic rtci lids as fire fij:^-hters in ^^er-
i'lcn. Altliouf^h ihc services ol -xiinc
date back to 1851. the association
^^a^ orj^anized under its present
name, Jnnc 13. iyo2. since which
time it^ meetings ha\'e !>rcn held at
tile Charier < )ak Ho^-e house, where it
was fonnall\ or^^ani/cd, John C.
P-yxbee was elecletl the first president :
K»hvard P.. West. vice-pre>^i(K nt : joint
i>. Roberts, secretary ; and Licorgc N.
Morse, treasurer.
Abi»ui .1 Tnonth later the old
''hand pumj)"' shown in the accom-
I'lnyiniT illustration was ])resented
1 ' du association hy the Charles
Parker ( ..nipany. The engine has
an interesiin}^^ history, being over
lift) years old and is a relic of by-
Is'onc days justly elieri<herl ))y the
nicnibcrs of the association, and it
^>as been the center of attraction
at the ditierent firemen's para<les
>n this and other cities for many
years past. This maelnne recalls
jiueresting reininiscence> to the old-
er cuizeii.s of the town, for as rec-
'•rded by R. Moss V.reckenridge, one
of the first otliccrs e.f the >.ld ("ala-
'■act Fire Engine Company, when
the machine was in its best days
practieally e\er}' male resident of
the tow II. whelher rich or poor,
loaned a helpin- hand in case of
local contiagration.
The constitution of the Veteran
l iremeii's As.sociation was drawn
up by Ceorge O. lligby. L. C.
l'»rowii and Thomas Kcarns. Thi'<
was ado[)te(l at a meeting held .\pril
16. 1903. The late E. I'. West, at
one linn ma) or of Meriden, was
rhox ii ilir second president of the
a<s<ieiation MaN' 4. i')<>3; John D.
Roberts then being made vice-presi-
dent; (ieori;e .\'. Morse, secretary,
ami (ieorge X". .Shepherd, treasurer.
< )n Septend^er -'. io"4. the associa-
tion, largely augmented hy the ad-
dition of several new member-
including many jirominent citizens
of the town who were made honor-
ary members, took a most credit-
able part in the firemen's mu->ter
held in .Sf)nthington. the uniform of
the association at that time com-
])rising caps, red ^^hirt*. and badi^e-^.
the old "hand tnb " being gorgeously
decorated with ribbon.^.
On January 7, HXU. tht' associa-
tion held its first ball which was
one of the social events of the lown.
At a meeting of the association held
Sei>tember 13. 1904. John J). Rob-
erts was elected president : A. A.
.May. vice-pie.>i«ient ; A. R. Riutler.
secretary: and (leorge \ .Shepherd,
trea'^urer. Ma\ ti. iv/o;. John D.
Roberts was elected }»re>ident : Rich-
ard V>. Kearney became its vice-presi-
-'jnt; Albert A. May. secretary, and
t'eorge X. Shepherd, treasnrer. In
Digitized by Google
84
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
1905 the asscxriation voted to apply for
membership in the Connecticut V'al-
ley League, and for several months
prior to the Centennial celebration of
Meriden, this association became ac-
tive in the formation of plans to bring
to Meriden during the celebration the
X'eteran Firctucn's Associations of
other Connecticut cities, during w
the old "hand tub" was again the
ter of attraction, and drawn ihra
the streets with just pride on
part of the men of the town ^
have earned their title as vettr^
and with it membership in this or||
ization.
Photo by R. S. Gotlfrejr.
OLD CATARACT ENGINE AND MKMHEKS OF VETERAN FIREMEN'S ASSOaM
I
SOCIAL CLUBS.
8s
SOCIAL CLUBS
THE HOME CLUB. . composed of men representative of the
. best interests of the state.
The Home Chib of Mericlen. the The Home Ckib was formed in
eading social organization of the city, 1880. when, after the disbandment of
Pboto by R. S. Godfrey.
HOME CLUB HOUSE.
occupies a handsome club house at the
corner of Colony and Foster streets,
which was built for its use in 1902.
Its active membership is limited to
250 and includes the leading business
and professional men in the city while
its non-resident membership list is
the old Meriden Club, which occu-
pied rooms in Palace block, the need
of such an organization became appar-
ent. Early in that year a meeting of
those interested was held at the Mer-
iden House. A temporary organiza-
tion was effected and arrangements
Digitized by Google
a6
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
made for securing rooms on the third
floor of Wilcox block, then being built.
When the block was completed that
fall, the club was formed with E. J.
Doolittle as its first president and at
the January session of the Legislature
it was incorporated as "The Home
Club of Meriden" with E. J. Doolittle,
Horace C. Wilcox, Isaac C. Lewis,
which rooms on the second floor
been planned for its use.
Before 1900 those quarters
inadequate and unfitted to the
and development of the club,
number of efforts were made by
cial committees to secure a club
but without success until Tan
1902. when a special coninuttcc
Photo by R. S. Godfrey
PARLORS, HOME CLUB.
Levi E. Coe, E. B. Cowles, W. H.
Lyon, E. C. Savage, George H. Wil-
cox and John W. Coe as incorporat-
ors. This act of incorporation was
accepted by the club on May 7, 1881.
The club continued to occupy those
rooms until January i, 1885, when it
moved to the new Bvxbee block in
appointed to report to the club
for enlarged quarters. This
tee consisting of Abiram
lain, E. J. Doolittle, C. F. Linsley,
E. T. Bradstreet, James H. V
Charles T. Dodd, C. F. Monroe,
E. W. Pierce and F. E. Sands,
careful consideration of plans
SOCIAL CLUDS.
87
sites, recommended to the club the
fonnation of a holding company to
purchase a site and to erect thereon
i club house. The lot at the corner
3f Colony and Foster streets was se-
lected by vote of the club and a spe-
:ial committee of seven, consisting of
C. F. Monroe. F. E. Sands. I. L. Holt,
A. B. Squire, Dr. F. L. .Murdock, Louis
let the contract to H. L. Morehouse
for the erection of the club house. It
was completed, furnished and for-
mally opened, January I, 1903.
The club house is a very commod-
ious and conveniently arranged build-
ing of colonial design with broad ve-
randas, and large and light rooms, at-
tractively furnished. On the north
Photo by R. 8. Godfrey.
UFPIiR IIAF.I- AXD BILLIARD ROOMS, HOME CLUB.
Fisk and James H. White, was ap-
pctinted to further the plan and obtain
subscriptions to the cai)ital stock.
They were so successful that soon af-
ter the Home Club Realty Corpora-
tion was formed, with a capital of
SJ5.000. The corporation at once
purchased the site, adopte{l plans and
side of the first floor is the reading
room, and on the south side very
l andsome i)arlors. I5ack of the par-
lors is the dining room and a cafe, and
back of the reading room, a card room
and coat room. ( )n the second floor,
besides a large, light card room open-
ing on the ujipcr veranda, is the big
Digitized by Google
88
A CENTURY OF MERIDtN.
billiard room at the north end with
committee and card rooms at the
south end. On the third floor is a
larg^e ball room with storage room ad-
jacent. In the basement are private
dining rooms, the kitchen and neces-
sary storage room. The building is
equipped throughout with telephones,
call l.ells. exhaust fans and all mod-
About the club centers the social ^
tivity of the city, as each year thd
is given a series of balls, cotilliom
club dinners, card parties, ladies* ai
ternoons and musicales. For $nd
events the club is particularly wd
equipped with its three floors of cod
modious rooms, including the ba|
room on the top floor. Its sociil
^ .11
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
H.ALL AND READING ROOM, HOME CLUB.
ern conveniences which go to make
club life attractive to the business or
professional man.
The club is governed by an execu-
tive comnnttee of nine members, in-
cluding the president, secretary and
treasurer, from which are appointed
all standing committees.
prestige is therefore high and the
merous events lar.i:r\ atteu''
greatly enjoyed.
The ofl^cers of the club Januar}- U
1906, were: Dr. F. L. Murdock. pres-
ident: Arthur D. Meeks. first >tc<-
president ; C. E. Stockder. second vkt^
president ; Louis Fisk, secretary. xoA
Digitized by Google
SOCIAL CLUBS.
«!>
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
W. J. ProLity, treasurer; ^\llu witli
W. King, F. H. I^ili.ii tl, K. W . Car-
ter and I. lUirlun Miller constituleJ
the executive cuniniittce.
W. H. A. MAYXARD.
Walter H. A. Maynard, manager of
the Home Club since January i, 1903,
was born in Natick, Mass, March 26,
1857, and is known by the members of
the club as "Pop." He learned the doc-
trines of an epicure under Daniel H.
Maynard, his uncle, who for a quarter
century conducted the famous Samoset
House at Plymouth, Mass.
Since coming to Meriden Mr. May-
nard has enjoyed a high reputation,
first established here at the Winthrop
Hotel. When his services were se-
cured by the Home Club, the members
became satisfied that there was none
better to manage their house. His
paraphernalia comprises every facility.
Xo social function is too large and
none too small to secure his service
as a caterer, provided the call comes
from the right direction ; nor in recent
vears has anv occasion been considereci
a complete success unless he has fur-
nished the viands.
He is a member of Meridian Lodge,
77, A. F. & A. M. : Keystone Chapter,
R. A. M. ; Hamilton Council, R. & S.
M., and enjoys a wide acquaintance
and deserved popularity among the
lea<ling citizens of this town and else-
where. His lei SI! re moments are spent
at the "Bungalow," which he built on
Xotch Road at Lake Merimere in
AlPZRIDEX WHEEL CLUB.
The oldest cycling: orcranization in
Connecticut is the Mci ukn Wheel clv.t'
and it was started December 18. i88<:'.
when there were less than a dozen bi-
cycle riders in Meriden. For two
years members met in Dentist T. S.
Rust's rooms, but in 1882 peniianent
quarters were secured in Palace block
and have been continually occupied
since.
Among the early members were Dr.
T. S. Rust, W. H. Squire, J. E. Brain-
ard, L. A. Miller, Max E. Miller, Wil-
liam Collins, Horace Miller, Frank .A.
Stevens, Reuben J. Rice, Wells Mc-
M asters, Josejih Hyde, E. J. Poole?'.
Harry A. Stevens, Albert L. Stetson,
John W. Lane and C. Win. King.
Cycling those days was a far dif-
ferent proposition than the present
day. The ordinary, or high wheel, as
known by many, was the only make in
existence and later day devotees of
the low safety never experienced the
exhilarating fun of coasting down a
steep hill with feet thrown high over
the handle bars and seated in a narrow
saddle fiftv-six inches from the
ground. It was seldom a *'high whcd-
er** went through the season without
one or more croppers and these ait
often recalled when the veterans get
together and talk over old times.
Twenty years ago the roads through-
ot^t Connecticut were in abominable
condition. Sandy soil and rocks
abounded in every direction. The ag-
itation of t)ie rapidly increasing ranks
of cyclists for good roads quickly bore
Diqitized by Google
SOCIAL CLUBS.
91
t and Connecticut to-day has hiin-
is of miles of macadamized state
iways.
he Meriden Wheel Club was a
factor in the good roads move-
it. J- E. Brainard. then president.
Attorney H. T. King, also a mcm-
, appeared before the Legislature
eral times and their hard work did
ich towards the success of the pro-
t of improving the roads.
It was two Wheel Club members,
. H. Squire and F. C. Borst, the lat-
at the time being a reporter fcr
le Journal, who originated and
shed through the cycle path project
mi Meriden to North Haven, wh'ch
was a great boom for bicycling at that
time. John S. Lane & Son furnished
free the trap rock used. Liberal con-
tributions were received and the patl;
was finally constructed under the di-
rection of President J. E. Brainard,
who later made one of the best street
superintendents Meriden ever had.
It was under the auspices of the
.Meriden Wheel Club that three big
national circuit race meets were given
in this city in i895-'96-'97. All the
famous riders participated and some
idea of the magnitude of the under-
taking can be realized when the club
went to an expense of over $1,000 for
each meet. They were very success-
»boto by R. S. Godfrry.
PAKLOR, MERIDEN WHEEL CLUB.
Digitized by Google
92
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
club
ful, however, and all told the
netted about $400 by the races.
While the bicycle craze has departed
in the last few years the Wheel Club
still retains its membership of nearly
100 and many socials are enjoyed at
the club. Last year the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the club was celebrated
with a banquet at the Winthrop hotel.
Graham; treasurer, E. J. Pooley;np
tain, F. A. Morse ; executive commil
tee, H. F. Neuman, E. B. Mattfso^
T. E. McKenzie, A. U. Unger.
THE COLONIAL CLUB.
This leading social club with 1
full membership of 350. non-mem
Photo hy K. S. Oo.lfrey.
BILLI.\RD AND CARD ROOM,
No liquor is allowed in the Wheel
Club and it is an organization of which
the citizens of Meriden are proud.
The present officers are :
President, Carlton H. Winslow ;
vice-president. Horace W. Stowe ;
financial secretary. William H. Hirscli-
feld; recording secretary, William E.
MERIDEN WHEEL CLUB.
bership of fifty and a waiting list
thirty, occujjying commodious
handsome quarters covering the co-
tire top floor of the Wilcox Block,
was formally organized March
H)Oi. The meeting was attended
by the members of the Koyi
Arcanum and when the charter
y Google
SOCIAL CLUBS.
93
membership list was opened forty-
eight signatures were then and there
secured. This was the final result
of a previous suggestion made at
Pilgrims' Harbor Council, by its
vice-regent. Joseph A. Rf)berge. His
plan of forming a social club in
Meriden composed of members of
the Royal Arcanum for the purpose
of extending the social features of
G. Birdsey and N. D. Clark of Pil-
grims' Harbor Council and J. H.
Bowker, Willis J. Prouty. Horace S.
Savage, G, H. Yeamans and L. H.
Ives of Alfred H. Hall Council.
The committee reported adversely
on the project, believing that the
Arcanum should not be asked to
assume any financial responsibility
in the premises ; but the members
WILCOX BLOCK, HO.ME OF THE COLONIAL CLUB.
the order nut with immediate favor
hy the members most interf?sted in
the upbuilding of the organization.
Ihe committee of ten appointed to
ascertain if the project was a feasi-
ble one for the iwo local councils to
assume, was composed of the follow-
» ing: Col. C. L. Upham, chairman;
E. J. Doolittle, J. A. Roberge, L.
were of the mind that the club
should be formed independent of the
corncils. Personal solicitation re-
sulted in securing 138 names and
many more promises should the
clrb becon e a reality. Thus en-
couraged an independent committee
set about making plans for the orga-
nization and considering locations
socr.xr. ci-uns.
95
Digitized by Googk
96
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
for rooms, the top floor of the Wil-
cox Block being selected by this
committee as most desirable.
At the meeting held at City Mis-
sion Hall, at which the organization
was perfected, the following officer;*
were chosen: C. L. L'phani, president;
J. H. Bowker, vice-president ; H. S.
Savage, secretary and C. P. Rice,
treasurer.
Koberge, Thomas L. Reilly, C. J.
Hinsdale, J. H. Bowker, Geo. F.
Rogers and A. \V. Hitchcock.
It was voted at a later date to
restrict the membership to 200, and
the full complement of members
w'as secured before the rooms were
opened. 'Hiat the fair given by the
club was a success both socially and
financiallv is now a matter of his-
SOCIAL KOO.M, COLO.MAL CLUB.
A committee consisting of H. A.
Curtiss, C. J. Danaher and G. H.
Veamans was appointed to draft the
constitution and by-laws. There
was also another appointed to
arrange and carry out a fair the
proceeds of which were to be used
for furnishing the club. That com-
mittee was composed of J. A.
tory and that subsequent functions
of the club have likewise reflected
credit upon its members and the
community as w-ell, cannot be gain-
said. That the .'\rcanum Club start-
ed on its journey forward without
any of its members being blind-
folded seems to be conclusively
proven by the remarkable success
Google
SOCIAL CLUBS.
97
achieved from the very beginning.
On Nov. I, 1904, the club l)ecanie
an open t.mc and others beside mem-
Ikt> (It the Royal Arcamini were made
elii;iljle to iiiembership. From this
date tlic ckib experienced a remarkable
growth, increasing from 125 members
to 350, its present limit, and largely
owing to the untiring and earnest ef-
forts of Geo. F. Rogers.
By vote of its members in Jan-
uary i90^>, the name of the club was
changed to that of the Colonial
<^lub, which it now bears. In the
!^pring of 1906 the quarters of tlie
club were enlarged and the building
was altered and refurnished at an
expense of $3,000, giving the club
the whole of the top floor of the
building. These changes also gave
the club the opportunity to better
accommodate the members and to fit
up the largest billiard an<l ] >- ' 1 room
of any club in the state. The rooms
^f the Colonial Club are luxurious
in appointment and furnish every
possible comfort of club life as indi«
cated by the accompanying illus-
trations. The large assembly room is
used for the meetings of the orga-
nization as well as the social events,
and in this also the Meriden councils
of the Royal Arcanum, the Elks and
the Heptasophs hold their regular
meetings.
The club possesses its own stew-
ard who has four assistants in keep-
ing the club rooms in apple pic
order, and also catering for the regu-
lar Saturday evening lunches, given
in the l)ant|uet room by the club to
its members. The Colonial Club
possesses an orchestra of ten pieces
composed exclusively of members,
and this orchestra disi)enses delight-
ful music there every Saturday eve-
ning. • .
The officers of 1906 are George E.
Bicknell, president; W. H, Squire,
first vice-president ; George Ohl,
second vicc»president ; C. C. Powers,
secretary and L. T. Fuller, treas-
urer. The house committee are
George F. Rogers, chairman (by
virtue of this office also business
manager of the club), J. H. Uowker,
E. G. Johnson and H. W . Storrs.
The executive committee at this writ-
ing consists of the officers of the club
and Geo. F. Rogers, J. H. Bowker. E. »
G, Johnson, E. L. Montgomery, Harry
J. Williams and H. W. Storrs.
YOUNG MEN'S T. A. B.
SOCIETV.
This society whose membership
of 560 distinguishes it as the largest
total abstinence organization in the
state, was organized Nov. 21. 1880, in
room i6. Palace Block, with four-
teen members, having the following
objects in view: The promotion of
total abstinence, morality and be-
nevolence. To these objects the
society has strictly adhered and to
this fact the success of the organiza-
tion is attributed. It is maintained
entirely by the following sources of
Digitized by Google
CARD ROOM, VOUNG MEX's T. A. B. SOCIETY.
SOCIAL CLUBS.
lOI
revenue: Monthly dues, which are
;o cents, and by public events of
which two are given annually; an
excursion* usually to New York and
Coney Island, on which they have
carried as many as i,8oo people on
one occasion; and an entertainment
and dance that has been given in the
town hall on each Thanksgiving
night. Its membership is composed
exclttsivelv of Catholics between the
agres of 1 8 and 35 years. The so-
ciety was incorporated on March 22,
J8!>5. The officers are elected semi-
annually. The benevolent feature of
the organization is a sick benefit of
S5.00 per week and at death the sum
of $100 is paid. There is also an
extra benefit branch attached to the
society, that is known as the "Extra
Benefit Branch*' of which the mem-
bers may avail themselves b\' pay-
ing a small consideration each
month. The society has one of the
finest sets of club rooms in the city,
having seven large rooms situated
on the third floor of Palace Block,
consisting of an elaborately furnished
parlor, a library, meeting room,
smoking room, pool and card rooms
and a room for the officers, and on
these is exercised great care in fit-
ting for the comfort and enjoyment
of the members. A number of pri-
vate social events are given each
year. Of these the most notable is
their anniversary, celebrated with a
ball and banquet usually on the first
Friday of January. On different
occasions they have given public en*
tertainments, the entire proceeds go-
ing to public or charitable institu-
tions; and they have cared for and
practically maintained for a number
of years the free ice water fountain
in front of Palace Block. Besides
their rooms, the society has a valua-
ble piece of land on West Main
street, with a frontage of 110 feet
and a depth of 125 feet and has also
a comfortable balance in the bank.
AMARANTH CLUB.
An organization which has for
some years fij^ured prominently in
Meriden social life is thie Ama-
ranth Club, incorporated in 1S95,
occupying commodious and hand-
somely furnished quarters in the
Cahill Block. This social club has
now a resident membership of 125
and possesses fifteen non-resident
members. Its objects are the pro-
motion of sociability and friendship;
and the organization is distinctively
cosmopolitan, good fellowship and re-
s[)ectal)ility being the necessary requi-
sites for membership.
The formation of this popular
social club dates back to January
19, 1893. The first quarters com-
prised the three rooms previously
occupied by the Young Men s Ger-
man-American Club, in the Wilcox
Block, the furnishings and rental of
the rooms being the same year pur-
chased entire. The first officers
were: President, A, W. Tracy;
vice-president, John A. Hurley;
SOCIAL CLUBS. IO3
secretary, T. E. Reynolds and treas-
urer, James J. Landrigan. From
I the character of its membership the
club has always been a growing
and a prosperous one. and within
two years it became a|)parent that
larger quarters were needed. Upon
I the completion of the Cahill Block
in 1895, the rooms in the W ilcox
of its members. Its inaugural balls
have been events long looked for-
ward to and remembered. The club
has in various other ways won dis-
tinction and success. Its summer
outings have been invariably well
attended and the only occasion
when the local o|)era house, now
destroyed by fire, was ever filled to
Pboto by R. S. Godfrey.
UILLIARD AND CARD ROOM. AMARANTH CLUB.
block together with the furnishings
of the club were disposed of, and at
the same time the present rooms in
the Cahill block were fitted up and
furnished entirely new at a cost of
about $2,500. This club enjoys an
enviable reputation for hospitality,
harmony and the good fellowship
its full seating capacity, during a
regular theatrical performance, was
when the Amaranth club brought
a pleasurable theatrical attraction
to Meriden and bought the privi-
leges of the theatre outright. Many
citizens of Meriden prominent in
business and public life, including
Digitized by Google
104
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
several mayors, have been enrolled
in the membership of the club.
The presidents of the club from
the beginning have been as follows:
Dr. A. W, Tracy, Thos. L. Reilly,
now mayor of Meriden ; John A.
Hurley, James J. Walsh and George
H. O'Malley, the last named being
the present incumbent. The other
officers of the club are vice-presi-
dent, James J. Xiland; financial
secretary, James J. Walsh; record-
ing secretary, F. A. Lajoie; and
treasurer, James J. Landrigan. The
board of governors comprises the
following: Dr, A. W. Tracy, chair-
man; M. 1*'. Fit/.c:erald, H. T.
Downs, C. W. Cahill, Kenneth Hil-
lard, M. I Morrisscy, Wm. Glea-
son, Fred. Eginton, Dennis Mor-
gan, E. T. Mooney, C. E. Flynn,
W. E. Kavanaugh.
The house committee is N. J. St.
Cyr, T. J. ir.igerty, Dr. M. E. Sulli-
van, W. 11. Rnssell, A. E. Cope,
Thos. L. Keilly and Howard Island.
The auditors are as follr^v W. 11.
Russell, L. P. Pagan and E. A. La-
joie.
EA.sr SIDE SOCIAL CLUB.
As is indicated by it- name, this
social club is locaud in I lie eastern
part of Meriden and il< buildin- i<
situated at the corner oi East Main
and Murray streets. This club owes
its existence to the untiring efforts
of the following young men of the
town: Simon J. Cahill, Jeremiah A.
Lynch, John W. Cahill, Daniel
Lynch, Patrick J. Cahill, John L.
Coleman, J<>]iti If. Cook, Charic?
Murray, Alfred J. Cook and Jere-
miah Rohan. It was nearly a score
of years ago that these young men
realized the desirability of drawing
the young men together in that sec-
tion of the town for the promotion
of social intercourse, intellectual
and literary improvement and recre-
ation. For the further purpose of
making good citizens of themselves
a meeting was called under the
branches of a historic elm tree
which then beautified that locality.
The result was the appointment oi
a committee to consider the matter
and report at the next meeting to
be held at the same place the first
of the following October. i888. This
committee reported favorably and as
a result the club was given birth and
ten young men became its first mem-
bers. The first officers were: presi-
dent, John H. Cook; vice president, j
John L. Coleman ; financial and re- |
cording secretary, Jeremiah A. >
Lynch; treasurer, Patrick J. Cahill. j
the last named being the present
incumbent, having been annually •
re-elected ever since. The com- |
mittee appointed to look up suitable •
quarters secured a lease of hnd
from Waldo C. Twiss and upon it .
a club building was erected, the :
entire work of construction being i
done by the members, and twt> |
weeks after th.- organization of the i
club the rooms were ready for occu- '
Digitized by Google
SOCIAL CLUBS.
pancy and these were situated about
100 yards east of the present club
house. Two years later when the
membership had increased to twen-
ty the club met its first misfortune,
for at that time a disastrous fire
totally destroyed their quarters. In
consequence of this the club's i)ro-
gjcss was stayed for a time but later
more up-to-date club house was a
necessity. A building committee
was appointed to procure land and
submit plans for the erection of the
same. The present site was chosen
by the members upon the recom-
mendation of that committee and
the erection of the present spacious
club house which became readv for
Photo by R. S. Codfiey.
E.VST SIDE SOCI.SL CLUB.
»nd within six weeks after it had
>een dcci<led upon, club house Xo.
.'. larger than the former, became
eadv for occupancy. After six
ears' continued prosperity and
>Ieasant associations of its members
he club grew in membcrshij) until
t was evident that a larger r.nd
occupancy in the fall of was
immediately begun. Decemljer the
same year a public reception was
held in the rooms and the club was
formally inspected by a large
gathering including parents nf the
members and many prominent men
of the citv. at which time the mem-
io6
A CENTURY OF MESIDEN.
bers were highly complimented for
their creditable achievements and
since that time the dub has contin-
ued to grow in membership. In
1899 the club was incorporated un-
der the laws of the state, receiving
a charter from the legislature which
entitles it to hold property to
the value of $20,000. The member-
ship now numbers sixty and this in-
cludes several of Meriden's success-
ful business and professional men.
It enjoys an enviable reputation for
hospitality and this has been one of
the most important factors in the pros-
perity and popularity of the organi-
zation.
Since its formation the following
have served in the office of presi-
dent. John H. Cook, Simon J. CahiU«
Alfred J. Cook, John Gehring, Jr.,
Richard Rohan, John W. Cahillj
David T. Keegan, Matt. F. Hauler,
George A. Cook, Thomas J. O'Brico.:
Emmett E. Flanagan and J. Richard ;
Geary. The present officers are J.'
Richard Geary, president; Michael;
B. Carroll, vice-president: John F.
Senirau, recording secretary ; Frank
J. Conklin, financial secretary; Pat-
rick J. Cahill, treasurer; Geo. A.
Cook, business manager; Oswald D.'
Pepin, librarian; John F. Barry,'
warden ; Frank A. Semrau, prop-
erty manager ; executive committee,
Michael B. Carroll, Simon J. Cahill,
Kmmett E. Flanagan, Thrmias F.
O'Brien and Matt. F. llanley-.
Digitized by Google
BANKS^ BOARD OP TRADE AND POST OFFICE.
107
BANKS, BOARD OF IRADE AND POST OFFICE
MERIDEN SAVING^ BANK,
In 1851 when the Meriden Savings
Bank was incorporated Meriden was
fast becoming a manufacturing cen-
r, small as it appears to us in 1906,
but the wisdom, push and energy of
lliosc carl) business men was begin-
ning to be felt and Meriden was tak-
ing on strength for the future. The
wise ones saw the need of some insti-
tution for savings where the mechanic
could deposit small amounts for safe
keeping and also get money to build
themselves homes ; for it was a pe-
culiar feature of Meriden at that
time, as it lias been since, that a ma-
jority of the working men lived in
their own home?, and at that early
period nearly all were native born.
To meet the needs of the little grow-
ing village the l)n<=.!ness men lield a
meeting early iti 1851 to consider
plans and the outcome was tlie ap-
pointment of a eommittee to draw up
resolutions incorporating The Meri-
den Savings P.ank. These were pre-
sented at the May session of the Gen-
eral Assembly and the application
^rranted by them, the certificate of in-
corporation being signed by John P.
C. Mather, Secretary of State, July
12. A D . 185 T.
The trustees were as follows;
Enos H. Curtis, lidwin E. Curtis,
Hiram Yale, Ashbel Griswold, Charles-
Parker, H. W. Saltonstall, Julius
Pratt, Alfred P. Curliss, Isaac C*
Lewis, Noah Pomeroy, James A. Fra-
ry, Benjamin H. Catlin, Levi Yale,.
Ijertrand Yale, A. C. VVetmore, Joel
H. Guy, David N. Ropes, Howell
Merriman, Elah Camp, Ward Coe,
Linus Birdsey, Walter Booth and Cur-
tis L. \orth.
The first meeting of the trustees
was held at the Meriden Bank build-
ing on Broad street, then called North
Market street. July 16, 185 1, and the
following officers were elected:
President — Knos H. Curtis.
V ice-president — Benjamin H. Cat-
lin.
Directors — Julius Pratt, tliarles-
Parker, Levi >'ale. Joel H. Guy, Ed-
win I*!. Curtis, Curtis L. North. Da-
vid X. Ropes, Howell Merriman and
Henry W. Saltonstall.
Joel II. Guy was the first secretary
and treasurer.
The same year three viec-j^residents-
were added to the list oi officers, mak-
ing four, as at present. The three
added were Walter Booth, Elah Camp
and Ashbel Griswold. The treasurer
was autliori/A'd to ai)i)oint a clerk
without extra expense ; and he ap-
pointed Samuel B. Morgan. The
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
io8
first attorney was Dexter R. Wright.
The office of the hank was for
about three years at the residence of
the treasurer on West Main street,
present number 34. but for the acconi-
modation of the "up-town" people he
JOEL H. GUY.
was authorized to receive deposits at
the Meriden Bank on Tuesdays of
each week from two to four o'clock
p. m.
The directors met once a week at
the treasurer's residence for the first
two years ; but the time was soon
changed to once a month. The first
year the treasurer received fifty dol-
lars for his services.
March i, 1854. it was voted "to
authorize the president and secretary
to purchase a safe for the bank at an
expense not exceeding one hundred
dollars" and in .\pril the same year it
was voted to purchase ten or more
shares of the stock of the Meriden
Bank at one hundred and seven dol-
lars per share, and in December of the
same year it was voted to buy two
shares at par.
Levi II. Coe was elected secretary
and treasurer July. 1854, to succeed
Joel H. Guy and the office of the bank
was moved to the fine brick block
called ll:e Coe building, just then
(.reeled north of the Center church.
r-
* -
V
EDWIN E. CURTIS.
This building was torn down in 1894
and the street widened at that point.
Considering the condition of the
country just before the war the fol-
lowing vote of the directors taken
Google
BANKS, BOARD OF TRADE AND POST OFl'RE.
I'ebruary 4. 1861, is significant:
\'otcd. To loan the balance now in
the treasury as the appraising: com-
mittee shall think will best subserve
the interests of the business commun-
ity and the bank
S. II. W. YALE.
That the directors were patriotic is
shown by the vote September. 1861,
instruct injj the treasurer to buy treas-
ury notes, I'. sixes, at 97".s and
7-30 notes at par.
As business increased there was
need of larger, more convenient and
secure quarters of more central loca-
tion, and the office was moved to the
town clerk's office in the town hall in
1864. where the town vault could t)e
utilized.
July, 1866, A. H. Curtis succeeded
Levi E. Coe as treasurer, the latter
being appointed a director. The late
secretary and treasurer, S. H. W.
Yale, became clerk the same year, bus-
iness increasing so that the treasurer
neetled an assistant.
In 1868 is found an advertisement
in the Meriden Republican stating
that the deposits were then $500,000,
and office hours 9 to 12 and 2 to 4.
The bank occupied the town clerk's
office from 1864 to 1871 when it pur-
chased the P. J. Clark property, cor-
v7
1 .
Photo by Akers & Pigeon.
W. H. CATMN.
ner of East Main and Veteran streets,
for $16,000. The old l)uildings which
for years previous had been used for
the manufacture of tinware, were at
once made into stores and tenements.
110
A CEMURY OF MERIDEN.
The Mcridcn Republican tlicn began
occupying the one on the corner and
the bank the one west, having fitted
up one side for an office, {Hitting in a
raiilt, etc. This modest frame build-
ing was used until 1882 wlien the
present building was erected.
Juljv ^^77, the faitliful and well
beloved trea?;urcr. A. II. Curtis, died
suddenly wluk talking with a friend
in the bank. S. H. \\ . \ ale then suc-
ceeded to the position of treasurer
and \V. II. Catlin entered as clerk.
The Meriden Savings liank lias had
a healthy, continuous growth from the
start and has met with l)ut few losses,
the only one of any moment was when
the Wallingford tornado destroyed a
number of houses on which it had
mortgages.
In 1882 the frame building it had
occupied since 1871 was moved to
Veteran street, that asylum for old
buildings, and the present brick block
was built. The same \ear IMwin H.
Curtis, who had bec-n president since
1862, resigned and Levi E. Coc was
elected president, he serving until his
death N'ovember 2. n>M.
The present othcers and trustees are
as follows:
President — John L. I'.illard.
Vice ■])r<.si( lent s — A. Chamberlain,
Walter Hubbard, E. J. Doolittle and
H. Wales Line<:
Director.s — Lienjamin l*age, Homer
A. Curtiss, Kngene A. Hall. August
Maschmeycr, George B. ^T unlock. Ar-
thur S. Lane. Charles A. King. George
M. Curtis and George E. Savage.
The board of directors consists of
president, four vice-presidents, nine
directors and secretary and treasurer.
Trustees — Linus Birdsey, Walter
Hubbard, A. Chamberlain, John L.
Billard, Edward Miller, H. Wales
Lines. W. H. Catlin, Benjamin Page,
E. I. Doolittle, John Morse, Maurice
O'Brien, H. I I. Miller, Homer A. Cur-
tiss, Charles C. Clock, Eugene A.
Hall, Arilu.r S. Lane. George B. Mur-
dock, Charles A. King, August
Maschme\er, George E. Savage.
George M. Curtis, Herman Hess. C
A. Learned, M. 1>. -Schenck. C. \V.
Cahill. James V. Piatt, Lewis A. Mil-
ler, William C. Comstock, Frank A.
Stevens and Frank D. Smith.
Secretary and treasurer — W. H.
Catlin.
Bookkeeper, John G. Nagel ; clerk.
Byron R. Gardner.
.MKRIDEX NATIONAL BANK.
This institution has an honored hi>-
tory, for it has served its purpose and
served it well, for nearly three-quar-
ters of the century which Meriden eel-
ebrates in hk>^) as an incorporated
town. Organized, as all banks were
in tho.sc days, as a state bank, tlu-
charter was approved in Tune. 1835.
and business was begun vwth a capi-
tal ol $ioi>.oix). in a room in the dwell-
ing house, on Broad street, of Wil
liam Yale, but now owned b> W'illiain
]\. Ives. The followng year a new
brick building was erected on Broad
si reel, which for many years after \va^
the home of the old Meriileu bank
Digitized by Google
BANKS, BOARD OF TRADE AND POST OFFICE.
and which is shown in the smaller of
the accompanying illustrations. The
first lx)ard of directors consisted of
Silas Mix, Samuel Vale. Elisha A.
Cowles, Stephen Taylor. Ashabel Gris-
wold, James S. Brooks. Xoah Pome-
roy, John D. Reynolds and Walter
Booth. Ashabel Griswold was the first
president, and Francis Kin)^. cashier.
In 1836 the bank's capital was in-
creased to $150,000 in order to keep
pace with the business done and which
was a success from the very start.
General Walter Booth then became
OLD MERIDEN BANK BUILDING.
president and Harry Hayden was
chosen cashier to fill the vacancy
caused by the death of Francis Kinsj:
•n 1837. After twelve years' faithful
service as president. General I'ooth
finally declined further re-election and
Noah Pomeroy became the head, who
i'l turn was followed by Joel H. Guy
and Joel I. P»utler. all of whom were
lamors in the history of the town.
When Mr. lU tler died, O. B. Arnold,
the former cashier, became the pr^'si-
'^ent and he served until his re-
gretted decease August 30, 1900. He
was succeeded as president by Levi
E. Coe and after his death by the
present incumbent, George M. Clark,
the fomier cashier, but who served
many years previously as teller. In
1905 Mr. Clark was succeeded as
cashier by W. M. Quested, formerly
teller, who has since served as
cashier. The capital stock of the
bank in 1850 was increased to $250,-
000 and again, four years later, when
it was made $300,000, but in 1 901 was
reduced to $200,000. While the busi-
ness of the institution has always been
conducted with success, as its comfor-
table surplus fund and regularly de-
clared dividends indicate, this srccess
has been the result of conservative
management which has marked as well
the history of all other Meriden finan-
cial institutions during the last half
century or more. The Meriden Bank
became nationalized in 1865 and again
in 1905 its charter as such was re-
newed for twenty years by the govern-
ment at Washington.
The present handsome quarters have
been occupied since February 22, 1885,
and after the bank had erected the
large brick structure shown in the ac-
panying illustration and was first oc-
cupied on that date. The present quar-
ters not only com|)rise modern, com-
modious, convenient banking rooms,
but contain safety deposit boxes which
are rented.
The officers and directors of the
bank at this writing are: George M.
Clark, president : Herman Hess, vice-
president : W. M. Quested, cashier ;
Digitized by Google
112
A CEXTURY OF MiiRlDEN.
BANKS, BOARD OF IKADE AND I'OSI OFFICE.
<lircct(>rs. John Ives, John L. Ilillard.
M. Wilo.x. Scth J. Hall.
( ieorj^^c M. ( lark. Herman Hess. W'il-
l)ur F. TarkcT, ( ieorgc 1*^. Savaj^e and
ficiijajiiin I'aj^e.
Hi>ME NATIOXAL IIAXK.
Thv Home Xational liank. located
ai the corner of Colony and Church
streets, is one of the most successful
in>iitiitions of its kind. It has a lon^^
and honorahle history, has connected
with it le.idinjj tinancial and business
men of the city and was chartered by
the lejjislature as a state bank in 1854.
The cause which led to its formation
was principally a <lesire for a bank in
the new center oi busines.s. The bus-
iness men about the corner cordially
-supported the movement, favorin;^ a
new bank for "home benefit." as tiiey
put it. and E. G. Howe, !•". H. ( )akley.
John C. Smith. b)se|)h Taylor and S.
W. Kelloj^jj. appointe{l to receive sub-
scriptions, found no difhculty in plac-
inj^ the Sioo.ooo of cai)ital stock.
Aujjust 8. 1 1^55. the directors met and
formally urj^anized by electing S. W .
Baldwin president and A. C. Wetmore
secretary. Tlie directors were Julius
Pratt. S. W. Baldwin, i:ii liutler,
Henry C. Butler, James S. Brooks,
Howell Mcrriman, A. C. Wetmore,
James A. Frarj- and Fenner Bush. H.
C . Young became the first cashier and
served until September 7, 1857. Dur-
ing his time the business was carried
on in the nx^ins of the Youn^ .Men's
Institute in Collins* block, but later re-
moved to the wooden building owned
8
by Henry C. lUitler. which stood on
the site* of the present hank, in 1858,
the property was bought for $3,750.
.Soon after, they sold a portion of it
for $3,000, so that their now valuable
jiroperty cost them but $750. In
1863 the present commodious banking
house was built, the old building be-
ing reuKned to W est Main street.
In the meantime various changes in
officers and capital stock had occurre<l
and the bank had seen a period of
great prosperity. May i. 1856. ICli
Butler had been elected to the presi-
dency to sitcceed .Mr. r.aldwin, who
resigned, and Samuel Dodil came from
the City Bank in Hartford, where he
had been teller, to assume the office of
cashier. The following \ear. Jan-
uary 6. 1857. the cai)ital was increased
by $5o.(X3j. and two months later by
$2,000 more, owing to the fact that
the subscriptions to the increase had
exceeded bv that sum the amoutit re-
quired. In September. 1859, the rapid
growth of the bank demanded another
increase and the capital was acconl-
ingly raised to the sum of $300,000.
( >ii December 24. 1864. it was voted
to nationalize the bank and increase
the capital to $400,000 and Januarv i ( >,
1865. they were authorized to begin
business as a Xational bank. The
bank's history has been one of prosjuT-
ity. excellent business judgment on the
part of its officials and a rapid increa.se
in deposits. In 18^)7. Mr. Dodd re-
signed as casliier and A, Chamberlain,
then teller of tlu \\ w Britain Xational
r»ank. and now president of this bank,
was called to assume the office left va-
Digitized by Google
BANKS, BOARD OF TRADE AND POST OFFICE.
"5
it. February lo, 1875, capita'
the bank was increased to $600,000.
y I, 1897, this was reduced to
0,000. Upon the death of Eli But-
. in 1881, Mr. Chamberlain was
ned to the presidency and J. S.
rton, Jr., for fifteen years employed
the bank, eleven years as teller, be-
ne cashier. At the same time, C.
J. S. NORTON, JR.
Perkins, who ha<l been in the em-
>y of the bank eleven years, was
■cted teller.
The bank has now a capital stock
$403,000 and a surplus of $175.-
o. The directors and officers are
mposed of well-known men who
ive ^ven it a careful and conserva-
e management.
Directors: A. Chamberlain, Walter
Hubbard, Samuel Dodd. Edward Mil-
ler, E. J. Doolittle, George M. Cur-
tis, James H. White, I. L. Holt and
Benjamin W. Collins.
The officers and clerks are: A.
Chamberlain, president; E. J. Doolit-
tle, vice-president; J; S. Norton, Jr.,
cashier; Charles H. Wood, teller;
Louis Fisk, bookkeeper: Alfred M.
Williams and Harold W. Scott, clerks.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK.
It was in 1863, when the growth of
the town seemed to warrant it, that
the First National Bank of Meriden
was organized.
The bank's first place of business
was in a small frame building located
near the present brown stone building
erected in 1872.
The late Joel H. Guy, one of the
most reliable and able financiers of the
city, was elected i s first president
The first cashier was Wolcott A. Hull,
who was succeeded, in 1870, by
Charles L. Rockwell. The late John
D. Billard succeeded to the presidency
upon the death of Mr. Guy in 1881.
At Mr. Billard*s death in 1902 Mr.
Rockwell, who had been cashier of the
..ank since 1870, was elected president,
which office he now holds ; and Floyd
Curtis, formerly teller, was elected
cashier, in which capacity he has since
served. The present capital of the
bank is $200,000 and its surplus is
$300/X)0. The bank has long since
taken its place among the leading
banking institutions of the state. The
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Digitized by Google
BANKS, BOARD OF TRADE AND POST OFFICE.
sent directors are as follows:
irles F. Linsley, C. B. Rogers, W.
Lyon, John Tait, John W. Coe, N.
Bradley, Charles L. Rockwell, W.
Millard and C. \V. Cahill.
loycl Curtis, cashier of the I'irst
donal Bank, was bom in Meriden
ember 25, 1854. He is a son of
late Harrison W. Curtis and at-
led public and private schools. At
age of ' sixteen he entered the em-
'hoio by Akers £ Pigeon.
FLUYl) CURTIS.
viiient of tlic I'ir.sl Xatinnal P.ank.
uliially he tarned promotion and
OctolKT 28. 1882. ho was elected
v T of the hank : and Jnly i. 1884. he
■. also elected treasurer of the City
in^s liank. l>«ith of these (offices
tilled until February 11, 1902, when
"7
his election as cashier of the First Na-
tional Bank made it necessary for him
to rengn them. Mr. Curtis has, there-
fore, been not only continuously en-
gaged in banking affairs from the com-
mencement of his business life, but has
been associated with the First Na-
tional Rank over thirty-six years.
With his added duties for se\cia1
years as the former secretary and
treasurer of the Savings Hank, he has
become one of the most familiar fig-
ures in local l)anking circles. He is
also the present treasurer of the city
of Meriden, an ortice of honor and
trust he has held since i8<f>. and is
one of the irii.slees of the City Savings
iiank.
Mr. C urtis is treasurer of the finance
comniilUc- uri^anized for the cele-
hralinn of the one lunulredlh anni\er-
^ary of the ♦own of .Meriden. He is
also a member of Meriden (iolf and
Home clubs and prominent in social
life. He i^ atViliated with (enter
Lodge. ()7, A. l*". &: ,\. M.; Keystone
C hai)ter. 27, R. .\. M.. and St. l-'Imo
( ommander\. <>, K. 1. He is also a
meiiihcr of Tilgrims' Harbor Council,
543. l\o\al .\rcanum.
He was married in iSjc) to t iara H.
I'nrniss. and to that union there is now
living one dauijlUer, r>e>sie F.. who in
H)n2 married Harry C. i.ane. of
Weslfield, Mas.^.
CFrV SAMXGS BANK.
The City Savings I'ank was organ-
ized in 1874, the incorj^orators l)eing
Joel H. Guy, Charles L. Cphaui, John
Digitized by Google
ii8
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
(_ . liyxbce, Jareil K. Cook. John D.
Iiillard, John Tnit, H. L. Schleiter,
George W . Smith, W ilham H. Miller,
A. C. W ciinorc. Ratclitte Hicks, J. S.
\\ iL^iitnian, Raiulolph Linsley. Wil-
liam Lewis, E. B. Everitt and Gilbert
Rollers.
The tirst president was Joel H. ( iuy,
who for tnany years held an honored
position in the history of hanking af-
fairs in Meriden. Upon the death of
Mr. ( iuy, in 1881, John D. Billard, one
of the most trnstworthy and conserva-
tive husiness men of the city and
greatly beloved hy all w ho knew him,
was elected to the presidency. I'pon
his death, in i<)02. Cliark"- L. Rock-
well, who had hi in the treasurer of the
bank, was elected presi<lent, which of-
fice ho nnw holds. Floyd Curtis was
eketcd secretary and treasnrer in
1884 hnl resi<^ned in H)o_' to accept
the cashicTship of the Viv>i Xational
r.ank. To fill the vacancy ( leorge M.
Lucas was elected secretary and treas-
urer and these offico he now holds.
At the present writing the number
of depositors i< 5.(kk) and the deposits
of the l)aiik aggregate S3.5oo,( >. >o.
The trustees of the h.itik are a^ l"nl-
lowc: H. L. Schleiter. I. L. Rock-
well. Setli J. Hall. (Charles I*". Liti'iley,
Floyd Ctirtis. Cmr^e M. Lucas. Kat-
cliffe Iliek^. W. S. I'.illard, Clarence
P. Dradley. Dcxlcr W . Parker. X. L.
Pradiey. Kdward Miller, Jr., John C.
P.vxlic e. William H. Lvnn. C. ]•. Rock-
well. Charle*: T . 1 'iiham. John W. Coe.
John Tait. (ii]l>ert Riggers. C. P. Rog-
ers, J. IL White. George l i. \\ ilc^x.
W. J. Robinson ancl Charles T. Dodd.
MERIDEX TRl S r & SAFE Di
POSIT CO.
This company, whose usefulnc»-l
the town of Meriden and vicinii
all its name implies, was organize' 1 1
der a s{)ecial charter granted by :1
leirislature of the state of Contiecna
in 1889. Tlic original incorporate
were Walter Hubbard. Isaac L. LtM
John L. Billard, Charles i*. Lni>i
and Charles L. Rockwell The nr
board of directors w as conipusc'l (
the following: Walter Hubkfl
( harles F. Linsley, Nathaniel L. I'-rJ*
ley, Isaac C. Lewis. Charles ra:^<
John D. Billard, George R. Curti
John L. Billard and Charles L. K ^1
well. Isaac C. Lewis wns the tir
president, and upon his dealii in iN
Walter Hubbard was elected to h!i:l
\acancy. which office he now \v<<^
Charles L. Rockwell has been '\
treasurer since the organization ot il
comjiany, and Harry H. Smith i? J
present secretary of the coinp.in\.
The company, by its charter. i> 21
thorized to act as executor, adn :
trator. guardian, trustee or receive: J
estates and is also authorized loa^i
and execute any and all trusts ' J
may be committed tu its care by ['^
son*; or corporations or by the d''-*
tion of any court of probate or
legally constituted authority in
state or elsew here. From the w j
scope of its operations, the Men ^
Trust & Safe Deposit Companv i»
ing a long felt want in this conimn' •
and is indisjiensable as a pla*^^' '
safety for the deposit of securities-^
Digitized 6y Google
BANKS, BOARD OF TRADE AND POST OFFICE.
119
valuables of ail kinds. The vaults of
tlie company are of the most approved
pattern, constructed of the best and
safest material and arc absolutely safe
against fire or burglary. The direct-
ors of the company are Walter IIuli-
bard. Charles L. Rockwell, < icnri^c
Curtis, John L. P.illard, Charles F.
Linsley and N. L. Dradley.
MERIDEN BOARD OF TRAUh:.
Meridcn is possessed of an ener-
getic board of trade, composed of
\vr>rthy citizens and men whose in-
fluence has been exerted with L^uod
results toward the bettcrriient ot
the town. The following men of
.^leriden comprised the first officers
and directors: Charles L. Upham,
president ; H. Wales Lines and Sam-
uel Dodd, vice-i)residents ; Eli C. Hird-
sey, secretary; i. L. Holt, treasurer:
<lirectors. Francis Atwater, X. L.
Bradley. John L. Billard, Eli C. Bird-
s^y, John W. Coe. C. W'. Cahill.
Homer A. Curtiss, Samuel Dodd, E.
j. D(X)little, Cieorge L. Ellsbree, H.
W ales Eines, William H. I-yon, John
S. Lane. Edward Miller. Charles L.
Rockwell. Jnhii A. Hurley, .\ugust
Schnielzer, M. \'>. Sclunck. George H.
Wilcox and Charles L. L ))ham.
The organization of the Board of
Trade, which occurred in July, 1897,
uas met with much enthusiasm on the
I'art of the business men of the town,
and not long after the first meeting,
which was held in the Town hall. De-
cember 18. 1895, the Board of Trade
numbered 325 members. During the
first tew years of its existetice many
expected that Meriden would innue-
diatcly be possessed of numerous new
factories, and the ra])id buildni^ uj)
of the town, and the first president
was Invally sui)])()rte(l with that aim in
view. i lie first creditable effort was
tile a>sislance rendered the peoj)le of
Souiinngton in devising ways aufl
means for building the electric tram-
wax, now runninj^ between .Meri<len,
Sonthin,i;lon and Lake Compounce,
which has brought thousands of dol-
lars annually to Meriden merchants.
The committee apjininted b}' the P.nard
of 1 rade. to bring about this happy
result consisted of Francis Atwater,
then a director of the Board of Trade,
but later made president, who, with
John .v. Hurley, another director, pro-
moted the company which, since its
organization, has been conducted with
success.
While there have been times in
the history of the local lioard of Trade
when its membership has been re-
duced, there have always been a few
active workers within its ranks; and
at the present time its membership is
100. The propositions listened to by
the Board of Trade from concerns
who would, if they could, locate in
.Meriden, but many of whom were not
desirable, have been almost number*
less.
In conducting their investigations
the members of the lioard of Trade,
have spent freely of their time and
money without regard for persona!
gain. In 1905 the board accomplished
its crowning achievement, securing^ the
Digitized by Google
UA.NK.S, JUiAKI) Ul- TKAUK AN|> POST OFFICE.
121
hriving" industry now carried on In
ik Mtriden I''irc Amis Co.. by raising
iiioTiqf the citizens al:ont $io,mi in a
uigle day. The Board of Trade has
etn of vaUie to ^feriden. not ftnl\ in
rying to inchice de>iraljle industries to
nrate here, but in keeping unde-
irablc industries away : it has ini-
•rovcd the freight service c iuscd all
xpress trains to be siop])C(l Iutc and
Licunijdished other achievenieni>. all
'f which have been oi benefit to the
Misiness man and tlie resident.
Fr ancis Atwater was chosen prcsi-
'ent in i8<>8 and served I'ntil January
since which time, the officers
.' the lioard of Trade have been as
follows : President, Charles H. Tre-
iennick ; vice-presidents. Eugene A.
Hall and Frank D. Smith: secretary.
1 X. Stevens: treastirtr, T. L. Holt;
•irectc.r.. P:ii ( r.inisey, ii. Wales
' Hies, i rancis Atwater. E. J. Doolittle.
M. H. Schenck. ( ieorge H. W ilcox. F.
V Stevens. iX L. liishop, W. P. Ilris-
^>1. Eugene A. Mall. A. J !-letchcr. A.
^chmelzer. C-.I. C. P. Pphani. Hcnrv
^- I'rslnieil, (,eor^e S. Seeley. I'rank
Smhh, C. H. Trcdennick, Herman
Hess. Henry C. Bibeaii and I-eroy C.
' ardee.
MEHIDEX POST OFFICE.
When in 1806 Meriden was set
*part from the town of W'allingford
Amos White was named by I 'resident
Jefferson as the first postmaster. The
office was located in a otie-stor',
building, owned by Partrick Lewis. .11-
i:ated on the sui.theast corner of Uroad
and ] .a>t Main streets, on the property
now oun.-d by Eli C. Uirdsey. Mr.
W bite servi- 1 for several years. He
was succeeded hy Partrick Lewis, who
served untd 1828. In this year I'rcs-
ideiit Jackson appoiniefl Levi ^'ale
postmaster, who transferred the office
from its previoit-^ location of twentv-
two years, to tiie building now known
as Xo. 641 IJroad street. Mr. Vale
ser\ ed through part of tlie two admin-
istratioiih of Jackson and through ail
of \ an liuren s. or about twelve years
in all.
Richard X. Dowd was appointed
pM>:niast,T !)v f 'resident William
llenr\ Harn-un in 1841, but he died
after being in nttice about six months.
President lyler. during the same year,
appoitued Walter F.ooth postmaster,
who held the office for three years and
six month-s. Ira X. Vale, cousin of
the late !!. L. \'ale. was appointed
postmaster by 1 'resident Polk in 1845.
but died after hnldnig office about
three years. Ahiierun Miles, father o£
the late Walhtce A. Miles, was ap-
pointed po>tinasicr by President Polk
in 1848 to MKceed Mr. Vale. Mr.
Miles resiqtu'.i the office after the elec-
tion, hr.t hcfure iIr- inant^nratiou of
Pre>ident Tavlor. having served less
than a year, i liram Hall, half brother
«'t W alter C. Hall, was next appointed
p<»>iu.a-trr In President 'laylor. He
MTved I' -r two \ ( ars. covering about
fnur n!..nthv nn<U'r Polk and about
twenty montli^- nmU-r Tavlor.
I'p to this imie the post office had
remained in the Levi Vale building.
Digitized by Google
BANKS, BOARD OF TRADE AND POST OFFICE.
Under i\ir. Hall it was transferred to
a little frame huildin*:: built specially
for the })Ost office. This buikliiiii'
stood then just north of the liassett
block on Ilroad street and now stands
on land of L. Vale estate on Wall
street east of the Catholic cemetery.
FollowinjET Mr. Hall, Asahel H. Cur-
tis was appointed postmaster, and
served throit^h Fillmore's term or
about three \ears. The election of
['resident Pierce bron<:^ht about tlie
appointment as postmaster in 1S53 of
Hiram Hall for the second time. Mr.
Hall died after serving; about one \ear.
Mr. Hall had his office in a woodtn
building adioiniiiiTf the John Ives res-
idence on Broad street. This buildini::
was afterwards moved tn View street
and later was demolished. Upon the
death of .Mr. Hall. President Pierce
apjMtimcd P»ertrand L. Vale postmas-
ter, who serve<1 for seven years, three
under Pierce and four under Buchan-
an. Mr. Vale held hi.<; office in the
old Levi Vale building; already s])okcn
of. When Abraham Lincoln was
president. Asahel H. Curtis was for a
scc-'ud time appointed postmaster. He
^erve.l muil Mr. Lincoln's death, but
re-i^ned his office under President
jobnson. Mr. Curtis' office was lo-
cated in the old Franklin Hall build-
ing, on the now vacant corner north
of the Congregational church, LJroad
street.
In 1865 Linus P.irdsey was ap-
pointed postmaster by President John-
son to succeed Mr. Curtis. Mr. P»ird-
scy, who served for three years, trans-
ferred the post office to the brick build-
iug" that formerly stood on the site o£
the hr^i po^t office at the southeast
corner of Main and I'road streets.
Lon K. I lall was appointed i)ostmaster
by Pre^idcnt (irant in iSCkj. Mr. Hall
transferred the p(»si office back to the
building from which Mr. llirdsey had
taken it, and then, after a few years,
took it across the street to jubn Ives'
sture in the brick block now known as
Xo. 489 r.road street. Mr. Hall
served seven years, and then resi,tjne<l,
when he was succeeded by his brother,
William F. Hall, who was appointed
by President Hayes. Mr. Hall moved
the post office to the building known
as 320 East Main street, where Station
A is now located. On September i,
1880, the Meriden post office, the then
official designation of the up town of-
fice, was abolished and made a branch
of the down-town post office, which
up to that date officially was known as
the West Meriden post office. In the
changed caj)acity of clerk of Main
street branch. W. F. Hall, under Post-
master E. iX Hall, of the down-town
office, from that time officially desig-
nated the Meriden office, continued to
serve the branch office until 1886.
Limis Birdsey in the same year, under
appointment from Postmaster W. H.
Miller, again assumed charge of the
up-tovvn office, this time as cUrk of
the station, an<l served until 1890.
^^assena F. i'.all u was appointexl as
clerk of the station March i. 1894,
and served until his death, when on
April I, 1894, he was followed by his
daiTghtcr. ^Trs. A. A. B. Twiss, who
in turn, on Xovember i, 1894, was fol-
Digitized by Google
124
A CENTL'RV OF MEUXDEN.
low ed by Mi^s Ida L, *\Ulkr, the pres-
ent iiicunil)cnt.
It was al)Mut 1844. that the business
men and rc.M(lent> in lhat portion of
the tow n then known as West Meriden
a£j:itate(l tile matter of bavinij' a post
otlke of their own. The resnh was
the estabh^linient. (hniiij^ 1^45, <jf tli<i
West Menden post office. Joel H.
Gny was named by President Polk
as the first postmaster, and the first
post ofhee stooil jn->( east of the (iiiy
residence on the south side oi West
Main street.
The elect i« in of Zachary lay lor
bronchi al>ont a chanj^^e in i84«). when
Xoali A. Lin>lcy was appointed i>ovt-
master, Mr. Kinsley had his ofiicc in
the wiHulen bnildin|Lj now owned by
I'rederick J. Wheeler, on the n<«rtli
side of the street, known as 21 West
Main street.
In 1853. soon after the iuaiij.;^uration
<^f IVesi<lent Pierce, bn-l H. ( ju\ attain
reci'i\ttl a |)0'>t masters eiiminission.
Tile Mtlirc was taken baek ai^ain to the
south side of West Main street, Mr,
Gny continued in office tins lime al>out
five years, when he ijave way to his
son-in-law. Sanuiel P». .Mort^^an. Mr,
Morgan transferre<l the office to (|uar-
ters which stood on the |>resent site of
the Firvt Xational Hank buildintj,
S'M.ii alter Presi'lent Lincoln's inau-
j^ination in T8'">r. ( lei ■rs^e W. I'loj^ers
was a|.])i nmcil 1 H ist 1 [ia>ter. The office
was iiume«hately moved to the briek
structure whicli stood on the east .-^ide
of Colony .<itreet. corner of ^fain
street. This building: was destroyed
by fire during Mr. Rogers' term, and
the olrice was taken to the ro<jm in the
ihttler bmbHni;. 13 Colony street, now
fx:cupie<i b\ W . W. .Xbisher.
On August 8. i8'>5, i'residenl John-
vin appointed \\ allis liull posunaster.
and w ith this appoititmetit there began
a quarrel between the friends of \\ aUis
Ihill and the adherents of ( lenri^je W.
Rt)gers. which hotly interested more
than half the population ol the t^wn.
On Anjjust 31, i86<j, thirteen
months after Mr. IJull took office, his
enemies siuceeded in bringinjj about
hi^. removal and in liavini; Mr. Ro«jers
restored to office. Mr. Ro;m rs trans-
ferred the office in .Xti^n.st, iS'>7. t«»
the north room in the old P.yxbee
hloek. known as 37 Colons street, now
oeenpied by W. H. Squire. rjurlecn
nionths after Mr. Koi^ers had taken
office, namely on September 23. 18*77.
his enemies triinn|)hcd with President
Johnson and Samnel l>. Mi>r^an was
for the second time made postinaster.
.Mr. Morofan served this lime for twen-
ty month<. when on .May 17. iS'x). the
frienrls of Wallis I'ull prevailed with
the administration an<l secured for hitn
his >ecoiid commissii.n as p<istmaster.
Mr. lUill serve<l ilie .seocjnd time for
ei^'ht years lackinjj two monllis, when
on Fel)ruary 24. 1877, he was removed
by President Cirant. and Erwin D. Hall
apji ' inted. Tn 1878 Mr. flail trans-
ferred the office to the formerly well-
known Hill building which sto. ul teni-
[jorarily on the ]>lot of i;ronn<l now
known a>- Wiiilhrop S((uare. The Hill
building now stands on the premi>cs
known as 280 C enter street. In the
spring of 1880 the post office was
Digitized by Google
BANKS, BOARD OF TRADE AND POST OFFICE.
moved to the Wilcox block at 24 Col-
ony street.
Under political pressure Mr. Hall
resigned his office February I, 1886,
and was succeeded bv William H. Mil-
m
ler. who served until February t, 1890,
when he was followed by Henry Dry-
hurst, who received his commission
from President Harrison. .
On vVugust I, 1894, John J. Ander-
$on became postmaster, by appoint-
ment of President Cleveland, and
served until August i. 1898. He was
succeeded by Henr>- Dryhurst, who re-
ceived his second appointment from
President McKinlev, and his third
from President Roosevelt.
The Meriden office entered the first
class July i. 1890. On May 20, 1899,
the post office removed to its present
quarters at 25 and 27 Colony street.
125
The letter carrier service was estab-
lished in Meriden September i, 1880.
The first four men constituting the
force were William H. Minchin, Al-
bert L. Bartlett, Charles Allemeyer
and Chaunccy G. Johnson. The num-
ber of carriers now employed (June
1906) is twenty and of clerks eighteen.
Besides Station A, there are six sub-
stations. The annual receipts this
year were $75,000.
In 1902 the congress appropriated
$100,000 for a federal building for the
Meriden post office. The site at the
corner of Colony and Brooks streets
was purchased at a cost of $20,500.
Ail bids for the new building were re-
jected because excessive; and a bill
for an additional appropriation for the
building is now pending in the con-
gress.
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126
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
NEWSPAPERS
THE JOURNAL PUBLISHING
COMPANY.
No clearer knowledge can be briefly
gleaned of a city than by a glance at
its newspapers. If they be prosper^
ous, pushing and enterprising, they
but indicate the spirit of the commun-
ity in which they are produced and its
progressiveness is marked in their
pages. It is true that they may cre-
ate and lead in those things which
make for the best progress of a mu-
nicipality, but to become successful in
progression, there must be an appre-
ciation shown in a willingness on the
part of the public to encourage such
leadership with sufficient patronage to
make its continuance possible.
It is this condition existing in Mer-
iden which has made of The Meriden
Daily Journal one of the leading pa-
pers not only in the state, but in New
England, and permitted its owners,
The Journal Publishing Compaii} , to
build up one of the largest publishing
and printing houses in the New Eng-
land states.
Early in 1886 it became apparent
that there was an opening for a new
evening dail\ newspaper in Meriden
and as a result The Journal Publish-
ing Conipan> was incorporated on
April 2 of that year, for the purpose
of publishing The Meriden Daily
Journal and to carry on a general
printing and publishing business. In
those days when mechanical equip-
ment was limited, only hundreds of
dollars were required in the production
of a newspaper where now thousands
must be invested, and therefore the
new company started business with
but $8,000 capital.
It was shortly after this, however,
that the great advance in methods due
to demands for the quicker and better
production of newspapers began, and
costly machinery, and the growth of
the business, required greater invest^
ments until the capital was increased
to $60,000 and then to $67,000. This
capital and the surplus in the business
of The Journal Publishing Company
to-day represents an investment of
nearly $200,000. Its business has cor-
respondingly enlarged *with its in-
creased investment and facilities, a
ver\ great share of its patronage com-
ing from outside Meriden.
When the company was formed in
1886, four men held all the stock and
became its officers. These same men.
elected at the first meeting, are still
its directors and officers and are all
actively engaged in the conduct of its
affairs. They are Francis Atwater,
president; Lewis Allen, vice-presi-
dent ; Thomas L. Reilly, secretary, and
Frank E. Sands, treasurer.
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NEWSPAPERS.
1-7
When the company began business
]narters were secured on the second
"loor of Russell's (now the Meriden
jrain & Feed Company's) block, on
South Colony street, and from there
The Meriden Daily Journal made its
first appearance on the afternoon of
April 17, 1886, as a four-page paper,
with seven columns to the page. The
patronized and highly prosperous pa-
per and is still growing. It has been
changed and enlarged frequently, as
the demand upon its advertising or
news columns required more space.
The first change came in Decem-
ber. 1886, when it was enlarged by
adding a column in width. The fol-
lowing April the pressure on its col-
BUSIXESS OFFICE, JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO.
success of the new daily was assured
from the very start, and from that day
it has continued to grow and advance,
until now it goes not only into near-
ly every home in Meriden, but has
reached out into the adjoining towns
and implanted itself firmly in those
fields. It is a widely read, largely
umns required more room, and still
another column was added. It con-
tinued in this form until the year fol-
lowing, when, on May 7. 1888, it fir^t
ap|)cared as an eight-page paper, six
columns to the page, and cut, folded
and pasted.
In the meantime, the printing bus-
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128
A CKNTLRY OF MEKIOEN
iness had kept pace with the growth of
the newspaper, and durinjj Fehrnary,
1888, a l>0(>k bindery was added, the
tliird floor of Russell's block beinjj
taken for the ])uqxxse. The (piarters
were totally inadecjuate to the demands
of the business by this time, and in
October the larj^e three-story build-
ing, owned by Morse & Cook, at the
partment, on March 7. 1889. tbi
bought the business of Charles EL fl
beau and Richard A. Owen. wh<j ba
conducted a prosperous printing estal
lishment under the finn nan < i
Owen & r»ibeau. and Mr. l.)\ven b
came foreman of The JoiimalV "o
and job printing department whilt H
l»ibeau took charge of tlie press r
niKKi TORS l<(M>.M. JOURNAL PUBLISHING CO.
junction •»! IVrkins and ."^outh Col-
on) sirtif was leased, and a change
ma<le t<» that building after extensive
aherations had been ma«le. Here was
found room for the much needed ad-
ditional machinery. To add to the
ability of the company in turn out
the book work in its mechanical de-
During this time the entire
in the production of newspapers
books was undergoing a great cl
The invention of fast web presses
quiring sterotype plates. linol\-pc
chines that displaced hand
tors, and other machinery- for the
rapid making of ne\vspa]>ers to
NEWSPAPERS.
129
constantly increasing demands and
quick growth, were coming in, and
ivhen again in a short time the facili-
:ies were found totally inadequate, a
rontract was made with the Goss
Printing Press Company to design and
Miild for The Journal a web perfect-
ing press, with a capacity of 12,000
romplete eight-page papers per hour.
of erecting the present four-story fire-
proof Journal building was begun. It
was attended with great difficulties, as
all the departments had to be kept at
work in the old building while the new
one was constructed around it and the
old one afterward torn out piecemeal.
The new building was built entirely
of brick, iron and concrete. The out-
NEWS COMPOSING ROO.M, JOURNAL PUIILISHING CO.
The Journal was first printed on it
Xovember 29, 1889.
In ( )ctober. 1890, the store at 27
East Main street, was leased and fitted
up as business offices and connected
with The Journal building in the rear.
In 1890 the property was bought of
Morse & Cook and in 1892, the work
0
er walls are of brick and the beams
and girders of iron, while the floors
are of concrete over corrugated iron
arches. The partitions are all of
pressed iron, the only wood being the
window frames and roof girders, the
latter carrying a steel roof. It is de-
signed to be as nearly fireproof as it
A CEXTLRV OF MKKIDKN.
is possible to make such a Iniildinjj.
Dnrinjj the time of llie huildini; and
precechnjj it. 'Die Journal Publishing
Company had absorbed and ad<led to
its plant the business of other concerns
in allied trades, the most important
beinj^ in 1891. when the larj^e elcctro-
typinjj ])lant of I). S. (iriswold was
purchased and moved into the build-
iiijL,'.
since been built and installed fi»r 1
Journal a big double deck straight I
(loss Perfecting Press capable <i:|i
ducing 25.000 papers per hour.
From four j)ages The Jouml I
grown to twelve pages with fr.oii
teen to twenty pages on Satur<!a\>i
sf)ecial txxasions. It enjoy> i ^
did patronage, practically even la
ing advertiser in the coiintn '-^
l!OOK AM* |OM COMI'OSI.NG R(»OM,
At no time since its formation has
the company ceased lo proi^ress and
grow and the energy of its officers
and the sj)lendi(l force of assistants is
shown to-day in the position The
Journal (»ccupies in and outside the
comnumity and the large patronage
the other departments enjoy.
The press that was ample in 1889
soon became toi> small and there has
represented in its ci»lurnns in ail'i'J'
It) every important Icxral advirtu
It is recognized as one of the ^J
soniest and most complete news'*?
|>roduced anywhere with the ff*
that its circulation has sh^wt^
stead\ increase each year.
The Journal's big establishirc*
divitled into distinct depannients. <K
under a sei)arate head. Richar-i
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NF.WS PAPERS. I^I
BOOK IIINDKKV. JOURNAL PUliLISlIIXt; tO.
I
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Owen is superintendent with direct
charge of the job and book depart-
ments: \V. H. Marshall has charjje of
the press room, K. H. Hitchctxrk of the
electrotyping, J. J. Walsh of the news
composing, E. C. Parry of the lino-
type machines and Henry Minkwitz,
of the sterotyping room.
Messrs. Allen and Reillv of the
Allen and Lewis Reilly, city reporters,.
M. F. Clar^. Publishers' Press opera-
tor: Miss Annie M. Whalen, prcx»f
reader, and W. R. Gilbert, M. S. Mc*.
Kiernan and Mrs. Elizabeth Lyon, su-
l)urban reporters.
The business office staff besides Mr.
At water, publisher, and Mr. Sands,
business manager, consists of Jesse
ELECTROTYPING DEPARTMENT. JOURNAL PUP.LLSIIING CO.
company devote their time to the edi-
torial end of the paper, and Messrs.
Atwater and Sands to the business de-
partment.
The editorial force J^esides Mr. Al-
len, editor-in-chief, and Mr. Reilly.
associate editor, is composed of the
following: E. E>. Whitney, city editor:
D. r. Lamb, telegriiph editor: Walter
.*>ands, advertising department : J.
Frank Morris, advertising agent:
John F. Penders, circulation manager,
Miss Margaret Hopkins, bookkeeper:
.Miss Sophia Huber. clerk and assist-
ant bookkeeper, and Arthur Keenan.
clerk.
.\11 told. The Journal employs about
si.xtv hands, manv of whom have been
Google
NEWSl'Ai'ERS.
with the company for years and
kvhose services are, naturally, highly
I'alued.
The prcKlucts of The Journal press
include many notable books, not the
least of which is this volume, **A Cen-
tury of Meriden."
MERIDEN MORXIXG RECORD.
The Record. Meriden's only morn-
ing newspaper, enjoys the distinction
3f being the oldest newspaper in the
:ity, the Repul)lican. which it absorbed
in 1899, liaving been established in
i860. A few years prior to the ab-
sorption of the Republican by the Rec-
ord, William A. Kelsey ac(|uired the
:ontrolling interest in the Republican
Publishing Company, and the merger
k\as the result of his business acumen
md far-sightedness. W ith the I'2ven-
injj Republican out of the field. Meri-
den was left with two stn^ng, well
fstablished news|)apers ; the Record in
the morning, the bnirnal in the even-
ing.
Prior to the time Mr. Kelsey identi-
Sed himself with the Republican Pub-
lishing Company, it had conducted a
general job printing and book-binding
business. Mr. Kelsey soon decidecl to
abandon these branches to enable the
directors of the business to devote
their entire energies to the Morning
Record. With the obstacles to its
progress removed, the Record went
ahead steadily day by day. and is now
recognized as one of the foremost,
most influential and substantial
morning newspapers in Connecticut.
Early in 1905 The Republican Pub-
lishing Company, which is the corpo-
rate name of the Morning Record,
purchased the valuable site on the
corner of Crown and Perkins streets,
and began the erection thereon of the .
substantial building which is now the
home of the .Morning Record. A
mammoth, two-deck press was or-
WII.LIAM A. KELSEV.
dered from the Potter Printing Press
Company, of Plainfield. X. J., and in-
stalled a few months later, after the
completion of the buiUling in Se])tem-
ber. 1905. A large amount of other
new machinery was purchased, mak-
ing the Record plant unsurpassed in
its ability to produce a first-class, mofl-
ern newspaper.
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I
A C ENTL KV OF MKKIDEN.
f
Digitized by Coo<
NEWSPAPERS.
The Record \y a nicnihcr of that
cat, world-wide ncws-jjathcriiii^ or-
nization. The Associated I'ress, thus
viiif]^ its readers all the news of the
)rl<l at the earliest possible moment,
jjives uiuisually careful attention to
KDWIN K. SMITH.
he )^aihcrin^ of local news, personal
terns, etc., and is a complete news-
>aper in every sense.
The Record has always been essen-
tially a family i)aper and has a very
larjjc circulation in the homes of Mer-
I'len and all of the surroundinpf towns.
1 lie Record's advertising; patron.ipe is
Very larg^e : it includes all of the prin-
t^ipal business houses of .Meriden. and
the great majority of the Icadinj; jjen-
tral advertisers of the country.
Among the factors that have won
135
large success for the Record are r.n-
riajjfi^ing^ ener*;y, fair treatment to all
in business matters and in its news
columns, enterprise in anticipating; the
wants of its readers, not only in news
matters, but in originating; features
that ai)peal to the people generally.
.\ssociated with \\ illiam A. Kelsey
in the ct)nduct of the Record are Kd-
win E. Smith, at the head of the bus-
iness and finances, and Thomas H.
W a mock of the editorial and news de-
partments. I'lotb of these men. like
.Mr. Kelsey, are natives of .Meriden
THOMAS H. WARNOIK.
and l<iyal advocates of every cause
that stands for the city's advancement.
The large financial interests of these
three gentlemen in the Record, assures
its loyalty solely to the welfare of
Digitized by Google
136 A CtNTUKV OF ilERIDIiX.
Mcridcn and their fellow-citizens at all publisher; T. H. VVamock,
times. The directors are: W. A. Kel^ty.
'l lu' L'onipanv s paid-in capital is E. Smith, T. H. W'a mock. X. L. 15
$75.1x^0.00. W, A. Kclsey is presi- ley, J. L. Billard, \V. H. Lson auu
dent ; E. E. Smiih. vice-president and \V. Mosher.
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CHURCHES.
CHURCHES.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL
CHURCH.
This time honored church organiza*
lion which, previous to 1806, was by
law the predominating power in the
affairs of the town, as is told at length
in the first section of this volume by
George M. Curtis, still occupies a
leading position in the spiritual and
social life of Meriden, The present
edifice^a remarkably attractive and im-
F^jsing stone structure, was dedicated
\pril 2, 1879, but some few meetings
A'ere held therein previous to its dedi'
cation. The comer stone was laid
June S, 1876, and the cost of the
building was about $175,000.
The completion of the church after
having been in process of construc-
tion for over two years was a source
of much joy to its members, and
from that time to the present the
society has experienced a steady
^owth in membership and influence.
The first sermon in the present church
was preached by Rev. Tliomas A.
Miles, who afterwards supplied the
pulpit of the church from April, 1879
to April, 1881. Other divines who
afterwards filled the pulpit but were
w>t installed as pastors were Rev. Llcw-
ellyn Pratt who served a year and
ten months, and until December, 1883 ;
Rev. Charles H. Everest, who re-
mained for nine months from October
I, 1884 to July I, 1885; and Rev.
Charles H. Williams who presided
over the church for three years from
1886-89. Asher Anderson, Jan-
uary 31, 1890, was then installed as
regular pastor and served in that
capacity until November 30, 1901.
Rev. Albert J. Lord the present pastor
after having filled the pulpit from
December 4. 1902, was installed Jan-
uary 27, 1903. During its history the
church has had two assistant pastors.
The first was John W. Logan, now
Y. M. C. A, secretary at Hyde
Park, Mass., and Rev. F. W. Hazen,
the present assistant pastor.
The First Congregational Church
is not only a most attractive and sub-
stantial house of worship but it com-
prises one of most modern equii)ment.
The latest acquisition, and operated
through the organ by dectricity, is
a costly set of chimes, the only set of
its kind in the city, presented to
the church by the White families
in memory of the late Edward H.
and Howard White. These chimes,
twenty in number, first gave forth -
their tuneful melodies on Easter
Sunday of the present year, and
the church became equipped with
them unbeknown to its members. The
growth of the church in membership
within the past decade, during which
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138
A CENTURY OF MHKIUEN.
time a larj^e iiuniber have also j:^one to
other cities, and many other members
removed by death, is shown l)y the
followinjj figures: the total enrolled
Rev. F. W. Hazen, the assistant pas-
tor, is the present superintendent. The
trustees of the corporation are (leorpe
H. Wilcox, Arthur R. Hall and R«ih-
i
Photo by H. S. Godfrey.
FIRST fO.Nl'.REG.XTIONAL CHURC H,
membership in 1896 was f)88. and the
total enrolled membership to date
is about 900. The Sunday school
comprises 530 members, and of this
ert W. Carter : clerk. Albert H. Wil-
cox, and the treasurer, Byron R. Gard-
ner. The church deacons are V\'. H-
Catlin, Arthur S. Lane, H. D. Ueehe,
d by Google
CHURCHES.
\. II. Savaj^c. C. H. Pinks. Erastus
Hubbard ami Homer A. Curtiss.
Tlie I'irst Congrejijational church
viclds a mighty inriucncc both at home
iml abroad, and many tliriving socie-
ies have l>een formed within llie edi-
ice. all of which are in a Hourishing
rondition. Inckuhnj^ those organized
luring the pastorate of Rev. Mr. L-ord
:he church is jwssesscfl of the follow-
ing ])rominent societies : Young Peo-
ple's Society of Christian Endeavor ;
junior Christian Endeavor ; The For-
eign Missionary Auxihary. Mrs. l'. E.
Hinnian. president ; Ladies' P»enevo-
Icnt SiX'iety, Mrs. Emily 11. Johnson,
chainnan, and the following directors:
•Mrs. Charles E. Linsley. .Mrs. \\ ilbur
K. Davis, Mrs. (ieo. E. Savage, Mrs.
Arthur S. Lane. Mrs. C'has. L. Lyon,
.Mrs. \V. 11. S<iuire. .Mrs. John Q.
Thayer and .Mrs. (ieorge H. Wilcox:
<iuardian Society. Mrs. II. \V. Seip,
pre>ident : the Dt)rcas Society of young
women. Miss Agnes .Augur, president ;
<iranite League of young men. eights
members. .Allen Vale, president : the
( heerful ( iivers. composetl of girls.
.\nnie Ives, leader: ( )rder of Knights
of King .Arthur. .Stanley White as
•Merlin : and Hoys* Cadets, thirty nicni-
Inrrs. Wni. P). P>lanchard of Co. L, C.
.\. (j., drill master.
Rev. Albert Jones Lord was born
at Ellsworth. Me.. C)ctol>er i, 1868.
and was educated at the high school
of his native town, and was graduated
at Bowdoin College, where he pursued
his academic course, in 1894. He
studied for the ministry at the Theo-
logical Seminary at Andover, Mass.,
from which he was graduated in 1897.
During his theological course he filled
several pulpits, and notably that of the
Perkeley Temple, lioston, w'here he
was for a time assistant pastor, and
also at the Highland Congregational
church, Koxbury, Mass. He was or-
dained a clergyman ( )ct. 19. i8<^7. and
the following July was installed pastor
of the Congregational church at Hart-
Ri:V. ,\. J. I.OKU.
ford. \'t., where he remained until he
received a call from the First Con-
gregational church of Meriden. Since
coming to this city the church has
greatly prospered financially, spirit-
ually and socially.
Mr. Lord was married in Ellsworth.
Me.. Dec. 29. 1897, to Maude Evelyn
Phillips, and one child. Phillips
Ha\nes Lord, has blessed that union.
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I
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
140
THE CENTER CONGREGA-
TIONAL CHURCH.
The Center Congregational church,
situated at the corner of Broad and
East Main streets, in the heart of the
up town district, is the oldest church
edifice in the city, having been erected
in 1830. Its architecture is typical of
the i'uritan period of church building,
being indeed a visible embodiment of
the simplicity, dignity and stability
wliu h iiiarkeil the character and life
01 Lhe tiuKS out of which it sprang.
It stands in tlie mid.st ut the rush and
complexity of our modern life, pro-
claiming silent!) the plainer virtues
and austcrer life of tlie forefathers;
and hinchng intn one the of small
begnuuiigs and the nourishing pre>cnt
of our cit> . A N ew England classic
it is, of unniixe<l type, its simple,
noble lines ennnnuly satisfying the
sense of proportion and churchliness.
The auditefriuni is finished iti wliite.
its chaste surface^ combining effec-
tively with the furnisiiings of green
and gold.
Mspccially admired is the t(juer
with its graceful symmetry, enhane-
ed by a -^chcmc of light Doric and
lonie pillars and classic decorations.
The clock in the tower is a well-
known landmark..
The I enter Congrr-atiojinl church
lin^ been so called snur tlie year
184S. in that year a <li vision in the
original C«Migregational church took
place largely in conse(|ne?ire of the
center of population changing to the
westward; about three-quarters ot
the church removing, while the rec'
ords show about one hundred and
twenty to have remained, including
all the deacons of the church. The
property was divided. Those who
removed carried with them the rec-
ords of the original church organiza-
tion, and adopted the name "First
Congregational Church." Those
who remained to worship in the old
building adopted by the advice of the
Council the title "Center Congrega-
tional Church.''
There was left to the old site by
this division a baud of noble men and
women to keep alive the altar tires
which their fathers had builded.
."^omc of them were men of weight,
the stamp of whose character was
already on the growing town. Call-
ed beuccfortli by a new ecclesiasti-
cal Jianie, they nevertheless knew no
other church than the one whose
meeting house they then occnpied ;
no other church traditions than those
which for a hundred and twenty
venr« bad been taking ro. in the
^oil nf their affectiotis : no other
memories than thos^ centerini:
around the [)astorates of a long line
of godly ministers, who, Iteginninij
with Theophilus Hall, had shop-
herded the one and nndi\ided Con-
gregational flork ( entiT Churcli
today is the ])(»sscssor of tliis ancient
site of worshi]). and joint heir ot
these traditions and memories. On
the nu'inbcrship roll of the chiirch
to-day arc not a few names running
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CHURCHES-
MI
back to the coming of Congregation-
alism to Meriden, To the extent,
therefore, that the age of a church
is determined by the duration of its
orj^ranic life more than by its nomen-
clature, the present Center Church
rejoices in a spiritual ancestry as old
as Congregationalism is old in Meri-
den.
1892-1896; Rev. J. H. Grant, 1896 to
the present time.
Two of the former pastors of the
church are living, Rev. J. J. Woolley,
pastor of the Park Place Congrega-
tional church, Pawtucket, R. I., and
Rev. Edward Hungerford, residing in
Burlington, \'ermont, and still in ac-
tive pastoral service. During the
CK.NTKR rONGRi:c;.\TIO.\.\L CHURCH.
The pastors of the church since
the year 1848 have been, with the
terms of service of each : Rev. Asa-
hel A. Stevens, 1848-1854; Rev.
Lewis E. Lockwood, 1857-1858;
Rev. O. H. White, 1858-1862; Rev.
J. J.' Woolley, 1862-1871 ; Rev. Edw.
Hungerford, 1872-1879; Rev. A. H.
Hall, 1880-1891 ; Rev. J. C. Wilson,
pastorate of Mr. Hungerford, the
house of worship was extended
twenty feet to the west, excavation
made for a new lecture room and
parlors, the present organ was pur-
chased and the church interior recon-
structed. Again during the pastor-
ate of Rev. J. C. Wilson, 1892-6,
the premises were greatly improved
Digitized by Google
I
A CEN'ILKY or MERIOEN.
142
by the removal of an unsightly brick
buildinj^ occupyinj^ the corner, and
the church interior was remodeled
and beautified. "
The membership of the church at
this writinji^ is something; over four
hundred, h'ew features of the in-
stitutional church have been taken
on. both location and constituency
favoring rather the type of the
Ki:v. j. J. WOOI.I.KV.
conservative family church. "Home-
like** expresses its chief apj)eal to its
uKMuhers. who are known as a united
and loyal peo|)le. rhr(nii.rh a variet>
of ori^anizations which embody the
modern aim and method nf spiritual
service the church seeks to make itself
the servant of the comnumity in the
things of the Kingdom of ( iod.
The organizations at present 1
addition to the Sunday school, a
as follows: The Woman's Fora|
Missionary Society, auxiliary toll
New Haven I'.ranch of the Womai
I'.oard of Foreign Missions: T|
Ladies' Aid Society. for phillj
thn)pic and social i)iir[x)ses: 11
Ladies* Auxiliary, having the sai
object as the preceding : The Men
Club, for "the better actjuaintam
of the men of the parish, and ik
])romotion of the welfare of tfc
church The ^'oung I Vople's Sudd
of Christian Endeavor : The Liben
Club (young ladies), for mi>>i'>nai
and charitable work : The Snnbai
Society (young children ). for missw*
ary stu<ly and w«)rk : The junk
Chr.rcli Workers (boys), for Chri.-itia
culture and usefulness in the churdh
The Cra<lle Roll (the youngest chj
dren). for missi«)nary and social j:^*^
The present f)fficers of the chunj
in addition t< the i>astor are: •!<■
cons. L. I'l. N'ale. ( ). C. Hupfer. \^
W. Rice. 1*. C. Crombie : clerk. O. \¥
(laines: treasurer. W. \'. Stnita
su])erintendent of the Sundd
School. J. H. ^'ale : superinicr.dtB
of primary (K'i)artment, Mrs. Fanfll
.\. .\ugur.. It deserves a place ■
this rec<»r(l that Mrs. Augi:r fad
.served the church in this capadB
more than forty years. The chardi
made recognition not long ajjo "i
this remarkable service with a rccef
tion and presentation.
The pn»j)erty of the church \>vM
der the control and care of a corpof
ation. the "Center Ecclesiastidl
Google
CHUKCHES.
143
Sf»ciety.*' The jirescnt society's
coniniittee. whose functions are
those of trustees, consists of F. V.
Griswold. chairman : J. H. Yale and
I). I,, liishop. liesifles the church
edifice vahied at $30,000. the society
owns a parsonaj^e. and invested
funds of the vahie of six thousaiul
dollars, 'i'he parsonajje. a roomy.
conilr>rtal)le home, situated at a
sijjluly point on Ilroad street, was
huilt in the sixties larjjely throuj.j:h
the efforts of Deacon W aher IJnoth.
who s^avc the land and superin-
lended the huildinjj.
kcv. John M. (Irant. the present
I'astor. comjdetes this vear tiie tenth
r»f his term of service.
The pastor of the Center Cou.i;rc.y:a-
ti'iiia! church. Rev. John H. ( iraut.
was horn in GoldslM)ro. \. C. I'ehru-
•iry 10. 1870. His father. .Major H.
I- (Irant. served with distinction
through the Civil war as a memhcr of
tlu- Sixth Connecticut \ olunteer Reg-
iment and at the conclusi»)n of the war
*i-ltled in the south. .Mr. (Irant's
"vither is a native of Thomp>nji.
^ '»nn, Cioldshoro has heen the fanulv
li«>nie since i8r»8.
The subject of this sketch is the eld-
»-t (.f fiv- children. He attended the
lushlic schools of his native town : the
I'utnani (Conn.) Hi}^h School. and for
a >iiijjle year W ake I'orest Colle.!.,^-. X.
^ •. ctjnipletinj^ his preparation for col-
'^k'e. Four years. i888-i8<jj. were
''P^nt at Amherst College. .Mass.,
wlicre .\lr. (Irant availed himself e.^^-
jHcially of the departments of litera-
ture and i)uhlic speakini^^. and was
identified with variors collej^c organ-
izations, musical, dramatic and social.
He is the posses.sor of the Thi Beta
Kappa Key. and is a member of the
Psi L'psilon fraternity. He was jjrad-
uated with the dejjree of .\. l>., class
of i8y2.
The followiuLT forr years were
.cjiven to pre])aration lor the ministry.
i<i;\. .foiix II. (;i;.\.\T.
the fir.' I two years at the l)ivinit>
school of the L'nivirsity of Chicaijo.
the last two at Vale Divinity school.
Xew Haven, from which he was i^rad-
ualed in with the <le.i^ree of 11. D.
Thv' followiujLT snrmer was passed in
travel in l'uroj;e.
W ith the exce])tion of two summers
in Rutland. N'ermout. as pastor's as-
sistant, the .Mtriden paste »rate of Mr.
144
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
Grant is the only one which he has.
held. He was ordained to the minis-
try at the same time that he was in-
stalled as pastor, October 6, 1896.
He held the office of president of
the local Ministers' Association, and
secretary of the Meriden Guild of the
Religious Education Association.
Mr. Grant married in 1901 Marga-
ret K., eldest daughter of the late Rev.
Alfred H. Hall, a predecessor in the
pulpit of Center church. One son has
been born to this union, Alfred Hall
Grant. The family make their home
in the parsonage, 630 Broad street.
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
This society was organized Oct.
7, 1786, when Baptists were few in
numbers and looked then upon by the
''Standing Order," the Congrega-
tionalists, as somewhat beneath the
social plane. On November 3, the
same year, Ephraim Hough was
chosen deacon. Isaac HaU as leading
brother, and Joel Ives as church
clerk. They were later treated more
kindl) by the Methodists, who
assisted them materially in the
bnilding of their second meeting
house.
Among the men of the town who
became in a measure jsupporters of
the Baptist Church, but not mem-
bers of either the church or the so-
ciety should be mentioned the
following: Noah Pomeroy, L. Wil-
cox, W. Martin, Chas. Parker, L C.
Lewis. John Parker. J. \V. Russell.
Edmund Parker, Worcester Ives,
W. Beckett. John Blake, S. Glad-
win and L. Ives. For many years
before any meeting house was
built within the confines of the pres-
ent township of Meriden, Baptists
attended divine worship, as far back
as 1739, at the meeting house io
Wallingford. The present society
was formed after it had been decid-
ed to divide that church. The Mer-
iden constituency then formed a
new covenant which was signed by
the following twelve members of
this society: brethren Isaac Hall
Chas. Ives, Ephraim Hough. Zena
Brockett, Asaph Mitchell, Charles
Ives, Jr., Samuel Mix, and sisters
Leah Peck, Sarah Ives, Mary Hull
Jerusha Matoon, and Esther Ma-
toon, Isaac Hall being the first
clerk. For several years thereafter
meetings were held in private dwell-
ings, schoolhouses and other places,
usually in the southeastern part wi
the present Meriden.
In 1 80 1 a dwelling house was pur-
chased near the present dividing
line of Meriden and Wallingford to
accommodate Baptists living in both
towns, but in 1815 the Meriden Bap-
tists erected a second meeting
house, which stood just south of the
present parsonage, and on the site
which now comprises the south comer
of Charles street. This building
was named by the members of the
''Stending Order** the Salt Box.
from its unpretentious appearance
and scanty furnishings. The pe«'J
of the church first consisted ot
lo^'s hewn on one side only, and
Digitized by Google
CHURCHES.
GROUP OF PASTORS OF THK FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
146
A CENTLKV UF MKKlDt.N.
each fafinlv Itmit^jlit its own foot
stove wliich \\a> shared during
the Icngtliy services by each mem-
ber of the laniily. Durinq* the
noon hour the fins in ilic.-,e fool
warmers were replenished at neigh-
boring houses. Such were the
deprivations of these WMV^hippers
that at the end llie lir^i wintir,
ten men |)le<lge<l themselves to make
the church ini>rr c< >nn'. .rtable, and
all of them did a jjuriioii of the
work witli their own hands, there
bein^ little if nny nioney used iii
the first iniprovements. Among
these ten were: James lialdwin. who
sawed all the IninlKT tn build the
|iews ; ]'f--< })h IWiss. who furnished
oxen \> < (h aw the same to Mr. I'.ald-
win s null: and Stpiire W illiam
Vale, who was a mountain of
strength to the church and who was
said to have jjossessed at the time,
the only "sale" carpeted house in
Meriden. S(purc \'ale wa< looked
upon with a great deal ot respect
by his neighbors f<»r he entertained
the ministers at his lioust-. In 1820
a committee comprising loseph
Twiss. ( )thniel Ives. Daniel Hall,
and Seth 1). Pliinib, the last named
o( whom was appointed sexton
Without pay "to keep the key of the
meeting house, and see that it was
swept and kept in good order" and
who is said to have borne that
honor most gracefully, were
appointed a committee to pmrure
preaching for one year and also to
keep a book of the society in which
should be recorded "all the doing's
of buihhng the meeting house." an:
which hi M .k w a.s t<> contain al>o
subscrii»tions of then" i>\\u menib.'-
and tlio^e of the Melhodi>ls in
halt oi liie san:e. b'benezer Ha
W'm. Vale. iJaniel lialdwin an.
( )thnicl Ives were appointed cli' '
i^tl.T^. The .second church win ij
not in use by the P.a|«ti-i> w i>|
free for the use of the AKthodi-.s
who were also made wt. k< ir.e at :ui
tiiiu\s. ( )ti September 4, [820. ;i|
wa^ agreed to instruct the sociitv^
committee to receive the sliarf I
tlu' money ])reviouslv \ . .ted by iHi
stale !or the "eticouragciuenl I
religion and literature." In iN.'j
it being decided that "the mecti:'g
house must be kejJt in good rcpa:'
l'H,kni^ neat and clean, and be v^;!
insured." ."^anu'.el luildwin. Sanr.'d
Vale and Samuel Ives Hart wcH
apj)ointefl a Cf>mmittee. "tr> o\er-.<
and manage the business." biii il
was tiot Tuitil Xovember the iun*
year that this work was ace- •
plished when Eli C. P.irdsey
. I'.ahlwin. Titrs Ives and Wiili.;^
and Jonathan Vale secured
money to carry out the instruction^
c»f the society.
In 1830 the society removed tli<
church building to a lot dircctif
across the street adjoining the ^:ra^t''
yard, at which time the under;
n'mg was raised and a basement i*t >ry
put in. This became a later place - 3
worship of the self sacrificing ar'!
struggling Baptists, and was acoT"*
plished through free will offerins:^
of friends within and w^ithont tils'
Digitized by Google
CHURCHES.
society boundaries. This building in
atcr years came to be used for educa-
lional purposes, and was known as
"The Academy on the Hill." and for
many years was the onl\ hij^h school
building: in the town. In 1846, it
beinp evident that a still lartjcr church
their nieetiu}? house, which was
.soon to be vacated, the Conpjrejja-
tionalists havinjj decided to build a
larj^aT church.
The COnj^rej^fationalists, however,
would not .sell, and as a result the
l'»a|)tists resolved "that in the opinion
riKST IJ.M'TIST C IIL'KC II.
edifice was needed, a committee cr)ni~
I'risinp Joel Miller. .Mansou I'.inl-
^^7. N. F. Goodrich. Ira Twiss. an«l
Kzra Rutty were ai)pointed t«> con-
'^r with the First ("onj^rcf^ational
Society with a view of purchasiniLr
• •f this meetinjj it is e.xpedieut to
take inuiR-diale measures to .secure a
more ample house nf worship." Sam-
uel N'ale. takinj^ in the situation, (|uiet-
ly purchased the then vacant lot
adjoinini; the COnj^re'jational edifice
Google
148
A CF.MLRV UF MERIDEN.
of Mr. Saltonstall. after wliich. it
liaving^ been so votctl, this land was
imrchased bv the society. Without
further delay, ( ). Crocker, X. F.
Gwdrich and Charles lUanchard were
appointed a committee "to secure a
desijjn and specifications for a new
house of worship." The work of
buildinj; the new church met with a
remonstrance from the neis^jbhoring
church who caused an injunction
to be placed on the proi^ress of the
house of worship erected. The n:
pastor of the church was the Rc
Samuel Miller, who filled the pd^
for many years, bein^ both ordaia
and installed in iSu(), filling the pu^
f(jr twenty -three years thereafa
.\fter his death in 18^9 an exteit*
revival resulted in adding niany scor
to the church, l-rom the beginning!
the society the name of Miller ti
been a predominating t>ne. and as
loyal member of the present s*<ic
Photo hy l{. S. Godfrey.
OLIVK UK.WCU C llArEL.
Work, the reason ^iven for the
same when the question was decided
in c<Hirt was as follows: "Xo objec-
tion to the r»ai)tists as Christian i)eo-
ple, as good neighbors and worthy
citizens." but Rev. Mr. Miller had a
peculiarly sharp, ringing voice, that
the Congregationalists claimed would
di.^turb their society in worship. As
may be readily sujjposed the injunc-
tion was removed and the present
has hai)pily put it. "the Millers of th
constructive rather than the destmc
tive .sort, have ever hovered about th
church," and the members of the M3
ler family through several generatioB
up to the present time have been nxi^
loyal supporters of the society and
commendable work.
After the death of Samuel M iller ik
following .served for brief term^ a«
pastors : Rev. Russell Jennings. Rct.
Google
CHUKCHIiS.
149
Xathaniel Harvey, Rev, George H, At-
well and Rev. Leiand Howard. I"
1K38, Rev. Harvey Miller^ son of
Kev. Samuel Miller, became their
pallor and durinj? his pastoral term
ihc church i)r<)sperc(l greatly and in
i84(j-47 tile present edifice was
erected.
in fulfilment of his dyinef re(|uest.
Rev. D. Henry Miller. 1). D.. was se-
cured as pastor and he served five
years, until he enlisted in the War
of the Kehc'llioii. Sim c that time the
folliiwing have been pasture: Rev. A.
V. Mason. Kev. H. A. Cordo. D. D..
Kev. Alnu>ndc l iarn lie. Rev. !>. ( ).
Tnie. D. D.. Rev. J. \'. (iarton. Rev.
W. G. Fennell. nnd Rev. Robert A.
.\>luvurth, the present pastor, who
came in response tn the call from the
church, in 1 he growth of the so-
ciety has been .sleady alll!<>ui;"h at var-
ixiis limes members ha\ e been dis-
niis<^e<l til help ori^anize the follow-
churehes; Main Street R>apli>l.
S\ve(h'^b and (iernian I'.aptist. Much
has al-x* been done by the so-called
up-town Baptist church, to aid the
< live Branch Mission and the Park
Avenue mission which have been es-
lahlished by it. Xot onl^v. therefore,
has the First Baptist church conlrib-
tited generously to the inembership of
the sTK^^ieties of its otfsprinjjs, but its
roinaininj.: members have given unsel-
fishly of their means to enable the
younger churches of tlieir ilenuuiina-
tion to place themselves on substan-
tial footings.
The value of the church property,
including the parsonage, now occupied
by the present pastor, is $20,000. This
valuation also includes the Olive
Branch chapel structure in the extreme
easterly portion of Meriden, and which
was established something over thirty
years ago. in which Deacon Russell
Perkins was for many years a lead-
ing spirit. According to the statistics
of the Xew Ha\en iiaptist Associa-
tion, of which lhi> and all other I'.ap-
tist churches in Meriden are mem-
bers, the b'irst I»aplisl church has a
total enrolled menil;ership of 597.
( )f this there is a resident nienibcr-
ship of 164 men and .^40 vvonun.
The total enrolled nienibership of
the ' three Bible schools. inclu«ling
the ( )live Branch missioiT school,
and that whieli has been maintaiiie<l
(luring the ])a'-t eight years at I'ark
Avenue, is 554. 1 he average attend-
ance at the several Simday schools
i> ^^,^5. During the \ ear ut 1905 the
church wa.^ entirely freed from debt
and the church property was also
repaired.
Rev. Robert Archibald A>h\vi>rth.
pastor <>l the First Baptist (. luirch.
was born at r,lasg, iw . Scotland. July
2(\ 1871. Tlis father, Rev. J. W. Ash-
worih. al^<» a minister of the Baptist
denomination, after having held pa>-
torates in ScMtland and later in Eng-
land, emigraieil to this country and
was installed a^ ]»a«;tnr of the Ba|)ti?»t
Church n\ M alone. X. Y. He after-
wards lieid pastorates in Xew York
City. Putnam. Conn., and Ticonder-
oga. X'. . where he died.
His ^. >n gratiuated at the High
school of Malone, N. Y. He later
Digitized by Gopgle
I^O " A LtNTUKY OF MHRJDEN,
tonk the rcj^ular academic course at
Columbia I'liivcrsity of Xcw York
City, which was followed by an addi-
tional year under ai)|)ointmenl as I'ni-
versity bellow in bjv^lisb Lanj^uag^c
and Literature, at the C(Miciusion <jf
which he received the dej^ree of A.-M.
He fitted for the pulpit at L'nif)n Tlie-
oloj^ical Seminary, Xew York City,
from which he f^^raduated in 1896.
RKV. K. A. ASH WORTH.
Kev. Mr. Ash worth had two pastor-
ates previous to cominjj^ to Meriden,
viz. the r.aptisl church at Minerva,
X. Y.. where he remained for two
years, and the b'irst r»aptist Church
at P>ridf^eton, X. j.. where he remained
for two years before acceptinj^^ the call
of the First r>ai)tist Church of this
city where he was installed in 1900.
Mr. Ash worth is one of the tmsa
of the Connecticut liaptist ConM
tion and of the Connecticut Lite
Institution at Suffiehl. He i
president of the Meriden G
the Relijjious Education
of America.
He is married to Mabellc,
ter of F. C. Edgerton of M
and they have one daughter,
rinc. 1^
MA IX STREET B.\PTIST
CHIKCH. *C
( )winj^ to the growth of the
ulation of the vicinity on June 4, i
there was formed an org's nizatiao.
der the name of tlie West Mer»
l>a|)tist church, consisting of tJii
seven members who had received
dismissal from the First Bap
church.
( )n the site now ocnpied by tlv M
iden Xational I'ank. they crcctt
chapel at the cost of $1400. %
was dedicated on May 15, of
year. The first business meeting
held i)revious to the organiati< n
the rooms of Charles Page,
The present edifice, which was
cated July 12. 1868, was buih dur
it%7-68. The parsonage was i
to the property shortly after Ae
pletion of the church. In
vote of the members, the nam*
changed to the Main Street Baf*
Church, and in May. 1886. was iiK^
ponited under the laws of the start
.Although it was a small number tM
orijanized the church, since that til
Google
CHURCHES.
have probably been more than
names adtled to the membership
In 1890 this church gave letters
tist Society, organized the Swedish
I>aptist Church.
The Main Street Baptist edifice is
GROUP OF PASTORS OF TIIK MAIN STRKKT HAPTIST LIIURCII.
dii;missal to fifty-four members, of brick and is located in the center
'0 with others from the First Bap- of the city. Since its erection many
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
improvements have been made exter-
nally as well as internally. Dnring
the present pastorate the basement was
remodeled into beautiful social rooms
at a very larjje cost.
The church has had ten pastors, and
they have presi<led over an ever j^row-
• ing and harmonious conj^regation in
jiamed the church has especially pfl
pered sjiiritually and a large pcfli
of a lontj standintj^ <lcbt has been;-!
I'nder the charjje of the yn^
|)astor. they have one of the hnj
and best attended Junior C. E. >X
ties of any church in the city. T|
society has doubletl its nieinbtTi
M.MN STRKKT U.M'TIST CHLRt ll.
the following order: Rev. K. M. Jer-
ome, Rev. H. G. Mason, Rev. (). T."
Walker, Rev. A. M. Worcester, Rev.
C. E. Cordo, Rev. J. G. Xoble, Rev.
I. R. Wheelock. Rev. E. W. Husted,
Rev. C. J. Greenwood and Rev. Ar-
thur Kmerson Harris, the present pas-
tor. During the pastorale of the last
within a year. There is a large Bi
schoiil and also several other 1
cieties in connection with this chu'it
all of which are growing stea«lil}
numbers, and great interest is ^1*"
in the work.
The value of the church {tri^
inchulin;'^ the parsonage, is S44-^
Digitized by Google
CHURCHES.
but this will be oiiliaiiced in a degree
by marked inii)r()venients to tlie inter-
ior of the church tliat are to be made
during the summer months of 1906.
The interior will then be handsomely
redecorated, electric lighting: will take
the place of gas ; there will also be
made important changes in the pulpit
platform and baptistry and a new or-
gan will probably su|)i)lant the old.
The main body of the church will also
be carpeted anew.
The resident membership comprises
100 men and 153 women, and the total
enrolled membership is 378, according
to the statistics presented at the eight-
ieth meeting of the N'ew Haven Bap-
tist Association held in 1905. The to-
tal enrolled membership of the Sun-
day schoid is 225 and the average at-
tendance about
The following are the officers for
1906:
Deacons, P. A. Spencer, G. A. ( ilad-
win. (iarry C. lUoomfield and Horace
\V. Kingsley ; trustees, first, I. T. Gard-
ner, second, E. H. Lane, and third. F..
k. Lewis ; treasurer. J. T. Kay : col-
lector. H. H. Lester: auditors. H. \V.
Kingsley. Frank E. Kay and R. E.
Mills: benevolent band. Deacon Glad-
win: ushers, C. M. (ilantz, F. L.
Theime, Ed. Joel, Le Roy (iardner, .\.
J. Rowley, Paul Gehring, Howard
Lane and Irving Wood.
Rev. .\rthur Emerson Harris, pas-
tor of the Main street I)aptist church,
was born May 3. 1870. at Montreal.
Can., of English parentage. At the
age of five his family removed to Eng-
land, residing at Brighton, where Mr.
Harris received his early education in
one of the numerous "Church"
.schools of that country, private schools
supported parll\ by the established
Church of England, and partly by the
fees paid by parents who were un-
willing to send their children to the
board schools, which answer .some-
what to American public free schools.
Photo by Akerh & PlRoon.
RKV. .\. E. H.VRKIS.
but were very inferior. This accounts
for a religious training from the very
first such as was not to l)e had in the
connnon school education. Circum-
stances recalled his |)arents to Canada
in 1S82 and the family returned t<>
Montreal, where Mr. Harris, then
twelve years of age. entered business
I
4
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
life in the office of a celebrated patent
solicitor. At the age of fifteen, he
went alone to Toronto, to seek his life
work and fortune unaided, and suc-
ceeded in securing a training in busi-
ness management and acquiring a
kiiMw lcdtre of telegraphy, being placed
subsequently in cliarge of what was
then a new venture in Canada, a large
district messenger and branch tele-
graph office, with the oversight of
some fifty hoys.
Mr. Harris a5i>ired to business life
of a different order, however, and in
1883 accepted an important position
with a promtTKTit Xew' York banking
institution, wlure. after a series of
promotions he had a successful busi-
ness career, and was offered the posi-
tion of manager of a branch bank-
ing house ill Reading. I'enn.. and af-
terwards in Philadelphia. It was
while in tliis latter city that ^Ir. Har-
ris finally responded to the call, that
he had felt justified hitherto in stead-
ily resisting, to enter the gospel min-
istry of his own denoniiu.ition, the
Baptist church. Accordingly in 1895
he entered Crozer Theological Semi-
nary at Chester. Pcnn,. and after pur-
suing the regular course of three
years, received his diploma. Tune,
i8i>8. and ordained shortly fol-
I nving at the Fifth Baptist church of
rhiladilphia. He was afterward mar-
ric<I in that church October 29, 1902,
to Auna L.M.mis Meredith, of Phila-
delphia, who lias made him an excel-
lent helpmate in his life work.
The first pn * orate Mr. Harris
filled was during his senior year at
seminary when he took charge of the
Liberty P r' [laptist chapel, a mis-
sion of the iiaplist churches of Cam-
den, X. J., and w inch has since l>ect>nie
tile Ilrean Baptist church of C anidcn
In 1898, he was called, upon his grad-
uation from Crozer, to the pastorate
of the Tabernacle Baptist church.
Newark. X. J., which church he ser\ed
for a little over five years, resigning
that charge in 1903 to accept the pas-
torate of the Main street Baptist
church of this city, assuming his new
«luties with the last Sunday in June
of the same year. Since his coming
there have been noticeable additio n.*
both to the property and membership
and he liolds the love and f--
teem of a loyal and harmonious fiock.
;Mr. Harris is a man of great encrg}
and icrcc and since he became its
pastor the church has been greatly
blesse<l spiritually.
GERM AX IJAPTIS I CHURCH.
The (ierman T.ai)ii<ts of Meridtn
as indicated l)v the nu'nihership ^'i
their church, number at lliis writinc
about ICQ. Previous to 1874 ^vhcr
the society was formally organic'
these good ])eople in order to attenvi
church where their language \v>^'
spoken, went to a place of worsinr
in Xew Haven. Andrew Slockburi^cr
a staunch Baptist and a prcachc
but not a clergyman, and hl^^ ^vift.
Christina, to a certain extctit ^
missionary in Meriden. are ju^tl-
called the organizers of the Gcr-
I
Digitized by Google
CllLkCllKS.
man nai)tist church here. For sonic
years nicctinj^s and Sunday school
were held at their liouse on Gale
ivenue, at first but once a month, and
e^radually more fre(|uently. Later
nieetinj^s were held in the old school-
house that stood on T.road street at
the north side of the old buryinjj
j^round. Meetinjjs were also held
by the (ierman Baptists at the old
desiraide buildini^ lots at the cor-
ner of Liberty and Twiss streets.
This land was purchased by the
First Baptist church society from
Waldo C. Twiss at a very reason-
able fijjure, and Fdward Miller was
one of the larj4;est contributors in
the purchase of the land, wliich was
leased by that society to the German
r.aptists for a period of ninety-nine
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
GKKMAX ItAITIST ClIfKCII AND PARSONAGE.
town hall and before the erection
of their present edifice, in the east
wing of the Main Street Bajuist
•church. It was in 1874. a short
time after a regular pastor in the
person of Rev. Henry Moelman had
l>een cnjjaged and who was installed
May 30, 1873, that they became
possessed of two large and highly
years. The ac(juisition of this land
and the i)opularity of the first regu-
lar pastor enthused and encouraged
the members to such an extent that
the l)uilding of the present edifice
was soon begun and this was dedi-
cated on Christmas Day, 1876. The
growth of the society was more
pn)nounced in its early days
A CENTURY OF MERIULX.
ami althou|;li orj^anizcd with but
seventeen members or familie-s, tlie
rtrst year thereafter twenty-five
persons received baptism at tlie
liands of Rev. Mr. Moehnan. He
remained pastor for thirteen years
and (hirinjj his |)astorate the church
thrived handsomely both spiritually
RKV. J. C. HUHKR.
and otherwise. His loss to the
church was sadly felt for he was
greatly beloved by his people. Some
months after his departure Rev.
Henry Weimar was engaged to pre-
side over the church and as the sec-
ond pastor remained four years.
The third pastor was Rev. Henry
r.entz, who remained three year-, a
did also Rev. Henry Meyers wh
became the next settled pa?:oi
Later divines of this church wcr
Rev. Emil IJerger who served i
such six years and Rev. V. Kn<
who filled the pulpit from 1901 «
\if04. The present pastor. Rev. J L
Hubcr, was installed Sept. i,
In i8«)i the present church p^r
sonage, owned by the society,
built and this with a few excepii -ai
has been occupied by the >e\in
pastors and their families. The rirs
deacon of the church was .\n<ire«
Schwab and the ])resent deacon? an
Andrew Stockburger and John I/jit
The clerk of the church for mani
years at* intervals has been j"hi!
(iuenther. a neighbor of Deacofi
Stockl)urger and the treasurer i
Andrew Stockburger. jr.
Some time ago the church becand
incorporated. There are too acth^
resident members of the church aij
about 80 in the Sunday schcd.
There is also a society of WilM
Workers of twenty members andl
Young People's society of third
members, also a Ladies' Aid Socicd
and Junior League. j
Rev. J. C. Huber was bom il
Switzerland and at the age of seve«
teen came to this country. He w<
educated for the ministry at the th^
ological seminary at Minneapt>lil
Minn., where he resided for maw
years. His pastorates have been a
Tomah. Wis.. Danville. Minn.. ^
Charles. Minn., and previou-
Digitized by Google
CHURCHES.
157
•Mininj^ to Mcridcii was !< .rated for
'cven \ears in Xewark, X. j., w here
u- preached in two (htlerent
•l)iirrhr<. one of which was the First
Icrrnan I'aptist church of that city.
He. like his predecessors, preaches
:n (ierman altlioujjh services are at
linus hehl in English. He is held
in high esteem not only by the Ger-
man speaking' population who at-
tviul his church, hut in the coniinun-
uy at large. He has heen blessed
with a larfje family and the members
f»f his household add to his eflTorts
in behalf of Christianttv.
THE SW KDISH HAPTIST
CHL'RCH.
Fhe First Swc<lish Baptist
Church of Meriden, Conn., under
xvbich name it became incorporated
December 2. 1889. was organized
February 16. 1887, with nineteen
members who had withdrawn by let-
from the Main Street Baptist
Hurch, of Meriden. Some time pre-
^" us to this the Swedish people of
lii^ faith were banded together and
Hid business meetings, calling them-
>«lves a society as early as 1886, and
>tv€ral of whom came to this citv
"111 the American Baptist Church of
New Britain. The first chairman of
the society was Rev. O- Lindh, now
at Cambridge. Mass.*. who officiated
It die organization of the church.
Ihe young i«>ciety after having
maintained a Sundav school in a
^niall halt on Britannia street near
the railroad crossing, and having
held preaching services both in this
hall and alternately the Main
Street Baptist Church, commenced
building the present edifice at the
C orner of I'ark Avenue and Frank-
lin street. The following com-
prised the buildinj^ committee: Os-
car Peterson, John E. Swenson,
Bernard Swenson, (i. Kjall, Hans
Hanson and Rev. .\. Rohnstrom,
the las! named being then pastor of
the church. The corner stone of
the new edifice was laid with appro-
priate ceremonies Ji ly 6. 1S90, and
^reat was the joy in the hearts of
the Swedish Baptists when the
church was formally dedicated Nov.
21, 1890.
The church has been a growing
institution from the start, and dur-
ing its nineteen years of usefulness
297 have heen jjiven the right hand
of fellowship, thus beccjming mem-
bers of the church. The member-
ship of the church at the present
day is 133. During its existence
there has been paid for running
expenses, charity' and missions near-
ly $25,000. The church, of which
an illustration is shown, together
with the parsonage, has a seating
capacity of 250. and is valued at
$8,000, and tipon which there is no
debt The church corporation has
also built a comfortable parsona:4e
fronting on Park avenue, at a cost
of $2,000, but upon this a debt of
$1,500 still remains.
The services are held in Swedish
but there are classes in the Sunday
school in which English is used and
Digitized by Google
A C KXTrKV OF MKRIDKN'.
mectinjjs of the <lifTercnt societies of
the cluirch. wliicli arc fre(|uently at-
tended l)y Knglish speaking people.
The members are enthusiastic and the
services are well attended, while the
Sunday school has a membership of
about lOO.
Several well known Swedish
he remained until iS<>3 when Rev. T.
ClafFord became the j)astor. j^cnin^
five years. Rev. \V. Kohler was
installed and held the pastorale un-
til lUoA, when Rev. Robert Lar-
son was called to tlic church inci
.Minnesota, and he has since guided
the spiritual lives of its members.
Photo by R. S. (Jodfroy.
SWi:i)ISII HAl'TJST CIlUKLil AND hAKSUNAGli.
divines of the T.aptist faith have
presided over the church from time
to time. The first regular pa«^tor
was Rev. A. P. Sword, who served
in iS88-S(y and was followed by
Rev. A. Robust rom. under whose
]>astorate the church was built, and
The deacons of the church at the
l)resent writing are Hans Hanson,
John K. Swenson. David Dahl atiJ
( )l()f Falk.
Mr. Larson was horn at
Skarf^
sjon. Stensele, W'esterlwitten. Swi"^
en. Coming to this country at th
GoogI
CHURCHES.
aj[je of twenty to seek his fortune,
he finally entero<l the Theological
Seminary of the L'niversity of Chi-
ca}<o. from which he was afterward
j^radiiated. and December 8, 1900
became an ordained j)reacher of the
Ba|)tist church, later becoming in-
stalled pastor of the Swedish Bap-
tist Church at W illmar, Minn. Since
his coining to Meriden. tiie Swedish
l»aptist Church has continued to
Photo by Akors it Pigeon.
KKV. ROItKKT LARSON.
grow in membership and prosperity
and during his brief j)astorate. a
remaining debt on the church edifice
has been Ii(iuidated. Mr. Larson is
a man of scholarly attainments and
is much beloved by those of his
nationality in Meriden, and enjoys
the highest esteem of those who
know him.
He is married to Anna Soj)hia
-Matlson, formerly of Daggett, Mich.,
and they have two bright infant boys,
Charles Kben and Rolf ( )smund. Rev.
Mr. Larson and his family reside at
the church parsonage.
ST. ANDREW S CHURCH.
The lilpiscopal parish of .Meriden
had its origin in the troubles in-
cident to the RevolutitMi. Moses
.\ndrews, one of the brothers of the
famous Parson Andrews of W'al-
lingford. was a farmer in the west-
ern ])art of the town. W hen the
war broke out, in common with the
rest of the Episcopalians, he became
an object of suspicion to the ruling
authorities. Though remarkable for
the mildness and gentleness of
his character, he was placed under
heavy bonds and forbidden to leave
his farm under any pretense what-
ever, without the s|)ecial permis-
sion of the selectmen of the town.
To Mr. .Andrews the severest part
of the punishment was the being
forbidden to worshi|) (iod with his
brethren on the Lord's day and in
the Lord's house. He therefore
petitioned for permission to go to
church on Sundays in W'allingford.
The indulgetice for which he would
have been thankful was refused. In
place of it In- was graciously given
pernu'ssion to attend the Congrega-
tional meeting house in Meriden. r>ut
Google
i6o
A CENTIXKV OF AIKKIDEN.
that was a lavnr which the st!irdy
old churchman did not ap])reciate.
I'indnijL!^ that hv wi»ul(l not \)v allovv-
td to attend the cluuch ut his choice
he determined to have a church in
his own house, and that house is
now standmj^ at 424 West Main
street. Slal)s and hlocks of wood
were hrouj^ht from the neiLrhhnrini::
saw mill for henches. and the neigh-
hors were invited to attend. Every
Sunday the httle conjjre.ijation. pro-
hahly not more than fifteen or
twenty in all. assend)led to unite in
the worship accordin**^ to the prayer
book and listen to a sermon from
s<»me standard author. Xei^dibor
Andrews himself was the lay-
reader. The services thus humbly
commenced were continued almost
a (|uarter of a century.
The organi7:ation of this time
honored parish of the Protestant
Kl)iscopal Church, which makes
Meriden somewhat famous church-
wise, dates back lo t78<>. and ac-
cordinj^*^ to an historical sketcii by
late Rev. ( i. H. Deshon. D. T^., on
April 13. of that year, a preliminary
moetinq: was held duriiif^ the pro-
gress of which the following agree-
ment was signed:
-Meriden. .\pril 13. 1789.
**\Ve. whose names are underwrit-
ten, do declare our conformity to
the Church of England and desire
of joining the worship and sacra-
ments of said church, do consent
and agree to support the same.**
Signed: Reuben Ives, clerk: Deni-
son Andrews. Moses Andrews, Isaac
Atw.iter, l)a\id Andrews. Simet^>:i
Terkins. John li. OfMii^lass. Ezra
Butler. Watt Hubbard, Scth De-
Wolf, and Snldinnii ^*ale. Tbi'-
>-iinplc rec<-»rd of the first procecd-
mgs toward the formation of the
society were the first steps taken by
these early Episcopalians in Meri-
den.
At a followinj4 meetings held 111
Meriden. December 28 of the same
year the society was formally orga-
nized, at w'hich time Moses An-
drews was chosen first clerk, and
Denison Andrews and Isaac At-
water. the society committee. Rev.
Reuben Ives of Cheshire, who in the
meantime bad served as iinsstonan*
was |)laced in charge of the parish
thus formed and was cn^jaged as
the first rector by the following
vote: "that we will hire Mr. Ives to
j)reach four days for this year."
**\'oted: To keep up meetings for
this year.'* This vote according to
Dr. Deshon was to have the ser-
vice- of a clerjjyman but for four
.^unda\s during the year, the balance
of the time to cc^ntinue the lav ser-
vices to which they had previously
been accustomed. Mr. Ives, who
remained in charge of the parish a5
its missionary from the time of \t»
organization to 1824, sometimes
preached as often as six Sundays a
year. Although for several years
the society was too small in mem-
bership and too poor in purse x*^
even think of building a church, yet
in 1795 they proposed *'to erect a
church at the southeast comer of
Digitized by Google
I
I
I
162
.\ CENTURY OK MERIDEN.
tlic g^rccn whereon the meeting^
house now stands" (meaning the
Congregational Meeting house), "pro-
vided the Ian<l can he ohtained,"
hut it was not until iSoT) that they
voted **that we will build a house
for j)uhlick worship on ground be-
longing to Joseph Merriani." This
land was located on West Main
street, directly opposite the house of
SECOND EPISCOPAL EDIFICE.
Almon Andrews, hut a month later
they changed their minds, and de-
cided to build the church elsewhere,
**within sixty rods of the meeting
house in Meriden," which they after-
wards <lid.
The raising of money fur the first
church edifice then became a serious
problem and among the various
|:lans suggested was one to m
to the legislature for a grant 4
lottery, a method of raising
as fashionable then as fairs .i 1
l)resent day. Another was to "in
a house the doors of which -h'j
be opened to the Baptists an«i rV
byterians when not occupied brl
Episcopal Society." Both of tlr
plans were almost immediaa
abandoned, and the society hiu
decided, and with laudable in
pendence. to build a church by leg
imate methods, building it piece
piece, as fast only as they could p
for it. First they raised the frai
then they had it shingled, later tl
were enabled to have it plastefi
and finally the pews and furn.rt
were |)ut in. All this was acca
plished after ten years of paties
and self-denial, and the first elii
on Broad street was consecrated
(rod October t8, 1816, by Wt^t
Hobart of New York, undt.' tl
name of St. Andrew's ChurcV. u
upon that occasion thirty-eiglr '<
sons were confirjnetl by him. Tl
building, a plain w«>o«len stn!Ct^
with a frontage of thirty-six
and a depth of forty-five feet. <•'*
in marked contrast to the imf<l
ing edifice, the present St. A.
drew's church, as is shown
a following illustration. The c
terior was the personification of pW
ness, but the interior was ncd
arranged according to the fashiwi'
the times. Dr. Deshon descri^
the interior as follows, **a gal
ran around three sides of the h
I
CHURCHES.
163
ig. A hiicfc pulpit stood at the
rest end siu iiu awuod by a cano])y.
ankcd on cillicr side by an cK-vat-
d flight of steps, and cushiDiicd
nd fcsiooncd most lavishly with
ri;ii>«)n damask. In the front of
he puljdt was a formidable sLruc-
uTc which served for a reading
it^k. In frnnt of the reading desk
va> a small communion table en-
losed by a small semi-circular rail,
riie space umlcr the stairs in the
ower part of the church, by the
;i(le door, was used for the vestry
Kcv. Reuben Ives was. in
succeeded by Rev. .\shhcl I'aldwin.
:»ne of the four candidales admitted
to holy orders by Bishop Sea-
bury at the first Episcopal ordina-
tion ever held in .\nierica. lie was
followed in 1826 by Rev. Nathaniel
liruce whr» was called according to
the parish records by the follow-
inj; cautious vote : *'to appoint a
Committee to wait on the Rev.
Nathaniel Bruce, and see if he can
be obtained to otticiate iwo-thirds
<^'f the time for the year ensmng ; to
'iiake Ins residence in Meriden. sal-
ary not to exceed '>2no: to be insti-
tuted (HIT clergyman duriiiL: the
amity and friendship of the partie>. "
His short term of service accorrling
t'> the church records is therefore
soinrwhat significant. Rev. Robert
^ Hallam followed Rev. James
Keeler as rect«>r of St. .Andrew's
parish, and residents of Meriden are
hilly aware of his successftd pastor-
ate extending over a period of three-
years. He was known as a rector
of "'genial and winning manners,
the brilliancy and beatity of his ser-
mons and the earnest interest
which he manifested in his work,
rendered him a universal favorite,
not only in the parish bnt among
all classes of Christians. Much of
the pi o.»j)erity with which the par-
ish has since been blesse<l may be
fairly attributed to his labors."
Rev. Edward Ingersoll followed
Dr. Tiallam in ministering to the
spiritual comforts of St. Andrews's
parish, and later, in 1837, Rev. John
M. (luion became the settled rector,
lioth of these meji are said to have
been preachers of "distinguished
abilities.** Melancthon Hoyt. *'one
of the most successful missionaries
up(jn the rxtreme western 1)order.
known all over the land, even 1)\
the Indians," took charge of the
))arish in iJ^.V-
hollow ini; .Mr. Iloyt came Rev.
Sabura S. Stocking, who became
the rector in 1840. hwt was succeed-
ed in 184! by Rev. Lhas. W". Ever-
est, the latter of whom wa^ disiin-
iiuished ne»t only as a jireacher hut
as a poet. Rev. John 'IV Gushing
hrcame the head of the j)aris1i in
1843, aufl in 1844 came the Rev.
Cyrus .Muiison. Mr. Munst)n who
was a lifelong frietid of Dr. Desh-
on. anfl his companion in his early
niiinstry. was called to his heavenly
reward while in the prime of lift,
just after bis jristorate here. Dur-
ing the year following the death of
Rev. Mr. Mun.son in 184^, Rev.
Digitized by Gopgle
164
A CENTURY OF MKRIDEN.
Abram L. Littlcjohn became the
rector: and he was succeeded in
1850 by the Rev. Giles H. Deshon.
At the time of the coming of Mr.
Deshon as rector, the church had en-
tered upon a new era of prosperity
for a new church edifice of Gothic ar-
chitecture had been constructed on
structed of brownstone. The build*
ing was forty-five by eighty fed
and its corner stone was laid junt
8. 1848. It was consecrated hr
I'ishop Brownell, February 6, 185a
On Raster day. 1850, the Kev.
(Jiles Henry Deshon assumed his
duties as rector. L'ndcr his care
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
ST. ANDREW S CHURCH.
r»roatl street by the parish and in
this the princely generosity of a for-
mer rector. Dr. Hallam. figured con-
spicuously in the cost of the build-
ing, which was $i5,cxxx This, the
second church occupied by the
Ejiiscopalians in Meriden, was con-
and oversight the parish made rapiJ
strides in material and spiritual
growth. About this time the grouth
of the town began to extend wc^t*
wartl and in a few years it
deemed advisable to build a nc*"
church edifice nearer the center ol
Google
CHURCHES.
•opulation. The corner stone of
he new building was laid at the
orner of Liberty and Catlin streets
n the 8th day of August, 1866.
ilany of the stones in the old
hurch were used in the con-
truction of the new edifice, and the
hurch was consecrated Nov. 7,
S67 by Bishop Williams. In 187 1
he work of the parish had in-
Teased to such an extent that an
tssistant minister was appointed to
ulp the rector. This first assist-
int was the Rev. Frank B. Lewis.
>ince his appointment there have
l)een 16 assistant ministers in the
parish, two of whom have been rais-
ed to the Episcopate, viz : the Right
Reverend Chaunce\' Bunce Brewster,
D. D.. Bishop of Connecticut, and
the Rij^ht Reverend John Huzen
While, D. D., Bishop of Michigan
City. Indiana. For 3:; yiars did
the Rev. Dr. Deshoti niim'>>trr to the
p<'opk' of St. Andri 'v's — earnest
I>ractical prt achrr. and above all a
Uiithful. triidrr hearted and sympa-
thetic pa->it>r. He hound to himself
v.iih cords of love and friendship.
'i"t only his own pariiliioners, but
all residents in the conmiunity as
^vell. His \va> aw unicjue and noble
ptrsonality. In all his ministry he
zealously suppuricd by that
^no of noble laymen. hm<^ ago gone
to their rest, Edwin E. Curtis.
Lemuel J. Curtis, and George
^- Curtis. The last official act of
^r. Deshon was on Christmas Day.
'^2. when he attended the services
^'J the church suffering intense pain
x6s
from an ulcerated tooth. His low-
ered vitality could not withstand the
inroads of the resultant blood-poi-
soning, and on January i, 1883, he
passed to his reward. The growth
of the parish under his administra-
tion is seen in the following conven-
tion reports:
1850 1883
Families 95 l aniilios 303
Baptisms 8 IJaptiMiis 27
Cnt-rimunicants . 117 C >Tiinuinicunts . 510
Lontirmcd 13 Luniinned 22
Marriages i Marriages 19
Funerals ...... 3 Funerals 4t
In Jime 1880, Rev. Arthur T.
Randall, just ordained deacon, took
up his duties as assistant minister.
He held that position until the
death of Dr. Deshon, when he took
charge of the parish. The combin-
ed rectorships of these two clergy-
men extend over a period of fifty-six
years. The parish continued to
grow until in 1888 the corner stone
of a parish house was laid, and a
few months later was completed at
a cost of $16,000.
In December 1885 services were
started in a dwelling house in the
western part of the city with a view
of ultimately forming a parish. The
generosity of Mrs. Phoebe A, Hall-
am, widow of a former rector of
.^t. Andrew's, Dr. Hallam. made this
feasible, as in her will was found a
legacy of $io,ooo to be used for the
erection of a new church in Meri-
den. The fir.st service was held in
the new church on Ash Wednesday,
Digitized by Google
A CHNTLRY OK MKKIDKN.
1 8*^3, and the edifice was separated
from unhallowed, worldly, and com-
mon uses, and consecrated t\)r the
worship of Almij^hty ( lod on Xov.
•«*^>/3' ""<lt*r the name of All
Saints* Memorial Church. The
KK\'. C.II.I s II. DESJinx.
Rev. A. Sprajjue Ashley, assistant
minister, had already heen elected
rector o\ the new parish, and the
rector of St. .\ndrew*s transferred
to his Npiritual care and oversii^ht.
communicants who resided in
that part (^f the city.
It is worthy of record to note the
harmony which existed hetween the
mother church and the dauj^hter.
The canon law of the Episcopal
church re(|uires that if application
l.e made to the hishop for the for-
mation of a new parish within I
limits of an existinj^ parish, the ri
tor and vestry of said existing p
ish should he n«>titied of such
cation, hv the stanflingf comm
In this instance, before All Sai
parish had made formal applica
to the hishop. a special meeting
St. Andrew's Parish was calle<I.
a resolution passed informing
liishop that a new ])arish was abo
to he formed within the limits of J
Photo by AkeM
REV. .\. T. R.\ND.\U..
Andrew's, anrl that the old pa'
exten<led to the new one it;*
wishes and benediction.
In the convention journal of U
the ff»llfnvin^ report from St *
drew's is reconle*! :
CHURCHES.
Families, about 525.
baptized persons, about 2,000.
Jommunicants, 803.
r'arochial expenditures, $6,878.53.
l>fferings for purposes outside of
the parish, $1,080.30.
The wardens of the church since
ji have been as follows: 1791, Jo-
)h Merriam, Denison Andrews;
1^2. Joseph Merriam, Seth De-
olf ; 1793, Levi Doug^lass, Simeon
.Tkins: 1794. Joseph Merriam,
n?i Doujjlass ; 1796, Levi Douglass,
meon Perkins; 1797, Joseph Mer-
lin. Simeon Perkins: 1805. Joseph
rrriam. Moses Andrews; 1806,
' ph Merriam, Lemuel Bradley;
-1;. Joseph Merriam, Yale I.
(jugli : 1 8c)8, Samuel Tibbals, Dan
ndrew s ; 1809, Samuel Tibbals, Asa-
fl Merriam ; 1810, Samuel Tibbals,
Inses C\)\\ Ics : i8i2, Samuel Tibbals.
ui Andrews; 181 3, Samuel Tibbals,
Kiasa Merriam; 1814, Samuel Tib-
il-. Marvel Andrews; 1816, Samuel
ibhals. Asahel Merriam; 1823. Sam-
?l Tibbals, Klisha Curtis, Asahel
ilt rnani ; 1S48. Kdwin E. Curtis. Rrv-
Mt Hi)tchk'iss: 1S63. Kdwin E. Curtis,
^Nj H. ( liiirchill : Edwin E.
nrtis, Lemuel J. Curtis; 1885, Lem-
cl J. Curtis, George K. Curtis: 1888
'Curjn,' R. Curtis, Pienjamin I'aj^e:
^93. lien jam in I'agc, George M.
r.rlis.
i lie ojficcrs of .St. Andrew Chureli
> i<;o6 are as follows: parish clerk.
*. li. Afathcr ; senior warden. I'.cu
tmiii I'age: inninr warden. George
I t.urtis: ve>lrvnien. Samuel Orxld.
"lui W. Coe, \V. W. Alosiier, W. W .
Clark, George S. Seeley, A. B. Mather,
C. H. Fisk, £. B. Moss, W. J. Robin-
son ; treasurer, George S. Seeley.
Rev. A. T. Randall, rector of St.
Andrew's Church, was bom at Poque-
tannock, Conn., September 23, 1854,
and is a son of Rev. H. C. and Mary
L. (Davis) Randall. ,He obtained his
education at St. Stephens College, An-
nandale, N. Y., from which he was
graduated in 1877, and studied for
the ministry at Berkeley Divinity
School, Middletown, Conn., graduat-
ing there June 2, 1880. Two days
later he became the assistant minister
of St. Andrew's parish in Meriden,
He was ordained priest at Litchfield,
Conn., June 7, 1881. L'pon the death
of Dr. Deshon, January i. 1883, Mr.
Randall became his active successor,
and entered upon his duties as rector
on Easter Sunday, 1884. IVoui that
time to the present writing Mr. Ran-
dall has fulfilled the duties of rector
of this important parish, and he has
always held the love and respect of
his parishioners and the community
at large.
ALL SAINTS' P. E. CHURCH.
Athough the jiresent attractive
edifice of All Saints' iVotestant
l''piscopal Church, was not occujued
lor services until Ash W ednesday,
i8<)3, some eight years or more pre-
vious it hecame e\ ident that the
t-rectiou of a cliurch was defmilely
contemplated for that srction of
.Meriden. The first service was
Digitized by Google
i68
A CENTURY OF MFIRIDEN'.
held in the dwelliiiff house. 273
West Main street, on December
13, 1885. the officiating clergy-
man being Rev. A. T. Randall,
rector, and F. H. Church, assist-
bled there every Lord's Day
several months until a larger
of worship was secured at the j
tion of North First and South
streets. But services were
ALL SAINTS MEMORIAL CHURCH.
ant rector of St. Andrew's parish.
Services were continued in the
small room of that dwelling house
by congregations who were assem-
ued at the latter place only
December. 1888. vl.en the..
dis:ontijuie<l owing to the tacl
it wa:^ found impossible' xo heat
Digitized by Googl
CHURCHES.
169
room and there seemed no other
suitable accommodations for the then
so-calltd mission, in which to hold
meetings.
.Among the enthusiastic members
oi the new society were several
women who formed a sewing circle
and after the Sunday services were
discontinued, and it began to look
as though the forming of the new
Photo by Akers £ Pigeon.
KEV. I. NEWTON PHELPS.
"mission church" would have to be
abandoned, the sewing society still
continued to meet week days ; and as
a result a considerable sum of money
was laid by.
The ultimate aim of these patient
women was the purchase of a lot
on which to build a church and little
by little the fund grew in spite of
many discouragements, lliat their
up-hill work was bound to be pro-
ductive of even greater results than
they had dared to hope was soon
to come to pass. On January, 30,
1 89 1, Mrs. Phoebe A. Hallam, a
communicant of St .Andrew's church
was buried. In her will was found
a legacy of $10,000 to be used in
the building of a church as a memorial
to her husband, the late Rev. R. .A.
Hallam, D. D., at one time rector of
St. .Andrews. The money in the treas-
ury of the sewing society, added to
considerably by the members of St.
Andrew's church soon after became
sufficient to purchase the lot on the
corner of West Main and Morgan
streets, and the future of All Saints*
church was thus determined.
With the understanding that most
of his work was to be in the western
part of Meriden. and with a view of
becoming rector of the new parish
when it should be set apart, in .May
1892, Rev. A. Sprague .Ashley accept-
ed the position of assistant clergyman
at St. .Andrew's Church. In the mean-
time Mrs. Ilallam's legacy was
largely added to by the late Geo. R.
Curtis, then senior warden of St. .An-
drew's Church, so that the present
brownstone structure was erected in
1893, The new parish was then form-
ed and Rev. A. T. Randall, rector,
trans ferrc<l 123 communicants of St.
Andrew's church to the spiritual care
and oversight of Rev. A. Sprague
.Ashley who became first rector of .AH
Saints' parish. The church was con-
secrated Xovcmber 17, 1893. The
A C£NTURY OF MERIDEK.
same year Mr. Curtis, just before his
death presented the parish with the
lot adjoining the church on West Main
street for a rectory, and after his death
through the ^eturosity of his vvitluvv,
on [hib lot, a par.suuage was h\uh as a
memorial to her late husbanil. Thus
from a small heij^inninjj has sprung
from St. Andrew's Church, a thriv-
iui^ and iiidependtnt parish with a
church pro{)erty vahutl at a1)out
$55,000, within a Of unparativcly few
year<. Dniini^ the vahu-'l service
of l\ev. Mr. Ashley, whieh was
continued for about six years.
*here were 125 baptisms and 12^
members confirmed, making a total
membership then of about 250. .Mr.
Ashlev was succeeded as rector bv the
- •
late Rev. Robert Clarkson Tongue,
who after five years as rector, was
called to his reward 1»> the Almighty.
His death was nnich lamented for it
removed from Meriden one of its most
valued divines, and one who was al-
most idolized by his parishioners. Un-
der Mr. Tongue the membership of
the church was iiicrease<l largely and
its work was noticeably extended.
Rev. I. Xewton Phelps took charge
of the parish as its installed rector in
April, 1905. The good wortc of his
predecessors has been carried on by
him and <luring his short pastorate
sixty-five members have been received
into the church by confirmation and
30 by letter. All Saints' parish at
the present writing pos.se.sses about
535 communicants.
The officers of the church for 1906
arc as follows: Treasurer. H. P. \'i-
bert; senior warden, Charles P. Rice;
junior warden, Albert Babb ; vcstr>*
men, H. L. Schlciter, H. P. X'iberL
Joseph Ridley, F. A. Camp, Alfrci
Darker, James Toothe, F. W. I ri--
bie, G. \V. Reynolds, A. J. Tickeil.
delegates to convention, Gardiner W
Reynolds, Joseph Kidle> ; substitJtt
delej^aies. Cdiarle> H. \ iberi, CuHb.
\V. Reynolds ; auditors, C. P. Rice, z.
A. Camp.
Rector Thelps is a man <>i scholar!;,
attainments and an able preacher
strong personality and social disix-*'
tion. He obtained hi- education
Sampson college. L^raduating with i;v:
class of 1885, and was conferred the
det:;^ree of A. M., by St. Stephens col-
lege. .\nnandale, X. V. He siudie ;
for the ministery at Union riK^»l"i:i-
cal .seminarx , X. V. Since comini: ' '
Meriden he has entered thorous^h/-
into the spiritual an<l s<^ial life of tIk-
town and is held in high rccrar * 1'.
the members of his parish and m t!
community at large. Ho is at ilc
present writing senior warden 1^1 Cen-
ter Lodge, 97, A. F. & A. M.
THE FlRS r METHC^DIST
CHCRCH.
Although there were many Meth-
odists in >feriden previous to i8j(X
it was not until 1&44 that their regu«
lar society was organized. About
1830 a meeting house was erected
on East ^^ain street htU. on the lanH
of Capt. Lyman Collins, just west of
the entrance to the East Cemetery,
where meetings were held somewhat
Digitized by Google
CHURCHES.
irregularly by the Methodists, and
among the worshippers at that
church were the following and their
families: Charles Baldwin, who fre-
quently occupied the pulpit ; Darling
Stewart. Xoah Hall. Jesse G. Bald-
win. Elias I>aldwin and Seymour
Baldwin. Owing to the good spirit-
ual condition of the Congregation-
alists and Baptists, the early Metho-
dist church did not begin to thrive
given a long shop owned by Chas.
Parker, and which stood north of
his offices, and where the congre-
gations found sittings on boxes,
which gave them a good view of
the preacher. During the summer
a large tent was pitched in what
was then an open lot between High
and Broad streets.
The .society was formed under the
management of Rev. John Parker,
FIRST .MKTHODIST EDIFICE.
in nunil)ers until after 1842. when
the "primitive Methodists" had sent
preachers to Meriden, who availed
themselves of the advantage gained
in awakening religious interest by
the general aj)prehensi()n. then i)re-
vailing throughout the country, that
the en<l of all things was near
at hand. These revival meetings
were held in what was known as the
"Old Bethel" which was the name
a member of the Xew England Con-
ference, who settled in Meriden to
recuperate his failing health, and to
whom more than any other one man
is said to be due the foundation of
the Methodist church in Meriden.
The society as first organized was
comjiosed of the following people of
the tow n : Rev. John Parker and
wife. Charles Parker and wife, Ed-
mund I'arker and wife. Hiram Brad-
172 A CENTURY
ley and wife, John Range and wife,
William Curtis and wife, Mrs. Try-
phena Bradley. Miss Betsey Par-
ker, Mr. Beach and wife, Joseph
Higby and wife, .\saph Merriam,
Mrs. Partrick Lewis, Mrs. Cook and
Miss Marictte R. Clark, then a mcm-
OF MERIDEN.
Chas. Parker Co. The same year that
this church was built a parsonage
was also erected, both buildings j
costing about $10,000. Tlie church,
on Broad street continued to be oc- 1
cupied by the society until 186;
when under the judicious nianage-
Photi by R. S. Gidfrpy.
FIRST M. E. CHURCH.
ber of the Methodist church. Middle-
town, who later married Rev. John
T. Pettee. In 1847 a wooden church
edifice was built by the society on
Broad street, which many years later
became, as it is at this writing, utilized
for manufacturing purposes by the
ment of Rev. Freeman P. Tower,
who served as pastor from 1866 to
i8()8, and through the princely gen-
erosity of the late Charles Parker,
who gave $50,000, and the generou.*
contributions of other brethren. th<
present costly and handsome cS-
Google
CHURCHES.
*73
ice was built at a cost, includin.q:
he land and orj:(an of $85,000. Tlic
i»ciet\ rcniincd to the new church
t a most convenient time as the re-
tinval conii)rised Meriden's celebra-
!' n of tlie Centennial of American
ileihodism. Althout^h the society
iid not at tirsi occupy the present
•ditice without a debt, the full
imount of their ohli<:]fations as paid
mder the pastorate of Rev. Daniel
\. Goodsell. and in the spring
n 1875, Rev. Jolin T. Pettee,
n hi'* semi-centennial adfln '^s stated
hat when the Xew York East Con-
icrence sat at this church in Mcriden
that "not an unpaid for brick or
>late looked down from the roof or
wall to reprove*' them. In 1888 the
1 lurch was remodeled and re-fur-
ni<hed to a considerable extent at
the cost of $5,000. and tmdi r the ad-
''inistration of Rev. G. II. McGrew
the ground beneath the church was
excavated and social rooms were
crmNtructed : nndc r the pastorate
of Rev. John Rhey Thompson, D. D.,
the present handsome brick parson-
age adjoining the church on Pleas-
ant street was built. During
his pastorate also a new and com-
Tn<'<lious domicile was provided for
^He church janitor, and a debt of
S20.000 which had accumulated
since 1874 was liquidated.
Under the pastorate of Rev. F, W.
Hannan the church was re-carpeted
^nd a commodious society house was
^niilt at the Plainville camp ground,
^bout the same time, also, the church
l>ecame possessed of its present
hcantiful lawn by the removal of
the old Lawrence house. The pres-
ent value of tile church proi)<.Tty is
i?ioi.2(;x). The church membership
at the close of the year i(/^5 was 675.
tifty-two more beinp: on probation.
The Sunday school :it that time num-
bered 33y, including; ihirty-nine teach-
ers. Since 1S47 the l"irst Methodist
Cluircli has received its pastors reg-
ularly from the New York and New
York East Conferences. The pastors
from 1845 to the present time have
been as follows : Reverends Geo. A.
Hubbell, John C. Scarles. Albert Nash,
Parmalee Chamberlain, Francis Bot-
tomc, Nathaniel Mead, Geo. C.
Creevey, John I.. l\ck, \Vm. Mc-
Allister. Geo. A. Hubbell (for a sec-
(^ud time ) ; Cha^. K\Isey, Charles
Fletcher. Frederick Itrown, Free-'
man P. Tower, John Fcgg. Jr., Dan-
iel A. Goodsell, later made bishop;
\Vm, H. P>o<»le. I. J. Lansing^. H. .NT.
.Xdanis. J. S. l.reckenridge, G. H.
McGrew, M. W. Prince, John Rhey
Thompson, F. W. Hannan, John Wes-
ley Johnston, Frank A. Scofield and F.
P.. Stockilale : assistant pastors, Geo.
C. Boswell, John A, Monroe and F.
W. Hamian.
Rev. Fairbank Barnes Stt>ckdale.
pastor of the First Methodist church
of Meriden, was born in 1861, near
Leeds, Yorkshire, England. He came
from the working people, his father
being a miner, and he was raised
among the coal mines of that locality.
As a boy he showed a tendency to ap-
ply himself too closely to books. As
a result, at eight years old he left
Digitized by Google
174
A CENTURY OF MKKIDKN.
school and went to work as his health
was not equal to day school, but con-
tinued until fifteen years of age at
night school which he attended five
<lays a week.
When only nine years old he was
converted and became a nieniber of
the Methodist church, soon after
which he became a reader of theologi-
cal books. He preached his first ser-
Ki:V. F. i;. .^ITK KDALE.
nion at the age of fifteen, and from
seventeen to twenty was engaged in
evangelistic work in Etigland. preach-
ing as many as eight sermons a week.
He first came to this country in 1882,
and while enjoying a summer's vaca-
ti{)n drifted into the East ( )hio con-
ference, which resulted in his remain-
ing in this country. He took a three
years' course at Drew Theologka
Seminary, from which he graduaa
in 1889 and while a student ihd
preached at Centerville and Majdi
wood, X. J. One year before ■
graduation he was assigned a pasti
rate at Bellix)rt, L. I., where he n
mained for three years, and joined d
Xew York East Conference. He ai
terwards went to Flatbush. L I
which pastorate he left at the end d
one year on account of the poor ham
of his child. He was afterwards <ti
tioned at Port Washington, for loi
years ; two years at Southampton, an
later was pastor of the Fleet Street .V
E. church at Brooklyn. X. Y.. whd
he remained for four years. Frol
there he went to Waterbury. Conn
and after remaining there three ycarj
came to Meriden in April, 1905. Mj
Stcxrkdale is a natural and flad
|)reacher and is highly appreciated ij
the members of his flock. He hi
published a book of sermons entitk
"The Divine ( )pportunity.*' He i>
lover of ])reaching and lias frann
.stated that everything he sees g<X5 ii
to his sermons. He is a meniber (]
Meridian Lodge. 77. A. F. & .\. M-
He married Sarah .\. Machin.
comes from a remarkably large faial
of twenty children, and to the imia
have been born George and Ruth, a^e
eighteen and sixteen years rtspd
tively.
TRIXITY M. E. CHL'RCH.
One of the flourishing churd
societies in Meriden is that of A
GoogiG
CHURCHES.
1/5
Trinity M. 1£. church which celebrated
its twentieth anniversary in 1905. It
was on April 26, 1885. that the Meth-
odist residents of the western |)art of
Meriden decicled to petition the official
board of the First M. E. Society, for
the f>ennission to found another
Methodist church in Meriden. In
May the same year, a petition was
sent in, which was signed by five of
the most influential men. As their
request was g^ranted, they immediately
iK'pan holding services in the Y. M. C.
decided to station him at Meriden.
In April, 1889, he was succeeded by
Rev. D. N. Griffin who remained until
•April, 1892. It was during the pasto-
rate of Mr. Griffin that the society se-
cured the property at the corner of
West Main street and Cook avenue,
where the present handsome edifice
now stands. Rev. Edward W. W'arri-
ner was pastor from April 1 8*^2-94.
when Rev. Henry lilatz. Jr., was sent
by the conference to assume the pas-
torate of this .society. During his suc-
Pholo by R. S. Godfrey.
TRI.NITY M. E. CULRt ll.
A. building, and within eighteen
months they had a church ready for
occupancy, and on .March 6, 1887, the
first service was held therein. The
Iniilding is now used for St. Joseph's
I'arochial school. Rev. \V. F. Mark-
wick, who was pastor of the South
Meriden M. E. church, was secured
early in the fall of 1885. and he served
as pastor for both organizations, until
1887, when at the close of his pasto-
rate in South Meriden, the conference
cessful [)astorate the new church was
erected and was dedicated December
29, i8<>5. Rev. \V. D. Tuckey suc-
ceeded Rev. .Mr. lUatz. and he in turn
was succeeded by Rev. E. C. Carpen-
ter, who was appointed pastor in 1900
and after a .service of five years was
succeeded by the Rev. John \\ W ag-
ner. the present pastor.
During the pastorate of Mr. Car-
|)enter the members raised over $13.-
000 and less than a year ago the mort-
Digitized by Google
176
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
gage notes were burned and the church
was freed from a heavy debt. Many
members have been received into the
church within the last few years, and it
now has a membership of about 375. It
has a thriving Sunday School society,
REV. E. C. CAKl'ENTER.
both a Junior and a Senior C. IC. So-
ciety and great interest is shown in
all of the various societies that are
connected with the church organiza-
tion.
The probable value of the church
building is $30,000 but this was en-
hance<l in 1906 by the acquisition
of a new church organ, a portion of
which was paid for by Andrew
Carnegie. The parsonage, a brick
structure, originally built and occu-
pied l)y the late Randolph Linsley, is
valued at $12,000. During 1905, the
church debt was reduced $4,000.
The last report of the church cor-
poration to the Xcw York East
Conference of which it is a member,
gives the church membership a>
300 with 67 on probation, but this
number has since been somewhat
increased. The Sunday school num-
bers twenty-seven teachers and 326
scholars.
Rev. John P. Wagner, pastor of
Trinity M. E. Church, is a native
of Iowa. In that state he spent
REV. J. P WAGNER.
his boyhood on his father's farm,
receiving his early education in the
public schools. He afterwards at-
tended the Iowa Wesleyan Univer-
sity, where he graduated in 1883.
Google
CIIURCUES.
nd he afterward took a law course
fiere graduating in 1884. He was
dmitted to the bar and began prac-
ice of law, but after a time became
member of the St. Louis Confer-
nce and, in 1890 an ordained cler-
yman of the Methodist denomina-
ion. After having held several
litTcrent pastorates in Illinois and
owa, he came east and entered
he Drew Theological Seminary at
•ladison, X. J., from which he was
jaduated in 1892, and since which
ime he has been a member of the
sew York East Conference. As a
nember of that conference his first
harge was a church on Long Is-
and. He afterwards became pastor
»i the Methodist Episcopal church
It Simsbury, Conn., where he re-
nained for a period of six years and
n 1895 became the pastor at St. Paul's
.1. E. church, Waterbury, remain-
ng there until appointed pastor of
frinity Church of this lown, enter-
ng upon his duties here in April,
«/)6, succeeding Rev. E. C. Car-
>enter. Rev. Mr. Wagner was mar-
ied to Miss Anna Axthelm Harper
)f Iowa, and they have four chil-
Iren: Elmer C. L., a student and
nember of the sophomore crew at
^ale L^niversity: Bertha A., Edna
^I., and Grace \'., the first two of
vhom graduate at the Waterbury
4igh School in June, 1906. Mr. Wag-
ler, with his family, occupies the Trin-
ty M. E. parsonage and under his
)astorate the church anticipates a
successful period of continued pros-
perity.
12
177
THE SOUTH MERIDEN M. E.
CHURCH.
For twenty years the Methodist
Episcopal Church has been the only
active Protestant church in the pic-
turesque village of South Meriden,
where regular services have been
held. This church was organized as
a society in 185 1, but meetings were
REV. ROUKKT J. UE.\CH.
held by Methodists occasionally
and somewhat irregularly as early
as 1839. They first gathered there
for worship in the school house.
.Mar. 12, 1851. At the house of John
Evans a determined effort was made
and an ecclesiastical society which
was called "The M. E. Society of
the Hanover District," was form-
Digitized by Google
178
A CEXTL'KY OF MKRIDHX.
c(l. I<»lin D. I'arnialec was elect-
c(l chairman and John Evans sec-
retary. The buildinjj coninihtee
a|)jK)intc(l to arranjjc and carry on
the erection <»f the first edifice was
made up of the following: John
Davidson, Ropier Smith and Luman
A. Atkins. Tlie biiihhnj;, a wooden
structure of two stories, was also
planned for residence purposes, and
the upper story contained a hall
den. and theological students oil
W'esleyan Seminary from MidJ
town. It was not until 1871 ti
the society became possessed of
rejTularly installed pastor, in thefX
son of Rev. William W. Hurd. Di
injj the first year of his pasttfl
the present church edifice wai
^un and it was completed in
summer of 1872. The cost ot
church structure was $1:^.000. 4
I»hot . by R. S. Godfrpy.
S(»nH MKKIDKX MKTHODIST (Hl'KCH.
and the '". Methodist Treaching House."
The huildinj^ was completed in the
fall of 1851 and its cost was
$'•333- This huiidiuf^ was used
by the South Meriden Methodists
for over twenty years, the preach-
ers beiufj Rev. John Parker of Meri-
den, who had previously done more
than any other man in organizing-
the First .Methodist Church of .Meri-
of this amount Cieorge T.rislol gtf
$2,000, John Evans Si. 000. and Ch
l*arker of Meriden, $400. The b
ance was raised by the tnenibers
the society and its friends. 1
new church was dedicated Septa
ber 25. 1872 by Rev. C. X. Fi
After the dedication of the
church the society entered up">n
era of prosperity and nianv infl
Google
CUUKCUES.
I iHcinbcrs were added. Among
•se. in 1888. was the late Dr. H.
ArcluT. a somewhat noted physi-
n who roidcd in Tracy, and upon
sugj^estion a committee was
int'd tor the purpose of enlarging
' church. This committee was
iiposcd of the pastor. Dr. Archer,
as r>radley, Frank Rollins, C. A.
)ilister, William Baker, and E. B.
ifk. Among the improvements
s a lecture room built in the rear
the church which was also re-
:orated and otherwise improved.
1 March 10, 1889, the church was
indicated when it was also freed
*m debt. The church property at
i present day has an approximate
lue of $15,000, and the society is
ssessed of a building at the Plain-
le Camp Ground. The full mem-
rship of the church is eighty-four
d there are ten probationers. The
nday school comprises eighty
lolars, and seventeen officers and
ichers. The present pastor of the
Jirch is Rev. R. J. Beach.
ST. ROSE'S CHURCH.
The organization of this parish
tes back to 1849. although the nu-
ll!^ \\a^ funned some ten year:,
cvious. There were, however, he-
re that several foreign residents of
t^^town. The buildini; of the X. V..
H. & H. R. R., t.. Meriden m
resulted in bringing a mniiher
Iriih Roiiiati Catholics to the tnwn
'fl they wtre gathered togftlur
it by mission priests, and services
were then hekl in a private house
in the northeastern jjarl of the town.
Later services were held by Rev.
l^hillip U'Reilley and hy Rev. J. Tee-
vens of New Haven, the latter of
whom orgaJiized the little Catholic
colonv, and first celebrated mass for
them in the house of Robert Clark
on' North Broad street in January,
1845. During the next four years
and at intervals of about every three
months, Rev. Father Teevens contin-
ued to celebrate mass, but in 1849
he obtained permission from the
Bishop of Hartford to form a parish,
the Hartford diocese at that time
and for many years afterwards com-
prising all of Connecticut and Rhode
Island.
The church edifice used by this,
the mother parish, was that originally
occupied by St. Andrew's l-piscopal
Church, then standing at the corner
of Broad and Olive streets, and com-
prised a frame house, 36x45 feet in
dimensions. This was vacated by the
Ei)isci)[)alians in 1850. Under the
temporary pastorate of Rev. Hugh
O'Reilley, who t(K)k charge of the
parish work in 1851. and the first
few years of that of Rev. Thomas
Ouinn. u ho in 1854 Lecanie the first
regular settled rector, services were
held in this edifice for nine years.
Cnflcr the direction uf Father ( j^i""''
the euiistruction of the j)resent l^rick
chureh on L enter street u a^ carried on
at an outla\ of Sj^.ixxj. I'uther Quinn
liter went to Providence. R. T.,
and afterwards became a chaplain
in the Civil War. He was succeeded
Digitized by Google
i8o
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
as rector of St. Rose's parish by Rev.
Thomas Walsh, in the spring of 1859
at which time a considerable debt re-
mained on the church building. I'nder
Rev. Father Walsh the debt was re-
moved and the parish grew rapidly
necessitating, in 1868, the enlargement
and improvement of the church which
serving thus until his death in
During his untiring service as rector
the parish grew and prospered and at
the time of his regretted decea>e. it
ranked fourth among the Roman Cath-
olic churches in the state. Under his
pastorate the present parochial schwl
was erected at the cost of $20.ooa
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
ST. ro.se\s CH LKCH.
were made at a further outlay of
$30,000. .Since that date other
expenditures involving considerable
money have been made, notably in
1882.
Father Walsh served as pastor of
the church, becoming a vicar general,
Father Walsh is said to have
been "a devout, learned man. higW)
respected by the entire community.
Under the pastorate of Rev. Martin
P. Lawlor, the next rector of the par-
ish, the present parochial residence
was finished. He remained at St-
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CHURCHES.
l8l
Rose's parish until February 1885,
kvhen Rev. Paul F. McAlenney began
his most successful pastorate which
was concluded in 1900. Father Mc-
.Mennev is a man much beloved bv
the people, whose confidence and es-
teem he won by his zealous work
and kindly consideration of the well
being of his parishioners. Under his
pastorate the church property was con-
Pboto by AkerH b. Pigeon.
REV. JOHN COONEV.
sidcrably enhanced and in 1888 St,
Rose's chapel on Liberty street was
completed. Father Mc.Menney's re-
moval from the city was much deplor-
ed by his people by whom he is still
affectionately rememl)ercd. St. Rose's
parish since Sei)tember 1900 has been
presided over by the present rector,
Rev. John Cooney. The property of
St. Rose's parish in 1906 consists of
a church edifice, rectory, two school
houses, St. Bridget's Convent, St. Pat-
rick's Cemetery and the Sacred Heart
Cemetery, the approximate total value
of all being $180,000.
Although from this parish have
sprung, directly or otherwise, all the
several different parishes now con-
tained in the town of Meriden, it still
possesses 3,200 individuals and main-
tains an attendance at the parochial
school of 700 registered children.
Rev. John Cooney, the present rec-
tor was lx)rn iirthe County of Armagh,
Ireland, in, February, 1841. After ob-
taining liis early education in his native
town, he studied for the priesthood in
the American College. Lourain, Bel-
gium, where in 1867 he was ordained
by Cardinal Sterks. After his ordina-
tion he came to this country and was
ap|){)intcd curate at St. Peter's Church
in Hartfor<l. where he remained for
two and a half years. He was then
transferred to St. Patrick's Church
in X'ailey I'alls. R. I., where he con-
tinued to serve as pastor until 187 1,
when he was ai)pointed pastor of St.
Patrick's Church. Thompsonville,
Conn., where under his direction both
a parochial school and a rectory were
built. In 1878 after a successful pas-
torate at Thompsonville, he was ap-
pointed rector of St. John's Parish,
\ew Haven, where he remained for
ten years. His next charge was at
Colchester. Conn., where he remained
f<ir eight years, and during his ser-
vice there he built a church in the
neighboring town of Fitchville, and
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l82
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
a parochial "^ch'^nl, which icrrilurv was
contaiiud in his parish. During his
rc>i<]i.iKc in Colchester, he .iNu serv-
etl a> a nu-mhi-r «if the ??ciit>ui l>uard.
In i^ijtt he ijccaine rector < >( St. Ber-
nard's Church at Rockvilic. L<»nn.,
where he remainef] for four years,
and durincr hi> pastorate there a large
deht was c< MisidcrahK rrduccfl. Since
coming lo Mcrideii, thirty-hvc acres
a<li« lining Sacred Heart CeiiKtery
liave Ikx-u added to the cinncli proper-
ty, 1- at her Cuoney has two assist-
ants, kcv. L. A. Guinan. a native of
Hartford, who has heen attached to
the J)rc^cnt parish since 1895: Rev.
J. J. McCivney, a native of W'ater-
hury. v\ai> one of the curates at this
church until 1891 when he hecanic
one of the Connecticut a])ostles and
joined the nii>.Hion band. He wa> suc-
ceeded by Rev. John A. Conlon, a
native of New Haven.
ST. LAURENT'S CHURCH.
The first assemblage of the French -
Catiadian Rbman CatlK»hc.s of Meri-
den took ])lace at the Anting
Men's Christian Association hall,
J 11 Tie 2, 1H80. As niav be readily
a^MUi'ird the object of tlli'^ fir-^t inasv
meeting of the I''rench-Caiiadiaii>
was the formation of a new |)arish.
Two hundred men were present w ith
the result that a president and
secretary were chosen and the ii>l-
lowing committee of organization
was named. R. T. Chalifoux and L.
Morris.seau, trujstee.s ; advisory
hoard, X. Anger. K. l)es>ureau. -
Dolbec, k»seph Chalnoux and .\
L.isee. according to the statutes
the ilioce.se and becoming incorpf:-
ate<l under the laws of the state. IT--
formation of the i)arish is consider-
ed, however, to date from fane f^.
1H80, the .Sunday following the lir>i
mass meeting, at which time Rev. A
van ( )ppen io" »l< charge of the par-
ish, which then included not only
the French, but the ( lerman, Polish
and the Italian ( athohcs of Meridcn.
d he i^arish was formed with •.onie mt«- 1
givings even then in regard to nun -
hers, though the ditVerent collector^
who had finished taking a ccusu-
rept)rted 1,150 in<lividuals of the 1
IVench speaking population. Thei* ]
•^erioirs doubts were entertained
ing to the previors etforis i'
form a parish having pru\ed futi!f.
The I'Vcnch-Canadians, however, in-
spired by the presence of a rect' r ,
<^f their own, made up their mind*
thai it was then or never lb-
the enterprise was to be assuro;
The first subscription of $100 ^^
made with the under.slan(!ing th.i.
the money should be refunded if tlu'
project failed but the <nm of $3.5<^^
was quickly subscribed. This tun:
was swelled to the extent of $c> ^
by St. Jean the Baptiste Sociei)
w bo thus came to the aid of the new
]iar!--h.
* »ii Palm Sunday. April 10. i8!^i
•-i r\ iee-^ w i-re first held in the ha'^c-
meni of the present .St. f^aurcnt'^
Church and were largely atteiulc
liishop Laurent McMahon, i"f
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CHURCHES.
«83
ST. LAURKNT's CHL'RCH.
Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
whom the church was named, being
one of the several notables present.
On that day the first mass was cele-
brated by Rev. F. de Bruycker, and
sermons were preached in English
by Mgr. Shanahan, Bishop of Har-
risburg and in the French language
by Rev. L. G. Gagnier of Springfield
who was then and is still the oldest
French missionary in New England.
Photo by Akern £ Pigoon.
REV. A. VAN OPPEN.
During this service, which was long to
be remembered by those who at-
ten<led, the |)arish was named.
The buihiing of the superstnicture
was commenced by 1^'ither van Oppen
in 188'') and the contract, involving an
expenditure of $30,000 was let. Ui)on
tlie completion of the edifice a solemn
dedication took place \ov. 4, 1888, and
this Ix^came a notable event in ti
history of the church ; and then ^
bishop of the diocese and many nsitu^
clergymen of the faith were also prti
ent. In 1882 St. Laurent's church ■
quired its first rectory which \%-as pn^
chased at a cost of S6,ooo, but ihd
since the completion of the present ro(
tory, finished in 1892, has been ckc^
pied as a convent by the Sisters 01 tk
Assumption, whose headquarter? a:
at Xicolet, P. Q. Since that date iba
sisters have conducted a par.dj
ial school, where the different braiKh<
have Ix'en taught l)y them, and th
French language has also been |«T>t
pagated. The school was first on
ducted in the basement of the churd
but in recent years a handsome scIk^
house has l>een erected by the pari'l
at the c*ost of $10,000 and s«in<
what concerning it is stated 1
the article by William P. KeH
on Meriden's educational insltnj
lions, in one of the follouin|
pages. On March 13. 1900 the deti
of St. Laurent's Cemetery wrt
passed to the church by M. I. Rodi^
and W. L. Henreux, an»l the Fri-nd
cemetery in the Hanover District nl
opened at once. I
The present total value of ?J
Laurent's Church prc3porty is S1051
000, and the lay trustees of tk
corporation are Dr. .\. S. Alain ad
Zotique J. St. Cyr. At the pr«el
writing there are 1.850 parishiomfl
In June n/o^, the parish celcbratd
its silver jubilee.
Rev. A. van ( )p|)en. w hose >^
vice as rector of St. Laurent!
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CHURCHES.
'85
Jhurch parish covers a period of
wenty-six years, is a man of schol-
rly attainments, speaks several lan-
;uages fluently, and is a native of
iolland. He was born in Heerlen
Cingdom of Holland, and studied
or the American missions at the
American Collejje f)f Lourain, Bel-
fium, emif^^ratiti}^ to the United
itates in November, 1875. His first
ent parish, but those of other nation-
alities, who, under his spiritual
guidance and encouragement have
been enabled to form other parishes
in Meriden. St. Laurent's Church
is of French Gothic architecture and
has been minus a completed steeple,
but this, a spire extentling skyward
over 160 feet, will be finished in the
comparatively near future.
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
HOLY angels' church .\ND RECTORY.
charge was at Windsor Locks,
where he served as curate, after-
wards at the church at Putnam,
Conn. His extended pastorate in
Meriden has been a great blessing to
his parishioners. The growth of the
parish speaks volumes for his favor-
able work, and he is much beloved
not only by the members of his pres-
LHLRCH
OF THE
ANGELS.
HOLY
This attractive suburban church
of the Roman Catholic denomina-
tion is an oflfshoot of St. Rose's par-
ish. The church was built under
the pastorate of Rev. Paul F. Mc-
Alennev as a mission church to
A CKXTUUY OF MtRlDEN.
accommodate the iricnibcrs of his
parish residinj^ in South Mcriden,
Tracy and Valcsvillc and who had
found the distance too great from
their homes to attend, very frecjuent-
ly, the services at St. Rose's church
on Center street, 'i'lie first pastor
appointed was Rev. R. I*", Moore,
A. M., and (hirinjj the followinj^
vear adjoininj^ hind was purchased
and the present churcli rectory built.
tlie same. .^50 incUviduals. siiicr
the first year after the church
was built. The parish became inde-
l)endent of the mother parish in i«SS8
and since that time has l>een entirely
self supportinjj. In 1896 Rev. Fr.
Moore removed to Xew liritain an'I
became pastor of St. Joseph*>
church, leavinjj behind him the affec-
tionate rej^ard and respect of hi-:
l)arishioners. He was succeeded a>
Photo by K. S. Godfrey.
ST. M.\KV S ClIUKLII.
This church property is now valued
at about $iJ,O)0 and at this writinj^
there remains a debt of $1,500 which
is {gradually beinj^ reduced. As the
church of the Holy Anj^els is the
only church of its denomination be-
tween .Meridcn and \\ allincfford,
its services became well attend-
ed from the first but its mem-
bership has remained appro.ximately
rector by Rev. Patrick r»yrnc. wlf'
came to the .Stuith Meriden church
from Thomaston where he hail
been previously located. He reinainc<l
pastor for a period of two year?
and then went to New Canaan, Conn.
Rev. Thomas Cronan became the next
pastor, also remaining two years wIk"
he went to Xew Mil ford. The present
pastor. Rev. James W. Cunningham.
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CHURCHES.
187
line to South Meriden from West
hompson, after having been pre-
ously connected with a church at
iitnam. Conn., and he has met here
iih the hearty su])port of a loyal i)co-
e in ministering to their spiritual
ants and by whom he is held in high
.'gard.
T. MARVS (iKRM.W ROMAN
CATHOLIC CHURCH.
This parish of the Roman church,
nd in which is propagated the (Jcr-
lan language, was established in
leridcn by liishop McMahon of
Iarttor<l. and was organized March
2. 1890. At that time services in
he (jerman tongue were held in the
lasement of St. Laurent's Church,
khere services in the French lan-
:uage were also held, as they were
efore that time and have been since,
^rcvious to that date there were
evcral German families of the Rom-
n Catholic faith in Meriden, but it
kas not until the Rev. Ignatius Kost
kas appointed rector of the new parish
hat the (iermans of this faith became
inited to any considerable e.xtent.
I'nder Father Kost money suffi-
iint to begin the erectif)n <:»f the
)re««t*nt church edifice was raised,
ind this was dedicated Dec. 6, 1891.
The church is a wooden structure
in<l comprises both a place of wor-
ship and a school, the latter being
M'^ned in 1896, and in which at the
^resent writing 220 pupils are taught
n fierman by four Sisters of Mercy.
The entire parish comprises about
250 families or approximately 1,250
mdividuals. The church is incor-
porated and owns all of its property
without incumbrance. The lav
trustees of the corporation are Paul
T. Saleski and John Kopske. Sr.
Since the church was built there
has been actjuired an adjoining par-
sonage and additional land, the latter
Photo by Aker!« & Pigeon.
KKV. N. |-. X. SCHXKmKR.
fronting on Grove street, upon which
a new and permanent church edifice
may be erecte<l at some future time,
there being in the hands of the i)resent
rector. Rev. Nicholas F. X. .Schnei-
der, the nucleus of a neces.sary
fund, or about $3,000. The present
rector of the church assumed his
charge after having served as assist-
Digitized by Google
^
A CENTURY OF MKRIDKN.
l88
ant pastor at New Britain. He is
said to be held in high regard by his
parishioners.
THE CHURCH OF OUR LADY
OF MOUNT CARMEL.
This house of worship at which
the ItaHan residents of the Roman
Cathohc faith of Meriden receive
their spiritual food was erected
in 1894. The church, which is
located on Goodwill avenue, on
the boarder of the Italian district of
Meriden, is shown in the accom-
panying illustration. Before the
formation of the present parish the
Italians of Meridei) attended princi-
pally the St. Laurent's Church on
Camp street, but to that church their
attendance was not entirely confin-
ed. The creation of the parish w^as
a source of much spiritual comfort
to the sons of Italy and gradually
it has grown in membership until at
the present writing it numbers ac-
cording to the figures of the present
pastor, about 2.200 souls. The
church property consists in 1906 of
the church edifice only, which was
dedicated in i8(>4 and valued at $4,-
500, and upon which $1,200 was ex-
pended in 1905-6 in repairs and
imi)rovements. The parish is incor-
porated under the laws of the state
and the lay trustees are Leonordo
Suzio and Pasquale lannetti. The
Sunday school is conducted by the
Sisters of Mercy from St. Bridget's
Convent, but the parochial day
school is yet a thing of the future.
The different rectors of the nans
have been as follows : Father
elli, under whose pastorate
church was built ; Rev. Anto:
Falco, Victorio Sarilla,. Father ^
Laughlin, who though of Irish
also spoke Italian, and the prcsa
pastor, Rev. Antonio DeSiTnoL
Photo by Akers & Pig«on.
OUR LADY OF .MT. CAkMEII- CHURCH,
who was appointed rector of ■
parish and connnenced his dutien
such April 2. 1905. Father DeSiBI
one has accomplished much for th
parish in a comparatively short taa
and receives the undivided sap
port of his parishioners. He
CHURCHES.
lan of gentle manners and sympa-
letic nature, and the worshippers at
is church hold him in affectionate
rgard. He was born at Caiazzo,
rovince of Casserta, Italy, April 13,
^71 and was educated for the
riesthood at the seminary in his
ative town, where he was also or-
ained in 1894, and was first a cur-
te at the Church of San Giovanni e
'aolo. In 1903 he emigrated to this
ST. JOSEPH'S CHURCH.
i
Photo by Akern & Pigeon.
REV. A. DE SIMONE.
country and was appointed one of
:he assistants at the cathedral at
Albany, N. Y., and during his two
years' service there he looked after
the spiritual wants of the Italians
3f the capitol city of the Empire
state.
This now thriving parish of the
Roman Catholic church was orga-
nized in October, 1901, and is an off-
spring of St. Rose's parish, having
been made a parish by itself by
Bishop Tierney of Hartford. The
first services were held in the little
chapel on W est Main, near the cor-
ner of LJutler street, formerly occu-
pied by the Trinity Methodist
Church, but which had for some
time been used as a chapel of case by
the mother parish. Rev. John T.
Lynch, to the good fortune of the
parishioners, was made first pastor,
and under his leadership it has thriv-
ed and prospered, and now com-
prises 2.700 souls. The territory set
off for St. Joseph's parish comprised
that part of Meriden west of
the X. Y., N. H., & H. Railroad.
Almost immediately after the
appointment of a rector, the little
chapel where services were first
held became overtaxed, and |)lans
were fornnilated for a new church.
Tlie committee appointed for that
j.urpose was made up of the follow-
ing: John A. Hurley, Roger Crough,
W illiam Lewis. Michael Keating,
M. F. Fitzgerald. M. G. Reynolds,
Henry Cashen, Chas. McGuire,
John McW'eeney, Cornelius J. Dan^
aher. John F. Butler, W'm. B.
Cashen. J. J. McMahon. John T.
McLoughlin and M. F. Morrissey.
The first lay trustees of the corpo-
ration were John A, Hurley and C.
A CENTURY OF MKRIOEN.
190
J. Danaher, but after the formers
removal from the city, he was suc-
ceeded by John McWeeney. In
1902 the new parish became pos-
sessed of a most desirable location
for the new church and a proposed
new rectory, in a section of the old
Goodwill homestead property, and
now bounded by West Main street.
Goodwill and Lewis avenues. The
work of tearing down the historic
residence and adjoining buildingi
on the property was ininiediaicU
begun, and the foundation for lh<
new church, as yet uncompleted
was started, the corner stone ol
which was laid on October U
1902. The basement chapel was com-
pleted in March, 1903, and since
that <late services have been there
held. The completion of the
church entire was postponed by
I , Google '
J
CHURCHES.
191
Father Lynch to avoid heavy inter-
est on money that would have been
lecessary for the work. Fr.
Lynch originally planned to spend
570.000 on the new church, but
when the auditorium is finished.
^^^^^^^
Photo by Akcn« & Pigeon.
RKV. JOII.V T. I.VXCH.
^vhich it bids fair to be at no dis-
tant date, a sum somewhat m excess
of that amount will have represent-
t'l the cost of the fully c<)mi)leted
t<lifice.
Since the new church became
<^>ccupied. the little chapel, which is
also owned by the corporation, was
converted into a parochial school of
five rooms, where studies from the
^^^t. to the sixth j^rades have since
l)ocn taught to about 260 children of
^lit: parish, bv five Sisters of .\Iercv
from St. Bridget's convent. Another
ac(|uisition of the new parish is a lot
on North First street and North
Avenue, which comprises a most
desirable location for church pur-
poses. After the completion of St.
Joseph's church, the building of a
rectory will be be^un and this will
be situated in the rear of the church
in the comparatively near future.
St. Joseph's parish has now, be-
sides its re^^ular j)astor. two assist-
ants. Rev. John F. Donohue. a na-
Photo by Akers t Pigeon.
KKV. JOHN F. DO.N'OHUE.
tive of Litchfield, and Rev. \Vm. J.
Judj^c. who was born and brought
up in Hartford. Rev. Father
Lynch, in addition to presiding over
his parish, with his assistants, looks
Google
192
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
after the spiritual needs of the Cath-
olic inmates of the Conn. School for
Boys. The Sunday school of St.
Joseph's Church comprises about 500
members. An idea of the growth
of the parish can be gained when it
is stated that during the month of
April, 1906, mission services held
there attracted as many as 1,000 men
at each service held for them, and a
Photo by Akprs & Pigeon.
REV. WILL1.\.M J. JUDGE.
larger number of women during the
women's mission.
Rev. John T. Lynch was born in
Watcrbury, January 24, 1857. and
was educated in the public schools
of Ansonia, and the Collegiate and
Theological departments of Niagara
University, being ordained June 19,
1886. He began his career as a
clergyman as assistant at St. John's
church, Stamford, and was after-|
w^ards transferred to St. Peter's
Church, Hartford, where he remain-
ed for a period of ten years. When!
;i new parish was formed at|
W'ethersfield, he became its first
rector, and while located there re-
modeled the church and bought the
land upon which he built a rcctoryj
During his pastorate at W'ethers-
field and while connected with St
Peter's Church. Hartford, he i>er\xi
as chaplain at the Connecticut ."^i.ne
Prison. Since coming to Meriden
his tireless work has resulted in the
remarkable growth of the parish and
large acquisitions of church property
in a comparatively short time. lie
is greatly beloved and respected by
his parishioners and is also held in
high regard in the comnumity. I
ST. PAUL'S UXIVERSALIST
CHURCH.
One of the more imposing house?
of worship in Meriden is St. Pauls
Universalist Church, a handsome
structure from an architectural point,
of view, the corner stone of which 1
was laid in 1891, the dedication
taking place September 27,
The present edifice was erected dic-
ing the pastorate of Rev. W.
Perkins, D. D., at an approximate
cost of $100,000, the late Isaac |
C. Lewis, who in later years was
for a considerable time superintenil-
ent of the Sunday school, being one
I Google
CHURCHES.
193
f the lar«^c contributors, not only
) the biiildinj; itself, but j)resenting
le «et of chimes which, from the
lurch tower, have in tuneful peals
ler since ^e^oun(le(l for the benefit of
K- citizens of the town and vicinity.
The L'niversalist society was organ-
'.e«l May 30, 1854. but previous to that
eroy. Calvin Coe, R. IC. Smiley. Win.
H. Golden. John S. lilakc, Moses
W aterman, Isaac C Lewis. J. V.
Thayer. H. F. Stevens, Edwin Day-
ton, Monroe I>arnes. John L. Ives,
r>. R. Stevens. H. E. W'elton. James
'P. Pomeroy, E. R. Aspinwall. John
C. Marion. J. U. Foster, Charles
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
.ST. PAULS U.MVKKSALIST ClIUKtH.
n^inps were held at the house of
^'>ah Pomeroy, where also the first
■cmion in Meriden by a Universalist
minister. Rev. Mr. P.rooks was
preached. Rev. James (lallager was
tht first regular pastor of the society.
*n«l signed to the constitution the fol-
l<»wing names are found: Noah Pom-
Pomeroy. \. W. Pomeroy. IMiillij)
S. Pelton. P. S. niiss, jr.. Silas
(lladwin. (i. E. Leonard, Aaron
(iardner and J. P. Lewis.
In April. 1855. the society had
become increased by thirteen mem-
bers, but it was not until December
5. iSCto, that the first edifice was
194
A CENTURY OF MEKIDKN.
erected and dedicated. The build-
ing: committee of this first Univer-
salist church was composed of Dr.
T. V. Davis. Isaac C. Lewis, Silas
(iladwin. Moses Waterman and
Robert Hoadlev. The whole cost
KI-.V. I. H. t H.MMX. I'll. D.
of the first builtling including car-
I)ets and furnishings was $9,214.18
and at the time of the dedication
the church had a debt of $4,432.46.
It is said that of the sixty-six per-
sons who contributed to the erection
of the first I'nivcrsalist church, but
forty-eight t>f them were avowed
Universalists.
This church, a wooden structure of
unprepossessing appearance, st»)od
where St. Paul's church now stands,
fninting on Xorwood street, but was
moved to the northeast corner of
erty and Xorwood streets when
erection of the new church wa?
grn and services were continued
until the present church was cc
pleted. Since the winter of 1904.
the town hall was destroyed by tirci
old church building has been oa
as a temporary town hall, and useJi
both town and city ofiFices. as it il
this writing.
Rev. Frederick Foster was the
pastor to occui)y that pulpit. anJJ
REV. J. HARRY HOI.DEX.
was followed, Nov. i, i8(>2, by Reit
H. Farnsworth. who presided over
flock for seven years and placeii
society on a permanent basis, for d
ing his pastorate and with thin^
members the church became pen
Digitized by Google
CHURCHES.
nentl\ organized, June a), 1863. Rev.
Martin J. Steere became the next
settled pastor becoming located
here in 1869, and remaining until
1S73, vvlien the late Rev. James
Henry Chapin. Pli. D., was secured.
Dr. Chapin resigned on account of
y>rotracted ill health in 1885, and dur-
ing his i>astorate 149 persons received
the right hand of fillowship and 148
children were baptized. During his
jastorate also a new organ, one of
the finest in the cit>% was placed in
the church at a cost of $4,000. Dr.
Chaptn was a scholarly man who
<*xerted a great influence in the com-
munity. He showed a profound
interest in educational and philan-
thropic matters. He was succeeded
by Rev. C. A. Knickerbocker, also
an effective preacher and whose
pastorate was marked by increasing
congregations, and during the four
year<% of his ministry the questioti
of a new church was first agitate<l.
Rev. W. S. Perkins, D. D.. foUowefl
Rev. Mr. Kickerbockcr as the next
fettled pastor and his ministry in Mer-
iden exceeded in length of service that
of any other man in the history of the
church. Dr. Perkins was a strong
preacher and possessed a kind and
sympathetic nature, and during his
successful pastorate many new mem-
l)ers were received into the church.
His work in the cause of Universatism
resulted in a continued growth of the
rch and he will be long remem-
l)ere(l by the people of the town.
The parish at the present writing
a membership of about 300 and
possesses a Sunday school of 200.
Rev. J, Harry Holden was installed
as pastor succeeding the Rev. Mr.
Perkins as regular pastor, May i,
u)OT,. He was born at Middlesex,
Vt., March 18, 1861, was educated
at Goddard Seminary, afterward tak-
ing a course at the Academic De-
partment of Tufts College, from
which he received the degrees of
A. li., B. D., and A. M., and where
he later studied for the ministry,
•graduating in theology in 1888. His
!':rst pastorate was at Amherst,
.' ass. He afterwards went to At-
tleboro, Mass., and after presiding
over the church there for some
years accepted the call to St. Paul's
L'niversalist Church. While at Am-
herst, Mr. Holden, in addition to
his pastoral duties, served as super-
intendent of schools, and at Attle-
! oro was for four years a member
of the school board. He is a mem-
1 cr and chaplain of Meridian Lodge
77, A. F., & A. M., and has become
a prominent figure in the promotion
of Universalism and social life in
Meriden.
He was married in South Boston,
Mass., June 11, 1889 to Grace Lucas
and thev have four children as follows:
Charlotte, Kathryn, James Henry and
Kenneth Winslow Holden.
ST. JOHN'S GERMAN FA^AN-
GELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.
This* the mother church of the
evangelical Lutheran denomination
in Meriden, was organized in the
Digitized by Google
CHURCHES.
court room of the town hall, on
Nov. 6, 1865. The first service at
which a sermon was delivered by a
pastor, was held December 25. the
same year in the old Episcopal Church
01 South Broad street. The first
pastor of this church society was
Rev. (j. Ciuericke. but he resigned
the following year and returned to
Germany. The second pastor. Rev.
Ri:V. S. F. GL.\SKR.
(>. A. Schmidt, of I'tica. .\. V..
arrived in Meriden ( )ct. i. 18^16. but
was not installed until the first
church edifice, which had been for
^mc time in the process of con-
struction, was dedicated, March 5.
1867. Rev. C. A. draeber. the next
pastor, and who came here from
Rockville. was installed August 22.
197
1869, his service as such continuing
until April 1, i88^), when his resigna-
tion took effect. His successor was
Rev. A. Krafft of Otto. X. Y., who
was installed pastor of St. John's
church April 16. 1886, and who re-
mained as such until July 10, 1S90.
when he left to accept a call to the
Lutheran church at Fischervillc,
Can. Rev. William Koepchen of
\ew Haven, who almost immediately
afterwards received a unanimous
call from the .Meriden church, was
installed as pastor .August 10, 1890.
The erection of the present impos-
ing edifice at the corner of Liberty
and Xorwood streets, was determined
upon just previous to the coming of
Mr. Koepchen but the corner stone
was laid at the end of his first year,
on .\ugust 30, 1891, its dedication
occurring March 13, i8<>2.
During his successful pastorate
also, in 1897, the |)arsonage on Lib-
erty street was purchased by the
church corporation and in 1899 a
commodious and comfortable parish
house was erected in the rear of the
parsonage by the Young People's
and Ladies' .\id societies. In the
same year, a very desirable tract of
land containing eight acres and front-
ing on Roberts and l»ee streets, just
off East Main .street, was purchased
and has since been used by St. John's
parish as Gethsemane cemetery, being
one of the city's most beautiful plots
for the |)urpo.se for which it has been
designated.
Rev. S. F. Gla.ser. the present
pastor of the now thriving congre-
Google
198
A CENTUKY OF MERIUEN.
j^ation. succft*(!t'fl Rev. Mr. Knep-
chcn and \va> in>tallc(l in M.ucli,
I'KK"); and in the intcrvcTiincf years
iIk' church ha» iiuTfa><.'(l largely in
ii5ciJil)<.T>lii]). During; the \car liK>2
the church rt-i)lacc(l its dclnnct or-
gan with one of niagnihccncc and
modern consiruction at a cost ol
$3,500. The church congregation
sesses property at the present
writing to tiic valiic ut about $5^.0 k'.
The present chtirch building, a most
imposing -structure of brick with
br<)\vn>t"ne basement and irini-
niings and cathedral glass windows,
is of true (iothic architecture, ami
has a sealnig caj>aciiy of 8'jo. The
extreme width of the aisles, however,
rnakes it jMi^-vible for about 200
metre to be acconmiodaletl when occa-
sion demands. L'nder the pa>toraie
of the Rev. Mr. (ilaser, the attend-
ance at the morning services, which
are held in derman, averages be-
tween 500 and 6^)0. nud on tlie last
I'alm Sunday, there were about an
even 1,000 peoj)le sealed in the
church. During the past three
vears. and owing to the fact that
manv nunibers of the congre^xalion
have marnetl Americans, the eve-
ning services base been held in
I-lnglish, a nio-t popular innovation
intr<Mlucc<l by the present pa-t<ir.
There are both male and mixrd
choirs at ."^i. John s. Church, and the
nuisic there rendered is of high or-
der. The congregation wav com-
prises 1.400 >oids. and there arc 845
conlirmed communicants, 185 com-
prising the adult male members who
decide the mailers of the church In
vt»le. I'or many ycar> there
Ifcen maintained by this church i
]>ar. •chial >eh<K)l which i>> held in
three ru..n)> of the basement an.
where, besides all the branches tauijl'i
in the public schools a thorough coiir- •
in derman i» also given. This schf il
is maintained by St. Johns church,
knowing it to be the sacred duty t'
give its children a lh'>r. >ugh Cbn>-
tian etiucation and training. 11-
teachers are: L. A. lUiri^di >rr. princi-
pal: -Miss Elise Flora Sternberg a-'l
.Miss Marguerite Xagel. a^^l^u^.■.■>
The church Sunday school co!npri-c>
300 children and of this the pasl(^r >
the superintendent and C, A. Ih r,;-
dorf is the assistant.
The church council com]>riNes tlx
following; Rev. S. I'. Gla>er, chiir-
man : Albert Abel, clerk ; and John
\\". Katt treasurer. The elders are 1 i-
ward .Schwarz and Carl Schoenr.vs.
the deacons. Herman Ketelhut.
Schroeder and Herman Rnfleth. Th"
trustees of the corj)oratii »n are Cl^"*-
.Sternberg, Albert Maronde. .Mbir:
-Abel. John W. Katt and Willia: ;
H. Xagel. president.
The pre-ent pastor. Rev. Sanim'
F. (ilaser. was bf»rn in Adrian. Mich
and attended Concordia College. Ft.
W'avne. In<l., from which he ^vv
graduated in 1885. after takint: th
regular classical course embraciin:
the studies of the ancient langna.:^';.
including I-atin. Creek and Hebrew,
he afterwards look a three year.'
course at Concordia University at
.St. Louis, where he prepared for ihc
Digitized by Google
CHURCHES.
199
ninistiy, and from which he received
lis diploma in 1888. Mr. Glaser
ranie to this city from Ashland, Ky.»
md his pastorate here has met with
:he hearty co-operation of a large
:o!i^rcgation. Mr. Glaser is a man
yl intellectual attainments and
hrttugh his ability as a preacher, or-
ganizer and aptitude for his profes-
sion has the church been brought
to its present state of prosijcrity.
iMMAXUEL GERMAN LUTH-
ERAN CHURCH.
ITiis now thriving evangelical
chi rch congregation possessing at the
1 room writing a valuable church
1 Tdperty and parsonage adjoining at
ihj corner of Hanover street and
('«»'»k a\ t ime. sp'"ang from St.
John's Gcrinan Lutheran C liurch in
|K>^<|. ft was U! til, It year that tliirty-
>i\ lamilits formed the new society,
h heing ihcir desire to worship un-
'!tr the jurisdiction of the old syn-
"'l which is the Ministerium of
New York, and the adjacent states
under the (leneral Coiiiuil of tlic
I-uthtran (."hurch of X'Ttli Amer-
ica. 1 he first meetings of the
'^^•cicty were held at the hall of
the Vonng Men s t hristian .Asso-
ciation, where alter the first few
nu.nths of services presided over by
Kcv. Kniil W ittmann, Rev. C. R.
Tajipcrt I wen me the regular pa.^tor.
A bnihimg lot had been pur-
chased in the present location
an«1 in !.^)o the corner stone
the church was laid by Mr.
'rai)pcrt. The church when com-
plvted and dedicated began imme-
diately to show a remarkable pro-
gress in membership and spiritual
prosperity. Two years later it was
(Itemed advisable to buy several lots
adjoining that upon which the
church had been built. The land
was little more than a swamp and
was an excellent resort for a large
cougregatit)n (»f histy throated
frogs. The i»a->tui, iiowever, saw
great possibilities to be obtained
tri>ni improsing the land, and at a
large exiteiise the same was tilletl in
and the same year, in l8<)2. the a<ldi-
tional land was purchased, there
were buih thereon the i»ri->ent
church parsduagc and carriage
sheds, therchy greatly improving
that seetioii of the city, in i8<^7
the pKoperily and growth of the
church warranted a further outlay
of $3,000 wiiich was .>pent in remod-
eling and beautifying the interior
to a considerable extent. After
the several improvements had been'
madf the church society ha<l a debt
(»l $14,000, reduced to ^^.(kju at this
writing, and continuing to be re-
duced at the rate of $i.ooo a year,
without any •special effort on the
])art of the >«»ciety, from its regidar
income. This has been accom-
jdished without the ImUling of fairs
<»r other entertainments and the
reduction of the debt has been in a
measttre acci ►mi>li>hed from the pro-
eeds an e>tablishe<l debt fund.
The clinreh has ever been a most
harmonious organization and its.
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200
A CliNTL'RY OF MIIRIDEN.
growth in nicnibership somewhat school which has an averajje altend-
remarkable.. At the present writ- ance of 125 children, who attend the
ing there are 600 communicants, public schools the balance of the
GKKMAX LUTHERAN' IM MANUEL CHURCH.
I
The Sunday School possesses a week. The teachers at the Satur*
membership of 225. There is also day school are the pastor,
conducted at the church a Saturday Meta Kreft, instructor at the Pf
CHURCHES.
20 1
<|uo(l Business College, and Miss
i.ena Knapp. teacher at the Public
scluH)l of Plantsville. The church
ptissesses a ladies' society of ninety-
seven members and a young people's
society of about the same member-
ship.
Rev. C. R. Tappert. the pastor,
was born in Hameln, Cicrmany in
S
RKV. C. K. TAIM'KRT.
iST/i, and comes from a g^od
old family in (icrmany. tracing
his ancestrN back to the year
1567. He graduated at the Theo-
logical school, Kropp. Clermany.
and while still too young to become
an orflained clergyman came to this
country and took charge of a con-
gregation at Greenport, L. I. He
was f>rdained bv the Ministerium
and installed as pastor of St. Peter's
Church. He afterwards founded
Trinity (Jerman Lutheran church
in New York city with but nine
members, which afterwards became
a thriving society under his leader-
ship. The history of this church
reveals a creditable work by its pas-
tor. Mr. Tai)pert exerts a great in-
fluence in the comnuuiity : for he is
also pastor of the First ICvangelical
Lutheran church in Southington,
which pulpit he also fills for that so-
ciety. He stands high in his
denomination and is a member of
the board of examination of the synod.
Mr. Tappert has two brothers in
the ministry, the Revs. Gustave and
Ernest T.. both having charges in
Xew York City. i)nc of his sis-
ters holds an important position in
the Lutheran Deaconess home.
Philadelphia. Mrs. Tappert is a na-
tive of Greenport, L. 1. Her family
is also well represented in the Luth-
eran clergy. One of her brothers.
Rev. W. Drach. IS pastor in Svra-
cuse. .\. Y. .Another. Rev. G. Drach.
formerly pastor of an l^nglish Luth-
eran Church. Philadelphia, now
holds the important position of gen-
eral secretary of the Hoard of For-
eign Missions of the General Coun-
cil of the Lutheran Church of
.\mcrica.
SWEDISH LUTH. CHCRCH.
.As early as 1878 Meriden contained
in its population a number of Swedes
Digitized by Google
202
A CENTURY OF MERIUEN.
of the evangelical Lutheran faith, and
an attempt, which finally proved un*
successful, to establish a permanent
Swedish society, was made about that
time under the leadership of Dr. Lud-
w 'li; Holmes.
The first Swedes began to arrive in
Meriden about 1865 but for the first
ten vears their numl>ers were few.
About 1878 there was organized a
Swedish branch of the Y. M. C A.,
which for a time conducted Swedish
services in the homes and other places.
They also maintained a Swedish cir*
culating library of fair size. These
first services were led principally by
Dr. Ludwig Holmes, of Portland,
Conn., pastor of the Swedish Lutheran
chi:rch there, then the only Swedish
chr.rch in Connecticut. Dr. Holmes
later lived in the west for a number of
years but a few years ago returned to
the church in Portland over which he
still presides. He is now one of the
foremost ministers in the Swedish
Lutheran church of the United States
and is also a poet of some note.
It was not until the Swedish Luth-
erans had become reinforced by sev-
eral families of their nationality that
the present permanent organization
became effected. Services were first
held in St. John's Lutheran church and
later in German Immanual Lutheran
chtrrch, Bethany chapel on Britannia
street and Y. M. C, A. hall. The nu-
cleus of the present organization was
formed March 22, 1889.
The society was reorganized Feb.
rrary 18, 1890. as Swedish Evangeli-
cal Lutheran Tmmanuel congregation,
and the present church really dates its
history from that day. The society
became incorporated the same year.
The first officers were: Deacons, C.
A. Wickstrand, Peter Fohlin and
Ewald Thoren ; trustees, Peter FohUn,
C, A, Wickstrand, Ferdinaod .Ander-
son; secretary, j. Alfred Sjoquist.
Meriden was at first a mission-
ary field and preaching services at
frequent intervals were conauaed
by Rev. O, W. Ferm, then of
New Britain, but now in Sioux City,
Iowa. He was followed bv Rev. C.
J. Uengtson, of Hartford, now of
Rockland, 111. Others who were not
ordained clergymen but divinity stu-
dents, the last of whom was Rev. K.
A. Martin, now of Schenectady, N. Y..
by whom money sufficient to buy a
building lot was raised, followed in
conducting preaching services and un-
til 1893, when Rev. A. F. Wicklund,
then studying for the ministry, but
now an ordained clergyman in Swe-
den, became the first resident pastor.
Lender his leadership money was
subscribed with which to bei^in the
construction of the church edifice on
the lot previously purchased at the cor-
ner of Center and Miller streets, where
now stands the handsome church edi*
fice. The building committee was com-
posed of the following :
John Anderson, John Wcssman,
Otto E. Helin, Peter Anderson. Gus-
taf Swenson, Ferdinand Anderson.
Although Mr. Wicklund succeetW
in making the present chtircb a cer-
tainty he did not remain in Meriden
long enough to see it dedicated ami
Digitized by Google
C M L K( HtS.
lis successor. Rev. Julius Lincoln, bc-
ame the first pastor in the new
Inirch. He preached his first sermon
n the morning of June i6, 1895, '^"'l
n the afternoon of the same day the
omer stone of the buildinjj was laid
synod at Moline, 111., and the Swedish
Lutheran church here was his first,
charge. During his pastorate, on Oc-
tober 27, 1895. tilt" church was dedi-
cated. He remained in Meriden but.
a year, after which, much to the re-
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
SWEDISH LUTHERAN CHURCH,
\^ith appropriate ceremonies which
^^ere largely attended. Rev. Mr. Lin-
coln was an American by birth and a
young man of .somewhat remarkable
al>ility as a preacher. He was or-
<lained to the ministry of Augustana
gret of his fast-growing flock, he ac-
cepted a call to a pa.stonite at James-
town, N. Y.
Prof. Philip Andreen, then a (livin-
ity student, but who afterwards be-
came an ordained clergyman, and at
Google
204
A CENTURY OF MKRIOKN.
present the pastor of a thriving parish
in San Francisco, CaHfornia, of the
Swedish Lutheran denomination, be-
came the next pastor, and for a time
filled the pulpit of the newly erected
church. Upon his removal from Mer-
iden, his brother, Alexis Andreen, also
a student of theology, afterwar<ls or-
dained a clergyman, and at this writ-
ing presiding over a church at Clinton,
I{i:V. D.W II) FRIDLUXD.
Iowa, was the next to fill the pulpit.
He was succeeded by Rev. O. J. An-
drews, who was regularly installed iii
the pastorate, remaining for a per-
iod of five years. Much to the regret
of the people here he finally accepted
an urgent call to locate in Englund,
Minn., but he afterwards returned to
Connecticut and is now located in An-
son ia.
Rev. David Fridlund, the prescni
pastor, became Mr. Andrews" suc-
cessor in 1904. The growth of the
church in membership has been sonit-
what notable. From the time when
the society became under its present
penuanent organization it had butj
thirty-three members, which has sincci
been increased to alwut 300 at th*'
present writing. There is a Sunday
school of 100, and during the summer
months there is a day school main
tained in the church by the society
The church became an incorporateJ
organization in 1890 and the ap-j
proximate value of the property isj
now $9,000. The deacons of the
church are Otto E. Helin, J. Alfred
I'erson and Linus P. Carlson.
The trustees of the corporation are
John W'cssman, Martin Johnson, Guy'
tav H. Johnson, Albert Holmgrenj
Guslav Kugge and ^L A. Wickstrand-
The church secretary is Otto \i. Helin.!
There are two important s<xieties ofj
the church, the ladies' society and the
young people's society. The former,
of which Mrs. C. G. Anderson is
president, and Mrs. Andrew Kngpc
vice-president, is composed of all
the ladies of the church. The of-
ficers of the young people's society
are : President, Fritz Fkdahl : finan-
cial secretary. J. A<lolph Jt)hn><in:
secretary, Alton Parks, and treasurer,
C. J. Lundstrum.
Rev. David Fridlund, the present
pastor of the church, was bom in Swe
den in 1869, and was brought to ihi*
country by his parents who located at
Manistee, Mich., when he was quite
I Google
CHURCHES,
205
ig. He was educated at public
ols, later attendintj I'.ethany Col-
. Lindsburg, Kan., and prepared
the ministry at the Theolopjical
inary of the Aupjustana coUeg^e at
N Island. Meriden is his first pas-
te.
IK JEWISH SVXAGOCL'E.
here has been a Hebrew rcli-
is society in Meriden since 1887
the structure comprisinjr the
cut synagogue was i-recterl in
I at a cost of $5,000. This
tty has grown to 125 members
1 small beginnings and the
Kler was Meyer Abraham, who
the fourth orthodox Hebrew to
' up his residence in Meriden,
in his house the first services of
faith here were held. The first
irew to come to Meriden >vas
aham Harris, who is an indus-
us tailor antl came here with his
ily about 1872. The second
i^h family was that of which H.
tz was the head and he was fol-
L-<I bv He inian Goldstein. Mever
aham was attracted to Meriden
^^5 and after his friend Samuel
ftnann also took up his residence
these two took it upon them-
es to attract others of their faith
his city, their object being the
Klation of a synagogue. In 1889
• er .Abraham, in his name, secur-
' charter and he became the fir.st
'ident of the society, and has
■^fl in that capacity for nine
years in all. being the present in-
cumbent of the office. It was in
1887 that Abraham Siskind. a man
exceedingly well educated anil held
in great respect by his people, was
chosen rabl>i by the society and he
has since filled that office without
pay and in accordance with the Jew-
ish custom has settled all dis])utes
and conducted the marriages of his
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
JEWISH SVNAGt»GUK.
people. Services are held in the
synagogue, which is located at 43
Cedar street, once every I'riday eve-
ning and three times on Saturday.
There, as in other Jewish syna-
gogues, the prayer takes a most im-
portant part in the services for
which he receives a liberal salarv.
Google
206
A CMNTLRV Ol- MliUIDIlN.
iS. Leibeniian serving in that capa-
city at the present writing. People
of the Jewish faith become members
of this society by vote of its mem-
bers, three black balls being suffi-
cient, however, to keep out those
not desired. The society pays a
funeral benefit and a certain stipu-
.scIkmjI where the Hebrew langd
and bible are taught by expencoij
teachers. an<l where ninety pg
are now receiving daily insiruc
from Principal Lewis (iinsberj.
school is also held there on Si
from 9 in the morning to 2 in
afternoon. The societv is ri 'T^
Photo by A kern & PlgeoD.
AlKVEU ACR.\H.\M.
Photo by Akerfs & Pigeon.
RABBI SI5KIND.
lated sum is collected regularly from
its members for the maintenance of
the society. The services arc always
private and none but members are
])ermitted to take part. The Old
Testament only is the IJible used. In
addition to the services of the syna-
gogue, on every week day except
Saturday and Sunday, there is held
from the hours of 4 to 8 p. m.. a day
incori)orated body and its projx!
with the exception of a debt of 5i
is held free and clear, 1
THE THIRD COXGREG.XTK
AL CHURCH.
This society of the Congregati
denomination, also called the Hani
Congregational Church was on^
Google
CHURCH lis.
207
February 13, 1853, by twenty-five
members who were dismissed from
the Meriden Congregational Church
by letter with that object in view.
Before this, however, the church
had been erected through the efforts
of Walter Webb, Deacon N. C.
Sanford, Ezckiel Hall, Reuben Wa-
terman, L. Griswold and others.
This church is of the typical Con-
.;'rt'gational style of architecture
and comprises a wooden buildinij of
several huntlred sittings. The first
l>ustor was Rev. James A. Clark, who
served from 1853-55. He was fol-
lowed by Rev. Jacob ICaton, who was
installed May 18, 1857 and continued
until the breaking out of the Civil
War, in 1861, when he left for the
front as chaplain of the 7th Conn.
\'ols. During his pastorate an im-
;'urtant revival was held in the church
which resulted in the acqnisition of
tliirty>two new members,. Following
his pastorate for several years, and
until 1870, the church had no regular
pastor but in that year J. Howe Voice
was installed and afterwards served
as pastor until April 3, 1873. At that
time the New Haven East Associa-
tion supplied the pulpit with acting
pastors until the regular preaching
services were finally discontinued. The
last three acting pastors were E. B.
Crane, 1876-7, M. C. Wood, 1880,
and J. G. Griswold, 1882. Elias San-
ford and B. C. Eastman were the
last deacons and Daniel H. Willard
was the treasurer and superintendent
of the last Sunday school. The
church property is still kept in ex-
cellent condition, and although there
is no immediate prospect of suffi-
ciently congregations to war-
rant i^m.lar services being held
there, it is not at all improbable that
the growth of the town may warrant
such services at some time in the
future, when this tinr cluuch proper- *
ty ma\ again bectniic u>c<i as intend-
ed by the God fearing ])eople who
caused its erection.
Digitized by Google
208
A CEMURV OF MEKlDiiN.
SCHOOLS
BY WILLIAM P. KELLY.
'I he 'li^tnct s\>trin tjf >ch(i<tl ati-
Uiuii>lr;ilitMi \v.'i> early <1cvise(l in Mer-
ideii to place ihc r(.>-])< Mixihiliiy and
Control nt the sch«A»b directly in the
hands of the surroiin<hni^ neiL;hh<»r-
ho»id; hut to i)rcvent deterioration
thmugh their isolation, hoth town antl
state could h'l^islate for the districts
in some matters, and the officers of
each had a deciiliii^ voice in its af-
fairs.
The voters of each district elected
each year a connnittee of one or more
men to hire the teacher and to attend*
to the business matters jjenerally ; hut
the voters of the town at large elected
a board of school visitors who ap-
proved of the (|i!alilications of teach-
ers and of the character of the school
houses and text hooks.
The board of school visitors thmir^h
its acting school visitor performed the
duties of a superhitendent. visiting the
schools, making recommendations to
the district committees, and passing
judgment on the work of the teachers.
The recommendations of the acting
school visitors often had great weight
with the district committees, especially
when accompanied by a threat to
withhold public money. In several
successive reports during the seventies
they publicly rebuked the Farms dis-
trict for the disreputable condition of
its school house, which in the report
of 1877 is characurizetl a.- "the fi-iT
est school buildini^ in the town
enough, of ii.^ell. to demorali/i:
-chuol." Finally on May 24. iS;
they < ittic!all\' n<^»t!fied the tlistnci ir -n!
niittec thai "no tunluT a)>])n>jjria"; n-j
of school riioiK"> wi'Tiltl l:e made ir:ii
the acconimujations were made ^aur'
oi l. (i>K.\KR SCHOOL.
factory. " On September 15, r87S|
that district had a new building
for occx'pancy.
The acting school visitor receive J ^
small salary, but the others, bolli
itors and committees, served
pay. In most matters, as the
committee controlled the puiae. tSe
atithoritv of the school visitor wm
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SCHOOLS.
209
ted to giving advice that was too often
inheeded. The board of visitors met
nfrequently, leaving nearly everything
o the acting visitor. Indeed, their
K)\ver was so limited that there was
ittle occasion to meet. The district
:ommittees had real control.
The next logical step in perfecting
he administrative system was to do
iway with the division of authority
md responsibility, and have one or-
comniittee of twelve men. They
chose an executive officer with the title
of superintendent who was entrusted
with the expert supervision of the
schools. Though the vote to consol-
idate was carried by the slender ma-
jority of five, the plan has grown in
popular favor as the benefits have been
more clearly seen.
There have been three superinten-
dents: Charles M. Williams, 1896 to
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
OLD MLKIDEN INSTITUTE.
Wnization and a single governing
ij^jard for the town. This change was
'nade in Meriden at the close of the
Khoo\ year in i8y6. Sixty-six differ-
ent men held office in the districts that
}ear, and if some men had not held
more than one office the number would
have been larger.
In the fall of 1896 the town assumed
the property and indebtedness of the
•li^tricts, and elected a town school
'4
1898; Albert B. Mather. 1898 to 1905 ;
and William P. Kelly, since August i,
1905.
The present members of the school
committee are: C. H. S. Davis, chair-
man: Homer A. Curtiss, secretary;
Charles L. Upham, treasurer; Thomas
King, John A. McIIugh, James P.
Piatt. C. E. Stockder, Jr., Napo-
leon P. Forcier, Thomas A. Benhani,
.M. n. Schenck. Cornelius J. Danaher
2IO
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
and George J. Stanley. Charles H.
Wood is the present clerk to the com-
mittee, and Adelaide R. Pender the
clerk to the superintendent.
The consolidation of the districts
was agitated as early as 1863. At a
special town meeting that year it was
"I'otcd, That the Board of School
\'isitors be instructed to mature a plan
for the reorganization of the public
schools and school districts of the
action in making the schools free vr
be defeated. Our schools shouiJ
equal as well as free or we shall
the benefits of experience and
ress."
The recommendations of the **
tors'* were rejected, but six years 1
the board of visitors at that tiinc
ported that, "the district system a? it
applied in our town is a hindrance
the efficiency of our public schc
IMioto by H. S. Godfrey.
OLD WEST DISTRICT SCHOOI..
town, and print the same with their
next annual report."
The board of visitors performed the
duty and reported "That they as-
sumed this task with pleasure, fully
aware that the time had come when
something must be done to render the
school system of the town more suc-
cessful— to bring it nearer to the
standard of perfection, at which we
aim, and, without which, our previous
There is an annual suffering of edud
tional interests l)ecause new and 4
experienced district committees totaa
leave out of sight the policy of the
experienced predecessors. Thei
should be one system and harmony c
school work throughout the town.**
Again in 1875 the school visitoi
urged that, "the district system i
prejudicial to the educational intenfSl
of our town, and that onlv habit rt
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SCHOOLS.
211
tains the former arrangement," and
cites the fact that every year other
rowns are vohintarily abandoning it.
In April, 1877, a proposition to con-
•oMdate the six central districts, which
A-ere practically within the city limits,
was defeated.
In 1896, after more than thirty years
of waiting, the town voted by the
slender majority of five to consolidate.
The first town school comniittee was
me authority for stating that there is
simply no comparison between the
present system and the district sys-
tem."
THE DISTRICTS.
The history of the districts is vir-
tually the history of the Meriden pub-
lic schools, and some facts concerning
their beginnings may prove interest-
ing.
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
OLD CE.NTER SCHOOL,
confident that taxpayers had given
proof of their wisdom in voting for
this measure, and pointed out that,
notwithstanding the employment of a
superintendent and drawing teacher,
the expense to the town was no
greater.
-Mr. Mather, in referring to the
value received for the money ex-
pended, said in 1902: "Over thirty
years' experience in these schools gives
Broad street, running north and
south, and Main street, running east
and west, fixed in a general way the
Northeast, Southeast, Northwest and
Southwest districts. The first two al-
ways retained these names, though the
names Old Road and Farms were sub-
sequently aj)plied to the last two. l»y
1791, fifteen years before the town was
incorporated the East, Center and
West districts had been added. In
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212
A CENTl'RY OF MERIDEN.
1837 the North Center, the Corner and
Hanover had been added. The name
North Center disappeared, however,
about 1865. The Railroad district, as
its name imphes, followed the open-
ing of the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R.
about 1840. and the Prattsville dis-
trict was set apart in 1849. The
West district in 1850 took the name of
Ives, and in 1870 the name of North-
west, no doubt to distinguish it from
Comm*"' Appointed to Set out til
Several School Districts in s** St-c^f
which are as follows \'iz
I. The Southeast District bepj
ning at the Southeast comer ai i
old Society line Running north on
east Road half way between J
Halls & Phineas Halls. Then wet
ardly to the old Burying Yard, tlx
South to the first line, including
hel Yale, the Middle Road to be t
riuito by R. S. Godfrey.
OLD SOUTH CENTER SCIICKH..
the new West district organized be-
tween it and the Corner.
Although no one could now accu-
rately locate the original districts by
the following description, the vote of
an adjourned meeting of the .society
held March 7, 1791, is here reproduced
becau.«ie of its quaint character.
At an Adjourned Society Meeting
March 7th. 1791 :
X'oTED to Kxcept the Report of the
Road na
eluded to the head of
Lieut. Jonathan Yales.
2 East District — beginning on ih
north line of the South east ninnin
West to the head of the Iain nfl
Lieut. Jonathan Yales. e.xten
north on the East Road A quarter of
Mile north of Amasa Ives: inclu
the Road by Daniel Halls & J'
Yeamons to Elnathan Ives incli^i
Sd Ives
Digitized by Google
SCHOOLS.
3. North Kast District beginning
on the north line of the East District,
Running north to the north line, then
uestardly to the Bridge West of the
w**° Lois Houghs, running South to
tlie Road tliat goeth to Capt. Shalors
on the Road to the \v^° Louis Hough
as far as the Bridge,
5. West District, Ijeginning at the
House where James Cobon Usd to
Hve, inchuling al West of the Harbor
Brook to Cheshire hn
HIGH SCHOOL.
then A cros to the foot of the Great
Hill South of John Barnses
4. North west District, beginning
at the n<>rth line, extending .South to
Pienj" Merrianis including Sd Mer-
riam. West to the blew Hills East
6 South west District, bt'ginning at
the old Society line bounding I-last on
the South-east District nnming north
to .Asaph Mitchels then west l)y Israel
Halls Jr: to the Country road, not
including Sd Hall, then running north
Digitized by Google
214
A CENTL'RY OF MERIDEN.
to the Dog-way So called including all
East of the Harbour Brook
7 The remaining part of the So-
ciety to constetute the Center District.
Test. Nath" 13. Johnson, Clerk.
The first school house in the Pratts-
villc district, built about 1849, was a
plain two-story building on the cor-
ner of North Broad and Camp streets.
The present building was erected to
The old Center school stood on wi
is now High street, back of the c
Baptist church, at the northwest cfl
ner of the Broad street cemetery
probably served as a schoolhouj^
fifty-seven years or until the Sc'
Center was built about 1863, on
tis street, when it was used a while
storage pun^>oses. and then
ished. The South Center accomra
Photo by R. S. G«nil i l y.
CIII RCH STREET SCHOOL
the north of the old one, in 1875, at
a cost of $23,573. It contains eight
school rooms and two playrooms. In
1864 this school registered fifty-two
pupils, with two male teachers : in
1905, the registration was 321, with
nine female teachers. In 1902 the
name was changed to North Broad
street school by which it has been
known ever since.
dated the children of the south
until the brick schoolhouse on Pai
avenue was erected in 1869.
North Center, which stood on the
ner of Broad and Wall streets,
used by children from the north
of the district. This bufltling I
gave way to a better one, still sO
ing on School street. The PaJ
avenue schoolhouse and the Bi
Digitized by Google
SCHOOLS.
Street annex gathered in all the chil-
dren and the old names of South and
North Center disappeared. "The
house on Parker avenue," says an old
report, "is altogether too high. There
are nearly 100 steps from the street
in front to the principal's platfonn in
Xumber 8." This building is now
closed on account of its unsanitary
condition. In 1864 the combined
enumeration of the schools in the Cen-
house in which the first four grades
are taught. The registration for 1905
was 132, with four teachers.
The eight-room Liberty street school
was built in 1894 as a primary school.
When the Parker avenue school was
condemned in 1904, it was made a
grammar school also. The school reg-
istered 315 pupils in 1905 under a male
principal and eight assistants.
The Hanover school appears on the
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
CENTRAL GRAM. MAR SCHOOL
tcr district was 176, with three teach-
ers. In 1897 the name Center is dis-
placed in the report by the name Par-
ker avenue school.
South Broad street school was built
as an annex to the Parker avenue
school in 1884. It has always been
used for the primary grades and been
supervised by the principal of the Lib-
erty street school, H. D. Heebe.
There are four rooms in this school-
list in 1837, but the date of the first
schoolhouse cannot be accurately
fixed, although it was before 1844. It
stood a little east of the present build-
ing and had two rooms. When the
new school was erected in 1868 the
old one was removed to Cutlery ave-
nue. The new school cost $11, cod.
.•\ two-room addition was made in
1905. when there were 163 pupils un-
der six female teachers.
2l6
A CICNTURY OF MERIDEN.
There seems to l)e no trace of the
Corner district until 1830 when its
first schoollunise stood on the corner
of East Main and State streets. It is
spoken of as beings "surrounded by a
swamp," and "nesthng among the wil-
lows," by elderly people who attended
it. In 1836 it was removed to a Iwo-
story building on the north side of
Church street, near the southeast cor-
ner of the present Church street school
it still stands near Orange street, and
is now used as a dwelling. In 1864 the
Corner District school had enrolle«i
275 pupils, with three teachers, and an
old report has this to say of the insti-
tution : "This is the only thoroughly
graded school in the town which re-
ceives children in the elements, and
takes them through the successive
stages of the common and higher Eng-
lish branches and also enables them to
nir Cjj.
riioto by R. S. Godfrey.
\Vi:.ST DISIKRT SCIKJOL
grounds. In 1853 this building was
purchased by Xoah Linslcy and made
into a dwelling. II. D. Snu"th and
David X. Camp kept a high and select
school from 1847 to 1853 in a buildint^
erected by the former. The Meriden
Institute, as it was known, was boi'gI:t
by the district and enlarged and uscu
until a brick building was put up in
front of it in 1868. The "Institute"
was then moved to King street, where
avail thcm.sclves of the facilities of a
classical education." The rcgistrati'Vi
for 1905 for this schcwl, which since
1897 has been entered in town repori>
as the Church street school, was 570.
under a male principal and fourteen
assistant teachers.
The W illow and King street schools
were built as annexes of the Comer
district, the former in 1883, the latter
in 1887. The Willow street sch»>>l
SCHOOLS.
217
numbers 153 and has four teachers
working in the primary grades. In
the King street school there are 326
pupils with eight rooms and seven
grades.
Lewis avenue school, an eight-
room building, was erected by the Cor-
ner district in 1893 at a cost of $10.-
333.44. The rcKims are larger than
those in the older schools, the black-
boards put in are of solid slate, and the
elers on foot or horseback. The dis-
trict was first known as the Xorthwcst,
and the change to Old Road was made
in honor of the historic thoroughfare
which ])asscd through it. The first
schoolhouse stood on the corner of
Hicks and Colony streets, where the
second was built in 1843. The first
schoolhouse was moved and made into
a dwelling on Britannia street — it is
still standing. The second is at pres-
rhoto by R. S. Godfifv.
NDKTII ((U.O-NY SCHOOL.
time is kept by electrical clocks. Dur-
ing the first year three rooms in the
building were rented by the West dis-
trict and one was occupied by the Cor-
ner district. In 1905 it had 284 pu-
pils and eight teachers.
The Old Road district took its name
from the fact that the old colonial road
from Hartford to Xew Haven lay
through its land. Originally the road
was nothing but a bridle path for trav-
ent in use by the Firearms C(j. The
new sch()»)lhouse was built a few rods
east of the old location, in 1875, at a
cost of $15,000. In 1864 there were
,»;ixty-five pupils enrolled, with two
teachers: in 1905, there were 375. with
a male principal and nine teachers. In
the report of 184^7 this school was first
called the Xorth Colony school.
The Railroad district was not or-
ganized until after the opening of
Digitized by Google
2l8
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
the Hartford and Xew Haven rail-
road, and its first schoolhouse was
probably not erected until 1853. In
1868 this was enlarged and made into
a two-story building. In 1875 a new
building was put up on the south and
this was enlarged in 1885. In Mr.
Pettee's report of 1890 he says of the
district: "But the school buildings of
this district are badly located, and the
buildings themselves are discreditable
Photo.s by li. S. Godfrey.
I.IJJF.RTV STREET SCHOOL.
rooms on each floor open, giving a
cellent ventilation and light for ihi
corridors. The same plan was adc-piej
for the Liberty street school. In ifci
the Railroad school registered torr.
two pupils, with two teachers.
1905 there were no in the Frank)
street school, with four teacher
235 in the Columbia street school, wil
six teachers. 1
The date of the first schoolhous* i
to the district. I hope that soon bet-
ter buildings will be provided and a
better location found for them." His
suggestion was carried out in 1894,
when the Franklin and Columbia street
schoolhouse.c were erected at a cost
of $19,299.81. The Columbia street
school is of two stories and has a cen-
tral octagv : :.l hall extending from the
first floor to the large skylight in the
roof ; from this hall the four school-
the East district is not gpven il
old records, but it was some time pre
vious to 1 8 14. It stood on the noit
side of the Middletown road, on ti
corner by Almon Hall's. It is «
known what became of the buildiaf
Later another schoolhouse was use
until the easterly of the present E«
buildings was erected in 1843 : tti
was followed by the westerly in iS^fi
In 1864 the number registered
Google
SCHOOLS.
219
cnty-four ; in 1905. forty-three. The
inber of teachers is the same now
in 1864 — two.
The Northeast district is one of the
ginal seven that appear upon the
Ml list of 1814. Its first school-
use is still standings near the origi-
l location on Bee street, one-fourth
a mile north of the present school
use. It is used as a dwelling. The
w house was built in 1868 at a cost
house was built, on the north side of
Johnson avenue. About 1850 this
was moved to the corner of Johnson
avenue and Spruce street, and in 1870
the present building was erected. The
district dropped the name West and
took that of Ives about 1850, and in
1870 this was changed to the North-
west. This school was discontinued
in October, 1904. The building was
sold and is now used as a dwelling.
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
KING STKtET SCHOOL.
f $1,500. In 1888 orders were is-
jed to improve the house and out-
uildings. This was done and the
alue of the property was considerably
icreased in consequence. It is now
losed, and the pupils are conveyed to
he North Broad street school. The
uilding has been sold and is used as
dwelling.
One of the original seven districts
vas the West, where the first school-
The West Main street school was
begun in 1868 as a four-room build-
ing. By 1890 it had been twice en-
larged, making it the most unsightly
school building in town. In 1864 there
were ninety-two scholars, with two
teachers. The report of that year
says: "The large number of scholars
made it necessary to divide the school
into two departments and the plan was
continued until last spring. The older
' Google
220
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
children attended in the school house
and the younger at the house of Almon
Andrews." In 1905 it had ten rooms
under a male principal and ten as-
sistants.
The Farms district was called the
Southwest when the town was incor-
porated in 1806 and as late as 1837.
It appears on the records just once as
** Falls Plain." The first schoolhouse
was built in 1800 and repaired and en-
trict. It was built about 1800, andorig
nally stood some twelve rods soutbeaj
of the present location, to which it wj
moved in 1847 ; it was enlarged an
refurnished during the eighties. Ij
1864 the register recorded twenty, vH
two teachers ; in 1905 there w«
twelve pupils, with one teacher.
FINANCES.
The first schools were inexpensit
Phcjto by R. S. Godfr»y.
FRANKLIN STKKIIT SCHOOL.
largcd in 1869. In 1878 the school
visitors condemned the buildini^ which
was moved oflf and a new one built in
1879, at a cost of $1,500. This dis-
trict drew about as many children
from Wallingford as from Mcriden.
The school was closed in 1905. the
building sold, and the children trans-
ported to other schools.
The oldest schoolhouse in town,
without doubt, is in the Southeast dis-
affairs. corresponding to the sinipiicit]
of the life of the times. The ten
were short, the attendance was s
and irregular, and the teachers mai
little preparation for their work
received small pay. The sclnx)ls sha
in the general progress and have ht
come more elaborate and costly as
people have demanded more for t
children and have had the means
pay for it.
i
Google
SCHOOLS.
221
The system of accounting is still
wmcwhat complex. The first select-
nan pays all the bills from the appro-
priation as fast as they are approved
)y the school committee, but turns over
:he money for salaries in a Kimp sum
?ach month to the clerk of the school
rommittee, who attends to paying the
employees, who are on salary.
The treasurer of the school commit-
:ec receives the library grant from the
Thus, at the present time, four dif-
ferent persons receive, disburse, and
account for the money used by the
schools.
The town voted in 1863 to increase
the educational tax from three-tenths
to one and one-twentieth of a mill
on a dollar so as to cover all
the expenses of the several dis-
tricts, and thus do away with rate
bills and district taxes. The motion.
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
WILLOW STREET SCHOOL
tate of $270 a year and a like amount
if town funds from the first selectman,
rhese are increased by a lew tuition
ces and other small sums. His re-
cipts for 1904-5 were $848.58 and his
-xpenditiircs for books and apparatus
kere $776.74.
The principal of the High school
□ilccts tuition from non-residents, and
.ith it buys books for the High school
brarv.
carried in town meeting largely
through the influence of Rev. John
Parker, Dr. Grove H. Wilson and
Welcome K. Ik-nham, declared that
"all the public schools of the town
shall be free, and the expense of said
schools, heretofore defrayed from the
avails of rate bills, shall be paid by the
town." It thus appears that before
that time every parent who sent a child
to school paid, or was supposed to pay.
222
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
tuition. "The experiment of free
schools met with universal favor, the
attendance increased, the finances were
more simply and economically man-
aged, and the experience of the year
(1863-4) shows that this is the only
just and proper method of securing to
all the benefits of a good education."
— Report of 1864.
The total amount of public money
expended that year was $5,919,41 or
dentals. When buildings were to
erected, altered or repaired, the
trict financed the improvements
For this purpose they had a compi
fiscal organization witli collec
treasurers and auditors. While it w
simple and quite satisfactor>" to tiu
concerned, the records were often )a
in a fragmentary way, and only a tt
were turned over to the selectinj
when the town consolidated.
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
NORTH HROAD STREET SCHOOL.
about $4.11 per scholar enumerated.
The basis on which this was dis-
tributed to the districts is not stated.
For years the school visitors and se-
lectmen acted as a joint board of
finance for the town, and recom-
mended an appropriation by the town
sufficient to provide each district with
funds enough for the ordinary nm-
ning expenses, such as teachers' and
janitors' wages, fuel and minor inci-
The year 1879- '80 is typical
that year the town distributed to
treasurers of the various district^ S
647.23. In addition thereto the
tricts raised by means of district
$11,877.17, by loans $2,053, and
other sources $414.43, or about half
much as the town appropriated.
The state has for many years i
nually distributed money to the tai
on the basis of the number of chilA
Google
SCHOOLS.
223
enumerated. The sale of the Western
Reserve lands yielded over $2,000,000.
This was invested for the benefit of
:he schools. In 1871 it yielded $1.20
>er scholar enumerated. By 1891, be-
raiise of the increase in the number of
rhildren enumerated and the decline in
nterest rates, it yielded but seventy-
ive cents per scholar. The state,
lowever, appropriated in that year
from the civil list the amount of $1.50
which should be forever devoted to
school purposes. The income In this
town varies ; in 1864 it was $230.20,
in 1905 it was $179.44.
When the district system ceased, in
1896. the town school committee as-
sumed financial control. Levi E. Coe,
Benjamin Page and W. A. Miles, none
of whom were on the town school
committee, were appointed by the
town to appraise the property of the
Photo by U. S. Godfrev.
SOUTH HRO.\D STREET SCHOOL.
)er scholar. This sum of $2.25 per
■cholar is still received annually by the
own.
In 1836 the finances of the United
5tates were in such a flourishing con-
lition that the national treasury over-
lowed to the amount of $28,000,000.
Congress lent this to the several states.
Connecticut deposited her share. S763,-
161. among the towns, creating in each
I Town De|)osit Fund, the proceeds of
school districts. They reported the
total value of the property to be $234,-
987.42 though the district committees
in tlie same year had set it at $413,548.
The town assumed the indebtedness of
the districts, $61,010.45, against which
were ready assets amounting to $2,-
488.91.
Including the income from all these
sources the school committee had
$r 15.980 to expend for the year 1905-
224
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
'06. $10,000 of this was a special ap-
propriation to buy the town's first sup-
ply of free text books.
SCHOOLllOUSES.
The Southeast school at the corner
of Miller and Paddock avenues is the
oldest schoolhouse in town. It is said
to have been built in 1800. It was en-
larged in 1885 and is still in use.
The second type of buildings, larger
twin school houses of the East d
trict standing side by side, and bi
in 1843 and in 1846, belong to d
period.
In i860 the population of Mend
was 7,426; in 1870 it was las;
Between these years came a great ;
vival in schoolhouse erection, due.
doubt, to the rapid increase in poj
lation. During this period the Cen
and Corner districts erected four-fn
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
C(>I.UMBI.\ STREET SCHOOL.
and more comfortable, may still be
rccf)gnized, though used now as
dwellings, sometimes on their orig-
inal sites, as in the case of the stone
structure on Allen avenue belonging
to the West district, sometimes moved
to other lots. Tlie South Center
school, a roomy, frame building which
stood at 12 Curtis street, was moved
by its present owner to Hobart street,
and converted into a tenement. The
brick buildings of about the
type, while the West and Hano"
erected two-story building^s of a X]
afterwanl followed by the Old R(
district. Districts seemed to vie w
each other in the improvement of di
property. Parents became much i»
eager to keep children in sch<x>l in t
new buildings and school was niJ
more inviting to the children.
The Prattsville. or North Brt
Digitized by Google
SCHOOLS.
225
ct school, was built in 1873, and
a model eight-room building
ch might well have been imitated,
o meet the next wave of increase
ic early 8o*s the West district made
unsightly addition to its frame
ding, while the other districts be-
the erection of substantial brick
ses, two stories high, and having
or four rooms on a floor. The
Road and West schools originally
In the early 90's came another build-
ing movement. Though the Lewis
avenue school followed the lines of
King street, the Columbia street and
Liberty street schools were of a
slightly different type, introducing the
central octagonal corridor and the en-
closed pupils' wardrobes.
One schoolhouse was acquired by
purchase. In 1903 the proprietors of
the Gennan-American school sold to
Photo by R. S. Codfrpy.
LEWIS .WENUE SCHOOL.
1 a pair of rooms on each floor, with
orridor and stairway space between
tn. They were subsequently en-
^td by the addition of another pair
rooms on each floor, at right angles
he first, and making use of the same
Tidors and stairs. This resulted in
'uilding in the shape of a cross.
Hie substantial brick buildings for
W illow street, South Broad street
1 King street belong to this period.
the town their four-room brick build-
ing in the rear of Liberty street and
the Central Cirammar school was or-
ganized in it.
The only schoolhouse erected un-
der town, rather than district or pri-
vate management, is the Meriden
High school. Into this beautiful and
imposing structure were incorporated
the best ideas of beauty and utility of
design, and the best materials and
I
226
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
workmanship. It was erected in 1885
but the interior was not entirely com-
pleted until the needs of the school
rccjuired it in 1890.
The town now owns eighteen build-
ings, nine of which are brick. Ten
have eight rooms or more ; one has six
rooms ; there are four with four rooms,
and three with only one room.
The greatest event in the history of
schoolhouse building was the town
sanitary condition of all the presa
houses.
LE-\DERS.
In comparison with the magnitd
of the present day interests the schxi
of sixty years ago were small affaij
yet .Meriden was not then, and haM
no time since been lacking in mcni
lal3or for the improvement of U
schools. David \. Camp, than wboi
Photo by It S. Godfrey.
EAST DISTRICT SCHtJOL.
vote of 1905 to issue bonds to the
amount of $150,000 for the purpose of
erecting modem buildings tc meet the
present j)rcssing needs. The contract
is already let (or a twelve-room gram-
mar school on West Main street near
Windsor avenue, and a lot facing City
Park has been bought for a similar
purpose in the northern part of the
city. The year 1905 marked the be-
ginning of a movement to improve the
no living educator in Connecticut |
held in more tender esteem. conduct«|
a high and select school here fftJ
1847 to 1853.
The Rev. John Parker
staunch supporter of the pui
schools, and led the movement w"hi(
made them free to rich and poor afil
in 1863. In 1871 Dr. C. H. S. Ih\i
then a rising young physician, can
on the board of school visitors,
was J
Dubl
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SCHOOLS.
227
served as acting school visitor for the
next four years with a zeal that un-
fortunately proved too costly for his
practice to long continue. His report
of 1875 is full of infomiation and
deals with the professional side of the
schools as well as the material. Xot
one of the important steps in the for-
ward movements of the following
thirty years did he fail to advocate.
It was the decided misfortune of the
visitors were ministers. Two men
of this calling will always be insepa-
rably associated with the educational
history of Meriden. Rev. John T.
Petlee, who was acting school visitor
from 1876 to 1896, with the exception
of the years between 1880 and 1887,
when the leadership fell to Rev. J. H.
Chapin. These two men had the su-
jjervision of the schools in hand for
twentv vears. Thev were men of
Photo by R. s. Godfrey.
H.ANOVER SCHOOL.
town that it failed to see the value of
his proposals at that time. He re-
mained on the board of school visitors
until that body was abolished in iSi/\,
and was the only member to be elected
to the new town school committee,
of which he has ever since been chair-
man.
Clerg}'men always figured promi-
nently in the lists of school visitors,
hi the year 1857 seven of the nine
good judgment in practical affairs
who held the confidence, not only of
the teachers under them, but of the
taxpayers and voters. The labors of
Dr. Chapin in securing a town High
school entitle him to be remembered
as one of the founders.
On September 4. 1869, Albert
B. Mather began his duties in the
newly organized high school depart-
ment of the newly built Corner school.
228
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
He was soon made the head of tlie
school and later of the subordinate
schools which grew up in that dis-
trict. At the time of his eldS'ation to
the superintendency in 1898 there were
1,000 children in daily attendance to
the thirty-six teachers working under
liim. For the next seven years he was
superintendent of schools, but the
twenty-nine years he spent at the Cor-
ner school enabled him as a teacher
her of men who thus became acti\th
interested in their welfare. After 1
man has served a term in office \t-
preciates more the work of 01: f-
Rev. J. H. Farnsworth was an at-
and progressive man, giving moc
time and thought to the duties of Ir
office as school visitor. Rev. Abr:i
ham Norwood was an aggressive ma
on the boanl for a short time. Dr. C
A. Graeber and Dr. X. Xickerson ««
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
SOUTH E.VST DI.STR1CT SCHOOL.
and a man to put his deepest impress
on the life of the comnumity.
To mention all the names which
deserve mention here is manifestly
impossible. Many of the best pro-
fessional and business men of the
town have served the schools in one
capacity or another, usually on the dis-
trict committees. This was good for
the schools because of the large num-
active and influential members of th
same board. Dr. .\ndrew \V. Trac
served as member of both board:
school visitors and school committer
for twenty years, with insight ai>
force.
EVENING SCHOOLS.
The evening schools have had ;
varied career. During the winter 0
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SCHOOLS.
229
1872-1873 there were 124 registered
pupils. The school was continued the
next year, but in 1874 and 1875 the
selectmen refused the use of the room
and the project was dropped for sev-
eral years. In the winters of 1882
and of 1883 Edward C. Wheatley, of
the West district, conducted a school
without any assistance from the town.
In 1886 the state began to aid the
even made up by overdraft. Men re-
ceived $2.50 a night and women $1.50
for their services as teachers.
The next year the average attend-
ance dropped to 102 per night, and the
next year to forty -five ; the following
year the project was given up. In
1893 the state required the towns of
more than 10,000 population to main-
tain evening schools and appropriated
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
ST. rose's i'.\r(x hi.\l school.
owns, with the result that in the wili-
er of 1886 and 1887 the evcniiii^
•chools had a decided boom. 498 pu-
)ils were registered and the average
ittendance for fiftv evenings was 249.
rhis was more than double that in
lartford, one-third more than in Xew
^aven, while other cities in the state
vere left far behind. The town ap-
»ropriated money most liberally and
$3.(XD per pu|)il in average membership
for 100 nights. The committee went
so far as to recommend the erection
of a special building for the evening
school, but it had no support. Under
a threat of mandamus the school was
opened on the 27th of December. Mrs.
Adele S. Rooth and her son, Paul C.
Fiooth, with the help of scholars from
her own private school, young ladio
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230
A CENTURY OF MKRIDEN.
from the High school and even boys
from our Central Grammar main-
tained the school for thirty-seven
evenings with an average attendance
of ninety. Mrs. Booth conducted this
school in the Town hall for two sea-
sons, and after that at her own house,
at the small expense to the town of
$300.
From that time until the fall of 1905
the school was conducted at Mrs.
338 pupils were registered, reprcscE
ing twenty different nationalities. Tl
average attendance for the fiity nigh
was ninety-five.
PRIV-\TE SCIICX)LS.
The first schools in Meriden vfl
private schools, and until 1863
the public schools were not entitt
free. Whether because some peo^i
supposed that the public schools vt
Photo by II. S. Godfrey.
ST. Laurent's parochial school.
Booth's, at the Pcquod Business Col-
lege, and in the basement of St. John's
Lutheran church. The small appropria-
tion and the limited quarters inter-
fered much with the u.^^efulness of the
schools. The use of the High school
building and the appointment of a
strong corps of eight teachers from the
day schools in 1905 and 1906 proved
a popular feature, and made the sea-
son the most successful of recent vears ;
inferior, or were too proud to ed
cate their children at the public «
pen.se, the idea long prevailed tl
children of the better class should
taught in private schools.
In 1869 there were four
schools — Mi.ss Landfear's, Miss Hi
man's. Miss Plumb's and Mrs. An
ur's. The Meriden
ished from 1847 to
cated in a building
s and Mrs. An
I Institute floa
1853. It was I
I erected bv 1
Google
SCHOOLS.
231
D. Smith near the site of the present
Church street school.
On Aug. 17, 1848, through the ef-
forts of General Walter Booth, Sam-
uel Yale and Rev. John Parker, the
"Meriden Academical Association"
was formed, and on the 23d the "Ar-
ticles of Agreement*' were deposited
with the secretary of state, thus giving
the organization a legal standing.
Eighty shares at $25 each, taken by
over fifty subscribers, provided the
$2,000 necessary to buy and put in
order the old Baptist church, then
standing on the northeast, corner of
the Broad street burying ground.
The stockholders never received any
cash dividends, were once assessed
se\'enty'five cents a share, and several
times took collections at the annual
stockholders' meetings to make up
small deficits. The rent charged the
teacher varied from nothing to $25 a
quarter. There was a fairly good 'in-
come from rentals of the basement for
business purposes, and the hall for
traveling shows like "Tom Thumb"
and the "Indian Exhibition" in 1849 ;
for party caucuses, religious meetings
of Millerites and Universalists, lodge
meetings of the Odd Fellows, singing
schools and other events. The Lv-
ceum had free use provided it fur-
nished the oil which was then $1.12 a
gallon.
The first oflicers were as follows:
^muel Yale, president ; D. R. Wright,
secretary ; Russell Coe, treasurer ; Gen-
eral Walter Booth, Rev. Harvey Mil-
ler, Rev. A. A. Stevens, Rev. John
Parker and Linus Birdsey, trustees.
Most of these men served throughout
the life of the Academy. Linus Bird-
sey was always in charge of the rent-
als and repairs.
The trustees engaged a man teacher
each year who got what he could by
charging tuition. He had little or no
apparatus to work with, and only such
books as he might own himself. Some
of the teachers were M. B. Moore
('49), James Atkins ('53), Mr. Ross
C57f '58)» Mr. Wilder ('61), Mr.
Jewett ('62), Miss Landfear ('64-'69).
In 1869, after twenty-one years' ex-
istence, the building was sold, the
school being no longer able to live in
competition with the new Center
school. It was moved to Twiss street
where it is now used as a dwelling.
The school of Mrs. A. S. Booth,
conducted at the lower end of Olive
street, belongs to a later period. In
the year 1894, 11 1 pupils came under
her instruction. She still teaches
many private pupils.
In 1879, through the efforts of
prominent Germans who wished that
their language might become a part
of the education of their children, the
German-American School Association
was formed. Some of the incorporat-
ors were: August Schmelzer, August
and Henry Hirschfeld, Charles Heine-
mann, Albert P^tzer and Peter Maeur-
er. The school was organized by Mr,
and Mrs. Henry A. Roeth, and con-
ducted by them in a substantial brick
building until the school was discon-
tinued in 1903. In that year the town
purchased the building, and has since
used it for the Central Grammar
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232
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
school. The school was very success-
ful and generally had from sixty to
100 pupils.
Although a few children are pri-
vately instructed at the present time,
there is no private school of any con-
siderable size.
Church schools have been a prom-
inent feature in the educational life of
Meriden from a very early date. Of
the five Catholic schools St. Rosens is
the oldest. It was started in 1855 in
the basement of the church at the cor-
ner of Broad and Olive streets. In
i860 it was removed to the basement
of the present church, and in 1872 the
school occupied a wooden building,
first on Liberty street, which was
moved to the rear of the present build-
ing. As the parish grew a beautiful
brick building was erected on the
church property on Center street in
1874. The sisters came to Meriden
in 1872, previous to which the teach-
ing was conducted by lay workers.
In 1904 the growth of this denomi-
nation necessitated the building of an-
other church, when St. Joseph's was
erected and a school connected was
opened in the brick building on West
Main street, between Butler and South
Grove, formerly used as a chapel. In-
struction which covers the first six
years of school life is now given in
five rooms of St. Joseph's school by
Sisters of Mercy from the Convent of
St. Bridget, on Center street. About
260 pupils arc enrolled. Many of
these pursue their studies in the gram-
n^ar grades at the St. Rose's school.
St. Lar rent's, the French Catholic
church, opened a school prior to 1893.
In 1894 it had an enrollment of 300.
At the present time the St. Laurent's
church has a beautiful two-story brick
schoolhouse. The school was origi*
nally conducted in the basement ot
the church, but in 1903 a handsome
six-room brick school building was
erected in the rear of the church. Since
1893 the teaching has been done by
Sisters of the Assumption, of Xicolet,
P. Q., of whom eight are now em-
ployed. The number of pupils en-
rolled is 309. French grammar an«1
Christian doctrine are included in the
studies taught. The principal is the
pastor of the church. Rev. A. van
Oppen.
St. John's Evangelical Lutheran
church in June, 1886, through the in-
defatigable efforts of the Rev. A.
Krafft, established a regular day
school. Its first teacher was A.
Miller, who temporarily took charge in
the fall of 1886. A year later, C.
A. Burgdorf, the present principal, was
engaged. From twenty-seven pupib
enrolled in 1886 the attendance has
steadily encreased until at the present
time almost 200 scholars are regis*
tered. There are now. besides the
principal, three teachers. Miss M. Xa>
gel and Rev. S. F. Glaser, who teaches
geography and religion. The schivtl
occupies the lower story of the church
edifice.
St. Mary's German Catholic school
was opened in September, 1894. with
Professor Keller as its first teacher:
he was succeeded in the following year
by August Saleski. In September.
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SCHOOLS.
896, the Sisters of the Congr^a-
ion of Notre Dame, Baltimore, Md.»
00k charge. *The staff at present
misists of four teachers.
The St. Stanislaus' Polish church
chool occupies two rooms in the rear
lortion of the church building on Jef-
erson street. This school was opened
:or the first time in 1897 with about
linety scholars, the teacher being A.
hryba. At the opening of the school
rear in September, 1905, owing to the
:rowded condition of the school, it was
accessary to open two rooms instead of
one. John Nowak was .appointed
teacher of the Polish branches, suc-
ceeding A. Pryba, and Teresa B. Hav-
ens was appointed teacher of the Eng-
lish branches. There are now about
sixty scholars in each room.
The total registration in these six
schools for the year 1904- 1905 was
HIGHER EDUCATION.
Though the need of a central High
school was urged many years in vain,
higher education was provided in
various ways. The Meriden Institute
previously referred to flourished as
tarly as 1847. The report of 1864
nentkms an academy as among the
Rourishing private schools, meaning
the Meriden Academy on Broad street.
!rhe erection of the large brick school
tuses of the Corner and Central dis-
cts in 1868 and 1869 gave an impe-
tus to the higher education, which had
jilready been carried on to a limited
extent in the smaller district schools,
md virtually closed the .Academy.
In 1868 and 1869 a regular high
school department was organized un-
der the direction of A. B. Mather
at the Corner school, while Rev. J. T.
Pettee taught the senior department
of the South Center school, which was
a twcHroom building. In Mr. Pettee*s
room the pupils ranged from young
men and women who were instructed
in Latin and Greek, down to little chil-
dren in primary geography. In that
year each of the four largest districts
employed college graduates as princi-
pals in order to teach the High school
branches.
The visitors of that year strongly
urged the establishment of a central
High school. It seems that years be^
fore, after furniture had been pur-
chased to open a town High school,
the vote by which it had been estab-
lished was rescinded on account of the
expense. The visitor in 1869 main-
tained that the town would save
money by having a central High
school with one college man at the
head, instead of having four district
high schools which required as many
high-priced principals.
The school visitor in the report for
1880 gives a full account of the high
school instruction given at the Corner
and Center schools, and states that pu-
pils flocked to these schools from
other districts in order to get the
higher branches. Still the number
was- small in comparison with the total
population. . The graduation exercises
of the Center school must have been
vcr>' good that year, for he enthusias-
ticallv remarks that the essavs would
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234
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
have done credit to the graduates oi
Vassar College.
On the i2th of April, 1881, the long
and weary fight for a town High
school came to an end, and the town
voted $3,000 with which to start a
Central school of not over two rooms
The promoters probably won the day
by omitting the objectionable word
"High." The second floor of the new
German-American school on Liberty
street was leased, and under the prin-
cipalship of Henry S. Pratt, the
school began. A committee consist-
ing of Dr. C. H. S. Davis» Dr. J. H.
Chapin and Saxton B. Little, ex-
amined the applicants for admission at
the Corner school on June 30 and July
I, 1881. Of the seventy-three appli-
cants fifty-four passed and fifty-one
entered the school in September.
Thereafter the higher studies were ex-
cluded from the district sch(K>ls. In
the following year by vote of the joint
board of selectmen and school visitors
the name was changed from the Xew
Central school to the Meriden High
school, and thereafter as long as the
town remained under the district sys-
tem, the town annually elected a spe^
cial comniittee of five members to take
charge of this school. On the 15th of
June, 1883, the first class graduated
with thirteen members. A total of 609
persons have graduated from the
school.
At the annual town meeting in Oc-
tober. 1883, it was voted to appro-
priate $50,000 to procure a site and
erect a suitable building for the High
school ; the sum was later increased to
$80,000. The lot, on the comer of
Catlin and Liberty streets, was pur-
chased at a cost of $19,500. Wofk
was begun upon the building in 1884, ;
and in December, 1885, it was for*
mally opened. There have been
three principals: Henry S. Pratt was
placed in charge of the High school
when it was opened in 1881. In
he was succeeded by Simeon T. Frost
who taught until 1900, when he re-
signed, and the position was given
his assistant, Willis J. Prouty, the
present principal.
The dedication of the High school
building was a notable event, the ora-
tor for the occasion being United
States Senator O. H. Piatt. The
building was thronged by citizens at
every public occasion. There were
prize speaking contests and public ex-
hibitions by the pupils which w^rc the
social functions of the season. Every
existing report of the school visitors
speaks in affectionate terms of the
school, and recounts the liberal gifts of;
every sort from citizens who belic^*ed
in its educational mission. Isaac Cl
Lewis founded the library with a gift j
of $1,000, and Walter Hubbard. a|
few years later, contributed another 1
$1,000. Dr. J. H. Chapin's gifts oil
cabinets of minerals and other articlL>|
were probably of equal value. Hor-,
ace C. Wilcox equipped the laboratotT|
for the study of chemistry, botany aihlj
physics at an expense of over $i.ooa!
Ratcliife Hicks contributed $loix^!
for a pennanent fund for prizes and
oratory. Besides these Inrcrcr gift<
there were smaller ones. The tow
Digitized by Google
SCHOOLS.
allowed the receipts for tuition to be
exj t'lidcd for the library, which is al-
ready one of the best High school li-
braries in the state and has over
4.200 volumes. There are how 287
pupils, two male and eleven female
teachers in the school.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS.
A great step was taken when, in
1863, the schools were made free. In
that year but fifty-seven per cent, of
the children enumerated were regis-
tered in the schools, and but sixty-six
per cent, of those registered attended.
In 1869 the irregularity of attendance
was said to be the most prominent evil
in the schools, and the apathy of the
parents was especially censured. But
as more money was expended upon
the school buildings and good teach-
ers, the public schools were better at-
tended. In 1867 but sixty-five per
cent, of the registration attended
schools, while in 1874 the percentage
rose to eighty-three and one-half. For
many years the pupils in the upper
grades would drop out of school as
the year drew to a close. The enact-
ment of the compulsory education law
in 1877 greatly improved the condi-
tions. An annual inspection of the
factories used to be made, and from
thirty to fifty children were made to
attend school as a result. At first the
duties of the truant officer was to
bring runaways back to school. Now
he enforces the law against negligent
parents. Truancy has been so sharply
looked after for many years that it is
practically impossible for a child to
grow up in ignorance at this time.
The general progress of the coun-
try has been reflected in the progress
of our schools. The reports of Dr.
Davis and Dr. Chapin indicate the
spirit of the times. Dr. Davis was es-
pecially progressive in temperament,
and had he been able to secure the
adoption of his measures the name of
Meriden would have been conspicuous
throughout New Enylaiul. at least, for
her good schools. Dr. Chapin was
more conservative though he was
never provincial. He visited the best
schools of the day and brought the
comparisons home to the teachers of
Meriden.
The growth from isolated school*
with short terms and untrained teach-
ers to a system of schools unified ;n
* aim and eflfort, and crowned by a good
High school was gradual, and was ac-
complished with much patient eiTort.
CHRONOLOGY OF IMPORTANT EVENTS.
1863 — Schools made free of tuition
charges.
1872 — Attendance for ;it least three
months in each year made com-
pulsory for children hetween 8"
and 14 years by slate statute.
188 1 — Meriden High school founded.
1883 — First class graduated from the
High school.
1885 — ^Towns of over 10,000 popula-
tion required by state law to
maintain free evening schools.
1896 — Town voted to abolish districts
and consolidate all schools un-
der town management.
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23^
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
1896— First superintendent appointed.
1896 — ^Drawing introduced under a
supervisor.
1898 — Singing introduced under a
supervisor.
1903 — Fir.-t kiiiclergarten established
at Ficiiiklin street school.
1905 — Town voted to furnish text
books free of expense to pupils.
TEACHERS OF MERIDEN, APRIL, I906.
High school — Willis J. Prouty, A.
M.. jirincipal ; E. L. Montgomery, B.
S., .\ugusta J, jBoone, Caroline J.
Hitchcock, Florence M. Fisherdick, A.
B., Caroline I.. Xagel, Emma K. Fos-
kett, F:iizal)cth DeK. I'ease, Ph. B.,
Jennie H. Gibson. Caroline Wilbur,
Sara Bcecher, A. B., Alice H. Breck-
cnridge, A. B., Florence Garton. A. D. •
Central (Jranimar school — Joseph
Gerard, A. M., principal: Xcllie F.
Russell, Flora J. Xewell, Annie M.
Gaines, Anne P. Foskett.
Chnrch street school — Joseph Ger-
ard, A. M.. principal; .\nna C. Rice.
Caroline .\. Ryan. I.r.n-< A. Hitch-
cock, Edith F^. Reynolds, Fannie W,
Kelsey, Ethel H. Mix, Anna Xorton,
Grace C. Reynolds, Mattie .S. Wet-
more, Flc»ra n. Ray. Rosetnar) Brady,
Minnie ti. Wiles, Emma F. Ryan,
Mary A. Havens.
Willow street school — Edith L.
Bevins. principal : Xellic A. Paj^nam.
May A. Lynch, Katherine A. Mcin-
tec.
Kini; street school — Ella Oaniels,
principal ; I'.iizabeth T. Dunne. Xcllie
W. Dow, A. Louise Hastings, Kather-
ine E. Ryan, Mary O'Brien, Barharu
Anderson, Agnes Falvey, Mary U.
Savage (absent on leave).
West Main street school — William
E. Gardner, principal ; Jennie D
Wood, May H. Clark, Carrie F. Bo-
durtha, Hazel Harmon, Jeanette A.
Falvey, Josephine F. F'itzgerald, Nel-
lie T. O'Donnell, Ella G. Glynn, Au-
gusta F. Riecke, Eleanor M. Hagert \ .
Lewis avenue school — Cornelia A
Comstock, principal ; Helen S. Mix,
Anna T. L. Burk, Marion G. Hyi\€S.
Augusta A. Fischer, Edith P. Macy
(absent on leave) . Mar\ E. Lane, Hat-
tie C. Foster, AL Mabelle Fulton, Alice
A. Slater.
Liberty street school — H. D. Beeln-.
principal ; Susan F. Newell, Fannie K.
Ives, Sarah X. Benedict, Ella L
Hitchcock. Xettie L. Bowen (absent
on leave), Mrs. G. l*". Welch, Ennna
Pease, Theresa C. Raarup, Rhoda X
Briggs.
South Broad street school — Carrie
E. Bull, principal ; Anna Fitzgerald.
Aiuia E. Wilcox, Mrs. T. O. Ives.
North Broad street school — Arlinc
Denison. principal : Ella Hackett.
Lena Rettman, Mabel G. Mossman. :
Henrietta L. Rahalcy, Katherine E.
Mahon, Laura A. Parker (absent on i
leave). I\annie K. Webber, Lillian J-
McLoughlin. May Gilmartin.
Columbia street sch(X)l — Mrs. hla
Roeth, principal; Edna M. Harri;:.
Mrs. Mary (Foster) Dann. Lucy
Birdsey. Mary M. Rahaley, Georgia
Seidenstickcr.
Franklin street school — Blanche J-
Paddock, principal ; Nellie Keena. '
Digitizeo Dy ^^oogle
SCHOOLS.
Mrs. H. H. Barnes, kindergarten;
Harriet I. Foster.
Xorth Colony street school — S.
iVatson Warden, principal ; Sabra K.
Faylor, Lillie Eldridge, Minnie Lally,
Dora E. Tracy, Margaret Landargan,
Selena J. King, Helena E. Ryan,
\atherine Brady, Emma M. King.
Hanover school — Nellie E. Simons,
)rincipal : M. Eudocia Bowman. lone
Jenham, Horence M. Richmond, May
>ei(lensticker, Mary J. Moriarty.
Mast school — Florence G. Robinson,
Uay I. Man ley.
Southeast school — Mary GafFney.
Supervisor of music — G. Frank
jcxxlale.
Supervisor of drawing — Ollie E.
flagon.
Janitors — High, John Kane ; Xorth
L'olony street. Frank Pease ; Xorth
3road street. James Griffin ; Liberty
treet. William P. Camp; Church
trcet. Edward .\, Wuth : King street,
riiomas McMahon; South Broad
treet, D. IC. I^ardee ; Lewis avenue,
^atrick Hehir ; West Main street,
ames Fitzgerald : Columbia street, J.
I, Taylor: Hanover, J. J. Schwink
ind J. W. Stetson; East. Josephine
A inner ; Southeast, James Kates ;
rentral Cirammar, Wilson Car|)enter;
•ranklin street, Joseph King ; Willow
treet, Thomas H. Dal v.
\V1LLL\M POWERS KELLY.
William Powers Kelly, superinten-
lent of the Meriden public schools,
las born at Troy, Ohio, in 1865.
U'ter gaining his preparation for col-
lege in the public schools, graded and
High scho<:>l, in his native town, he
entered Dartmouth college in 1882,
and graduated with the degree of A.
B. in 1886. Three years after the
college conferred upon him the degree
of A. U.
FoUow^ing the example of many an
impecunious collegiate he began to
teach school for the sake of the quick
Pboto by AkerR & Pigeon.
\V.\I. r. KELLV.
and sure income. During the year
1886 and 1887 he was principal of
Coe's « Northwood Academy. Xorth-
wood, Xew Hampshire, and for the
next three years was principal of the
High and graded schools of South
Hadley, Mass. On leaving that posi-
tion in 1890 he accepted private school
work for boys, in St. Louis. Mo. Be-
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIUiiN.
iiig sonicwliat dissatisfied in this school
Jic engaj^cd in business in that city
until the fall of 1891 wlicn he was
called to Worcester Academy, Wor-
■cester, Mass., a flourishing college prc-
]iaratory school for hoys. Here he
remained until he was called to the
principalship of the union scliools of
St. Johnshury. \'t., in 1894. Within
a few months from the beginning of
this work he was made superinten-
dent of all the schools in the town,
and during his three years there he
^ave the schools their present organ-
ization, and instituted the series of*
summer schools for the teachers of the
county.
In 1897 he accepted the superinten-
dency of the schools in Hudson, Mass.,
and two >ears later the same office in
the town of Attleboro, Mass. After
a work of six years in these schools
during which the school system was
greatly developed he was elected su-
perintendent of the schools in Meriden,
and began his duties on the first of
August, 1905.
Mr. Kelly was married in 1896 to
Miss Lillian M. Lee, of Newport, R.
I., and has two sons, David, bom in
1899, and William P., Jr., in 1901.
He attends the Center Congregational
church and is a member of the Colo-
nial Qub.
WILLIS J. PROUTY.
Prof. Willis J. Prouty, principal of
the Meriden High school, who has
taken a prominent part as a public ed-
ucator, was bom in Spencer, Mass.,
May 22, 1865. He is the stm of Her.r)
J. and Parmelia (Roberts) Pa^ua
and his family is one of the olde-t d
the Uay State. He is a dcsccn-jii
of Richard Prouty, who settled i|
Scituate, Mass., in 16(37. and wboi
great -great-grandson. David, was
soldier in the I'rench and Indian wj
also serving as a captain during tij
Revolution, and later a major of dj
militia. Adam, son of Isaac Prou^
Photo by U. T. Shaw.
WILLIS J. PROUTY.
bora in Scituate in 1721. renwvd
Spencer previous to 1750, wbeiel
family name has since been a prtN
nent one.
Willis James Prouty was gii
an excellent education by bb |
rents. He graduated from the Spi
cer High school in 1883. afti
Digitized by Google
SCHOOLS.
w;ir<ls entering Tufts College, takinp;'
the academic course, and gradualing
Liicrcironi with high honors, with the
class of 1887. In 1896 he was con-
ferred the degree of A. M. by his
Ahiia ALiier, He began his success-
iul career as an educator by accepting
a I>osilion as instructor in mathematics
iiid bookkeeping at the Meriden High
school soon after leuving college. Two
Kurs later he was made assistant priu-
:ipal, and in 1899 succeeded Prof. S.
1. Frost as master of the school,
ivhich position lie has since filled.
Prof. Prout\ "s record as an e(Uicator
>f the youth has reflected much creciit
uixm Meriden. and has proven that
as a school manai^er he has few supe-
riors. Ho has ever held not only the
'eg;ard of the school board but of the
>upiis with whom he has entered into
direct fellowship both in and out of
■he school room. In addition to his
luties at the Pligh school, Prof.
■*routy has for two terms had charge
>f the evening schools of the town,
lamely 1887-8.
He is a prominent figure socially,
>eing a member of the Zeta Psi of
Tufts College, treasurer of the Home
Itub of Meriden, a member and for
me year secretary of the Colonial
riub, a member of the Meriden Golf
riub and its exeoitive committee, a
last regent and collector of Alfred
i. Hall Council, Royal Arcanum; a
last councillor and collector of Invin-
ible Council Loyal Association* li-
Tarian of the Meriden Scientific As-
ociation, member of the executive
ommittee of the Meriden Guild of
the Religious Educational Associa-
tion, and member of the Comnnttec
."Ml Historic Addresses, F.vcnts and
Relics of the Meriden Centemiial.
He was married in i8<>o to Jennie
\V., daughter of Henry G. Smith, of
Meriden. to wIkhu one daughter, Mar-
ilia, has been burn.
JUbKl'H GERARD,
Joseph Gerard. A. M., principal
of the Church street and also the
Central (irammar school, was born
at Mount Bethel, X. J. He is the
son of William and Susan (.Antho-
ny) Gerard, also natives of New
Jersey. His ancestors on the
paternal side came from the Chan-
nel Islands and settled near Phila-
delphia. His great-grandfather
sh(jd Gen. Washington's famous
white horse during^ the Revolution-
ary War.
Mr. Gerard prepared for college
at Centenary Collegiate Institute,
Hackettstown, New Jersey, later
entered Wesleyan University Mid-
dletown, and after taking the regu-
lar college course, was graduated
in 1882 with the degree of A. B.
This university afterward confer-
ed upon him the degree of A. M.
Adopting teaching as his profes-
sion, he began his first year as a
pedagogue at East Hartford and
continued his work as an educator
at the public schools in Southing-
ton, but in 1884 he was secured by
the school committee of Meriden as
Digrtized by Google
240
A CEXTURV OF MEKIDEX.
principal of the Old Road school.
After fulfilling the duties of master
of that school for five years, he re-
signed and accepted an office in the
United States custom house in New
York City, after having (pialified
for the same by passing the required
civil service examinations. At the
end of two years, however, his love
for teaching prompted him to relin-
JOSEI'H CKKAKl).
quish his position in the custom
house and again enter the educa-
tional field. Soon after he was in-
stalled in his old position as prin-
cipal of the Old Road school, where
he remained until appointed the
successor of C. M. Williams at the
West Main street school. Two
years later when A. B. Mather was
appointed as superintendent of
schools, Mr. Gerard succeeded him
as principal of the Church streti
school, familiarly known as the Cor-
ner school. This, the largest gram-
mar school in the city, lias ac-
commodations for (xx) scholars, and
contains fourteen rooms all of which
are taxed to their utmost and where
he is assisted by fourteen teachers.
At the Central Cirammar schn><\
the higher branches of the grammar
grades are taught, and this scho-l
has been under his guidance since it
wa? acquired by the city
Mr. Gerard stands high in his
profession and is a member of the
State Teachors' Association, the
Schoolmasters' Club, and is a trus-
tee of the State Teachers* Guild.
He has also taken twc> courses at
Yale University, one in psychol-
ogy and pedagogy and the other,
school organization and supervision.
He was married in M idilletown to
Martha J. Chapman, daughter of
Owen Chapman, and to this unioa
have been born two children, Ruth
W'ilhclmina, not now living, ani!
Owen Stephen Gerard, who gratlu
ated at Meriden High School and
from there entered W'eslevan Uni-
versity.
Mr. Gerard is a member of the
Home Club, the Colonial Club and
Business Men's .\ssociation. In
fraternal life he is a Royal Arch
Mason and a member of the B. P-
O. E., No. 35.
In church aflfairs he and his fam-
ilv belong to the First Methodif^l
Episcopal Church.
Google
SCHOOLS.
241
WILLIAM E. GARDNER.
William Elliott Gardner, principal
)f the W est District School of Meri-
3en. was born at Lodi, Seneca Coun-
:y, N. Y., January 14, 1861. His
ather was Edwin Forest Gardner, a
lative of Brooklyn, N. Y., who in his
•oiing manhood bought land and en-
gaged in agriculture in Lodi where
WILLIAM K. (iARDNER.
he married. Jane, daughter of Cor-
nelius Compton. Mr. Gardner is
also descended from the Catlin fam-
ily of Connecticut and his grand-
mother. Mary Catlin, lived in Litch-
field.
After spending his early life on
his father's farm and attending the
common schools of the town he
16
graduated at the High School at
Trumansburg, X. Y. He fitted for
the work of an educator first at the
Albany State Normal School, after-
wards taking the teachers' course at
the University of the City of New
York, where he achieved high hon-
ors in scholarship and took promi-
nent part in literary and debating
societies of the college, and later
post graduate pedagogical courses
at Yale College and the summer
school at Martha's X'inevard. While
fitting for his profession he taught
several terms at country .schools in
New York State, but after his grad-
uation from the Normal School at
.\lbany, he was appointed principal
of the Greenfield Hill School, Green-
field Hill, Conn. His ne.xt school was
at New Canaan, Conn., of which he
was the principal for a period of six
years. During the latter part of his
stay in that town he also served as
superintendent of schools.
In Sc|)teml)cr. 18(^5, he was securc<l
as principal of the Prattsvillc School
in this town, where he remained for
three years and until tran>fLTrcd to
the West Main Street School in 1898
and where be now has ten assistants.
( )wing to the overcrowded condition
of this school, which, at this writing,
has an average attendance of 400, a
new building now in process of con-
struction has become an absolute
necessity. Mr. Gardner is a most
successful educator of the young, is
a deep student of his profession, and
enjoys the respect of his |)upils and
assistant teachers and the full con-
242
A CENTURY OF MERIOEN.
fidence of the community. At his
home he possesses a valuable library
included in which are many books
treating on educational subjects. Mr.
Gardner is a member of the Colonial
Oub, the Meriden Grange and the
First Congregational Church.
He has been twice married: first
to Etto Perry of Greenfield Hill,
Conn., who died in 1890. To that
marriage two children were bom.
Elliott and Esther. Mr. Gardner
was married, second, to Emily Ho-
garth Covert of Interiaken, Seneca
County, N. Y., and to that union
two children, Pauline and Alan, have
been horn. Mr. (iardiicr resides with
his faniil\ uii Linslo\ avenue.
S. WATSON WARDEN.
S. Watson Warden, principal of
the North Colony School is a native
of Virginia. He was born Septem-
ber 7, i860, near Charleston, West
Virginia, which, at the time of his
birth, had not been set apart from
its mother state.
He is a son of a Methodist clergy-
man, and in his boyhood lived in
diflFerent parts of that commonwealth.
He, therefore, gained an extensive
acquaintance in his native state
which he values highly. He was
brought up to fully value educa-
tion, and after obtaining a common
and normal school training began
his college life in the Ohio Wesley-
an I'nivcrsity. hut afterwards en-
tered the b'uiversitv of West Vir-
ginia from which he graduated
1886. He was enabled to recdi
his full college course by teacl
school at intervals, thereby pay
his own way.
After the graduation from
University of West Virginia, he
well qualified both by
and knowledge to become
of a school. Mr. Warden came
S. WATSON WARDEN.
Meriden in t888 after having
at the head of a select private sci
at Goodground, L. I., and when
lected by the district committee
master of the Hanover School
made a valuable acquisition to
teaching staff of the Meriden pu
schools. After remaining in
school for a period of eight yeart
Digitized by Googlc
SI IKKlLS.
c succeeded Joseph Gerard, in 1896,
s principal of the Old Road School,
/hich after the consolidation of the
istricts was given the name of the
»orth Colony School, where he has
ince ably presided over the des-
inies of the pupils.
The increase in attendance, at this
chool, especially within the past
ear has been somewhat remarkable
nd has resulted in more than tax-
ig the building of eight rooms to
s fullest capacity.
The recent growth in attendance
• caused by the acquisition of new
lanufacturing industries in that
ection of the town, resulting in the
rri\ al in Meriden of a large number
f new families, whose children are
ent to that school. At the pres-
nt writing Principal Warden has
ine assistants, and from the pres-
nt attendance at the school. 390,
hich bids fair to prove larger
ither than decrease, additional
:hool room seems an absolute nec-
^sity. At this school all the gram-
lar grades but the ninth arc taught.
Mr. Warden, in addition to his
utics at the Colony School, during
ist season was master of the Meri-
en Evening School, which this year
ad the largest attendance in the
istory of the evening schools of the
'wn. or an average of ninety-five
•r the fifty nights comprising the
rm.
243
Mr. Wartlen is a prominent mem-
ber of the Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, having filled all the
chairs at Hancock Lodge in South
Meriden, and being twice sent as
delegate to the Grand Lodge of
Connecticut. In his religious sym-
pathies he is a Methodist and, with
his family, attends the first Church
of that denomination.
He was married to Henrietta
M., daughter of Alvin Sweet of
South Meriden, and to that mar-
riage two girls and two boys have
been born : F.dna. Raymond, Mildred
and Watson.
Photo by Akers & Pigeon.
n. DWIGHT BEEBE.
uiyu^ed by Google
244
A CENTURY OF MERIDBN.
BIOGRAPHIES
JERE DEWEY EGGLESTON.
Among her pln^iri^ms Meriden pos-
sesses none more csieenied by his pa-
tients and friends than Jere Dewey
Eggleston, M. D.
He was born in Longnicadow.
Mass., October 28, 1853. his parents
being Jere D. and Louisa { L arew)
Eggleston and he is descended of a
long Hne of Xew luigland ancestry,
and in the seventh generation tn»ni
Bigat Eggleston who was born
in 1590 and came from Exeter,
England to Dorchester. Mass.. in
1630. He was a freeman in H'^i, was
an origitial member of Mr, \\ arham's
church and with it moved to Wind-
sor. Conn., in 1635. becoming one of
the first citizens of that historic place.
He died in September. 1674. and his
wife, Mary, preceded him December
.S, 1657. F'rom his tir.st American zv.-
cestor, Dr. Egglcston's lineage is as
follows: James. Xathaniel, Eben, Eli,
and Jere D. Eggleston.
Dr. Eggleston is essentially a self-
made man in the very best interpreta-
tion of that term. His father's death,
while he was yet an infant, followed
not many years afterwards by that of
his mother, threw the boy upon his
own resources and developed in him
those qualities which have united to
make his career eminently sncce>stul.
He began to be self-supporting it
the age of thirteen, and. fir?t by
working on a farm and afterwards b^'!
teaching school, he prepared the wi^'^
for the education which he had ear";.,
determined should be his. He gn&
uated from Williams College, and later
from the College of Physicians and
Surgeons in New York City.
He began the practice of his pro-
fession in Windsor Locks, Conn.,
in about 1880 he removed to Meridc?!
which has been his home ever since.
Tt was not long after his coming t'3
Meriden that he Ix^gan to be known ai
one of the leading young physiciani
of the city. He threw himself hc-ii
and soul into the practice of his cho^^
profession, and his marked abilities]
united with a pleasing address an>i
genial personality, soon won tor bid
a firm place in the opinion of all.
has kept abreast of the times in a3
his works, and his opinions on al
subjects connected with his professioi
are eagerly sought, not only by hi
patients, but by his fellow practitiooj
ers as well.
Dr. Eggleston 's many professioiwi
calls have not kept him from ^t^tj
calls and pleasures, political and ^
cial. His home is often thrown opfl
for enjoyable events in the social liij
L/iyiiizea by Google j
246
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
of the city and no one excels him as
a host. In poHtics he is a Repub
Hcan and, ahhough always a busy
man, took the time to serve his city
as alderman for several years. He is
prominent in both Free Masonry and
Odd Fellowship and is a member of
local orders. He is also a prominent
zens and maniifactu rers, TTwir
Duncan, who was a native of
land, where he came from distinguxsJ
Scotch ancestry. The foUo\
children have been born
them : Robert D., bom March 7,
Ralph B., born November, 1884,
died March 19, 1886; Jeannctte
Photo by R. S (jo«Uri .v.
RESIDENCE OF DR. J. D. EGGLESTON.
member of the Meriden .Medical so-
ciety and the city hospital staff.
May 18, 1 88 1. Dr. Kgglcston was
married to Elizabeth C. Duncan, of
Poquonnock. Windsor, Conn., a na-
tive of Poquonnock and the daughter
of one of its former prominent citi-
born April 18, 1887 ; Arthur J., bo
November 19, 1890, and Jere Dudl
bom May 29, 1894.
The Eggleston home is a del
one as many who have enjoy
hospitality can testify, and an
tion of which is here shown.
illusi
BIOGRAPHIES.
^47
E. T. BRADSTREET.
ulward Thomas Bradstreet, M. D.,
} born at Thomaston, Conn., Feb.
1852. He is the son of Thomas J.
1 Amanda (Thomas) Bradstreet,
I a descendant of the early colo-
[ governors, Simon Bradstreet and
)mas Dudley, Governor Bradstreet
ing married Anne, daughter of
(i!ey. bcf<»re leaving England, His
ternal grandfather was Seth Thcmi-
for wlioin Thomaston was named,
e father of Dr. Bradstreet grad-
e(| from Yale College in 1834, and
■a after completing the course at
Andover Theological Seminary,
s t^ngaged to preach for six months
the Center Congregational church
at Meriden. Poor health affecting his
voice soon after taking a church at
Thomaston, he left the ministry. After
filling various positions with his
father-in-law, Seth Thomas, in his
clock factory, cotton mill and brass
mill, including that of traveling sales-
man, being probably the pioneer drum-
mer of the brass trade, he adopted the
more healthful occupation of improv-
ing land and doing light farming. He
died at the age of ninety years.
Dr. Bradstreet was educated at the
Thomaston Academy, afterwards tak-
ing the academic course at Yale Col-
lege, and graduated in 1874 with the
degree of A. B. He studied medicine
at the College of Phydcians and Sur-
geons of Columbia University, from
which he was graduated in 1877, and
after a brief period, in which he was
engaged in further study, he came to
Meriden in the same >ear, and !>cgan
the practice which he has ever since
continued.
Since its organization Dr. Brad-
street has liecn a member of the statT
of the Meriden City Hospital, where
he is now president of the medical
hoard ; and his services have always
been highly valued.
He stan(ls high in his chosen pro-
fession. He is a member of the Amer-
ican Medical Association. Connecticut
State Medical Society. New Haven
County Medical Society. President of
the Meriden Medical .Society, one of
the directors of the Gaylord Farm San-
atorium, examiner for fourteen of the
leading life insurance companies:
president of the Meriden Yale Alumni
Digitized by Gopgle
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
248
Association ; since 1901 has served as
medical examiner of the town of Mer-
iden, and from 1882-1893 was a mem-
ber of the New Haven Board of Ex-
aminers for Pensions. He is a mem-
ber of the I'^irst Conp^regational
chnrch, the Home Chib, president of
the Mcriden Golf Club since its or-
ganization, member Gov. Thomas
Dudley I-'amily Association and of the
Sons of the Revolution. He is also
one of the General Committee arrang-
ing for the Centennial Celebration of
the town.
He was married in 1875 Alice E..
daughter of Hiram and Sarah (Beers)
Pierce, of Thomaston, Conn., to whom
have been born ICdward Dudley Brad-
street, a graduate of Yale College in
1901. who has adopted painting as a
profession; Mary Thomas liradstreet.
and Alice Pierce Bradstreet. who died
at the age of six years.
E. \V. SMITH.
lulward Wier Smith, M. D., a rep-
resentative physician and surgeon of
note, and valued member of the city
hosjiital staff, was born here October
17, 1854. and has for more than five
decades been identified with Meriden's
educational, social and medical inter-
ests. His parents were David and Fi-
delia (Parker) Smith, and his ances-
tors won considerable distinction in
the battles of the .American Revolu-
tion.
Dr. Smith acquired his early educa-
tion in the schools of Meriden. This
was followed by a course in the Hop-
kin's grammar school. New Havca,
and Yale college, from which instit»
tion he graduated in 1878.
During his college life Dr. Sndfl
took considerable interest in athletica
He played on the Yale Cnivcrsilj
baseball team and participated in C'»
tests with Harvard, Princeton 2m
other educational institutions.
His predilection for a medical c*
OK. E. W. SMITH.
reer took definite form w hen he «
tered the medical dej)artmcnt at Vak
but like the great majority of pro
fessional men in former years, his col
legiate course was interrupted in V
case, and at the end of a year, H
turned his attention to teaching as i
temporary makeshift. He did rn
lose sight of his goal, however, for n
1880 he returned to college to piirsi
Google
niOGR APHIES.
249
the course upon which his hopes were
centered, at McGill Medical school, in
Montreal, Canada, by which institu-
tion he was granted his diploma and
degree of M. D. in 1882. He lost no
time looking about for a suitable open-
ing, but returned at once to Meridcn
and established his office in a desira-
ble location that same year.
Dr. Smith's ambition to keep
abreast of the times in his profession
was further manifested when he pur-
sued a post graduate course, in the
medical college. New York City, in
1892. Dr. Smith has allied himself
with various medical associations, in-
cluding the Conn. Medical Society,
American Medical Association : Amer-
ican Academy of Medicine and the
Meriden Medical Society. He has
ever kept in touch with the great
strides that have been made in the
medical and surgical fields and his
success in the latter has won for
him the admiration of his brother
practitioners.
He was married October 14, 1885.
to Helen B. Rice, daughter of Oliver
and Abbie C. Rice, of Meriden, and
their two children are Marion R. and
David Parker .Smith,
Dr. Smith is a member of the First
Congregational church and is also a
member of the Meriden Golf club and
the Home club of Meriden. in all of
which he takes a deep interest.
E. W. PIERCE.
Elbridge VVorthington Pierce, M.
D., was born in N'orthford. Conn..
June 18, 1862. He is a son of the late
Rev. A. C. Pierce, a Congregational
clergyman, who removed to Brook-
field Center, Conn., in 1870. and there
was a pastor until his death in 1888.
Dr. Pierce obtained his preliminary
education in a private school in Brook-
field, the Newtown (Conn.) Acad-
emy, and the Sheffield Scientific
.School, of Yale ; his professional edu-
DR. !£. W. I'IKKt 1:.
cation in the medical dei)artment of
the I'niversity of New York, the New
York Postgraduate Scho{:>l and Hos-
pital. New York Policlinic, New York
Eye and Ear Infirmary and the out-
patient department of Bellevue hos-
pital.
He came to Meriden in September.
1885. and engaged in general prac-
tice in partnership with Dr. E. W.
Digitized by Google
250
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Smith but after seven years this part-
nership was dissolved ; and since then
he has hmited his practice to diseases
of the eye, ear. nose and throat.
Dr. Pierce became a member of the
medical staff of the Meriden Hospital
when it was first organized and was
elected secretary of the Medical Board,
which position he has held to the pres-
ent time.
He is a member of the American
Medical Association. Connecticut
Medical Society, New Haven County
Medical Society and the Meriden
Medical Association. He is a mem-
ber of the Home Club and Meriden
Golf Club.
He was married to Bessie Hubbard
November 12, 1895, and to that union
one son has been born.
E. A. WILSON.
Edgar Adams Wilson. M. D., ocu-
list and aurist. and since its organiza-
tion, a member of the hospital staff,
is the only son of the late Dr. Grove
H. Wilson, a former mayor of Meri-
den and for many years a leading prac-
titioner of the medical profession. He
was born at Conway, Mass., Decem-
ber 4. 1853. When he was four years
old his parents removed to Meriden ;
and he obtained his early education
first at private school and later at the
Corner school. He fitted for college
at Phillips Academy, Exeter, N. H.,
and was later graduated from the
academic department of Yale College
with the class of 1877. He studied
medicine at the University of Penn-
svlvania where he took the medical
course and received his diploma is
March. 1881, and from the New Yor
Homeopathic College in 1882.
He began his professional career
conducting a general practice 5
Rockvilie, Conn., where he remaiw-
from 1883 to 1888, afterwards engap
ing in general practice with his fatbf
until 1893; when he became the c*
cal assistant surgeon at the Man'
Photo bjr Aken £ Plg«OD.
DR. E. A. WILSON.
tan Eye and Ear Hospital. There fc-
Ijecame intensely interested in that spt
cial branch of his profession, arv
since 1897 he has confined himseii
the treatment of those diseases an-
continued practice in the office made
vacant by the death of his father.
He was for five years city health of-
ficer, and since 1893 has been health
BIOGRAPHIES.
officer of the Town of Meriden and
since its fonnation, in December, 1890,
he has been secretary of the New
Haven County Public Health Associa-
tion. Dr. Wilson is a member of the
various medical societies, also of the
Alumni of the Manhattan Eye and
Ear Hospital, the New England As-
sociation of Alumni of the University
of Pennsylvania. As well as being a
member of the city hospital staff, he
fulfills similar professional duties at
the Connecticut Masonic home at
W'allingford. He is a member of
Meridian Lodge, 77, A. F. & A. M. ;
Alfred Hall Council, Royal Arcanum ;
and also of the Home Club of Mer-
iden.
He married in 1883 Ida M.. daugh-
ter of George and Lydia (Redfield)
Beach, and they have one son. Leslie
Adams Wilson, born in 1886, and a
graduate in 1906 of Williston Acad-
emy, Easthampton.
F. P. GRISW^OLD.
Frederick Pratt Griswold, M. D.. a
leading physician and member of the
city hospital statT of Meriden. was
lK)rn in Essex, Conn.. March 3. 1850.
He comes of early colonial ancestry
and is the son of Samuel and Susan
( Pratt ) Griswold. One of his fore-
fathers, Edward Doty, the fortieth
signer of the Mayflower Compact,
served under Myles Standish in the
First Military company and took part
in the first encounter, December 8,
1620.
Dr. Griswold received his education
in the common schools of his native
town, later studying at the Sufiicld
Institute and afterwards taking up
medicine at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons of New York City,
from which he graduated and received
his degree of M. D. in 1876. After
spending a year and a half in Belle-
vue Hospital, he began the practice of
r>R. K. V. t;KI.SW(»LI).
medicine in Guilford, remaining there
for six years. He afterwards si)ent
six months at the Polyclinic in New
York City and came to Meriden in
the fall of 1884.
Since that time he has been a val-
ued resident of the town and has con-
tinued practice without interruption to
the present writing. Dr. Griswold
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252
A CF.XTL'RY OF M MKIDKN.
has always stood high in his profes-
sion and has built up a large practice,
his office and residence being situated
on Broad street opposite the Center
Congregational church. He has been
a member of the hospital staff since
the excellent institution was first
founded in Mcridcn. He is a member
of the American Medical Association.
Connecticut State Medical Society,
the \ew Haven County Medical
Society and the Mcridcn City Medi-
cal Society, in all of which he enjoys
the fellowship and esteem of the mem-
bers of the profession in the highest
degree. He is examiner for the Mas-
sachusetts Mutual and the National
Life Insurance companies.
He was married October 30, 1878,
to Caroline P.. daughter of \Vm. Sew-
ard and Caroline Parmelee Hull, of
Madison. Conn., to whom have been
born two boys : Frederick Prescott.
born April 16. 1880. and Harold Hull,
born November 12, 1886. Both Dr.
and Mrs. Griswold are active members
of the Center Congregational church.
H. A. MKKKS.
Harold Albert Meeks. M. D., a well
known physician of Meriden, who has
been a member of the city hospital
staff since its organization, was born
at the summer home of his parents,
Preakness. Wayne Township, N. J.,
July 27. 1868. He comes from an old
Knickerbocker family and his descend-
ants figured prominently in the affairs
of Manhattan Island long before the
Revolution. His father was of Eng-
lisii and Spanish descent. Dr. Mceb
has also Holland-Dutch and French
blood in his veins.
He is descended from Abra Clark,
one of the signers of the DeclaraiioB
of Independence and also from Cap-
tain I'rancis \'an Dyke, of the Cootj-
nenial artillery whose prominence anc
valor at the Battle of Monmouth art
Photo by AktTs i Pigeon.
DR. H. A. MKEKS.
matters of history, and who was
instrumental in the capture of Maj<]
Andre. His wife, a daughter of
French Hrguenot minister. entertanM
/.afayette and acted as interpreter i
his first conference with Washingto
The father of Dr. Meeks was capta:
of the Eighth Company of the Andc
son Zouaves which served und
BIOGKAPIIIES.
Generals McClellan and Keyes and
throughout the Civil war. ,
Dr. Meeks attended school in \ew
York City, afterwards entered and
[graduated at Phillips Exeter Academy
where he prepared for Columbia Col-
lege. He studied medicine at the
Bellevue Hospital Medical College,
from which he graduated and was
conferred the degree of M. D., in
1 890. He began practice immediately
at the St. Vincent's Hospital, Xew
York Citv ; and after his service there
continued, a few months, with a pri-
vate office at the metropolis. He
came to Meriden in 1891 to continue
the practice of his profession which he
has since conducted here.
Dr. Meeks was three years town
physician of Meriden and has been
city health officer since 1901. In ad-
dition to being a valued member of
the city hospital staff, upon which he
lias served ever since the h()sj>ital was
founded. Dr. .Meeks has for eleven
years been the physician and surgeon
for the State School for I>oys. He
stands high in his f)rofession : is a
member of the Meriden City Medical
Society, Xew Haven County .Medical
.Society, Connecticut State Medical
Society, New Haven County Health
Officers -Association, and is also a
member of the Home Club of Meriden.
He was married in 1892 to Florence
.Austin, of Meriden, and has two sons.
JOSEPH A. COOKE.
Meriden is peculiarly fortunate in
the pos.session of skillful practitioners
of the medical profession, one of the
ablest of which is Dr. Joseph A.
Cooke. He was bom at New Haven,
February 11, 1866, and was grad-
uated from the medical department
of Yale University in 1897. After
practicing for a time in New Haven,
and getting further valuable expe-
rience at St. Francis' hospital, Xew
York City, he came to Meriden in
1>K. I- \. (()OKE.
i8t^> A warm letter of introduction
from the celebrated Dr. Francis I>a-
con. of Xew Haven, assured him a
cordial reception from the other mem-
bers of the medical profession in Mer-
iden by whom he has ever since been
extended every courtesy and consid-
eration. Dr. Cooke has, therefore,
been in continuouslv active and sue-
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
cessful practice in Meriden for six
years.
He was appointed a member of the
hospital staff in 1901 and has proven
himself one of the most enthusiastic
workers in the cause of science and
humanity at that excellent institution.
Like many other physicians and sur-
geons of the town, he is possessed of
admirable judgment, a quality which
must be inborn and his capacity for
work is somewhat remarkable. He
has a particularly large office practice
and usually several hospital cases. He
is a general favorite in the commun-
ity. He is a member of several fra-
ternal organizations, including the
Eagles, Foresters, Elks and Turners,
and is also a member of Division 2,
Ancient Order of Hibernians. Dr.
Cooke is local medical examiner for
the Massachusetts Mutual Life In-
surance Co. and is a member of the
■city, state, county, and American med-
ical societies.
Dr. Cooke married Susan Josephine
Stanford, of New Haven, Conn., Au-
gust 6, 1903.
GEORGE ROCKWELL.
George Rockwell, secretary of the
International Silver Co., now of \Va-
terbur\% but for many years a resi-
dent of Meriden. was born at RidEre-
iield, Conn., and is one of the three
5ons of Francis \. and Mary (Lee)
Rockwell, who have fit^nred promi-
nently in the manufacturing and finan-
cial life of Meriden.
He was educated in the schools of
his native town and concluded his
studies at the academy at Fort Ed-
ward, New York. He b^n his suc-
cessful business career as a clerk in
the First National Bank, of Nonvalk,
C(Mm., where he became schooled in
banking methods. At the end of two
years he accepted a position with a
firm of wholesale grocers in New York
City, with whom he remained for a
period of nine years, and during thai
time became the head of the account-
ing department.
In 1879 he was elected auditor of
the Meriden Britannia company and
later became a director and secretary
of that company. He held that office
until the organization of the Interna-
tional Silver Company, when he was
elected secretary of that corporation
and holds the office at the present
time.
His general business ability and
great energy have l)rou,iTlU him many
other positions of honor and rcspon*^i-
bilitv. lie was treasurer of the K"^-
ers & Drotber corporation, of W ati-r-
bury, and the Meriden. W'aterbury &
ConncH:ticut River Railroad Co. while
those two corporations were carried
on nnder those titles and since it? or-
ganization has been one of the 'li-
rectors of the International Silver
Company.
He is also one of the directors of
Maimini;, P.owinan & Co. and the .Mil-
ler llros. Cutlery Co.. of Meriden.
Mr. Rockwell took \\p bi> resitletice
at Waterbury in 1890 to become man-
ager of the Rogers & Bro. corpora-
Digitized by Google
DIOGRAPHIES.
I
i
I
i
256
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
tion, one of the companies forming
the International Silver Company, and
holds that office at the present time.
He is a man with an almost unlimited
capacity for work, and never shirks a
duty he is called upon to assume either
in business or social life. His success
in business life may be largely at-
tributed to the fact that he has found
pleasure in the faithful performance
of every duty.
Mr. Rockwell is a member of the
board of managers of the Waterbury
Club and is a member of the house
committee of the Manufacturers' Club
of Waterbury.
He was luarricd in 1881 to Minnie
F. Battles, of Lr)\vcn, Mass., and that
union has been blessed with two chil-
dren, (leorge Rockwell, Jr., and Sher-
burne li. Rockwell.
E. LVM.A.V .M.\R\1\.
K. Lyman Marvin, for more than
twenty years a valued resident and
leading merchant of Meriden, was
born in (irecne. Shenangn county.
N. v., July 15. iS^;. and died in
Meriden. May i. His early
life was spent upon his father's
farm. He afterwards for a time
taught a village school winters. He
learned the drug business, which he
made his life's calling, at Bingham-
ton. N. Y.. where he also enlisted
in the Civil War in the Kighth X. Y.
Cavalry, serving as hospital stew-
ard until the close c»f the war. He
then returned to Binghamton,
where he assumed his former po-
sition as drug clerk, and in 1867 waj
married to Mrs. Susan B. Barbel
mother of Willis X. Barber, now j
well known druggist of Meridrt
Mr. Marvin, with his wife and sicpi
son. came to Meriden in 1868. ad
on Broad street, in the building not
the residence of Silas B. Hall, start
ed the third drug store in Mend^
K. LVM.\.\ MARVIN.
the ground flotir. anti the other h
being used as a shoe store. Owi
to the .scarcity of rents Mr. Mar
secured accommodations with ham
in the old Central hotel, aftcrwa
removing his family to a sffl
house on East Main street, but
1883 built a comfortable residd
at 530 East Main street, where
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
jved with his family until he passed
)ut of this life.
His strict integrity and reliability
IS a merchant soon won the con-
idence of the buying public at the
renter, and his enterprise in putting
n one of the first soda fountains in
Meriden made him somewhat cele-
brated. His progressiveness as a
merchant was also demonstrated in
rarious ways. In February, 1870,
liavtng bought out the drug store
yf Davis & Greenfield, he removed to
the present location, where he con-
tinued in business as long as he
lived, and which store, now owned
by his stepson, Willis N. Barber,
has been gradually enlarged from
time to time until it comprises one
r>f the largest and best ordered drug
stores in the city. Athletic goods,
<K:hool books and periodicals former-
ly comprised a large portion of the
%tock. and during the youth of Wil-
lis X. Barber, who grew up with
the store, a job printing business
ivas conducted, but as the popula-
tion at the center increased* the
!>tore became more confined to the
^oods usually found in a drug store,
but a large stock of stationery,
blank books and periodicals is still
carried.
Mr. Marvin was affiliated with
several organizations and was es-
pecially active in the Odd Fellows,
being a member of Meriden Center
Lodge, 68, I. O. O. P.. in which
lodge he pas.sed through all the
chairs. He was also a member of
17
the building committee and one of
the trustees of the Odd Fellows'
building on Broad street. He was
a member of Oasis Encampment,
and of the uniform rank of that
order. He was a member of Cen-
ter Lodge, 97, A. F. & A. M., and
Keystone Chapter, 27, R. A. M.,
and was highly esteemed in Masonic
circles. He was also a member of
Merriam Post, 8, G. A. R., and also
of the Meriden Druggists' Associa-
tion and the Connecticut Pharma-
ceutical Association. In politics he
was a consistent Republican, and •
although he served two years from
the Fifth ward in the common coun-
cil, he declined further to hold pub-
lic ofRce. With his wife he was a
devout member of the First Baptist
church.
Mrs. Marvin, who died July 16,
1905, was an exemplary Christian
character. She was prominent in
Rachel Lodge, D. of R., and was
also a member of the relief corps
auxiliary to Merriam Post, G. A, R.
WILLIS N. BARBER.
Willis Norman Barber, druggist,
of Meriden, a merchant who, though
much engrossed in business, has for
many years been a prominent figure
in military and fraternal circles, was
born in Harwinton, Conn., October
1 1 , 1 859. He is the son of the late
Norman Buell, and Susan Beach
(Wood) Barber. His father was
the son of Loyal and Lucretia
Digitized by Google
258
A CKNTURY OF MEKIDKN.
(Buell) Rarber, and his mother, a
daughter of David B. and Reulah
(Beach) Wood. His father lived
in Harwinton until the breaking out
of the Civil War, when he enlisted,
Aujjust 28, 1862. in Litchfield, in
Company A. Nineteenth Connecti-
cut \'olunteers. dying after one
year's service.
In 1867 his mother was again
married to K. Lyman Marvin,
WILLIS N. DARHER.
of whom a sketch appears else-
where. Mr. Barber, coming to this
city with his mother and step-
father in 1868, has ever since been
identified with the town. He ob-
tained his early e<lucati<>n in the
Center school, and after gradu-
ating in 1877. entered the store of
his stepfather, where he comiiiencei
to learn the drug business. There
he finished his course, becoming a
registered pharmacist in 1883, and
has always remained either as clerk or
proprietor, with the exception of
two years, when he was employed
at the old Whittlesey drug store.
Xew Haven.
Returning to Meriden in May.
1899. upon the death of Mr. Marvin
and after having previously man-
aged the store and looked after his
mother's interests, in 1891 he pur-
chased a part interest in the buM-
ness, but since September, 1899. has
been sole proprietor.
This store, the fourth oldest dnij:
store in Meriden, has always enjoy-
ed the unstinted patronage of the up
town people, and has ever been con-
ducted under honorable business
principles, at the present day com-
prising an establishment of most
modern pattern containing a lanjd
stock of pure drugs and medicines,
sundries, and all the goods usuallvi
found in a high class drug store, as
well as a large stock of stationery
and periodicals.
Mr, Barber stands high in the dnig
trade, being a merchant of got^d
repute and a member of the Con-j
necticut Pharmaceutical Associa-
tion and the Meriden Druggists'
Association. He is also a direct<5l
of the Meriden Business Men's .As-
sociation.
In fraternal life he is one of ihfl
best known men of Meriden. H<
is a past master and has lieen
I , Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
several years treasurer of Center
Lodge, 97, A. F. & A. M.;- member
of Keystone Chapter, 27, R. A. M.;
also of Hamilton Council, 22, R. &
S. M. : and a past commander of St
Elmo Commandery, 9, K. T., and a
member of Meriden Chapter, O. E.
S. He is. as well, a member of the
New Haven bodies of the Scottish
Rite and of La Fayette Consistory,
Bridgeport, where he obtained his
thirty-second degree, and is a mem-
l>cr of Pyramid Tenij^lc. M. S. Mr.
T'arher has also taken all the de-
grees in Odd Fellowship.
Since 1884 he has been a charter
member of C. L. Upham Camp, 7.
S. of v.. and has held all the offices,
not only in the camp, of which lie
A\aN it> first captain, but ')tluT> with-
in the gift of the state. He \\a<
ctilonel of the Connecticut tlivisiun
in iS'M. aiul has served as special
aide on the staff of the commander-
in-chief, and attended several of the
national eneampinents.
He began his cre<litable service
in the Connecticut National Guard
by enlisting. March 15. i'*^''^3. in Co.
T. Second Regiment, from which he
Avns discharged in !888. In Tiil\.
1888. he again erilisted in the <er\ u r.
Ix'coming a member of Co. 11, I . \
G. (the N'ew Haven Blues), in
which lie served until his return to
Meriden. when, in August, 1889. he
was appointed hospital steward on
the staff of Col. John P.. Dohcrty.
After six vears* service in that
capacity he was re-appointcd by Col.
Lucien F. Burpee, serving until the
retirement of Col. Burpee, and thus
completing a service of seventeen
years. Sergeant Barber, while in
the state militia took an .active in-
terest in rifle practice, shouting on
both the Co. I and the regimental
teams, winning several handsome
decorations with the rifle. He has
since presented to his old company,
the Barber medal, shot for annually
by the members of Co. I.
Mr. r.arber was married in 1877
to Melis>a. daughter of George H.
and Maria ( Li wis) Beckley of Meri-
den. Tile lather of Mrs. P.arber
was the .son of Luther Beckley. who
was born at the old homestead,
Heckley Quarter. P»erlin, Conn., and
her mother was the daughter nf
Partrick and Sarah (I'lagg) Lewis.
To Mr and Mrs. Barber have been
l-.orn the follow ing children : Maude
I'.eckley (Mrs. Chas. H. Wheeler):
Xurman tieorge. a bt^t ik-keejjer at
the office of the Chas. Parker Com-
pany: Lewis \\'i11i«<. a^^-^ociated with
his father in busine>> : luhleen Su-
san, a <^tudent at the Meriden High
School, and W'auneita Ruth, who
parsed out when three years of age.
Mr. Barber reside^ with his family
in his own eoniiortablc home at 32
Orient street.
EVAN OWEN.
Evan ( )wcn, remembered for his
good citizenship during a long resi-
dence in Meriden, was born in
Digitized by Google
26o
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Xewtown, Montgomeryshire, North
Wales. July 7, 1832. He came to this
country in the spring of 1857, locat-
ing in Rockville, Conn. Owing to the
financial panic of that period, he did
not bring his family from Wales until
two years later.
At Rockville and at Windermere
(Ellington) he worked at his trade in
woolen mills until after the close of
the Civil War, when he went to Hol-
EVAN OWEN.
yoke, .Mass. He afterwards returned
to Windermere, however, remaining
there until 1873. In that year he came
to Meriden and with the exception of
a few years spent in Lawrence. Mass.,
and Chester. Pa., made this city his
home until his death, which occurred
September i, 1900.
He was always deeply interested in
politics, and was an ardent Republi-
can from the time when he was a mem-
ber of the "Wide-awakes" in Rock-
ville during the Lincoln campaign of
i860, and thereafter as long as he
lived. He never desired public office
but was at one time a member of the
board of selectmen of the town of El-
lington, and at the time of his death
was a member of the city government
of Meriden, serving as a member of
the common council from the Fifth
ward.
He was especially beloved in fra-
ternal circles and was a member of
Fayette Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of
Rockville, and Meriden Center Lodge,
68, L O. O. F.
In 1850 he was married to Sarah
Pryce, who, with his two sons, Llew-
ellyn and Richard A., survive him and
live in Meriden.
RICHARD A. OWEN.
Richard A. Owen, a valued citizen
of Meriden for many years past, and
since 1889 superintendent of the job
printing and binding departments of
The Journal Publishing Company, was
born in Newtown, North W'ales, April
27. 1855. He is one of the two sons
of Evan and Sarah (Pryce) (^wen.
He came to this country when he was
four years of age with his mother, two
years after his father's arrival here,
and went to live in Rockville. He
came to Meriden in 1873 where he has
ever since lived and for many years
has been one of the most familiar fig-
I Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
261
It res of the town associated with the
printing business. He began to learn
the art preservative at the office of the
Meriflen Recorder in 1874, later be-
coming employed at the office of the
Meriden Republican. In 1875 went
to work for E. .\. Morton, with whom
he remained for more than seven
years. In 1883 with Charles E. Bi-
beau as a partner, and under the firm
name of Owen & IJibeau, he engaged
in the job printing business for him-
RI( HARD A. OWK.X.
self. The firm continued the business
succes.s fully for six years, until 1889.
when they sold out to The Journal
Publishing Co. Since that date .Mr.
Owen has held his present responsible
position, where his efforts have re-
dounded to the credit of The Jonrn.d
Publishing Company, whose extensive
printery and bindery has during his
superintendency become one of the
most complete in all .\ew England.
Mr. Owen is well versed in his call-
ing, is an almost infallible authority
in all things typographical and his
knowledge and judgment are often
turned to the good advantage of the
customer and the author.
He is a member of Meriden Center
Lodge. 68, I. O. O. P.; A. H. Hall
Council, 1423, R. A., and Electric
Lodge, 50, N. E. O. P.
He was married October 25, 1876,
to Elizabeth J. Barlow, and to them
were born two children, Grace Eliza-
beth, died September 30, 1885, aged
six years ; and .Alice Cary, died Feb-
ruary 20, 1889. aged .seven years. Mr
Owen resides in his own comfortable
residence at 50 Fourth street.
W. II. THOMPSON'.
William Henry Thompson, mer-
chant of Meriden, and w"ho conducts,
on Colony street, an extensive ice
cream and confectionery business, was
l)orn in New Haven, .\ftcr acquiring
a good common sch(K)l education, at
the age of seventeen he went to IMiii-
adelphia to learn the trade of a con-
fectioner under W hitman. After ten
years at his tra<le. Mr. Thompson en-
gaged in business in the Quaker City.
He came to Meriden in i87<> and
opened a .store at 75 West Main street.
.After conducting business at that lo-
cation for a period of twenty-one
years, he removed to his present estab-
262
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
lishmcnt on Colony street, which is
justly considered one of the handsom-
est and best c(|iiipped of its kind in all
New Flnjjland, and where he has fa-
cilities for maniifactrring: the confec-
tionery for a larjjc retail trade, com-
prised largely of the elite of the city,
and also for manr factnrinpf ice cream
in lar«i:e quantities which he has always
served to the public in its purest, rich-
est and most delectable form.
Photo by Akers & PiRwri.
W. n. THOMPSON.
Mr. Thompson is a member of Mer-
idian Lodji^c. 77, A. F. & A. M., and
the Meriden Business Men's Associa-
tion. He has two sons, George H., a
talented musician and orj^anist of Ply-
mouth Conj^rcj^ational church at New
Haven, and Charles E.. associated
with his father in business.
JOHN H. PARKER.
John H. Parker, an estimable
citizen of Meriden and owner of
the Parker block, one of the most
substantial business structures of
the town, was born in Windsor, \'er-
mont. January 12, 1857. He is the
son of George A. Parker, a native of
-Ashford, Conn., who married Laura
L. Conant of Reading. \"t. Mr. Par-
ker, on the maternal side, is a direct
descendant of Roger Conant. who
emigrated to this country, landing at
Plymouth. Mass., in July, 1^)23, mak-
ing the pas.sage in the ship '*Ann".
Under the Sheffield or Ca])e Ann
charter, he was the predecessor of
Endicott as governor of the Colony,
with residence at Salem, and was
api)<)inte<l as such by the Dorchester
Company, an office he held for some
three years, and until the Massachu-
setts P.ay Colony was chartered by
King James in 1628, He is also a
direct descendant of Nancy Hanks,
the mother of Abraham Lincoln.
George A. Parker, father of John
H., was a gun and spectacle maker
in his young manhood, and was em-
ployed in the government armory at
W indsor. About a year and a half
after the biith of our subject, he
came to Meriden with his family,
flriving the entire distance. He
came to Meriden to take charge of
a livery stable then located on East
Main street where the Morse &
Norton block now stands, and which
stable was owned by Prosper Merrill,
a wealthy manufacturer of N'ermont.
' Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
263
and which had previously been con-
ducted by his son. Mr. Parker with
his young wife and child took up his
residence on Kasi Main street.
John H. Parker in his boyhood
was given the best education the
GKORGE A. PARKER.
town afforded and finished by taking
the high school course at the Old
Corner School, under Prof. A. H,
Mather, graduating with the class of
1872. He began his business life
in the store of \V. W. Mosher,
where he learned the drug business.
After two years' experience he se-
cured a position in a drug store in
Hartford, one year later entering
the New York College of Pharmacy,
where after taking a two years'
cr>urse, he graduated in 1877, and
later, after serving one year in the
drug store of John W. Shedden, cor-
ner of P>roadvvay and 34th street,
Xew York City, he entered the drug
business on his own account bv
Opening a well patronized store at
the corner of 6th avenue and 124th
street, where he continued success-
fully for six years.
After the completion of his busi-
ness block, one of the most desirable
an<l thoroughly built structures on
the main thoroughfare of Meriden,
Pboto by Akers it Pigeon.
JOHN H. PARKER.
and which during its construction
was under the supervision of his
father, he returned to .Meriden and
occupied the corner store, fitting up
the same as a drug store, disposing
I
264
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
of his interests in New York City.
Mr. Parker conducted the drug store
in his business block thereafter for
a period of twenty years, retiring
from the drug business in June, 1904,
with a well earned competency and
after having made an enviable busi-
ness record. He has since devoted
Iiimself to the care of his real estate.
He is a member of the Connecticut
Pharmaceutical Association, and the
Meriden Druggists' Association. He
Photo by R. S. fJodfrey.
I'AUKKK BLOCK.
is also a member of Myrtle Lodge,
4. Knights of Pythias, and was once
fnr many years treasurer of the Pa-
triot Order nf the S<ins of America.
He is also a member and one of the
executive committee of the ColoniaJ
Club. He is a member of the First
Congregational Churcli.
( )n November 27,, 1880. he was
married to Mary V.. I'alcom of New
York City, to whom two daughters
and one son have been bom as foi
low's. Marion Conant. bom in 1881
married Edward C Waterman 1
Troy, N. Y., and to whom one ast
John Parker Waterman, was \M
February 8. 1906: Laura Albenil
Parker, born in 1884; and Robd
Lane Parker, horn 1890. The pM
ents of Mr. Parker are still living I
Meriden.
S. C. PIERSON.
Stephen Condit Pierson was bjf
at Orange, X. J.. Xov. 18, 1841. sa
of Aaron and Mary C. (Ogdcn) Fid
son.
Ancestry : Thomas Pierson i
Yorkshire, England, who xvith k
brother, Rev. Abraham Picrsd
( father of the first president of
College) was a founder of
ampton. L. L. P.ranford. C(
Newark. X. J.: John Odgen/
1610 at Corfe Castle. Dorset Co5^*;
England, built the first chor^^
New York City (within the !
Dutch fort) in 1643, named on Ro)l
Charter 1C162, as assistant to Govt
nor Winthrop. the founder of FliJ
beth, X. J., and "Schout" 01 the Ei
lish towns in New Jersey : Edw;
Howell, (gent.) born 1584. Mj
(libbon. r.ucks County. EnjsrU
purchased east end of Long Isb
for his colony, and for the h(
of being the first Enjilish
or
tier of New York state, his I'Howi
coat of arms was carved on the
way of the present capitol at
Digitized by Googl
J
bany; Richard Treat, born London
1584, named in Connecticut charter
1662 as assistant to Governor W'in-
throp : Robert Treat (son of Rich-
ard) born London 1622, commander-
in-chief Connecticut troops in K'lnf^
Philips War. magistrate New
Haven Colony 1661-65. governor of
Connecticut 1672, governor or depu-
Pboto by Akers A Pigeon.
S. C. I'lEKSOX.
ty-governor f«)r thirty years, a
founder of Newark. X. ].: Jasper
Crane, a founder of Xew Haven and
1 '.ran ford, also a founder and chief
magistrate of Xewark. X. J. His
son married Mary, daughter of Gov-
irnor Robert Treat. Richard Har-
rison, a foun<ler of Xew Haven and
I 'Fan ford; Joseph llaldwin. a
iPHiES. 265
founder of Milford ; Rev. Peter
Prudden, the leader of Milford and
a founder of Xew Haven ; Daniel
Dod, a founder of Branford; Henry
Hotsford. a founder of Milford.
Mr. Pierson resided in Hartford
'850-65. graduated at Vale in the
class of 1864, and took post-gradu-
ate course of one year at Sheffield
Scientific School : then was member
of N. Y. C. R. R. engineer corps and
thereafter in the employ of the N.
H., H. & S. R. R., and engaged in
railroad surveys, for the most part,
until coming to Meriden. Since
1888 has been, and still is. actively
engaged as civil engineeer and sur-
veyor.
He was city engineer and sur-
veyor from the organization of the
city to 1888. with the exception of
four years. During this time the
more important streets laid out, and
for the most part graded and side-
walked, were as follows.— Crown.
Camp. lUmker Avenue. Xorth Colo-
ny, South Colony. W est Main, East
Main. Pratt. Center. Hritannia. Gris-
wold, Hicks. Warren, Sherman Ave-
nue, Franklin. Lewis Avenue. Lins-
ley .Avenue. Hanover to end of .Xew
City. Maple. Grove. Columbia. Lin-
coln. Miller, Liberty. Cook Avenue
from West Main to Harrington Hill.
W'teran. Willow, Pleasant. Elm.
High. Cooper. Hobart. Olive, Oak.
School. Cottage, Xewton, Broad and
Curtis. Harbor Ilrook from MilK-r
Street was laid out and graded, anct
the dams removed.
uiyij^ed by Google
m
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
266
Married at Simsbiiry, Sept. 23.
l8f)8, Hannah Pettibone Lati-
mer, who was ever diligent in minis-
tries and good works, and died Sept.
22, 1883.
Married Mrs. M indwell Hastings
Glazier Sept. 18, i8t;o.
Children. I Gny Rowland Phelps,
died young.
n Deciiis Latimer, died
1897 at age of twenty-five years.
HI Mary Caroline Ogden
who married June 7. 1898, Horace
Bushnell Cheney of South Manches-
ter. They have children. Horace
Bushnell. .Antoinette Phelps and
Stephen Pierson.
IV .Antoinette Randolph
Pheli)S, died 1903, aged twenty-seven
years.
V Lucy Wilcox, who
married .April 6. 1904. George
Francis Dominick of New York.
They have one child, Antoinette
Pierson.
A. K. Al'STlX.
Abner Ellsworth .Austin for many
years ])rominent in the business life
of the community, was born in
North Haven, September 13. 1839.
He was educated in the common
schools of his native town and
brought up on his father's farm,
where from early boyhot)d he was
taught the value of industrious
habits. His father. Joseph .Austin,
died when Abner was fourteen years
old and a portion of the property
was thereafter managed by him for
agriculture until .April, 1905.
At the age of sixteen, in addition
to carrying on the share of the farm
which he had inherited, and also his
mother's portion, he engaged in the
meat business, first on a small scale,
driving a meat cart and doing his
own butchering. .At twenty he
married Ruth B., daughter of Eben
Photo by Aker": A Pigeon.
A. 1:. .\Lsri.\.
J. Coe, of Stony Creek, who died in
Meridcn in 1895. and to that union
was born t)ne daughter. Sarah Flor-
ence, who married Dr. H. .A. Mcek>
of Meriden. Mr. Austin continued
with growing success in the meat
business until 1867 when he came
to Meriden and engaged in busines*
with his brother-in-law as a member
/Google '
BIOGKAl'llltS.
a6r
he firm of Coo & Austin, and the
1 during the four years ensuing
ricd on the larj^cst retail market
incss in Meridcii, also doing their
1 butchering, which was common
that period. In 1871 they sold
their successful business to
irles Circiher.
he following March, Mr. .Austin
ajxe<l the livery stable l)usi-
s by buying out the Meriden
use stables, which were then
dxfjfcd by Orrin Carpenter, and
eviphe became one of the best
\vTi?«liorsemen in the state. He
i^tfj^e^l the Meriden House sta-
» "^til 1890 when he built the
four story brick stable at the
High School avenue and
MtTect where he became pos-
better facilities and more
did a larger business than
tSk March 15, 1905, when he
of the livery business, still
his ownership of the build-
h is the largest livery sta-
le city and one of the most
in the state. During Mr.
career in the livery stable
iiness, he not only provided fine
v'ing^ e^iui pages and furnished
riag^es for every occasion, but his
hies always contained fine speci-
n of the equine race, and he be-
ne famous as a dealer in well bred
-*;es of which he is a connoisseur.
VI r. .\ustin has done much in im-
)\ in,tj l<>cal real estate and with
K-rs shf>wcMl keen foresight in ac-
irinpf land in the once unde-
oped section of Lewis and
Springdale avenues which he later
(lisi)osed of advantageously. He
built his own comfortable residence
on Kast Main street in 1874, the
C(»nlractor whom he employed being
the late (jeorge Clay.
Mr. Austin was one of the
founders of the Meriden Trotting
Park Association, and is a member
of Meridian Lodge, 77. A. F. & A.
M., but is not affiliated with any
other organization. He was mar-
ried the second time in 1899 to Mary
.Gilbert of North Haven.
H. L. MOREHOUSE.
Henry L. Morehouse, Meriden's-
leading carpenter and builder, was
bom in New Milford, Conn. He-
comes from one of the oldest families
in the state and is a son of the late-
Cyrus A. and Cornelia (Canfield)
Morehouse, and is directly descended
from Thomas Morehouse who came to-
Wethersfield in 1640, but the follow-
ing year settled in Stamford where he
received a grant of seven acres of
land which was his portion. Besides
tilling the soil and clearing the for-
est he conducted a gristmill later in
life at Fairfield.
His father was a marble worker and*
lived and died at Xew Milford.
Henry L. Morehouse received a
common school education which was
supplemented by attendance at the
Kaslmaii P.usincss College at Pough-
keejisie. from which he graduated in
I ST/). After learnitig the trade of a
carpenter and builder at the shops of
Digitized by Google
268
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Mr. Dykeman at Bridgeport, he made
his start in business for liimself in
that city.
In 1869 he removed hb business to
\c\v Haven and in 1872 came to Mer-
iden where he has since resided and
done business, achieving a high repu-
tation as a contractor and an esteemed
citizen. His business grew with his
reputation and for ^me years Mr.
Morehouse has possessed a large plant
for the storage, dressing and matching
of lumber. For some years the office
and entrance to the plant were on State
street but since 1901 both the business
of Mr. Morehouse and that of the
Morehouse Bros. Company have been
brought under cover and the office re-
moved to 24 Miller street, and the
plant is now one o{ the most complete,
best equipped and ably managed in
New England.
Heing one of the leading carpenters
and builders of this part of the state,
Mr. Morehouse has naturally con-
structed several of the imposing build-
ings of Meriden and vicinity which
stand as monuments to his thorough
and conscientious work.
Among these could be mentioned
the ^leriden High School and the St.
Laurent's Roman Catholic Cinirch,
nianv factories and business blocks.
Mr. Morehouse has always taken
an active interest in cvcrytliiiig tliat
pertains to the welfare of his adopted
city. He has never sought nor held a
puMic office and is a man of domestic
tastes and habits. He is always t(^ l)e
counted upon in matters where local
pri<lc is concerned.
Mr. Morehouse has four children ai
follows: Allison V., with the A- L
Robinson Co., of Xew York City,
retary of the Morehouse Bros. Cora*
pany; .Andrew C, of Meriden, treas-
urer of that company ; Mattie C. and
Franklin L. Morehouse.
NOAH POMEROY.
Noah Fomeroy, a man who took an
active part in the affairs of Meriden,
was a worthy descendant of honorable
ancestry. One of his ancestors, Eli*
weed Fomeroy, came from England io
the ship John and Mary, it is under*
stood, landing in Dorchester. Ma>>,
now a part of Boston. March, i6vx
He descended from Ralph de }\m\-
croi, who went to Fngland from Nor-
mandy with William the Conquemr.
(nth century) taking active part in
the conquest for which he was
knighted.
Eltweed settled in Dorchester where
he was prominent in organizing tlie 1
provisional government. In 1637 he
removed to Windsor, Conn., for per-
manent settlement. Like many of iiss
descendants he was a blacksmith,
which trade meant more than now
that machinery is superseding han<li-
craft. In the settlement of Massachu-
setts and Connecticut they were wel-
come artisans. iR-itig granted larire
tracts of land to induce them to settle
and carry on business. They were
the gunsmiths of their locations^ wild
beasts and .savages making the gun a
necessity. In the French and Indian
wars the Pomeroy gtm was in great
Digitized by Google
' Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
(Icniand and in the Revolution, indis-
pensable. Before the L'nited States
had an armory the private armories
of the Ponieroys were famous. These
men were of Hberal and independent
minds, determined to preserve their
•civil and religious liberties. Among
their descendants were successful mer-
chants, civil engineers, lawyers and
ministers, one of the last named pro-
fession was Samuel Pomeroy, a grad-
uate of Yale College in 1705.
Noah Pomeroy was bom in Say-
brook, Conn., March i. 1786, the
youngest of five children. His father,
•Charles Pomeroy, a merchant of that
place, who died shortly before Noah's
liirth, was a soldier of the Revolution,
-who enlisted July 8, 1775, as ser-
geant and served in the Sixth com-
pany. Col. Charles Webb's regiment.
In 1776, he joined Lieutenant-Colonel
Seymour's light horse cavalry as pay-
master and in 1777 was appointed re-
ceiver of the 400 pounds of powder
granted Saybrook. At the age of ten
Noah began to earn his living* work-
ing summers, saving his meager earn-
ings, thereby enabling him to attend
school winters. At fifteen he com-
menced, peddling tin, of which he
eventually became a manufacturer, not
only of plain, but japanned and orna-
mented ware, which industry he car-
ried on in several locations, finally
moving it to Meridcn in 1818 where
he bought a farm and spent the rest
of a useful life. He retire«l. nomi-
nally, from Imsiness in 1839, leaving it
to his sons. I)ut eontniuuit,'- to exercise
an oversight of the finances, suggest-
ing improvement** and inventing -n
chinery that made the e-.ra!)li>hrr,cct
lea<ling one. For pastmic, wher. r*.
engaged in official duties, for he h-:
every office within llie qrift ' f :
townsmen, he devoted his stii. ^
abated energies to the improvetDcati
his farm.
He filled the office of justice oi 1
peace by appointment of the legi^
ture as long as it possesse<l the pOT
to api>oint. His knowledge of 1
and impartial judgment ii*erc 9
that an appeal was sever taken ft
his decisions. He was an ardent
vocate of progression and reform <
tending for the broadest religious ;
political liberty. He earnestly uc
the calling of the convention which
modeled the state constitution and
punged many of those statutes kisi
as "blue laws.*' In 1832 he was th
to the legislature and in 1837 '
chosen senator from the Stsdh
trict.
When the Meriden Bank was ctg
ized in 1833 he was made a divH
and in 1849 president From l|
he was a charter member and a
tee of the Meriden Savings Bw^
Mr. Pomeroy was a lifelong t
versalist and an ardent supportq
that faith. In his house the Uohrt
lists of Meriden held tiietr first n
ings. There also in 1821 the fir^
mon in Meriden by a Univcrsaiii^ I
ister was preached. '
He took a deep interest in L.c ,
\\ ar and the abolition of slavery w|
he lived to see acctjmplishcd. Hcj
his last vote for General Grant
Digitized by Gopgle
president, dying November 23, i868.
He was twice married ; first to Nancy
Merrinian, a descendant of Lieutenant
Xathaniel Merriman, a first settler of
Wallingford, Conn., hy wlioni he
had ten children: Cornelia, Eliphalet,
Angelina (Mrs. Eli Ives), Eliza (Mrs.
John S. Blake), Harriet (Mrs. Isaac
C. Lewis), Norman, Eugenia (Mrs.
jaraes P. Stow), Nancy, Charles and
James T., none of whom are living.
His second wife was Hattie Hasen,
also deceased, by whom he had two
(laucfhtcrs, Hattie (Mrs. George B.
Foote) and Cornelia, the former of
whom is now living.
HENRY JAMES LEWIS.
Henry James Lewis was bom at
Meriden, Connecticut, on October 21,
1S41. He was the son of Isaac C, and
Harriet (Pomeroy) Lewis. His father
was one of Meriden*s most prominent
citizens and one-time mayor, a worthy
descendant of William Lewis, who
came to this country from England on
the ship "Lion." landing in P.oston,
Mass., in 1632, and scrtliiii,' in Cam-
bridge. Four years later. William
Lewis became one of the Kcv. rii.yma.s
Hof^ker Company that settled in Hart-
ford, and still later he removed to
Farmington. where was built the
homestea<l that is yet standing as a
part of the "Elm Tree Inn." known
now and fur many years as a famous
hostelry. The land, a tract sixteen
miles square, he. together with Samuel
Steele, bought from the Indians on
PHIES. 271
behalf of the Farmington Company.
■Henry J. Lewis was also descended
from Jared Lewis, a patriot of the
Revolutionary War, who served in the
Continental Army in the regiment
commanded by Col. Caniield and on
the maternal side from Sergeant
Charles Pomeroy, also a soldier of the
Revolution. By virtue of this ances>
try, Mr. Lewis was a member of the
Connecticut Society of the Sons of the
American Revolution.
He was educated in the common
schools of Meriden, later attending
the Meriden Academy, finishing his
schooling at Eaton's Commercial Col-
lege, Worcester, Mass. He began his
business career by entering the office
of the Meriden Britannia Compan) , of
which his father was one of the found-
ers. Some years after this he went
into the hardware business as a part-
ner of N. F. Griswold, under the st\ le
of Griswold & Lewis. About 1880
he disposed of his interest to John
L. Richmond. Always a lover of
outdoor life, he removed to Stony
Creek, where he could engage in a
business that should satisfy his desire.
Here he had from boyhood owned one
of the Thimble Islands, charted as
"Lewis Island." The business of his
choice was that of oyster cultivation,
and he was one of the first men in the
state t(i realize tlie iui|>ortance this in-
dustrv was to attain. It was not long
l)elnre he made his headquarter.^, first,
at Bridgeport and later at Stratford.
From now on he rapidly built up a
business of huge proportions until his
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
holdings extended from Xorwalk
eastward along the Sound as far as
Guilford and Madison, with wharves,
-hops and offices at various places, and
additional oyster-beds off the south
shore of Long Island and in the waters
of Xarragansett Bay, Rhode Island.
In 1895 the Connecticut business was
organized as the H. J. Lewis Oyster
Company. Under the name, of this
corporation Mr. Lewis became pos-
sessed of a title to more than lo^ooo
acres of territory in Connecticut wa-
ters alone, thus being at the time of his
death the largest holder of oyster
grounds in the state. His Long Isl-
and branch was incorporated as the
Lewis Blue Point Oyster Cultivation
Company, with headquarters at Say-
ville, L. 1.
Mr. Lewis was also interested as a
stockholder and director in a number
of banks, trust companies, and indus-
trial enterprises. Some of the Meri-
den concerns were the International
Sih'er Compan\ , of which he was one
of the large stockholders, the Meriden
Xational Bank, and the Meriden Trust
& Safe Deposit Company ; he was pres-
ident of the Horton Printinij Company
and a director of Edward Miller &
C(>mpany and the Miller Brothers Cut-
lery Company. These varied interests
kept him vigorously active up to the
day of his death.
On AupTust 7, 1884. Mr. Lewis
married Mary E. Stringer, daughter
of W illiam C. and Mary Stringer, of
Cold Spring. Long Island, N. Y. Tlicv
had four children, Henry Leroy, Helen
18
Margery, Kate May and Isaac Chaun-
cey.
Never a seeker after publicity or
popularity, Mr, Lewis devoted himself
to his business and his home, and dis-
liked nothinjg; more than a parade of
his virtues. Yet a biographical sketch
omitting all mention of character and
characteristics could hardly be re-
garded as satisfactory.
His ability to see, and quickness to
grasp opportunities, prove him to
have been possessed of the two prime
essentials of business success — ^good
judgment combined with courage.
Indeed, of business sagacity he had a
generous endowment both by nature
and by heritage. This, however, was
but one phase of a singularly well-bal^
anced temperament. Even more dom-
inant traits were the equity which
earned him the heart\ good-will of his
business associates, the sympathy and
generosity that made of his force of
employes a little army devoted to his
interests, and tiie philanthropy whose
manifestations were known only to
those institutions and individuals that
stood in the position of beneficiaries.
The town of Stratford, which he made
his place of residence for a score of
years, has known no man tliat ever did
more for the town and its people than
did he. To talk with him, no matter
on what snhjcct, was to be impressed
with the sanity of his outlook ; to ap-
peal to him in behalf of a worthy
can^e was to be convinced of the gen-
uine spirit oi kindness and sympathy
that ruled his life.
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274
A CCNTUKV OF MEKIDEN.
He died at his home in Stratford,
on the iith day of January, 1902.
AARUX L. COLLINS.
A sturdy son ui Meriden was Aaron
L\man Collins who, during- a long and
I scful life, was an inlluential figure
in the town and city. He was one oi
the sons of Lyman and l.lizabeth
(Carter) Collins and was born in the
honse on East Main street hill ow ned
and occupied l>y his lather and grand-
father before hini. His lather carried
on a large farm and was an extensive
owner of land w hich he acquired when
property valuation was many times
less than at the i)resent riav.
Aaron L. Collins was reared ainoni;
healthful snrroundint^s and he at-
tended the cuinincjn schools of the
town, lie began a long and success-
ful business career by starting in the
grocery business on I'.ruad street with
his brother, the late Charlc> C'ollins.
The venture was successful and the
Collins brothers built u{) a large trade
and established a reputation for busi-
ness acumen maintaincfl by them
through life. In 1S54 the partnership
vs as dissohcd and Mr. Collins became
asMJciated w itb Pratt, Roj)cs. Webb &
Co., who conducted the manufacture
of cutlery in the location at South
Meriden now occupied by the Meriden
Cutlery Company. Of this firm he
became a traveling salesman, each
year becoming a more important fac-
tor in the business until 1878. when
he was elected president of the Meri-
den Cutlery Company, which through
his wise and conser\ ali\ e nianaj^crncr;!
was kept on a solid business basis a>
long as he lived, continuing to carr;
out his duties as the head of that lar^i \
concern for about forty \ car> and uri
within a short time previous to :
death w hich occurred March 25, i</.v I
Mr. Collins had interests in otlK':
Meriden factories, and was a latiic;
stockholder in various other Merider '
iuflustries. and for a number of yearv
until it was absoriied by the Intenui
tional Silver Company, he was pre-
ident of Llic Wilcox Silver Plate Coir:
pany. He was also a director of tlie
Home National Hank, a trustee o{ \h
City Savings Bank and was preside; '
ni the Meriden drain .S: Feed Go,
pany. During his long and user,
life Mr. Collins maintained a hrz^
farm of sixty acres situated on ulia'
is now Williams avenue, and in ii;-^
early life owned many acres on Lis
Main street hill ; a portion ot the latter
however, he cut up into honse lots,
and the once extensive prof>erty ij
now in\aded by manv streets, u\nMi^
which subslaiuial residences stand. ,
Mr, Collins was a man who held the
entire respect of the people of the town
and city of which he was privilei^ed i -
lake an important part in its i^r nvth
from a small village. TTc was emi-
nently successful as a business man
and his lo.ss to the community is one
not easily filled, especially at the Cen-
ter Congregational church, of which
he was a valued member and gener-
ous contributor, i
He was married to S \ Ivia. daughter
of Rev. Mr. White, of Middieficld,,
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
276
A CENiURY OF MERIDEN.
Conn., and three sons survived him:
Charles Lyman, of Clinton, Edward
John, since deceased, and Benjamin
White Collins.
EDW ARD J. COLLINS.
Edward J. Collins, a lifelunjc: resi-
dent, whose life was cut shun in his
prime tlirough the wisdom of the Al-
mis^hty, was one of the most lovable
personal characters in Meriden. At
the time of his death he was man-
ai^cr of the liusion office of the Meri-
(irii Cutlery Company. He was
born in the old Collins honicsiead
on East Main street on March 31,
18^6 an<l wa^ the second son of the
late Aaron l,\ iiKin Collins, a leadini;
and inflneiii ial citizen of the town
and k>r f<irly yrars president of llie
MerifUn C utlery Company. liis
ancestors in thi>^ town date back to
Robert Collin.*-, who came to Meri-
den in 1727 and became a larj^e land
owner, since which time the family
name has held an honored place in
the history of the town.
Edward J. Collins with his bro-
tlu'i --. Charles L.. and r.enjamin W.
Collin--, a <ketch of the latter of
whom imiiieiliately follows this, was
reared on his father's larj^e fnrtn in
I'.ast Meriden. He was possessed
of stn>nj3f mental and physical viffor
and althonpfh he wa< tjiven an oppor-
tunity to prose himself in business
by his father, his succe*;'; was due to
his ability to make the nio^i (.f ids
Opp< Ttnidties. In 1870 after --eeuriniL^
a good, practical education he en-
tered the Meriden Cutlery Company
as a foreman of the stock depart-
ment, where he became familiar with
the metlKjds of manufacture and the
prutluet of the cumpany. In i8<>4bc
was promoted to traveling salesman,
his territory comprising- New F.iiij-
land and New York, and in iS.».'< he
look charq-e of the Boston ot"Hce of
the CMini)any. During this lonj:
period he Ijecame one of the be>t
known and most popular travelinj;
men in the hardware trade, his sun-
ny disposition, even temperament,
and proverbial good nature under all
circumstances making him a general
favorite with all. He had the facul-
t\ not only of making but of holding
friends to whom he was always loy-
al. He was a man who could be
counted upon whether in business,
social or private life,
.\fter the death of his father he
became one of the <lirectors of the
Meriden Cutlery Cunii)anv. and was
also one oi the directors of the Meri-
den Grain & Feed Company. Mr.
Colliu.s was a thirt\ -second degree
member of the Ma.sunic fraternity,
being affiliated with all tlie different
branches of the order in Connecticut
including Center Lodge. 97. A. F. &
A. M.. Meriden: LaFayette Consist-
ory at r.ridgeport, and Pyramid
Temple, Mystic Shrine.
His death w^as a particularly sad
one owing to the fact that he liad
been married btit four months, and
was building a handsome residence
on School street on land owned by
the Collins family for four genera-
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BIOGRAPHIES.
278
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
tions, where he was to make his
hunie with his newly wedded wife.
He was married June 28, 1904, to
Miss Hlizabeth J. Mahon. daughter
oi I lioma> Mahon of South Mcri-
den. who sur\ ivcs him and makes*
her hnme in Mcriden. His funeral
was largely aticmled and the active
and honorary pall biarcis included
men prominent in public, huviness
and social lite. The followmg roo-
lutions adoi>tc(l hy the Meriden C ut-
lerv Company cxjiress a measure of
the esteem in which he was held iv
the community.
"For the third tune within the
brief period of less than two years
this board is called to deplore the
loss of an honored member. Mr.
Edward J. Collins died at his home
in Boston, October 19. Kp4. at the
close of a brief but severe illness.
"In the midst of a useful life in
accordance with the workings of an
inscrutable Providence he was tak-
en from Its. We as a body desire
to leave upon record a testimonial
which .shall speak our profound es-
teem for one deceased associate
therefore: Resolved that for the ex-
cellence of his business (|ua1itics, for
his faithfulness in the performance
of every duty intrusted to his care
in the interest of the comi)any : for
his worth as a man and a citizen we
seek through this memorial to give
honor to his memory ; Resolved
that these resolutions be spread up-
on the records of the company and
a copy sent to the family. Direc-
tors, Homer A. Curtiss, John L.
Liillard, James W. Gildersleeve,
Charles L. Rockwell, Robt. \V. Hal-
lam. Frank P. Wilcox, A, Chamber-
lain and Walter Hubbard."
BENJAMIN \V. COLLINS.
lieiijaniin W hite tOllins. an active
man of all'airs in l)U>ines> and agricul-
tural circles, is of a tanul\ i<>r many
years a leading one in Meriden. He
is a son of the late Aaron L. Collinj.
and a worthy descendant of earl\ col-
onial ancestry. Lewis Collins camel"
this country from England in 16.^0
and with his four sons. Xathan. Jolm.
Albert and Dexter, located in Charle-
town, Mass.. and who^e i^randson.
fohn Collins (second) became uue 01
the ])atentees of Guilford, this state,
where as early as t68j he taught
grannnar school. His family in Mfi"-
iden dates hack to Robert l o!!ins, wb'
settled on a portion of the Hekht'
farm in 1727. Captain Daniel C'll'nn?.
of Meriden, served three enliNtnu-ri-
in the Revolutionary war ; first in 177.^
as serpfeant in Captain Haven's com-
pany; ai.,^ain in 1777; and in 1779 r*^^'
sponded to the New Haven alanr
serving" in Col. Thaddens Cook s
imcnt, assistini; in the defense of Li -
vard. For valiant service he w:*^
made a captain in 1780 and was tlieii
stationed at Guilford in the defense of
the cnast. Lyman, grandfather 01
P)Cnianiin W. Collins, also of Meriden.
was a soldier in the War of 18 12. and
like his ancestors, became a large
owner of land in Meriden. which af'
terwards became possessed by his heirs-
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BIOGKArHIES.
279
28o
A C&NTURY OF MERIDF.N.
Benjamin W. ("oUins is the fourth
generation born in tlie old ColHns
homestead on Kast Main street hill,
where he still resides and where he
first saw light April i, 1859. He at-
tended the old Center school and be-
came trained in matters of business
and agriculture long before he reached
Iiis majority. His lather's large farm-
ing and other interests gave him am-
l)le opportunity for assuming resjum-
sibilities long befure he had reached
the >ears of discretion of the ordinary
youth. The farm of sixty acres he
took an important part in the manage-
ment of. and as well looked after the
family real estate. He has for many
years been interested in the raising of
line stock and has bred many good
blooded horses as well as pure Jersey
cows. In 1895. with his father, he be-
came j)Ossessed of the old established
hay, grain and feed business of A. S.
Russell on South Colony street. In
December. 1897, they incorporated tlie
l)usiness imdcr the present name of the
Meriden Cirain & Feed Co.. of
which he has been the leading spirit in
the management and since the death
of his father, the former president, he
has held the offices of both treasurer
and president. Under his able man-
agement the business has increased
every year and is at this writing of
large proportion*:, the concern doing
its own milling and grinding on the
premises and dealim::: in flonr. seed and
fertilizer, as well as hay. grain and
feed. Mr. Collins is also a large
stockholder and one of the board of
control of the large potato dealing
concern of the R. D. I'rcntice Co.,
which controls twenty -three pota:
jobbing houses in the slate of Maini
Me is also a large real estate owm:
and taxpayer and interested in sevcrai
local manufacturing industries and is
one of the directors of the Home Na
tional iiank. In politics he is a Kf-
publican. He has served as a nut. -
her of the board of selectmen and f"r
the past ten }ears as one of the schui!
board of Meriden. He is also a mcm-
ber of the Town Hall P.uilding Com
nnttee and one of the reception com-
mittee of the Meriden Centennial.
He is a thirty-second degree mcn -
lu r of the Masonic fraternity, being a
member of the following bodies of ilu
state: Center Lodge. A. V. & A. M.:
Keystone Chapter, R. A. M.; Hamil-
ton Cnnncil, R. & S. M. ; St. Elnie
Commandcry, K. T., and the Scotti>li
rite bodies of Xew Haven and Bridjre-
port. He is also a member of Pyra-
mid Temple. .M. S. and of .Mfrerl II
Hall Council, Royal Arcanum. .Mr.
Collins is treasurer of the Connecticut
Cattle Breeders AssociatioTi. 'secretary
of the Connecticut .\gTieuUi;ral S>
ciety and president o£ tlie ^leridoi
.\gricultural Society.
He was married March 5. 1895. to
Soj>hia I.ovell Xorthrop and to that
unir.n one daughter, Betsey, was bom
October 9, 1901.
OWEN B. ARNOLD.
( )\\en r.rainard Arnold, financier
and liieratus, deceased, and who was
associated with the life of Meriden for
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
irly half a century, was bom in
ddam. Conn., the home of his an-
tors for many generations, Jnly ii,
8. He was the son of Jared and
'iiii ( Brainard) Arnolil. On the
Lcnial >i(ic- he was descended from
vi<l Brainai'l. a native of Brainticc,
^land, one rif i\\ent\ -eight persons
0 movel t'l liaddaiii. Conn., from
rtiord in i and luok up large
lions land deeded by the Indians
Matthew .\llyn and Sanniel \\ ylli>.
niel Brainard hecanie the iarj4e>l
d owner in the town and his i)rop-
^ niclnded not only nnich la!id in
at is now known as Haddam ])rn])er
all Tiow covered by tin- present
d'f^c '»! IIiL;L;anuin. hriun that
ly cohoiia! n<>ri'>(l llie name has
r since been prominent in the town,
n his boyhood, Mr. Arnold was in-
-trious and while he was given a
)d education, he showed an inde-
dcnce not only in thought and ac-
1 but in monetary affairs. Among
playmates were many men who
ieved national prominence in var-
5 walks of life, and among them
us W. Field. To w ork he thought
i honorable, and when not employ-
his time in the school room, did
rk alx>ut his father's farm, and oc-
ionally neighboring fanns. After
elving: preparation, he entered
ie College, taking the academic
irsc; he was considered one of the
Iliant men of the class of 1837 with
ich he was graduated, a class that
i passed down in college history as
; of the most famous in its annals
m the large number of men it con-
281
tained who became eminent in various
professions.
Mr. Amold began his business life
in the Bank of New England, now
the National Bank of New England
at Haddam, one of the oldest banks
uf the state. There he learned the
rudiments of bankiiij;. a l)usiness he
followed eununnously therealLer. Il
was in 1856 that he came to Meriden
to become cashier of the Meriden
I'.ank. his brother. Joseph .\rnold,
having iH"cviuu>]\ occupied the same
l-u-sitiun — atid who had resigned in
185,^ to accept ihc oflice of cashier of
the bank in Derby, Coini. ( >. B. Arnnlfl
served as cashier until tlie death ol
Joel 1. Butler in 1890, when he was
cho.sen prc^ideiit. and he held the lat-
ter office c< -ntinuously until the day
of his death which occurred August
30, 1900.
The following extracts from the
resolutions adopted at a meeting of
the directors of the Meriden National
Bank held a few days after his death
show in what high regard he was held
by his bank associates:
"After a considerable training in
banking and financial affairs he
(Owen B. Arnold) joined his for-
tunes with oqr bank forty- four years
ago, and has remained in continuous
service, until death following a lin-
gering illness, severed our official re-
lations.
"Knowing him as few did, we held
him in the highest respect and es-
teem. His advice was frequently
sought and much prized. He was
careful, thorough and painstaking,
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
28s
scrupulously exact, ever affable and
:ourteouSy with a quiet dignity and
rhanning refinement of manner.
*'The worthy never appealed to him
n vain, and his charity, public and
)rivate, at home and abroad, was un-
failing and without display. He was
I helpful, sympathizing friend, a loved
roinpanion, and a favorite wherever
lie lived. His library was carefully
selected, and was always at the ser*
rice of friends or callers.
"It is a matter of regret that no ar-
tist has preserved such work as might
always call to our minds that tall,
spare, courtly figure, that winning
personality, that inspiring face, that
kindly but searching eye, that impres-
sive brow, and crowning all, that
wealth of luxuriant hair.
"There are enterprises now flour-
ishing which might have perished
long ago, except for the courage
which he infused and the support he
imparted.
"His friendly advice and kindly
word has more than once saved the
young from ruin, and led them into
a l)etter and worthier life. He heart-
ily supported all measures calculated
t ) elevate, educate and improve man-
kind, but he received with caution any
suggestion which involved a possible
menace to financial, social or commer-
cial integrity. He scrutinized every
proposal which might lead to useless
and burdensome expense, and tried to
test all questions by the touchstone
crMuposed of truth, honor, justice and
fair play.
"While to the unthinking his ca-
reer may seem an entire success, he
had in the twilight of his later life
realized only too clearly tlie uncer-
tainty of human plans, and his grief
was the keener because he suffered
for those whose interests were under
his care, so that at last his troubled
heart began to long the more for that
rest and peace which can only be found
in the companionship of Him who is
infinitely tender and compassionate."
Besides the important part Mr. Ar-
nold took in the successful manage-
ment of the Meriden National Bank,
he was from 1862 until his death one
of the trustees and directors of the
Meriden Savings Bank, of which in-
stitution he was also from 1870 one
of its yice-presidents. Several local
manufacturing enterprises were aided
to success and encouraged both by his
sound judgment and his means. He
was one of the directors of Edward
Miller & Co., and The Wilcox &
White Organ Company. In the af-
fairs of the town of Meriden he was
always active, and although quiet and
unpretending was a man whose influ*
ence invariably was exerted for the
welfare of his fellow townsmen. He
was kind, not only to relatives, but it
was his delight to help the poor and
unfortunate.
He was one of the founders of the
Meriden Bovs' Club, and contributed
liberally towards its maintenance. He
was for about twenty years one of the
trustees of the Connecticut School for
Boys. For several years and until
his death he was president of the Cur«
tis Home, and he was treasurer of St.
Digitized by Google
284
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Andrew's parish for many years, with
which churcli he was connected as one
of the vestrymen tor a great many
years, although in his early life he
was affiliated with the Congregational
church.
Mr. Arnold's puhlic career con-
sisted of two terms in the legislature
where he ably represented the town
of Meriden, being first elected in 1861
and again in 1874.
Mr. Arnold amassed considerable
land in and about Meriden and among
his possessions was (jtiitc a tract on
W'est Peak and in his will the extreme
pdint nf the Peak, consisting of about
four acres, was left to the city of Mer-
i<len. It was his earnest hope that by
some means this hi'^h point of land
could be used in the same way that
Mt. Tom in Ma^^^arlmsctt^ iT^ed. as
a pleasure resort for the poplc of
Meriden and vicinity during the warm
days of summer.
During Ins entire life he was a stu-
dent, and a*^ he advanced in age he
found his greatest ]>k'a>>nre. outside of
banking h<iur>. with his hooks.
His ar()naintaiic«.' aniinig men of let-
ters was unusually lar^e, while his
genemsity and charity wen- not tuUv
known until after his dcaili. In his
will were provisiuns for many charita-
ble objects, but so reserved a man was
he that even his executor had no idea
of the extent of his liberality until
proven to him conclusively bv tin-
large uuniher r,f call> from individuals
and institntiniis that had previously
been helped by Mr. Arnold.
Mr. Arnold was never married. One
of his nieces, Katherme Arnoll<
daugiiter of Joseph Arnold, married J3
1874. Charles H. Xettleton, of Den:..
Conn., whom he appointed execui^x
of his will.
The accompanying em; raving i
Mr. Arnold and the only c»ne of h i:
known to exist is from a photograrJi
probably taken shortly after his re-
moval to Meriden.
HENRY B. BEACH.
A loyal citi7cn of Meriden whoi
has taken a ])art in the betterment of
the town for over forty years, is
Henry Burton Beach. He was bora
in New Milford. Liichricld Counrv.
Conn.. March 17, 183 1. and is a
of Burroughs l^each. a native of Ox-
ford, Conn., who married Harriet M.
daughter of Justice Weller of
liridgew ater. Conn. His father w;.-
an exemplary Christian characic'
and in his young manhood enenZ' :
m the manufacture of cabinet t r •
ture at Xew Milford. and hi> fact '
grew to be the largest in that indv:-
try for several miles around. H
was a man of strong personali''
and pronounced convictions, e^■
pecially on the slavery question, an l
was one of the earliest advocates "!
the abolition of slavery. On thi^
quest iim he had the sympathy 0:
but few residents of the town,
among them was Augustine Thayer,
father of Judge John Q. Thayer of
Meriden. Another strong svmp'^-
thizer was Daniel Piatt, father 0*
the late O. H. Piatt who lived in the
Digitizeo Ly <jOOgle
BIOGRAPHIES.
286
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
adjoining town of Washington.
Burroughs Beach, who afterward be-
came a resident and property owner
of Meriden, where he died January
12, 1872, lived to see slavery abol-
ished, very much to his satisfaction.
To his son, the subject of this
sketch, he gave a good education,
iirst at the common schools, later at
private school in his native town,
afterwards at the Methodist Semi-
nary at Amenia, N. Y., concluding
with an attendance at a select private
school at New Mtlford. Henry B.
Beach, after entering a dry goods
store at New Milford as a boy, be-
came a clerk and later owned a store
of his own where he became engag-
ed in the sale of general merchan-
dise. In the early 50s he went front-
iering, locating at Stillwater. Minn.,
where he became a leading factor in
that town and vicinitv and was
heavily engaged in the lumber and
milling business, and also in the
droving of cattle and horses. Just
previous to i860 his parents re-
moved to Meriden where they con-
tinued to reside until called to rest
from earthly cares.
Henry B. Beach returned from
Minnesota and settled permanently
in Meriden about 1863 engaging in
the chuck and drill business in a
portion of the office of Lyon & Rill-
ard. After a year or more be began
his long and successful career as a
traveling salesman in the employ of
what was then known as the Wil-
cox Britannia Co.. hut soon after as
the Wilcox Silver Plate Co. Mr.
Beach continued, with the cxcep<
tton of one year, in that capacity aa<
til 1905, and still retains his con^
nection with the company Al<
though he has now retired from the
road, he is one of the best knout
traveling men of the trade, and has
for over forty years been an import*
ant factor in the concern. He ser\'d
as one of the directors from 187c
until the business became re-orgi:
nized as a part of the Intemationi
Silver Company in 1903. Mr. Bead
is connected with the Masonic fra<
temity being affiliated with Meri6
ian Lodge 77, A. F. & A. M,, of Meri
den and is also a member of xU
Council R. & S. M., of Bridgeport]
He is a communicant of St. Andrew'!
Episcopal church. He was marries
September 5, 1850 to Charlotte
daughter of Sheldon and Jennett<
( Wooster) Leavenworth and to thai
union six children have been bom:
Joseph B., of Meriden ; Julia C,
married George B. Paddock, former-
ly of Meriden, of Jackson. Minn.;
Harry Burroughs: Sheldon B.;
Frederick, died in infancy: and E
\\^ Beach. Mr. and Mrs. Bcacb
are also blessed with grandchildrcB
and great-grandchildren.
JAMES COOK.
Xearly a half century of activl
residence and participation in the
business affairs of Meriden ma'l<
James Cook one of the best knowfl
citizens of the town, lie was bort
in Higgatuun. Conn., April 26. 18355
biyitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
288
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
where lie obtained an etlucalion.
Mr. Cook came to Meritlen in 185H
where he rr--ided continuously until
his regretted decease. Mc wa> in
every sense a self-made man and bc-
j^an his exten^^ive business career by
^('CurinL;' ciiiiili i\ nicnt with Lyon &
iiillard vvIkti- he rewiaiiu-d for five
years. He then became associated
with Julius Pratt & Co,
Jarne*^ Conk as a young man w^a*'
industrious and thrifty and it was
not lonir before he had saved enough
from his earnings to engage in the
livery business, the site of his stable
beini^ on Crown street in the rear of
where the Cook block now stands,
but w hich afterwards was destroyed
by rire.
Mr. Cook was successful from his
tir>t business venture, but he started
on a greater era of ])ri i>))crity after
he bought the S(|uare on Hast Main
street, al^^n bounded by South Col-
ony street. L row n street and the
tracks of the X. Y.. \. II.. & II.
railroad. He had an eye to the
improvement of the prrjperty and
wa< ever known as a fair minded
and liberal landlord.
W ith Joseph Morse he built the
Mor<c Took blocktOne of the most
substantial business structures of
Meriden, located in the heart of
the business section, and which has
always proved to have been an ex-
cellent investment, and at the time
of its construction was considered an
important stroke of enterprise on
the part of its owners. Among Mr.
Cook's other property holdings
were a partnership in the Cnrti^s &
C-Ook block located on Main >Trcct.
186 feet of railroad froiUau;e oa
.Suuili Colony street, the whole of
the Corner of East Main an<l Crown
streets, the old Trading C"inpany
<torc on East Main street, and be-
sifUs his own residence on Crown
street he possessed several tenement
houses and other |)roi)erty.
Mr. Cook was a man of good rc
pule and one who was ever con>i«I-
ered a worthy adopted citizen of th^
town. He took a deep interest a
the atiairs of the locality and n
movement for the betterment of the
town was ever known to l>'-
discouraged by hitn During tht
last few years of his life Mr. Co'A
did not enjoy customary good health
but his indomitable energy and per-
severance would not permit him to
give up his business cares until hi
succumbed to a coinplication of dis-
eases. He was much <levoted to li >
home antl his family and Avas affil-
iated with but one fraternal or^jani-
zation. Meridian Lodge, No. 77, X
V. & A. M.
He was married to Emma L Fav
who now survives him and to tluit
union were born two children; a
daughter who died in infancy and
one son, Arthur E. Cook« who now
hlls the important place in the bu>i-
ness world made vacant by the death
of his father, which occurred Jun<
I0» 1903. Mr. Cook was also srr-
vived by a sister, Mrs. Joseph Hub-
bard of Middletown, and a brother.
Henry Cook of Higganutn.
L/iyiiizea by Google
BIOGRAI'IIIKS.
289
Digitized by Google
2ga
A CEKTURY OF MERIDBN.
JOHN SHERMAN LANE.
Meridcn being a manufacturing: city
can boast of many able and progres-
sive business men. One of tlie most
prominent of tbcse is John S. Lane.
Altbougli he did not become a resi-
dent of Meriden until 1894 he has
SO identified himself with the business
and social life of the city as to be
looked upon as a foremost citizen.
Mr. Lane is a native of Connecti-
cut, having been born in Kent, No-
vember 27, 1839. His father was
Hon. Daniel P. Lane and his mother
a member of the well known Sher-
man family which has given to New
England so many illustrious citizens.
Daniel Lane fought in the War of
181 2, and was a well known man about
the stJite, having been n n-'inber of
the State Assembly from Kmt in 1840.
He had five children of whom John
Sherman was the second.
Mr. * Lane attended the district
school of his native town during the
winter ^ months and worked on the
farm during the summer until he was
thirteei] years of age, when he served
as clerk in a store for one yeear. At
the age of eighteen he left the hill-
side home and went to Bridge*
port to make his fortune. He
found employment with the New York
& New Haven Railroad Company as
a track repairer. His ability soon
earned for htm a better position, that
of foreman, and later he served the
Housatonic road in the same capacity.
During this time the double track was
laid between New York and New
Haven.
The western fever seized him abciit
this time, and in 1859 he went to Or.-,
cago where he remained until 1861.
Lincoln's call for "500,000 more" aneTj
the battle of Bull Run found John Sli
.I^ne ready and willing to answer to'
his country's call, and he came ba
to Connecticut and joined the Eigl
Connecticut Volunteers, enlisting i
New Milford September 14, 1861.
acquitted himself with gallantry 11
all the engagements of his regimefltj
which included the following: Roan-
oke Island, Newbern, X. < V. ^icge olj
Fort Macon, N. C, South Mountain,.
Antietam, Frederickslmrg, \ a., F< rt
Hngcr. Vti., Fort Darling, \'a.. Cold
Harbor, Petersburg, Watthall Junc-
tion and Fort Harrison,
Mr. I^ne left the army a first lieu-
tenant October 14, 1864. On his ^^'
turn hoine lie was appointed supervis-
or of the Housatonic Road, and in
1880 he accepted a similar position
with the New York, New Haven &
Hartford Railroad. P^rt of his woriL
at this time was to attend to the stone
ballasting of the tracks, and he sooti
felt that there was a good openitifi^
in this section of the country for the '
business of furnishing crushed stone |
to the railroads. It was found upon
investigation that the hills about Mer-
iden furnished excellent material for
this crushed stone, and in 1894. lib
Lane moved to Meriden where 4b
great industry of John S. Lane IkSv
was started and has ever since beet
growing to greater proportions. In
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A CENTURY OF MERIDCN.
292
lSg$ a quarry was opened near West
field, Mass., on the Boston & Albany
Railroad where the same class of stone
is found, and this has also been ver>
successful. Mr. Ij^ne, at this writing,
is president of the followinjf concerns:
John S. Lane & Son, Incorp., Lane
Construction Co.. Incorp.. Lane Quar-
ry Co., and he is a shareholder in the
Connecticut Trap Rock Quarries In-
corp.
For some vears he has devoted
most of his time to his extensive prop-
erties in Eustis, Florida, where he
owns large oranpre groves and a hotel.
On January 27. 1863, Mr. Lane was
married to Miss Emma S. Plumb, and
their children are as follows: Arthur
S„ Bertha, wife of W. R, Smith, E,
Le Roy, Harry C, and Edna C, wife
of Oliver Yale, formerly of Meriden,
now of Brooklyn, N. Y. Arthur S.,
E. Le Roy and Harry are alt engaged
in the trap rock business.
HON. EDGAR J. DOOLITTLE.
Hon. Edgar J. Doolittle, for five
terms mavor of Meriden and once
representing the district in the State
Senate, was born in Hebron, Conn.,
January 29, 1845. He is descended
from Abraham Doolittle who caine
from England in 1640, and took a
prominent part in the organization of
the Town of Wallingford. His father
was Rev. Edgar J. Doolittle, a native
of New Haven, and a clergyman of
the Congregational denomination.
On the maternal side Mr. Doolittle is
of the Sage family. David Sage, his
early antecedent, coming to Middle-
town from Wales in 1652. One of
his ancestors on his mother's side,
Captain William Sage, who fought at
the battle of Bunker Hill, was also
one of the antecedents of Russell Sage,
the noted financier of New York.
The subject of this sketch received
his early education in the public
schools in his native town, his father
at that time being the settled pastor
of the First church of that town. Af-
ter obtaining a practical education, and
a year after receiving his diploma from
the Guilford Institute, he en^ged in
the paper box industry in Meriden,
which from a modest beginning has
been developed by him into one of the
largest in the state. From the high
character of the output of the factory
(situated on Camp street and conven-
iently adjoining the tracks of the N.
Y.. N. H, & H. R. R.), the industry
has for many years refif^rted great
credit upon Meriden and given em-
ployment to a large number of hands,
who find there both regular and re-
munerative employment The gr^ods
made at the Doolittle factory comprise
a great variety ; and almost every de-
scription of paper boxes and cartons
are produced there, a large portion of
the output consisting of the finest
goods lined with satin, silk and plush*
and used extensively by the manufu-
turers of silverware and plated 'k^tc.
The name of the factory over which
Mr. Doolittle has continuously main-
tained a personal supervision and man-
agement, is a s}*nonym for the best
boxes for all uses in the trade.
Digitized by Google
294
A CENTURY OF MBRIDEN.
Strict integrity and honesty of pur-
pose in all his dealings have won the
confidence and esteem of Mr. Doolit-
tie's fellow townsmen, and he has
many times been called to accept posi-
tions of honor and trust. He is at :
this writing vice president and trus-
tee of the Mertden Savings Bank ; di-
rector of the Meriden Gas and Elec-
tric Light companies; vice president
and director of the Home National
Bank ; trustee of the Meriden Hospi-
tal, and in 1904 was appointed by the
governor of the state a. member of
the Connecticut Commission to the St
Louis World's Fair Exposition, where
his service to the commonwealth was
marked with rare judgment and abil-
ity. During his terms as chief mag-
istrate of the city of Meriden, his ad-
ministration, which was concluded in
1887, was productive of many perma-
nent improvements and conducted in
.the interests of all citizens and tax-
payers.
Whil^ in the State Senate he won
the esteem of his colleagues and con-
stituents alike by his close attention
to the proceedings of that worthy
body and fearless prosecution of bills
which embraced that which was right
and wise.
In social life Mr. Doolittle is a
prominent figure and universally es-
teemed and respected. He is a mem-
ber of Meridian Lodge, St. Elmo Com-
mandery. K. T., and a thirty-second
degree member of the F. & A. ^^. He
is also a member of the Mystic Shrine.
He was married Xovember 13, 1867,
to Martha W., daughter of George
and Mary Warner (Couch), of Meri-
den, who died August 21, 1902. He
has one daughter, Dorothy.
HON. BENJAMIN PAGE,
Hon. Benfamin Page, mayor of
Meriden in 1890 and 1891, was bom
in North Branford, a son of Benjamin
and Sarah E. (Merriam) Page, Sep-
tember 4, 1840. He comes of English
ancestr) . Both his father and grand-
father were farmers whose names
were Benjamin and they took a most
active part in the affairs of their na*
tive town.
Inheriting a love of learning and
a desire for knowledge, young Benja-
min by close application to his school
books, fitted himself to become a
teacher at the age of seventeen; and
after an attendance at the State Nor-
mal school began his career in that
capacity, his first school beinp; at Wal^
lingford. He continued with like suc-
cess as a teacher at East Haven and
in his native town of North
Branford, afterwards becoming prin-
cipal of the school at South Meriden,
which position he held for four years.
In 1865 and while still a teacher, he
established the insurance agency which
in 1892 became Page & Pardee, of
Meriden, and for some years past has
been known as one of tlie largest and
most reliable in the state.
A Hian uf acknowledged judgment
and with a conscientious regard for
the rights of others, he has been chos-
en to settle many important estates,
and in that capacity has proven him-
Digitized by Google
BI0GR.\P1IIES.
-'95
Google
A CENTURY OP MBRIDEN.
296
self a valued friend to many bereaved
families. His broadness of mind,
wide experience and knowledge of
men and affairs have made him a man
much sought for advice; and he lias
achieved a success in business life
that can only be attained by much ex-
ecutive ability and the practice of
methods of strict integrity.
Mr. I^ge has had an extended and
honorable public career. Shortly af-
ter obtaining his majority he became
an active and interested worker in the
ranks of the Republican party of
which he has ever been a loyal and
able supporter. He was first elected
to office in 1S83 when he was chosen
a member of the Board of Aldermen
from the Third Ward. His re-elec-
tion was but a fitting tribute to his
valued service and during the lasi
two of the four years he was a mem-
ber of the upper branch of the city
government, he was made president
pro tern. His nomination and elec>
tion as mayor in 1889 were the results
of his popularity and general fitness
for the honor ; and upon assuming the
duties of the office he became the chie^
magistrate of the city in fact as well
as in name. His first term won hnn
a spontaneous re-election and the ex-
ecutive ability and display of wisdom
during his second term was but a
continuation of his first. Although
a third time honored with a nomina-
tion by his party he declined to serve
another term as mayor but in 1894 ac«
cepted the call to take a seat in the
state Legislature. He was made
clerk of the Committee on Insurance,
in which capacity he was admirably
qualified to serve and at the close 0:
the session had made a record satLc-
factory to his constituents.
Mr. Page was collector of taxes fcr
the Town and City of Meriden for a
period of ten years and during his ser-
vice in that office handled the public
funds in a manner most satisfactory
to the people. His appointment as i
member qf the Board of Fire Cotn*
missioners by Mayor Seeley in iQtt
was met with expressions of warm ap-
proval from both the public and press.
Mr. Page is a director of the Men-
den Savings and Meriden National
Bank ; president of the board of tnif-
tees of the Curtis Home and one of
the directors of the Middlesex Mutual
Assurance Company of Middletowo.
He is prominent in church and social
life and is one of the wardens and
vestrymen of St. Andrew's Episcopal
church. He is also a member of Mer-
idian Lodge, F. & A. M.. and Padk
Lodge, I. O. O. F.
He was married in 1864 at N'ortb
Branford to Miss Margaret A. Cook,
daughter of Leverett and Tliankful
(Stevens) Cook, of Wallingford, to
whom one daughter, Mrs. Frederick
W. Kilbourne, of Springfield, Mass-
was born.
WILLIAM W. LYMAN.
The late William Worcester Ly-
man, one of the foremost citizens of
Meriden from 1836 to the time of his
regretted decease, November 15, iSpt.
was born at Woodford, Vermont 1
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
March 29, 182 1. He was the son of
Andrew and Anna (Hall) Lyman.
When he was but seven years old his
father died, and with his mother he
removed to Northford, Conn, In
1836 he came to Meriden and served
his apprenticeship in the shop of Gris-
wold & Couch, briiannia ware niaiui-
factnrers. where lie remained for a
period of five vears. With a (letenni-
nation to make liis mark in hie. in
1844 he embarked in husino.ss on his
own account, wliich he was enabled
to do by the practice of strict economy
for some years previous. With a
practical knowledge of his business he
eni;ai:e<l in the manufacture of bri-
tannia spoons, taking with him as
partner Tra Couch. A short time later
lie ]>urchased his partner's interest and
continued in the same factory, which
was near his late residence in Mcriden.
for the following two years. He then
removed his enterprise to the Twiss
factory in Prattsville, which offered
larger and more suitable quarters, and
took as partner Lemuel J. Curtis.
This partnership was afterwards dis-
solved and Mr. Lyman took possession
of the old Frary shop which at that
time stood near the works lof the
present Meriden Firearms Company.
He continued in the manufacture of
spoons until 1858 when he patented
the ** Lyman Fruit Jar,*' which was
well received by the trade from its
highly desirable qualities and practi-
cal usefulness for the canning of
fruits. The jar was the first of its
kind put upon the market and after-
wards became in great demand in
fruit growing communities. ViU
his patent of the fruit jar in k<
gave him a competency and enabi
him to leave his family wdl provia
for, he also patented an
pitcher, a copper-bottomed tea p-:t. |
butter dish and several other aitica
Mr. Lyman was possessed <A m
business attainments, and was 3 di
zen of e!Uer])rise and public spirij
For many yeur> auil until the lirr.e^
his death he was one of the directd
of the Meriden I'.riiannia Compaij
He was also until 1878 prci.i«ient i
the Meriden Cutlery Conipam. ,
which concern he afterw ard? and un^
his decease contini-.ed as »:'ne r^i the q
rectors. He was also one of the prici
mo\ ers of the street railway and j
director in the Meriden Horse Rai'w^
Co. He was a director of the Md
den National and also in the City Sa*
ings Bank, and was the first presidq
of the old Meriden Flint Glass Ca |
• Mr. Lyman was a man who cod
be counted upon at all times to do h
duty toward his fellow citizens,
several terms served the town t
Meriden in the state L^siainr
his service comprising: the years iS|
i88i and 1882. He also sened as
member of the Common Council fni
the Fifth ward.
He was married in 1844 to RosMC
G. Frary, daughter of James Frary»
leading dry goods dealer of tiis M
and is now survived by one daugHte
Mrs. Henry Warren (formerly Wt
Josq}hine Griswold Lyman) wtoK
sides on Britannia street with berlv
band and daughter.
Digitized by Googlc i
IE LATE ELI C. BiKDSEY.
c of the noted citizens of Meriden
? time was tlio late Eli C. Bird-
known as Squire Birdsey, mer-
public official and cluirchniaii.
< lit ring his Ufe stouil hic^h in the
aiidii of his fellow lovviisiiicn.
as born in Meriden December 21,
and was the oldest son of De':-
I iershom and Lncy P. r.ir<lsoy.
• an eventful lite of usefulness he
d away October 9. 1843. He re-
d his education in the schools of
den, and when a very young man
c^ed in business at the corner of
Main and Broad streets, but aftci*
ig had a practical experience pre-
>iy in manufacturing, purchased
brick building now demolished,
iously occupied by Potter, Ship-
8l Ilewis» the site of which is
the present stately residence now
pied by his son, Eli C Birdsey.
tiire Birdsey was known as the
merchant of his day, and over
x>unters was sold nearly evcry-
>; in the way of merchandise to be
iired at that time except groceries,
store and the strong personality
s proprietor attracted the leading
of Meriden who for years con-
ated there, especially in the win-
inic. and many matters of public
c^x were there discussed. Squire
^cv usually taking the leading
That he held the entire confi-
:e of the comnuniit> seems also to
roven by the fact that he kept the
nfjs of many of his friends and
d as banker before the establish-
III ES. 299
ment of local banks, and he was
known to be the only possessor of an
iron safe for some years in ^leriden.
He was a natural born leader of men
and his judgment and foresight were
nmch relied upon. Although by no
means stuhborn or arliitrary he had a
quiet faculty of leading others to his
way of thinking rather than being otie
who changed his mind easily without
just cause. Early in life he identified
himself with the Baptist Church, of
which he was an active member, and
of this society he was for some years
treasurer, and permanently identified
with its growth and prosperity dur-
ing his life. He was first selectman
in 1833 ^crk of the town of Mer-
iden continuously from 1834 to 1843,
and served the town in the Legislature
in 1834 and 1835. ^
who never shirked his duty, and ever
had in mind the Golden Rule and the
just dues of his friends and neighbors.
Squire Birdsey was of a genial, kind-
ly and benevolent disposition, and was
highly esteemed by all who knew
him.
He was married Jtme 3, 1824, to
Rebecca Cook Wilcox and three chil-
dren blessed the union: Linus, bom
April 13, 1825, married first V'incey
Ann Miller, second Julia Davis, and
now residing in Meriden: Alina, born
Sept. 25, i8j6, married John Ives, of
Meriden. and died Mareh 13. 1855;
Eli Coe Birdsey. now a leading resi-
dent and business man of Meriden,
born I'ehruary 25. 1843. Squire Bird-
sey was buried in the family lot at the
East Cemetery.
Digitized by Google
Digitized by Google
Google
A CBNTURY OF MERIDEN.
ELI COE BIRDSEY.
A life-long identification with Mer-
iden, following that of his father,
whose full name he bears, has made
the name of Eli C. Birdsey one most
familiar to both present and past res-
idents of the town. He was bom in
Meridcn February 25, 1843, and still
resides in the stately Colonial mansion
built in 1830, at the corner of Broad
aiul East Main streets, and wliich
from its proiiiuunt k>cation ami i)leas-
mg style ut architecture has been for
many years one (tf tlie most conspic-
uous landmarks of ihc town. His
father, of w honi a biographical sketch
is given elsewlierc, died when Eli was
an infant and he was trained early to
paths of rectitude by his motlier. lie
attended the schools of Mcriden and
later took a course at Fierce Academy
at Middleboro, Mass. Tie bc;::an liis
business career as a clerk in his broth-
er's general store but at the end of
four years engaged in business in the
hardware Hn. f r himstlf, taking as
a partner the late Wallace A. Miles,
one of the past mayors of the cit} .
Adhering to the same location and
since having as partners the late Frank
S. Foster and his present partner,
John F. Raven, Mr. Birdsey has be-
come known as one of the most re-
liable and enterprising merchants of
the locality and the large trade the
firm of Birdsey & Raven enjoys is the
result of a long and uninterrupted
period of a carefully conducted busi-
ness during which the confidence of
the buying public has been justly mer-
ited. In matters of public intn
concerning the town and state 1
Birdsey has shown a conscicntioaa
gard. During its existence he i
secretary of the Meriden MerdJ
Association, an^ upon the orgm
tion of the Meriden Board of To
he became a director and was its 1
secretary. Since its organizatiaa
has also been vice president of
Connecticut State Board of Trade.
Mr. Birdsey has nlw as- taken ra
interest in historical re>earch kiid
considered an auiiuM it\ 1 ii many fl
jects relating to the past. He ii
valued member of tlie Hartford B
tnrical Society and one of the P
manag'ers of the Sons of the .Amcri.
Revohition. a >»->ciet\ lo wliichlicii
several directions clis^ihlo owing to
distinsruished ancestry. In hi? pc
ical affihations Mr. Birdsey L«; a (
publirriii and while he has evf ""i
wilUng to furtlicr the political aim
tions of his friends has never fca^
nor accepted any public ofixx.
His prominent connection whkl
Masonic order dates back many tJ
and brings no little distinctioa
Meriden. A thirty-third dtgret rae
her of that order, he entered the bl
lodge ( Meridian) as far bade as ll
and since has devoted much ttne
the work in the various brandNl
the order, being, at the present «
ing, one of the best known mem
in the country. He was a cM
member of Center Lodge, of wttdM
has also been secretary, jtmior I
senior wardens and treasurer it I
ferent times ; he has also hdd mm
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BIOGRAPHIES.
offices of honor and trust in Keystone
Chapter, R. A. M.; and was one of
the organizers and the first generalis-
simo of St Elmo Commandery, of
which he is also a past eminent com-
mander. He has further been hon-
ored with the offices of grand warden
and grand commander of the Grand
Conunandery of Connecticut and since
1894 has continuously been elected
grand recorder of the Grand Com-
mandery in this state. In addition,
he is, at this writing, secretary and
treasurer of both the Connecticut and
New England associations of past
grand commanders of K. T. and is
the grand representative of the Grand
Commandery of the District of Col-
lumbta near the Grand Commandery
of Connecticut. Mr. Birdsey is grand
treasurer of the Council of Deliber-
itkm of the A. A. S. R.
That he should be known among
members as one of the best authorities
in the state on Masonic law, methods,
egislatlon and discipline and that the
work of his pen has ever been appre-
:iated to the fullest extent by his
jrother members in the various
tranches of the order are facts con-
reded by all familiar with liis honor-
ihle record and standinij as a Mnson.
As a resident of Meridcn he is
highly esteemed in the community and
ieserves that regard which is accorded
nen in any community only when
hey have won it by good citizen and
cllowship. Mr. Birdsey was nianictl
n 1864 to Miss Catherine Butler, a
lauj^hur of Lyman and Mary Anno
Xlark) liutlcT, and has no children.
303
HON. GEORGE S. SEELEY.
Hon. George S. Seeley, mayor of
Meriden in 1902-3-4 and 5, like sev-
eral of his antecedents, was born in
Waterbury. He first saw light Feb-
ruary 2, 1846. His ancestors on the
paternal and maternal sides comprised
old Connecticut stock. His great-
grandfather was one of the patriots
who fought in the Revolutionary War
and his grandfather. Roger Prilchard,
:>aw active service as a continental sol-
dier in the War of 18 12.
The subject of this sketch nnd his
mother were horn at the old I'riichard
homestead, and he received his edit-
cation by attending the public schools
of Waterbury and MericUn. When he
was 12 years old, his i);ironts removed
to Meriden, his father purcliasing the
farm at l^'ast Meriden. now owned by
Edwin r.irdsey, where for some years
he continued in agricultural pursuits,
later engaging in business as a stone
mason.
At the age of 19 George S. Seeley
began to learn his trade and after
serving his apprenticeship pursued
the calling of a metal turner with
marked perseverance and industry for
twenty-live years. For the i)ast eleven
years he has devoted his ener-^ies lo
the hainllinL^ of real estrite. His wide
kutAvledge of pul)lic affairs has been
gained by practical experience ac-
quired by his repeated election to
town and city offices. Affiliated
closely with the Kii>nf»lican party,
Mr. Seeley, alth"UL;li .a ^trnng organ-
izer, has never been classed a politi-
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
cian in the generally accepted sense of
the term, and his public record and
private life have ever been above re-
proach. He served creditably as a
member of the Common Council and
later of the Board of Aldermen from
the third ward and in 1898, 1899, 1900
and 1 901 as second selectman and sev-
eral years as chairman of the Repub-
lican Town Committee.
After the city had gone Democratic
two municipal elections, the Republi-
cans of Mertden chose Mr. Seeley for
their standard bearer and his election
was a high personal tribute to his pop-
ularity.
Subsequent to his election it was
j^rovcn that the people of the city had
made no mistake, for both his terms
as mayor were marked by wise ap-
pointments and an administration of
public affairs which rctlected credit
iiI>on the city as well as its mayor ;
for the city's business was conducted
i!i the interest of tlio taxpayer and
property owner, Durinpf his four
years as mayor he was accredited a
most loyal support from the various
commissions of his appointment and
his manai^cnient of the city's finances
was most pleasing and gralilyinjec to
the citizens. Mr. Seeley is a promi-
nent ( >dd Fellow, and since f888 has
served tli.it fraternity as trea>urer of
Meriden Center Lodge, of whicli
lodge he is also a past grand. He is
a member of the Arcanum Club : one
of the vestr\nieii of St. Andrew's
Ei)i>C()pal church of Meriden. \ <i which
parish he has also been treasurer since
1900; he is also a member and a di-
20
rector of the Meriden Board of Trade ;
member of the Meriden Business
Men's Association, and as a member
of the General Committee has shown
an active interest in the Centennial
celebration.
November 24, 1867, he was united
in marriage with Anna G., daughter
of Melvin C. and Esther (Guy) Lee,
of Meriden, and three children have
blessed the union; Frank Guy, who
now resides with his wife and two
children in Mt. Vernon, N. Y.; Mrs.
Jathes^H. Guernsey, of Ansonia, and
Ardiur D. Seeley, a promising young
man in his seventeenth year.
GEORGE REDFIELD CURTIS.
The subject of this sketch, George
Rcdficid Curtis, was a descendant of
John Curtis, who, with his mothet.
Elizabeth, and his brother, William,
was among the first settlers of Strat-
ford, Conn., in the year 1639. His
line of descent is as follows: Widow
Elizabeth, John, Thomas (who settled
in Wallingford, Conn., in 1670. as
an original planter), Nathaniel, Ben-
jamin, IJenjamin, Asahel. In 1670
the territory now comprised in Meri-
den was a part of WalliuglMfd, and
so for over two hundred years th:.'.
branch of the Curtis family have hved
practically in the same locality,
(jeorge Rcdficid Curtis was the
youngest child of Asahel Curtis and
his wife, MelulalHl Redfield. of C lin-
ton. L«>nn.. ihrur.gh whum he was a
lineal (descendant of John Alden, of
Mayflower" fame, lie was born in
Digitized by Google
5o6
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
Mcriden, Conn., on Christmas Day,
December 25, 1825, and received his
education principally in the schools
of that place. He left school at the
age of eighteen, and took a position
in a dry goods store in Middletown,
Conn., where he remained four years.
In 1847 he went to Rochester, X. Y.»
and for one year taught school in a
town near that cit}'. During the year
1848 he taught school in Meriden. Tii
1849 became bookkeeper for Ju-
lius Pratt & Co., of Meriden and con-
tinued with them until October, 1850,
when he became teller of the Meriden
Bank. On January 7, 1853, the
month following its organization, he
b^;an work with the Meriden Bri-
tannia Company. The following
April he was elected its treasurer,
which position he held until his death ;
he was also for some time its secre-
tary. For many years his life was
bound up in the increasing interests
of that company and his labor and
care contributed largely to the pros-
perity of the corporation. He was an
ideal business man and the financial
affairs of the company were admir-
ably conducted under his personal di-
rection for many years, until advanc-
ing age and many outside interests
made him gradually withdraw from
their administration. He was always
interested in whatever increased the
prosperity of his native town, and his
connection with the financial and man-
ufacturing concerns of Meriden is in-
dicated by the following list of of-
fices held by him: He was treasurer
of the Meriden Britannia Company,
president of the Meriden Silver Plate
Company, Meriden Horse Railroad
Company and Meriden Gas Light
Company ; director in the Wilcox Sil-
ver Plate Company, Chapman Manu-
facturing Company, Manning, Bow-
man & Company, Home National
Bank, Meriden Trust & Safe Deposit
Company, R. Wallace & Sons Manu-
facturing Company of Wallingford,
Rogers & Brother of Watcrbury, and
William Rogers Manufacturing Com-
pany of Hartford. He was trustee in
the Meriden Savings Bank and the
Curtis Home for Orphans and Old
Ladies. Mr. Curtis married May 22.
1855, Augusta Munson, youngest
child of Jesse and Sophia (Talmadge)
Munson, of Bradford, in western
New York. Of this marriage were
bom three children — George Munson,
Frederick Edgar (who died in child-
hood), and Agnes Deshon.
Mr Curtis was a Republican in pol*
itics but he was never a politican, al-
though he served his city as council-
man and alderman, and finally as
mayor during two terms, from 1S79
to 1881. Of the social, domestic and
religious characteristics of Mr. Curtis,
it is difficult to speak truthfully and
justly without seeming over-eulogis-
tic. Intellectual in his tastes and wide-
ly read in general and historical lit-
erature, he was a most genial and re-
sponsive companion and acquaintance.
As a husband and father, he was most
loving and indulgent; as a son, most
filial in his devotion to his mother,
whose life almost reached a century of
years. His religion seemed to be in-
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A CENTURY OF MERIOEM.
308
nate. An elderly person who had
known him from childhood sa)s of
htm: 'The peace of his natal Christ-
mas-tide seemed to have influenced his
mind and character." His interest in
St. Andrew's Episcopal church in
Meriden and in the church at large
was very strong. For years he rep*
resented his parish at the diocesan con-
ventions, and in 1892 he was a dele-
gate from Connecticut to the general
convention of the Protestant Episco-
pal church held at Baltimore. For
about forty-five years he was an offi-
cer of St. Andrew's parish, and for
many of them either senior or junior
warden. As the years went on and
his means enlarged, he gave to his be-
loved church munificently. In 1891
his sister, Mrs. Hallam, died and left
the bulk of her property to build a
church in a new parish in Meriden, as
a memorial to her husband. Mr. Cur-
tis supplemented this gift lar^^cly. and
two days before his death added to his
generosity by presenting to the new
parish a house and lot for a rectory.
Mr. Curtis first became seriously ill
at the time of the convention in Bal-
timore. A trip south in the early
spring of 1893 failed to materially
benefit him and he died suddetily May
20, 1893. at his home in Meriden. aged
sixty-seven years.
GEORGE ML'XSON CURTIS.
George Munson Curtis, treasurer of
the InternaticMial Silver Company and
one of the most valued citizens and
active men of affairs of Meriden, is
a son and the only living child of Hon.
jGeorge Redfidd, and Augusta (Mun-
son) Curtis. He is a worthy repre-
sentative of the eighth generation of
one of the oldest families of Connec-
ticut. His paternal ancestor, John
Curtis, came to this country from
England, settling in Stratford, Con-
necticut, in 1639, and since 1670,
when Thomas Curtis, son of John, lo-
cated in Wallingford, the family have
been prominent in the affairs of this
immediate vicinity. The subject is
also descended in the eighth genera-
tion from William Redfield, one of
the earliest English settlers of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony,, and on
the maternal side of the ninth genera-
tion from Thomas Munson, a pio-
neer of Hartford and New Haven.
George M, Curtis attended the pub-
lic schools of Meriden, mtliun'
school of Cheshire and Trinity ed-
it gc Hartford, with the class of i88a
He entered business life as a clerk in
the office of the Meriden Britannia
Company immediately after leaving
college ; and of this company he was
elected assistant treasurer five years
later. Upon the death of his hthtj
he was chosen treasurer of the con-
cern which ofBce he held until tl.f
Meriden Britannia Company was
merged into the International Silver
Company in 1898 when he became its
first assistant treasurer. Two years
later he was elected treasurer of the
company which office he has since
held. In addition to the responsible
dt-ties of that ijnpc^rtant position he
serves as a director of the Intcmi-
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN,
310
tional Silver ( onipaiiy, Home Xation-
al Bank, Meridcn Savings Inink, Mer-
idcn Trust & Safe Deposit Company
and Mcridcn Gas Light Company.
He is also secretary of the Curtis
Home of Meriden ; treasurer of the
New Haven Anti-TiAercnlosis Asso-
tion which maintains a most humane
sanatorium at Wallingford, and treas-
turer and one of the directors of the
Curtis Memorial Library. The
last named institution, a haiulsome
and costly marble structure, was pre-
sented to the Town of Meriden by his
mother and l)uilt solely under his i)er-
sonal supervision. He is also chair-
man of the committee to select the
books of the library.
Mr. Curtis has always been a great
lover of literature and is also one of
the best autboriiies on historic mat-
ters. He is a member of the Con-
noeticut Historical Society, of Hart-
ford ; New Haven Colony Historical
Society and American Historical As-
sociation. Throut]^h his love for dili-
gent bistorical research he has con-
tributed much, not only to the socie-
ties of which he is a member, but to
his native u>\\n. The early historical
section of this book is from his ver-
satile pen in which his accuracy of re-
search is made fully tuanifest.
\\ hen the citizens of Meriden be-
gan to plan for the one hundreilth an-
niversarv of the incorjioration of the
town .Mr. Curtis was their most hap-
py choice for chairman of the general
committee: and his cfTorts in behalt of
the celel)ration have been productive
of the most pleasing results.
Mr. Curtis in his religioua. attiba-
tions is associated with St. Andrew's
l-'.piscopal church, of which he is jun-
ior warden, l ie is also secretary and
treasurer of John Couch I5rancb. Sons
of the American Revolution, and one
of the most iiifluential figures of the
Home Club, of which he was one of
the cbartcr members.
He married November 30. 1886,
Sophie Phillips, only daughter of the
late Thomas Trowbridge Mansfield, of
this city. They have one child. Agnes
Mansfield Curtis, born September 6,
1887.
CHARLES PARKER.
The name of Charles Parker is not
onlv indissolubly connected with that
of Meriden but is properly recognized
throughout the country as that of one
who during his long and useful life
was a leader in the manufacturing
world.
He was the founder of the Charles
Parker company, the first mayor of
the city of Meriden, and lived to the
extraordinary age of 93 years. He
was bom in Cheshire, January 2,
1809, and was the son of Stephen and
Rebecca Parker. He was descended
in the sixth generation from William
Parker, who in 1636. was one of the
proi)rietors of Hartford, but who af-
terwards removed with his wife, Mar-
gery, to Say brook.
Their son, John, was one of the
early settlers of Wallingford, a por-
tion of which is now called Meriden,
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BIOGRAPUIES.
aixl the Parker lann was first oper-
aU'd by him.
lulwanl Parker, son of John, born
:i< lixjj , Jucl Parker, son of John and
jLTUsha, Ijorn in 1723; and Stephen
Parker comprise his paternal ances-
tors. Stephen Parker, son of Joel
and the lalher of Lharles Parlai, a
soldier in the Revohitionary army,
was horn Aug. 8, 1759, and was twice
married, first in 1787. to Salhe,
dan^L^^htcr of Joseph Twr,^. and sec-
ond to Mrs. Rebecca Stone, dauglilcr
of Joshua Ray, who died in Aleriden
July I. 1846.
Charles Parker was the second son
l>orn to the second marriage and Uke
.iian\ boys of that period began his
battle of life early. At nine years
of age he was placed on a iarm own-
ed l)y Porter Cook with whom he
lived until fourteen years of a^e. He
did the chores and attended the vil-
In^fe school and made himself gener-
ally useful to his employer.
His first insif^lit into manuia*. l aruiLT
was at tile shop of Anson Matthews
in Soulhington, which he entered in
1827, where he went to work cast-
ing pewter biUtons. his wages being
but $6 a week, .\lthough a poor boy
he was full of ambition, good health
and a strong determination to succeed.
I^\cn though he received but a pit-
tance for his hard and conscientious
lalx)r. with the practice of self-denial
and strict economy lie saved the sum
of $70.
After remaining in the Southing-
ton Button shop for a \ear au'l later
being employed by Horace and Har-
ry Smith iii Xaugatuck, in A ii^ust,
1828, he came to Meriden and went
to work for Patrick Lewis.
His first manufacturing venture
W'as makmg colTee mills on a contract ;
and during the ne.\t thirteen moiuhs
by good management auci close ap-
]>lication he cleared $i,8uo, a large
portion of which he was able to save.
He then took in as a j)artner Jared
Lewis and assumed another and
larger contract from Lewis & Holt,
manufacturing coffee mills, ladles and
skimmers.
In 183 1 he sold out to Tared Lewis
uid purchased an acre of land upon
which was situated an old brown
house for which he paid $650. On
this land he built a stone shop which
was finished in the spring of 1832. in
which he manufactured coffee mills
and waffle irons and from which
sjjrung the several plants of the
Charles Parker Comjiany of the
present day. the interesting history of
which is given elscwheri' in this vol-
ume. He later took in as partners
his l)rother, Edmund i arker, and
lleman White.
That he was a pioneer in the man-
ufacture of liar<lware in this coun-
try and that he was the fust man to
introduce steam power in Meriden are
matters of record. Fhat he also over-
came, it would seent almost miracu-
lously, obstacles which would have i)ut
a stop to the operations of any ordi-
nary rnan. is shown several times dur-
ijig his remarkable business career.
The panic of 1837 affected him
temporarily but he rallied quickly and
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A CENTURY OF MEKIDEX.
BIOGRAPHIES.
314
A CENTURY OF MERIOEN.
within five years he liad repaid to his
creditors every penny of his indebt-
edness including the interest. That
Mr. Parker knew his own business
capacity and never undertook that
whicli he could not accomplish him-
self alone, seems also to be proven by
the fact that his great success seems
to date from 1845 when he dissolved
the partnership then existing with his
brother and Mr. White. Mr. Parker
was a man who relied entirely upon
his own judgment and* possessing re-
markable foresight and almost bull-
dog tenacity, having once decided uf-
on a course of action, always san-
guine of ultimate success, he was nev-
er dissuaded from his purpose either
by seeming adversity or the well in-
tended advice of his friends.
His business grew year by year to
mammoth proportions. The great di-
versity of product of the several scat-
tered factories, called for a display of
his remarkable ability as a financier,
yet it is stated tliat tlicre never was a
time (hirini; liis whole business ca-
reer that he could not tell how he
stood.
The evolution of his business life
from .'in apprentice lK»y to a captain
of ijidnstry, accordins^ to one of his
biographers. wouhU'be "llje story of
the j^rowth of a small inlan<l Connec-
ticut town posst ssinc: a few local ad-
vantaj^es developin.q' in a compara-
tively few years into a tlirivinij;' and
prosperous city. ])rominent ainMii;^^ ^\^^^^
residents of which he was a prince
anions;- his e(|uals."
About twentv vears before his
death he was stricken with
which affected his strong pfa}
but not his unusual mental
nients and which confined him n
of the time to his home. Mttv-rh-
standing this he contmtied to'dirta
his several laige enteipfiset
to the very last of his long '>
ful life his counsel was that lAUk
cided the more importaiit
the company. Few men*
made such a record for a
business service for the bcndlaCfb
town, and no man's ImiiwM inil
in the history of Heridm wm raiei
higher than that of Owte Blll^
As a resident of ICeridM Mlt iflj
ker was naturally a fanmmtkfiitmli
He took an actiTe iMtarail it i|| P'A-
He affairs both loai
In his early life ht wm -0
and after the CM Mr broke M hi
showed his loyalty to the Union fc]
Kelping to equip companies of m'A
tia in response to President UnccJni
call for troops, and thereafter iden*
fied himself permanently with the Re-
publican party of which he became
staunch sup|>orter and, althoogii c
of the presidential electors who v^tci
for hVanklin Pierce, he became *n iJ>
dent admirer of Abraham lancoln ace;
was a delecrate at both the conv>^
tions in Chicago and Phila4>:^ij
where General Grant receivdf fr
spectively his first and seoodfid DoraN
nations for President.
When Meriden received its ci^>
charter in 1867 Mr. Pa
shown the confidence anxLcsiBft dl
the people by hdtMMtiBiekBiiimf^
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A CENTURY OF MEUlDtN.
mayor. During his .ulministration
he conducted the affairs of the then
infant city not only wist-ly but with
as much care as he did his own pri-
vate business.
As a result Meriden as a city es-
tablished a remarkable precedent,
which its citizens look back upon
with pride.
Mr. Parker was a number of .Mer-
idian T.odge, A. V. & A. and held
tlic distinction of being the last si r-
vivinj;- charter member of that Ma-
sonic lodge, lie was also a nu-mlier
of St. Elmo CommandcTV to the
meml)ers of whicli before his death
be ])rehenlcil a beautiful banner in
memory of his bruther, Rev, John
Parker, his son. Wilbur Parker, and
his nephew, George White Parker, all
of whom were active tuenibers of tliat
high branch of the order.
He was a true member of the Suns
of the American Revolution from
1893. From early manboorl until
his regretted decease be was a
devoted and intbiential member of the
First .Meth(t(bst church to which so-
ciety at one time he ^ave the prince-
Iv sum of $4i),()on towards building
the present bands(ime C(bfice. He
also gave to the cit\- of Meriden eight
acres of land now contnin'-d in the
beautiful public breathuig place
known as Hubbard I'ark.
His iate residence on T.road street,
an illustration of which is presented,
is still one of the grandest in Meri-
den, anti since his death has been oc-
cupied by his son. Dexter W. I'arker.
Mr. Charles Parker was married
in 1831 to Abi Lewis Eddy and : •
that union ten children were Iw »rn. ■ i
whotTT Dexter W. Parker is now ibe
only one surviving.
DEXTER W. PARKER.
Dexter Wright Parker. presideTit i
the large manufacturing cor]>orati'.n
known as the Charles i'arker (■
pany. is the only living son of \h
late Charles and Abi Lewis (Eiiii.'l
Parker. He was born at the coridf
of Main and High streets. Meruit '
Xovember 23. 1849, and received hj
early education at Russell's Lolir-
giate and Comuiercial School. Ths
was supplemeiUetl by an attendan-.i
at the govenmient militarv ncadcn?
at West Point, the ap[)oiiumeni i
cadet to which came lu hiui throi!;:'-
Congressman Warner, of Midule<
town.
He graduated from West Point \n
1870 and, with the commissioned rai'k
of second lieutenaiu. saw active ht-
vice with the Si.xth L". S. Cavalry 'ii
the frontier of Texas, Indian Terrt-
tory and Kansas.
After a creditable service in t':^^
regular army he returned to MeritU'i
and began his extended business
rccr as his father's ])artner. in iS;^^.
wlien the firm was merged into a o-r-
poration. he became one of the otf^-
cers and gradually his father came tp
rely more and more upon him until ia
his old age the entire management ol
the large business tinally devolvtxl up-
on him and his brother, Charles t.
Parker.
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UlOGR/VPllIES.
Ill rc;iltli himlly compelled him to
ikc an extended rest, which was con-
nued until after iiis brother s death
hen W. ii. L^on assumed the man-
^einent oi the hnsincss and the sub-
'ct of this >kctch l)ecanie treasurer of
)t ei )iiii)aii\ . This office he lield un-
1 the death of his father in 1902,
honi he naturally succeeded as prcs-
lent of the cunii)any.
Mr. Parker resitles in the inipos-
1'^ r\-irker homestead on IJroad
irvet and is held in high retjard in
le cniiummity. His promitience in
le manufacturing world makes him
ne of the prime factors of the wel-
are of Meriden and his concern in
he progress of his native town has
ver been conclusively shown.
Ill addition to lilling the important
rfice of president of the C harks I'ark-
r C'oinpany lie is one of the direct-
rs of the City Savings liank and for-
K-rly was one of the directors of the
■ir<t National Batik. lie is- also a
leniber of the Honu- C hib.
ANDRKW J. COE,
Andrew J. Coe, the first jtidge of
ie Municipal Court of Meriden. was
orn in this town September 15, 1834,
le was a son of Calvin and Harriet
Rice) Coe aiul the .sixth of a family
f nine children who reached niatur-
y. He diet! IVbruary 25, 1897. af-
er a life fully identified with Meri-
len's welfare, and liis death was a
•ersonal loss to an unlimited circle
f intimate friends. Horn on the Coe
ann, which was always his. home.
he first left it fur a college conrse and
gradnated frotu Wesleyan L'niver-
sity with honors in the class of 1S55.
Deciding to establish himself in the
west, he coinmenced the study of law
in Iowa, but being unable to endure
the malarial climate there, he returned
to Meriden. and completed his law
studies in the office of the late Col.
Dexter R. Wright, being admitted to
the New Haven county l)ar in 1858.
Another efldrt to locate in the west
was frustrated bv a long illness from
which he never quite regained his
early vigor. After three years of pro-
gressive law i>ractice in Xew York,
Mr. Coe returned to the farm which
he carried on for some years but
spending most o£ his winters in the
south.
He became the sole owner of the
Coe property in 1873. having bought
out the interests of his brothers, Henry
and Winfield. It was Judge Coe who
crmceived the building of the famous
( of "Castle." I bis and the old Calvin
Coc homestead, is described else-
where in these pages.
In li^'yo Judge Coe was elected rep-
resentative to llic legislatnre and
served on the judiciary committee.
Again elected, in 18^)7. bv the Repub-
lican party, although himself a Dem-
ocrat, he was made chairman of the
finance committee. During his ser-
vice in the state legislature, he w.is
appointed to atliust the court house
contest between the towns of Dan-
bury and Piridgeport, and also served
as chairman, the same year, of the s)>e-
cial committee that examined the ac-
9
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BIOGRAPHIES.
' Google
I
320 A CENTURY
counts of the state treasurer. When
the Meriden Municipal Court was es-
tablished, by the unanimous nomina-
tion of the citizens, he was appointed
the first judge. This office he re-
signed in 1869 to engage in the fer-
tilizer business and assumed the
charge of the Southern Department of
the Bradley Fertilizer Company, with
headquarters at Charleston, S. C,
where he remained for sixteen years.
He was also one of the founders of
the Dryer Compan}- of Qeveland,
Ohio, also manufacturers of fertiliz-
ers. Judge Coe was descended from
a long line of ancestors famous for
patriotism, integrity and independence
of thought and action. A lifelong
friends says, "He inherited in marked
degree characteristics that gave him a
strong and uncompromising individ-
uality. Of rare intellectual tastes, he
found time for a vast amount of study
and research. Broad and liberal in
hts views, his convictions, always
strong^ and the result of serious
thought, once formed he yielded them
to none : yet with the rare consistency
that advanced with further accession
of knowledge he was always in the
line of progress."
"Two years before his death Judge
Coe had a severe attack of pneumonia
and hoping to avoid the recurrence of
it, spent the succeeding winter in Car-
acas. Venezuela. About the same time
his marriage with ^liss Kate Footc,
of Guilford, took place, and his
friends looked for a bright afternoon
to crown his life hut his honeymoon
was marred by ill health which did
F MERIDEN.
not improve. His last illness was of
about six months' duration and his
death was peaceful and painless. He .
was laid at rest in Walnut Grove cem-
etery. His home life, his untiring de
votion to his mother and his lovalr.
to his friends and relatives was ad-
mirable and those who knew him cs*
teemed him as a peer among meo."
Judge Coe is survived by his irid-
ow, Mrs. Kate Foote Coe, now oi
New Haven, a woman of channtqg
personality, superior intellect, and
cultivated mind. I
KATE FOOTE COE.
Kate Foote Coe, widow of Judge
Andrew J. Coe, was bom in Guilford
Conn., May 31, 1840. She is one of
a family of ten children, a daughter
of George A. and Eliza (Spencer)!
Foote; and her mother, still livingt
is possessed of good health and ail
her faculties at the age of 93.
Her ancestry on her father*s side
includes General Ward, of Revolu'|
tionary fame, and Colonel Andrew
Ward, an officer in the French and
Indian wars. The place at Xat
Plains, Guilford, on which she
bom, has been in the possession of
the family for many generations and
the first apple trees planted in XeV'
Haven county were brought here by
her forefathers. '
As a girl she attended the Guil-'
ford district school, afterwards Miss'
Buttons Private Sdiool at New fbr
ven, and later the Guilford Institute
and High School. After having I
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BIOGRAPHIBS.
quired sufficient training she began
her career as a teacher.
The first school over which she
presided was the district school of
her native village ; later she taught at
the Hartford Female Seminary. In
1865 she went south and during the
latter i>art of the Civil war taught
among the blacks.
One of her sisters was Harriet
Ward Foote, who died in 1885 and
was the first wife of General Haw-
ley who later became United States
senator from Connecticut. During
the war she with Mrs. Hawley joined
him at different points.
From Beaufort, S. C, where she
first taught the negroes, she went to
St Augustine, Femandino and Jack-
sonville, Fla., in all of which both
she and Mrs. Hawley did their ut-
most in a noble, womanly way to al-
leviate suffering humanity and en-
lighten the helplessly ignorant. Af-
ter the close of the war Miss Foote
continued teaching.
The work of her pen has ever de-
lighted the reading public and for
manv rears she has contributed fic*
tion to the best magazines. For fif-
teen years she was the Washington
correspondent of the "Independent"
and during her extended stay at the
national capital she secured the full-
est confidence of many of the coun-
try's famous men and women ; and to-
day it is probable that she enjoys as
wide an acquaintance as any woman
of Xew England. This acquaintance,
coupled with the knowledge of the
people of this and other countries, in
21
321
which she has traveled extensively,
has been of profit to the readers of
her writings.
While in Washington she became
interested in the welfare of the In-
dians and after the death of her sis-
ter, Mrs. Hawley, who was the first
president of the Washington branch
of the National Indian Society, she
became the head of that society. In
carrying out the duties of the office
from 1886 to 1895 she traveled exten-
sively over sections of the country in-
liabited by the Indians, and accom-
plished much in establishing schools
and hospitals for them.
In 1886 she accompanied Miss
Alice Fletcher, who had previously
done much for the Indians, to Alas*
ka. The party sailed from Port
Townsend in a schooner and made the
extended and somewhat perilous trip
only under difficulties; and her com-
panions, upon the advice of Charles
Dudley Warner and General Hawley,
were sent by the government to study
the customs and needs of the nations.
It is needless to state that they were
greatly aided in the work by Miss
Foote, whose observations were also
helpful in her literary work.
Her extensive travels to other quar-
ters of the gldbt have also broadened
her scope of information. Her first
trip abroad was in 1872 when she
spent a year in Europe. Some time
after her celebrated trip to Alaska
she visited Japan in company with the
daujjhter of Moses Beach, of Pecks-
kill, N. Y.. and while there making
her headquarters at the American Lc-
i^iy u^L^ Ly Google
322
A CENTUBY OP MEBIDEN.
gation, was also entertained by the
wives of leading Japanese officials,
including Baroness Matsuki, in whom
she found a constant friend.
In her travels Mrs. Coe has found
and improved the opportunity of
studying the people also in the Phil-
ippine Islands, Mexico, Jamaica and
Trinidad and upon her marriage with
Julge Andrew J. Coe she spent a win-
ter in Caracas, Venezuela. Her mar-
ried life, which was highly congenial,
was saddened only by the poor health
of her husband which in two years
was ended by his death, a sad blow
from which she has never fully re-
covered.
Upon the death of her husband she
returned to Meriden and for some
time thereafter conducted the Coe
farm from which she held a life in-
come, but a few years later she sur-
rendered her interests to the future
heirs and removed to New Haven,
taking; iii> her residence with her sis-
ter, Mrs. Edward H. Jenkins, whose
husband, Dr. Edward H. Jenkins, is
director of the Agricultural Experi-
ment station of Connecticut, and
where slie has since resided also with
her aged mother.
Mrs. Coe has for many years ])een a
leader in the Daughters of the Amer-
ican Revolution. After having been
one of the charter members of Mary
Washington chapter. D. A. R., of
Washington. D. C. she became a
nie!r.1)er of Susan ("arrini^ton Clarke
chapter. D. A. K., of Meriden. Of
tliis chapter she has been the regent
since 1895. She is albo a member of
the Washington Ladies' Qub ot
Washington, D. C. Her interest in
Meriden is unbounded from her pleu^
ant associations with it and Merida
is proud to claim her as its own.
JOHN DENTON BILLARD.
John Denton Billard, who died oa
Febniary i, 1902, was one of Men*
den's most respected and prominent
citizens. His long life was a success-
ful one, and in his death Meriden sus-
tained a genuine toss. Not only was
he a shrewd, broad-minded man of
business; but he possessed a personal-
ity that won for him many and tnie
friends. He did not herald his good
deeds, but they were not few. He
was, in fact, an unostentatious Ameri-
can gentleman.
John D. Billard was bom in New
York City, February 28, 1819. At tbe
age of fourteen he removed to Say-
brook, Conn. After attending scbool
two years, he was apprenticed to Jere-
miah Gladwin to learn the carpenter's
trade. At this time he became 3^
quainted with a fellow employe of Mt.
Gladwin, George W, Lyon, with whom
later he was to form the firm of L>oo
& Billard of Meriden. When his five
years' apprenticeship was completed
he continued to work for Mr. Gladwin
as foreman, and superintended the
btiilding of some of the best houses in
Essex, 'Deep River, Sayjl>rook, afld
Lyme.
In 1847 Mr. Billard came to Meri-
den, and with Mr. Lyon formed rf«
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324
A tHNTURY OF MERIUICX.
firm which htc;i:r,i* so successful anil
which is uou ii;h of the most iuipttr-
taiiL liuviiit ss iiisiitrLiioii> •*! tlic city.
The cuiiipaii} \\ a> iiic*»r])« iraU'd in
1S78 as The I.yuii Uillar<l C uinpany.
with Mr. l'>i lard as pnsidcnt, an of-
fice he continued to liold until his
(loath ; although during the last ten
Mars of his life he was not actively
engaged in its management.
Mr. P>illard*s financial career was
highly successful and mo.st honorahle.
He was elected president of the hirst
National Hank on .\pril 3. : also
of the City Savin^^-^s l^.ank, succci' ling
the late hxl 11. (iin . He cnniinued
to hold these ofik'cs tli:ring the last
twenty years of his lifi'. tUxoting
practically his cntiii- attention \n their
interests and developing a knowledge
of the Inisiness that gave him high
rank in hanking circles as a man of
sotmd judgment and keen discern-
ment, qualities that made him a safe
and c<:)nservative executive for those
two imi)ortant and j)rosperou< insti-
tutions. He was one of the org:uiiz-
ers and original stockholders of hoth
these hanks and of the Meridcn Trust
and Safe Heposit C'oTn|>anv.
Mr. I'illard took an intelligent and
active interest in the affairs of the
city and town, serving the city as
councilman and alderman. I'Or over
twetity years he was a memher of
the hoard of conij)ensation. a position
in which be renderctl valuable service
to feilow-citizvns.
Mr. liillard was married .Septem-
ber 8, 1841, to Enieline E. Spencer,
daughter of Captain Sanuiel S{>encc".
of Saybrook. She died in DeccnilKT.
1887.
.Mr. liillanl's home liic wa^ a liap-
py one. He loved his home, and li>
heaiitiful house and gnnnuls on C"l
ony street gave hii;i a vast amoint
oi i)leasure. The oidy social or^nr-
ization to which he belonged was
Home Club. Xnt withstanding h>
(|uiet and simple tastes he was far
from being a recluse : and his friend's
and acijuaintances knew iii> as a plc;>-
ant and affahlc gentlemati, kind <-t
heart, and consianily doing little acf
of ktTulness that showed the true spir-
it 01 eliarity.
At his death .Mr. l^.illard left 0!i«
son, John L. Hillard. one of .McridcnV
lea<ling citizens, who has followc'l
in his fatherV fMiit>tei)s a> l)iisine>*
man and banker; three ^randsonv
l^erbert M.. who rlitd on C )ctolK>r 14.
1902: Walter S. and Fred H. Bilhnl.
engaged with their father in the L\on
P'illard Cf>ni|)atiy: and a great-
granddaughli r. Mary E.. daughter ol
iMr. and Mrs, Herbert M, iiillard
BERTKAXD L. VALE.
Hertrand L. Vale, a successful gen-
tleman farmer, prominent in bu5;ine>s
and politics at the time of his dcatii.
()ct(ier I. \i)02, was bom in Meri-
den Xovemhcr 17. 1820. the son of
Levi and .Vnna (fiuy) Yale, Mr.
\*ale's family was of Welsh and Knj:-
lish descent, two of his ancestors.
Bishops Morton and Bonner, being
ijiyiiizeQ by GoOgle
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326
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
high in ecclesiastical circles. Mr.
Yale's father was an ensign in the
war of 1812 and commissary of the
troops stationed along the coast from
New Haven to Branford. For twelve
years he was postmaster of Meriden.
He also represented the town in the
General Assembly and held many oth*
er positions of trust.
Bertrand L. Yale spent his early
life on the farm to which he was to
return in later years. At the age of
twenty he began the manufacture of
cigars which he carried on for some
time in a small way. From cigar
making he turned his attention to the
business of a merchant tailor and deal-
er in furnishing goods. While thus
employed he received the appointment
of postmaster, a position of honor and
responsibility his father had likewise
held He held office for eight years
and fulfilled the exacting duties with
credit to himself and to the satisfac-
tion of his fellow townsmen.
Mr/ Yale, while still a merchant^
had entered the fire and life insurance
business which grew so rapidly that
he was compelled to dispose of his
store. He carried on the insurance
business for about twenty-five y^rs.
The latter part of his life he spent up-
on his farm.
Mr, Yale became interested in poli-
tics early in his career, taking an en-
ergetic part in the work of his party
in the city and town. Later his bus-
iness interests for many years pre-
vented so active participation. In
1888, however, he was induced to ac-
cept the nomination for alderman. He
served on the finance and water com-
mittees and in 1889, in addition to
these, on the committee on by-laws.,
During his last term in the couodl.
he acted as ma} or pro tern,
Mr. Yale was recognized as a man :
of sound and conservative business!
judgment. His financial ability «as|
held in liigh regard, and for manv
years he was a director of the Meri-
den National Bank, a position he
ceased to hold only when he declined
a re-election.
Mr. Yale had a remarkably reten*|
ttve memory. A lover of sound and!
elevating literature, he was an author-
ity on the political and general history
of our country.
Mr. Yale's life furnishes an example
of success won by industry and integ*
rity and a determination to succeed.
His boyhood on the farm, no doubt,
helped to supply the physical strength
necessary, and the good old New Eng-
land stock from which he sprang, fur*
nished the inspiration and ideals that 1
played no small part in his advance- 1
ment |
Mr. Yale married on February 4.
1861, Chloe Dizabeth Holconb.
daughter of Honorable Raynor Ho!* i
comb, of East Granby, Conn. Mrs-
Yale survives her husband. Their
only child,' Jennie Holcomb Vale, is
now the wife of John B. Hall, of
Meriden.
HIRAM AUGUSTUS YALE
Hiram Augustus Yale, who was
born in Meriden November 5, i8i5»
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BIOGRAPHIES.
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328
A CENTURY OF MERtDEN.
and died July 19, 1887, was a rq>re-
sentative of one of the oldest and most
distinguished families of Connecti**
cut He was a son of Samuel Yale,
third* and a g^ndson of Samuel Yale,
second, who was the first jnanufactur-
er in Meriden.
In 1 791 he began to make cut nails
in a small shop which stood on the
hill near the present location of the
Center Congregational church, he and
his oldest son working their machine
by hand and heading each nail sepa<
rately. In 1794 he commenced the
manufacture of pewter buttons, in
which he was successful, employing
several hands and accumulating a
handsome estate. The business
founded by him developed into the
manufacture of pewter cups, teapots
and other articles and grew to large
proportions. It was continued after
his death by his six sons, by whom
other factories were established else-
where. The industry prompted the
foundation of the Meriden Britannia
Company, of which a sketch is given
on other pages.
Hiram A. Yale was a descendant in
the eighth generation of Thomas Yale,
one pf the first settlers of Walling-
ford,; who came to New Haven from
England in 1637, and was one of the
principal men of the colony. He was
one of the signers of the Plantation
Covenant, of New Haven, who, re-
moving to what is now Wallingford,
filled there many offices of public
trust.
The father- of Hiram A. and Sam-
uel Yale final 1}' settled in Meriden and
continued the japanned tin and bri-
tantiia business, having a shop for
some time on Liberty street and later
at the corner of East Main and Broad
streets. He retired from business in
1858.
Hiram A. Yale's mother was La-
minta Clark, daughter of Jahled and
Esther (Law) Qark, a lineal descend-
ant of Jonathan Law, governor ot
Connecticut from 1742 to 1751.
Jahleel Clark and his eldest son were
in the battle of Bennington while Mrs.
Clark and her younger sons were at
Lanesboro, Mass., gathering in the
wheat harvest, a duty which devolved
on many a mother during the Revo-
lutionary war.
Hiram Yale was educated in the
schools of Meriden, fitted foe collie
at the Episcopal Academy, of Chesh-
ire ; entered Washington, now Trinit)'
College, at Hartford, in 1842, and
graduated with the degree of A. B.
in 1846. During his young manhood
he was associated with his father in
the manufacturing business and was
at times his traveling representative.
After his father's decease in 1864, up-
on him devolved the management of
the estate which included much busi-
ness property, besides a farm, all of
which he managed successfully. Mr.
Yale represented Meriden in the state
legislature in 185 1. In 1870 he was
elected to the common council and
was for four years a member of the
finance committee. He was also one
of the trustees of the Connecticut
School for Boys from 1873 to 1877
and for many years one of the direct-
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BIOGRAPHIES.
3-^9
ors of the Mcriden National and also
of the Meriden Savings bank. Mr.
Yale was one of the vestrymen of St
Andrew's Episcopal church, of which
he was both a liberal supporter and a
member held in high regard.
In 1866 Mr. Yale married Miss
Mary Catharine Welles,' of Wethers-
field, daughter of John Welles (who
traces his ancestry back to Gov.
Thomas Welles) and Mary W. Wol-
cott, a descendant of Henry Wolcott,
one of the first settlers of Windsor.
He is survived by his widow and one
daughter, Mary Welles, both of whom
are active members of St. Andrew's
church, and belong to the Duu^litcrs
of the American Revolution. The
former has been also one of the man-
agers of the Curtis Home from its
opening and president of the board
since the death, in 1893, of Miss Celia
Curtis, daughter of the founder.
HENRY T. WILCOX.
Henry Truman Wilcox (deceased)
was bom in Wcstbrook, Conn., Feb.
~, 1811. He removed to Meriden in
1829, entering the anploy of Julius
Pratt & Co., comb manufacturers.
The same year he united with the
Congregational church, and remained
a faithful member as long as he lived.
On May 9, 1832, Mr, Wilcox mar-
ried Elizabeth White Scovil, dautjhter
ni Eleazer Scovil. and a qrcat-irrand-
ciaughter of Janics Scovil, who settled
in Meriden about I/Jj,
In 7^^3^>. Mr. Wilcox bought the
piece 01 land on the Old Colony Road
on which the family has lived since
1837. His house then stood at the
northeast corner of said lot, and
at the southeast comer he built a
small shop about 1845, and manufac-
tured coffee mills, spring balances,
steelyards, bit braces and door-
knockers. This shop burned down in
185 1, and a second shop, built on the
same site, was burned in 1853.
HENRY S. WILCOX.
Henry Scovil Wilcox, son of Henry
T. Wilcox, was born in Meriden Jan-
uary 4, 1835, and received his educa-
tion at the Old Road school and the
West Meriden Institute — ^the latter lo-
cated on the site of the present Church
street school. Before leaving school
he was employ ed in bis father's shops
part of the time and was bookkeep-
er there in 1848.
In 1854 H. T. and H. S. Wilcox
were associated with the Meriden
Hardware Co., located on the site
now occupied by the M. B. Schcnck
Co.'s factory. This shop also suf-
fered from fire, after which Messrs.
Wilcox retired from manufacturing
and in 1855 bought of Couch &
Blakeslee a grocery store located at
the south corner of Colony and Bri-
tannia streets. There they conduct-
ed a prosperous business under the
firm name of H. T. Wilcox & Co.
In 1857, they moved the grocery
business to the Andrews' block, lo-
cated where the Grand Army hall now
stands. That brick block, Imili about
1847. was owned by James V. G. An-
drews, and was also occupied by AI-
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330
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
mon Andrews' flour and feed store.
On March g, 1864, the building was
burned down, whereupon H. T. Wil-
cox & Co. bought the land and ruins
of the old building and erected the
present block in 1865, which H. S.
Wilcox sold to Mcrriam Post, G. A.
R., in 1895. Upon the completion of
this block, B. P. Foote» drug and
hardware merchant, rented the north
store and H. T. Wilcox & Co., con-
ducted the grocery business in the
south store.
About February i, 1867, H. T. Wil-
cox & Co. bought the drug and hard-
ware business of B. P. Foote. Ten
years later they sold the hardware
business to Church & Sprague, and
retained the drugs together with man-
ufacturers' supplies.
H. T. Wilcox died January 7, 1885,
after which event, H. S. Wilcox con-
tinued the business until March 15,
1899, when as his health became im-
paired, he sold out to Edwin A. Wat-
rous, after having occupied the same
store thirty-two years.
In public matters H. T. Wilcox held
the office of town treasurer from 1863
to 1874, and H. S. Wilcox held the
same position from 1878 to 1879.
The latter also served as councilman,
as assessor, and as a member of the
board of compensation and the board
of relief.
In t886 he was chosen a trustee of
the Meriden Savings Bank, and the
year following a director of the same
institution.
Mr. Wilcox united with the First
Congregational church in 1852, and
at various times was chosen to fill die
offices of secretary and treasurer of
the Sunday school, also of the Ecck$>
iastical society. In 1889 he was eka*
ed a deacon, which office he held tiO
the date of his death, December S,
1900.
Mr. Wilcox married December t.
1869, Jane £. Merriman (daughter ol
Ira and Elizabeth Merriman), wlio^
with his son, Albert H. Wilcox, sur-
vives him.
WILLIAM G. WARXOCK
William George Wamock, a sliik-
ing example of the self-made man of
affairs of this vicinity, one of the
largest taxpayers of Meriden, was
bom April 25, 1849. His parents,
poor but worthy people, made their
home in Meriden when he was three
years old, and taught their children
to be honest and industrious. Omog
to the somewhat straitened ciicoin*
stances of the family, the educatioa
of .our subject, obtained under diifi*
culties, was interrupted at the age of
nine years when he left the East Mer-
iden district day school and went to
work on a farm. With an ambitioo
and determination to get an educa-
tion, later while working days at his
trade in the factory of the Meriden
Britannia Co., he studied evenings,
until by self-denial and prudence be
had saved enough of his earnings to
take a course at Potter & Hammond's
Business College, Hartford. Later
he read law evenings in the office of
the late Cook Lounsbury. At nine-
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BIOGRAPHIES.
332
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
teen, with his brother the late J. C
Warnock, afterwards head salesman
of the Meriden Britannia Company, he
started the Chicago Silver Plate Co.,
now the Aurora Silver Plate Com-
pany, one of the most prosperous con*
cems in the west, competing with
Meriden's main line of manufacture.
Two years later, in 1870, the War-
nock Brothers sold their interests in
Chicago advantageously and returned
to Meriden, resuming their important
positions in the Britannia factory.
His brother, who had accumulated no
inconsiderable fortune and acquired a
high standing in the community, died
at the age of 34, beloved and respect-
ed bv all who knew him.
w
William G. Wamock gradually be-
came interested in real estate brok-
erage and for many years has devoted
his entire attention to the care and
improvement of local property in
which his keen foresight, sound judg
ment and careful movements have
made him unusually successful. His
knowledge of property values has for
some years been much relied upon by
others who have sought his advice.
Perhaps one of the most conclusive
instances of his judgment was his
erection of the Wamock block on
West Main street in which is situated
the Hotel Bloxham. This stately
business block has proven a wise and
profitable real estate investment and
was built by Mr. Warnock in 1887,
under his own personal supervision,
lie furnishing material and labor.
Mr. Warnock having lar^c inter-
ests in this locality and being natural-
ly possessed of public spirits takes
little pride in the rapid progress ot
Meriden. Among his real estate pco-
sessions is what was formerly knovn
as the John Yale farm, situated in
North Colony Road.
Mr. Wamock is a stockholder in
several enterprises but has never
sought prominence in public life, be-
ing devoted entirely to his busine>>
and his home. His love for gooJ
horse flesh has ever been his one
weakness and he has alwa>s owned
well-bred equines; and in yeais
gone by he has had in his stables sev-
eral celebrated trotting horses.
He was married June 2, 1885, to
Miss Avilla M. Tinker, formerly as-
sistant principal of the Church street
school, of Meriden, in whom he has
a most congenial, intelligent and able
helpmate. Her father, the late Wil-
liam R. Tinker, removed to Vineiand
N. J., in 1884, where he died March
13, 1905. He was well known i«
musical circles and was, in his day.
a skillful pla) er of the violin and a
vocalist of note, which talents were
inherited in the fullest degree by his
children.
His daughter, Mrs. Wamock, b^
fore her marriage, was one of Men-
den's most promising vocalists and
her well-trained contralto voice was
often heard in unprofessional con-
certs and private entertainments.
Mr. and Mrs. Warnock have been
blessed with the following childrca:
Harold, who died April 23. 1887. a'
the age of eleven months. John
ter, graduate of the Meriden Hig^
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BIOOR-VPHltlS.
333
ichool in. !«/) »; Witliam George Jr..
ittcnding Hopkins Graminar school,
>New Haven, both preparing for Yale
:ollege, and Katherine Avilla, a bright
>or.ii^ jiiiss just entering her teens.
the children are musical, making
iiofne most attractive, and Mr. War-
lock finds his greatest pleasure at the
family fireside.
He is a member of the Pilgrims'
Harbor Council, Royal Arcanum, but
l}esides being a member of tlu- Arca-
num Club, is not affiliated wiili any
Other social or fraternal organizations.
Both he and Mrs. W arnock are mem-
bers of the First Congrc uMti .nal
church, in the welfare of whicli the}
take deep interest.
KinViX CADY.
Edwin Catly (deceased) was one of
Meridcn".s ujjri^ht and rr>i)ccU'd
business men. For a i)crind of over
twenty-seven years, during: uliich he
held the resi)onsible positinn of su-
:)crintendent of the Mcridcn Cutlerv
Company, ai Suiith Mcridcn, he was
looked up to as a man who stood f^r
the very best and most honorable
methods.
Mr. rad\ was born in Woodstock.
Connecticut. October 21. 1833. a son
of Charles E<lwin and Clementine
CChcncy) Cady. His father. Charks
Edwin Cady. was l>orn June 3. 18 )4.
in Killingly. Charles Cady followed
hi^^ trade of blacksmith in his native
place until 1837 when he removed to
Soutlibridge, Massachusetts, where he
started a machine shop in a place now
called Saundersdale. He retired in
1857, but continued to live in South-
bridge until he died, Augu.^t 7. 1893,
respected and beloved by all who
knew him. His wife. Clementine
Cheney, was the daughter of Captain
Joel Cheney, of Southbridi^e. an<! tiled
in 1871. They had five children, of
whom Edwin was the oldest.
Edwin Cady received the ordinary
education in the public schools of his
native place, followed b\ a course of
study in Wilbrahain Acadeni\. Aflcr
leaving school he learned the trade of
a machinist in his father's shop, and
in a factor) at W orcester, Massachu-
setts. In June. 1856, he went to Buf-
falo, Xew York, where he entered the
employ of George I'arr. as su])erinten-
dent of his factory, and where ho re-
mained two years. Owing to the fail-
ure of Mr. I'arr. he lost this position
and soon accepted one with the lirm of
Pitts Bros., nianulaclurers of thresh-
ing machines. Tn 1859 he returned to
Soutlibridge and after two years more,
in 1 86 1, he entered the government
armory to engage in gun making. He
tilled this position acce})tably for seven
years, when he moved to South Mer-
iden. Connecticut, and accepted the as-
.Hstant superintendency of the Meriden
Cutlery Company. .\ year later, on
tne death of the superintendent, he
was promoted to that position and
held it up to the time of his death, in
iS<)5. His training a> an e.\]>ert m:»-
cliiuist was of great value to hini \n
his work, and his genial maimers
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334
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
335
1 impartial judg-.ncnt won for him
respect of ali those who worked
Jer him.
VI r. Cady was a Republican in pol-
^, and although never seeking no-
iety, did his duty in the community
serving for some tnne in the Com-
n Coimcil in which he admirably
ihercd the best interests of his
rd.
rle was ahvays much interested in
ternal organizations and gained
ny friends through the lodges of
ich he was a member. These in-
ded Meridian Lodg^c, No. 77, A. F.
A. M. ; Keystone Chapter, No. 27,
A. M. ; St. Elmo Commandery,
lights Templar, No. 9; Hancock
dge, I. O. O. F. ; Montowese Tribe,
h 6, I. <^^. R. M., and ColumbU
uncil, No. 5, O. U. A. M. In '•e-
tous views he was a Congregation-
»t. KiQcUy and affectionate in dis-
iidoog he treated every man as if
were a brother so that many a f el-
V dtiBefi felt a keen personal' loss
his death which occurred June 6,
Dn December 25, 1856, Mr. Cady
s married to Roselia Marble Lathe,
t]ghter*of Levi Lincoln and Fran-
(Marble) Lathe, of Southbridge.
icy had only one child, which was
ro July 22, 1862, and died August
, 1865. Mrs. Cady still survives her
sband, and has ever been most de^
ted to his memory as she was to
n while he was stiD with her. Her
me was ever her chief concern in
c and to make that home a happy
ice was her great aim.
CHARLES N. WINSLOVV.
The death of Charles N. Winslow
on December 29, i'/)4, at the age of
60 t()(jk iiuin Meriden's daily life a
good citizen and a trusted business
man. Mr. Winslow had been iden-
tified with the business life of the
city for forty years, during which time
he had been agent for the Meriden
branch of the Adams Express Com-
pany. He was the oldest agent in the
New England division of the com-
pany and was justly regarded as one
of the most faithful and efficient.
Mr. Winslow was bom in New-
port, R. I. After completing his
school career he was employed in the
office of the Adams Express Com-
pany, in Bridgeport, to which city his
family had removed. After two
years he was appointed agent in Mer-
iden, which position he held until his
death. During the forty years he
served in Meriden the office grew
steadily in importance, a fact due in
no small degree to his energy and bus-
iness capacity. He ever had the in-
terests of the cfompany at heart and
he was recognized as a progressive
and at the same time strictly conscien-
tious executive.
Mr. Winslow served as alderman
in the Meriden Court of Common
Council in 1880 and 1 881. That was
the only public office he ever held, al-
though urged on more than one occa-
sion to accept political honors. P'ar
from seeking notoriety, he sought
rather to devote himself to his home,
his business and his church.
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336
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
BICXatAPHIES.
337
Mr. Winslow was closely identified
with the Center Congregational
:Jiurch, serving as deacon, member of
standing committee and of the Ec-
:Iesiastical society's committee. For
^ears he taught in the Sunday
icliool. Of him his pastor. Rev. J.
H. Grant, wrote: ''Mr. Winslow was
L pillar of the church in ^e fine old-
oshioned sense. Next to his family
ame the church in his affection and
n his loyal devotion. No succession
>f ministers in any dnirch, I venture
70 say, was ever gfiven a more gra-
:ious, practical and steadfast loyalty
han he gave his ministers; nor has
i generation of members in Center
Jiurch often had before its eyes an
!xample of such fine courtesy, honor
ind integrity as a man, a counselor
)f such ripe and trusted judgment, a
"hristian of such piety, and a cluirch-
nan of such utter fidelity to the wel-
are of his church."
Ht' was a member of no fraternal
)rganization. In the year 1874 Mr.
-Vinslow married Miss Hcinictta K.
Baldwin, of Meriden. who snrvives
ii:u. Mr. VVinslow's home for thir-
y-one years was at 750 Uroad street.
LE GRAND BEVINS.
The death, on January 12, IQ05,
)f I.eCrand P.evins took from Meri-
Icn one of her best known and most
liljlily respected citizens, one who for
learlv twenty vears was prominent in
he public life of the city, and iluring
bat period earned the esteem of all.
22
Mr. Bevins was bom in Meriden
February 2, 1839, ^ 0^
Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Bevins. He
lived in his native town until he was
nineteen years of age, when he went
to Ohio, from which state he enlist*
ed and was first sergeant of Co. E
in the Twenty-ninth Ohio Volunteers,
leaving a position of railroad ficreman
to enter the service of his couittry at
the breaking out of the Civil War.
His record as a soldier from Bull Run
to Appomattox was a splendid one.
At the close of the war he returned to
his old home and entered the employ
of the Meriden Silver Plate Company,
with which concern he remained un-
til he was elected first selectman of
the town in October, 1887.
Mr. Bevins was most devoted to his
family, advancinf^ years only adding
to the pleasure he found in the fam-
ily circle. In 1S87 Mr. Bevins was
elected selectman on the Democratic
ticket and held the otTice continuously
tmttl October, iSf)^], m.iking a record
ne\er surpassed by any Meriden gov-
ernment official. Under his care-
ful supervision a town tax of eight
mills was the higliest rate that the
town \\a< obliged to make during
his incumbency of office. He had
previously served the city from the
First ward as coiuicilman and
alderman, being mayor pro tern
under Mayor C. H. S. Davis.
After retiring from the office of se-
lectman, Mr. Devins was a member
of the board of asse^.^ors for five
years, at one time being its chairman.
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
He was re-elected assessor in the Oc-
to])er preceding his death.
He was a member of the special
committee that revised the assessment
of Meriden property, making out a
new list at which real estate was put
at its market value.
Mr. Bevins was a conservative man
in all afi^irs, both public and private,
and could always be counted upon
to stand for the best interests of the
town and city. He was a candidate
for the Democratic nomination for
sheriff at one time. In politics he
was one of the old school Democrats,
whose devotion to party was unwav-
ering at all times.
Mr. Bevins was for a number of
years before his death a trustee of
the Meriden Savings Bank. In fra-
ternal circles, he had held membership
in Merriam Post, G. A. R., of which
he was at one time a trustee. ' He was
one of the organizers of Lincoln Com-
mand, U. V. U., and held its highest
office, that of colonel. He was also
prominent in the state orgranizations.
He was at the time of his death treas'
urer of Alpha Lodge, Knights of Hon-
or. He was also a member of Cen-
ter Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Silver City
Lodge, A. O. U. W. ; Pacific Lodge,
I. O. O. F., and Center Congrega-
tional church. iT.
Mr. iBevins was deeply interested in
school matters and for several ' years
was chairman of the Comer School
District Committee, before the con-
solidation of the districts took place.
He managed the affairs of the large
district most judiciously and had the
confidence of the majority of the tax
payers, who insisted upon his retain-
ing the office of chairman year after
year. He was also prominently men-
tioned for other political honors and
was a candidate for the legislature.
Shortly after leaving the army, Mr.
Bevins married, May 17, 1865, Miss
Jane L. Stiles, daughter of Captain li
H. Stiles, of North Haven, and be^
sides his widow at the time of his la-
mented decease, was survived by three
children : Miss Edith L. Bevins, prin-
cipal of the Willow street school:
Miss Anna L. Bevins and Attorney
Walter L. Bevins, whose death, how-
ever, followed a few days after tint
of his father.
WALTER L. BEVINS.
A most promising life was cut short
when on January 18, 1905, Walter
L. Bevins died of pneumonia con-
tracted while caring for his father.
LeGrand Bevins. who died of the
same disease January 12. Seldom
has the death of so young a man
caused such a genuine grief in a com-
munity. Not only was it particularly
sad, coming so soon after that of lus
father ; but Meriden citizens fdt that
Mr. Bevins was a young man who
could ill be spared. He had crowded
much into his brief career and had
made for himself an enviable position
in the life of the city.
Mr. Bevins was born in Meriden.
August 4, 1876, in the house in which
he died, and except for a short time
when he resided in Winsted had lived
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34i
ill Mcridcn all his life. He attended
the Corner school, ami later the Hitjh
school, graduatiiifj m 1895. W'hiic
there he was the first husiness mana-
ger of the schoul paper, The Pennant,
and a member of the Alpha Delta
Sigma. He was also organizer of the
Cho Dehating Club, a school organi-
zation, and after graduating, he went
to W'insted, and for considerably over
a year was e<litor of the Cificen
there. He always evinced a liking
for newspaper work, and had unusual
talent in that direction, writing nuieh
for the local papers until his law prac-
tice became too engrossing. Leaving
Winstod. having deeitknl to adopt the
legal profession, he entered the Yale
I^w School. During his attendance
there he was editor of the )'alc Shin-
gle and was a student there when the
Spanish War broke out. With the
spirit of patriotism imbibed from his
father and ancestors who had served
their country in the Revolution, he
enlisted in Company L, First Infantry,
and w^as made orderly sergeant. He
served with that company tmtil peace
was declared, and then resnmed his
law studies at Yale, graduating in
1900. Jn October of that year he
opened his office in Meriden, meeting
with deserved success. He was the
first captain of the local Spanish War
Veterans' .Association, an active mem-
ber of C. L. Uphani Camp, Sons of
Veterans, and was the promoter of
Company L, Second Infantry. He
was chosen first lieutenant of this or-
tranization, having declined to serve
as captain.
He had been for some )ears prior
to his death actively identitied with the
Center Congregational C luirch, and
had been chosen deacon, an unusual
honor for one of his youth. Death
prevented his fulfilling the duties of
the office. He was at one time su-
perintendent of the Smiday .School,
and was the organizer of the Lyceum,
a successful literary and debating so-
ciety of the parish.
Mr. Bevins was the attorney for
the Meriden Business Men's Associa-
tion, and served it most efficiently.
He was president of the Young Men's
Christian Association and his deep in-
terest in the work, and his executive
ability made him one of the best pres-
idents the association ever had. He
w^as a member of Center Lodge, .\. F.
& A. M., the Arcanum Club, and the
Meriden Wheel Club.
In ijolitics, Mr. Bevins, like his
father, was a Democrat. He served
his party as councilman and alderman
from the First Ward, and in the elec-
tion in the fall before his death, was
the nominee for representative to the
general assemlilv.
Attornev Bevins was one of the
best known and most highly respected
yoimg T^irn in Meriden and none had
a brighter future. He was able, ener-
getic, honest and reliable in every re-
spect. He was the soul of honor, a
most faithful and obedient son, de-
voted to his home, taking interest in
matters that offered rational amuse-
ment, and thoroughly devoted to any-
thing that tended to help or advance
his native town.
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342
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
JOHN EDWARD DURAND.
Among those who were prominent
in the affairs of Meriden must be
reckoned John Edward Durand, de-
ceased. Mr. Durand was a native of
Cheshire where he was bom April 9,
1833, one of a family of fourteen chil-
dren. His father, George A., was of
French descent and his mother, Eu-
nice, a member of the Clark family.
Mr. Durand's school life was short.
At the age of fourteen the desire to
take his small part in the great busi-
ness of life seized him and he entered
the employ of his brother who was a
carpenter and joiner in Meriden.
During his six years of manual la-
bor the longing to secure more edu-
cation took possession of him and
was manifest in his frugality, which
enabled liim to attend a select school
in the Hanover district for a year.
While employed in a sash and blind
factory in W'atcrbury there came to
Mr, Diirand tliat urgent call to de-
fend tlie Union, and it was the pleas-
ure of this loyal son and good patriot
to exchange the instruments of peace
for those of war. Me eti listed as a
soldier in Company C, 14th Conn. V.
L, and was in some of the t'lercest
conflicts of the Rebel liun. taking part
in the battles of South Mouniain. Ati-
tietam, Fredericksburg and r.elle
Plain Landing, wiiere he was wound-
ed.
Returning to his old employers he
remained with them until 1867, then
worked in a clock factory and came
to Meriden in 1868. He was stock-
holder, secretary and treasurer of die
Steam Mill Lumber Company and its
superintendent for three years.
He also traveled extensiveh
throughotit tiie state selling drugs
and medicines for C P. Colt until
possibilities of the real estate business
claimed his attention and for twenty
years in his capacity as agent for Hod.
Ratdiffe Hicks, lawyer and real estate
dealer, he was thoroughly convers-
ant with all the vital interests con-
nected with buying and selling lands
and buildings.
Amid the laborious cares of his
daily life Mr. Durand found time to
cultivate the religious side of his na-
ture. He was converted and joine«i
the Center Baptist church at the age
of fifteen years; but on his return
from Waterbury he became a member
of the Main Street Baptist churdi.
Mr. Durand was connected vn^
Meridian Lodge, No. 77, F. and
A. M. ; Merriam Post, No. 8. G. A.
R., of Meriden; the Knights of the
Golden Eagle, and Hawlcy Division
of the Sons of Temperance 1 l artford
He was the first pension agent in
Meriden and for years a notary pub-
lic.
Mr. Durand's wife was Mi>s Rox-
ana Sophia Root, daughter of a land-
owner and farmer in W'auibury.
She survives her husband and resides
in this city. lie died July 29, 18991
and was buried in the Brockett cem-
etery at Waterbury.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
343
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344
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
CHARLES A. KING.
Charles Alonzo King, superinten-
dent of the gun shop of the Parker
Bros., and one of the police commis-
sioners of Meriden, was bom in
Franklin, New London county. Conn.,
February lo, 1837. He received his
education in the schools of Franklin.
Lebanon and Norwich, and in the
last named city learned his trade as a
machinist in the works of J. S. and S.
J. Mowry. He worked at his trade
next in th^ machine shops of Tracy
& Brand where were manufactured
whaling g^ns and projectiles for kill-
ing whales. His next employment
during his younger manhood was at
the works of Pratt & Johnson, manu-
facturers of sewing machines in Mid-
dletown, Conn., afterwards securing a
more lucrative position in the factory
of the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Ma-
chine Company, at Bridgeport.
At the age of twenty-five he en-
gaged in business for himself at Mid-
dlefield, forming a partnership with
Otis A. Smith and at the breaking out
of the Civil war leased the old John-
son & Pratt works and manufactured
by contract for the government, parts
of the regular standard government
rifles that were used in the Rebellion
by the Union army. This partnership
was dissolved in 1865.
Immediately after the war Mr. King
devoted his attention to designing
small models of the various cannon,
Columbiads, Dahlgrens, Rodmans,
etc., used during the strife and which,
it was thought by General Hawley
and others, were to be continued in
use at the U. S. armories for militar)'
drill throughout the country. With
the proffered financial support of
these moneyed men a corporation was
formed at Hartford of which Mr.
King was the practical head. The en>
terprise failed of any great success,
however, owing to the lack of sup-
port accorded, at the time, to the mil-
itary necessities of the various states.
There was sufficient demand, never-
theless, to keep the plant busy until
1867 when Mr. King was called to
Springfield, Mass., to become super-
intendent of the Smith & Wesson Fire
Arms works, it being the ambition of
that company to put on the market a
higher grade of goods than they had
formerly manufactured. In Mr. King
the company soon found they had a
man who could bring about the de
sired results and the world-wide fame
of the Smith & Wesson revolvers is
due to his ingenuity as a designer and
practical thoroughness as a superin-
tendent He designed the army siie
revolver now largely used in the Rus-
sian and other armies and patented
and sold to Smith & Wesson the im-
provements that made the weapon
the leading revolver of the world and
as such it is still recognized.
Mr. King was called to Meriden itr
1874 to assume charge of the Parker
Bros.' gun shops. Since coming to
this city Mr. King has devoted hi^
entire efforts to the making and im-
provement of the Parker shot gun
which, under his watchful eye and
studious brain, has for many years
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346
A CENTUKY OF llERIDEN.
been known as tlic best shot gun in
the world and is used by leading
sportsmen in every quarter of the
gloV>e.
I 'uring- his residence in Springfield
in 1873 and 1874 he served as a mcnv
bcr of the Common Council there and
after coming to Mcridcn in 1875 ^^^^
chosen a member of the local Board
of Aldermen from the Third ward,
where he looked well after the inter-
ests, not only of his constituents, but
the whole city. He was appointed to
fill an unexpired term in the board of
jiolice commissioners in 1903 by May-
or Scclcy and tlie following year was
reappointed by the same mayor for a
full term.
I\fr, King's family numi)ers, beside
himself and wife, one daughter and
three sons: Mrs. G. E. Gaskell. of
Mystic, Conn. ; Charles W'infield. as-
sociated with The ?I. Wales Lines
Co. ; Walter A., with Parker Bros.,
and Raymond Earle King, a student
at the Meriden High school. Mr.
King's three sons all reside in Meri-
den.
HENRY WARREN.
Henry Warren, a retired manufac-
turer and a well known citizen of Mer-
iden. was born in Watertown. Conn.,
September 17, 1837. He is the son of
.\lanson and Sarah M. (Hickox)
Warren and is descended from early
English and American ancestry.
William Dc Warenne, Earl of Nor-
mandy, who died in 108R. and who
married the youngest daughter of
William the Conqueror, is one to whom
he traces his lineage. Richard War-
ren came over on the Mayflower,
landed at Plymouth in 1620, and died
there six years later.
In the seventeen hundreds the fam-
ily moved to Woodbridge, Conn., and
Abigail W^arren, wife of James War-
ren, died in Watertown, September 13,
1800. Edward Warren, his ancestor,
fought in the Revolutionary War, was
drowned in the Naugatuck river in
1814, and his wife, Mary (Steele)
Warren, died in Watertown, February
26, 1849. at the age of 85 years.
A Ian son Warren, father of the sub*
ject of this article, was one of the
founders of the Wheeler & Wilson
sewing machine industry and died at
Watertown, October 20, 1858.
Henry Warren, following in his
father's footsteps, identified himself
with manufacturing enterprises and
for many years has been one of the
directors of the Bridgeport Wood Fin-
ishing Company. He has until recent-
ly been president of the Butler & Ly-
man Land Company of Meriden. 1
company which has done much in the
development of real estate and the
provcmcnt of property. Mr. Warren &
business acumen and clear-heade*^
foresight have made his advice in en-j
tcrprises in which he has become in-l
terested much relied upon by his bus^
iness associates. '
Since taking up his residence on Bn*
tannia street, which is one of Meri"
den's most comfortable abodes,
he has won the esteem of the
community and the respect of his fel-<i
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BIOGRAPHIES.
347
348
A CENTURY OF MiiUlDEN.
low townsmen. He is one of the at-
tendants of St. Andrew's Episcopal
church and has shown an active inter-
est in the .itTairs of thai parish. In
recent years, with his charnnnL; wife
and daiif^hter. he has .spent nnich of
his time in travel. Mr. War-
ren is a 14 real lover of athletic sports
and in various ways has encouraged
baseball and other similar enterfirisc^.
May 5. 1868, he was united in mar-
riaf^e with Josephine ( iriswold Lyman,
daughter of W'ilHani Worcester and
Roxanna (r. ( hVary) Lyman, and
ihey have one daui,diur. Miss Ktta
Warren, born some years after. The
Warren home has for several years
been much freqnented by Meriden's
society folk, and many delightful
home affairs are arranged by Mrs.
Warren and her accomplished daugh-
ter for the entertainment of ihcir large
circle of friends. Miss Etta Warren
inherited from her mother her artistic
tastes and her skill with the violin,
mandolin and piano has delighted her
friends upon many occasions at pri-
vate musicales. She is also possessed
of a highly cultivated soprano voice
and is a member of St. Andrews
church.
CORNELIUS W. CAHILL.
Among those who may be said to
have amassed a competency in the
legitimate business life of Meriden.
outside of manufacturing, Cornelius
W. Cahill is one of many.
He was born in Ireland. Februarv
12, 1S44, and his parents located in
Middletown when he was three vears
old. His faihcr. now deceased, \va?
for forty years or more a resident :f
Staddle Hill where he enioyed tht
entire respect of the conmnnuty. O :-
nelius atteiided the Staddle Hii
schrx)]. wliicli is still standing and one
of the landmarks there.
At the age of fourteen he first cor>
nienccd to work at his present bu>>
ness and by driving a butcher c^rt
in Middlefield laid the foundation tor
future success.
In 1865 he came to Mcriaen arl
became a clerk in ihe provision stor;
of Samuel C Paddock where by
courteous attention to ] matrons he
made himself not only valuable to h:s
employer but popular with a large
number of customers. W hen he wr^^
offered a more lucrative position in
the same line of business he ma^it"
up his mind that he could be as much
value in his own store as in that of
others and encourage<l by his custoni*
ers. of whom he had made p<^r-
sonal friends, established the Ci**"
Market. After carrying on the bus-
iness for some time alone he took .a
a partner, John W. Coe, and contin-
ued the business for three years.
John W. Coe sold his interest to Pat-
rick Cahill and M. O'Brien. It thea
became known as Cahill & O'Erien
Later with Bartholomew & Coe he-
went into the pork packing business.,
but within a year returned to the re-
tail business at the City Market.
Some time afterward he retired from
the retail business, selling his interest
in the City Market to B. B. Lane, and
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BIOGRAPHIES.
became again the partner of Barthol-
omew & Coe, who in the meantime
.had become the Mcriden agents for
Swift's beef. At the end of a year
Messrs. Coe and Bartholomew retired,
I selling their interest to Mr. Cahill,
who for the past twenty-five years has
continued .the wholesale commission
i business in handling the SwiIl beef,
! which at the close of tlie first century
I of Meriden's history has mcrcascd to
! almost mammoth proportions.
In 1903 Swift Co. erected their
present handsome brick building on
North Colony street which is
equipped with every modern facility
for receiving, keeimg and handling
the large amouiu of beef shipped daiiy
from Chicago and supplied by Mr.
Qhill to the meat markets in the vi-
cinity of Mcriclcn. Mr. Cahill, hav-
ing been for so many years engaged in
the wholesak beef commission busi-
ness, is known to the trade and is a
business man of high standing in the
community.
In 1895 he erected the Cahill block,
located on East Main street, one of
the substantial and most frequented
business structures.
He is one of the directors of the
First National liank and a trustee of
the Meriden Savings Bank.
He was married in May, i86<9, and
has five sons and two daugiiters:
Three of his sons. William J., Josepli
and George Cahill. arc associated
with him in business ; C. W. Cahill,
Jr., is a talented musician and organ-
ist of St. Joseph's church ; Walter Ca-
hill is still at school; Mrs. Joseph B.
351
Weed, of New York, and Margaret
Cahill. With the exception of one
married daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Ca-
hill reside in their comfortable resi-
dence on Liberty street with their
children, all of whom give much
promise.
EDWIN BROWNSON EVERITT.
Edwin B. Everitt became a resident
of Meriden in the early sixties. He
was bom in Watertown, Conn., Oc-
tober 6, 1835, and is the son of Abra-
ham and Sarah C. (Stone) Ever-
itt. The family is of English origin
and has been represented in New
England for nearly three centuries.
He attended the public schools of his
native town and completed his educa-
tion at the Watertown Academy. At
the age of twenty he became a cl<.ik
in a jewelry house in Hartford, re-
mainiuL; but a short time. Retm nuij^^
home he tauj^ht school in hi--^ native
town and also in Northfield. He then
removed to W'aterbury and engaged
in photography. Subsequently, he
o])ened a studio in Mcriden which he
conducted with success, but on ac-
count of ill health abandoned that
callini,' and became agent for the Con-
tinental Life Insurance Co., of Hart-
ford. So successful was he that he
was soon made the company's gener-
al agent for a portion of Connecticut
and Rhode Island. Some years later
he accepted a clerical position with
the Meriden Britannia Co. (now the
International Silver Co.) which posi-
tion he still retains. During the life-
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352
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
time of Horace C. Wtkox he served
that gentleman in a private capacity
and since his death has assisted in the
management of his large estate. For
more than twenty years he was presi-
dent of the North American Mercan-
tile Agency of New York, and at the
time of the fonnation of the C. F.
Monroe Co., of Meriden, became its
first secretary, which position he still
retains.
Mr. Evcritt was married in Otis,
Mass.. to Miss Mary A. Thompson, of
that town, who descended on her
mother's side from Peregrine White,
the first child born among the Puritan
settlers of Massachusetts.
Mr. and Mrs. Evcritt are people of
culture and refinement and are active,
consistent members of the First Con-
gregational church and in 1899 Mr.
Kveritt was unanimously elected a
deacon.
Emanuel Swcdcnborg is favor-
ite author and he has long been an ar-
dent advocate of the beautiful truths
known as the "Heavenly Doctrines of
the New Church." He has always
taken an interest in musical matters
and for twenty-five years was organ-
ist and choir master in various
churches in Meriden.
Tn a social way Mr. Everitt has al-
wa\ s brrn gladly received by his many
warm friends. He is one of the char-
ter members of the Home Club and a
member of the various Masonic bodies
of Meriden, also the Scottish Rite
bodies of New Haven and of Lafay-
ette Consistory, of Bridgeport, where
he received the thirty-second degree
in Masonry. He is a F^st Emiaent
Commander of St Elmo Commaiid-
ery. No. 9, Knights Templar, and bas
since 1893 filled the responsible po-
sition of prelate with great credit to
this organization. He has also for sev-
eral years been the chairman of Ac
committee on Necrology for the Grand
Commandery of Connecticut, Knights
Templar, and in this connection has
written several poems appreciated by
the order and copied throu^^h the oth-
er grand jurisdictions of the United
States, ilr was the poet at the fif-
iicLli annivi r.-ar\ of Meridian Lodge
F. & A. M., when he read a jtiigthy
poem which was happily received and
copied by the Masonic publications ot
the country.
Having been one of the St. Eln;o
party who visited California in 1883,
he produced on his return, by request,
a beautiful souvenir volume cntit!ei
"From the Nutmeg State to the
Golden Gate."
Mr. Everitt has been for nianv
years a member of the Sons ot tlie
American Revolution by reason of the
service of his graiuUatlKT, Abner
b.vcritt, who was a soldier in the Rev-
oluti<»narv army.
l-Idwin B. Everitt is a man of strict
intef^^rity with high business ]^riuci-
pks. a ^nod citizen, very popular with
his larj^e circle of friends, a favorite
amour;: his associates and beloved
throughout the town as well as at hi"^
own fireside, where he finds his great-
est enjoyment.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
354 A CENTTOY
ISAAC CHAUNCEY LEWIS.
The late Hon. Isaac Chauncey Lew-
is, whose strong personality was felt
in almost every walk of life, was one
of the most public-spirited men that
have ever been a part of Meriden's
history. He was born October 19,
1812, in this city, and was the son of
Isaac and Esther (Beaumont) Lew-
is, his first American ancestor, Wil-
liam Lewis, coming from London in
the ship Lion arrivinj^ at Boston Sep-
tember 16, IU32. He settled in
*'Newtown," now Cambridge, Mass.,
in the summer of 1636 and was, lat-
er, one of a company who became the
first settlers of Hartford, Coini. His
name is inscriljed on the nionninent
erected by the Ancient Burying
Ground Association of Hartford, in
the memory of the first settlers of
that town.
The subject of this sketch is a de-
scendant in the eighth generation.
His father, Isaac Lewis, was born in
W'allingford and married Esther
Beaumont. He removed to Meriden
where, as an inn-kccper and later a
merclianl. he was held in high esteem
in the community. He was chosen
town clerk in 1S06 soon after tiic day
of Meriden's incorporation as a town
and held that office until his death in
1823.
His son, Isaac C. Lewis, had but
one term of school alter liis father's
death, barring an occasional attend-
ance at evening school. Altiiough
only eleven \ears of age at that time
he secured cmplo) ment on farms and
OF MERIDEN.
in Stores until he entered the estab-
lishment of Charles and Hiram Yale,
manufacturers of britannia ware in
Wallingford, in his fifteenth yea:.
From then on Mr. Lewis engaged in
business several times until i^^i,
when he bought the Fordred fanr.
about a mile east of Meriden center.
He built a factory there and earricv!
on the britannia business — the initial '
step in a manufacture which has
made Meriden noted all over ibc
world. *
He increased his works in 1850.
bought a larger factory in East Meri-
den and shortly after, with Daniel
B. Wells, formed the firm of 1. C
Lewis & Co. After Mr. \Vcll>'
death Mr. Lewis jnirchased his part-
ner's interests and continued alone.
In 1852 the Meriden Britannia 0>.
was formed and incorporate<l witli a
capital of $50.(x>). l-Or nearly four-
teen years lie stood at the head of tiic
new corporation, giving his consrant. '
perM>nal attention to the busine^^ i''
all its details : not only did he j'tr-
form all the onerous dmies of ibe
f)residency, but he exercised a care-
ful supervision over the maniifaciure
of the company's goods which went
far toward estalilishing the enviable
re|)ntation that the product of die
factory soon gained.
At the end of this i)eriod the af-
fairs of the Britannia company were
miming smoothly : and its success U-
came so pronounced that Mr. Lewis
felt he siionld be partially re-
lieved. He accordingly, in Jan-
uary, 1866, resigned from tb*
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356
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
presidency of the company. The
office of superintendent, the du*
ties of which Mr. Lewis had fulfilled
most practically all these years, was
then created and Mr. Lewis was
elected to fill the office which he held
unti 1874, which he then resigned.
On the death of Horace C. Wilcox,
in 1890, at the earnest solicitation of
the directors, Mr. Lewis again as-
sumed the office of president, thus
continuing in tliat capacity and
until his death. Though relieved of
the presidency from 1866 to i8()o, Mr.
Lewis, during this entire })cri(Ml, was
a potent factor in the n iLiiagement
of the conii)any'.s aliau.s, and his ex-
ecutive ability and substantial views
played an important part in shaping
the course of the Aleridcii Britannia
Company, whose business had grown
to large proportions, which state ot
affairs was arrived at in no small de-
gree by Mr. Lewis' practical kiinwl-
edge of i)rotltable manufacturing and
his wise counsel as a director.
Mr. Lewis Ixfcame a stockholder
in a score of thriving concerns and a
director in many of them. He was
president of the Mcriden Trust and
Safe Deposit Co., the Miller Brothers
Ctitlery Co., one of the directors of
the Meriden National Bank, liie Mcr-
iden Savings Bank, the Wilcox Sil-
ver Plate Co., the Meriden Silver
Plate Co., the Manning & Bowman
Co., Edward Miller Co. and others.
y\r. Lewis was reared a Deinorrat,
but durin- the War of the Rebellion,
joined tlit Rt publican j)arty and was
a stalwart exponent of that party un-
til 1883, when on the sole issue oi
temperance, he joined the Prohibitioa-
ists. He was an ardent advocate of
woman suffrage and gave substan-
tial proof of his confidence in it, "as
a cause that ought to prosper and is
bound to succeed."
He was elected representative to
the legislature four terms, was justice
of the peace three terms, a member of
the board of relief and of the c^\
council, an alderman, and was mayor
of the city from 1870- 72. He was
at the head of the commission ai>-
pointed in 1865 to build the water
works, and the following year was
appointed one of the sewer conur.is-
sion.
As a philanthropist he did much
fur his city. To the City Mission lie
presented a handsome block, to St.
Paul's Universalist church, of wh; -
he was an earnest member and active
worker, his c< jnirilnition was a lar;.:e
l)art of the $100,000 thai it cost, as
well as giving of his means for the
new organ and other features: aii^l
he gave freely to many organi7^tion>.
He was a life-long member of Mer-
iden Center Lodge, No. 68, L O. 0.
F., and of the Sons of the American
Revolution,
Mr. Lewis married May it. i!^3'3.
Harriet, daughter of Noah and Nancy
(Merriman) Pomeroy, of Meriden,
Conn. Six children were bom t'">
them: Xancy Melissa, ^fartha Eu-
genia ( now Mrs. Charles H. Fales).
Henr> James. Isaac, Kate Alabama
(now .Mrs. James Henry Chapim
and Frank, two of whom, Mrs.
Digitized by Coogle
BIOr.RAPHIEJ?.
357
Google
35«
A CItN'rURY OF M MR I DEN.
Charles Henry Fales and Mrs. James
licnry Chapin, are living, and reside
in Ateriden. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis
celebrated their golden wedding May
II. 188^).
In i8<^>8 Mr. Lewis erected a cost-
ly residence on La.st Main street, and
this is still one of the handsomest
in Meriden, as shown in the accom-
lianyinjjf illustration.
.\lr. Lewis' death occurred Decem-
ber 7. i8c)V Of Mr. Lewis' personal
characteristics tlicrc was a perfect
balance of every ^j(K>d (|uality : public
spirit, soiitKl jiulj^nienl, generosity,
prudence, humility, firmness, attec-
tion and conscience combined in a
complete manhoixl, to whom one
could safely point and exclaim, "Be-
hold a Christ-like man !"
AL'(;CST M ASCI i M I'YER.
Meriden is proud, while celebrating
the otK- hundredth anniversary of her
birth as a town, to number among her
prominent citizens, not only those who
can look back to a l<»ni^ line of Con-
necticut and .New I'.nuland ancestry,
but also those .\njericans 1>\ adoption
who have thrown thenisel\e> heart
•uid soul into the social. Itusiness and
political life of the conunuuily.
Mr. Mascbnieyer was born near
Hildesheim, Hanover. Germans. Jan-
uary 14. 184 V His I'alher. l-'.dvvard
M asehuieyer, was born in the same
place, and was successfully engai^vd
in a general niercanlile business until
1854. when he decided to try to still
lurlher enlarge hi.s fortune l)y coming
to America. Leaving his witV an:
children until he should have ma<lo a
home for them in the new laii i. lit
came to .South Meriden and Cisurr
the einploy of the Meriden CiuKr
Company, and later that of thr ['.■.:
ker shop at Yalesville. \\ hen tb^
Civil war broke out, although he ha
only l)een in this country for sew'
years, he heeded the call to arms an
went out to help preserve the Cnion
He joined Company H, Sixth C(^niie>:
ticut v. I,, and after provini; hb
bravery and devotion i^ave up his litV
for his adopted eonniry, and w a>- bv.:
ied at Hilton Head, S. C. in >cp!eTii
her, i8(>2. He ne\er saw his w ile aiv
children after leaving his home in
(lermany. They felt, however, thai
the land for which he had given
his life was the home for them, ami
in 18^14 .\ugu.st came to this countr\
followed later by the rest of the
family.
.\ugust .\laschnie\ er was loriun.'iU
enough to receive a good educal; :
in (lermany, having been a stu<UT,'
in both ])ublic and pru.iie scht»l-
He learnecl the trade of a black
smith, and worked at this occui-'atiim
utUil he came to America. His jour
ney hither was a long one, consumir;.
six weeks on the s.iihng vessel Xe{'-
tune. Through the good offices <»l
friends he at once secured employ-
ment on his arrival and worked
a mechanic for a month. Kclative-
of his having previou.sly settled ii*
Yalesville. he decitleil to follow then-,
and became an em])loye of the Mcri
den Cutlery Company, with whom he
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
36o
A CENTURY OF MERIDBN.
rematned for six years. After work-
ing for the Charles Parker Company
for five years more, he decided to
strike out for himself, and according-
ly in 1877 began business as a whole-
sale and retail dealer in bottled beer
and other goods. This enterprise
proved very successful, and after
eight years he was enabled to sell his
business and retire from active work.
During these years he had acquired
considerable property about the city,
the management of which now em-
ploys his time. He his a fine resi-
dence on North avenue, where he and
other members of his family make
their home, and where his mother
lived up to the time of her death.
Mr. Maschmeyer has always been
active in the political life of the city.
He was a Republican up to the time
of Horace Greeley, and since then has
been a Democrat. In 1891 he was
elected a member of the Meriden City
Coundl, and has been a member of the
Board' of Education and the General
Assembly of Connecticut He is at
present a police commissioner. He is
a member of the German Aid society,
the German Order Harugari, and the
Saengerbund.
LEVI E. COE.
Levi Elmore Coe, whose influ-
ence during a long and varied ca-
reer was felt in all the vital problems
of this city, was the son of Colonel
Levi and Sarah (Ward) Coe. He was
bom in the town of Middlefield (then
Middletown), Conn., June 6, 1828.
He received his education in the com-
mon schools of his neighborhood and
Post's and Chase s academies. He
was ready to teach school at the age
of eighteen, a profession which he fol-
lowed until he was twenty-five, when
he located in Meriden, where he lived
until death claimed him November 2,
In 1854 Mr. Coe was elected treas-
urer of the Meriden Savings Bank,
which bank recognized his abilities
and honored him with the odBces 01
treasurer, director and president, the
last two of which he held until his
death.
At the age of seventy-one years he
was elected president of the Meriden
National Bank and when he died was,
therefore, president of that financial
institution, and also of the Meriden
Savings Bank.
Mr. Coe was a man of great mea-
tal as well as business capacity and
whatever he undertook was character-
ized by conscientious care. To this
fact was due his ability to carry on his
multifold duties with confidence io
their stability and success. For fifty
years he was engaged in the leal cs- "
tate business, and he rendered to Mer-
iden invaluable service in this con-
nection.
He was interested in all agricultur-
al matters and especially in pet stock,
and his interest crystalized in practi-
cal form when he became identified
with various agricultural societies.
He was secretary of the Farmers'
Club ; president of the Meriden Poul-
try Association; secretary, treasurer
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363
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
and president of tlie Meriden Agricul-
tural Society ; secretary and treasur-
er of tlie Connwticut Agricultural
Society, and a member of the State
Board of Agriculture.
lie was elected a grand juror in 1857,
was registrar of vital statistics from
1858-63; justice of the peace from
1858 to 1881 ; trial justice for many
years ; first clerk of the city court ;
judge of the city court for eightceen
years ; agent of the town to convey
real estate ; registrar of voters, town
clerk, judge of probate, a water com-
missioner, an office he held for sev-
eral years ; and a member of the hoard
of compensation. These offices all
enabled him to advance the city's in-
terests ; but it remained for an appre-
ciative people to offer him their high-
est g^ft, and he was elected mayor of
Meriden in 1894 and re-elected in
1896 and 1897. He planned and ex-
ecuted with intense earnestness every
project that claimed his time and his
logical mind, coupled with his expe-
rience in private affairs, combined to
give Meriden an administration in
which the people had fullest confi-
dence.
Judge Coe was a Republican and he
served as a member of the town ani
state central committees. The Secre-
tary of the Interior appointed him a
town site trustee for Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma. He was a director of the
Meriden National Bank from 1862;
treasurer of the Meriden Park Com-
pany; director of the Meriden Hospi-
tal ; trustee of the Curtis Home ; pres-
ident of the Meriden Historical So-
ciety ; a member of the Connects
Historical Society ; S. A. R.. a
of the Home Club. He was arti
and compiler of the '*Coe-\Vard \
morial." a genealc^cal work pi
lished in 1897,
He was a prominent Mason; 1
secretary, treasurer and held tht
fice of worshipful master of Merii
Lodge. No, 77; eminent commarn
of St. Elmo Commandery. Knig
Templar, and representative of
Grand Commandery of South Dak
near the Grand Conmaindery of C
necticut. He was a member of
Andrew s Episcopal churdi and a y
trj-man from 1858. The kiant
public librarA' in Mi
of Judge Coe in 1893.
He married Sopllia F.
dlefield, in 1851,
vives him. Their
while infants. Mrs.
thor of the Hall hmalf
work of great
pleteness in detafl.
in Meriden.
GEORGE ayodS$
Captain George ^
bom September 17,
son of Nelson and
The place of hta
Merriam homesteadt Wf^^ibsidt i;
which stood on the alle ISSm ot
pied by the Home Oub. His £xt
was among the founders of one
the oldest manufacturing estabfi
ments in Meriden.
For over two centuries the M
Digitized by Googlci
BIOGRAPHIES.
3^4
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
riaiiT family have been prominent in
Meriden and Wallingford, John
Merriaiii came to Meriden from
Lynn, Mass., and from him the Mer-
riam faniily have descended. He
died in 1689.
George C. Mciriani received a i^mod
common school e(hicaliun and in 1S51
went to Xcw \ e.rk City where he re-
mained eight years in the wholesale
dry'40uds concern of iiopk.in>. Allen
& Co. In 1859 he went to \\ iln;ia^
ton, N. C, where he became a mem-
ber of the business firm of J. M. Mc-
Carter & Co.
Shortly after Fort Sumter was
fired upon he returned to Meriden
and on July 10, 1862, enHsted as a pri-
vate in Company A, 15th Conn. Vols,
and served througiiout the remainder
of the war. lie was in active service
in the battles of Fredericksburg,
Edcnlon Road, siege of Suffolk and
Jb'rovidence Church Road. For gal-
lant service he won several promo-
tions and retired with the commission
of captain of Company K of the 8th
Conn. Vols.
At the close of tlie war he became
superintendent of a large lumber bus-
iness at St. Johnsbnry. Vt. Durinji;
that jieriod he returned to Meriden
and on May 2Q. 18^)7. married Helen
R. r.radlcy, daughter of Charles and
Sarah (Parker) Bradley. Soon after
his marriage he went to Nevada
where he spent two years. In 1872
he returned to Meriden and became
connected with the Chas. Parker Com-
pany.
In 1880, after the death of Albert
Foster, he became secretary and
treasurer of Foster. Merriam &
and upon the death of James Sutlif.
the president, he was elected pres-
ident and treasurer, which position :^
retained until his death. While :
Boston on a business trip, he d/>^
suddenly on March 23, 1904.
A life-long friend said, upon he '
iu'j; of his death, " Une of God's no:
ineii has passed away. lie was r
friend and counselor in many a p^:-
l)le\'ing situation. He was lielovedb'
all w ho knew him. rich and poor, lug^
and low, ^nd Meriden is a belter
city for his having lived here.''
He was a Christian gentleman, i
shrewd and careful business nur-
whose integrity and honesty of pur-
pose were unim])eachal)le. a consist-
ent church member who jtracticetl th<
golden mle, and was always ready A
all times to give his money and exeri
his influence in every good cause,
never shirked his duty to his fellovfi
citizens. He served six years in the
Meriden Conmion Council and twoi
years as alderman. In politics N
was a Republican. He was for many
years identified with the First M.
church and was a trustee of tlw
church from i88n uiuil his death.
He was a director of the First N^i
tional Bank, a member of Merriarj
Post, Xo. 8, G, A. R., and also of Ca^'J
John Couch Branch, Sons of Amen-
can Revolution. He was a memb«:
of the Army and Xavy Club of Con-
necticut, and a life member of tl«i
Meriden Y. ^T. C. A., a member oi
the Home Club, and of the Meritka
Digitized by Google
BiOGRy\PHIES.
spital corporation of Mcriden.
is survived by his widow and
in adopted son and daug"hter, Rob-
T.. an<l Riitli K. Mcrriani, children
his brother, Nelson C. Merriani,
>ert J. being the present treasurer
L'oster, Merriam & Co.
l^TCLIFFE HICKS.
former resident of ^Meriden of
:h renown is RatcHfFc Hicks,
his family name holds an
ored place in the history of Con-
icut, where for over a century and
Jf His antecedents have hved.
om in the town ot Tolland, Conn,,
843, he is the most prominent rep-
ntative of his distintjuished ances-
Xhotnas Hicks, his first pater-
antecedent in this country, left
don, England, in 1644. and located
kntuate^ Mass., nnd his descend-
have won success in many of the
er walks of life,
n his mother's side RatcUffe Hicks
escended from Charles Steams,
in England, and settled at Wa-
wn, Mass., in 1646, and there ac-
id. lands which he sold to his son,
uel, and In 1681 removed to Lynn,
i. His son, Shubael, bom at
l^ridg^e, Mass., in 1655, served in
N'arrag^ansett Expedition in the
: Philip War, and was stationed
le g-arrisons at Chelmsford and
^11, Mass., and whose brother,
les. was slain in the king's ser-
Shtibael Steams, second, was
r.t the original grantees of land
lat is now Tolland, where he set-
tled in J 7 14 and who later became a
l»a|)ti.st preacher, but on account of
religious dilirrences with his neigh-
bors removed with his own and his
sons" families to Virginia, later to
Pepper Cotton and finally to Sandy
Creek, N. C, where he died. His
son, also named Sbnbael. became a
noted i)rearlier of the same faith,
John Stearns, a later ancestor, was
bom at Lynn, Mass.. in 1691, and
died at Tolland, March 10. 17^^/. and
his son, John, great-grandtatlier of
Ratcliffe Hicks was born in Tol-
land, January 11, 1736. He was a
physician and practiced most of his
life at Wilbraham, Mass., where his
children were bom. He returned to
Tolland on account of his sympathy
w^ith the Shay Rebellion and died in
1788, His wife, left a widow with
two sons and three daughters, carried
on her husband's business, traveling
many miles daily on horseback and
was thus enabled to send her sons to
Yale College. One of them. Dr. John
Steams became a noted practitioner
in New York City and the first pres-
ident of the New England society.
His brother. Judge Elisha Stearns,
grandfather of our subject, was born
July 12, 1776, at Wilbraham, Mass.,
but early in life removed to Tolland
where he died in 1850. He was a
man of much prominence and a valued
resident of that town, than whom no
man was held in higher esteem in the
locality where he lived.
Ratcliffe Hicks, paternal grand-
father of Mr. Hicks, and for whom
he was named, was a distinguished
Digitized by Google
366
A CENTURY OF MBRIDEN.
sea-captain and in his day was
called "one of New England's brav-
est, most daring, and ablest"; whose
voyages took him to every part of the
globe and whose life was tempestuous,
but successful and who left behind
him a name which his grandson has
ever cherished with ardent love and
infinite respect He was a native of
Providence, R. I. ; was bom June 14,
1784, and died October 26, 1846.
Charles R. Hicks, father of the sub-
ject, was bom in Providence, R. L,
July I, 1812, and was educated at
Plainfield, Conn., where at that time
was one of the best seminaries of the
state. He, afterwards, and when
quite young, engaged in the dry
goods trade in Providence and, be-
coming a prominent merchant, later
continued in the same business in New
York City, retiring irom active busi-
ness in 1842, when he removed to Tol-
land and spent his last years. He
died July 29, 1878. From his father,
Ratcliffe Hicks inherited many of his
intellectual- attainments ; and that he
has won fame and fortune as a law-
yer, manufacturer, business man and
legislator has been natural.
Ratcliffe Hicks secured his early
education at home and prepared for
college at Monson Academy. lie en-
tered Crown University in i860 and
graduated with high honors with the
degree of A. B. in 1864. "From his
earliest youth he became an omniv-
orous and careful reader and the law
and sciences of all afjes were to him,
and arc now, what many forms of
amusement arc, to the ordinary young
man,*' states one of his biographer :
While at Brown University he was'
one of the founders of Delta l> ■
silon Chapter, of which he is still a ,
member and to which he has eva
been a generous contributor. £arlT
in life he began to take a prominea
lead in school and college debates;
and at -the commencement exercises,
was one of the orators of his graduat-
ing class. After leaving college ht
began the study of law in the ofib
of Judge Loren P. Waldo, which study
he pursued only during his leisure
hours, and taught school. Admitteii
to the bar in 1866, he immediately rc^
moved to Meriden and began the prac-
tice of his profession as the law pan-
ner of the late Hon. O. H. PlatL
which partnership continued until
1869, after which Mr. Hicks con-
tinued alone until 1882. His natural
ability, keen foresight and remarkaUe
judgment, coupled with his self-oon-
iidence and sanguine disposition, tbe
result of his success in important
cases, made him a familiar figure in
the higher courts. He was ever well
versed in law for he never ceased his
study of his chosen profession. His
ability as a pleader was remarkable;
and his name is found in every vol-
ume of the Connecticut Rqx>rt from
1866 to 1879. While practicing he
received large fees and his income in
Meriden averaged over $10,000 1
year. From 1869 to 1874 he served
Meriden as city attorney and from
1873 to 1876 was New Haven county
attorney. His public service, how-
ever, began in 1886 by his election
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BIOGRAPHIES.
368
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
to the State legislature from Tolland,
when as the youngest member of the
house, during his first term of- ser-
vice, he attracted general attention,
not only by his activity on the floor,
but by the exhibition of rare and ma-
ture judgment for one of his years.
During his second term, his speeches
as a legislator were forceful and of
brilliant diction and won him the ad-
miration of the mcmhers on both sides
of the house ; although he w as most
Io\al to the Democratic party, of
wliich he has ever been a staunch and,
in late years, a prominent factor, his
manly and eloquent presentation of
his convictions secured him rtl'^o the
respect and admiration of the Repub-
licans. His breadth of mind and
keen sense of fairness were ever ap-
parent, and it was his special delight
to debate on questions which rose
above party politics. He once stated
on the floor of the house that he pre-
ferred to stand where the old Romans
Stood and to do right though the
heavens fell. In 1891 he was again a
member of the state legislature, as
chairman of the committee on Woman
Suffrage which reported the bill giv-
ing women the right to vote on school
matters. During his entire and val-
ued service in the legislature, and
which was continued until 1895, he
introduced many bills of vast import
to the people of the commonwealth
and he usually accomplished as much
if not more than anv other member.
His prominence in public life has kept
him well before the eye of the public ;
and he has been prominently men-
tioned in the past, for both lieutool
governor and governor of the nif
of Connecticut.
In 1882 Mr. Hicks became btm
ested in the Canfield Rubber Comp
as its president, and which, under
sagacious business head, has groi
from a concern of $10,000 capital!
one whose cajMtal stock is a qua
of a million ; whose sr.r{>lus is as ma
more and whose sales are con<:ct;ial^
in excess of $1,000,000 a year. 7*
success of the coii:paiiy has
spoken of as "one of the mrv^
niarkable achievements \n the liiiiii^
of Xew England nianufact'jrinf^
for the business has rot CMily bceii d
means of making a substantial for
for Mr. Hicks, but for other pr
nent stcKkhoIders wViOse lioldin?^
has gradually purchpsed until he
become the sole r>wner of the id
enterprise. Mr. Hicks is also tl|
owner of the Hicks Realty G^mpaflj
of Bridgeport, and under this ti^
owns considerable real estate in Mf
iden, Bridgeport and New York-
Hicks has always remained loTal
his native state and, since leaving M<
iden, claims Tolland as his reside
lie has also a fine house in New
City and a comfortable country
at Lakewood, New Jersey, bit
still retains his fond interest in
iden where he made his
professional life. He has
uted liberally of his means to
of benefit to his former toi
and in recent years defrayed tbei
pense, with others, in restoring
modernizing the Congregat
uiguizea by L^oo^i
BIOGR.\PHIES.
Cliurcli. in Tolland, where his Cfrand-
father was also a liberal contributor.
He has also €stal)Iishc(l ainnial
prizes for public speaking at Brown
I 'Tiiversity. Providence: Storrs Agri-
cultural College, Mansfield, Tolland
County, and at the Meriden Iliqh
School, all of which have inspired, in
a qrcater measure, the ambition of
students. Mr. Hicks has traveled ex-
tensively in this country and Kurope
and has crossed the Atlantic more
than fifty times, lie is the author of
the book "Observations.' puhhshed in
1<SS<). nrv! during its composition, he
has been pleased to state has "Helped
him while away hours that olhc-rwise
may have been Innely"' auil in which
he presents "the off hand utterances
of a man who for tv\enty-five years
was deeply absorbed ui business cares,
and who has jotted down the observa-
tions lor his own amusement and oc-
cupation."' Jt is needless to state
that this book is well considered bv
litterateurs as one of the most enter-
tainin^x pubh'cations on 'lurope by an
American author. He is also the au-
thor of a l>nnk on C .ditomia. equally
interesting and instructive to the read-
er.
Mr. Hicks was married to Lizzie
Canfield. now deceased, and has one
daughter.
RUFUS HALL.
Rufus Hall, for over forty yt.irs a
valued resident ami leading merchant
of Meriden, and whose useful life end-
24
ed February 3, 1901, w as born in Alid-
dlefield, October 3. 1839.
A direct descendant of John Hall,
Huston 1633, New Haven 1637, one
of the original jtn »prietors of the town
of Walliugtord in i^-fi, a signer of
the original "Covenant or original
agreement of the first planters of Wal-
lingford, as- were two of his sons,
Satnuel and Sergeant Thomas, whose
marriage to Grace XValker Watson
June 5, 1673. was the first marriage
in Wallingford. The following an-
cestors of Rufus Hall were also sign-
ers of the "Covenant": Lieut. John
Peck, Sergeant Abraliam Doolittle
and John Mosse.
He was the youngest of the four
children born to Harley Hall [the
fifth in descent from John] and Mar-
tha Cone Hall. His mother, a native
of East Haddam. born April 3, 1805,
and died in Meriden April 20, 1880,
was directly descended from that John
Hall who was one of the first pro-
prietors nf Middletown in 1650 and
wIk). coming to this country from
England, settled in r.ostifii in 1633.
She was a granddaughter of Sylvanus
Cone, a Kevulutionary .soldier.
Rufus Hall, as a hov. (hiring his at-
tendance at the Middletield district
school, assisted in tlu work about his
father's farm. He left hrunc at the
age of nineteen and engaged in the
meat business, first at Portland.
Conn., later iti MiddieficM. after-
ward*; at Wallingford. and fmallv in
i860 came to Meriden and ch rked for
I. H. Hall & Co. in the old I'ranklin
Hall building up town. The next
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370
A CENTURY OF llERXDEN.
year he engaged in the grocery trade
with his brother under the firm name
of N. C. Hall & Co. His honorable
dealings and energy won him the con-
fidence of the townspeople, and his
good name, thus early established, he
maintained throughout his life.
In 1870 he sold out his interest in
the grocery store and engaged in the
meat business, in partnership with
Giarles Grether, under the firm name
of Grether & Hall, later buying out
Grether, and after a long period of
success he sold out to his former part-
ner, and again became associated with
his brother in the grocery trade. In
1884, however, he again engaged in
the meat business, which he conduct-
ed with uninterrupted success until he
was stricken with pneumonia and died
at the age of sixty-one, after which
his well established business was con-
ducted by his son, Eugene A. Hall, the
present treasurer of the Town of Mer-
iden.
Mr. Hall, on April 2, 1859, married
Esther Asenath Grover, to whom two
children were born : Effie Maria, bom
March 13, i860 and died March i,
1862, and Eugene Ashley Hall, above
mentioned. The wife of Rufus Hall
was born in Mtddletown, January 2,
1837, Meriden, December
18, 1891. She was a daughter of Ar-
den and Sarah Maria (Clark) Grover,
her father being a son of Oliver and
Asenath (Eaton) Grover. Her
grandfather, Daniel Clark, served as
a soldier in the Revolution. The wife
of Rufus Hall was also descended
from William Eaton, who settled in
Watertown, Mass., in 1642, and from
Thomas Flint, who located in Salem
in 1650.
Rufus Hall, who, with his wife, is |
buried at Indian Hill cemeteiy, Mid- '
dletown, was a man who held the itsr \
limited confidence, respect and esteem '
of his fellow townsmen to a rcinaA- 1
able extent. His genial dispositio& =
made him the typical merchant with
whom customers found pleasure c
trading. He was always deeply coo- ■
cemed in local affairs and never re>
fused his influence in matters of ben-
efit either to his neighbors or thej
town. His loss to the ranks of the!
business men of Meriden will be long!
remembered.
EUGENE ASHLEY HALL.
Eugene A. Hall, a prominent mer-
chant and treasurer of the town of
Meriden, is a life-long resident of the
town. He is the only son of Rufus
and Esther Asenath (Grover) Hall
He is a worthy descendant of sturdy,
reliable New England ancestn'.
He was bom in Meriden August *.
1865, attended the old Comer district
school until at the age of fifteen he left
school to begin his own career ant!
has succeeded in earning his own liv-
ing ever since ; was first with J. Cook
& Co., manufacturers of printing
presses, cards, etc. ; a short time on i
drop press at Bradley & Hubbard's:
then one year in William HagadonV
news, frait and toy store, clerking and
delivering newspapers, and one year
in castor bottle department, Merideo
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Hritaiinia Co., until May, 1883, when
he entered the employ of the Mericien
Savnigb Bank as office boy.
After an honorable connection ui
eijirhteen years wiih that institution,
and after the sudden and regretted de-
cease of his father, he resigned his po-
sition as teller and assumed control of
his father's business, for many years
known as lialTs Cash Market, and
uiiich he has since continued with in-
creasing success.
He is a trustee, director and auditor
or the .Meriden Savings Bank; for
several years was a member of the
hoard of trustees and secretary and
treasurer of the Connecticut School
for Boys; is tiL.t>urer of tlie Connec-
licrt State and the Meriden Agricul-
lii'-ai societies; treasurer of the Town
ji .Meriden. which oflke he has tilled
iiost aeei ()tably .since 1899 ; is a direcL-
)r and first vice president of the Mer-
deti Board 01 I rade; director and
re i^urer of the Mrriden Times Pub-
is! jing Co., publishers of The h.i cniiti^
Times.
Mr. llali IS a prominent figure in
vLT^onic circles and is connected with
i(» other iraternity. lie is a past
nasier and present treasurer of .Mcri-
lian lodge, No. 77. A. F. & .\. M. ;
I })ast high priest of Keystone Chap-
er. Xo. 27, K. A. .M. ; P. T. T. master
)i Hamilton Council. Xo. jj. K. &
^. .\f., and a past eminent commander
>f St Elmo Comniandery. Xo. 9.
\nights Templar: a tiiirty-second de-
cree Mason . being a member of the
k'cw Haven and Briilgeport bodies of
Scottish Kile ; is an officer in the fol-
•uiES. 371
lowing Masonic grand bodies of Con-
necticut. Grand Lodge, Grand Chaj)-
ter and Grand Comniandery, an hon-
urar) life member of the Masonic
Charity foundation of Connecticut,
and a member of Pyramid 'l"emj)le.
Mystic Shrine, of Cridgej>orl.
He was married December 15. 1S97,
to I In t Adele Mix. daughter of e.\-
Sen It r John W alter and Kate LVana
(Wallace) .Mix. of (Yalesville) W'al-
lingford. John Walter Mix. I'nited
States collector of customs of the port
of Xcw Haven at the time of his
tlealh, was a direct descendant of
Thomas Mix. of New Haven, if>43,
and three of his ancestors, Daniel Mix,
Koberl Roice and John Hall, were
original proprietors of W'allingford.
His widow. Kale Crana W allace, is a
(laughter of Franklin and lanuv
(Hall) Wallace, the latter a daughter
of Lyman and Milla Hall, both direct
descendants of John Hall, the original
proprietor of W^allingfonl. Iknjamin
Hall, father of Lyman, was a soldier
in the Revolution.
Mr. and Mrs. Hall have three chil-
dren: Fanny, born X-uenil.r 15,
1898: Fdna, born J'V-bruary 3. 190J,
and Eugene Mix. Ixirn June 27, 1903.
Mr. Hall is known as one of the
more progressive merchants, who pos-
sesses a wide experience in matters of
iinancc and who has been nuicli hon-
ored by elections to various offices, all
of which he has filled with credit, not
o!ily to himself but to those w1k< have
safely placed their contideucv in his
ability and honesty to cany out the
duties devolving upon him.
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A CENTURY OF MCRIDEX.
KL FL'S HALL.
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376
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
' V'^. 'H, BIGELOW.
William Henry Bigelow, now an
influential resident of Meriden, was
born in Westminster, Mass., in Jan-
tiary, 1853. He was an only child
and his parents were Benson and
Charlotte (Rice) Bigelow. His fam-
ily is an old one in that town and the
original Bigelow homestead has been
in their possession for many genera-
tions. The subject of this biography
is descended on both the paternal and
maternal sides from early colonial an-
cestry and on the mother's side his
progenitors served in the Revolution-
ary War.
Mr. Bigelow obtained his early ed-
ucation at the common schools and
finished at the Westminster Acad-
emy, which has since been destroyed
by fire. He has traveled considerably
both in this country and Europe and
has acquired a higher education
through his travels, in which he has
come in contact with many people.
•He is a close observer of men and
customs. Mr. Bigelow has also had
a varied experience in business. For
several years he was located in Bos-
ton and Gloucester, Mass., and later
in Hartford. For the past twelve
years, however, he has resided in Mer-
iden.
In 1895 he was united in marriage
'with Emma Norton, daughter of the
late C. L. and Amanda (Norton)
Strong, and has since resided in the
Strong family residence on Cook ave-
nue. Mrs. Bigelow died July 13,
^O^Sf after a lingering illness of a
year. Before her death and with her
Mr. Bigelow spent much time in trav-
el and visited Europe, Cuba, Bemu:-
da Islands and the Canadas, as wtli
as the south and west of his cwn
country. In his travels he has c !<
lected many relics which now adoni
his home. Mr. Bigelow is far iTi<n
being a disinterested resident of Mtr-
iden ; for he is deeply concerned in C
that tends to benefit and improve the
locality either in business or socii-
life. He is a member of WashingtiTn
Lodge, No. 15, Knights of Pythias, c:
Hartford.
COL. CHAS. LESLIE UPH.\M.
Colonel Charles Leslie Upham, br
birth a Vcrmontcr, was bom in
Townshend May 24, 1839. His pa-
rents were Rev. William Dennis I p
ham, a graduate of Brown Univers-
ity, and Lucy McKenzie Spink, a na-
tive of the old town of Wickford. R-
I., situated on Narragansett Bay.
The Spinks were Norman-French
and distinguished for bravery. They
went to England with William tl)e
Conqueror. The Upham ancestry
has been traced to Richard Upham, of
Bicton, Dover, England, 1583.
John Upham was the pioneer and
onl\' L^pham who emigrated to thiS;
country, having come to Wessagns-
cus, now Weymouth, Mass., with die
Hull colony in 1635. His wife was.
Elizabeth Slade. '
Lieutenant Phtneas Upham ^
their only son who left posterity. H<
won distinction in the Indian Wai5
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BIOGRAPHIES.
377
37«
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
and ill liic storming of Ft. Caiionicus,
sometimes called the GreJit Swamp
fight, was mortally wounded and died
soon afterward.
Culoncl I'pliam's grcat-g^randfath-
cr was William I'pliam, who was in
1776 one of the Commitlce of Safe-
ty in V'crmont and captain of a com-
pany which did service in the field
during Burgoyne's invasion.
Colonel Upham was educated at the
I. eland and Gray Academy at Towns-
hend, and at the age of sixteen came
to Meriden to enter the employ of
Ives lirothers. Having a taste for the
sea, in 1858 he went before the mast
in a voyage that circumnavigated the
globe, touching at Anstralia and the
west coast of S«»ulh America, in all an
absence of over a year. *
Upon his return he re-entered the
employ of Ives Brothers and remained
with them until the commencement of
the Civil War, when he at once en-
listed in Rifle Co. B, 3d Regiment,
Conn. Vols., a'; first sergeant. This
rcgimeiU was in l\(;yes" I'.rigade, Ty-
ler's Division, and was engaged at the
Battle of Ihdl Run, Sergeant I'p-
, ham conmiaiuling his company, owing
to the absence of his superior officers.
X'^pon being mustered out August
12, 1861, he immediately raised a com-
pany for three years' service, of which
he was appointed captain, and ioined
the Sill ( nim. Tnfantrv as Conn>any
K. lie .served u this regiment as
caf>tai!i, major and lieutenant col-
onel nntil April 6. 1863. when he was
aj)pointed colonel of the 15th Regi-
ment, Conn. Ini'amry. connuanding
the same until the close of the wv.
His service record was: With Mc-
Dowell's Army at the Battle 01 Ba
Run July 3, 1861 ; The Burnside Lx
pedition and battles of Roanoke I>-
and Feb. 7. and New Berne Marti:
14, 1S62, where he was severtl
woimded ; in the Army of the Pot>
mac, "9th Corps," at the battles
South Mountain Sept. 14, Antieta'
Sept. 17, and Fredericksburg Dec. i-.
1862. At Fredericksburg he \va5 rJ
command of the i6th Re^imtT-
Conn. Infantry, its field officers Icr.:
either sick or wounded ; w ith Canen;
Peck's command on the so-ca!l(^-
Blackberry Raid to the north :i!
Richmond ; at the Siege of SulToik b"
Longstreet. including the engage
ments on the Fdenton Road April .z^
and Proviilence Church Road May j
1863 ; with his regiment w hilc 011 pr'>
vost duty at Xew Rerne. X. C, in th?
summer of 1864 during the deadlv
epidemic of yellow fever; in com-
mand of a brigade of Scofield's col-
unm in the advance from New Bcrnf
including the actions ti.re Kinpjtci
March 8 to 11, 1865; mustered out a!
the close of the war, reaching ho:n«
July 4. 1865.
In September. 1865. the firm
Tves, Upham & Rand was orgfani^e"''
the partners being John Ives. C 1
Upham and P. C. Rand. Mr. Ivc>
was alrea<ly a merchant of long stan- ■
ing and high reputation. Mc^s''
Upham and Rand had been in h'^
employ prior to 1861 and had scm^-
together during the war. This tin-i
is one of the most prominent in
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BIOGRAPHIES.
379
with the unusual record of more
forty years without a change of
^nnel.
)lonel Upham's civil record is:
iber of the first common coim-
pon the organization of 'Meriden
city; two terms as mayor, 1873
1874 ; a trustee of Connecticut
ol for Boys from 1877 to 1891,
serving as treasurer, and at the
Mit writing a police commission-
td a member of town school com-
•e. He has also at different
\ served as president of the Board
rade and of the Business Men*s
ciation.
lonel Upham married first Emily
: who died August 26, 1864,
a daughter Emily. On July
:877> he married Elizabeth H.
daughter of B. Kirtland Hall
Emily M. Curtis. Among Mrs,
m's ancestors are included the
5 of Hall, Cook, Atwater, An-
Curtis, Ives, Royce and Hough^
:>mtnent in the first settlement of
n^ford and Meriden. The chil-
of this marriage are: William
Lucy Curtis, who died in in-
Charles Leslie, Francis Curtis
'lizabcth.
SE'I H JACOB HALL.
oner hono-ablc business ca-
;iin])Iy crovvuecl with >ucccss.
ntd with the election to many
of public trust, is that of Seth
Hall- He is the eldest son of
tf*r and Rosetta (Johnson) Hall
as born September 4, 1829, at
iViiddletown. He is descended in a
direct line from John Hail, born in
England in 1605, one of the early set-
tlers of Wallingford, where he died in
1676. The Hall family is one of the
oldest, largest and most influential in
this part of the state.
He attended the common schools
niid Moore's select school. After ob-
taining his education he worked on a
farm until twenty-one years of age
and for nine consecutive winters
taught district school in the vicinity
of Middletown. He also worked at
the factories of Jesse G. Baldwin and
Charles Parker as a burnisher, and in
1857 entered the crockery and hard-
ware store of Harrison W. Curtis.
His employer's business being dull,
Mr. Hall taught school the following
winter but returned to the store in the
spring where he remained until 1861 ;
when he started in the flour and grain
business in which he has in later years
been assisted by his sons, John B. and
Silas B. Later, for a little over two
years, Mr. Hall was a member of the
firm of I. C. Lewis & Co., which firm
was formerly L C. Lewis & Bro.
He retired from that firm in
1863 and has since conducted a
successful grain, feed and coal
business alone, his store at the
"Corner" beingr one of the old land-
marks of .M«Tiil(Mi. Few men of tbe
town luivc been iiiore successful in
business than Mr. Hall, for by care-
ful methods be lias built up a large
trade and has al'-i> made si-vcral profi-
ta1)le investm< iit< in real estate.
Besides being a prominent figure
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BIOGRAPHIKS.
I ihe business life of the town he
IS been much in the public eye. A
felong Democrat, he served his ward
I both branches of the city govcrn-
lent and the town as treasurer, se-
ctman and member of the l;oard of
;hif. From 1890 to 1X94 he served
I the Connecticut State Senate, re-
tcn'nj^ credit on the sixth district
hich he ably rc{)rcsenled. Since the
lai gu ration of the Mcriden hospital
e has been consecutively elected one
i the trustees and has also ser\'ed
s treasurer of the corporation. He
t'A- formerly one of the directors of
.Middlesex County National Bank
nd is at present one of the directors
t the Meridcn National Hank and
ice president of the City Savings
Sank. He was for many years tnis-
:e and treasurer of the Connecticut
chool for lioys. For nearly twenty
ears he has been one of the deacons
t the. First Baptist church of which
jrporalion he is also one of the trus-
ses. He has served both a^^ treas-
rer and trustee o£ the Y. M. C. A.
^^r. Hall was married October I4»
r'6o, to Lois Ulakeslee, who wn<: born
inrary 24. 1833. and is a daughter
f Silas and Esther (Buel) Blakeslce,
f Wallingford. Their children are
s follows: John BlakesUc, liorn Sep-
•mber 6, 1861. married December 16,
395. Jennie Holcomb, daughter of
ertrand and Chloe (Holcomb) Yale,
id they reside with their children on
road street, Meriden; Judson Syl-
?«ter, born March 30, i865; Silas
lakeslee, br>rn March 28, 1869, mar-
ed November 25, 1903, to Alida
iiakcr, daughter of Dr. Knfus I'.uker,
of Middietown; and l'.>ihcr Rusetta,
born h'.ly 24, 1880. The residence
of Mr. and Mrs. S. J. Hall is one of
the finest in Meridcn, having been
erected in 1891, and is situated on
East Main street
NATHAN FOWLER GRISWOLD.
Nathan Fowler Griswold, president
of the Griswulil, Riciinii>nd Sz Glock
Company, cotiu-s of nnc of llu- ohk-st
families in New l^n^land and 'be line
may be traced unbroken to Humphrey
Griswold. a "lord of the manor," who
lived in i".nt,'lan(l in the sixteenth cen-
tury. Martin, the father of the sub-
ject of this sketch, was born in the
old Griswold homestead in Killing-
worth, where he married Miss Sally
Fowler, daughter of Nathan and
Chloe (Davis) Fowler.
Nathan Griswold was born at Lock-
port. N. Y., and his mother dving af-
ter his birth, he was taken to Durham,
Conn., and placed in the care of his
grandparents, wliere he remained un-
til six years old, when his father again
married and he again came mider the
parental roof, where he lived until
he was eleven years of age and at-
tended a private school. At the age
of eleven, after working on a farm
one season, he was employed in the
store of Trial Avers, of East Had-
dam. and he first began to learn his
trade of tinsmith. He came to Mer-
iden afterwards and entered the em-
pU>y of Pomeroy & Ives, remaining
four years at his trade as an appren-
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382
A CENTURY OF MKRIDEN.
BIOGRAPHIES.
tice» but honorably purchased the last
few months of his apprenticeship
ind went to Cincinnati, where he
worked at his trade for three years,
when he again removed to Holyoke,
Mass., and first started in business
for himself. At the end of two years
he again returned to Meriden and
nought out the manufacturing busi*
less of his former employers, giving
IS pa3rment several hundred dollars
due him as wages, and the balance in
notes, with interest at six per cent,
rhese notes he met when due, and
:ontinued the business successfully
for ten years. He then disposed of
the factory to Charles Parker and
Dthers and engaged in the jobbing
business at the comer of West Main
and Hanover streets. He afterwards
look in as a partner, George F.
Searles, whom he afterwards bought
>ut, and later Henr\- J. Lewis, son of
the late Isaac C. Lewis, became his
partner, under the style of Griswold
& Lewis. In 1876, Charles C. Clock,
1 former valued employe, was taken
into the firm, which afterwards be-
came Griswold, Lewis & Clock.
John L. Richmond purchased Mr.
Lewis' interest in the firm which af-
terwards became Griswold, Richmond
& Clock, and in 1889 at Mr. Gris-
wold*s suggestion, about a dozen of
the employes were given an interest
in the business as an inducement for
meritorious service and the firm was
made into a corporation with a cap-
ital of $50,000, under the name of
Griswold. Richmond & Clock Co-op-
erative Co. Some time after the
death of Mr. Richmond his interest
held by his widow was purchased Jan-
uary 10, 1905, for a large sum, after
which the business again became a
co-operative concern on the same lines
as originally agreed when the com-
pany was first formed.
In his religious views Mr. Griswold
declares himself to be an agnostic,
refusing to believe that which does
not appeal to his reason.
Mr. Griswold was married in Meri-
den to Eliza Williams. To them were
born these children: Ella A., who
married Eugene H. Ray, superinten-
dent of the Silver City Plate Com-
pany ; Charles, who died in early man-
hood; Frank, who died while a resi-
dent of Chicago, and Lewis F., de-
signer for the Charles Parker Com-
pany. After his wife's death Mr.
Griswold married Mira Rockwell, a
daughter of Samuel Rockwell. Mrs.
Griswold presides over her beautiful
home on Lincoln street with grace and
tact and is prominent in the social and
philanthropic life of Meriden.
GEORGE W, MILLER.
George W. Miller, first selectman of
the town, was born October 13, 1838,
in Raniapo, Rockland county, N. Y.
At the apfe of twelve years he went
with his parents to live in Chico])ee
Falls, Mass.. where he attended
school until sixteen years of age.
He then went to work for the Mas-
sachusetts .Anns Co. on {^uns and pis-
tols, karniiig there the trade of a tool
maker.
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BIOGRAPUIES.
In 1862 he removed to Mcridtn
ivhere he has since resided and in the
latter part of that year went to work
for Parker, Snow, Brooks & Co., a
:<>iicern entT^ac^cd in manufacturing
Springfield rirtcs for the U. S. gov-
ernment. Mr. Miller was first a tool
^aker and afterwards a contractor,
tiaving charge of getting out the locks
for the rifles. He remained in this
business until 1868, when in company
ft'ith his brother, William H. Miller,
he started in the manufacture of
pocket cutlery. From this business
^rew the Miller Bros. Cutlery Co. and
kvith it he continued until 1878. Mr.
Miller then withdrew his interests and
started a factory at the corner of
Ho >rge and Mechanic streets where
he made pocket knives and novelties
until 1899.
Mr. Miller served as councilman in
the city government during the years
1877 and 1879; was appointed
deputy collector of internal revenue
^n 1890, serving in this capacity four
I'ears.
In 1894 he was appointed superin-
:endent of the Meriden water depart-
nentt and during his administration of
four years the storage reservoir ''Hall-
nere." holding about 140,000,000 gal-
lops, was constructed. In 1882, Mr.
Miller was elected first selectman of
:he town» serving one year. In 1898,
Mr, Miller was again elected to this
Mfice and has been re-elected annual-
ly ever since. His administration has
been practical and economical. Evi-
dently the people of Meriden consider
him safe and reliable as they have
25
elected him lu this responsible dftice
for a longer term than any of his
predecessors.
His efforts to secure for Meriden
a suitable home for its unfortunate
poor were successful. Under his su-
pervision *'Cold Spring Home" was
constructed, furnished and occupied
within one year from the time the
citizens were first called together to
consider the matter. All bills for this,
including the grading of the grounds,
were paid from the original appropria-
tion of $40,000 and there was an un-
expended balance of over $5,000.00.
This is but one instance of the many
that shows his loyalty and devotion
to the interests of the town he serves.
In these days of graft and mismanage-
ment in many other cities, a faithful
public servant should be especially
commended in Meriden.
Mr. Miller was one of the charter
members of St. Elmo commandery, K.
T., with which he is consequently
prominently identified. He was mar-
ried February 4, 1863, to Lydia M.
Tucker, of Chicopee Falls. Three sons
have been born to them: Horace G.
Miller, secretary and treasurer of
Union Iron Works, of Los Angeles,
Cal. ; Lewis A. Miller, secretary of
The H, Wales Lines Co., of Meriden,
and Max E. Miller, vice president and
secretary of The Warner-Miller Co.,
of New Haven.
DAVID N. CAMP.
David Nelson Camp. A, M.. a well-
known educator, author and lecturer,
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386
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
and a former resident and teacher of
Meriden, was bom in Durham, Mid-
dlesex county, Conn., October 3, 1820.
He is a son of the late Elah Camp,
who during his early life owned a
large fann which comprised about
one-fifth of the present town of Mer-
iden and through which Camp street
now extends. David N. Camp is the
seventh in line descended from Nicho-
las Camp, of Naseby, Eng., whose son,
Samuel was one of the first settlers
of Milford, Conn. From the last
named have descended his son,
Nathan, of Durham, the paternal
grandfather of the subject.
His mother was Grit ( Lee) Camp,
a direct lineal descendant of Theophi-
his Eaton, the first governor of New
Haven colony. Prof. Camp received
his early education in Ixjth public and
private schools and after preparing
for college, although prevented from
taking his course by illness, he con-
tinued, studying with private tutors,
and received the honorary degree of
A. M. from Yale college in 1853. He
became a resident of Meriden in 1S46,
having previously lived here for a few
months during the year 1841.
Prof. Camp began teacliins:,^ in the
public schools of Guilford and later
taught at Braniord and L jiper Mid-
dletown. From 1848 to 1850 he be-
came one of the instructors at the old
Mrriden Acadeni} , whicli then excel-
lent sch(M»l he left in 1850 to become
profe^.^rir of mathematics, natural and
moral philosophy and geography at
the Connecticut State Normal school
which was opened that year. In 1855
he became associate principal of the
State Normal School and also was
professor of English (language and
literature) and mental philosophy,
theory and practice of teaching. He
was appointed principal of the State
Normal School and also state superin-
tendent of schools in 1857, both of
which offices he filled with great ben-
efit to Connecticut until 1865, wh«
on account of ill health, he resigued
and went at once abroad.
While engaged in European travel
and during his quest of health, when
he visited many of the educational in-
stitutions of Great Britain, he was ap-
pointed professor at St. John's Col-
lege. Annapolis, Md.. and upon his rt-
uiiii from Euro]3e assisted in reopcr-
mg thai colkge after the close of the
Civil War. \\ lien Henry Barnard
LL. D.. president of the collej^c. re-
signed to accept the ap])ointment of
commissioner of the X.iiitinal I'-ureai:
of Education. Prof. Camp resigned
his professorship, then in 1867. an<i
went with Dr. Barnard to \\ a>li rig-
ton, and entered the U. S. educational
service : but in i8^)8 returned to Mer-
iden, upon the death of his father,
whose large estate he afterwards set-
tled.
From 1870 to 1880 he again became
a professor at a New Britain seniinar
but since 1880 has devoted his eflfort'
to a broader educational field and as 3
writer, author, lecturer and menikr
of various educational, scientific. h\<-
torical and missionary societies, iu?
done as nuich as an\" man in the state
in educating both young and old.
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
388
1 le was one of the organizers of the
National Council of Education of
which he is still a member; has been
one of the directors of the Missionary
Society of Connecticut since 1875 and
of that society was its auditor for fif-
teen years ; and he has been president
of the society since 1900 ; he is also a
member of the Connecticut Historical
Society, and has appeared on the pub-
lic platform more than 400 times as
a lecturer on educational topics.
Prof. Camp is also a prominent figure
in financial and manufacturing circles,
having since 1874 been a director and
since 1883 vice president of the New
Britain National bank; president of
che Skinner Chuck Mfg. Co. since
1887 : of tin* Atkins Printing Co, from
1875, ami a director of several other
coqnjrations. llis bright career in
public Hfe liegaii in 1871 when he be-
came a nienilier of the Xew P.ritain
cuinnKMi cuuncil. Tlic \car fnllowinuC
he was a member of thi- Ixianl of al-
dermen, in which l)od\ he served four
years, lie was elected mayor <>t Xcw
r»ritain and held that tjUke irutn 1877-
7y. After his creditable adminislrri-
tion as mayor lu' \\a<: chosen a mem-
ber of the ^late lcL;i^latiire fmrn New
liritain in 1879; and >erved the year
following as chairman 01 the Lom-
mittee on I'.durati. >n. Mr \va< mar-
ried June 25. 1844, lo Saraii Adaline
llowd. anil their children have been
b^l!( n R. and Emma Jane Camp.
Prof. Camp cTijo^ s a wide personal
acquaintance in Meriden. the home of
earlier days, and which has ever been
r»«l to claim him as one of its own.
JOHN IVES.
John Ives, of Meriden, is perhaps
the oldest dry goods merchant in Con-
necticut, having been a pit^^etor in
continuous business either al<me -r
with others since 1847. He «'asilx}ni
December 25, 1825, on the old! ^^'^
homestead in the southeast district oi
Meriden, the fifth son of a family ot
ten children, is a member of the Con-
necticut Sons of the American Revi^
lution, is descended from one of the
oldest and most influential families of
this vicinity, and is now, with Ui
younger brother. Frederick Wight-
man Ives, the only survivor of h'f
father*s familv. His father, Otbniel
Ives, was twice married : first Octriier
8. 1800, to Sarah Yale and to whom
four diildren were Ix^rn : she died N^"
vember 24. 1814. On October A
1815. he was again married to Kosclta
Vale, sister of his tlrst wile, to \vh <n
six children were Ixjrn. John Ivdx
the fourth child of the second rar-
riage. was left an orphan ai ilic
of four years, and with an 0'.'^'
1 rnilur. Othniel. contimied to live n
the home place until he was ^ixiat.
years of aL;e. Me then went to ! vc
with Scjuire l^li C Birdsey whon; li<"
had chosen as his guardian. li-
sch<H)l education was acquired in t^f
southeastern district and at Pt-''
.\cademy. Shortly after the death !
his jjuardian, in 1844. he went to N^^
Vnrk City, to seek employment which
he obtained from Simpson & T'cr-
ham. a firm engaged in the tin and
britannia trade, composed of theUt?
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390
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
Hon. Samuel Simpson, of W ailing-
ford, and Darius Benhani, fumierly of
Meriden. Later he accepted a p(jsi-
tion as clerk in the then famous hat
store of Leary & Co., located im 1 r
the old Astor House in New York
City, where his brother, Isaac I., was
formerly cmi)loyed, and a concern in
which his Ives relatives were finan«
dally interested. Two \ears later,
upon the .'ulvice of his brother-in-law,
Eli Butler, he went to Alabama,
where the latter conducted a general
store in Perry county, and where Mr.
Ives remained until 1847. He then
returned to Meriden and engaged in
the dry goods husiness in the store
formerly carried on by Squire Birdsey
and in partnership with Linus Bird-
sey, under the style of Birdsey &
Ives, jin 1853 the partnership was
dissolvied and Mr. Ives built a new
store on Broad street, in which,
with his brother, Russell Ives, as
Ives Brothers, and afterward alone,
he continued business until 1865. In
that year when Colonel C. L. Upham
and Lieutenant Philip C. Rand, who
had previously been clerks for Mr.
Ives, returned from their service in the
Civil war, Mr. Ives with them both as
partners, formed the well known dry
goods firm of Ives. I7pham & Rand.
The firm continued on Broad street
and also opened another store on Col-
on v strcrt, in the location now occu-
pied by Howard P*ros., which was
then known as West Meriden. Both
of these stores were carried on for
some years and until the up-town
store on Broad street was finally dis-
posed of. The firm gradually out-
grew their first Colony street l*x:a-
tion, and rpon the completion of the
VVinthrop Hotel block, in 1883, they
removed thereto and have retained
tliat location, which, although exten-
sively enlarged, was then thought to
be amply spacious for many years to
come. In addition to looking after
his mercantile business, Mr. Ives
served efficiently as town clerk of Mer-
iden from 1854 to 1865, when he de-
clined longer to serve in that oflfice.
He has continuously been one of the
directors of the Meriden National
bank since 1863 ; was one of the
founders of the Meriden Cemetery
Association, owners of the Walnut
Grove cemetery, and from its organ-
ization in 1875 has held the offices of
director, secretary and treasurer of
that corporatitw. From 1S53 he has
been a member of the First Baptist
church. In politics, while he was
born and raised a Democrat of the
old school, he has been identified with
the Republican party since the strong
pro-slavery demonstrations of 1858-9,
to which he was strongly opposed.
Mr. Ives was married first to Alina.
daughter of the late Eli C. Birdsey
in 1847; "^'^^'d 1856. He was
again married December 5. 1858. to
Wealthy Sage Merwin, of Durham,
Conn., and to whom two children
were born : Leland Howard, asso-
ciated in business with his father, and
Harriet W., wife of Judge James P.
Piatt, of Meriden. Mr. Ives' resi-
dence on Broad street comprises the
buiding erected and many years oc-
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BIOGRAPHIES.
cupied by him as a store but in after
years remodeled for residence pur-
poses.
WILLIAM JACKSON IVES.
Perhaps no deceased resident of
Meriden left behind him to a fuller
extent the respect of the community
than William Jackson Ives. He was
bom in Meriden July 28, 181 5, and
was a worthy representative of one of
the oldest families in this vicinity.
Watrous Ives, son of Amasa and Re-
becca Ives who September 15, 1809,
married Polly Yale and had ten chil-
dren, William Jackson Ives being the
third.
He was brought up on the old Ives
farm, attended the district school, and
as a young man drove a peddler*s
team from Meriden to the Southern
states and sold the goods made by the
then small factory of Charles Parker
which was conducted under the
name of Parker & White, and being
considered an extra good salesman,
his services were highly appreciated
by the concern. He afterwards be-
came a manufacturer, engaging in
making suspender webbing in East
Meriden, but his factory was de-
stroyed by fire, and he afterwards
opened a general store at Benton, Ala.
This store was conducted with re-
markable profit to himself and later
with his two partners, who consisted
of his brother Stephen and his book-
keeper, William Sayre. After the
partnership was formed he spent
much of his time in the North buy-
ing goods for the store and still con-
tinued to carry on his farm in Meri-
den. The Civil War made many poor
debtors of their customers, composed
of large plantation owners of the
South; and the firm on account of
this, sustained a great pecuniaiy loss,
including a large store and warehouse,
none of which was recovered by Mr.
Ives. After the town had been burnt
by the Union armies he returned to
Meriden, abandoning his interests in
the South and remained here the bal-
ance of his life.
At his well cultivated farm he
raised many valuable horses which oc-
cupation was very congenial to him ;
as he was not only a great lover of
well bred animals but understood
thoroughly their successful raising.
As a stock fanner he was no less for-
tunate than in any other of his un-
dertakings; and many were the val-
uable specimens of the equine race
which he sold at handsome figures.
Mr. Ives was widely respected by
his fellow townsmen and a man who
held to the fullest extent their con-
fidence. During his life he settled
many estates, and he seems to have
been a most natural personage for oth-
ers to go to for advice in business
and other matters. He was generous
to the worthy poor, public spirited and
very considerate of his neighbors by
whom he was highly regarded. An
active member of the First Baptist
church, he took a deep interest in the
welfare of that society. He was a
Democrat in his political sympathies.
He served in both branches of the
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I
BIOGRAPHIES.
393
city government and April 2, 1850,
was elected a representative to serve
Meriden in the state legislature.
He was married September 1, 1841,
to Lucy Julia IJirdsey, daughter of
Gershom and Lucy (Coe) Birdsey,
and their children were as follows:
William IJirdsey, born October 27,
1843 ; Ellena Lucy, born March 24,
1847, deceased ; Elizabeth and Carrie,
both of whom died in infancy, and
George W., born August 8, 1861, and
died April 17. 1889. William D. Ives,
an influential man of affairs, and
from his birth a resident of Meriden.
is the only one surviving. William
Jackson Ives, his father, and the sub-
ject of this sketch, died at his home
in Meriden May 16, 1887, and was
buried in the East cemetery.
DEXJAMIX H. CATLIX, M. D.
Benjamin Hopkins Catlin, M. D,
(deceased), eldest son of Benjamin
and Rhoda (Catlin) Catlin, was born
August 10, 1 80 1, in the town of Har-
winton, Litchfield county. Conn, Dr.
Catlin came of a long line of distin-
guished ancestry, one de Catlin hav-
ing lx!en a follower of William the
Conqueror, and the first American an-
cestor having come to Hartford in
1632, where he and his son were very
prominent in colonial affairs.
Dr. Catlin hafl more than the usual
educational advantages of a country
boy of his day, the district school
work being followed by study at an
academy in his native town under the
tuition of the Rev. Luther Hart, and
medical training under several prom-
inent physicians, and at Yi\k\ where
he was graduated March 4. 1825.
On July 12 of the same year he opened
an office at Haddam, Conn., filling a
vacancy made by the death of Dr.
Andrew Warner. He soon had a
large practice and remained over six-
teen years. Then, at tl;e re(|uest of
some of the leading citizens of Meri-
BENJAMIN H. ( ATI. IN, M. \\
den, he came to this city to fill the
vacancy cause<l by the ikath of Dr.
Wyllis Woodruff. His fee in his
early j)ractice was but fifty cents.
He practice<l during the latter period
of Dr. Hough, with whom he held
consultations in serious cases, and
who extended him m^t only all the
usual courtesies of the profession but
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394
A CENTURY OF MEiODEN.
a warm personal friendship as wdl.
Dr. Catlin was early elected a Fel-
low of the Connecticut Medical Socie-
ty. In 1854 he was elected vice-pres-
ident of the society, re-elected in i855»
appointed president in 1856, and
elected in 1857. In 1840 he was
given the honorary degree oi M. D.
by Yale. He was always very active
in both state and national medical cir-
cles, being a prominent member of
the American Medical Association
from 1853 until his death, and often
attending its annual meetings as del-
egate from the state society. In
i860 he was elected an honorary mem-
ber of the New York Medical Socie-
ty, and in 1869 a corresponding mem-
ber of the Gynaecological Society of
Boston. In 1871 he was president
of the annual meeting of the Ameri-
can Medical Society. He was the
chief promoter in the establishment Of
the state Board of Health, and his
writings upon the subject of sanitary
conditions were widely read and had
much influence in the prevention of
disease.
Dr. Catlin held many important po-
sitions in the community aside from
those omnected with his profession.
He was director of the Home Nation-
al Bank, and was either [>resident or
vice-president of the Meriden Savings
Bank from the time of its organiza-
tion. At the time of the removal of
the First Congregational church to
West Meriden he was elected deacon
for life and held the office of treasurer
of the church until the January before
his death.
As a physician Dr. Catlin enjo>-ed
the fullest confidence and esteem of
the whc4e community* As a man tie
was unassuming but earnest and up-
right, firm in principle and consistent
in every deed.
His death, which occurred Fd>ru'
ary 18, 1880, brought a sense of per-
sonal loss to all Meriden, and his
memory will live for many years to
come.
On September 9, 1835, Dr. Catlin
was married to Amelia Deborah Spen- j
cer, bom November 4, 181 1, dau^ter
of William and Deborah (Seldeni
Spencer. To this marriage came-
(i) Benjamin Spencer Catlin, born
September 14, 1837, died Fcbruar>- 15.
1871 ; he was in the Civil war frcnr.
1862 to 1865, serving as surgeon oi'
the Second N. Y. V. I. and Twentv-
first N. Y. V. Cav. (2) Wifliam Hop-
kins Catlin. The mother died Au'
gust 7, 1883.
WILLIAM HOPKINS CATLLV.
No mention of the prominent citi-
zens of Meriden would be complete
without the name of William H. Cat-
lin, who was bom in this city, August
24, 1842, and has always been fore-
most in both financial and reltg^us
circles. If any one can boast of an
illustrious American ancestry, that
man is Mr. Catlin. Twenty-five of
his forbears fought in die Indian wan
and were members of the General
Court; five served as soldiers in the
Revolutionary War, one, Colonel Sam-
uel Selden, being captured at the tak-
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BIOGRAPHIES.
395
\c\v York City in 1776. and
oon after in prison. Mr. Cat-
Teat-g^rand father enlisted in
vhen he was fifteen, and re-
1 pension for his services,
subject of this sketch is a di-
^scendant of Rev. Thomas
, founder of Hartford ; of Rev.
r'ilson, who came to America
, and was pastor of the First
Mr. Catiin was fortunate in receiv-
ing a good education at the district
school in Meriden, and afterwards at
the Hopkins Grammar school in New
Haven. His first work was teaching
school during the winter of 1861-62
at Northeast, Erie Co., Pa. But he
soon felt that the place for him was
in the army helping to preserve the
Union, and, returning to Meriden, he
KATLYN KOTTAGE, WEST PEAK
ji Boston : of Rev. Roger
first pastor of the Farming-
:h ; of Rev. John Warham.
e from Plymouth, England,
and was first pastor of the
t Windsor. Conn. ; and of
>\vii, "^vho in 1642, was or-
the first settled pastor of
ist church at Providence,
was one of the first half dozen to form
Company A, Fifteenth Connecticut
V^ohmteers. His company was mus-
tered into the army August 25. 1862,
and in a few days left for Washing-
ton. Mr. Catiin. with the rest of his
company, fought valiantly during
many important engagements for over
three years until the end of the war,
and was mustered out in June, 1865.
396
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Mr. Catlitt then found himself in
Erie, Pa., and from 1865 to 1867 he
acted as bookkeeper in the hardware
store of John C Selden. After a
winter spent at his old home in Mer->
iden he felt the call of the West and
went out to Missouri, where he
bought a ranch in Barton county. In
1873 he returned to Meriden, in 1877
entered the Meriden Savings Bank
as clerk, and in 1890 was chosen sec-
retary and treasurer, which position
he still occupies.
In 1880 Mr. Catlin was chosen dea-
con of the First Congregational
church and has always been most ac-
tive in everything pertaining to the
welfare of the church, and most gen-
erous in its support. He is inter-
ested in all philanthropic works both
at home and abroad. He was for two
} ears president of the local Y, M, C.
A.» and has been one of the leading
spirits in the maintenance of the hoys'
Club. He is a member of the Board
of Park Commissioners, and, in fact,
promoters of any good work may look
to him for sympathy and co-opera-
tion.
Mr. Catlin was married September
13, i87i, in Barton county, Mo., to
Helen Mar Bailey, who died June 23,
1880. His second wife was Jane
Winstow, of North Brookfield, Mass.,
daughter of David Lilly and Dolly
Powers (Harwood) Winslow. Mrs.
Catlin's father was a direct descend*
ant of Kenelm Winslow. This Ken-
elm Winslow is supposed to have
come over in the Mayflower on her
second voyage. Mrs. Catlin's great-
grandfather, Major Peter Harwoo
was in the Revolutionary War aa
was officer of the day when An<i;
was hanged. She is also a direct a
scendant of Governor Prence and E
der William Brewster.
RANSOM BALDWIN, SR.
Ransom Baldwin, Sr. (decease-
was bom in Cheshire, Conn., March
I793» the son of James Baldwin,
that place, then a parish of WaUir,
ford. His mother's name was Bet:.
GoodscU. She was a daughter of .'
cob Goodsell and Lydia Dentson
East Haven.
The family of whkh Ransom
member moved to Meriden when \
was about two years old and sctt!i
on the Westfield road a little way li
yond the present Baldwin's n::.'
The house is still standing at tf
crown of the hill and seems like]; 1
last for an indefinite i)erio(l.
The father succcedeil to the r.:r
ning of the Hough mill uiiicfi fri t
that time lias been known as ilic Bal^
win mill. I
Ransom, at the age of twtutv-Anl
donning his freedom mi it, siaruu .1
for himself as a travrlini^ «iale<:man i
peddlor. his liusinos taking; huv.. .
ur titling out at Squire Vale'':, d^^i
through Virginia, North and S:3
Carolina.
He followed this busiiu vs tor aM
twrlvc \cars when he retircti fron *
avhxiiies and scttk-d npon a famn
the east side of the t<»\vn, at pre><
occupied by his descendants. In i
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BIOGRAPHIES.
397
litical sympathies Mr. Baldwin was
life-long Democrat of the Jackson-
1 type.
On Xoveml)er lo, 1823, he married
.rah Twiss. daughter of Joseph
RANSOM HALnWIX, SR.
id Lois Austin Twiss, and remained
I Meriden on his farm until his deat?i
n Xoveniher 3. 1870, leaving four
ui<lren : Sarah, who married William
irii^gs : Ransom, who married Mary
lali, of W'allingford ; Mary E., the
rife of Russell Hall ; Justina C, the
ife of Benjamin C. Kennard, of Mer-
len.
R.-\XSOM UALDWIX, JR.
Among the citizens who stand out
►romincntly as business men of the
past century is the late Ransom Bald-
win, Jr., who died December 25. 1897,
at 277 Wall street, Meriden. An ob-
ser\er of men naturally falls into the
habit of segregating a personality
here and there and collecting around
it as a center the events that lead to
the making of a successful man. Mr.
Baldwin furnishes material for such a
study not alone by reason of his con-
spicuous business career but because
of his high position as a private citi-
zen.
He was the son of Ransom and
grandson of James Baldwin, who es-
RANSOM IIALDWIN, JR.
tablished the saw and grist mill at
Baldwin's pond. The old homestead
where James Baldwin lived is still
standing in the eastern part of ^^eri-
398
A CENTURY OF MERJDEX.
den. lames Baldwin was stirrefl
by c'liid took active |>art in the Revolu-
tionary war. If there wa.s any other
goal to the anil)iti(m of this sixteen
year okl boy it wa.s buried under the
exciting events of the times. War
had reared its ugly iiead and the de-
mand was for soldiers. There were
other members of the family who par-
took of the resistless tendency toward
fighting for liberty. Ransom Bald-
win's maternal grandfather, Joseph
Twiss. enlisted with James I'al<lwin
and both made gallant records for
themselves.
In addition to farming Mr. Baldwin
conducted a tiour and grain business,
the one working in with the other and
bringing Mr. Ilaldwin iutu clo.sest
touch with the reM)urces of Mcridcn
and its business men. I he result was
natural, he became a large property
owner, and, in consequence, a large
taxpayer.
But he is greatly mistaken who
thinks Mr. Baldwin was limited to
business interests. He read much
and thought earnestly on the problems
of the day, especially on those prob-
lems that pertain to the uplifting of
the people. His opinions were not
formed to accord with the drift of
public opinion but were held with a
marked individuality of conviction.
He had large humanitarian sympa-
thies but believed that a deep reh'gious
life should be the vital energy of wise
and effective humanitarian effort. He
was for man\ years identified with
the First Baptist church, Meriden, to
which he was a liberal contributor.
In 1867 Mr. Baldwin was married
to Miss Mary Hall, of \\ alhiigioral
who has alwavs been in the worthier
sense of the word, the "partner" of
his business prosperity, and has sharei
to the fullest measure in liis hightT
thoughts and purposes. Mrs. Bal- -
win still survives him as al>o a daug! -
ter, Alice A., now Mrs. Charles M
gan, and a son. Ransom Lcland. ore
of the leading business men of the
town, whose sketeli api)ears lolluwini:.
Two children liave died. Flora C. an!
Henry H. lie left two si>ters al- >,
who are well known in Merit ien. Mrs.
B. C. Keunard and Mrs. Russell Hall
RAXSUM LELAND BALDWIN.
The f(nmdation for the thriviiii:
grain business of Ransom Lelanti
Baldwin was laid by his lather, tht
late Ransom Baldwin, a sketch ot
whose life appears above in this
volume. The son has successive-
ly enlarged his business as the years
have brought new experience and
strengthened the old. until he has be-
come one of the most substantial and
promising of the younger men of this
city.
Mr. Baldwin, whose mother was
Mary Hall, was born Jaiuiary
1870, in the house where he has lived
ever since. He attended the conmioa
schools and then instead of marching
into a new atid untried field, he made
his father's interests his own awl
learned the grain business on the home
farm consisting of 100 acres.
The mastery of a business is the
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BIOGRAPHIES.
399
ability to meet new conditions and
make them a prominent factor of the
old. Accordingly when Mr. Bald-
win's increasing trade, in 1899, de-
manded better shipping facilities he
built a large elevator on Xorth George
street — a commercial depot possess-
ing excellent railroad facilities and
connected with the X. Y., X. H. & H.
railroad by a spur track. He is able
to receive and ship goods in a manner
R-\NSO.M LHLA.ND UALDWI.V.
satisfactory to himself and his pat-
rons.
The elevator is a brick structure
built with every convenience for the
handling of grain and it is only nec-
essary to visit the big repository
whose capacity is from 12,000 to 15.-
000 bushels and l(M>k at the shutes to
get a slight hint of the large quantity
of grain and hay that is handled every
day under the owner's capable man-
agement.
Mr. Baldwin has never been satis-
fied to follow a narrow business ca-
reer, his field widens yearly, a con-
dition due to his well balanced com-
mercial faculties, tempered with the
elements of organization and execu-
tion— elements that are whetted by
his close attention to business.
His interests in life are not one-
sided. While the goddess of agricul-
ture has smiled blandly upon his acres
he has also grappled with the prob-
lems of finance and conducts a suc-
cessful brokerage business in the Byx-
bee block. Thus he is brought into
close relations with many public men
whom he might meet in his regular
work. His interest in the welfare of
his town is always at heart.
He belongs to Meriden Center
Lodge, F. and A. M., the Royal Ar-
canum, the .Meriden Lodge of Elks,
the Grange and the .Meriden Business
Men's Association. Like his father,
he is a mcml>er of the First Baptist
church.
WALDO C. TWISS.
Waldo Clinton Twiss. extensive
land owner and one who has built
and sold a great number of dwellings
in Meriden. was born in Montreal,
Can,, in 18J9, and is, therefore, just
the age of the railroad industry. His
parents were Ira and X'incie C An-
drews) Twiss. and his ancestor, Jo-
sei)h Twiss. fought at the battle of
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY
Saratoi^a. His father was a clock-mak-
er bv trade, and he and his brothers
were the iir<t Yankees to manufac-
ture clocks in Canada. As a boy the
subject of this sketch was of deli-
I'lioto by Akors & Pigeon.
W.XLCK) C. TWISS.
cate health which, however, he out-
grew. His parents removed to Mori-
den when he was seven years old and
he was educated in the district
schools and .Meri<len Academy, at-
tendinjr later the institute at Suffield.
His father, who kept the old tavern
at the corner of Broad and Kast Main
streets from 18^9 to 184.^. became the
owner of extensive lands, mostly in
the northern section of the town and
after erecting saw mills at Twiss pond,
gave his son. Waldo, the management
of them. The mills, somewhat com-
OF MERIUF.N.
plicated, proved a success and he 'M
his father were the pioneers in ba^
ging wheat t\ouT of their own mar*
facture, the quality of which was vefp
superior to any made. The worl d
the mills attracted customers iruq
great distances, some of its patroB
passing by three others to have dw
grinding done at Twiss Mills. 1
In 1870 he engaged in the lumba
business and the building of hoo-cs
on his own land and at one pcnc«dai
his operations as many as twent> an
of lumber were due at a time for )s
use. On Twiss street Mr. Twhs \m
erected many houses, wliile Britann:*
• IRA TWISS.
Murray, Clinton and Pearl streets aW
show the results of his enierprise ir
building up the town. For rnaoj
vears Mr. Twiss also carried on 1
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BIOGRAPHIES.
401
Iding moving business and while
was thus engaged practically all the
Idings moved were by him and his
^, including the old Baptist and
scopal churches. In moving the
er a gas pipe was broken, the only
akage of that kind that ever oc-
red in the twenty-five years he was
aged in business.
Ic began to purchase land on an
^sive scale during the Civil war
e and first bought a large tract for
jcx), and after selling a portion of
jificient to get his money back, still
led more than he had bought it
owing to the generous old-fash-
?d nieasurement. He afterwards
ght twenty-three acres from W'il-
n J. Tves, for which he paid $6.-
% and \i\ whom he was not re-
refl to give any security other than
^word and whom he paid out of his
•s to others. His next purchase
• twent\ -three acres, also outside
city limits in the eastern section of
' town and where he still owns
•h land desirable for building pur-
ic was married in i8^)0 to Cor-
a, daughter <>f Watrous Ives, of
riden, who died in 1900. after a
pv married life of nearly forty
rs. He has no living children.
MARSHALL LEL FORBES.
larshall Lee Forbes, a resident of
ridcn. now deceased, and who held
respect of the community, was
1 in P-ast Hartford. July 29. 1828.
was the son of Orin and Mary
6
I'orbes. Coming to this town from
Wallingford where he had previously
worked, he became employed by the
Meriden riritannia Company as a sil-
ver plater, which occupation he fol-
lowed until his death. He was indus-
trious and thrifty in his habits and be-
came a property owner and was al-.
ways known as a citizen of the town,
who had its interests at heart.
M AUSII Al.l. l.l.K l-dHi:K.S.
On .November 28. 1849. he married
Susan C. Hall, daughter of Iliel and
Sarah (Kirtland) Hall, of Walling-
ford. who still survives him and re-
sides in the comfortable residence
which he owned some years before his
regretted death. Mr. I'orbes served
creditably in the city government and,
with bis wife, was a devoted member
Google
402
A CENTCRY OF MERIDKN.
of St. Andrew's Episcopal church.
He was also a proniiiieiit nicniber of
the Masonic fraternity, being con-
nected with the blue lodge, W alling-
ford, and St. IClnio Cf)niniandery.
Knights Templar. He died Aj)ril 24,
1891. resj)ected by all who knew him.
His son, Henry Forbes, was born
in Wallingford January 2. 1851, was
educated in the public schools, but dur-
IIKNKV louitr.s.
ing the latter part of his life was in
very poor health. When he was
eighteen years of age his father built
for him a small greenhouse, and upon
his advice, the son employed himself
in the study and cultivation of flowers.
From this small start grew a florist
business of quite large proportions,
which was carried on for some years
with success.
Henry Forbes married May ♦
Ward, of K<H:hesier, .\. V.. but k
merly of Wallingford. The sunooi
ings of the greenhouse and the (iut
involved in conducting it, wi±
(juestion, prolonged the life of ;
younger Forbes, but at the age oi ti
ty he died, after having passed a n'v:
but active life. After his death :
florist business, which was at that tr
the largest in .\leriden, was conduc!
by his wife, a woman of except^'
business ability and energy-, who a
conducted the store on West Ui
street, until her death which occw
in 1894, when the busine«is was I
by Mrs. I-'orbes, Sr., to others 1
have since conducted it in the grfl
house adjoining her residence.
HOMER CURTISS.
Homer Curtiss, deceased, was b
August 4, 1800. at the Curtiss H i
stead, on Curtis street, where
father was also born. He spent !
eral years while a young inan. firs)
teaching school, and later as clerk
a store which he left because his p
ciples forbade his selling liquor,
thus early took a stand on the t
pcrance question which he mainia:
by precept and example ihrougli
■
his life.
About 1833. in partnership '
Harlow Isbell, he commenced
manufacture of latch keys, and b
of locks and knobs, in a buildiiUT
cated near the comer of Qt
street and High School avd
About 1845 the factory was rem^
Digitized by Google
lUOGkAlMIlKS.
to the site now occupied by the Hrad-
ley & Hiil)l)ar(l M f}^. Co., the firm hc-
iiifj Curtiss, Mory^an & Co.
In 1855 the factory was destroyed
by fire and the business removed to
Xorwalk and org^anized as the Xor-
walk Lock Co. In 1857 Mr. Curtiss
returned to Meriden and remained
until 1 86 1 when he removed to New
York. There he was engaged in the
IIO.MKU CIRTI.S.S.
hardware ljusiness until failing health
compelled him to retire from active
luisincss and he returned to Meriden
where he died .May 30. 1880.
Mr. Curtiss in early life united
with the Kirst Congregational church,
an<l went with that cluirch when it
moved to Colony street. In 1848 he
was elected a life deacon and served
until he moved to Xorwalk. He was
sui)erintendent of the Sunday school
and was for many years a teacher
there. Soon after he removed to New
York, there being a strong pro-slav-
ery sentiment in the community, he
with several members of the Presby-
terian church which he attended,
founded Pilgrims Church, now locat-
ed on 123rd street, to propagate anti-
slavery principles ; and he was a dea-
con and loyal supporter of that church
until his return to Meriden.
In 1835 married Julia Ann Up-
son. They had four children, all of
whom are living.
Mr. Curtiss was fearless in follow-
ing his convictions and "Dared to be
in the right with two or three."
Karly in the history of the Anti-
Slavery agitation he and Mrs. Cur-
tiss became ardent adherents of that
cause and gave to it freely of their
time and substance. fre(|uently suffer-
ing serious loss in consequence.
Their home was a station of the "Un-
derground Railway" and many fugi-
tives passed through it on their way
to freedom.
Mr. Curtiss maintained an unblem-
ished reputation as a business nrin
and Christian citizen through his long
life, being everywhere respected and
loved, and his "works do follow him."
HEXRY J. CHURCH,
Henry James Church, during his
life, was one of the oldest and best
known men engaged in the undertak-
ing business in the state. Whiie born
. y Google
A CENTCRV OF MERIUCX.
at East Haven a greater part of his
useful life was spent in Meriden where
he died May 20, i</)3. The date of
his birth was August i, 1831. He
was a son of James and Huldah
(Barnes) Church and was descended
from Thomas Church, who came
from England in 1680 and settled in
Platnfield, Conn. Henry J. Church s
grandfather, a farmer of Haddam and
a C<Mitinenta1 soldier in the Revolu-
tionary war. was taken a prisoner by
the British and being confined in their
prison ship in Xew York harbor, es-
caped by swimming, a feat which
historians record as unequalled by any
other man during the Revolution.
Mr. Church was also descended from
patriotic ancestr\' on the maternal
side : for his grandfather, Isaac
liarncs. a farmer of Kast Haven, e-i-
listctl (Itning tlu- Revolution and un-
der IJenedict Arnold niarched from
Xew Haven to Tieondcroga.
jlenry Cluircli. father of Henry J.,
a shoemaker l)y trade, and who spent
many y«irs enga;^ed in the retail slux'
business in the West ln<lies. served
his coiintry as a soldier in the W ar of
1S12. He died in l-'ast Haven m
iS3<). and his son. Henry I., who
.spent his boyhood in his native town,
Xev. I'ritain and Meriden. was the
last of seven rliiMren ti» survive him.
.\])prentK«.(l a> a cahiiiLt maker In
1S.17. he liecame a skille<l workman at
tlial trade and later became a clerk in
a .Mrriden luniUiite store. W lu n the
Civil war broke out he follMucvl the
e.xaaiple set by his forefailu r> atid in
August, iSG^. enlisted from .Meriden
in Company V. 15th Conn. Vols. He
took almost immediate active servict
at the front and his regiment was tr-
gaged in the battle of Fredericksbi!::
and the siege of Suffolk. He v^ic
later assigned to the subsistence (>
partment of the Anny of the Potomai-
under General Bumside with vsh<
he remained until i8r >3. but contincr
in active service tn the North Caro-
lina district until the close of ho^itiV
ties. After receiving his honorahlc
discharge July 8. 1865. he returnnlt
Meriden and engaged in the untk^-
taking business. Through the e»--
dent painstaking service he render,
the people, many years before
<lcath he had established the large-:
oldest and best known cstablishimni
within several miles of the city. Oi a
naturally kindly and humane disjxxi-
tion, he couhl not fail to win Xhv
personal gratit;!de ami regard uf a):
who employed hini. He was usualh
called to arrange the services in ca>r*
of bereavement not entirel\ confinul
to the older and leading tainilio.
During his life he ofHciaied at tlu «r-
vices of over i\O K^ ])eo])lo but *i r-
ing the latter years of his life wa^ as-
.si.sted by his son. Louis H. C liunrh.
who succee<le(l him upon his re-
gretted decease.
He was a member and i)ast prf«'.-
dent of the Xew Mngland an<I the
Connecticut l iidertakers' Ass<x'iati> i>
and stood high as was possible i*''
anv man to >tand in his profVs>ii'n
He w as a prouum ni nu nibcr anil p*-**
couunander of Mrrriaiu I'ost.
K. ; served as a member of the d':
Digitized by Google
405
^^nvernment in both the Common
* i)uiK-il and r.nard nf Aldermen; was
a mcnibt.r of the higher branches of
the Ma>(»iiic order, bein.u: connected
with the St. Ehno C'dmniaiidiTv, K.
T., and was a past ma.sier ul Meridian
I-fxlge. A. F. & A. M.; lie was also a
cliarter member of Myrtle Lr>dc:e. K.
of P.: Silver Cuy LotlL:^'. X(i. 3. A.
( ). U. \\ .. and w a-^ an honorary mem-
ber of Meridcn Center Lodge, Xo. 68,
I. ( ). O. F.
l\v was married in 1853 to b'liza-
bcih. dauijhter of Luke i . and I'^liz-
abctli ( I'ostcr ) Draper, of Monson,
^fas';.. and they had five children, of
whom Louis H. is the onI\ 'Mk ^ur-
vivinji^. Mr. Church i'^ niiKiiiti'red,
nrit only as a man who conchicit d hi'^>
iji!siness on a ]»lane with the ])rofes
sions. I'Ut line wlm wa-- a 'jfood citi-
zen. nci.i:bl)<.r and friend indeed to all
who knew him.
LOUIS IL CHURCH.
Lf'in< Henry Church. Meriden's
k-a<lin^ funeral <lirector and who in
business succeeded his father, liie late
Henry J. Church, was born in Meri-
(leii Janrary 15. 1878. His education
in the local public sclxmls was fol-
lowed In an attendance at the schools
of embalming; from which he ij^rad-
nated. bow yoini^: nun li.-i\o been
favored with better training for their
profession, but he was never sent to
r'>Ilege to be taught to think. Vrow.
hoyhoorl he became associated with
hi5i father, who taught him in the old
anil thorough way his life's calling.
and the high standard of which he has
alway.> maintained. The present well
e(|uip])ed establi.shment, the oldest in
Meriden, stands near the site where
young Mr. Cliurcii was born and he
naturally became an imdertaker.
Perhai)s ntvtr was the saying " like
father like son more forcibly illus-
trated than in Louis Church aufl bis
deceased father. Henry Church, lie
not only resembles him in personal
a])pearance, except being taller in
siature, but in action.-, methods and
disposition, Ihat he fills in aii offi-
cial capacity the place in the busi-
n«.s.^ wnrld made vacant In die loss
of his father is a fact fully concede 1
by the better and older fantilies of
this vicinity by whom be constant-
ly emploxcd and ha> mjoNcd an ac-
(|uaintance with {nr many years.
While imbiie<l with tbr teachings ')f
his father who was of the old .*ichool,
he is also an authority on the mod-
ern nirtlmds of the business of which
he has iiecome master.
The first glance at tbc establish-
ment he conducts suggests 10 the vis-
itor nothing as to the nature of the
wcrk done there unlc-^^ lie k)oks fur-
ther than the large and nicely fur-
nished office, finished in well i)olislKtl
hardw»>od fittings; Init hidden from
view is a full tledged morgue. .\d-
joining the office is a mortuary cha])-
el and beyond that a workroom. The
office is never closed night or day an<l
two competent assistants are em-
pl< >\ed.
Mr. i hnrch, having been l orn an<l
brouKht up in the business which he
Digitized by Google
»
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
406
has by study and long practice devel-
oped to a scientific standard, enjoys
the fullest confidence of the commun-
ity. His funeral arrangements are
always to be relied upon in every de?
tail which he attends' to with that
kindly consideration for the feelings
of his fellownicn which must be in-
born.
As a resident of Merklen Mr.
Church i.^ lieKl in higii rii^;ird by the
citizens. Ho resides with his family
in the old I lunch homestead. 78
rieasant street, and is a prominent
figure in vi^ial hfe. From early
manhiMul he ha^ been an active mcni-
btr of the hirst Methodist church, of
Meriden. in which he takes a
deep intere.^it. He is als^^i a member
of several fraternal nr-anizations.
He is identified with tin- Masons,
holdinj.^^ membershii) willi Meridian
1 "d.ije. rj. .\. F. & \. M.; Meriden
Cer.Tcr INhIl^^c, /)S, I. ( ). ( ). F. : Meri-
den Fod^e, ^S. I'. 1*. Hlks; Mvr-
tie Fodi,^e. 4. Kniyfhtsof Pythias; Col-
umbia Council, American Mechanics;
Alfred H. Hall Coimcil, Royal Arca-
iinm : Charles F. I pham Camp. , Sons
of X'cterans. an ! is one of the charter
numbers <>t the Colonial C hd) of
Meriden. Jn politics he is a Repub-
lican. He is also a member of the
Meriden llusiness Men's Ass«>ciation
and the Connecticut Undertakers' As-
i(<KMation. He stands at the head of
his profession and has met with fa-
vor from a fastidious clientele, the re-
.%tilt of the fact that he has attained
his position by the merit of his own
effort.
He is married to Maude UTq
Marshall, of Brooklyn, X. Y., u
they have the following named di^1
dren: Grace Huntington* .\rj:
Louise and Elizabeth Augusta.
THE MCRIXK k FAMIL\.
The first of the Murd*-Kk fa:i:i' l
come to ihi.s conntr> was IVtvr. -
of ]ohn Murdock and .Mar} 1 Mt
son* AInrdock. They were tiaf.'.'.- *
Scotland ])ut removed to Fir ■^H
Ireland, on account of relij^dov- -I
.secutions. lohn Mnrdixrk was :i 1
subject of William of ( iranije in 'a':
interests he sarrihced nearly .iP ■
proi)erty, lH»r this rea>oiJ Pet«:
.sent to live with his uncle. a!.M> ria J
I'eter, in the north of Eng^lan':. |
seventeen years of ai;e he enii;.;n i
to this cmmtry. landini; in Fhil...:!
phia with but a crow n in his }>>:• '
Naturally of a frugal and in !* <tr ;
disposition, he saved enough to i:" t
to mercantile business. He. bi^'
settled on Fontj^ Fsland and marr
Mary E. Fithin, of Southainpt »i
He then openc<l a store in fiastH^i '^
ton which he left in charge -"i
wife while he engaged in the coastfiij
trade with a small vcMd. He p-^
chased later. 2.200 acres of hud 1
Little Egg Harbor, \. J., and ^
acres more at what is now Wesrbnvi
Conn., removing his store to the -i|
ter town and continuing there
his death November d, 1755.
John Murdock, only chiM of Pti^'
and Mary, was bom in East Hmf^
Long Island, in 1706. He beofs
Digitized by Google
Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
a large lain! hwikt and a successful
fanner in Westbrof k. and was one of
the deacons of the Congregational
church, major in the colonial militia,
judge of the Court of Common Pleas
of New London conntv and also rep-
resented the town of Sax brook in the
legislature. He married f^hebe Sill
of Lyme, who died ten months after
the marriaire. His second wife was
Frances Conklin of E;ist Hampton
who bore him thirteen children and
three of their sons were graduates of
Vale Collej^e.
William Murdock, son of John,
born Auj:(ust 31. 174D, was a farmer
in Westbrook; he married Jerusha
Lay of Lyme and they bad thirteen
cbiMrni. His fourth child, Peter
^lurdock, the patriot* was a cabin
boy, servinj^ three voyages on the pri-
vateers "John Jay" and "Thomas Mar-
shall" dnritig the Revolution and re-
ceived $300 prize money on the first
trip. In later life, he was a fanner in
Westbrook. He married Mrs. Bath-
sheba ( Dod^^e) Bush, widow of John
tiush, of East Lyme. To this union
were boni the following: children:
Polly I'., who became Mrs. DeW'olf,
of CHnt ii. Conn.; Charles and Delia,
twins, the latter of whom married
Edw. Dowd. and was the mother of
Zina Dowd, of Meriden ; Emeline. who
married Horace Xettleton. of Clinton,
Conn. : Zina Kelsey. and Matthew
Griswold. Mrs. Murdock by her
marriaire to John LUish was the moth-
er of benner, John and Amaziah
r.ush. I'enner iiush being: prominent
in his day in the manufacturing life
of Meriden; Mr. Murdock died at
Westbrook in 1853.
Zina Kelsey Murdock was bom at
Westbrook, March 2, 181 1, and re-
ceived his education tlicre. Althougfi
in delicate health, but being ambitious,
at the age of fourteen, he walked from
Wt stbn^ok to Meriden where his halt
brother, Fenner Bush was engaged in
manufacturing i\-ory combs, in whose
employ he worked for several y ears,
finally becoming the partner of Cur-
tis L, North and carried on a trading
business along the shores of the Mis-
sissippi and Ohio rivers, leaving^ Mr.
Xorth to manage the insurance and
investment business in Meriden. The
outcome not being satisfactory to Mr.
Murdock, he dissolved partnership,
leaving Mr. Xorth in full possession.
He later bought a large farm on Mur-
dock avenue, where his son, George
Vk ALurdock now resides. Mr. Mur-
dock was a man of strong character
and believed in every man receiving
his just rights. He was also a man
possessed of indomitable courage an-!
energy, a well trained mind and cul>
tivated intellect.
During the so-called Meriden riots
in 1837, Mr. Murdock, with several
other advocates of free speech, took
a stand in favor of allowing tlie Rev.
Mr. Ludlow to lecture on anti-slav-
ery, which in consequence of the prt-
vailtng sentiment in Meriden caused
a mob to gather during* which the de-
fenders of free speech were severely
injured.
Mr. Murdock was a Whig in poli-
tics during the existence of that party.
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
411
but during the last years of his life
supported the Democratic party. He
never sought or accepted any political
office. Both Mr. Murdock and his
wife belonged to old Congregational
families and were members of that
church but in later life joined the
Episcopal church.
He married Harriet M. Bronson*
daughter of Judge Bennet and An-
na (Smith) Bronson, of Waterbury,
to whom three children were bom:
Mary E., October 8, 1843; George
Bronson, February 25. 1846, and
Charles Z., May 1, 1850. Mr. Mur-
dock died January 30, 1874, and his
wife survived him twenty years, pass-
ing away in 1895.
George B. Murdock, oldest son of
Zina K. and Harriet M. Murdock, at-
tended the Meriden public schools,
Meriden Academy and the Russell
Militar}' Academy at New Haven.
He grew to manhood on the farm
where he has always remained en-
gaged in general agriculture.
Mr. Murdock is one of the directors
of the Meriden Savings Bank and was
one of the organizers of the Meriden
Grange, the first three years of which
he was master. He was married in
Meriden in 1896 to Harriet Elizabeth
Graves, of Xew Haven. Their chil-
dren are George Peter, born May 11,
1897; Harriet Josephine, born Octo-
ber 22, 1898, and Bennet Bronson,
bom January 15, 1901.
Charles Zina Murdock, youngest
son of Zina K. and Harriet M. (Bron-
son) Murdock, was bom on his fath-
er's farm May i, 1850. He attended
the Meriden public schools and the
Meriden Academy and also the Rus*
sell Military Academy at New Haven.
He remained upon the home fami
until he was thirty-eight years old,
previous to which he was engaged in
general agriculture and dairy farm-
ing. In 1888, by agreement with his
mother and brother, he took one hun-
dred acres of his father's estate on
Paddock avenue, upon the highest ele-
vation of which he has erected his
present modern residence.
He is a member of the Meriden
Grange and belongs to no other so-
ciety; is domestic in his tastes, well
versed in the topics of the day and is
an extensive reader of the best lit-
erature.
He was married March 6, 1889, to
Miss Alice C. Carter, who is remem-
bered as a woman of marked beauty,
a warm and generous heart and cul-
tivated mind, with a keen apprecia-
tion of the highest and noblest in
daily life, and who died April 25, 189 1,
and was buried in the West cemetery
at Meriden. But one child was born
to the union. Carter Z., Feb. 12, 1891.
REV. HARVEY MILLER.
One of the clerg^'men of the town
who enjoyed the esteem of the com-
munity in a marked degree was the
late Rev. Harvey Miller, who was for
eighteen years pastor of the First
Baptist church.
He was born in Wallingford, the
son of Samuel Miller. His father
was a preacher before him and like
Digitized by Google
412
A CENTURY OF MERIUEX.
tlic divines of his pcriiKl had to rely
upon other methods of money mak-
ing; than that which he received at the
hands of his cluirch society. He
taiij^ht school dnrinjj the day and cob-
bled shoes at night.
Harvey Miller was one of a fam-
ily of Hiine boys and early in life re-
ceived a lameness, cause<l by stepping
on a scythe, from which he never
REV. JIARVKV .MILLER.
recovered. This gave him a
hailing gait. .\t one lin^e he suf-
fered severely from inllammatory
rheumatism and was able to walk only
with the aid of crutches which he dis-
carded wlien in the pulpit and his
wise sermons were delivered under
great personal physical pain. As a
boy he was delicate and he never ac-
quired a physi(pie sufficiently stror.;;
to lead the life of the clerg}-rr.in
whose deeds furnish sudi a brijjh
spot on the pages of the histor} t
this town.
He was burn .\pril 3, 1814. a?"
died .\ugust 27. 1856. He u-as ch-
eated in the district schix)! and -J-i
Hamilton Theological Seminar). • •:
Xew York. His first past«,>raie rxs
at Ann Arbor, Mich., but he reniai*: '
there but a short time owing l^- •..
health, which was caused by the p '
board furni-hed hiiiL
During his eighteen years as jv--
tor of the I'irst Ilaptist church. :
.society grew and prosj)ered l)«»ih sf'ir
itually and otlurwi.se. The kind ai.-;
sympathetic nature of its pastor wi:
always a .stnirce of comfort to itj
luembers and his able sermons alwa}j
pre.sentecl ou evangelical lines resuh-
ed in the .saving of many scnils.
His wife was Sarah Rosetia lvi-i
and their children were as foIlo^\'
Sarah Eliza. Mrs. Edwanl A. Wilo
of St. Paul. .Minn., bt^rn July 5. i!^4--
died .April 8. 1886: Catherine Juiit'
widow of I'-dward H. Vale, of .Men-
den, Ix^rn March 21. 1844: .Vina
Iiird.'^ey Miller, born .\ug. 21. iS;^
died July I. iSCnj: \ incie RtJ^fta.;
born June 15. 1851. dieil IX-cern^t^
19. 1855.
During his married life .Mr. MiBcr
lived with his family at the pars-ona^
standing on Ilroad strcx't. ne.vt aJ-
joining the residence of Edward Mij-
ler. which was afterward pTirchaiei'
of the church .society by his wido>*.
.Mr. Miller during his life wx*;
Google
mOGRAI'HIES.
deeply interested in cdncational mat-
ters and was a member of the sch(X^l
committee for many years. He
served as a member of the visitin^j
committee and also selected the text-
books i:sed in the -Meriden schools in
his time.
His only siirvivinj^^ dauj^hter is Mrs.
Kdward 11. Vale, who for many
years has been a widow and has con-
<lucte<i. with her son. a larj^e farm on
the Xorth Colony road until 1905.
when n|)on her son's marriaj^^e. she
leased the farm to him and has since
remained there bnt a portitjn of the
time.
CII.\RLi:S S. I'iLRKlXS.
Charles Smith Perkins, national
bank examiner of Connecticut and
Rhode Island, is one of the best
known F.'deral officials of the state,
lie was born on Perkins street. .\ew
Haven. May n. 1854. and is the son
of Charles Perkins, who durii:ix the
latter part of his life, was a promi-
nent contractor an<l a partner of H.
Wales l,ines. His mother was ICu-
nice. dauj^hter of Deacon David
.^mith. of W'oodbridj^e. Conn.
He was educated in the public
schfMjls of Xew Haven. Russell's In-
stitute. Xew Haven, and finished at
the academy at Cheshire. In iXjo he
c;1t^^ed the Home Xalional P»ank. of
Meriden. where he remained contin-
iiMi sly for twenty-nine years. In iS</>
he received the appointment as natinn-
al bank examiner, by the Cnited States
Treasury Department, to succeed Mi-
chael Dooley. of Hartford, who had
resigned to become the head of a large
financial institution of Providence, R.
I. Mr. Perkins has since acted in his
official capacity under the comptroller
of the currency and his duties recpiire
him to visit every national bank in
Connecticut and Rhode Island, once a
year, and to see that they observe the
regulations set ftjrlh by the govern-
ClIAKLKS S. I'KKIsINS.
ment at Washington. Probably no
man in the state has had a greater ex-
perience or is better fxtsted on bank-
ing matters, than Mr. Perkins, and
his service as a national l)ank ex-
aminer retlects credit upon this town
where he has resiiled the greater por-
tion of his life.
He has served .Meriden both as town
and city treasurer, having served sev-
Digitized by Google
414
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
tn years in the former and six years
in the latter office. While not at the
present writinjj active in politics, he
was for many years a prominent mem-
ber of the Republican town commit-
tee. He has for thirty years been a
member of the Home Club, with which
social orjjanization he was affiliated
when it was known as the Meriden
Club. He is a member of Meridian
Lodjje, 77. .\. 1'. & A. M.: Keystone
Chapter and Hamilton Council. He
is also a member of St. Klmo com-
mandery. i). \\. T.. and was for some
years its recorder.
He has been twice married ; first,
in 1877. to Laura liloodj^ood. and to
that union two children were born;
September 24. iS8(). he was ajjain
married to Ada Titt. of Meriden: to
them four chiMren were born, three of
whom are now livini^. two boys and
one jjirl. .Mr. Perkins with his fam-
ily resides on .\orth Colonv street.
REW lOEL S. I\ ES.
Joel .Stone Ives was born in Cole-
brook. Coimecticut. December 5.
1847. His father. Rev. .Alfred
Eaton Ives. N'ale i8^^7. was descended
from William Ives, who came from
Enj^laud to Ouinnipiac in 1637 and
from John Howland. of the Mayflow-
er company ; his mother. Harriet
Piatt Stone had as anevstors John
Stone, of ("luilford. the Rev. Thomas
Hooker and Govern^ir Treat. Fit-
tinjj for collef^e at his home in Cas-
tine. Maine, he j^ratluated at Am-
herst in 18701 and received his .\. M.
in 1872. l)i:rinj; the schoe>l vcor
1870-1871 he taught in what --.'^
then the Railroad district, the <cb,»i
house beinjj[ on Colony street s-tjiI
of the entrance to the State ^^mindi
After three years in Vale Di\-iniif
sch(X)l he received his li. D. in 18,%
In May of the same year he went td
East Hampton. Connecticut, ami id
SepteMiiber was ordaineel |)astor of iM
KEV. JOEL S. IVES.
Congregational church. r»eing ^
missed in 1883, he was iminedialdj
installed pastor at Stratford where hf
remained for sixte*en ye^ars. Xovrtn*
ber, i8g(), he became secretary of Thf
Missionary S(K'iety of Connection
and moved to his wife's home, 43**
Colony stree't. although the c^ffice »
at 426 Asylum street, Hartford.
mOGRAPIIIES.
Mr, Ives was on the school boards
both in East Hampton and Stratford ;
president of the Stratford Library
association, 1885- 1899, during which
time the elegant library building was
const meted ; president of the John
Stone Association ; registrar of the
Fairfield Hast Consociation for ten
years; director of The Missionary
Society 1894-1899; registrar and sta-
tistical secretary of the general con-
ference of the Congregational
churches of Connecticut since 1898;
moderator of the General Association
in 1895 and its registrar and treasurer
since 1899; registrar of the National
Council of Congregational Churches
of the Ignited States since 1900. lie
has published several sermons and
historical addresses and numerous pa-
pers relative to the missionary work,
giving particular attention to the
problems of immigration and has
been a frecjuent contributor to various
publications.
July 15, 1874, he married Hmnia
Sarah, the daughter of Joel Ives Hut-
ler. who was the grandson of Com-
fort and Dolly Ives Butler. Father
and daughter were born in the Lieut.
Comfort IJutler house on Kensing-
ton avenue, which house, one of the
oldest domiciles of this locality, is
shown elsewhere. Dolly Ives was
descended from John, the son of
W illiam Ives, who took up land in
Xcw Haven village, now Walling-
ford. They have had five children,
three of whom are livitig. .Anne Km-
ma. Joel Hutler and Dwight .Stone
Ives.
ASAHKL H. CURTIS.
Asahel Harrison Curtis was a resi-
dent of Meriden and connected with
the Curtis family which has been so
noticeably prominent in the history of
the town during the past century.
He took a most active part in its
business and political affairs until his
4
AS.MIEL II. CURTI.S.
death which occurred July 23. 1877.
He was born in Meriden and was a
.MMi of Enos H. Curtis. He attende !
the common schcK)ls of the town and
began his business career in part-
nership with a son of Julius Vale with
whom he con<h!cted the grocery bus-
iness for a number of years. In 1840
he was married to Juliet Vale who,
at an advanced age. still srrvivt-s him.
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OK MERIDKN.
and who, at this writinj?. is the only
siTvivinjj descendant of Charles Yale,
the founder of Valesville.
Mr. Curtis was a man whose scrup-
ulous honesty won the united confi-
dence of his fellow townsmen and his
financial ability hroujjht him a hitjh
])osition in the conunnnity.
At the time of his death he had been
for eleven vears the treasurer of the
KNOS II. C I K I IS.
Meriden Savings I'lank. Iiavin}^; pre-
viously enjoyed the distinction of hav-
inij been the first treasurer of the Cil>
of Meriden, to which office he was
chosen in 1807.
Mr. Curtis was also postmaster of
^leriden for a number of years and
was appointed to that office by Pres-
ident Millard l-'illmore. He was a man
whose character was above reproaci
but was not a member of any ch'jrd
society. He was, however, a Mastti
Mason and als<3 a member of Caiir;
Lodge, I. O. O. F. His death wa« -
verely felt by the people of Mentkn
He is survived bv no childi
D.W in BLOOM FIELD.
r
David lUoomfield, oldest nwWrtev
of Meriden. was bom in CronroTll
Conn., .\ovember 6, 1851. He is df
scended from Welsh ancestr>" and hi
j.;:ran(l father, David Bloomfield. was ;
native of \\'(X)dbridge» N. J., ^
si)ent his life in agricultural pursiuL-
His mother was Eli2abeth (Butler
riloomfield. a native of Statcn Isl.
a woman of strong religious inclr
tions. His father, Nathan Bloom
field, was a ship builder and somcthrr
or f(nir years before Da\nd was b '
engaged in ship can)entering at Cr
well and still later formed a partner
shi|) with .\ntlrew F. Parker and c
«lucted a ship building business a
Middle Haddam, where he died it
1861. -gr
Young David obtained his early ed-
ucation at Middle Haddam and wh
he became old enough to handle car-
penters' tools, industriously assisted
his father in his spare time until the
age of seventeen.
He came to Meriden in 1869 and
continuing to work at carpentering,
being ambitious, he t»^)k up the study
of architecture and mechanical draw-
ing. During his young manhood he
worked a portion of the time in Massa-
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BIOGRAPHIES.
4i8
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
chusctts whore lie made the fortunate
ac(juainlance ut 11. L. Shule, who
look an interest in liim.
In 1886 he felt warranted from his
previous successes to open an office in
Meriden and engage in tlie profession
of architecture whicli lie has success-
fully carried on to the present time.
Among the many structures de-
signed and their construction super-
intended by Mr. Bloom tie Id may be
named the following: FrankHn street,
Columbia street, Liberty street and St.
Laurent's school houses; St, Mary's
Roman Catholic and German lAith-
eran churches, the C. W. Cahill block,
the Beuchler block, the Schwander
block, Fox's block, the Record build-
ing, the Journal building, Pacific
Lodge building, the residence of the
late W, F. Rockwell, First Congre-
gational Church parsonage, and the
residences of the late Edward J. Col-
lins, L B. Miller, A. S. Thomas, Mrs.
Mary Wilson, George Rockwell, W.
L. Squire, and of many others in this
city.
When the office of plumbing in-
spector was created in 1894 he was
made the first incumbent ; and the du-
ties of that office he has performed ef-
ficiently and satisfactorily to the pub-
lic ui> to the present time.
He was appc^inted fire marshall by
Mayor Ives in 1893, a position which
his knowledge of building construc-
tion admirably fits him to serve the
interests of the citizens. He has also
served two years as a member of the
Common Council and was a member
of that body from the Fifth ward in
1893 and 1894. He was one of ilit
directors of the Pacific Rtal E>ts:c
Association and during the diflftculucs
of Pacific I^dge, L O. O. F.. a: a
the construction of the buildin*:. a*
one of the first to put his shouldr "
the wheel and guide the enterprist
success.
He is a member of the Mcrijca
Board of Trade, Business Men s A>s.-
ciation, Montowese Tribe, I. O. R. - U
and Colonial Club. Jn i.'^84 he a
married to Miss Clara R. Richards. <^
Bristol, Conn.
WILLIAM L. BRADLEY,
Perhaps no resident of Meric
during the century of its existence
an incorporated town, ever won to
higher degree the admiration and
teem of his fellow townsmen than
the late William L. Bradlev. His lil
furnishes not only a conspicnoas
ample of perseverance and
worthy to be chronicled in the
of history but one which may well
emulated by generations follow
him.
Bom in Cheshire, Conn., Ma}
1826, he was a son of Levi and AMi
gail A. (Atwater) Bradley, and 1^
progenitors on both sides are tracdl
directly to the first settlers of .V«*j
Haven county. His early antes rxJ
William Bradley, was a major in Oij
ver Cromwell's army, and he kam^
grated to this country and settled il
North Haven as far back 35
\\ iUiaiii i.. r.radley was al>o '1
scended from David Atwaur. one
1
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
the first planters of New Haven, who
tlie records show, settled there iti 1639.
William L. Bradley, as a bo\ , at-
tended the district school of his native
town, following' which he further pur-
sued his education at the academies
of Southing^ton and ( "hcsliire. con-
chiding his schooling at the Lancas-
terian School at New Haven.
At the age of thirteen he began his
reinarkable business career as a clerk
in a New Haven dry goods store, and
at seventeen he became a member o£
the firm of one of the largest dry
goods houses in that city. The busi-
ness not being entirely congenial to
hi> tastes he withdrew his interest in
ilie store and entered the employ of
Charles Parker as traveling salesman.
That he adapted himself to his new
circumstances with unusual versatil-
ity seems to be proven by his success
in largely increasing the sales of his
employer.
With the consent of Mr. Parker, he
also became interested with a friend
in the manufacture of portemonnaies.
and later in the manufacture of
cWcks and small metal wares with his
brother. Nathaniel L. Bradley, and
Walter Hubbard, which afterward de-
veloped into the Bradley & Hubbard
Manufacturing Co.. the largest indus-
try of its kind in the world.
During this period he purchased
four acres of land in West Meriden
and erected a fine residence thereon,
wliich is still standing. He improved
and beautified this property to a no-
ticeable extent, and gradually added
more land to the estate until it com-
prised over two hundred acres. Tn
this house his two sons, I'eter
n. and Robert S., and one daughter,
Abby A. Bradley, who now survive
him, were born, and with his family
he occupied the house for many years.
Although it is now over forty years
since he removed with his family
from the city, the estate nnw occupied
by the Meriden Golf Ckib, is still
well kept and almost intact, although
as stated elsewhere in this book, is ere
long to be cut up into house lots.
It was in 1861 that Mr. Bradley
saw the future possibilities of chemi-
cal fertilizers and it was he who first
embraced the opportunity in this
country to make a success of that in-
dustry.
With his notes endorsed for a lim-
ited amoTuit by Oakes Ames, of Bos-
ton, whom he had interested in his
project, he began the manufacture of
fertilizers in a factory situated on the
banks of the old South Bay, Boston.
The business soon outgrew this small
plant and later another anl 1 irger fac-
tory was built at Xorth \\ eymouth,
which eventually became the largest
of its kind in the n-. *'^^*!.
Greater and greater became the de-
mand for Bradley's fertilizers until
their use became general among the
farmers in the east and south.
In 1872 the business was incorpo-
rated under the name of the Bradley
Fertilizer Company and branch offices
were established at Rochester, N. Y.,
Cleveland. O.. Baltimore, Md., and
Augusta, Ga., Mr. Bradley continuing
at the head of the corporation as pres-
Digrtized by Google
420
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
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422
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
ident and manager. Later he became
largely interested in other fertilizer
works at Carteret, N. J., Cleveland,
O., Baltimore, Md., and Charleston, S.
C, besides operating extensive phos>
phate mines in South Carolina and
Florida.
His early struggles and constant
cares so impaired his health that he
retired from active business some
years before his death, and .was re-
lieved from the management of his
various large enterprises by his sons,
Peter B. and Robert S. Bradley, who
had been associated with him for
many years. During the last years of
his life he devoted much of his time to
the care of his beautiful country es-
tate at Hingham, Mass., where he
died after a short illness December
15, 1894. He had attained the age of
sixty-eight years, and his active life,
kind disposition and benevolence will
ever be remembered by those who
knew him.
Mr. Bradley was married in 1848
to Frances Martina Coe, the daughter
of Calvin and Harriet (Rice) Coe,
who before her marriage lived with
her parents on the celebrated Coe farm
in the Hanover district. Two sons
and one daughter, as stated above, sur-
vive him.
THE WM. L. BRADLEY ESTATE.
This old estate, comprising over
200 acres, and one of the grandest in
all Connecticut, is soon to be invaded
by streets and gradually portioned off
into residence lots. The history of
this estate, every square foot of which
furnishes delightful views of the cel-
ebrated Meriden Hanging Hills and '
other charming scenery of woodland I
hill and dale, recalls pleasant mem- j
ories to the people of Meriden, both !
of present and past generations.
The original estate, purchased
from Hezekiah Rice in 185 1 by the
late William L. Bradley, comprised
but four acres upon which Mr. Brad-
ley erected a fine house and spent a
large amount of money in beautifying
the grounds. To this small acreage
he continually added by subsequent
purchases of adjoining property until
the estate embraced over two hundred
acres of the most beautiful lands in
this part of Connecticut.
The name of the so-called "Old
Road" was changed to Bradley ave-
nue; and Hanover street was put
through on the other side of the prop-
erty. The Introduction of street cars
has now brought the whole estate
within ten minutes of the heart of
Meriden.
A section of the estate, years ago.
was converted into a fair grounds and
in those days the "Meriden Fair** was
held successfully every year. The
marks of the old race track over whidi
noted races were run, although now
merged into the giant velvety lawn,
are still discemable on close inspec-
tion. Within the past few years the
estate, with the old homestead for a
club house, has been leased by the
Meriden Golf Qub and used exclu-
sively by the members. The grounds
have been admirably laid out for the
Digitized by Google
mOGRAPHICS.
purpose and comprise as desirable an
area fur llie ^anie as is to be found
in New England.
The present owners of this proper-
ty, Peter P.. and Robert S. Brad-
ley, sons of the late W^illiani I,.' Brad-
ley, both of whom were horn in the
Bra<lley honicstcad, bnt for many
years have been prominent in business
circles of Boston, have planned to al-
low the entire estate to be sold into
house loti>, stipulatins^^ only that honses
to !>e built thereon shall be of a cer-
tain value. With this aim in view
the property has been placed in the
hands of the well known real estate
asrents of Meriden. Holt & Stevens,
The owners will furnish capital to
build houses on the property if de-
sired by purchasers of land. It bids
fair, therefore, to assume that ere
Meriflen bej^ius licr seconti century as
an incorporated town the picturesque
l^radley estate will have assumed
the a[)pea ranees and evidences of a
fashionable residence section.
ANTHONY S. TUOMAS.
Anthony S. Thnmas, a prominent
Tiurchant of Meriden, was born at
Xcwburj^^h. X. Y., July 14, 1845. ITe
is the son of John W. and Maliala
Iliomas, his father bein^ a uative 01
Leeds. N. \.. aud was an iron mould-
er by trade. Mis mother died when
he was but five and a half years old
and he was but thirteen wlieu he was
left an orphan. He received his early
e<lucation in the commou scIkxjIs of
his native town but later entered the
423
pul)lic schools of Napauoch and af-
terwards coutinuing his schooling at
i^ort Jervis, X. Y. ; but finally re-
turned and hnishcd his education at
New burgh.
After the death of his father he se-
cured emi)loyment in a general store
at Cameron Mills, N. Y.. where he se-
cured his first insight into mercantile
life. After some \ ears' service in stores
elsewhere he was eugaL,'ed as salesman
by John Hinchman Co., a whole-
sale hosiery concern of Xew York
City. After Mr. Thomas had ac-
quired a lari;e trade he became later
associated with tlie wholesale depart-
ment of Jordan, Marsh c'l- Co., of Bos-
ton, for whom he conlmued represen-
tative until 1881 when he established
himself in business in Meriden in the
present location, and since which time
the store has been noticeably enlarged
at two diflferent periods.
The store as first started gave em-
ployment to but a <lozeii clerks. The
increase in the business has been both
steady and rapid and the store, now re-
quiring tilty clerks, and, with the sev-
eral different dep.irt merits, ill little
stores in themselves, furnishes a most
desirable esiablishnienl for |)atronage.
Mr. Thomas is a thi)rr)u.i;h business
man in every sense and gives 'his per-
sonal supervision over the large es-
tablishment he conducts and has a
most competent staff of assistants.
Although never prevailed upon to
accept the nomination for public of-
fice. Mr, Thomas has proven a deep
interest in the affairs of the town
where he has now resided and done
J Google
426
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
business for nearly a (quarter of a cen-
tury. He is known as a kind and con-
siderate employer, standing high in
both business and social circles. He
is a member of the Meriden Board of
Trade, the Business Men*s Association
and of the Home Club of Meriden.
He is also a member of the Center
Congregational society and of that
society's coiiiinittoc served for several
years as its cliairnian.
He was married in 1870 to Emma
J., (laii,q:litcr of KdmuiiU and Jane Rus-
sell, in 1891 he erected his ])rcscnt
handsome residence on Uroad street,
wln re with his family he has since re-
sided.
JOHN SUTUFF.
John Sutliff. one of the deceased
capitalists of Meriden, who followed
Nelson Merriam as president of Fos-
ter, Mcrriam & Co., was liurn in VV'ol-
cott, Conn., August 2, 1S02, and died
June 22. 1S97, at the remarkable acfc
of ninely-live years. When sixteen
years of age he bought his time from
his father, to whom lie gave a two
years' note to the anioniu of $ino in
payment. Going to Ntirtbford he first
found work on a farm at §7.^3 a
month, lie was indnstridns and eco-
nomical from necessity and his steady
habits and thrift enabled him, at the
end < 'f fifteen years, to engage in the
manufacture of ivory combs at Souths
ington with three other partners. Af-
ter a successful start liad been made
by him and his partners, Albert Fos-
ter, one of the firm of Foster, Merriam
& G>.f who had confidence in Mr. Sdl
liff, invited him to purdBise an ion
est in the concern and take dur^t i
one of the departments, which he duA
and he continued to work in ihe fM
tory, in which he became still more a
tensively interested, devoting hmbci
unceasingly to the interests oi m
manufacture of the goods : and frai
the time he entered the concern uta
his death, he never reased to take ^
active part in the deveL iinrn-nt til
business. At the lime he eiuerfo a
lirm but five or six hands were
ployed and the rapid growth oi j
company's bnsincss was in no
measure due to his ability, energ} a
management.
He was for nian\ \ears a direct-^
ol" the Mrst National bank, and at ih
time oi his death was a tni-tee '"'i ti^
City Savings bank. During the \A
ter years of his lite he l>eca:Tie Vv/M
as one of the larger mvestors oi tin
tow n and man\ of his profitable
tiircs were in the West '
Mr. SntlitT was twice married. r.rj(
to Mary Ann Dayton of Xorth H*
ven, to whom w ere l>orn the fol'.
ing children: Mary Ann, whomamaj
1- rederick A. Higby and died Deoenij
her 22, 1859: JdIui A. and Jarae?
the latter who at the time of his dafl
had long since succeeded his fatW
as president of Foster. Merriam iCa
On November 9, 1842, he was a§aii
married to Rebecca Miles, of Df>l'
ire, to whom were born Abbie R. a^i
Edgar M. Sutliff, both of whom d:e«
in infancy. Mr. Sutliff left a biS
estate.
^ kj .- L-d by Google
, Google
1
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
428
CHARLES L. FLOTO.
Charles L. Floto (deceased) was a
well known German citizen, whose
residence of half a century in the Sti-
ver City was marked by that indus^
try which is a prominent characteris-
tic of his nation. He was bom in
Germany in 1838, and ten years later
he came to America with his mother
wlio located at \\ a rehouse Point.
\ot l<jnj4 aflcr ihcy removed to liroad
Hrook. then to KockvilK. atu! during
this tiiiu; llu- hoy was caniini; iiioncy
for his iiiuihcr and hini.scU' in the
woolen mills, liefore cominjj to Mer-
iden .Mr. h'loto resided in IliUchkiss-
ville fonr years and sub>c(|uciuly in
.Sjnth P.rilain and Water) )ury. In
1857 he was attracted hy the indus-
trial situation in this city and entered
the enij'lov of the Bradley & Hubbard
Manuracinrincj Company where his
capable \\ ( irkinanship was recoc^iiized
and hi> CDniuetinn with the shade and
lamyi (li-parinient a'- its overseer con-
tnuied for vtniet n years.
A short ]>en((d now passed when
Mr. Moto left the shop to become a
* clerk in a shoe store, nn occupation
which he abandoned to take a [xisition
with Kdward Miller & Co.. but an op-
portunity to buy out John .\. Par-
ker's shoe business presented itself,
and for twelve \ears Mr. Floto was
a prosperous shoe merchant in the
citv.
Rut as time passed his health failed
and he was forced tn sell. A desire
to visit his- fatherland and the hope
that a lengthy voyage would brings
restoration to health, induced faini
go abroad. He enjoyed an extena
period of leisure traveling in EurJ
until 18S4 when he retumed to Ma
den, only to plan a new itinenxj I
a southern trip in the winter <rf iK
In the meantime Mr. Floto ? n
estate transactions had been Ir.^
satisfactory and upon his return
.Meridcn he devoted his limc lu \
improvement of his property at d
corner of Ciold and Crown s*re
where he had erected a residcnve
18^)4. A inunber of uthcT d^njiil
were bnih by Mr. bdoiu.
He decided to visit l"uroi»e ag^in
iSSS and enjoyi-d revisiting pli
which had interested him before 2
in 1889 he took a pleasure trip to
south and west. From that time 1
til Mr. Moio s death, ivhich rcoin
January 7, i<K>i. he developed hi> r
estate interests and became an act
element in that portion ut his adops
city wlier*. his property wap kjcat
It is In >uci . 'Mr. Floto tj
Meriden owes ncr j^rawlb. Thty i
the 'inits which make the grand wl>
Mr. i loto s mother, who had li^
to see her son a prosperous merch;
and a retired land-owner, died inM
iden at the advanced age of ti^
year.*^. His wife " - "^1- .-,=. C. L'^i
nig, a native of K-iagcnit^rr.
who was born May 24, -
survived her husband four yeari.1
death occurring September i,
They had no children of their *l
but left an adopted liautrhter.
Mr. Floto had one brother. Frnleri
a prominent resident of Rockville.
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CHARLES L. I-I.OTO.
430
A CEXTCBY OF MEMOEN.
BELA CARTER.
It is true of many citizens that the
esteem in which they are held is due
to their conscientious discharge of du-
ties whether of a civic or business
character. Of such a type was Bela
Carter, a descendant in the sixth cren-
cration of Rev. Thomas Caritr. the
first pastor of the church of W'oburn,
Mass. This clerj^yman. who was Iwrn
in England and laid the f<Mi!i<Jation
for his future career at St. j .hn's col-
lege. I'niversity of Cambridge, where
he received the degrees of li. A. and
M. D., emigrated to America in 1635
in the ship "IManter." He went to
Dedham, thence to W'atertown and in
1642 was ordained at W'oburn. A
further study of .Mr. Carter's ances-
try reveals interesting characters, men
who inherited from the pioneer his
zeal, his honesty of purpose, his con-
scientiousness.
Bela Carter, son of Silas Johnson
and Ruth (A'ining i Carter, was Ixirn
Febuary 6, 1828. in Ilardwick, Mass..
where he received a common school
education. His natural ability mani-
fested itself at the early age of six-
teen when he began teaching pen-
manship. Not long after his atten-
tion was directerl to the trade of paint-
ing and interior decorating- which he
followed in 1 'aimer, .Mass., and
Springfield, .Mass., <lircctly after, lo-
cating in .Merideii in 1850, where he
established himself in business two
years later. He soon became inter-
ested in real estate in which he dealt
extensively up to the time of his death
and was considered to be an e\
on Meriden rralty. one of his b-^
est transactions being the sale ot di
projjerty known as "The Flats," :
a part of which stand the buil
now known as I'actory E of the iJ
temational Silver Company. He
acted as agent for several out of * f
savings banks for the placing of ' ^ 1
and incidental business. For
years he was a director in the T n
National t)ank of Meriden. In ci
life he was a Whig, but later bc\\;:i
identified with the Republican pi:ti
The qualities which he displa} f ' i
his business relations gained for ^3
the esteem and confidence of hi- '-t
lowmen so that during the Civil va
in i8(>2. he was elected first selec:; J
of Meriden and was re-elected t'.\^
thereafter. For four years he
treasurer of tlie military fund. Ml >i
for three terms in the Ctmrt of l'^
mon Council as councilman or al 'ti
man and served for si.x years as clu 1
man of the Corner School Di>trK
committee. For several years be ca
a member of the Ijoad of Assc--
He untloubtedly could have had -i^
er political honors had he cvincc\i i
willingness to accept them.
In 1850 Mr. Carter marrieil M
J., daughter of Cn]>tain Butler
Polly (Converse) Marrett, ot
chertown, Mass.. who si:rvivc»
husband and is a loved and hoiv H
resident of Meriden. Of their vii
children, Henry Johnson. AiT-i
Smith and Wilbur Barrett, diet! »
in one week of diphtheria. The ' >
ers are: Elmer Bela, a sheep ra^
Digitizec' 1 O
BIOGRAPHIES.
Digitized by Google
r
432
A CENTURY OF MERIDKN.
man in Montana, who married Laura
M. Edwards' of BilHngs, Mont.;
Mary C, widow of the late Edward
H. White, of Meriden ; liertha C,
wife of Frederick E. Bemis. of Meri-
den ; Robert WiUiam and Annie Z.,
both of Meriden.
Mr. Carter, after retaininj^ his fine
hold on Meriden interests for forty-
three years, died September 28. 1893.
before old age had really claimed him.
He was buried in West cemetery.
J. T. POAHiROY.
The ancestry of the late James Tib-
bals Pomeroy embraces Connecticut
families who helped to lay a solid
foundation for the Nutmeg state's
greatness. Many of the men were
rugged tillers of the soil who derived
their n*»vsical endurance and menta!
firmness among the rocks and loam
where they labored as in God's vine-
yarcl.
The Pomeroy name is as old al-
most as the hills and its bearers have
no cause to feel ashamed of their
forebears.
His father. Xoah Pomerov. was b\
turns a farmer and an itinerant tin
peddler in th<xse days when this oc-
cu])ation was lucrative, highly honor*
able and full of the charm and s]>icc
of life. He was likewise a manufac-
turer of tin and again a farmer.
Th.it he was held in the highest re-
s])ect by his townsmen is evidenced
by the public offices he filled, all that
were in the gift of the people. The
Universalist church of this citv was
organized in his house and Mr. Pucn
eroy was one of its most able snp
porters. The greater a man's nn-na
caliber, the greater the duties that ar
borne by him ; it is quite natural, rhrr*
fore, to find Mr. Pomeroy one 01 th
first directors of the Meriden bani
and later its president.
lames Pomeroy was bom in tin
city and turned naturally to agrkd
JA.MliS TIIUt.M.S POMEROY.
ture. owning and operating hi* lafi
t-r's large stock estate in East .Men
den. His knowledge of rural medj
ods and his comprehension of a sij
nation which called ft>r unity <|
thought, pur|)ose and action anwi^
the farming element led him to ot
ganize the Meriden (irange. a socicB
to which he gave largely of his tiw
BIOGRAPHIES.
433
d experience. He was aUo con-
cted with Meriden Center Lodge,
, I. 0. O. F.
As a loyal son who subscribed to
i sentiment of his father, Mr. Pom-
w adopted the faith of the church
lose foundation his lather had laid
.Ueriden and was a devout believer
Universalism until his death.
3elila F. Guild, a daughter of Wil-
li H. Guild, of Middletown, Corai.,
ame Mr. Pomeroy's wife. Their
Idren were : Lenora E., who married
cph Beckett, of Meriden ; NelHe J.,
e of Richard J. MoIloy« of Meri-
i; Carrie F., deceased, wife of Da-
Flansbiirgh ; Charles L. and Wil-
li Harrison, who married Lura
^ih. Mr. Pomeroy died Decem-
21, 1 89 1, and was buried in the
r cemetery ; his wife residiiij^^ on
ad street. Meriden. still survives
a staunch adhcrc-iit ut the I iii-
alist church, and a member of
j"idfen Granite.
t .
' I RUSSELL HALL.
I'ssell Hall, one of the many snh-
lial ciliztn.> ut Meriden. a larcje
I r in j^roccry store supj^lics and
!en\vare. and a manufacturer of
are. as well as a larije projitrty
cr. was hern in Meriden. jul\ 26,
\lv is lineally descendetl tnun
) 'hn Hall. was horn in I'.ng-
, 1611:;, and died in Wailinj^tord.
J.. it)/(\ Cine of the pmprietors of
tforrl. Knxscll Hall is also de-
ded iroiii Kev. Samuel Hall, and
e Law, whose father, Jonathan
Law, was governor of Connecticut.
He is the son of Orrin Hall and Anna
G. Hall, a daughter of Brenton Hall,
of Meriden. His father, like several
men of the town, who afterwards be-
came prominent in the manufacturing
and business life of the locality, during
the past century, in early life drove
a peddler*s team and supplied the peo-
ple in portions of the southern states
with the product of Meriden factories.
He spent the last years of his life on
his farm at East Meriden.
Russell Hall, as a boy, worked on
the home farm during his spare time
and was educated in the district
school, under the veteran teacher,
James Atkins. Inheriting a taste for
trading from his father, at the age of
eighteen, with a small sum of money
which he had saved from his previous
earnings, he engaged in the making of
tinware and supplied peddlers with
the then small product of his industry.
At the end of eight years, his business
had increased to such an extent that
he was warranted in adding grocery
store supplies and established himself
in his present business, which has in-
creased to that of ihc lari^est in his
line, in this part of the state. His rep-
utation for deahnu in honest goods at
the lowest juhljwig prices, together
with his energy and popularity among
the trade, have been prominent factors
in h'\> .success. With the aid of trav-
elincr nieTi. he looks carefully after
the \vant-% of his wholesale trade and
from hi'i Inng and successful business
career, i> one of the best known of
Connecticut wholesalers.
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434
A CENTURY OF MERIDKN.
Photo by Akors & Pigeon.
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIKS.
435
He has ever been known as an cn-
thiisiaslic man of business, and he has
made many profitable investments in
real estate ; and ])roperty which he has
purchased in different j)arts of the city
has invariably shown the result of the
ownership of a fair minded landlord.
His residence on ICast Main street is
one of the handsomest in Mcriden and
is one of the most thoroughly built
domiciles in this vicinity. In 1905 he
erected near it, the construction of
which was also under his personal su-
pervision, another handsome residence
for his son. Mr. Hall is known as one
of the thoroughly upright men of Mer-
iden, and is highly esteemed in
the community. His generosity has
been oftentimes demonstrated to his
fellow citizens and within a year of the
present writing, he donated $1,000 to
the Curtis Memorial Library, His in-
terest in the affairs of his native town
seems to be unbounded. Mr. Hall is
interested in the First Baptist church,
and in politics is a Democrat.
He has been twice married : First to
Emily Preston, daughter of Ira Pres-
ton, deceased. He was again married
June 28; 1866, to Mary E., daughter
of Ransom and Sarah (Twiss) liald-
win. and six children have been born
to them: Howard Baldwin, who was
recently married to Gertrude B. Wet-
more, of W'allingford. Conn., being
the only one surviving.
A. L. STEVEN'S.
in Xaugatuck. January 30. 1829. At
the age of six years he moved to
Oneida, N. Y., with his parents, and
in that town he first attended school.
At the age of fifteen he returned to
Xaugatuck and lived with his old
uncle, completing his education at the
W'aterbury High .school.
In 1854 he married Julia E. Beech-
cr, of Xaugatuck, and in 1865 he
This veteran real estate d« aler and
resident of .South .Meriden, was born
A. I.. .STEVENS.
moved his fatnily to South Meriden
and entered the Meriden Cutlery fac-
tory where he worked four or five
years at his trade as die sinker.
It has been happily said that there
is a divinity which sha|)es our ends
rough hew them as we will. Mr.
Stevens began as a mechanic and
probably had not the slightest idea
436
A CENTURY OF MEBIDEN.
that any other ship was saihng into
his port, but when AIlx?rt Otis was
made chief of police in Aleriden an
impulse to enter a new field became a
chance and Mr. Stevens bought out
the interests of the new city official
in tlie firm of Frank atid Albert Otis^
from which date he has been contin-
uously engaged in the fire insurance
and real estate business. Two years
later in 1872, he bought out the re-
maining interests of Frank Otis.
Mr, Stevens' first office was in a
small one-story building which stood
on the present site of the Byxbee
block, but for the past thirty years
his offices have been in the Wilcox
block. Up to 1897 he had a steam-
ship and money draft agency and for
many years he was the only steam-
ship agent in Meriden.
Mr. Stevens' business career has
been an honorable one, and no man in
Meriden enjoys to a greater extent
the confidence of the community.
Mr. Stevens' political sympathies
are Democratic, and. while he has
never sought office, he served one
year on the board of selectmen. He
belongs to Hancock lodge, I. O. O.
F., and the A. O. U. W. For many
years he has been a member of the
First Methodist church of which he
is steward.
At his residence in South Meriden
comfort and plenty are in evidence
and here Mr. and Mrs. Stevens are
enjoying marital relations that have
extended over a period of fifty-one
years. They have one daughter, Mrs.
Albert Rice, of Cheshire.
FRANCIS ATWATER.
Francis Atwater, one of the roorc
prominent figures of Meriden busi
ncss life and president of the Jour-
nal I'ubiishing Company, was bom
in Plymouth. Litchfield county. Con-
necticut. in 1858. He comes from
distinguished ancestry and is de-
scended from David Atwater, the fir?!
signer of the planters' agreement of
the New Haven colony in 1638. ' hi
the maternal side he is a direct dt-
scendant of Benjamin Fenn, the firs',
magistrate of New Haven colony.
As a boy he came to Meriden an«-
became associated with the printim:
and publishing business and after be j
had learned the trade of a printer, at
the youthful age of sixteen, he wa«
given charge of the mechanical de-
partment of the Meriden Recorder,
which at that time was the leadioi;
paper of the town. At twenty yean-
of age, he established the Wiader-
mere Weekly Forum, in Wallingford.
which he published for one year tmti!
it was sold. He afterwards went
Hartford and became assistant hrt-
man of the composing room of the
Hartford Couiant. Later
west on account of ill health, he lo-
cated in California and became man-
ager of the Red Bluflf Sentinel, which
paper he carried on for a time. Re-
turning to Meriden with renew^
health he established a job printinf!
office on Perkins street and foundcti
the Meriden Sunday News, bat in
1886 when the Meriden Evcaiitf
Press ceased publication, Mr. M-
BIOGRAPHIES.
437
water embraced the opportunity, and
wltii Frank £. Sands, Lew Allen and
Thomas L. Reilly, launched the Meri-
den Daily Journal which has ever since
thoroughly covered the evening field,
each year gaining' in circulation, ad-
vertising patronag^ and influence,
until it has become one of the best
paying publications in C^necticut.
It occupies its own^finFproof build-
ing, in which The journal Publish-
ing Company now 'possesses one of
the most complete printing giants in
all New England asjs stated^&t some
length elsewhere in"^- this volume.
Since its incorporation April 2, 1886,
Mr. Atwater has Ijfeen the head; and
to his able leadership is the success
of the now large business consider*
ably due.
Mr. Atwater has been a prime mov-
er in many other lar^ enterprises, in
all of which he has b^^. emjpentl^
successful. He v^'-Ofie ^^^$f~
ganizers of the M^riden, Southingtoii
& Compounce Tramway Company, the
capital for which was raised largely
through his effort and to the construc-
tion of the road he also gave his per-
sonal supervision.
After the close of the Spanish-
American war, he became financial
agent of Clara Barton of Red Cross
fame and honor, who had known him
from childhood. At her request he
accompanied her to Cuba whither she
went to establish asylums for the un-
fortunate reconcentrados. While in
Havana, Mr. Atwater saw an oppor-
tunity to start the first American
newspaper, the Havana Journal, and
of this newspaper, which became an
organ wielding an immense influence,
he retained' the control until he re-
ceived an offer from a syndicate to
dispose of it most advantageously.
He afterwards and without relin-
quishing his interests in Meriden,
purchased the Daily News of New
Britain which he carried on for a time.
He then bought the Waterbury
Daily Republican, the only morning
newspaper in the Naugatuck Valley,
which he conducted imtil he placed it
on a paying basis and then sold it at
a handsome profit.
In 1905 he was chosen a director
and president of the Washington
State Colonization Company, exten-
sive owners and buyers of lands in
the state of Washit^on and which
has within the past year established a
large colony in that delightful resi-
dential state.
Atwater is also the sole owner
of 'its T. H. Hubbard Paper Co., of
Bostfe, Mass., extensive wholesale
dealAis of book and writing papers and
cardboards.
In local affairs Mr. Atwater is par-
ticularly active and influential. He
was one of the organizers and for
several years president of the Meri-
den Board of Trade, which oiganiza-
tion has succeeded in bringing several
iiKiustries to Meriden, and in which
Mr. Atwater has always been a lead-
ing: spirit. Of the Centennial cele-
bration of Meriden he was not only
one of the originators, but as corre*
sponding secretary of the committee
of 400 or more citizens, has been in<
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438
A CENTURY OF MERlDEiX.
440
stnimental in bringiripf about the no-
table celebration of i »>>(). In 1904
alter having" prr>i&tently rel'iiscd to l)c-
come a laiuliilalc for any public cfbce,
he entered the senatorial cuiitcst of
that year aiKl the IX-mucratic party
which hoiinrcd him with the nomina-
tion, MitTcri'il its usual defeat of a
presiilential year; l)iit Mr. Atwater
was far in the lead of the rest of the
ticket. Mr. Atwater is a member of
liie iloiiK' Club, and occupies a
comfortable residence which he pur-
chased some years ago of William A.
Kclsey and which is locaterl on the site
of the historic old Central Tavern,
corner liroad and East Main streets.
Mr. Atwater, whose life has been
more than active as people generally
live, has found time by burning the
midnight oil to do considerable lit-
erary work, and has compiled the
History of Plymouth, Conn., History
of Kent, Conn., and the History and
Genealogy of the Atwater Family
from 1638 to the present time.
Mr. Atwater was married in 1879
to Helena J. Sellew, to whom was
born May 10, 1880, a son. Dorencc
Keith Atwater, who died August
23, 1900-
O. II. PLATT.
Orville Hitchcock Piatt, LL.D.,
Mcriden s greatest public man, was
born July 19, 1827, at Washington,
Conn., and died April 21, 1905. Edu-
cated in the district schools of Wash-
ington and later at the academy
known a> the "Gunnery,'" he ranair-cti
on the home farm tmtil twent} yc:in
uf age when he bii^an tiie stud; .1
law and was afterwards admitte-:: u
the bar in 1849. then went to i r
waiida, Pa., where he remained -iX
months in a law ofhce. comiTiir lo Mcr-
iden in and up to the :riie of js
death was thereafivr identified uij
the town and made ln«^ home bcu
Mr. fMatt's earl> law practice ia
Mcriden was beset witli the usual iit-
ticulties of the young lawyer >tr.?'
gling for position in the world an ! il
his early life he gave no percept'!il<
promise of becoming a man ui rji
tional repute. Shortly after comrJ
to Meriden he became associate
tor of the '"Whig," the revenue ir:fl
which made up for his lack of fed
In 1853 he was elected judge of i-nJ
bate, which office he held for tfard
years and in 1855 and 1856 was cl>^
en clerk of the Connecticut Sena-LC
He was one of the original membcri
of the Republican party and fr<^
1856 took an active part ii
politics, his influence tn that part|
mcreasing every year. Is 1857
was elected secretary of state, wbidj
office he filled for one tensL In i86c
and 1862 he served in tbe stale sen-
ate and in 1864 was elected to tli
state legislature, when be was ap-
pointed chairman of the indSauf
committee. In 1869 ^ again semi
in the legislature from Meriden anl
was then elected speaker of ffie hoos^
after which servlc^ it was his desiie
to retire perm^ently to private fife
and resume -his* ftglected law prxiioe
BIOGRAPHIES.
441
442
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
which, however, he was not permitted
to do. In 1877 he was appointed
state's attorney of New Haven coun-
ty, wliich office he held for two years.
In i.S-g he was first elected by the
state legislature to fill the vacancy in
the United States Senate caused by
the death of Senator Orris S. Ferry,
Republican, his election, however, be-
ing a surprise, for he was chosen on
the thirty-eighth ballot, through the
successful work of Senator H. Wales
Lines and others who took advantage
oi the situation when a compromise
candidate had to be found. His ca*
reer in the United States Senate, from
the time when he first took his seat,
was most remarkable, and he was al-
ways his own successor, being re-
elected at the expiration of every suc-
ceeding term until his regretted de-
cease. For many years before his
death he was counted as one of the
most influential figures at the Nation-
al capital, whose counsel was much
sought and relied upon by the pres-
ident« and members of the cabinet.
Without resorting to the tactics of the
politician he became the dean of the
senate and attained the highest legis-
lative rank in the Union. Always a
man of rare example, he developed in-
to a statesman in every sense and was
an orator who could adapt himself in-
stantly to every occasion. He was a
perfect master of diction and his ir-
resistible logic and sound reasoning
made him a strong power in the high-
est legislative body in the land. His
loyalty to the government and to the
Republican party was never ques-
tioned and his honesty of purpose,
coupled with tlio remarkahle ability
which he developed in the latter part
of his life, won him the respect, con-
fidence and love of the nation. He
was one of the gicat men of the
United States who was never puffed
up by public praise but treated every
man whether he were great or small
with the same consideration and def-
erence. His modest bearing under all
circtmLstances made it always appar-
ent that he was a true gentleman.
In Meriden. where he resided, he
never became greater than his fellow-
townsmen by whom he was greatly
beloved for his many good traits as a
citizen. Without show or ostentation
he was the promoter of more chris^
tian and philanthropic work than was
ever generallv' known.
During the last years of his life he
occupied a summer place at Washing-
ton, Conn., his native town, and there
his funeral services were held and
which were attended almost unani-
mously by the leading citizens of Mer-
iden as well as many prominent in na-
tional affairs.
ABIRAM CHAMBERLAIN.
eriden is proud to number among
her citizens a governor of Connecticut,
Abiram Chamberlain, who held that
office fof two years, having been
elected in November, 1903.
He is descended from sturdy
New England stock, and was
bom December 7, 1837, at Cole-
brook, Conn. He is a son of Abiram
Digitized by GoogU
BIOGRAPHIES.
443
Digitized by Google
444
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
and Sophroiiia (liurt) Cliainbcrlain
and has been a rt>ident oi Mcridt ii for
thirty-eiijht years. After obtaiiiiiij^
his cducali* HI. lie bej^an his business
career in tlic New Hritain National
bank in there resi.L;niiig the po-
sition of teller to become ca>!iicr of
the Home National bank of Mcriden,
and he has been president of the lat-
ter financial institution since 1881. hav-
ing been elected to that ottice nixtu the
death of Kli lUitler, the f« inner pres-
ident. Hi^ etTiciency as its executive
head, has earned for him an enviable
repntation, nnt only in the hu>ine>s
and tinancial circles of Meriden, but
throughont the state.
For many year<^ he' has been iden-
tified with other enterprises. He was
one of the promoters and di rectors of
the Meriden & \\ aterbury radroad ;
president of the Meriden Fire Insur-
ance company ; one of the promoters
and presiflent of the W'inthrop Hotel
company; a director cf the Meriden
hospital : for many \ ears a vice presi-
dent of the Meriden .Savinj^js bank ; a
director also of the Meriden Cutlery
Co., Edward Miller & Co., of Meri-
den, and the Stanley works of New
Britain. He is al.si president of the
Connecticut Bankers' association and
a vice-president of the .\merican I»ank-
ers* association. He is affiliated with
several social and fraternal orjijaniza-
ttons. including the Home and Col-
onial clubs and has long been identi-
fied with the First Congregational
church of Meriden.
He has always been known as a
staunch Republican and has held many
important i)ul)lic u1Vkx> in the dni
charge oi tiie diuie- of which he h:-.
proved his abdiiy and tm«;twonf.i
ness. In 1877 he re; >re-cnted
Town of Meriden in the state ieiri-
lature ; he was nominated by acrlan 1
tion for state comptroller at tlie !<'.
publican convention, held at New Ih
ven, September 5 and 6, 1900.
served in that oftice for two mk.'-
He has also rendere<l Meriden val 1
ble service as a member of the cv
government.
As governor, Mr. LhaniberL'
a<l(led to his host of frie!id« throiij-'
out the state: his adniinistr:itinn -.i
one which rellecls credit upon L' .
neclicnt. and is justly regarded w:'
pride by the citizens of Meriden. Hi
wide knowledge of alYairs of state <r.
abled him to transact the dutie>
the office most acceptably. The a
gree of LL.D. conferred upon hi'
by Wesleyan University in 1903
but one of the many tokens of apprf
ciation he has received in recogniocn
of his service as governor.
He was married November 21. iS"]
to Miss Charlotte E. Roberts, who ha
been active in philanthropic matte;-
in .Meriden, and her connection ^vi1!
the city hospital will not be for?: '
ten by the people. Their sotJ
are .Albert Roberts and Harol'
Ihirt Chamberlain. The elder sor.
a graduate of the Sheffield Scienti^i
school of A^'ale University and Va!«
Law school and now engaged in tJii
practice of law in Meriden. He
also Governor Chamberlain's seer:
tar>- during his administration.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
445
HENRY DRYHURST.
Henry Dryhurst/ postmaster, has
/ed nearly all his life in Meriden.
e came here in 1865 from Taunton,
[ass., and he had previously resided
Providence, R. I. He is the son
Henry Dryhurst and Eleanor
^ewis) Dryhurst, and he has broth-
s and sisters living as follows:
raisa £., wife of Montgomery R*
jdd ; Rowland L., of Rockford, 111. ;
ugh, of Hartford ; Eleanor, of New
ork City; Laura A., of Meriden,
id Emma, wife of Edwin W. Hall,
WalUngford.
Mr, Dryhurst attended the district
hools until ht5 fourteenth year,
Eien, being employed da>'s by the
:e George R. Willmot, he began at-
fiding the evening school kept by
e Rev. and Mrs, J. T. Pettee, and
er received instruction in the high-
studies from Alfred E. Ives and
nily J. Leonard,
In 1877 Mr. Dryhurst secured a
rtial clerkship in the post-office
iiere being in those days no civil
vice), under Postmaster Erwin D.
ill. Being thus employed but a
V hours a dav Mr. Drvhurst decid-
, in connection with his duties in
i post office, to take up the study
the law.
He read law in the offices of Rat-
ffc Hicks. George A. Fay and of
r late Orville H. Piatt, and was ad-
[ted to the Xew Haven county bar
1884-
fn 1890 Mr. Dryhurst was appoint-
postniaster of Meriden by Presi-
dent Benjamin Harrison. When his
temi as postmaster expired a change
in the national administration obliged
Mr. Dryhurst to resume the practice
of law. Four years later, however,
he was reappointed postmaster by
President McKinley and in 18^ his
third appointment was signed by
President Roosevelt.
In early manhood Mr. Dryhurst
gave attention to politics, has served
several years as chairman of the Re-
publican town committee, and has at-
tended as delegate, state, congression-
al, senatorial and city conventions of
his party. From its organization Mr.
Dryhurst has been chairman of the
First Meriden Building and Loan as-
sociation, and he was chairman of the
committee which invited President
Roosevelt to visit Meriden and enter-
tained him August 22, 1902.
When Mr. Drvhurst first assumed
the duties of postmaster the Meriden
office was in the second class and
had six carriers and six clerks. The
office entered the first class during
Mr. Dryhurst *s first term of service,
and has now seventeen regular clerks,
twenty regular carriers, and seven
stations.
It was Mr. Drvhurst who first con-
ceived the idea of having a federal
building for the Meriden post office.
He interested the late Senator O. H.
Ptatt in the project, who obtained
an appropriation of $100,000 from the
Congress for that purpose. The site
at the corner of Colony and Brooks
streets was selected for the building,
which will be erected as soon as an
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A CENTURY OF MEKIDEX.
PJictT by AkT-* L Pigeon.
BIOGRAPHIES.
447
ditional appropriation is available
enlarge the present plans.
Mr. Dryhurst married Miss Mar-
et C. Dutcher, of Sag Harbor, and
y have the following children:
inie E., wife of Guy A, Palmer;
nry Jr. ; and Orvilk J.
■ie iV a member of th*i First Dap-
church and of the Home and Col-
aiCkbs.
THOMAS L. REILLY.
homas Lawrence Reitly, mayor of
rtden in 1906, was bom in New
tain, September 20, and re*
'cd Hm early education there in the
n sdiools. Later he attended the
te nbrmal school, from which he
teibd ui 1876, but instead of
Jdi|^ he took the position of town
Wm Inustant, which he held for a
r. Boon after, he engaged as a
)ftar on the Hartford Sunday
b& In the fall of 1877 he came
idtcfiden with his parents and en-
d tkt law office of Judge D. J.
lahotp now of Middletown, re-
nag a student there for one year.
Ufbcd by the death of his mother
the .removal of Judge Donahoe to
dldown, Mr. Reilly found circum-
CCS unfavorable to the continuance
lis legal studies and took a posi-
as book-keeper with J. F. Butler*
inuing with him until 1880, when
ecame the Meriden correspondent
le New Haven Union. Later Mr.
y became connected with the
iden Penny Press, under J, H.
bett, filling a reportorial position.
and still later was associated in a like
capacitx with W. F. Graham, on the
Meriden Republican, remaining with
this latter journal until December,
1885, when he went to the New Ha-
veri Register. He was that paper's
legislative reporter during the session
of 1886. In Aj^ril, iSSC), with Fran-
cis At water. F. E. Sands and Lew Al-
len, he fonned The Journal Publish-
ing company, and was made secre-
tary of the company and city editor
of the paper, with which he has been
ever since connected.
An active Democrat, he has been
one of the leaders in his party in Mer-
iden, and in the presidential campaign
of 1900 he was elected chairman of the
Town committee, and the Republican
majority was reduced from 1^447 in
1896 to 54 in 1900.
Mr. Reilly has taken an active part
in all progressive movements in Meri-
den; is clerk of the school board, a
director of the Curtis Memorial public
library, and prominent in social and
fraternal organizations, being a mem-
ber of Meriden lodge, No. 35, Benevo*
lent and Protective Order of Elks, in
which he filled the office of exalted
ruler for two terms: of the Ama-
ranth club, in which he has filled the
office of president for three years; a
charter member and organizer of Sil-
ver City council, No. 2, Knights of
Columbus ; a member of the Royal Ar-
canum and the Maccabees. Much is
due to Mr. Reilly for the stand he has
taken in regard to sports in Meriden.
In 1884, in Blackstone, Mass., he
was married to Marie E. Rowen, a
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448
A CENTURY OF MRRIDEX.
Google
WOCRArJIIES.
449
schcol tcacluT nf that town. To this
IT! >n have l)ccn bom seven children.
R-bert. Katherine. Mary, Louis, Ar-
tiiur, Kose and Agnes.
HERMAN HESS.
Hcriaan Hess, the present town and
city clerk of Mcriden, and who has
h.e! 1 these offices for a loni::er jieriod
than any other man in the history of
the town, was born in iMeriden, April
4. 1 861. He is of German parentage
ar. 1 the son of Frederick and Johan-
na ( Yooke) Hess. His father, whose
<ieaih occurred in 1898, from his early
r/.snhood was a respected and indus-
trious citizen of Meriden and was
ore of the first of his nationality to
settle in this part of the state. He
was for eighteen years employed in
the mechanical department of the Mer-
iden Britannia Company and pursued
the calling of a burnisher until his
^eath. He was a veteran of the Civil
Mar, an honored member of Merriam
Post, G. A. R., and both he and his
wife were devoted members of the
Cerman Lutheran church of Meriden.
Herman Hess* than whom the res-
idents believe there is none better
fitted by ability and disposition to keep
the records of both the town and the
•city, is a man liberally educated but
his knowledge has been acquired
largely outside of that limited educa-
tion which his parents were able to
give him. He attended the public
schools only until he was eleven years
39
01 a^c, when he left to become a ca?h
boy in the store of W. H. Babb. He
bej^an on a salary of $2.50 a week
and remained in ilie store five years,
dnnng which time he spent his even-
ings in home study thereby depriving
himself the pleasures enjoyed by oth-
er boys
In 1877 he obtained a clerkship in
tlie employ of the N. Y., N. H. H. R.
k., and served in the freight ottices of
that company both in Meriden and
Xew Haven, and one year in the tick-
et department. In 1882, he became a
bookkeeper at the office of the Mer-
iden Malleable Iron Co., where he re-
mained for five years more, and added
to his reputation as a skillful and ac-
cnrate accountant.
He began his public career as city
auditor in 1883, when he was elected
to fill a vacancy. In 1886, he was
elected town clerk and registrar of
vital statistics. In the following
city election, of the same year, he was
also chosen city clerk and has been
re-elected each subsequent year to the
present writing and since 1892, al-
though a Democrat, has been honored
with the nomination of both parties.
His incumbency of the offices has been
especially pleasing to the citizens of
the town, for not only has he fulfilled
the complicated duties in a manner
most satisfactory to the public, but
he has familiarized himself so thor-
(3ughly with the town and cit\- rec-
ords that his services in his official
capacity have become almost inval-
uable. Mr, Hess, from his promi*
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BIOGRAPHIES.
nence in public affairs, has nattir-
ally become one of the leading citi-
zens of the town and no resident en-
joys perhaps a larger personal popu-
larity. Through his industry he has
become somewhat endowed with
earthly goods.
He is a trustee of the Meriden Sav-
ings Bank and since 1900 he has been
one of the directors of the Meriden
National Bank, of which institution
he is kilo the vice president. He is
also a director of the Meriden Perma-
rent Building & Loan Association.
He is prominent as well in the Ma-
sonic fraternity, bcinj^ at this writing,
eminent comnianckT of St. K\mo Com-
irandery. K. T., and affiliated with
iVramid I rmple, A. A. O. N.. Mystic
>]irinc. i ir is also a nieiiihcr of \lcri-
<lcii Center Lo<lge, Xo, 97, F. & A. M. ;
Keystone Chapter, Xo. 27. 1\. A. .M. ;
Hamilton Council, Xu. jj. K. & S.
Meriden Center Lodtife. r»8. I. ( ).
O. F. : Myrtle Lotige. Knights of l*y-
fhia<; : is a member of the VAk-- ;in<!
ilie American Order of l''f»re>ler^.
Meriden Turn Wrcin. Hume Clnl)
and Coloninl Club, and one of the di-
rectors ut the .\ieridcn Hoard of
Trade.
On May 28. i8«*^3, he was marriefl
to Eujxenia DcCrosby, dan;L;hter of
Xornian W. and Ruth Ann < \nr-
wood) Pomeroy. Their children-
liave been Raymoiul IV>meroy and
Ruth Invtp:ene: the latter died in
1887. In his reh^ious sympathies, he
is with his family, an attendant of
St Paul's Cniversalist church.
451
IRVING L. HOLT.
Irving Lucius Holt» one of tlie
leading business men of Meriden an^
tax collector of the town since 1893'
was bom in Somers, Conn., Septem-
ber 5, 185 1. He is a worthy descen-
dant of one of the oldest families in
Connecticut and is a son of Elijah and
Nancy L. (Harwood) Holt. He
traces his ancestry directly back to
Nicholas Holt, born in England about
1602, who was one of the passengers
on the ship **James/* of London,
which sailed from Southampton and
arrived after two months' passage in
Boston in 1635. He became one of
the first settlers of Newbnrv, Mass.,
and in i'^)44 removed froni there to
become one of the tiri>i .selllers of An-
dover. ^^ass. Among his later fore-
fathers was Caleb Holt, an early set-
tler ui W'illington. Comi.. one of the
ratifiers <»f the ( "nsiiuuiun ; Rnyal
Holt, oi W illiugion. married Lavina
Lamb, a native of \ ernu>ul, whose
father served in the Revolutionary
war from the age of sixteen as a
waiter 1><>\ for (»e(»rge Washington
and continued in that capacity until
the close of the war.
I, L. Holt obtained his early educa-
tion in the district schtxjls of Rock-
\ille. Conn., which was interrupted for
a brief period by a service at the ( ilas-
gfow thread mills, but ci>ntinued his
e<lucation at Hall's boarding <;chool
at Ellington. Conn., and Williston
senu'nary at F^asthampton, Mass.
The family removing to Meriden
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lUUGKAPlIIES.
453
in li'^^u, hi' went to South Man-
chester to ti'iich his first school but
soon after \va«; t'ii.i;ai;cd as a teach-
er at the State Schu(i| for Boys in
Mcriden. where he reinainetl for two
and a iiali years, lie afterwards took
a course at the Sheffield Scientific
school at \'ale. class of 1874; after
which he hecaine principal of the
Prattsville school, Meriden, wliich po-
sition lie held for one year and re-
signed to take up the insurance bus-
iness in the office of the Meriden Fire
Insurance Co., where he was assist-
ant secretary, continuing with that
coini)any nineteen years until the hon-
nrahle closing of its business, but
March i, 1892, with P'rank A. Stev-
ens, formed the firm of Holt (it Stev-
en^, which has over since been a lead-
h)^ insurance and real estate concern
and w hose business has grown to large
proportions.
Mr. Holt has alwavs been a staunch
Republican and for many years has
been a prominent worker in the ranks
of tliat party. He has served as chair-
man of the Republican Town com-
niittee,' registrar of voters and since
1893 has served continuously in his
presen^ office as collector of town
taxes, fend during which time he has
collected over a million and a half
dollars for the town. He is promi-
nent in social circles* being an influ-
ential member of the Home Club, is
also connected with Meridian Lodge,
77, A. F. & A. M., and St Elmo Com-
ffiandery, 9, K. T., of Meriden.
He was married August 11, 1875,
to Ella M. Rice, who died January 17,
KJ03, antl wliu was a descendant of
one of the oldest families of Connec-
ticut and for many sfeneratiuiis iden-
tified with this locality. The chiKlren
to this marriage are: Harry H., born
May 28, 1878. a graduate of the Mer-
iden High bcliuol, who for several
years has been associated with his
father in business^ and Ralph G., who
died in infancy/
WILLIAM LEWIS.
William Lewis, a prominent resi-
dent and financier of Meriden, now
deceased, although a native of Queens
county, Ireland, lived in Meriden
nearly all his useful life. He was
born in 1832 and as a child came to
this country with his parents. He was
given a good common schooLeduca
tion and he began business life it
Meriden in a modest way by open-
ing a confectionery and toy store on
Main street. In 1882 he retired from
mercantile business, having acquired
some little property, including the his
toric brick block situated at the cor
ner of High School avenue and West
Main street. This block he purchased
from the late Levi Bradley, of Chesh-
ire, and comprised the first brick block
of its class in Meriden. A Democrr.t
in politics, he became a candidate for
town and city treasurer, his well
known integrity secured him the elec-
tion, although the town has ever been
Republican, and he held the office con-
tinuously for several years. He was
once a second selectman and served as
a member of the Comer school coni-
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A C KNTL KV «>l" MKHIIHIN.
UIUGUAPHIES.
455
rc. As one of tiie incorporators,
:tors and trustees of the City Sav-
bank Mr. Lewis was highly hon-
in banking circles and his sue-
in real estate ventures made htm
tiportant factor in business life.
»r many years he resided in the
block which he owned on West
I street but in 1895 he erected a
residence on Piatt avenue where
>etit the last few years of his life
u liich since his death has been
>ied by his three daughters and
Ison, William Lewis Dorsey.
: was married to Marp^aret Fiynn
died in Meridin in 1880 and to
1 the following children were
: John '1.. May L. ( Mrs. M. L.
2\\ rtf llic <lr\ i;tiiMi> linn of Dor-
ila^^i^o^). Harriet A.. Au.uusta
d Catherine T.. all of Meridcn.
•ugh a t\ \\ \eiir> pa^t the alloted
score and ten. Mr. Lewis was
1 of vtrniig. or wiry, physi^iucj and
^n])iM>sc4l him to be in any other
lie best of Ik-aUh. On the mom-
t the da\ nf his death. Jnne 18.
he was up and about his home
icd from a violent hemorrhage
2 stoniaeh. hefore medical aid,
\\a*« Iin'^til\ sumnunu'd, Ci>uld
liim. ills three <laiii;liters, all
loni are young women of rare
uil accomplishments, and well
1 in the social circles in which
ire prominent figures, were the
;nts of the fullest sympathy of
>rnmunity as was evidenced in
ways.
funeral services of Mr. Lewis
held at St. Joseph's Roman
Catholic churchy of which he was an
influential member. A solemn high
mass of requiem was celebrated, of
which the following clergymen par-
ticipated: Rev. J. T. Lynch, celebrant;
Rev. P. Skelly, of Litchfield, deacon,
and Rev. William Judge, master of
ceremonies. The burial was in the
Lewis plot at St Patrick's Cemetery.
Fki^DERICK P. LOOMIS.
Frederick Torter Loomis. station
agent of the N. Y.. X. PL & Rail-
road at Meriden, and a young man of
marked executive abilitv, was birn in
Meriden May 4. 1871. He is the son
of William C. f>oomis. a veteran of
the Civil war, svho served as^ chief
bugler in the First Connecticut* Cav-
alry, and who wa^ for some years an
officer of the S- ir Reform school.
His mother \\a> Mary A. Porter,
daugliter of John ]]. Porter, a for-
mer resident ot Chestnut >tr(.et. who
was also one of the otiftcers of the
Stale l\et"*>i"iii schonl.
Frederick Liunnis i> a descendant
e«f |M>cph Loomis. one of the original
settler^ of I'raintree. Mass.. who was
Ikhii in l.>>e.x. i£ngland, iti and
hecanie one of the proprietors of
Windsor, Comi.. in 1640. Daniel
I.fio!^iis, the great, great grandfather
of i'rederick. showed his patriotism
as a Revolutionary soklier by melting
the weights of his clock for bullets.
When he was quite young the pa-
rents of Frederick Loomis removed
with him to Cleveland. Ohio, where he
attended school, but he finished his
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPIlIliS.
457
ation at the Meriden High school,
)arents having taken up their res-
ce in Yalcsville where his father
in 1896 and where his mother
resides with the subject of this
:h.
1 89 1 he entered the freight of-
)f the N. Y., N. H. & H. railroad
clerk and worked up through the
us clerical positions until he was
sted with his present responsi-
' as station agent to which he
appointed by the company in
and in which capacity he has
served with efficiency to the
•ad and satisfaction of the pub-
Mr. Loomis' responsibility
les the charge of all prop-
of the steam railroad inter-
.vithin the bounds of Meriden
he general oversight of nearly
e company's vast operations at
)oint. Under his charge is a
of eighty railroad employes,
the discontinuance of the Cen-
rcet station, the entire freight
ss has been handled at the Main
t station, the sheds of which are
•ct long, and about 100 freight
re emptied and filled daily. All
. calls for much executive abil-
tlie part of the present agent
in dispatching his duties, has
:ren accorded the name of serv-
; public conscientiously and the
d with equal efficiency.
Loomis, while not a member of
cial organization, is a member
Yalesville M. E. church where
>rganist and musical director,
ding his father.
He was married May 4. 1896, to
Avaline E. Brown, daughter of A. J.
Brown, superintendent of the Chas.
Parker Company factory at Yalesville
and to that union have been born two
boys and two girls, as follows: Wil-
liam Erwin, Frederick Brown, Mary
Elizabeth and Emily Avaline.
GEO. E. BICKXELL.
George Edward Bicknell, first mem-
ber of the Connecticut State Sen-
GEORGE E. BICKNELL.
ate from the new thirteenth (Meri-
den) district, was born in Belfast,
Me., November 25, 186 1. A son of
James M. and Sarah ( Stevens) Bick-
nell, he traces his ancestry in this
country back to Zachary Bicknell of
45^ A CENTURY
Norman extraction, who settled in
Weymouth. Mass., coming from Lon-
don, in 1635. He obtained his edu-
cation and remained in his native town
until he came to Meriden in 1880,
since when he has become active in
pubHc affairs and a staunch member
of the Republican party and several
social and fraternal organizations by
which he has been much honored. Mis
pul)lic record is as follows: Member
Meriden Common Council. 1896-7;
one of the police commissioners of
Meriden in 1900. 1901 and 1902; four
years a member of the state legisla-
ture from Meriden from 1901 to 1905;
member state Senate 1905 and 1906.
He is well versed in matters of finance
and since 1903 has served as president
of the Meriden Permanent Building
and Loan association. Senator Bick-
nell enjoys the confidence and respect
of the community and is prominently
identified with the following social
and fraternal organizations: Meridian
Lodge 77, A. F. & A. ^L, of which
he was master in i8<)9; Keystone
Chapter. R. A. M. ; Pacific Lodge 87,
L O. O. F., and noble granrl of which
in 1893 and 1906; Meriden Camp,
771 1, M. W. of A. ; Silver City Lodge
3. A. O. U. W. and Colonial club of
Meriden.
He was married in 1886 to Eleanor
D. Stanley and their children are:
Charles,' Roscoe and Corinna.
EDGAR J. PERKLVS.
Edgar J. Perkins, superintendent of
the Charles Parker Company Spoon
F MERIDEN.
Shop, was lx>m in Meriden. Xov ember
20. 1852, and is the son of James Moo-
roe rVrkins. for several years a cele-
brated engineer on the New York k
Erie Railroad, but who spent the h '
portion of his life in Meriden, whcic
he had become superintendent of
Charles Parker Spoon Shop, former-
ly conducted by Parker & Perkinv
which position he held at the time of
Pbuto by Akera ik Pigeon.
EIXIAR J. PERKINS.
his death, August 2, 1898. Edgar J.
Perkins is the great-grandson of
Elisha Perkins, a soldier in the Rcr-
olutionary War and one of the heroes
of Bunker Hill.
Edgar J. Perkins, who since 1898
has been superintendent of the manu-
facturing plant where his father,
grandfather and uncle were engaged
BIOGRAPHIES.
459
:fore him, entered the spoon shop to
am the trade of a tool maker, at the
[t of eighteen. Previous to this he
id been thrown upon his own re-
lurces and had a varied experience,
fter attending school he had worked
I neighboring farms and served as a
•al passer on the Old Dominion
:eamship Line, which plied between
ew York and Norfolk and Ports-
J. M. PERKINS.
(ler his superintendency has continued
to i)c at! important branch of the great
industry of Meriden, controlled by the
Charles Parker Company. His abil-
ity to manage the work and the large
number of employes, of whom he has
charge, has been significantly demon-
strated.
He has for many years been an ac-
tive Republican, has served as grand
juror, tax collector and a member of
the school board. He is a member of
Center Lodge, 97, A. F. & A. M., and
is extremely liberal in his religious
views.
He was married in Meriden to Miss
Ellie M. Sniitli and to them have the
following children been born : Belle,
Mrs. Leon IJrainard, Hartford;
Daisy, Mrs. George Farrow. Middle-
town, and Howard, employed at the
Charles Parker Spoon Shop as a tool
maker. In 1900 from plans of his
nwn, he had erected for him on Mid-
dletown Road, one of the most com-
fortable and comely residences of the
town, where, with his family, he has
dispensed genuine hospitality to a
large circle of friends.
WALLACE A. MILES.
outh, Va. His mechanical ability
the spoon shop was soon demon- ^^'^"^^^ '''' deceased, mayor
rated; for he had ambition and de- ^'^^ ^'^X Menden m i88(> was a
rmination to succeed. He finally "i^n of the people and was born in
itered the die-sinking shop in which Southington in 1841. His parents,
I continued until he was appointed Almeron and Caroline (Lawrence)
. the present position which he has ^^iles, resided at the place of his birth
nee filled. The plant furnishes em- but temporarily. Removing to Mer-
oyment to about 100 hands and un- iden when six months of age, he con-
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40o
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEN.
tinned to live here until the time of
his death, December 16, 1904.
He was educated under a private
tutor and finished his schooling at the
Mcriden academy and his first em-
ployment was as a clerk in the Meri-
den post oflSce where he continued un-
der postmasters Yale and Ashahel H.
Curtis. After faithful service there
he entered the factory of the Charles
WAIJ.ACE A. MILES.
F'arker Co., where he held the posi-
tion of shipper, afterwards engaging
in the hardware aand crockery busi-
ness with EH C. Hirdsey under the
firm name of Birdsey & Miles. Dur-
ing his connection with the firm they
manufactured stationer's hardware.
In 1876 the partnership was dissolved,
and Mr. Miles took the manuia
ing business which he continuec
til 1888 when he gave up his bus:Il':^-
having been elected mayor of the ;'
Mr. Miles was a man who cni' ••
the fullest confidence of his it-
townsmen and was honored at vane
times by election to public office, i.
duties of which he dispatched v>nh
conscientious regard for the taxpayer
and the citizens. He was collect '
taxes in 1875-76-77, and in the
year became one of the board oi i-
sessors, serving for a number of }eir
in that capacity. In 1886 he m
chosen a member of the board < "
ucation and he was from i875-i>:" -
period comprising three terms, a
resentative from Meriden in the ?u
legislature. In politics he was a '
ocrat and when he was chosen n '
of the city in December. 1888. hi> a
ministration, conducted in the int- '
est of the people, was highly gr^xiiy
ing to the city.
Mr. Miles was a veteran of the C:\'
war, having enlisted in the 27th C
\'ols. in April, 1862, serving until At:
gust, 1863. When Mcrriam Post wi
formed he was one of the first to be
come one of its comrades and as sue
continued until he was called by tli
Almighty to his reward. Of this pen
it was his intention to publish a hi«
tory of its members, but his life
not spared to complete the work h
had well in hand, and after his deati
a large amount of manuscript whic
he had gathered was turned over t
others. His death caused a sever
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BIOGRAPHIES.
461
to Mcridcn and he is survived by
widow, residing on Broad street, in
s late residence.
SIDXEV D. TUFTS.
The death of Sidney D. Tufts on
Dvemher 11, 1891, at the age of
«. marked the passing away of an
•right man and pubHc-spirited citi-
n. For twenty-three years, Mr.
•fts was a contractor at the Wil-
X Silver Plate Company (now Fae-
ry \. International Silver Com-
ny).
•Meriden is proud of men who have
•ne their duty as they have seen it,
itting forth their best efforts in their
ily work, even when that work
ought no high rewards. Such a
an was Mr. Tufts. He had a wide
•cle of acquaintances and friends
lo were attracted to him because of
5 sterling qualities.
.Mr. Tufts was a quiet, domestic
an, one who found pleasure in his
in cheerful home. He was a firm
liever in fraternal life also and was
iliated with many of the orders
omineiit in the city. He was a
uling member of Meriden Center
xlge, I. O. O. F., Columbia Coun-
I. O. U. A. M., Electric Lodge, X.
. (). P., and for a time a member of
afis Encampment. The friendships
mied in these organizations were
any and congenial and his death
used sorrow that was deep and
rnuine.
He was held in high regard by the
ficers of the Wilcox Silver Plate Co.
and by the men who worked under
him. In his business relations he was
strictly honest and just and the many
years he held the contract in the rouge
buffing department is an indication of
the satisfactory (piality of his work.
Mr. Tufts' home at 9 Gladwin place
was a most hospitable one and there
he and Mrs. Tufts were wont to find
comfort and contentment. They
SID.XEV I). TL'FTS.
were ever ready to receive their
friends and the latter were able to
gain an insight into what might well
be termed a model household. Mr.
Tufts' wife survives him. He left no
children.
It is such men as Sidney D, Tufts
who constitute the backbone of Meri-
den or any other progressive commun-
ity. A manufacturing city needs
462
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
I
more than "Captains of Industry.*'
It requires that the men at the bench
and those set over them shall be faith-
ful in the performance of their duty,
til at tiny shall ever be alive to the best
interests of the institution for which
they lahor. that they shall be alert in
the endeavor to brinj^ about improve-
ments. Added to this is the broad-
minded an<l intelli^^ent interest in the
affairs of the eiiy and country. In the
enumeration of these (|ualities Mr.
Tufts' character is described.
W. E. r.F.XHAM.
W'elennie V.. lU-nhani. fnnnder of the
^'oun«< Mens Christian .\ssociation,
of Meriden, the first to construct its
own building in New England, and
one whose life was devoted to relig-
ious labor, was born in Cheshire. Sep-
tember 9, 1820. and died at Meriden
August 23. 1898. He w.as educated
in the Cheshire common schools and
South ington academy. After his
graduation from the latter, he taught
district school for three winters, and
afterwards concluded his education at
the Oberlin, O., Collegiate Institute,
where he was a student from 1837-
184 1, but on account of ill health was
compelled to give up his studies.
In 1847, having regained his health,
he became a traveling bookseller, cov-
ering a territory in central Connecti-
cut, for over a period of thirty years,
his sales during that time, a portion
of which were Bibles, aggregated
$200,000. In 1850 he made a tour
abroad, visiting England, Ireland,
France and Italy, and in 1854 he noi
ried Martha Street, daughter of Ja»
Street and Betsey Scott, and senki
permanently in Meriden and thenrf
ter devoted much of his useful fife ?
the educational and spiritual wdfrn
and comfort of its people.
From sixteen years of age his fil
was that of a most devout and cxer;
plary Christian. Through his tiw
W. E. BEN HAM.
$30,000 were raised to erect the hr?
ing and equip the library of Ac abo
named institution; and for tw«4
years he was president and far the h
fourteen years of his life, was doi
man of the board of trustees. Bev
a member and for thirty ycani toe
er of an adult class at the Bet Cc<
gregational church. ICs wui^
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BIOGRAPHIES.
tion for his fellownien was always ap-
parent and it was his dehfjht to per-
form acts of kindness. He placed a
free ice water barrel in front of the
Palace block and this he looked after
)ersonally for many years, and the
:irinkinj^ fountain at the head of
IVown street was dedicated to him.
He served for some years as chair-
nan of the Corner school district com-
nittee and officiated as a member of
he school board for nine years, two
»f which he was actinjj school visitor,
during his service he introduced
trinted school reports and schedules of
chool terms. His efforts in behalf of
ree schools enabled Meriden to pass
lown in history as the first town in
his state to adopt them. In 1884 he
,as chairman of the Winthrop Square
Vssociation that established the pres-
nt green opposite the railroad sta-
on which has since added to the
eauty of the city. In 1882 he wrote,
histrated and published a of 240
ajjcs containing sketches of his life
nd writings ; and through his person-
1 efTort for church, Y. M. C. A. and
thcr benevolent purposes, he solic-
ed and obtained from the generous
jblic of Meriden over $60,000, with-
it ever desiring or receiving any com-
jn.sation except the ])leasure such
►niniendable work afforded him. His
?ath was a sad loss to Meriden ;
•r his life was largely spent in good
orks that were always wrought by
m purely in the interests of his
llowman. He is survived by a
idcjw and daughter. Mary J. lien-
im. who reside on Prospect street.
JOSEPH E. COE.
By the death of Joseph E. Coe on
May 5, 1902, Meriden lost a most
earnest and indefatigable worker in
the cause of temperance and Chris-
tianity ; a man who devoted his life
to the betterment of his fellows. He
was born on a farm in the town of
Middlefield, Connecticut. June 16,
JOSKI'II E. COE.
1827. the youngest son t)f l-'li Coe.
His early life was spent on the farm,
but he desired a wider field for his
activities and when he felt sure of his
mission he began to devote his ener-
gies in behalf of mankind, a service
to which practically the remainder of
his long life was given. He had wise-
ly invested his early savings and had
displayed much business ability. His
A CKMURY OF MERIDEN.
investments in Chicagi> real estate
brought to him a comfortable income
which, to a lame oxlt-nt, he api)lied to
the carrying out oi hia plans as a re-
furuicr.
Mr. Coe was a strong advocate o£
tcuipcram r and was a consistent ene-
my of tol»acco. He was every ready
to denounce the vices lie had sot out
to oppose although ofieii to do so re-
quired no small dcLrrec of courage.
Mr. Coe was kTiown throughout the
country as a distributor of Bible
leaves. At pr^eat expense to himself
lie traveled many tliousaiid of miles,
C()\ ering every state ot the Union, in
order to distribute these tracts, one
leaf at a time. This re(|uired atout
2,000 copies of the revised and 4,000
copies of the King James version of
the N'ew Testament.
Mr. Coe was always interested in
edrcation and c:ave freely of his mon-
ey in behalf of schools. He was
prominent in Y. M. C. A. work and
was an active member of the Amer-
ican Bible Society of New York City.
He was a promoter of the Meridcn
hospital and was much interested in
its work. Tic provided commodious
quarters in the Middlefield town hall
for the W. C. T. V. in whose work
he also took a deep interest. In the
work he had made peculiarly his own
he employed others. pa\ ing them out
of his own means. In all these causes
there are few men who have proved
themselves so devoted as Mr. Coe,
whose time and thought, whose ener-
^ and money were given without the
slightest expectation of personal gain.
Mr. Coe's first marriage \\a? v>l
La ira L. Miller. His second v..ii,
wlio survives hitn. is Orpha Rr.'X
who, during his life, proved a faith-
ful wife and gave him moral supp-iit
and encouragement in his etlons for
others. \
F. J. WHEELER.
Frederick T. Wlueler. a striking
example of the self-made man. wt»
has acemnulated a competency in the
busine>^ life of Meriden. u'a? \>yn
in ."^tratford, Conn., and is a son oC
Everett Wheeler, a farmer of thai
town, where iiis ancestors resided f -
many ^generations before him. He i|
also descended from Closes WTreele-j
wlio lived in London. England, dvir-j
inf^ the existence of the plague w?^'!^^
caused many to tiee to thi$jgpiit">i
over two centuries ago. *^^.->tci
Wheeler was one who was>^||Kickdl
and supposing he wa^ Jabodl^ -i d
dug his own grave axu^^fm d
it. His neighbors beUeiii^l'^lBr 'o
be dead, he came near hmmg h^r■<■^■
alive, but recovered and was
of the early settlers of Stratford
coming the operator of the f
which in olden times plied betweeo
Stratford and Milford.
Frederick J. Wheeler of wboo tb^^
article now speaks more espec&>>
was educated in the district sch ol^
of his native town and worked 08 ^
father s fann until sixteen jtm ^
age, when he journeyed to Se>inoiii;
Conn., and learned the trade of a tin-
smith, serving his full ^fpnOkeUt
I
Di<iiti?ed bv GoCK^Ie
BIOGRAPHIES.
icre and afterwards working as a
)urneyman for seven years at \Va-
Tbury. I'rom the fruits of his labor,
e was enabled to engage in business
1 1 862, and hapi)ily for him, he chose
leriden for the field of his business
fc. He leased a portion of his pres-
nt store, one of the most historic
uildings of the town, and from a
iiall beginning has increased his bus-
less to large proportions. Begin-
F. J. WHEKLER.
ling business as a tinsmith, he later
idded plumbing, heating and venti-
lating, increasing his employes and
jusiness steadily and profitably. His
original stock consisted of stoves and
tinware but gradually other lines have
iK'cn added until at the |)resent writ-
ing the store, which has been several
30
times enlarged, contains an endless
variety of general haidware, cutlery,
tools, stoves, crockery, wooden, tin
and willow ware. For many years
Mr. Wheeler has conducted a large
plumbing, gasfitting, heating and
ventilating business, employing a
number of workmen to whom he gives
steady employment. From a long
and honorable business career, Mr.
Wheeler has become one of the most
responsible business men of the town.
GEORGE A. CHURCH.
George A. Church, one of Meriden's
ablest merchants and respected citi-
zens, and from 1878 until the time of
his death, senior member of the firm of
Church & Morse, and for some years
previous to that engaged in the hard-
ware business in Meriden, w'as born
in Hartford, May 11, 1847. He was
the son of Abner and Lucy Church
and was educated in the public schools
of Hartford and Cheshire Academy.
After the war broke out, although a
mere boy he enlisted in the Union
army as a private and saw active ser-
vice as a member of the 64th 111. \'ols.
Infantry,
He came to Meriden in 1872, after
having received a business education
from his previous experience, and en-
gaged in the hardware business as a
member of the firm of Church &
S|)rague, in a store on East Main
street in the vicinity of the depot
crossing. The business rapidly outgrew
the first location an<l was later re-
moved to West Main, directly opposite
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A CENTURY OF MERIDKX.
BIOGRAPHIES.
467
Colony street. In 1878 Mr. Church
bought the interest of Mr. Sprague
and continued the growing business
lor one year: but at the end of that
tim«, Charles V. Morse bought a half
interest and the business has ever since
been conducted under the firm name
>f Church & Morse. Since the
death of his father, Robert G. Church
has represented the interests of the
estate and taken his place in the store.
The growth of the business of Church
& Morse to that of the largest in the
hardware line in Meriden, is in no
small degree due to the soniew li 't re-
markable business acumen of the late
Geoi^e .\. Church. He was known
as one of Meriden's most progressive
merchants and his popularity, both in
and out of his store, will be long re*
menibered by the people of Meriden
and vicinity.
Mr. Church was a familiar figure
in social life as well as a business
man standing high in the community ;
he was a prominent member of the
Masonic fraternity, in which he hlled
a large place in the hearts of his
brethren. He was eminently devoted
to that craft and his energy was ex-
erted to the best results. Among his
prominent characteristics were his
scrupulous honesty, faithfulness t<>
trusts, whetlur in private or ofhcial
relations, and fidelity to principles
which he might espouse without re-
gard to either popular clamor or fa-
vor. Mr. Church was also a member
of the Red Men and his connection
with that order will cause him to be
long remembered by his fellow braves.
He was also a member of the Home
Club and his good fellowship there
made his loss greatly deplored by its
members. For many years before his
death he was also a member of Mer-
riam Post» G. A. R. His death, Sep-
tember 13, 1S96, came without warn-
ing and caused great surprise nnd pain
in the community, with which he had
become so thoroughly a part.
He was married in Middletown,
Conn., 1875, to Lucy R. Goodell, to
whom three sons have been born :
Robert G., Howard W. and William
B. Church, who with Mrs. Church,
survive him and still reside in the
same residence, 93 Crown street
WILLIAM F, ROCKWELL.
William Francis Rockwell was bom
in Ridgefield, Conn., Janunry 12, 1845,
and died at his home in Meridin,
Conn., January 5, 190 1. His early
education was acquired at a pri-
vate school. He afterwards graduat-
ed from Fort Edward Collegiate In-
stitute. His business career began in
the forwarding and commission house
of Miller P.ros., in New York, when
about eighteen years of age. He
held an important position with that
concern for several years, being sta-
tioned at Norfolk. \'a., as supercargo
of a vessel during the war. In iHO^
he went to Washington. X. J., and
c:r^ai;od in mercantile business under
the firm name of Cummin.". Rockwell
& Co. In 1874 Mr. Rockwdl re-
turned to Connecticrt and became
treasurer of the I'ntted Stales Steel
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BIOGRAPHIES.
469
Shear Company. In 1876 he partici-
pated in the reorganization of the
Miller Bros. Cutlery Company. That
.concern had failed for a large amount
and Mr. Rockwell, in connection with
four other gentlemen, bought out the
plant and reorganized the company.
Mr. Rockwell became treasurer and
general manager, and the late Lem-
nel J. Curtis was the first president.
At the death of Mr. Curtis, I. C. Lew-
is became president, and in 1893, when
Mr. Lewis died, Mr. Rockwell was
elected president and held the office
until the time of his decease. In 1877
Mr. Rockwell was one of the organ-
izers and first president of the .\mer-
ican Pocket Cutlery Association of the
United States, organized to look after
the protective interests of the cutlery
trade. He was also a member of the
committee on the revision of customs
laws of the Merchants' Association of
New York. While that organization
is composed largely of importers and
merchants, they recognized Mr. Rock-
well's knowledge atn! experience and
were glad to avail themselves < f it.
The following tribute to Mr. Rock-
weirs character and position in the
ortlery trade is from William H. Ma-
her, of Toledo, Ohio, who knew him
long and intimately:
"I'or twenty-five years Mr. Rock-
well had been one of the controlling
forces in the hardware trade of this
country, and has left hi'^ impress itpon
the tariff laws and rulings to an ex-
tent that ver} few realize. He was a
manufacturer, but he was something
more than that; in a broad sense he
was a statesman, and though he held
no ofiice his was the mind and brains
and research and perseverance that
furnished facts, figures and arguments
to the men who made laws. He
worked througii them, meeting every
point raised by the opposition, until
to-day the American consumer who
wishes American gooils cannot be
fooled by having foreign stuff forced
on him under an American name.
"His battle for American cutlery
was something grand and Titanic.
Mr. Rockwell began his battle as a
lawyer prepares his case when im-
mense issues are at stake. His fight
was made on facts, facts, facts 1
Every point was fortified with figures
that could not be questioned. In that
contest the American cutler triumphed,
and if he wished to know who was his
friend he need but listen to the mal-
edictions heaped upon Mr. Rockwell's
head by the importers, whose false
brands and under valuation had been
summarily interfered with. And
when Congress had done its work Mr.
Rockwell's task was seemingly but
just begun. The men in the New
York custom house had his knowledge
at their command, and his quick eye
caiiglu at every loophole through
which the spirit of the law might have
been rendered abortive.
"Of all ni\ actjuaintances I know of
none who has shown n ore resource-
ful energy, more knowlcdi^c of every-
thing,' ronnccted with his business, or
who has left one tithe of his impress
upon bis a < H into . In his own office
an<] in his iionie he was a most genial
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470
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
host. In his city and state he was
one of the controlling minds, and in
national affairs he was a power."
Mr. Rockwell was married in 1876
to Miss Louise Taylor, of Washing-
ton, N. J. To them was born one
son, Charles Francis Rockwell.
GMORCH COOLHY.
George Cooley, one of the snbstan-
tial residents of the town of Meridcn
GEORGE (.(K)I.EY.
and the veteran liveryman engaged
in business at the present writing, was
born in Ashford, Windham county,
Conn., June 23. 1835. He is the son
of Roweand Mira (Snow) Cooley and
his father was a well-to-do farmer of
that town which is now Kastford. He
was educated in the district school and
brought up to work on the home farm
until sixteen years of age, when he
went to Hartford and learned the
trade of a burnisher, first entering the
factory of William & Asa Rogers and
later being employed by J, H. Martin.
He came to Meriden soon after and
secured employment as a burnisher at
the works of the Meriden Britannia
Co. and for some years was employed
by that company in Wal ling ford ; and
during this time Samuel Simpson was
a member of the concern. In i8'a4.
while still employed by the Meri<len
P.ritannia Co., he started in the liven
stable business on Broad street, by
buying out William Fisher, where hf
soon recovered his previous failing
health, and since that time he has been
engaged in the livery business contin-
uously. He remained on Broad strtc
for a period of sixteen years, but l>c-
fore he sold out the Broad street sta-
bles to Mr. Smith, of Middletown. he
had for four years at the same time
been conducting also the stables of
Willliam Parker on Main street. The
latter stables he carried on successfully
in all for twentv-one vears, but Mav.
1901, he sold out the Parker stable
and from J. H. McDonald, purchase*!
the Meriden House stables, which he
has since conducted.
Mr. Cooley is a Republican in pol-
itics and a member of the Home Oub
He is married to Emily J., daughter I'l
Leander Pannelee. of Wallingford.
once high sheriff of Xew Haven coun-
ty, and by that marriage are '
grown children : Irving G.. the mana-
ger of the Meriden Curtain Fixtrff
Co., and Jennie, wife of C. S. Howani.
Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
FRANCIS STAXLEV FOSTER.
Francis Stanley Foster, deceased, a
lifelong resident of Meriden, active
and popular in business life, a member
of the firm of I'.irdsey & I'oster, now
Birdsey & Raven, was born in this
town April 25. 1840. He was the son
of Ira and Harriet F. (Kelsey) Fos-
ter. He was a g^randson of Mathew
and Charlotte (Preston) Foster and
their family name is one of the oldest
and most familiar in this section. His
maternal grandmother was Lucy,
daughter of Lot and Rhoda (Wads-
worth) Stanley^ of New Britain,
who was descended from one of the
best known families oi Hartford.
Francis Stank > Foster attended the
Comer school. Wl|ftn he was quite
young his father r^^ioved from what
was known as Crow Hollow and built
a house on the corner of Main and
Butler streets, the land at that time be-
ing worth less than $300, but now val-
ued at about $20,000. At sixteen
years of age he entered the grocery
story of H. D. Bassett on Broad
street. Later he was employed as
clerk by Jared Lewis, whose employ
'te left to fill the position of head clerk
in the dry goods store of David S.
Williams. He was a natural salesman
and developed into a successful mer-
chant. He became the partner of Eli
C. Birdsey in May, 1876, which part-
nership was continued under the name
of Birdsey & Foster until his lamented
death in 1899.
He was possessed of an especially
happy disposition and his good fel-
lowship was as fully apparent in his
store as elsewhere. He was known as
very genial, strictly honest, and one
who treated ail with due consideration.
He was known as a good Mason and a
loyal Odd J'ellow and was a member
of the Center lodges of both orders
and also was a vahted member of Key-
stone Chapter, Hamilton C^i>iincil and
St. Elmo Commandery, Knights Tem-
jilar.
He was inarried October 22, 1863,
to Mary J., daughter of Alanson and
Clarissa (Wilcox) Birdsey. He died
November 12, i!^0- His wife, moth-
er and a sister, Mrs. Martha HiUard,
survived him.
Alanson Birdsey, the father of Mrs.
Foster, was the son of Gershom and
Lucy Coe Birdsey and was born in
the present town of Middlefield in
1807. He was a brother of Eli C.
Birdsey, known as Squire Birdsey, of
whom a sketch appears elsewhere in
this volume. The family moved to
East Meriden and after spending his
younger days on the home farm he
finally engaged in the grocery busi-
ness on Broad street and carried on
that trade for many years.
In 1844 he built what was then
known as a most imposing brick man-
sion on Broad street, where he resided
until his death which occurred June
14. 1881, when Francis S. Foster and
his wife became the occupants and
since the death of her husband it has
continued to be occupied by Mrs.
Foster.
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A ceaNtury of meriden.
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473
474
A CENTURY OF MRRIDEN.
BIOGRAPHIES.
475
WILLIAM GARLICK.
William Garlick. whose death oc-
irrcd October lo, 1904. at his home
^ South Meriden, was born in Shef-
■dd, Enfjland, August 19, 1847. ^^^s
lurents moved to this country when
Pi? was but three years of age; and
I \ was reared in South Meriden. For
r any years he was engaged in the ice
isiness and he was also a con-
actor at the Meriden Cutlery Coni-
my's factory and president of the
oloraflo and Connecticut Gold Min-
g Company.
Mr. Garlick was educated in the
outh Meriden district school. At
le age of fifteen he entered the em-
Icy of the Meriden Cutlery Company
« the same department in which his
ithcr was engaged, continuing there
ntil he reached his majority. For
irec years thereafter he was em-
loyed as inspector at the Aetna Cut-
•ry Works at New Britain. He
len returned to take the etching con-
-act at the Meriden factory, that con-
ection continuing for nearly thirty
ears.
Mr. Garlick had j)urchased his
ather's ice business in 1878 and in
889 he consolidated it with the Mer-
dcn Ice Company. He was elected
►resident and served for five years.
In 1894 he withdrew from this con-
pection an{l started the Heaver Lake
ce Company. Mr. Garlick being the
^le owner.
In 1898 Mr. Garlick made a trip to
Alaska prospecting for gold in the
Klondike. He was gone eighteen
months, during which the ice business
was successfully carried on by his
wife and daughter. Returning home
he formed the Colorado and Connecti-
cut Gold Mining Company and was
chosen president. Mr. Garlick was a
member of Hancock Lodge, No. 28,
L O. O. F., of South Meriden. Pil-
grims' Harbor Council, Royal Arca-
num, and the Home Club, of Meriden.
He was a member of the Methodist
church.
.\fter Mr. Garlick 's death his wife
and daughter again assumed the man-
agement of the ice business, which
they carried on in a successful man-
.\RTIIUR S. G.\RMCK.
ner for several months until dispos-
ing of same to parties who now carry
on the business under the same name —
The Heaver Lake Ice Company.
Mr. Garlick was held in high re-
gard both as a citizen and business
man. He was u[)right in his deal-
476
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
ings with his fellows aiul progressive
in his ideas, lie took {^rcat pride in
municipal aflfairs and was ready to aid
in anything tlial proniiscd to atlvance
the welfare of city or town. He was
respected and liked by his employes
in whom he always took a kindly in-
terest.
Mr. Garlick was married on No-
vember II. 1875. to Nellie May Stev-
ens, daughter of Philander and Eunice
Stevens, of South ^Tcriden. Two
children were bom. Miss Mabel Stev-
ens Garlick, prominent in Meriden so-
ciety, and Arthur Stanley Garlick,
who is an instructor in Cincinnati
University. Young Mr. Garlick has
a bright future. He is a member of
Meridian Lodge, F. & A. M., of Mer-
iden, and is well known and liked in
social circles. His advance in his
chosen profession is certain, ^nd the
position he now holds in Cincinnati
University is most promising.
PAUL T. SALESKL
Paul T. Saleski, president and
treasurer of the wholesale grocery,
fruit and produce dealing corporation
which bears his name, and one of the
most energetic and successful busi-
ness men of the vicinity of Meriden,
was bom in Germany, September 2,
1866. His father, Charles Wilhelm
Saleski, was a well known manufac'
turer of pottery and earthenware,
who married Mary Lietz. Their
children, fourteen in number, nine of
whom are now living, are as follows :
Gustav W., Charles M., a carpenter
1
and joiner; Frank, August B.,
A., of the W ilcox & White Co.: Ce-
cilia I., widow of Sanniel H. W. Vaie;
Anna A., wife oi John \'"elz. and iJa
M., wife of Joseph Doniackt -w >.ki. afl
of whom came to Meriden with ih.-'j
parents in 1 878, where they have
sided ever since, excepting Fraiih.. 2
prominent dairy farmer of Wailing-
ford.
Tlu' subject of this sketch, who wiS
eleven years old when the fairiilyj
came to Meriden, having prev:ou>ly^
attended school in his native Ian
was further educated in St. R^^c'
parochial school of Meriden. He Vi
gan his business life as a dkrk ir^ -'^t
grocery store of Ma|f|in Booth w 'i re
he began at a saltfi^ of seventAx vt
cents a day and reoMMped uii^l be ro-l
learned the business,x
ily adapted himsdC
He began bDiin^;
1890 in a semewliitt':
partnership witfa J.
the firm name of J^-fi".
In 1892 he
terest and the
ful business was conttnttcd under t
name of P. T. SftteM Ac Cou He at-:
terwards took an extensive trip to Kihj
rope and the old world and upon his
return again formed a partDer^^ipS
with Mr. Parker whose interest
again bought out in 1895, when he
came an importer of foreign fruits
well as an extensive de^er in
tic fruits, vegetables and country
uce, having since been the only
porter of fruits between Hartford »
New Haven. The growth of tihe
Digili^ca by d..'
A CENTURY OF MKKIDKN.
Tllli V. T. SALMSKI UL'II.DING.
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
479
less, of which he has for man)' years
een the head, has heen remarkably
:eady and rapid. As early as 1901,
ie enterprise first began to show the
,» idence of success and was removed
) South Colony street and later the
Ijoining store was added and am-
rovements costing $4,000 were made
'hich included cold storage accom^
lodations and every facility for keep-
is? fresh the goods sold to the trade.
In 1905 a large four story brick
nicuirc was erected on the opposite
lie of the street at a cost of $25,-
jj. This is one of the most sub-
antial buildings in Meridcii and
Imirably adapted for the large
i!>iness carried on by the P. T. Sa-
ski Co., a corporation which was
lartered bv tlie legislature, of which
Ir. Sale.^ki owns ninety per cent.
^ the stock, the balance being
vnrd by trusted employes. In the
iseinerit of this building are the cold
i>rage and steam heating plants. The
>t floor, where the handsomely
tod offices are, is devoted to fmits
"1 j>rocluce, the second to i^roct'ries
' the third to wooilcuware. '^I'hc
ildiiig is of InitT brick with granite
inmings and is most conveniently
ranged for the business now car-
rd on there so extensively. The
sincss of the company of which Mr.
ieski is the head, adds much to the
rrcantile life of Meriden and several
\eling men are now employed to
;it Upon the trade in adjoining
%*ns. The success of Mr. Saleski
»ni a poor boy, has been the result
untiring energy, honest dealings
with the trade and his ability to rise
to the occasion. He has the respect
of the community and stands high in
business circles.
He was married September 28,.
1897, to Anne Reichardt, of Buffalo,
N. Y., a lady of culture, who has since
made him an excellent helpmate. To
this union these children have been
born, Henrietta, Kugene and Philip,,
and one who died in infancy.
Mr. Sak-ski was for many years a
member of the Knights of Columbus,
and a past grand knight uf that or-
ganization, and also of the Ancient
( )rder of United Workmen and St.
P.onifacc society and others, but re-
tired from them all in order to devote
his time to his business and
home. He is a Republican in politics
and a member of the building commit-
tee of St. Mary's Roman Catholic
church. lie is also a man who has
never meddled with politics and is
deeply devoted to his business, his
family and his liome. He resides in
his own house on Liberty street.
C A. GRAEBER.
Rev. Charles Augustus Graehcr,
bom in St. Louis, Mo., June 27, 1841,
son of Carl August Graeber and Car-
olina Reissncr, entered the parochial
scliool of the Trinity Lutheran
churcii when five years of age, then
the Concordia College of the Synod
of Missouri, Ohio and other states
April 4, 1853. On account of ill
health he took up the practical side
of the apothecary's trade with Dr.
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I
480
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Tschirpc. In 1858 he re-entered the
college and graduated in April, 1861.
He clerked with Druggist Buenger
for six months and then entered the
theological seminary of Concordia in
St. Louis. He graduated on March
1 1, 1864. was ordained March 20, and
accepted the missionary board's call
to go to southeast Missouri, locating
at Pilotknob, Iron Co., Mo., preach-
DR. CHARLKS A. GKAEBER.
ing and teaching there and at Farm-
ington. Sainte (jcnevieve. Mine La-
motte, and other places. His voice
failing, he accepted a call to Rock-
ville, Tolland Co., Conn., being in-
stalled there December 16, 1866, sup-
plying also at Broad Brook. August
I. 1869. he accepted a call to the St.
John's Lutheran church of Meriden
and was installed .\ug^st 22 by the'
Rev. F. W. Fochlinger, of New York
city. He supplied Southington's St
Matthew society and New Britain 1
mission, starting also a mission at
New Haven, Conn. He accepted \ '
call to the Wartburg Home and Luth-
eran hospital in East New York in
April, 1886. He resigned in .\priL
1888, and returned to Meriden. dm«t-
ing himself to the practice of mctli-
cine, %^
He was married Aug. 7, 1864,
Miss Christina Elizabeth Haepplcr. 1
St. Louis. Mo. This union v >
blessed with six sons and Bvedasg -
ters. His wife dying in Jattdar .
1902, he married July 4, 1904^ Mr>.
Crescentia Wilhelm, of Doriar-
Conn. He has several children a
Meriden now grown to matutil
ALBERT A. MAY.
Albert A. May is one of MenORi^
leading business men and has berr a
resident of this city for the past t n
years. He was born in Nortfifiv
Vt., on March 17. 1844, and was i^*
eldest son of Hustin and Nufflet fEb-
pheney) May. He spcrit his early
years and was educated in the townj
of Ludlow, Vt., graduating from the'
Black River academy in i860.
Always intensely patriotic, he ^^
spondcd to the first call for troops at
the outbreak of the Civil War, enlist-
ing as a private April 20, 1861. 2
member of Co. I, Second \*emiont
\'ol. Infantry. He saw much acti\'«
service, participating in twenty-seven
Digitizer , , .. .oogle
BIOGRAPHIES.
ittlcs. He was wounded six times,
id suffers to this day from the ef-
cts of a badly shattered leg received
the Battle of the Wilderness, May
1864. He was honorably dis-
larj^ed July 15, 1865, ranking as
*cond lieutenant.
After the close of the war and his
HTovery, to some extent, from his
ijuries, he established himself in bus-
Photo by Akern A Plfceon.
Al.ltKKT A. MAV.
ness in Massachusetts, where he re-
•idcd until the spring of 1896. when
Je came to Meriden and founded the
^eqnod Business College, which is to-
lay one of the valued educational in-
titutions of the city. For several
'wrs he has been engaged in the un-
lertaking business in which he has
i^et with marked success.
31
Mr. May is a past post commander
of Merriam Post, G. A. R., and a past
master in tlie Masonic fraternity. He
has also been at the head of many
other patriotic, fraternal and social
organizations. In June, 1905. he was
chosen department commander of the
(1. A. R. of the state of Connecticut,
and served his tenn in that office most
acceptably to the comrades in the
state. He is also an earnest church
and Sunday school worker.
Hrr.KKT LITTLE.
One of the best known merchants
in Meriden is Hubert Little, a mem-
ber of the corporation of The Little,
Somers & Hyatt., and for over
thirty years has been a valued
resident of the town. He conies of
distinguished ancestry on both sides,
and is of the eighth generation in de-
scent from Thomas Little, who came
to Plymouth. Mass., from Devonshire,
ICngland, in 1630. and. in 1633
married Ann Warren, daughter of
Richard Warren, who came over in
the .Mayflower, and was followed in
1623 by his wife and five children,
who crossed the .Atlantic in the good
ship "Fortune." He is also descend-
ed, through the line of Warrens,
from one of the oldest families in
Fngland, and his descent may be
traced directly to William de Warren.
Farl of Xormandy. who tlied in 1088,
and married ("lundred. youngest
daughter of William the Confjueror.
Hubert Little is the .son of William
I'uckingham and Harriet X. ( Palmer)
I
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482
A CKNTURY OF MERIDEN.
Little, and was born at Columbia,
Conn.. November 14, 1843, where his
father was also born and was one of
the more jjrominent men of that town.
Hubert Little was brought up on his
father's farm, and after attending the
district school, finished his education
at the W'illimantic High school. He
afterwarils assisted in the work on the
home farm.
Photo by Akers & Plgpon.
HUBERT LITTLE.
He came to Meriden to learn the
trade of a painter utulcr his cousin,
Charles L. Little, but finally formed a
partnershij) with his brother. I'Jbert
C. Little, and buying out his cousin,
established himself in the paint, wall-
paper and interior decorating busi-
ness, under the firm style of H. Little
& Co. Afttr several years of success-
ful business, John E. Somers bou|:h:
out the interest of the junipr partner.
The firm of which he has always bctn
a member became Little, Somers Jl:
Hyatt in 1886. when Isaac B. H.m.
the present chief of the Meriden Fire
Department, bought an interest in
the business, and which in 1904 be-
came incorporated with a capital oi
$20,000. The concern of which Mr.
Little is the head, is now one of the
leading business houses of Meriden,
and he is known as one of the mo>i
reliable in local circles.
He has for many years resided in
one of the most comely residences ai
that part of the town known as Waslhj
ington Heights. Mr. Little is 2
member of several fraternal orgaTii-|
zattons. including Pacific Lodge. I
O. O. F., and Pilgrims' Harlx^r Cour.-|
oil. Royal .Xrcanum.
He is a Republican in politics, bu:
has never asj)ired to public office.
He was married NovemlxT 14, 1871.
to Alice L., daughter of EgixTi
Brown, of Columbia. Conn. : she die»l
May 20. 1877. and to her three chil-
dren were born ; Flora L., XovemlxT
18. 1872, died JanuarN 14. i875:Cla\-
ton E.. born December 19, 1874. dio!
March 27, 1875 ; and Clinton E.. N^m
May 8. 1877. a successful traveling
salesman. Mr. Little has been aizai*
married to Martha L.. daughter it
William Williams, of Westfield. Cc*nr.»
and they had these chiMren: Edna
born January 28. 1879. died April Q.
1883: Thomas Saxton. bom Xovem-
ber 27. 1882. died May 12. 1883 : Har-
old Saxton. born July 7. 1884. anJ
Google
niCKlRAPHIES.
483
Burton Elbert, born May 4. iSn)0, died
October 31, 1891. Mr. and Mrs. Lit-
tle are Ijoth influential members of
the Trinity M. E. church in Meriden.
JULIUS HOBART YALE.
Julius Hobart Yale, a prominent
agriculturist of Meriden, who resides
in the house built by his ancestor,
Noah Yale, in 1761, was born in the
house next to his present residence,
July 3, 1863. He is a son of Julius
Wilcox and Mary (Cooley) Yale and
a descendant in the fifth generation
from Xoah Yale.
He was educated in the public
schools and since then he has con-
ducted his present well cultivated
farm of 115 acres which has been in
the possession of his family for so
many generations.
His residence, although one of the
oldest houses in Meriden, has been
fitted by 'him' with all modern im-
provements. The water is supplied
from. an artesian well built in 1905
and operated by a windmill. The sit-
uation of his residence is most j)ic-
turesquc and delightful views are fur-
nished from the windows. His fruit
cellar, for he raises a large amount, is
kept well ventilated by a system of his
own invention which keeps his apple
and vegetable bins at the proper tem-
perati re. His barns contain all mod-
ern farming implements and the farm
shows the result of careful cultivation.
I le is the possessor of a large herd of
cattle and is also a dairyman of note.
^Ir. Yale has contributed much to
the press and was for three years a
correspondent for the Connecticut
Farmer and a like term for the New
England Homestead. He has also
taken a prominent part in the town
meetings of Meriden, and is known as
a good speaker, well versed in the
to])ics of the day.
Since 1885 he has been actively
connected with the Grange and in that
JULIU.S nOB.\RT Y;\LE.
year was one of a committee of five
to secure the charter members for the
organization of the Meriden (Irange,
in which he has served as chorister for
eleven years and two years each as lec-
ti;rer. overseer and master. He has
for many years also been a member of
the Center Congregational church,
which society he has ser\'ed in various
capacities.
DigitizcL.
n
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
484
He was married February 7, 1889,
to Emma Louise Norton, of Guilford,
Connecticut, a daughter of Geo. B.
and Maria (Chalker) Norton, who
before her marriage was for nine
years a teacher in the scliools of Guil-
ford. Five children have been lx)rn
to this marriage, three of whom are
now living.
SEKENO D. SMITH." '
The subject of tliis sketch was l)oi*n
in Cheshire in the Cheshire Str^t
district, receiving his education th^re
and at the Eewis Academy, South-
ington. He engaged with his father.
Loyal Smith, in the carjKMiter and
joiner business until 1858. when, up-
on advice of Horace Greeley to young
men to "go west," he went to Illinois
and with a partner engaged in house
building near the city of Ottawa.
There he heard one of the great de-
bates between Stephen A. Douglas
and Aliraham Lincoln. After his re-
turn he was employed by Deacon Ly-
man Clark at whose sash and blind
factory he made blinds by contract.
This factory, located where the Ar-
mour building now stands on South
Colony street, was burned in the
spring of 1865. That year he formed
a partnership with C. L. Little in
the manufacture of sash dixjrs. and
blinds, which was continued for about
a year, when they sold out to Fin-
ney & Clark. In 1876 Mr. Smith
opened a store at 167 State street, for
the sale of windows, doors, blinds,
paints, oils, etc., which he continued
until April, 1901, with fairly good
success, disposing of his stock at that
time to the Meriden LuiiiIkt Co.. and
since which he has not been engaged
in active business.
Although not a member of any
church organization he lias for many
years taken quite an interest in the
Main Street Baptist church, con-
Photo by Akors & Pigeon.
SEREXO D. SMITH.
tributing according to his means 10
the construction of the edifice and its
maintenance.
On January i. 1863, he was
married to Fannie E., daughter
of the late J. C. Beach, of South Col-
ony street. She died in November
the same year: and in November.
1866, he was again married to .\nna
BIOGRAPHIES.
AI. llanly, who died March 12. 1905.
In politics Mr. Smith may be
classed as an independent, believing
it his duty to support the best man
for office witlirmt rcg-ard to party.
He voted for (Jrover Cleveland three
different times: in 1896 and 1900 as
a gold Democrat supported William
McKinley. Mr. Smith, at this writ-
ing, is a great admirer of Theodore
Roosevelt. He now lives in retire-
ment at his home, 1 Olive street, Mer-
iden.
GEORGE M. CLARK.
George M. Clark, president of the
Meriden National Bank and since
1865 an active resident of Meriden,
was born at Willimantic, Conn., Oc-
tober 5, 1844. His ancestors include
men of standing and influence in the
early history of this country and he is
descepded from Lieut. William Clark,
one of the first settlers of Dorchester,
Mass.", and who came to this country
from England in 1636, but in 1639,
removed to Northampton, Mass.
He served as a soldier in the King
Philip's War and for fourteen years
was a representative from Northamp-
ton in the general court. George M.
Clark's forefathers afterwards became
prominent in Connecticut, and as far
back as- 4.784 Jonathan J^Tlapk, son of-
David, was^itorit'JitjUolfarH^'^wher?' he
grew to manhood and became a land
owner and a prosperous faniur.
Silas Fuller Clark, son of Jonathan
and the father Df tho subject of this
sketch, was also a native of Tolland,
but spent the last five years of his life
in Meriden, wliere he died in August,
1900. and was buried in the Willi-
mantic cemetery. He married at Wil-
limantic, Elizabeth L. Woodworth, a
daughter of Asa Woodworth, of Heb-
ron, Conn.
George M. Clark was the only child
of his parents to grow to manhood,
his twin brother having died in child-
hood. He was educated in the public
schools and also private schools of
Willimantic where he prepared for col-
lege, but his close application to stud-
ies caused his health to break down
and he had to give up the college life
whicli he had looked forward to with
much pleasure and ambition.
He, therefore, began his business
life at the age of sixteen, as a clerk
in tlie Willimantic post office, but a
yeat later entered the bank at Wind-
ham, as teller, ever since which time
he has been continuously associated
with the banking business. In 1865
he was invited by the late O, B. Ar-
nold, then its cashier, to enter the Mer-
iden National Bank and become its
teller, which position he filled with
faithful attention to his duties until
1 89 1, when he was elected cashier.
This office he held until the death of
Mr. Levi E. Coe, president, when he
was chosen president and since that
date has been at the head of the insti-
tution. Mr, Clark, from his long con-
nection with banking, is properly re-
garded as one whose conservative
ideas and sound judgment have al-
ways held the confidence of his di-
rectors and the public in general.
Digitized by Google
A OKNTrRV UK MKRIDKX.
I
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
487
Since becoming a resident of Meri-
<len, he lias entered heart and soul in-
to all matters where the welfare and
p^ood name of the town were at stake
and is particularly active in church
circles. He has for many years been
a prominent member and one of the
trustees of the First Methodist church
of Meriden, in the affairs of which he
ihas been a valued participant.
He was married in Mansfield to
iLovisa Maria, daughter of Perry and
I Lois (Fenton) Holly, and two chil-
Idren have been born to them as fol-
llovvs: George S. Clark, teller of the
Meriden National Hank, who married
Carrie Capen, of Norwich, Conn., and
I who have one child, Rolland B. Clark ;
I and Elizabeth Louise, assistant libra-
rian at the Curtis Memorial Librarv,
of Meriden.
GEO. V.\N NOSTRAND.
Ex-chief of Police of the City of
Meriden, Geo. Van Nostrand. un-
der whom the department has been
brought to a high state of efficiency,
was born in New York City, March
25. 1 841. He comes from an old
Knickerbocker family and his fore-
fathers were among the Holland
Dutch settlers of Manhattan Island,
I who were afterwards Quakers. He is
' a son of AnscU and Mary \'an Nos-
trand. of New York City, and his
grandparents were George and Fanny
\'an Nostrand, who resided at Far-
iningdale. Long Island. He is also a
nephew of Walt. Whitman. His boy-
hood days were spent largely with his
grandparents and while he attended
school in New York City, the great-
er part f>f his education was obtained
at I''arniing<lale.
In 1S57 he started to learn the trade
of a shij) car|)enter, but soon after be-
came employed as brakeman on the
Long Island railroad. He was pro-
GKOKGI-: \ A\ NOSTRWn.
moted to baggage master and later be-
came a conductor on a freight train
on the New Jersey Central railroad,
which controlled the Long Island
railroad. Afterwards he secured a
more lucrative and responsible posi-
tion and became express messenger for
Hoj)e's Express Co., his service being
on the trains between New York and
Reading, Pa.
Digitized by Google
488
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
He came to Meriden in the fall of
1867 and was for a short time em-
ployed in the Britannia shop. When
the Meriden I\)Hce Department was
organized lie was tlie first man ap-
pointed a i)atrohnan and for i-cvcral
years was Xo. 1 of the department of
which lie is now chief. During his
long service he ha> been i)romoted ser-
geant, captain, and .\\)T\\ 30. iSy8, was
appointed chief, succcedini; Roger M.
b'ord in that office. Chief \ an Xos-
trand is known as one of the most
capable and trustworthy officers in the
state : and to his ideas of discipline and
ripe experience in the business, has
the police department of Meriden been
brought to its present liigh standard
of excellence. Me has also become
highly esteemed as a resident of the
town and has shown an interest in
everything that pertains to its wel-
fare.
He resides on Windsor avenue
where in i8»>l he built one of the
comely residences of Meriden. In
fraternal life, Mr. \'an Xostrand is a
Knight Temiilar Mason, being a mem-
ber of Meridian Lodge, 77, and St.
Elmo Commandery, 9, of Meriden, but
is affiliated with no other organiza-
tions.
During the Centennial celebration
Chief \ an Xostrand served as a mem-
ber of the committee on public
safei \ .
In iSU) he was married to Sarah
Kellam. of ( ilastonbury. Conn., a lady
of gentle manners, but with a keen
sense of business methods. They
have no children.
AUGUST SCHMEI.ZiiK.
August Schmelzer, a leading Oc-
man resident, manufocturer, nKrcfaantj
and president and treaawfr oC the .\a-
gust Schmdzer Ca^ mm hm m Wa^i
dau. Saxony, Gennuq^fi dl4i< ^
came to this oomUqr iEi l%a IniSn
he began busineit ii^lMMrf ^voauf
a stationeiy
Pratt and EaA
he purchased ttm
James H.
tinued ever
cess.
He went into
iness in i
business and proper^
Beadle, which
materially ; and In
land on Soisdi
streets wheie te-IM. ^jliracted toi
him coal pockeli •djilji^ jhft tncki
of the ConsoKdhM fg^pl ol 2jooc|
tons capacity and tons cai^
be unloaded daQy* :^:<tt end H
is all modem machincr^^lBr cutting
and splitting wood; and% the coo-
ducting of his coat business as iv«n U
other enterprises he has l^cn as-ist^
by his son, Edgar E., now sccretad
and trea>urer. In 1895 he ret:
his stationery and periodical >!•
Morse &: Cook's block where be a i i
cigars and tobacco; and in i8<^N^^'i
the mamifacture of cigars vvhiih f'^
now conducts on a large scale, his tac-j
tory adjoining the coal |.>ockets. '
"Mr. Sciimelzcr was one of the pion-
eers of the German- American scho
Ly GoOglJ
489
490
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
a^st •ciatiuii. a!i«l since its orjL^atiization,
lie has Ik i u one ol the iironiinciit mem-
bers of the school Ijoard. He is also
a nieniher of Teutonia lodge, I. ( ). < ).
F.. Merideii l..djrc, ]). ( ). H.. Mcriden
Turn \ erein. Cosnioj)olitan cliih and
the Meriden Saeni^erhiind. And not
alone as a prosjHTous and an energetic
business man is Mr. Schmelzer well
known to the public, for. with his man-
ifold responsibilities, he has found
time to devote ei<;ht years in the faith-
ful service of the city government, six
years of which he was a member of
the common council. On committee
work and in the council his honesty of
purpose was nwvr questioned; for it
was always his aim to exercise the
same business care with the city's in-
terests that he did in conducting his
own private affairs.
He serves on the committee of re-
ception and entertainment of the com-
ing Centennial celebration.
JAMES F. GILL.
James I'rederick Gill, who since
1872 has been associated with the mu-
sic store on West Main street, Meri-
den, is one of the best known resi-
dents of the town, and a business man
of high standing in local circles. He
is a son of George Gill, of Meriden,
who for many years was a con-
tractor at the works of the Meriden
Cutlery Company. His mother was
Emma Mitton, and his parents, of
English birth, settled in Meriden, his
father in 1858, and his mother in i860.
The latter brouj^du with her :m
subject of this sketch. whi> has suui
lived here continuously and i^r»-i\sTi vp
with the town. He wa> educated a!
the Hanover di.strict school, and a> i
youth slunved a talent for muy:c,
which was duly eucouraijed by his
reiUs. He took lessons from the late
T. T. .Mansfield, who was at that time
organist of the old Comer cburcfat
Pboto by Akm A Piseon.
JAMES P. GILL.
i
then located \xl?ere the Meriden QpeiS
house now stanck, and afterwards be*
came his assistant. Mr. MansfidI
was also proprietor of the music stocc
where Mr. Gill was first employed anl-
to whose business and good will he
finally succeeded and which be Ym^
maintained successfully since
Mr. Gill became a music teacher
Diqitized by G«
BIOGRAPHIES.
:r the instruction of Mr. Mansfield
[ul in years ^one by has also taken
irt in numberless concerts and ninsi-
iles, sh(3wing a deep interest in all
lusical matters. His music store
^ntains a large stock of pianos and
ther musical instruments, sheet mu-
c, and musical merchandise of every
escription; and having been estab-
shed for so fnany years has become
most natural rendezvous for people
utsically inclined. Mr. Gill enjoys
le confidence of his fellow townsmen
1 the fullest degree.
He is the present secretary, and was
»r several years treasurer, of the Sec-
nd Building & Loan Associati6n of
.leriden, the meetings of which or-
;anization are held in his store. He
> also a well known member of the
ifTerent Masonic bodies, including
•leridian Lodge, A. F. & A. M. ; Key-
tone Chapter; Hamilton Council,
nd St. Elmo Commandery, Knights
Femplar. Mr. Gill, with his family,
5 a communicant of All Saints' Epis-
opal church.
He was married January 11, 1882,
o Mary E., daughter of Mrs. Lucy
L Hitchcock, of New Haven, and
hey reside at 195 Cook avenue, with
heir children, as follows: Emma A.,
iHora E. and Margaret M. Gill.
A. H. GARDNER.
Arthur Hugh Gardner, senior mem-
ber of the insurance and real estate
firm of A. H. & L L Gardner, was
bom August 3, 1B53, in Charlotte,
Washington county, Maine. He
C(jnies from early colonial ancestry.
His great-great-grandfather. Stephen
Gardner, was born m Hingham,
Mass., in 1727, and his son. War-
ren Gardner, removed to Pembroke,
Me., where the family have remained
through several generations and con-
tinued in agricultural pursuits. Isaac J.
Gardner, father of Arthur Hugh and
Irving I. Gardner, was also a well-
to-do farmer. His wife was Annie
L., daughter of Hugh Potter. He
was also a farmer of Pembroke, and
was bom in Scotland.
A. H. Gardner was one of a family
of nine children, eight of whom are
now living and from the fact that
the soil at the place of their birth is
not sufficiently fertile for successful
fanning, four of the five boys are now
in Meriden or vicinity.
A. H. Gardner came to Meriden at
the age of nineteen and first secured
employment in the greenhouses on
the farm of the late Randolph
Linsley, through which now extends
Linsley avenue, where in later years
Mr. Gardner built a comfortable res-
idence for himself. Mr. Gardner af-
terwards worked two years in the
market of S. C. Paddock and later in
the store of Augur & Gardner where
he continued as a clerk for a number
of years until he opened a first class
restaurant in the then new Pacific
lodge building on State street and
continued until he engaged in the in-
surance business, afterwards taking in
as a partner his brother, Irving L
Gardner.
Digitized by Google
492
A CEXTL'RY OF MERIUKX,
Mr. Gardner is a prominent mem-
ber of the Main street Baptist church
and has taken a deep interest in
all its aflfairs. having filled the offices
of deacon, trustee, collector, usher
and superintendent of the Sunday
school. He has also served as a di-
rector of the Meriden Y. M. C. A.,
is a inemher of Center lodjje, A. F.
& A. M. and the Roval Arcanum. He
I. I. G.\RDN'ER.
IT
Photo by Aker« St Pigeon.
A. n. GARDNER.
is known as one of the influential and
public spirited men of Meriden.
He was married in 1879 to Julia
Pearce, daufjhter of Captain Marion
Small, of Eastport, Me., and they
have one child. Mr. Gardner re-
sides on West Main street, and
with his brother also occupies their
summer home at W'cstfield.
SUM
of the rca
of A. H. \
]
Irving Isaac Gardner, who
1891 has been a member of
estate and insurance firm
I. I. Gardner was bom in Charjo(i<
Washington county. Me., August ^
i860. His early progenitors are rt
corded in the sketch of his brother. X
H. Gardner, immediately precediflg
He attended the district school 01
native town winters, until he v .
enteen years old, following the ;
suits of his father summers.
His parents were upright. Chns-
people and like his brothers he
reared in the paths of rectitude,
attended the Eastport High school
one term and concluded his e«iuc"-
at the high school of Pembrc.-^e.
After teaching in the country sch*-
of Charlotte and Pembroke, he ci-^
to Connecticut in 1880. He won
at first for a season on a farm in K-
sington where his employer afr
wards engaged him to
"Ledge School" in winter
He afterwards went west. «
at Chicago for employment but
tinned to Stillwater. Minn., where U
taught school another winter, the fol
lowing spring going further we>: -
Montana, stopping at North Dakua
to take up a government homesteal
He returned, however, to Stillwaia
and again taught school there: and
the next spring returned to Xorih
kota to complete his legal "homC|
stead" residence. Finally returning tt
Meriden, he has ever since resid«
here with the exception of four veai^
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
493
fi he was bookkeeper at the Mai-
le Iron Works in Kew Britain,
ince he became associated with his
her In the insurance business, the
has become extensively engaged
eal estate and their business has,
n a small beginning, increased to
e proportions through their activ-
knowledge of property values and
^cientious business methods. Mr.
>iO by AkerH & Pigeon.
I. I. GARDNER.
rdner is secretary of the Pacific
ll Estate Company and, Hke his
•ther, is a man of strong personal
iracter and executive ability,
fie has l)een a member of the O.
A. M. Pilgrims* Harbor council,
yal Arcanum, and is also an Odd
How. He is a first trustee of the
lin street Baptist church, where
he is, at the present writing, the su-
perintendent of the Sunday school.
He served for many years as a trus-
tee and director of the Y. M. C A.
and was vice president of that insti-
tution during the process of recon-
struction through which the Meriden
association passed.
rie was married in 1886 to Inez B.
Upson, of Kensington, who died
March, 1904, of pneumonia. Eight
children were born to them, six of
whom are now living. The life work
of the Gardner Brothers has been
with their large family, both con-
sidering it a higher duty and
a greater pleasure to devote their time
to its interests, to their home and the
church than to the many calls of lodge,,
political or social life.
CHARLES S. PALMER.
Charles Scranton Palmer, architect
of Meriden, is the son of Ralph A.
and Sarah A. Palmer, who in 1903 re-
moved to Braidentown, Florida, where
for twenty-five years they have owned
a productive orange grove. Their
son, a young man, has achieved well
deserved success in his chosen life
work, his reputation having been
well established when he opened an of-
fice in the G. A. R. building. Meriden,
in the spring of 1905. He first became
associated with a leading architect
and builder and acquired his knowl-
edge of his profession by a fortunate
experience in j)ractical building con-
struction. This, coupled with an in-
born talent and possession of modern
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
494
ideas and good taste, has enabled him
to plan several pleasing and practical
buildings and residences constructed
recently. His success in planning
and also in superintending the con-
struction of manufacturing plants in
various sections of New Englaand,
and now especially the large fire de-
partment building of which the city
of Torrington is so justly proud, all
I IIAKI.ES S. PALMER.
are creditable to his efforts. Mr. Pal-
mer makes a deep study of architec-
ture and is es])ecialiy efficient in plan-
ning fireproof buildings of which he
has made a specialty. He has proven
himself an architect of modern and
progressive ideas and his success has
been due to his ability to plan and
superintend the construction of build-
ings in keeping with the age whic
marks the close of the first cea
tury of Meriden's incorporation as
town. One of his notable achieve
ments is the new $75,000 school buiJ<
ing in process of construction on We
Main street, his plans being selecM
in competition with those of oldl
and more celebrated architects, Hr
is a member of the Home Club, Mer
dian Lodge, 77, A. F. & A. M, ; Ko-
stone Chapter. R. A. M., and St. Ehta
Commandery, K. T, ; Pyramid Tem-
ple, Mystic Shrine, of Bridgep«3rL
Mr. Palmer stands high in his prote-
sion and has shown an active intercsi
in the advancement of his native xoiM
He was married October 18, la
to Maude Elizabeth Hendey. of iS
ring^on. y
W.M. \V. .MOSHER.
William Wooster Mosher, a Idi
ing and valued citizen of Meridc
and who for thirty-nine year?, a
proprietor, has been engaged in dl
drug business in the .<ame location o
Colony j^treet. was bom in Canajl
harie, N. Y.. July 4. 1843. He i> tl
son of P»enjamin Weaver Mo<J>r
born at Duanesbrrg. X. Y., .\pril 1.
1 81 6. who on December 31, 1835. mai
ried .Anna .Maria XW^x^^tcr. Tbd
children comprised three girls la
two boys. He is also descended fro
Rev. Hugh Mosher, who came loth
country from England about 165J ai
who until his tleath continued as
preacher of the gospel in Massadi
setts and Rhode Island.
Digitizer , , . .oogle
DIOGRAPHIES.
W. W. Mosher came to Meridcn in 1865 as
clerk in the drug store of 1. B. Klock, but
vo years after became the proprietor of the
-esent store, which he has carried on ever
nee with that measure of uhimate success
hich is but the resuU of an old established
isiness conducted with due regard for the
iterests of a loyal patronage. Shortly after
z engaged in business for himself, Mr. Mosh-
r associated his father with him, and who
jntinued thus until his death which occurred
.pril 27, iSf/), after having been a partner of
is son for twenty-nine years. The late B. W.
loshcr was an upright and highly respected
usiness man. His father before him was a
lergyman of the Methodist denomination and
e became a consistent communicant of that
aith. He was one of the original members
■f Trinity M. E. church. Mcriden, and was
■ne of its trustees.
His son, W. W. Mosher, has been honored
•y election to many offices of honor and trust
n Meridcn. having served one year as coun-
ilnian ; four years as alderman ; treasurer of
he town for seven years, and city treasurer
or two years. He has for many years been
I i)niminent member and one of the vestry-
iien of St. Andrew's P'piscopal church. In
893 upon the death of George R. Curtis, he
vas elected treasurer of the Curtis Home of
Meriden, which office he still holds, in addi-
ion to being, at this writing, one of the agents
)f the Kdwin E. Curtis fund. Mr, Mosher is
I member of the Meriden liusiness Men's .\s-
K)ciation and Board of Trade, also of the Con-
necticut IMiarmaceutical Association and Mer-
iden Druggists' Association. He is also a
member of Meridian Lodge, A. E. & A. M..
and Keystone Chapter. R. A. M.. of Meriden.
In i8^>8 he was married to Cynthia A.,
daughter of James A. Erary and to
496
A CENTURY OF MERIDBK.
them have beeii born one son, Wil-
liam Reid Mosher, born in Meriden
August 20, 1869.
W. R. Mosher was educated
in the Meriden public schools
and after attending the High school
three years, became associated with
his father's business and since 1888
lias applied himself to the interests of
the now large and thriving establish-
ment. He is a member of the Con-
necticut Pharmaceutical Association,
Meriden Board of Trade, and has for
some vcars been treasurer of the Mer-
iden Permanent Building and Loan
Association. He was married Sep-
tember 19, 1894, to Katherine Eu-
genia, daughter of the late T. M.
Smith, of Meriden.
ARTHUR SHERMAN LANE.
Arthur S. Lane, prominent in the
public and social life of Meriden, and
treasurer of several corporations, was
bom in Kent, Litchfield county, Con-
necticut, October 27, 1864. He is the
eldest son of John Sherman Lane,
concerning whom much is stated else-
where in this volume. Arthur S.
Lane was educated at the private
school of J. H. Ihirlburt, Lime Rock,
Conn., and since enteringf business life
has shown a marked aptitude for the
responsibilities he has been called up-
on to assume.
In March. 1S80. he was api^oiiitcd
ajTcnt of the Honsatonic railroad at
West Str>ckl)rid^e. Mass., the fullow-
inp nioiith beitip; transferred to Ca-
naan, Conn., a station on the same line
and still later in the same year t»
Bridgeport. In March, 1881. he en-
tered the employ of the N. Y., N. E
& H. R. R., where for a period of ta
years he served that company effident-
ly as freight cashier at its Harka
River terminal at New York City. Tf»
position he resigned in March, iSoi.
to enter into partnership with bis
father who had, a sliott
established the stone
road building businm.
The business of
Son has developed
and profitable indnstry
quarries than the
have been opened and
the following coi
Mr. Lane is the
Lane & Son, Inc.;
Quarries, Inc. ; Lane QiMgf CxMiipa <
and The Lane Constmctioii Gompany.
the operations of which are chron-
icled in another part of this vohnnc.
He is also one of the directors of
the Meriden Savings bank. Sivct
becoming a resident of Meriden. ^
has taken a prominent part in public
affairs. He was elected and served
as a member of the board of akkr-
men from the First ward, in iJVj^-/'
and during his services in the city
g^overnment. was chainnan r>f the
coniiiiittees i)arks and streets. lo
1807 he was nominated by the Rep'^iij*
lican party, of which he is one of the
local leaders for mayor of Meritlen,
but was defeated in the Denwcratic
" landslide" of that year.
He is a member of the I'irst Con-
gregational chnrch of Meriden and
Diqitized by Google \
BIOGRAPHIES.
as served as a member of its several
fficial boards. He was the first char-
tr nieniber of Alfred H. Mall Coun-
il. Royal Arcanum, and is a member
f the Home Club of Meriden.
Photo by AkerB & Pigeon.
ARTHUR S. LANE.
He was married in New York City
May 15, 1884, to Carrie Eva Shove,
daughter of Oliver Prince Shove of
that city. Children of the marriage
are: Gertrude Emma and Grace
Louise, twin daughters, born March
13, 1889. and Samuel \'irgin, born No-
vember 6. 1897.
E. T. SILLS.
Hlias Taylor Sills, a leading mer-
chant of Meriden, engaged in business
as a lx)okselIer and stationer, was born
3^
497
in Nottingham, England, July 16,
1855. His early education was ob-
tained in his native town, but when he
was twelve years of age, the family
removed to Sheffield ; and there he
concluded his education by an attend-
ance at the People's Business College,
from which he graduated at the age
of sixteen. After acquiring a thor-
ough and practical business expe-
rience in mercantile life in England,
he came to this country and direct to
Meriden in 1880, three years later en-
gaging in business, but on a much
ELI AS T. SILLS.
smaller scale, than at the present day.
Previous to securing his present lo-
cation ir Palace block, he had con-
ducted L.isiness at two other locations
near his present store, however. He
Digitized by Google
498
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
first Started on Colony street, where he
established himself thoroughly by his
painstaking attention to his trade and
liis thorough knowledge of the wants
of a discriminating public. He later
removed to West Main street, ab<:)ve
his present location but in December,
1 90 1, purchased the business of the
fonncr occupant and removed his
stock thereto. His store, which is 97
feet deep and 40 feet in width, con-
tains one of the largest and most com-
j)k'te stocks of books and stationery
in Connecticut ; and the basement,
filled with toys, resembles, in the hol-
iday seasons, a i)erpetual fair. The
success of Mr. Sills as a merchant,
while somewhat remarkable, is no less
deserved : for he has always held the
well merited confidence of a large and
constantly increasing patronage.
He is a member of the Home Club ;
Alfred H. Hall Council, Royal Arca-
num ; Meri<len lioard of Trade; Mer-
iden iUisiness Men's Association, and
is one of tlu- directors of the Second
Huilding and Loan Association of
Mtriden.
He was married June 6, 1895, to
W'inogene, daughter of Mrs. Laura L.
Payne, of East Haddam, and resides
in his own home on \\'ilct)X avenue,
which he had built in 1895.
WILLIAM M. OCESTED.
W illiam M. Ouested. cashier of the
Meriden National l>ank and one of
the board of fire commissioners of
Meriden, received his education in the
public schools of Meriden and Albany,
N. Y., finishing his studies at the Jen-
nings' Seminary for Boys at Aurora,
111., and began business life as a cltrk
in the shipping rtK)ni of the Wilcox
Silver Plate Co., but shortly afUT-
wards secured a position as clerk in
the Meriden National I>ank where he
has ever since remained. i5y careful
attention to his duties he received wcfl
deserved promotions, and after work-
Photo by Akers 6 Pigeon.
WILMA.\[ M. OL'ESTED,
ing up through the positions of
keeper and teller, was electe<I ca>hi
of the bank in January. i«)05.
While Mr. Quested has for rnan»
years been an active resident of Mcr*
iden, he has never sought nor accepted
public office, e.xce])ting that which he
now holds as one of the fire commis-
sioners of Meriden. To fill oat
I y Google
UIOGRAl'iUES.
499
mexpirccl term of Fred M. Hotclikiss,
le was first appointed in iyo2, but in
1903 he was reappointed for a full
erm of four years, in which capacity
le now serves. Mr. (Juested is a thir-
:y-second degree member of the Ma-
sonic fraternity, being a member of the
following branchts of the order in this
:ity and elsewhere: Meriden Center
F.odfje, A. F. & A. M. ; Keystone
Chapter, K. A. M. ; Hamilton Council,
R. & S. M.; St Elmo Commandery. K.
T. : a member of the Scottish Kite
botlies of both Xew Haven and
r>riclpeport ; also of Pyramid Temple,
Mystic Shrine. He is prominent in
Odd Fellowshii). being a past grand of
Center Lodge, 1. ( ). ( ). I\ ; a past
grand of Oasis ICncampment. He was
formerly a member of the Patriarchs
Militant, is now a member of the
Meriden Wheel Club. .Meriden Rifle
Club, Citizens" Ritle Club, .Meriden
r.usiness Men's .Association, and since
18S5 has been one of the directors of
the V. M. C. .\.. of which he has also
been treasurer since i«P3. He has for
a number (»f years been associated
with the Center C'ongregalional
church, and <luring i8«;3-4-5 .«;erved a
term as one of its deacons, being also
prominent in the offices of the I'ible
school of that. church since
F. L. >dCRn()CK.
Frederick L. Murdock, a leading
practitioner of the dental profession,
and whose handsomely furnished of-
fices have for .some years been located
in the Wilcox building, is one of the
better known professional men of
Meriden. He is of English birth, but
came to .\merica when a boy and re-
ceived the greater part of his educa-
tion here.
After graduating at the High
.school, he took a course in arts and,
uj)on receiving the degree of B. A.,
he returned to England and t(H)k a five
years* course in dentistry at London,
under the famoi:s profe.s.sor, B. B.
FKi:i)i:i<K K I.. .MURDOCK.
Wolscott, M. n.. L. 1). S. He re-
ceived his admission to practice, there-
fore, in England, but afterwards went
to .Montreal. Canada, and took a post-
graduate corrse of three years under
the instruction of J. W. I'edford. L. D.
S.. D. D. S.. a celebrated specialist in
crown and bridge work. IVom his
500
A CENTURY OF MKKIDEN.
long college course and diligent study,
he was well fitted fur the practice of
his profession, when he hxated in
Syracuse. \. V.. and first hegan prac-
tice. At Syracuse he associated him-
self with S. C. Dayan, M. D.. D. D. S.,
a specialist in diseases of the mouth.
It was in 1891 that Dr. Murdock,
who was thus especially well fitted hy
experience and knowledge of his pro-
fession in all its hranches. came to
Meriden and hegan the practice wliich
he has ever since continued. He has
built up a large and lucrative practice,
especially with those who comprise the
leading families of this vicinity. That
he understands his profession in as
great a degree as any leading dentist
of the state, is acknowledged by his
patients and fellow practitioners,
among all of whom he is both well
known and popular. He is a member
of the Connecticut State Dental Asso-
ciation, and is also well known in Mer-
iden social life, bein.;: at this writing,
president of the lloiue Club, of which
he was one of the members instru-
mental in causing the present hand-
some clublioi'se to be constructed. Dr.
Murdock is an enthusiastic s|)ortsman
and is an adept with the rod and gun.
He also <lrives one of the fastest auto-
mobiles in the state and is a member
of the committee having in charge the
automobile parade to l)c held < In ring
Centennial week in Meriden.
LEW ALLK.X.
For more than thirty years the
name of Lew .\llen has been asso-
ciated with newspaper irtaking in
Meriden. In age as well as in yean
of actual newspaper writing he is the
oldest man in the profession in the
city. Born in New York in 185J. he
came to Meriden in 1870 and a uv.
years thereafter began to report i r
Riggs' Daily Recorder and GiW* n?
W eekly Citizen. He has been con-
nected with newspapers ever since.
He was employed in New H.iver-
though residing in Meriden, at '
time The Meriden Daily Journal \*a;
started twenty years ago by Francs
Atwater. Frank E. Sands, Thoma- L
Reilly and Lew Allen. The Joumal
Publishing company was fornieH n"
of this Mr. Allen is vice-presidr r.
He has been the active editor of 1
Journal from its first publication a
to it has devoted all his time and en-
ergy, engaging in no other enterprise?
or undertakings.
1 E. SANDS.
1-rank Elbert Sands, one
most familiar figures in Meriden busi-
ness and social life, is a son 01 Je5««
and .Mary Melvina (Turner • Sands,
and was born July 17, Y863. iu NVv
I'airfield. Conn., which town wa> >ct-
tled by his maternal great-great -grand-
father and associates, on a grant ium
the general assembly. On his m?0\-
er's side he is a direct descendant of
John Wakeman. the first treasurer of
New Haven colony and is eligil»-^
through his progenitors to the Son5
of the American Revolution, and of
which .society he is a member. His
Ly Google
BIOGKAI'HIEiS. 5OI
Digitized by Google
502
A CKNTUKV OF MKRIDKN.
BICXJRAi^IIES.
2arly days were spent in Xcw I'air-
ficUl and Danhury wlicrc lie attended
school until fourteen years of apfc,
when he removed to New Haven.
There he prepared for Vale Univers-
ity itnder private tutors and entered
in the fall of 1882, jjraduating with
the class of '85 S. with the degree of
I'll. 1*. as civil engineer. While wait-
ing for the commencement of work
>M a railroad line to which he was to
^lecomc attached, he was for a time
piiigaged in the wholesale protiuce hus-
Biiess, hut, that not being to his taste,
ne became connected in 1885 with the
fcXew Haven Union,
I Early in 1886 he became interested
!in the formation of The Journal Pub-
lishing GHiipany in Meriden and
moved to this city. He was elected a
director and treasurer of the company
and has filled those positions ever
since, his active duties being entirely
devoted to that comi)any in the posi-
rtions noted as well as business mana-
ger of The -Meriden Daily Journal.
Mr. Sands is a member of the
Home Club and was for a number of
years chairman of its executive com-
niittee and its president in 184^7-8. He
|i> also a director of the Home Club
I Realty corporation and was an active
niember of the committee that planned
and buili the present handsome club
h'Hise. He was one of its founders
an<l is a member of the Ix^ard of gov-
ernors of the Meriden (lolf Club. He
also belongs to the Colonial Club, A.
H. Hall Council, R. A., the Loyal .Ad-
dition, the Kniglits of .Maccabees and
Silver City Lodge. .\. O. U. W., and
is a director of the .Meriden ijusiness
Men's .Association. He is particular-
ly well kiiuwn in newspaper circles
outside his own town and is secretary
of the .Associated Dailies of Connec-
ticut. When the Meriden t enleiniial
was filanned Mr. Sands was chosen as
chaimian ol the euninnttee on public-
ity au'l .»<ouvenirs and it is largely to
his efforts that the centennial cele-
hraiion has been so widely and widely
adverli.>ed ;uid successfully carried on.
He was married .\)jril 26, 181X8, lo
.Alice Louise I»rasee. daughter of
Judge John Schofield I'irasce and Anna
(Dickinson) I'.rasee. of Lancaster,
Ohio. 'Ihey liave one daughter,
Anna lirasee Sands, born in iSSi). A
son, Traflford Turner iirasee, dieii in
infancy.
CEPHAS B. ROGERS.
Cephas Brainerd Rogers, one of
Meriden's most successful business
men and the senior of the once well-
known firm of C. Rogers & Bros., was
born in Saybrook, Conn., December
30, 1836. His parents, Hcrve\ and
Elizabeth (Try on) Rogers, moved to
Meriden to engage in the hotel busi-
ness when their son, Cephas, was thir-
teen years of age.
His education was pursued in the
schools of Meriden. Later he took a
position as clerk in the office of the
Meriden Lumber & Coal Co. He
again resumed his studies at the Mer-
iden Academy where he finished his
schooling ; but he has always added to
Digitized by Google
5^4
A CENTURY 01' MEUJUEN.
his education by reading, travel and
experience unlil he may be siyled a
self-e<Inrated man.
Prcvions lo the Civil War, Mr.
Ko.L;c'rs ent^apfed as a clerk in the Xcw
Haven liuuse, which hostelry was the
rendezvons of distinguished men of
the stale and nation in political, mili-
tary and etiiicalional circles, and he
became acquainted with many notahle
men. Among them was Abraham
Lincoln, who came to Meriden es-
corted by a cointnittoe of which Mr,
Rogers was one, and ilelivcred an elo-
quent political speech. Mr, Rogers,
who was alwavs an ardent and loval
Republican, was >i) impressed with
Mr. Lincoln that he went to Wash-
ington when Mr, T-incoln became
president antl heard his iirst immor-
tal inaugural address. Still later. Mr.
Rogers took charge of the Wadawa-
nock Ilor>t', a siDiimrr hotel in Ston-
ingluu, Luim.. and soun after became
manager of the St. Denis Hotel, in
New York City. He was very suc-
cessful in both enterprises.
In I cljruary, 1866, the partnership
of C. Roger«J & Bros, was organized
for the niami facture of silver plated
gootU. l iie In in ct»n^.i^led of the
three brothers, Cephas B., as presi-
dent : ( .ilhcrt and Williur F. Rogers.
BeginninL; in a small iaciory. the bus-
iness advanced rapidly until the name
of C. Rogers & Bros, on sjjoons.
knives and forks, became known
throughout the world for quality and
beauty of design. The business of C.
Rogers iv: Bros, was successfully car-
ried on for nearly forty years, when
in i<><)3 it was sold to the Inienii-
lional Silver Company, the greatest
silver- ware cor]), ^ration in the worlJ.
and Cejihas Rogers and his iwa
brothers retired to private life.
Mr. Rogers i> also a i>ublic spiriieu
man anti has always been identttiL-u
with local affairs in Meriden. He
was a valued member of the city coun-
cil for six year> and is now a direct- r
of the l-"ir.Ni National Lank of Mcr.-
den and a trustee of the L iiy Saviri:^
Bank. In i8<So he ina<le a trip to Ku-
rope, Combining business with pleas-
ure while vi.^iting their bratich boi:>c
in London. The la'-t h'-norable p -
sition which has been best«:<wed iip n
Mr. Rogers is a membership in iht
Xatiunal Geographical Society ^t
Washington, D. C. In religion, he
a most devoted Methodist and great-
ly interested in the First Methodisi
10pisc')i)al Church, of Meriden. ?<>
which lie has alway^ been a liK'ral
contributor. He has been a manber
of the otticial board since i^Mj and .'.t
the {iresent time is the i>residen? 0:
the beiard of trustees. In 1888 he >Aa>
made president of the New York £a.-t
Lay Llectoral conference held in Miu-
dletown. Conn. In i»XJ<^ he was a k>
delegate from the Xew York luist cr'n-
fereiice to the Metlvwlist Ouadrenniil
general conference at Chicago, in
i<)<^4 he was again delegaie to th<
Methodist general cunference at I-o>
Angeles, Cal. Mr. Rogers has a]<u>
been a trustee of Wesle\an L'niver>-
ity. at Middletown. Cotin., for twenty
years. lie was the first subscriber
to the 'Additional Endovi'ment Fund*
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BIOGRAPHIES.
505
A CEKTC7KY OF MERIDEN.
of that university, heading the list
with twenty-five thousand dollars.
In 1S70 he was married to Margaret
Oark, daughter of Dr. Peter F. and
Anna (Goodwin) Clark, of New
York City. Mrs. Rogers is noted for
her charming hospitality and is prom-
inent in church and social life. She
is a member of Susan Carrington
Oarke Cltapter, D. A. R., is on the
board of managers of the Meriden
Hospital and also one of the board of
managers of the Young Women*s
Christian Association. Their home is
the Rogers homestead, located on
North Colony street, and is one of re-
finement and taste.
Mr. Kogers has reason to be proud
of both his maternal and paternal an-
cestry. On the maternal side he is
the ninth generation descended from
John Alden and Priscilla Mullins of
the Mayflower. On the paternal side
he is a lineal descendant of John Rog-
ers, who suffered martyrdom in the
reign of Queen Mary in the year
1555- Janies Rogers, the first of the
family in America, descended from
John Rogers, the martyr, who came
to this country in 1635, made the
voyage in the ship "Increase," from
London, and settled in Stratford,
Conn., where he married Elizabeth
Rowland. In 1637 James Rogers was
one of the six men from Saybrook,
who, under Captain John Underbill,
took part in the Pequot War. He af-
terwards removed to New London,
Conn., and became prosperous and in-
fluential in the church and the colony ;
was sent seven times as representa-
tive to the General Court between ifr:
and 1673 and at one time he v«3
speaker of the house. Ichabod R(v*
ers, of New London, Conn., gra, >
father of Cephas, was a soldier in tr--
war with England in 1812, and
great-grandfather, Ichabod Rogers
was a soldier in the Revoltttion^'^
War,
GILBERT ROGERS.
Gilbert Rogers, for many years ai
well known manufacturer and a rn.-^i
loyal and patriotic citizen of Mmd^
was born in the historic town of Sa;
brook, in the old Tryon homestead «-
cupied for man> generations by his c:^
cestors, July 4, 1838. He is *rcc:r
descended from John Rogers, cler-
gyman, one of the first martyrs undr
Queen Mary, bom in England in if^:
and burned at the stake. Febnian 1
1555, for his denunciation of Roman-
ism. James Rogers, his paternal an-
cestor from whom he comes in the
ninth generation, came to America ip
1635, and from James first and fc*
wife Elizabeth (Rowland) Rogers, hi^
genealogy in synopsis is as fcXkf^y-
James ist, James 2nd, James
James 4th, Ichabod 1st, Ichabod 2i>'- !
Ichabod 3rd, Elam Hervey and
bert.
On the maternal side he comes int^
the Tryon family of the nobilih* ot
England. Among his progenitors ait 1
Sir Thos. Tryon. who left a brge ^
tate; Banm Peter Tr>on of Maldd.
England, who also left a large tm- ;
claimed estate and General Wm. Tr}" .
Digitized by Gopgle ;
BIOGRAPHIES.
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
on, LL. D.. governor of North Caro-
lina in 1765, and of New York in 1771,
who owned large estates in London
and Flanders, England. He was a
Tory and a general in the British
Army during the Revolution, and with
his soldiers created much havoc in
Connecticut ; but on account of having
a favorite nephew at Yale College,
treated New Haven with extreme len-
iency. On the maternal side, Gilbert
Rogers is also descended from Dr.
Chas. Goodrich, a son of an English
nobleman, also from Dr. Chas. Bulk-
ley, son of Rev. Gershom and Sarah
Chauncey (Bulkley), daughter of
Rev. Dr. Chas. Chauncey, who be-
came the second president of Harvard
College in 2654, which office he held
until his death, February 16, 1672. He
is also in the ninth generation lineally
descended from Peter Bulkley, D. D.,
who came to America in 1639.
He is a direct descendant of John
Alden and Priscilla MuUins, his wife,
who came to this country in the May-
flower in 1620, to whom he traces his
ancestry back directly through nine
generations, as follows: 2nd, Eliza*
beth (or Betty) Alden, daughter of
John, married Wm. Peabody; 3rd,
Lydia Peabody, daughter of William
Peabody, married Daniel Grinnell;
4th, Mary Grinnell. daughter of Dan-
iel Grinnell, married Robert Lay, De-
cember 12, 1703; 5th, Jeremiah Lay,
son of Robert Lay, married Pru-
dence Belden; 6th, Huldah Lay,
daughter of Robert Lay, married Dan-
iel Jones ; 7th, Belinday Jones, daugh-
ter of Daniel Jones, married Jedediah
Tryon ; 8th, Elizabeth Tryon, daugh-
ter of Jedediah Tryon, married Her-
vey Rogers ; 9th, Gilbert Rogers, sob
of Hervey Rogers, and the subject :i
this sketch.
Gilbert Rogers was the fifth sou ot
Elam Hervey and Elizabeth {Tr}or.<
Rogers. He attended the little brick
school house in what is now knowo at
Old Saybrook, but when he was qdif
young, the family removed to Men-
den, where he . attended the prhrai
school taught by Henry D. SondL
He b^;an his business career as a bov
of fourteen years, when he bec»a(
employed by Luther Webb, at wlioac
factory pocketbooks were then extfli<
sively made. After two years he »
tered the factory of Chas. Parke;
where he remained for five years, dv
ing which time he learned the trade c
finishing flat ware. In 1858 he le
moved to Hartford where he was eis
ployed by the Hartford Stiver Pbtiai
Company, but later by Rogers. Smid
& Co. He was afterwards made $5
perintendent of one of the departmeot
of the Rogers Bros, silver plating iac
tory at Waterburj*; but after m
years, he formed a partnership ^
Asa H. Rogers and engaged in tlM
manufacture of silver plated spodoi
and hollow ware, in a factorv on }s»
sau street, New York Citv. Lib
many other concerns when the 0(1
war broke out, business operauott
were suspended, and Mr. Rogers, xt
turning to Meriden, received the ap-
pointment as U. S. enrolling officer,
which duties he fulfilled for the gov
emment for one year.
It was in 1866 that with his brod»
ers, Cephas B. and Wilbur F.
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
le concern of C. Rogers & Bros,
as fonned. Building a factory on
utler street, now owned by the In-
rnational Silver Co., they first en>
iged in the manufacture of casket
irdware, shrouds, etc. Later the
nm began making plated forks,
KX>ns, knives, etc., and built up as en-
table a reputation as any concern in
lis country.
During the World's fair at the Cen-
•nnial exposition held in Philadelphia
1 1876. Mr. Rogers had charge of the
. Rogers & Bros.' exhibit.
The large business being sold to the
'nited States Silver Corporation in
Mr. Rogers retired from busi-
ess until 1905, when he again estab-
shed himself in the manufacturing
orld by starting a factory at West-
eld, Mass., for the manufacture of
isket hardware and other metal
x>ds» which is now largely conducted
r' his sons.
Mr. Rogers has for many years
;en one of the directors of the City
iving.s Hank and was also one of the
ganizers of the Walnut Grove Cem-
erv Association, of which he is one
the directors. Mr. Rogers has also
rvcd the city and town of Meriden
public capacities, having been a
ember of the city government and
e board of selectmen. He is also a
ember of the town hall building
mmittee, and the committee of citi-
ng appointed for the Centennial Cel-
ration of 1906.
He is a member of Meridian Lodge,
, A. F. & A. M. : Keystone Chap-
py 2y, R. A. M. ; Hamilton Council.
22, R. & S. M. ; Capt. John Couch
Branch, Sons of the American Revo-
lution, and the First M. E. church, of
Meriden. In the last named he served
for many \ ears as superintendent of
the Sunday school and secretary of the
oflicial board.
Mr. Rogers has always been a Re-
l)ublican in politics and cast his first
vote at Waterbury, November, i860,
for Abraham Lincoln, and whom he
afterwards saw riding in his carriage
in New York Cit) , on his way to the
inaugural ceremony.
With his two sons he went abroad
in 1900, visiting the world's fair ex-
position at Paris, afterwards traveling
extensively over Europe, visiting the
principal places of interest of Switz-
erland, Italy, Germany, Holland,
France, England and Scotland.
He was married February 6, 1867,
to Estelle Victorine Rogers, and to
them have been born the following
children: Mabel Estelle, born March
23, 1 87 1, married Frederick Arthur
Wright ; Eugene Culver, born January
8, 1876, associated with his father in
business at Westiield; Ralph Gilbert,
born April 8, 1878, likewise interested
in business with his father; and Wil-
liam and Emerson, twins, who died
in infancy.
WILliLK FISKK ROGEK.S.
Wilbur Fiske Rogers, a distin-
guished member of the Grand Army,
and until his recent retirement a lead-
ing manufacturer of Meriden, was
Digitized by Google
Sio
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
born in Saybrook. Connecticut, July
18, 1841. Wliile he was still a boy
he moved to Meriden, and, after at-
tending school here, secured work
at the Chas. Parker factory, be-
ing only twelve >'ears of age at that
time. He soon became very skillful
as a silver-plater, and worked at that
trade until 1861. At the outbreak of
the Civil War, Mr, Rogers, while
working at his trade in New York
city, was one of the first to respond
to the call of his country. He was
one of the party of the loyal mob
who compelled every newspaper of-
fice in New York to display the Union
flag and, on the first day following
President Lincoln's first call for
troops he enlisted. On May 2, 1861,
he was mustered in as a private in
Company F, Fourth N. Y. V. I.,
called the First Scott Life Guard, be-
ing composed in part of the old organ-
ization of New York Volunteers under
General Scott in the Mexican War.
Mr. Rogers was in the battle of
Big Bethel, the first formal engage-
ment of the war, and remained with
the regiment until the expiration .of
its two years* service. He was in the
engagements at Antietam, Fredericks-
burg and Chancellorsville, the rai-
ment volunteering to go into the lat-
ter fight after its time had expired
For this conduct it received a mag-
nificent reception from the City of
New York on its arrival home, where
it was reviewed by General Scott at
the Fifth Avenue Hotel.
Mr. Rogers was in all the battles
participated in by the regiment and
held the rank of third sergeant ai4;
right general guide.
After being at home three monthi
he re-enlisted in Company G, Thir'
fifth N. J. Zouaves, and was roack
sergeant and general guide of tiu:
regiment. He was with General
Sherman when the latter made his n
mous expedition across the stae
Mississippi to Vicksborg, and hi»
more famous march to the sea.
Mr. Rogers retnataed whh the nf-
iment until the dote ol liie war. talh
and ner-
w sick
Uerii
\Vl
as t
\^
in tk
a mem-
He l< t
and Nan
Gub of Connectkut, the Sons of
the American Revotation. the Royal,
Arcanum, and was a chana
member of Pacific Lodge, N'o.
87, L O. O. F. In Merriam PoflU
No. 8, G. A. R., he is especiaM
prominent, having served as cookI
mander of his post, aide-de-camp to
the national commander-in-chief, is-
spector of Department of Conncctkii,
delegate to the national encampoKit^^
at St. Louis, junior commander, snh
ior vice and department commandc'
of the G. A. R. of Connecticut.
mg part in every
er being off duty,
hospital — a truly
In 1865, he
where he formed ft
his two elder
Rogers & Brothers.
Mr. Rogers is a
tics, and was an
to 1899, serving 01
committees. He is
First Methodist
ber of the official
member of the Amry
Ly Google J,
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
5«
Mr. Rogers is an able writer and
speaker, and an upright and highly re*
spected citizen, and has traveled ex-
tensively. In 1894 both he and Mrs.
Rogers made a long trip abroad, vis-
iting the principal countries of Europe.
He was married January i, 186",
to Miss Mary J. Corbin, daughter oi
Hezekiah H. and Maria B. (Ryder)
Corbin, and niece of the proprietors
and founders of the great hard-
ware manufacturing concern of P. &
F. Corbin Mamifacturing Co.» of New
Britain. Mrs. Rogers, who was once
for four years a teacher at the
Comer school and a graduate of the
State Normal school, is a woman of
rare personal attainments. S'v has
ever taken a leading part in church
work and woman suffrage. She has
for some years been president of the
local Political Equality club, and the
Meriden Humane s(xi\t\. Per the
past ten years she has been
president of the Ladies' Aid so-
ciety and bv virtue of that office a-
member of the official board of the
First M. E. church; she is also treas-
urer of the Connecticut Woman Suf-
frage League; was the first president
of Merriam Woman's Relief Corps of
Meriden, and was the first woman to
serve on the Meriden school commit-
tee before the consolidation of the dis-
tricts ; also the first woman in the state
to be elected a member of the High
school committee, of which she was
made chairman. She is also a prom-
inent member of Susan Carrington
Oarke Chapter, D. A. R.
Mr. and Mrs. Rogers have had three
children: Zula Elizabeth, bom Sc^h
tember 21, 1874, a graduate of Wo-i
leyan University and a talented Uo-
guist and mathematician; Bmtoi
Cephas, born April 12. 1876, secretar,-
of the Connecticut Telephone & ElcC'
trie Co., of Meriden; and Howarl
Wilson, bom December 27, I^ig^ and
died May 30, 1883.
LEVI BRADLEY.
Levi Bradley (deceased V wide a
lifelong resident of Cheshire^ wat
closely identified with the town
Meriden and built the fiist br:d
block here, located at the comer ;J
High School avenue and West hhu'i
street. He was in many respevti
a remarkable man and is remembcrtl
for his strong personal character ana
high attainments. He was the iOB^i
Daniel P.radley, a Vermont farmer,
who was driven to abandon his farm
by the ravages of the Britnh ^ma$
the Revolutionary war and removim:
first to Hamden, Conn., finally settki
in Cheshire. There Levi was boni
November ii, 1792. As a boy hi
worked on his father's lam nine It
gave his industrious services until al
the age of seventeen he iMBOgbt
time" of his father up to the liM k
was twenty-one and with a Inrse an!
wagon filled with goodly rtfiwrf M
the credit of his name, started out t«
win success in mercantile life. At
the age of twenty-one ymtm he ha|
earned sufficient money by ped<£iiig
to pay for his time aanm^f mA li
the age of twentsMlme |Mi
Google
514
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
buy all of his father's farm.
His business as a dry goods peddler
was carried on by him with remark*
able success and he was given a
hearty welcome everywhere he drove
his team. His routes extended
through several of the Southern
states and he carried on his business
before the advent of the steam rail-
road. Many streams had to be ford-
ed, too, in order to reach the villages
which he supplied with dry goods, as
bridges were few and widely scat-
tered in that territory in his traveling
days.
His unusual energy and business
capacity not only won him the confi-
dence of hi> customers, but so good
and shrewd a buyer was he that his
fellow peddlers, and they were nu*
merous in those times, one by one,
p^raduallN delegated him to. do their
buying. Finally, when at the age of
twenty-seven he had married and set-
tled down on the Cheshire farm, af-
ter he had stopped peddling, he
became the New York buyer for the
members of his craft, which trust he
assumed for some years, his judg-
ment being held in high regard by
them.
As a fanner Mr. Bradley was any-
thing but a failure ; for his crops were
ever large and his land showed the
result of care and high cultivation.
He took a pride in his property and
in the product of his farm; and he
won many prizes at state and town
agricultural exhibits. It was Levi
Bradley who first undertook the pro-
duction of wheat in Cheshire and af-
ter ha\ ing procured his seed frcci
New York state, his crops of wheat
were much admired by visiting si^^-
seers.
He was also the discoverer of tht
first barytes mine in Cheshire. Whik
driving along the highway where men
were plowing on the roadside his at-
tention, which was naturally ob>tr\
ing, was called to a peculiar lookiin:
white stone and upon examining i:
found it to be of unusual weight f :
its proportion. Putting the stone ir
to his wagon, the following day hi
submitted it to Prof. Silliman of Vale
College. His analysis prompted Mr.
Bradley to immediately buy an opti -
where the mineral was, \s liich he did.
and he afterwards sold the farm to a
New Haven firm at a handsome profit,
who in turn mined from tlie propen
several million dollar^' worth of iK
mineral, Mr. Bradley being for two
years employed as superintendent of
the mine.
Mr. Bradley was recognized as a
man whose moral worth was a whole-
some and stroi^ virtue in the im-
munity where he lived. While
thrifty in connection with his farm
he kept well abreast of the times and
thoroughly informed on the topics ot
the day. He was also a great rend
er, and his knowledge of men and pub-
lic affairs won him the admiration oi
those who knew him. His ga^l
qualities were recognized by his fel-
low townsmen in a marked degree;
and he was called upon to sen* •
Cheshire in the State Legislature! '
He was married September 30,
^ kj uy Google
BlOGtCAPUlES.
819, to Abigail Ann. daughter of
ianiucl and Patience (Feck) Atwa-
?r, of Cheshire. Miss Atwater was
woman of rare persotial attractive-
ess and was called the belle of her
ative town. S!ic was also beautiful
1 character and always did her duty
s a wife and mother and enjoyed the
istinction of being a true daughter of
he American Revolution. She lived
3 the age of ninety-seven and her por-
rait nt ninety-two is herewith prc-
ented. accompanying that of her es-
iniable husband. Their children were
incline Amelia, born December 19,
820, and married Alfred P. Curtis;
Samuel Atwater, bom Jan. 18, 1823;
Villiam Lambert, bom May 25, 1826;
Nathaniel Lyman, born December 27,
829. and Abbie Ann, bom Feb. 26,
The last named married Wal-
cr Hubbard and died in 1855. Two
'{ these sons, William Lambert and
saihanie! Lyman, the former of whom
lied in Plingham, Mass., December
5, i8<>|, achieved marked prominence
n the business world from the lessons
n industry, perseverance and manly
ourage taught through the example
>f their father. William L. Bradlev,
or fifteen years a resident of Meriden
tnd who removed to Boston in 1862,
vas the founder of the Bradlev
''ertilizer Co., of Boston, Mass.; and
Nathaniel L. Bradley, a leading resi-
lent of Meriden and treasurer of the
Bradley & Hubbard Mfg. Company.
Another captain of industry who
benefited by the wise teachings of
-evi Bradley, was Charles Parker,
>f Meriden, who before he made his
first start from which he achieved
world-wide fame as a manufacturer,
spent three years on Mr. Bradley's
farm.
Levi Bradley died at Meriden
March 18, 1877. He was a man of
decidedly Christian sympathy and was
a liberal supporter to the cause of re-
ligion. His life furnished an excel-
lent example for those who are to
follow him.
GEORGE GAY.
A citizen of Meriden, justly remem-
bered as an upright man of sterling
worth, was George Gay, who, after
having been most active as a builder
and later as a box manufacturer, died
at the age of eighty-one years. He
resided in his own residence at the cor-
ner of Center and Camp streets, the
last eleven years of his life in well
earned retirement from business cares,
until death claimed him from old age.
He was bom in Dedham, Mass., Oc-
tober 22, 1 8 16.
He learned the trade of a carpenter
in Roxbury, Mass., and at the age of
thirty-six years located in Meriden,
with which he was thereafter promi-
nently identified. Engaging in busi-
ness as a contractor and builder just
previous to a period of rapid growth
of Meriden manufacturing, he made
the most of his opportunities and soon
became one of the leading builders of
the town. In the construction of build-
ings, he was exceedingly thorough
and he enjoyed deservedly the confi-
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MEKIDEX.
1
GKUKGIi GAY.
Icnce of the leading citizens of the
own in his day.
His first shop was located on State
treet, but he afterwards sold the land
o the Meriden Britannia Company
vho built a portion of their works on
ho property which he formerly owned.
Vir. Gay afterwards built the shop at
he corner of State and Cross streets,
A'here he continued for a time as a
milder, but later founded the cooper-
i^e and wooden box industry, which
ic carried on until 1886, when he sold
it to Charles T. Dodd.
During Mr. Gay*s career as a build-
er a large number of the factories, sev-
sral leading residences, business blocks
and two churches were built by
him. Among the buildings still stand-
ing as a monument to his thorough
work may be mentioned the following :
Factories, Merijen • Britannia Com-
pany, Meridoi^ilver Plate Compan> .
J. Wileox & Co. (now* the Mcriden
Woolen Co.) ; the First Methodist and
Main Street Baptist churches ; resi-
dence of the late Dennis C. Wilcox,
now occupied by Mrs. Horace C. Wil-
cox, on Colony street; residence of the
late Jedediah Wilcox, now owned by
Dexter W. Parker, on Br9ad street ;
the residence of the late Isaac C.
Lewis, Main street, in which one of
whose daughters, Mrs. Kate A. L.
Chapin, now resides.
At the time of his death, Mr. Gay
was highly respected, not only as the
oldest builder in Mcriden, but as a
TOan who always did his duty as he
saw it in whatever capacity he was
<alled upon to serve. Mr. Gay was
first sekcimaii uf Meriden for five
years consccutivcl} , from 1868-1872,
and immediately following that, was a
member of the city govcrniiiciit as
councilman, and in 1872 was a iiK-in-
ber of the board of aldermen. As Mr.
Gay built a goodly portion of old Mer-
iden and was justly esteemed in the
connnunity for his heart frit interest
in the affairs of the town, his meniory
will still survive liim many years.
He left two daughters: Mrs. A. ( I.
Finney and Mrs. Charles b\ Linsley^
the latter of Mcriden.
JOSEPH MORSE.
Joseph Morse, son of Harley and
Harriet 2^1orse, was born November
12, 1827, in Yalesville, town of Wal-
lingford. Conn. He came to Mcri-
den in the early forties and engaged
in tile butchering business. Later,
he begfan dealing in real estate and
soon gave his entire attention to
this business. He boucfht largelv
and made many improvenienls ; and
as the years pn^sed his Inisiness
became large and his holdings of prop-
erty great, all of which he inanaLred
wisely and well. He opeiu 'i up niorr
streets in the town of Meri<ien than
any other man, among them being:
Willow. X'eteran, Columbia. Merriam.
\\ almit. rhnnb, Yale avenue, N'-uth
Miekor}, Water, TxCNcrvoir avenue,
Sprintr. Sy>ringdaie avenue. Clark,
Hill. I'ark. Morse. High, Frary ave-
nue and \'i«rth Spring.
As Slated, he was a good mana-cr
and jKissessed an excellent judgment;
Digitized by Google
A rKNTl KV OF .MKklliKN.
BIOGRAPHIES.
sas energetic and industrious and
nade money rapidly, becoming one of
he largest holders of property in Mcr-
den.
He owned a portion of the State
chool property and the section of the
)wn known as Morsetown, In 1896
e owned thirty-two dwellings, seven
cres of land and five business blocks,
eing sole or part owner in the latter.
: was then estimated that he had
bout two hundred tenants.
Mr, Morse was also a large owner
f land in Kansas, at Wichita, An-
lony, Pratt, Emporia, Junction City,
alina and other small places.
Mr. Morse was a self-made man,
.'ginning life without a dollar, yet
)ssessed of good health, and started
It in life with a determination to sue-
ed.
He was willing, possessing natural
ct and ability, which, together with
s energy and close application to
sincss, brought remarkable success.
In all his business transactions he
IS regarded as thoroughly honest
d most reliable, his integrity and
nesty being of the highest order.
I possessed alulity and was shrewd
matters pertaining to real estate
nsactions.
His juc^ment was considered very
>erior. Mr. Morse held the office
town assessor and was also a mem-
' of the common council at one time.
; was a vestryman of St. Andrew's
irch and was the last surviving
mber of the vestry that directed
: parish when the church was on
3ad street; was a director in the
519
First National bank and a trustee of
the City Savings bank.
In 1852 Mr. Morse married Lucy
A. Hall, a daughter of Casper A> Hall,
son of Brenton Hall, the founder of
Meriden, the first representative from
this town in 1806. The children by
the marriage were George N., born
October 16, 1853 ; Lilla E., bom Au-
gust I, 1857; Eva L., born July 4,
1855, died September 12, 1861 ; Jo-
sephine M., bom September 17, 1869 ;
Lucy M., bora November 17, 1871.
Mr, Morse died October 16, 1897.
GEORGE N. MORSE.
George N. Morse was bora in this
city October 16, 1853, at the old
Morse homestead, which stood at the
comer of East Main and Veteran
streets. The building has now been
made over into a store and is occu-
pied by the Meriden Tea & Coffee
Company.
Mr. Morse is a descendant of John
Morse, bom 1604, who was one of
the seven Puritans of that name who
emigrated from England to America
in 1635, settled at New Haven; and
was one of the founders of Walling-
ford in 1670, and was a deputy and
commissioner to the General Court for
fourteen years, dying in 1707 at the
age of 103. On his maternal side Mr.
Morse is a descendant of Rev. Sam-
uel Hall, of Cheshire, born 1695,
died 1776, who married Anne Law,
daughter of Gov. Jonathan Law and
granddaughter of Gov. William Bren-
ton of Rhode Island.
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES. $2t
After the usual training in the com-
)n schools, Mr. Morse attended,
icn >ixtecii years of age, the Con-
cticut Literary Institute at Suflield
1869-70. For several years he was
rrespondciii the Xcw York Mir-
• and the Turf, Field and Farm.
i has been at one time or another
various mercantile pursuits. In
72 he was a member of Charter Oak
«e company in the old volunteer
department. In 1882 he moved
Kansas City, but returned to Meri-
I the following year ; was mar-
i in 1877 to Mary A., daughter of
in C. Byxbee, by whom he has had
> children : John B., born in 1880,
I Ida L., born 1882. He has been
rominent figure in local and state
tics. At the state c< invention held
Hartford in May, 18881 to choose
:gates to the Democratic national
vention, he was chairman of his
n's delegation. He was a dele-
} to the state convention held in
tember of the same year at New
on, presenting the name of Hon.
los French for governor in the
ny caucrs. and K. II. Manning to
'Convention for electoral delegate.
latter was nominated an<l elected.
Morse was nominated for state
tor in t888 and wa«; elected by a
ality of 353. In the presidential
paign of 1888, he organized and
l)resident of the Cleveland Demo-
c chit) of Mcridcn. In the «;tnte
tc he was chairman of tlie nianu-
ires and woman's sutYrage com-
ics ; introfhiccd and advocated the
ige of the cigarette bill, which
is now a law. The most notable
speeches which he delivered in that
body were those on ballot reform, the
Westport ballot box contest, oleo-
margarine, and the Storrs School ap-
propriation. He was the author of
the famous Parnell resolutions, which
were finally passed by the General As-
sembly after a bitter contest. He or-
ganized and is secretary of the Sen-
ate Club of i88c>-90. He was chair^
man of the town delegation to the
state convention held in Hartford in
September, 1890, and at this conven-
tion was a candidate for the office of
secretarv of state. He is a member
of St. Andrew's Episcopal cluirch;'
Sons of tlie American Revolution;
Meriden Veteran Firemen's association
and town hall building committee.
In 1902 Mr. Morse was a candidate
for congres^nan from the Second dis-
trict, opposing X. D. Spcrry, of
New Haven, by whom he was defeat-
ed. He has never held any town or
city office except chairman of the
Democratic town committee.
G. W. I'RANCIS.
The subject of this sketch, for many
years a prominent resident and busi-
ness man of Meriden, was born in
Wethersficld, Conn., a son of Elias
and Sarah (Griswold) Francis. He
wtts give n the name of (ieorge W'ash-
ington I'rancis, as be was burn Feb-
ruary 22, 1831, which fact prompted
his parents to name him in honor of
the father of his country. His birth-
^ kj i^uo i.y Google
A CENTL RV OF MERIDEN.
BIOGRAPHIES.
ace was at the old Francis homestead
catcd on what is now known as the
irner of Hartford avenue and Pris-
I street, Wethersfield. He was one
a family of eleven children and was
half brrtther of the late Mrs. Ben-
min Twiss, of Meriden, His
andfather was John Francis^ third,
fio served as captain in the Revo-
tionary War, and married Rhoda
ri^ht. His great-great-grandfath-
, John Francis, second, married Eu-
I>icktnson and his great-grand-
ther, John Francis, jr., married
iry Hatch. His father, John Fran-
, married Mary Crittenden.
Gcorg^e Washington Francis spent
; early life in healthy surroundings
culture and inherited those habits
industry which became necessary
len tlie slaves of Connecticut re-
ved their freedom; two of whom
ongoing to the family, were cared for
ring their lives by the father of Mr.
incis. Geoige Francis learned
trade in Meriden, serx'ing his ap-
nticeship under Henry Beadle who
iducted the harness business at the
Tier of East Main and Pratt streets,
( upon coming to Meriden first
rded with his sister Elizabeth, who
i 'Mrs, Beadle. In time he became
prietor of the business and con-
ted the store in which he learned
trade, and afterwards built the
sent three-story building at the cor-
o£ ^st Main and Pratt streets,
<virHi<:h he conducted the harness
ifi^ss, later adding trunks and bags
yls stock of goods, until his death
occurred on July i, 1872 and
which was caused by smallpox con-
tracted from one of his emplo)c.s who
had varioloid in such a mild form that
no one knew of his affliction.
Mr. Francis was a member of Mer-
iden Center Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and
was affiliated with no other organiza-
tion. Although he never united with
a church, he held a high regard for
the Word of God, as a result of his
early religious tiatning and for many
years was a regular attendant at the
First Baptist church. To this church
he contributed generous support, until
with his family he became an attend-
ant of the Main Street Baptist church
at which edifice a service was held in
his memory the Sunday following his
death, and during which Rev. O. T.
Walker, his former pastor, paid him a
deserved tribute. Of his life it can
be said he acted well the true Chris-
tian part.
He was married December 27, 1855,
to Emily Fine, of New Brunswick, N.
J. Their children are Nellie Gilbert
(Mrs. Arthur M. Alderman) and
Bessie Francis, of Meriden. Grand-
children that survive now are Howard
Francis and Walter Arthur Alderman.
L, P. EDGERTON.
L. P. Edgerton, the senior member
of the firm of Edgerton & Immich, is
a native of Coventry, Tolland county.
Conn., and was bom January 31, 1833.
He is the son of Justin P. and Mary
(Barrows) Edgerton. His father
and grandfather carried on adjoining
farms at Coventry, where the family
Digitized by Google
5-24
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
were tillers of the soil for many gen-
erations before.
Mr. Rdpferlon obtained his educa-
tion by attendinj^ tlic district school
during^ three months of the year and
remained upon the farm of his father
until the age of twenty-two. when he
began his mercantile career by enter-
ing a grocery store at W'illimantic.
He afterwards si)ent eight years in
Photo by Akers & Pigeon.
I., r. RDGIiRTOX.
New York City with his brotlier, Da-
vid B., in the manufacture of cloaks
and wraps and conducted a wholesale
business. During the Civil war, in
connection with his brother. Mr. Ed-
gerton opened a store at Norfolk, Va.,
which he carried on for six months.
During this time his patrons were com-
prised entirely of northeni soIdicTN
owing to the bitter feeling against th?
north which prevailed at that time.
On account of ill health, Mr. Edge:-
ton removed from Xew York City to
New Rritain, and to get tlie benefi
of out-door life he rented a farm,
which he conducted with profit until
1870.
It was in that year that he came t'>
Meriden and bought out the coal bc?-
iness of Frederick Williams, which he
carried on for two years and after-
wards sold to Amos Ives. In 1874 he
established himself in his present iinc
by buying out the express and for-
warding business of Mr. Fors}1h
His first stables were on X'eterar
street. He afterwards removed to
stables on Pratt street, later liad an
office on State street near Main; ar^!
after the railroad freight depot w"!*
built in its present location, the firmo:
Edgerton & Immich bought the land
and built the present large stables
which have ever since been situate!
<lirectly opposite. The business of the
finn has more than quadrupled in the
past thirty-two years, and its grtnvth
has been steady and substantial.
Mr. Edgerton 's extended business
career has been an honorable one ini
his dealings with the public conducte«I
upon lines of fairness and liberalit).
His even disposition and genial qual-
ities have made him a favorite \nth
all who have been associated with him.
both in business and private affairi.
He has never possessed aspirations for
a public career, although he has been
given ample opportunity.
RIOGRAPHIEK.
525
He was married Xovember '29, 1855,
o I larriet Eliza Hower and they cel-
bratcd their fiftieth wedding anniver-
ary in Meriden in 1905. Their
hildrcn are Frank C, vice-president
ind treasurer of the Kelsey Press
Tompany of Meriden; and Minnie,
'Mrs. Edward S. Thompson), also of
^feridcn. They have also two grand-
rhildrcn and one great-granddaughter.
HENRY L. IMMICH.
Henry L. Immich, junior member of
:he finn of Edgerton & Immich, was
jorn in New London, April 18, i860.
He is of (ierman descent and his pa-
rents were Peter and Elizabeth Im-
mich. They came to this country
from Germany and located in Xew
London more than twenty years be-
fore their son was born. He was giv-
en a liberal education in the public
schools of his native town and was
graduated from the Hulkeley High
school, after which he took a course
at the Eastman Business College,
Poughkeepsie, N. Y.
Coming to Meriden in 1880 he en-
tered the store of Ives. I'pham &
Rand, which at that time was in the
present location of Howard Bros.
After being employed in the dry goods
business for one year, he secured a po-
sition in the Meriden freight office of
the N. Y.. X. H. & H. railroad. Soon
afterward he became associated with
L. P. Edgerton as clerk, three years
later entering into the partnership as
a member of the firm which has ever
since been that of Edgerton & Im-
mich. From his long connection with
the teaming business. Mr. Immich has
become thororghly familiar with the
wants of the public, his concern is so
well able to supply. During the last
few years, and owing to the somewhat
poor health of Mr. Edgerton, a large
amount of the responsibility of the bus-
iness hAs devolved upon him ; and to
his energy and grasp of business sit-
Photo hy Akors & PIrpoj).
IIENKV L. IMMICH.
uations, has a share of the present
prosperity of the firm been brought
about.
He is a member of Pilgrims* I larbor
Council, Royal .\rcanum ; the A. O. U.
\\'., the Colonial Club of Meriden
and Meriden lUisiness Men's Asso-
ciation, and is a communicant of St.
Andrew's Episcopal church.
Digitized by Google
526
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
He married Adelaide L., daughter
of Sarah A. Douglass, to whom two
sons and two daughters have been
l>orn as follows : Hollis Douglass, who
in June, 1906. was graduated from the
Sheffield Scientific School of Yale
University ; Walter Lewis, Ethel Cor-
inne and Faye Madeline. Since his
marriage Mr. Immich has resided at
161 Curtis street, where he has en-
joyed the resjx'ct of his neighbors
as well as in the business circles where
he is a potent factor.
J. H. CAMIRR.
John Henry Camier, deceased, but
for many years one of the most popu-
lar men in the mercantile life of Mer-
iden, was born October 20, 1850, of
English parentage and French de-
scent, near London. England. After
receiving a good education in his na-
tive language and growing to man-
hood, he came to America and secured
a position as shipping clerk in a whole-
sale men's furnishing goods house, in
Boston, becoming a resident of Mer-
iden in 1878 where he remained until
his death which occurred November
2, 1901.
He engaged in the clothing business
in 1879 in the Lewis block on Main
street; in 1880 forming a partnership
with Almon J. Fletcher, and the busi-
ness has, to the present time, been
continued with growing success un-
der the title of The Boston & Mer-
iden Clothing Co. ; but since the de-
cease of Mr, Camier, his interest has
been retained by his widow. Upon
the completion of the
block, the business was removed
to the present location ; but the ston
afterwards became enlarged from lum
to time. In 1899 the adjoining sion
was taken in and the partition torr
down, afterwards fifty feet were a<M
ed to the depth of the now double
store, and in 1901 a portion of th<
basement was rebuilt and convene*
into a department for the sale 0
JO H.N H. CAMIF.R.
trunks and bags. The store is no^
127 feet deep and 50 feet wvk
of which an uninterrupted view is !<
l)e obtained from any part of the floorj;
comprising one of the handsomest
and finest in New England. Mr.
Camier became, therefore, one of ihfi
most successful business men of th«
town and was held in high regard bN
BIOGRAPHIES.
e mimeroiis patrons of the store and
large circle of friends with whom
became a favorite.
For manv vears before his death, he
IS a meml>er and one of the trustees
the Main Street Baptist church ;
s a member of Center Lodge, 97,
F. & A. M. ; Keystone Chapter, 27,
A. M. ; HamiUon Council, 22, R.
S. M. ; St. Elmo Commandcry, 9,
T. ; and Myrtle Lodge, 4, K. of P.
: was married in Boston, October
1878, to Nellie S. Warner, whose
at-grand father was a Revolution-
soldier and who is descended in
maternal line from the Ballon
lily which located at Rehoboth.
ss., about 1620. Mrs. Camier is
lember of the Trinity AL K. church
I cared for her husband with great
otion through his vears of infirm
Ith.
A. J. FLETCHER.
Imon John Fletcher, who since the
h of his partner, has assumed the
re management of the business of
Boston & Meriden Clothing Co.,
born at Acworth, N. H., August
1842. He is a son of John and
lina (Tandy) Fletcher and was
ed on a farm in East Lempster, N.
and attended the district schools
that vicinity. After obtaining
; experience in mercantile life, but
re he attained his majority, he
ted for three years as a soldier
le Civil war, going to the front
member of Company G, 9th N. H.
. Infantry, He was present and
took part at the battles of South
Mountain and Antictam, being
wounded bv a shell in the latter en-
gagemcnt and receiving his honorable
discharge from service through his
disability.
After recovering from his injuries
at his home, he went to W'inchendon,
Mass., and became employed in a ma-
Photo by Akem & Pigeon.
ALMON J. FLETCHER.
chine shop. After three years he
went to Boston and continued to work
as a machinist for a time, and later
became a clerk in a store there. He
came to Meriden in 1879 and shortly
after formed a partnership with
John H. Camier, who had established
a clothing business in the Lewis block,
which afterwards became known
528
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
as The Boston & Mcridcn Clotliing
Co., the active iiianag"cment of which
now large concern has for many years
devolved upon him, especially since
the decease of Mr. Camier. as stated
just previous to this article. This
clothing company has an enviahle
record for success and fair dealing,
extending over a period of twenty-
seven years. Few men of Meriden
enjoy the confidence of their fellow
townsmen to a greater extent than
does Mr. Fletcher or than did his de-
ceased partner, Mr. Camier. In 1883
they estahlished a hranch store at Mid-
dletown which was also carried on by
the firm, but after the death of Mr.
Camier, was sold to others, the large
Meriden store being all that Mr.
Fletcher could attend to. Mr.
Fletcher is known as one of the re-
liable and capable merchants of the
town, respected for his probity of
character and industry.
While devoted to his business, he
finds time for activity in church work
and is one of the stewards of the Trin-
ity M. E. church, and a teacher in the
Sunday school. He is also a member
of Pacific Lodge, 87. I. O. O. F., and
Merriam Post, 8. G. A. R.
lie was married June 7, 1883. in
Meriden, to Tama (Davis) Warner,
widow of Edwin T. Warner and
mother of Mrs. Camier. She was a
valued member of Trinity M. E.
church and was known as an exem-
plary Christian character and a kind
and devoted wife and mother. She
was a capable business woman
who carefully conserved the estate in-
herited from her father. She tii
January i, 1892, and was buried
Walnut Grove cemetery.
CHAULKS H. PINKS.
Charles Henry Pinks, druggist
this town and active head of the Mer-
iden Drug Company, was bom il
South Meri«len, December 4. 185^
Photo by H. T. Shaw.
Cn.\Kl-KS II. I'INKS.
and with the exception of three y
has always resided in Meriden. He*
a son, and with the exception of Ida
Pinks, a member of his household,
the only sur\iving child of Edwin
and Sophia C. Pinks, natives of K
P>ritain, and he comes from old X
England ancestry on both the par
BIOGRAPHIES.
il and maternal sides. His early
lucation was obtained in Xew Brit-
in where his family name has been
familiar one for several generations
id where his parents, now deceased,
;st from earthly cares. He after-
ards went to school in Meriden and
k''oburn, Mass., finishing his educa-
on at Wilbraham Academy, Wilbra-
am, Mass. He began his business
ireer as a clerk in the Meriden post
ffice, under the late Erwin D. Hall.
reputation for reliability and accuracy.
In 1886 Mr. Pinks was one of the or-
ganizers of the present corporation of
which he has ever since been the treas-
urer and manager ; and under his pro-
gressive ideas and close application,
the business has grown to large pro-
portions, the location being in the
heart of Meriden and near the busiest
corner of the main thoroughfare.
Mr. Pinks is a member of the Con-
necticut Pharmaceutical Association ;
I'hoto by H. S. Godfrey.
KESlDtlNCI-: OF CH.XRLES H. PINKS.
He afterwards entered the drug
usiness, with O. G. Harrison as a
artner, later succeeded E. A. I'ur-
lick, after which was formed the Mer-
ien Drug Co., which thus enjoys the
lisiinction of being the oldest drug
tore in Meriden. The place was
:nown originally as I. r>. Klock's
Apothecaries' Hall and has been for-
unatcly controlled by men who. from
he start, have maintained an excellent
34
vice-president of the .Meriden Drug-
gists' Association : member of the
Meriden Hoard of Trade; Meriden
ihisiness Men's Association; Colonial
Club of Meriden; Meridian Lodge,
77. .\. F. & A. M.: rilgrims' Harbor
Council. 543. Royal Arcanum, and the
First Congregational church. ( >f the
last named he was. in 1905. chosen one
of the deacons, which office he now
holds. He was married in 1887, to
530
A CEXTURV UF MEHIDEK.
Lillian Heecher, daughter of the late
Wm. M. Smith, of Meriden, to whom
the following children have been
bom: Vera Lockrow, Stanley
Beecher and Beula Warren Pinks.
HORACE C WILCOX.
Foremost among the men of Meri-
den during the past century as re-
ganls the development of the business
interests of the locality, was Horace
C. Wilcox, a founder of the Meriden
Britannia Com]jan\ . and who during
the latter part of his life was not only
interested in, but one of the founders
of many other manufacturing concerns
of the town. He was a man of great
energy and ability and from a small
beginning, became- a power in the
business world. He was bom in that
f>ortion of Middletown known as
Westfiekl, January 24, 1824, and at-
tended district school for a brief per-
iod. He acquired, however, by ob-
servation and study a remarkable
knowledge of men and business, and
was possessed of a keenness of per-
ception and foresight that was inborn.
He was a natural leader, a man of
great enterprise and business acumen ;
and his life was perhaps more useful
to Meriden in a business wav, than
that of any other man. His early life
until the age of twenty, was spent up-
on his father*s farm and he began his
business career as a peddler of tin-
ware.
In 1850 he was engaged as travel-
ing salesman for James Frary, a man-
ufacturer of britannta ware. He af-
terwards traveled in the same capac-
ity for William W. Lyman, John Mta-
son and Isaac C. Lewis. In
with his brother, Dennis C. Wikox.
Isaac C. Lewis, James A. Fniry. Lern-
uel J. Curtis, W. W. Ljitian. Joia
Munson, George R. Curtis, Sannio
Simpson and William H. Johnson, be
organized the Meriden Britannia Cer.-
pany, of which he was the first s«rc-:
tarv and treasurer. In 1866 he 9x]
ceeded I, C, Lewis as president of the;
company, and held that office until h»i
death, August 22, 1890. Fioni
start he became a power in the oiti*
cem and the remarkable growth of tin
company, to the largest of its kind i|
this country, was in great measure
to his wise counsel and able !eadersb!|J
Mr. Wilcox was a great worker. vM
only for the success of the Merida
Britannta Company, but for the tovi
of Meriden, of which he was a roos
enthusiastic, patriotic and loyal re»t'
dent. It was his delight to see Mnv
den grow and prosper, and to that tnd
he was instrumental in bringing sev-
eral important industries v^ithin its
borders, as well as promoting the ip^
terests of the town in vark>as oihd|
directions. Through his influence tM
White familv came to Meriden fr<«
Brattleboro, \'t., and with his aUe »
sistance the Wilcox & White Oct
Company was organized. Of ^
com|>any, which bears his name, he
was the first president. He was aM
a director of the Meriden Silver Phuj
Company, Manning, Bowman & ^
Meriden Saddlerv & Leather Co . 1^
Aeolian Organ & Music Ca, the Mcr-
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
clen Street Railway Co., Rop^crs liFOS.
Company of W'atcrbury, R. Wallace
k Sons of Wallingford, Win. Rogers
Mf^. Co. of Hartford, Meriden l-'ire
and largest enterprise was the organ-
ization and construction of the Meri-
den, Waterbury & Connecticut River
Railroad, and in this enterprise he in-
Insurance Co., Home Xational I'.ank,
Republican Publishing Co.. Walnut
(irove Cemetery .Ksscxriation. and
the City Savings Iiank. His last
vested more than one million dollars,
with little exi)ectation of any return
except the benefits the community he
loved so much would receive.
Digitized by Google
532
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Such a man as Mr. Wilcox could
not shirk his duty to his fellow citi-
zens, when called upon to act in a pub-
lic capacity. A Republican of the
most loyal type, he was elected a mem-
ber of the first Ix^ard of aldermen of
the infant city. He was also the fifth
mayor, and served in that capacity for
two tenns, 1875-6. in 1877 he served
8 term in the state senate, and al-
though repeatedly urged to accept oth-
er public honors, this concluded his
highly creditable career in public of-
fice, which was ever distasteful to him.
His comiection with the First Congre-
gational church of Meriden added
strength to that influential society. He
was one of the most generous givers
to its financial prosperity ; was a mem-
ber of the building committee when
the present handsome edifice was con-
structe<l, and during his life served on
nearly all the importiwU committees
of that societ^•.
He was married, fir^t. to ( inrlottc.
(laughter of Jabez Siuilh of Middle-
town, who (lied in 18* 14. and to whom
the following children were horn:
Ella Augusta, who married the late
William 1', Morgan and removed to
.^an i raueisco; (jeorgine, Walter and
Allyn, who died in infancy, and
George Horace, who ntier his father's
death, became president of Die Meri-
den r.ritannia Co., and i> now vice-
president of i he International Silver
Co. Tn 1865 he marriefl Fllen. dau<;li-
ter of Edmtmd Parker, and to them
were born Dwii^ht P. and Horace, both
deceased, and Morence Cornwall, now
Mrs. Louis Fisk.
SYLVESTER j. CLRTIS.
Sylvester Johnson Curtis, a tit
ceased financier and one of the mo>:
respected figures of Wall street, wa^
a product of Meriden. He was bijm
in this town September 30, 1826. H)>
line of descent on the paternal >i<it
l>ack to 1639, when widow Elizabeth
and her two sons, lohn and WilliaiiL
were among the first settlers of Stani
ford, is as follows: Elizabeth. Johr.
Thomas (one of the original planters
of Wallingford in 1670), Nathaniel.
Benjamin, Benjamin and Amos.
Amos, father of Sylvester, was a
representative in 1824 and had heM
many jxjsitions of trust, having been a
prominent man in Meriden. and who ir
1 81 8 married T.onisa Johnson, daugh-
ter of Lieut. Dan julmson an officer in
the Revolutionary W ar. Lieut. John-
son married Rebecca Hitchcock April
^ 19, 1 78 1, and was a son of Daniel
Johnson, a trial justice under Kii i:
(leorgc H., of England, who mamc^i.
December 24. 1734. Joanna Pre«t"r.
she was the great-granddausrhtrr ■
William i^reslon. said to have U.k,>
an T-'-nglish baronet, one of the first
settlers of \ew^ Haven.
.•\mon_Lr the early materiui! ancestor*
of l^ylvester Curtis, uas RolK-rt John-
son of England, who.^^e son Tlionus
emigrated from I'.ngland in 1632,
and from whom have descended man}
men of prominence in the hislor)
the Colonies, and who became protn-
inent in the affairs of the nati<"Hi-
.-\mong them are Dr. Samuel John<<^n
and William Samuel Johnson, the hi-
BlOGRArHlKS.
533
Google
534
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
ter one of the first men of Coniiecti-
cul chosen to the United State > Sen-
ate. William Johnson, son of i liom-
as, married Sarah Hall in December,
i^/>4, and died at New Haven 1741.
His son Jacob was a first settler in
W'allinj^ford, and was born at Xew
llavm. September 26. 1674. and mar-
ried ATiii^'^nil nitr1ict)ck. He was the
grandfatlier of Lient. Dan Johnson.
Sylvester Curtis was broiij^ht up on
his father's farm in the eastern part
of Meriden, ami attended the district
school litre.
He bep^an his business career in
Xew ^'ork City by enterinj^ the em-
l)loy of Carter. Harrison & Co., iron
dealers. At liie aije of twenty-one
years, he in emn])aiiy with his i^rospec-
tive brother-in law and several friends,
bnui^lit a shi]). fitted it out and sailed
ftir <. alifi>rnia i)v w^ay of t ape Horn.
He returned by way of the Isthmus of
Panama, alter less than a year's ab-
sence, iiavinij l)een quite successful.
He then entered tlie dry pi^oods busi-
ness, and coniimied therein until 1861
when he identified himself with Wall
.street, where he later became known as
one of the best judires of raihoad and
other investment l)(>nds. He joined
tlie .\'ew York Stock Kxchanicfe in
1867, and shortly after cslabli.shed the
banking and stock brokerage house of
S. J. ( urtis & Co. He retired from
business in TR78 with a hand.some
competence honestl> earned by his in-
dustry and by his mastery of financial
j)roblcms ; and upon liis death he left
a fortune of about two ami one-half
millions.
Mr. Curtis was a man of strn^
character and a keen .sense of hon r
and integrity, never quest! 1 b} tlx
monc\ed people of New York, ;i
whom he came in business contd
and he was one who treated all ;r'-i
whether high (jr low. rich ur
w ith the fullest regard for their rii:': :-
He married Harriet Aii^iM^.
daughttr of Thomas K. Hulse. '>t Xt ^
York City. April 23. 1851. ami i"t ii!
union were bom the follow ru:
I'homas E. H. Cttrtis, in Xew ^
City. February 13. 1852, and
Louisa Curtis, in Middlctown. N. ^ -
August 13, 1855. Sylvester Cur ^
died at his residence. 39 West Twr-
tieth street, in Xew Yofk Cits, «
September 25, 1899.
THOMAS E. H. CU&TIS.
Thomas ii. 11. Curtis, son oi
vester J. and l^larriet Augn.sta Ciirti>.
and a portion of whose vrnth wa^
spent in Meriden, was bprti m X<<''
York City. Fehntarv 13. 1^52. H.;>
ancestors, as recorded in the skdch f
Sylvester J. Curtis, include rtTTcMiii-!
lives of old and distinguished familic*
of Xew Haven eountv. ajl^rftf lbon I'l*
is a worthy descendant.
He began his business caretr iHc:
being graduated from the Colk^c i
the City of New ^'ork in 1871.
he became cashier at the New ^ork
City office of r.r(n\ ti llros.. of Water-
bury. Conn After remaining iht^e
about two and one-half years, early m
1874. he became associated with h^'
father who was then one of the ka«l-
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UIOGRAPIIIES.
535
536
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
ing bond and stock brokers of Wall
street, and whose partner retiring two
months later, he was given one-third
interest in the business, which was
continued as S. J. Curtis & Co. His
father retiring from the firm in 1878,
he continued to maintain the good
reputation estal)lislied.
He made a study of railroads like
the Union Tacitic and the Chicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul, and an inves-
tigation of their securities on w hich he
was considered an authority. In 1879
Mr. Curtis examined the property and
affairs of and purchased a consider-
able interest in the St. Louis & San
Francisco railroad. He later aided
largely in securing the release of the
Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad Co.,
from the hands of its receiver ; thus
he made his first pronounced start in
the sea of finance. His extensive op-
erations brought him in personal con-
tact with many of the great financiers
of the country with whom he was
closely affiliated and whose confidence
he enjoyed to the fullest extent.
In 1884 he became one of the di-
rectors of the Colorado Coal & Iron
Co., now the Colorado Fuel il- Iron
Co., a concern of qrent in.-ii;nitude,
including anion;:: its officers and di-
rectors many men of national finan-
cial fame. Almost immcdiatrl\ after
his election, he was appointed a com-
mittee to make an examination of the
propcrtir? of the cuaipany ; and upon
his return, was made its first vice-
president, which office he retained
nian\ vears. Mr. Curtis became a
member of the New York Stock Ex-
change in 1900, but sold his seat ia
1905, having retired from active bos*
iness.
In 1891 he removed to his present
residence in Plainfield, where be lirts
in retirement Mr. Curtis is a gnat
lover of art, of which he is an ac-
knowledged connoisseur, and for the
past twenty years has been coUectinc
bronzes, rare books, paintings and oth-
er articles. His collection of andent
glass, is admitted by all authorities
who have seen it, to be the most rare
and valuable in the world and impossi-
ble to duplicate. It contains pieces
to date 2,500 to 3,cxx> years B. C, and
includes twenty-eight imbroken piece?
of the Murrhina or inlaid niby gla^?.
of which only about thirty-four arc
known to exist. This glass was very
valuable in Rome in Nero's time.
Many of his porcelains and other ar-
ticles arc of almost priceless value,
and includes the famous Chinese, 50ft
paste, ^fing period. Ostrich Elgg vase,
known throughout the art world.
His home is a marvel of interest and
his collection is a most creditable '"^nt
to the countrv and lias been m:i 'e
possible only through hi> infaiiibk
knowledge, correct eye and an inborn
taste for things rare and beautiful
w hich only wealth could develop. .Mr.
Curtis is a member of several social
and art clubs.
Mr. Curtis was married in New
^"ork City June 8, iSSi, to Ada Hulse
of lliat city, a lad\ of rare accomplish-
ments, hut whose mission in life, t'^
brighten the lives of others, was ait
short February 18, 1896. when she
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BIOGRAPHIES.
537
s called to the great Jehovah, after
•siding over her beautiful home in
linficld, and becoming the mother
three daughters, as follows: Ada
>rence, Harriet Louise and Sylvia
inson.
HARLES LEE ROCKWELL.
ITharles Lee Rockwell, president of
First National Bank and the City
/ings Bank, of Meriden, was born
Ri^efield, Conn. He is the son
Francis A. and Mary (Lee) Rock-
1 and is a worthy representative of
: of the oldest family names in the
:e. He received his education at
T. Dr. David H. Short's School in
gefield and at the Fort Edward
titute in New York State ; and dur-
his entire business career has been
itified with the banking business,
became teller of the National Bank
Norwalk, Conn., in 1863, which
tton he held for seven vears, com-
to Meriden in 1870, to become
ier of the First National Bank of
town, which office he filled most
ptably to the institution and its
ons until 1902, when, after the
h of the late John D. Billard, who
lor many years been its president,
ras chosen as head of the institu-
which office he has since filled.
U long connection with the First
inal Bank has been one in which
bility as a financier and counsel-
is been of benefit to the institu-
I When it became apparent that
rr savings bank was desirable in
leu and the City Savings Bank
was organized, Mr. Rockwell became
its first secretary and treasurer.
He later accepted the presidency
and still continues at its head;
and has from the first given the Sav-
ings Bank close attention resulting
beneficially ta its large number of de-
positors.
Mr. Rockwell was one of the or-
ganizers of the Meriden Trust &
Safe Deposit Company and since its
organization, the treasurer and gen-
eral manager of the compaii) and
one of its trustees. This company
was chartered by the legislature
of Connecticut, to act as ex-
ecutor, administrator, guardian and
trustee, executing any Inisiness en-
trusted to it by persons, corpora-
tions, courts of probate or other le-
gally constituted authority. Mr.
Rockweirs financial ability as treasu-
rer and general manager of this insti-
tution has enabled him to assist the
widow and orphan and to win not
only the confidence but the gratitude
of a large number of people, with
whom he has come in business con-
tact. He was also one of the organ-
izers and is a director of the First Na-
tional bank, Ridgefield, Conn. He is
president of the Miller Brothers Cut-
lery Company ; a director of the Mer-
iden Cutlery Company ; was one of tlie
organizers and directors of the Meri-
den Horse Railroad Company and for
some years its treasurer ; a director of
the Meriden hospital; one of the
board of park commissioners and
a trustee of Weslcyan Universitj',
Middletown, Conn. Mr. Rockwell
538
A CKN ri-KV «)K MERIOEX.
UIOGKAnilES.
539
IS married in iSikj lu Miss Mary i..
.crest, daughter of Rev. Dr. C'bnrlcs
all Kverest. Mr. and Mrs. Kock-
•II have two children. Mary Lee
«k\vcll and Charles Everest Rock-
H. WALES LINES.
H. Wales Lnies was hum at Xaii-
luck. ( niin.. June 3. 1S38. He is
• '^•Mi of Henry Willis and Harriet
luHiiell ) Line^. and i> a breither of
, Rev, Edwin Stevens Lines. 1). I).,
ntestant Episcopal bishop of the (Ho-
•c of Xewark. X. J. He is de-
cided from Rev. [lionias Hooker,
nider of the Connecticut Coldny;
>ni Elder Ilrewster. one of t!ie lead-
of the Mayflower party, which
ded at Flynionth in 1620: from
Iph Lines, who was in New llaven
j<»43 anil who was adniilleil-a free
rgess there in 1644. and who took
ive part \n the concealment and
e of the Ke.L^ieides. ( )tlier ances-
s were: ( ai)tain Xatlianiel W hite.
» of the founders of .\l iddletuwn ;
m Coil, one of the lounder.^^ of Xew
IK Ion : Nathaniel I»unneil. one of the
iiulers of Cheshire, and Rev. Tim-
ly Stevens, the first orthodox min-
T of (jlastonbur\ .
vfr. Lines is a jS^reat-j.;reat-grandson
I^ieu tenant Samuel Newton, a Rev-
ticmary soUHer, who .served in the
ith Company, Second Regiment.
Hi e is al.so a great-j^:randson of Knos
nnell, who was a i)rivate in Com-
ly Nine of the I'irst Connecticut
^iiiicnt, commanded by Col. David
W oostcr ; \\ a> ])resent and took part
in the capture of St, Johns and the
>iege of Montreal, and after his sec-
ond enlistment was an orderly sergeant
in Stephen R. l'»radley's eomj)any. was
called out for the defense of .New Ha-
ven July 4. 177M. a!id other alarms.
He is the greai-gran«Uon of l".li>ha
Stevens, one of the nninite men
from t ilaslonbur\ , who respoiuled
to the Lexington alarm ami was a
member of Colonel WOlcott's reg-
iment during the siege of L>oston
and afterwards in Colonel Jedulhan
l»ald\\in'> regiment. His >ervice as a
Revolutionary soldier was more than
.seven years and among other engage-
ments at uliieh he was present, he
.serveil active!} at tiu- battles of Brook-
lyn Heights, I'>rand\ wine, and Ger-
mantown : went through the terrible
privations during the "Winter at \'al-
leg Forge." an<l was also present at
the battle of Monmouth and the Siege
of \'orktown.
He is a great-grandson of Walter
1 'ooih. also a Revolutionary soldier,
who. having enlisted at the age of fif-
teen, served one year as a soldier in the
I'hird ( 'ouii)any of the l-'ifth i'.attali<)n,
commanded by Colonel W illiani Doug-
las : he afterwards serve<l five years
in Colonel W ebb's Regiment, and was
present at the battles of Brooklyn
Heights. Kips Hay. White Plains,
Springfield, N. J., and other engage-
ments.
Mr. Lines attended the common
school at Naugatuck and gr.iilu.ite<l at
the High school, being valetliciorian
of his class.
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540
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
He learned llie mason s trade in
Nanj^atnek and Xew Haven, and while
an apprentice, taught school two win-
ters in Prospect and later one winter
in Naugatuck.
He came to Meriden in August,
1862. to till a two weeks" contract at
his trade, and has resitled here since
that time. He was employed by
George I'.assett until May 23. 1864,
when with his uncle, the late C harles
Perkins, he formed a j>artnership under
the firm name Perkins & Pines, and
conducted business as general con-
tractors for all kinds of mason work,
and dealt in buihling materials. Mr.
Perkins retired in icSjH aiul the firm
of H. W ales Pines & Co. was formed,
Mr. Pines taking as a |)artner, H. K.
Faircliild. The present large corpo-
ration of which Mr. Pines has for
many years been the head, was organ-
ized as a joint stock company under
the style of The H. Wales Pines Com-
pany in 1888, and nuicli concerning it
is stated elsewhere in this volume.
The growth of this business under his
manageuu nt has rellected nnich credit
on Meriden. fc)r many of the most im-
posing buildings, not only in this state,
but far outside of it, arc evidences of
its thorough and conscientious work.
During forty-two years these compa-
nies have n«»t missed a weekly pay-roll
and have never been involved in a law
suit.
Mr. Pines is the president and treas-
urer of The IP Wales Pines Co.; di-
rector of the C. I\ Monroe Co., of
Meriden ; director of the Chapin-
Stq>hens Co., Pine Meadow, Conn.;
treasurer and a director of the Ne^
Haven Investment Co.; jjresidtiit i'a-
cific Real h-state Co. : president Mtn-
den APichine Tool Co. : vnce-prcsitknt
Meriden Savings Bank and has beci
extensively interested in vaoMiSodKr
large enterprises.
He served two terms as a member
of the lioard of Pdncation and r.\o
terms in the Conmion Council, iS'x'^ '}-
In 1872 he was elected a member i
the House of Representatives o! .
( ieneral Assembly of Connecticut a;i :
was a member oi Lh^ fiiTtniri"^
railroads. '
Mr. Pines was nominated forma '
in 1876, being the first mayor chon i
under strict party alignments, and v •
elected by a majority of 161 : sccrr
term majority, 318; third term r^-
jority, 5C)6. After serving three ten ?
he declined a unanimous renonimv
tion for a fourth term. During is
first term the common council wa- a
tie i)olitically and during his third
term it was unanimously RepuUican.
At the commencement of hi$"fr5t
term the citv offices were in sat dif-
ferent localities and before the do5€
of his third term all, with the excep-
tion of the i)<»lice departmen|t,
cated in the town hall. ^
L'nder his administration tfiC fire
alarm system was introduced Btfart
his first term only surveys of im-
provements on two streets had hcen
recorded. During his admimstntioo
nearly or quite all the old survqWWCf*
placed upon record.
In his first term the revenues of
the water department were not saf*
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BIOGRAPHIKS.
542
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
ficicni to pay its running expenses
nnd the interest upon the water bonds.
A new water main was laid from Mer-
imere to the center of the city : the
meter system was introchiced and the
ninnnj::enicnt (»f the department was
placed in the hands of one responsible
commissioner. The water consnmp-
tion was diminished, the revenues in-
creased and at the close of his third
term from the snrplus a sinkinj^^ fund
was established to provide for pay-
ment of bonds when they should ma-
ture.
Durinjj his first term the le^al e\-
j)enses were iarjje. as the city had more
than twenty law suits pendinjj. Be-
fore the close of his last term these
expenses were very lij^^ht and at its
termination everv law suit had been
settled.
Two new fire houses wire built
while he was mayor, the e(|uipmciii
of the department im|)roved and its
efficiency fjreatly iticreased.
F,co!i(iniy was introilucetl in the
manam nicnt of every city department,
the ot'tkii-ncy of each was increased
and the expense of each was reduced.
TIk" first year that the city had betti
niana-rd within its income and the
city (ict)t reduced was the first year of
his a<liniiiistration. and his first an-
nual report g^ave to the citizens of
NFcriden the first drl>t statement and
thr hrst table of apj)ri >| )i-iati< )ns, ex-
penditure's and uiK'xp(.-nilcd balances.
The raic of the city tax (hiring his
Hr^t term was eijjht and onedialf mills
ami the city debt was reduced that
year $6,519. The second year the city
tax rate was eight mills and the dr<
debt was reduced $17,537. The thir.:
year the city tax rate was seven an<
one-half mills and the city ddrt
reduced $24,954.
Under Air. Lines' administraii' n
complete revision of the city chan-r:
was made, and also a thorough reii r
mation in regard to the running of :
city by departments; and the syvtcnij
of keeping accounts introduced by hi I
has been continued ever since b% th<i
city officials.
During his three tenns as may :,
comprising the years 1877-8-9, the at^
made a very creditabl.^ showing in
public improvements.
In 1879 Mr. Lines was by a ma; '
ity of 491 elected from the Sixth '1-
trict to the State Senate and sene i
that body two sessions. In the seoiie
he was chairman of the Comniiitct 1
Cities and lioroughs. and Capitol { i '
ni>hings. liuildinj^s and Cronnds an l
Contested Elections. Dunng tl<
three terms lie served in liiH'l
branch of the General .Assembly cricii
Meriden matter in his charirt* |xi>>oi
without cha!ij::e or anieii<lnieni.
never lost a ccniniittee report nor \\..\
one amentled excejji \\\yo\\ his mot' i iij
It was durin;^^ his service in the Si;h
ate that the late Honorable t >. M
Piatt reeiived hi*; fir*;t election i\
I nited Stales senator from Cooiieci
cut.
In 1SH8 Mr. Lines was the Rqni":
ican candidate fi tr Congress frotr. l!"'^
*~ I
Second district, being defeated by f^^]
tweeii 700 and 800 votes : the Don \
cratic candidate tor president at
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BIOGRAPHIES.
543
ime election carried the district by
,500 majority ami the Democratic
mdidate for governor by 3,203.
In 1902 Mr. Lines was a delegate to
ie Constitutional Convention, elected
V a niajority of 690, and was twice
ipointe<l a member of the two special
Mnmittees to secure an agreement on
le representation question.
Mr. Lines is a member of the com-
lission to remodel and improve the
ate capitol and to report to the Gen-
-al Assembly a suitable separate
lilding for the State Library and Su-
'eme Court together with estimates
- the cost of construction of the same:
id a member of the Fort Griswokt
ract Commission which has the care
the old Fort Griswold battle
x»tmds on Groton Heights.
He is also chairman of the Senator
, H. Piatt memorial commission.
As a private citizen, Mr.. Lines lias
ways taken an active part in advanc-
g the interests of Meriden. and all
ans for the development of the town
ve been favored bv him.
In March. 1879. at a meeting of the
tizens of Meriden, held in the old
5wn hall, he recommendecl a plan
action, which being followed, se-
rcd to the business of Meriden its
St general and considerable reduc-
>n of freight rates and improved
nditions as to the delivery of manu-
L-tured goods at their destinations.
He was one of those who after sev-
al defeats in town meeting, finally
cceeded in sccurinjj the passagfe of
e resolution establishing in 1881 a
school in Meriden and an apprO'
priation for the support of the same.
He is chairman of Town Hall Build-
ing Committee, appointed to build the
new town liall, in accordance with the
report of which he is the author and
which was adopted in a town meeting
held March 25. 1904. The first
appropriation for the construction of
the building was $150,000, and the
original contract was made within that
limit. A second appropriation of
$62,000 to make the building more
nearly fireproof and improve its exter-
ior, was afterwards made and the
building is now being completed with-
in the appropriation.
L*pon the recommendation of Mr. .
Lines, Congress has been asked to
make a more adequate appropriation
than $100,000 for the proposed new
federal building and has furnished to
the committee having the matter in
charge revised plans, estimates and
other data used in support of their
claims.
When in August. 1878. the tornado
created such fearful death and ilcst ruc-
tion at Wallingford, Mayor Lines
called the first public meeting held in
Connecticut, was appointed chaintian
of the relief commhtee and had the
satisfaction of transmitting something
more than $2,000 to Warden ("li.irles
I ). ^^lle for the relief of the sutferers
in the mother town.
During the famine in Ireland Mr.
Lines was one of the speakers at the
meeting held in the old Town hall,
February 9. 1880, and in response to
his appeal a larg:c sum was then and
there pledged for the relief of the
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544
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
needy and helpless people of Ireland.
He was two years in succession chair«
man of the committee that raised a
goodly subscription for the relief of
the citizens of Memphis* Tenn., dur-
ing the epidemic of yellow fever.
He has been a staunch friend of the
Union soldier and has always been
ready to secure a just recognition of
his claims. He keenly appreciates and
preserves carefully many votes of
thanks received from the local Grand
Arniv Post.
Mr. Lines, although he has an ex-
tensive career as a public man and
during the past forty years has been
honored witli many prominent |n
tions within the ^nft of the people of
the town and city, has never sought
an\ political oftice. and his public ser-
vices have been iriven tmselfishlv and
in all cases without pecuniary consid-
eration.
His (»piniun ami judgment upon any
mnrtcT is slowly formed and firmly
hehl. Precise in speech, accurate in
nu'iliod and of a commanding person-
ality, his mental stren<:;tl\ and his large
grasp upon aiYairs have always made
him a dominating force in any corn-
pan) . He was never known to use
illiberal language towards an enemy
nor to abandon a friend.
He is a forceful public speaker of
the deliberative type, carefully weigh-
ing every word, seckinj^ always to be
correct in what he states rather than
to l>e ehxpient, and to convince rather
than to please.
In politics he is a Republican, and
although he never sought political hon-
ors he has for more than a quarter of j
a century been r^arded all over Con-
necticut as a wise and sound adviser
in matters affecting party policies and
candidates. He took an active part
in making two notable contributions to
the service of good government which
have become political history in the
state; the first was in 1879 when, as
chairman of the organization which
conducted the campaign, the late
Hon. O. H. Piatt was elected to the
United States Senate ; the second was
in 1902 w hen he conceived the idea,
and directed the campaign which
brought about the nomination of the
Hon. Abiram Chamberlain for
crnor of Connecticut, he liaving hal
the honor t>f presenting the name of
Mr. Chamberlain to the Republican
state convention.
Mr. Lines is a member of the fol-
lowing: organizations: Vt)ung Men's
Republican Club. Xew Haven ; Home
and Colonial Clubs. Mcriden : Con-
necticut Historical Society: Xew Ha-
ven Colony Historical Society: a life
member of Xew London County Hi?;-
torical Society: one of the board
of managers of the Conn. Sodetv,
Sons* of .American Revohuiou ; and
president of Captain John Couch
Branch, Meriden, Conn., Society Sons
of American Revolution : director Mer-
iden I'oard of Trade; life inemljer V,
M.C, A, of Meriden ; member Mayors*
.Association of Connecticut. He is z
member of the order of Ro^al Arca-
num ; Knights of Honor and I. O. O
F. : Mecca Temple. Xobles of the
Mystic Shrine, New York Cit\-; Mcr*
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BIOGRAPHIES.
545
lian Chapter, Order of the Eastern
tar, Meriden.
He is a member of Meridian Lodge,
7, A. F. & A. M., of which he served
i worshipful master in 1872. Al-
ough knighted at New Haven he is
ie of the charter members of St.
Imo Commandery, No. 9, Knights
emplar, of Meriden, in which he
rved as eminent commander, in
569, 1870, 1873, 1874. 1875, and
t88, and of which he has now been
^asurer for twenty-seven years.
Mr. Lines received his thirty-third
d last degree, becoming a mem-
r of the Supreme Council at
licago, 111., the highest governing
•dy of that rite in the northern juris-
rtion, at its annual session Septem-
r 19, 1893. He is also member of the
>yal Order of Scotland; honorary
^mber Harmony Lodge, 42, F. & A.
Waterbury, Conn.; and is chatr-
in of the board of visitors of the
•nnecttcttt Masonic Home at Wal-
l^ford. Mr. Lines in 1877 and
78 was the grand commander of the
and Commandery of Connecticut.
^ is now Grand Treasurer of the
and Encampment, Knights Tem-
r, of U. S. A. His first election
s in 1886 and all his later elections
/e been by unanimous vote.
:Iis Masonic biogra])liy pays of him :
1 ail these orj^anizations he has
>\vn the ({ualities that adorn his in-
icluahty. Possessed of a well hai-
red niitul and of a tenacious pitr-
•o. he l^as exercised an influence
>Ti his associates, and in many things
enterprise and larger undertaking
he has made good proof of his capa-
bilities as a prudent adviser, and a-
wise and courageous leader. He i» a
man possessed of strong convictions
and of generous and gentle sentiments
as well ; large minded and tolerant, his
heart responds to the truths and prin-
cipals fundamental in Masonic teach-
ing and whose life is held to loving
service in the ways of righteousness
and true benevolence."
The above sentiments so wannly
put are no less true as applied to his
forty and more years as a citizen of
the town of Meriden, where as a kind
and considerate neighbor and staunch
friend of the worthy he has endeared
himself to his fellow townsmen by
his lovalty to their best interests.
Mr. Lines was married June 23,
1 861, to Sarah (Congdon), daughter
of Rev. Washington and Louisa
(Nichols) Munger, of Waterford,
Conn., and to them the following chil-
dren have been born : Harriet L. (Mrs.
Robert L. Peck) Kensington, Conn.;
Henry W., who died in infancy ; Sarah
L. (Mrs. Frank L. Hamilton), Meri-
den, Conn. ; Clara B. (Mrs. Roger B.
de Bussy), Winchester, Mass.; Ellie
M. (Mrs. Frank M. Chapin), Pine
Meadow, Conn., grand worthy mat-
ron of the order of the Eastern Star
of Connecticut.
CHARLES THOMPSON DODD.
Charles Thompson Dodd. manufac-
turer of Meriden, and son of Samuel
and Catherine Dodd. was born in Mer-
iden October 23, 1859. He is descend-
^ I Googl«
moGRAraiEs.
547
tl from early colonial ancestry on
oth the paternal and maternal sides.
ic received his early education at pri-
ate schools and took his preparatory
ourse at the Cpllegiatc .and Commer-
ial Institute, New Haven. He took
he scientific or engineering course at
I'alc and- graduated from that ^college
ri 1879. He began his business life
s an employe of the Hartford En-
.iuccring Company and previous to
ngaging in manufacturing on his
>\\ n account acquired further practi-
al experience in the offices of the E.
X. Bliss Co., Brooklyn, the Wilcox
silver Plate and Meriden Gas Light
ompanies. In 1886 he purchased
he c^xjpcrage and packing case fac-
ory of (ieorge Gay, which business
ic has carried on to the present time
vith increasing success, having added
argdy to the operations of liis pre-
leccssor. He emi)loys about twenty-
ive hands and the output of the fac-
>r\ not being confined to Meriden, is
-hipped to different parts of the state.
The packing cases, casks and barrels
nade at the busy plant are of the most
uibstantial character and put togeth-
r upon honor.
Mr. Dodd enjoys a high reputation
n the manufacturing world and is a
'amiliar figure in social life. He is
1 member of the Quinnipiac and
I nion League Clubs, of \ew Haven:
I member and one of the founders of
)niicron chapter of Chi Phi of Yale
College ; a member of the Yale
' hil) of New York Citv; Home Club
r»f Meriden. and the Meriden Board
)f Trade. He is also a leading mem-
ber of the Meriden Golf Club and is
known as one of "the syndicate."
He was married in 1887 to Miss
Etta Cheesborough, Smith, daughter
of Gershom B, Smith, of New York.
V ■ ^- J. H. PRESTOX. .|
» r .
•
John Henry Preston, for thirty*
eight years engagcrl in -the fish busi-
ness in the immediate vicinity of his
present store, is a native of Cheshire,
but for the most of his life has resid-
ed in Meriden. He is a son of Lucius
and I-lizabeth Preston and his family
name is one identified with Cheshire
for several generations back. He was
educated in the public* schools of that
town and concluded his etlucation at
the Cheshire Academy.
When the war broke out he enlist-
ed in Litchfield but after arriving at
New Haven, with many of his young
friends, he was sent back to Chesh-
ire, the authorities refusing to assign
him to active service on account of his
youth. In May. i^(^2. he again en-
listed at Cheshire, this time with bet-
ter success and was sent to the front
in Company A. 20th Com\. with
which regiment he saw a year and a
half active service, afterwards being
assigned to further service in the First
Conn. Heavy Artillery, in which he
continued until the close of the war.
He served as a private throughout his
three years' tertn of enlistment and he
was one of the many who were tak-
en prisoners at Chancellorsville.
He began his successful mercantile
life as a clerk in the fish market of
Digitized by Coogle
BIOGRAPHIES. 549
Digitized by Google
550
A CENTURY OF MF.RIDEN.
John Heach, located in the basement
of what was then known as Rogers
Hotel. Some time later near that lo-
cation he opened a fish market with
R. K. Pitkin, which partnership con-
tinued for a period of two years, when
Mr. Pitkin retired from the fish busi-
ness and went to Kansas City, and
since that time Mr. Preston has con-
tinue<l business each year with grow-
ing success. It was in 1901 that he
removed to his present market, 39
East Main street, which was fitted up
by him with all modern conveniences
and which comprises one of the most
attractive in all New England. He
employs a large number of clerks and
supplies the first families of the city
with all kinds of sea food, in which
he deals exclusively. He stands high
as a business man and resident of
Meridcn and has shown a disposition
to lend his influence and give of his
means to further all commendable and
charitable objects. He is also pos-
sessed of a large amount of local pride
and public spirit. He is a member of
the Meriden Business Men's Associa-
tion and of the Meriden Conclave, In-
dependent Order of Heptasophs.
He was married April 20, 1867, to
Elizabeth Clark, of Wallingford, and
resides in his own comfortable home,
32 Orange street.
JAMES A. CCRTISS.
James Anson Curtiss, one of the ac-
tive men of Meriden of 1906, was born
at Cheshire. Conn., February 23. 1846.
His parents were John L. and Ellen
(Mathews) Curtiss. He received 2
good common school education an-:
at the age of fifteen went to Iowa Gt},
Iowa, where he obtained his first in-
sight into business life in his father*
store. He, later, at Kankakee Cit}.
111., became a clerk in a grocer)' stori
where he added to his experience, hi 1
at nineteen he was called upon to rv
turn to Connecticut to attend to the
business interests of his grandmother
At the age of twenty-one he married.
November 6. 1867, Hester A. Morgan,
of Plainville, securing a clerkship ir
a grocery store in that near-by tow
His industry and courage, ever appar
ent, were especially shoun two year
later when he became the propric!- '
of a general store at South Merit;
His success was such that at the tr.
of three years more he was enabled
start the "Old Original Cash Grocer*
at 17 Colony street which in later
years became owned by C. N. Ehitton
& Co., and afterwards by H. C Bi-
beau. This store Mr. Curtiss contin-
ued for twelve years, during which he
not only built up a large trade but an
enviable reputation for honorable bus-
iness dealings and low prices ; the lat
ter he was enabled to do with tho
aid of that most desirable quantity
"cash sales," which was his watch-
word and which ever proved a be:
fit, both to him and his customer-
Through his success as a retail gTc-ov-r
s|)eculator in horses and operator • i
local real estate ; and by the aid of var-
ious enterprises in which he g^radiiaU)
became interested, he was enabled to
engage in the wholesale grocery trade.
L^iyi i^ed by Google
nKKJKAPIIIKS.
RESIDENCE OF JAMES A. CURTISS.
1
OH by R. S. Godfrey.
WAREHOUSE OF JAMES A. CURTISS.
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BIOGRAPHIES.
553
first jobbing house being at 102
^st Main street. Orowth of busi-
es compelled him in igoo to re-
•ve to the location, 136 State street,
ere excellent railroad facilities are
oyed and which Mr. Curtiss occu-
s for the purposes of his wholesale
icery and cofifee roasting business, a
;e three-story brick building with a
ntage of lOO or more feet,
-iis wholesale trade has for some
rs, therefore, been well established ;
I by buying his goods as advantag-
sly as New York and Boston
Dlesalers, he is enabled to meet the
;est competition.
.Ir. Curtiss has had an eye to im-
ving local real estate and has grad-
y become one of the larger tax*
crs of the town. He has also be-
te extensively interested in the
iting business. He was president
almost sole owner of the Converse
>]ishing Co., capitalized at $40,000;
, since its organization has been a
:e stockholder and president of the
tiss-Way Co.
le is a member of King Hiram
Ige, A. F. & A. M., of New Haven,
I is also a Royal Arch Mason. He
member of the First M. E, church,
for many years has been one of
tni<;tccs. Hi? residence on TJnslcv
uie is one ot ilio comely and coin-
able Meriden domiciles. lie has
daughter. Bertha Ellen Curtiss.
\NK TREAT SOUTHWICK.
rank Treat Southwick, musician,
poser, lecturer and bibliophile, was
born in Cromwell, Conn., October 17,
1858. His father, Daniel Franklin
Southwick, came to Meriden with his
family in 186 1 and established himself
in the shoe business and for many
years was one of the more prosperous
merchants. of Meriden. Frank was
given a liberal education by fond and
indulgent parents, and early in life
showed a musical talent, which was
duly encouraged. He became an en-
thusiastic and promising student of
music under such teachers as Theo-
dore Thomas, Otto Singer and George
E. Whiting, of New ^'ork.
At the age of fifteen he became the
organist of the First Baptist church
of Meriden, afterwards accepting a
similar position at Christ church,
Hartford ; later at the Church of the
Holy Trinity, Middletown, and finally
was offered position of organist and
musical director at the First Presby-
terian churcli of Englewood, N. J.,
and ever since accepting that position,
he has been connected with churches
of New York and vicinity, having pre-
sided over the organ at the Church of
the Holy Trinity, at St. Andrew's, and
at the West End Presbyterian church,
all of New York City.
For many years Afr. Southwick has
been a teacher of music, and lias
trained advanced musicians, many of
them lioldinq; professional ptxsitions, in
both this city where he resides, and in
New York where lie lias l)eeo!ne a
prominent fii^ure in the musical wi^rld,
and lias had a studio for the past twen-
ty years. He has won no little fame
as a composer of songs and anthems.
554
A CENTURY OF MKKIDEX.
and is also a tliicnt writer on musical
subjects, being tboroughly conversant
with the wnrk of the ditTcrent com-
posers, and having traveled abroad in
advancing himself in his profession.
His semi-annual musicales are looked
forward to with much pleasure by mu-
I).\XIF:I. F. SOITHWICK.
sic lovers. He was one of the found-
ers of the American Guild of Organ-
ists and one of the organizers of the
Manuscript Society, both of New
York. He possesses a rare and val-
uable collection of antique books,
which he |)ri7:cs highly and which he
thoroughly apj)rcciates, being a great
lover of good literature, but especially
those works which the passing of time
has made valuable from their rarity.
He was married in New York City
to Emma L. rhomi)son, in 1895,
and to them have been bom a soa.
I.aurence 1-Vancis Conway Camp
Southwick.
Daniel Franklin Southwick. father
of our subject, was born in Middle-
town, August 9. 1832, and was de-
scended from Laurence and Cassan-
dra Southwick. English Quakers, who
came to this countrv in i'>^?<, amJ
took refuge at Sheller Inland, from
which that locality derived its name.
Daniel Southwick went to Califomb
in 1850 to .search for gold, joining the
forty-niners, but after his adventure
FR.\ N K T. sou r H W I C K .
returned to Hartford, and engaged in
the shoe business, which he carrie<l
successfully until he came to Meridcn
as above stated, and opened a store ir
the Collins block, which he conductcc
Google
KIOGRAPHIES.
555
3r several years with pronounced suc-
css. He was one of the founders of
:ie Ijfcchcr Manufacturinj^ Company,
, ho carried on the manufacture of
Irop f<)r^inj;s on Center street. Mr.
ion th wick was entcri)rising, public-
pi rited and generous. His wife was
>arah J. Camp, of Middletown, before
icr marriage, and both were for thirty
cars members of the First Congrega-
ional church, to which and to other
vorthy objects, Mr. South wick con-
ributcd liberally. He died March ii.
1898, much beloved and respected by
lis neighbors on Curtis street, where
le resided with his family, and also by
:he citizens of the town.
FEWER iiCSH.
I'ciincr Bush, whose life furnishes
an example of a remarkable business
career, and who was one of the early
mannfacturers of Meriden, was Ixjrn
at East Lyme, Conn., June 26. 1791.
His father, John Bush, died when he
was but six years old, and I'eiuier
r.ush, from that age, l)ecame self-sup-
porting. He learned the trade of a
caq)enter and joiner at sixteen, and at
twenty-one, after returning from ser-
vice in the War of 18 12, engaged in
business, afterwards buying out his
former employer, and later buying a
house in Saybrook, having previously,
in 1816, married Eunice Kirtland, of
that town.
Coming to Meriden in 1824, he en-
gaged in the comb manufacturing bus-
iness with Julius Pratt. Twenty
years later their factorv was destroved
by fire, and he lost every (hillar he had
in the world. With characteristic
courage he started to rebuild his fac-
tory, and with improved machinery,
continued with well-earned prosi)erity.
He became one of the largest stock-
holders in the concern, which not only
made a name for him in the business
world, but an honorable position in so-
ciety. The product of his industry in
a few years destroyed foreign compe-
FE.NNF.R BUSH.
tition. and in a large measure he was
fuially responsible in transforming the
L'nitcd States from a country import-
ing combs, to one exporting them in
large quantities, and the combs made
at his factory finally became used all
over the civilized world.
Mr. Bush was a man of great inde-
pendence of thought and action. He
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
SS6
was vv hole-sou led and generous almost
to a fault, giving liberally to worthy
objects. At least three of the churches
and five schools were partially built
from his means, and he contributed
generously to the cause of anti-slavery.
Mr. Bush, although deprived of
early schooling, and almost man-
grown before he could read or write,
finally became a well-read and self-ed-
ucated man. He served in the State
Senate from Mcriden in 1848, and at
the time of his death possessed a li-
brary at his home of 1.500 volumes.
From the time when he first moved to
Meridcn from Saybrook, until the end
of his life, he was an earnest and con-
sistent member of the I'irst Congrega-
tional church.
Mr. Bush was the fond father of
two daughters: Temperance Jennette.
who became the wife of Randolph
Linsley, a sketch of whom aj)pears
following : and lumice Kirtland. who
married Partrick J. Clark.
RANDOLPH LINSLKV.
Randolph Linsley. for whom Ran-
dolph and Linsley avenues are named,
was born in Meriden November 10,
1809, and died in the brick residence
on West Main street hill, which he
had built some years previous, on his
property, January 22, 1887. With the
exception of short periods away his
entire life was spent in Meriden. He
was one of the sturdy, reliable, God-
fearing men of the town, and was pos-
sessed of a strong physique and active
brain.
In 1835 married Temperance J,
daughter of Fenner Bush, one of the
pioneer manufacturers of the town.
and before the Civil war he engaged ia
the manufacture of combs with Wai-
ter Webb & Co., whose factory was it
South Meriden and at one time aaoi
as their agent in England. After \ht
close of that war lie engaged in
cotton raising in the south but rcluma!
RANtXILPn LI.NSr.EV.
to Meriden. and on a tract of laivf
comprising about fifteen acres, where'
he also took up his residence, entered
into the florist business.
He did business on a large scale ar--
his plant eventually comprised fonr- ;
teen or fifteen greenhouses. Hi>
flowers were shipped to New York an.1 ^
sold at wholesale, and he also supplied
to the Meriden markets, large quanti-
Digitized by Googlel
BIOGRAPHIES.
ICS of asparagus, lettuce and celery,
ie owned, too, a number of acres of
niifl farther west in Meriden and
hrougli which Hickory street now ex-
ends, and was one of the first in Con-
iccticiit to engage in peach growing
»n a large scale. While high spirited
ind exacting, Mr. Linsley was a man
Mititled to the respect of his fellow
;o\vnsnien, and this he held in marked
Jegree. He is remembered by some
3f the older residents as a man exceed-
nj^ly fond of music. A constant antl
loyal member of the First Congrega-
tional church, he always occupied a
scat near the choir.
That Mr. Linsley was thoughtful
and prudent seems to be proven by the
fact that when the city commenced to
grow in his direction, he sold land at
a good price, until he had gradually
disposed of it all. He erected the
brick residence in which he died and
which is now the parsonage of Trinity
M. E. church.
Mr. Linsley was the father of eight
children, of whom are now living the
following: W illiam P>. Linsley. of Es-
canaba, Mich., superintendent of the
Chicago & Xorthwestern Railroad :
Thomas Linsley. a lumber merchant of
-Michigan: Xellie and Jessie Linsley,
and Mrs. Sarah L. .Mien, of St. Louis,
Mo.
EDWARD C. ALLEX.
Kdward Chauncey Allen, born in
Meriden .May 26. i8j,^. was the third
son of Levi and Electa (Hall) Allen,
557
grandson of Archelaus and Prudence
(Merriam) Allen, and of Aaron and
Elizabeth (Cook) Hall of Walling-
ford. Conn.
Mr. .*\llen was a lineal descendant in
the sixth generation of Roger .Alien,
who in 1639 came from England
(Kempston, liedford county), was the
first and only treasurer of the colony
of Xew Haven from May 29. 1661, un-
til its union with the colonv of Connec-
EDWARD C. AI.I.KN.
ticut May 14. iT/^s, and deacon in the
first church in iUh). bVoni Roger
Allen the descent is traced through
"Sargeant" Samuel Allen. Daniel /\1-
len. Timothy Allen. Archelaus .\llen,
Levi Allen to Edward Chauncey.
.Archelaus was a soldier of the Rev-
olution, enlisting at the time of the
Lexington alarm, and serving with the
Digitized by Google
■
A CENTURY OF MERIDEV.
Connecticut troops in the Boston expe-
dition under General Putnani.
Aaron Hall, the maternal grand-
father, enlisted in 1777 at the age of
sixteen, in Capt Stephen Hairs com-
pany of CoL Heman Swift's Seventh
Regiment, '^Connecticut Line/' and
was honorably discharged at the expir-
ation of his term of service in 178O.
He served under General Washington
in the battles of Germantown, Bran-
dywine, Monmouth, etc., wintered at
Valley Forge, 1777-78, Redding, Conn.
1778-79, took part in the storming of
Stony Point and wintered at Morris-
town Heights 1779-80.
On his return from the war he lived
in Wallingford where he occupied an
influential position, was a justice of the
peace, an arbitrator in controversies
and engaged in settling estates until
his death in his seventy-ninth year.
Levi Allen was bom March 30,
1777, in that part of Wallingford
known as North Fanns. He removed
to Meriden with his parents in 1793*
and purchased a homestead (still
standing) of Giles Collins, where he
died August 27, 1861.
Edward Chauncey received a good
public school or academic education
and with his first earnings which were
obtained by teaching he bought land
adjoining his father's farm and built
a home. For many years his farm
was regarded as one of the model
farms of the state, and as an oflScer of
the State Agricultural Society, he took
special pride in everything pertaining
to progressive farminq:. ISIr. Allen
was also prominent in the advance*
ment of the musical interests of the
church and community with which he '
was connected, and was one of the
directors of the Worcester Festival As-
sociation, which gave the first of those
now famous New England musiol
events.
In July, 1840, he became a member
of the First Congregational churdi in
Meriden and in 1857 was chosen a lite
deacon in that church. He never
sought political honors, but was an
earnest Republican, doing all m hi^
power to advance the princi|pki fin!
he believed his party vefttmtMlL
Mr. Allen's first wife wm Jn^i^
Temperance, a datiglilcr of Jmfk
Piatt, of Deep River, Coii% mltpm^ i
daughter of Captain DasM Flatt, a |
soldier of the Revolotton iol^lwinii ■
Regiment of the ''ComwdiflMiv."
by whom he had four chf^rettf^ttne
now surviving, viz.: Gaptate Ciwge
W., Caroline J. (now Mrs. A. &|eO'
nings) and John Piatt AlleiL
His second wife was Sanili Hflv^i
Linsley, daughter of Randolph tins-
ley, of Meriden. " By this marriage
there were two children. Edward tins*
ley and Emma Jennette (now ^fn
Nelson Moody). Mr. Allen died JuK
I3» 1887.
Captain George W. Allen, his oldes<
son, enlisted in Captain Bassett s Com-
pany. Fifteenth Connecticut Regiment
early in the Civil war and after scr*
vice in \'irginia and the Carolinas vas
appointed captain in the Twenty-fnoA
Regiment, Connecticut X'olnntccrs and
served before Petersburg:, Rtchmood
and at Brownsville. Texas,
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r.ioGRAriiii^s.
559
CLARA LOUISE SANDS.
riara Louise Sands, who during her
:ful life, collected more genealogi-
iii formation concerning American
iiilies probably than any other in-
idual in this country, was born in
\v York City, February 17, 1862.
? was the daughter of Jesse and
rv Mclvina (Turner) Sands anid
CLARA LOUISI-: SANDS.
descended from John Wakcman.
treasurer of New Haven colony
:\vcnty years, and one of the orig-
scttlers of New Haven in 1639,
iiany other early and distinguished
stors. Her mother died when she
but an infant, and she grew to
an hood under the watchful care
fond and indulgent father, who
gave her a liberal education. She
possessed many admirable and lovable
traits which, although a great physical
sufferer, as she became of age, grew
more pronounced. Patience, accu-
racy and serenity were ever exempli-
fied in her character, those admirable
qualities necessary to the successful
.student.
yer work in the research for fam-
ily genealogy brought her unstinted
i^raise ; and having collected the lead-
iiig books on the subject to aid her,
she was encouraged to make this her
life work, (iradually she became
more familiar^/ with the records of
towns, cities and their courts and li-
braries ifiitiVf'htjr name became famous
aikl familiar to the libra-
the public press, to all of
as a justly celebrated cor-
Her success as a search-
er *for genealogical information and
compiler of family records was great-
er than has ever been known. She
took a vast pride in this commenda-
ble work and her remarkable jiersever-
ancc was a strong factor in her ulti-
mate accomj)lishmcnt of every task un-
tlertaken. Her work brought her
wide repute antl she had correspond-
ence not only in every state in the
union, but in every country in the
world where the ICnglish language is
spoken and penetrated by .American
families : and where other genealo-
gists failed her services, methods, pa-
tience and perseverance brought the
desired results. She was for many
years a contri])utor to the genealogical
records of the lioston Transcript. Xew
as. an expc
Vans an(
whic^s
mdent
Digitized by Google
560
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
York Mail and Express, Hartford
Times, Newark News, Connecticut
Quarteriy and many western publica-
tions; and her compilation of geneal-
ogical records for individuals brought
her the love and esteem of number-
less families in this and other coun-
tries. She loved this work and took
infinite delight in making herself use-
ful to others, and her death, which oc-
curred June 15, 1902, removed from
Meriden one of its most lovable Chris-
tian characters. In the genealogical
collection included in her estate she
left an almost priceless heritage, which
in January, 1903, her executors pre-
sented to the Curtis Public Library
as a memorial to her name. After her
death the members of her family re-
ceived from all parts of the country
glowing testimonials of the value of
her collection, which was conceded by
the best authorities the most accurate,
clear and rarest compilations in exist-
ence. The gift was much appreciat-
ed by the trustees of the library,
for without doubt the Curtis Public
Library of Meriden now contains
more material for the research of fam-
ily records than any other in this coun-
trv.
The collection comprises the follow-
ing books and pamphlets :
Vol I. — Sij^ncrs of the Mayflower
compact and their descendants and
other eaHiest cinij^rants.
\ 01. 2— Boston Transcript geneal-
ogical records.
\'ol. 3— Mail and Express geneal-
ogical records.
Vol. 4 — Mail and Express wiitta
genealogical records (very rare).
Vol. 5 — ^Transcript and Mail and
Express records.
Vol. 6— Family names and when
found in genealogies and on records.
Vol. 7.— Genealogies and family his*
tories.
Vol. 8 — Connecticut emigiants to
other states.
Vol. 9— Hartford Times, Xewaik
News and other publications' genal*
ogkal records.
Vol. 10 — Connecticut Quaitcrly
Magazine records.
Vol. II — Connecticut Quafteriy
Magazine records.
Vol. 12 — Connecticut Quarter.)-
Magazine records.
Vol. 13— Old Norwestem Quarter-
ly genealogical records.
Vol, 14— The Owl genealogical kc-
ords.
Vol, 15 — Genealogical records 0!
families, A.
Vol. 16 — ^Genealogical records of
families, B. I
Vol. 17 — Genealogical records of I
families. C.
Vol, 18 — Genealogical records of 1
families, D. |
Vol. 19 — Genealogical records 01
families, £.
Vol. 20-^Genealogica] records oi
families, F.
Vol. 21 — Genealogical records of
families, G.
Vol. 22 — Genealogical records of
families, H.
\'ol. 23 — Genealogical records of :
families, L J, K.
L/iyiiized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
S6i
\'oI. 24 — Genealogical records of
families, L.
\o\. 25 — Genealogical records of
families, M.
\'ol. 26 — Genealogical records of
families, N,
Vol. 27 — Genealogical records of
families, O.
\'ol. 28 — Genealogical records of
families, Q.
\'oI. 29 — Genealogical records of
families, R.
\'ol. 30 — Genealogical records of
families, S.
\'ol. 31 — Genealogical records of
families, T.
\'ol. 32 — Genealogical records of
families, U, V.
Vol. 33' — Genealogical records of
families, W.
\'ol. 34 — Genealogical records of
families, X, V, Z.
^ ol. 35 — Conn. School Journal gen-
ealogical records.
\'ol. 36 — Meigs genealogy and al-
lied families.
\'ol. 37 — ^Kcnt genealogy and al-
lied families.
\'ol. 38 — Buckingham genealogy
and allied families.
\*c)l. 39— Prince genealogy and al-
lied families.
Vol. 40 — Eastman genealogy and
. allied families.
V ol. 41 — Sharon births, deaths and
marriages.
Vol. 42 — Rodge's In<lian wars.
\'ol. 43 — Palfrey's New England.
\'ol. 44 — Palfrey's Xew England.
Vol. 45 — History of Fairiield coun-
ty
\'ol. 46— History of New Haven
county.
\'ol. 47 — History of Danbury.
Vol. 48 — History of Rliode Island.
Vol. 49 — History of Block Island.
Vol. 50 — History of Saratoga.
Vol. 51 — History of Xew Jersey.
Vol. 52 — History of Pennsylvania.
Vol. 53 — New Jersey Historical col-
lections.
Vol. 54 — New York historical col-
lections.
Vol. 55 — Massachusetts historical
collections.
Vol. 56 — Pennsylvania historical
collections.
V ol. 57 ' in alogical index.
\'ol. 58 — Middlesex county histor-
ical sketches.
\'ol. 59 — Portfolio of manuscripts
of genealogies of families.
The various pamphlets accompany-
ing the collection includes:
Piirths, deaths and marriages of
Hartford, Windsor and Fairfield.
Life of Josiah Meigs.
Lane-Griswold genea](^y.
Marvin-Beckwith genealogy.
Xames and ages of Connecticut old
folks.
Governor I^lihu Yale.
Family of Jnliii Savage.
Descendants of Stephen Pierson.
Records of Pynchon family.
Chatfield genealog>'.
Heckwith notes.
Statistics of Middlesex county.
Founders of Ohio.
Earlv histoi} of I'rattleboro, Vt.
P>ristoi centennial records.
Westchester historical records.
Digitized by Google
I
562
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Glastonbury Centennial records.
Baptisms, marriages and deaths,
Congregational church, East Hamp-
ton.
Maiden, Mass., historical records.
Incidents of Revolution in West-
chester county.
Johnson genealogy.
Potter gencalog)-.
Blakesley genealogy.
Clinton's 200th anniversary records.
Killingw'orth historical records.
Stanwich Congregational church
manual.
History of Piqua, Ohio.
GEORGE AUSTIN FAY.
One of the leading lawyers of the
New Haven county bar, and a strong
factor in ccmtemporary Meriden life,
is the subject of tfiis sketch. Mr. Fay
was bom in the town of Marlboro,
Mass., August 29, 1838, and passed
the early years of his life upon the
home farm. His education was ob-
tained in the common school and at
the high school of his native town
where he graduated.
Mr. Fay's parents, George W. and
Amanda Ward Fay, were descended
from New Englanders whose ances-
tors were English people. The first
American immigrant on the paternal
side was born in England about 1648.
When he was twenty-one years of
age Geo. Fay left Marlboro and came
to Meriden where he has resided ever
since. The future lawyer first en-
tered a position where he combined the
duties of clerk in the ofike of the
Ad^s Express Company with dot
of operator in the Western Unkm Tel-
egraph service. These positions wcic
resigned two years later when the
young man followed ttit bent of lii»
inclination and entered the Law Dt-
partment of Yale VwAmmty, bm
which he graduated vnA Iht &egnt of
LL.B. iniB62. He ctataed^tfie office
of the late Hon. O. l|..Ffatt, wherehe
read law as an assistant^ tcmaining a
year; and in May, 1863. ^ was ad-
mitted to the Connccticaft bar as an
attorney at laW, which professkm he
has followed ever since.
Mr. Fay was elected ligr the Repub-
licans to the State Scnute ftwn the
Sixth Senatorial District fai 1871 and
served as chairman of Ait Conunittec
on Corporations and ate as dairmac
of the Committee on BhcHotw which
determined whether Hon. James E
English, of New Haveat of Hon. Mar-
shall Jewell $hould be iltle governor.
The contest had been
and Mr. English
investigation nhis Mt
resulted in the awai4.
Mr. JewelL
The heights that-
reach were not
flight, the poet ttSh m^i
inence which iMirhif. ly I
Fay*s name is due to jMhit
verance in a work whcrt «)8 mod feel-
ing both pull together, Itecby concen-
trating the attention and strengdien-
ing mental effort. Mr. Fay*s emi-
nence as a law>'er received gratifying
acknowledgement when the appomt-
ment as counsel for the N. Y., \. H.
Digitized by Google
5^
A CiiNTURY OF MEKIUEN.
Si H. railroad was made, which posi-
tion he holds up to prcbciil wriiing.
lie is also ci niusel for many large cor-
poraliuiis iiichidini^ the International
Silver Co., i'lrsi National Bank, Mcr-
iden Tritst & Sat\- Dcposil Co. and
several other cor] stations, and having"
amassed a coiiitortablc competency
now gives but a portion of his time to
the practice of hi.s profrssinn.
About 1896 Mr. Fay formed a part-
nership with Judge \V. L. liennett, a
roident of Xeu I laven. and ever since
the firm has niaintaine<l offices in Mer-
iden and Xew Haven, In 1905 Mr.
JJcuneil was appointed judge of the
Court of ("ommnn IMeas by (iowrnor
Roberts. Mr. I'av. who the oldest
member of the bar in Meridcn. is a
capable advocate of the ])ublic weal;
he is careful of his constituents' inter-
ests and it may l)e truthfulh said that
his fearlessness has guided him safely
throu.gh lei^sd stnnus where a less 'in-
trepid la\\\er would have compro-
mised for policy s or expediency's
s»ake.
Allhuugh Mr. Fay is a member of
Meridian Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of
Meriden, he is connectetl with no oili-
er organizations.
In 1865 Mr. l-ay was married le>
Miss Jennie M. Curtis, daughter of
Alfred P. Curtis, a lady of gentle
manners and lovable character
JOHN QUIXCY THAYER.
A man of high standing in the le-
gal profession is Jf)hn Quincy Thayer,
chosen judge of the Probate co. rt of
Meriden in 1893, and who has Ml
that judiciary office to the preser:
writing. He is a son of Augu^iin-:
and Electa ( Fairchild) Thavcr. 21A
although he has resided in Meri<i:n .
lor a third of a century, he was horr.
in Xew Mil ford. Conn.. March 2j,.
1843. ^ii^ father was a man 0:
prominence there and a we!l-ta-c."
carpenter and builder possessed of
judicial mind which was inherited u
the fullest extent by his son.
On the maternal side Judge Tlu\er
is descended througrh one of the old-
est families in F'airfield couiuy. in '
riioiuas Fairchild. the first of his
cestors to come to America !r<x. I
England, settled in Stratford u hrre h-; 1
became one of the leading nicu a: iht '
tinie of the first settletneni oi thu
town, and who tlied December 14
1670. His son. Thomas, was the hr=t
while man born in Stratford, and }■ -
tiah, son of Thoinas. hom in Strat-
ford in 1644. was a lanUuwoer. F. '-
ward F^airchild, son of Josiah,
was born in Stratford, but in
1720 removed to X'eutown. where liie
bairchild l.ii.ul) have ever since beT:n
prominent in the affairs of that touru
Jaiues 1 airchild. son of Hdvvard. was
a landowner and farmer in Newtown,
auu his eldest son, Silas Fairchild. ^^"as
born in Xewtown in 1748, and dial
in that town in iSjr. Before hi*
death he became a captain anti was
comuussioned by Governor Tnimbu'tl.
His son. Joseph Fairchild. bom Au-
gust 12, 1770. died June 23, 1855. and
by his second wife. Amarilla^ P-bbi^
of Danbury, their daughter, Klecra.
Digitized by Google
RIOGRAPHIES.
566
A CENTURY OF MKfilDEN.
the mother of Judge Thayer, was
bom.
John Quincy Thayer received his
preparatory education in the old
Housatonic Institute, but his proposed
college course was postponed on the
breaking out of the Civil war ; for
he enlisted in Company I, Sth Conn.
Vols. Infantry, September 21, 1861,
remaining with his regiment until af>
ter the close of the war, and receiving
an honorable discharge after four
years and three months' service, dur-
ing which he earned an enviable rec-
ord and participated in a large num-
ber o£, important engagements.
After the close of the war he re-
sumed (the study of his chosen pro-
fession and became a student in the
law office of William Knapp, at New
Milford, under whose tutelage he was
admitted to the Litchiield county bar
in 1869. He first began practice of
law in Meriden in the office of the late
Hon. O. H. Piatt, but three years
later became the law partner of Hon.
Katcliffe Hicks, of whom much is said
elsewhere in this volume, under the
firm name of Hicks & Thayer, a part-
nership which continued several years.
For many years Judge Thayer has
held public office. After serving sev-
eral terms as city attorney, he became
associate justice and clerk of the Mu-
nicipal court of Meriden. which of-
fices he held for thirteen years, until
he was chosen to preside over the Pro-
bate court, in 1893. where he has
since performed the complicated
duties of the office, with a fairness of
decision to all, that has won him the
gratitude of the commuiuty. daring
his long and efficient encumboKy of
that office.
Judge Thayer is a member of tht
Home Oub, Colonial Qub, Royal .\r-
canum and of the Graad J%*Bay of tfae
Republic, and has served $mjuSgtiA'
vocate of the Depattment'ol Coancc*
ticut in the last naaeft ^gganizatioiL
He was married January" 19. i^7}. to
Annie S., daughter ot-Wjfi^. Dc cr-
eux, collector of customs at Castinc
Maine, and has had cnMihBd, Zerlinc
Devereux, who was botti in Mer- ieo
May 29, i880p and dilM^nmbcr
9, 1884. 'X
WILBUR FISK
Jud^je Wilbur Fisk Davi?. who wa>
born July 25. 1848, in Piyiiiouth. Con-
necticut, coiiKs of an illustrious an-
cestry, the Davis family having been
very wtll known not only in Mcri-
flcn, but all over New England. HI-
hrst American ancestor. Dolor Da\ts.
was one nf the original ^^i^ptiers 01
Barnstable, Mass., in 1634.
His father was Dr. Timothy FisikT
Davis. His mother was Miss Morix's
Hatch, of .Springrield, Mass., and she
still survives her husband, rnaking^ her
iionie with her children in Mericier..
Jud^e Davis is a brother of Dr.
Charles II. >. Davis, a leading physi-
cian and ex-inayor of the city.
JudjLje iJavis received bis education
in the pul)lic schools and ilic aca iesny
at Meriden, and then, havmg chosen
the law as his profession, began 10
BIOGRAPHIES.
5®
A CENlUkV OF MEKIDEX.
Study in the office of Judge Smith.
In 1869 he entered the VaK- Law
School, where he reniained for one
year. At this time occurred tlic deaiii
of Judge Dutton, head of the Yale
I^w School, and Mr. Davis, not w ish
ing to riMuain in Xcw llavrn without
his tutelage, entered the Harvard Law
School, where he graduated in 1870.
Ill September of that same year he
was admitted to the Xew 1 laven Coun-
ty r.ar. and at once entered upon the
practice of his i»rufes-sit>n in Meriden.
His success wa*^ assured from the first ;
and he ha^ l'>ng hi'eii conceded to be
cme (*f .\icriden'.> must successful law-
\er>. His ability soon brcMight him
an ullicial ]>osilion, tliat of clerk of
the ^feriden C ity Court, which posi-
tion he held for several years. In
1887 he was appointed corporation
eounscl and very successfully upheld
the civil rights of the city until 1890.
He was then elected judge of probate
for the district of Meriden and ably
filled that office until 1895. He was
again ap]>ointed corporation coun>;l
in 1897. w bieh office he held for a fur-
ther term ot two years.
Judge Davis has acted as adviser
to many prominent business men and
corporations, and his excellent judg-
ment, sound practical sense, and wide
experience have enabled him to be of
great service in that capacity. He
also has been counsel in many impor-
tant cases, his comiection with which
has gained for him throughout the
state a high reputation as a lawyer.
He has ever had the best interest of
town and city at heart, and his pres-
ence in town meeting is usually inacc
manifest by earnest approval or etiual-
Iv !i iriy condemnation of the rj^t
ti:> iirougliL before that Ixxly. Juc'i:.
Davis is fearless in advocating wh^'
he l)elieves to be right, and he dtx^
not allow the mere fact that a me^i^-
ure is popular to weigh agamsi lib
own judgment.
15e>ides being a succo>sfnl lawyer
Judge Davis has an enviable positi'>n
in the life of the city. In December,
i</)5. he was tendere<l tlie Kepublicar
nomination for corporation counsel l*;-
a vote of i<; to I, it being the first tirv.
in the history of the city a nominati-'V
of this character had been iriven i«> ?
|iulitical op])onent. While the matte:
was still |)eniling in the common coun-
cil Judge Davis declined the nomin::
tion. giving his reasons in a letter
\\ hich occasioned nuich fa\ orable cotv-
ment at the time. He is prom:-
nent socially, having been presided
of the Home Club, the leading social
organization of the city, and is actixi
in Masonic circles, being a past conv
mander of St. Elmo Commandery. Xo
9. K. T., of Meriden. In jjolitics Judce
Davis is a Democrat, and his party
has on man\ occasions sought \v*
coun.sel. which, like his a'h ice in bus-
iness matters, has been cliarac*terizei1
by a certain hard-headed comnion
sense that has made it valuable.
Judge Davis was married May
1874. to Miss Adelaide Louise Ste-
vens, (laughter of Joshua and Jane
(Morris) Stevens, nf Chicopee Falls.
Mass. Of five children born to them
only two are now living, \\ ilbur F.
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
569
• Jr.» a g^duate of the Meriden High
■ school where he won a "Hicks' Prize*'
writing upon a "Century of Life in
Meriden/' now a student at Phillips
Academv in Andover, Mass., and Rob-
ert S., a youth in the public schools.
Judge Davis has a beautiful home
on East Main street, and he and Mrs.
Davis have proved themselves pos-
sessed of genuine hospitality.
FRANK S. FAY.
Frank S. Fay, judge of the
Meriden Police and City courts, one
of the best known members of the
legal fraternity in Meriden, was born
at Marlboro, Mass., on September 26,
1848. His services on the bench have
ever been in the direction of justice
and impartiality and at the same time
he has been ready to help the unfor-
tunates whose cases have come before
him.
He received his education in the
hi^h school of his native town. After
being: graduated from that institu-
tion he came to Meriden to study law
in the office of his brother, Hon.
George A. Fay.
lie was admitted to the bar in Sep-
tember, 1 87 1. In his profession Mr.
Fay has met with deserved success.
As a citizen he is held in respect by
all- The interests of the city and
town have always been very dear to
him and by his word and example
he has done much for both.
He has held positions of honor and
responsibility and has in every in-
stance proved himself worthy of the
trust imposed upon him. From 1882
to 1893 he served as prosecuting
agent for New Haven county. I,atcr
as city attorney he made a record as a
vigilant and conscientious public ser-
vant. In 1891 he was town site com-
missioner in the Territory of Okla-
homa, deciding land titles for the city
of Oklahoma.
When Judge James P. Piatt be-
came United States district judge,
Mr, Fay succeeded him as judge of
the City and Police courts of Meri-
den, receiving his appointment from
Governor McLean in March, 1902.
Judge Fay has taken an interest in
his duties that has made his services
of great value to the community. He
has never forgotten that the prison-
ers who face him arc men and women
and oftentimes has felt it incumbent
upon him to give them a few words
of advice and admonition.
Judge Fay was chos«i one of the
members of the committee having in
charge the erection of a new building
to take the place of the Meriden
Town Hall, which was burned in Feb-
ruary, 1903. He has devoted much
time and thought to the arduous
work of the committee and has in
this matter worked for what he con-
ceived to be the best interests of
his fellow townsmen.
Judge Fay is an enthusiastic fisher-
man and yearly pays a visit to the
trout streams of Vermont or other
states.
Judqfe Fay was married on Septem-
ber 28, 1881, at Stuyvesant, N. Y., to
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
llizabeth B., daughter of Allen J.
id Martha (Cutter) Ham. His
jm is a most pkasant one and the
lends who have been privileged to
Iter it have ever met with a cordial-
» that was both earnest and sincere.
WILLIAM CARL MUELLER.
Wlliam Carl Mueller, a well known
ember of the New Haven County
oto by Akers A PigeoD.
WILLIAM C. MUELLER.
•. who has been favored by both
tion and appointment to several
itions of honor and trust, was bom
Germany, April 27, 1864. When
e young his family removed to this
ntry. and settled in Meriden in
4. After receiving a good educa-
, he pursued legal studies at the
Yale Law SchooU from which he
graduated in the class of 1886, and
was admitted to the bar at New Ha-
ven, June 30 the same year and ever
since has been engaged in the prac-
tice of his profession in Meriden. He
was admitted to practice in the dis-
trict and circuit court of the United
States in March, 1903.
He held the office of city tax col-
lector for four years, from 1888-1893
inclusive* and was collector of town
taxes for six years, during which time
he collected over $1,000,000. He has
also served as city attorney for the
city and police court of Meriden,
which duties he first assumed July i,
1893. He served as superintendent
of the water works for four years from
February, 1898. As well as being one
of the professional men of the town
of high standing, he is prominently
identified with several German so-
cieties; is a member of the Home
Club and the various branches of the
Masonic fraternity. He is now de-
voting his entire time to the practice
of law, in which he has been suc-
cessful.
He was married in June, 1895, to
Agnes, daughter of August Yost, a
prominent citizen of Meriden, and
they have one child, Carl Howard
Mueller.
HENRY T. KING.
One of the Board of Park Commis-
sioners of Meriden, a well known
member of the New Haven county
bar, and a citizen of the more progres-
Digitized by Google
572
A CKNTL'RY OF MKRIDKN.
sive type, is Henry T. King. He was
lM)rn in Meridcn. being: the son of P.
J. and E. M. King, and received his
early e<hicati(>n in the pul)Hc schools
of Meriden. and by spending six years
afterwards at the electrotyping trade,
accumulated sufficient money to pay
his own way through Yale Law
school.
IIKNKV T. KINt;.
He began the study of law, how-
ever, under the late Judge George W.
Smith, but after the death of that well
known attorney, entered the office of
Judge Wilbur F. Davis, where he con-
tinued to receive valuable coaching
during his attendance at the law
school. He was graduated with the
class of 1892, and among his high hon-
ors received there was the O. S. Sey-
mour prize of $60.00, for the greatest
improvement in scholarship.
Admitted to the bar in 1892, he be-
gan the practice of his profession in
his native city. Mr. King has Ix^conc
successful in his chosen profession,
due to his own commendable effort in
fitting himself for his life work.
Some years ago he served as one of
the reportorial staff of the Meridcn
Republican : was clerk of the Probate
court for the district of Mcriden for
six years, and prepared the index of
the probate records ; was for two years
clerk of the City and Police court : ha*
served the first ward as aldemian.
when he becaine chainnan of the Com-
mittees on By-laws, Printing and Po-
lice, and was a member and secretar)
of the first board of public worb.
During his service in the city govern-
ment, he took a firm stand against the
establishment of the various commis-
sions, and was chairman of the coun-
cil committee that a]ipeared before the
legislature in opposition to that meas-
ure. He later drafted the amendment
to the city charter, whereby the legis-
lature empowered the city of Meriden
to add Hubbard Park to its territor>.
and presented the act passed by the
city government which gave Hubbanl
Park its name. He was honored by
appointment to the Board of Park
Commissioners in Febniar>-, IQ06. for
a term of four years, the choice of
Mayor Thomas L. Reilly meeting with
the hearty approval of the public in
general.
.Attorney King served five years in
the state militia as a member of Com-
BIOGRAPHIES.
pany I, C. X. G., ami later was
elected second lieutenant, but on ac-
count of pressure of business, declined
the honor.
He was one of the founders and the
secretary of the Connecticut Federa-
tion of Cyclists ; one of the incorpo-
rators of the Meridcn Wheel club ; the
author of a most comprehensive book-
let containing the bicycle laws of Con-
necticut, with full explanatory notes ;
all of which have made him one of the
best known wheelmen of the state.
Mr. King is a mcmljcr of the Home
Club, and well known in social circles.
He is a thirty-second degree Mason,
being affiliated with Meridian Lodge,
77, A. F. & A. M., and all the higher
branches of the order in Meriden, New
Haven and Bridgeport. He is also a
member of Pyramid Temple, .Mystic
Shrine.
For many years he was actively
connected with the State Agricultural
Society. He is a member of St. Paul's
Universalist church, of which society
he has been clerk, assistant superinten-
dent of the Sunday school, and was the
first secretary of the Connecticut Y.
P. C. U. During the elaborate prepa-
rations made by the committee of cit-
izens for the centennial celebration of
the town, Mr. King rendered invalua-
ble service as secretary of the Commit-
tee on Publicity and the success of the
historic celebration is due in no small
measure to his zealous work for that
committee.
He was married November 28. 1894.
to Josephine, daughter of the late Jo-
seph Morse.
GEORGE L. KING.
George L. King, prosecuting agent
for New Haven county at Meriden,
and a well known attorney and coun-
selor-at-law, is a native of this town,
being the son of P. J. and E. M. King.
After receiving an early education in
the public schools of Meriden, he spent
a number of vears in the business of
Photo by Akers & Pigeon.
GEOKtlK L. KING.
wtx)d engraving, of which he became a
thorough master, and during that time
he made numerous illustrations for
leading magazines published in New
York and IJoston. He afterwards en-
gaged in business in Meriden as a
member of the firm of Foster & King.
By his skill as an engraver, the prac-
tice of strict economy and persever-
Digitized by Google
574
A CEMURY OF MKRiOEN.
ance, he accumulated sufficient money
to study for his profession and pay
his own way through Yale Law
School.
While at that institution he won the
unstinted praise of his instructors by
his success in his studies, which he
carried on after having vanquished
more obstacles than would have dis-
couraged the young man of ordinary
ambition. He was graduated at the
law school with the class of 1895, and
being admitted to the bar the same
year, began the practice of his profes-
sion in his native city, where he has
since continued.
In 1898 he was appointed to his
present office, prosecuting agent for
New Haven county at Mcridcii, and
his fearless conduct of that office has
met with success and general approval
by the people of the county.
Mr. King is a Mason, bein.^ .1 mem-
ber of Meridian Lodge, 77, A. V. & A.
M., and is also a member of Meridcn
Lodge, 35. Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks. He is a well known
figure in social circles, bein^^ a mem-
ber of both the Home and Colonial
Clubs, and an cx-])rcsident of the Mer-
iden Cycle Club. He is a meml^er of
St. Paul's Universalist church. Un-
like his brother. Attorney H. T. King,
a sketch of whom api)ears elscwlicrc,
and who is a Democrat, he is activclv
connected with Republican politics and
a prominent worker in ihe ranks of
that party. He is clerk of the Probate
court for the Di'^trict of Mi-ridcn. and
has also served a.s assistant clerk of the
City and Police corrt of Meriden. and
enjoys the reputation of having div
patched the duties of the offices to
which he has been honored with ef-
ficiency and without the display ci
either fear or favor.
He was married in May. 1896^ to
Ada F., daughter of Mr. and Mr>
Charles H. Wright, of Xorwoixi
Mass.
P. T. O BRIEX,
Patrick T. O'Brien, attornev at law.
of Meriden, was born at New Britain.
November 16, 1868. He is ot Iri^b
descent and one of nine sons of Johr.
M. and Mary (Corbett) O'Bricji, wh
came to this country froiTj Ireland ami
settled in New Britain in 1855 where
the family has ever since resided
Their son received a good education
He first attended the public schools of
his native town. In 1885 he entered
St. Charles College, Ellicott City. Md.,
where he took three years of his acad-
emic course. He completed his class-
ical studies at Holy Cross college.
Worcester, Mass., from which he
graduated in the class of 1891. Af-
ter teaching school one year at Tane>-
town. Md., he accepted a professor-
ship in Greek, Latin and P'nglish at
l l|)i|)hany college, Baltimore, where he
was one of the facultv for two years.
At the end of that time he began to
study for the legal profession and af-
ter taking a two years' course at the
New York Law school. New York
City, received the degree of LL. B.
That he might be still better prepared
Digitized by GcQgle
BIOGKAl'lilES.
575
r practice he entered the law office
Judge Wilhani F. Henney, who in
105 was mayor of Hartford, where
■ read law for one year. Mr.
I'.rieu was admitted to the bar in
:ic, 1898, at which time he came to
criden. opened an office and has
acticcd here since. He is faithful
Ills clients, fair to his opponents,
nest to the court.
boto by iUwr* A PIsmd.
PATRICK T. O'bRIEN.
Outside the court room he has a
rful disposition which makes him
vorite with his brother practition-
He is a member of the Elks,
lolic Benevolent Legion, T. A. B.
:ty. Amaranth Gub and Division
ncient Order of Hibernians. He
taken part in the Centennial cel-
ebration of the Town of Meriden, hav-
ing served as a member of the Com-
mittee on Licenses and Privileges.
He is unmarried.
A. R AUiJRKV.
Alfred Bailey Aubrey, attorney at
law, is one of the younger men of the
town who has won a measure of suc-
cess and owes the same to his own ef-
forts. He was born in Meriden April
20. 1878, and has always lived here.
He attended the local public schools,
took a four years' course at the High
school in three years and graduated
with honors with the class of 1897.
During his attendance at the public
schools he won a gold watch at the
grammar and a Hicks prize at the
High school, all of which reflectel
much credit upon him ; as he lost much
time from his studies on account of ill-
ness. During his attendance at the
High school he was editor of the High
School Pennant and, during his last
year, of the class Annual.
He began the study of law in the
office of Henr>' Dryhurst, but shortly
after entered the Law school of Yale
University, from which he was grad-
uated in June, 1901. The same month
he passed the bar examinations and,
being admitted to practice, opened a
law office in the Hall & Lewis build-
ing. As a practitioner, he has been
successful almost from the start and
now has a large and rapidly increas-
ing business.
He has been much honored by elec-
tion to public office. In 1901 he was
uiyiii^ca by Google
A CENTURY OF MKRIDK.X.
chosen a member of the Common
Council from the fourth ward, serv-
ing two years ; was, in 1902, elected
rep^istrar of voters and now serves his
fourth term in that capacity : has been
chairman of the Republican City com-
mittee since 1902; is assistant clerk of
the Mcriden City and Police Courts,
and is one of the trial justices of the
town.
I'hoto by Akers a IMgeon.
AI-FUEO 1!. AUnKKV.
He is a prominent member of Al-
fred H. Hall Council, Royal Arcanum,
havinf^ filled all the offices within the
gift of that council and is now past
regent and rci)roscntative to the Grand
Council of Connecticut. He is also a
member of Meridian Lodge, 77, A. F.
& A. M., and Keystone Chapter, 27,
R. A. M., and is a charter meinberoi
the Arcanum Club, now the Coloniil
Club.
He is also prominent in local mifi*
tary circles, being conmiissioned a .sec-
ond lieutenant of Company L. Second
Infantry. C. X. G., of which company
he was one of the organizers. He is
a member of and the attorney for the
Meriden lUisiness Men's .Association,
and stands well as a member of tht
.\"ew Haven county bar. He is jx.^
ular among the citizens of the xown,
the best interests ot which he never
tires in promoting.
lAMES T. KAY.
James Thomas Kay was bom i3
Princeton, X. J., June 21, 1848, and
is of Scotch descent. His father was
a prominent sea captain, the owner oi|
several coasting vessels and also ex-
tensively engaged in the lumber bus-
iness and a builder who removed wiuh
his family to Charles City count)-, r.^-ar
Richmond. \"a., in the early '50s. H-s
son accompanied him frequently on
his coasting vessels and inherite<i a
love for the water which has clung toj
him to the present time.
James T. Kay leame^l the trade of.
a plumber in 1866, in Xew York City
where he worked as a joume>Tnan un-
til 1 87 1. Coming to Meriden at the
latter date, he went to work tor .Alex-
ander Duncan. Meriden's pioneer
plumber, but the following year he
engaged in business for himself, in a
small way, with gradually increasimr
Digitized by Google
RIOdRAPHIES.
577
5\iccess. At the present day he is
possessed of one of the larger plumb-
ing establii?hments of the state and
employs a large number of men, and,
Viaving been established for thirty-
four years, now does business on a
"large scale. His store on State street
is loo feet deep and in the rear is a
well e<iuipped workshop containing
every labor-saving device.
Photo by Akers Sc Pigeon.
JAMES T. KAY.
Mr. Kay is well and favorably
known in business circles and is
active in fraternal life. He is also a
valued member and treasurer of the
Main Street liaptist church : one of
the two remaining charter members
of Pilgrims* Harbor Council. Royal
Arcanum : was the first named in the
37
charter of the original Columbia
Council, O. U. A. M., in which he
passed through the various chairs ; a
member of Meridian Lodge, 77, A. F.
& A. M., and the other Masonic
bodies of Meriden, including St. Elmo
Commandery. K. T. ; he is also a mem-
ber of Pacific Lodge, L O. O. F. ;
Home Club ; the Meriden Busi-
ness Men's Association ; served five
years in Company ], C. N. G., from
which he retired a corporal in 1878 ;
a member of the \ew England Order
of Protection and one of the directors
of the Meriden Permanent B. & L.
Association. He is also a member of
the Middletown Yacht Club, has a
summer cottage at Bran ford and sails
a comfortable and speedy naphtha
launch.
He was married in 1876 to Mary
A. Cioodrich. of .^^outhport. Conn.,
widow of the late (leorge \V. Ciood-
rich, who served in the Civil war, to
which union have boon born Eva, who
marrie<l Phineas T. Ives, of Meriden.
and I'Vank E., associated with his
father in business. ( )thcr members of
his household have been, ( leorge A.
(loodrich, stepson, who died in I'eb-
ruary. 1903. and his widow and chil-
dren. Ralph and Helen E. (iood-
rich. wh(» continue to reside in the
home of Mr. Kav.
— i
1. B. HYATT.
Isaac lieach Hyatt, chief of the
Meriden Fire Department, who has
served almost ctiUtinuously in that
Digitized by Google
578
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN'.
capacity since 1879, is a native of
Norwalk. lie is a son of Roswell
and Elizabeth ( Curtis)Hyatt. He
comes of good old New England
stock through both lines of descent
and was born February 2, 1848. He
was educated in the public schools
of his native town, and enlisted for
service in the Civil War, in Co. A,
17th Conn. \'ols. Infantry, in Tan-
Photo by Akern ft PIk«od.
I. n. IIVATT.
uary, 1864. and after seeing active
service, was honorably discharged
when peace was declared. July. 1865.
He came to Meriden in 1867 and
began business life by learning the
tra<le of a britaniiia worker at the
factory of Parker & Casf)er. now oc-
cupied by Manning. I'lnwman & Co.
He became a member of the firm of
Little, Soniers & Hyatt in 188
which concern became incorporate
in January. 1904. and olF which he
has since been secretary and trea>-
urer.
Mr. Hyatt's record at the head of
the kx-al fire department is most
creditable and his service has been j
con<lucive to the best interests of '
the town. His long experience as
a fire fighter has made him weD
known throughout the state.
also holds an honorable position in
the Connecticut State Firemen*
Association of which he has served
as presitlent two terms. He is also
a member of the Connecticat Firt
Chiefs' club. His knowledge of the
buildings of Meriden, especiall\
those where the greatest danger of j
fire exists, is most comprehensive.
The precauti(Mis against fire as urgoi
by him to citizens and the mem-
bers of the department, which he
has so well organized, have done
much to lower Meriden's loss from
fire. During the many years that
he has been chief, much new
paratus has been purchased and the
department has been brought Iq a
high standard of efficiency, the pr
tection against fire being as securi
in Meriden as in any other citr in
the state.
Socially Mr. Hyatt is widely"]*"*
uli.r. especially in the Grand Army
where he has been frequently hon-
ored with high offices, from com-
mander of Merriam Post of Meriden
to department commander of the
oogle
I
(IROL l* OF FOKMKR RKSIDIINTS n|- MI.KIDKN.
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
State. As n business man and pub-
lic-spirited resident he stands Iiigh
*n the cotnmtmity, a position he has
achieved by an honorable business
career, interest in local affairs, and
good fellowship. He has for many
years been a member and has also
served as president of the Meriden
Business Men's Association. He is
affiliated with Meridian Lodge, 77,
A. F. & A. M., the Home Club and
the Colonial Club. He has bee twice
married, first to Annie £. Chalmer»
died Nov. 15, 1874, and to that
union two dn'Idren were born,
who died in infancy : second to
Jennie M. liishoj). of Meriden,
daiii^liter of Charles E., and Emily
I'.isluip. July 5, 1877, and to that
union six children have been born
as fc>llows: I'lanche May. Roswell
IJishop. W illard Curtis, Helen
Elizabeth, Isaac Robert and Allen
Rufus.
WILLIAM H. MILLER.
William H. Miller, postmaster of
Meriden frotn i88^'> to 1890, was bom
at Rumapoy Works, Rockland Co.. X.
Y., April 29, 1822 and died at Meri-
den, October 16, 1904. He attended
private school until he was sixteen
years old when he entered the works
of the Colt's Patent Firearms Co.,
Paterson, X. J., to learn the trade of
a gunmaker and continued until 184 1
when he became employed by the
Ames Mfg. Co., in the manufacture
of the jencks breech loading car-
bine. Two vears later he went to
Mill Creek, Pa., in Nipps Annory and
made muskets for the govermnent, lat-
er going to Cincinnati to make to v~
and start up the rifle tactor>' of John
Griffith who had a contract with the
government to make 5,000 rifles ; and
in 1845 ^ 'w^t to Chicopee, Mass.. to
work on pin machinery. The follow-
ing fall he entered the Springfield Ar-
mory to work on tools for a new car-
bine, in the summer of 1846 being en-
gaged by Col. Samuel Cok, at
Whitneyville. this county, liter going
with him to Hartford, Conn., as a con-
tractor of lock works for pistols.
With Joshua Stevens he made an m-
provement in revolving: pistols whkh
they had patented; and in 1849 iht;
formed the M assachusctts Afius Ci.<~
at Chicopee Falls. Mass., and engaged
in the manufacture of tfwse pistols ic
%vhicli Mr. Miller continued uacil 1862
when he wzs en^ag^ed to ^^f^iw su-
perintendent o{ the giOT factor} in
Meriden of l^arker. Snow, Brooks &
Co. In 1864 and 1865 be;|B|^e sev-
eral inventions and improvtisSfe
firearms. incUuling that of tSc cele-
brated Parker shotg^ and afftcrwatis
with his brother. Geoi^ge \\\ Miller,
present first selectman of Meriden. in-
vented a cartridfje extractor after-
wards used in the Springfield muskrt.
In 1868, in company with his broth-
er, he engaged in the mannfactnre of
pocket cntUrv which in 1870 became-
the Miller EIros. Cutlery Co., in which
he continued until 1885.
He was married in February. 1850.
to Jane A. Havens, of Hartford.
Conn., and to that marriage the fol-
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
owinp^ children were born : Ida Louise
.nd Arthur Howard.
He is survived by both widow and
hildren, all residents of Meriden,
F. D. RAPKLVK.
Frederick Dewey Rapelye. Meriden
gent of the Adams Express Co.. was
)orn in Xew Britain. May 6. 1858.
W
^1
4
V
*hoto by Akers & Pigeon
F. D. RAPELYE.
le is the son of Andrew and Antoi-
lette Rapelye and his parents are still
ivitig in New Dritain. He is of
rcnch descent on his father's sicle. but
lis mother is of the old Hart family
)f Connecticut. He was educated in
he public schools of New Britain and
:onchided his schoolinjj at Prof,
ramp's private seminary.
He entered the employ of the com-
pany, in which he now holds a most
important position, in 1879, after hav-
ing worked a short time in a well-
known factory of New Britain. By
careful attention to his duties as a
driver at the company's office in New
Britain, in 1892 he received the ap-
pointment as messenger with head-
quarters at the company's office at
Hartford, afterwards filling various
important positions until 1891, when
he was transferred to the Meriden of-
fice to succeed I. E. l>each as way bill
clerk. His conscientious work in this
capacity won him promotion to the po-
sition of cashier in which he succeeded
William H. Morgan, who retired from
the office on account of ill health.
Upon the death of Charles N. Wins-
low, whose decease is recorded else-
where in this book, Mr. Rapelye was
appointed agent. January 2, 1905.
Mr. Rapelye is a thorough business
man whose long experience in the ex-
press service has been of benefit to the
numerous patrons of the large corpo-
ration whose local interests he super-
intends. He is a member of Center
Lodge. 97, A. F. & A. M. ; Key-
stone Chapter. 27, R. .\. M.. and was
married November 5. 1891. to Lucy
Fellows, of Rhinebeck. N. Y. He at-
tends the Main Street Baptist church
and is a valued adopted citizen of Mer-
iden,
H. C. BIBEAU.
Henry C. Bibeau, commissioner of
public works and one of the more en-
582
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
terj)risin,tc merchants of Meridcii. has
rt siiled in this town nearly all his hfe.
His parents moved here when he waa
but three years of ape : and he was
educated in the local public schools,
graduating froni the Center school
in ]88i. Mr. Hibeau, like most young
men. fir-t tried other callings than
that which he was most fitted to carry
on before he struck his sphere in life.
After leaving school hv licgan bus-
iness as an apprentice at I'arker Bros,
gun shop, but his inclination for the
activity of mercantile life prompted
him. in 1882, to enter the exceedingly
well patronized grocery store at 17
Colony street, known as the Boston
Grocery and then conducted under the
name of C. N". Dutton & Co.. but which
was fir>t established in 1832. Some
years later he accepted the position
offered him as travelinpf salesman by
the Chapman Mfg. Co., who conducted
a busy factory in the matuifacture of
siiddlery hardware. Mr. Bibeau was
a decided success as a traveling man
and his services were highly appre-
ciated by that concern.
At the end nf \h^vc years he bought
a half interest lu the store where he
had formerly worked as a clerk, and
in H}02 bouj^ht out the remaining in-
terests and became the sole proprietor.
During the i)ast few years and under
his guidance the business of the estab-
lishment has largely increased. At
first but one-half of the store was
' ])i"ned to customers, the balance be-
nii: used for stornge •])utposes. but
■~\]\vv Mr. l?ilx*au '>ctnred his present
storehouse m the rear of the branch
store at the comer of Cook avencc
and Hanover street, the entire floor m
the Colony street store has been util-
ized for attending to the wants of cus-
tomers.
( )ther important additions to the
business have been that of a baking
department and a loldieii for which
purposes two stores on Baikoad ave-
nue were added to tlie quarters ocni-
pied. At the jireseql dijr Mr. Bil^au
lias a large trade ailWIHg; the leading
families of Meridcn id gfOCcries. < '-^
his attractive cottlrtm also foun !
delectable bakings, cooked meats, pu :
dings, etc., while a well ordered I r '
counter is also suiq[^d from cookmi;
done on the premises. He also do^
a large catering business in which be
enjoys an enviable reputation.
In 1902 he establislied a branch ston
at the comer of Cook avenue and Han
over street, which he still carries
successfully. Mr. Bibeau has show-n a
special ability as a business man an i
stands well in the community, where
he is known as an entc^^fkuig and
public spirited resident.
He is a member of Fij|grims' Hark r
Council. Royal Arcanum ; one of the
directors of the Meriden Board
Trade, and a member of the Meriden
lUisiness Men's Association,. Men ! ■
Butchers & Hrocers* Association an<:
also the Colonial Club. In Febniar\.
1906. he was appointed by May**:
Thos. L. Rcilly. a niemlK^r of the
Board of i^ublic Works for lour years,
and is one of the commissioners of thi-
city. He }ia< sh<»\vn not only compe-
tencv, but a heartfelt interest in citv
uiyiu^ed by Google
r
BIOGRAPHIES.
584
A CENTURY OF MERIDLN.
aflPairs of which he now assists in the
management.
JULIUS AUGUR.
Julius Augur, a reputable mer-
chant and one of the fire commis-
sioners of Meriden. was born in
Southington. February 26. 1846. He
Photo by Akors* & PIrpoii
JULIUS AUGUR.
is a son of Julius Smith Augur, born
in New Haven, February 7, 1813,
and Lavinia D., daughter of Xoah
and Fannie ( Uishoi)) Merriam. who
was born in Meriden November 8,
181 5. wiiere she died in i8<M. His
maternal grandfather was Noah
Merriam, a descendant of one of the
earliest settlers in this locality, and
who lived in what in later years
became known as the Goodwill
homestead, which stood on the site
of the present edifice of St. Joseph's
Church.
When quite young Julius Aii^r
was brought to Meriden by his par-
ents, but his family afterwards re-
moved to Durham where he resided
for seventeen years. At the ajje of
sixteen, and on August 8, 1862. Ik*
enlisted for the Civil War in G>ni-
j)any A, 15th Conn. \'ols. While
/jjuarding commissary stores at Long
Bridge, Arlington Heights, he was
taken sick and sent to the hospital
and after his recovery discharged
from service, February. 1863. He re-
enlisted in Company C. 7th' Regi-
me>it. Conn. \'ols.. then at St. Hel-
ena, serving until the close of the
war. July 20, 1865, and after his re-
turn from that service he served five
years in the state militia, as a mem-
ber of the Wadsworth Guards of
Durham in which he held the office
of sergeant.
He came to Meriden in 1867 and
became a clerk in the meat market
of S. C. Paddock, seven years later
engaging in the provision business
on his own account as a member of
the firm of .Augur & Gardner, and
for many years conducted a success-
ful business on Main street. This
partnership was dissolved in
when Mr. Augur received an ap-
pointment as street commissioner,
the duties of which he dispatched
for two vears thereafter. In i8<>8
Google
UIOGR.MMIIKS.
ic again engaged in the grocery
lid provision business at 23 and 25
-ewis avenue, which well patronized
tore he has ever since conducted with
^creasing success.
^Ir. Augur has a somewhat exten-
,i\'c public career. He was elected
I member of the board of aldermen
n 1893. and as such served four
»^ears. In 1896 he was appointed
;trcet commissioner for two years.
IS stated previously, and during the
id ministration of Mayor Seeley. was
ippointed a member of the board of
fire commissioners for four years,
as a member of which board he now
serves. Mr. Augur has been a
member of ^ferriam Post, 8, G. A.
R., since 1871. and in this he has
served as junior vice and senior vice
commander and also commander. He
has al.«o served the post as quarter-
master for fifteen years.
He was married Jan. 22, 1873 to
Nettie Eliza Smith, born at Xorth-
field. March 31, 1850, and daughter
of David Smith and Fidelia A. Par-
ker. To that marriage three chil-
dren were born as follows: Julius
Smith. February 2. 1881, now pre-
paring at seminary for Y. M. C. A.
work : .Agnes Fidelia, born May 2.
,1882: and Frank Miller Augur, born
December 2. 1883. and who is asso-
ciated in !)usiness with his father.
F. M. KIRRE.
Frank Marvin Kibbe. druggist of
Meriden. and one of the energetic
and responsible citizens of the town
was born in Hampden. Mass., then
South Wilbraham. April 28, 1866.
He is a direct lineal descendant of
John or Edward Kibbe. one of the
first English settlers in Connecti-
cut, and one or the other was the
first white child born in the town
of Enfield, and which town after-
Hhoto by Akors & PlReon
FRANK M. K 115 BE.
wards became largely populated by
the different branches of the Kibbe
family. When the subject of this
sketch was si.\ years old his father
moved to Enfield, where he ob-
tained his early education at the
Kibbe School, also at Suffield and
East Windsor.
After acquiring a good education
586
A CEMUKV OF MLKlUtX.
Mr. Kihbo cntert'cl the drug busi-
ness, in May. 1S84, at first as an
aj>prcntic<.' in the tlrug store of
W cs.scUs i^- (latcs at Litchfield.
He later, having fini>hed his ai)|)ren-
tioeship at Shannc»n"s drug stnre.
passed his examination at the
capitul. Hartford. 1 )c(.einher 6,
18X7. a^■ a registered pharmacist. He
liegan his creditable career as a li-
censed ilruggisl as a clerk in the
stnre of .\. W. Saw telle ^: Co., at
Hartford, afterwards becoming as-
sociated with the <lrug store of
(ieorge A. McCorkle. leaving the
latter tirm to engage in business
for himself in Meriden. which he
accomplished by purchasing the
drugstore of I'. W. Smith Drug Co.,
at 40 W est .Main street, and of
which business he became the pro-
prietor Xo\ ember 7, 1891. There he
remained and conducted a steadily
mcreasing business, gaining the
justly merited confidence of the
public and medical profession, until
May 28. i8<>8. when he was enabled
to remove to the present drug store
vvhicii he conducts under the name
of F. M. Kibbe & Co.. at 85 West
Nfain street. The store is one of
the finest of its line in Meriden or
vicinity, and a large business is
there transacted, not only in drugs
and medicines but in photographic
supplies and souvenir postal cards.
Owing to the increase in business,
Mr. Kibbc found it necessary in
1906 to enlarge the floor space of
the store, wliich had just been
completed. Mr. Kibbc is known
as one of the most trustworthy bu-i-
ne.ss men of the town, and stands
high in the business life of Meriden.
W bile he confines himself closciv
to business he is a member of sev-
eral fraternal organi;^ations. In lii-;
Masonic fraternity, he is connectt^i
with Center Lodge. 97. .-\. F. & A.
M. He is a member of Connecticut
Lo<lge 93. I. ( ). ( ). F., of H.irtfortl:
Colimibia C tumcil 5, C). U. A. M.;
Meriden Camp 77, Modern WohI-
men f>f America: and Alpha Lodgt.
4341, Knights of Hc»nor.
He married. Oct. 2, 1895, Aanit
E. W ebb of Meriden.
WiLBUK H. SQUIRE.
The analysis of American chancier
is, of course, more difficult than that
of English, although Mattiw Arnold
finds it hard enough to digifaMish he-
tween the Saxon and iMmi de>
ments in the blood of his cpiwitiyaien.
Once in a while, howev«p;^!ip|il posfi-
ble to discover even in Anierici» dis-
tinct traces of Teutonic or Roman or
Celtic ancestry. The subject ol this
sketch, for instance, shows a remarka*
ble inheritance from the Norman:
which should include, according to Ar-
nold, a broadness of intellect and
power of organization, mingled whh a
certain love of the unusual. Sudi a
t\'pe ser\'es as a leaven for the great
mass of our more slow-blooded^ plod-
ding, Saxon component.
Wilbur Henry Squire is the olde»f
Digitized by Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
5«7
son of the late William L. Squire, for
many years treasurer of the X. Y., X.
H. & H. Railroad Coni])any : he spent
his earliest years in Hartford, and
graduated from the high school there
in the class of 1876. Immediately af-
terward he came to Meriden and en-
tered the insurance agency of H. C.
Butler & Co. After Mr. Butler's
death he assumed charge of the busi-
W. H. SQUIRE.
ness, which has since been conducted
under the names of W. H. Squire &
Co. and The W. H. Squire Company.
At present it eml)races a money -order,
brokerage and .steamship agency, in
addition to the original fire under-
writing.
Mr. Squire's wide interests and en-
terprise will perhaps best be shown by
I
a brief enumeration of the organiza-
tions of which he is an active, and in
many cases a charter, member. He
has been treasurer, and is now chair-
man of the pew rental committee of
the First Congregational church. He
is a director of the Meriden Business
.Men's Association, vice-president of
the Colonial Club, a charter member of
the Home Club, a trustee of the Y. M,
C. A., a director of the First Meriden
lUiilding and Loan Association, audi-
tor of the City Mission, a member of
the .Meriden ( lolf club, a charter mem-
ber of A. H. Hall Council and the
( Irand Council, Royal Arcanum, a
member of the .Maccabees, the Wood-
men, and other fraternal orders, and
has been water tax collector, and city
tax collector for periods of two years.
He also has many business and social
connections outside the city limits.
.Among other things he is vice-presi-
dent of the Fire Insurance .\gents' As-
sociation of Connecticut, a veteran
member of the L. A. W., a member
of the X'eteran Corps, Co. K. First
Regiment, C. X. G. He was among
the original backers of the Meriden
public library movement, and of the
.\ew Haven cycle path extension.
.And finally, he is one of the three lead-
ing citizens of the West Peak "colony"
— a position of importance which none
can appreciate who have not spent a
night with him there.
JOHX. F. BUTLER.
A man whose service to the town
was ever exerted in the interest of
Google
588
A CKNTIKV OF MEKIDKN.
good government and citizenship
was John F. lUitler. He resided in
Meriden from earlv boyhood and at
the time of his death. Dec. 29, 1905,
was one of the vahied residents and
best known merchants and property
owners. He was born in Kilkenny,
Ireland in 1841 and, coming to this
country when he was quite young,
went to live in the family of the
Photo by Akrr8 & Pigeon
JOHN F. IR'TLF-R.
late W. W. Lyman, his education
being secured in the local public
schools. On the breaking out of
the Civil War he enlisted in the navy
and during his long and creditable
service, kept a diary which contains
an interesting story, well told, of
his experience on board battleships
in action. After the close of th€
war he engaged with Bela Carter in
the painting and decorating busi-
ness and with him he remained
for several years, gaining a thorougb
knowledge of the business. Later
he formed the partnership of Butler
& Larkin, their place of business
being in the Hicks building on Col-
ony street. After Mr. Larkin's death
he moved into the Wilcox hhycV
where he continued his business and
in 1892 organized a joint stock com-
pany taking a number of his em-
ployes into the corporation, which
through his able management has
become one of the largest in its line
in this section of the state. With
a progressive spirit always char-
acteristic of him, Mr. liutler in con-
nection with the Meriden Furniture
Co., in 1894, built the handsome
block on Colony street which the
John F. Butler Company now 'X-
cupy. A man of high aims, his suc-
ce.ss in business was the result of
untiring efforts and honorable busi-
ness methods. Besides the large
decorating business of which he was
the head he became possessed of
much real estate.
When St. Joseph's parish was set
apart from St. Rose's Parish he was
a prominent member. He took ac-
tive interest in the new parish and
served upon the building commit-
tee. While he never sought public
office, his good citizenship prompted
him in early life to join the volun-
teer fire department and in later
Google
BIOGRAPHIES.
years he was honored by being made
chief of the Meriden fire depart-
ment.
He was one of the organizers of
the Amaranth and CathoHc chibs
and also instrumental in forming
Washington Council, K. of C, hav-
ing been the first G. K. He was pos-
sessed of a kind heart, charitable
disposition and the faculty of mak-
ing and holding a large circle of
friends. He was married to Cath-
erine M. Neary of Naugatuck in
1885, who died in 1891. His second
wife was Mary F. Conlon of
Berlin and their two children, Wil-
liam Ormonde, and Faith Marion,
survive him. His funeral, held at
St. Joseph's Church. Jan. i, 1906,
was largely attended by men promi-
nent in public and business life and
also by many whose lives Mr. Butler
had made brighter by acts of kind-
ness and wisely distributed charity.
H. E. BUSHNELL.
Henry E. Bushnell, a leading mer-
chant engaged in the grocery, bottled
goods and baking business in Meri-
den for the past twenty-two years, and
who conducts a large double store of
two stories at 75 and 79 West Main
street, is a native of Westbrook,
Conn., where he was born March 28,
1855. He is a son of E. L. Bush-
nell and Lydia O. Bushnell and he
comes from a well known Connecti-
cut family. From boyhood he has
been associated with the grocery bus-
iness and his marked success in Mer-
iden has come from a small beginning,
but wholly deserved.
It was in 1884 that he began busi-
ness on his own account, after having
served for some years as a clerk, and
had established a reputation for in-
dustry, economy and personal popu-
larity. It was in a small portion of his
present large establishment and with
Photo by Akern & P\geon
H. E. BUSH. NELL.
one clerk and one team, his career as
a merchant began : his honest meth-
ods and his disposition to give his cus-
tomers the best goods at the lowest
prices have assured his success from
the start. With his increased trade,
his quarters have become gradually
enlarged and greatly improved.
He afterwards bought the block
wliich he now occupies largely and
J i^uo 1 y Google
590
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
later erected a larp^e storeliouse adjoin-
ing the \. v.. X. H. & H. R. R. tracks,
in which he has conducted a whole-
sale business. Mr. Bushnell has nev-
er spared money or expense in mak-
ing^ his business establishment attrac-
tive, and in 1900 doubled the size of
ilcep. by 50 feet in width, and cun
tains a large stock of fancy and >u
pie groceries, bottled wintrs. and
uors ; and a large baking business hz
been done by him for the past deca<lc
the baking being done on the preni
ises. The bottled goods departmen
Photo by R. S. Go<lfrev.
BUSH NELL BUILDING.
his Store, by cutting through to the
adjoining store, No. 75 West Main
street, and fitting it up as befitted a
first-class grocery stt)re, the goods of
which are suitable for the highest class
of trade. The store is now 100 feel
has been carried on by Mr. Bushnell
for the past three years, since which
time he has supplied his trade with
the best of goods of the kind. HU
store is the largest and most commod-
ious in its line w ithin a radius of many
I Google
BIOGKAPHIKS.
iniles, a large order business is done,
and numerous delivery teams arc kept
constantly busy, calling for and de-
livering orders among the first fami-
lies of the town and adjacent terri-
tory.
Mr. Bushnell has learned the wants
of a discriminating patronage and his
goods may always be relied upon as
the best the market affords. He has
a natural aptitude and is a careful
buyer and one who keeps well posted
in the interests of a large trade which
he controls. He is a man of strong
personality and his courteous attention
to patrons is reflected in marked de-
gree by the large number of clerks he
employs. Mr, Bushnell is one of the
merchants of the town who can al-
ways be counted upon to show a In^na
tide interest in the Kxrality where he
resides and does business. He is a
member of the Meriden Board of
Trade and Business Men's Associa-
tion and is enrolled in the membership
of the various Masonic Ixidies of the
town, including St, Elmo Command-
ery, K. T. He is also a member of the
Royal Arcanum, Elks, and the Home
and Colonial Clubs of Meriden.
He was 2 married in 1880 to
Lizzie Ray. daughter of B. P. an<l
Mary A. Ray. and they have one child.
C. F. FOX.
Christian Frederick Fox. a resi-
dent of good repute and well quali-
fied for the conduct of successful
business, enjoys the distinction of
being the first individual in the his-
tory of the town to achieve success
in the manufacture of bologna, fraiik-
furt and German sausages. He was
born in Koenigsbrunn, Germany.
December 14. 1861 wdiere his father,
Frederick was a manufacturer of
lumber. When he was fourteen
years old his i)arents removed with
him to New ^'ork City where he be-
Ph-yt^ by Akeps & Pineon
C. F. F(»X.
gan to learn the business of sausage
making. Eight years later he re-
moved to Worcester where he re-
mained until 1885 and then having
marrie<l. he removed to Xorwich.
Conn.. wluTo he engaged in business
in his present line as a meniber of
the firm of Fox & Weigert.
In 1888 the firm established a
Digitized by Google
592
A CENTURY OF MRRIDEN.
Store in Mcridcn, Mr. Fox becoming
the resident partner but he afterwards
bt>u|^ht out Mr. W'eigert's interest
here and has since conducted the
business alone. In the conduct of
this large and prosperous business
he has been ablv assisted bv his
wife and son. and he has made a
somewhat remarkable business rec-
Photo by Akerw & Pigeon
A -\' DREW F. FOX.
ord. I'.y fair dealing and the manu-
facture of pure goods in the deli-
catessen line to which he has always
devoted his efforts he has built up
a trade covering a large territory.
In i()05 he erected at the corner of
West Main and lUitler streets where
he now resides, an imposing business
block which building bears his name.
He is a member of Meridian Lodj^.
77, A. F. & A. M.. Keystone Chap-
ter 27, R. A. M., St. Elmo Cora-
mandery, 9, K. T., and Pyramid Tem-
ple, Mystic Shrine: also of Court
Schiller, 117, A. O. F. and seven!
other social and fraternal socieiicf.
He was married December 24,
1883 to Emma R. Dason of Worces-
ter and they have one living son.
Andrew F. Fox, associated with hi>
father in business, and who marrieil
Maude Graham of Meriden.
EDWARD TREDEXXICK.
Edward Tredennick, merchant tail-
or and one of the more favorabl}
known young business men of Meri-
den, was bom in Cheshire. Januan 19.
1870. He is one of a family of twelve
children, nine of whom at this writing
are living, and a son of Xicholas an«l
Elizabeth .\nn (Hall) Tredennick.
His parents, sturdy, industrious. Eng-
lish people, came to Connecticut about
1869. from Halifax. Canada, where
they had eiuigrated some years pre-
vious.
During his early days, Edward Tre-
dennick lived in Cheshire : but when
he was fourtt*en, the family came to
Meriden and have ever since been
identified with this town. He. there-
fore, concluded his education in Mer-
iden. After leaving school he learned
the trade of a garment cutter, and
when he was twenty-one years old, in
1891. he engaged in business for him-
self, and has continued successfully
from the start, achieving a high
BIOGRAPHIES.
593
reputation in his business. During
the past seven years he has occupied
quarters in the Byxbee block, Colony
street, and his customers include many
of tlie leading citizens of Meriden and
vicinity.
Photo by Akers A Pigeon
EDWARD TKRDENNICK.
Mr. Tredennick is well known in
5K)cial circles, being a member of the
Home Club. Meriden Golf Club and
Meriden Wheel Club: and in fraternal
circles is a popular member of the .'Al-
fred H. Hall Council. Royal Arcanum.
During the preparations for the Cen-
tennial celebration, he has served as a
member of the committee of citizens as
chaimian of the sub-conmiittee of golf,
of which game he is an authority.
He was married .Mav 5. 1896. to
38
Helvitia, daughter of the late Peter
and Edith (Coe) Lucchini, and resides
at the Coe Castle.
WILLIAM W^\LLACE LEE.
William Wallace Lee was born in
Harkhamsted, Connecticut, July 20,
1828. He came to Meriden in 1862
and was employed as a machinist by
Edward Miller & Co. continuously un-
til his death on September 14. 1903.
Mr. Lee was actively identified with
Photo by Akers ft Pigeon
WILLIA.M WALLACE LEE.
the public and fraternal affairs of the
city during the twoscore of years that
he was a resident of Meriden. He
held various public offices : was alder-
man from the Fifth ward for four
years and a representative to the Gen-
Digitized by Google
594
A CENTURY OF MKRIUEN.
eral Assembly in 1885 and 1886.
Mr. Lee became a member of the
Sons of Temperance at the aj^e oi
eighteen, held nearly every office 111
the order and was a member of the
national organization for thirty-five
years. He held the office of grand
master of Odd Fellow^ in 1877 and
1878. Mr. Lee was made a Mason in
1852 and was knighted in St. Elmo
Commandery in Meriden in 1874; was
grand master of Connecticut in 1874
and 1875: was one of tlie organizers
of the Masonic X'eteran association oi
the state and its president for twenty-
five years.
Mr. Lee devoted a vast amount of
time to genealogical matters, was one
of the principal compilers and erhtors
of the John Lee genealogy puhh>he*l
in 1897. and its sup|)lenicnl a lew \ears
later; also organizer and treasurer of
the Lee Associati(jn.
Mr. Lee is survived by a widow,
Mary J. ( Carrington ) Lee. and a
daughter. .Mrs. Ldwin E. Smith, of
this citv.
SIG. BERNSTEIN.
Sigmund Bernstein, one of the
best known citizens of Meriden. and
proprietor of a large clothing estab-
lishment, was born in the town
of Lissa. Prussia. July 31, 1849. a
son of Jacob and Jennette.
Having long possessed a desire to
see the Xew World, he left his fam-
ily and friends in 1864, finally locat-
ing at Haverstraw. X. Y., where he
accepted a position in the clothing
store of Jacob liauiu, and in 1871
was taken into partnershiij. Mr
Damn being engaged in the manu-
facture of brick. Mr. Bernstein \va>
left in charge of tlie store. In Se}-
tembcr. 1877. Mr Rernstein canie V'
.Meriden and purchased the estab-
h>]unent of Morris Levy. Enlarg-
ing the business, he now operate!^
one of the largest clothing and
custom tailoring houses in New
England. Mr. Bemsteia is one oi
the most liberal men in every
respect, and believes in conductint;
his business on broad methods. H<
has given away thousands of dollar^
as prizes in guessing contests. an<3
other ingenious ways of advertising.
One scheme was a "button guess-
ing" contest with a valuable prize
awarded to the one who guessed th«
correct number. To give the
scheme proper eclat he gave a ban-
quet at one of the leading hoteb to
which 125 leading citizens were
invited, including Mayor E. J. Dod-
little, the common coi*ncil. all the
town and city officials and a number
of state dignitaries. Practically alt
invited responded. The buttons wre
counted at the banquet by the mayor
and the council members.
Mr. Bernstein was one of the first
clothiers to organize mackintosh
clubs. The unique method he took
to conduct the scheme gave him
wide newspaper publication without
great expenditure. The first pav-
ing stone laid in Meriden was pre-
Digitized by GoQgle
UrCKJRAI'IIlES.
595
>entcd by him to Mayor Ives and
[>ut <lown on Main Street opposite
Lhc Journal office, eng^raved with his
name and date. W hen the electric
road was opened Mr. Bernstein
^avc the first trolley ride between
Meriden and W'ailinjjford to the
newsboys and another to the clerks
oi the stores.
In iSf)/ Mr. Bernstein purchased
Photo by Akers & PlRCon.
s 1 ( ; M i; M > 15 K u .\ s ri: I .\ .
a tract of tiiirty-rtve acres, then
known as the Holconib place.
He laid c»ut the streets and turned
the waste tract into a beautiful resi-
dence district. Jndfje Levi Coe.
who was then mayor, sujjjjested for
it the name of Bernstein Heights
\vhi:h was accepted. Mr. liern-
stein has ^Wcn away twentv lots of
that property and has constructed
several handsome residences these
fitted with all modern conveniences.
A reservoir with a capacity of 1.500-
000 gallons has been built. He with
.Aufifust Schmelzer. also purchased a
tract of land at Kensinj^ton Heights,
and they have built several hand-
.some residences in that locality.
Mr. Bernstein has traveled widely
both in this country and abroad.
In 1891 he and Mrs. liernstein spent
the summer in England. France and
(iermany. He again made a Euro-
pean trip in i8<;7. bringing his aged
mother to this country with him.
This incident illustrates one of his
characteristics. He was the oldest
of si.x children and when he left
home in the fatherland at the age
of sixteen years he promised his
mother he would make places across
the Atlantic for his brothers and sis-
ters and for his i)arents as well.
This pledge, like every one he has
since made, he kept. Fn^m time to
time he has foun<l an opening for
one broliur after another and
brought them to this country with
his earnings. In ,i8<>7 he was pre-
paring to bring his aged parents
across the sea when he was inform-
ed of the death of his father. In
twelve days he was in the ancestral
home in (iermany. arranging to
brijig his mother to this country and
thus fulfil the pledge of his youth.
On October 27. 1878. in Xew
York he was married to Jen-
Google
596
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
nie Baum, who was born in Sey-
mour, Conn., a daughter of Jacob
Baum, senior member of the firm of
Baum & Bernstein, and to that mar-
riage these children have been born :
Algernon J., Louisa, Daisy, Mel-
ville, Frances and Jacqueline.
MICHAEL KEATLNG.
Michael Keating, grocer, real
estate owner and a former alderman
of Meriden. and who has been a
good citizen of the town since 1875.
was born Ajiril i, 1849, at Xew End.
Tipperary. Ireland. His parents,
Richard and Alice Keating, conduct-
e<l a farm and their son did chores
about the home and obtained his ed-
ucation in the district sch()()l.
At seventeen, after immigrating
to this country, he went to South
W'iiidliam to learn his trade, that of
a machinist. He afterwards was
employed at the works of the Colt's
Repeating .Arms Co., and later in
IVatt & Whitney's at Hartford, but
finally came to Meriden and entered
Parker Bros. Gun Shop, where he
remained for a period of three years.
At the end of that time he began
an honorable business career, by en-
gaging in the retail shoe business
in a store located in the Meriden
House block, and where as a mem-
ber of the firm of Keating & Hurley,
he conducted a prosperous business
in that line..
In 1889 he erected a brick busi-
ness block at the corner of West
Main street and Windsor avenue,
and upon its completion removed
thereto, occupying the upper floor,
one-half of the first floor and base-
ment for a store and eng^aging in the
grocery business. The building of his
present block in what was then a
sparsely settled district was consid-
ered by many a hazardous under-
taking, but in later years the town
MICH.XEL KEATING.
grew largely west and it has been
proven that Mr. Keating's foresight
was keen.
During his twenty-seven years in
the grocery business in his present
location, he has built up a profitable
business and has always had a fine
hold on the confidence of the pubhc
I y Google
BIOGKAPHIES.
597
IS a result of honorable business
lealtng^s. Gradually he has invest-
ed in real estafe, and has erected
Enany dwellings in the vicinity of
his store, especially on Windsor
%vnue. all of which have bee«*
louses possessing modern conven-
iences and add to the appearance of the
locality. Some of these have been
rented by him and others sold.
He was elected in 1881 a member
of the board of aldermen and served
for two years in the city govern-
ment Mr. Keating is a member of
Meriden Lodge, 35, Benevolent &
Protective Order of Elks, and Genoa
Council, Knights of Columbus.
He is married to Annie, daughter
of Patrick Malloy and they have had
two daughters, Alice and Annie, aged
seventeen and thirteen respectively.
MYRON S. WHITE.
The oldest family in Xew England
is that of White. William White was
one of the iMayflower party and his
-son the first white chihl born in Xew
England. He was called Peregrine, a
name si^^nifying. "A pilgrim in a
strange land. * William White died
in the first winter. His sons. Pere-
grine antl Resolved, lived to be impor-
tant members of the colony. The cra-
'lle of FVregrine is now in Pilgrim
Hall, Plymouth.
Myron .S. White, son of Nathaniel
White and Eliza Peck, both of N t-
folk. Conn., was born Aug. 12. 1824,
of lineal descent from Peregrine.
Ho departed this life at the Borough
of Brooklyn, New York City. August
3, 1905. At the time of his death he
was a member of St. John's Methodist
Church in IVooklyii. He learned his
trade with the Russell & Erwin Foun-
dry Co., and became foreman for
Emory I'arker at Meriden. Called to
New York, he took charge of the large
business of Mackrill & Richardson,
with whom he was connected for
seven years. He constructed the iron
work and placed it in position for the
first subway under Broadway, extend-
ing from Astor House to Chambers
street, which was an index finger
pointing to the present system. As
junior member of the iron foundry of
Demorest & White, he laid the foun-
dations for a successful business ca*
reer. Cpon retiring from business
connected with iron foundries, he next
became associated as New York agent
with the cutlery house of Landers,
Frary & Clark, with whom he re-
mained continuously twenty-seven
years. Prior to i860 Mr. White was
favorably known in business circles in
•Meriden and yearly visits to his old
home kept him interested in Meriden
affairs. In 1S51) lie married Caroline
Beckley, of l»eckley Quarter, Berlin,
the youngest daughter of Solomon
Beckley and Lucretia Evans, who
now survives him.
Mr. White |>''^-' ssed a mre execu-
tive ability, whicli K ntributed to his
business success. He had a charming
personality. Meriden was ever dear to
him. his early home and where he be-
gan his business career. His last re-
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MKRIDEN'.
MYRON S. WHITE.
BIOGRAI'HIES.
599
quest was to sleep in Walnut Grove
cemetery amid the hills he loved so
well.
WILLIAM WOODLEY.
W illiam Woodley. a leadinj? florist
of this city, was born December 31,
1852. in Kcchin^^swell. Hampshire,
Kn.^land.
Flioto by Akers & Pigeon.
WILLIAM WnjiDLKY.
His boyhood after he was nine years
of age. furnishes a story where hard
work was a factor. His father dietl
when he was four and his education
in the public schools of Hampshire
was limited to a very brief period. Ai
a time when most children are being
tenderly guarded and care is un-
known, the little fellow was struggling
with his small, to him, big, problem
of existence. .\t the age of eleven he
was employed in the garden of Squire
William Kingsmill, whose wife was a
daughter of the .\rchbishop of Can-
terbury. Four years later he was en-
gaged as assistant gardener by Scpiire
Arln thnot, a position he retained un-
til he was seventeen.
Meantime won<lerful accounts of
the rise and progress of poor boys in
the I'nited States reached his ears,
in that far away country where all
men are created free and e(|ual the
youth reared a castle in the air for
himself, but he had no money for the
passage. He did have a friend, how-
ever, who was willing to provide the
necessjiry funds.
Landing in Xew York in 1871 he
sofm made his way to Meriden. His
own struggles had strengthened that
moral regard for a financial obliga-
tion and within a year he managed to
save enough to repay his loan. In
1872 he became Isaac C. Lewis* gar-
<kncr and held that position twenty-
one years. In 1893 he |)urchased his
present property, corner liroad an<l
Silver streets, where he has engaged in
floriculture ever since.
Mr. Woodley married Eliza .\. Da-
vey. a native of Devonshire, England,
but at the time of marriage residing
in Torrington. Conn. Their two
daughters are Emma Louise, assistant
librarian in the Curtis .Memorial Li-
brary, and Harriet L.. who married
Erwin M. Heebe. in the fall of 1905.
He is a member of Center Lodge,
97, A. F. & A. M., a leading member
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6oo
A CENTURY OF M£RtDEN.
of Pilgrims* Harbor Council, 543,
Royal Arcanum. He is one of the
three who organized Court Silver
City, 7060, A. O. F.y and is a
charter member of Court Meriden,
42. Mr. Woodley*s success in
floriculture convinces one of the verity
that where a man*s inclinations and
heart are there will be his best work.
The fKirt that he has long played in
the life of Meriden has made him a
leader in his particular line.
THE COE FARM.
With its famous history, hospitality
and excellence of garden, orchard and
dairy products, the Coe Farm is pre-
eminently one of the most celebrated
and valuable agricultural properties
in Connecticut. The farm is situated
just beyond the city limits in the Han-
over district and reached by a ten
minute ride in the street cars. The
farm comprises 300 acres, formerly
owned by the late Andrew J. Coe,
and 125 acres leased of the Wm. L.
Bradley estate adjoining, and the soil
has ever been kept in a high state of
cultivation. The beauties of land-
scape make it a delightful spot to be
visited, and its close proximity to the
business center provides a most con-
venient source of supply to the local
markets.
The farm once owned by the late
Ebenezer Peck, a retired sea captain,
and later by Captain Cowles, was pur-
chased by Calvin Coe in 1821. He
married and took up his residence
there in the old homestead now occu-
pied'by Victor Lucchini, the prescst
manager and part owner of the prop-
erty.
The late Calvin Coe carried on the
farm for over forty years and im-
proved the land which now shows
the good results of his toil H«
erected a factory on tiie land and op-
erated for many years an extensiTe
bone grinding business and opened
extensive quarries tfaere^ in afl of
which he was assisted in later yw%
by his sons. In 1861 he retired bvm
agricultural work and continned to
the bone business. That year the
farm was taken by his sons.
Henry and Winfield R. Coe^ and is
1863 their brother^ Andrew J. Ok.
the first judge of the nunudpal conn
of Meriden, joined them in its man-
agement. Judge Coew seetnig ifae
great possibility of the land for fruit
growing, planted eictenstve orciiards
and vineyards which in their prodncts
earned for him an enviable reputatkn.
He finally became the sole owner of
the farm, he and his brotber Hcnn
buying out the interests of Winfidd R.
in 1870, and Andrew J. the mnaiuing
interest of Henry in 1873..
In 1867 the buikling of "Coe Cas-
tle" was b^^n by the Coe bcoUms
and after seven years was eoDipfatal
The building is constructed wbolly of
stone and wood from tfae 6urai ted
and comprises one of tbe btgeit and
most remarkably welt built and cdri*
fortable dwellings in this vMAy.
During the constructioa of tiie *^Cks-
tie" among the artisans employed by
Judge Coe, in the interior decotalion
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6o2
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN*.
of the Structure, was the late Peter
Lucchini. who married Edith, sister
of Judge Andrew Coe, and to whom
were l)orn the followinj^ children:
John R.. X'ictor K.. Marie, Arthur C,
now deceased, and I'aul. For some
years previous to the death of Judge
Andrew J. Coe, Mr. 1-ucchini con-
ducted the farm and until a sad acci-
dent deprived his family of a husband
and father. Upon the decease of
ludgc Coe his wife. Kate I'oote Coe,
L'nder his regime the fami has
hetn kej)t up to the high standard
of excellence it has ever held and
many improvements have been made
in and about the farm. The large and
varied product, always received fresh
every day. is much appreciated b>
residents of Meriden and brings a high
price in market owing to the rep-
utation the farm has ahva>s main-
tained fvir supplying only the best of
fruit and vegetables.
J JJ iii> Hi 'b
COK C ASTLK.
the well known writer, who by his
will was to enjoy the income of the
property during her life, assumed the
management of the farm but at the
expiration of two years she turned
the atYairs of the farm over to the
Meriden Trust & .^afe Deposit Co.,
until March i. m>oi, when she sold
her interests in the entire property to
the present owners and since then the
farm has been under the management
of X'ictor Lucchini.
JULICS KUNTZE.
Julius Kuntze, cigar manufacturer,
wholesale and retail tobacconist of
Meriden. was born in Wansen. Prus-
sian Silesia. Febniary 14. 1858. He is
the son of Carl and Theresa ( Weiss )
Kuntze, both natives of the town
where Julius was born. His father wsls
engaged all his life in the manufacture
of cigars at Wansen and his children
are now all deceased excepting Julius
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6o4
A CBNTURY OF MERIOeN.
of Meriden and Herman who carries
on business at the old stand of his
father.
After receiving a good education in
his native town, Julius Kuntze learned
his trade in his father's factory and
after his father's death, with his
hrother Herman, conducted the busi-
ness for his mother, lie came to this
country in 1881, sailing from Ham-
bur^^ and first located in New York
where he remained for six years and
did a profitable business as a cig'ar
maker. He afterwards located in
New Haven where he remained for
five years, after wliich he returned to
liis home in Germany and spent sev-
eral motUhs.
It was in i8()3 that he came to Mer-
iden and establishecl his present busi-
ness which has since thrown to a lare^e
enter])ri.Ne. his factory beinjj;^ the larg-
est for the matnifacture of cii^^ars in
this city or vicinity. Mr. Kuntze has
also built uj) a larj^e wholesale l)usi-
tiess in bis line and supplies the local
dealers within a radius of several
iiiiKs of Meriden. His honorable
dealini^s and i)ro.i^ressive ideas and
kindly and acconiniodatinj.:^ disposition
have built up his trade to its present
proportions.
He was married in 1891 at \'ew
Haven to b^lizabeth Schwab, a native
of Darmstadt. Hessen-Darmstadt,
Germany. They have had the follow-
ing^ children : Georp^e ; Ludwi'..; and
Helen, both of w hom died young : Au-
gust, Eliza. Carl and Harold. Since
coming to Meriden, Mr. Kuntze has
identified himself with the develop-
ment of the town and where he ha?
become known as a highly esteeme*!
adopted citizen. He stands high in
the estimation of his neighlx^rs and
friends, and the patrons of hi> st -^.
located on East Main street, have
learned to know and appreciate his
good qualities.
He is a member of the Meriden
Saen^erbund and the Meriden Turn
\ erein. He is also a member of the
.\. O. V. W. and of Silver Cit^4laiirt.
Ancient Urder of Foresters. •
R. S. GOUFREX^
( )ne of the active young businc?'
men of Meriden is Raymond Sanford
( iodfrey, jxirtrait and landscape pho-
toi^raidier. who carries on busine*?
in an old established studio in the
Hall & Lewis building, where he lia>
met with a u:oodIy measure of suc-
cess. He was born in Mechanic--
ville. Iowa, .\ugust 4. 1876. the so-,
of Walter and Ruth I.. (Sims^ God-
frey. His father, now deceased, an
industrious cabinet maker, resided
in Connecticut during his youni:
manh(xid, but afterwards removed
West where he died. His mother,
born at .South Manchester. Conn.,
returned to this state after the death
of her husband and has for some
years resided in Meriden.
Raymond Gcnlfrey. who has beer,
in Meriden since i8c^2, began hi:^
career as a photO'.^^raj>her bv secur-
ing employment in cme of the cele-
brated Kellmer studios in Hazelton.
Pa., where he learned the mysteries
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BIOGRAPHIES.
605
of the business and developed an in-
born talent for the calling. He
afterwards accepted a position as
staff photographer on the New York
Journal where he remained for a per-
R. S. GODFREY.
iojl of two years and gained further
valuable experience. Mr. Godfrey
opened his present studio October i,
1899, a^ter having worked in several
studios in New York and also in
Meriden and thereby making his
first start in business ft)r himself
and in this he has been entirely suc-
cessful. The studio having been
previously closed by its former oc-
cupants, was fitted up anew by Mr.
(loclfrey whose paraphernalia con-
sists of every facility for both por-
trait work and the making of out-
side and interior views iii/wihich he
excels. When the studio first be-
came occupied by him the entrance
was at 6 East Main street, but in
1903 the building was remodelled
and at that time the entraifce was
changed to 1^/2 Colony street, mak-
ing a much more convenient en-
trance, and bringing the gallery with-
in easier access of the street. Mr.
(iodfrey has achieved a well earned
reputation as a photographer and
about 200 of his pictures are repro-
duced in the pages of this book.
He is also deservedly ])opular as a
resident and business man and is
a member of the New England Pho-
tographers* Association. Mr. God-
frey is an enthusiastic automobilist
and enjoys the distinction of being
tlie first photographer of the town to
own a car.
THE WTXTIIROP HOTEL.
This famous hostelry named for
Governor W'inthrop is a source of
just pride to Meriden, for it com-
prises one of the finest in New Eng-
land. The building was erected by
Walter Hubbard to meet the de-
mands of the growing city for a
hc»tel which should not only be
elegant in a])pearance but also in
appointments and conveniences, and
it has ever been a luxurious home
for the traveling public ; while its ex-
cellent cuisine has also been much ap-
preciated by the people of Meriden.
I
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1
6o8
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
The building situated on Colony St.
faces Winthrop Stjuare, within one
minute of Meriden's principal rail-
road station, and is a brick and
brownstone structure, eighty-five feet
by 225 in dimensions, and in
front five stories high. There are
it to the present proprietors, Geurgc
H. and James H. Bowker. These
well known bonifaces also condoc!
the Hotel Hamilton in Holyoke and
the Draper at Northampton. Mass.
The management of the Winthrop. like
that of other hotels controlled bv the
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
WI.NTIIKOI' HOTEL.
104 rooms, eighty of which are
slce|)ing chambers. The furnishings
are of a luxurious character and
were furnished by the Winthrop
Hotel Company, composed of a few
leading citizens, who secured a long
lease of the property, and released
JA.MES H. BOWKEK.
firm, has been of the higfhest order anu
highly pleasing to the public. Jame> H.
Bowker has been the resident partner
ever since the hotel was opened and
he is counted as one of the valued men
of Meriden. He serves on the Cen-
tennial Committee.
Google
PART III.
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MANUFACT(.»Klfc:S.
3
MANUFACTORIES OF MERIDEN
EDWARD MILl.KR CO.
One of Mericlen's most important
iiKlustries is that carritd on by Ed-
ward Miller & Co., fanioii> the world
over for the "Miller" lanii), and which
concern also manufactures lamj) trini-
ininps of every variety, tinners' hard-
ware, brass and bronze j^oods, }jfas and
electric fixtures. Edward Miller,
who founded the business in 1844,
interested a number of capitalists in
the concern in 1866, and in July of
that year a joint stock company was
formed under the name of I'!dward
^^il!er & Company, with a capital of
$-20Q,ooD. >fr. Miller, liowever, long
before had established the business,
which was begun by him before he
had attained his majority. Mr. Mil-
ler*s father was at first associated with
him under the name of Joel Miller &
Son. The partnership lasted but two
years, when the son purchased his
father's interest. The business from
the beginning grew rapidly find larg-
er quarters were found to t)e neces-
sary. A wooden building was erect-
e<l on the site of the present huge
plant but the structure, together with
its contents, was destroyed bv fire in
' mm
1856. This misfortune was followed
by the panic in 1857 but the business
sarvive<l both calamities. In 1858
Mr, Miller hn^an liu manufacture of
kerosene burners, being ilu' lirM in
Anurica to make and put upon the
market burners using kerosene oil
nia'le from distilled coal : bronzes,
sheet brass and brass utensils of va-
rious kinds being laier manulaclured.
The company has found it necessary
to enlarge the plant several times ow-
ing to the growth of the business.
T4^c Miller Company does an im-
mense export business and it is prob-
able that there is hardly a region of
the world where its product has not
gone. The factory occupies several
acres and 800 workmen are eiujiloyed.
Xot only have the Miller products
been designed to be substantial, use-
ful and honest goods, but much time
and thought have been expended in
order that they should be artistic as
well. The result is the uninterrupt-
ed success of the company.
The Miller Company made famous
the "Rochester" lamp, which it be-
gan to matnifacture in 1884, but
when pressed by imitators, it was de-
termined to produce a still better,
more .scientificallv constructed and ar-
tistic light giver. The result was the
"Miller*' lamp, which, absolutely sim-
ple, is known to the trade as the "per-
fect lamp." The latest line is that ot
gas and electric fixtures.
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MANUFACTORIES.
5
• The present officers and directors
{of the company are as follows:
t President, Edward Miller; secre-
' 'tary and treasurer, Edward Miller
:Jr. ; assistant treasurer, Benjamin C
'Kennard; superintendent, Arthur E.
Miller; directors, Edward Miller, Ar-
thur E. Miller, Hon. A. Chamberlain,
Benjamin C. Kennard, Edward Mil-
ler, Jr.. John L. Billard and Andrew
J. Sloper.
The capital stock of the company is
now $500,000.
Edward Miller, founder and pres-
ident of this most important manufac-
turing concern, the history of which
is given above, is an example
of the successful American busl*
ness man, who by his own efforts has
risen to prominence in the commun-
ity. Mr. Miller*s genealogy is traced
to John Miller, who emigrated from
Maidstone, County of Kent, Eng-
land, to Lynn, Massachusetts, moving
'to South Hampton, Long Island,
■about 1649. Miller's grand-
Either was Rev. Samuel Miller, who
preached in Meriden for twenty-six
years, dying in Wallingford, in 1829.
Edward Miller was bom August
10^ 1827, in Wallingford, son of
Joel and Clarissa (Plum) Miller, and
apent the early years of his life on the
&rm of his father, who gave the boy
the usual schooling then provided for
£ftrmers' sons, which, in this case, in-
cluded a short time at Post Academy,
in Meriden. At fifteen he was em-
ployed in a factory, making lamp
screws, hoops and candlestick springs.
He was thus employed for several
years until, while yet a youth, he de-
termined to become his own master.
He set about this with characteristic
energy, purchased a set of tools, and
associated himself with his father un-
der the name of Joel Miller & Son.
The business at first was a small one,
but the young man knew his trade
thoroughly, and prosperity attended
him.
When only twenty he purchased his
father's interest in the business, and
his own legal time up to his majority,
giving his notes for $800.00. It is in-
teresting to know that these notes
were paid before the close of the
next year out of the profits of the
business. With success crowning his
efforts thus early, it is not difficult to
understand the growth of the Miller
company, which has since become so
important a factor in the life of the
city.
Mr. Miller in political views is a
Republican. His active business life
,has left no time, however, for him to
hold public office. He is a liberal
supporter of the First Baptist church,
to which in 1869 ^ S^^^ ^ splendid
organ. He also contributed gener-
ously toward the erection of the Ger-
man Baptist church edifice. The
Connecticut Literary Institute, at
Suffield, and the Meriden Y. M. C.
A. are among the many other worthy
causes which have found in htm a
benefactor.
Mr. Miller was married on August
30, 1848, to Caroline M. Neal,
daughter^:, pf Joseph and Matilda
(Barnes)' Neal, of Southington, Con-
Digitized by Google
»to by R. S. Godfrey.
AUTOMATIC LATHE ROOM, EDWARD MII.F.ER & CO.
Google
8
A CENTUKY OF MERIDEN.
necticut Of the five children born
to them the following three survive:
Edward Miller, Jr., a graduate of
Brown University, secretary and
treasurer of Edward Miller & Com-
pany; Arthur E. Miller, superinten-
dent of Edward Miller & Company,
and Mrs. Layette A. Kendrick, resid-
ing in Meridcn.
Edward Miller, Jr., secretary and
treasurer of the Edward Miller &
Company corporation, is the elder
son of Edward Miller, president of
the company which bears his name.
He was born February i, 1851, and
atteiuKil tiu' Meriden public schools
until iHtjS when he went to the Suf-
field Preparatory Academy, later en-
tering Brown University and grrad-
uating with honors with the class of
'74. In the fall nf that year he en-
tered his father's factory where he ap-
plied himself to learninc: the business
in a practical way in the ditferent de-
partments, becoming^ each year a
more iini)ortant factor in the business.
Since 1882 he has held the offices of
both secretary and treasurer and dur-
ing recent years has assumed a cfreat-
er portion of the responsii)ilities
of the active management. He
is known as one of Meriden's
ablest manufacturers and the p)o(l
name the company enjoys has been
due in a measure to the imi)ortant part
he has taken in the aft'airs of the
company.
Mr. Miller has served two terms in
the Meriden common rnmuil an<l has
also been a valued member of the
'school coujuiittee of the town. He is
one of the trustees of the Gtf
ings Bank and is a mei
Home Qub. Mr. Miller is an
lover of music and boob
great reader he possesses one of
finest private libraries in Meric
Since 1874 he has had charge of
music at the First Baptist church
which position both his father
grandfather preceded him, the
in the old edifice.
He resides at the Edward Mi
residence on Broad street
married.
Benjamin C Kennard,
treasurer and one of tlMt
Edward Miller 4c Company co;
tion, was bom in Cambridge, Ma
in 1849, where he obtained his eda-
cation, which inchulcd an attendance
at the Cambridge High At
ten years of age Mr. Kennard VlpW
to be self-supporting and from ffnt
age worked at some business or oth-
er during his school hfe. Picwit|^
to coming to Meriden he was tl^f
accountant of a lai^ impQgUng and
exporting honse in BostOtl. He be-
came head bookkeeper of Edward
Miller & Company in 1872, since
which time he has been couqectcd
with the large business, having for
some \ears been a sttxrkholdcr, as-
sistaiu treasurer and a riiiyfnr zn^
comj)any.
Mr. Kennard is a man of
business jndgment and reliabilitJK
his long connection with the
makes him of great value to the
factory. He has been prominent in
city and town afiairs.
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BEN J. C. KKNNARD. ARTHUR E. MILLER.
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10
A CENTCRY OF MERIDEX.
writing a member of the board of
apportionment and taxation. He
also served in the Common Council
in 1892-3 and again in 1896-7. He
was alderman in 1894-5 and was the
last clerk of the PrattsviUe school
district before the consolidation. He
is a member of the Home Club and
assistant treasurer of the First *Bap*
tist church of Meriden. In 1875 he
was married to Justina C. daughter
of Ransom Baldwin, and his chil-
dren consist of one son, B. I.«ighton
Kennard. employed as bookkeeper
for Russell Hall, and one daughter,
Helen M. Kennard. who was married
Octoljcr 5, 1905, to William Atkins
McKenzie, and whose pleasing con-
tralto voice has been much appre-
ciated at St. Paul's Univcffsaltst
chi:rch, Meriden: Calvary Baptist
church. New Haven, and Prospect M.
E. church, Bristol.
Arthur Eugene Miller, who since
1901 has been the iH*mianent super-
intendent of the Edward ?ililler j&
Company factory, is the second son
of IC<iward Miller and was horn in
Meri'kn September 12. 186^ He
attoii.k'd jjrivate school in ^leriden,
aftirwanis j^rmlnatin^ fnun tlie Hart-
ford High scluKiI in 1S83. Direct
from tliat insliinlion he entered
Brown University where he remained
but one xcnv. owing to the urgent
need of his services at the factory,
with the work of which he had be-
come in his spare time somewhat fa-
miliar. He he<;an his inanufactnrinfi
career at the bench and famiharized
himself witii the intricate workings of
the big factory by practical applio-
tion.
He was made assistant superinicn-
dent on his own merits and onlv attf
he had proven his worth. Before ht
was finally made the permanent ss-
perintendent in 190 1 he acted in tht
capacity on several occasions during
the change of superintendents. M:.
Miller is known as one of the dkkt
practical young men in the factorhr«
of ^feriden.
In social life he is a prominent fig-
ure. He is a member of the Home
Club and a thirty-second degree men>
her of the Masonic fraternity. He i> i
past master of Meridian Lodge, 77. F.
& A. Mm and was eminent commaiHi-
cr of St. Elmo Commandery, Knight>
Templar, of Meriden, in 1902. He is
rnmarried and resides at the Edward
Miller homestead.
THE WILCOX & WHITE CO.
This concern which is rccogniietl
as leading the world in its line, and
from whose factor)" emanated the first
mechanical piano-player, and seveni'
\ears before that the first mechanical
self-playin.ij organ device, was organ-
ized in 1877 as the Wilcox & WIrte
f )rf^an C ontpany, the capital stock 01
which was $30,000. '
The founders of the business »tft
t([ie late Horace C. Wilcox, thai a
well known silver plate manufacturer
of Meriden. who furnished a p r^'^i'
of the capital, and H. K.. James H. anJ
the late K. H. and Howard White-
father and three sons, who came here
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Google
1
12
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
from Brattleboro, Vt., at Mr. Wilcox's
suggestion, to establish the business of
making parlor organs.
From the outset the company manu-
factured a high grade instrument and
before many years had elapsed the
name of the Wilcox & White organ
became a synonym for the best reed
instrument made in this country and
the output of the factory found a ready
sale, a large number of the organs
made being shipped to all parts of
the civilized world.
In 1888 the Symphony or pneumatic
self-playing organ, was invented and
put upon the market which added to
the already great triumphs the com-
pany had previously scored in the
musical world.
It was in 1897 when the Angelus,
the first device invented to attach to
a piano for its mechanical playing,*
was conceived, that the company to<^
an advance stride in the lead of mus-
ical instrument manufacturers, never
to be overtaken by their followers.
The Angelus was invented after
many years of |)atient 'experiment by
Edward H. White, tlie superintendent
of the factory, and on account of the
orig^inal and fundamental patents be-
ing in the control nf the company they
are in no possible danger of being
copied to any damaging extent by imi-
tators.
To the original pate nts, the keen in-
ventive genius of the W hites of three
generations have made additions to the
marvelous mechanism r.f the self-i)lay-
ing pimi.t player, until the music of
the Angelus and the Angelus Pianos
cannot be detected inpi
ing upon the keyi Igf
Shortly after
startling tldint
it was most
company i;
from $75,000 to
name was
& White Organ
cox & White
White conttnainff M
concern. The CicftDfj
previously enlarged
was again added to aiMl m
structure 250 feet in
feet wide was erected for 0tt
ture of the Aogdua. Thm
have, therefore, more tluui
capacity of their factory witliii
past few years and are tmniiig out
the present writiiis a
Angelus pianos and
tachments a week. The
the large hctoty whkh ||i?ci^
and excellent emplq|ag^ to
to 400 men, finds not oa^J9>.
in this country, but lofre^ ^Mntru <
now make demands up<Mt it luU
quarter of its productiQQ^
at-
oi
The Angdot
be applied to ttgr
fering in any vray widi
ing, is made to
and the family poss^sti^J
marvelous nHfdlMlirHl
fortunate ; for no aibre' i
tainment can be conceit
cost which brings it wil
of any ordinary
The Angelus pianOs, whicfi^
made by the WikoK it WMi Com-
Digitized by Go(\
Photo by R- S. Godfrey.
ACTION DEPARTMENT. THE WILCOX & WHITE CO.
Pboto by n. S. Godfrey.
I'OLISHINC. DMl'AK IM KNT, TMK WIL(<».\ \ WIIHK CO.
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14
A CENTURY OF MERtOEN.
pany, can be phiyed with or without
or in conjunction with the Angelus
which it contains. This twentietb
centurv instrument not onlv leads the
world in beauty of finish, tone, and
careful construction, but promises to
continue to (\o so for ati indefinite
period. It has dozens of imitators but
has such an advanced lead and is so
securely protected by iron clad ]>atents
that it cannot be approached by other
manufacturers.
Every de|)arttncnt of the great fac-
tory is conducted upon the mosi mod-
em lines and every instrument ema-
nating therefrom is rigidly inspected
during the various stages of its con-
struction.
\ well known writer in Harper's
magazine says of the White family
and the Angelus. as follows :
"Beneficent Nature has placetl w ith-
in the soul of every human being the
love of music. In everv thousand she
has picked a few for the richer dower
of the ability to produce it. Among
primitive people those mortals thus
favored have been set apart for si)e-
cial honor, and even worshipped be-
cause of their ^ndlike |)ower of pro-
ducing nie](Mly tiiat would stir even
the soul (»f a savage.
"If tile power to produce music in
person be a great mark of genius,
what may he said of those who have
conceived and perfected the means by
which any one can prixhiee it I This
ina;4iiificent facultx. which means so
much to every niaji or woman lacking
. musical i^cnin-- and edrcation. lias
been conferred upon universal man-
kind by Mr. H. K. WUbtblAMSx
grandson, in the cooeapliui and pi
fection of the Aqg^rin^lgM^Mlcvt
one, from the c^lfl of Mn^.fws
the musical aitiatt CW. jpil^lfc fo
with perfect techniqa[lwlM|MlV>V^
limited only by the pOTfiT^ ttx pli
er to feel the music being"
"The origin of all good
can be traced to the iuMhittrHtfg^te
perament of their inventof8|^id
student of history finds m tfi^Wl
family ample indications C$|||||a5i
genius. Mr. U. K. Wmri^fmh
was lx)rn in 1822: he tai —
ro
1-.
11-
school at eighteen, led the clwiiti^fl^}
the violin «nd thue in 1 linnliliijl ill'
years. In 1849 be^n marmfect:
ing melodeons at New T.oiulon. Coi
His oldest son. Mr. J. H. White. \^
from boyhood about his father*yi f<
tory. and at an early
study of constmctiail
the tuning of organs and
sang in the church clmi^::;
played the organ in churdi^
teen, and continued
teen vears thereafter,
"To Mr. E. H. fl^^o
son. <;ince deceased, is givett,ti|fr'ctf<
fur the conception of the idea of pla
ing the piano mechanically hy mea
of the music-roll, and the first sicce:
ful device for the work was coili«trw
e<l under his direction on tlic infSide
a piano in 1895 ; from which time u
til the present the Angelus has be
placed on the inside of pianos.
i8<>7 he had made unth r ])\^ supc
vision, and patented by Iiini. the o-i
side or cabinet of a squirate piaii>
i«
Digitized by C(
C
Photo by K S r.odrrcy
PIANO DKPARTMKXT, THE WILCOX & WHITE CO.
Photo by II. S. Uodlriy.
CASE ROOM, THE WIlAOX & WHITE CO.
j6
A CENTURY OF MERIOEN.
player, which is the present Angelus.
"A third son. Howard White, also
deceased, began tuning and construct^
ing organs at the age of sixteen, fol-
lowing the profession for about
eighteen years, assisting his father
and brothers in the development of
their instruments, the Symphony and
the Angelus.
"Mr. F. C. White represents the
third generation of this musical &mily.
He developed an unusual talent both in
music and mechanics at a very early
age, entering the employ of the com-
pany of which his father was and is
the president. The United States Pat-
ent office amply testifies to the various
inventions of his, which have added
the recent remarkable improvements
that have developed the Angelus to an
instrument of almost human qualities*
The piano-player conception was Mr.
W'liite s. The first piano-player ever
Iniilt — the Angekis — was yir. White's.
To-day, the only piano-player, with
powers of expression that a commit-
tee of nnisical critics failed to distin-
guish from hand playing, is the Ange-
lus invented and improved by three
generations of musical genius. To-
day the Angelus principle, for the fa-
cilitation of technique — taking the
place of fullest knowledge of notes
and keys — promises to become univer-
sa11\ combined with the piano.
"Of course manv of these instru-
merits are imitations of the Angelus.
and, like all imitations, have vital
shf)rt comings.
"The Angelus holds its position of
pre-eminence because it is an original
invention, whose inventors still life-
father, son, grandson — all of unques-
tioned musical genius, still adding
constantly to its powers, making h
more human in its possibilities, tnonr
artistic in its wonderful effects. The
imitator who must ferret his ia\
around patent laws, is naturally haodi* j
capped, and his machine is merely me* !
chanical. The Angelus alone gives
soul to the music. I>ominant live,
enei^etic, ambitious, capable genins
makes the Angelus, to-day as ever, the
pre-eminent and incomparable piano-
player." -
Henry Kirk White, father ar
grandfather of the family which tk^'-^
leads the world in the genius of ir
venting and perfecting self-playiit;
pianos, was bom in Bolton, Conn., in
1822. His antecedents came from
England and were among the occi:
pants of the "William and Marv."
which ship landed otT Xantasket.
Mass., in 1630, and enable<l its pas-
sengers to escape from the then re-
ligious persecutions of their native
country.
H. K. White spent his lx>yho<xl dav^
on the home farm and obtained such
education as he could secure at the
district school in winter and readiuc
instructive books at liome. He
showed a love for music when a b "
of tenfler > ears ; this developed as he
grew older into an unusual talent.
Long bef ore the age of twent)' he I
became a teacher in the singing schor] :
and leader of choruses and was a
miliar figure in musical circics .
throughout the state. i
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MANUFACTORIES.
17
In 1 84 1, having learned scientific
tuning of pianos and organs he went
west and engaged in that calling,
traveling somewhat extensively for
some four years. In 1845 located
in Colchester and in the employ of
factory being at New London, Conn.
In 1853 he moved the then modest
industry to Washington, N. J., where
he continued until the breaking out
of the Civil War, when like many oth-
ers he suspended business to await de-
MTSIC R(K).\1, THK WILCOX & WHITE CO.
Dcnison Smith first began his career
in the manufacture of musical instru-
ments. Two years later through in-
dustry, perseverance and strict econ-
omy he was enabled to engage in the
manufacture of melodeons, his first
42
velopments, remaining in IMiiladelphia
and vicinity until 1865, when he was
called to Brattleboro, V't., by the Estey
Organ Company to take charge of
their tuning and action department,
taking with him his family, and whc-
Google
i8
A CENTURY 01- AltKlUtN.
his sons also obtained jjositions where
tliev also rose rapidly.
It was in 1870 tiiat Mr. White and
his sons succeeded in interesting^ Mer-
iden capital to such an extent that
with the co-operation of the late Hor-
ace C. Wilcox in 1877, the Wilcox &
White Organ Company was organized.
The industry was welcomed by Mcri-
den people, and has been a success
from the start and until recent years,
when he has earned a rest from the
cares of business, he was actively en-
gaged at the factory.
Not a little of the great success that
has been achieved by the company is
due to his genius and the encourage-
ment of his sons and his. grandsons,
whose ambition to leave the world a
class of musical instruments that has
made the name famous, has been fully
realized.
Mr. White has served both the
town and city of Meriden in public
office. He has been a member of the
Board of Aldermen, being chosen to
represent the Fifth ward and in the
discharge of his duties as a member
of the city government he won the
gratitude of his constituents and the
city at large. For many years he was
re-elected a member of the school
committee and was the first chairman
of his district. The interest that Mr.
White has taken in the edhcation of
the young in Meriden never failed to
be shown in his every act as a member
of the school board.
Mr. White has been twice married,
first to Lucy Com well, daughter of
William and Julia (Roberts) Corn-
well, of Middlctown. Conn., and af-
ter her death, which occurred Fehnn
ary 18, 1867, to .Mrs. Betsy Hcrrid[»
daughter oi Bcujamin Stickncy, of
Dummerston, Vt. Bv his first tm^
riage he had four children as foOoM:
James president and tnftmtr«l
the Wilcox & White Company; Si-
ward H. and Howard (bpth 4eceaMd).
and Julia Comwell, iK»R:'9b. .Sihs
Donovan, of Meriden. j
Mr. White is a vatssiOKt
sonic fraternity* twiog
plar. . ^\
Not long since Ml oetoj^enarian, aad
although lie haui sufiigil % paralytic
shock, he is still desr''(tf^ye add
of intellect, and distinguished froo;
fact that he is profaa^f tifc ojdest Hv^
ing manufacturer of nnidttljinstm-j
ments in New Eaglnd.
James Hcnr>' AVWlft _
treasurer of tiM Wlod^
Company and cldcii
White, was bom
September ^
education in
and Phillipsburg, JS^Jlt l^^i^liiSdie
familv moved to.
the Civil War lie
mercantile
Wanamaker, wfanc
opportunity and
practical busincae
When his
tleboro, Vt,
charge of the
partment of the EM
pany, young WhHe
himself to the work
father in the tuning of the h
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o ^
2 °
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u
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ae
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Digitized by Google
20
A CENTURV OF MERIDEN.
P.\ close application to his work and
a studious |)crformance of his duties
and with his father's g'uidancc, he
advanced rapidly and in a few years
obtained a position fulK as responsi-
ble and in4»ortanL as ihaL iicld by his
father.
After remaininj^ in lirattlcboro for
a period of thirteen yecars, his abihty
together with that of his father and
brothers, was recognized by the late
H. C. Wilcox to such an extent that
he was induced to come to Meriden
and in the formation of the present
company of which for so many years
he has been the practical head, he
took the leading part.
The history of the company is hut
a creditable reflection upon his able
management for in past adversity and
later successes he has been the same
able financier, kind employer and val-
ued citizen. Althoufi^h a man upon
whom his business has made urgent
calls, he has never shirked his duty to
his fellow citizens in matters where
public interest and local pride were
concerned.- He has represented the
Fifth ward in the city council but
has never sought nor accepted any
other public office. He is on the
board of directors of the Home Na-
tional Bank, one of the trustees of the
First Congregational Church and a
prominent member of the Home Qub
of Meriden.
He was married December i, 1868,
to Kate, daughter of Samuel T. R. and
Martha (Brown) Cheney, of Brattle-
boro, Vt., and they have three chil-
dren : Frank Cornwell, one of the of-
ficers of the Wilcox & W hite Com-
l)anv, and who has invented many x'al-
uahlc improvements to the Angelus:
Grace I^uise and Florence May ( Mrs.
Harry Smith). Durinijf the prepara-
tion for the Centennial celebration by
the citizens of Meriden .Mr. White
has taken a niosl important pan, be-
ing a member of the general commit-
tee and chairman of the cumniittee on
finance.
The late Edward H. White, from
the first inception of the in<liistr>'
to the time of his death, with his fath-
er and brotl'.ers in the Wilcox & White
Company, was bom in Washington. X.
J., on April 5, 1855. His early busi-
ness training and his experience in
the manufocture of musical instru-
ments were at the works of the Estev
Organ Company, at Brattleboro, Vt
When the Wilcox & White Company
began the nianiifc|:|ure of organs he
supervised from the beginning the tun-
ing and voicing of the instrumetitSw
His name will ever be famous in his-
tory from the fact that he conceived
the idea of a practical device for plac -
ing the piano mechanical!) by means
of music rolls which invention was
first produced by the Wilcox & \^liite
Company in 1895 and which was the
original Angelus but since largely im-
proved upon, by the company and
which leads the woifld in its class.
Mr. White's original invention cre-
ated a marvelous sensation in the mu-
sical world imm^iately ; and it is now-
used in every country on the globe
and although some time after other
inventions for the same purpose were
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MANUFACTORIES.
21
crealcil by iniitaturs, the patent taken
out by Mr. White and the company
in which he was interested have pro-
tected the .^.ngehis from the damaging
infritigement of others.
During the hfetiiiio of Mr. White
he *^tTved as secretary and superinten-
tlenl of the W ilcox White Company
from its re-organizaliun. ilc was a
man possessed of a very lovable dis-
pusilion and was kind and considerate
to his fellow men and exceedingly de-
voted to his family.
When very young he was married
to .Mary Carter, a daughter of the
late Hela Carter, and upon his
death left besides his widow,
one son. .Mian White, a prom-
ising young man of somewhat deli-
cate health. His widow resides at th.e
corner of Britannia and Griswold
streets, Meritlen, and is much beloved
in the community. Her simple life is
spent in a great measure carrying out
the same charitable benevolence that
characterized their <kily life before
the death of her husband.
Howard White, who until his death
on December 9, 1897, was superinten-
dent of the Wilcox & White Com-
pany, was born in Somerville, X. J.,
September 9, 1856. He was the
youngest son of H. K. White and was
possessed of much mechanical genius
and musical talent, both of which he
inherited from his father. Like his
brother, J. H. White, he obtained his
first insight in the manufacturing of
musical instruments at the works of
the Estey Organ Compan\ , in Brat-
tleboro, Vt., previously from sixteen
to eiiLrliteen years of age, having as-
sisted bis father in tuning pianos in
Philaflel])hia.
l'>om the organization of the Wil-
cox & White Company up to the time
of his regretted decease, he took a
most important part in the growth and
develoiMuent of the concern. During
his life his fertile brain did its full jiart
toward making inventions and ini-
l)n)veiiieiits to the Symphony and -\n-
gelus and his watchful e\e was ever
on the alert in kee])iiiL: tlie different
dei>artments of the larue industry up
to the highest standard. Ilc was not
only one of the best known manuf.ac-
turers in Meridcn hut a valued citizen
whose death caused a great loss to the
coninumily. He was a social favor-
ite and a memljcr of the Home Club
of Meriden and was generous to a
fault in alleviating the deserving cases
of necessity among his fellow men.
He was married in 1880 to Flora A,,
daughter of Russell J. Ives, of Meri-
den. Upon Mr. White's decease he
left a widow and two boys, Russell
Ives and Stanley White, who reside in
Meriden.
Frank C White, son of J. R White
and grandson of H. K. White, was
bom on October 28, 1870, obtained
a good school education, entered the
employ of the Wilcox & White Com-
pany in 1887, and has from early
boyhood been of a very inventive and
mechanical turn of mind; his whole
time is now devoted to the experi-
mental department ; ha^, produced and
patented numerous ingenious devices
for the still further improvement f>f
Digiti-^eu by Go
22
A CENTURY (»F MKKIIMIN.
the instnitiicnts niaiuifactured by The
Wilcox & White Company, which
staiul foremost in tlie musical world.
He is also a <lirector of the company.
Rohcrt W". Carter, secretary of the
Wilcox & White Company, and one
KOIIEKT W. ( ARTER.
of the Hoard of I'olice Commissioners
of Meriden, is a .«ion of the late Liela
Carter. He was horn in Meriden A\\-
pjust J<), 1871. and graduated from
the Meriden IW^h school in 1888. Af-
ter associating: himself with his fath-
er's business for a few years, he en-
tered the office of the Meriden Bri-
taimia Company where he remained
for five years in the invoicing depart-
ment. He afterwards efficier!ly filled
the position of cashier in the office of
W. J. Kinji^sland in New York City,
an extensive manufacturers' cx])ort
aijent.
In nyoo he succeeded his brolhcr-
in-law, the late Kdward H. White,
as sccretarv of the Wilcox & \\'hite
Comi)any. in which large concern he
is also one of the directors. He i>. a
Rei)ublican in jMjlitics and at the age
of twenty-four was elected a menroer
of the Common Council from the Sec-
ond ward. In 1905 he was apixMnted
a meml)er of the lioard of Police Com-
missioners by Mayor Seeley. He is
prominent in social life, beinj^ a mem-
ber of the Home Club, the Meriden
(iolf Club and the Colonial Club of
•Meriden. He is also a member of .\1-
fred H. Hall Council, Royal .\rcanum.
Fred IC. Bemis. who since 1899. has
been suj)erintendent of the Wilcox &
FRED E. BEMIS.
White Company, was l)orn in Boston
February 6, 1863, a son of Orlando
and Frances (Cheney) Bemis. His
father is enjja;^etl in the meat business
in C)akland. Califomia, He traces his
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
23
ancestry on the maternal side back to
the Revolutionary War period when
his great-grandfather was a soldier in
the Continental army.
Mr. Bemis was educated in Brattle^
boro, Vt, and Oakland, Cal., and has
been connected with the Wilcox &
White Company ever since its organ*
ization. He attained the office of su-
perintendent entirely on his own mer-
its and his almost unlimited capacity
for work coupled with his great ex-
«cuttve ability make him a most valua-
ble officer of the company.
He is a member of Meridian Lodge,
F. and A. M., Keystone Chapter, and
Hamilton Council, R. & S. M., Alfred
H. Hall Council, Royal Arcanum. He
married Miss Bertha S. Carter, daugh-
ter of the late Bela Carter, and they
have two son's, Leslie Carter Bemis
and Robert Cheney Bemis.
MERIDEN CUTLERY CO.
Among the many business enter-
prises that unite to give to Meriden a
world-wide reputation as a manufac-
turing center, one of the oldest and
most prosperous is the Meriden Cut-
lery Company. Although not one of
the largest concerns in the city, this
company, through the able and con-
servative management of its officers,
lias been enabled to sustain, during the
seventy-three years of its existence, a
reputation for offering to the public
the very best that can possibly be pro-
duced in its line of goods.
In 1832 David Ropes commenced
the manufacture of table cutlery at
Saccarappa, Maine, and was the first
to attempt the production of this class
of goods in America. As he pur-
chased his ivory handles of Julius
Pratt & Co., who made ivory combs in
Meriden, in 1846, he came to South
Meriden to manufacture cutlery, there
being an excellent water privilege
there which is still the only motive
power, and a company was formed
called Pratt, Ropes, Webb & Com-
pany. In 1855 the company was in-
corporated under the name of Meriden
Cutlery Company, which name it has
ever since borne. Julius Pratt was
the first president, and J. B. Beadle,
secretary and treasurer; Mr. Beadle*
was later made general manager which
office he held at the time of his death
in 1877 ; while Randolph Linsley was
traveling salesman. The capital was
at first $75,000, which has been in-
creased to $400,000.
In 1878 the offices of the company,
which had been situated in New York,
were moved to Meriden. In 1879
came a change in the list of officers,
Aaron L. Collins being chosen presi-
dent, Homer A. Curtiss secretary, and
George ^I. Howell, treasurer.
The early sixties were especially
prosperous for the company, a patent
on a hard rubber handle giving them .
a very large trade in that particular j
line of goods. Through wise and
conservative management, Mr. Collins
kept the concern on a firm basis as
long as he lived. At his death, which
occurred in 1903 Homer A. Curtiss
was chosen president. The present
officers are as follows: President and
Digitized by Google
1
MANUF/
rreasiirer, Homer A. Curtiss ; Secre-
ary, Thomas A. Ben ham ; Assistant
Treasurer, J. P. Grosvenor ; Superin-
endent, R. \V. Hallam ; Directors,
Walter Hubbard, John L. Billard. C.
L. Rockwell, A. Chamberlain. F. B.
Wilcox, J. M. Gildersleeve, R. W.
Hallam, B. W. Collins and H. A.
Curtiss.
When the company was first start-
ed, the production was limited to
HOMER A. CURTISS.
ivory-handled knives and forks, but
the line has gradually increased until
it has embraced everything that would
naturally come under the head of ta-
lkie cutlery. These include table
knives and forks, carving sets, butcher,
bread, cook's, kitchen and shoe knives,
putty knives, spatulas, cork screws,
pie knives, orange knives, berry
TORIKS. 25
spoons, orange spoons, cream ladles,
sugar shells, oyster forks, pickle forks,
cheese scoops, etc., their specialty be-
ing the famous .^nvil brand carvers.
For the handles of these various ar-
ticles the ends of the earth have been
required to yield their bounty. The
depths of the mines give forth their
ore for steel and silver ; the moun-
tain heights their stag horn ; the bot-
tom of the Indian Ocean its pearl ;
Madagascar its ebony ; the African
jungle its ivory; the South .\meican
forest its rubber and cocobola wood.
All this material, collected as it is,
from every corner of the globe, the
Meridcn Cutlery Company gives back
to the world a finished product, the
quality and workmanship of which
cannot be surpassed either in this or
foreign countries.
THE C. F. MONROE COMPANY.
A concern which for some years
has added much fame to Meriden as
a manufacturing center and which
within recent years has experienced
a most remarkable growth is the C.
F. Monroe Company. The business
was established by Charles F.
Monroe in 1886, and has been carried
on by him with remarkable success.
The history of the business, therefore,
for the past twenty years, is a history
of its president and treasurer ; for by
his own indefatigable energy and ex-
ercise of talent coupled with an ex-
hibition of rare executive ability has
the success of the now large factory
been attained.
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
27
Monroe is a native of Provi-
- . R. 1.. where he obtained his
education. When the old Flint
- Company was started in Meriden
the late Horace C. Wilcox,
lonroe was engaged as a design-
that company. After giving the
company the benefit of his much
•ciatcd services for some years,
cnl to Europe. Upon his return
the manufacture of decorated glass
ware, his first location being on the
second tl(K)r of the Carter building
which adjoined the works of the Mer-
iden Britannia Company, on State
street, and where he soon made his
name famous in the manufacturing
world by i)utting upon the market a
line of decorated goods, most origi-
nal and attractive, known as "Wave
Ol l-ICK, C. 1-. MONKOI. C<»MrA.\\
abroad Mr. Monroe opened an
tore, the location of which was
le Guy building. In addition to
acting that commendable business
as called ui)On to do designing by
dc parlies. The demands made
him finally became so great that
the end of three or four years he
ed a factory of his own and began
Crest" ware. These goods have ever
since been eagerly sought for by buy-
ers in all parts of the United States.
I'pon the advice of H. C. Wilcox,
in whom he had a most valued friend,
Mr. Monroe erected a building on the
|)resent site which comprised a two
and a half story wooden structure 30
bv 62 feet in dimensions.
Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
28
In 1891 a building three stories in
height, 62 by 32 feet, was added to the
factory ; and the same vear the roof
of the original building was raised
another story, making more than
double the original capacity for the
busy industry.
In 1900 Mr. Monroe purchased the
land next the factory extending as
far as Main street, which he caused
to be filled in by his concern at a great
expense. Again the factory was still
further and more noticeably enlarged.
The old buildings were separated and
moved to a position nearer Ud
street, making a building IJ5 m
long, the whole of which was
to five stories in height on the d|
foundations. At this time arx-di^
but entirely new builtling 125 h} |
feet, of three stories, was ereaed 1
I
an angle with the main building. TI
factory has recently become poss«9
of an entirely new power plant,
its im^xising and stately chimnt
which was completed in July. l<fi
.\fter the old power house was
out the plant was equipped with
Google
MANUFACTORIES.
29
enough engine and boiler and
» a g^enerator of sufficient voltage
acity to supply the entire factory
only with electric lights but with
tor power for all the different de-
tments.
t was but a few years after Mr.
»nroe removed to the present loca-
[1 that glass cutting was added to
output of decorated goods.
\ short time after the addition of
i cut glass department came that
metal goods. The latest de-
rture of the Monroe Company is the
rling- silver department which turns
t ware unsurpassed either in design
make in this country or Europe.
The factory of the C F. Monroe
»mpany gives, employment to 200
>nds, many of whom are accomp<
hed artists, engravers and design-
5 — ^necessarily a class of workmen
ho crall for a large weekly pay-roll
I the part of the company. The fae-
ry adds more than a little to the
-osperity of Meriden and is not only
faithfully located, but has been im-
roved to such an extent, both in its
tistic interior and attractive grounds,
lat it is known to the trade as one
f the best and nentc^t kept nianu-
icturing plants in all New England,
ts office and show rtxims are fitted
p artistically and the goods dis-
liked are of such excellence of
lechanisni and beauty of pattern that
ie place furnishes a most interesting
ight for visitors to fre(|uent. In fact,
ven the people of Meriden and vicin-
ty are attracted there frequently and
eem to take a pardonable pride in
showing their friends the dainty arti-
cles made there which are so suitable
for wedding and other gifts.
Both the show rooms and offices are
more than ordinarily attractive and
they have been fitted up and arranged
by Mr. Monroe's artistic eye.
Mr. Monroe conducted the business
alone until 18192 when, on account of
the large increase of business, he found
it necessary to form a corporation re-
taining a large portion of the stock
himself and continuing as the active
head and holding the offices of both
president and treasurer to the present
writing. The company is capitalized
at $40,000 and the value of the plant
represents to-day an investment of
over $200,000.
Mr. Monroe is a member of
the Board of Trade and of the
general committee of the Meriden
Centennial celebration* He is si-
lently interested in several other en-
terprises besides the concern which
bears his name. His efforts in the for-
mation of the Home Club resulted in
securing the present club house; and
in raising the funds for which he as-
sumed the burden of a great responsi-
bility. Mr. Monroe has lucn presi-
dent of the Home Club, of which he
is a most valued member ; and he is
prominent in both social and yachting
circles.
He is a member of the Sons of the
American Revolution and was one of
the founders of the New Bedford
Yacht Club, of which he now holds
the distinction of being one of the
three honorary members. He is also
Digitized by Google
30
• A CENTURY OF MEBIDEN.
a member of the New York Yacht
Oub and an ex-coiiiniridorc of the
Pcqtiot Yacht Chil) of New Haven.
UfUil recently Mr. Monroe owned and
sailed the "Sylph," one of the finest
schooner >-achts on the Atlantic coast.
THE E. A. BLISS COMPANY.
Meriden, at the close of its first
century, is possessed of many manu-
factories in which it takes pardonable
pride; and ani ens; its many thriving
concerns is the E, A. Bliss Company.
This company ha^ experienced re-
markable growth and* its output, com-
prising novelties for personal adorn-
ment made in nickel, silver, gold and
silver plate, combined with enamel,
leather and comb-making material, is
of a character particularly creditable
to Meridcn and the progress of hu-
man handiwork of the present ad-
vanced age.
The company, known as tlie "Tif-
fany" of the plated novelty trade, has
justly and fairly earned that sobri-
fjuct ; for it leads the whole I'nited
States in its line — ^a position which
the K. A. liliss Company has long
since been nwst happily accorded.
The company bejjan business in
North Attlel>oro in 1875 and after
fifteen \ears of \ma bated success were
oblif^ed to seek larger quarters for
the manufacture of their goods; and,
fortunntcly for Mcri<len, foun<l a fac-
tory here well suitcl t'-" their needs
anil which thi-y occupied in July. 1890.
To this several enlargements have
been made from time to time, the
most important of which was in iiq
when sixty-five feet were added to tb?
three-story brick structure, making:'::^
main factory butldin|^ 200 feet b
length. In 1905 the basement <
excavated the w liole length of the
t'^ry giving still more space. Hwt"
tire building is now being utilize ; ♦!
its fullest extent and the plant i« ^ t
mirably lighted and equipped witj
every modem improvement; and
machiner}% the latest and most prar:
cal, comprises several labor-savin;: :
vic^s gotten up and adopted bv th
concern for their sole use.
By continuously ke^tiing up "
quality of their goods to the
possible standard, for the comi
cater only to the highest da»s i
trade, the business has grown rap '
and with such strides that at
writing it has reacheil large pHX-'t
tions. being tbe lai^gcst of its kin '. 1
the Union, its fame extending to ever
state from Maine to Califoniia.
ployment is furnished to yyo han lJ
many of whom are required to h^- ii*;
merely skilled, but talented ariisaiii
The interior of the large and bi s
factory is a model of neatness au'i v}
working hours of the employtt's
occupied amid healthy, clean a-j
cheerful surroundings : so with : ;
and even liberal treatment from
concern it is tliat the best results ^?
obtained. |
There is no pan of the lartjc f >
tory but is blessed with an abuntiaii^T
of daylight: and the plant is \i)ihr<
when necessary with its fwyn incan "'^
cciU electric lighting ])lant, tlie t^\^io\'■
Digitized by Google
32
A CENTURY OF MtRlDEN.
ment having in 1904 been increased
by the addition of a generator of 1 10
volts capacity. The engine room fur-
nishes 80 horse-power steam for the
machinery.
E. A. BLISS.
The pro(hict of the E. A. Bliss
Company is of such variety and ele-
gance that it almost beggars descrip-
tion. The almost bewildering array
of small articles, to which some new-
creation is being added almost daily,
is such as to commend the goods of
this concern to the wide awake depart-
ment store and jewelry buyer.
In 1 90 1 the company began the
manufacture of shell combs for mod-
ish hair dressing, and in this at
once sprung into the lead in the trade.
In the decoration of these shell conih>.
plated-ware adorned with imitatioiii
of all the precious stones of the woriti,
arc brought into use, and with mo-:
pleasing effects.
Perhaps the most notable of \he\i
latest departures and that which hi^
brought them more fame than
other line of their vast product, is tik
success they have achieved in the pro-
duction of leather novelties. Therf
are the crush leather belts and girdlb
of mocha and kid, kept in sliape, fef-
tened and adorned with marvdloits'
w. E. DLISS.
elaborate buckles. Among the other
specimens of leather novelties madt'
by this concern are chatelaines of dif-
ferent kinds of leather and great rt-
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTOklKS.
33
-iety of design, each style comprising
ill in one cluster, money purse, mir-
-or. writing tablet with pencil at-
ached, bon bon holder, vinaigrette,
i;> salve and powder lx)x. These
ire also made in nickel silver.
Then there are vanity cases and oth-
•r novelties too numerous to mention
ihat are ornamented and beautified in
:he extreme by hand engravers who
C. v.. POE.SEV.
are necessarily emi)l()yed in hrge nrni-
Ijcrs and who bring art into their
work. From the fact that new
tovelties are constantly hein;^ addetl
to the product of the factory it may
he said that the catalogues of this
conipanv sh«»w more cliangf- ev.'r.'
vear than those of anv ntlur factorv
• • •
4i
in Mericlen; and in thus keeping in
the lead in the trade the E. A. Bliss
Company has earned the laurels it
gracefully wears. Everything made
at the factory calls for the highest
skill of experienced hands ; and the en-
tire product is from the raw material.
The different departments of the fac-
tory are perfect in their arrangements ;
and the plant is fitted for producing
readily any article in the novelty line
which the trade demands. Several
traveling salesmen represent the E.
A. lUiss Co. and call regularly upon
the trade throughout the country.
The show rooms are in the Lincoln
lJuilding, Union Square, Xew York
City. The company is capitalized at
$50,000, but its factory is valued far
in excess of that amount. Its officers
are men well known to the trade. E.
A. Bliss, originally of .\ew York state
and formerly a resident of Meriden,
but now of Jersey City, is the j)resi-
dent. He is a tyi)ical Xew England
tr.anrfacturer and makes trips abroad
every year in interest of the busi-
re.ss. He has ever possessed the
ficulty of foreseeing the advance
wants of the market ; and his taste in
the choice of designs and ideas for
the trade have been most important
factors in the success of the concern
of which he is the able head.
The New York head<iuarters. from
which the output is handled, is in
charge of W. E. Bliss, vice-president
of the company.
The secretary and treasurer. C. E.
I'«»lsey, is a native of Pawtuckct, R.
I., and has been associated with the
MANUFACTORIES.
35
concern from the htji^inniiii^. lie a
valued resilient of ALridin and. lil '
the other members of the concern, luis
shown an active interest in the ^^rowth
and prosperity of the community.
The superintendent of the factory
is M. H. Brown, who for seventeen
years has been a resident of Meridcn.
INlPERNATIOMAL SILVER CO.
The International Silver Company
was organized under the laws of the
fliate of New Jersey on November 19,
1898, with an authorized capital of
$iipoo,ooo common, and ^,000,000
preferred stock, only a part of which
was Issued. The company imme-
diately bought the total capital stock,
of the following companies from the
various stockholders:
The Barbour Silver Co,, Hartford ;
Holmes & Edwards Silver Co., Bridge-
port ; Manhattan Silver Plate Co.,
L^ons, Y. ; Meriden Britannia Co.,
Mcriden; Meriden Silver Plate Co.,
Hcffden; Norwich Cutlery Co., Nor-
wkb; Wm. Rogers Mfg. Co., Hart-
ford; Rogers Cutlery Co., Hartford:
Rogers & Bro., Waterbury; Rogers
& Hamilton Co., Waterbury; Wilcox
Silver Plate Co., Meriden; Watrous
M%. Co., Wallingford, and Standard
Silver Co., Ltd., Toronto. Ont.
Dnring the first six months of 1899
the following companies were also
purchased:
Derby Silver Co., Derby ; Simpson,
Hall, Miller & Co., Wallingford:
Simpson Nickel Co.. Wallingford, and
Middlelowii I'late Co.. .Midd]el»)\vp..
I)j.rin.i^ the same year tlicse ditlcr-
ent companies were mer}.red in the
Irtcrnational Silver Company and
ceased to exist as independent coqjc-
rations. and tlie headquartrr:; of the
consolidated industry was established
in what had been the office of Meri-
den I'ritannia Co., on State street,
Meriden, although the building was
considerably enlarged by the addi-
tion of two stories.
\'arious changes were made in the
scheme of manufacturing, all of
which were to the advantage of Mer-
iden.
The production of goods bearing
the trade mark of Meriden Silver
Plate Company was removed to the
factory of the Meriden Britannia Co.
and the plant of the Barbour Silver
Co. was moved from Hartford and
installed in the factory made vacant
by the previous change.
In January, 1903, the total capital
stock of United States Silver Corpo-
ration was acquired which gave the
company indirectly the ownership of
C, Rogers & Bros., of Meriden, Conn.
The business of this latter company
was now replaced by that of Wm.
Rogers Mfg. Co. and Rogers Cut-
lery Company of Hartford, which
were removed from Hartford and are
now installed in the factory on Butler
street With the exception of the
Hartford factories mentioned and one
in Middletown, one in Lx'ons, N. Y.,
and the Rogers & Hamilton factory
in Waterbury all the various plants
acquired by the International Silver
Digitized by Google
36
A CKNTL'RV OF MKRIDKX.
Co. are in full operation to-day. The
ofticcrs of the company are :
Samuel Docld, president ; George
H. Wilcox, first vice-president;
(ieorjfe C. Edwards, second vice-pres-
ident : Charles A. Hamilton, third vice-
president ; George M. Curtis, treas-
urer; George Rockwell, secretary.
never actively connected with the com-
pany and resigned the office in July.
HJOO.
The directors of the company are
Samuel Dodd, George H. Wilcox,
George C. Edwards, Charles A. Ham-
ilton, George M. Curtis, George
Rockwell, C. H. Tibbits, Samuel L
f
* f
1
H. C. Wilcox. I. r. Lewis. Geo. It. Curtis. D. C. Wilcox.
John Munson. L. .1. Curtis. Samuel SimpHon. W. W. Lyman. W. H. John^a.
|-(»1'M)I:K.>< of tmk .mekimkn iirit.xnxia to.
Krom n photo tuken about 1H52.
These officers with one exception
arc the same as were elected at the
organization of the company. The
late General Samuel Thomas, of Xew
York, was elected treasurer when the
comi)any was organized, hut was
liarbonr, C. E. Brecken ridge. C. Ber-
ry Peets, Fred P. Wilcox, Andrew
.Vndrews and Watson J. Miller.
A brief sketch of this line of man-
ufacture in Meriden previous to the
formation of any of these companies,
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
37
follows, together with a short history
of Meriden Britannia Co.. Wilcox Sil-
ver IMate Co.. .Meriden Silver Plate Co.
and C. Rogers & Bros., of Meriden.
.MAXCFACTURK OF BRITANNIA WARK
I'RFVIOUS TO THE FOR.MATION OK
MERIDEN IIRITANNIA CO.. 1852.
The manufacture of britannia ware
is one of the oldest industries in this
with Mr. Boardman. who settled in
Iladdam, and Charles and Hiram
Yale, who located in Wallingford.
Mr. Griswold built the house. 50 Gris-
wold street, now occupied by Mrs.
Charles Collins. His shop stood
south of the house, sei>arated from it
by a garden. As there is no stream at
this point, he mu^t have used, at the
start, either hand or horse power.
G«». H. Wilcox, Vice-President.
OFFICKR.s ()!•
Samuel Dodd, Pre-sident. Geo. M. Curtis, Treasurer.
THE lNTERNATIf)NAI. .^illAllR CO.
country, records showing that this
ware was made in Boston during the
latter half of the seventeenth century.
The business was begun in this town
about the year 1808, by Ashabel
Griswold, or Squire Griswold, as he
was familiarly known. He had
learned the trade of Captain Danforth
of Rocky Hill, this state, together
Here for a number of years he made
britannia pots and tea and table-
spoons. The pots were cast in two
parts and then soldered together and
the spouts and handles added in the
same way. The pots, after soldering,
were placed on a lathe and turned and
polished, and a very good finish was
given to the articles. It was not un-
38
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
til al>oiit the time the Meriden Bri-
tannia Co. was formed that pots,
plates and cups were made by rolling
the metal and then pressing it into
shape by means of dies or forms.
The articles formed by casting were
susceptible of a high polish and pre-
sented quite an attractive appearance
if properly cared for by the purchas-
oftentimes, when poorly combined, at
a low temperature, the effect of a han-
dle or spout dropping oflf when in use
at the table may be more easily imag-
ined than described. A better com-
position was afterwards employed,
made of tin, antimony and copper,
which was much harder and retained
a more pronounced luster. Tlie out-
MI:KII>F-\ HRITANNIA CO.. IN 1863.
er. Tabic and tea spoons were cast
and then scraped and burnished bv
hand if for table use, or sold rough
for cooking pury^oses. The metal
first used appears to have been a com-
l)ouiid of tin and lead, or practically
pewter, and would easily dent, and
as the solder used was composed of
lead and bismuth, which would melt
put of such a factory as that of Mr.
Griswold could not have been large.
In 1830 he employed not nuire than
ten or twelve men, and in examining
his sales book at that time it is found
that the total sales of one month did
not e.Kceed $2,500. The power used
was furnished by an old blind horse
traveling around a beam which com-
MANUFACTORIES.
39
municated with the floor above.
Among the articles disposed of by him
were such as cloth of different kinds,
glass tumblers, stockings, whips and
yarns. These goods were undoubt-
edly taken by Mr. (Iriswold in ex-
change for his wares. His merchan-
dise was sold mainly by peddlers, who
antl undoubtedly the exchange was a
profitable one for the peddler. Bar-
ter was the usual method of dealing,
and as one of the early manufactur-
ers expressed it recently, "Money was
a mighty scarce article." As there
\Verc no railroads until 1838 if any
shii)mcnts were made direct to pur-
FACTOKV A. IXTEF^X ATlO.NAf- .SILVKK (O. (.MKKIDEN SIIA'KU I'l.ATE CO.)
penetrated to all parts of \ew I'-ng-
land and frequently journeyed South.
We learn of one such itinerant who
returned with nothing but goose
feathers in exchange for the wares
he had taken out ; but feathers were
a valuable commoditv in those davs
chasers at a distance, it was neces-
sary to carl them to Middletown or
New Haven and ship by boat. Tin
was brought in the same way, and in
the account book in question, mention
is made of purchases of Spanish and
hulia tin. The j)rice paid was usually
Digitized by Google
40
A CENTURY OF MERIDKN.
aloi:t seventeen cents per pound, the
price to-day being about twenty-nine
cents. The India tin was undoubted-
ly the same as that used in Meriden
to^dav, now called Straits of Malacca
tin. Where the Spanish tin was
mined cannot be learned, as only min-
or deposits of that metal ocair in
Spain and it has never been niiiu»l
to any extent in that count r\. In
1837 there were also enjja^cd in the
same business James A. Frary, who
afterwards had as partners a Mr.
Couch and a Mr. nonham. Mr. Fra-
rv's factory stood about where the
Malleable Iron slioj) is today located.
I. C. Lewis was located in East Mer-
iden. or Bangall, and had as partners,
at different times, George Cowles and
L. J. Curtis. He used water power,
and at last steam power. Edwin £.
Curtis w as engaged in making spoons,
and his factory stoofl near his house,
112 Curtis street, ami at one lime he
had as a partner liis brother, L. J.
Curtis. Enos Curtis was also in the
business and his factory was located
in the north part of tlie town on what
is now Uritannia street. In 1837
Itarber's Historical Collections for
Coiniecticut, mentions, as engaged in
the business in Meriden. four manu-
facturing britannia ware and three
Jiritannia. or block tin. spoons. >fost
of the nianufacturcr5; learned the
trade in Wallingford where the Vales
were actively engaged in the bti?ines?.
Isaac C. Lewis served hi^ appren-
ticeship with the Yalc«; and returned
to Meriden soon after 1838 and went
to work for Part rick Lewis, his broth-
er, who had a shop back of EH C.
Hirdsev's former store on the fontS
cast comer oi Last Main and Urcau
streets (which has b<en taken downi
and afterwards built a s1k»^> on the
southwest comer of East Main and
High streets, where Charles Par-
ker afterwards lived. About 1833 f-
C. Lewis left his brother and with
Cieorge Cowles began the makinj;
of Britannia ware in Bangall in the
cast part of Meriden, where he con-
tinued, with various partners, until
the formation of the Meriden Britan-
nia Co. W. W. Lyman began bnsim^s
after an apprenticeship with Mr. Gris-
wold in 1844. He liad a shop near
his house on iiritannia street, and af-
terwards at the Twiss factorv in
I'rattsville at the east end of Pratt's
pond and later in the Frar>' factor}
near Colon \ stn-et. where he continued
until tlie Meriden Britannia Co. was
formerl. L. L Curtis learned his
trade m Wallingford of the YaJes.
and afterwards was in partnership
with I. .C Lewis. I'. E. Curtis and W.
W. Lyman. With the latter he re-
mained until the formation of the
Meriden Britannia Co. which was
consummated by the union of tiie
Lewis-Curtis and Lyman-Iames A.
Frary & Co. interests of .Meriden and
John Munson, of Wallingford, to-
gether with IL C. and D. C. Wilcox
who, under the limi name of H. C.
Wilcox & Co., had disposed of niost
of the products of the various com-
panies. Besides those already men-
tioned, in Perkins' History of Meri-
den, published in 1849, occur the
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
41
names of the following as engaged in
the manufacture of britannia ware:
Charles rarker, S. L. Cone willi four
hands, L. G. IJaltlw in, five hands. In
the same history L C. Lewis is men-
tioned as employing eight hands, but
Mr. Lewis, a few weeks before his
death, told Geo. M. Curtis that at the
time the Meriden Britannia Co. was
forined, in 1852, he employed about
forty hands. From this one would
judge that the figures in Perkins*
History were not entirely trust-
worthy. Mr. Lewis also stated that
in the forties twelve hours constituted
the ordinary day's work, except in
winter when the number of hours
was somewhat less. The men were
not paid regularly, but took orders
on stores instead of cash in payment
of wages, and the merchants were
paid in manufactured goods. Tn
the winter when light was needed it
was furnished by whale oil lamps.
Apprentices were not indentured us-
ually. To learn the trade, tnnk <^vn-
crally five years, hoys beginning at
from twelve to fifteen years of aixe.
and going to school during the win-
ter months. In i^^^o wages were
from 75 cents to Si.rx) i)er day ; in the
forties $1.00 to $1.50 per <iay, and in
1852 almoin $2.m per <ia\ was earned
by the most skillful workmen. The
prices per pound of various metals
compare as follows:
18.10
Spelter or zinc . .
$ .06
23
.14
.046
.18
Tin
17
-30
15y 1850 the variety f articles man-
ufactured had considerabl} increased.
.\mong the output were found such
articles as cuspidors, cups, soup
ladles, sugars and cream pitchers,
candlesticks, caster frames, fluid
lamps, mugs and dippers.
.MF.klDK.V Ilkl 1 A.N\r.\ CO.
The Meriden Britannia Co. was or-
ganized under the joint stock laws
of the state of Connecticut, on the
1 6th day of December, 1852, with a
capital stock of $50,000. subscribed by
the following gentlemen : I. C. Lew-
is, H. C. Wilcox, D. C. Wilcox,
James A. Frary, Lemuel J. Curtis. W.
Lyman, of Meriden, and John
Munson, of Walhngford. The fol-
lowing officers were elected: I. C.
Lewis, president, and H. C. Wilcox,
secretary and treasurer. As already
stated, the manufacture of britannia
ware was begun in Meriden about the
year 1808, by .A-shabel Oris wold.
.Subsequently, others engaged in the
business, and by 1850. there were sev-
eral fn-ms engaged in the manufacture
of this ware in Meriden, the principal
being James A. hVary & Co., T. C. Lew-
is & Co. and Curtis ^(r Lyman. There
had also lueti formed a partnership
by two hrotliers. Horace C. and
D. C. Wilcox nn<]er tin- fmn name of
IT, C. W'ilcox Co.. and most of the
jirodiiet of the flifTcrent factories was
n^irketed 1»\ liiis firm. In order to
control competition, n-duce expenses
and bring tlie managcnunt of affairs
mnlcr one head, the Meri<Un Britan-
nia Co. was formed. Into this union
Digitized by Google
I
42
A CEXTLRV OF MERIDtN.
was also incorpti rated the business of
John Munson, who was at this time
niannfacturinfj in WaUingford.
The business was now confined to
the Frary shop in the north part of
the town, the Lewis factory in the
east, and the Munson factory in W'al-
was not used, but in 1854 began
the rolling of metals and the subse-
quent fonuation by spinning an<j
stamping. Shortly after. plating
was adopted, and in 1856 a large plat-
ing factory was built on State street,
the first of their large collection of
FACTORY E, INTIiRN ATION AL SILVER CO. (.MKRIDEN BRITANNIA CO.)
ling ford, the offices being at Xo. 2
West Main street in Mcriden, in the
building now occui)ied by the dris-
wold. Richmond & (ilock Co. At the
formation of the company, all articles
were cast in moulds and electro-plat-
shoi)s in this vicinity. The outpot
during these first years consisted of
such articles as tea and coflFee-j>ots,
bitter tubes, candlesticks, cups, tea
and tablespoons, dinner casters, flui'"
lamps, cuspidors, sewing birds, etc..
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
and, as tlieir utility was duly appre-
ciated by the public, as was sbown by
the rapidly increasing trade of the
company, the number and variety of
wares were constantly increased. By
1855. they had bcj^Min the output of
nickel silver forks and spoons, heavily
plated, and subsc(iucnt!v they se-
cured the services of the famous Rog-
ers brothers, under whose supervision
these goods were produced. The
honesty and skill of manufacture and
Ideality of design account for the rapid
increase of this biipiness, and to day
r!u' reputation of their trademark
t"j847 Rogers Bros.") on forks.
sj)Oons and knives is world-wide, and
goods bearing this stamp will invar-
iably bring a higher price in the mar-
ket than any other lirand. The busi-
ness of tlie company had grown so
large by iSfj^ that the factory on the
west side of State street, over five
hiindreil feet long, was erected
()gronnd being broken on the first
day of the l>attle of Gettysburg) and
the otlur factories in Meriden and
WalIitii;ford were abandoned. Their
wares were now being sold all over
the United States, and exjiorted to
many foreign countries, notably to
South America, where a large and
profitable trade was built up, so that
a few years later it was necessary to
send a representative to that conti-
nent to look after tlie various inter-
ots '^f the ct>tn])aiiy. which con-
nection has bt en since maintained.
A New >vk depuL ur salesroom
was established during the early years
of the business in connection with an-
other company, but in 1863 ^
tablished their own warerooms at 199
Broadway, and shortly afterward the
secretary of the company, D. C
Wilcox, moved to New York to give
the business his personal supervision.
By 1866 they liad also established an
a.L;enc\ on the Pacific coast under the
care 01 W. 1*. Morgan, and a few
> ears later a store was opened in Chi-
e'l'jo, under the cliarge of ,\. L.
^crcdinb, and an agency was estab-
H.shed in London. By this time, their
wares had materially changed in
styles and (jnality. Xo britannia was
now made, the base metal of all j)rod-
ucts being either what is called white
metal or nickel silver, which is as dur-
able and susecptibl'" of high a hn-
ish as solid silver. .Many articles
were being produced of a highly or-
namental nature, and artistic in de-
sign. In t8<St, anollicr large factory
\va^ buill un tlie corner of .Miller and
Slate streets in Meriden. and th.- same
year a branch factory w as established
in Hamilton, Ontario, which devel-
oped at once into a prosperous busi-
ness. A few years later, a new j)lat-
ing shop was built in Mericlen. to be
used c.xclusixely f<»r plating forks,
spoons and knives, and it is to-day
the most eoni]>lete and exteii»ive plat-
ing factory in the country. During
these years, and since, many addiiions
and cxti n>ions to the factories were
built, about which no special menliun
has been made. I he wares to-day are
.sold in almost every country of the
civilized wruld.
The number of different articles
Digitized by Googlc
44
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
produced is bewildering in its va*
riety ; they comprise not only those
for tabic use, but embrace a Inrjje
number for toilet use as well. The
fact that an article bears the trade-
mark of the Meriden Britannia Co. is
considered the country over as a guar-
antee of standard quality and honest
manufacture. The company in 1895
went extensively into the production
of sterling silverware, and this de-
partment to-day produces a very im-
portant part of the output. In 1876,
the company made a brilliant display
of its productions at the Centennial
exhibition in Philadelphiai and repeat-
ed it on n still more elaborate scale at
the Columbian fair of Chicago, in
1893. They exhibited in Paris in
1899, and have made displays at nu-
merous minor exhibitions and fairs,
and they have invariably been given
the highest awards in recognition of
their achievements. Their salesrooms
in New York were removed from i(>t)
to 550 Broadway, and subsequently
to 46 East Fourtceeuth street, on
Union Square, ntid a few years ago
were moved to 208 Mfth avenue, on
Madison Square, and thence to 218
Fifth avenue. The comj)any also ac-
quired large interests in other manu-
facturings corporations. The capital
stock of the ^^eriden Britannia Com-
pany at its organization in 1852, was
$50,000; in 1854, was increased to
$f'io,ooo: again, in 1857. to $100.-
o;v>; in t86o, it was ma<ie $200.-
000; in iS^. :;, SJ50.000; in 1866. $550.-
000. and in 1879 it wa*? increase<l
to $1,100,000, where it remained. As
stated already, the officers c'ected .it
the organizati' 11 \\ ere I. C. Lewif,
president, and H. C. Wilcox, secre-
tary and treasurer. hi?t a few davJ
later Jlr. Wilcox resigned the office
of treasurer, and Cieorgc K. (. vr-
tis, w ho had been the teller in the Mer-
idcn bank, was elected treasurer in his
place, and continued to hold the oiike
until his death in 1893.
In 1865 H. C, Wilcox resigned!
the office of secretary aii'l D. C
Wilcox was elected in his place aod
continued in the office until his
death in 1886. In 1866 Mr. Lewis re-
signed the oiiice of president aod Mr. ]
H. C. Wilcox was elected in his pfece |
and continueti to hold this office until '
his death in 1890. At his death I. C. |
Lewis who had served in that ca{»city«
was re-elected and held the position |
until his death in 1893 when |
George H. Wilcox was elected. «
The officers in charge at the
time the Meriden Britannia Com-
pany wa? merged into the Intenui-
lional Silver Company were : Gerrr^e
H. Wilcox, president; F. P. Wilcox. ^
vice-prcsiiU nt ; (leorge M. Curtis, I
treasurer, and George Rockwell, sec- |
retary. The directors were: D. K.
Hamilton, W'aterbury : George H.
Wilcox. Ge«>rgo Rixkwell and Go^rge
M. Curtis, of Mcriden; F. P. Wilcox.
Ww \'f)rk City: C. Berry Peets. Ne,v
Haven; J. M. Harmon. Meri<len:
Henry J. Lewis. Stratford, and U.
v. Davis. Hartford.
WII.COX SII.VKR PI-ATE CO.
The great success of the Meriden
Britannia Co., when viewed in the
Digitized by Google
i
M ANL'l ACTURIKS.
45
lifjht of its humble beginnings in 1852,
intluced several gentlemen in the year
1865 to establish another company to
cng^age in manufacturing the same
general class of goods. The war was
over, a period of great expansion and
prosperity had developed during
those critical years and there seemed
no reason to believe that the period
tannia Co. was organized in Decem-
ber, 1865, with a capital of $150,000,
and the officers elected were Jedediah
Wilcox, president ; and C. H. Collins,
secretary and treasurer. The board
of directors included such additional
names as Aaron L. Collins, Charles
Parker. Levi E. Coe, George W.
Lyon and H. H. Miller. The factory
Wn.COX SILVKR n.ATK CO. IN iSO;.
of growth was at an end. Must
prfMninently identified with the new
company called the Wilcox Britannia
Co.. was Jedediah Wilcox who had
l;cen very successful in the wool-
en business and whose resourceful
energy led him to believe that the
new company wouhl be as profitable
as its older rival. The Wilcox I'ri-
of J. Wilcox & Co.. w(M)leii manufac-
turers, had been <leslroyed l)y fire
(hiring the year and the brick build-
ing now occupied by the Meriden
Woolen Co. on the north side of Pratt
street had been recently erected. The
Wilcox P.ritannia Co. immediately af-
ter its organization, proceeded to erect
a wooden building on the site of the
46
A CENTLRY OF MtRlDtN.
burned fac:«ir} ui il;c curiu r ui I'rall
an<l Myrtle streets, and were soon
busily enK^^T*-'! i'^ maimtaciurin;^'^ sil-
ver ])late(l ware. ])nrin^ Uic \car
1867 tlic name of the company was
chant^ed to the Wilcox Silver IMate
Co.. and the capital stock was in-
creased to $joo.mo. and at the same
time Mr. Wilcox, finding that hiswo<jl-
en business gave him little time to at-
tend to the affairs of the new com-
pany, resigned its presidency and
A, L. Collins was elected as his suc-
cessor. The capital was again in-
creased, this time to $250,003. In
1869 quite a change in the list of di-
rectors took place and we fmd the
following board was elected: A. L.
Collins^ I. C. Lewis, Qmrles Parker,
H. C. Wilcox, E. A, Mitchell, Geotge
W, Lyon and George R. Curtis and
the capital stock was increased to
$370,000. In 1868 a company had
been formed called the Parker & Cas-
per Co., which built and occupied
what is now the larger half of the
western part of Manning, Bowman
& Co.'s factory. Samuel Dodd, who
for more than ten vears had been
the cashier of the Home National
bank, had, when the Parker & Casper
Co. was formed, become its financial
manager. But its period of existence
was short ; for it was absorbed in 1869
by the Wilcox Silver Plate Co. and
Mr. Dodd was elected secretary and
treasurer of the consolidated com-
pany and really its manager; for Mr.
Collins, while still holding the oflfice
of president, gradually withdrew
from active management. The com-
pany soon crucre<l on a i)eri<id r.f j^rej-
prosperity. Its ware.- becanit uc"'
aii<! favorably known all over this aui
nuuu iL;rc3^n countries. The nun-
agement was conservative and y<'t en-
terprising. The wares made were
confined mostly to what is known as
plated hollow* ware although quite a
business was done in cut glass a«i veil
The beauty of design was a maxked
feature of the goods made by thi>
company. Mr. Dodd had drawn
around him a corps of well traineJ
and efficient helpers, notably P.
S. Pclton, for many years superinten-
dent, succeeded some years later by
Lewis Hall ; also Henry B. Beach |
as a salesman, and C. E. Breck-
enridge first as a salesman an<f
then as manager of the Xew York
salesroom. In 1882 the large brick
addition to the northeast wing was
added to accommodate the rapi<il.v
growing business, while during other
years there were various other addi-
tions of minor importance added.
There were scarcely any changes
among officers or directors during the
last thirty years of the company's ex-
istence except as caused by death- At
the time the company was absorbed
by the International Silver Co., in
1899. the officers were as follows: A
L. Collins, president; Samuel Dodd
secretary and treasurer; George E
Flint, assistant treasurer ; Lewis HaH.
superintendent. The directors were:
A. L. Collins, Charles Parker, Geo^e
H. Wilcox, Samuel Dodd, George M.
Curtis, H. B, Beach, Geo. W. Lyon.
Lewis Hall and George E. Flint.
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
47
Mi-.uiiu:.N siiAKU I'l.Ait: m.
\\'lic'n the PaFkcr & Casper Co. was
bought out by the \\'i!cn\ Silver
I Male ( <). in iSfi;; Charles Cas-
f>er iiiunedialely organized tlie Meri-
(Icn Silver Plate Co., under the joint
stock laws of the state of Connecti-
cut. The organization papers bear
the date of January 3, 1879, and Mr.
Casper's associates were Isaac H.
<',irTnva!l. William 1"^. A. iiird ami
\\ liliani R. Mackay. The capital
sl(x'k was $30,000 and the directors
were Charles Casper, W illiani R.
Mackay and l>aac H. (driiwall, who
were elected president, secretary and
treasurer. re>i)rctivel\ . ihe com-
pany bought the old factory property
of J. H, Canfield & Co. at the cor-
ner of Colony and Cross streets, and
rnnning through to South George
>trcfr. on January 24. 1S70, and pro-
ceeded at once to the manufacture of
silver plated ware. From the start
the coTTipany was prosperous and tlu'
followuig year it was foiuul ncccs>ary
to increase the cajiiial ^tock to $40,-
fx)o. This increase was takin liy
\. C. Markham. who was elected a di-
rector in 1872. Suhserpiently H.
Wales IJnes became cuniuctcd with
the company and was for a short time
its secretary and treaMucr. In 1873
Rc.hrrt H, Curtis was elected to the
position t>f srcntary and treasurer.
About the s;iiiK- tinu the Meriden
llritannia Co. ac(iuirtd a block of the
>l<x:k and tlu nt * !'< n th there were twr^
or thrrc rc pri .senlaiives from that
company on the board of directors.
Ill the year 1880 the brick adtlition
coiiuiining the ofHce and large addi-
tional factory room on Colony street
was cnrud to accommoflate the ex-
pnn liivu business of the coni[)any. In
1 ^("^7 Charles Casper di-jioscd of his
st<:>ck and resi^iud from tlu- com-
pany and (i/ I'm- R, Cnrti> was
elected president as his .successor in
1888, but was not actively connected
with the company, and at his dealii in
1893. Robert H. Curtis was elect-
ed to fill the j)osition. but resii:m«l
from the lioard in i8()5. The direct-
ors at the time the company was
merged with the International Silver
Co., were : I'enjaniin Tage, George H.
Wilcox, W illiam R. Mackay, W. W',
Mosher. George M. Curtis, I'. II.
Cusliing and the oft'icers : (ieorgc M.
Curtis, ))resident; V . 11. Cushing. sec-
retary and treasurer; William R.
Mackay, superintendent and assisiaiu
treasurer.
C. Uor.KUS \- 15KOS.
The firm of C. ]v*gers & IJros. was
lornied in 1800 and Ifx^ated on Rut-
ler street, wuth of Main street, where
a factory was built and the manufac-
ture of ca»;ket hardware, shrouds, etc.,
wa.s carrier 1 uri. Some years later the
firm In L^au the making of plated forks,
spo. Ill;,, knives, etc.. and (luite a nour-
ishing business \sas l)uilt up. In
iHfK) the business was incorporated
uith the name of C". Rogers l^ros.
of Meriden, Conn., under the laws of
the state of Xew Jersev and later un-
der the law> "f I onneciicul. In
the capital stuck was purchased by the
I'nited State-; Silver Corporation and
when the International Silver Co. pur-
Digitized by Google
48
A CENTURV OF MliitlDEN.
chased this company they, of course,
()btaiiH'<l control of C. Rogers & liros.
of Meriden. Tlie old officers were:
C. H. Rogers, president ; X. B. Rog-
ers, vice-president ; Gilbert Rogers,
treasurer ; Wilbur F. Rogers, secre-
tary ; Dan Fellows Piatt, assistant
treasurer. The directors were: Ar-
thur Haldwin. N. B. Rogers, Gilbert
bits. S, L, Barbour an<l (i, M. Cuni?.
This board of directors subsequent-
ly elected George H. Wilcox, presi-
dent, and George M. Curtis, secretan*
and treasurer. ^
The factory was then leased to iht
International Silver Co.. and this com-
pany then installed in it the business
of Wni. Rogers Mfg. Co., and Rog:-
K.XCTOKV 11. I M KUN.M lO.N AL .SIIA KK CO. (FUKMKKLV t . R( K.'.tKS Jt i;Ki).'^.. )
Rogers, Dan Fellows Piatt, Cephas B.
Rogers, Wilbur F. Rogers and George
F. Rogers.
As soon as the International Silver
Co. obtained control these officers and
directors all resigned and a new board
was elected consisting of ."^anmel
Dodd. George II. Wilcox. George D.
Munson. George Rockwell, C. H. Fib-
ers Cutlery Co., of Hartford, as ha>
alreadv been stated.
THE CHARLES PARKER CO.
The history of this large and diver-
sified manufacturing concern up to
within a comparatively few years wa>«
the historv of its founder. Charlc
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
49
Parker, a picmeer hardware niami- '
facturer of the country, and whose
death, as stated elsewhere, occurred
when he had attained the remarkable
age of ninety-three. For some years
previous to his death, however, the
business was conducted by his two
sons. Dexter VV. and Charles E., and
by his son-in-law, W. H. Lyon. The
business which was established in 1832
has added materially to the welfare
of the town of Mcriden; for almost
entirely within the borders of the town
has the industry always been carried
on.
The product has always added fame
to Mcriden, for the articles made are
usetl in all the four quarters of the
globe ; and the name of Charles Parker
has become recognized thrnujL]:h()nt the
world as a synonym for the most pop-
ular jijoods. having l)est values not only
in one line but ai)plying also to every
article produced by the company.
On a portion of the land bitweeu
Elm and High streets, where the riiain
factory buildings and office headquar-
ters of the concern are now situated,
Charle>> Parker hitilt a stone shop atifl
ill 1832 began the manufacture of cof-
fee mills.
His motive power was a hlind horse,
w'hn propelled a j)ole sweep, wliich,
h< air after hour, and day after day.
plodded around in a circle in the rear
of the east end of what is now the
vii^e shop ; which was the only j)ower
of the factory until 1844, when the
steam power introduced at the fac-
tory by Mr. Parker was the hr.st used
in Mcriden.
44
With the previous experience in the
manufacture of coffee mills as a con-
tractor for Lewis & Holt, and with a
very limited capital which he had
saved from his previous small earn-
ings, Mr. Parker laid the foundation
of the industry which now covers over
fifteen acres and requires four engines
of combined capacity of 500 horse
power and twenty boilers aggregating
about 2,000 horse-power; and in addi-
tion to that a liberal supply of water
power at the factories at East Meriden
and Yalesville.
At first Mr. Parker not only made
but sold his own goods ; and it was his
wont to make up stock, then wait up-
on the trade in person until he had
di.sposed of it. The practice of first
receiving advance orders did not come
into vogue tmtil some years later.
In the early days traveling great dis-
tances was a slow proceeding and the
stage coaeh and canal Ixiat were neces-
sarily patronized by him. He made
extended trips twice a year and upon
OTie occasion he receiwd an order
whicli took two years for the factory
to make up.
I'or a few \ears. hegiiuiiug 1833,
his brotlier. Ivimund Parker, and He-
man \\ liite weri' a^soeiated with him
as partners, and the lirm was known
as Parker & White. During this part-
nershij) the business had many trials
and reverses ; but none ever affected
the financial standing of Charles Par-
ker, for never during the history nf the
business was lus credit coin|>ronii.scd.
His brother retired in 1843 and Mr.
\\ hite the year following.
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
51
Mr. Parker, a few years after, add-
ed to his product that of plated spoons
and forks, and was the first manufac-
turer in Meriden of plated hollow
ware, at what is known by Meriden-
ites as the Parker "Spoon Shop/'
which has always been operated
by water power supplied from
Black pond, which body of water the
company still controls. The output
of this branch factory now comprises
a portion of the company's lamp prod*
uct, and steel spoons, forks, knives,
etc. The capacity of the factory is
very large and the goods are in great
demand in the South and West and are
also exported to a considerable extent.
Although the manufacture of the
Parker spectacles, which were exten-
sively used years ago, has been dis-
continued, practically every other ar-
ticle which was ever added to the large
product is still being made, and the
variety and volume of the output is
added to every year.
The Parker coffee mills, made in
fully one hundred sizes and styles,
have now been on the market for prac-
tically three-quarters of a century ; and
the demand for them is greater than
ever. These mills have been, and
doubtless always will he in demand by
the trade, the only difference heing
that when they were first made they
were sold by the small peddler an !
now are sfn'pped in carload lots to the
large jobbers of this and foreign coun-
tries.
In the early days, in a factory which
5f^x>d on the opposite side of the road,
but some distance farther west than
that now known a*s the Parker Clock
factory, where a full line of nickel
alarm clocks is produced, the making
of locks and builders* hardware was
pursued. This old factory, which has
long since been torn down, once stood
on land which was given to the city
by the Parker Company and now com-
prises eight acres of Hubbard Park.
This branch of the industry was dis-
continued some years ago.
The factory where the "Parker"
guns are made is situated some distance
from the main factory of the Charles
Parker Company and employs neces-
sarily the highest skilled workmen.
The Parker shot gun, which for many
years has been recognized all over the
world as the best made and most ac-
curate on the market, has since the
time of the Civil war, been made un-
der the name of Parker Bros.
The first improved gun which
has since won unstinted praise
from true sportsmen, cost a sum equal
to a large fortune ; but Mr. Parker ac-
complished what he had determined to
do and which Parker Br-tlicrs
still continue to do, that of making
in large quantities the celehrated Par-
ker shot gxm, which proved to be all
that the founder of the company could
most fondly desire.
For more than sixty years the Par-
ke r v!-c. Miisjinally patented in 1854,
has been made at the main factory and
the demand for the same has been in-
creasing ever since that date. The
vise, like many of the other products
of this company, is made from the raw
material in large quantities.
Digitized by Google
A CENTLKY OF MEKIDEX.
MANUFACTORIES.
53
The I'arker vise occupies the high-
est place, not only in the minds of the
dealers, but is known in all trades as
the best ton! of its kind procurable.
The line comprises about one hundred
and fifty sizes nnd kinds, which arc
ada|)tcd for the uses of Ux:omotive
works, car huililers. machinists, jjuns,
sewini; machines, automobile and car-
riap:e matiufacturers, jewelers and ar-
tisan^ crenerally.
The Charles Parker Compan}- are
tlie oldest and lars^est manufacturer^
of these vises and also of collee mills
in the country. At the main factor\ are
alsu .produced miscellaneous i.,^o<j(1s
inchiding' a complete line of brass,
brtmze and steel wood screws; also
lamps in all varieties and of the
highest grade and nfost pleasing
design : gas and electric portables and
a complete line of lavatory and bath
room fittings.
There, too, the piano stools an<l
coffee mills are assemblctl and tiiii>lie<l.
the wood work of which is carried on
at the factory at ^'alesville.
It is a fact that The Charles Parker
Co. manufacture more piano stools,
benches, music racks and cabinets than
any other one concern in the world.
In conjunction with this department
the company also manufacture a line
of piano scarfs and covers of infinite
variety.
Until 1905 the Charles Parker Com-
pany also owned and operated the
plant known as the Aferiden Curtain
Fixture Company, the largest factory
of its kind in the world and employ-
ing^ 500 hands, the product of which
comprises window shades, sliade roll-
ers and fringes. This business is now
consolidated with other manufacture
ers of similar goods and is known as
the Coltunbia Shade Cloth Co.
1 he Charles Parker Company be-
came incoqjoratc'l in 1876 with a cap-
ital stock of $500,000. and like the
Parker Clock Conii)aiiy. which it con-
trols, is a close cori)oralion. The tirst
otticers were Charles I'arker, presi-
dent ; Dexter Parker, secretary
and treasurer, and Charles I*!, Parker,
vice president. Since the death of
Charles Parker, his son. Uexter W.,
lias served as president ; Wilbur F.
Parker, vice-president, and William
H. Lyon, secretary and treasurer.
The Parker CI(x:k Conipany, which
was incorporated June u, 1893, has
the follow iiiL,^ officers: William H.
Lyon, president and treasurer, and
James V. Allen, secretary.
The several industries carried on by
the Charles Parker Company i;ive
stead) (•ini)]o\ nu'iit to about fit'teen
hundrctl well-paid hands ; and its bus-
iness for three-quarters of a century
has added L;reatly to the prosperity of
the town.
Many of the men in the employ of
the company have grown up in the
business and achieved prominence in
the comnninity. Fortunate, indeed,
are those in its employ ; for they who
have shown a disposition to -ive
their best services to the concern have
had their efforts recognizetl and re-
warded in every reasonable degree.
ICspecially is this true of the traveling
salesmen, about a score in number,
Digitized by Google
54 A CEXTURY
who cover ever> state in the union,
calling upon the large jobbers of
the country and remaining away froni
the factory many weeks at a time on
their trips in the interest of the con-
cern. The New York salesrooms are
at 32 Warren street.
Since the death of Charles I'arker
the general mana,i;enicnt of the bus-
iness has devolved upon his son-in-
law, \\ illiani II. Lyon, who has been
associated with tiie concern for many
years. lie, like the other otVicers of
the conij>any, is a kitvl and consider-
ate ein])l'>} cr and a man of rare bus-
iness attanunents and great energy.
THE xMEKlDl'N CURTAIN FIX-
TURE CO.
An industry grown ticin a small be-
ginning^ to one of magnitude is that
of The Mcriden Curtain Fixture Co.,
the work> nf which cover several acres
and furnish employment at the pres-
ent day to several hundred hands.
The product, window shades and
shade cloth of all grades, sold through
the Columbia Shade Cloth Ccnii'aiiN at
New York, contrasts strongly with the
modest output when the business was
first started in a portion of the old
Methodist church on I'-mad street.
At that time sliadc roik-rs only were
made, and but a few hands were em-
ployed. 1 he business increased and
the quarters were cnlarijed by utiliz-
ing the wliolc of the uld church and
by the addition of another building.
About 1S91 it was found necessary to
further enlarge the factory, and the
OF MERIDEN.
comj)any did SO by occupying a por-
tion of the present large plant on
Charles street. This enabled the com-
pany to engage in the manufacture of
fringes for their sha<les, tlic cloth lor
which was bought i)re()ared 10 be
made up. Later the cufnpany desir-
ing to go into the iiianiifacturf of
cloths, as well as rollers an<l fringes,
decided to make another adtlilicn to
the [)lant, and at that time the present
five-story brick structure. 40 x J58 feet
in dimensions, was built, .^till later
ntifithcT grade was acMcd t" rbe out-
pi i, and a second building, 52 x 182
feet, and three stories in height was
erected on the company's jiropcrrv.
The goods made by the con^jiauy
are ingliiy creditable to Mcriden and
tfie l>usiness always has been condi!rt-
ed largely with Meriden capital, i he
plant is equipped with modern ma-
chinery; an artesian well lurni^'ius an
abundant water supply for various
purposes, and four manimotii ateam
boilers fnrnisii not only motive power
but also sufficient for gencraluig elec-
tricity for lighting the factory.
The company is cajuialized at $400,-
000. Its officers are W ilbur F. Par-
ker, ]>resident; W. H. L\on. vice-
president ; S. G. Wilkins. secretary ;
W. R. Hees. treasurer ; T. D. McChes-
ney. general manager; and Irvin? G.
Cooley, manager. The president,
vice-president and manager are all
well known residents of Meriden.
Mr. Parker was manager for a pcritnl
of seven \cars. prior to associating
himself exclusively with the Chas.
Parker Co., of which he is now vice-
Digitized by Google
Google
A CENTURY OP SktEtttDEN.
56
presicKrit Mr. Lyon, the vice-pns-
ident is alsi* tin- treasurer and general
manager of the Chas. Parker Co. Mr.
Coolex , who became manaj^er January
l» I90(), has been cnj^ajjed with the
Curtain Fixture Co. since 1895.
THE MILLER BROTHERS CCT-
LEKY CO.
Conspicuous among the products
wliu h have made Meriden famous the
workl over is cutlery, and for nearly
half a centurv' The Miller Brothers
Cutlery Comj)any has Ix-en recognized
as one of the important factors in the
manufacturing life of the city. The
business was established soon after the
close of the Civil war ; and for a few
years the factor) was located in Yales-
ville. It soon became necessary to
seek largf r nnd more accos':ihle quar-
ters, ami till' site fif tlu- jiresont fac-
tory in Meriden was purclia^cil tmin
Prntt. Read & Comi)any, coml) iiianu-
faciun r^. 'I'his site has becii longer
used for luaiiufacturing purjjoses than
any other in ihc town, dating back to
the firm uf Howard, I'ratt & Co., in
1822.
In 1878, the present Miller Brnilicrs
Cutlery Company was < .rtranized by
Messrs. Lemuel J. ( intis. Isaac C.
Lewis. William V. Kuckwell. Charles
Rockwell and (ieorge \\\ Lyon.
This new company look over the en-
tire business of the old companv of the
sanu name, Mr. Curtis \\a^ tlu- hrst
president, with \\ liiiaui 1". Kuckwell
as treasurer and gcniral manager.
On the death of Mr. Curtis. Mr. Lew-
is became president and served untjl
his own death in 1893, being succeeded
by William F. Rockwell as presideat
and treasurer.
Jn its early days, the Amtriaii
pocket knife industry ha i a hard roai '
to travel. Apart from the keen do-
mestic competition, it \' ■ ground 1»-
tween the tlood ot the clicap Ccmun
commodity on the one hand, and the
English product with its reputation of
centuries on the other. < >ne concern \
after another was forced to the wait,
and hundreds of thousands of dolbrs
were lost in the struggle. The ulti-
mate success, not only of his own
company, but of tlie industry itselt.
was very largely due to the great abil-
ity and untiring energy of William F.
Rockwell. His absolute knowlc'ige of
the business and exceptiuiial imthe-
matical ability made it possible for him
to demonstrate to the tramer?; ni «t'C-
cessive tarit? legislation the iniperati e
necessity of protection to liu' iiitiis-
try : and it was this protection that
made it possible for the American
manufacturer to produce ti>-day a
pocket knife that is the equal if n' t
the superior of any other knife niadt".
In i88j. the manufacture <ii
Miller r.rn>. steel ptTi> was begun
I hc first makers of pens in this com-i-
try were Harrison P.ra.liVrd, tlnir
factory being I'Kated in Mount \er-
nnn. X'ew York. The Miller Dn>ili- ^
er.s Cutler\ Couipany bought the nn-
chanical rqr.ipnKtit of their plant an-I
etigagc^l Mr. r.ra<It"< >r.l as >r]KTinteii-
dent of ilu" m\\ (Ki»arlimnt. \n iIk
manufacture of these delicate articles.
Digitized by Google
CHARLES F. ROCKWELL.
MANUFACTOKltS.
59
Miller iiios. have been as successful
IS with their cutlery, and both lines
iro large factors in advertising their
ionic city.
i ruui a small factory with few cin-
)k)yees iu ilie large, modern plant giv-
ng daily employment tu three hmi'lred
_>r more people, is the hot iiulication
.if the wisdom wilh which the affairs
A the company liavc been managed,
i'he ( ittire eiu rgy of the manageiiR'nt
5 ctniceii'i ralctl vm the- three lines nian-
uacturcd (pocket cutlery, steel ink
rasers and steel pens) and every de-
ad is given the most careful consider-
ition.
On the death of William F. Rock-
well in 1 90 1. Charles L. Rockwdl
oecatuc president, and Charles F.
Rockwell treasurer and general man-
ager, succeeding his father in the ac-
tive administration of the company.
Harry A. Stevens is secretary.
CONNECTlCir TRAP ROCK
QUARRIES, INC.
Meriden is the center of the crushed
stone industry of the state of Connec-
ticut and here the business of quar-
rying and crushing stone for ship-
ment by rail was inaugurated.
In 1879 Carpenter Bros., of Fort
-Chester, N. Y., secured a contract
from the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R., to
quarry and crush trap rock for bal-
lasting its road bed. This was the
first railroad crushing plant in New
England and was operated by the
Carpenters for several years solely on
ballast, the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R.
Co. takini^ the entire product.
Ill iS<;() John S Lane, then of Hart-
lur<l, conceived the idea of estab-
lishing a crushing plant to supply a
small but c^rowinpf demand for trap
rock for niaeailam and concrete in
the cities and luwns reached by the
X. Y., N. 11. & II. R. R. Carpenter
r. ros, had completed their cniitraat
and ahaihloned their quart) and Mr.
Lane's attention was naturally drawn
to the opportunities offered here for
such a business. Early in 1890 he
leased from Bartholomew & Coe the
land adjoining the Carpenter quarry,
opened another quarry and erected
suitable machinery for crushing.
This was the foundation, and to John
S. Lane is the credit due, of the first
commercial stone crushing plant in
the New England states, although
similar plants had been established on
the Hudson river some years pre»
vious. The business grew rapidly
from the start, not only along the
lines which Mr. Lane originally had
in view, but the four tracking of
the New York division of the N. Y.,
N. H. & H. R. R. about 1893 made
a demand for immense quantities of
railroad ballast also. This called for
frequent additions to the plant and
eventually the acquirement of the
quarry Carpenter Bros, had formerly
used.
In 1891 Arthur 5. Lane was taken
into partnership and the firm of John
5. Lane & Son was established. In
the course of a few years similar
plants, all within a radius of fifteen
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
6i
liles or U-ss from Mcridcn, had been
>.stabHslH«l. n(»tal)ly tliosc of B. D.
»*iercc. jr.. C o.. at Middlefield ; The
Cooke Stone & Tee Co.. at Phiinville.
Ind The Rocky Hill Stone Co., at
^ocky Hill.
m In 1902 a consolidation of these
ii*»onipa nil's was clTected under the
ame of I he Coimecticnt Trap Rock
^uarrio. Incorporated; and this
ompany now operates the crushing^
lants at the several points named,
upplyini,' the trade offered by the
ities and towns reached bv the X. Y.,
H. & H. system.
Since -Mr. Lane's original venture
n 1890 the use of concrete lias come
ntd almost universal practice for
l^oundation and similar work. The
several states have taken up the ques-
don of improved highways and an-
xfiually bwild miles of stone roads, and
there is scarcely a town or city which
has not its system of macadam roads.
The value of rock ballast on the rail-
roads, too, has been fully demonstrat-
ed, and its necessity on roads of im-
portance is admitted both for econom-
ical maintenance and comfort of the
traveling public These several in-
fluences have brought about a steaily
and healthy growth of the business.
• All of the former managers of the
i fatfq>endent quarries retain their in-
flacsts in the Connecticut Trap Rock
Qwurries, Inc., and form its executive
iKliff, as follows:
President — Bradford D. Pierce, Jr.
Treasurer — Arthur S. Lane.
Secretary — Irving S. Tinker.
(ieneral Superintendent — ^James H.
Cooke.
The gemral office of tlie company
is at 101 Meadow street, New Haven,
Conn.
KELSEY PRESS CO.
This manufacturing concerns adds
fame to Meriden where it has always
exi.sted : for in its works are made,
among other printing utilities, the cel-
ebrated Excelsior printing presses,
which have been on the market for
over thirty Ncars and arc used all over
the world. The company also pos-
sesses and oj)erates the only type foun-
dry in the Nutmeg state, casting in
large quantities the celebrated nickel
alloy type. At the factory on South
Colony street, where a large number
of hands are given constant and re-
munerative employment, are also made
the Combination cabinet, the Excelsior
type case, an improved and patented
style which saves a vast amount of la-
bor to the compositor ; card and paper
cutters, small binding machines, and
other articles used by both the expe-
rienced and inexperienced printer to
great advantage.
The now extensive business of the
Kelsey Press Co. is the outcome of
the small start made by William A.
Kelsey in 1872 and whose quarters
first comprised one room in the Morse
& Cook block. The first product of
his industry was one small sized press
which, from its practicability, soon
came into general use for home, of-
fice and store printing. These presses,
Digitized by Google
62
A CENTURY OF MERIDKN.
known as the Excelsior, arc now
more than a toy ; for gradually other
patterns and styles have been added
to keep pace with the growth of the
business, until the Excelsior press is
now made in all sizes from the small
Photo by Akers & Pigpon.
WILLIAM A. KELSKY.
portable card press to the flat-bed cyl-
inder machine suitable for country
newspaper work. In 1876 Mr. Kelsey
built the present factory which has
since been occupied, and the business
has continued to grow and prosper,
the variety of the product becoming
greater every year.
In September, 1905. the concern be-
came incorporated under the state laws
of Connecticut and the capital stock
of $75,000 has since been held by the
following officers: William A. Kelsey,.
I>rcsident : F. C. Edgerton. ricp-j>res-
ident, secretary and general manager:
F. L. Huntington, treasurer and su-
perintendent, all of whom are well
known and influential residents of
Meriden. The first named has re-
mained the head of the business frorr.
the start ; Mr. Edgerton became asso-
ciated with the business in 1881. com-
ing from the Home National Bank,
where he had been previously em-
ployed ; and Mr. Huntington, a pres-
ent member of the state legislature and
Meriden board of aldennen, has been
Photo by Akers & Pigeon.
F. C. EDGERTON.
connected with the establisliment con-
tinuously from 1885.
The Kelsey Press Co. has broaght
distinction to Meriden in no slight de-
gree ; for in putting upon the mark-ei
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIIi:S.
6$
outfits for home and mercantile print-
ing', tlicy have done much toward ed-
ucating the general public in the
S^reatest of all arts, the art preserva-
tive. While a large mail order bus-
iness is done direct with the consum-
er, the daily mail of this company, cov-
ering a far wider field than that of any
other concern in this locality, reach-
ing^ every civilized nation on earth, the
business of supplying regular print-
Phato by AkerH.
F. L HUNTINGTON.
ing offices with all sui)plies kjiown to
this age is not only extensive but
growing steadily and rapidly. The
product of this concern has now for
i7iany years been recognized by the
printing trade as of standard excel-
lence, a result attained by con.scien-
tious effort in every detail.
I'RAXK \VHI:F.LER & SON.
I'Vank W heeler, senior member of
the firm of Frank W'heekr & Son,
who conduct an extensive manufactur-
ing business on Stone street, in their
own building, was born September 8.
1837, at Cromwell. Conn. A few
months after his birth his i)arents re-
moved to Moodus where he spent his
boyhood and learned the trade of a
machinist, after having been previous-
ly employed in a cotton mill in that
town.
Late in the 50s he came to Meriden,
where he has been located ever since,
and became employed by Parker,
Snow, Brooks & Co. and later by N.
C. Stiles, who conducted a machine
shop in a wooden building on the site
of the present journal building. Mr.
Stiles, about that time, began the man-
ufacture of power presses; and Mr.
Wheeler worked on the first one pro-
duced. About i860 Mr. Wheeler
abandoned the machinist trade and
engaged in photography, for some
years thereafter conducting a studio
at the corner of Main and Hanover
streets, in which building he also
resided. He soon built up a high
re|)i'.tation as an artist in portrait
photography, but during the last por-
tion of the time he was engaged in
conducting a studio, he branched
out into commercial photography, in
which he became justly celebrated.
In 1890 he engaged in the machinist
business, first in a small way, his orig-
inal location being on the second floor
of the building on South Colony
64
A CENTURY OF MF.RIDEN.
street, now owned by the Meriden
Grain & Feed Co.. and there the nu-
cleus for the present larp^e business
was established.
During the intcrvcninij years, his
son, Alfred IVlton W heeler, who was
born Septemlier 24. 1871. in the build-
ing where his father then conducted
In 1898 the demands upon the shf^
had increased to such an extent tha:
the iiidrstry demanded more root:.
and the present four-story brick fac-
tory, frontinjj on Stone street, was
erected by them. To the original
product of the factory, which com-
prised power presses of all descrip-
FACTOKY OF FRANK WHKFLKR \ SON.
the photo.c^raph business, was growing?
to manhood. After receiving an early
education in the Mcri<len public
schools and graduating from the Shef-
field Scientific school of Vale Univer-
sity in June, 1892, the following month
he entered his father's shop and in
1895 was admitted to i)artnership.
tions. for cutting, drawing, stampinc
sheet metal, was added the business of
machinery, dies, tools and special ma-
chines for various purposes. In re-
cent years has been added the nun-
ufacture of special hardware, includ-
ing an extensive line used in the con-
struction of piano players. There arc
MANUFACTORIES.
65
also made at this busy factory the
hardware parts for some of the varied
systems of loose-leaf ledgers, lamp
parts, etc. The factory which now
FRANK WUKKI.KR.
furnishe*; employment to forty-five
hands, luaiiy of whom are skilled
workmen, is e(|uippe(l with all mod-
AI-FRKD I*. W II 1:1:1, liR.
ern machinery necessary for turning
out its varied output and all facilities
are at hand for the economical prosc-
45
cution of the work, from the 8,000
pound crane for handling heavy cast-
ings to the most modern appliance
for polishing, buffing and plating of
the hardware specialties made.
BRADLEY & HL DUARD MFG. CO.
An industry which has for many
years been one of the largest in its
line in the world, and an important
factor in the growth and business rep-
utation of Meriden, is that of Bradley
& Hubbard iMfg. Co., organized Jan-
uary I, 1875, succeeding Nathaniel
L. Bradley and W alter Hubbard, who
founded the business in 1854. Their
works consisted of a small two-story
frame building Iwated at the corner
of Hanover and lUitler streets. The
company's present buildings cover an
area of more than si.\ acres, with sev-
eral hundred thousand feet of floor
space. When the company was in-
corporated the officers were Walter
Hubbard, president; Nathaniel L.
Bradley, treasurer, and Charles F.
Linsley, secretary, who with Clarence
I'. I'radley, have always composed
the board of directors, as well as the
stockholders of the company. .\t the
date of its incorporati(jn the company
employed alwut 150 people; to-day
there are nearly i .ooo, which indicates
the growth of a business started in
1854 with not more than twenty-five
em|)loyes.
The products of the company con-
sist of gas and electric light fixtures
of all kinds, of the most elaborate
and artistic designs, for residences.
Digitized by Google
MAN UFACiORlES.
churches and other public buildings;
also the celebrated "B & H"' lamps,
fire place furniture, and a large varie-
ty of miscdianeous goods in metal, in-
cluding bronze, brass and iron grille
work, bronze doors, railings, stairs,
r* etc., all of which have attained a rep-
• utation, not only throughout the
United States but all over the world,
for beauty of design, mechanical work
and finish. The factories are equipped
i with the most modern machinery and
- facilities for the manufacture of their
products, enabling their employes,
\ many of whom are skilled workmen, to
I produce the best possible results.
Salesrooms, where samples of their
products can be seen are maintained in
New York City, Boston and Chicago,
also at the factory.
WALTER HUBBARD.
Walter Hubbard, president of the
Bradley & Hubbard Mfg. Co., whose
gift to the people of Meriden of the
park bearing his name, has awakened
a desire in many people of the state
and country who have visited Meriden
and Hubbard park, to know some-
thing more of the city's benefactor be-
yond the fact that he is a gentleman
of culture and means. For nearly a
half century he lias been one of its
leading citizens. Politics and public
station have never attracted Iiim.
]T( was bom Sept. 23, 1828, in
Middletown, Conn., is a descendant
of George Hubbard, who came from
England in 1633, and was one of the
original settlers of Middletown in
1650. His ancestors have lived in
this region for 250 years and the Hub-
bards furnished a remarkable record
in the war of the Revolution. Cap-
tain Jeremiah Hubbard, grandfather
of Walter Hubbard, was one of the
number.
Like the majority of the }outh of
his day, Walter Hubbard was reared
on a farm.
He was educated in the public
schools and also attended the Chase
preparatory school of Middletown.
At the age of eighteen years he se-
cured a position as clerk in a Meri-
den store, and with aid of self denial,
a clear head and energy, he was en-
abled to accumulate enough capital to
embark in business for himself. This
he did in 1851, opening a dry-goods
and clothing store in Meriden and
continuing it successfully until i860.
In 1852 he was married to Abby Ann,
daughter of Levi Bradley, of Chesh*
ire ; she died a few months after their
marriage, and Mr. Hubbard has never
again married.
In 1854, in company with his broth*
er-in-law, N. L. Bradley, Mr. Hub-
bard founded the business which in
1875 became incorporated under the
name of the Bradley & Hubbard Mfg.
Co. and devoted himself entirely to its
interests. Since its incorporation he
has been president of this gi\at indus-
try. Mr. Hubbard is actively con-
nected with many important concerns
of Meriden. He is president of the
Meriden Gas Light Company, the
Meriden Electric Light Company and
Digitized by Google
Google
70
A CENTURY OF MEKIDBN.
the Meriden Trust & Safe Deposit
Company. He is also interested in lo-
cal banks and other companies as
a stockholder and director. In 1882-3
Mr. Hubbard built the Winthrop lio-
tel, which is one of the finest in New
England. In this he was actuated to
confer a benefit upon the city rather
than as an investment. His gifts to
various cli.irities have been numerous.
He has always made liberal donati(Mis
to public charities and has given free-
ly of his means to the cause of educa-
tion. His interest in the Meriden
hospital has been of great benefit and
in keeping with his gifts to other in-
stitutions. In 1883-84, Mr. Hubbard
went around the world and be has fre-
quently visited Kuropc ami the prin-
cipal jiortitMis uf this count rv.
Mr. Hubbard is a member of the
Union Lcarjuc Club of New York, the
New EngiaiKl sfX'iety. of New York,
the American (,ic< 'graphical society,
and a number of stale and city organ-
izations. He makes liis home in a
mansion r.n W ashington place, a most
desirable >cc!i"n of the city.
NATHANIEL L. BRADLEY.
Nathaniel Lyman Bradley, treasur-
er of the Bradley & Hulibard Mfg.
Companv, is a man who bears the liigh-
est reputati*>n for business ability not
only in his own city of Meriden, but
also in all the business centers.
The firm of which he is treasurer and
one of the chief stockhoMers. is first
in the worM in its line of goods and
a proportionate share of its success
has come through bis grasp of bust>
ness situations.
Mr. Bradley was bom in Cbeshiie,
Connecticut, December 27, 1820.
His parents were Levi and Abigail
Ann (Atwater) Bradley. vq;>ngfat and
unassuming farming people who came
of the good sturdy New Engtand
stock. Daniel Bradley* father of
Levi, was a farmer in Vermont and
was driven from his home by the mil-
itary operations of the British during
the Revolution. He moved to Ham-
den, G>nnecticut» and thence to Chesh-
ire. His son, Levi, was bom in
Cheshire November 11. 1792, and uie*!
in Meriden March 18, 1877. Levi
Bradley was a man of ^eat energy
and keen business discernment. He
was not content to be merely a fanner,
he strove to be the best farmer in his
section. His success characterized
his whole career and his three sons,
Samuel, Wtninm L. and Nathaniel I...
inherited much of his business abiiiiy.
The subject of this sketch has also had
two sisters : Kmeline Amelia Bradley,
married the late Alfred P. Cimis, and
was the mother of Mrs. George A.
Fay; and Abby Aim Bradlev. diH in
1852. who married Walter Hubl^ard.
president of the Bradley & Hubbard
Mfg. Co.
Nathaniel Bradley received his
early schfK>hng in the Cheshire schools
and graduated from the obi Meriden
Academy where so many of his fellow
citizens finished their education. He
left school, however, at the earlv aee
of fifteen and at once went to work ^
clerk for E. B. M. Hughes, a
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIU&N.
hardware imrchant in New Haven,
C'Diinct'ticut. ill tin* store now occupied
by John E. i»assctt & Co. After
a year his father felt that he
must have his aid on the farm,
and s'» he returned home, great-
ly to the rej^Mct of Mr. Hug:hes.
wlio had already reco^ni/ed the apti-
tude of the lad. He continued to work
for his father until he was twenty -
one; but the life of a fanner did not
satisfy his gruwini; ambition to bc-
C( ime of sr»!nc note in thi> world and,
accurdingiy, when the opportunity
came of embarking' in a little business
venture in Soinliinifton, Conn., he
readily accej>leil the olYir to Iteeonie
one of the stockiit ili K rs. His l)usiness
was the making" of elocks an.l after six
njotiths' expericiiee in tlie factory he
was olVrred the contract of making
11h( (• hundred clocks a tlay and gladly
took the responsibility. It was during
liis connection wnh ihi.-> small concern
that he was given his first opportunity
to show his skill as a salesman.
Owing to the overproduction of the
factory, Mr. Bradley was sent to New
York, Philadelphia, Baltimore an4
Washington to sell some of the Fiir-
plus stock. The result oC his first
trip was such that he not only solH
all the goods on hand but continued
to keep the factorj' busv with other
orders that taxed the factory to its
fullest capacity. His success in sell-
ing goods was appreciated to such
an extent that he was made the
head salesman and a director in the
company. Here he continued un-
til 1854 when, in company with oth-
ers, he starte<i that great induitn
with whicli ins name has ever since
been a>sociated in ]Vferi<kn. the pecu-
lation of which was tlion but J.500.
Mr. Bradley holds many important
positions l)esidrs that of freasiirer
the above conipaii\. IK \va> a »to«.k-
liolder and one of the directors
of the first street railwa> com-
pany in Meriden. He is a director 01
the First National Hank : the City
Savings Bank : the Merukn Tni?:
Safe Dei)e>sit Co. : the Mer-
iden Republican Publishing Com-
pany, J. D. Bergen Co., and oth^r
financial enterprises in Meriden and
elsewhere. In politics he i- a Kc-
publioan and, ahhuuL^di n( \ t-r _-eekins:
olTice. he has been alderman and acting
mayor.
In liis religious affiliations Mr, Brad-
ley is a Congregational i St. aiid is
a ineinher of the Fir>t ( dimre;;arional
church, having been chairman of ihe
society's committee twenty-eight year.v
He has always contributed ver> gen-
erously to its support, and gave a
princely sum toward the construction
of the present stone edifice. Oth-
er ^reat works have also been greaclj
benefited by his aid from time to ttme.
He was one of the first to give large-
ly to the work of the Y. M. C. A,, anJ
he contributed toii\'ard the buSdii^
owned by that association and also to
the proposed new building of tfie
y. W. C. A. When the Curtis Me-
morial Public Library was built, Mr.
Bradley gave $i,aoo to that Institn-
tion for books, and a bronze tablet fas
been placed in one of the' alcoves in
Digitized by Google
I
Google
74
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
recognition of his gcncrohity. Since
its foundation he has also l>ecn
a liberal irienil of the Miridcn
Boys' Chib. Mr. Bradley ii» a
large owner of local real estate and
was the first to build tencinonts fitted
with all modern iinj)rovenicnts, in
which he was ioU'Avcd by other prop-
erty owners, lie has for many \cars
been a large owner of this class of
houses and lias deservedly been ac-
corikd tlu' rrju-.taiii in of ht ini^ a fair
minded and hheral landlord. I'ur the
past fourteen \ears he has been one
of the trustees of the Connecticut
School for Boys and in July, 189Q,
was unanimously elci'ted president of
the board. On account of other du-
ties 111 ikmg more urgent demands on
his lime he resigned tlie honor in la-
vor of hrancis \V. f'arker, of Hart-
ford, one of the trustees. During the
administration of Superintendent
Howe Mr. Bradley made the State
School a I 'resent of a complete set of
brass musical instruments, and as a
result of this one instance of his
heartfelt interest in the institution
there has ever since been a well or-
ganized band there.
Mr. Bradley is also vice president
of the Mcridcn Fire Ins. Co. ; a di-
rector in the Walnut Grove Ceme-
tery Association and president of
the Meriden hospital, which ofike he
has held since its organization, and
€ontfibiited liberally toward the
cost of the building. He is also pres-
ident of the Meriden Trotting Park
Association. He is a member of the
Connecticut Society of the Sons of the
American RevulutioFi. His intercf!
in public affairs has always beer,
widely felt and all iniiin-nements in
streets, parks, cemeteries, etc., havt
always met with his lieartv supficir:
and have becii benefited by his wise
judgment, while he also gave with
Walter Hubbard in i\)0^, several a:r
of lanti to the city for park purposes
Mr. I'.radley has been quite a trav-
eler, not only in h'\> own country but :n
foreign lands as well. He lias crosK^
the .Atlantic several times.
In October 25, 1859, Mr. Bradlc}
was married to Harriet E., daughter
of Sclden and I.ucy Hooker (Har*"
Peck, of Kensington, ConnecLiCut.
Mrs. Bradley is a woman of rare per-
sonal charm and [)residc> with i^rriv'e
over her beautiful home, which is i--
ways pointed out as one of ih.e most
imposing in Meriden. One son, Clar-
ence Peck Bradley, one of the direct-
ors and stockholders of the Bradley &
Hubbard Mfg. Co., resides with his
parents and is also private secretary
and treasurer for his father.
CHARLES F. LINSLEY.
Charles F. Linsley, secretary and
one of the directors of Bradley & Hab-
bard Mfg. Co.* who has for many
years been a leading spirit in the af-
fairs ol that large corporation, was
bom at Branfordp Conn., in the \ ear
i843< His father was Frederick
Linsley. His mother (who is now
living) was Harriet Foote. He is a
descendant on the paternal side from
John Linsley* who came from Eng-
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
land and settled in Branford in 1646:
and on the maternal side from Na-
thaniel I'Oote. who came from Eng-
land an<l settled in VVethersfield,
Comi., early in the t nteenth cen-
tury; also from Rev. >amuel Russell,
of liranford. Conn., in whose house
the ten ministers met aiul donated
forty fiooks for tlic ' finnidini^ of a
colK l:c in this colony, " viz: Vale Col-
IcK^c.
Tn h\< M'Uth Ik- ua-« taught at honu-
and in the ecMtmion district school that
to work was honorable. At the age of
seventeen years he left the farm and
came to .Mi riden to accept a position
offered him by the late Charles H.
CoUinf; in hi.> griKcry store, where he
remained about two and one-half
years, until August. when he
enli'Jted for three years a>^ private in
t uiupanv 1% Fifteenth ( ontucticut
\'oluntcers. He was appninted by
Col. Cliarlrs f,. Cphaui quartermaster
sergeant <>t tin regiment, in which ca-
parit\ ho s.cr\cd until tiie close of the
war. .After returning to Meridcn he
enlrrcd rhe office of the W ilcox Sil-
ver I 'late Co., where he remained un-
til when he was offered and ac-
cepted a position with Piradley & Hub-
bard. As Mr. r>radley in those days
was away from home much of the
time, and Mr. Hubbard in New York
nearly all the time, he had an unusual
opportunity of developing business
abitity, which was appreciated to the
fullest extent by Mr. Bradley and Mr.
Hubbard. He gradually became each
year a more important factor in the
fast growing business, having been
given an ojiportunity of taking an in;-
portant part in advancing the inter^^'
of the firm. The Bradley & Hubbar .
Mfg. Co.'s works, occupying over si\
acre<. employing about i .000 people. :^
one <'t the largest manufacturers m
its line- in the world. Mr. Linslev'i
cumRction w itli the C' -nipanv cover-
a period of tliirty-se\ en ^ ears. Evt:"
since the inc< 'rjorat i* 'U he has beeii
one of the three original stockholder?
and directors, alMj the secretary of the
company. He is a man of broad idea-
anti excellent businc-^ capacity. He >
a director in the following Meridin
institutions: Fir<t \ational Baiii^,
C ity Saving- liank. McruKn Tnist &
Safe Deposit Co., Meridca Ga^ Light
Co. and Meriden Electric IJght Co.
lie has m ver held any public -ifnce ex-
cept as a member of the Duard of Ap-
portionnu lit and Taxation. He w ;i>
marricil in 1871 to Georgiaua E. i.»ay.
who is a prominent number of Susan
Carrington Clarke ChapUr. Daughters
of the American Revolution. They
have one child, a daughter — Mrs.
James H. Hinsdale.
CLARENCE P. BRADLEY.
Qarence Peck Bradley, the young-
est of the four directors and staodc-
hotders of the Bradley & Hubbard
Mfg. Co., is the only son of Nathan-
iel L. Bradley, one of the founders and
treasurer of the large corporation
which bears his name. He was bom
in Meriden, and as stated elsewhere in
the sketch of his father, he comes from
early New England ancestry. Hts
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MANUFACTORIES.
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78
A CENTURY OF M£R1D£N.
tarl\ education was obtained in the
schools of Meridcn, and he finished at
the Russell Military School at New
Haven, also known as the Collegiate
and Commercial Institute, where he
prepared to enter Yale Col!e<:fe.
Haviiii; liis choice between a college
education and extensive forciL;ti travel,
he chf'^e the latter, where, by observa-
tion and study of people and their cus-
toms in the various quarters of the
^lobe, he became i)Ossessed of knowl-
edj;e \sliich has been of inestimable
value to him since starting upon his
Iw.vincss cancr. Upon his first return
from abroad, lie was given an oppor-
tiniity by a fond and induljj^ent father,
of proving his business worth, by be-
ing placed in charge of his interests.
His success in familiarizing himself
with and afterwards managing these
affairs, wiiich called for a ilisplay of
good judgment and business ability,
soon secured for him the confidence
of ids father, to the extent thai he was
made his secretary and treasurer, and
wiiliiu the past few years, has man-
aged practically all of his t.ither's pri-
vate interests. In 1885. he was elect-
ed one of the directors of the Bradley
& Hubbard Mfg. Co., in which he has
been ever since a factor in its affairs.
His success in matters of finance has
won him the confidence also of other
manufacturing concerns where his
counsel and jtidgment are appreciated.
He is also one of the directors of the
City Savings Bank.
He is a prominent figure in social
life, and in 1905 served as president of
the Home Club, one of the many social
organizations with which he is aE-
iatcd. Of this club he was one of ti e 1
j)rinie movers in the construct; -r 0:
tlie i>rcsent handsome building on Col-
ony street and served the nrgnnirition
as a member of the build uil: c . nmii-
tee. He is a member of the Sons of
the American Revolution. His inter-
est ill the Curtis MeiTToria! Lihrarv if
indicated by a bronze tablet in one ui
the alcoves.
Mr. Bradley is a pr^»!nfnent member
of the Masonic fraternity and li.s
membershij) in that order inclndes
oi the several brandies in Li/ni'cvnciii ,
He is a member of Meridian laxii:^. >
77. A. F. & A. M. ; Keystone Chapter,
27, R. A. M. ; Hamilt' .n i -niK il. 22.
R. & S. M. ; St. Elmo LomrnaadcTy
9, K. T. ; also of the Scotiiih Rite 1
bodies of Xew Ha\ en. and of I^ia' '
ette Consistory of lUidgcjiort wher: :
he received his thirty-second degree.
He is also a member of Pyramid Terrv
pie, Mystic Shrine, of Bridgeport.
Mr. Bradley lias spent much time
in travel ; he has visited Kurope sev-
eral times, and studied the life r.nd
customs of nearly e\cTy civilize: na-
tion, as well as havnig circuuuiavi-
gated the globe.
A IvejHiblican in [»i litics. he never
has accepted any pu])lic <>tticc wh;.:
soever. He is, however, like his
father, possessed of a vast amount of
public spirit and regard for tlie tovm
of his birth. During the preparatiofis
for the Centennial celebration, be has
served with efficiency and value as a
member of the general coraraittee o£
citizens appointed to arrange mnd
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MANUFACTORIES.
carry out the extensive plans for that
bistoric occasion.
THE HAXDEL COMPANY.
This Meriden manulacturing con-
cern, incorporated in 1904. with a cap-
ital of $50,000, occupies an enviable
position in the trade; for its goods,
so original in (icsi£:fn and artistic in
creation, make it independent of either
American or foreign competition. Its
prodnct. "ITaiiflel Ware," appeals to
all high class and celebrated interior
decorators and jewelers, and the rep-
utation the concern has s^ainerl is the
reMilt of the artistic abilities of the
man whose name it bears, and the
historv of the business, therefore, is
lliat of its })rcsi(Ient. treasurer and
founder, who is a native of Meriden.
Philip J. Maudel is one of four chil-
dren, and bis i)arents were Jacob and
icrnie (Wulcrich) Handel, iiis
^grandfather. Philip Adam Handel,
was an industrious farmer of Witten-
berg", Germany, who cmiLrrated to this
country and settled in J"".ast Hartford,
after having learned of the advantages
to be availed of in America through
Iiis daughter, Fredcricka. who had
^one l)efore. Iiis maternal grand-
father, Frederick Wuterich, was also
:i native of Wittenberg, Germany; he
was the proprietor of large machine
works there, but died when (juite a
young man. Jacob Handel, father of
Philip J., settled in Meriden many
years ago and married here, in the
early sixties, Catherine Wuterich, who
79
was also bom in Wittenberg. He
was a worthy and respected citizen o£
Meriden, and died by accident in 1875,
after having been employed as a fore-
man for many years at the works of
the Charles Parker Co.
His children were George and Fred,.
now large dealers in cattle and general;
merchandise at Musselshri] Mont.^
Emma, who married Dr. Frankliit
Drake, a leading practicing physician
of Webster City, Iowa ; and the sub-
ject of this sketch. He tnarried in
i8<}o Caroline Sutterlin. who died in
1904, after a lingering illness of two-
years.
Like his brothers, PhiHj> J. Handel
is ruggetl iji phxsifiue. and when
nine years old. bis father having died,
he was possessed with that sense of
responsibility that he began to take
part in the maintenance of the housc-
hnhl. a boy he showed a talent
for drawing, which was heart ilv en-
couraged by his fond parents, and he
studied, with a laudable aim and am-
bition, bot>ks of art. To assist him
in attaining his ambition he bought a
printing outfit, and, in the play hours
of the ordinary boy. did job printing
on a small sealr. At the age <.»t four-
teen he left school and secured em-
ployment at the iactorx of the Mer-
iden Piritamiia Co., but a month later
he entered the works of the old Mer-
iden Flint Glass Company. In the
latter factory he was given an oppor-
tunity to show his capability and to
develop a talent for designing and
decorating, which in late years has-
proved invaluable to him. At the age-
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDKX.
DigitizedJ^^^)Ogl(i
MANUFACTORIES.
8l
• nineteen, in 1885. ^^r. Handel with
dolpli Eydam as a partner, bep^an his
ireer as a Meriden manufacturer in
IS present line. Afterwards, he con-
niied alone in the i)rescnt factory un-
1 i*j04 he incorporated the business
1 which he has ever since been the
lain stockholder of the close corjwra-
on. and leading spirit in the fast
rowing enterprise, as president and
•easurer. During the past five years
le business has more than trebled.
mentioned A. M. Parlow, who has
charge of the decorative glass de-
partment, and Anton Teich of the
metal and art glass department, both
of whom are men of established repu-
tations in their particular kind of
work.
Owing to the increased demand for
the high class product the company
recently opened a branch factory in
New York where the most skilled ar-
tisans could be procured to assist in
MKRIHK.N FACTORY OF THK HANOKI. COMPANY.
and the factory is equipped with every
facility for the execution of the work
there carried on. The power plant
(electric) recently const ructe<l anew,
is fitted with a one-hundred horse
(Kjwer lK)iler, 85 horse power engine
and fifty K. \V. generator, making a
most mo<lern and efficient equipment.
Associated with Mr. Handel at the
factory are many skilled artisans and
mechanics. Among them mav be
46
supplying the demand for their g<X)ds.
Mr. Handel is known as one of the
public spirited men (»f the t«)wn, which
this year celebrates its centeimial,
and the ware he has put on the market
during the past score of years, has
well earned him an honored place in
its history, although he is but one of
the youngest, yet successful, manufac-
turers of the town. He is a member
of Center Lodge. 97. .-K. F. & A. M,;
Digitized by Google
82
A CENTURY OF MEfilDEK.
the Home Club and the Cosmopolitan
Cub and several fraternal organiza-
tions in which he is deservedly popu-
lar. He also serves as a member of
the Centennial committee, on the sub-
committee of Decorations and Street
Fair.
roSTER. MERRIAM & CO.
This time honored concern lias add-
ed to the prosperit) and fame of Mcr-
iden as a manufacturing center for
o\'cT seventy years : and from the start
have been associated with it maitty men
who have taken an important part in
the history of tlic town. Foster, Mer-
riani & Co. at the jirescnt day conduct
a large factory fronting on Cross street
and extending several hundred feet
along the tracks of the N. Y.. X. H. &
H, railroad, in the very heart of Meri-
den» They are extensive manufactur-
ers of casters, drop handles, furniture
trimmings, cabinet hardware and bath
room fittings.
The business of the present day con-
trasts stronjjly with the small start
made in the western part of Meriden,
at wliat was then known as Crow Hol-
low, and the small shop thirty by twen-
ty-hvc feet, first utilized, has long since
been destroyed bv fire; but its location
is marked b\' tlie foundation which
still remains.
The original founders of the busi-
ness were Albert Foster, Hiram Fos-
ter, Julius W ay, Asaph Merriam, Nel-
son Merriam. all of Meriden, and a
Mr. liclden, of Xew Britain, who
formed the first partnership under the
name of Foster, Belden & Co., for thi
making of casters only. The capita!
was then but about $2,500. The fim
did not make its own castings; the}
were cast at a foundry in the town, and
one of the firm used to carr>' the cast-
ings in his buggy to the ^op r\-«r.
day, and bring them back to the dqx
when finished and packed, in the same
vehicle. There were probably le»
than 200 pounds of castinjgs used da >
by the little shop. The firm simph
finished the work and shipix-d ::
Horse power was used in turning th-
machinerv. and die members of the
iirin were at first the onlv workmc
employed. The finn as organized w
1835, was short lived, for the follow-
ing year. Mr. Belden sold his interest
to Asaph and Xelson Merriam. W '
the %*ithdrawal of Mr. Belden. the
name was changed to Foster. Mer-
riam & Co. At this time tlie prodiic
of the business did not exce^ fifty set-
of casters i)er day. The panic of '3;
nearly sw ept the fimi out of existence
as it was. the company was obliged i
suspend operations for six months
.Mthough every credit cu^trnncr on tiu
company's books failed ami did U' "
j)ay over fifty pc r cent, of their oblis^a
tions, the little tinn of Foster. Merriair
^- Co. paid every dollar of its inddi!-
eduess. Five years after the orgar;
zation of the company, in 1840. Juliv:-
Way sold out his interest to John
lifF. .\sa])Ii Merriam sold out in 184^
to the reTnaiuin^^ partners.
The comiKuiy liad Ikou gradua!l\
growing too lari^o 1« >r it < fliininutiv:
quarters in Crow liollow, and in 185a
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M AN U FACTOR IKS.
83
M A N U F ACTORI F.S.
85
the lantl on which tlic factory now
stands was purchased of I^uren Mer-
riam. Three years later Alanson
W'atrous became interested with tlie
company in the iron foundry business
and a foundry was built on the land of
Photo by Akern & Pigeon.
WILLIAM ZKRFASS.
the company. The business in this de-
partment was conducted separately un-
der the firm name of A. W'atrous &
(. 0. This branch continued until the
<leath of Mr. W'atrous in 1862. when
his interest was bouji^ht out by the sur-
viving members. In i.^iT) the firm
was incorporated as a joint st(Kk com-
l)any with a capital of $8o,0(xd. but has
always been conducted under the old
firm name. In i^*) the manufacture
of drop handles was added to the bus-
iness, and has j^^rown to larjje propor-
tions. Also, as demanded by the
trade, various kinds of furniture trim-
minjjs have been added, until almost
anythinpf in the hardware line required
by manufacturers of furniture can be
found among the product of this firm.
From its establishment until 1880.
none of the members of the firm had
died while a member : but in I'ebru-
ary of that year. Xelson Merriam. the
president, was stricken suddenly of
heart disease, and the late John Sut-
Pboto by Akers & Pigeon.
J. L. RL TIIFRFORD.
lifF, who had for many years been one
of the directors, succeeded him as
president.
.Mr. .^utlitY held that office until his
death, June 22, 1H97, when James R.
86
A CENTL'RY OF MKKIDF.N.
Siitliff, who had, since 1887, heen vice-
president, and previous to that the su-
perintendent of the factory, was elect-
ed president and held that office until
his death January 18, 1902.
Nelson C. Merriam, son of Nelson
Merriam, was for many years a prom-
inent factor in the concern and ujion
his death was succeeded as western
representative by William Zerfass.
Photo. by Akers & Pigeon.
KOltKKT J. MFRRIAM.
On March 7. n/)2. Ceorge C. Mer-
riam, who since 1880 lia<l filled the of-
fices of secretary and treasurer, w^as
elected president ; also retaiiiinjj^ the of-
fice of treasurer. On that date J. L.
Rutherford was elected secretary,
and William Zerfass superintendent.
Shortly after the decease of Mr. Mer-
riam who died suddenly March 23.
1904, William Zerfass was elected
president, also retaining the office of
superintendent. Robert J. Merriain
was then elected to his present office
as treasurer.
The present directors of the com-
l)any are as follows : William Zer-
fass. J. I.. Rutherford. Robert J. Mer-
riam, (leorge E. Savage and Dr. O. A.
Parker. ,
The business of the company lias in-
creased largely within the past decade
and several noticeable enlargeinems
and additions have been made to the
plant, which now covers a large area,
as is shown in the accompanying en-
graving. Over 350 hands are given
steady employment and the product ot
the factory is shipped all over the
world. The goods are made from the
raw material and every portion of the
work of producing their large output
is conducted within the several build-
ings now occupied. The business adds
greatly to the prosperity of Meriden :
and the product of the factor>' is
l)oth creditable to the city and a source
of pride to its citizens.
The trade embraces a large terri-
tory, and there is no state in the Union
in which cannot be found those who
i se some of the articles manufacture<i
by this concern ; and the trade with
Canada and other foreign countries is
no small item. The company has Ixvn
burned out three times partially an<!
once wholly : but the pluck and push
that always characterized the corpora-
tion was not disheartened by these ca-
lamities.
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MANUFACTORIES.
87
The company has always been con-
servative, and changes in help are rare
occurrences. The employes respect
their employers; for they are well
treated and do faithful work ; and no
company in the city stands higher in
the estimation of the public, the em-
ployes and the trade than Foster, Mer-
riam & Co.
THE MERIDEN i IRE ARMS CO.
The Meriden Fire Arms Co. bids
fair to become Mcriden's largest man-
ufacturing concern. Its owners,
Sears, Roebuck & Co., of Chicago,
noted for their splendid achievements,
liberal business enterprise and world-
wide trade, are bending their energies
toward tliat goal.
In January of 1905, the nucleus of
the present company moved to this
cii\ from Hopkinton. Mass., reorgan-
izing under the name of The Meriden
I-""ire Arms Co.. in the old Malleable
iron Compans s plant in the northern
part of the city.
The advenl ot the new company wa.s
a happy day for Meriden. The Mallea-
jilc In in Works had been closed for
several years and tin- b^illlin^5^s were
fast falliiiLT into decay. Houses were
either vacant in the neighborhood of
the works, or were renting for but a
poor return on the money invested.
Jn the brief space of a year and a half
this has all been changed. The fac-
tory buildings were overhauled at
large expense with a view to house in
them hundreds of busy men and a
thousand flying wheels for the manu-
facture of guns and revolvers of diV'
ers patterns. It is very diflicutt to get
a rent in North Meriden to-day and it
is said that the price of real estate
and the value of rents have increased
twenty per cent.
The formation of the Meriden Fire
Arms Co. was made possible by the
immense business in guns and pistols
and the vast capital of Sears, Roe-
buck & Co. For years past the con-
cern has found it difficult to get the
quantity or character of fire arms de-
manded by a constantly growing and
exacting trade. The location of the
works in Meriden is maitdy due to its
vice-president and general manager,
A. J. Aubrey, an old Meriden boy,
who, though man\ years away from
Meriden, had neither forgotten the
l)u.siness a(h'aiU.'i_ues of nor the love
which lie had for the old town.
Mr. .Sears, president of tin- Chica-
go firm, and Mr. .A.ubrey came to Mer-
iden to look the ground over. It had
been decided that H<»pkinton was too
far removed fn>ni the gun making
centers to be advantageous in building
up an extensive gun factory. With
large gim concerns in Hartford, New
iiavcn, Springfield and Norwich, any
one of a number of towns hereabout
would make it easy to ^et in touch
with L;Mn sentiment and gun workers,
so essential to the smooth working of
a large gun enterprise. It was by no
means settled that Meriden was to be
selected as the site for the new works.
Plants in Middletown and other places
were available.
J*
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A CEN TLKV OF MERIDEX.
HIANUFACTORIES.
The condition of the factory build*
ings in the old Malleable Iron works
was so bad that an immediate hitch in
negotiations for its purchase was oc-
casioned. The owners receded some
from their original asking, but thirty
thousand dollars with the necessary
large expenditures for repairs to re-
habilitate the old buildings was still
considered by Messrs. Sears and Au-
brey as far above a taking figure. For
a time it seemed unlikely that the new
company would locate in Meriden.
Good sites had been found in New Ha-
ven and Mid(lKt..\vn with a likelihood
of their selection far above that of
the Meriden location.
At this juncture Mr. Aubrey, anx-
ious to bring the bijj works to Meri-
den if it were possible, returned to this
city, determined to make another try
for the North Meriden plant. The
owners would not budge from their re-
duced asking price. It then became a
question if the people of Meriden
wouhl permit another city to get a
concern that would bring several hun-
dred 1 thousand dollars in annual wages
to tradespeople and householders and
a v.T^t ])restige to the city as a nianu-
facturmLj;^ center. Several leading
business men of the city were asked
by Mr. Aubrey if the town would aid
the company to secure the i)laiit.
A hasty meeting of the local board
(.f trade was called. Mr. Aul)rey
lalkctl the matter over with it. ex])lain-
ing" the ])osition of Sears. Roebuck &
( < ». in the premises, their expectations
as to onti»ut of guns and ultimate ex-
tension of the works till they should
be the largest and most distinctive in
the United States. Mr. Aubrey's
earnestness and tact caught the board.
His proposition was not to be passed
by as was indicated by an immediate
subscription of more than half the
amount needed to bring the Sears,
Roebuck & Co. offer up to that de-
manded by the owners of the desired
property. The remainder of ten
thousand dollars asked of the board
of trade was subscribed the day after
the memorable meeting with the re-
sult that the Malleable Iron woiks
were turned over to the new owners
to become again the scene of great ac-
tivity but in a new business.
The owners of the concern met in
IMeriden to rechristen their new works.
Naturally the name became the Meri-
den Fire Amis Co. The Chicago peo-
ple were as well pleased over the turn
in affairs as were the citizens of Mer-
iden. With keen outlook they sised
up the many advantages of their new
location. Dig as the plant was, it was
but the l>eginning of a cfrcat gun con-
cern. Actin.c: on that thought, tlie
abutting vacant property, running
nearly two thousand feet along the
railroad, was purchased, some day to
1)0 covered by the company's factory
buildijigs.
On the loth of January, 1905. the
"trek" of the works from Hopkinton
to Meriden began. Just twenty days
later the old wlii>tle over the power
house broke the silence of years with
its call to work : steam and smoke cir-
cled again over the buildings and the
wheels in the long unused shops be-
Digitized by Google
90
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
gaii to turn for a long career of use-
fulness and profit, let us hope.
It is well to record the foregoing
bit of history, parts of which wc be-
lieve to be jirophetic of a future of
largf tiiicrprise.
Tlie -Meriflen Fire Arms i O. is op-
erated under a charter obtaiiud in the
state of Illinois wliicli ciuiilcs it \o
capilali/c at oiu- hundrrd and sc\cnty-
fivc thousand il(jnar>. The stock is
held by Sears. Rtx^lnu k & Co.. the only
partners being A. J. Aubrey, the i^eu-
eral manager and F. A. Stephani, the
treasurer of the local concern.
Its way of doing business has led
the company to equip the foctory with
every labor-saving device known to
the trade. No machineiy has been be-
yond the reach of the concern. The
factory buildings are filled with mod-
em machines that, like magic» trans-
form the rough drop forgings, made
of the best quality of steel, into a part-
ly completed product, as smoothly and
apparently as easily as the modeler
shapes his wax.
A large element in the cost of run-
ning a plant on sucli lines is that for
machinery, gcxxl at the time, but later
superseded, which goes to the junk
man, having outlived the day of its
U'-efuln(*S«.
Mr. Aubrey has been connected with
the company, either as a member of
the i)resent company or as vice-presi-
dent of the Hopkinton concern, n year
ami a halt'. In that short periixi he has
been fortunate in securing the Meri-
den location with all of its promises
for the future, at the same time the
output of the works has been nearly
doubled. In the short space of a }ear
new iTuns have been invented bv him
and are now on the market.
The .\. J. Aubrey sintrle barrel,
hammer shot gun is beint; tamed out
at the rate of over two hundred guns
a day. The A. J. Atibrey double gun
IS now on the markt t. sui>er-e':ing the
old I'ryberg guti nia«lc al liMpk.nton.
This new sjxnting fire ami is equal to
any made in iliis ci>>untry or England,
ll is a handsome .specimen ui the !.:un-
makers* art. The lines are beautiful
in proportion and drop. In that re-
gard it is perhaps the highest dcvd-
opment attained in sporting guns.
The mechanism of this gun is simple,
strong and perfect, insuring an easy
working and reliable arm. It is of the
popular hammerless kind and is made
with or without the automatic shdl
ejecting device.
Anotheir gun bearing Mr. Aubrey*s
name nearly ready for the maricct is
the single hammerless. Tlus gun is
said to be without an equal amoog its
kind. Like the double hammerless it
is fine in its lines and simple and
strong in its construction. It has sev-
eral new features that will commend
it to that class of sportsman who
want a light gun of the single harrd
kind which at the same time is high
grade.
In additit:>n ti) the tiini? menttf^'nc-'
above as br<""^ht out in tlie year past
may be meniiuned the sniaii Atlas
.sporting rifle. This ritle takes its
place with a number of similar guns
popular with young sportsmen.
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92
A CENTURY OF MERIDEK.
A well equippt'<l pistol factory is
connected with the business. Twen-
ty varieties of hammer and lianimer-
less pistols arc manufactured w ith an
output in January, iyo6, of a hundred
pistols a day.
I'verythiiicr points to a wide open
future for tlu- coiuj)any. Meriden is
to he congratulated that it is here. It
is a matter of tlie larjj;-est concern to
tlie city that its lull anibiliuns shall be
readied.
.Mhert James Aubrey, vice presi-
<lem and m'lK-ral nianaj.ier of the Mer-
iden Kire .\rnis Co., was born in Hart-
ford, Conn., February 23, 1863. His
parents, John and Mary Aubrey, re-
moved to Meriden when he was three
years of age. Here he grew to man-
hood, living in Meriden continuously
until he was twenty-one years of age.
His early education was obtained in
the public schools, the first school he
attended being the East district, locat-
ed on the Middletown road, near the
Parker spoon factory. When Mr.
Aubrey was eight years old his pa-
rents purchased the old Yale farm sit-
uatetl on East Main street. He then
attended the Center school on Parker
avenue. After graduating from this
sc1kx)1 he entered tlie employ of the
Parker Gun Co. and lias been identi-
fied with the giui business u]) to the
present time, being associated with
several of thi- largest gun concerns in
the I'nited States.
( )n Jnly i. i<k>4. -^l''- Aubrey en-
gaged as general manager with Sears,
Roebuck & Company, in Hopkinton,
Mass.
-Mr. Aubrey is a iiTcmber of the Ma-
sonic fraternity, liis immediate fam-
ily consists of his wife, nee I>lanchc
E. Ijoomer, whom he married in Ful-
ton, N. Y., November J5. 1891. and
a daughter, Clara Ma> Aubrey
< >thers of bis family now residing in
Meriden. are a brother. Alfred J"hn
.\iibrey. former!) a clergyman of the
I nxersalist denominaii< m. mow super-
intendent of the pistol tlcpanmait of
the Meriden bire .\nns C<k : two
ters. Mrs. V. \V. Stiles an<i Mrs. V
\\". Proudman. His father, J- >bn Ai -
brey, who is over eighty years t-i age,
makes his home with him. He ha*
also a brother, W. H. Aubrey, a sted
engraver, residing in Syracuse, X. Y.
MANNING, BOWMAN & CO-
The history of the present large
manufacturing concern o€ IfiiiMt:
Bowman & Co., which fatt.iDr VMT
years added to the impottaassACj|^^
■ iden as an industrial center^ 4l|lMBk
over forty years to MiddleMm, C^^h
where the company was oijgHtfqHlpt
the first goods bearing its mnil^Hlfe
made. The company re^irin^^p^
creased capital for the suoccssful con-
duct of its business, interested such
public spirited Meriden citizens as
Horace C. Wilcox, Isaac C. Lewis and
George ]\. Curtis, with the result that
in 187 J the cntKcrn removeti to it?
present location in Meriden. After
becoming a Meriden enterprise the
Ixiard of directors was organized bv
the election of Messrs. Wilcox, Lew-
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MANUFACTORIES.
93
is, and Curtis, with the addition of
Jos. H. Parsons. Edward B. Manning,
Robert Hownian and Edward Furniss.
The officers elected were: Edward B.
Manning, president ; Robert Bowman,
secretary and treasurer. Other large
stockholders at that time were W. \V.
Lyman and Lemuel J. Curtis.
iden, covered but a small portion of
the large triangular area, formed by
Pratt, Miller and Catlin streets, the
whole of which is now occupied by
the factory of the company. At first
only fifty hands were employed.
I'rom this small start has developed
the present imposing plant which has
"i m
FACTORY OF .MANNINd, BOW .MAN id CO. IN 1 872.
In 1872 a small wooden building,
previously occupied by the Parker &
Casper Co.. who had been making sil-
ver plated ware, but who were at
about that time absorbed by the Wil-
cox Silver Plate Co., became the home
of planning, Bowman & Co. The
first quarters of this company in Mer-
a frontage on three streets of i.ooo
feet, an excellent illustration being
shown on the following page.
The product of the factory has been
noticeably changed within the past
decade. A large volume of the orig-
inal output was mounted enameled
ware, britannia, planished tin and cop-
MAKUFACTORIES.
95
per goods. As far back as the Cen-
tennial of 1876, the company had
worlds fair exhibits of its goods,
which incliuled their first enameled tea
and coflee |)(>ts with white metal
mountings. 1 he company secured
medals for tlicsc goods at the Centen-
nial ]''xposilion in Philadcljjhia and
were also awarder! prizes at other sim-
ilar rxhibits. Tin- company's enameled
wares with patenkvl nictai mountings
rapiilly gained |M*pularity.
In 1898 George E. Savage, wlio had
for twentv-five rears been associated
\\ith the .\feri(len Dritainiia ("n., be-
came the active head uf the business
as president, treasurer and general
manager. In 1900 Albert L. Stetson
was elected secretary, which office he
still holds. The output of the factory
at the present day consists largely of
chafing dishes, Meteor coffee perco-
lators» prize trophies of varied and
beautiful design, including those in
solid copper with English pewter
mountings; plated table ware and a
full line of bath room furnishings.
The chafing dishes of this company
have become famous, especially
those with the patented '* Ivory Enam-
eled" food pan, which can be applied
to any chaAng dish, making a clean,
attractive and desirable article. The
product of the factory is not excelled
in beauty and durability by the output
of any similar establishment. Repeated
enlargements of the factory have been
made and new machinery has been
purchased to keep pace with the con*
stantly increasing demand for its
goods. An equipment enabling the
company to generate its own electric-
ity for lighting and power purposes
has been installed an<l the large plant
has been fitted with an adequate fire
sprinkling system. The latest article
of manufacture is the celebrated
"Eclipse" bread kneader anrl mixer,
which practical and economical huuse-
hold lalx >r-saving <levice is made in a
separate buildins^ completely equipped
for that purpose with special machin-
ery recentl\ installed, the latest and
best ])rocura1:)le.
The present buar<l of directors com-
prises: George H. W ilcox, ( korge M.
Curtis, Samuel Dodd, George Rock-
well. George E. Savage, Albert E.
Stetson and William L. Mirrielees.
In addition to extensively fitted up
show rooms at their factor}-, the com-
pany have salesrooms in the Crock-
ery Exchange building, at 25 West
Broadway, New York, and in the
North American building, comer of
State and Monroe streets, Chicago,
with agencies in §an Francisco, Cal.,
and London, England.
George Edwin Savage, president of
Manning, Bowman & Co., has for
many years been one of the most fa-
miliar figures of local manufacturing
circles. He is the son of Edwin and
Frances Sophia (Wilcox) Savage and
was born in Berlin, Conn., February
27, 185 1. He is a worthy descendant
of one nf the oldest families in (Son-
necticut, from 1652, when johu Sav-
age became one of the original
settlers of Middletown. Conn.
From the New Ivngland lli^tnrical
Record it is found that in 1674 John
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96
A CKNTLRY OF MERIDEN.
MANUFACTORIES.
97
Savage possessed 1,207 acres of land
bordering on the Connecticut river
and that his name is seventh on the
list of the members who organized the
First Congregational church of that
town. The family name has ever
since been a common one in this sec-
tion of the state. He is a great grand-
son of Seth Savage, who was corporal
in the Revolutionary War.
George E. Savage began his busi-
ness life at the age of seventeen, for
it was upon the advice of his uncle,
the late Horace C. Wilcox, that he
left his father's farm in Berlin before
he had fully completed his education
at Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham,
Mass., and associated himself with the
Meridcn Britannia Company. There
by close application and keen observn-
titon, he obtained a thorough knowl-
edge of the silver ware business and
s^oon after was given the manaircment
of the Meriden salesrooms of that com-
pany, which position he occupied for
nearly a ([uartor of a cciitur\. until
prevailed ujxmi 1)\ ihv DtYiccrs <>f the
Merideti Britannia Co. to accept the
position of general manager of Man-
ning Bowman & Co. With the last
Tianied concern, Mr, Savage has been
a potent factor in its recent rt-niark-
ablo [growth, and previously havinj.;
been one of the directors, in 1898 was
elected president atid treasurer, both
of which uftices Uv lias since tilled.
He is also one of the directors of
Foster, Merriam & Co.. and for some
years has been a director in both the
Meriden Savings bank and the Meri-
den National bank. He is well known
47
in social life, being a member of the
Home Club of Meriden, and of
Captain John Couch Branch, Sons of
the American Revolution, and is a man
of marked executive ability. He is
much interested in church matters, be-
ing a member and one of the trustees
of the First Congregational church.
He was married in Meriden June 9,
1875, to Charlotte P., daughter of Al-
bert Foster, one of the founders of
Foster, Merriam & Co., and from that
marriage there is now living one son,
Albert Wilcox Savage, born June 16,
1889. Mr. Savage is known as a man
of strong personality, sound judgment
and a most loyal citizen of Meriden.
CONN. TEL. & ELEC. COMPANY.
This fast growing manufacturing
concern, whose busy plant is located
on Britannia street, and the rear of
whose factory adjoins the tracks of
the \. Y., X. H. & H. R. R.. is the
result of the small start made by
K. C. Wilcox in 1893. In iS<;4. B.
L. I-awlon entered into partnership
with Mr. W ilcox. It was at that com-
paratively reeiiit flate tlial the foun-
ilation of the present business, was laid
in a small portion of the plant of the
\feriden Nfalleable Iron Company.
In 1902 the bu.siness of the firm had
so increased that they were warrant-
ed in purchasing the present factory,
which had previously been occupied
by the Bond Harness Company, and
on March i, 1903. were incorporated
with a capita] stock of $36,000, but
which, by another act of the legisla*
Digitized by Google
98
A CKNTURY OF MERIDEN.
turc, has since been increased to $45,-
000. Since the concern became incor-
porated, the officers have been as fol-
lows :
E. C. Wilcox, president ; B. L. Law-
ton, vice-president and treasurer, and
B. C. Rogers, secretary, all of whom
are natives of Mcridcn.
The high (jiiality of their product,
which comprises telephones, telephone
switch-lx)ards. antl electrical supplies,
has placed them in the position of the
E. C. WILCOX.
largest manufacturers of their goods
in this section of the country. Their
plant lias been several times enlarged
and improved since tlicy retnoved to
the present factory buildings.
Thoy make everything in their line
from the raw material to the finished
product. Among their latest triumphs
is an inter-comnumicatiiig telephone
for interior use in buildings, which
furnishes in itself, by pressing but-
tons, complete exchange connections,
with all parts of the building, and re-
leases the same automatically, and
comprises the only successful system
of its kind of the [)resent age. The
n. L. LAWTON.
company are also turning out a new
spark coil apparatus, the use of which
is exceedingly advantageous when ap-
plied to automobiles. Seventy-five
B. C. ROG£RS. ^
hands on the average are cinployed
and the business is now on such a firm
basis that steady work is the rule.
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MANUFACTORIES.
99
J. D. BERGEN CO.
Prominent aniong the industries
which have made Meriden famous in
the state of Connecticut is the cut
glass manufacturing establishment of
the J. D. IJergen Company, formerly
located on Miller street. This factory
Iiad been operated to its fullest capac-
ity for many years, and its product
sold throughout the entire United
States and in many foreign countries.
The aim of the J. D. Bergen Co. has
been to produce a line of cut glass
which shall sell, not only during the
holiday seasons, but through the en-
tire year. This has been accoMi-
plishcd by keeping always in mind the
popular price feature, which has be-
PRESIDENT JAMES D. BERGE.N.
come so intimately associated with
the Bergen product that in the eyes
of the trade "Bergen Cut Glass" and
"Popular Price" is to-day synony-
mous.
The present factory is the outgrowth
of a venture having its inception in a
partnership formed by James D. Ber-
gen, the founder and present Presi-
dent and Treasurer of the J. D. Ber-
gen Co., early in 1880 under the
style of Bergen & Niland. The prin-
cipal business of the young firm at
that time was the production of the
caster Iwttles, then so much in vogue.
A working arrangement with the
Meriden Britannia Co. helped matters
along with the new firm, and the bus-
iness was successfully conducted for a
period of about five years. J. 1).
Bergen, at the end of that period,
seeing greater opportunities before
him, purchased out the interests of
his partner, and early in 1892 made
a stock company of the business,
forming the J. D. Bergen Company,
with a capital stock of $40,000, sub-
seiiuently increased to $60,000. It is
of interest to note that the first board
of directors included such men as
Clarence P. I'.radley.C. Berry Peets, E.
J. Doolittle and C. E. Stockder, Jr.
To-day, thirteen years later, Messrs.
Bradley. Doolittle, Peets and Stock-
der are still actively interested in the
concern, and supplementing their ef-
forts is N. L. Bradley, of the Bradley
& Hubbard Mfg. Co., who is to-day
also in the directorate.
The J. D. Bergen Co, employs a
force of ai)proximately 200 hands at
, . J Google
lOO
A CENTURY OF MERIDKN.
its Mcriden plant,
maintains offices
and show rooms in
Xcw York and in
Chicago, and resi-
dent agents at Bos-
ton, Baltimore and
all other principal
cities of the United
States. In addi-
j. VAU BERGEN. tion to the regular
traveling force,
Mr. Bergen's two sons, J. X'alentine
Bergen and \\\ Tracy Bergen ( who
cover the south and middle west re-
spectively), the I'ergen Company
maintains traveling representatives in
the far W est in the I'nitcd States, and
foreign representatives who take in
practically all of Asia and Oceanica.
There is also a resident agent in the
city of Mexico and in Honolulu.
The product of the J. D. Bergen
Comi)any. while well known for many
years, is constantly increasing in fa-
vor among discriminating purchasers.
This is perhaps due to the fact that
its product is the legitimate expres-
sion of a manager and subordinates
who have practically Ix'cn bred and
born in the cut glass business. With
this in mind, it cannot be any sur-
prise to the reader to learn that the
factory was usually oversold early in
the fall, and, as a matter of fact, the
Bergen Company has been unable to
fill all its orders during the last few
months of the year for at least half a
dozen years past. This fact, and the
opportunity offered to purchase the
large five-story brick plant at Center
and Britannia streets, a few months
ago, has resulted in the acquirement
by the Bergen CoiTipany of the largtr
plant, an excellent view of which
appears on the opposite page. The
new location, where much greater
facilities are enjoyed. was first
occupied in March, 1906. The
plant now occupied is one formerly
used by one of the local indus-
tries and is admirably situated for
the large business
now being there
carried on by the
J. D. Bergen Com-
pany, as it possess-
es not only more
floor space but ex-
cellent railroad ac-
commodations, the
factory fronting
on the main line of
, W. TRACV BEKGEK.
the N. Y.. \. H. &
H. R. R.. a private spur track from
which extends alongside the factory-.
Each department of the factory,
while under the personal su|>ervi5ion
and management of James D. Bergen,
is under the superintendence of man-
agers who have satisfactorily demon-
strated their entire ability for their re-
spective jxjsitions. The result is that
the product of the Bergen Company,
as offered on the market, is all that it
should be. and holds high rank in the
cut glass industry. This art, in which
the American workman, perhaps by
reason of his superior deftness, seems
to excel those of all other nati<ins. has
nowhere reached the excellence that
it has in the I'nited States
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I02
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
THE M. B. SCHENCK CO.
The inception of the M. 1*. Schenck
Co. was in 1881 when the present
president of the company began the
manufacture of a line of double \\!jeel
The fifteen years intervening b<j-
tween the close of the war and the
above date were devoted by Mr.
Schenck to the hardware trade in Ful-
ton. X. Y., his native town.
This had not only qualified him
MANUF.\C lUKI.VC. I'l.A.N T OF THE M. D. SCHENCK CO.
casters of his own invention, suitable
in their sizes and varieties for furni-
ture and trucks. For nearly twenty-
five years they have been known the
world over as the Vale caster.
a merchant but had given him a prac-
tical knowledge of the requirements
of the trade which later on has proven
an exceedingly valuable asset.
While fairlv successful in his bus-
Google
MANUFACTURIHIS.
iness, it was limited by existing con-
ditions, and could not be enlarged to
cover the broader fieUl to which his
laudable ambition aspired.
With his invention as a nucleus, he
sold out his business and came to New
Haven in 1882, to learn the new and
untried life of a manufacturer.
At the end of a five years' struggle,
1891, in coiupany with his son, \V. A.
Schenck, they bought the Beecher
.Mfg. Co. plant which has since been
brought to a high state of perfection.
The plant extends 600 feet along the
main line of the N. Y., N. H. & H.
R. R., which afifords excellent advan-
tages for a manufacturing business.
In 1897, it was incorporated with
M. B. SCHENCK.
with inexperience, insufficient active
capital, patent lawsuits and discourage-
ineiils almost overwhelming, and just
as the tide was turning in his favor, a
destructive fire swept away a very im-
portant part of his business.
IncKiccments, seemingly promising,
broiigl^t him to Meriden in 1887. In
•M. r>. Schenck as president, W. A.
Schenck as secretary, treasurer and
general suj)erintendent.
Five distinct and exceedingly popu-
lar lines of casters, all the product of
Mr. Schenck's inventive talent, are
now made and the business has grown
to large proportions.
104
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
M. B. SCHEXCK.
Martin r». Schenck was Inini April
29, 1838, in Fulton. Xcw York. He
was brought up on his father's farm,
educated in the common schools
the rebellion, and from 1865 to 18S1
was engaged in mercantile pursuit*.
He came to New Haven. Conn., m
1882 but five years later his faaorv
was burned out and he came to Mcri-
den.
RESIDENCE OF M. B. SCIIEXCK. BROAD STREET.
and in Fallev Seminary, Fulton, N. Y.
In the years following he taught
school, learned the builder's trade,
served from i86j to 1865 in the 147th
Regiment. X. Y. \\>ls., in the war of
In creed he is a Metho<list: in pol-
itics a Republican, from tlie birth ot
the party. He is a devoted member of
Merriam Post, Xo. 8. Grand .\miyof
the Republic, and a manufacturer.
MANUFACTORIES.
He was an active "Wide Awake"
in the campaign of i860, cast his first
presidential vote that year for Lincoln
and again four yenrs later, sending his
ballot home from the army in an en-
velope.
His experiences the last fifty year??
have been exceedingly varied, inter-
esting and instructive. He is a lover
of choice literature and has traveled
extensively in his own country and
abroad.
His pleasant home <>n I'.road street,
surrounded by \vcll-koj>t gmunds,
is one of the most desirable locations
in the city. It stands at an elevation
of 1 35 feet above the business portion
of the city, away from the throb and
whir of its many great industries and
commands a view of city» park and
mountain range rarely ecpiated in the
many beautiful, busy cities of ConneC'
ticut.
Mr. Schenck is, on his father's side,
of pure old New York Knickerbocker
Dutch blood, and belongs to the ninth
generation in this country.
His first ancestor of his name in this
countr)* was Roelof Martense Schenck
who came from Holland in 1650, and
married, in 1660, Neeltje Gerretse van
Couwenhoven (now called Conovcr)
whose grandfather came from Holland
in 1630* They all settled in New Am-
sterdam, later in Flatlands, now Brook-
lyn, and were prominent among the
Hollanders in New York under the old
Oulch regime.
His mother's first American an-
cestor, Newman Perkins, came from
Kngland with Roger Williams, and
finally settled with bun in Rhode Island.
He is of the sixth generation in
this country in this line. Descendants
from these families inheriting the
sturdy qualities of tiieir ancestors,
have been prominent in business, social
and |>olitica! circles all along the line
trum the earliest times. Through all
the great wars from the revolution
down to the present time, each gener-
ation has filled its fidl quota, always
regarding loyally to high civic princi-
ples as the i)araniounl duty of the
American citizen.
MEklDEX GAS LIGHT CO.
Meriden has been well provided
with gas by the above public service
corporatkm since 1863, when the com^
pany received its charter from the
Connecticut Legislature. The busi-
ness has always been conducted by
Meriden men and local capital, and
during itr entire history the company
has furnished pure coal gas.
The first plant occupied was that
which stood on the site of the pres-
ent plant of the Meriden Electric
Light Company on South Colony
street, The original gas works suf-
ficed for the needs of the town for
some years. The company began bus-
iness with a capital stock of $35i000,
but this has been since gradually in*
creased to $350,000.
The first cost of gas to the people
of Meriden was $4.65 a thousand feet.
As a result of that necessarily high
price, gas was then principally used for
illuminating purposes and largely by
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MANUFACTORIES.
107
people of means. Happily for the
housekeeper of the present day the
charge per thousand feet made by the
company, makes gas an economical as
well as labor and time-savitic: fuel.
The [passing- of time only has made
possible a gradual reduction in the
price of gas ; so that it has finally bc-
conio generally and even liberally used
in Mcriden. By 1874 the demands
were such that the company, after
erecting a new and larger plant on
Cooper street, abandoned the former
location fur their new one. From
that time to the present, and more es-
pecially within the past decade, new
buildings have been erected on the
f>roperty, which covers several acres;
until the works comprise, in 1906, one
of the best equipped in all New Eng-
land. Among notable improvements
is the acquisition of a giant gas hold-
er. Previous to the construction of
this gasometer the gas holding capac-
ity of the plant was hut 200,000 cuhic
feet. A new huilding for purifying
gas and another for the office and sta<
tion meters have also been added with-
in recent years. The platjt now con-
sists of a retort house; exhauster, con-
denser and washer building ; purifying
building; a holder of 200,000 cubic
feet capacity; and a steel gasometer,
100 feet in height, capable of holding
700,000 cubic feet. There is also a
governor house which regulates auto-
matically the pressure in the gas
mains; and coal sheds of generous ca-
- : rity adjoin tlic tracks of the N.
Y., N. H. & H. R. R. The manufac-
turing and distributing force is thir-
ty-five men. The annual output is
lOOjOOOjOOO cubic feet.
During the past eleven years the
company has reduced the price of gas
from $1.80 to ^^1.25 net per thousand
feet ; these reductions having been en-
tirely voluntary on the part of the
company, have been appreciated by the
public and resulted in the freer use of
gas, there being, in n>o^), 4,800 met-
ers in use. Large aiUlitions to the
street mains have recently been made
and there are now forty-five miles of
pipe laid, covering practically every
street and avenue in the city limits,
and, to a certain extent, beyond.
The late James A. Iladley was su-
perintendent of the plant from the
cumniencemcnt of business by the
company until his death which oc-
curred in October, 1895. The present
superintendent and manager has
served in. that dual capacity since May,
1896.
The officers of the compan\ are:
President, Walter Hubbard ; secretary
and treasurer, Samuel Dodd; mana-
ger and superintendent, Charles A.
Learned. The above officers with
Charles F. Linsley, George M. Curtis,
E, J. Doolittle and F, C. Sherman,
comprise the board of directors.
MERIDEN ELECTRIC LIGHT CO.
While electric lighting was in vogue
'^oiuc years previous to 1887, *t was
in that year that the above company
was organized by charter from the
state legislature, the capital stock then
being $25,000. The station, at that
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
109
ji time purchased from the old company,
was located on State street and i)assa-
ble service was rendered the public.
The equipment consisted of two 100
h. J). 1x>ilers ; two en,L,nnes of the same
capacity and two tiiis arc ligiit dyna-
mos, thirty -seven of which were de-
voted to city street Hghting.
The enterprise of the new company
soon began to assert itself ; for by in-
creasing the capital stock to $5o,cxx),
a new power station was erected on
i. 'South Colony street on the land where
{ once had stood the buildings of the gas
I company. In 1902 the electric light
i station was thoroughly remodeled and
made practically fireproof, the capital
being then increased to $200,000. All
the old engines were removed and
compound condensing engines of 1,100
horse power substituted which are di-
rectly connected with the dynamos.
New steam boilers of 750 horse power
have also been installed giving the sta-
tion a combined machine capacity of
750 K. W. I'or some years the com-
pany has furnished a twenty-four hour
service for both light and power, the
rate being 12 1-2 cents per K. W. for
lightinpf: and for power from 10 cents
to 5 cents per K. W., according to the
cjtTantity used. The company has al-
ways supplied the municipality with
street light; and in 1*706 furnish 200
arc lights for that purpose; 8,000 in-
candescent lijjhts of sixteen candle
power are also supphed fmm the sta-
tion and considerable power for man-
ufacturing and other purposes. With
its service the company covers the city
proper most effectively and the same
is rarely complained of but com-
pares favorably with that of any j^ro-
gressive New England city. Since 1887
the local electric light company has
been under a mana^a-menl whose offi-
cers and directors have been the same
as those of the Meriden Gas Light
Company; yet a friendly nvaliy exists
between the two companies, for the
business is Jcept entirely separate.
James A. Hadley, during the latter
years of his life, was the superinten-
dent; but since 1896 Charles A.
Learned has held the office of genetat
superintendent. The officers and di-
rectors are recorded previously in the
description of the Meriden Gas Light
Company.
CURTISS-WAY COMPANY.
From its remarkable growth during
the past six years, for since 1899 only
has it been under its present manage-
ment, the Curtiss-\\'a\ Company has
added more than its full quota to the
good name of >feriden as a manufac-
turing center. This company, whose
now extensive plant, covering more
than one acre of floor space, located
on Pratt street, was materially en-
larged in 11)05 and the formal open-
ing" after the marked changes had been
made, orctrrrcd Xovember 20 of that
year. The accompanying,'' illustration
^ive< an excellent and truthful repre-
sentation of the extensive i)rintery. the
[)r(»diK-t of which com|»rises a most
varied and extensive line, not only of
book, job and mercantile printing, but
advertising novelties, calendars, mem-
Digitized by Google
I lO
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
orandimi aiul other books. The coin-
pan v also runs its own electrotypin^'
plant. (Iocs its own paper ruling and
also its own book and pamphlet bind-
ing, being thoroughly ecpiipped to tuni
Photo by Akers £ PigeoD.
JAS. A. CUKTISS.
out complete the work undertaken by
the busy concern.
The business was first established
about 1880 by .\. J. Converse, and
after having been conducted by him
for some years, was acquired by
James A. Curtiss. a prominent busi-
ness man and wholesale gn^er of this
city, who formed a company known as
the Converse Publishing Company,
which was managed by Mr. Converse
until his retirement in 1899, It w:as
in that year that the present company
■was organized, the principal stock-
holders being James A. Curtiss ami
William H. Way. the former who ha«l
become extensively conceme<l tinan-
cially, and the latter who had l>een su-
perintendent of the plant since i8«vi.
and whose names the corporation has
since lx)rne.
At that time but thirty liands were
employed and the plant was a tlimin-
utive affair compared to that of the
present date, which comprises one of
the largest and best of its kind in N'cw
England and gives employment to
over 100 hands. The assets of the
company, including the new plant, are
w. n. WAV.
in excess of $100,000 and the capital
stock is $50,000.
The company has its own separate
power house, and is equipped with a I
forty horse-power Twiss engine and a
MANUFACTORIES.
Ill
suet}' horse-power Bigelow steam
boiler. The power plant is, therefore,
of ample capaciiy for the machinery
and heating, and is also sufficient for
generating electricity for lighting, and
the company will soon install machin-
ery for the latter purpose. With the
new three storv brick addition to the
factory, the company have buildings
90 feet long by 130 feet deep, all of
w}iich have been purchased by them
through the legitimate profits of an
honorably conducted business during
the past six years. This success has
been in a great nit-asurc due to the
cxecuti\ c ability of Mr. Way, who by
I his indomitable energy and business
acumen, has brought the business to
its present happy state.
The Curtiss-Way Company employ
eight to ten traveling men and have a
show room at 335 ilroadway, New
York City, and another on Kast Main
street, Waterbury, Conn. The work
emanating from this complete printint^
plant, is shipped to every stale cast of
the Mississippi river, and its reputa-
tion for twentieth century work and
ability to compete with the larsj^tst
concerns in the country are well known
to tlie trade. Xot only has the Cur-
t!ss-\\ ay Company a reimtation for
i>c inj4 a most successful cunijjcliior for
lar.ero contracts in the printing and ad-
vertising novelty line but they have the
name of completing and shipping
their orders when promised. This re-
sponsibility rests largely upon the su-
perintendent, F. Ad. Gehring. who as-
sumed that positicm in 1902, having
previously been associated with a large
printing concern in Holyoke, Mass.
Mr. Gehring, like Mr. Way, is a thor-
oughly ])ractical printer and under-
stands not only the handling of a large
force of employees without friction,
but has the faculty for making all
things count for the good of the con-
cenit which invariably reverts to the
benefit of the customer.
The plant is kept scrupulously neat
and clean at all times and a higher
class of hands are there employed
than in the ordinary printing office.
There are also recognized heads of all
of the several different departments
and wasted time is an unknown quan-
tity at this plant. The cylinder press
room contains a large number of au-
tomatic feed, perfectini,' and cylinder
and job presses which never cease,
only at the blowing of the whistle, and
oftentimes different departments of
the plant are obliged to run overtime.
The composing room comprises an un-
usually lari;c, well ventilated and li,L,dU-
ed flepartmenl and the nnmber of com-
l)ositors ali>ni' there empl<>\ed would
make a most respectable payroll for
a commun j>rintinji: estahlisiinK-nt. In
addition to the large number of hand
compositor.s. tliev have a monotype
plant which makes and sets its own
tvpe and is used largely in Ixiok and
c.iiaiog contracts. The paper ruling
room jx).ssesses a luunber of the
llickox .Automatic Strike Ruling Ma-
chines, which the Curtiss-W'ay Com-
pany find especially useful in their or-
ders of railroad and express company
forms and blanks, of which they are
extensive manufacturers.
Digitized by Google
112
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
Incliulcd in the product of the com-
pany are also a large and varied as-
sortment of calendars and calendar
pads, and in advertisings ntnelties are,
aluminum trays, mirrors, match safes,
memorandum books, fancy blotters,
|)aper weij^hts. whiskbnx)m holders,
fans, yard sticks, lead pencils, import-
ed calendars, and a j;rcat variety of
Meriden, for they are most handsome-
ly finished in natural color hard wood,
and do credit to the j:s(XkI taste of the
concern. The- high studdetl ceiling is
supported by steel pfirders an<i there
are no posts to obstruct the office force
in their movements. Xew and hand-
some furniture hannonizin.c^ perfectly
with the woodwork gives a most
PL.ANT OF THE CURTISS-WAV COM PAN V.
Other novelties used extensively by the
trade for advertisings pun)oscs, of
which space forbids only this partial
enumeration.
The large offices of the Curtiss-
W'ay Company, which are now con-
tained in the new three story brick ad-
dition, are a source of local pride to
pleasing impression to the visitor and
every modern method for facilitating^
business is inmiediately at liand. A
private telephone system connects
with every department of the busy
plant, thus bringing the office in clos-
est touch with every portion of its
working force. There are pri\-ate of-
Google
MANUFACTORIES.
"3
fices for the manager, stenographer
and bookkeeper, and a most attractive
show room exhibits tlie pleasing and
satisfactory work executed.
\V. H. Way. secretary and nianaf]:er,
is a native of Ashtield. Mass. His pa-
rents rcni()V(,(l to Mcriden witli him
when he was four years of age and he
was echicated in the Meriden public
schools. Fruiii the age of twciUy. he
has been continviousls enjj^aj^id in the
job printing and newspaper business.
Previous to iKCoinitiir associated with
the company of which he is now man-
ager, he was ciij^aged in his present
line of business in Massachusetts, Mr.
Way is a man of rare executive MU
ity. and the growth of the Curtiss-
W'ay Company is most substantial evi-
dence of that necessary (lualification
to success.
HELMSCHMIED MFG. CO.
One of the industries of Meriden,
the product of which adds fame to
the town, is that carried on by the
Helmschmied Mfg. Co., whose fac-
tory is located on Reset voir avenue.
C. V. Helmschmied, the founder and
president, was bom October 30. 1863,
in Steinschoenua, Bohemia, where a
common school education was fol
lowed by a course 'at the Imperial
Technical school of his native town.
His marked tendency toward artistic
work was fostered by his training
and was a vital factor in its develop-
-nent and growth, but he felt that the
tield was too confined for a realiza-
48
tion of his struggling ideals. There
was an America beyond the seas
where ambitions were nourished and
talent recognized. The price he set
on his own ability stimulated him
to leave Bohemia and seek the sea-
coast where he embarked for the
United States.
Mr. Helmschmied was employed in
several cities before coming to Mcri-
den. Directly after landing in Xew
V'ork he went to New Bedford. Mass.,
where he became a designer for Smith
Bros., manufacturers of decorated
opal ware ; at the end of two \ ears
he went to Trenton. X. J., and
worketl for Jesse Dean at china
painting; two more years were spent
in New Bedford with the Mount
Washington Glass Company as de-
sigfner,
Mr. HelmschmTed*s talents as a dc«
signer were recognized when he en-
tered the employ of C. F. JSfonroe in
1886. He aimed at the best and con-
stantly strove to live up to that aim.
When the C. F. Monroe Company
became incorporated he became a
stockholder and was made superin'
tendent of the plant and he was also
the leading designer there for six-
teen years. He withdrew from Mon-
roe's in Januar>', 1903, opened his
own factory and began to manufac-
ture for himself. The corporation
known as the Helmschmied ^^fg. Co.,
of which he is president and treasur-
er, was incon)orated in the fall of
1904. the capital stock of which was
increased to $rn.oon in the s]u-ing of
1905. Colonial glass novelties and
Digitized by Google
M A XL' FACTORIES.
nctal ornaments comprising shades,
cases, and other decorated ware from
llank glass have since been ailded to
:he product.
The factory on Reservoir avenue
is a busy center where the finest kind
3f dectjrated ware is turned out. Tlie
goods are sold direct from the fac-
tory and the Xcw York office is at
■
Photo bjr Akem & Pigeon.
r. ,V. IIEL.MSI UMIIII).
I*roa<lway. Owing to an in-
creasing demand for the ware Mr.
Hclnisclimcid now contemplates erect-
ing a new factory, having interested
local investors in the project.
Mr. Helmchmie<i is a member of
the Colonial club of Meriden and in
politics is a Rei)ul)lican.
COXX. liRKWERIl'S CO.\IP.\XV.
A maiuifacturing plant that for
many years has added to the volume
of Itxral business is that of the Meri-
den branch of the Connecticut Brew-
eries Company and which was for
some years, and until i8(/D. conducted
by the .Meriden Mrewing Company.
It was at that time that the business
of the .Meriden lirewing Company
was consolidated with that of A.
Wintter & Co., who conducted a sim-
ilar plant at I'ridgeport and the cor-
poration was forme<l. known as the
Connecticut Ureweries Compan\.
The company was organized with
many of its employes as stockholders
and with a paid in ca|)ital stock of
$700,000 which amount is far less
than the present value of its two large
plants.
Since the formation of the present
company the officers have changed
somewhat owing to tleaths which
have occurred. The president. Peter
W. W ren, of liridgeport, has jiresid-
ed over the deliberations of the board
of directors, however, from the be-
ginning to the present time and un-
der his leadership the Inisiness has
steadily increased yearly. Within re-
cent years and owing to the deaths of
I. n. .Mc.Mahon. the former general
manager, and .\. Wintter. the latter
who until his decease, held the office
of secretary ami treasurer. Mr. Wren
has had added to his duties those of
treasurer and general manager. The
vice-i)resident is John A. Hurley, who
MANUFACTORIES.
117
> especially well known in Meriden.
aving been formerly manager of the
leriden branch.
J. H. McMahon, son of the dc-
Dased general manager, is the sec-
;tary of the company. The present
lanager of the Meriden branch of the
Dnipany. Michael F. Sullivan, suc-
jeded Robert J. \'eit, the former
The Meriden plant is admirably sit-
uated for the manufacture and distri-
bution of its product, being located on
South Colony street, the rear of the
brewing buildings adjoining the main
line of the N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R.,
and from which a side track brings
excellent shipping facilities imme-
diately at hand.
Photo by R. 8. (Vvlfrey.
KETTLE FLOOR, CONNECTICUT BREWERIES CO.
tiager, in December, 1903. The
sent manager of the local plant is
jsident of New Haven and previous
roming to Meriden was associated
h the Yale Brewing Company.
; board of directors of the Con-
ticut Breweries Company are:
er W. Wren, John H. McMahon.
n A. Hurley, Robert J. Veit and
Ham Hickey.
The plant is kept scrupulously clean
and the capacity of the output is 100,-
000 barrels a year. The material
used in the manufacture of the prod-
uct is the best obtainable and the
goods find a ready sale. There is
frequently more than one brew a
day at the plant which consists of
the following buildings: Brewhouse,
shipping and storage houses, cold
I
ii8
A CENTLUY OF MKRIDKN.
Storage plant five stories in height,
kept at the exact temperature of 35
degrees every day in the year ; ale
fcmuMiting house ; artificial ice-mak-
ing plant, with a capacity of seventy-
five tons of ice a day ; Ixjiler house
containing two 100 horse power
company to keep it in first class order.
In 1894 a new office building
added to the i)lant which comprises
one of the handsomest in the citv
The office building is entirely sepa-
rate from the buildings where the
manufacturing is carried on and con-
Photo by R. S. CJodfrey,
REFRIGERATING PLANT, CONNECTICUT BREWERIES CO.
boilers : cooperage for the repair of
barrels and casks ; pitch yard ; large
and modern stable building laid with
asphalt floorings and fitted with
steam heat and every comfort for the
large number of horses it accommo-
dates and the men employed by the
tains a large counting room as well as
a directors' room and manager's pri-
vate office.
The product of the plant consists
of lager Ijcer. ale and porter, and also
special brands which have become
somewhat celebrateti throughout the
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
FKKMKNTING ROOM, CONNECTICUT BRKWERIKS CO.
Phntoit by H. S. (Jntifrey.
RACKI.\<; K(M>M. ( (IWKCTK I T IJRKWKRIKS CO.
I20
A CKNTURY OF MERIDKN.
country, notably "Golden Pale Ale"
and "Pale Extra Lager." The com-
pany has well established agencies in
several leading cities of the country
and naturally supplies a large portion
of the lager beer and ale consumed
within a radius of several miles of
each of its plants. The company
does a large bottling business and its
goods in this department are not only
shipped largely to New York, New
Jersey and the national capitol but
have also become known and popular
with the trade in nearly every state
in the union. The product of the
com|)any also finds its way at regiilar
intervals to foreign climes and a spe-
cial brand, rated among the choicest
of foreign beverages, is exported to
South .\mcrica, Cuba and the Bahama
Islands.
The company employs about sixty
workmen at its Meriden plant and
with its large pay roll adds many
thousands to the amount distributed
annually to the well paid employes
of Meriden manufacturing plants.
FRITZ BROTHERS.
Fritz Brothers, composed of E. T.
and W. F. Fritz, are the successors
to the dog collar manufacturing busi-
ness formerly carried on by the Con-
necticut Saddlery & Bell Company,
of whose factory they occu|)y a por-
tion and whose reputation they have
added to in marked degree. They
purchased the business in May, 1903,
and have every facility for tuming out
their goods in large quantities. The
members of the firm, who are both
natives of Meriden, were no strangers
to the business when they took pos-
session of the factory : for one of the
brothers was the founder of the dog
collar department of the concern they
have succeeded and has had fifteen
years* experience Ixjth as a maker of
the goods and a traveling man. His
brother, W. F. Fritz, also had a wide
W. F. FRITZ.
experience in the same line of manu-
facturing, having been previously em-
ployed at the Chapman Mfg. Co.
They now hold the distinction of be-
ing the only exclusive dog collar man-
ufacturers in the state. Besides mak-
ing over 400 different styles of dog
collars, including the Boston bull col-
lar which alone has made their name
famous, they are makers of leather
DigitizGL , , -.AX'iql
MANUFACTURIi:S.
121
muzzles, leads and harness for canines
and are dealers in dog collar bells,
locks, brushes, combs, whips and
blankets. They also manufacture
trout basket straps and skate straps
K. T. I-RITZ.
for the trade and their goods arc
shipped to all parts of the country.
They have a branch office in Chica-
go at 1228 George street and employ
three traveling salesmen. The manu-
facture of their goods gives the Fritz
Brothers an opportunity to display
much judgment and good taste and
their success is attested by the demand
for their output. While both are
practical manufacturers of dog collars
and furnishings and are well known
t(j the large trade they supply. E. T.
Fritz, as a rule, devotes his time to
the factory and W. F. Fritz to call-
ing upon the trade. The industry car-
ried on by them furnishes employ-
ment to several hands during the busy
season and the goods made add no
little to the reputation of Meriden as
a manufacturing town.
SILVER CITY CUT GLASS CO.
One of the newest manufacturing
concerns of Meriden is the Silver City
Cut (ilass Com])any, who since June
I, 1905. have conducted a busy plant
on Hicks street. Their factory, which
is a two-story wooden structure, is
PERCY !• HOE .NIX.
that formerly occupied by the Hicks
Xovelty Company. .Articles of cut
glass of nearly every form and de-
scription comprise the product and the
concern has already earned a reputa-
122
A CEXTURV OF MERIDEN.
tion from the high character of the
work emanating from their factory.
The officers of the company are as
follows: I^resident. Percy IMioenix ;
vice-president. A. Abeciirnos ; secre-
tary and treasurer. Joseph Schnick.
They are all young men and the en-
terprise in which they are engaged is
their first start in business for them-
selves.
All the princi];als and employes are
residents of Meriden. The president
is an expert cutter and designer, for-
merly employed hy the Meriden Cut
.\. AUKKtUNOS.
Glass Company and the C. I-^. Monroe
Company. The vice president, and
secretary and treasurer are likewise
young men of talent and ability and
secured a wide experience in practical
glass cutting at the factor\ of the
Meriden Cut Glass Company.
The factory is etjuipped with the
most modern machinery from their
earnings as employes for others. The
JOSKPII sen NICK.
frames are the new adjustable style
and the power is electric motor with a
capacity for thirty frames. The show
room is on the second floor and is well
worth a visit by strangers to Meriden
during the Centennial week.
THE .MKKIDKX GRA\ I'RK CO.
Tn the above named company. Mer-
iden ix)ssesses the only plant in the
state given up to the exclusive pro<liic-
tion of photo-gelatine prints : and the
business, which was established in
Google
MANUFACTORIKS.
1888, has now become one of the larjj-
est in its cxcUisive prochict in the
L'nited States. The business has
fjrown stea(hly from the start and the
character of the work has estabHshed
the standard of the trade. Ilhistra-
tions for catalojjues, books, majjazine
inserts and a general hne of reproduc-
tions comprise the output which is
creditable both to the citv an<l the state.
business has j^^rown till now the com-
pany supplies a trade extending to
nearly every state in the Union. The
(Iravure Company was the first in its
line to produce practical illustrations
for commercial purposes, and being
the first in the field has held the lead
to the present time. The company
has a plant remarkably well fitted for
the extensive and economical prosecu-
PLA.VT OF THE .MKRIDE.V GKAVURK CO.
The business of the company has al-
ways been conducted in the same loca-
tion : but in recent years several new
buildings have been constructed to
meet increasing requirements, the
plant now extending through to liil-
lard street, where since 1905. the com-
pany's office has been located. l>egin-
ning with a few local customers the
tion of the work which they produce.
The officers of the company, both
of whom are well known residents of
.Meriden and interested in its growth
and prosperity, are: J. 1*. .Mien, pres-
ident and treasurer, and ( ). W. Bas-
sett. secretary. A New York office is
maintained at the .\merican Tract So-
cicty Building. 150 Xassau street.
124
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
A. H. JONES.
Augustus Howard Jones, manufac-
turer of Meriden, is the son of Joseph
and Martha (Jackson) Jones, both
natives of Wales. He was born in
New York City, December 21, 185 1.
His father died when he was nine
Photo by Akers St Pigeon.
AUGUSTUS H. JONES.
years of age and at twelve he began
to earn his livelihood, after which he
attended the night school until the
age of fifteen, when he returned to
day school for a year and finished his
education.
In 1866 he began his apprentice-
ship in a brass foundry where he
served four years and a half learning
his trade. He became an expert core-
maker and a contractor in the manu-
facture of locks. In 1867 he came to
Meriden where he has since remained
After serving two years as foreman
in the brass foundry at the Bradley &
Hubbard factory, he started a brass
foundry of his own which, however,
he gave up in two weeks and returned
as foreman for the B. & H. Mfg. Co.,
who had made it an object for him
to do so.
In 1882, he was one of the organ-
izers of the Foster Hardware Co..
which in 1885 was reorganized under
the name of the Meriden Bronze Co.,
and of which large concern, Mr. Jones
became president in 1891. That con-
cern for many years furnished em-
ployment to a large number of hands
and added materially to the business
prosperity of the tow n. Financial de-
pression forced the Bronze Company
out of business and Mr. Jones* per-
sonal loss was $100,000.
With characteristic courage and
grit, in 1901, he organized the com-
pany and started the factory since lo-
cated or. Miller street, which now
bears his name and where he has since,
from a small beginning, been engaged
in the manufacture of white metal
novelties.
Mr. Jones is a thirty-second degree
Mason, has served in the city govern-
ment four years as councilman and
two years as aldemian. is a member
of the Home Club and of genial and
companionable nature. He was mar-
ried in 1870 to Jennie E. Logan,
t
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIKS.
daughter of Thomas and Marguerite
Logan. They attend the First Con-
gregational church.
BAILEY'S STEAM LAl'NDRY.
Xumerically, this was the tenth
laundry established in Meriden, and
was the first to be continued success-
fully ; and at this writing it is the larg-
THEODORE F. UAlLtY.
est and finest equii)|)ed establishment
of the kind in the city.
The nucleus of the present busi-
ness was formed by Theodore F, Bai-
ley, an old and res{)ected resident of
Meriden, and his first operations were
small. In 1895 his daughter. Mrs.
Hattie L. Aubrey, became the head,
and since that time the growth of the
business has been somewhat remark-
able. In May, 1896, the present
laundry building in the rear of Mr.
Bailev's residence on Crown street,
was erected, and the introduction of
machinery transformed the industry
from a hand to a steam laundry.
Since that time machinery for steam
carpet cleaning has also been put in,
and a large business in that line is
now carried on. In 1905 a large barn
was erected and added to the plant,
the upper portion of which now con-
tains the carpet cleaning machinery,
and this work is. therefore, now car-
ried on in a separate building. The
power used comes from the laundry's
own boiler house, which in 1905 was
installed with a new $1,000 boiler.
Another advantage the laundry enjoys
is an artesian well, sunk on the prem-
ises, which supplies an abundance of
water for all purposes outside the en-
gine room. Both floors of the main
building, which is 60 by 40 feet, are
now used for the purposes of the laun-
dry ; the sorting, washing, starching,
mangling and delivering being done
on the first floor, and the ironing, since
1905, ion the second floor.
.Among the commendable character-
istics of this laundry are promptness
in the delivery of work. The fact that
a woman's eye supervises the work
also adds to the reputation of the laun-
dry for careful work.
Mrs. Aubrey has proven herself a
most capable manager of the now suc-
cessful business, and is assisted by her
youngest son, William R. Aubrey, and
a force of twenty-five employes.
126
A CENTURY OF
BEAVER LAKE ICE CO.
The Beaver Lake Ice Company,
wholesale and retail dealers in ice, of
Meriden, came under its present man-
agement early in June, 1905. when the
corporation was formed with the capi-
tal stock of $15,500.
The origin of the business, under
its present name, dates back to 1894,
wheti the late William (larlick, of
South Mcridrn. withdrew from tlie
Meridrn ice Company, atttr iiavinj^
been I"!" tivr years it-; prc'-ident and
hnviTi^ many years ])rcvious to that
boui^ht ntit h\< father's ice busmcss.
Tiie coiiniioi) a> now organized, was
formed throri^h the etforls nf ia-nj.
I'. Miliicr. the present stH:rct:iiy an«l
ircaMiier. a native of Meriden. who
atteihUd the IcK-al public ^cluH*ls and
has ever been a ]>ri>ii!i>ter of local in-
terests. Through his iu^lrunicntality
the corporation purchased from his
csuu the business so Miccessfully car-
ried on by Mr. (iarlick. including
the ice houses, harvesting privileges,
horses, wagons, custom and good will.
Since the business came into the
present hands many improvements
have been made to the equi]>ment and
new office headquarter.s, stables and
central ice depot have been estab-
lished, all of which are located at 100
State street, where there arc excellent
railroad facilities and ample accomnK>
dations for a larger business.
Beaver Lake, the principal source
of supply and from which the company
derives its name, is one of the many
healthful bodies of water in the vi-
cinity of Meriden entirely fed with
springs and which the company keep
well freed from v^etable growtli. .\s
a result the ice harvested in their large
ice houses, of 10.000 tons capacit\ . is
of the most healthful character. Tlic
full ice harvesting capacity of the lake
is much greater than that required by
the company.
W'liile tile quality and service of
the lieavcr Lake Xce Companv have
ever been commended by the pev>pie
of Meriden. whom they supply, the
new cuinpany has ahv.iys strived to
e.xcel in this regard the good name es-
tablished by Mr. Garlick, and this,
with atlded capital and increased force,
they have been enabled to do in iw
small measure.
The red teams 01 the ccuiipany are
fanuliar sights on the numerous
streets and avenues of th\s> vicinity:
and eonrtesy. good weight ami hc^nest
tr<.'atnient, those qualitications which
have ever characterizetl the bu^i^c^>
of the concern through its several
changes in management, are ever ap-
parent. The management also is not
only progressivelnit liberal and being
familiar with the needs of the public
from previous connection with the ice
business, fully realize the meeting of
competition. The officers of the com-
pany are Charles E. Curtis* president,
and Benjamin F.- Milner. secretary
and treasurer ; the former being also
a well known financier and a vice-pres-
ident of the Citv Bank of New Haven
and jthe latter from his birth a Meriden
'*boy** but now and for the past six
years also cashier and office manager
d bv Connie
MANUFACTORIES.
BENJAMIN F. MII.NFR.
128
A CENTURY OF MERIPKX.
of the New Haven Ice Company. The
directors of the company are Cliarles
E. Curtis, I'cnjaniin I'. Mihicr and
Samuel A. York.
WILLIAM J. LUP>Y.
One of the successful younp^ busi-
ness men of Mcridcn is W'illliam J.
Luby. He is the son of the late Maur-
rhnto by Akers & Pigeon.
WILLIAM T. LUBY.
ice Luby and Rllen (Ryan) Luby.
His fatlur. who died in i8()<). con-
ducted the monument business for
some twenty years in the same loca-
tion now occu|)ie(l by his son. whose
works on Hanover street now cover
about one acre and a half of ground,
and there some of the finest specimens
of art arc execr.ted.
His reputation as a designer and
builder of monuments has been earned
solely by the high merits of his work.
His business establishment gives
steady employment to well paid men
and the sjKcimens of art as thus ex-
emplified by him are highly creditable
to the town.
\V. J. Luby was boni on Columbia
street, Meriden, December 28, 1879.
He attended the public schools of this
town, and after two years at the High
school, took a course at the Pequtxl
Business College. From early boy-
hood he was constantly associated with
his father's monument works, and ai
an early age he showed a gift for
drawing, which talent has been a
most necessary and desirable qualifi-
cation in his business.
After his father's death he bought
his present business from the estate,
and that he has increased the opera-
tions of the works quite largely is a
well known fact. His talent for de-
signing beautiful monuments has made
his name somewhat famous, and the
specimens of art modeled at his
works, more frecjuently are shipped to
places far outside of .Meriden. than
those which adorn local cemeteries.
It was Mr. Luby who designed the fa-
mous Clara Barton monument that ha<i
attracted such favorable attention and
also the Atwater Memorial monument
at Terry vi He.
Mr. Luby is a member of Meriden
Lodge. 35. B. P. O. Elks, the Meriden
Young Men's T. .\. B. Society. Div. 2.
A. O. H.. and Meriden Business Men's
Association.
Google
MANUFACTORIES.
129
He stands well as a citizen of the
town which this year celebrates its
centennial and is deservedly popular
among a large circle of actiuaintances.
Since starting' itpoii his business career
he has done his iiunost toward the up-
btiildinj:: of the Silver City where he
has always lived.
CHARLES E. SCHUNACK.
Charles Kuu\ Scluinack, a progres-
sive niami factiirer of paper boxes and
silverware cases in Meriden, also a
dealer in })iano stools, chairs, benches,
scarfs and nuisic cabinets in New
York City, was born in Spremburg,
(lennany, November 15, 1859. His
father was Gustav Schunack, a native
of the same locality and a manufacture
er of woolen cloth, who married
Louisa Lange, who with their two
children, including the subject of this
sketch and his sister Emmy, emigrat-
ed to this country in 1873, the follow-
ing year removing to Mcriden where
his father died in 1899.
Charles E. Schunack obtained his
education in Germany and upon com-
ing to this country, at the age of four-
teen, entered the mills at Webster
where the family first located before
coming to Meriden ; but in 1874 he se-
aired employment in the bronze de-
partment of the Meriden Malhable
Iron Company where he remained five
years and devoted himself industrious-
Iv and conscientiously to the interests
of his employers. In 1879 he became
a contractor in the bronze de|)artment
of the factory of Hart, Bliven &
49
Meade at Kensington, but after five
years he returned to Meriden and took
charge of the lamp department of the
Chas. Parker Co., where he continued
for many years.
He l)egan business as a box manu-
faetnrer in 1891. locatitig on Randolph
avenue, in a structure that was first in-
tended for a large stable but which
has been remodeled and added to and
comprises a paper box factory of mod-
ern pattern. From a small beginning
his business has increased to goodly
pruporlions, the nntpnt of the faciorv
comprising paper and Katlier lioxcs
of any desired style or description and
fancy cases for silverware. Mr.
Schunack s factory is equipped with
modern machinery.
In 1901 he opened a large sales-
room at 115 and 117 East 14th street,
Xew York, where he sells piano stools,
benches, chairs, scarfs and music cab-
inets manufactured by the Chas. 'Par-
ker Co., of Meriden, and has since di-
vided his time between his New York
and Meriden offices.
Mr. Schunack is ably assisted at the
factory by his only sister, Emmy Schu-
nack, a lady of much business ability
and thorough understanding of the
work. Success in all his under-
takings has brought Mr. Schunack in*
to prominence t in the manufacturing
circles of the town where he is known
as a man of modern ideas, energy and
vigor. His ability to please the trade
he supplies from his factory has been
a great factor in his success in Mer-
iden : while his natural apitit'ide as a
salesman and genial good fellowship
Digitized by Google
I30
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
have also made him jKjpular at the
metropolis. He is married to Rhoda
Baldwin, of Kensington, a lady of
refinement and they have two chil-
dren, Mildred and Elsie. Mr. Schu-
nack is thoroughly identified with the
life of Meridcn, being a member of
Meridian Lodge, 77, A. F. & A. M.,
Pilgrims* Harbor Council, R. A., and,
with his wife and children, attends the
First Congregational Church,
hands, executed most of the work
emanating from the factory, making
his own designs. After a short time
he received a sufficient number of or-
ders to warrant his employing help
and the business gradually developed,
through the desirable qualities of the
product, until it outgrew its quarters :
and it was in 1900 the present factory
building, which possesses an excellent
railroatl frontage, was removed to.
Photo by R. S. Oodfrey.
FACTORY OF A. I. HALL & CO.
A. J. HALL & CO.
A. J. Hall & Co.. manufacturers of
decorated ware, and whose output is
decidedly creditable to this town, con-
duct a factory at the corner of Me-
chanic and George streets. The in-
dustry was started in a small way in
1899 by Arthur J. Hall. His first
location was on Mill street and at
the beginning Mr. Hall, with his own
Before the end of the first year of its
business, James D. Bergen, president
of the J. D. Bergen Co., of Meriden,
purchased a half interest from Mr.
Hall, and this he still retains.
The finn occupy the entire build-
ing and at their show rooms and of-
fices are exhibited for the benefit of
both wholesale and retail customers.
si)ecimcns of their artistic and sala-
ble output. They manufacture gas
A CKNTURY OF MtRlDKN.
and lamp shades, decorated novelties,
including; tobacco jars and cracker
jars, vases, bric-a-brac, and many oth-
er goods which add to their reputa-
tion. In keeping: with the spirit of
the period, they have issued many nov-
elties in copyrijjhted desipfns as fitting
mementos of the old home week in
which Mcriden celol)rates its Centen-
nial anniversary.
which now extends the full length of
the building, a distance of 290 feet,
and with more recent enlargements
the concern now possesses a street
frontage of about seventy-five feet.
The working force has. from neces-
sity, been increased in proportion,
until they now employ fifty skilled
workmen, and are capable of produc-
ing anything in cut glass from a five-
Photo by U. S Oodfrey.
AT J. J. MLAXD & CO. S FACTORY
J. J. .\lLA.\n & CO.
J. j. Xiland & Co.. now fast com-
ing to occupy a position in the front
ranks of the successful business con-
cerns of this city, was started about
1902. The first quarters occupied con-
sisted of a room in the Morehouse
building on Miller street, which in a
short time proved too small ior the
fast growing business, and they found
it necessary to enlarge their j)lant,
vase. James j. Xiland is the enter-
cent caster bottle, to a thousand dollar
prising head of the concern, and to his
practical knowledge of the business
may be attributed the phenomenal suc-
cess achieved by the concern. With
every detail of the glass cutting indus-
try he has become thoroughly familiar,
having worked at the business contin-
uously from boyhood. He served six
years* apprenticeship at the trade, and
came to Meriden after having worked
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MANUFACTORIES.
a few years in some of the leading
^lass factories of England and Scot-
land.
Upon coming to this town he at once
associated himself with the Bergen &
Xiland Company, then on .State street,
with whom he continued until his
anihition prompted him to try his for-
tune as a manufacturer on his own
account. The show rooms of J. J.
Photo by Akers & Pigeon.
JAMES J. .XILAND.
Xiland & Co. at the factory on Miller
street, contain a line of cut glass sel-
dom ecjualled for variety, quality and
moderate prices, and visitors whether
prospective huyers or not are invar-
iably delighted with the exhibition
there contained. The product of this
factory in its entirety is from the
crude blank to the finished ornament
and the patterns uf the comi)any are
not only original but radically differ-
ent from unscrupulous imitation>.
.Among the customers of this concern
are Tirtany & Co., celebrated jewelers
of New York City, and many leading
glass and crockery dealing concerns,
including Higgins & Seiter, also of
.\ew Yark. The product adds no
little fame to .Meriden and the indus-
try gives emj)loyment to well paid
hands, thereb\ adding to the prosper-
ity of the town.
THE JEXXIXGS & (iklFFlX
MFG. CO.
A manufacturing concern, within a
quarter of a century grown to large
proportions, and whose product has
ever added distinction to this locality,
is The Jennings & Griffin Mfg. Co.,
with factory at Tracy. The plant which
now covers a large area in a situation
most favorable to the manufacture
of its goods, especially within the past
year, has been noticeably enlarged and
imi)rovcd.
It was in 1880 that Charles F. Jen-
nings and Francis I*. Griffin, whose
names have long since been synonyms
for the highest grade of mechanics'
tools, in a modest way started to make
for themselves a reputation. Their
aim was to excel in their line of man-
ufacture: and having a full under-
standiug of the wants of the trade, and
the way to supply them, they could
scarcely fail of success. They filled
their orders with honest goods ; and
having always continued to do so,
A CEXTL KY nK .M KKIDKN.
|)rosi)crity has tKcn tlicir fit reward.
Gradually the factory has grown
and new machinery has replaced the
old. until they have become enabled to
produce edge t(X)ls and boring imple-
ments in large quantities, used by me-
chanics in every part of the civilized
world. The company at the present
day owns about twenty acres of land
on Ixith sides of the railroad track,
including where the factory is situated
enabling the company to supply a
greatly increased demand for edj;e
tools. The first building erected thi*
year is 32x48 feet, and the last addi-
tion, comprising a practically hre-
prcx)f building, is 46.X88 feet in di-
mensions.
The recent additions have also given
the company the opportiniity to make
various other notable improvements to
the plant. The forge fires in the new
Photo by R. S. Qodtny.
FROST OF JK.NNINCS & GRIFFIN MFG. CO.
and where nine dwelling houses have
been erected by them for their em-
ployes. While the factory has been
gradually cnlargtMl from the begin-
ning, the addition of two more build-
ings in 1906, when Meriden celebrates
its ux^th anniversary, gives the plant
a frontage of 200 feet and a length,
east and west, of 400 feet. 'I'he new
additions were for the purpose of
buildijig will be fed with fuel oil sup-
plied by a pipe from a tank located at
the Valesville station of the N. V.. X.
H. & n. Railroad, about 100 yards
from the factory. The company al»
expect to make their own gas for
running their auxiliarx engine, and
have, as well, a second supply of £^s
from the W'allingford gas works. The
old style hammers have been replaced
MAN tFACTORIKS.
with the latest pattern power ham-
mers, enabling the company to in-
crease their output materially. With
the aid of the Quinnipiac river, from
which the factory has always been
supplied with water power, and the
auxiliary supply of gas, the factory
has now a combined motive power of
215 horse power. A deep well, which
the company has possessed at their
plant for some years, furnishes pure,
an arrow head, in the center of which
is the letter ( J) ; this trade mark is m
itself a familiar passport in the trade,
and indicates that the articles made
upon honor are the genuine C. E. Jen-
nings tool. The company also man-
ufactures the original L'Hommedieu &
Watrous ship augers, those brands
well known to the hardware and ship-
building trade all over the world. The
L'Hommedieu brand has been on the
Ptioto by R. S. Godfrey.
KKAR OF JENNINGS & GRIFFIN .MFG. CO.
cold water for all other purposes.
Among other improvements possessed
l>y The Jennings & (Irifhn Mfg. Co., is
their own electric lighting plant.
The product consists of high grade
mechanics' tools, including edge tools
and Ixiring implements of every de-
scription. The goods are turned out
complete from the raw material and in
great variety being trade marked with
market since 1818. For manv years
the company has maintained head-
(juartcrs in Xcw York City, and their
salesrooms at the metropolis are at 42
•Murray street.
Both Messrs. Jennings and Griflfin.
the former of whom is presiclcnt, and
the latter .^^ecretary and treasurer,
spend a large portion of their time in
Xew York looking after the trade,
A CKNTUKV OK MERIDEX,
whicli has now jjrow n to large propor-
tions, l-'or some years tlic factory lias
l)een in charge of A. B. Jennings, the
superintendent, a son of the president,
who having grown up with the husi-
ness, like the other officers of the coni-
A. II. JENM.NGS.
pany. is a thoroughly practical man.
.Many of the factory employes have
become |)rominent in civic life, and
the factory from the large amount of
business carried t)n has for many years
been the largest factor in that now
important community of Tracy.
THE GRISWOLD. RICHMOND &
CLOCK CO.
The Griswold. Richmond & Glock
Company, manufacturers, jobbers.
tin roofers, large cornice and sky-
light makers, extensive dealers in
crockery, glassware, stoves, range:?,
furnaces, refrigerators, house fur-
nishing goods and bicycles, has for
many years been one of the institu-
tions of Meriden. They occupy two
stories of a building fronting West
Main street at the corner of Hanover
street, and extending along Hanover
street for 165 feet.
The business has grown to its pres-
ent large projwrtions from the start
made by N. F. Griswold in 1854.
Since that time there have been sev-
N. F. GRISWOLD.
eral changes in the makeup of the
concern, but never in its histon-
has the store enjoyed anything
but an excellent reputation. After
having later become known as Gris-
M AN U FACTOR IKS.
•37
wold, Lewis & Clock, it became
Griswold, RichnioiKl & Clock and in
1889 was organized as a stock com-
pany with a capital of $50,000. many
of its employes being given holdings
of the st(K*k as an incentive for hard
CHARLES C. GI.OCK.
and conscientious work. This it may
be said has accrued to the henefit of
the corporation which, in turn, has
grown to such an extent that it has
Ijecome one of the leading trade con-*
cenis of the town. Never since its or-
ganization as a corporation has any of
its stock been liehl by any one outside
of its founders and those otherwise
employed in the store, and all of the
original owners and stockholders are
living excepting John L. Richmond,
the interest of whose widow was pur-
chased by the concern in January. i<x>5-
The store, within recent years es-
pecially, has been conducted on an
extensive scale and it is hard indeed
for one. either a wholesale or
retail customer, to inquire for any-
thing which he might naturally ex-
pect to be finmd in the store but what
can be instantly produced by the en-
ergetic and painstaking clerks. At
their work shop, in the rear of the
store, facing on Hanover street, about
twenty-five hands are employed in the
manufacture of tin. sheet iron, zinc
and cop|)er ware as well as gal-
CHARLKS W. CLOCK.
vanized iron cornice work and sky-
lights, in which they arc prepared to
make and fill important contracts any-
where. The interior of the store con-
ducted by this low-priced co-operative
company, is one of the most attnic-
A CENTURY OF MERIUEN.
tive of any in Meridcn. The j^reat
display of china, crockery and glass-
ware which comprises a separate de-
partment in itself is much visited by
the buying public.
In reference to the success of this
co-operative concern, it may be said
that the proverbial fair treatment of
all patrons has been a strong factor.
The individual members are well
known citizens of Meriden who have
for many years been reckoned among
those who have had its interests in
view. The president, X. F. Gris-
wold, is one of the oldest business
men in his line in the state and con-
sequently one of the most favorably
known. The personal sketch of his
extended business career is contained
elsewhere in this l>ook and gives also
the different changes in the makeup
of the concern from the very first.
To the treasurer of the company,
Charles C. CI lock, upon whom a large
portion of the management now rests,
is the credit due for the devel»»pment
of the manufacturing strength of
the concern and the extension of
its business operations to points far
outside of Meriden. Some years
since he was succeeded as superinten-
dent of the factory by his son. Charles
\V. Clock, a young man of great bus-
iness ability and a thorough master
of the tinsmith and cornice making
tra<les. He has been secretary' of the
concern since the death of Mr^ Rich-
mond. Others holding stock and as-
sociated with the concern are : A. H.
Evarts. John Kopp. John Dittmer,
John Heinrich. .Sr.. Ernest F. Yenk-
ner, Fred .Minkmeier. Andreas Reiski.
John Heinrich. Jr., Geo. Heinrich, C
S. Clark and -Martin Lemke.
THE H. T. SMITH EXPRESS CO.
The business of the H. T. Smith
Express Co. has grown to its present
proportions from the small start made
by the late Horace T. Smith, who
HOR.\CE T. S.MITFI.
•
came to Meriden from Plym<^uth. Vt.
in 1854. In 1859 he started business
for himself. During the first few
years of his residence here, he w^s
employed by the late Deacon R. B.
rVrkins. who then conducted an ex-
press business.
Mr. Smith started with four horse?
and his Ixirn was then located near
Digitized by Googlci
MAN UFAC TOEUHS.
ihc orig"inal >luip nf tlic Alcriden Bri-
taiHiia ( Oinpaiiy, w hat is now know n
as " uvcr cast." Among liis fir.st op-
erations vva> the drawing of the un-
derpinning ui ihe old town hall. \\ hen
the Britannia Company was reorgan-
ized and moved to its present loca-
tion, Mr. Smith moved his business to
Stone street, later to Grove street, then
to State street, and since 1876 to the
present location at the corner of Camp
and State streets. Early in August,
1892, his barn was totally destroyed
by fire. A larger bam has since been
built on the same spot, and comprises
one of the largest used for its pur-
pose in the state.
At the time of his death, 1897, Mr.
Smith had built up not only an envia-
ble reputation for reliability as a team-
ster, but was known as one of the
most enterprising and industrious cit-
izens of the town. Since the death
of Mr. Smith the business has been
conducted by George P. Smith and C.
H. Tredenntck, and in November,
ic^oi, was incoqiorated as the II. T.
!^mith Express Co., George P. Smith
being president, and C. II. Treden-
nick. secretarv and treasurer.
T^nriiiLT tlic past few venr'^ and c?-
)>ccially since the roi-jxiration was
formed, tins old established express
an<l trucking business has been largely
increased. The btisines«; as conihicted
by Mr. Smith. re(iuire<l frr^n twentv-
f'icht to thirtv-hve horses, bnt at the
j)resent time requires al>ovit double
that number ; and the company is fully
ef|uippcd to handle, not onlv the
smallest express packages, but the
largest kind of machinery and mer-
chandise.
MOREHOUSE BROTHERS CO.
The Morehouse tiros. Co., one of
the largest manufacturers of building
material in the state, was organized
in April, 1898, under the statute laws
of the state of Connecticut. They oc-
cupy the one-story brick factory build-
ing, 20-26 Milter street, which is fully
equipped for the economical and con-
venient handling of their work* The
mill is 100 feet wide and 264 feet long
and the work carried on is of a high
grade and even artistic character,
which necessitates the employment of
the highest skilled workmen, about
twenty-five of whom find steady em-
ployment. The product of the mill is
not confined to this city alone but is
shipped to all sections of the state and
the reputation of the concern reflects
credit upcm Meriden. The president
of the company, Henry L. Morehouse,
is a well known building contractor.
.Andrew C. Morehouse, the treasurer
and active head of the industry, is a
son of Henry L. Morehouse, and was
horn in New Haven. Conn., July 31,
1874. his ]>arents removing with him
to Meriden when he was six \ears old.
I laving previously attended for a short
time n private school in New Haven he
continneil his education in the public
schools of this city and at the age of
fourteen went to work for his father
to learn the business which he has fol-
lowed continuously ever since w ith the
Digitized by Google
140
A CEXTLKV OF MERIUEN.
exception of six months* attendance
at business college. Under his father's
guidance and instruction he became
familiar with all the different branches
of building and mill work and, there-
fore, before he became a member of
the firm he was thoroughly familiar
with every branch of the business. Mr.
Morehouse is a meml)er of the various
local Masonic bodies including Merid-
ian Lodge, 77, A. F. & A. M., and St.
Klmo Commandcry, c^. Knights Tem-
plar. Few young business men of the
city apply themselves more closely to
business or find more enjoyment in
their home life. He was married
June 30, 1897, to Charlotte L., daugh-
ter of Mrs. Susan K. Smith, of Clin-
ton, Conn., and they have five living
children as follows: Henry L., Walter
Franklin, Andrew C. jr., Edna Geneva
and Robert .Mlison.
PHF DEXTFR L. BISHOP CO.
The Dexter L. liishop Company, a
corporation comprising the largest
concern in Meridcn engaged in the
ice business and also dealing in native
lumber, was organized in January,
1898. The company of which Dexter
L. Bishop has been the secretary,
treasurer and general manager from
its formation, is the outcome of the
business established by the Foster
Brothers, for whom Foster Lake is
named and also includes that of the
Meriden Ice Co. and Dayton & Sher-
man. In 1895 Dexter L. Bishop
bought an interest in the firm, and one
year later bought Ihe interest of the
remaining partners. Seeing the pt«?-
sibilities for the future, he wisely
merged the business into an incorpo-
rated comi)any. The original capital
strKk of $3,000, was increased in 1903
to $30,000.
The company owns extensive ice
houses, and controls the ice harv'ested
at Foster Lake. The Bradley & Hub-
bard reservoir, and several smaller
DEXTER L. BISHOP.
ponds around Meriden with the com-
bined harvesting capacity of 70.000
tons. The ice houses at Foster Lake
have a storage capacity of 8.500 tons,
and during the harvesting season six-
ty-five men are employed on the lake.
The ice supplied to the people of Mer-
iden from this source is of rare purity,
and this is made possible only bv the
purity of the Foster Lake water which
Digitized by Google
manufactokie:.
141
is fed largely by natural springs.
Cjrcat care is taken in harvesting the
ice, and from two to three inches are
planed off the surface before being
housed. The analysis of the ice of
this company has also been made by
a chemist who pronounces it of ex-
ceptional purity.
The wagons of the company are
continuously making deliveries in all
parts of Meriden. and during the sum-
mer season the services of thirtv-five
the woods where the lumber is se-
cured.
The active head and founder of the
company, De.xter L. Bishop, is one
of Meriden's most energetic and re-
liable business men. He is a son of
the late Walter G. Bishop, and was
born at Orange. Conn., August 8,
1865. He spent his early boyhood on
the home farm, and accpiired a rugged
physique which he still retains. When
quite young his parents moved to
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
ICE HARVESTING PLANT AT FOSTER LAKE.
men and forty horses are re(|uired to
meet the demands made upon them for
their ice. The delivery depot and of-
fice head<iuartcrs are at 16 Cen-
ter street, where ample accommoda-
tions are at hand for the prosecution
of a large business. The company
(leal also in native lumber, and dur-
ing the winter season employ their
men in this branch of the business,
temporary saw mills being put up in
( luilford. where his father engaged in
agricultural jnirsuits.
In 1886. to satisfy a laudable de-
sire for mercantile life, he came to
Meriden, and entered the employ of
Little, Somers & Hyatt, where he
gained the merited confidence both of
his employers and the buying public
by a most intelligent and faithful per-
formance of his duty, and uniform
courtesy to all the patrons of the
A CEXTl'RY OF MERIDEN.
Store with whom he came in contact.
His entry into tlie ice business, and
the subsequent formation of the com-
pany which bears his name, was the
natural outcome of his enterprise, bus-
iness activity and reliabihty, and the
success to which he has guided the
business reflects upon his judgment
and business acumen with full credit.
Outside of business Mr. Bishop has
been an active .spirit in the life of Mer-
ber of Center Lodge, 97, F. & A. M..
Keystone Chapter, Xo. 27, and St.
Elmo Commandery, No. 9, K. T. He
is now serving his second tenn a>
president of the Meridcn Business
Men's Association, also secretary of
the State Business Men's Association,
and is a member of the general com-
mittee of the Meriden Centennial cel-
ebration. He stands high in social
circles, and is a member of both the
Photo by R. S. Oodfiey.
DISTRIBUTING DEPOT, D. L. BISHOP CO.
iden. In 1900-1901 he served as a
member of the Iwjard of aldermen, be-
ing elected from the Fifth ward. Dur-
ing his connection with the city gov-
ernment he proved to be a wise coun-
selor to his associates in the transac-
tion of city affairs. He was appointed
and served on several important spe-
cial committees with credit to his con-
stituents and the city. He is a mem-
Home and Colonial Clubs of Meriden.
In 1891 he was united in marriage
with Esther C, daughter of C.
G. Johnson, who during his life was a
leading citizen of Meriden, and a large
real estate dealer. His home is
blessed with two bright children. Ethel
Johnson and Wilfred Merriman. Mr.
Bishop is a direct lineal descendant
on the maternal side of Gov. William
J Google
MANUFACTORIES.
L.eete, first governor of the G>nnec*
ttcut G>lonies, and on the paternal
side, of James Bishop, one of the dep-
uty governors of New Haven colony.
He is also an active member of the
Center Congregational church of
Meridcn, and one of the trustees of
the Meriden Young Women's Giris-
tian Association. He is also a mem-
ber n{ the Meri<Icii Board of Trade,
"f which organization he is one of
the directors.
EUAS OEFINGER.
Elias Ocfiiigcr, Ti^rinufactiirer of
tuning pipes, and wiio conducts the
only factory devoted exclusively to
that industry in the I'nited States,
was bfini in (irniiaii\ ni the town of
rrci>'-iiimn, fn that Huropean town
the larger i>ortiMii nf the Iiarmonicas
of the world arc made. He was ed-
ucated in the (.•oinnmn schni>!> of his
native counir\ and early in lite
learned the tradi* <if a harmonica mak-
er, which he fullowed tor many years.
With his brother he came to this city
in 1880, In 1900 as a member of the
firm of Jolin and Elias Oefinger. he
began the manufacture of the patent
tuning pipes bearini^ his name and
which have become famous in the
musical trade. The tuning pipes were
first manufactured in the shop of the
Standard Novelty company; but in
1902 the present factory, comer Me-
chanic and North George streets, was
removed to, where two floors are oc-
cupied. In 190 1 Mr. Oehnger's
brother was accidentallv killed bv the
cars at the Center street ciossing and
his sad death removed from Meriden
one of the most energetic and Indus*
trious manufacturers within its bor-
ders. Since the decease of his broth-
er Mr. Oefinger has carried on the
business alone. Through his inven-
tive genius he has made and success-
fully put upon the market several
kinds of tuning pipes, among them a
pitch pipe, giving the entire rliromatic
scale. The pipes made b\ this manu-
facturer, 6.000 annually, also comprise
those giving the correct pitch for tun-
ing the four strings oi the violin or
mandolin, tive of the banjo and six
of the guitar. The product of the fac-
tor) is sold through the music houses
of the countrw
Mr. C^etingcr. in cointnon with men
of hi'; nationality, is a great lover of
music and is a talented player of sev-
eral in>iruinents. lie has for some
years been a meinher of the Lyra Sing-
ing society of Meriden ; al'io n mem-
ber of the Meritlen Turn \ erein and
the W orkmen s Sick I '.enetit .\sv( ►ela-
tion. His industry adds to the busi-
ness welfare of Meriden and his inter-
est concerning his adopteti city has
never been in doubt.
WILBUR B. HALL
Wilbur Birdsey Hall, manufac*
turer of individual peppers and
salts, napkin rings and other small
articles of electro plate and white
metal goods, is of the third genera-
tion of a family whose name has for
Digitized by Google
1
144
A CENTURY OF MERIDEX.
many years been associated with
this typical branch of Meriden in-
dustry, lioth his father and grand-
father were prominent in the busi-
ness and industrial life of the town.
Mr. Hall is a descendant of one of
the oldest families in Connecticut
and which is traced back to John
Hall, who died in Wallingford in
1676, and of whom nnich is statc<l
elsewhere in these pages Lewis
business on his own account in 1882.
Three years later, or in July 1885.
his success enabled him to build the
factory on Parker Avenue which he
has since conducted and in which he
has won the distinction of making
more of the goods, of which he
makes a specialty an<l for which
his factory is justly ren<j\vned. than
all other factories combined. A
and started in the manufacturing
FACTORY OF WILIJUR B. HALL.
Hall, father of Wilbur B., was for
over thirty years superintendent of
the Wilcox Silver Plate Co., and as
such was connected with that well
known concern, now a part of the
International Silver Co., until his
death in 1900.
Wilbur B. Hall learned the mys-
teries of the silver plated ware in-
dustry also in that large factory
portion of the output of this factory
is that of special goods bearing the
name of large dealers. The factory
is well adapted for the work carried
on and in 1905 became equipped
with its own electric lighting plant.
The goods of Mr. Hall's manufac-
ture are sold to the trade direct from
the factory and are used all over
the world.
Google
MANUFACTORIES.
145
F. J. WALLACE.
Frederick J. Wallace, manufactur-
<.»r of saddlery hardware and horse-
hair plumes for sleighs, saddle chimes
and bridles, occupies the old Chap-
man Manufacturing Company's plant
and employs quite a number of hands.
The output of his factory, excepting
that of the horsehair i)lumes, is what
is known as an unfinished product,
ready adaptation to circumstances, he
has established a manufacturing bus-
iness of the above line, which has
grown rapidly, in a few years, to large
proportions.
Mr. Wallace, while a native of Mas-
sachusetts, has been a resident and en-
gaged in business in Meriden since
1876; and for fifteen years previous to
engaging in manufacturing, conducted
a retail provision store as a member
FACTORY OF F. J. WALLACE.
and his trade is with the large job-
iK-rs and harness manufacturers. As
Mr. Wallace was formerly a success-
ful traveling salesman for the old
Chapman Manufacturing C()mj>any,
and Landers. I'rary & Clark, when he
bought and started up his plant he
possessed a wide acf|uaintance with
the trade. Through his knowledge
of the wants of his customers and his
50
of the firm of Patten & Wallace when
he served one year as president
of the Retail Cutcliers* Association of
Connecticut, and was also honored by
being elected treasurer of the Nation-
al IJutchers' Association of the Cnited
States, which office he held four years.
His plant, located on I'ritannia
street, has a frontage of 135 feel, is
300 feet deep, and also extends along
146
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
the tracks of the N. Y., N. H. & H.
R. R, for 300 feet. The trade he sup-
plies is of the highest class and his
goods are recognized by jobbers and
manufacturers in his line as the best
made in New England.
Mr. Wallace was married in 1880 to
Carrie E. Brooks, of Cheshire, and has
one daughter.
THE H. WALES LINES CO.
A town is what its builders make it.
The H. Wales Lines Co. certainly has
reason to be proud of the part it has
taken in the building of Mcriden.
Siariing in 1864 as Perkins & Lines,
the firm has expanded with the growth
of tin* town and to-day is one of the
largest building concerns in New Eng-
latHl W arly all of the factories, hus-
iiicsN IjIik Iss, vchools, churches and bet-
tor clas.s ui private residences have
been ercctctl by them and their per-
manent character tells ul the thorough
manner with wiiich this concern does
its work.
In 1878 the withdrawal of Mr. I'er-
kins necessitated a change in the bus-
iness name of the firm and the com-
pany became H. Wales Lines & Co.,
consisting of Mr. Lines and Henry E.
Fairchild.
In 1888 the company was incorpo-
rated under its present name with H.
Wales Lines as president and treas-
urer, Henry E. Fairchild, vice-presi-
dent, and Lewis A. Miller, secretary.
The reputation of the firm was
widely known and a demand for such
a concern existing in other places the
company found it to their advantage
to accept contracts outside of Meridcn.
This outside work increased and with
it their facilities for handling h. They
now execute contracts in any state and
are prepared to do any kind of work
at any time and in any place.
Architects, engineers and prospec-
tive builders found tt paid them to
employ a firm who could handle anv
size contract with promptness and the
substantial welUbuiit public buildings,
churches, libraries, college buildings
school houses, mercantile blocks, resi-
dences, manufacturing plants, etc.,
tliat this company ha.s erected in Con-
necticut and other states are an evi*
dence of this.
The co*npany has in its employ ar.
efficient corps of engineers, draftsmen
.and oilier per.sons trained and expe-
rienced, ca])alile of meeting" the re-
quirements in a th( »r< >'ughl\ pcactical
way of every detail of the buihtiiig
business.
Since its inception tin- company h.is
dealt at wholesale and retail in build-
ing materials and supplies of all kinds.
From their organization special at-
tention has been given to this branch
and they are now among the largest
wholesale dealers in their line in the
state.
The growth of the business de-
manded larger and more convenient
quarters than had been previously oc-
cupied, so 400 feet of railroad front-
age was purchased on State street and
the plant erected which is shown in the
illustration. The main storehouse is
150 feet long, two stories high, and
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
forty feet in width. The office is a
model of convenience. Extending
from the storehouse and connected
with it is a brick stable. It is difficult
to imagine a more satisfactory place
in which to carry on this business.
Ample storage room for quickly and
cheaply handling materials is a neces-
sary thing to profitably meet the corn-
Portland cement, lime, granite, mar-
ble, blue stone, hair, mortar colors, pat-
ent plastering mortars, plaster of Paris,
building brick, fire brick, etc. Being
New England agents for vitrified
Ohio sewer pipe and flue linings they
can furnish the best quality direct
from the kilns and carry in Meriden
a stock of from fifteen to twenty car-
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
OFFK K .\X[) I'L.WT OF TIIK II. WALKS LI.XES CO.
petition in this line of trade. This
company has unusual facilities for
supplying at the manufacturer's price
heavy articles which enter into the
construction of a building, such as
lumber, .steel, cast iron, metal lath, ex-
panded metal and all other material.*;
for reinforced concrete construction.
loads to fill orders requiring immediate
delivery. Every kind of builders'
supplies can be furnished promptly
and at low prices.
It is interesting to note that of the
prominent buildings illustrated in this
book, there are very few which have
not been built by the Lines Company.
148
A CENTURY OF MEKIDKN.
Some of the most important are:
I'^irst Congregational church, St. Jo-
seph's church, High school, the plant
of the Bradley & Hubbard Mig. Co.,
nearly all the buildings of the Meri-
den Jiritannia Co., Woolen mill, Wil-
cox & White Organ Co., Journal
Publishing Co., Meriden Morning
and the new Town Hall building now
in process of erection. Also many of
the better class of private residences
were built by them.
A few of the buildings erected by
them outside of Meriden, are: Resi-
dences of J. H. Whittemore at N'auga-
tuck and Middleburv. Conn. : factories
rn.NNhXTU lT lU Il.lHM'.. .ST. I.olIS K.MHiSITION, I9O4.
Record building. Connecticut I'rcw-
eries Co., City Mission block. Win-
throp hotel. Wilcox block. Palace
block. Swift & Co.. .Armour & Co., Y.
M. C. .\. building. State School for
P»oys. Curtis Home. .Meriden National
P>ank, Meriden Savings liank. Meri-
den Hospital, Curtis Memorial Library
of the L'nited States Rubber Co.. Nau-
gatuck : plant of the Excelsior Xeedle
Co., Torrington : chimney stacks and
portion of plant of the Coe Brass Co..
Torrington; H. L. Judd Co., Wallint;-
ford : plant of the Malleable Iron Fit-
tings Co., Bran ford : National Folding
Box & Paper Co., New Haven : part
Ly Google
MANUFACTORIES.
149
of Yale & Townc Co.'s plant, Stam-
ford ; part of the plant of the I'nion
Metallic Cartridge Co., Bridgeport;
Winchester Repeating Arms Co.. Xew
Haven ; silk mill for Joseph Loth &
Co., Xorwalk ; American Grapho-
phone Co., Bridgeport ; Mystic Indus-
trial Co., Mystic.
Salem High scIkwI. N'augatuck ;
Whig & Clio Halls, Princeton Univer-
sity ; residence of C. ( )iiver Isclin, Xew
Rochelle. X. Y. ; Centenary Colleg-
iate Institute. Hacketlstown. X. J. ;
Montefiore Home, Bedford. X. Y. ;
Overton Hall, Moody's SchiM)l, Mt.
Hermon, Mass. ; Turner Library. Tor-
rington. Conn. ; Skull & Bones and
B(x>k & Snake Society Buildings; Ives
Clieeney Memorial gateway at ^'alc
L'nivcrsity, Xew Haven ; State Xor-
nial schools, Willimantic and Danbury ;
Connecticut House, St. Louis Expo-
sition, 1904; St. liernard's church.
Rr)ckville. Conn. : Connecticut .\gri-
cultural college dormitory, Storrs,
Conn. : Xew London City Xation.il
Bank building. Xew London. Conn. :
offices and car house of the Hartford
Street Railway Co., Hartford. Conn.:
plants of the Hall Railway Sig-
nal Co., and the .\eolian-\Veber
Piano Co.. at Garwood, X. J.; Stand-
ard Paint Co., at Bound IVook. X. J. :
Fuchs & Lang Mfg. Co., at Ruther-
ford. X. J. : Weber Piano Co., Xew
York City: fourteen power or trans-
former stations for the L'nited Gas &
Improvement Co.. of Philadelphia:
seven power stations for Westchester
I-igfhting Co.. of Mt. N'ernon. N. Y. :
factory buildings for the Max Ams
Machine Co., and the Mauser Mfg.
Co., at Mt. \'ernon, X. Y. ; factory of
the Sanborn Map Co., at Pelham,
X. Y.
HLXRY E. FAIRCHILD.
Henry E. Fairchild, one of the
most respected residents of Meriden
Photo by H. T. Shaw.
11. K. FAIKCIIII.D.
and who has for forty years
been associated with its progress,
was born at Woodbridgc. Conn,
.\fter learning the the trade of a
mason in the employ of Smith &
Sperry of Xew Haven, in 1865. he
came to Meriden where he con-
tinued to work at his trade for the
firm of Perkins & Lines. His services
^ Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
were so valuable that a short time
later he was given an interest in the
business, and upon the retirement of
Mr. Perkins, Mr. Fairchild became
Mr. Lines' only partner, the busi-
ness continuing under the name of
H. Wales Lines & Co. When the
business was merged into a corpora-
tion, Mr. Fairchild became its vice-
president, which office he now holds.
Many of the principal buildings ot
Meridcn have been constructed un-
der his personal suj)ervision. Mr.
Fairchild is a member of Meridian
Lodge, 77, A. V. & A. NL, and St.
Elmo Commandery, 9, K. T.
He has been twice married, first
to Mary Elizabeth Clark, and to that
union two sons were born : George
W., and Frederick L., and through
his first marriage Mr. Fairchild has
also two grandchildren. Ralph H.
and Ralph E. Fairchild. On Sep-
tember 25. he was again mar-
ried to Mary Elizabeth l»liss of
.Springfield. Mass, Mr. Fairchild
resides in his own comfortable home
on Chestnut street, and is justly
known as one of the most loyal citi-
zens of the town.
LEWIS .\LRERT MILLER.
Lewis Albert Miller was born in
Meriden June 29, 1866. the son of
George W. and Lydia M. Miller.
He received his education in the
public schools, studying but a short
time in the High school.
After working about five months
with the late .Amos Ives in his aial |
office, in May, 1883, he entered the
employ of H. Wales Lines & Co. He (
utilized the opportunities offered to
learn every detail of the building bus- |
iness so that in 1889 when The H. '
Wales Lines Co. was incorporated he
became a stockholder and was short-
ly after made secretary of the com-
pany, a position he now holds.
Photo by Akerf & Pigfon
L. A. MILLER.
Mr. Miller has been a participant
in the great growth of this contracting
finn, whose yearly business now ex-
ceeds one million dollars and his en-
ergetic efforts have contributed in no
small part to its expansion.
Mr. Miller is a member of St. EInK»
Commandery. K. T. ; the Mystic
^^h^ine ; Pilgrims' Harbor Coundl,
Google
MANUFACTORIES.
Royal Arcanum ; also the Home, Col-
onial and Wheel Qubs of Meriden.
When the old hig^h wheel was in
vogue Mr. Miller was prominent in
the sport and did considerable ama-
teur racing. He won several cham^
pionships and held for a short period
the amateur records of the world for
one mile. He was also a member of
the National Racing Board for a few
years.
M r. Miller although always interest-
ed in the politics of the city, has held
but one ofRce, serving as councilman
from the Second ward during the
years of 1893 and 1894.
In 1892 he married Lena Sevelia
Merriani. Their home is at 68 Wil-
cox avenue.
HOLT & STEVENS.
Althoug^h the present partnership
cxistinjT between Irving L. Holt and
Frank A. Stevens, dates back to
March i. 1892 only, it was in Febru-
ary, 1872. that the business of the
Meriden Fire Insurance Agency was
hegiin. the first policy being issued
to the late Isaac C. Lewis. This
was the beginninjir of the long and
honorably conducted business of the
insurance ajiency, which has sinie
gfrown to one nf the largest in the
state. In later years real estate was
added atid nnw tlie firm arc exten-
sively engaged in the sale, rental
an'1 enrr nf property.
Irving i,. ITolt. senior member of
the present firm and of whom a bio-
graphical sketch appears elsewhere
in this volume, first became con>
nected with this agency in 1874*
Mr. Stevens first came into the
office as clerk in 1881.
The firm, who occupy large of-
fices in the Wilcox block, represent
the following named insurance com-
panies. Agricultural Company of
Watertown, N. Y.; American Com-
pany of Newark, N. J.; American
Company of Boston, Mass.; Ameri-
can Company of New York; British-
American Assurance Company of-
Toronto, Can. ; Capital Company of
Concord, N. H.; Continental Com-
pany of New York; Fire Associa-
tion of Philadelphia; Firemen's
Company of Newark, N. J.; Fire-
men's Fund Company of San Fran-
cisco, Cal. ; Franklin Company of
Philadelphia; The German-Ameri-
can Company of. New York; Girard
Company of Philadelphia; Granite
State Company, Portsmouth, N. H. ;
Greenwich Company of New York;
Hamburg-Bremen Company of Ger-
many; Holyoke Mutual Company of
Salem. Mass.; London and Lan-
cashire Company of England : Liv-
erpool and London and Globe
Company of England ; Magdenburg
Fire Company of Germany: Man-
chester Assurance Company of Eng-
land : Merchants" Company of
Xewark, N. J. : Xew London County
Mutual of Xorwich. Conn.; Xew
^'ork Underwriters' Agency of New
^'ork : Xiagara Company of New
York, Northern Assurance Corn-
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
pan\ n\ Knglatifl : North British
Mercantile Company of England:
X or walk Conijiaiiy of Xorwalk.
Conn. : Plioenix Company of Brook-
lyn. X. Y. : Royal Company of
Liverpool. Eng.; Security Company
of Xew Haven, Conn,; Springfield
F. & M. Company of Sprinj^jtield,
Mass.: Western Assurance Com-
pany of J'oronto. Can. ; Westchester
Company of Xew York, and the
Fire Company, County of Philadel-
phia. The following companies are
also represented by Holt & Stevens.
North Western Life of Milwaukee;
the Aetna Life and Accident Com-
panies of Hartford. Conn.: I'nited
Slates I'idelity and (^niarantee Com-
pany of Baltim<»re, and the Xew
A'ork i*late Glass Company of New
York.
The members of this firm are
counted among^ the more progres-
sive men of Meriden. Mr. Holt
being prominent in public life and
possessing a creditable career as tax
collector, in which capacity he now
serves. Frank A. Stevens, although
a younger man lias proven his value
as a resident of the town in many
ways. He is the present .secretary
of tlie Meriden Board of Trade,
which organization has been treated
at length in these pages. Both
Messrs. Holt and Stevens have dem-
onstrated their local pride also in
taking a prominent part in the Cen-
tennial celebrati«^n. both p-ntlenicn
serving on the important I inance
Committee.
A- GREEN BACKER & SONS.
.\dolf Greenback or. of A. Green-
backer & Sons. h:>m in Steinniauem
Baden, tlermany. came to thi> o>nn-
try and to Meriden in 1879. Alter
being emjiloyc'd one year on a farm,
he remove" I to Stonini^iun. llluiois.
where he rented a farm which he car-
ried on five years. \\ hile there he
began married life, and hi> fir>t
two children were bt>rn. iol-
lows: Josephine, now Mrs. Fred Heni-
.stead of Xew Haven. l>om March
1883. and Joseph, burn July 12. 1884-
He then took up 240 acres of goveni-
nient land at Wichita, Kan., which he
stocked with all farming implements
and machinery and improved the land
to a high state of cultivation and was
succeeding admirably when ht found
the climate did not agree with him and
he returned easL Making his way
back to Meriden with his wife and
four children, for his second son.
Giarles, was bom at Wichita. Kan..
September 3, 1886, and also his son.
Robert, November 29, 1889. and re-
entered the ^feriden Britannia Com-
pany in 1890 where he remained ten
years.
Five years later he selected his per-
manent residence location on Old Col-
ony road, opposite the Walnut Grove
cemetery, and built his house on the
lot which then comprised but three
acres of land. He afterwar<!< a.!»1ed
to the land three acres purchased trom
Mrs. Cecelia Vale, the a<ljoining prop-
erty of thirteen acres, o£ Mrs. Peck,
including two houses; and fi%'e acres
^ kjui^uo i.y Google
MANUFACTORIES.
»53
of James Hall, all of which land has
since been highly cultivated. Still
continuing? at the Britannia shop, Mr.
( ireenbacker, with his sons, first startetl
a small milk route and. later, after his
son, Joseph, who when he became six-
teen years of age, went to Bridgeport
where he remained two years, learn-
ing the florist business, a greenhouse
was built and the tiorist firm of A.
Greenbacker & Sons was formed.
Since then the business has grown
steadily and rapidly and noticeable en-
nie. born in Meriden, (Jctober 27, 1896.
Mr. (ireenbacker is an active mem-
ber of the Meriden (irange and of the
official board of Trinity M. E. church,
of which church the members of his
familv are active members.
CHURCH & MORSE.
Meriden's leading hardware con-
cern. Church & Morse, whose store
is located directly opposite Colony
street, in the Palace Block, has been
Photo by R. S. Godfrey.
i.KKF.NIIOl'.SKS or A. GREEN BACK KK \ .S(JNS.
largements have been made.
The fimi also grow garflen truck
and supply to the market much in that
line. From the fifteen cows now pas-
tured Mr. (ireenbacker conducts a
milk route of no small but limited pro-
portions.
Mr. (ireenbacker takes pardonable
pride in his sons, who are trustwor-
thy, conscientious and industrious
young men. and besides the children
alxjve mentioned are the following:
Rosie. born .March 13, 1893. and .\n-
in existence untler its present name
-since 1879. and previous to that,
back to 1872. the firm was known as
Church & Sprague. The first loca-
tion occupied was a small store on East
•Main street, near the railroad cross-
ing, but the business stum outgrew
those (|uarters. and was removed to
the present location, where the busi-
ness has continued to grow and
prosj)er.
This hardware store has always
kept ahrcast of the times and every-
L
Digitized by Google
154
A CENTURY OF MERIDBN.
thing, usually found in a general
hardware store, it contains. This
reputable hardware store extends
ninety feet to the rear and has
a frontage of about twenty-five feet,
and both the main floor and base-
ment are stocked as full with goods
as the commodious quarters allow. In
addition to this the firm have a two
aiul a half story brick storehouse
fifty b\ cigluy-cight feet in dimen-
sions which for several years has
btcii necessary to their busint:ss.
The firm enjoys an enviable reputa-
t i< n for reliability and does a large
businc-^ ii: i^atK ral hardware, tools,
cutlery, builders' harihvare, agricul-
tural implements, skates, l)icyclc5, etc.
The reputation of the firm has
been built up by treating every cus-
tomer with the same degree of fair-
ness, making the name of Church &
Morse synonymous with honest
[^t,nfl< riTvd prices. George .\.
( linicli. wiio was a leading s]>irit of
the firm for many years and was
ahvnvK known as one of the most
eneri,'t.tir. able and personally |»op-
ular men of the town, died '^< ittem-
ber 13. iS<i(>. and since Ins death
his son. Robert ( i. Church, a young
man who inherits much of his
father's l)U^int.>s aljiiii\ taken
his place in llu store rej)resenting
the interests of the estate.
Cliarles P. Morse. uh'> aliMut 1879
bought a half interest in the firm,
one year after Ntr. Church had pur-
chased tile share owned by Mr.
Sprague. his first partner, is also
known as one of the valued business
men of the town. Mr. Morse, l&e
his deceased partner, has ever showo
a bona fide regard for the welfare
of Meriden, and his long experience
as a hardware merchant has made
him thoroughly familiar with the
wants of the community in his line.
He is a member of Meriden Center
Lodge, L O. O. F., the Red Men and
Royal Arcanum. The store also fur-
nishes employment for several men
who have become useful residents of
the community.
THE LAWN HOTEL.
( )ne of the most picturesque sii-
irations perhaps of any CfMinecticiit
hostelry is taht enjcivc^l b\ the
Lawn Hotel, with spacious grounds
facing Hanover M.. adjoining Han-
over Park, and possessing- a wide
water frontage on the lake of that
name. The property comprising two
acres of land, was originally the
family residence of the late J. C.
Hreckenridge, for many years su-
perintendent of the Meriden Cut-
lery Company, and was converted
into a hotel in 1889 by the late Jdhs
Cassidy. At a large expense 1)c
rebuilt the house which has noce
been conducted as a hotel, being
largely patronized in the summer
months, but open all the year round.
After achieving a reputation as a
hotel man, Mr. Cassidy died in 1897
and since that time the hotel has
been conducted by his son. Joseph M.
Cassidy, a native of Meriden. who
Digitized by Google
MANUFACTORIES.
possesses the desirable qualifica-
tions of a successful boniface. The
property is leased by him from his
mother. Mrs. Mary Cassidy, who
became the owner of the land and
THE BESSE-BOYNTON CO.
As Meriden celebrates her first cen-
tennial as an incorporated town, its
citizens have reason to feel justly
Photo by R. S. Oodfrev.
THR LAWN HOTEL.
'iiiildings at her husband's death. [)roud of her achievements. While the
1 he Lawn Hotel is a popular resort i)roduct of the busy factories have
'or both transient and permanent brought fame to the locality of some
^■iiests and will be appreciated by of her mercantile establishments Mer-
>atrons during the Centennial week, iden has good reason to be proud, per-
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
haps especially so, of the store of the
Besse-Boynton Company, a benefit to
the community and an ornament to
the town and city since 1902 when it
was established.
The store occupies the whole build*
ing at 19 Colony street, in the very
heart of the business center, and its
attractive show windows vie with the
interior in point of attractiveness.
The building now occupied by them
presents itself in more pleasing con-
trast since trans foniied from the
boarding house for which purpi^sc the
building was formerly used, it was
at no small expense tliat tlie company
altered the Iniildinj:: which was en-
tirely rein<Kle!etl. A whole new front
was put in and like the whole of the
ground floor, extend < to what was
nrit^itially the top of the second story,
in order to accomplish this one tlnor
was takt*n <>!it. Tlie st^re since hcing
imdcr \\]v ])n-rni irL^inie also has he-
come possessed not only of ])reNsed
steel walls an«l ceilijiijs of ariistii- pat-
tern, hut elahorate hltin^s. lixturci. and
e(iuipments bringing about a most rad-
ical cliant^e ami making the store one
i'\ ihc nu/.si attractive in the state and
wholly on a par wiili the other eight-
een stores in as maii\ cities now con-
trolled by the Besse system, of which
the llesse-l'.oynton Co. is a part.
These stores are as follows: Hesse-
Boynton Co.. Meriden, Conn. ; Besse-
Mills Co., Holyoke. Mass.: Besse-
Rolfe Co., Lynn, Mass.: Besse-Eld-
ridge Co., Manchester, X. H. : Besse-
Bryant Co., Worcester, ^fass. : Besse-
Baker Co., Brockton, Mass.: Besse-
Boeker Co., Providence, R. I. ; Besse-
Richey Co., New Haven. Conn.:
Besse-Russell Co., Fall River, Mass.:
fiesse^Leland Co., Xew Britain,
Conn.; Besse-Carpenter Co., Spring-
field, Massw ; Besse^Biyant Co., Xash'
ua, N. H. ; Besse-Sprague Co.. Syra-
cuse, N. Y.; Besse-Fox Co., Bangor,
Me.; Besse- Avery Co., Kansas City,
Mo.: Biyant-Besse Co., Xorwallf,
Conn.; Foster- A very Co.. Portland.
Me.; Foster- Besse Co., Bridgeport,
Conn., and A. L. Foster Co.. Hart-
ford, Coini. This system is also as-
sociated with the I'oster sN Stem. com-
prising twenty-three other stores, all
of which have sprung from that es-
tablished in Bridgeport by Foster-
liesse & Co.. in 1877. tJie nn the'^
store has by no means any cause to Ixt
ashamcHl of her healthy offsprings, nor
is the Meriden store any cxccpn'r'n.
for not only is it cornel) in apj)earance
but the goods and prices are among
its firawing qualiticN. 1 Ikti^ is a
main lloor whore clothing, hais and
men's iurni>hin'_;s arc louiul in large
(|uantities. and infinite variety. In
llie rear oi the store is a balcony
reached by an attractive staircase,
where tlie office is located and also a
large department cont;iiniiig boys*
clothing. The basement is also an
imiK>rtant part of this popular trading
place for men and boys and there also
is a targe and most^ desirable stock of
trunks and bags. The store is kept
scrupulously neat and clean, and old
styles are an unknown quantity there.
The large number of clerks kept busy,
and the large volume of business done
ilANUFACTOKIES.
'57
shows that not only is the store attrac-
tive to the buying public, but that the
^oods meet with favor axnong the
well dressed men and boys of the Sil-
ver City and surrounding territory.
The store as first opened was known
as Besse-Boeker Co,, but February,
1904, was changed to the present style.
arc admirable for the exti nsivc busi-
ness carried on in the production of
high grade portraiture. Tbe cnt r.,
second floor of the large double
building is occtipied and this is pro-
vided with h convenient entrance. The
studio is one of the largest and hand-
somest in the state and contains
Mr. Boeker who had mamiged the excellent speci.mns of photograpln.
.tore op to that tm*. resigned to take The establishnicn, is fi,,e.l wi,h all
ten, Stores at Providence. R L The i„g ,„ ,,,.,,,ic liRhting „,a-
company as now mcorporated, consists ..^ t r u .1 • .
I u ^'^'WMwwui chine used for both prniting and
01 L, W. Besse, presu ent and A. E. . ,
Tf ^ ^ . ^ ^- makmg sittmgs in the absence ot sun-
Hoynton, secretary and treasurer, the Ug^t.
latter being the resi<lent manager. xu- r *i. ^ -
]' , .A, The nucleus of the present busi-
Air. It'unhin came to Menden falr^ , . . '
.Mermen to take ^^^^ ^^,^^^^1 ^^^^^^
Akers made his debut in the photo-
graphic circles of Meriden as a mem-
ber of the firm of Hatev & Akers.
the location being in the Hall &
Lewis building at the corner of Col-
ony and West Main street, with an
entrance at 6 East Main street. The
work of his first studio gave Mr.
Akers a high standing in his chosen
calling, which he has since main-
tained, and the partnership of Haley
& .\kers was continued . until July,
1899 when it was dissolved. Haley
& Akers removed to the present lo»
cation in September, 1896, the pres-
ent partnership forming as above
stated. On November i, 1903, Mr.
Akers purchased the DeLamater
studio at Hartford, which he ha^
since conducted with marked suc-
cess, catering in the Capitol City to
ade which comprises a most ex-
charge ol tile store vvliioh now bears
his name, after having been associated
with the {'.esse system for a number
of years, and having formerlv l>een.
employed at the S])ringfiel(l store of
the Ties.se-Carpenter Co. FTc has at-
tained his present position in the com-
pany from \hv Ixittniii rornd of llie
business la<hlcr. Sinri' coming to this
city hr has fnllv npheld the ideals of
his i)rc(k:cc.s.sur. and continued tit in-
crease the trade and popularity of the
store, and incidiiuallv to make majiv
staunch friends in both local biiMiic..
and social circles. Mr. P>oynton re-
sides on Linslev avenue.
AKERS & PIGEON.
.Akers & f»igeon, a firm of good
rei)ute. engaged in portrait photog-
raphy at 35 West Main street,
consists of a partnershij) formed in
iSTarch 1(703. between John Akers elusive portion of the population. To
and Ernest W. Pigeon. The quarters the Hartford studio he has ever
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
JOHN AKERS.
MANUFACTORIES.
ERNEST W. PIGEON.
Digitized by Google
A CENTURY UF MERIDEN.
160
since devotctl the major portion o£
his time.
John Akers was born in Philadel-
I)hia. November 29, 1868. and has
been a resident of Meriden con-
tinuously since he took a place in
tlie ranks of the local business men.
The work of the studios bearing his
name has been such as to reflect
credit upon both .Meriden an<l Hart-
ford, and due to his skill as an oper-
ator and his extended experience
of several years, during which time
he has always been a close student
of his business. He is a member of
Alfred H. Hall Council. 1423. Royal
Arcanum. He was married in 1899
to Bessie, a daughter of \V infield
R. Coe. a representative of one of
the oldest and best known families
Ernest \\ . Pigeon was bc>m iqj
Meriden in 1880 and was educaieJ
in the public schools. .After lakinJ
a three years' course in the .Meri-I
den High schotjl. he entered thd
studio of Haley & .Akers in 189S
and has been associated with .MrJ
Akers ever since. He proved himn
self an apt scholar, and being pos- ^
sessed of a natural talent his ad-
vancement has been rapid. Since 1903
he has been in charge of the studio
of which he is now also a part
owner. He is a member of Meriden
Lodge. 35. P»enevolent and Protec-
tive (^rder of Elks, and like Mr.
.Akers is known as one of thf
younger progressive business mtn
of the town. In May. 1906. he made
a tour abroad.
Digitized hji f <iii\m"
I
i
iHTiTomble. General, 2fiIL
holition Af^ltiition, I'.fi.
< .ulrmy Hall, Sfi^
• lams. Henry.
«'lna Peat Works, l£x
lleii, ArchelauH, 'A2SL 27R.
:ti'0: Edward C. 27K
:ti't>: Kthan. 282: JiiTin.
^78. 320: Licvl, 238:
■2SU. STSTlL^ Norman, 387:
William, Wm. H..
- H>: Farm, 266: Museum
Muxic Room, Menagrcric
iiiul "Happy Family," 388.
llinj?, «OKer, I^IL
LI Saints' Ch II roll, 22JL
mt*riran Anil -Slavery So-
ciety. 2.'>3.
nHTlcan Revolution. 267-
L'KS.
nuisement. Early Places or
*t S i . 3 K S .
tiiltTHon. A«her. iTiR.
iidrcwH. Aaron, 23fi. 237.
JSi'i: Abner, 277: Alfred,
Alm(»n. 360: Amos, ZM:
Andrew. 284: Burr. 3r,9.
Dun, 238. 334: Denlson.
:n>:{. 306: Harvey. 337: Ira.
.■!I2; Tatmn. LLL 21L 292.
i:t»4. 298. 2\*:i. 306:
Mill. nA. iiL 1=LL 322:
.Moses. 134. 2 1 fi. :
Nathan. liJ. .VC I'ltt. 2H7.
2!i!»i Samuel. ^3^ iiL 1331
134: 22iL Z2SL 266i SilL
306: Rov. Samuel. 2.M.
21>7. 298. Ml. Ml. 3nr, :
Stephen. 301 : T., 1 «:i :
Thomas, afi. 102: TImolhv,
I is: Wm.. LL 133^ 266.
2S!t : Andrews & Warren,
:!67.
iidrlas. William. UiL
ndrus. Lstban, 264 : Rarhal.
1 60 ; Siimuel. 13;»: Thomas,
l:i!>: Timothy. 160.
iithtlny. John, 284 : Lemuel,
(•.. •')<<*
ppondlx. :t?»^
r. her. iL A.. Plare. 64^ ^LL
L^IL UiL 21L a^^L 323:
Harriet A., 130.
i iioltl's Treason, 277.
ttii les of Agreement. Oold-
t ti Parlor Mine. 230.
.splnwall, Kleazer, 26, IL
.1 kins. Stephen,
awater, Abel Ward. 281:
.Xblffalle. 2 .•.6: Caleb, 2 1 T. ;
266. 3>H : t'hrlstoplTert
lilL 269^ p;ilhu. AM: Fran-
INDKX.
INDEX.
PART L
ris. 107. 23t». 3fl2: Isaac.
278: Jeremiah, 228: John,
70. 72: Jonathan. 1«>7 :
Joshua, llA: Moses, 301 :
Reuben, rtoi : Stephen, 86,
107. 12H. 133. 276: Titus,
284: William, 211»: Wm. J..
iSI.
Austin. Amos, 270. 286: .\.sa,
301. 302: Benjamin. 276.
286: David. 220: John. 286;
Noah. 273: Samuel. TW,
22 8.
Author's C<»ncluslon, 393.
Averod. Abner. Jr.. '12SL
Avery. Hannah, 1 2."».
Baeon, Nathaniel, 2^2.
Bailey. Daniel, 27'): Stephen.
^ mh 33L aM
Balding, Dan. n:}, Daniel.
!LL
Baldwin. Charles. 323: Col-
onel. 276. 277: Daniel. 7!L
LOIL UiL LLL 242^ 330:
Daniel Farm. 110. 111.
113: Ellas, 360: Families.
137: James. La6, ITL iLL
2iri. 211- 111: Jehlel, 330:
r^a. 110: Mill. ULL iii:
262. 314 : Moses. 137, 269.
313. 348: Mrs. N. S.. 137:
Mrs. N.ithnn. -'"6 : Nathan
S.. Lai aia. 314: Pond. aS-
77. 7S; lllL 219: R., 347:
Ransom. 137. XlLs Samuel.
308: Samuel. Jr.. 238:
Banfcall, OrlRln of Name.
308.
Barrlay. Robt.. 11. 4.'.. Ui
Barker. Edward, 2 .'» 2 : Jno..
2.'. 2.
Barlow. Gardner. l'4 0.
Barnes. .\sa. 320. :{21 : Capt..
277: Ell, 216. 321. 337. IM
346: Family. 84j Samuel.
r>69
Barns. John. 279 : Mo.ses.
284. 338. 34 2. 3.^4.
Barrett. John. 2 20.
Bartholomew. Joseph, 270.
Bartlett. James. !£,
Basel t. LL D.. aSiL
Ba.ssett B»<>rk. aA£-
Bates. Dan'L 2M,
Battles of Brandywine. 277.
282: Bunker Hill. 271.
296: Con<ord. 2 70. Ger-
mantown. L'82 : Greenwich.
289. 299: \AmK Island,
2liL -AUl. iSi. 28iL Mon-
mouth. 282 : Prini etiMi.
Stillwater, 281 : Tren-
i6i
ton. 281 : White Plains, 275.
282.
Baumann. Fred A.. 111.
Bearh, Asa. 284 : John, ifii
John. Sr.. 261 : Joseoh P..
.^6. 74; Moacs, 264 : Roswell,
iMiSamuel, 30l ; Stephen.
281 : Thomas, 137
Beardsley, Erwin.
Beaver, Dam, Brook and
Pond, '29j, Mj. 211L
Beckett Homestead, aii.
Beckley. Evelyn. 367: Orin,
349: R. 3R9.
Beckwith. Reynolds. 1 .'i 1 .
Beech. John, ill Thos. 160.
Beetle, Nathaniel, lifii
Belcher. Andrew, 17, 19. 22.
2iL 26^ 27^ 24. IL li: An-
drew. Capt.. 2iL 21. 24j An-
drew, Jr., IL: Andrew. Sr.,
3Q. 30: Farm. 11. 16, 20,
2£. ;:!L UL 12. iilL lii
102. 138. 225. 228. 316.
317. grrC 317: Jonathan,
20. 21, 24. 2r.. 2fi. 27.
28. 72. Mil. -'L'.K: Johna-
than. Jr.. ^ Mines, 233:
Sarah (Gilbert), iij Tav-
ern. 22.^».
Belden. Aziel. 349: House,
342. 344.
Bell, George, 231.
Bellamy. Asa, 284 : Farm,
228: Matthew. 220.
Benham, Asahel. 224 : Da-
rius. 11£. 289: Henry W .
1 18: Jared. 2iL 2M. 28({.
337. 342: John. 2.^4: Jo-
seph. liiL ftli 251, 255, 256;
Joseph. Jr.. 2S2r2MrSjim-
uel. 270: Winifred and
r>auKhter. 256. 257. 258.
Bergen Heights. 275.
Berry. Diamond, 265 : Divan.
116. 118. •'■li. ^69. 276. :tl5'.
Divan. Jr.. 116: Ensign Di-
van. 301 : Ephralm. 1 17.
266: Farm. LL$. 117: John.
151; Tv>ts, 117: Mary, 315:
Thos. Jun., 163.
Beseck Mountain, fi. L IS-
Beset Mountain. 313. 326.
33". 331. aai
Birdsey. Alanson. 365 : Ed-
win. 21fi. 360: Eli C 149.
220. 365 : I.,lnus. 339. 365;
Birdsey & Miles. 365: Bird-
sey & Raven.
Bishop. ?:ilsha. 284 : Farm.
76. 77. 81, 82: James. LL
76, 78. aii Samuel. Jr.. 220:
Sarah. 160: Wyllys. 280:
i6j
A CtNTURY OF MERIDEN.
!7i>: Sjirah
\itU'.
< Yjil»'».
l{|;n-k Itnss iNfKro),
HIiH k INiinl. .'iK. :;15.
■tm. 311. aiLL
HIake. J<>lin>«nii & Curtis.
;t:.!i.
Uliikeslrr. Ahraham, 302:
KsthiT. -' t »•> : 8amui-l. L'S4.
MoarillnK Sriionl.s, 'lli.
float Hills. i_L
Hooili. rapt.. Place of. .112:
i'yrcniis. 101: John. 270:
l^iyal. riare of. .t I .{ : Fond,
r-':<: WjiUor. liit. fijL ar.i
•ir.:.; \Vm. iLj :n -'.
Htitxfont. Isaar. 317. .137.
Iliiiinly for .'^orvlre In Huvo-
liHionary War. .'S3.
Mow. 11. Frfd F.. JJU.
MnwIiiK Hiil. 331'.
•Howl.' Th.'. IL'2
Kr.-ullex , MaMalion. 27r>. 27B:
<'ol . 2 7 .'. ; Danlfl. i L'fi. 2S4:
llirani. 3 ■'■!«: John K.. 2Sr»;
Wni.. I'Im< h of. 1 3:. : HraiJ-
l»»y \' Htihbani MfR. <'o.,
2:.:i. 34«i. r.
Hray. A.^a.
ItrlKKH. Samuel, L'Bll.
MrhitoM. William. ■'««
Mi lstol. Hi-njamln. I'HI : Old-
eon. L'Tn Timothy, lm;.'..
Kritish Invasion of New Ha-
v»>ii. I ■". 2 : I'risiiii (Ml liOtiK
Isliind. .I'd. 27K.
Hrnad SI. < '•■mHti-rv. 102.
1 ..3 IH3. 2 VS. a I a.
Uroikf». M4>z<*klah. 2»»r.-. Ja-
i>Ki'. L'Wn: Samii*"!.
2 «•.:'. J*: 3: KhcncKcr. 2X4;
Klisha. 2.'i2 : Jain<>)«. TBj
Joiiti, LL iiiL John.
.Mary. 2it.'.; Mill
Ufl. J*'.! : TTTiix, 2H
2!t.'.. -'!*«■
Sr.. .'il :
Katn-
Ilrotkitt.
Ki'Mii^itri,
lirooks.
Knos.
John, Ul
Tit U.S. 337
Havhl. 301.
:♦!■".: Janiv.s S.
30-j
3 49.
James.
3fi1 .tfi-'
Rrowii. Asa.
■js l : Satrmol,
ItrowiH'. SamutTriLa.
I5i>:iiit, Hillar<l. 'ft 3
Hu< kiiuni. John, 't » '*
Hu-kwliiat lim. iiL
Hu»'l. AfTil>a. 2s.'. : Hi-njamin.
Hull. Caloh. lii: <J«'n.. 3 .'>.'. :
Isaa.'. 301 : hynuin &
<"ou(h.
liunnt'l, KlMMiezfT. 'Jfi.'i : 1.k'vI.
Nathaniel. 2S1.
:s2
27R.
2X1;
2 S3.
Itur.ll. k s Il.ill. 3K3.
I III ri:o\ III', < SriH-ral.
Iliirns. I •avid. 2S|.
Murnt J^wanip. 1 1 •»■
Hurr. Aaroti.
ItiirroiiKhs. K'lon.
ward. JilL 22S; Farm.
John. IlL LlL lilL ' 'X'
Hush, Fcnncr. l.'»4. -'.'.3 3','%.
Hut lor. Ajftjps .130: f'om-
fort. 2S0; I'laco of. 314.
.IHi; Kll. Kli »*.. 3 1 r, ;
HiMirv ('.. ■■'III. 3 1*; 3KI.
3 >•,.!. :t r,7 : 11 1 ram. 31*;: JopI
L. iJiL 363: John, iifl, 2S9.
;gr.: Good-
SliL an. aS9. afijj I^-muel.
2K«. 31 B: Samuel. Siii, 133.
233: Hutler & Olils, 33S. 3fil
itutton Fa«torii's. 3.'i3. 3.'i4:
Hultoii. Jededlah. I'M-
HyxluT Hros. HlfH-k. Rebuilt.
3S7; Hotel «»r John <*. &
Theodore and Kullroud
Station, 3K6.
Cation. James. 279.
Cady. Daniel. 2X4.
Calkinx. Israel. •-'«»■'■
(.'amp. Ablathar. 3«Kt : Amos.
LL UIl, 139. LLL HS. 149.
1 r. 1 : Amos. Jr., 1 ■'. 1 : Klah.
2nd. LLL 2H9: lehabod.
2S3: Job. 3 .to: John. LLL.
CarrinRton, James. 224.
Carter, John. 220; MarlH.
130: Thads.
rich * HIshnp, 3.'i<;
C.I s tie Craljc, fi.
Cathole. 12 -73 : Mountain.
337: Pass. 23^ 31«>. 3 IS.
Cailin, Henjnmtn. 240: Mrs.
HenJ.. KxtraetK of Dlarv.
of. 3K7
Cat Swamp. ri9^ 217.
Cedar Tree Hoiindary, 3'>7
Cemetery Inscriptions, 1 f»3.
Census of isfio and 1S7»». 3k«<
Center ConKreRtitional Ch''-h
liL 12±. LlLL LdiL 2Ii2. 34^:
l>istri* t Srhool. niillt. 3S9.
Centnil Tavern. 107. lon.
149 2 39. -'40. 339. 3 .•.3. MT
Chaniberlain, Ephniim. 2»2.
•>*i3. L'Sfi.
Chambers. Kphraim. 270.
<'»iapin. J. IL 3r.n
<'»iaun«-ev. Kllhu. L'fit.
<'herrv Hill, ilifl.
Cbeshlre. Set Off as a Sepa-
rate T*>wn. 333 : PariRh of.
231. :;37. 301
Chester. I/eonard. 331
ri.imnev Hill. IlL
Chittenden. Henlamln. "7n
Chniehlll, Asn UL 241 : HenJ..
TiL
Cliiirrh * Morse. &!.
CItv Clerku, 399
City Keservolr and Charter
-Nmendment. 3H9.
<Maniin.inl Hill. aiL
CiTk. Aaron. 2S4: Abel. 2M:
l> inlel. 3»^ IIL IL ?! S LTiS.
-'»;«;: rHvan. 2K4: Kbene«er.
2'.s. 2.'.9: f;eorire. 342: Jen-
iiett. 314: JosepHT^ 2R4
ijimberton. 277: liVmon
Fiotory „f. 3Hr. ; !>artriek.
22^ 111, iii 349: Partrlek.
•Ir . 3 19: P. P. 288: Samuel
■t I '» : Plaep of. 9ji^ 102. 310-
<'Iarke- John, 2&.
Cfian. Wm. D., 3<;o: Wm.
3.'.9.
Coburn. James, 2M: Joseph.
277. 2S4.
Coe. Andrew, Farm of, %2l1
Aiulrew J., 320: (^ilvln.
HSL aiJj Calvin. Plnee.
217 a.-. 3 Castle. 3 20
321 : Farm. a2Jj John. "33:
John W.. R£j niissell. 3f;.'> :
Wiiilleld R . 3 -JO
Coiruswoll. Robert. 3i &S.
• 'old Harbor- li- AS- AS, 47:
Spring. £ 12^ 13^ 16^ 17. 24.
Cole.
llil
12K :
3S. 40. 41.
Kbenezer,
; Kunire, 1_43
Farm. 7£, S»lL
Hannah. 9" : Henr.v.
tifi- !i9^ IIL >i^x ^ aiL
114, James. iSL
, Home, t
1L» Estate.
F'amil.v.
ai ^
. IH. filL
5LL iLL
ItJj Joel
2^7; Jo-
Rebekah.
WilliHm,
i l»an .
S. 333.
•jar.
2<X: John. 9H
Heph, li 1.39.
90: SamiieTT M
63. 90. 1 1:.- 139.
ColHnx. Benj WTT 109
ailL 109x I'^l. ilL~S
334: Kdward. 9>i.
2 so. i'S«. 3 .'.4: Kdward.
HouKe of. 5»>L mi Parm. JUL
Giles. 319: John. 2V9: John
H.. 3r.4 : Jonathan. 96^ SL
liLL HL LIS- ILL 229, 3Ht.
349: Farm of. 102~: Jona-
•juaiUTTi ;_>^ • jf 'txv^^
310: Ijemuel, 2<5 : Robert.
97. 142. 149, 21 4. 229.
233: Robert. Jr., Sam-
tiel. 2^9- •ilH, 2K4 : I'riah.
30 1 : Collins A Merrtam,
3.".4
ConirreRational Chufch. 3<>1.
3:.3: First Church, Sli
Center, 1 S4. l.'i.^.
Conklln flail. ~2£1: Conk-
linn Hotel. 3^2. 3C3- 2£^.
C«innefllcut School for Boys,
93, 21 fi-
Cook, Ambrose, 2<»»: Benjn-
mln. 2»;fi: Coe. 2«1 : Iwtac.
237: David. 21R, 2JS^ 2j4.
£□7 2K7 : Kllhu. 2S4:
ma Ia, Ms K^hfaim,
284: Giles.
2<»i
(Seorgre.
Henry, 2 <».'.: Isaac.
•259, 210. 111. -lift.
J;ired R.. 300. 3*i0: Joel.
•JS4. 32.3: John.tion.
Nathaniel. 2«;»: Phiftehan.
2J!L 2hfL Reul>en T.. IMl
Samuel. ii. 21fi. 3<«:
Thomas B.. 224 : WarreiK
2S4: William. 2^4: Samuel.
ILL
Cooley. Asael. 2<9.
Co«»T>er. Kl»eneaer. 1 1 7.
L32- 234: John, LL. Thank-
ful. 23 4 : Thomas. IS.
Corner I>i^trict School-
house. 3«tfi
Corrinan's Corner. 23. 31^
ILL 337
Couch, James. Ifil : John.
279. 32.'». 32< 333 33 4
ua. UtSL ilia. 270 ill
279 3 >r. 32*;. 3 ml
Cowles. KbeneKfr. 1 2>i. 14S
Ifi3. 236: Kbenexer. Jr„
j2S. lfi«: Klisha A . Kl. 102.
ns. 2^.3. 2M. 113. 3iL '"^J-
3r>4. 3 3»;i- 362: Mr*.
Klisbn A.. 3HK: Joseph. I2S,
LUL 140, l"»nT LSi
Cowls. Mind Well. Lfi!L IM:
.Moses, 23S : Roswell, U12»
232. iliL 3CL; Ro.swell.
Sabbath r>av House, atl:
Timothy, 1«3: Cowles &
Butler, 3*il.
• ^owner, John. 1 0.
Crocker. Orsamus, 357. 380:
Place of. nS,
Crow Hollow. <1R^ 3^.'»- a;;*;.
Ctilver, BenJ.. 2<;.'>. 2»^fi : Chai« .
270: Kbenescr, 263: joshja.
. , y Google
163
70. ?2: Sumu«>l. 2fi9: Sam-
Cumber, I^mon (Nf^ro).
CurtlH. Aaron, ISO. 162: Abel,
ULL LLL LiJL AAl. iMi
iLliL gl.'»: Abner. "CT-
fre.l P7l2-,'. Alfred F
llomestend, 127: Alfred \V.,
i-»'>: Amnt^n, 221. IMP. S61 :
Amo.s. 221. :h 1 . 3r>4 : Amos.
HoUKe «f. 221 : A.suhel.
2.S9. .ILL aili IMare of. :tU.
31'.. :i42: AHJihei. Jr., ^ni:
lienjamin. lis. 122. 123.
UilL UjL 1^2. I>>0. 26'>. 266.
3H. .nn: huuM4! oTT 123:
Jr.. 34it: Kdwin
3r>!>: Kll.sha.
122, 123, 143.
3.^9: Farm.
Hi'tijamiti
K.. liLL 12ii
2 SO: KnuM.
LAI. 23jL 3ill
1 - 2 : (ivorKe Munsoii,
(;^oiK<^ H.. 122, 3JjL 36tt:
Mi-H. C3«>i>ri$e K.. Jiij Har-
rison VV.. 3'>9. 3«)r. : Homi>.
44. 12)*. 13.'.. 2HI. 3:'.*;: Hom-
er, 122, 3iir^ 36. S: l!«iu«%
:>S; iHbell Co., 3r,«: Ivali,
lf»2. 238: Jesse. 31% 3 :
»n. LLL: Juliette V., 126:
341): Lemuwl J.. 122. 359:
l^vl. iSll^ ilL 342: Lury
Maria. 221 : Memorial U-
bniry. 12H: Moses. 122. 26'.:
NalhunU'l. 72, 122. 24S:
SjtmiU'l, 126, 2MrSjimiiel
Ives. 114. 1 1 .*•> : Sylvester J.
22 1 : Thomas, ii. njL iiLl
Thomas. HnsiKn. 122: Wil-
liam A.. 221 : Wintleld S ,
a6«: Curtis A I..ewis. AM. '
CiirtisH. Giles, 270: Morgan
* <•«».. h:,6.
t'uilery Manufacturers, 3;'. 6.
Dana. James. 124. 146. ir.l.
232. 268, ;iMi 2iLL 3ar., HM.
Davenport. Deodate, 147:
John. 7. 9. 10. n. 12^ 13,
31, 32, Mi 37, SJL I61
TTT !73r iSl. 320.
Davidson. John, 2X0, 360.
Davies. Amos. 2 70.
Davis. John .264 : Th«»mas,
:i>«: Timotliy K.. 2 4 11.
"Day of Doom. Tlie."Tfri<'liael
WiKKlesworth. 210.
D«>mestic Makeshifts, 212.
Doollttie. Abraham. riSj Dan-
iel, 2 60: K. J.. DTT <iilfH.
265 : InslKn, 261 ; Isaac, 261«.
181: Jolin. 262. 263. 2Sl :
Joseph. 2Sl :~MartTia. 2r.2;
Mary, lUL Moses. 266 : Oli-
ver, 281 : Samuel. 265:
SertJt. 261 ; Solomon. 2:.".
Dorchester HulKhts, :;72.
Doutrlas. Nathaniel, 27H.
D«iUKlass, Jolin H.. 1 02.
Dowlittle. Abraiiam, Sr.,
DiaKoons. l'6l'
DrigTKS. Joseph, 2 1 6.
Drurikennetis, 2 43.
Dudley, Tlmmas. 270. 2K4.
DuiKuan. \V. H,, iLL
Dunham. John, 2nd. 34».
Dulton. Jesse. :;fi3
Dweliintr Houses Krected
I.S6S-1S70, 3Si).
DwiKht. Samuel,
ILL
in
Kaifle Cottage. 3S7.
Karie. Ali<e M., 227.
I'larly Came, 211: Industries.
3 4 6 : Med icaTFiact it loners.
2:!3; Hoads, lj_i Stoves,
Kl)riatha. \Vm.. Z&l^
Katon. Hannah. 15j James,
r.4. it; Tiieophilus. 7, IL
LL 31. 32, 34. 36. 7a.
lis. 320.
Kdwards. c'apt.. 27X: Kamlly,
102: Jonathan, I ol : Joseph,
1 40. 2 so, 317: House. 101 :
Nathaniel, i»8i IMerpont.
22i>.
Kives. Jidin. IVIi, r>6 : Joseph,
r. ..
Klllott, John. 112
Klm«»r, Kdward. iiOj, Samuel,
L5L
Kmanc-lpation <»f Slaves. 252.
F^iiKiiie House and I'ollce
Station liuill. :is'j.
Kpiscnpiil Cliurch. 1.'.2: in
WallinKford. 134 : rHM Rv-
men. :t4 '
Kvelyn. John. 4ji, iO,
Kverest. Charles H^ LiS,
Kveritt. K. U.. 34.3.
Deeds and Patents to I..iin<ls.
filL 11,
Deer Hill. .^9, 63, 139
DejninK Asae.l, 269: Jctsoph.
2 49.
De Mink. Joseph. 249. 2.% I.
iJennle. Jolm. iJL
De Rouville. M . Ui
Deslmn. (iiles IT^ 2S7: John.
2K7.
r)eiention of Prisoners in
WaliinKford, 3o4.
De Wolf. Selh. 96, 226
Dh-kerman. Rebecca,
Jtdm. 23S.
DiK'iir.vinR and Se.itlii^r
First .Meet i UK House, 1 4.'..
ir.o.
DiKnlty Committee. 1.^.1.
Ik>dK«*. Israel. 2X4.
DoKS" Misery Swamp, fiS, ^
61. 62, 64, 60, SI. 139, lilL
235.
Karminjfton. Jeremiah. 2 so.
Karrinjfton, Jeremiah. 340;
Joseph. :i4 2.
Fay. Frank S.. 126: tieorue
A.. 126. :!sr.: Diarv of.
3 X : .Mrs. <;eo. ,V., 126.
Fent). Henjamin. 264 :
ward. 2 -'.2: Nathan.
IJL
3S6: fseo. 1.S6.*..
Kd-
Miil.
Fernnw. Mcrthold. 309.
Fires. IS64. 3S.'. ; 1X6
IS 70
3S7.
First: Muryinfc Cniund
<"all for Troops, 271 :
1S63.
1S69,
I. '.9:
, . Citv
Government. 3X9: ('otiKre-
fCational Society, 137. 1 40,
l-''ti: Cliunh. 320: MTPTii
.Xriniv.M sjiry. 1 I .•. : <)riBin:il
Mei'tlritf Mouse. l.',9: First
Contested Will. — TTF- Cy-
clometer. 227: Manuniciur-
er. 3 4 6: P»"rman.'nt Whil«*
LL HIanlers.
12^ Pleastire Carrl;i^,. i"
WaliinKford, 292: Public
Condemnation of Slavery,
2-')l : Physician. i»s, 2 33:
Railroad Station 4(nd
Train. 362: Selectmen.
397. 39«: Settlement. 6;
Settlers of Meriden. 1 60 :
Society of .Meriden. 27S:
Sti»ve In Meriden. 2 2o. 3 42:
Town Meeting, in Meet-
ing House. 336. 337.
Field. ICdmund. l'x4
Flt<h. Capt., 266: Jonathan.
226.
Flo<»»| of 1792. 322
Fiiot. Isaac. 2»rr~'
For«l. Henjiimin. 2Ki: Jo-
tliam. mil Siinborn. 279.
Forts: GeorKe. 2X6 : Jeffer-
son. 2XS: Lee. 2 7.'.. 2X1 :
Mltllin. 2S:; : M<uitKomery,
277; TiconderoKa, 26«"»;
WashiuKlon. 27r.. 276. 277.
2iS, 2S3:: William Henry.
•-'fir.
Foster: Albert. 3.'. 4. 3.'..^.: Tt .
1"3: Martholomew.inr
SiiL 120, lj!9, lAli Farm
A.
114
Hit.
of.
Gile.s,
364:
LL M.
363: Hiram.
Ill: Jona-
Ge«»r(fe
96. 216 2SM:
Henr.y M.. 3.%9.
ss. 3 .'<.'. : Joel,
than. 149: i^-vi. IM, 337:
.Matthew. 23S. 2X9: Mer-
riam & Co.. Jii, jii^i, 3r.a :
Ozlus. 2Su: Pond. 5S, 114;
103, 229. 280:
103, 139. 163.
, 93x
Thomas.
Timothy
26.. 2»»f.
Francis: .\mos. 347
Jacol). 2 .'.2- 2>rn"
24.'
: Asii,
"John,
2S4.
Franklin Hall. 36.'..
Frary. James A.. 3 .•.9.
Frazcr. Jas.. 2X7.
26'.
1 ir.
Freeman :
ILii, 24;
Cato
Cliarles
Chatham
ILiL WL AAIiu -'•
2x.->.
French .-md Indian
:';o-2r».T
{ Nejfro).
1 .Ve^ro ».
< Nei{ro ».
2 4X. 2 77.
Wars.
Fi»wler, Arhns.
Fox. Kbetlcster. 2X I.
FuKltive Slaves. 2 .'.3.
Fuller. Margaret, l.'.fi.
A..
G.-ijfr. General. 291
291.
(•ale. Francis
<lat«-s. Get!.. ^
Gay. Henry I...
Gaylord John 1
isic W. I.. iTx"
136
276
Thomas,
3.'.!>
Jot ham.
GiUjert, Kbenezer, 39,
Hannah. 2 .'.6: Jonalh.in.
UL I'.. 16. 19. 30. 40. 41. 4.'
liL 61, JiiL 226i Jonalh.in.
Jr.. LSL: Jonatli an. Mar-
shall. 16^ .Meriden Farm.
UL IJL 19. 40, tt 67. 6i).
SSi Mary. IS; .Nalhanlcl.
LL iUL Samuel. :'.49: Sarah.
43: Tavern. 21T.
Gin DlNtilliry. 216. '_'17.
Gold .Mining. 2l's: in Wooded
Islati.l at .Merlmer.-.
<iol.len Parlor Miro'. 13.'.. 229
236: Association. ?T?r
-32: C.impany. 130. 23^^
y Google
164
A CENTURY OF MKRTDF.N'.
(iutte. A:tron. 9(L SA: Sol-
omon. ^ »7j Farm, !>x.
(}ou<lale. Ui«-hard. |ilL
(Joodrlrh. i'harifH A.. 33:;:
Uavld. :<1'7 : Jolin. Jun.,
34S»: HoodrirJi & Hvitty, Slift.
CJooilsill. Antltoiiy. :.
(ioodwin, Thomas. i':tt>.
iJoodyear. 8teph«*ii. liL
(Jrangrer. Arthir, 1 "><»-
(•ratinls. Kno» 3r>4.
iJraiit. Kbeiie^er. 3«)0: Wil-
liam.
(IravestoneM. Mt?etlnK ll.t.ise
HIM. it; J: at Hn»ad tit.
Omet«Ty. 1 '•.:t--!»s.
Oreat: Awakeiilntc. 2tU>:
l'laKUf>, ili Koad. Eioston
to New York. J L' >» ; Swamp.
( Kt'iiHlni^ton, I'tirt : Swamp
rarlHh. IL; Society of.
2X
Ore. n. S. 8.. JM.
CtfKxon, Thomas. 38.
(irliiifH House. liiL
(iris wold. AbtuM- 33S; Fred-
erlrk I'.. 341 : Olles ().. l'X9.
337. 343: Harry. 360: "Jo-
Hlah. ■-•:{<»■ L'3I : Flare. :{L'i>.
(iiiy. AblKall iHranford).
.} H> : Ksther. 1 :.'il : iJeorKe
WT 1 L'o : Joel l:.'u: Or-
< hard. !-'»: Orchard. Place
of. LiiL 121.
Hackbarth. Charles. ILL
Ha«-kley. Aaron. -'-'3
Hale. Wmiam.
Hall: Aaron. -^Hi: AblKail.
311: .Abraham. 113. 2B4.
m;.'.. :;>>6. 311 : Alfred ~nZ
ir»x: Amos. 21^ 231. 2:
Asahel. 301 : AuKUstus. 311.
312: Avery. 354: Heujijah.
2S4: lienj.. 2S7. 3»1. 3uS:
MenJ. A . HI. 312^ 3r.2:
Hrenton. 7»^ so, UiL 2±!L
iiJL 33.H. iliL 310: (\ileb.
298: Caspar. 310: IMate of.
I»i Chas., 2S<): Chester. ::70:
Clayton F.. 312: I'olllns.
310: IMace of, 311 : Hanlel.
fi3. 113. LLL LilL L5UL 151.
il::^ 266. -'Ml 312. 330:
Daniel Farm. 114: Daniel
• Johnson. 2JiA: David. iiL
'ilil. IJJL i>LL 30 1 : Kllah.
2S7: Kliaklm. 267. 3o 1 : Ell-
hu. 24H: Klljah. 274: Kllsha.
2S4: Knos. 2.S11: 311: Knos.
2iid. 337 : FsirniN. 30S< : (Jeo..
2XX: fJeo. A.. 312: (Jeo. I*.
312; Hannah. 163. 213: Irai.
238: Isaac. 116. 151. 235.
236. 237. 276. 2Si). 2S6:
Place of. 235 : Isaac. 3rd.
151: Isaac. Jr., 276: Israel.
IM. ill. iBL ILL ILL
aajl 337 : Israel. Jr. 26i«:
Joash, 278: Joel. 26<». 27 S :
Jidin. 53, 51. LLL Lll.
LLL 2 36: John P.. 114;
Jjihnalhan, 235. 237. 238.
illL 277: Joseph, 337:
Jolhnm.. 277. 2x4 : Julius.
ILL 238: Julius. Home-
stead of. £IL 24 2: Ia'c.
227: Ih'vI. Zlli. 337: l^ive.
LiL: Lyman. 3 1 « : Melilt-
able. IM. 162: Moses.
163. ifia. 2iL 21^ 27L iM.
284: House of 313: Moses.
Jr., 280: Nelson. Home-
Nteud. 312: Phinwis, '.LMl.
311. 312: Phlneas. 2nd.
216: Rufus. 277. 284: Sai-
mon. 28i«: Sjimuel. 51. ul,
ISL UL ISUL Lll- Ui. liL
227. 23». 26t». ilL iliL IhJb
l3^. 341. aii 344: Samuel.
3rd. 27o: Capt. Siimuel,
•111; Kev. Samuel. 18^ ML
124. 247. 310. 330: Capt.
Street. 278, 282: Col.
Street, 287. 310. 334; Lieut.
(Nd Street. 281 : Thaddeus,
281'; Theophilus. 78. SLL
107. 1 13. 120. 123. 124. 125.
126. 128. 131. ML 142. 143.
1 47. 1 4 8. 14i». 150. 151. liiL
160. 162. 163. 2 1 3. 22 7. 238.
2 42. 2 4 1. LM s. .330. 340. 341 :
House, 1 uilsu see Illus-
trations: Thomas, 53^ 55,
5}L liL 11 LLL 252, 312.
330: Timothy. 280 : Titus,
264. 270. 284 : Waller. 311.
315: House of. I06: Walter
II.. 217. 342; Wlllard, 123.
i'4«: House of. 107: Wil-
liam B.. •'■•tH
Hallam. Mrs. Robert A.. 314.
Hamilton. Alexander. 2 So.
HanKini? HIKs. l:;2.
Hanover, Origin of Name,
Harrfmain. John, 5_L
Harris. Daniel. 142: Farm.
107. 11' 4
Hart: Menjamin. 126. 154.
iiL 269. 278. 279 284. 340:
Kllen. 36j HawklnsTTlL 71.
264. 265; Hawkin.x. 2S3:
HezekTaTi, aiAi Ives W..
Nathaniel. 301 : Nathaniel
. J.. 270: Timothy. 2ii; Tim-
othy. Jr.. 270 : Titus. •HA.
HastluKS. J«»hn, 284.
Hatch, Edward W . 2 4 0.
Hathaway. Keyes S„ ajL
Hawley. Abel. 163.
Hayden. Hiram C.. 1
Hazard. James. 21S.
Heart. Capt.. 2 77.
Heaton. Fran«'ls. ii
Hecock, John. 142.
Hen«lerson. Walter. 229. j^n
Hetidrle. Menjatmln. -'84.
Hevdon. Charles. lUti.
Hl^bee: Daniel. i2ft; Edward.
13, LL LL 18. 19, LL 48.
fil. fiiL aiL siE aa.
229. 2.10: Farm 90j
John. 1 7-
Hlfcbey. Aaron. 118: Place of.
117: John. iSL
HiKKlnson. E 21, 29, 228:
Edward. ^ Farm of. 100.
Hill. Josiah. 337.
Hill.H. Jonathan. 3:t7
Hine. .\mbros«>. '-'8:? 284
Hins.lale. (?ha.H. J..
HttchciK>k: Amos, 266: Dan-
iel. iJiL; David. 283: Icha-
IhmI. 284: John. 80, 147.
264 : l.rf>muel. 'iS-i: Levi,
284i Oliver, Jr. 270:
Thomas. 263. ;>84
Miitfife. Daniel.
Hid<"olm, Joel,. tl&H.
Ilolt. Daniel. IM. 13a: Elea-
xer. .5iL 56^ Eliai*. 35o;
H.Mise. ■152: Hill, 135. iiL;
Joseph, iv^ Samuel. 222.
2^^ : Thoma.**. ::63: ThomJia
R.. ZliiL
Home National Bank. &2.
Hon>espun Clothlnnf. 212.
Hoofman. Ca.spjir, 233
Hooker. J«jhn. 22ft, ii€z
Thomas. 4 7.
Hopkins. Edward. 8; Jos*«ph.
Hopp I.,ots.
Hopper. Daniel.
Hopson. Cu Ivln. 2 70; LInu!«.
283: Rice. 2llL
Hosford. Amos. Z&Iu
Hotchklss. Prince (Ne^ro).
285 : Siimuel S. B.. 28 4.
HouKh: Ambro.se. 216. 217.
337. 338: Plact* of. 311.
342: Avery. H>2 : Capt'»
Company. 280: Daniel, lifi.
130. 147. 160. i'1-V 213.
234. 23i«. 265: Homestead
o^ 127: DiinTel. 1B1 : Place
of. 340: Ephralm. 1 49. 217.
218. Hi. Ephraim. Jr„
218: Ephralm s. Mill, 215.
218: Farm. 137. I'l'tt: Insi^n.
280. 337: Dr. InslKn. 126.
laiL IIL 213L 239. 286. 339.
367: Isaac L, &L 107, 233.
235. 238. 239. 240. 350. 3«1:
James. 121. 214. 215. ill.
262. -279, 301 : James A..
101 : James. Homestead of.
IlL I'l * - J'»«'l. ^81 :
John. 252. 276. 280: J»>hn
(Ensign). 1 49: John.
Lieut.. 269. 271. 277; Jo-
seph, illj Farm of, 137 :
I^>muel. 244 : I^-nt. 281 :
Mary. 143: Mills. LLL 214.
ill, ILL 346: Mlndwell.
1:^6: Phineast. 149. 153. -'14.
IILL 238. 269. :?78- L>welline
of. i:t7 : Sjimuel. 137. 1 4k.
ili. 262, 263: Lieut, .is 2:
Tjivern. 39j Thomas. 163!
William. liL 139. 142. 213.
231 : Wm Jr.. 2 1l' jii.
Dr. Wm.. 130 Ml. 137. -M j
213. 229. 231. 232 ■*St;
Place of. 131 : Yale L, 342.
How. Jerimiah. 53, ii. 261;
Nathaniel, il, 54, iJL 263;
Sarah. 2 .'■>•.: Zachariah. 53.
■5 5.
Howard. Thomas. 355 : F»ratt
& Co.. 355.
Howlt. l>HnlvL 1£X
Hoyt. Abitrail. 112. 173: Da
vld. 113: Deacon l>avi.1.
1 1 ' • Samuel. ?84
Hubbard. Ebenexer. 237 :
John. 1 47. 148. 151 15*.
275: Saimuel. lA.
Huhbell. Richard. aS.
Hulberl. John. L'84
Hull. Aaron. 163. 269; An-
drew. 2 1 5 : Calili^ 270:
Charles. 280: Cornelius.
81, 111, 15ij El)enezer.
281 : Job <Ne>cro>. ik^-
Miles. 283; Samuel. 26.'>. 2IiL
Hummiston. Daniel. *8i
HunKerford. Edward. Lii
Hutchinson. (TJov.. 2^
Google
INDEX.
165
Imprisonment for Debt. 344.
Indian: Children. -42 ; Deedti,
31. T."» : Depredsitlons. 9;
HoustH Fortified Anainttt.
:;61 : Those In Meriden.
242: Names. .T.Tl': Paths,
10: Rum Tom. i.'4:{: Trail.
K 242: Troublesome, 23j
Wars. -IhlL
lni?ham. North. 21 S.
InnrK-ulatlon Hospital. .125.
Inspection Committee, 29S.
.too. .•^01. 302. -to:?
Invincible Swamp, 122.
Isbell. Harlow. i^IL 3r.6: I.s-
bell & Curtis. IliiL
Ives. ,\aron. -'70: Abljah. 281.
L'S4 : .Abijah. Jr.. - <! 1 : Abra-
ham. 2S7 : Ambrose. 270.
2^7: Amos. 279. 32 4 : Ben-
jamin. 1 39- L'34 : Bezaleel,
1 ir>. llfi 149. i:.3. Ifi3. 227.
ilTT: 1'^: Butler. 2S7:
Cluirles. 287: David. USL
1A2 1 44. 234. 2*;9: Elna-
than. IIlL 2£IL ISl, 2f>9:
Enos. 2«?ft: Ezra. 360:
Franklin T.. I.'i4: Fredk
\V.. 3 40: Clideon. liL H.
116. 1 .'■ 1 ■ 276: Gideon. Jr..
I 1 : Hannah. LL^ IM ULl ;
Jesse 324. 3 .'. 4 ; John, 53.
116. 126. 139. Lta. LLL ULL
249. 2r.r,. i:74. :!6r;: Farm.
I I .*» : J»»hn. Jr.. -'16: John.
3rd. 270: J<»seph. ill; Josh-
ua. 216. 26.^ : Julius. iZl.
3n4 : !{<iuse. lii; I..:izarus.
126. ZZ^. 24 4 : Levi. 11 f..
1 1 6. 117: Lewis & Co., 3.' 7:
Mose.s. 264 : N. P. «r Co..
30'. : Noel. 219: Othniel.
lliL 238: Samuel. UIL LilL
139. 143. 281: Timothy.
LIL 2ML 314: Titus. 2il
337: William J.. 3^L 36o;
36.'.
James. E>anlel. 279: Thomas.
Jauncey. James. 226. 1*91
Jt nninKs & Grlttin Co.. 3.'. 6
Jt-rome. Chauiicey. 1<>7: Ks-
tate. 110: Farm. -t 1 ■' :
. Homest»-ad. 34 2 : Samufl.
1«>7 : Samuel. Hr>use, 21.
106. 217: Timothy.
106 i4n mil: Wm. Trav-
ers. 106: Timothy. In;!. i.t9
Johnson. Ajkron. 1 •'■O- 1 ■'■ 1 :
Amanda. 319: Benjamin.
2M; Caleb. 3iiL': I»an. 1 4y
222^ iliL 318: Iiavld. 2ML
2K4: Fillakim. 2S4 : Heze-
kluh. 222^ ill. :{iil :
Huldah. 319: Israel. 27S.
?><■'. 318: Jacob, 31 s: John.
2iiiL; Jtmathan. 281 : L\ith«T.
-8.-.: Miles. L'.'.2. rtOl : Ua-
«hel. 2:. 2: Samuel. 149:
160. 163. L'69. 2 79: Willi.im.
.^.3. 11^ 3.-.r.: William.
Place. liL llLL 31 K: Wil-
liam S.. 2iLL
Johnsons. A. R., 360
Jones, Charles, 'fs.'. : I>io-
date. 263: Farm. liL iii*
91, liiiL 106, liiL llilL JJJL:
Nicholas. 2S1 : Samuel,
28.'. : Thomas. 28.'.: Wil-
liam, 75^ 76^ 77, 7S, 113.
2;. 7, 258.
Jordan Pond, 2 17.
KelloKK. Justus. •1£±,
Kelsey, James H , 347: Sam-
uel. 2 49.
Kendrlck. Benjamin, 28_5.
Keiinard, Mrs. BenJ., 13<
Kerns. Luke, -sr..
Kilbourn, Samuel, '^"0.
Kimberly, Charles, 285: De
Witt. aiiiL
KInK. Hezeklah. 285; Phll-
ipti War, 260, 2^ 263: Ru-
fus. 290; 'WTnlfred, 254.
KirtlanT^ Bilious. 237: Is-
aac. 306: Jared, -'i-'3.
Knapp, Roffer, ^ SLii
Kniifht. .Mrs. Julia. US.
Knott. Kpaphra.''. 2^
Lane. -Arthur S., ai.
I^tlhrop. Elizabeth. 2 .'.8.
Ljiurence. Asahel. 36o.
Lawrence, Sherman, 212 :
William.
I.riiwyers. Early of Meriden,
392. 393.
Leiivit. S;»muel. 163.
I.,ee. General Chas.. 296. 297:
Mrs. Melvln C liiL
Leet. Andrew. -'■'.7
Leonard, EuKene, 355 : Jon-
athan, 355. 360: Splcer,
Levit, Benjamin, 139: Sam-
uel, m. 144
Levitt, Uavld. 120, 142, 143.
H4 : Fjirm. LLL
Lewis. Abel. L'N.". : Benjamin.
53. 54. 55. 262 : Chauncey.
-S5 : I>ana. 355: Ebenezer,
2K5: Isaac. liJL 221, ILL
340. 342. 343. 354: Isaac C.
126. 221. 314. 350. Zltl 259,
Jesse, 266: John. * 281.
2K5: Parlrick. 35i). 351.
365. 367 : Lewis & Curtis.
314: Lewis & Holt, 365:
Lewis tc HoukIi. :!60.
Lindsiiy. Daniel, 2 7o.
Lines. John, ifi^
Lln.>jlfy. Randoiph. -toi
Livingston. Isaac. 269. 271 :
John. 1 43
Lockwoixl, James, 270
London. Ambrose, IHT^. 266 :
Charles. "S'.
Loomis. R. B.. iM.
Lord. Albert J.. 15K
LoulsburK Expedition.
Loiinsbury Phn-e. X2IL
Love. James. JfL &iL
Lvman. Aaron, IS, as. 109.
111. lliL liiL LiiL liilL 2 26.
227. 326: Col s ReRlment.
265 ; EnslKn. 212; f>ld
Home, lii, Phineas. 269.
271. L'sn: Rebokah. 16<i. 161 :
Susannah. !iiL
Lyon. George W.. SilL
Ma<iison. James, "*40
.Main St. Baptist Church, IL
79. 3 4 3. liX ii«L
Malleable Iron Co., 22.
•Malory, Cull, i'l :t
Malthus. Thomjis. Robert,
45 : Daniel. UL
Mannlng, Bowman & Co.,
2LL
Mansfield, Chas J., 241:
John, 282. 283: Moses, 2.'i7.
Manufactories In 1845,
Manvll. Cyrus, 217.
Marriages, Births, Baptisms,
and I)eaths to 1806, 400-
434
Martin. John, Ml.
Matoesse, Sunksciua, fifi^
Matoon. Joel. 270.
Mattabesitt River, HL IL
Mattabeseck River, liL
Mattabesick River, ai.
Matthews. Ellada, iiii
Matthewson, Rufus W.. iifi.
Mattoon. Rbenezer, 265:
Samuel, 21iL
May. Nehemlah. IM.
Mayors of Meriden, 398-
2'. 9.
Mccieave. John, 222.
McGlynn. Kate, lifi.
McKenzle. George. 2 1 .5
McLean, Archable. 2S7.
.Mc.VInllen, Daniel. iS^
Mecar. John, 2 7 0.
Mecornev, John. 1A2.
.MeetInK House Hill, hi. 62.
K2. 110. LLL UM± LL2. LLL
1 23. 125 139. 140. 145. 147.
L'34. 2 4S. :! 1 5 : House Hill
Cemetery. 1 2 3. 226.
MeK S Well, li. liL
MelK'<. Jonathan.
Mekv, Banabas. 116.
.Mekve, Daniel, 280: Wyllys.
■IHO.
Men and Women Separated
In Church Service. 15o.
Merchant. Thomas. 1£2
Meriam. Ruth, liLL Ml.
Meriden. a City. 389: Acad-
emy. 353: .\nti-Slavery
Society, 353 : "Meriden As-
sociation for the Detec-
tion of Thieves jind Ite-
foverv of Stolen Proper-
tv." 345: Bank. iji>L 36.S;
Britannia Co., liL 3Ml
renter, 323. 3.'.:t: Curtain
Fixture Co. 341 : Cutlery
Co.. lliL 322. 356:
Electric Liffht Co.. SiiL
Elei tric R. R.. 323; Farm,
VL LL LL 21. :LL IL S5x
iiL iL. 2iL 2JL iiL iL 13,
liliL16^1L.M.aiiLIi
SS. aa. 103. 106. 138. 139.
149. 226. 316. 336: Fire-
arms Co., 23, 98j First
l^ind Owner. 16j First
PhvsUi.in. 222^ First
White Resident. LL: Golf
Club, iiiu 135: HiRh Sch(»ol.
106: Hotel. 364 : H<Mise. IL.
SLL LLL IM. UiL LilL 220.
2 3 Si. .-{5 4. 361. 367: Htitttlng
by Indians In, |_2j In<or-
P4>rated as a Town, ilij;
"Manor." iJj Men In Ihe
Revolution, 2X4: .Mines.
2^ 231 : OriKin of the
Name, 12^ OrlRlnal Settle-
mvut. 16; Parish. 12. 133.
13S. 139. -'-'K 23 5. 2 4 2. 263.
301. 310 3 1 r. SavlnK?*
Bank, 349: Silver Plato
L ^ - d by Google
iC)6
A CENTLKY Ol" MtKIUliN.
Co.. iMij Waterbury &
Conn. KiVfi- H. K.. ys^
JiiL: Water Cure t'ompany,
1'41.
Merlmere, Reservoir,
Uiil.t 3 'JO.
M«'rrlam, Aaron. 337 :
Arl>a. o.")3 : A.sahel
344 : I'laLf, )»«:
-'76. 3
47. ■'7».
T)el>orHli.
Ftr«i
Town
316:
Ahi-
337.
Aitaph. ~sT.
llenja-
33T : Hfthia.
IL liLi
Etlwurd M.,
1'7 7. -'S.'.:
69.
Kphraim
hunlce.
min
;:3X;
nTTTah. 160;
: Edmund,
Klixha. :'si). il
heth. 16i>:
Farm. 133: (;e<irK« C.
Howfil. .'{.'iS
JeHHe. :.'7H. -M>: John
liL NjLt iiLi 1 ->>, 1 :>'.♦■
l.'6S». John. Sr.
John. TFT. 86^ 1 1'li. 1 11'.
John, Farm, sih ili
Heph. 139. 14 3. 1 In. i »; 1 .
36.'> :
71.
:iir
J16;
TT3:
Jo-
Joneph House. SL'. s.'..
iili Josfph. Jr.. iij^ Joslali,
1 63. i'7H; I* T., ar.H; I^iu-
ren. iL>^ 3S4 ; Marxhall,
:'»ii; Matthew. iL'.'. : Na-
thaniel. S4, Id.'., lu.'i.
144; Iiou>«e. xTTNathanlel.
JrT iL 103: IMat-e, 3.'.4:
Nelson, 3 .•»■•»■ 363 : Noah.
HiL 3r>4: Phebw, 160: Rebec-
ca. S2i Ruth, iti, lii^
iii: Samuel. '.'70. JKO.
Saw Mill. .'16: Selden
H5: Sidney, JJ6.
SijMana. Jiii TltUH. "Rif.
3 1 'J: Wlllljim. iil. iii.
LLL iM^ ;LLiL i2LL iiiiL 342:
M»*rrlman. Caleb. Jr.. 146.
JHM^ 2sn ChHsi.. KniM h.
C.eortfe IT: Howell.
Ira. i'S9: Joel. 361 :
2S.'»: Mar.v.
John. Hi JoKhth
IJ'J : Mun.son. 3oi :
^.^^ -. ^ ^ Nathan-
l«?l. UL ilL liix 6lL >L;L. iilL 1«>3.
LLL LiiL 13L 143. HS,
2M^ ^LSjL 263. :;sT): 34jL ET
Nathan I er~Jr.nX :;6J. -'6.t
"Merry-den." 42j Weni-h. iJi.
Merwtn. Thomas. 1.'64.
Met hod Ut Church, Ml. 346:
Mt'tttlnv House, 3 '-'3.
Mexlciin War, l'S9.
MhhaelU U. 16, 29,
Miil-t'eritury Pl>y.«<lcians. 241.
Miles. Almeron. 3.'>i>. 3.'»9:
James.
•JSii; John,
seph. L'fi.'. :
Thomas M.
70. 72. nil.
Miller. Hros.
3:.6: (
John. 63.~5l>T
Jr.. 163: Jo-
S.»muel. .'•.3 :
l.'>8: Thomas.
Co.
Cutlery
lothler's Shop.
Constant. 1'16: Edward.
15:': John Christian. 233:
Joseph. 216: Stephen. L'16.
MllllnK. ;LLL ILiL. 217.
I'lS. L'19.
Mills. Samuel, 22<L
Mines, ^18^ 229, L'3L': Oolden
Parlor. 2:?F: In Merlflen.
231 ; Oranby, -.'33: Slms-
f>uFy, ZlLi In NValllnKford.
Mining. Copper, 130; Hill.
Hoad. i?L £i 113.
2 :{.'.: IJrook. "gt:
Swamp. 1 1 3
11, Harna-
t«6: Ml-
Ministers Island
Minutes of the
Meet in ff.
Misery Har
1 1... LLlL
Hiffhway
Miti nell. Alfred
bas. JS.'i : Jotham
chael. 116. 139. 1'66; Moscia,
31.'..
Mix. Amos. l'7o. l.'S5 : Daniel.
: Enos. L'6'.>. : Jarius,
3 1 J : Joel. H : John. .'.:>;
Theophilus. KI^ n;v>: Thus.
Jr.. I's.'..
Moliawk Indians. ^
Momauf^ln. Indian Siichem.
LL JUL
Monroe, Col.. •^»^T,.
Monument, Memorial of
First Setters, 16i>.
Moor. Andrew, l's.'. : John, llL
MorK'in. John. I'Mt.
Morris, Robert. l'!<i>.
Morse. Mrs Joseph. 310.
Mosher. W. \V.. 36.{.
Mosa. DenonI, I'Sa : Pibene-
xer. L'Sl : Ishih. 2 8a : Joei,
2.'.S. L' i'7u: John. 70, 71.
ZZTJohn. Jr.. 262. l^Ai Jos..
264 ; Joseph, 70, 71: Titus.
2S2: Mary, 23a: Reuben.
2SJL
Mosse, John, 54^ Ifi.
Mott. Samuel. :*6lr'
Mount. Carmel. 122. 159:
l.«imentatlon, ' Derivation
of Name, !L 313, 331. 33l'
MunNon. Almond. :'8.') : Elea-
saph. L'i;3: I.,ent.. :'1». :;sr>:
Levi, :'6.'i. :'>:': l.ucy M.
(Curtis), I'Jl : Orange. I'Sa:
Sjimuel. iSTlLL
Murdo< k, Chas. Z.. 110. 117.
ikS, i'4.'.; Geo. B.. rTt: 115;
ZIna K.. IJJL iL^
Murray. \V tL H..
•'My Meriden Manor." 22.
Mymesque Accanenl. fiS^
Nejfro Slaves, l'44-253.
Nelson. William. 100.
Nestors, Old Political. 339.
New Haven. Invasion of. bv
British. 301 : Post Boy.
Publishem.
Newell. Samuel. ,
Newgate Prison.
Newspapers and
3'.tO-3'.<L'
Nichols. Silvanus, ll6
Nicholson. Jonathan.
Nickerson. N.. 241.
North. Curtis U. Sifi. J£L
368: Farmers' Petition.
13Sj Society. 13S: Society
In Walllndford, ILL
Norton. Albert. 15^ 16. 23.
73: Andrew . 336: Gould
Gift. 252: J. S. Senior.
Hou.ie of. 3V6: Jedediah.
267, 376: Junius S..
H^L 21 H: Samuel. 13iL
Notch Meadow. liL 121
Nott. John. 3 J ;.
Nova Scotia Campaign- 1
oiliest HiKhway. 8.
Old Stone Fi>rt. 225 : Stone
House. Wooden
Hridge over Harbor Br"k.
3i;
Olds, Wi;ilam, UL
Osbtirn, John. 2sJ
SM."; : Stephen. ::«>;
UL
SttmueL
Paddock. Homestead, 115:
S. C.. T-'O
P.iKe. Timothy, -' .
I
• Kon.
IL
Palace
Parse.
Parker,
2>'5:
ChaumiHchung. 3>.
Bl«KTk. Huilt. 3S7.
Moses, Jr., _'S1.
Abram. 2 So ; Amos.
Benjamin. 2 >> '> : B<->x
21S: Charle."!. .41.
356. 35!». 3<0:
SO. 353. 254:
Dexter W .
Edmund. i'4l : Elln-
Elljah.
Shop.
350. 355.
Clock Co .
Daniel. 2 SO:
kim.
Goody,
John.
256: Joshua.
Foundry, 3 5 5 :
Timothy, i'S5
:S5
, Snow
Aa ron.
103.
P.. 3S»o:
Jo-seph.
M : Julius.
Levi. :
Willium.
& Co., 3*5.
337. Bri-
Hitrvey. 337:
337 : Samuei.
:2S.
Parsons.
giulv. ,
J.. 1"2.
2S.5.
PartridKe. Governor,
Mary, ili William.
Puterson, Samuel. 349
Patterson. ShulKiel, 349.
Pearce. John. '-69
Pease & Niles. 3.'.>t
Peat Work.s Pond, 15,
Peck, Abel. 2S'J: Charle*.
26.^ 285: Ebenezer. -f:?i :
Eleaxer. ia, il, i<)7- 261 :
EleiEer. 139: H.. 2^3:
Henry. 35 4 : James. -'6».
2 S3; Jehlel. -S5; Jesse.
2 sr. : John. 261 : Joseph, ii;
Peter. 2 70: Sjimuel. 21^ 2L.
337: Susannah. Mi Zebu-
lorC 24,
Pen.-iliy for
at Public
Non-attend.-in«"e
Worship. liL
Elizabeth.
;42
House.
151.
151:
151 : &imuel. 1 51.
W.. Ill,
Ji>hn. 2Sj;
1 IS: Siimuel.
156.
Ub-
285:
Pitkin
Plait.
Plum.
mj
IMj
Pentleld.
Farm.
Nathaniel.
Peter
236. 264.
Perkins. Geo
157. 355
erty
Sherlock. 3_Li. Simeon.
2 .SI). 286. 343: Stephen.
151. 236 279. 337
Persons. Jacob, 1 :{s
Peters. Siimuel. 3»0.
Phillips. George. 247.
Pierce. John. 230. 271.
Joseph. iS,
O. IL. isi,
Archibald. 3 4 2
Seth D.. lii, UL
SJ6, 353: William
Mrs. Wm. W . \U
Plymert. John. 23k
Pult. .\dam. 69. 7o. 72, 75.
78. HLL
Police Force Enlurged and
Objections to. 390.
Pomeroy. Noah. 30S. 311.
ILL 352. 359: Noah. Place
of. 312: Tin Shop, 30S.
Porter. Edgerton. Killed.
3X6: Eldad, 2S5.
. y Google
INDEX.
167
'ottor, Jnred,
-'S3. 300:
253.
Medad. 28"
Siimuel. r.3. 51
& Whittlesey
owder House. WalMngrford,
.?04.
Tutt. A. HL M
:t:.i|; Julius. ;
Julius & Co., 3.')«. 3.'>7. 359.
I.lewellyn. l.^S: Nehemiali.
Pond. 356: PJiilo &
Co , 356:
Co.'. a.t?.
reston. Henjiitnin.
Kltusaph. 53,
Kphralm. 1165: Ira.
Jehiel. .53^ ^lo. 337.
riru'e. John, l'S.*;.
rln«ne. Ebenerer. 113.
15L J2fi, ;i»i5, 330.
139.
MtCleave
890: Jared.
iiL 35.5. 357:
"357.
Ropes & Webb
5M1
143.
rlnjfle, Kbeneser.
rinn. Joe and Daffy
( Slaves), 12«. 247.
robate Judgres, 398.
rout, James. 281. 285:
William, 2K5
Jl>lic Sign "Post. 336
archase Lriind.s. 32?7~'
Jtnam. Gen., 277.
uartz Found. 229.
iesaquauch (Indian), IL
uinnlpiar. j<, 11. 31. 32. S.*).
2i 65^ 67i Indians. J^T 34.
aiL Si: River. L itT Stf
59. 6i 76^ 149^ 2H7~218.
826. ^2.
lilroad. Freight Station
Erected. 389: Railroad
Opened. 367: "Railroad
Refectory." 364.
ind. Philip C . 365,
i.smersson, Jsime.s, 100.
•ranter. (Capt. Camp). 301.
•iMird of Conn. Men in
Revolution. 270; of Real
K.><tate Transactions in
Wallintrford. lii
fd field « Butler. 360.
'Kicldes. The. IL
'i«1. GeorK?. 355.
■presentatives to Le^lit*
lature from Merlden, 395,
S;>6. '
•xford. Arthur. 135. 229.
■LMj. 231i BenJarnTTT
2S5: Benjamin.
Jr.. 285j Farm. 291.
•ynolds. Gardiner, 214:
Gardner W., 13L
ce. Abel. 136j Abigail.
Abner, 252. 278, 2 80.
Amawi, 163j^^mos.
Anna C. OTf Asaihel.
325: nenJTi63, 269:
Place. ^iTi
360: Emma
ir>3:
524;
mi
ULL
'hester, 325,
K. and R."^. . „
L.. 325: Rzekiel. U2^ 133,
l4 9.~rF?Tt. 160. 162. 163. TUT
.'46. 26fL ;L7L 27i 273, ^
rjTT. 337, 33Si Ez»«klel. Jr.
IjiiL "Bara. Mi ;jj[6, 279:
rarms. 129. 131. 1 49. l.'tO.
.MA. 219, "STl: Gideon. 269.
-M. TT6:~rrezekiah. SMI
Ifaac. no, 279: James.
Jehlel. jrr281: Joel.
QHT 2«1. 324i Jos?pTi. 273:
lotham. 279, 285; Justus,
278.
tus.
325i
32 4.
13:; _
Farm.
322: House. 322: Jus-
Jr.. 322: Mzzle 8..
Mindwell, 160: Moses.
325 : Nathaniel. 12 9.
Oliver. 144^ 2 46.
132. II37 135.
320;
Oliver. 133:
Rol>ert. L311
325
±1. ^
Reuben.
131. 323.
. 324,
Farm. Xl:: Samuel.
130. 133. 136. 149. 150. 269.
276! l^Ji T?^0. 320: Silas.
LLL 154^ 228, ^29: Farm,
116; Solomon 36,^ 163. 278;
Titus. 163i Wait, 163: WTT-
liam
228.
B.
23 4:
116. 117.
Yale &
Rich. Charles
David, 112.
William T..
Co.. aifi.
156: D.
142.
nil
lOli
Richards. TrmoTiiy, 343. S,'i4.
Richardson, Stanton, 270.
Richmond. Mrs. Hiram. 29^
Ripley. Eraslus. 154. ^
Robblns. Joshua. JSL
Roberds. Elick, laa
Roberts, David, 277.
Robeson, Josiah. 1 39.
R«>binson, Christopher.
161 : Inn. 95j J.. 103.
John. 280: Josiah. 94.
as. 102, 150, 160,
House. 94: Tavern. 220.
226. 2fiIiJo8lah, Jr., 96,^
L W., 155j I>evl. 277!
RodKors, John C , 3.'»S.
Rogrers. Fight of, 266: Her-
vey. 361. 363: Joseph, 219.
Roice. Evan. 264.
Ropes. David W
160.
ml
95.
, 357.
and John,
142
Rossetter, Byran
1^
Royce. Abel, 135,
gall. 128; BenJiunTn
Hi LiirTCnslKn. 63;
klel. lli. LLL lH:
Farms. lj:2, 243; Hannah
160: Is.-iac. 2 4.'?
Abl-
Eze-
63;
Joseph, fii 1 43: NathanTeT
S5, 5a, 93, UA^ 14^.
244; Nehemlnh. 55. 'ZT,
T??T Notch. 331; TT.bert.
!nr^92, liJL 14T~14 2. 147
Place of. UiL
uel. 55, l2Su 121.
UlL 160. ifii
2M:
thy,
Ml; Siim-
_ LLL 143,
.'6$: TlnTT
301
Roys. Abell. 139j Allen,
Benjamin, 1 13. 116. 160.
l£i 229, 23L 246; Farm.
112 ; Ebenezer. 160. 162;
Evan.
Isaac.
:64
2t)4
139:
139
Joseph,
139:
Exeklel.
265 : James,
Josiah.
11 >i.
Phebe.
139
NathanieT7^12. 113.
139; Oliver. itv.
160; Robert, TW.
Samuel. 1^ fW;
imothy. 229. 2.31 . YST.
265: Timothv, Jr.. ili
Royse. Benjamin. 230; Jo-
seph. 258; NathanTeT a<L
Russell. Capt.. 27S: Elmer.
J. W.. 360; Marv
285:
Siibbath Dnv ITouse, 140.
1 45. 149 153. 2:*>.
Sachem, Snwheag (Indian),
6.
Sacred Heart Cemetery, 128
Siillon.<<tari, 1^1 ke, IS-
Sanderson, Job. 285.
Sandstone Quarry, 321.
San ford, Abel, 32 4 354:
Ebenezer. ;Lti; Ellhu. 289:
Nathaniel, 154. 356; N. C
& Co.. 356; Newton & Co..'
360.
School.
The.
Taxes.
Schovill.
Scluiyler
2 S3
Scofel.
151.
Scofel 1,
Scovel.
265:
ScTVvlt.
2 so;
2TT
of Good Manners,
210: Houses, 153;
150.
James, 139.
Genenil, 271. 281,
Elijah, IMl EUshu.
J., 103
Eleazer,
Samuel,
David
Elisha.
Scovlll, Elisha.
137: Houses.
1o:L 137
238 : Elijah.
Elijah.
Samuel.
. Farm,
James.
280;
2WI^
236:
137;
Seeley.~Mr8. George S., 120.
Seemer, Jonathan, 139.
Seymour. Thomas, 251. 327:
Thomas. Jr.. 250.
Shajler. Joseph, 246, 274.
27'.
Shaler. Joseph. 269
Sh-iylor, Joseph, l.'il. 214,
2ii 277, ili 286,~3a,
Sheldon » Light Dragoons,
Shelly, Florence W., aiL
Shelton. Hannah. 294.
Shepard. Thomas. 282
Shepherd. Hull. ZSST^
Sherman. Daniel, ,53, 51, 5J
Shipman. Potter & Lewlsj
365.
Siege of Boston .271
Silk Worm Culture In Wal-
lingford. 297. 300.
SImsbury Mines. 233.
SIzer. Amasn. 359.
Slade .John. 270
Slave. Bill ofSale of. 24g:
E.irllest Record of 2 4 4 :
Importing of. 249: Ljiwh
Relating to. 247: Remem-
bered In Wills of Own-
ers. 211
Slead. Daniel. 270: Jona-
than. 270, 283.
Sled. JoTuT 285.
Sleeping Giant. 159.
Smallpox. Old Remedy
Rendering Person
mune. 2 .3 7. 2 38.
Smelting "Works. 2iL
Smith, Daniel. 270. 2 85 : _
W and Mrs.. 1 ■'}:{ : Horace
T., 85; Hotel. Mil Major.
276:^eth. 269. 285.
Snow. Alfred, 861 Oliver &
Co., MIL
Society for Propagation of
the Gospel. 305. 306: in
for.
Im-
E.
293.
Foreign PartaTTSo.
Sodom Brook. 5SL 80, 216.
Southeast District School-
house, 1 16. 1 22
Southwick. D. F., 385.
South Farms. 9L 128, 129.
241. ' '
Snellman. Samuel. 285.
Sp.Mu-er, George. 355; Sam-
I
Google
i68
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
uel. 2>i:>: Thoman, 278. 'IM.
Spt-rry. MtloM, iiiiL
SpriK-e. (_;ien. 137, ::14: Gul-
ttr. JiLZ
StiiKe Com-hes. 339.
Stamp Aft, -'67. I'SR.
StanU-y. Abraham, 265. 2 HO:
CSe<i. \V.. 224. 292. 336.
337: John, 2S6: Capl'a
Company. 2fcO: Salmon,
2 SC.
Stanly, Nathaniel,
Stanton. Thomat*. 31j
Stark. Ifhabod, m_. i^g^^ 266.
Starkfv. Alpheus, iiiL '
State. .Srh«»ol for Boys*. 93.
21»). 24u; Senators from
Merhien. 3i«ft: War De-
partment. 2S3.
Steilman. Chat*., 359: Selah.
2K.'.: Stedmun & Clark,
Steele. KHsha. ilLL
Stevens, John, SlL; StevenH
& I'eek. MSL
Stevenson. \V, LL
Stlfkney. Walter, ilfii,
Stile.x. Kzra. iiL iM, IMi
ir.l. 1.'.2: lsaa<-. 12:.: Kezia,
INilly. ir.2: Kulh.
Sttllman & Ka.stmann. 360:
St. John. Silas. -'4<i.
StockinK. Reuben. Mi Weav-
hlK. L'l'M.
.»^tokes. Anson Phelps. L2IL
Stone. David. 2 S : Hoii»e,
1 »3 : House Farm, 103.
291 : Sidney M., If..'.; War^
ren P.. 34S.
Street. Jense. 2"0: Samuel.
r.:{. .'.4. 110. 2r.-. 2t:i. ■{:{».
Streets. Named. 390: Widen-
ed and Graded in 1S69. 2M.
Sunksi|ua. M:itoesse (In-
dian), iiJL
Sutlirr, John. -^M. : Sut-
lilT & Foster, :t.'i.'i.
Swamp Fort FlKht.
Sydervell. John, 222.
342.
ftS: John,
72 : Saimuel,
90. 93.
Tait. John. 241.
Talfot. Dorothy
CTj !iiL lL
»>H: Major, la.
Taylor. Siinmel.
!t4. ai^
TannInK Industry, lir,
'axes. Wi>rke<l Out, ilA-
That< »ier, Geo
Tliird Chureh,
Thomas. John
■ •-';> L'.'to
Thorp. Abel.
2^11: .\mon.
2»irt : Samuel
Tibbals. Ida C
3 4 :! : Samuel.
IL; Thomas,
2Kfi:
2S6;
. 23f»:
Amasn,
Joseph,
'.s»\:
Samuel.
Jr.. :> i 4 :
P
•eter.
Tibbels, J.mies.
2H6: Tin Shop.
Tinware Manufact\irer», 347.
34K. 3r.o. 3,".2.
Todd. Thaddetis. ZAfi.
Tomlinson, Isaae, .tofi
Tory Farm C.mHseated. •2^<i.
Town Clerks of Meriden.
"Towns and Liunds" in State
Ubrarv. 331.
T»>wn R»M k. 129: Tax Uiid,
:'..?7
Trashen, George (Negro),
i'46.
Treat. Robert. 68^ 257. 258.
Trench. Dean ■4».
Trial r<ir Reproaching Se-
lectmen, 256 : for Witch
Craft. :.57.
Trowbridge, Thomn.s,
Trumbull. Benjamin .2'J3:
G»»vernor. 299. -too.
Tryon, Gardner. 342 : Gen-
eral, 2 79 : Hi« Invasion of
New Haven. 282. 283. iiSL
Tunxis Valley. lA^L
Turnpike (The New). 340;
Hartford to New Haven,
240: Meriden and Middle-
town. 24«>.
Tuthlll, Charles, 2111
Tultle. Daniel. 7(L til Da-
vid, ii. .^iLi Simon, aiL
TwIhs. Benjamin, 3 .'■>;: Hiram,
Ira. 367: Joseph. 5i2i*
156:
213,
Tyler.
218:
298:
Devi, 285: Lothrop,
Mills. 218. 222. ;LLL
Nathaniel. ILJiLj Roger.
2h2. 263: Samuel, 2 1 s. 22 3.
2 6.'i : Samuel. Jr.. 2 1 s.
Tyrrell. Job. IMu
Railroad"
"I'nderground
Movement. 2^
I'pham, Chas. D. IfilL
rpison, Benjamin. 107: Place,
laf.
Vaccination. Introduction of
in Meriden. 238.
Valley Forge. 282, 2£i
Van Nostrnnd. Geo. 3JilL
Van tie. James. :'19.
Vigilance Committee. 302.
:{ 4 .'i
Vital Statistics. 1729 to 1806.
of First Cong. Church, 400-
4:u.
Vorse, Jesse. 270,
Vose. Jense, IHSL
Waddams. Noah. 'IHSL
Wads worth. James. 215. 275 :
Hull, Atwater. 215.
Wakeman. Samuel, fiS
Waliingford, F'irst Society of,
2S0: iJne, i:{7: Men in the
Revfdution. 284 : Mines.
\. 231 : North Society.
141': Purchase Dands, li
72. 12. 13S: Records of
Some Vital Statistics. 263:
Shops and Mills, l'18:
West Socletv. li 138.
Ward. Andrew. 292: Con-
tent. -J 92: David. 270: Ma-
cock, 292. 294. IM. 22&
Warner. Bela, 269: Ebenex-
er. L'7(>.
Warnock. Wm. IL ILfi.
Washington. George. 95j
Heights. 11.
Wav. Abigail. 160: Abner,
2 SO: Eli. 102: Eli, Farm
of. UiSL liLL 10^ 22&^ Kly.
Place of. Jiij John. Ill,
143. 221: Moses 280.
Wave. Joseph. 'iM
Webb. Chas.. ?«1 : Gideon,
2.S6: John. 153. 226: John.
Capt.. 126, 153, 227.
2 4 7. 340: Luther. 368:
Walter, iii aS4: Walter
^ Co.. 354. 356. 357. iil^
Webster. Nouh. ^StST^
Wells. Hobt., In
Westneld Parish, 112.
West Peak, £- H.
Welmore. Josiah, 22»: Seth,
. _".t.
Wharton's Brook. LL iS^
WhJle. Amos, iUL 337. 338.
341. 350. 361 ; Amos ^ Co.,
33H.
Whitehead, Sjimuel. ^3,
Whitrteld. Henry, 4jL II-
Whiting, Benjamin. 1 14.
139. 14 3. 147. 149: Jojie'pE.
114 : Lucy. 114: Nathan.
266: Samuel. LLL 143. 333.
334 : Sarah. 114
Whitllesev. ChHunc«)r. 151 :
Farm. 114. 115. 222s Kath-
arine, ili; Samuel. ^6, jLL
y » . fj^ ^ ^ 3 M .
Wilcox, Albert H_, 137: Ca-
leb, 130: Edmund Place.
342 : Francis. 2S1 : Henry
S.. 2a JUL 137: Henry T.,
357. H- T. * Co., ISi;
Jarlus. S. S., 39u: Sil-
ver Plate Co. Factory
Burned. 3S7
Wlldman. J. EJ.. aiL
Willard. House. 342: John.
Willcox, Benjm, 349: Ijfjn-
uel. 2S6.
Williams. Charles lii;
El^enezer. 26, Elisha. il;
Henry. 2SL liJ Williams A
Smith. Store Burned. jS7.
WlKmot. Geo. R. Furniture
Store Burned. 387 : Geo. R.
Place of. 239.
Wilmot.
3 43.
286.
Joel.
Wilson, Grove ll„ 2All O- G.,
.t'JO.
Wlnthrop. Adam. ?*-^:
John. Jr. 37.
Wolcott, Alexander. 111.
1 12. 234. 242: Joseph. 27o.
Joseph, Jr.. 286: Lydia.
Wolf Swamp. 59^ 31.>.
\Vot»d. Chas. 229: Icha-
bod. 131. 23S. 35 4 : Norman
n.. Place of. 131 : Norman
S 1 a I ;> ■>«♦.
Wmwiward, Wyllys. 2AS*
Wooster, Gen.. I'Sl
Wrexham. Wales. 118.
Wright. .Abraham. 336: J.ts..
2S9: Mrs. Moses. Board-
ing House Burned. ■•>'»7 :
Samuel. 286: Selden. 34^.
Wylie. James. 241.
Wylly«. Samuel.
Yale. Aaron. 264: A. R.. 221i
Abel,, 119. 1 20. 1 49. 151.
153: Abel. Place of. L2L
159 : Amasa. 270 Amerton.
280. 34 3: .\nn. IIS; Asa. liii,
119: Asiiel. 337: BenJ.. 143.
144: Burrage. 342: Cha.«..
College. 2fi. IjL. 46.
124 14S. 151. ir.c.
Daniel. 280. 337: Ed-
R.. 349: Ellhu. Sf,
120. 263. 280: E.
Mrs. E. hL. UL 2»:
liL 131. liia, 211:
A. 344: Ira.
i65i
118.
293:
win
118,
iij
Farm.*.
Mrs. Hiram
INDEX.
98: Joel. iLL 341;: John.
?Sr 70. IL im ML UiL
1±L Tl9. 226. 280. 316: Jon-
athan. 112. 120, 116, 220,
269. iMJJulTuH, LiiL EE
245. 2t>K: J. Hoh.irt, Hi
mr 120. 325: I^vl. UiO,
TIT. 151: Mary. 136i Mat-
thew. House of, 23S:
Mo.ses, 119, 120: Naxh, 226.
2?<6: NathanleTTlo, 7L 112.
mr 266. 269. 276. 2S0. JTTf:
NoahTua. U'orTTs. 143.1TT.
151. lo3. 163. 227, 2T^277.
325: SatniieT 102, iLL 337.
US. MSL 31L 3iij 311, 347.
TRT. 3.'i3. 3 .'■'.>: Sitmuel. Jr..
\ 1 ■ TTTTT: Simih, ir.3. 227:
Sharp (Negro), 2X5 : SoT-
omon. 264 : Theophllus.
105. 327: Thoma«, U, .')3.
MTi^T^. lit LLIx UJx HE
13$r~lJ2r 212. 264. 325;
('apt. Thomas. 6.1. 71. 91,
92. 105. 112 IIS: Tfiomu!*.
Jr. mj Waltwtm, ^66. 286:
William, ILL 3iL ILL
aifi, aili William ILx 111*
112.
YeamanH, John. IIL llO
Yeoman.s. Klljah, i-'SO.
York town. Siegre of •»
278.
ILLUSTR.\TIONS.
Allen. Levi. Hou.se of. -tlfl-
\n(lrews. Moses, House of.
134.
Andrews. Samuel. Portrait,
Bailey, Stephen, House of.
1 00.
Baldwin, Daniel. House of,
110.
Baldwin. Nathan, House of,
314.
Belfher, Andrew, Autograph.
22: Book Plate, ZiL
Belcher. Johnathan, 2jL; Au-
toRraph. 21,
Belcher. Old Farm. Site of.
Berry, Ephralm. House. 117.
Bray. Asa. House of. 122.
Butler. Comfort. House of,
316-
Cemetery. Old. 2M,
Central Tavern. Old. los. 339.
Coe. Calvin. House of. H-'l.
Coe. Mrs. Russell, House of,
352.
Collins, Jonathan. House of,
9.'. : Edward, House of, aiL
Corner. Old Schoolhouse, 366
Cowles. ElKsha A., PortraTl^
Amos, House of. 221.
Asahel, Mouse of. '.i 1
Benjamin. House of.
Curtis,
Curtis,
Curtis,
123.
Doifs' Misery Lots, fii,
Edwards, Joseph. House of.
Falls Plain, New Hanover
and So. Meriden In 1690.
Plan of. 66,
Fifth ConKt'eKational Church
Edifice, 158.
F»)urth CoiiRreKatlonal Ch'ch
Edifice.
Gilbert. Johnathan. Auto-
graph. liL
Granite Bowlder & Tablet.
rnveiliuK of, UX
Guy. Orchard. Place of, LLL
Hall. Benj. A.. House of, ILL
Hall, Brenlon. House of, 309.
Hall, Collins, House of, .TM.
Hall, Daniel, House of, 114.
Hall. Page of Dr 's Account
Book, 'a 6
Hall, Isaac. House of, 225,
Hall, Moses. House of. Hi
Hall Theophllus. Autograph,
Humlm-k Grove. Old Poster,
3 SO.
Holt. Ellas. House of. 352.
Hough. Daniel. Homestead.
Hough. IsaAc L .House of,
Hough. James. Homestead.
Hough's Mill. ZUl.
Hough, William. House of
131.
Indian Marks. 31, Ifi.
Ives. Julius, House of, 123*
Johnson, William. House of,
:{is: I'orch. 104.
Johnson. William, Porch of
Old House. 104.
Lewis. Partrick, or Eli C.
BIrdsey, House of. 351.
Lyman. Aaron. House of. 109.
Meeting House Hill from
West. 1 4i>
Meriden. Bird s Eye View in
1857: In 1865, 385.
Meriden Center in 1834. aiiS.
Meriden Hoted and Railroad
Station In 1842. .364.
Meriden. Map of lnTSo6. 343:
In 1851, 361 : Plerson's of
1770, "iin
Merriam, Joseph. House
Lot.s in 1753. Jii
Merrljim, Nathaniel, House
of, iLL Josepli, House of.
&ij John, Jr, House of, JUL
North, Curtis L., Residence,
366.
North, Curtis L.. Store, Ifil.
Rice. Chester. House of. 324.
Rice. Oliver. House of. 132.
Rice, Silas, House of, 1 16
Robinson. Jotdali. House of,
from N. W.. 94_i from S.
W., ai.
Royal Coat of Arms. 2iiiL
Royce. Abel. House of. 1-35.
Royce, Robert, House of. 130.
Slave Girl. Bill of Sale of.
?46
Third Congregational Church
Edifice. 155.
Town Hall. Old.
Wallingford, Original Plan
of. Qjii
West Meriden, Plan of In
1723. 71,
Wolcott. Alexander, House
of.
Yale, Abel, House of. LLL
Yale, John. House of. 317.
Yale. Noah, House of. 119.
Yale, Thomas. House of. 32^
PART II.
Abel. Albert, lit
Abraham, Meyer, ^O.^i-
Adams, B. M., 173 ; Express
Co.. 5S1.
Alain. A. S.. lAL
Alderman. Nellie G. (Fran-
cis). 523: Walter Arthur.
Alexander. Daniel. KL.
Allemeycr, Chas.. 12h.
Allen. Archelaus, 557 : Mrs.
E. C, 52^ Edward Chaun-
cey, 557: E. K.. 6S, TOj
Electa (Hall), .557; Ed-
ward Linsley. 558 : Geo.
"W.. 588: Jerusha Temper-
Ance (Piatt), 558: John
Piatt. 558: Levi. 557: Lew.
126. 500: Prudence
(Merriam). 557 : Roger.
557 : Mrs. Siirah (Linsley),
557: Sarah Hillard (Lins-
ley). 558: Walter. 121.
All Saint.s- Church. LSI. USL
Amaranth Club. ioi-io*
Anderson. Asher. 1 37 : Bar-
bara. 236: Mrs. C. G.. 204;
Ferdinand. 202: John. 2lTir:
Peter. gO''
Andreen. Alexis. 204 : Philip.
go.'t
Andrews. Almon. 162. 22Q.
330: Dan. 167: David. 160:
Denlson. 160. 167 : H. B..
75: James F. G.. 329: Mar-
vel. 167: Moses, 159. 160.
167: O. J.. 2iLL
Anger. N-. 182.
Arcanum Club, Sfi^
Arnold, Jared, 281 : Joseph,
284: Owen B..~53I a£L 280;
Susan (Bralnard), 281.
Ashley. A. Sprague. 166. Ififi.
Ashworth. J. W., 149; Kath- ,
arlne, 150: Mabele (Edger- .
ton). ir.O: Robt. A., 149.
Asplnwall. E. R.. ia3.
Atkins, Jiimea, 231 : Luman «
A.. UJL
Atwater, David. 426: Dor-
ence K, 50, 440; Francis,
J Google
A CENTURY OF MERIDEN'.
l.'l. 436: Helena J.
(Sellew*. 4 4o: Imtac. 160.
At well. Geo. U., 14«»
Aubrey, Alfred B.. '»7.'j.
AuKnr. AK'tes, 13t«: Ak'i^)'
.. s.'. ; F".-! utile A.. HI: Frank
M.. :.;v.; Julius. ■•■S4: Julius
S.. .'.^4 : Juliujt Smith. 'i84 ;
J^vlnlu I). ( Merrlam >. .'»84 :
Ntttle K. (.Smith). 585:
Auicur *£ Gardner, ■'■ s 4 .
.\usiiri. Mrf<. A. E., i>y_; Ab-
n^-r. _•>»»; Jo.Hepli. i'6*'»: Mary
Gilbert. 1'67: Ruth B.
U.'uel. L'ftf».
Mary J.. 463:
Welfume K..
Reift. 1
H Company. Third
9tli KeKt. K.
Habb. Albert. 170:
Franels. 253: Wm. A.,
Mm. Al-
bert.
Bacon.
Bailey
Jerome.
Gonlon. lij
ftjj Wm. K.. la.
Baker. \V!l!ljim. lliL
Bah h. Ge<i. (>.. fiJL
Baldwin. Aiihbel, 1ft3: Chaj«..
171 : l»an l. 146: Ellas, Hi:
JameM. 1 4»> : Jameit and
Bfthia TnT^odselli, 3»C:
Jesse G.. 171 ; Mary <Hall).
39R; Uans<»m. Jr.. 39 7 :
Ransom. Leiand. 39H; Ran-
som, Sr., .t^fi: SamI, 146:
Auah n'wlssi, 39 7 : Sey-
mour. 171 : S. W., lli
Ballou. M. F.. 123.
Barber. Ethleen and Susan,
;:.'.9; I.#wls \VUl!» -59: Me-
lissii (Beckley). 259 ; Nor-
man BueH, 257 : Norman
(;i-o.
(Wood). ;
Ruth, 259:
Susan Beach
57 ; WMuneltii
Willis N.. 256.
Barker. Alfred, 170.
Barnes, Geo. M., ?«0j Mrs. IL
H.. 237: Monroe. 193.
Barrelle, Almonde. 149.
Barrett. Butler and Bolly
(Converse). 430.
Barry. John F.. IM.
Bartholomew & Coe, 351.
Bartletl. A. k.. 125.
Burt ram. Howjird LL liL
Baum. Jacob. hM; Baum &
Bernstein, 59fi
Beach, Burrougrhs, 284 :
Charlotte ( I.#avonworlh ).
2S«>; K. W.. ISK: (Jeortfe.
251 : Harriet M. (Welier).
2H4 ; Harrv B.. 2K6: Henry
B. . ;iK4: L E.. 5S1: J. C.
4K4: Joseph B.. 2H(?: Robert
J.. 70, 179: ShelfTmTB.. 286:
Wm. NTTL
Beadle, James. 2^
Beckett. Joseph an«l l.«enora
(I'omerov). 433: W.. 144.
B«'( klev. Georgf U-x ;
Maria (Lewis). 259.
Beehe. LL Hwlffhl. 13S. 236:
H.irriel l„. (Wo<.dley». 599.
Fifecher. Sara. 236.
Bemls. Fred k E. and Bertha
C. (Ciirter). 4 32.
Bemont. W. IL
Beneillct. Sarah N.. 236.
BenKtBon. C. J.. -'0-'
Benham. Ion*. 237 ; Martha
(Street, 46.
Thos. A..
Bennett. W. D.. fifL
Bentr. Henry. 156.
BcnxiKer, Wm.. hi; Wm.
!LL
Berber, F^mil. 156.
Bernstein. AlK«^rnon J.,
l>alsy, 596 : Frances.
Hei|!:hts, 595; Jacqueline.
596; JacoC and Jennete.
Jennie iBaum). 595;
LiUiLsa. 596: Melville,
SlKmund. 594, ilii
Jr.
&96:
596:
.96:
V96;
Berry, Cha.s. A., B. a„ Mr.
and Mrs.. £»l
Bevins. Alvln, .337 : Edith L.,
236, 340; Jane U i Stiles),
340; I A- Grand, 337 : Mrs.
!..« Grand. 58; Walter L...
5(1, .(I.
lilbeaii.
Henry
Bicknell
inna.
Chiis. E.. LtL
C. LiL ifLL
Charles. jT.S:
45X:
2«1:
Cor-
Eleanor D.
(Stanley), 45S; Geo. B., 97.
457 : James M.. 4 .5 7 ; Ros-
coe, 4 5 s : Sarah (Stevens),
45 7.
BlKelow, Benson and Char-
lotte (Rice), 376: \V. H..
374-376.
Blli'ard, Emeline E. (Spen-
cer). 324 : Fred H, SJJLL 32 4:
Herbert M.. 324 : John D..
115. 118. 322. 32 3. 324; John
61. 6jL IlL llil LLL
Mary E. HA: Wal-
' 118, aiL
147. 471:
L.. 50^
136 i2A
ter 3.. 48. 70. 117
Birdsey. Alanson.
Catherine (Butler), 303;
Clarissa (Wilcox), 471 ;
Edwin, 303: Ell C, Jr.. 119,
:99. .303: Ell C. Sr7.
146. 299: Julia (Da-
vis), 299: L . G., 93i Llnu.s,
107, lie. 123, 231. 299;
Lucy <Co»)rTi 1 : Lucy E..
iM^ Rebecca Cook (Wil-
cox). 299; Vincey Ann
(Miller), 299; Birdsey A
Raven, 302.
Bishop, Chas. E.. 580: D. L.,
121. 143; Emily. 580.
BlackweTK C. M.. SfL
Blako. John, 144 : John 9^
l!t3
Blakeslee. Silas
i Buel ), ■•^M
Blanchard, Chas
B. . 139.
Bliitz. Henry. Jr.
Bliss. P. S.. Jr., 191,
Bloomrteld, CJara R. (Rich-
ards). 418; David, 82, 416;
(Jarry C. 153; Nathan and
F:il2abeth (Butler), 416.
Bodertha. Carrie F.. 236.
Bolles. Franklin G.. 2i
Boole. Wm. 173.
Boone. Aui^usta J., 236.
Booth. A. S.. Mrs.. 231
C. 68, 229;
m LLL 223..
Borst. P. C. aL
Boswcll. Geo. C, 173.
Botsford. LL, 75.
Bottome. Fruncls. 173.
Bowen. C. B.. 30. 71, 74.
and Esther
148: Wm.
Wafter.
2:
Paul
107.
75: Nettie U. 236.
Bowker. Georjce H,j
LL SL2. 96, 97, 6o^
Bowman, M. Eudocia.
Boy<'e. J. Howe. 2<j7.
Bradley. Abigail Ann (
ten. 515; Clarence F
«08; J.
Atfca-
11*;
Emeline Amelia «Curti?i.
Florence M. (Coe»,
LL
422; Mrs
TT77 172
Levi
59, fi:L 66
Peter B. Robert S.
by A., 419: Samuel
Slla.s. 1
11
K.. 57 ; Hiriim.
I.<emuel. KT.
Nathaniel L.
lis. 1Z6. 31,,;
and Ab-
A.. 51ii
9; Tryphena, 17:.
Walter L.. £(ll Wm. 1... 41 V
515; The Wm. L. Estate.
rnr 422. eoo.
Bradstreet. Alice E. (Pierce,
-48; Alice P., 248; Amanda
(Thomas). Bdw.trd
Edward T..
Dudley. 24 8 ; :
6L tLfi. iGTil;
as
Brady
^'4S: Thomas J.
Katherine. 237:
Rose-
mary. L>36
Bralnard. Belle Perkiru*.
159; J. E.. >0, SLl; Jume« O..
JilL
BrandenberKer. Mrs. C. M.,
6fi,
Brasee. Anna (Dickinson),
503; John S., 503.
BreckenridKe. Alice LL^ 2.t<:
Mrs. J. H„ 57: Jumes
|i I«j J. S..Tl3i R. Mo»«.
75. 83.
Bree.se, Mrs. T. F.. S9, 61,
Brewster Cliauncey B. igs
Brl^K^. Rhoda. A.. 236:
Sit rah. 397.
Bristol. Geo., 178: W. P., 121.
Brwkett, Mrs. Harlow. 57;
Zena. Hi,
Brooks James S.. Ill, lis.
Brookside Park. U, 15^
Brown. A. J.. 457: Egbert.
482: Frederick. 173; L C.
81, Si
Bruce, Nathaniel. 163
Bruycker. F. de 184.
Bucket Brigade. 14,
Bull. Carrie E., 236; Norri.««.
76: Wallace, 75, i;4
BurKdorf, C. A.. 198, 222.
Burk. Anna T. L. .236
Burke. Jas. H^
BurlelKh. F. L.,
Burns. Edward.
Bush. Eunice K
ner. 555.
Bushnell. E. L. 589:
E.. VLL Llxxle
&91 : Lydia O.. 5X9
Butler. A. B.. 83; A. 8-. 8ft;
Catherine (Neary) S89:
Ell. fi»L Uli Faith M.,
LL C. HI: Joel L.
Ill; John P.. Si. 189. .^87.
5pj Mrs. I* P.. RST^arv,
58; Mary F. (ConTon), S89?
William C. .'iS9: The John
P. Co.. 588: Butler & Lar-
kln. &8S: Butler & Lvman
l,iand Co., 346.
Byrne, Patrick. ISg: W E..
81,
Byxbe*. Ho«»e House, TTj Ida,
74.
liL
S55:
Fen-
Henry
( Ray).
Google
INDEX.
Ik«L John C. r.9, 62. 64, 66.
T5j^ 8L 83» UIi 118,
Tneodore. 3^ 1. iL
Cady. ('has. E. and Clemen-
line K'hfney). 333: Edwin,
iiii 331. 335: Ko^eliH M.
I l^ithe). 3^
Cahlll. C. W.. 6jL LLLL 110.
LLL 119^ 348: John W..
104. 106: Joseph. 3.'>1 :
OeorKC, 3.'il : MarKaret,
3r. 1 : Patrk-k J.. IMj Simon
J.. 104, 106: Walter, 351:
WmTj.. 3iiK
Camler, John p26: Ne.IIe
S. ( Warner K""SlL
Camp. A. E.. liL Alfred E..
GSj F. A.. 170: David N.,
116, 2^ Mhl Elah Ht7.3<i6;
Sarah Adallne ( Howd » ,
3S»: Wm. P.. i22.
Carl In. Michael. ^
Carl.Hon. LlnuH B.. 204.
Carnegie. Andrew, 1T6.
Carpenier. E, C., 17'» : Orrln.
1'67: Wilson. 16, iil,
Carroll. M. B.. 106.
Carter
431*
Annie
Bela. _
43<>: Mary
Z.
ili: M. B..
430: Elmer
A.. iSL. Mary
(Barrett). 430: Robert
ii 2iL 13S, 43-': Silas
J.
W. ^
J. and Ruth (Vinlng), 4.^0.
Case. W. C. &IL
Cashen. Henry. 189: Wm. B..
iss.
Casper. Mrs. Cha.*.. ia.
Cju*.'«ldy. J. J.. 81.
Ca.stle CralK Tower,
Castelow. E. D., 7^^
Cateract EnRine Co..
Cathole Pan*. 40^ ii.
Catlln, Amelia Deborah
<Spencer>, 3»4 : Benj. H.,
lOL 3;«3: Benj. and Khoda
Catlln). 3t»3: Benjamin
Spencer. 394; Helen M. < Bai-
396;
3fi
15.
Jane (Winslow),
IL. 109. UlL 138.
Cong^refrntlonaJ
140. 144
and
ley
397: W.
Center
Church.
Onter EcclesiaHtical Socle
ty. LLi-
Center School District.
Center S<-hoo:s. North
South, iiu
Central Grammar School. 22.
Chalifoux. Joseph. 18:*: R.
T.. —
Chamberlain. Abtrnm. f^L ^
ii. 61, UiL LLL ll.=i. i±Zj,
Albert R.. 444: (TTarlotte
E. ( Roberts » 59. 62. 64.
**4- Harold B.. 44-r: Par-
melc.-. 173: Sophmnia
UGL
< Lines.
( Burt).
Chapin, Ellie M.
James LL. liIL 19.'.. 22 7
Kate A. 1*. 57^ 58,
Chapman. Owen.
Charter Oitk Hose Co.
Engine Co. T6.
Cheney. Horace R.. 266:
Mary C. O. «Pierson>. 2 66.
Church. Abner. 465: Annie
L. 408; Ellaabeth, 405;
f.~h;;
545:
1?34:
240:
76:
A.. 46.5:
Henry 3T
Howard \V., 467
16S: Oeitrge
Grace LL- ♦••H;
4».l. 406:
Jas. and Huldah (Barnes)
IM: Louis H^ 4».-.-4as;
Lucy. 4 65 : Lucy R. (Good-
eil). 467 : Maude L. (Mar-
shall). 4i)K: Holiert G.. llLI ;
Strcei Schofd, 216: W. T.
SI ; Wm. B.. 467: Church &
STorse;
Church & Sprague,
Churchill. Asa H..
City. Market. aiSJ Park
Six li; Savings Bank,
Hi
Clafford. T.. lifL
Clark. Alden, 6S;
pen t. 4S7: E. B
Carrie Ca-
USLl Elta-
abeth L. (Wood worth).
4;-' 5 : Elizabeth Louise, 487 :
Eunice Kirtland (Bush^,
55 fi: Geo. M. JJL lU. 485;
(Jeo.S.. 487: James A.. 20T:
Lovlsa MJirla (Hollv). WT:
Mariette R.. 172: May H..
:!36: M. F.. 132j N. D.. 93;
Peter F.. 506 : P. J.. 1 on ;
Robert. 179i Roland ~B7
Fuller. 4S5:
58: William.
75: W. W..
4S7: Silas
Watson W..
4^5; Wm. P.
Clarke. Alida B.. ££.
Coan, Geo. C. 79.
Cue, Andrew J., 317. 318. 320.
ailL 600: Calvin. 193, 317,
422, 600; Castle: 600; Et>en
Ml Eli. Farm. 317.
(Rice). 3T7:
J.. :
600
Harriet on.
liij Henry. 600: John "W^
5jL 58. 61. £iL Ui, HS,
US. 167: Joseph E. 463;
K.ite Foote. .320. 321. TFT
; I^ura TT (MIllerTT
4 ('4: I^vl E.. 53. 59. HK.
108. 109, UiL AM. 360: I^vl
and Sarah (Ward). 360;
(Root). 4»:4 : R\i^-
Orpha R
sell. 231
57. 58. 3(52: T.
107; Winfleld
Sf»phia F.
~ J..
R..
( Hall ).
•L Ward.
600; Coe
385.
80. 104
50. 2 74;
A Austin. 267
Cold SprinK Home,
Coleman, John l^.
Collins. Aaron I....
B. W.. LUL 276: Bets?^.
Charles 1^. 276^ E)an-
^glT 278: Edward J. 276:
Elizabeth (Carter). 7TT:
Elizabeth J. (Mahon). iTTF:
Lym.in, ITo, 2 74 : Sophia
Elizabeth A.. 40S;
I>»vell (Northrop).
Sylvia ( White). 274:
Ham. aiL
Colonial Club. 92-97
Columhl:i Street School
C<»mstock. Cornelia A..
D. |{ . TiL William C.
Conklln. F. J.. Kic
Conlon. John A.. 182.
Conn. .School f.ir Bov-*. 64
Trap Ro. k guar'ries
Connrdly. C. p..
C<»nverse. Ada. 59.
Coo^can. John J., li
Cook. Alfred J.. I04 : Arthur
E. . 2S«<: Emma~n (F'av).
-88: Geo. A.. I06: Jnt* . 2S6:
218.
236:
110.
d2\
149.
21.-1.
J. R.. 62, IL liii John ILj
104. 106: Porter. 3J_L
Cooke. Joseph A.. 253 : Susan
Josephine (Stanford). 254.
Cocdey, Emily J. (Parmelee).
470: GeorKe. 470: Irving
G.. 4 70: Mlra (Snow). 47o:
Rowe. 470.
Cooney. John. 1 81.
Cope. A. E.. 104
Corbin, Hezekiah iL
Maria B. (Ryder).
Corcoran. P. F.. 78.
Cordo. C. E., 152j IL A..
Corner Si-hool District,
216.
CorrlKan. E. J., 18.
Couch. Ira, 2M.
Couch & Blakesley, ZHSL
CowinK. F. I.^. &2.
Cowles. E. B.. 86j Ebenezer,
46; Elisha A.. Ill; Moses.
Crane. E. B.. 207: Geo. P., fifi.
Creevey, Geo. C. LIS.
Crocker. ().. 14S.
Cromble. p. C. 142.
Cronan. Thomas. 1 86.
Crouffh. Rojfcr. 1 89.
Crowley. Hannah, fig.
Cullen. M. J.. 1«L
Cunningham, James W.,
187.
Currier, Issacher. fiS.
Curtis, Ada F., 537:
(Hulse). 536: Alfred
1^7. 515. .'ifi4: Mm. Alfred
W., 57j Amos. 532 : Ashahel
IL. ma. no. m. UL; Au-
KU5ta (Mtrnson). 49. 50. 52.
58, LliL 306: Bedotha P.
(Button ). 5iL 5iL; Celia, 329:
Cella J., 57: Clara U. ( FW-
niss). ITTT Edwin E.. 53.
lOL 108, Lfi5. I67i Eliza-
beth. ML
186.
Ada
P..
Enos H..
305. 308;
16;
Fred er felt
title page
115, L3I. 167
Geo. R.. 53.
167. 305 306.
rtet A. (Hulse).
riet
W..
John
415
BT
ry
EnWlTa.
lOL il5j Family.
Floy"ff7^115. 117:
E., aiL Geo. M..
48, 58, 10. nOi
308. 309. 310:
iii. rn: iw.
307. 3().H: rfar^
34: Har-
L.. 53i UL
30.-
Harrison
Home. iS. 59 :
Juliet (Yale).
I^muel J.. .53^ ,iL 165,
L'98 : Memorial LlbTa^
46-53: Nathaniel. 305:
Robt H. 5£, 59, 61; Mrs.
R. LL. rw. 59; Sophie P.
( MansHeld t. TlO: Sylvester
J.. 5:!2 : Sylvia Johnson.
537: Thomas. 30.'. : Thoman
E
ao?
Curtiss,
H, 53U WTTTlam. LLL
Bertha E.
( .Vl.ilhews). 550
(Morg;in). 550:
110, 40iL; Homer
139. James
John L. 550 : Julia
s»>n ). 403.
3i Ellen
e.xter A.
Httmer,
A.. 119.
A.. ffTTiT:
A. (Cp-
Cushing, John T.. 163.
Dahl. David, lii
Daly. Thomas 221.
Danaher. C. j.. 189, IM. 2M.
Daniels, Ella, 2387^
L ,, ^ ^ , y Google
172
A C liNTUkV OF MEKIDEN.
I>iiiin. Mary iKoMlei ).
Imvl<is<>ri. John. LLlL
L»avis. Adelaide U < Stev-
ens». las. : c. IL -LL
I'nU. -':{4. Mrs. ('. LL S..
il, iLHi I'll la F., 6Sj
HiihiTt S.. .'■»>!« ; Morlva
i Haii'it >. ■'■*>»; : '1
Tlmothv Fisher.
Hnr F.. Jr.. 5<iS; WlUiur
Flsk. : I ►avis & Oreen-
lleul. li.'.T.
Davloti. Kdwiii. 19.1.
l»e lUissv, Clara U. (Llne.s),
v..
r.»i»>:
Wll-
l>e {'rnfsby, Niirman \V.,
Kiith Anil (Nnrwin)di.
lHMiisi>n. .\rliiie.
I»«rliy. Allie.
ltesh»»n. Corinne A., liLi Giles
IT, liiiL liLL
I>e Sltnone, Antonio. L&S.
1 K-s.sureaiJ, K.. LiH.
Pevereiix. S. K., illlL
Wolf. Heth. Hi'i. 1«T.
I »i>dd. ratherliie. .'i 4 .'> : Chas.
T.. WL Ktta L*.
(Smith >. .jj.
:.s. ii;j. 11.')
I>oll)e<TT>., 1 s-'.
iJoniinlfk. (Jeo. Francis. Jf.fi :
I.ucy \V. (I'lerson), L'tiC.
■ ■tr.: Ktta
Siimiiel, ."»3.
111*. UiL
polan. John
l>oi)ahue, Ui>hl
I )<moluie.
I )onovan,
F . is,
I>oi>litllo,
Kar J..
!<:;. 1 10
: Martha
iiL
J.,
John F.,
James J.,
Dorothy.
r.H. 61;. I!«
\V.
Doran. Joseph B-. 7^ UL
Horsev, May I* lUewist. ■!■'».'» :
William K.
l>ouKla.ss. J«(hn U.. 160 : I.evl.
16t ; Sarah A., '>~<i.
n«.w, Nellie W.. liiL
Uowd. R. N..
l>o\vllnjf. \Vm. J.. Si.
Downs. LL T.. Ift4.
Drach. G.. 201 : W. iiiL
Draper, l.uke T. and Eliza-
beth ( Foster), 4i).'.
Drvhiirst. Kleanor djevvls).
4 4.»; Henry. LlliL 44 '' : Hen-
ry. Jr.. 447: Margaret ('.
(Dutrher). ill; Orville J..
Duls. Herman. LL IliJ
Marie L,. OIL
DnmaekoWHkl, Ida M. (Sa-
leskl), 4 7f..
Duncan, Thomas. L'46.
Dunne. Elizabeth T.. iM.
Dura till, C5eo. A. and Eunice,
34 3 : John E.. :}4-' : Roxanu
Sophia (Hoot), aii.
Dutton. t'. N. & Co.. asi.
Egtfleston. Arthur J.. 246:
t,ii»al»eth C. • Duncan 1-
.' 4 <; ; Jeannette U. 46 ; Jere
64, 244 : Jere Dudley.
::46 : ~Co u Isa < Ca r e w > . 244 :
Ralph B.. L'46: Robt. D..
-46.
EKlnton. Fred. l'>4
Ekdahl. Fritz. 1*LL
EldrldRe. IJIIle. IZl.
Ellsbree, Geo. LLll-
Elm Tree Inn. Farmlnj?tun.
Haitie
Eastman. B. C, lilLL
East School District.
Side Social Club. 104-
Eaton. Jacob, L2. 2a7.
EilKerton. Frank C. 1 .'.o.
r>2:. : Harriet Eilza iFlow-
lil Justin
Mary
er ) .
1*..
■'.23.
2iL
O 1 ■. .
*■ ' - •
•H>6
.23: r>.
{ Barrows K
KdlVmann, Samuel, llill
1-:
E
vans. John,
venlng S<'hoois.
!L
verest. Clu»s. LL»
163: <'has. IL.
■'.■1<<
verltt. Abraham
1'. « Stone >. 3.'. 1 :
6s. lis. a.'.l :
22S.
«> •! ^ ^
C. W.,
Hall.
E
< Thompson ». 3.t2.
ver Ready. IL & U
P.. 104
and Sarah
Edwin B..
Mary A.
Co., JilL
District.
H..
^•>o.
22ii
Geo. (Daisy
Fajrnn.
Falrchlld. Henry E.. lliL
Falc«) de. Antonio. 1
Fales. Martha E.. IM.
Fa Ik. Olof. LUL
Falls Plain School. 121L
Falvev. Agnes. '36; Jeanette
A., 236.
Farms School
Farnxworth. J.
James S..
Farrow. Mrs.
Perkins >. 4 .'.9.
Fav. Amanda (Ward), 562 :
Elizabeth B. (Hamt. .'.71 :
Frank S.. .'.69 : George A.,
r.62 : Georjfe W.. .'".62 : Jen-
i7Te~M. (Curtis, Ttl. 58. r>9.
■'.6 4.
Fenn, Benjamin, 436.
Fennell. \V. O., 112.
Fern, O. W., Zil2.
Fire Department, 7r.-S3-
Flrst Baptist Church.
1 4 4-l.'>» ConKreKationnl.
Church, 137-139: Infantry,
Conn. Vols, 30i Methodist
<'hurch. 170-174: National
Bank. 11. '.-117.
Fischer. Aui^usta A., 236
Fisherdlok. Florence M., 22fi.
Flsk. Florence Cornwall
( Wilcox >. r.32: Louis. 8L
SH. 11.-..
Flske. C. 167.
FltzRerald. Anna. ZZ£ Jns.,
237: Josephine F.. 236; M.
F., liLL LSa.
Fitzpatrlck. John. ^
FlanaKan, Emmett E.. 106
FlansburKh, D., Sli David
and Carrie F. (Pomeroy),
43.'^.
Fletcher, Almlna
•"■ 2 7 : Almon J..
Charles. 173: John. 527;
Tama (Davis), Warner,
.•.2S.
Floto. Charles L., Frederick.
Marie and Marie (.I'sch-
nljf), lifi.
Flynn. C. E.. ULL
Fohlln. Peter. 202.
Fo.»te. B. P., ZMl Ell«a
(Tandy).
_L
liii
Mar-
M L..
^ < »r-
( Spencer*. ,
♦ Pomeroy*. 21
Forbes. Henry.
sliall I^e, 401 : Mrs.
.'.7 : May O. t Ward. Hi
rin and Mary. 4"! : Susiin
C (Hall*. HLL
Forcler. N.ipolenn P.. -O^.
Ft)rd. James. 7n; Rc^er
Fi>skeTr Anna P . I'.tC: Mr«.
Chas. C IL; Emma K . ili
Foss. C. N, i:>
Foster, Charlotte (Pre-*toTii.
471 : Francis S. 471 Fntiik
S.. 302: Frederick. UM.
Harriet F. (Kt-lseyt. ILL
Harriet 237: Haltle C.
236: Hiram. 6SLi Ira. 471 :
J. I'.. li«3: Mary J. (Bird-
sevi. 471: Mathew, 471 :
Richard ^
Fox. Andrew F.,
Han F.. ■'-»1 .
( Da.-on ». '>^'- :
: Maude (Grah.im». '.Si'.
Fvanci.«. Bes.iie. . Elias.
r.21 : Emily (Flue) and Ge.i.
n21^
r.!«2 : Chrisi-
Emmu R.
Frederick.
W.
Sarah
D.. IL
Howard,
(Grl.swold.
W.
GafTney. Mary.
Gaicnier. L- G , isl.
Gaines, Annie M-, 236; O.
Franklin St. School. 111.
Frarv, James. I'^S: James \ .
107. 113. iaJL
Fredericks. Wm. U. iL
Frldlund, David. lAil.
Frlsble. C. B.. SllL F. W.. HJL
Frost. Simeon T.. 234.
Fuller. U T.. ai.
Fulton. M. Mabelle. ZZL.
Furbish. Harriet.
Gallager, James. LILL
Gardner, A. 491 : Aaron.
193: Annie U (Potter).
491 : n. R.. liL USL 123^
Edwin F.. 2*\: Elliott and
Esther. 242: Emily Ho-
garth ( Covert t. 2 4 2: Etta
P.. 242: L L 70^ 491 :
Inez B. irpsoni. 493:
Isaac J., ULL Julia P.
(Small). 492 ; Le Roy. ir.S;
Pauline and Alan. lAZl
Stephen and Warren. 491 :
Wm. E.. ilL ZAl.
Garllok. Arthur S.. 476: Ma-
bel S.. 476: Nellie M. (Stev-
ens, 476: William. Hi US.
Florence. 236: J. V
O.
r.9:
F. . 346.
Geortre,
15.
Paul.
Gar ton
149.
Gaskell. Mrs
Gay. Emilia,
267. 51
Geary, J. Richard. IM
QehrinR, John, Jr.. 106:
1.'.3.
Gehrman. G.. &L
Gerard. Joseph. 236. "39
Martha J. (Chapman), 2 40:
Owen S., 240: Ruth W..
240: Wm. and Susan (An-
thony). ?39
German .\merlcan School
Asso.. 22.-. 21L
Gibson. Jennie 236.
Gilbert. W. R.. 1^
INDEX.
»73
<3ill. Emma A., 491 : Emma
(Mltton). 490: Flora E..
4!'l : George. 490: James F..
f.tii : MurKuret M.. 4a 1 :
Mary E. (Hitchcock).
Oillesple, C. Buiuroft, title
page.
Oilmartln. May. ZMm
(Hnshertc. Lewis. ilM.
Gladwin. G. A.. Ihi: Jere-
miah. 322^ S.. LLL liiiL IM^
Glanlz, Charles M.
Glaser. S. F.. ULL l^LL.
Glea.««on. M F.. IILL
Glock, Chas C. IIIL
Glynn. Ella G. 1A<L
Godfrey. R. S.. Walte
Huth U (Sims). (I'M.
Golden. \Vm. iL- Uii.
i.'.:{-
and
Goldstein, Helman
Go«idale. G. Fnnik
Goodrich. Geo. A..
W.. 577 : Helen
F.. 14:
Geo.
577:
148:
479:
479:
Mllo. lii
Ralph S..
Goodsell. Dan l A.. 17:{: Zal-
mon, !LSi
Goodwill. William,
Grady. JiimeH F.
Graeber. C. A.. 121. L'2S.
('arollna (Relssner).
Christina E. (Haeppler).
4S0: Crescenila (Wllhelm),
4S0.
Graham, Wm. E., aij Wm.
Grant. Alfred Hall, lijj IL
2^
143 ;John H. IJl, 14:!.
j MarKaret~R. (Hall),
Greenwood, C. J.,
Griffin. D. N.. 175: James. 231.
Grl.<«wold. Ashbel. 10^ HI:
Caroline P. (Hull). 252:
T). S.. IMl Eliza (Wll-
llamRt. 383; F P.. 64, 143:
FrederlcTt Pratt. 251 :
Frederick Prescott. G.
J.. Sl_i Harold Hull, 252:
J. (TTZSilA I^. 207: LewLs
P., mj Martin and Sally
(Fowler). 381 : Mlra
(Rockwell). Si, 3H3: N. P..
271. 381: Samuel. 25 1 : Sus-
an (Pratt. 251 : (Jrlswold
& Couch. 298; Grlswold &
Lewis.
Ouenther,
Guerlcke.
Guernsey Mrs. Jas. H^, .^05,
Guerrlerl.
Guinan. I
John. 15<t.
G.. liLL
Mrs. Jas. Uu
Blag'lo, IIL
A..
Gulon. John M.. ifia
Guy. Joel ML IM.
1^4
111.
Hackett. Ella. 2ifi.
Hafradon. Wm.. LL
Hagerty. Eleanor M.. 236: T.
J.. IM.
HaifKerty, T. L.. 81_; Thos.
81: Wm.. la. &SL
Hall. Aaron. 557 : Alida
(Baker). 381: Anna G. 433:
Arthur E.. ISL IMl Alfred
H., 141. 144: Brenton. 433.
f»19: Casper A.. 519: DanleT:
IG, 146: Ebenezer. It*?: Edna
A (Mix). 371 : Edward B..
66: Elizabeth (Cook). 557:
Esther Asenath (Grover).
370: Erwln D., 123, 124;
Eugene A.. HO, LLL liiL
37:{; Eugene Mix. 371 : Eze-
?1, 20' ~
B
Fanny. 371 :
( Welmore.
in"el
(;eriruJe~
435 : Grace. 16j Harley and
Martha (Cone), 369 ; Hir-
am, 121 : Howard Baldwin,
4:{.'i : Isaac, 144 : John, :{6!«.
4.<:{ : Mrs. John B. <Vale).
326: John Blakeslee, 3s 1 :
John P.. liL Judsoii Syl-
vester, 381 : Lois Blakeslee.
3M ; Lon R.. 123: Mary.
39 7: Mary E. (Baldwin).
397. IjLi; Noah. 171: RufuH.
369: Russell. 433: Samuel,
433. 519: Seth J.. 59, 62,
1 II. lis. 379; Silas B.. 381 :
Sylvester and Rosetta
< Johnson). :S79 : Theophi-
lus, 140; W. A.. liii \V. B..
121: "V^. P.. 122.
Hallam. Pheobe
Robt A.. 160.
Ham, Allen J.,
(Cutter)
Han nan. F. W
Hamilton.
165. 169:
Martha
173.
Sarah (Lines).
Hanks. Ruth M.. &1L
Hanley. Matt P.. IM,
Hanover School. -'15.
Hanson. Hans. 157. LIS.
Harmon .Hazel. 2M.
Harris. Abraham, 205 ; Anna
L. (Meredith). 154: Arthur
Emers4in. 152. 153: Edna
M.. iM.
Hart. Samuel L, 146.
Harvey. A. W., Sij Nathan-
iel. UiL
Hantings. A. I»ulse.
Hatch. E. \V., UL
Havens. Mary A., 236: Ter-
esa B.. 2i3.
Hawley. Harriet Ward
(Foote). 321 : Joe. .321.
Hayden. Harry; 1 1 1.
Hazen. P. W., liL m.
Helneman. C. J.. 81j Heine-
mann. Chas., 231
Helln. Otto E.. 202, 204: Pat-
rick, 2iL
Henreaux. W. I*. IM.
Hess. Eugenia ( I)e Crosby).
451 : Frederick. 449: Her-
man. Ill), in. 1 13. 121. 449:
Johanna (Yooke), 449 :
Raymond P.. 451 : Ruth
Imogene, 451.
Hicks. Charles R., 366: Liz-
zie C. 369: Ratcllffe, HS,
342. 365.
Higby. Frederick A., 426:
(jeo. O., II. Sli Joseph. 172:
Marv A.. 4 jr.
Hlllard. Kenneth, 104: Mar-
tha. 471.
Hills. Simon S.. 72. 73. li.- -
Hlney. J. W., aS.
Hinman. Mrs. P. E.. 139;
Hinman's Private School.
Hinsdale. C. J.. M.
Fllrschneld. iL W.. li: Hen-
rv and August, 231 : Wm.
IL. a2.
Hirst. Harry and James. &L
Hitchcock. A. W.. ^ Caro-
line J.. 2361 E. UL
Ella L. 2ifi F. S., 66j
I^uisa, i2j Louise A.. 236:
Lucy E.. ULL
Hoadley. Robt.. LlLL
Hobson. John. 80j Samuel,
so.
Holden, Charlotte, Grace
I Lucas). J Harry, Kath-
ryn and Kenneth \\'„ 195.
Hollister, C. A.. IISL
Holly, Lois (Fenton). 487:
Perry, -«K7
Holmes. Ludwlg. ZILL
Holmgren, Albert. l'04.
Holt. Elijah, 451 : Ella M.
(Rice). 4 Harry H..
4 53: Irving L.. SiL 115.
119. 121. 4 .'. 1. 4 :■ :} : Nancy
L. ( Ha r wood), iil Ralph
G., 4 ■' .'t
Holtz. H, 205.
Holy Angels, Church of the,
is.'.
Home. Club, &^ 90i Realty
Corp.. 87j National Bank,
113-11.5.
Hopkins. Margaret, ULL
Horan, Owen. JLL
Horgan, Dennis, 104 : Den-
nis J.. !lL
Hotchklss. Bryant. 167.
Hough. Ephralm, 144 : Yale
L, ML
Howard, tL N.. 66j Leland.
149.
Howe. E. G., 113: Mrs. Geo.
E.. .57.
Hoyt. Melancthon. LfiS*
Hubbard. Abble Ann (Brad-
ley). 515: Erastus. 68, 139:
Waller, iL liL ilL Si, 64,
71, 110. 11a. 118, iiL 605:
Park. aiL 26i STTSS. 39. 40.
iL 13.
Hubbell. George A.. 173.
Huber. J. C. 156; Sophia, 122,
Hughes. Arthur J.. ><^
Hull. C. J.. 75j Caroline Par-
melee. 252: Mary. 144: p.
E.. SJj Wm. S.. 252: Wol-
cott A.. 115.
Hungerford. Edw.. 141.
Hupfer. O. LLL
Hurd. William W.. m.
Hurley. John A.. IM. IM,
119. Uia.
Husled. E. W.. LalL
Hutchlns. Joseph. Sfi.
Hyatt, Allen R., 580: Annie
E. (Chalmer). 580: Blanche
M.. 580: Elizabeth (Curtis).
578: Helen E.. 580: Isaac
B. . .S0-S2. 577: "Isaac R..
580: Jet)nle M. (Bishop).
5 .SO: RoHwell. iiis. 580:
Roswell B., 580: Wlllard
C. r.so
Hvde. Joseph. ftfL
Hynes, Marlon G.. 236
lannettl. Pasquale. 1SS.
Immanuel German Lutheran
Church. LSLa.
Immlch. Adelaide L. (Doug-
lass). 526: Ethel Corinne.
626: Paye M.. 526: Henry
Iir^5iii Hollls D.. 526:
Walter U*wls. i2&.
j Google
174
A CENTTKY OF MKKIDKN.
InprerHoll, Kilw.. ma.
IiiKllsh. John, kj-
Jshell. Harlow. 402: R. I^e.
Ixiaiui. H'kward.
JveM. Alfred K.
< nirdsey t. ::!«;>.
and
4.1 : AiiKelitiH
-71: Aiuif E.
Charles.
144; r»wlKht
T~l,^: Klizal.eth and
:i9:i; Kllt-na I^cv.
JrT
Ell.
Carrie.
aH3: Emma S.
41.%: Eva I Kay ),
and Harriet
414: Allnn
.'tltit: Amaxa
3'J 1 : Amos.
< Fomeroy
4 1 ."i : Annie.
144. f'harle.K
4Ii
( riutler).
7" : Fa n -
nie R.. KrederKk W..
3X8: OeorRo \V., 393: Mrs.
E^.. 1'3^. J«»el. 144; Joel
H.. 4 1 : Joel S.. 414: John.
113. li:3. I'HU. 3HS: Mrs.
JTdin. .IL LJi-: 144. 193; U
H.. 93: Inland Howard. 3i<0:
lAwy J. ( itird.xev ». :<»T:
tnhnlel. 14G. 3S.h; F'titneaR
T.. f.77 ; Reuben. 1 tWi : Ros-
etta (Vale). 3SS: Sarah.
144: Sjirah (Yale), 3SS:
Titus. 146: \Vatr<»iiH and
Polly YaleL 391 : Wealthy
SaKe (Morwin), 390: Wil-
liam B.. USL 393 : William
J.. IL 391 : Worcester.
144; 8chuol l>lstrk't. :!19
JennlnRS. Caroline J. ( Al-
len L ■'■•'■><: Russell, 14«
.Jerome. E. M.. 1
Jewish HynHKORue, gori.
Joel. Kd., l.'..t
Johnson. Chaunoey O.. 125;
E. <}.. 91. Emily IL- 139:
Oustav IL^ 2(»4 : J. Adolph.
204; Maritn. ;:M,
Johiislon, John Wesley. 17.1
Journal F'ub. Co.. 12(i-1.1.T
JudKe, William J.. 191.
K;me. John. 237.
Kasehubev. Albert. 12.
Kate.^. James. 237.
Kiilt. John W.. 19«.
KavanauKh, W. E., 104.
Kay. Fnitik E.. ir.3. 577 : Ja«.
T.. liiL ^Tfij Mary A.
(fJoodriJ'h ), .'V77.
Kearney, Ri«>har<l B., Mi
Kearns. Thus.. Si
Keatlnjf. Ali«>e and Annie,
■'■9*; : Annie (Mollovi. .'»97:
Michael. VS^ :,UC, : Richard
and Alice. ■'".96; Keating &
Hurley. .'.»<».
Kf-.'Kan. Mitvid T., lOfi.
Keeler. James. 1«3.
K.enji. Nellie. 23<i.
K«-» nnn. Arthur. 1 32.
KeiloKK. S. W.. LLi
Kelly. David. 2:{S: Uillan M.
(hee». 23S; Wm. P.. 208.
209. 237; Wm. P.. Jr.. ZMT
Kelsev, t'harles. 173; Fannie
W.. 236: Wllllnm A.. 133.
1 3.^. rnr —
Kennard. Justina C. -ta"
Kenwc»rthy. James 81.
Ke«ihane, Pennl.s, fiS.
Kettelhut, Herman, 19S.
KIbbe, Annie E. (Webb>,
r»8<: Frank M., r.»5: F. M.
& Co., f.H6: a W.. Mr. and
Mrs., tlii
Kiernan. M S.. 1 'A2.
Kllbourne, Mrs. Frederick
\\ ., iM»;
Kimball. Charles. li. 74^ 2JL
King. Ada F. <Wrig:htl, 574:
Kintr. C. W.. no, ;i46: Chas.
A.. LiL liiL 344: E. M., ;.72:
Emma M., 221: Francis.
Ill: C!eo. JL.. hlS: Henrv T..
91, .'.71 ; "Jc»seph. 237 :
Josephine iMorse^. ;.73: R
J.. i>72; Selena J.. 237:
Street S<>hool, 216. Jl 7;
Thomas. 209j Walter^C
34 6.
KltiKsley, C. L.. «8i Horace
W..
K inland. W. J.,
Kl>*er. Oustave. SI.
KJall. a.. 1.'.7
Knapp, Lena. -01.
Knickerbocker. C. A.,
Knorr. F.. l.')6.
Koepchen. William, 197.
Kohier. \\ ., l.'.K.
Ko<ireman. Cornelius J., fii
Kopske. John, Jr., 187.
Kost. iKnaciouH. 1N7.
Krafft, A., 197. 232.
Kreft. Metn. 200.
KruezberKer. B.,
KuKjre, Mrs. Andrew, 204:
(.JusUiv, 204.
KuntBe, Auru!«t. 604:
M2. 6U4; Elljwi. 6o4:
abeth (Schwab). 604:
604 : Harold. 604;
604 : Herman. 604;
6o:'; I.udwig, 604: Theresa
< Weiss ». 601'.
Carl.
Elis-
_ Oeo.,
Helen,
Julius.
I^idles' Soldiers' Aid Society.
Lajoie. P. A.. 101; Jo«eph N.
l-illy. Minnie, 2iL
I-fimb, r». T.. 132.
Land fen r, MIsa. School 230:
Miss A. E., al.
I^indrlKTan. Jame» J., 73.
liij. lt'4 : Margaret, ;3i
I^me, Arthur S., 1 10. lift.
IH^ lliiL B. B.. SilTCarrle
E. (Shove),
id P.. 290:
Le Roy.
•'"mma. 49;
49:
139. 49
E. iL.
292: Gertrude
_ Dan-
l.'i3: E.
Harry
F. (Curtis).
272 ; Howard.
119. 2S9. 290
Son. TTT fW
Son. It)cf»rp,
W.. 90 ; Mary
Grace Louise
C. and Be«8le
117: Harry C.
l.'>3: John S.,
John S. &
John S. A
.'90. 292; John.
E.. 236;
Quarry Co., 292: Samuel
v.. iTL
IjinsinR. L J..
I..arson. Anna
ir,9; Chas.
l.'.S:
Robert.
I..{ithe. Litiiil
173.
S. (Mattson).
Edwin. 159:
Rolf Osmund.
FrancLs
K and
(Marble), ■t.'t.';
I-iwlor. Martin P.. 180.
Learned. Charles A.. 70^ 110.
Lee. George. 2^ Mary J.
iCarrlrrirton). .'>94: Melvln
C. and Esther (Guy). 305 1
William .Wallace. j93. r.S 4 1
l.rt>Ko. Julius A.. jy2»
Letbernian. S.. ?06
UM.nard. G. E.. 193: R. C.
Mr and Mrs.. £i,
Lester, IL H^ l.'>3.
Levi. Nancy, ii.
Lewis. Ave. School. 217:
Catherine T.. 4T,T,: Chun. D..
LL lii E. R.. 1.-.3; Frank
B.. 165: Harriet A.. 4 .'..'.:
Harriet (Pomeroy*.
Henry J.. iLL 273: l.*aac
C 86^ 107. lis. 144.
122. m. IMT UAj. 271.
3o4: Esther (Beaumont).
354 : Island. 271 : Jared. 71.
Try. J. p.. 193: John T..
4 '>■'>: Margaret (Flynn*.
Nancy M., 356: Par-
trfclT 121_; Mrs. Partrick.
l42i William. IMx lii
Liberty Street School, 21*.
Library Whist Club. IS-
Llddy. M. J.. 7S.
Lincoln. Julius. 203.
Llndh O.. 157.
Lines. Edwin Stevens, hiit:
U. Wales. iLL. 61, UA,
112^ m. 111^ 545: Harriet
(Bunnell). 53»: Henry W..
539: Sarah C. (Munger).
Sili Th« H. Wales Co.
LInsley. Chas, P.. 45. ll?-
Mrs. C. F.. br, tia. 517;
Jessie. 557: M*rk M.. lAi
Noah. 216 : N«x(h A., 134:
Nellie. HT RAmlolph. IH.
175, 55«i 7Si Tem-
perance J. (BusK), 556;
Thos. and Wm. B., 5.^77
Llssee. N.. 1H2.
Little. Alice L. (Brown).
4S2: Ann (Warren). 481:
Burton Elbert. 4S3: Clav-
ton E. :. 482: Clinton E..
482j Edna M.. 482: Flora
U. 4x2: Harold S..
Harriet N. (Palmer). 4S1 :
Hubert. 70. 4S1 : Martha.
I.* (Wllllarasi. 4Ki: Sax-
ton B.. 234 ; Thomas. 4M :
Thomas "gr~4S2: Williams
B.. ISJ; Somers A Hyatt.
4M. 57S.
LItlejohn. Abram U. l({4.
Lock wood. Lewis E.. 141.
Logan. John W.. 137.
Loomls. Avallne E. (Brown)
457: Daniel, 455: Edm-. U..
6Si Emily A.. 457: Freder-
ick B.. 457: Frederick P.
455 : Joseph. 4:.5 : Marv .V
(Porter). 455: Marv E..
-« ■'■ T ; William C. 455:' Wll-
TTam E.. 457.
Lord. Albert J.. 137. 13»:
Maude E. (Phillips). 139:
Phillips ILx US.
Ijonnsbury. Cook. 331.
Loveland. C. D.. li.
Luby. John, 7S.
Lucas, Geo. M.. TSL 118:
Grace, ISii Wallace R..~77:
Wm. C.
Lucchinf, Arthur C. <;02.
Edith (Coe). John Ma-
L J ^ d by Googl
INDEX.
rie. Paul and Peter. r»93.
fi02: Victor E.. 6<I0. 601.
Luft. John. Tftfi
Lundstrum. C. J.. 2ft4.
Lyman, Andrew and Anna
«Hall). L'98: Krull Jar,
: Roxunna G. <Frary|,
a9S: William W.. ::iiiL 297.
298.
Lynch. Daniel. 104: Jere-
miah. 101 : John T., 189.
192: Mary A., li.tfi
Lyon, C. 1^, Mrs.. 139: Caro
A.. 491 r>. T, sjj Elizabeth.
U2l G \V.. UL W. iL
Sfi* IIL IM, lliL IM* ."tlT:
Mrs. W. iL ^ Lyon & Bll-
lard. a::::
Macy. Edith P.. 2M.
Maeurer, Peter, l':{1.
Ma^uire. T. Mr. and Mrs..
Mahon. Katherine E., 236:
Thomas. l'7k.
Main St. Bapti>*t Church,
Man ley. May. 222.
Mannlnjc. E. B.. fil,
Mansfield. Mr.s. C. J.. It^
Marlon. John C. Ift.t-
Markwick, W. P.. 17-i
Maronde. Albert, 19«.
Marquardt. John J., la,
MarHhall. Wm.. ?iOj W. H..
Martin. K. A., 202.
Marvin, f: Lyman, 2.^f). 258:
Susan B. (Barber).
MaHchmever. Augrust, 73.
3.''.8: Edward. 2^
Mason. .\. F., 14 9.
Mather. A. B.. li ^ 167.
209. 227, 2:{.1. 243.
Matoon. Jeruflha. 144.
Matteson. E. H.. 32.
Matthews. Anson. 311.
May. Albert A.. Sij Hufltin
and Nufflet (Dupheney).
4 80.
Maynard. Daniel 90j W.
iL A.. 2iL
McAlenney, Paul F., 181. IS.*;.
McAllister. Wm.. Hi
McCarthy. Jeremiah J.. 74.
7r>: Oliver. &L
McCauley. Kate, fifi,
McGivney. J. J.. 182.
McGovern. John J.. 74, 15^
McGrath. Patrick. ML
McGrew. G. IL. I7a
McGuire. Charles. 189.
McHuKb. John A.. ->0<>
Mclntee. Katherine A., 23(8.
McKenxie. T. E.. 02.
McLouKhlln. John T.. 189:
Lillian J.. ■-■:<<;■
McMahon. J. J.. 189: Lau-
rent. 182: Thomas. 237.
McM.-isters. Wells. M.
McPartland. Frank. 12.
McWeeney. John. 189. 19(>.
M. E. Society. Hanover Dlst .
177.
Mead. Nathaniel. 173
Meckef*. .\melia C, fiS.
Meeks. Arthur IX. SiL: Flor-
ence (Austin). 2^2 266;
Harold A.. tL ft£» 2ii2.
Meiklem. John.
Grain &
Grays. i>_[
Course. 421 :
Merlden: Academical Asso..
- I : Bank. IK*: Club, UlLl
Dally Journail IL'H. i:i:r.
Fire Arms Co.. 121 : P'ur-
niture Co.. 'tHS
Feed Co., 28»:
Goir Club
HlKb School, L'l'.^i. 22C:
Hospital. .'■9-fi4: Institute.
216. 2:10: Uiffht Guards. 3i
MornInK Record. 133-136:
National Bank. 110: Opera
House. 83^ lo3: Republican,
133: Stivings Bank. 107-
110: Trust & Safe Deposit
Co.. IS; Wheel Club. 90-92.
-Merimere, Lake. IJL
Merriam. Amasa. 167: Asaph,
167. 172: C. A.. lai E. R..
75; Geo. C , 362: Helen R.
(Bradley >■ 577o8. .^9. 364 :
Joseph. 162. 167: Nelson
and Rosetta. 362: Roht. J..
70. 36.=;: Mrs. Rufus. ^
Ruth K.. 36.^.
Merrlman, Mrs. E. A.. 6£; Ell
L lilti Howell. liiL 113:
Ira and Elizabeth. 33fi.
Messner. J.. SL
Meyers, Henry,
Miles. Almeron. 121. 459;
Caroline (Lawrence). 4."»9'.
Thou. A.. 137: W^allnce A.,
121. iii aiLL liiiL
Miller. A., i^ij Arthur E., 7SL
Arthur LL r.Sl : Bros. Cut-
lery Co.. r>mr. C. A.. Ul D.
Henry, i 149: Edw.. 110.
119. 155: Edw. Jr.
U&l Geo. \V.. ^ IM. 5Mj
U. IL UL LliU Harvey.
142. 2iL ill! Horace. »0j
Horace G.. 385 : L Burton,
Jane
Joel.
2Mj
R.
H..
580.
90; Ida L, 121, 581.
A^^ (Havens), .'iSO:
147 : Lewis A., im. 110.
Lydia M. (Tucker). 385:
Max E.. 90, 385 ; Samuel
149, ilii Sarat
(Ives), ilii William
IIL. UA, LLIu ILL 385,
Mills. R. E.. liii
Mllner. Clwis.. ILL
Minchin. Wm. IL. L15
Minkwitz. Henrv 132
Mitchell A.saph. 144.
Mix, Ethel IL. 236: Helen S..
22£L John W.. 371.; Snmuel.
144: Silas. 110
Moelman. Henrv. 1 n .'.
Moffatt, John E.. &SL
M<»lloy. Richard J. and Nel-
lie J. (Pomerov). 433.
Monroe. C. F.. 86. aiJ John
A., 112.
Montgomery, E. L , SL 336
Moiidy. Emma Jennette (Al-
leni. '.r.K
Mooney. E. T.. 104
Moore. M. B.. 231 : R. p.. IM.
Morehouse. Allison F.. 268:
Andrew C, 2fiS: Cornelia
(Canlield). ifLL: Cyrus A..
g6L; Henry L. SI. 2^
.Mattle C. and Franklin
L. 268j Bros. Co.,
Morgan. Alice A.. .398
uel B.. 107. 124:
r,H\
Morlarty. Mary J., 237.
Sam-
Wm.
Morris. J. Prank. 112.
Morrlsseau. L.. 1H'>.
.Morri-Hsey. M. F., ULL IM.
Morse. Charles P. 467: Eva
L. 519: F. A.. «^ Geo. N..
&2. 519: Harley and Har-
riet. .VL 51 7 ; John. 110;
John P.. U'i : Joseph. 53.
517. 573 : Josephine M.,
Liln E.. Lucy A. (Hall),
and Lucy M., 519; Levi,
76; Morse & Cook. 128.
Moses, Linus, lii
Mosber, Anna M. (Wooster).
494 : Benjamin Weaver,
494: Cynthia A. ( Frary .
49.-.: Hulfh 494: Katherine
Euf^enia (Smith). 496; W.
R.. 496: William W.. 53.
56, 58. LLL 136, UT, 2857
494.
Moss. E. B., 58^ 167.
Mossman. Mabel O., 'i36
Mueller, Agnes (Yost), 571 :
Carl Howard, 571 : William
Carl. 571.
Munger. Louisa (Nichols),
54.5: Washington. 545.
Munson. Cyrus, 163: Thomas,
■7(18
Murdock. Alice C. Carter.
411 : Bennet B., 411 : Chas.
Z.. illi Family. iiiSL F. L,
g7. ss. 4!^'.»; George B.. 110.
411 : George P., Harriet E.
(Graves), Harriet J. and
Mary E.. 411; Z. K. and
Harriet M. (Bronson), <(>»
Murray. Charles. 104.
Najrel. Caroline L. 236: John
O.. no; Miss M.. 282: Mar-
guerite. 1»8
Nash. Albert. 173.
Nettleton. Charles H. and
Katherine (Arnold). •-?K4.
Neuman. H. F.. JLL
Newell. Flora J., 236: Susan
F.,
Newton, Samuel. 539.
Noble. J. G. 152-
North. Curtis L. liLL 4111:
Broad St. School. 214; Cen^
ter School. 214; Colony
School. 217: East School
District. 213: West School
District. 213
Norton. Anna. 22S. Geo. B.,
IMj J. S. Jr.. UJL. Maria
(Chulker). 484.
Norwood. Abraham. 228
Nowak. John. iai.
Oakley. F. 113.
O'Brien, Julia, 66^ Mary,
22JL. Maurice. 110: Patrick
T. 574: Tho.M. F.. 106:
Thos. J., 106
O'Connor. Thos. F, SO
Oeflnirer. E J., J<L; Jacob. SI:
William. &L
O Donnell. Nellie T.. 236
Oh I. (Jeorge. ai.
Old Road School Dlst. 217
Olive Branch MI.<<slon. 149
O'Rj^'Jpy. Hugh. liSj Phillip.
Otis. Albert L.. Tij P. O.. 21L
Oughton. Robert. 75. 81. 82
y Google
A CENTURY OF MEKIDKN.
Our I^idy of Mt. L'arm«?l
I'huri-h. IsS.
Ow«'n. Alice t'ary and EllZii-
ht'th J. (Hurluwn -'61:
Kvan. ILiiL K. P.. Mr.
Hnd Mr**.. 6«j Grace Eliaa-
bfth. : Llewellyn. JtiO:
RUhard A.. l.'S. LiL LSJL
l't>0: Siirah (Pryret. !'«><*:
Owen & Itiluaii. -'fil-
PiuMoik, Hlanihe J.. 236:
Julia H. (Heachl. I'Sfi.
Pane. Kenjamin. 53^ 110.
ILL liL ':LLL i2jL I'l**?:
I'harle.s, ir.O: JenlTTe. liL
4S» : Mju Karet A. iCook),
.'.i^. Sarah E. « Mer-
riam), I'lM.
PaKnam, .Nellie A.. I'.tfi.
Palmer, Annie. .[Ji C. C
6»> : Charles Scranton. ■» 3 :
Maude KliZiiboth <Hendey<.
494 : Ralph A. and Sarah
A., llli
Pardee, D. K., 237: L C.
Parish, J. H.. &iL
Park Ave. Mission.
Parker. Ahl I^wIh (Kddyt,
31t»: Ave. School. '14 i' 1 .•» :
Het.««ev. 172: Churle.**.
68. 107, LLL nil Hi. llii-
TTH,"Tm, ILL inl ill, 316:
CharlejTE. .316: Dexter W..
lis. 3 1 3, 31;',. 316. 317: Ed-
mund,
171 ; F,
LLL ■m.
Edwin.
66: GeorKe A..
W., 316: J. P..
iL
I'ti:.': Geo.
7:.: John. Hi. 1TT7T78.
l'L'6. 1'31. 316: John FT
-'63 : Laura A.. 236:
221.
262.
Alhertlna
( < 'onant ).
( Malcom)
Stone
ert I^me
(Twins. 311
Wllhur F..
Co., 78; Hose
I^iura
264 : Laura L.
■'62: Mary E.
ifil: Rebecca
(Ray), 311 : Rob-
264: Sallle
Wilbur. 316:
113: Engine
17S.
4T0
. . Co.,
ParkH.^ton, 204.
Parm:»lee, John D..
I'armelee, I^eander.
Parry, E. C ULL
Patzer, Albert. g31.
Pavne, I^rfuira I*. 498.
Pease, Elizabeth De K.. 236:
Emma S. .236: Frank. 237.
Peck. Ebenezer, 6**0 ; Hannah
K.. iihl Harriet U
<Llne«0. .^4.'; : John L.. 173 :
I^ah. LLL
PcKK. John. Jr., 173.
IVIton. Phillip 8..
Pender, Adelaide R., 21SL
Penders. John F.. 132.
Pcnrteld. LL H.. IL
Pcpln. Oswald O.. 106.
Perkins. Th.-irles, .''.40: Chas.
and Eunice (Smith). 413:
Charles S., Ha, 413: Ed-
ffjir J., 4.*»S; F:ilsha. 4.=;S;
Ellle M. (Smith) and How-
ard. 4.">9 : J.'imes M.
Laura
Rusell.
167:
lETns
Pet tee.
'> ■» T
<
(BloodKood).
1 49 : Simeon.
W. S.. 195:
& Lines. il3r^
John T.. 172.
233: Marlette
, 5 7.
LLL:
160.
Per-
ils,
R
Phelps J. Newton. 1 7n.
Pierce. A. C. 249: Bessie
(Hubbard). 250; Elbridge
\V.. 61. ML 249: Hiram. 24S:
Sarah (Beers). -'4S
Pierson, Aaron, 264 : Antoi-
nette R. P.. 266: l>. L.,
Guy R. P. and Hannah P.
266: Mary C.
Mindwell
(Glazier).
264.
266;
( l^iitimer )
• OKden),
( HastlriKH)
Stephen C
Pinks, Beula Warren.
Charles iL. 139. r.2S:
win ('.. .'.2S: Ida K.,
Lillian B. (Smithi.
Sophia C. r>lS; Stanley
and Vera r.3i).
Plainvllle Camp Ground. 179.
Piatt. Harriet W., 390: Jas.
I'., UiL 209: Orville
3, iiiL 16, 8L 234, LilL
Plumb. Private S<-huol. 230:
Seth IX. 146.
Ponieroy, Chas., 193.
"JLU Charles L.. Hii;
27(L
Cor-
F.
nella. -'71 :
itJulhlt. 433:
271 : Hattle
JiimeK T.. 193.
W., 191: Nancy,
cy iMerriman).
Noah, 107. 144. 193. 268.
270, 31^ 4 32: Norman. 271:
wi Ilium irriai.
Pooley, E. J.. 90* 1L2.
Porter, John B.. 4
Post Office. 121-12^.
Delila
_ Ellphalet.
(Ha sen I. 271 :
iZll N.
li Nan-
Potter,
299.
P<»tter, HuKh, 491
Shipman & I.>ewls,
Powers, C C. ILL
Pratt. Geo. S.. liU Henry S.,
234: Julius, as. 107. 113:
Llewellyn. 1 37.
Prat ts vine School District.
Pre.ston. Elluibeth. 547:
Eli»ibeth (Clark). r).»0:
Emily. 43.'>: Ira, liG; John
H., ■'^4 7: LuclUH. •'»47
Prince. M. W.. HZ.
Pritchard, Roger. Mi
Private Schools. 230-233.
Prouty. Henry and Parmella
(Roberts), 238: Jennie W.,
239: Willis J.. aa. 231i
236. 238.
Pryba. A.,
Puffer, Edwin A. .74. 7."i.
Quested. William it. 111.
Quinn, Thomas. 179.
Raarup. Theresa C. 286.
Rak'on. Ollle E.. 2iL
Rahaley, Henrietta Ll. 236:
John. LL: Mary M..
Railroad School District.
Rand. Mary L 68j Phillip.
C., 378, 390: Mrs. Philip
<\. alL
Randall, A. T.. 53, 56, 58.
l£iL IfiL IM. IMT Mrs. A.
T.. SlL ii8j IL C. IfiL; Mary
(Davis). 167.
Range, John. 172,
Rapelye. Andrew. 581 ; An-
toinette. .'»S1 : Frederick
D. . 5S1 ; Lucy (Fellows).
■'•.XI
Raven. John F.. .•?02.
Ray. B. P.. .^91 : Ella .V
(Grlswold). 3s3 : Eugene
H- 3»3; Flora B.. 2S6:
Mary A.. •,91.
Reama. Hugo,
Rebstock. Christopher, SI;
Km\\. so.
Redtield. William. 3oS.
Reed. Rose G.. fii
Rees, Wtn. tL IL
Reilly. Agnes. 4 49: Arthur,
449: Katherlne. 449: Lew-
is, 1 32 ; I^uls, 449: Marie
E. t Rowen ». 44 . : Mary.
449: Robert. 449: Rose.
449; Thomas L.. 4S. »<.
1U4. 126. 447. 449.
Republlcan~Pub. Co, 133.
Rettman, Lena. 236
Reynolds. Curtis W;. 17rtr
FMith E.. 236: G. W.. 17(»:
Grace «'.. 236; J. Edward,
7«>; John M.. 7S; M. G,
1S9: T E., lilX
Rice. Abbie C. 2 49: Mrs. Al-
bert. 436: Anna C. 126:
Chas. P.. 170: Exeklel. 4<:
Oliver, 249: Robl. J.. 2!^
W. B.. LLL
Richmond. Florence M.. 237:
JttJin U, 271.
Ridley. Joseph, !?«>
Rlecke, Augusta F., 236.
Roark, Thos. J. M».
Roarke. Edw. s2.
Roberge, Joseph A.. Si.. 96.
Roberts, John D.. II. iLL 45.
Rol>ertson, Harold C, &&.
Robinson, Florence G.. 2.'?7:
W, J.. 58, LLL 167: Mn*."W
J., oi.
Rockwell. Cha«. E. 539:
Charles F.. IIS. 470:
Chas, L.. £1. ll.'>. 117. L15.
119. .•.37. 539: Curtis. 77 :
Francis A.. 254. :.37 : Geo..
2.'>4: George. JFT 256:
Louise (Taylor>. 470:
Mary L. (Everest), 64.
539: Mary (Lee). 2.'.4. 537.
539: Minnie F. (Biittles).
2.'.6: Samuel. 3S3; Sher-
burne. 256; William F.,
467
Rodier M. J. L&l
Roeth. Henry A and Wife.
231 : Ida S. 2.-?6
Rogers. Block, lij Burton
C. r.lJ: Cephas B.. 115, LLI.
IIH.
■•>»3:
Elam H..
Elizabeth (Rowland) 506:
Elizabeth (Trvon). ' 503:
Estelle VIctorlne, 509: Eu-
gene C. 50ft: Geo. F., ^ 2L;
Geo. "W.. 124: Gilbert. US.
506: Ichabod. 506 : Mabel
E.. 509: Margaret (Clark).
506: Mary J. (Corbln).
512: Ralph G.. 509: Wll-
bur F. 509: Zula Eliza-
beth.
Rohan. Jeremiah and Rich-
ard, IILL
Rohnstrom, A.. 1 57. l.'iS.
Rollins. Frank. 179.
Ropes. David N., 107.
Roseliu.s. Wm.. Jr. &iL
Rowley. A. J.. 153'.
. Ly Google
INDEX.
177
198
and Jane.
Nellie F..
Runeth. Herman.
Russell. Kdmund
•IJ6: J. W.. liij
W. liLL
Rust. T. S. 90.
Rutherford. J. L..
Rutty. Kzra. 147.
Ryan. Caroline A.. 1*36 1 Em-
ma F.. j:?»>: Helena K.. ja":
John T.. 5iOj Kutherlne E..
IM.
Heart Cemetery.
Ru»HelI.
Sao red
Sjtire. David. 292:
i't«L': William.
Sale.xkl. Anne (Relchardt),
ililS Antcm A.. 47«: Au-
Kust. AugruHi H.. 47fi:
Charles M.. 47fi: Charles
Wilhelm 47»>: Eugene.
Frank. 4.6: Ouatav
47H: Henrietta. 4 7!):
4 79;
SJoquist, J Alfred.
Slater. Alice A., -iSd.
Small. Marlon.
Smiley. E E. m
Smith. Anna M. (Hanly)
48.'.: David. 248. :.8.'>: Da-
vid P.. 249: Edward Wler.
64. 248. 249. 2 .'>(): Edwtn
E.. 136: Mrs.: Edwin
E. (I>ee). o94: Fannie E.
(Beach). 4S4; Fidelia A.
(Parker). i'>8.', : Fidelia Par-
ker. 248: Frank D., 110:
121: F. W.. DruK Co., 586:
Gec». \V.. lis: Oershom B..
47; IL D.. 216. ins Harry
118: Helen B. (Rice).
Henry G.. 239: John
113; Loyal. iM; Mar-
249:
\V..
Mary
. 1^
n_
249
Ion
er,
M.
R..
Hi;
(Lletz). lli; Paul T.
47»-,: I'hillp, iJjL
Salton.stall. H. \V.. 107
Sands. Alice L (Rrasee).
."■103; Anna B. .'oa: Clara
■.r.9: Frank E.. 86^ S7,
laiL 500.
(Turner).
N. C. Ilu RoK-
Sereno D.. iM; T.
496: \V. E.. 142;
, 530: Mrs.
W. R.
Jesse.
Mary M.
Wm. M.
1'92.
Soldiers' ThanksKivIng Din-
ner.
South. Broad St. School. g15:
Center School. 224 : East
District School. 220. 224 :
\Ve«t School District. 212.
213: Merlden M. E. Ch ch,
EliaH and N. C,
C.
San ford
Santaus, John IL. 12.
Sarllla. VIctorlo IHS.
.Savage. A. B.. 139: E.
S6j Geo. E., lliL 113:
S.. aa. 96j Mary iL"^
Sawyer. C. C. Mr. and Mrs..
68.
Schenck M B.. J 10^ l'09
Schleiter. il I.... ns, 170.
Sohmelzer. August. 62^ 64.
LLiL 23L iM. 595: Edgar
E. . 4S8.
Schmidt. G. A. 197
Schneider. Nicholas F. X..
Schoenrock. Carl. 198.
Schroe<ler. Karl. 198.
Schuerer. Herman F.. 74^ 15.
Schwab. An«lrew 1 '.fi.
Schwiirz. Edward. 198
St;hwink. J. J.. 237.
S<-oflehl. Frank A.. 17.t
Scott. Harold. LLU
Scovil, F:ieazer. 329: James.
329.
Sear'.es John C. 173.
Seeley. Anna G. (Ix-e). 305 :
Arthur D.. 305 : Prank O.,
30.2: Geo. S . IlL 73^ 121.
mr Ml. 3<LL 305.
Seery Christopher. IS^ \Vm..
78.
Seulenstlcker. Georgia. 236:
.May. iiLL
Seip. LL W.. Mrs.. laS
Selka. Chas U liL
Semrau. Frank A. 106 John
F. liliL
Shandaroski. Marv fii.
Shaw. Richard. ilL
Shepherd. Geo. N. 23
Shove. Oliver P. 49?
Sills. Ellas T. liil: Wlno-
gene (Pavne). 49s.
Simons. Nellie E.. Ja?
Siskind, Abraham*. go5.
Southwick. Daniel F.. 553:
Emma L. (Thompson*.
iiiJ Frank T., 553: Ljiu-
rence F. C. C. 554: Sarah
J. (Camp). 555.
Spanish-American War. 30-
Spencer. John. 79i P. A. 153.
S<inire. A. B., |Tj Agnes D.
(Curtis). 52i W. iL Mrs..
139; Wilbur IL 21L 9L 9L
mr j>86j W. « Co. and
The TST^iL Co. 587; Wil-
liam L.. 587.
St.. Andrew's Parish. .56, 159:
Bridget's Convent. 181. 188.
liLL Cyr. N. J.. 104; Cyr
Z. J.. 1 84 ; Jean the Bap-
tlste Society. S2j John's
Lutheran Church, 195-199'
Joseph's Church and Par-
Ish. 189: Joseph's Paroch-
ial School. 191 : Laurent's
Cemetery, 1.S4: Unirerits
Church. 182. IS 7. ISS; Uiu-
rents ParocTTTal Sihool.
184: Mary's Church. 187:
Patrick's Cemeterv. 181 :
Paul's Church. 192 : Rose's
Church. Ua 182.
Stanley. Geo." J.. 210: Lot.
•<"1 : Lucy. 471 : Rhoda
( Wjitlsworth ). 471.
Starkev. tL L. SLL
State Ref«»rm School, fil^
States. J.imes N..
Steam. Mill Lumber Co
M2l
First Introduced.
Power
311.
Steere. Martin J.. 195.
Sternberg. Chas. and Elise
F .. liiiL
Stetson. Albert L., 9(L; J.
W.. L'3 7.
Stevens. A L. Ashahel
A.. LLL B. F. IMl B.
R.. 193: Eunice. 476:
Frank A. 62, SIL LUL 121:
Harry A.. 90; J. B.. 75^
Jane (Morris). 568: JosfT-'
ua. 568: Julia E. (Beech-
er). 435: Philander.
Stevenson. Mrs. Francis. alL
Stewart. Darling. 171
Stickel. John. liL
Stiles, Truman. li,
Stockburger. Andrew. 154.
156 ; Andrew. Jr., 1 .56.
Stockdale. F. H.. 173; Geo..
1T4: Ruth. 174 : Sarah A.
(Machin). 174.
Stockder. C. E.. Si: C. E..
Jr. 209: Mrs. C. H. fii.
Stocking. Sabura S.. Ifii
i^tokes. Joseph S.. fii.
Stone, IL R..
Storrs. H, W.. ai.
Stow. Eugenia (Pomeroy).
462;
Slowe Horace W.. 22.
Stowell. Clarise. fifi.
Street. Betsey (Scott).
James. 4 6l'.
Strickland. LL G., fiL
Sullivan. M. F.. ULL
Sutllfr. James A 426: James
R.. 426: John. 59. 426;
Mary A. (Dayton). 426;
Rebecca (Miles). 426-
Sutterlln, L H.. 81.
Suzio. Leonardo, 188.
Swan Oliver. fiL
Swedish Lutheran Church.
Bernard. 66.
202: John E.
157:
157.
Ernest
Joseph,
Sle-
Swenson.
Gustaf.
158.
Swift & Co.. aiL
Sword. A. P. 158.
Tait. John. 117, 118.
Tappert. C. R.. 199;
T.. 2011 Guxlavi"
Taylor J. E.. 237 .
113: Sabra K.. 23
phen. 111.
Teevens, J., 1 79
Thayer. Annie S. ( Dever-
eux». 139, 566: Augustine.
"64 : Elect.i ( Fairchild).
■<>''^ ■■ John (j. 564 : J. v..
193i Willli.m "D.. 74, 15,
Theime, F. T.... 15.?
Third Congregational Ch'ch.
2116.
Thomas. Anthonv
C. iL. 79i Emma
selD. 426: J .J.
W. anir\Iahala.
Thompson, B. L
E.. 1'6l': George
John Rhey. 173
S
J.
79
423:
(Rus-
John
_ Chas.,
hL. 261:
MinnlA
William
(Edgerton). 5i5;
IL L'C.l L'62.
Thoren. Ewald. 202.
Thursday Morning Club, li
TIbbjils. Samuel. ULL
A. J., LIlL
WIlTiiim R. 332.
James M.. 15.
Robt. Clarkson. 170.
James. 170
Tour gee. W. E.. IL
Tower. Freeman P. 172. 173.
Town Deposit Fund. 22.t.
Town Hall, l;^.
Tracy. Andrew W.. 101. 104.
Tickell.
Timms.
Tinker
ToIIes.
Tongue.
Toot he.
L y .,^ -0 Google
178
A CKMLKV OF MEKIDEX.
21' S: Dora, ill; John 77.
hi.
TrcMlennJck. VUhh. tLi 1-M ;
Ktlward. :,\iz ; K.izabt'tirir
( HallLi ■»!»:!: Helvitia ( Lut-
chinl). r.t*:}: Nicholas. hV2.
Trinity Methodint Churth,
True M. <).. U».
Trumhuil Guanl. n.
'J'urker, K. K.,
Turkey. \V Ix. UL.
TuftH. Sidney D.. ML
TwJms. a a. H., Mr«. 123:
t'ornelia. 401 ; F'ann'leTZ
ri7: Ira. 4"77^3l»a; VInrie
< Andrews). 3'.*!^ ; Joseph,
1 4t> ; Joseph and Ivda
(Austin*, iiLl; Waldo C
104. l.lf.. aHiL
Ty;cr, t'hHS. K.. Ml.
I'ni versallsts. First Meeting
of. 2 70.
I'pham. Charles L.. 13 93.
96. 117. 1 1;*. 2 1)9. 376.' 37s.
379: Kllwibelh 379: Klli-
aheth IL (Hall). 379:
Kmily. 379: Kmlly (fljiTin
:i7'.«; Kranc ls C. 37a : \Vm.*
Dennis and huey McKen-
zie (Spink), 376; Willlani
H.. 379.
Van NoHtrand. George, 71.
72. 73, TJi^ iNi 488; BaruH
(KeTTam), 4SH.
Van Oppen. A.. 182^ LLL IMi
232.
Veteran, Firemen's Akso., 81^
S3, 8ii Guard
VlTTTrt. Charles iL and H. P.,
Von Tobel. A. K., til,
Vorra. John. llL.
Wad hams. Lucy B, li.
Wagner, Anna A. (Harper),
Mertha A.. Kdna M.. Oraoe
V. and Elmer C. L. 177 :
John P., 17!>. 176. l77.
Waldron. Frank, TAl T. F.,
Walker. O. T..
WalllnKford Tornado. 1 1 (>
Walsh. James J.. 104. 132:
Michael JLU Thomas. ISO.
Wairden. fcdim. Henrietta X.
(Sweet). Mildre<i and Ray-
mond. 2 4 3; S. Watson. 237,
242: W'atson.
Warner. C. IL* 75. 80: Chas..
82: Oliver S., IL
Warnock A villa M. (Tink-
er). 332: J. C. 332: Kalli-
erlne A.. 333 : Thos. H..
13(t; William G.. iW,
3JLL 333; William~Cr:
333.
Alanson and Sarah
34(;: Kdward.
Henryi
G. (Ly-
Rlchard.
34>»:
3:.,
331.
Jr.. _
Warren,
M. (Hh kox)
34(); Etta,
346; Josephine
man). 298, 348:
346. 481.
Warrlner, Edw. W
WashiuKton HnKlne Co., Ifi^
Waterman Kdward C, 264 :
Marion C. (I'arker). 264 :
Moses. 193, 194: Reuben,
207.
Watrous. Edwin A., 330.
Watts. Wm. LL. iJi.
Webb. Walter. 207.
Webber. Fannie E., iM.
Weed Mrs. J. li. (CahlU),
Weeks, Mrs. M. F.. SiL
Weimar, Henrv. l.">6.
Welch. Mrs. G. F., 236.
Welles. John. aii.
Wells, Nelson J.. ^
Welten, U E.. 143.
Wessman John. 202. 204.
West. E. E.. 81.~53: Main
St. School. 219. 226; Peak.
i^. 3iL; School District.
Wet more A. C, 107. 113.
lis; .Mattie S.. 236.
Whalen, Annie M.. 133
Wheat ley. Edward crT^la.
Wheeler. Everett, IfU; Fred-
erick J., Ill, 464 : Maude
H. (IJjirber).
Wheelock. L R
White Edw.
137:
Henry
James
John
lies.
Mm
118;
IdL 137; Faml-
H«»mnn 311 :
S.. 57_; Howard,
£L liL 87, UAl
IL. 165: Mary
m32; Myron 8.. ii96i r.98;
Nathan'l and Ell«a ( Peck >,
597; O. iL, 141 ; Stanley,
139.
Whiting. Samuel,
Whitman. Walt. 4S>7
Whitney, E. H.. 13^,
Wicklund, A. F.. 1^
Wickstrand. C. A.. 202: M.
A.. IMLL
Wight man. J. 8.. LLS.
Wilbur, (\iroline, 235.
Wilcox, Albert IL. m. 330.
Anna E.. 2 36: Charlotte
(Smith). ■%32 : Dennis C.
68: Elizabeth White (Sco-
vll). 329i Ella A., r.32: El-
len (Parker*. ••)32 : Geo. tL,
■'■9. t;4. sc.. in, lis. 1 1!^.
121. llS,l[32fTrrs.T^^o. H..
f»9 : Georglne. r)32 ; Henr>
8.. 329: Henry T., 329;;
Horace C. 59, 8fi, 234. .S3o;
Mrs. Hjiraee C. liTj Hose
Co.. 79, Ml IL; Jane E.
(Merriman). 330: L.. 144 :
Sjtmuel tLi IL
Wiles. Minnie O..
Wtllard. Daniel H„ ML
Williams. Alfred. 115: Cha?.
H.. 137; Chas. M.. 65, 6«,
209: Mrs. C. M.. 66; F. H..
To; Harry J.. 971 J. IL,
Willow St. School
Wilson. Edgar A.
(Jrove FL, 3, i2L
• Heach). 251 ; J.
Lesley A.. 2 1 .
Winner, Jo.s'ephlne,
Winslow. Carlton
('has. N.. 335.
r.si ; Henrietta E. (Bald-
wTn). 57, is, 59, 337.
Winthrop Hotel and Com-
pany, 605.
Wlthey, Emanuel. li.
WIttman. Kmil. 199.
Wolcott, H«?nry and Mnry
W.. ,i22.^
Wollsohlager. F. M.. SO.
Wood. Cha». U... 62 H5. 210:
Irving, 153; "Jennie D.
236: M. C. 21*7.
Woodley. H:mma L... .^2^ 5»»:
hlllza A. »t>avey>
WtlUam, ,",9<«. ma
Woodruff. Wyllls, 3^3.
Wood worth, A>»a 4y5.
Woolley, J. J.. ilL LtlL
Worcester. A. M . 1 '.iV
Wright. Charles tL_
Dexter R.. 3, las. 22L
Frederick X. '><f9.
Wuth. Edward A.
Yale.
327
and
574:
Allen. 13»: Bertrand
107. 1-1. L2i Jii 32C,
Catherine J. (Miller).
; Cecilia L (Saleski).
Chloe E. (Holcomb*.
Emma L.. « Norton.
Hiram A.. ULL 126.
i2JL '>S3: Ira N.. 121:
Johnathan. 146: J. Hobart.
1 42. 143. 4S3: Jullu* W..
483: I... B., 1 42: L.-iminta
(Clark). 32!>: I^vl, LfiL.
m. 123: Levi. Jr.. iJL
I>evi and Anna «Guy>.
324. 325; Mary t:atherlne
57. 58. 329: Mary
Mary (Cooley).
483;; Mr*. Oll-
W .. is!L
Li£ 147.
KO: \l'm.
413;
476:
3^6,
iMi
327,
iL
( Wells),
W., 3;:^:
483: Noah.
ver. iJLi : S"
110; Samuel
231 : Solomon
110. 146.
Yeamans. G. IL. SI. 96.
Yost. August. 571.
Young. IL C. 113: Men's
Christian As.so. 68-70:
Men's German- American
Club. UIl: Men s T. A. B
Society. 97. 101.
H.LUSTKATIDN.S.
All Saints* Memorial Ch oh.
IfiS.
Amaranth Club: Parlor. 102:
Reading Room. 102 ; Bil-
liard and Card Room. 103-
At water, Francis, Residence
of. 439.
Bigelow. W. IL. Residence
of. 375.
Bradley. Wm. L. Estate.
Views of. liL
Brookslde Park and Cas-
cades. 1_L
Bushnell Building. 590.
CahlU Block. ZM.
Castle Cr.iig Tower. Ifi,
Caternct. Old Engine iL
Cat hole Pa.ss. UL
Center Congregational Ch'ch.
LLL
Center School, the Old. 211.
Central Grammar School, 2IS.
Church St. School. 214.
City Park. LL
Coe Can tie, 602.
Colonial Club: Wilcox Blu<k.
93: Parlor. Ml Assembly
Hall, iL; Card Rooms JSj
j^uu Ly Google
INDEX.
179
BllUnrd Room, 95; Sooiail
Room. Sii.
Oilumbia St. Si hool, ZIL
Ci>nnei'llcui Schooi for Boys.
•Curtis Home, Cliildren'a
RuildiiiK. iiiL
Curtis Home. Old Liidies'
HuildinK. iL
Curtis Memorial I..ihrary, la.
•Curllss. James A._ Residence.
also Warehouse of, ■'■ r» 1 .
Kast District School. 22fi.
East Side Social Club House,
1 or..
£g:g:leston Jere D.. Resi-
dence o^, i fi
Falrvlew. Tower and Pavil-
lion. 37.
First Baptist Chiirch, Uii.
LLL
First Con^rreKational Ch'cli
Building lllL
First Methodist Church. 112,
First Methodist Church Ed-
IHce. LLL
First National Bank Build-
ing. LLfi.
Franklin St. Scho«>l, 2 20.
♦German Baptist Church and
Parsonage, 1 .'t.'i.
Hanover School. il'^Z.
Ho;y AngelH" Church and
Rectory, 1 S.'..
Home Club: Club House. SQj
Parlors, 8£i Cpper Hall
and Billiard Rooms. Si
Hall and Rending Room.
Home National lijtnk Build-
ing LU.
Hose Houses: Charter Oak.
ISs Byxbee Hose Co. and
Dooliltle Hook & Ladder
Co.. Iij Parker Engine Co.,
liL Wilcox Hose Co.. 72i
Volunteer Hose Co.. fill-
Jewish Synagogue, 20 it.
Journal Publishing Co.:
Busineiu) OHlce. 127: Di-
rectors" Room. 128: News
Composing Room, 12»:
Book and Job Composing
R<»om. 13i>: Press Room
: Bindery. 131 : Electro-
typing Room. 132.
Katlyn Kottage.
King St. School. 2ia.
Liine, John S., Residence of.
Lewis Ave. School. -J-'fi
Lewis, The Late Isaac C.
Residence of. 3 .'.7.
T..iberty St. School. 218.
I.iutheran Immanuel t^h'ch.
2 on.
Main St. BaptlMt Church. Ihl.
Main St. Baptist Parsonage.
Green. Br.-idley Ave. near
Club House; Home tireen;
Club House, 4L 1
Meriden High School. 213
. Meriden Hospital, tioj Sick
Ward. eij Operating
Room, il.
Meriden Institute, the Old
20«.
Meriden. Looking North
from Town Hall. 12o.
Meriden National Bank
Building. 112.
Meriden Town F*arm House,
HOT.
Meriden Town Hall. Old, I;L
Meriden, West Main St. from
Corner of Colony, 1 22.
Meriden Wheel Club: Parlor.
Billiard and Card
Room. 92.
Mirror I.,ake, Sfl.
Mirror Uike Cascades and
Children's Playgrounds, iiL
Morse & Cook Block. 601
No. Broad St. School. 223.
North Colony School,
Old Corner School, 208.
Olive Branch Chapel. 14«
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Church. IHH.
Parker Block. 26<.
I'arker, Dexter W.. Resi-
dence of, 3ir>.
Pearl Knob. liL
Pinks Charles Residence
of, ■'.2«.
Preston, John iL- Residetice
of. rt4S.
Republican Publishing Co.
Building. Lai.
P. T.. Building. 47«
Episcopal EdlMce.
Saleskl.
Second
The
So. Broad St. School.
So. Center School, the
Old
Southeast District School.
22S.
South Meriden M. E. Ch ch.
1 7H.
St. Andrew's Church. 1K4
St. John's Church, imi
St. Joseph's Church. 190.
St. I^iurent's Church. 183.
St. Liiurent's Parochial
School, 230.
St. Mary's Church and Par-
sonage. 1 Kfi.
St. Paul s Church. LSiL
St. Rose's Church. ISO.
St.^^^Rose's Parochial School.
Swedish Baptist Church and
Parsonage l »
Swedish Lutheran Church,
203.
Thomas, A. S.. Residence of.
Church and
West District School. 21fi.
West District School, the
Old. 210.
West fr<»m VVe.nt Peak. 11,
West Peak from East Peak,
Willow St. School, iil.
Wintlirop H«»tel. 608.
Young Men's Christian Asso.
Building. HiL
Young Men's T. A. B. So-
ciety: Pairlor. ysj Library.
:>h: Card Room. y9j Smok-
ing Room, Pool Room.
lou: Card Room, loo-
Meriden Bank. Old Build-
ing. LLL
Meriden Golf Club: Third
Trinity M. E
Parsonage.
Wallingford
Peak. 12-
from West
Abraham. Meyer. -106.
A.ien. Eowaru C., .'^;'»7.
Alien, E. K., dA-
Allen, Lew. r.ni
Arnold. O. B.. 2x2.
-\«hworth. R. A., 1 4.';, i^a.
Atkins. Stephen. 6ut).
Atwater. Francis. *'.i.<.
Atwell. George. 1 4r,.
Aubrey. Alfred B.. ■'^7i;.
Augur. Julius. ■^S4.
Austin. A. E., 2ti»i.
Baldwin. Ashbel. l>il.
Baldwin. Moses, t;o»;.
Baldwin, R. Le.and, a«t»
Biildwin. Ransom. Jr.. 3l»7.
Baldwin. Ransom. Sr.. 3'.<7.
Baldwin, S. W., iI<L
Barber, Willis N.. 2M-
Barrelle, Almond, 1 4,t.
Beach. Henry B..
Beach. Robt J., 177.
Beebe. H- Dwlght, 243
Benham. Welcome E.. 4fi2.
Bernstein. Slg..
Bevins. Le Grand. 33.S. f.Ofi
Bevins, Waiter L. 339
BIbeau. Henrv C. f.x.-^
Bicknei;. (Jeo. E.. *'>~
Bigelow. W. 374
Blllard. John 1)7. 323.
BIrdsey. Alanson. 4 73.
Birdsey. Ell C. Jr. 301
Blnlsey. Eli C. Sr.. 300. 606.
Bloom field. David. 41"7~^
Booth. Walter. r>7f*
Bowen. C. B.. IL
Bowker. James iL, fiOS.
Bradley. Abigail Ann (At-
water). .'i 1 3 .
Bradley. Levi. .'» 1 3.
Bradley. William L.. 420.
Bradstreet. E. T., 24 7.
Bror>ks. James S.. 579. fiOfi
Bruce. Nathaniel, 161.
Bush. K«nner. .^.^S.
Bushnell. H, E.. iM-
Butler. Ell. '^7^
Butler. Henrv C. .n79.
Butler. Joel I_ no<;
Butler. John F.. r.H«
Byxbee. John C. UL
Byxbee. Theodore, L&- 2B
Cady, Edwin ilL
Cahlll, C. W'.. 349
<'amier. John ^''^^
Camp. David N.. 3S7
('arpenter. E. C. Kfi
rarter. Bela. 431 fiOfi
Ca.'<telow. E. D.. fiofi
d by Google
i8o
A CENTURY OF MERIDF.N.
OHtlln. BenJ. ISi
<'atlln. W. LLi lilii-
«'hjitnberlain. Ahlram. < H.
cMiupln. J. LL^ ISlA^
<*hiin'h, (_;«*t»rjft' A.. 4>^<>.
I'hurrli. H<Miry J.. 4n>;.
<'hijrch. UuilH LL 4(l7.
Clark. Ge(». M.. 4S''>.
t.V>e, An«lrew J., ai s.
Cof. Calvin.
rot*. JoHt'ph K.. 4»;3.
('«»e. Kale Fo«»te. :n9.
roe. l^vl K.. IILL
<'ollinH. Aar(it) U..
Collins. Henj. \V.. iliL
Collins. K. J.. ILII-
Cook. Jam««s. 1S~.
Cook. Jaretl R.. LiL
Cooke. J. A..
C<M)ley. (JeorK**. lliL
Co«»nev. John, 1 SI
Cor«lo." C K., 1 .•■ 1 ■
Cortlo. Henry. Lli.
CurtiH. Asahel LL ■lir>.
<'urtit<. Augusta (Mun.sont.
r±L
Curtis. Hedotha P. iHuttnn).
Curtis. Kdwin K.. 108.
Curtis. Knos IL. i-Lfi.
Curtis. Floyd. LLL
Curtis. <;eo. R.. 30T.
Curtis. Cieo. M.. -taa.
Curtis. I-emuel J.. LL.
«'nrti-. Svlvester J.. '.33
i'urtls. Thos. E. iL- iii
<'urtlss. llomer. llli
Curllss. James A.. •>•>-■
CushlnK. John T.. IM-
l>avls. Wilbur F.. L&I.
I>eshon. C;iles IL 1
I>eSlmone. A.. 1 >>^
l>«Mld. diaries T..
Miinohue. John F.. 191.
f»ooIUtle. K J.. '!<3,
l»rylnin-t. Henrv. HA.
Durnnil. John K., .t 4 :t.
Katon. Jacob, JJL
I'Mk'erton. h. P.,
F.^TRieston, Jere P., -4.">.
Kllshr»'e. Geo. L.. fiofi.
Kverest. Chas. \V..
Kverltt. K. B..
Fay. F'^rnnk S.. -'Ti).
Fiiv. (Jeo. A., ■'.>i.^.
Fennell. \V. C... lii.
First Baptist Church. Group
of Pastors. 1 4ri.
Fletcher. Almon J.. ^.-'7
P'loto. Charles I.,., 12^
Forbes. Ilejirv. 4 0'
Forl)»'S. Marshall I^e, 401
Ford. KoKer M.. 1^
Foster. Francis S,. 47;?.
Fox, Andr«'\v F..
Fox. F., :'■!«!
Francis, (Jef»rKe \V.. Ti^i.
Fr Id hind. I Vivid. ZILL
Gardner. A.
O.-irdner. L L. *'■*?>
<;ardner. \Vm. K "41-
Garllck. A S.. 4 7.'..
Carllck. \Vm. 471
Garton. J. V.. lliL
<;ay, (;e«iiKe, .Mfi. fiOfi.
Cleranl. Jfiseph. "4i>
Gi;i. James F.. 4!iii
Gillespie C. Bancroft, Front-
ispiece,
(iladwin. Russell. ^'9.
Glaser, S. F.. lijL
Godfrey. R. S., <>0.^.
Graeber. Chas. A.. 4.S11,
Grant. John li^ 1*S
Greenwood. C. J., lil-
Gr Is wold. F. P.. liL
Griswold. Nat. F., 1^
Guion. John M.. Ifil.
<5uy. Jf)el VL. IPS.
Hall. FIuKene A., aii
Hall. Orrln. fiM.
Hall. Rufus. Hi
Ha. I. Russell. iSLL.
Hall. Seth J.. 3 SO.
Ha. lam. Robl. A.. Itfl
Harris. A. K.. liLL UlL
Hess. Herman. 4.'ii>
Hicks. RatcUffe, Ifil.
Hidden. J. Harry. ULL
Holt, IrvluK L-.
Howard, Iceland. IliL
Hoyt. Mela net h on, Ifil.
Hubbard. IL R.. «<>fi
Huber. J. C. l.'ifi.
Husted. E. \V.. ULL
Hyatt. Isiinc B., .^Ts.
Immlch. Henry L.. T,-2Ti.
InKersoll. Edward, Id I.
Ives. Joel S., 414
Ives. John.
Ives. Othnlel. f.06.
Ives. Reuben. Lfil_
Ives. Wm. J., 392
Jennings. RusHell. 1 4r.-
Jerome. E. M.. ir.i
JuilKe. Wm. J.. 191'.
Kay. James T.. .'i7 7.
KealInK-. MU-hael. .'iflfi.
Keeler. James. Hi l .
Kelly. Wm. P.. 121
Kelsey. Wm. A.. 1 .1.1.
Klbhe. Frank M.. .'iS.'t.
KItiK. Chas. A.. ■14.-
KltiK. (JeorKe U., ■"■7.1
KInK. Henrv T., ^'^
Kinne. C. C.
Kuntxe. Julius. fi03
1-ine. Arthur S.. 4»7
1-ine. John S.. L'sa.
l..Jirson. Robert, l ■"■?>-
l^e. Wm. W., .^'.*.1.
I^'lwb. Ernest A., KOtt.
Lewis. Henry J.. 271'.
I-ewls, Isaac C.. 1'
Lewis. William. 4 •.4.
Lines. H. Wales, r.i i
LInsley. Randolf.
Little. Hubert. 4S'
LIttleJohn. Ahram N., ifil
I>oomis. F. P.. 4.'i6.
Lord. Albert J.. 133
Lyman. W. W. --'ft?.
Lynch, John T., iQi
Lyon. Humphrey, fiofi.
Main St. Baptist Church.
Group of Pastors, 15L
Marvin. E. Lyman, 2r>fi.
Maschmeyer. August.
Mason, .\. Frank. 1 4ri.
Mason. LL G.. LLL
May. Albert A.,
Maynard, W. H- A., fiS.
Meeks. H. A.. I'RS.
Merriam. Asixhel. 6tiG.
Merriitm. Geo. C. ££jL
Milei*. Walace A.. 460.
Miller. It. Henry. 14.'.
Miller. Geo. W.. 3H4. i?0«>-
MlUer. Harvey. 14:^. 4 1:?
Miller. Joel, fios
Mi;ier. William -'.79.
Mosher. B. W.. 4t».-.-
.Mosher. \V. R. 495
Mosher. W. W.. 4i«.'>.
Mueller. Wm. C. S71.
Munson. Cvrus, 161-
Murdock. F. L.. 49».
Murdock. Harriet M.. 409-
Murdock. Zina V'.. 4<»^
Morse. Geo. N.. 520.
Mor^e. Joseph, a IS.
Noble. J. G.. lol.
Norton. J. S.. Jr.. H-'^
Gwen. Evan. -*>0
Owen, Richard A..
OBrlen. Patrick T.. .^7.^.
Paddock. S. C.
PaKe. Benj.. 29.'>.
Palmer. Charles 8.. 4*»*
r*arker. Charles. 31?
Parker. r>exter W.. ^1 ?
Parker. Geo. A. and John H.-
Parker. John. 579.
Perkin.s. Chas. S.. 413.
Perkins, EdRar J.. 4f;R
Perklirs. Geo. W.. ■^7««
r^erkins. J. M.. liiL
Phelps. L Newton. 169-
Plerce, E. W., -Mjt
Plercon. S. C. 2r>.'>-
Plnks. Charles LL- ii2^
Piatt. Orvllle IdL. ill.
Police F(»rce. Group of. 74
Pomeroy. James T.. 4 3?
Pomeroy. Noah. iitxfl.
Pratt. Julius. .'.79-
Pnitt. Wm. M.. LS.
Preston. J. 549.
Prouty. WiJUs J.. ;3«-
Quested. Wm. M.. 49S.
Randall. Arthur T., 161. 16<-
Rapelye. F. I).. .^Sl.
Reilly. Thos. L. 44».
Rice. Oliver. »;o6.
Rockwell. <'harles I*, aifi.
RcK-kwell. George, 3.^.%.
Ft<»< kwell, William P.. MS.
Rogers, Cephas B.. -'»^-'^
RoRers. Gilbert. '.07.
Ropers. Wilbur F-. -'.n
Saleskl, Paul T.. 477
Sands, Clara I^julse.
Sands. Frank E.. .'iO?.
Schnleder. N. F. X.. 1S7.
Schmelser. AuRust. 4S<<
Seeley, Geo. S.. 3fl4
Selectmen. Group of First.
Sills. Ellas T.. 497.
Sisklnd. .Abraham. 2<*6-
Smlth. Edwin E.. 135.
Smith. E. W.. 2A&.
Smith. Sereno D.. 4S4.
Southwlck. Daniel P.. 4
Southwick. Frank T.. .^'.4.
Squire. W. H_ ■^S7.
St. Andrew's Church R*c-
tors. 161-
L Kj ^od by Googl
INDEX.
Stevens. A. Ij.. i^'>.
Stiu'kdule. F. Fi.. LLL
Sto< kln^. S;i»»ura S.. LlLL
Stow. JameM I'., r»7!«.
Siitlirr, John. 41' 7.
Tappert. r. R., -'aiI.
Thayer, John Q.. MiL
Thomas, Anthony S.. 4 i' 4 .
Thompson. W. 11^
TredennU k. Kdward, iili
True. B. O.. UiL
Tufts. Sidney D., 401.
TwJh«. Ira, llllL
Twiss. Waldo IfllL
I pham. <'harlt\«« UL I»1L
l'p.*«on. HenJ., fiOiJ.
Van N«istrand. GoorRo. 4S7.
Van Oppen. A.. 1 S4.
Wasrner. J. I*.. UiL
Walker. O. T.. liLL
Warden. S. Watson, iilL
Warnock. Thos. Lia.
Warnot k. W. G.. iU-
Warren, Henry. 347.
Wheeler. F. J.. liilL
Wheeloik, L K.. l.'il.
White. Myron S., '.^s.
Wlh nx. Dennis (V. iliL
Wlleox. Horac e C. iiL
Williams. Charles M. fiiL
Williams. 1). S., lilliL
Wilson. K. A.. iiilL
Wilson, Crove tL. '.7 ft.
WInslow, C. N.. lift,
Woodley. William. ILM.
Woolley. J. J.. LLL
W«>rcester. A. M.. 1 .'■ 1 .
Vale. U. L.. iiJL
Vale. Hiram A.. ai'T.
Vale. J. Hobart. 4s:{.
Yale, John. .'»79.
Yale, Levi, Cur,.
Yale, Samuel U, W.. liilL
PART III.
Aberurnos. A.,
Akers. Kes.sle (t'oe), 1 fi(>.
.\kers, John. iri7. UilL
Akers A Plpeon. ir.T-lf.O.
Allen. J. F.. James R,
Ct',1.
Andrews, Andrew, iiL
An^felus the Invented, JJL
Anvil Brand Carvers. ^liL
Auhrey. Albert James, (17^
9(K 5iij Alfred J»»hn. Jil,
iiO, 92 : Blanche K. < Boom-
er*. ^ Clara May SiJ
John. ^ tJun. liiL Jiattle
1^, lliti William H^ 9lA
Wm. R.,
Steam Ijiundry,
Baileys
I?alley, Theodore F. IJLL
Haldwln. Arthur. ISj I* O.
11.
P...rbour. Silver Co.. The, 35i
S. 1.... .16^
Partholomew 6 Coe, Ik3.
Harlon, Clara. Monument, LIS.
Fiassett. John K. & Co, LL; O.
W. I '.fa
Beach. Henry B., liL
Iteadle. J. B.. 22.
Beaver Uike, \2*i: Ice Co..
iL'fi.
Beecher MfK Co.,
Bemis, Berth.i 8 (Carter).
23 : Frances (<'heney).
Fred Fi.. Leslie C. 2lJ
Orlando, 'ii; Itoberl <*.. 12.
Tienham. Thomas A.. ZiL
BerK«?n. Cut (Jlass. 99j James
I>.. ^ 131 ; J. IJ. Co.. ttiti
J. Val and W. Tracy 100:
Berjfen & Niland Co.. 1.1.1.
Besse-Boeker C<i.. 1 .'i 7 : Besse-
I;
ir>fi: Itesse
l>ex-
Bovnton.
L. W.,
Itillard. John L..
Bird. William K. A.,
Bishop. Dexter L.. 1 4<>:
ter L. Co.. The. 140-14.1:
Ksther «'. » Johnson*. 142:
Kthel J. and Wilfred Mer-
rlman, LLLi Walter ii-L
Black Pond. 12.
Bliss. K. A., ai: E. A. Co..
The. Ml W. K . Z2.
Bond Harness Co., SI,
Bowman. Robt.. SSL
Boynton. A. K.. I.'i7.
Boys' «*lub. LL
Brad;ey. AbiRail Ann (At-
waleri. "» : Clarence P..
♦!;'»■ 7 4T~<r,. ^H; Harriet
K. (Peck), LL; I-evi, tiT^
70 : Nitthanlel L., iiil
CT^ IlL SiiL; Samuel, TOi \Vm.
I*., lilj Bradley & Hubbard,
liL Bradley & Hubbard
MfK. Co. Shs "0. "fi. S9.
B. * IL L-imp, £1.
BreckenridKe, C. E., ZIL 16:
J. C. liLL
Britannia Ware. iL
Br«»wn, Martin tL. liL
Canllehl. J. LL & <'o.. il.
Ciirpenter Bros.. lilL
Carter. Bela. 21^ 21; Robert
W .. 22.
Casper. Charle.s, LL.
Cassldy John. 1 ;'■ 4 : Joseph
M.. 1 4 ; Mary, i ■'■ .'■
Chamberlain. A.. iL 2iL
Chapman MlR. C<> . 1 20. 14.'..
Cheney. Martha (Breiwn), 21L1
Samuel T. R.. 21L
Church. GeorKe • A.. 1 4 :
Robt. C3.. liL C'hurch A
Morse. LiiJ ir>4: t'hurch &
SpraKue. < ■'■■1
Clark. C. S.. 12iL
Collins. Aaron L., 23. 4.'.. 4«;:
B. W.. 2rij Charles FL^ 4iL
7»;.
Columbia Shade Cloth Co..
r.:t. ILL
Coe, Ix'Vl
It.. LfllL
Cone. S. T
Conn.. Breweries
Siiddlerv & Bell
Tel. & Elec. C...,
Rock Quairics
Cfmverse. A. J..
Cm , 1 1 II
Co«»ke James IF..
K- Ice Co.. !LL
C<.oley. IrvliiK O..
Cornwall. Isaac FJL
and Julln (Roberts)
Cowles. (Seorne. JiL
Crow Hollow, .ii,.
Curtis, Alfred P., TOi Chns
4': Wlnneld
11-
Co..
Co.
ILL;
In<-..
lul:
. LilLL
Trap
i'ub.
SJ : Stone
r.4.
. 47
Wm.
18.
K.. I2«j H. K.. iSL Enos. liii
Kmeline .\melia (Bradley),
70: (Jeo. M.. 41. LL i*L
'j:,. 107; <;eo. R. 44. 4>,.
i«2 : I^emilel J.. 3iL JUL
.'■(•.. '.»:{ ; Curtis & Lyman,
Robert LL 47.
Fltmiei A., 23^
LI
ii
LL
Corliss.
James ,\., 110: Curl Is- Way
Co., li>0
CushluB, F. H.. LL
Davis. Cf. P., LL
Dayton & Sherman. 1 40,
De Uimater Studio. 1 KQ-
Derby Silver Co., liL
Dlttmer. John. 1 3S
Dodd. Samuel, 3(;. 4f>. 4S. Sit
Donovan. Julia Cornwell
(White). IK: Silas. 1 K.
Dotdittle. K. J.. 5»y. 107.
Drake. Emma irTandel). liL
Exi-elslor PrinliiiR Press, 61,
Eclipse Bread Kneader Ulu
KilKprton. F. ('..11:1-
Eil wards. (JeorKe ('., !iiL
F.varts. A. LLi 13H.
Eytlam. Adolph, }<L.
Falrchlld. Frederick L.. l.'iO:
Geo. W.. l.^O: Henry E..
1 4(: 1 49 : Mary KllZiibeth
(Bliss), l.'ia: Marv Elli;i-
bcth (Clark) !.'.(*: Ralph
K. and Ralph LL litiL
Fay. Mrs. Geo. A.. liL
Flint. t^'orK** E.. 4«.
F''oster. Albert. S2j Foster.
Belden & Co.. i2l Bros..
1 4(>: Hardware Co.. 124 :
Hiram. S2j I-Jike. I H>: Mi>r-
rlam & Co.. S2j ill.
Frary. James A.. llL LL
Frary ft Co.. 11.
Fritx Ftros. E T. & W. F . LlliL
Fryeburjf (Jun. UlL
Ftiriilss. Kdw.. UIL
Gar lick. Wm . LLiL
GehrInK F Ad.. LLL
Gll<lernli'eve. J. M.. 2JL
(Jlock. Charles C. and Chas.
W.. LLL
(•reenbacker. .Adolf. 1 ■"■ 2 :
A CK.VTIJRV of MERlDEN*.
AnnU*. ir.3: A. & Hons.
• 'liarles, I ill'; JoHfpli. 1 'i 1' :
ll<»»>erl. If.:' ; Koslf.
<;rimn. Kran«it< H., I .t-'t
K.. <}risw«iiar fUvh-
nioiul Ik <Jl<n-k. The. Co., lag.
«tn«svfnc»r. J. p.,
llatlley, JanifH A., Iii7
ICaU'y A Ak<>rH. 1 fi 7
Hall. A. J. & r... and Ar-
llnir J.. Lk-wih, liL HI :
Wm.ur M. 1 4:{; Hall &
l*«'wH HUltf.. I r,7.
(laliam, K. \V.. ilSi,
llaniillon. riiai-ifH A., 36: D.
H . 44
llanilt'l. Company, The, TMj
<"aroihu' I SiKterlin ». 71»j
Kreil. Kredt'ri« kji.
<t«'i»rn.' .7U : Jacob " and
* 'atlierint' « NVul«'rlfh ), Taj
rhillp J . Uii Ware, liL
liiirnKMi. J. M.. ijL
liaiilson & Jtradfurd, lifi.
M.'-s. VV. It.. iL
ili'iiii li.li, <;i orK»*. John,
Sr. and Jr. i .is
liclinKt Innh-d Mftf. Co. and
rarl v.. 1 1:{
I ••'niMii-ad. Mrs. Frfd,
III. key. Win.. 1 17.
links Niivrlty Co..
Hinsdale, .Mrs Jani«>.s H., "H.
Holmes & Kdwards Silver
Co., .'t.'i.
Hidl. IrvlnK 1 1. 1 : Holt &
lliiuar»l I'raH & <'«i., IiSL
lliiu*-!!, (;»'o. M.,
lliitd>ard. Ahhy Ann » Brad-
!••> ». G7 : <5»*»»rKe. ti" : Jer-
»*.niah, !LL; Walter, 6^
ILL iiL 1""-
Himlws. K. IL M. UL
HnntlnKton. K. L., £:L
Hurl. y, John A.. LLL LLL
International Silver Co., 3r>-
Ives. Hnssell J.. 2JL
Ivory Knameled Food Pun.
'.>:>.
JinniiiKs, A. M.. 1^16: ChuR.
K. 1 ■•{ :! ; JetiiiiiiKx & cJrlf-
tiri. The. MlK. <'o.. LLL
Jiihnson. C. «.. 142: W. II..
AC.
Jorii-s. A. LL Cf). and A. H..
I -4 ; Jennie K. < l..4iK::t>u.
I L' 4 : TluMnas and Marguer-
ite
K^ lsey. Pre.HK Co.. 61_i \Vm.
A.. ILL
Kennai'd. Itenjamin C, JL
II. LeiKhion. liij Justlna
r. «|{ald\vin>. UL
Ketidrirk. Mrs. 1. .A..
Kopp, Jidin. 1 :ts.
Lane. .Arthur S.. ii. iLU John
S. Ii^ John S. & Son. iiL
I-iwn II. del. The. l^L liiL
l^i\vt«.n. M. L.. liiL
I.earneil. C. A.. Hl7. 109.
I. .ink.-. .Martin. l.^.K.
Ueu is. Henry J.. 44 : Inaac
c. IiL IL 111 <cr~r>6.
L f. & Co.. 41; I>ewis &
Holt, lij Partrlck, llL
I/Hommcdieu & Wutrous,
la:..
Mne«. IL Wnleii. 12. 146; H-
Wales IJn«>M & Co. 14^.
Ihlll The tL Wales Llnea
Co.. i4«;-i.'.i).
IJnsley. Churleti F.. 6iL 74,
1"7 : Fre«leriek. Hi G«or-
Kianna K. <(iay>. 76; Har-
riet (Foote). Tlj Rundoir.
Liiby, .Mnurloe and Kllen
<H.vanl, Wm. J..
l.yman, W.~W: 4U. 41. 93.
Ly.ui. (Jeo. W.. 4;'.. 46. .'»6:
Wm. IL. 4i». G3. a4.
.Ma« kay. 'willlam R.. 4i
Manhattan Sliver Plate Co.,
II . t .
MaiiiilnK. Bowman & Co., iS.
HJ. yj_; K. B.. SiL
Markham. A. C, 41»
.MeChesney. T. U.. il.
M.-Kenxle. Heien M. (Ken-
uurd). li>; Wlllium Atkins.
IiL
M.Mahon, J. IL^ n5j John
tL 117.
Merlden. Flrewlnff Co., 115:
iirltannia Co., 37. 'Afy, 4j_,
IiL IiL ilx ^ Jtl: Bronxe
Co.. Ll^ Liij Curuiln Fix-
ture Co.. iL; Cut GlasM
c«... 1-':: Cutlery Co., L'3:
Klei trle"l..l>cht Co.. lOfi. li>7:
Fire Arms Co.. hTi Fire
lnsnran.*e Afceney, 151 :
(las LlKht Co., 10 5 . 107:
t Ira In ik Feed Co.,
( Iravure Co. \ : lee Co..
1:^6. 1 40: Malleable Iron
<'o., 21; Silver Plate
C<i., 35^ 47; Woolen Co., 4iL
Merrlam. Amiph. 8Jj (JSeo. C.
x6: I^iuren, Kil; NelHon, 8iL
.s.-i: Nelson C. 86; Robert
Meteor Coffee Percolator. iiL
Mi.ldlelown Plate Co.. aiL
.Miller. Arthur K., !L ISL Bros.
<'utlery C«».. .vj^ Bros. Steel
Pen«. 56; ~Pur<»llne M.
iNeal). aJ Kdward, 5; Kd-
ward, Jr., H; Kdward 4k
Co., 3; Geo. W, 150: I.«na
S. iMerriam>, 1 55 : l>>wiii
A., 14 6. 150: Uydla M.. 15o:
IL LL £5; Joel and Clar-
issa (Plum), 5; Joel & Son.
IL: l.Jimp, 3; Sjimuel 6j
Watson J.. aiL
.Miliier. HenJ. F.. 126.
.Mlnknieit-r. Fred. 138.
Mirrielees. Wm. I*. l>iL
.Miu hell. K. A.,
.Monroe. Charles F.. 2Ji 113.
LLL; The C. F. Co.. 35-30.
LLL
Mioehouse. Andrew C. 139:
Andrew C.. Jr.. 140: Br«»s.
Co., 13i*: Charlotte L.
(Smith). 1 4t): Edna Gen-
eva, 141): Henry I*..
Munson. G«>o. D.. UL: John
36. IL
Neal. Joseph and llatilda
(B4irnes>. SL
NUkel Alloy Type, tLL
Niland. J. J. tic Co.. Jiuse«
J.. LLL
1 4ii:
139
Robt. A., HOj Walter
"140.
Morgan. W. P.. li
.Morse. Chas. P.. 154.
.Mosher. W. W.. IL
Oetlnger. Bliux and John, 141
Paige. Benjamin lIL
Parker, llros., 1 : Chari#«.
41. IiL IV^ 49^ 51, lii ii-.
The t^harles Co., LUL.
Charles K. 4«*; CliM-k Co..
iiL Cl«H'k Faetc»ry. iL
Coffee Mill. -IL; l>exter W .
IiL 53; Kdmiind, lyj Fran-
< ls W.. 14.. t) A.. S6; Shot
<>un. 51 1 Snow, Hro(»ks 4c
Co.. 63; Spec-tiiflej«. il;
Spo<in Shop 5 1 ; Vice. 51j
Wilbur F.." iJSTLil Parker
Casper 46^ IL f3;
Parker & Whll*-. 14.
Par low, A. M.. ^
Parsou.H. Joseph H.. 93.
Patten & Wallaee. 1 45.
Peek Seldon nnd Lucy
Ho.iker (Hart). lA.
Peets. C. Berry, 36. 44. aiL
Pel ton, 1'. S.. isL
Perkins. R. B.. 138: Perkins
& UneH. US* Lia.
Phoenix, Percy, LiL
Pierce. Bradford IX, Jr.. <l ;
B. L).. Jr.. Co. &1.
pigeon Ernest W.. IS".
PJatt. Dan Fellows. 48.
Polsey. <'. K. SJL
Pratt. Julius & Co.. ill
Pratt, Read & Co.. 56j
Pratt. RopeH. Webb * Co.,
::3.
Proudman. Mrs. A. W.
Reiski. Andreas. 138.
Richmond. John l^, 1.22.
Rochester l.4imp. 1.
Ro<k.well. Charles F.. aJi.
Charles U. ^iJL Mi ^ii Geo..
.16^ 11 Ml »i; Wm. F..
59.
Rocky Hill, The. Stone Co.
6L
Rogers. B. C. Sfii Ro|?erii
Bros.. 11; Cephas B..
C. Bros.. 35. 37. 4 7. A?!.
<'utlerv t^).. Ill; George F..
4s: Gilbert. 48; N. B. 4^i
Wilbur F., 48; Wm. MTg?
Co. 1>L
Ropes. Djivld. 2i
Rutherford. J. L.. ftC^
Savage, Albert W.. 87;
(Mtarlotte V. (Foster). IL;
?;dwln and Franoes Sophia
(Wilcox). 95; GeorKe E.
S6. SLi.
ScKShck. M. B. J 03: The M
B. Co.. 10-': W .A.. U^^.
Schnlck. Ju.>ieph.
S< huna«k. C. E.. 1^ Klaie.
131 : Emmy. l-'V: t:!uMav
an<l ly>ul.sa (Liange). li"»:
Mlldrwl. LLU Rhcnia (B:ild-
win) 13L
Sejirs. Roebuck & Co.. 87.
Sercomb. A. L*. 43.
y Google
INDEX.
J83
Sherman. F. ('., ln7. \09.
Silver City «'ut OIhsh <.
SimpHon. Hall, Miller
3h: Nickel Co SS;
iiel. 36.
SJuper. Andrew
Smith. Florfni't"
20; Ofn. P..
JO; Horiu-i' T.
T. Kx press (
* Co.
Ham-
J.. :..
Miiy (Wl)lt.'»
Ifariy.
.138; Tlio I£.
«>.. i:{K.
Stiindard Nnvoltv Co., 143.
St»«p»ianl, K. A., ;»0.
Stetson. Albert 1*. 95.
Stevens. Harry A., 59; Frank
A.. 151, 152.
Stiles. Mrs. p. W.. 93: N. C.
StiK-kiler, (' K., Jr.. !t9.
Sullivan. Michael F., 117.
SiitlifT. JameH R.. 86. M:
John, Hi,
."^yiph. The Schooner Taeht.
Symphony. The, 12.
T«i<h. Anion. M.
Thomas, Samuel. 36.
TibblU. C. H.. 36. 18.
Tinker. Irvlnn S.. 61.
Tredennirk, <J. H.. 139.
I'nitid States Silver Corp.,
3.'..
I'pham. ('. 1.. . Tfi.
Veit. Robt. J.. 117.
Walhire. Carrie K. (Urook.s),
Hfi; F. J.. 1 I."..
Watroiis, .Mansfin. 85; A. II
Co . S.. ; Mr>f. Co.. 35.
Wave CreHt Ware, 37.
Way. Julius. 82; W. H.. 110.
1 1:{,
Wh«Mler. Alir.'.l Pel ton. C4;
Frank *r Smi, 63; Power
|'r«'ss, >'>\
Wll. ox, Britannia Co . tr.; I ).
40.
F.
r
•t
1 1 ;
in.
1".
J<-f|iM|tah
Plate Co
3(t.
9S :
♦ T,
is.
41.
H .
or^e
J".
: 11
H
;».'■
- f
1 ».
41.
i Co
43. 4 1
2T, : F.
Mor
10.
; K.
P .
ace
n.
ft White Co.,
u.
c..
4»;.
& C.I. 40;
1.".; Si I VIM-
US; WiUox
The. 10, 23:
Wilcox A White Organ Co..
10. 12.
WilkinH. S. <:.. :.4.
WInthrop Hotel, 70.
Wlntter, A., 11.%.
White. Allan.
( icknev »
K.I ward H
.1: Frank <
Flora A.
l.onlse.
:l: Hetsy
(Iferrickt. IX;
111. 11'. 14 20.
1«. 21.' 22;
( Ives I 21: (Iraee
20; H.niJin. 19;
Henry K 10. 1 4. 1«. IK. 21 :
H«>ward. 10. 21: Jame.'* H
10. 12. 14. 1«. 20. 21 : Kate
(<'heney>. 2o; I.,m-v i Corn-
well) 18: Mary (Curleri.
21; UuHsell I.. 21; Stan>
ley. 21.
Wren, Peter W.. 116, 117.
Yale. Caster. 102; Charles
and Hiram, 37: College
Tf.
Yenkn. r. K. F.. 138.
York. Samuel A.. 138.
Y W. (*. A , 73.
ZcrfaMK, Williiim. S6.
ILI US1 KATIUKS.
Beriren. J. D. Co.. Factory. 101.
Bishop. The D. U Co. Dhitrlbutlns Depot.
142.
nilsiT.' The E. A. Co.: Faetory. 31: Section
of Factory. .'!» : S." tion of l',u t.»ry. 34.
Hradlev. N. !>.. H.-sidt iir.-. 7:;.
liradley & Hubbard SAtg. Co., Factory
Buildings. 68.
Conne. ticut Breweries Co., Merlden Plant.
114-119.
(^»nneetlcut Building. St Lovls Bzposltlon.
1 4K.
< 'oniH'ctliMil Ti ap l{i" k liuarrics, Mcri.l»Mi
Plant: part .if M.iiii c^uarries. Crusher
Stods ami Storage Bins, fin
Curtis.'*- Way Co. Tlie. Plant, 112.
FoHter. Merrlam & Co., Faetory BulldinsM.
84.
Oreenbacker. A. A Sons, Orenhouses, 168.
Hall. A. .1. * Co. Fa. torv. 131.
Hall. Wilbur R . Fa. torv. 14 1.
Handel Co.. The. .M. riden Factory of, 81.
Hanover I.4ike Falls. ISO.
f (elmMchmled Mfg. Co.. Show Room. 114.
Hubbard, Walter, Residence. 69.
fee MarvoKtlnir at Foster I^afce, 141.
International Silver <'o. : Factory A. Merl-
den Silver Plate Co.. 39; Factory E. Mer-
iden Britannia Co.. 42; Factory H. C.
Ro^rs 4r Bros., 48.
.J.-niiiriKs & C.rifUn MfR. Co.:
1;J4: Factory Hear, 135-
Fiictory Front.
I.rfiwn Hotel. l.*i.*>.
IJnes. H. Wfcles Co.,
Office and Plant, 147.
Manning. Powman & Co.: Factory In 1872.
93; Fa. t..rv In 1906. 94.
.M.-rl.l.Mi Hrit.iritiia <'o. In l^fi.^, ns.
>|cridcn Ctirtain Fixture C.». Fa.-lorv. .'i5.
Meri.leti Cutlery Co Fact.»rv. 24.
Merlden Electric Light Co. Plant. 108.
M.Mi.len Fire Arms Co. Factory. 88.
.M. ri.ten Chm LlK>it Co. Worki». 106.
Mrrlden Oravure Co. Plant. 123.
MHIer Bros. Cutlery Co. Factory Buildings,
Miller, Kdward \ Co.: Factory HuildinKH.
4; Foundry. 6; Machine Room. 6; Perfur-
atitts Room, 7; Automatic Lathe Room.
7.
Monroe, C. F. Co.: Factory. 26; Office. 27.
Nlland, J. J. ft Co. Interior Fftctory. 132.
Park.-r Pros Cuii Workt; .".2
Parker. The Chavlc> < 'o , Main Factory. 50.
S«*henck. M. H.. Ueshlence. 104.
iSchenek, The M. B. Co. Manufacturins
Plant. 102.
Wallace. F. J.. Factory. 146.
Wheeler. Frank ft Son. Factory. 64.
Wilcox Silver Plate (*o. in 1865. 45.
Wilcox & White: Fa. tory BulJdInKs. 11;
Action Dept.. 13; iNdlshinR Dept.. 13;
Piano Dept.. la; Case Room. 15; Music
Room. 17.
I'tiRTRAITS.
Abercunos. A.. 122.
Akers*. J.din, l.'-s.
,\iibrev. A. J . 91
Mail. v. Tlie...|..re F.. 126.
Pemis. Fr.-.l K . JJ
P.IKell, Jllin.'S l», 99
Heriieu. J Val. |ao
P.-ruen, W Tra< \, put
Mishop. I ifxter 1*. 140.
Pilss. K A.. 32.
Ml W K . 32
I tr^i il l''\ . < 'In t <Ti< <' p.. 77.
Hr.idl. v. .Vathanicl I.... 71.
Cart. r, Hobt. W.. 22.
» 'uri is. Ceo. M.. 37.
Curtis. Geo. R.. 3fi.
i84
A CENTURY OP MERIDEN.
Curtis, l^muel J., 36^
CurtlHM. Homer A.. 2".
Curtlss, James A., 110.
I>odd. Samuel, 37.
Edserton. P. C 62.
Faln lill.l. H. K..
F«>f»t<T. aUmmi.
!:-::::; o!;; 'Me;?!am' ur«up. rounder.
;in<l Former Olttcers, 8«.
Fritz. K. T.. 121.
Frits. W. P.. 120.
k, Cliarles C.. 187.
r.l.u k. <'l'arU.» W-, 137.
Orlnwoid. N. P.. 136.
HfliiiHthmled, Carl V.. 116.
Hubbard. Walter. M.
Huntinffton. l-rederlck I*, •s.
International Sliver Co. Group of oAcers.
37.
JennlnRM. A. IJ . ) »«■
Johnnon. W. H..
JoneM. AuRiistus II.. 1-4.
Kelney.^Wm. Aj^^ «2.
Kenmird. BenJ. C f.
Uiwton. B. U.
I>ewlM. Isaac < ,.
UnMley. < ii;iil< s l-.. I&.
huby. \N;m. J. 12H
Lymnn. W. W.. 3«.
M. I i.ien Britannia Co., Group. Pounders of,
Merrlam. Geo. C. 83.
Miller.
Mill.T,
Mill.T.
MiliuT,
Merrlam. Nelson. 83.
Merrlam. Nt'lt«on t . S3.
Merrlam. Robt J.. 86.
Miller. Arthur K.. 9-
K<l\vard. Jr.. ».
K.lward. Sr., 3.
I>. A.. l.'.O.
lU-nj F.. 127.
Monroe. Charles F., 28.
Hanson, John, 33.
Nlland, James J., 133.
Phoenix. P^rcy, 121.
Pigeon. Ernest W.. 163.
Polaey. C. E.. 33.
Rockwell. Charles F., 68.
KoKers. M. C 9S.
Rutherford, J. I*. 85.
Savajce. Oeo. K.. i»fi.
Srhent k. M. B.. 103.
S. hniok. Jo.scph. l-*2.
S. hunat k. C .K-.
Simpson. Samuel. 36.
Smith, llorat-e T.. 138.
Stepliaiii. V. A.. Kl.
Siitliff. James U.. S3.
Sutlirr. John. X'.i.
Wav. \Vm. II.. no. „
\VI)» « ler. Alfred P.. W.
Wheeler. Frank, «5.
White Family. Four GeneraUons, 19.
White. Frank C. 19.
White. Henry K.. 19.
White. H. Foster. 19.
White, James H.. 19.
Wlleox. Dennis C. 36.
Wilcox. B. C. »«•
Wilcox. G«»r«e n - I*'
Wilcox, Horace C 3«.
Zerfass. Wm.. S&.
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