Windham County occupies the northeastern corner of the state of Connecticut, bordering Worcester county, Massachusetts, lying on the north, and Providence and Kent counties in Rhode Island on the east. New London county bounds it on the south and Tolland on the west. Its greatest length, from north to south, is twenty-seven miles, and its greatest width, from east to west, is twenty-three miles. Its north, east and south sides are nearly straight lines, while on the west side its territory interchanges offsets with Tolland. The greatest. variation in the line made by these offsets, however, does not exceed six miles. This occurs on the northwest corner, where the town of Union makes an advance of about the distance mentioned. We may explain that the longest north and south line would be drawn from the northwest corner of Thompson to the southwest corner of Plainfield, and the longest east and west line would be drawn from the northwest corner of Windham to the Rhode Island line, about the middle of Sterling. The county as now constituted contains the towns of Ashford, Brooklyn, Canterbury, Chaplin, Eastford, Hampton, Killingly, Plainfield, Pomfret, Putnam, Scotland, Sterling, Thompson, Windham and Woodstock, fifteen in all; and included in these towns are the incorporated boroughs of Danielsonville and Willimantic.
Son of Doctor William Witter and Emily Bingham, his wife, was born at Willimantic, Conn., November 13th, 1842, in the substantial brick house now standing at the corner of Main and Witter (now called High) streets. His ancestry, both on the father’s and the mother’s side, is given with some detail in the sketch of […]
James Westcott, the grandfather of Henry Westcott, familiarly known as the ” Captain,” was born March 5th, 1740, and married Martha Tillinghast. Their son Joseph, whose birth occurred April 9th, 1779, in Glocester, Rhode Island, married Esther Richmond of the same town. The children of this union were: Henry; Almira, wife of Jude Sabin; Elizabeth,
Elisha Murdock, the grandfather of George Taft Murdock, was a prosperous farmer in the town of Uxbridge, Mass. His wife, a Miss Chapin, became the mother of several children, of whom Fuller Murdock, one of their sons, spent his life in Uxbridge, his native town. He married Esther, daughter of James Taft, of Uxbridge. The
The progenitor of the Elliott family in Thompson was Francis Elliott, a mariner, who settled in Salem, Mass., in 1686, and the same year married Abigail, daughter of John Nichols. Their son Thomas, who early in life resided at Middletown, in the same state, in 1723 married Lucy Flint. With his son Joseph he came
Nathan E. Morse is a descendant of Anthony Morse mentioned in the preceding sketch. His grandfather, Abel Morse, married Sarah Holbrook. Their son Nathan, born October 14th, 1785, was twice married, first in 1822, to Rebecca Child, and second to Mary Mills. By his first wife he had three childrenAbel, George and Nathan E. Abel,
William Bates, who resided in Coventry, Rhode Island, married Mary Hopkins. To this union were born twelve children, of whom Ambrose H. is the subject of this sketch. His birth occurred February 21st, 1832, in Coventry, where he resided until his eighteenth year. He enjoyed but limited opportunities for acquiring an education, but in later
Joshua Smith, the grandfather of Guilford Smith, and a native of Lebanon, New London county, subsequently moved to Windham county, Connecticut, where he was both a weaver and a farmer, and in connection with his trade wove cloth for the soldiers during the war of 1812. His children were three sons, Chandler, Charles and Marvin,
Thomas J. Evans, who was born May 17th, 1826, in Brooklyn, Connecticut, is the son of Elijah Evans, and the grandson of Elisha Evans. His active career was begun at the age of seventeen, as a teacher in Killingly, where he continued for ten successive years, his last term at Dayville having closed with an
Levi Wood, the grandfather of Darius Wood, removed from Swansea, Massachusetts, to Foster, Rhode Island, where for years he followed his trade of stone mason. By his union with a Miss Mason -were born children: Nathan, Levi, Jr., Wheaton, Ira, Olney, Albert, Hiram, Polly, Delight, Huldah, Louisa, and one who died in youth. Levi, Jr.,
The subject of this sketch, George S. Moulton, was the son of Harvey Moulton and Anna M. Turner, who were married October 29th, 1828. He was born in the town of Mansfield, Tolland county, Conn., on the 13th of September, 1829, and was the eldest of six children. He received a thorough elementary education, and
One of the well-known business men and leading bankers in Connecticut, Franklin Nichols was born in Thompson, Conn., August 11th, 1805. His boyhood was passed in his native town, sharing the advantages of the schools of those days. At an early age he commenced business for himself, in the improvement of extensive farming lands inherited
John and Dacy Thayer were the grandparents of the subject of this biography. Their son John married Ruth Mowery and settled in East Douglas. The children of this marriage were: Mowery, born April 27th, 1811; Charles D., December 26th, 1813; Arrilla, August 9th, 1815. Charles D., the second son, is a native of Douglas, Massachusetts,
Elijah Greenslit, a farmer and the landlord of one of the early taverns of the town of Hampton, married Mary Burnham. His children were: David, Elijah, Henry, Ebenezer, and one daughter. His son David spent his life in Hampton, the town of his birth, where he was an industrious and prosperous farmer. He married Nancy,
Born at Ashford. Windham county, Conn., May 5th, 1811. His father and mother were Daniel and Hannah Knowlton, both of the same name, and from families remotely connected. The records of the families are too imperfect to admit of genealogy with accuracy. On the paternal side they were farmers in comfortable circumstances, having influence in
John Pike, the common ancestor of the branch of the Pike family residing in Connecticut, settled in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1664. He was the progenitor of Jonas Pike, of Sturbridge, Massachusetts, who married a descendant of Peregrine White, the first white child born in New England. Their four sons were: David, Ephraim, Jonas and Jesse.
The Chaffee family have for several generations resided in the town of Mansfield, Tolland county, Conn. Frederick Chaffee, the grandfather of J. Dwight Chaffee, a prosperous farmer in that town, married Elizabeth Knowlton. Their son, Orwell S., was born in Ashford, Windham county, Conn., and for some years resided in Northampton, Mass., where he was
Henry N. Clemons, cashier of the First National Bank of Killingly, was born in Granby, Conn., son of Allen and Catharine Clemons. He was educated in the district school, the Granby Academy, the Suffield Literary Institution and the Williston Seminary, East Hampton, Mass. He began teaching at sixteen years of age, and taught in Hartland,
Samuel Messenger, the grandfather of Frank M. Messenger, married Lavina Blake, of Wrentham, Massachusetts. Their children were five sons and five daughters, of whom Silas was born in Stoddard, New Hampshire, and during his active life was both a farmer and a house carpenter in his native place. He married Arvilla, daughter of Isaac Copeland,
Both English and Scotch blood coursed through the veins of Mr. Fuller’s ancestors. His great-grandfather, Deacon Abijah Fuller, had the honor of assisting in the fortification of Bunker Hill, on which occasion he directed the throwing up of the earthworks the night before the battle. He died in 1835 in Hampton, where he was a
General Samuel McClellan, the father of the subject of this biography, was born in the town of Worcester, Massachusetts, January 4th, 1730, his parents having emigrated from Kircudbright, on the Firth of Solway, in Scotland. In the French war he served as an ensign and lieutenant of a company, during which service he was wounded.
