Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

JOSEPH TOMLINSON, of Huntington. Coun- ty of Fairfield, Conn., residing in the bor- ough of Shelton, was born December 27, 1828, in Southbury, that State. He is a son of Joseph Tomliiison (3), born in the year 1802, who was a physician, practicing in Southbury for some years. In 1836 he went to Milford, and in 1839 to Huntington Center, where he followed his profession during the remainder of his life. He was one of the successful and substantial practitioners of Huntington, and is well remem- bered by many to this day. For some time prominent in politics, he was at one time deputy sheriff, and was also postmaster at Huntington for some years. In his youthful days he was a Whig, later becoming a Republican, and he re- mained a true friend of that party until his death. Religiously he was a member of the Congrega- tional Church at Huntington Center, and he died in that faith in April, 1865. Joseph Tomlinson was educated in the public schools in South Britain, Milford and Hunting- ton, and at a select school at Huntington Center, conducted by Hezekiah Rudd, a noted instructor of his day, who had a large school, in which many of the prominent men received the finishing touches to their education. When seventeen years of age Mr. Tomlinson entered a store in Birmingham, and there remained four years. After teaching school a short time he then went to New York City as bookkeeper with William R. Robinson & Co., wholesale dry-goods merchants, remaining thus engaged for three years. In 1854 he returned to Huntington, and in the spring of 1855 went into what was then called the Manu- facturers Bank, as bookkeeper, holding this posi- tion until he resigned in April, 1866, after which time he served for five years in the same capacity in the Derby Savings Bank. While thus occu- pied he became interested in the manufacture of pins, hooks and eyes, becoming the chief pro- moter and starter of the Star Pin Company, one of the first stockholders, and also first secretary and treasurer, holding this position from the be- ginning of the enterprise until 1875, when the business was removed to Shelton and the man- agement of the same to New York City, where Mr. Tomlinson remained until 1879; he then sold out his stock and retired from the firm. During 1879 and 1880 he was engaged with Cyrus Brewster in the manufacture of corsets in Derby, and in 1881 he was appointed assistant town clerk. Elliott P. Curtiss, the town clerk, having removed from Huntington, Mr. Tomlin- son was elected clerk of the township to fill the vacancy thus caused, and to this office he was re-elected annually until October, 1897, when the term by recent action of the Legislature was changed to two years. In 1889 the office of probate judge was created, becoming an office di- facto May i, and to this incumbency at a special election Mr. Tomlinson was chosen, against the united opposition of Derby and Huntington, and he held it from the time it was established up to January i, 1899, when he was debarred by the constitutional age limit. In 1893 the town court of Huntington was established by the Legislature, and Mr. Tomlinson was ap- pointed judge of the same, and held the office by re-appointment until January i, 1S99, when he was disqualified by the age limit. Mr. Tomlin- son has also held the office of assessor of the borough of Shelton for several years, and at the election held in March last he was elected treas- urer thereof. Judge Tomlinson has always been a consist- ent and strong Republican since that party was organized. He has been justice of the peace since 1881. He has been collector of taxes of the town of Huntington since 1880, and in all his public as well as private offices has been faithful to His duties and honest in their discharge. Since 1893, when the Shelton Savings Bank was started, he has been its secretary and treasurer, and he is secretary and treasurer of the Plumb Memorial Library, this being an elective office by the directors. He was also secretary and treasurer of the Shelton Loan & Savings Associ- ation from its organization in 1889 until it was V. />5;>! I COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 65 closed in 1897, and he has always been active in promoting every movement calculated to advance the material and moral interests of Shelton. Besides all the offices enumerated above, he has held the position of secretary, treasurer and manager of the River Side Cemetery Association since its organization, having been one of the projectors thereof. He is a member of the Sons of Temperance, and, religiously, of the Congre- gational Church of Shelton, taking an active part in the work of the Society as one of its deacons during and ever since its organization. Judge Tomlinson was married, in December, 1857, to Miss Annie Tappan Brewster, daughter of the Rev. Cyrus Brewster, formerly of New London, Conn., but latterly of Huntington. Judge and Mrs. Tomlinson have had five chil- dren: Helen, born in September, 185S, is liv- ing at home; Rosalie, born in i860, is married to Rev. Charles W. Shelton, of Derby, one of the field secretaries of the American Home Mission- ary Society; Joseph, born in 1863, graduated from Yale College in 1885, and is now editor and publisher of the Sioux I-^alls (S. Dak.) .l/-^'-us Leader; Annie, born in 1870, graduated from Wellesley College with the class of 1890, took an extra year in history and political economy at Yale College, and subsequently taught in the high school at Brookline, Mass., to the principal of which institution, Daniel S. Sanford, she was married in July, 1898; Cyrus, born in 1875, is city editor of the Ansonia (Conn.) Sentinel. MEV. FRANKLIN KELLER HAWLEY is a native of the town of Brookfield, and now occupies the old Hawley homestead there, which has been in his family for several generations. His education was begun in the district schools of that locality, and later he attended the Ches- hire Military Academy. In December, 1893, he was ordained at Danbury to the ministry, and he has ever since been engaged in evangelistic la- bors. One feature of his work which has brought notably good results is the enterprise known as the John N. Hawley Bible School, which he con- ducts at his own home. He married Miss Julia Alice Turrell, daughter of Edwin G. Turrell, and two interesting children, John T. and Ruth F., have blessed the union. The Hawley family, from which has sprung many of the most prominent citizens of New England, traces its line of descent from Joseph Hawley, who was born in Derbyshire, England, in 1603, and in 1629 crossed the ocean and landed near Boston, Mass. Later he settled in Connecticut, and his death occurred at Stratford in 1690. He had five children, of whom (i) Ebenezer and (2) Joseph left no issue. (3) Sam- uel, born in 1652, had seven children: Nathan and Ephraim, who had no children; Joseph, who had three sons — John, Ezekiel and William; Thomas, who had four sons — Ezra, Thomas, Ebenezer and Samuel; Ebenezer and Benjamin, who had no children; and Samuel, born in 1674, who is mentioned farther on; (4) Ephraim, born in 1659, had four sons: Jehiel and Abiah, who had no issue; Gideon, who had two sons — James and Zachariah; and Daniel, who had four sons — Ephraim, Edward, Frederick and William. (5) Capt. John Hawley, born in 1661, had six chil- dren: Nathan, who left no issue; John, Jr., who had one son, John; Comfort, David and Daniel, who left no descendants; and Henry, who had three sons — Henry, Enos and Parson, the last named being the father of two sons, Joel and Edward. In the fourth generation the branch of the family in which we are now interested was con- tinued by Samuel, son of Samuel. This ances- tor had ten children, of whom (i) Jonathan, left one son, Israel. (2) Nathaniel left a son of the same name. (3) Ephraim, (4) Matthew, and (5) Obadiah left no issue. (6) PVancis and (7) Richard probably had families, but the names have not been preserved. (8) Nathan had six sons: Ephraim, Andrew, Nathan, Samuel (who had a son, Samuel), Nehemiah, and Abraham (who had two sons — Lemuel and Willett, of whom the latter left three children, Jeremiah, Joseph and James). (9) Stephen had three sons: Benjamin, Nehemiah and Hezekiah. (10) Ben- jamin, born in 1694, is the next in the line of descent. In the fifth generation we find the following children of Benjamin IV: (i) Ebenezer had no issue. (2) Benjamin had seven children: (a) Pha-be; (b) Mary; (c) Sallie; (d) Jabez, who had three children — Jerusha, Sallie, and Daniel B., the father of Esther, Elmer and Henry; (e) Rob- ert N., who had three children — Angeline, Rob- ert (father of Asa H. ), and Harriet, (f) Isaac N. had four sons — Edson N. (father of Julia, Arthur, Clarence, and Clara), Homer N, (father of Willis N.), Edgar, and Arthur, (g) Benjamin had the following children: Mary Ann, Frederick, Susan, Juliette, William (father of Anna, William, and Edward), Margaret, and Sarah. (3) Abel had three children: (a) Lemuel; (b) Betsey, and (c) jotham, who had three sons, J. Bradle^ (father of Bradley); A. Sherman (father of Olive, Ferris, Marietta, and Herson, who had two daughters, Helen and Josephine), and Tyrus, father of Jotham Burr (who has one daughter, Hattie), Royal De i n 66 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. F., L. Marshall, and S. Caroline. (4) William, born in 1732, had four children; William (father of Elisha), Anna, Daniel and Joseph, who is next in line of descent. Daniel was the father of four children: (a) Margaret; (b) Eleazer, who had two sons, George, and Abel (father of Margaret and Candace); (c) Charles who had four sons, Hi- ram F. (father of Caroline, and Agnes); Waite N. (father of Jennie and Addie); Charles S. (father of Charles S.) and Sidney E. ; (d) Sidney, who had one son, Henry (father of Charles, Fannie, Car- rie and Howard).