Conductors. He and his wife attend the First Con-
gregational Church of Ansonia. Mr. Bradley has
been remarkably successful throughout life, and
stands to-day on an enviable plane, where his talents,
bu.^iness ability and upright and manlv character
alike command the respect and confidence of the
public.
D.W'ID SXHTH. a man highly esteemed for
his many good qualities, was a direct descendant
of (leorge Smith, one of the first settlers of New
Haven. He was born in West Haven Feb. 10,
1798. and died in that township at the age of seven-
ty years. Left fatherless at an early age, he was
reared by an uncle, and acquired such education as
the district schools afforded. He became a car-
penter by trade, and followed that calling in the
South, but later returned to his old home in West
Haven, where his declining years were spent. He
built the house now occupied by Mrs. Bcardslev,
on the site of the first West Haven parsonage. In
all affairs of the town he took an active part, and
was ever in the van in any move that woidd ad-
vance the moral or material welfare of this com-
munity. Of the strictest integrity himself, he
looked to find the same honesty of purpose in others,
and his presence, with its fearlessness for the right,
inspired what was best in his associates.
On Aug. 10, 1854, Mr. Smith married Susan
P'rudden, who was born in Orange, this county,
Aug. 25, 18 19, a daughter of Samuel Prudden,
and a direct descendant of Rev. Peter I'rudden,
the first pastor of the church at Milford. Of this
iniion was born Sept. 13. 1855, a son, David Prud-
den, who died Feb. 13, 1871. On Oct. 6, 1874,
Mrs. Smith married Dr. Lucius N. Beardsley,
whose life record may he found elsewhere in this
volume.
Rev. Peter Prudden was a prominent preacher
in England before emigrating to America. -He
came to Connecticut from Boston with the New
Haven Colony and afterward led a branch colony
to Milford. He married Joanna Boyse, daughter
of an English clergyman. Rev. Peter Prudden
was a college graduate, and a man of much natural
ability. He was greatly esteemed as a peacemaker
and as a wise counselor not only in his own com-
nuinitv, but throughout the entire colony of New
Haven. Of him Cotton Mather says, "his death
was felt by the colonv as the fall of a pillar, which
made the whole fabrick to shake."
Samuel Prudden. Mr.-. I'eardslev's father, was
tlie son of Samuel Prudden, of .Xorth Milford, now
called Orange, and Anna Clark, a representative of
another pioneer family of Milford. He was a suc-
cessful teacher as well as an intelligent and enter-
prising farmer. Like others of his family he was
identified with the Congregational Church. His
wife, Susanna Smith, was the daughter of Captain
Gould Smith, and through her mother was a de-
scendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker.
Since Dr. Beardsley 's death Mrs. Beardsley has
resided in the home erected by Mr. Smith, as above
stated, and is w'earing her eighty-two years of a
well-spent life with all the grace and dignity of a
noble woman. .-Xmong her benefactions may be
mentioned a tablet in the Milford Church, in-
scribed to the memory of its first pastor. Rev.
Peter Prudden.
EDWARD T. ROOT was born in Waterhury
Feb. 12, 1840, and his lifelong career in that city
has been honorable and ui)right. George Root, his
father, was born in 1796 in New York City, where
he died at the age of ninety years.
Reuben Root, the father of George, was born in
Southington, Conn., and died in New York. He
was of English extraction. He worked in New
York as a ship carpenter during the war of the
Revolution. He married Hannah (ieorge, and they
had two children : George, the father of Edward
T. ; and Amos, who lived in New York, where he
was a merchant, and died when quite young.
George Root, the father of Edward T., spent
the first twenty-one years of his life in the city of
New York, where he acquired his education, and
where he learned the trade of cabinetmaker. When
a boy he helped to make the coffin of Robert Ful-
ton. In A\'aterbury he followed his trade as long
as he was able to work, living there about seventy
years. He married Temperance Bronson, who was
bom in Waterbury, a daughter of Sanuiel Bron-
son, and a granddaughter of Major Sanuiel Bron-
son, a soldier of the Revolution. George Root
and his wife were the parents of three children,
Jane A., Edward T. and Henry B. Jane married
Samuel Pemberton, of Newark, .\. J. George
Root was a Whig, and in his later life a Repub-
lican. For many generations back the Roots were
identified with the Congregational Church.
Edward T. Root spent his bovhood days inl
Waterbury, where he was reared. He attended the?
])ul)lic schools until he reached the age of sixteen,
when he became a clerk in the ])ostoffice, holding]
that position for a year. For a time he also clerked, j
boy fashion, in his father's store, and in 1859 en-|
tered the insurance office of Hall & Smith. Afterl
a time Mr. Hall retired, and Mr. Smith continuedj
the business alone for some years. About 1885
the firm became Smith & Root, and in 1896 the firm]
of Root & Boyd was formed. Thev write all kinds]
of insurance, ami have a fine list of clients.
In 1868 Mr. Root married Miss Julia M. Rog-
ers, of Chester, \'t., daughter of Isaac Rogers.
i
I
DAYID SMITH.
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
1085
Mrs. Root died in 1886, and tlic only child of this
union. l-Vedcrick H.. died in January, 1895. In
1888 -Mr. Root married Miss Caroline B. Blake.
dau,i;:hter of Ur. A. S. Blake, of Waterbury. Mr.
Root is a Republican, and has been councilman,
town assessor and representative of liis town in
the State Legislature. I'Vatcrnally he is a thirty-
second-degree Mason, and is a charter member of
Continental Lodge, Xo. 76, F. & A. ^L, organizeil
in 1862; he has been a member since 1862 of
Nosaho.gan Lodge, No. 21, L O. O. F. As a mem-
ber of the Waterburv Club he comes into contact
with the best and leading men of tlie city, and in
these circles his standing is unquestioned. W'ith his
family he attends Trinity Episcopal Church.
Air. Root enlisted in the Union army in 1862.
in Company A, 23d Conn. \". L, and was mustered
out at New Haven the following year. He was
taken prisoner and paroled, so that his experience
of active warfare was limited.
HLRBERT L( )C1S BEXTOX, a farmer and
dairyman in Guilford, was born April 16, 1843, and
is a native of that town. The first, of the name in
Guilford was Edward Benton, a native of England,
who died in (iuilford in 1680. His wife, .Anna, died
in idji. They had the following children: Ed-
ward ; Daniel ; Andrew, who married Elizabeth
Rolfe; Hannah, who married Robert Ackerly :
Mary, who married Samuel Thorp; John, who died
young; Tabbitha, who married Simon Simpson;
Elizabeth ; Sarah, who married Thomas Wright ;
and Zacheus.
Daniel Benton, the second child in the family of
Edward, was born in 1638, and died June 10, 1672.
He was a farmer and land owner, and belonged to
the church. A man of character and standing, he
ranked well in his day. ]Ie married Rachel Good-
rich, who died in 1685, and they were the parents
of four children : Joanna, who married John Tur-
ner ; Ebenezer, mentioned below; liellzah : and Re-
becca, w'ho married Jose])h Halsey.
Ebenezer Benton was born in October, 1663,
in Guilford, where his entire life was spent, en-
gaged in farming. He was a prominent citizen,
especially in church matters. He died on his farm
June 22, 1758, and was buried in Guilford. His
wile. Abigail, was born March 6. \G~o. and died
April 13, 1753; she was buried in the (iuilford cem-
etery. They were married June 14, i'^h_)4, and their
children were: Daniel; Elizabeth, who married
Sanniel Buell ; Ebenezer, who married Esther Crit-
tenden ; Abigail, who married Ebenezer Critten-
den ; and Caleb, who married Sarah Stone.
Deacon Daniel Benton was born in Guilford
June I, 1695, and was a deacon of the Congrega-
tional Church. He died Aug. 23, 1756. In 1728
he married Elizabeth Stone, who was born CJct. 6,
1706, died in 1753. and was buried in Guilford,
t'or his second wife he married Mrs. Sarah Sew'ard,
who died March 12. 17^12. His family consisted of
the following children : Saraii ; Daniel : Eli ; Sam-
uel ; Jared, who married Elizabeth Collins; Silas,
who married Abigail Lindsley ; Nathan, who mar-
ried Rachel Chittenden ; Ann, who married Philip
Mann ; J-llizabeth, who married Rufus Graves ;
Daniel James; and one that died in infancy.
Silas B)enton, who was born July 25, 1739, was
engaged in farming tnroughout life, and died March
19, 1828. On June 6, 1768, he married Abigail
Lindsley, who was born in 1743, in Branford, and
died in 181 1. About the close of the year 181 1
he married for his second vvife Widow Lois Plant.
He had the following children: Abigail; Daniel,
who married l'"aimie Eliot; Joseph; Isaac, who mar-
ried Sarah Robinson; Dan Liiidslcv; Julin ; and
Silas.
Dan Lindsley Benton, tiie grandfather of Her-
bert L. Benton, was born in 1780, and was a life-
I long farmer. He w-as a well-known citizen and a
1 member of the church. He died June 18, 1859, and
was buried in the West cemetery. On March 11.
' 1805, he married Betsy Seward, who was born in
1788, and died Aug. 20, 1865. They had the fol-
lowing children : David Merrick; Betsy Ann, who
married b.li I'armclee; Dan Lindsley; Harriet, who
married Samuel Davis; Clarissa, who married Nel-
son Hotchkiss ; Lydia, who married Henry Rankin :
Mary Elizabeth, who married Charles Landon ;
Ella Maria, who married Charles M. Stone; Rich-
ard Henry, who married Charlotte E. Parens ; John,
who married Catherine L. Kelsey ; Martha Seward,
who married Deacon Edwin O. Davis, of Guilford;
and David Merrick (2), who married l'"rances S.
Smith.
Dan Lindsley Benton, father of Herbert L., was
born March 5, 1810, on the Guilford farm, where
he received a .good common-school education, and
was reared to farming, which was his life business.
He owned a large tract of land at Sachem's Head,
on which he made extensive improvement.'^. In
politics he was a Democrat. He died in 1894. and
was buried in the West cemetery in Guilford. In
1833 he married Martha M. Norton, who was
born Nov. 20, 181 1, and died June 12, 1835. They
were the parents of one child, Darwin M. For his
second wife Mr. Benton was married. May 30, 1841,
to Elizabeth lilakeslee, who was born Jmie 29, 1818,
in Northford, and is still living. To this union were
horn three children : Herbert Louis ; Charles Linds-
ley, who resides on the homestead ; and Edward'
W., also making his home on the homestead.
Herbert Louis Benton was born on the home-
stead April 16, 1845, attended the district school
and Guilford .Academy, and remained on the farm
until after his marria.ge, when he began farmingf
on the place where he is now located. Mr. Benton
has also been a carpenter and a boatbuilder. He is
a hard worker, and is much respected for his indus-
try. In religious connection he is a member of the
Episcopal Church, where he officiates as a vestry-
man. His political affiliation is with the Democratic
io86
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
party; he has never sought an office. Mr. Benton
was married, in Guilford, June ii, 1885, to Miss
Fannie M. Eliot, daughter of Louis R. and Fannie
(Griswold) Eliot, both of whom are deceased, and
is the father of two children : Eliot H., born Sept,
16, 1889; and Ruth E., born Oct. 15, 1892.
ELIAS W. DAVIS, M. D., Se\-mour, is a native
of Massachusetts, born in Paxton in 1855, a grand-
son of Deacon David Davis, also born in Pa.xton,
who married Patty Howe in 1780 or 1785, and had
a family of ten children. He was a captain of a
militia company formed after tne Revolutionary
war, which corps he drilled to such perfection that
it became known as one of the crack companies of
that day. Up to the time of his death he was a
deacon of the Congregational Church.
David G. Davis, father of our subject, is the
youngest of the ten children born to Deacon David
Davis, and at the ])resent time is living in Worces-
ter, Mass., at the ripe old age of eighty-seven years.
He was engaged in farming, also in the manufacture
of boots and shoes and was prominent in business
enterprises till within a few years ago. For twenty-
five years he was a selectman, and at one time rep-
resented his town in the State Legislature of Mas-
sachusetts. He married Sarah Gilbert Earle, of
Paxton, Mass., and through her the family is traced
to old English ancestry, though the first Davis an-
cestor was a Welshman. Five children were born
of this union, all yet living, viz.: William P.,
Eliza A., David, Elias W. and Gilbert G. Of these,
William P. is a physician in Reading, Mass. : Eliza
A. married John Davis Hudson, a cabinetmaker of
Mason City, 111., and died in 1900; David, a boot
manufacturer in Wilkesbarre, Penn., married Mary
Sherman ; Gilbert G., who carries on a printing and
blank-book manufacturing business in Worcester,
Mass., married Minnie Warren, of Worcester.
Elias W. Davis, the subject proper of this sketch,
lived in Paxton Hills, Mass., until he was fifteen
years of age, receiving his primary education at the
district schools, after which he prepared for Yale
College at the Leicester and Worcester (Mass.)
Academies, graduating in the class of 1880. He
then returned home and because of poor health
took up farming. In 1889, having in the meantime
married, he moved with his family to New Haven,
where he commenced the study of medicine in Yale
Medical College, graduating in June, 1892, from
the Medical School, after which he commenced the
practice of his profession in Seymour, Conn., where
he is meeting with eminent success.
On Nov. 5, 1883, Dr. Elias W. Davis married
Eliza H. Dodd, a native of Paxton, Mass., and a
descendant of the celebrated Bigelow family of
that State. Two children, both daughters, have
been born to this union: Florence Marion, 1893;
and Gertrude Elizabeth, 1895. The parents are
members of the Congregational Church. Socially
the Doctor is affiliated with Morning Star Lodge,
No. 47, F.' & A. M., and with Evening Star Chapter,
No. 45, of Seymour. He is medical examiner for
the town of Seymour, and one of the medical di-
rectors of the State Masonic Home at Wallingford,
Conn. As a physician there is none more promi-
nent or popular in the county. In his office stands
an old-fashioned desk that has been handed down
in the family for some one hundred forty years, a
work of art which at once suggests the time honored
saying: "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."
FREDERICK W. HUBBELL, one of the
valiant defenders of the Union during the dark
days of the Civil war, and the present efficient su-
perintendent of the Oxford town farm, has made
his own way in the world without the aid of influ-
ence or wealth, and has arisen to a position of
prominence through his own well-directed efforts,
his native genius and acquired ability being the
stepping-stones on which he has mounted. He was
born in Oxford March 24, 1844, a son of Everett
and Jane E. (Sperry) Hubbell, natives of the same
place. In their family were nine children, eight
sons and one daughter, namely : Samuel ; John
Henry; Frederick W. ; Wales, deceased; Lewis;
George; Charles and Henry W., both deceased; and
Elizabeth, deceased.
Frederick W. Hubbell was born and reared on
a farm, and received his education in the common
schools. At the tender age of seven years he be-
gan earning his own livelihood by working for his
board and clothes for Capt. Hull, with whom he re-
mained seven years, and then worked as a farm hand
for others until he entered the service of his coun-
try during the Civil war. On June 7, 1862, he en-
listed as a private in Company B, 20th Conn. V. I. ;
was mustered into the United States service at New
Haven; from there was ordered to Washington, D.
C. ; and later to Alexandria. \'a. His first engage-
ment was at Chancellorsville. and the second at
Cassville, where he was wounded in the left side by
a minie ball ; however, he was never absent from
duty one day. Later he participated in the battles
of Gettysburg and Savannah, and the siege of M-
lanta. After leaving the last named city he was
detailed as a scout, and while on a scouting expedi-
tion near Columbia, \'a., was captured, but soon
afterward he and two companions escaped, and he
was finallv exchanged. Shortly after this Mr. Hub-
bell received a furlough and returned home, and
while here Lee surrendered, thus putting an end to
the war. Since then he has made his home in Ox-
ford with the exception of two years spent at
Xaugatuck, Conn. In 1882 he was appointed su-
perintendent of the Oxford town farm, and has
most capably and satisfactorily filled that position
ever since. He also owns and operates a fine farm
of ninety acres in the same town, and in all his un-
dertakings has met with most excellent success.
In 1865 Mr. Hubbell was united in marriage
with Miss Alice E. Gates, of Simsbury, Conn., and;
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
1087
t(_i ilieiu have been born three children: Burton E. ;
Arthur U. ; and une who ched in infancy. Fra-
ternally Mr. Hulibell is a member of Upson Post,
Xo. 40, G. A. R., of Seymour ; and politically is
identified with the Republican party. His fellow
citizens, recognizing his worth and ability, have
called him to public office, and he has served as
constable thirty years and deputy sheriff for five
years, filling the latter position at the present time.
WILLIAM II. EVANS, an honored veteran
of the Civil war and a highly esteemed citizen of
W'oodbridge, was born in Middletoivn, Middlesex
Co., Conn., April 5, 1840, a son of Chauncey and
Clarissa (Maynard) Evans, also natives of that
place, where they made their home throughout life.
The father was engaged in farming near Middle-
town, now Cromwell, and there died at the age of
si.xty years. Our subject's maternal grandfather,
Mr. Alaynard, was a soldier of the Revolutionary
war and died in 1837. Our subject had an older
sister, Delia, who died young, and a half-brother,
Bissell Starks, who was a soldier of the Civil war
and was numbered amona: the missing.
Mr. Evans' advantages for securing an cduca-
tii'U were limited to a brief period in the common
schools, for after his sixth year he was dependent
upon his own resources for a livelihood. In 1862
ht enlisted in the 24th Conn. V. I., — a regiment
composed of Middletown volunteers. Though he
enlisted for only nine months, he was in the service
thirteen, and during that period took part in some
of the fiercest engagements of the war. During
the siege of Fort Hudson he was in the rifle pits
twenty-five consecutive days, and was .=0 exhausted
from exposure that he had to be carried out on a
stretcher. He well remembers the landing of
Dewey and his companions irom their ill-fated
ship after it had been fired by the forts along the
river. From days of marching and fighting, and
nights of exposure in rains and dews, Mr. Evans
has never recovered, tnough he was able to work
for many years, but for the last two years he has
been compelled to give up his employment.
Soon after returning from the South he moved
to New Haven and secured employment on the street
railway, running on the Fair Haven route for one
year, and for nearly three years on the \\'est Haven
route. He was afterward employed l)y J. W'oodruf?
(now deceased), revenue collector for this district,
.from whom he has a letter of praise for faithful
â– â– service. For the following twenty-six years he was
I with the West Haven Buckle Co., or until May,
11897, when he was forced to retire on account of
I ill health, and rented property in Woodbridge,
where he is now living a ((uiet life, engaging in
.market gardening in a small way. He has real es-
|tate and two houses in West Haven which he rents.
' In Middletown Mr. Evans was married, in i860,
ito Susan Hampton, who died leavinar three chil-
a wealthy and influential man of the State of Wash-
ington, where he is extensively engaged in the lum-
ber business ; Clarence, born Dec. 25, 1865, is in
the theatrical business; and Lilly, born Oct. 27,
1867, is the wife of James Henry, of New Haven.
In 1882 Mr. Evans was again married, his second
union being with Martha Crosby, by whom he has
one daughter, Mabel, born Nov. 5, 1888. Mr.
Evans attends the Methodist Episcopal Church, and
is an honored member of Admiral Foole Post, No.
17, G. A. R., of New Haven, with which he has
been connected since 1885. He affiliates with the
Republican part\-, and in the past took a somewhat
active part in politics, though he never aspired for
public favors. As a citizen, friend and neighbor
he is true to every duty and justly merits the es-
teem in which he is held.
LOTIIAR .\L1-:N.\NDER MORTIMER, BA-
RON \oN GR.W'E, was born at Birresborn, near
Gerolstein, Prussia, Sept. i, 1858, son of Friedrich
Wilhelm Mortimer, Baron von Grave, who was
born Oct. 18, 1824, and died Oct. 9, 1896. The
latter married Friederica Rosalia Rjiafif, who was
born April 15, 1833, and is still living, making her
home with her sou Lothar. The father was a dis-
tinguished officer in his prime, and held the rank
of captain in the Prussian army. To him and his
wife were born: Lothar A. M., the subject proper
of these lines. Anna Louisa Cathinka, Baroness
von Grave, born Aug. 6, 1862, died Dec. 11, 1896;
she married Eugene I'ezoldt, of Saxony, Germany. "
Elsa Rosalie Alfredine, Baroness von Grave, born
June 4, 1875, married .\lberto Jonas, the pianist
and director of the ^Michigan Conservatory of
Music, at Detroit, Mich.; she is a gifted musician,
has pursued her studies under the instruction of
the most eminent professors of music in Europe,
and has made several highly successful tours of
foreign countries, winning golden encomiums every-
where.
Carl Friederich Inistaph. P.arnn von Grave, the
grandfather of Lothar, was born l-'eb. 22, 1792, and
died April 29, 1876. He was a well-known and
highly honored general in the Prussian Cavalry.
He married Maria Hyacintha Anna Rietz, born in
1806, who died May 10, 1872. The great-grandfa-
ther of Lothar was Johann Hieronymus, Baron
von Grave, who was born Aug. 18, 1734, and died
[ May 16, 179S. He was secretary of war under
the Prussian government. Frederica Louise Chris-
tiane. Baroness von Hoffstedt. his wife, was born
Oct. 14, 1766, and died April i. 1847. N. Baron
von Grave, his father, was counselor and supreme
judge of the Duchy of Bremen. He was. born in
1680, and died in 1752. He married the Baroness
von Eberhorn.
Documents are in existence which mention the
I von Graves as knights fighting under Thassilo, of
' Bavaria, in the ninth century, later during the
Crusades. They settled in different parts of the
1
1088
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
coiiiiiiv. aiul held high offices at court. Joachim
Jl, Nestor and his successor, in their fight against
the rebellious nobility in 1537, destroyed their
castles "Weissenfels" and "Nininiersatt," but their
descendants were allowed by the King of i'russia
to return to their ancestral holdings in 1701.
On April 30. 1890. Lotiiar von Grave married
Mrs. Gabrielie (D'Alton) Sweet, who was, born
July 4, 1863, and died July 13, 1893. They adopted
one son, Frederick Sweet, who was born June r,
1884, in New York, and had one daughter, Elsa
Rosalia X'aleska Ethel, who was born Nov. 23,
1891, at Ballardvale, Mass., where she died June
12, 1892. Mr. von Grave was married, Dec. 11,
1895, to Miss Deborah Waldo, at Alount Vernon,
N. Y., who was bom in Hudson, N. Y., daughter
of Henry and Sarah (Heath) Waldo. Their home
is regarded as one of the most artistic, and as well
as one of the most highly cultured centers of re-
fined society in the State. It is situated in Academy
street, in \Vallingford, and is the old home of Col.
A. II. Duttoii, from whose daughter. Miss Emily
Dutton, it was purchased. On this ground many
years ago stood the first school in Connecticut,
called the "Academy." In I-'ebruary, 1897, the place
was named' â– "EUguth." after the old estate of Mr.
von Grave's family, "Gross EUguth," in Prussian
Silesia, containing 1,624 acres, and now in the pos-
session of his cousin. Major Hugo von Grave. The
Wallingford pro]>erty was in the possession of the
Dutton family from 1664 until its recent sale.
Mrs. von Grave is descended from Deacon Cor-
nelius Waldo, the emigrant ancestor of the Waldo
family, who came from ICngland, and settled in