Central Village -
FITCH A. CAREY, one of the
representative men of Central Village, Windham county, and a
descendant of one of the Colonial families of this part of
the State, is a real estate dealer of considerable
prominence. The family history of this branch of the
Carey family is published in connection with the
sketch of Dwight Carey, of the town of Scotland.
James Carey, the grandfather of Fitch A.,
and the son of James Carey, was born on the old
homestead in Scotland town., Dec. 9, 1777. After he
reached manhood he was given a portion of the homestead farm
in the town of Canterbury, where he resided. He was
considered a substantial citizen, was prominent in town
affairs, and died in the town at the age of eighty-four
years, and was buried in the Carey cemetery.
Here also was buried his wife, Phoebe Howard, who was
a native of Hampton, Conn. He was a member of the
Westminster Congregational Church. To James Carey
and wife were born the following children: (1)
Phoebe Howard married William F. Willoughby, and
their son, Andrew J., is an active farmer in the town
of Canterbury; (2) Abigail K. married Apr. 4, 1832,
David Adams, of Canterbury, and their son, William
S., for many years town clerk, and long a teacher in his
native community, is now living retired; (3) Jane
died unmarried; and (4) James Benajah was the
father of Fitch A.
James Benajah Carey was born in Canterbury, and
attended the local school. When a young man he went to
Ohio, to make his home with an uncle Howard, and
while there also attended school. Being a man of
intuition and keen observation he made the most of his
advantages, and by the time he was grown had acquired a good
practical education. He returned to Connecticut,
acquired property and married Mary Adams, a native of
Canterbury, and a daughter of Fitch Adams, whose
history appears elsewhere. After their marriage,
Mr. and Mrs. Carey located on a farm which was given him
by his father, a fine farm property in the northwest part of
the town, which was worth from $8,000 to $10,000. Here
he died at the age of seventy years, and his wife was nearly
that age at the time of her death. In politics he was
at one time an active Democrat, but later voted with the
Republicans and was elected by them as a selectman in the
town, as well as to other local positions. To James
B. Carey and wife were born: (1) Asa B. graduated
from the West Point Military Academy in 1857, and became an
officer in the regular army, serving through the War, and
continuing in military life until quite recently, when he
retired, being at that time Paymaster General of the United
States Army. He married Laura Colby, by
whom he had two children: Edward C. (a
graduate of West Point, and now a Major in the Philippines),
and Edith. Gen. Carey is a resident of
Washington, and has a summer home in Vineyard Haven.
(2) Fitch Adams is our subject. (3)
Elizabeth married Henry Geer, a resident of
Scotland, who died, leaving no family. (4) George
L. lives retired in Norwich, Conn.; he married Fannie
Fisher. (5) Dwight served in Company F, 8th
Conn. V. I., and was killed at the battle of Antietam.
Fitch Adams Carey was born Feb. 22, 1838,
in Canterbury, where he had the advantage of the local
schools, and also of a select school in the town of Pomfret.
When he was seventeen, he began for himself as a clerk in
the "Company Store," which was then conducted by Darius
Wood, in Central Village, and here he remained for a
dozen years. For a year he was traveling, chiefly in
Mexico, and when he came home, he located in Canterbury,
purchasing a farm in the Willoughby District, a short
distance west of Packerville, where he carried on farming
quite largely for some eight years. At teh end of that
time giving up farming, he returned to Central Village,
where he has since made his home. Since 1877 Mr.
Carey has dealt in real estate in Plainfield and
Canterbury. In politics he is a Democrat, and in 1860
represented Canterbury in the General Assembly. For a
number of years he served on the school committee, has been
a member of the board of relief, and for twenty years he has
been town auditor. He is a prominent member of the
Masonic fraternity, belonging to Moosup Lodge, No. 114.
Mr. Carey has been twice married. On April
15, 1868, he married Jennie, daughter of
Archibald, Fry; she died Dec. 9, 1879, leaving a
daughter, Jennie F., born May 20, 1872, who is now
the wife of Fred W. Tillinghast, of Central Village.
For his second wife Mr. Carey married Eliza,
the daughter of Comfort Walker.
The Walker Family record are in part as follows:
Aaron Walker, a farmer, was the grand-father of
Mrs. Carey. He lived and died in South Killingly,
passing away June 16, 1816, at the age of forty years.
His widow married James Love. To Aaron
Walker was born the following family: Thomas,
who lived near Auburn, N. Y., where he died; Comfort,
the father of Mrs. Carey; Julia, who married
Elisha Vaughn, of Killingly, Conn.; and Mary, who
died young.
Comfort Walker was born Oct. 2, 1809, and he
died Sept. 2, 1852. He married Betsey Bennett,
of Foster, R. I., who was born Mar. 9, 1809, and died Mar.
28, 1882. She was a daughter of Israel and Deborah
(Mitchell) Bennett, of Rhode Island. Mr. Walker
was a mason, and for a time lived in Killingly, but his
later years were spent in Central Village. To
Comfort Walker and his wife were born: (1)
Aaron, born Apr. 18, 1835, married Delia Cleveland,
of Brooklyn, Conn., and died in Colorado Springs, Colo., May
5, 1883; (2) Henry, born Oct. 15, 1838, served in the
Civil war, and married Caroline Safford, a resident
of Central Village; (3) William O., born Mar. 31,
1840, married Annie Cutler, and lives at Newton,
Mass.; (4) Eliza, who is Mrs. Carey, was born
Feb. 13, 1843; and (5) Albert C., born July 4, 1850,
married Carrie Besse, and has a home in Central
Village.
Source: Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham
Counties, Connecticut - Vol. 1 - Published Chicago - J. H. Beers &
Co. - 1903- Page 382 |
Scotland -
DWIGHT CARY, one of the highly
respected men of Scotland, Windham county, who has spent his
entire life on the old homestead in the Pudding Hill
District, and tilled soil that has been in the family for a
number of generations, is a descendant of Lieut. Joseph
Cary.
(I) Lieut. Joseph Cary, also styled Deacon
Joseph, the first of the family of which he have record,
married for a second time about 1692; his wife, Mercy,
came from Windham, Conn., and their first child was born
Mar. 7, 1693. Lieut. Cary died Jan. 10, 1722,
and Mercy died Jan. 23, 1741, aged about eighty-four
years. Says Hinman, "Mr. Cary must have been a
man of reputation, for he could not have held such offices
in Connecticut in the early settlement of Windham unless of
high standing in the colony."
(II) John Cary, son of Lieut. Joseph and
Mercy, born June 25, 1695, married, May 15, 1716,
Hannah Thurston. He died Jan. 11, 1776.
(III) Benajah Cary, son of John,
born May 7, 1719, married Feb. 11, 1742, Deborah Perkins,
and had only one son, James, and five daughters.
Benajah Cary came to Scotland (then Windham), Conn.,
and purchased a large tract of land lying in the present
towns of Hampton, Canterbury and Scotland, and engaged in
lumbering and farming. There he died, and he is buried
in the Scotland cemetery. In person he was a very
large man, weighing over three hundred pounds, and it was a
difficult matter to carry the body lying on a bier, as was
the custom in those days, from the home to the cemetery, a
distance of nearly three miles.
(IV) James Cary, grandfather of Dwight,
was born on the home place, was a very successful farmer,
and died possessed of considerable property, including
nearly 800 acres of land. On Aug. 12, 1773, he married
Abigail Kingsbury, a native of Pomfret. After
her death he married Anna Bradford. To James
and Abigail Cary came children as fellows:
Abigail, born Jan. 28, 1775, who married Parker Moss,
of Canterbury; James (the grandfather of F. A.
Cary, of Plainfield, Conn.), born Dec. 9, 1777, who was
given a part of the homestead located in Canterbury, where
he engaged in farming; Benajah, born Jan. 4, 1780,
who died, aged twenty-two; Anna, born Feb. 21, 1782,
who died in 1790; Sally, born Sept. 7, 1786, who
married Thomas Moss, and lived in Woodstock, Conn.;
Sanford, born July 14, 1784. Of this family
Benajah Cary, though he died when but twenty-two years
of age, gained considerable notoriety. For some time
the timid folk of Scotland were frightened by the appearance
of a ghost, and so many saw the white object flitting about
that the subject became town talk, and caused considerable
excitement. Several attempted to solve the mystery,
but not until young Cary captured the ghost and
proved him to be a town resident, was the affair cleared up.
The evil doer was publicly whipped before the Scotland
Hotel.
(V) Sanford Cary, father of Dwight,
engaged principally in farming on the home place, and when
the call came to defend New London from the British, he went
to the defend New London from the British, he went to the
front and served bravely. On May 16, 1811, he married
Caroline Tracy, a native of Windham, and a daughter
of Jabez and Hannah Tracy. Jabez Tracy was born
Oct. 1, 1765, and died June 6, 1814, while his wife,
Hannah, was born June 11, 1767, and died Sept. 5, 1855.
Their children were: Caroline, wife of
Sanford Cary, born Mar. 19, 1787, who died May 3, 1861;
Sylvester, born Feb. 22, 1792, who died Oct. 16,
1835; Lucretia, born Oct. 18, 1796, who married
John F. Williams, of Woodstock, Conn., and died Mar. 5,
1828.
In politics Sanford Cary was an uncompromising
Whig, and took an active interest in town affairs.
Both he and his wife were members of the Scotland
Congregational Church. To Sanford Cary and his
wife were born: Henry Hudson, born July 2,
1814, who followed farming in the town of Scotland, where he
died, having served as selectman in 1857, when the town was
organized; Dwight, our subject, born Feb. 24; 1817;
Wolcott (mentioned elsewhere), born June 29, 1819, a
resident of Hampton Hill, who married Lucy Ann Burnham,
Jane, born Sept. 8, 1824, deceased, who married
Nelson Moss, of Woodstock, Connecticut.
Dwight Cary was born on the old homestead, and
attended the Pudding Hill District schools, and later had
the advantage of two or three falls terms at the Hampton
high school. All of his life Mr. Cary has lived
upon the homestead, and successfully engaged in agricultural
pursuits. At the time when ship-building was
extensively carried on along the Sound, Mr. Cary,
together with J. B. Ensworth, operated a sawmill,
turning out ship timber of all kinds, and his venture proved
very successful.
At another time sheep raising was one of the leading
branches of farming, and Mr. Cary's flocks were among
the best in the neighborhood. The present industry
that is engaging the attention of the farmers in connection
with the cultivation of the soil is that of dairying, and
Mr. Cary has a fine herd, of from twenty to thirty cows.
The entire farm is in first class condition; the buildings
are well kept and the prosperity of the owner is written on
every side.
In early life, Mr. Cary was a Whig, but when the
Republication party came into existence in 1856, he united
with it, and has been its stanch supporter ever since.
Recognizing his worth to the party and community at large,
his fellow townsmen have conferred upon him almost every
honor within their gift, and he has held the offices of
selectman and member of the board of relief, as well the
minor ones, and represented the town in the legislature in
1868. In 1857, when the town was organized, Mr.
Cary was a member of the board of relief, and rendered
very efficient service. Mr. Cary and his entire
family are consistent members of the Congregational Church
of Scotland.
On Nov. 15, 1843, Mr. Cary was married to
Susan Bass, a daughter of John and Susan Bass.
John Bass had three wives, the first one being
Eunice Tracy, the second Susan Smith and the
third Maria (Safford) Tracy. To Mr. and Mrs.
Cary have been born the following interesting family:
Sarah Rocella, born Sept. 9, 1849, wife of Deacon
Joseph W. Congdon, of Hampton; twin daughters,
Marthyette and Margarette, born Jan. 9, 1846, of
whom Marthyette died Mar. 18, 1848, and Margarette,
Mar. 21, 1848; Ann, born Feb. 24, 1848, married
George E. Wood, resided at Centerville, R. I., and died
June 9, 1890; Frank Winslow, born June 9, 1850, a
successful coal and wood dealer of Northampton, Mass., who
married Effie Fuller, and had three sons, Irwin,
connected with the AEtna Insurance Company of Hartford,
Edwin T. (died Apr. 18, 1901, aged twenty-two) and
Fred; Sanford, born July 13, 1853, who died Sept.
16, 1858; Jane Lucretia, born Dec. 22, 1856, who
married Arthur M. Clark, of the town of Scotland, and
they have a family, George (now - 1902 - aged
twenty-two), Edna (nineteen), Lila (eighteen),
Carrie (fourteen), Flora (twelve), Anna
(ten) and Lucretia (eight); George Sanford,
born May 16, 1860, who married Kate B. Cook, of
Windham, although a native of West Cornwall, Litchfield
county; Susan Bass, born Aug. 16, 1864, who married
Charles L. Willis, a native and present resident of the
town of Scotland and who has no children.
George Sanford carries on the home farm, and is a
young man active in the affairs of the town, has served as
selectman, grand juror, and registrar of voters and
represented teh town in the Legislature in 1899, serving on
the committee of Capitol and Grounds. He has one son,
Dwight E., born Sept. 4, 1896.
Source: Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham
Counties, Connecticut - Vol. 1 - Published Chicago - J. H. Beers &
Co. - 1903- Page 63 |
Hampton -
WOLCOTT CARY. Among the
venerable citizens of Hampton, Windham Co., Conn., was
Wolcott Cary, who was also one of the most highly
respected and thoroughly esteemed residents of the town.
His home was in Hampton from 1843, and few men were more
widely known, although for almost forty years he was a
patient invalid, bearing affliction with Christian
fortitude.
The Cary family was founded in this
section of Connecticut when Great-grandfather Benajah
Cary came to Scotland (then (Windham), Conn., and
purchased a large tract of land in the present towns of
Hampton, Canterbury and Scotland, where he engaged in
lumbering and farming. A man not only of unusual size
and weight, but also mentally endowed beyond his fellows, he
left a large, robust and intelligent family.
Grandfather James Cary was born on the old
homestead in the Pudding Hill District of Scotland,
and he also was a successful farmer, and at death owned 800
acres of valuable land. His first marriage occurred
Aug. 12, 1773, to Abigail Kingsbury, a native of
Pomfret, and his second marriage was to Anna Bradford.
All his children were born to his first union, and they
were: Abigail, born Jan. 28, 1775, who married
Parker Moss, of Canterbury; James, born Dec.
9, 1777, who was given a part of the homestead now located
in Canterbury, where he engaged in farming; Benajah,
born Jan. 4, 1780, who died aged twenty-two; Anna,
born Feb. 21, 1782, who died in 1790; Sally, born
Sept. 7, 1786, who married Thomas Moss, and lived in
Woodstock, Conn.; and Sanford, born July 14,
1784.
Sanford Cary, the father of Wolcott Cary,
engaged principally in farming on the home place. When
the call came for loyal spirits to defend New London from
the British, he was one of those who bravely fought for its
protection. ON May 16, 1811, he was married to
Caroline Tracy, a native of Windham, and daughter of
Jabez and Hannah Tracy. The former was born Oct.
1, 1765, and died June 6, 1814; the latter was born June 11,
1767, and died Sept. 5, 1855. The Tracy
children were: Caroline, who married Sanford
Cary, born Mar. 19, 1787; Sylvester, born Feb.
22, 1792, died Oct. 16, 1835; and Lucretia, born Oct.
18, 1796, died Mar. 5, 1828, the wife of John F. Williams,
of Woodstock, Connecticut.
The children born to Sanford and Caroline (Tracy)
Cary were: Henry Hudson, born July 2, 1814,
who became prominent in the town of Scotland, serving as
selectman in 1857, when the town was organized; Dwight,
born Feb. 24, 1817; Wolcott, born June 29, 1819; and
Jane, born Sept. 8, 1824, who married Nelson Moss,
and died in Woodstock, Connecticut.
In politics Sanford Cary was a stanch Whig, and
took an intelligent and active interest in town affairs.
Both he and his wife were leading members of the Scotland
Congregational Church.
The birthplace of Wolcott Cary was Scotland,
Conn., and there he attended the district schools and
enjoyed the advantages of two terms at the Suffield Literary
Institute, at Suffield, Conn. The work on the farm
claimed his energies during the summers, but he was not more
than sixteen years of age when he began to teach school.
His first attempt was in the Brunswick District, and very
many of his pupils were much older than himself. His
salary was $11 per month, with an opportunity of boarding
around among the neighbors, according to the custom of that
time. The following winter he was engaged for the
Canterbury school, at an increased salary of $14. This
was considered excellent wages, those being days when very
little money was in circulation in the country districts,
trade in farm products being satisfactory in almost all
cases. Mr. Cary was regarded as an excellent
teacher, and for seven terms prior to his happy marriage
with one of his fair young pupils he efficiently taught the
Scotland and Canterbury schools.
In 1843 Mr. Cary moved to Hampton and located on
the property known as the "Burnett farm," about one
mile south of Hampton Center, where he resided until 1867.
During his residence there he was again chosen as the
favorite teacher in that locality, teaching seven terms in
Hampton. After 1867 Mr. Cary retired from
active life and for nearly forty years lived in a somewhat
invalided state, from a paralytic affection. This
invalidism only drew closer the bonds of affection between
him and a devoted family and a community which had always
esteemed him highly. Mr. Cary died, after an
illness of but two days, Jan. 12, 1903.
Mr. Cary was married Oct. 26, 1842, to Lucy
A. Burnham, who was born Aug. 29, 1823, a native of
Scotland, and daughter of Elisha and Phoebe (Avery)
Burnham. At one time Mrs. Cary was a
student under her husband, and later she also was a teacher
in Scotland and in Hampton. Mrs. Cary died Mar.
18, 1902, after a short illness. The children of
Mr. and Mrs. Cary were: (1) Mary Josephine, born
Dec. 12, 1843, married Dec. 14, 1861, Henry Holt, a
farmer; she died Dec. 9, 1886, at her home in Norfolk, Neb.,
where she was buried. Her children were: Edwin B.
(a railway mail clerk, residing in Omaha, Neb.), Lucy A.,
Cora M., and Emily R. (wife of Frank W.
Congdon, of Hampton, Conn.). (2) Julian E.,
born May 27, 1846, married, Jan. 19, 1876, Clara Marll;
he is a brick manufacturer in San Francisco, Cal. (3)
George C. born June 24, 1848, married (first) Dec. 5,
1872, Lydia McCracken, who died and left one child,
Grace, who died in infancy. He married
(second) Emma Harvey, Sept. 24, 1883. He is a
grain dealer in Great Bend, Kans. (4) William B.,
born Feb. 11, 1856, married May 19, 1885, Carrie E. Howe.
He is a meat dealer in Lowell, Mass., where he manages one
of Armour's branch houses. His children are Burton
W., Julian C. and Helen H. Cary.
Mr. Cary was a lifelong Republican, and faithfully
filled many local offices. For many years he was a
member of the Congregational Church committee of Hampton,
and was one of the members whose place was seldom vacant.
The family of which Mrs. Cary was a most
estimable member is one of the well-known ones of Windham
county. Mrs. Cary's father, Elisha Burnham,
was born in Scotland, which was then a part of Windham, and
for many years he conducted a saw, shingle and gristmill at
Scotland. Later he removed to Windham, and there
followed farming until his death, at the age of seventy
years. The first marriage of Mr. Burnham was to
Phoebe Avery, and their children were: (1)
Edwin E., who married Amanda Lincoln, was a
merchant in Willimantic for a number of years, and died
there. (2) Alfred A. married (first) Ardelia
Cleveland, a daughter of Governor Cleveland, and
(second) Mary Belden; for a long period he was a
successful attorney in Windham. (3) Lucy A.
became Mrs. Cary. (4) Phoebe Ardelia
married John Larrabee, a farmer of Windham, where he
died. (5) Mary Amanda married Charles
Larrabee, who also was a farmer in Windham. The
second marriage of Mr. Burnham was to Mrs. Polly
(Avery) Smith, a sister to his former wife, but there
was no issue of this marriage. These families
represent the very best elements of the town of Hampton, the
descendants reflecting credit upon their parents and the
family name.
Source: Biographical Record of Tolland and Windham
Counties, Connecticut - Vol. 1 - Published Chicago - J. H. Beers &
Co. - 1903- Page 529 |
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