Chapter 10

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FOOTNOTES:[1]George Frisbie Hoar.[2]Mr. Alfred Plant, of Webster Grove, Missouri, in a letter of December 11, 1897.[3]Mr. George D. Plant, Principal of the Seward School in Chicago.[4]New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., April 1886.[5]Lists of Emigrants, by J. C. Hotten.[6]Soldiers in King Philip’s War, by George M. Bodge, page 442.[7]His name appears, November 6, 1677, as a witness on the record of a payment. On February 20, 1683, he was given six acres on Mulliner’s Hill, below the road, on condition of his improving it within two years. On February 4, 1688, he was given six acres more “on the way hill,” that is, half way to the iron works at the outlet of the lake. He was sworn in as a freeman at Branford, April 8, 1690. His lot was laid out below the path, bounded on the west corner by a great white-oak-tree, on the north corner by a small walnut-, on the east by a black-oak-, and by a walnut-tree at the south.The original home of the Plants seems to have been near George Plant’s present residence. The old Plant house was once used as a hotel and again as a store. A tornado once tore down a fine orchard behind the house, and overthrew a cider mill near it. John2Plant, Jr., sold the part of Mulliner’s Hill, which had formerly belonged to Thomas Goodsell, to Deacon John Rose, July 13, 1713, and bought of John Goodsell, in 1727, three acres at Mulliner’s Neck.[8]Orcutt’sHistory of Stratfordsays that John Plant’s wife was Betty Roundkettle, and that he was probably of the Saltonstall company, but the authority is not stated.[9]Elizabeth Plant married, July 23, 1712, John Coach, also of Branford, who died about 1728, as evidenced by the Probate Records. She was appointed administrator, June 14, 1728. The inventory exhibited June 26th following gives the valuation of his property at £118 14s.4d.The children are named, Sarah, about twelve years of age, James, ten, Elizabeth, eight, Mary, five, John, three.Sarah Coach married, September 20, 1738, Eleazer Stent.Elizabeth Coach married, March 9, 1736, Jacob Carter.[10]Thomas Whedon, the grandfather of Hannah Whedon, came to New Haven with John Meigs, who, in 1648, bought the lot on the corner of Chapel and Church Streets, where the Cutler building now stands. Before leaving England Thomas Whedon had been bound to Meigs as an apprentice to learn his art of tanner. He took the oath of fidelity in 1657; married, May 24, 1651, Ann Harvey, at New Haven; moved to Branford, and his name appears on the lists of proprietors, January 17, 1676, as having five children, and an estate valued at £96; he died in 1691, leaving a wife and five children. Their son, Thomas Whedon, Jr., was born May 31, 1663, at New Haven, and died in 1692; his wife, Hannah Barnes, was the eldest daughter of John and Mercy (Betts) Barnes, and was born December 23, 1670.John2Plant became a member of the church at Branford, September 2, 1716, and Hannah Plant, September 21, 1729. His will is in the Probate Records at Guilford, Connecticut, dated February 29, 1752, proved July 7, 1752. It names his wife, Hannah Plant, who was appointed administratrix, daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Plant, and sons John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, and Abraham. The inventory of the estate places the valuation at £1007 6s.1¼d.whereof £891 8s.11¼d.was real estate, of which one hundred acres of land was in Litchfield. In the distribution, which was made December 19, 1752, Elizabeth is called the wife of Josiah Parrish.The will of Hannah Plant is also to be seen at Guilford, dated November 31, 1752, proved December 18, 1753, presented by John Plant, executor. It names sons John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, Abraham, and Benjamin, and daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Parrish. The distribution occurred February 18, 1754, when Hannah was called the wife of Abraham Whedon, and Elizabeth the wife of Josiah Parrish.Benjamin’s name occurs in his mother’s will, but is omitted in his father’s.[11]His will, dated December 22, 1761, proved September 7, 1762, names wife Hannah Whedon, sons Reuben, William, and Noah, daughters Hannah, Martha, Submit, Sarah, and “youngest daughter Deborah, that still lives with me.” William and Noah were minors, and chose their mother guardian.Reuben Whedon’s will, signed March 20, 1806, proved September 23, 1806, names wife Rachel, son Abraham, of Bolton, grandson Daniel, son of Abraham. The court appoints Captain William Whedon one of two commissioners to divide the estate.William Whedon’s will, dated February 6, 1821, names daughter Polly Page, son Captain Ozias Whedon, grandsons William N., Charles R., and Amaziah H., also five grandchildren, John, Catharine, Andrew, Noah, and George, children of son Edward Whedon.Guardian’s records of Amos Seward, January 20, 1822, and June 14, 1824, name Charles R. Whedon, minor son of Captain Noah Whedon, of New Haven, and grandson of Captain William Whedon, with his brother William N. Whedon, and Lucretia, the widow of Captain Noah Whedon.[12]His will, signed at Branford, March 4, 1755, proved March 25, 1788, names his brother Benjamin executor and sole legatee.[13]The deed of Timothy3Plant to his son Timothy4(page 313) names “heirs of Samuel Baker, deceased, assignee of my late brother Jonathan Plant, deceased.”[14]The will of John Parrish, the father of Josiah and also of Lucy Parrish, the wife of Timothy3Plant, dated April 5, 1748, proved April 14, 1748, names wife Hannah Parrish, son Josiah, two younger sons, Gideon and Joel, and three daughters, Hannah, Lucia, and Abigail. In the inventory his estate was valued at £471 10s.8d.[15]On December 25, 1780, he was appointed by the town of Derby to collect the assessments to raise recruits for the Continental army.His will, dated April 1, 1796, proved July 3, 1796, names widow Esther Plant, two sons, Samuel and David, daughters Lucy, Polly, and Sally. The estate was appraised at £313 4s.11d.and includes seventy acres of land with a house and barn, in the parish of Great Hills.[16]Ethan Plant, of Saybrook, is recorded as in the Revolutionary army, from May 8, 1775, to December 18, of the same year.Ethel Plant is also enrolled as enlisting at New London, May 24, 1778, in the Third troop of light dragoons, and is described as “a cooper, stature, 5 feet 8½ inches, complexion light, eyes light, hair dark.”On June 5, 1813, Ethel Plant made application for a pension, being at that time 63 years of age, and a resident of Delhi, New York. The pension was allowed for six years’ actual service in the Connecticut troops in the Revolutionary War.The town clerk of Delhi writes, January 26, 1898, that no traces of such a person are now to be found there.His marriage was by the name of Ethiel Plant. The various spellings were no doubt due to the unusualness of the name.The home of this family seems to have passed from Branford to Saybrook soon after the marriage of the elder daughter, devolving on her the care of her younger sister and brothers. In a similar way, after the marriage of Hannah Plant to Mr. Baldwin, her home in Milford may have become a place of frequent resort for her brothers. This would account in a measure for the marriage of Timothy to a person who seems to have been of a Milford family, probably that of Humphrey and Margaret Colebreath.[17]Anderson Plant, of Branford, bought three acres of land in Southington, October 3, 1787, and sold the same to Thomas Stow of Middletown, April 7, 1788. Witnessed by John Plant.—Southington Land Records, Vol. ii., pp. 302-321.[18]He was a soldier in the French and Indian War, enlisted at the age of 19, April 10, 1760, under Captain Jonathan Baker, in Suffolk County, “from Brandford, New England, wheelwright.” He served in Captain David Mulford’s company. On returning from the war he settled in Stratford, where his children were born.[19]On May 5, 1770, he, with John Smith, also of Branford, bought of Joseph Pickett forty acres of land in Litchfield, for which they paid £45. Soon after this he removed to Litchfield, and on July 13 following the land was divided, and he took the north half. Here he seems to have lived and reared his family.[20]He removed to Litchfield, Connecticut, about 1772, the occasion for which was as follows: On June 26, 1734, his grandfather, John2Plant, bought of Josiah Rogers, of Branford, a tract of one hundred acres of land in Litchfield on the west side of the Waterbury River. This land remained undivided at the settlement of John2Plant’s estate, and passed in this manner to his six sons. Of these, Timothy3Plant sold his share of one sixth to his son Timothy,4October 7, 1772, for £17. A little later, January 13, 1773, Timothy4Plant, Jr., bought also the share of his uncle James, which had been previously sold to David Wooster. Then, May 23, 1774, he bought of Asa and Harris Hopkins two thirds of another tract of one hundred acres. He afterward sold both of these tracts at a considerable advance on their cost. But having made his home in Litchfield, the family remained there.In the Revolutionary War he entered the army, March 2, 1777, in the Fifth regiment, Connecticut line, Captain J. A. Wright’s company, and was reported missing at Germantown, October 4, 1777. Tradition says that he was drafted, and that in the battle he was taken prisoner and confined in “the old sugar house” at New York, or in “the prison ship,” and died there, no word having ever come from him to his family. The births of his children are registered in Litchfield, except of the youngest, who must have been born after he went to the war.[21]Elias5Hall was the eldest child of John4and Abigail (Russell) Hall; (John,3John,2John1). Ruhamah was the only child of his second wife, who died at her daughter’s birth. He served in the French and Indian War in Colonel Whiting’s regiment, under Lord Amherst, and was on duty at Ticonderoga and Crown Point until 1759. He settled in Cheshire, Connecticut; removed in 1784 to Pittsford, Vermont, and died October 30, 1821, at the house of his son Elias, at Williston, Vermont.[22]“He prepared himself for college at the Cheshire Academy, and was graduated at Yale College in 1804, after which he studied law at the Litchfield Law School. He was a classmate and friend of John C. Calhoun, who was not only with him in college but also studied law at Litchfield. In 1819 and 1820 Mr. Plant was Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, and in 1821 was elected to the Senate, after which he was twice re-elected. He was Lieutenant-Governor from 1823 to 1827, and from 1827 to 1829 was a member of the United States Congress. In politics he was a staunch Whig. Calhoun when Secretary of State offered him, for friendship’s sake, any position within his gift, but he declined to hold office under the dominant party. He was one of the most influential men of his day in political circles of the State of Connecticut.”[23]For several years of his early life he was in mercantile business in New York City. At the age of twenty he removed to Marcellus, New York, and engaged in farming until 1872, when he made his home in Syracuse, where he became a prominent member of the Brown Memorial M. E. Church.“He was a man of strong character, honorable and upright, with clear intellect and much originality, fond of books, and well informed on the events transpiring in his country and throughout the world.”There were six children by his first marriage, two of whom were Charles H.7Plant and Mrs. W. R. Knowles, who died before him. The four others are Dr. William T.7Plant, Alfred D.7Plant, and Miss Ailda7Plant, of Syracuse, and Mrs. I. W. Davey, of Marcellus.William Tomlinson7Plant, the eldest of these, was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1860, and began practice as a physician in Ithaca, New York. Early in the war he entered the United States Navy as surgeon, and continued till October, 1865, when he resigned, and in 1866 began the practice of medicine in Syracuse. This he followed till about 1894, when paralysis compelled him to retire from active life. He has filled many positions of honor and responsibility; has been on the medical staff of a large hospital, doing duty there four months in the year; was one of the founders of the Medical College of Syracuse, in which he held the chair of Jurisprudence and Pediatrics, and has contributed much to medical journals, having been the editor of one such periodical.He has one son, John W.8Plant, who is in the graduating class of Syracuse Medical College for 1898.[24]A tradition represents him to have been the son of Joel4Plant, the brother of Timothy,4but no records confirm this view, while a number of points in his story seem to identify him with Joel,5the son of Timothy,4born at Litchfield, according to one entry there, August 22, 1776, and according to another, August 24, 1776. The following account is from his son, Mr. Lauren Plant, of Cicero, New York, December 25, 1897.“Timothy, the son of John Plant, married Lucy Parrish, settled in New Haven, and was in the bookbinding business. Among their children were two sons, Timothy, born July 4, 1750, who subsequently settled in Litchfield; and Joel, born March 25, 1753, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and died, or was killed, on Long Island in 1779, leaving a wife and two children in New Haven. A daughter, Margaret, afterward married Benoni Gleson and went to Vermont. Joel was born August 24, 1776; his mother died when he was twelve years old, and at the age of fourteen he was bound out to work in the bookbindery that his grandfather had established long before. Not liking the business, he ran away, at the age of seventeen, and went west to the banks of the Susquehanna River, where he remained two seasons, returning to his Uncle Tim’s in Litchfield and attending school in the winter, where he made the acquaintance of Mary Jordan, whom he married. They lived two or three years in Worthington, Massachusetts, then moved to Benson, Rutland County, Vermont, and, in 1837, to Onondaga County, New York.”[25]Anderson Plant’s estate was in probate, June 13, 1827. Mr. Samuel Plant was chosen and appointed guardian of Henry Bradley Plant, who with his mother, Mrs. Betsey Plant, were the only heirs.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]George Frisbie Hoar.

[2]Mr. Alfred Plant, of Webster Grove, Missouri, in a letter of December 11, 1897.

[3]Mr. George D. Plant, Principal of the Seward School in Chicago.

[4]New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Reg., April 1886.

[5]Lists of Emigrants, by J. C. Hotten.

[6]Soldiers in King Philip’s War, by George M. Bodge, page 442.

[7]His name appears, November 6, 1677, as a witness on the record of a payment. On February 20, 1683, he was given six acres on Mulliner’s Hill, below the road, on condition of his improving it within two years. On February 4, 1688, he was given six acres more “on the way hill,” that is, half way to the iron works at the outlet of the lake. He was sworn in as a freeman at Branford, April 8, 1690. His lot was laid out below the path, bounded on the west corner by a great white-oak-tree, on the north corner by a small walnut-, on the east by a black-oak-, and by a walnut-tree at the south.The original home of the Plants seems to have been near George Plant’s present residence. The old Plant house was once used as a hotel and again as a store. A tornado once tore down a fine orchard behind the house, and overthrew a cider mill near it. John2Plant, Jr., sold the part of Mulliner’s Hill, which had formerly belonged to Thomas Goodsell, to Deacon John Rose, July 13, 1713, and bought of John Goodsell, in 1727, three acres at Mulliner’s Neck.

The original home of the Plants seems to have been near George Plant’s present residence. The old Plant house was once used as a hotel and again as a store. A tornado once tore down a fine orchard behind the house, and overthrew a cider mill near it. John2Plant, Jr., sold the part of Mulliner’s Hill, which had formerly belonged to Thomas Goodsell, to Deacon John Rose, July 13, 1713, and bought of John Goodsell, in 1727, three acres at Mulliner’s Neck.

[8]Orcutt’sHistory of Stratfordsays that John Plant’s wife was Betty Roundkettle, and that he was probably of the Saltonstall company, but the authority is not stated.

[9]Elizabeth Plant married, July 23, 1712, John Coach, also of Branford, who died about 1728, as evidenced by the Probate Records. She was appointed administrator, June 14, 1728. The inventory exhibited June 26th following gives the valuation of his property at £118 14s.4d.The children are named, Sarah, about twelve years of age, James, ten, Elizabeth, eight, Mary, five, John, three.Sarah Coach married, September 20, 1738, Eleazer Stent.Elizabeth Coach married, March 9, 1736, Jacob Carter.

Sarah Coach married, September 20, 1738, Eleazer Stent.

Elizabeth Coach married, March 9, 1736, Jacob Carter.

[10]Thomas Whedon, the grandfather of Hannah Whedon, came to New Haven with John Meigs, who, in 1648, bought the lot on the corner of Chapel and Church Streets, where the Cutler building now stands. Before leaving England Thomas Whedon had been bound to Meigs as an apprentice to learn his art of tanner. He took the oath of fidelity in 1657; married, May 24, 1651, Ann Harvey, at New Haven; moved to Branford, and his name appears on the lists of proprietors, January 17, 1676, as having five children, and an estate valued at £96; he died in 1691, leaving a wife and five children. Their son, Thomas Whedon, Jr., was born May 31, 1663, at New Haven, and died in 1692; his wife, Hannah Barnes, was the eldest daughter of John and Mercy (Betts) Barnes, and was born December 23, 1670.John2Plant became a member of the church at Branford, September 2, 1716, and Hannah Plant, September 21, 1729. His will is in the Probate Records at Guilford, Connecticut, dated February 29, 1752, proved July 7, 1752. It names his wife, Hannah Plant, who was appointed administratrix, daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Plant, and sons John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, and Abraham. The inventory of the estate places the valuation at £1007 6s.1¼d.whereof £891 8s.11¼d.was real estate, of which one hundred acres of land was in Litchfield. In the distribution, which was made December 19, 1752, Elizabeth is called the wife of Josiah Parrish.The will of Hannah Plant is also to be seen at Guilford, dated November 31, 1752, proved December 18, 1753, presented by John Plant, executor. It names sons John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, Abraham, and Benjamin, and daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Parrish. The distribution occurred February 18, 1754, when Hannah was called the wife of Abraham Whedon, and Elizabeth the wife of Josiah Parrish.Benjamin’s name occurs in his mother’s will, but is omitted in his father’s.

John2Plant became a member of the church at Branford, September 2, 1716, and Hannah Plant, September 21, 1729. His will is in the Probate Records at Guilford, Connecticut, dated February 29, 1752, proved July 7, 1752. It names his wife, Hannah Plant, who was appointed administratrix, daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Plant, and sons John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, and Abraham. The inventory of the estate places the valuation at £1007 6s.1¼d.whereof £891 8s.11¼d.was real estate, of which one hundred acres of land was in Litchfield. In the distribution, which was made December 19, 1752, Elizabeth is called the wife of Josiah Parrish.

The will of Hannah Plant is also to be seen at Guilford, dated November 31, 1752, proved December 18, 1753, presented by John Plant, executor. It names sons John, Jonathan, James, Timothy, Abraham, and Benjamin, and daughters Hannah Whedon and Elizabeth Parrish. The distribution occurred February 18, 1754, when Hannah was called the wife of Abraham Whedon, and Elizabeth the wife of Josiah Parrish.

Benjamin’s name occurs in his mother’s will, but is omitted in his father’s.

[11]His will, dated December 22, 1761, proved September 7, 1762, names wife Hannah Whedon, sons Reuben, William, and Noah, daughters Hannah, Martha, Submit, Sarah, and “youngest daughter Deborah, that still lives with me.” William and Noah were minors, and chose their mother guardian.Reuben Whedon’s will, signed March 20, 1806, proved September 23, 1806, names wife Rachel, son Abraham, of Bolton, grandson Daniel, son of Abraham. The court appoints Captain William Whedon one of two commissioners to divide the estate.William Whedon’s will, dated February 6, 1821, names daughter Polly Page, son Captain Ozias Whedon, grandsons William N., Charles R., and Amaziah H., also five grandchildren, John, Catharine, Andrew, Noah, and George, children of son Edward Whedon.Guardian’s records of Amos Seward, January 20, 1822, and June 14, 1824, name Charles R. Whedon, minor son of Captain Noah Whedon, of New Haven, and grandson of Captain William Whedon, with his brother William N. Whedon, and Lucretia, the widow of Captain Noah Whedon.

Reuben Whedon’s will, signed March 20, 1806, proved September 23, 1806, names wife Rachel, son Abraham, of Bolton, grandson Daniel, son of Abraham. The court appoints Captain William Whedon one of two commissioners to divide the estate.

William Whedon’s will, dated February 6, 1821, names daughter Polly Page, son Captain Ozias Whedon, grandsons William N., Charles R., and Amaziah H., also five grandchildren, John, Catharine, Andrew, Noah, and George, children of son Edward Whedon.

Guardian’s records of Amos Seward, January 20, 1822, and June 14, 1824, name Charles R. Whedon, minor son of Captain Noah Whedon, of New Haven, and grandson of Captain William Whedon, with his brother William N. Whedon, and Lucretia, the widow of Captain Noah Whedon.

[12]His will, signed at Branford, March 4, 1755, proved March 25, 1788, names his brother Benjamin executor and sole legatee.

[13]The deed of Timothy3Plant to his son Timothy4(page 313) names “heirs of Samuel Baker, deceased, assignee of my late brother Jonathan Plant, deceased.”

[14]The will of John Parrish, the father of Josiah and also of Lucy Parrish, the wife of Timothy3Plant, dated April 5, 1748, proved April 14, 1748, names wife Hannah Parrish, son Josiah, two younger sons, Gideon and Joel, and three daughters, Hannah, Lucia, and Abigail. In the inventory his estate was valued at £471 10s.8d.

[15]On December 25, 1780, he was appointed by the town of Derby to collect the assessments to raise recruits for the Continental army.His will, dated April 1, 1796, proved July 3, 1796, names widow Esther Plant, two sons, Samuel and David, daughters Lucy, Polly, and Sally. The estate was appraised at £313 4s.11d.and includes seventy acres of land with a house and barn, in the parish of Great Hills.

[15]On December 25, 1780, he was appointed by the town of Derby to collect the assessments to raise recruits for the Continental army.

His will, dated April 1, 1796, proved July 3, 1796, names widow Esther Plant, two sons, Samuel and David, daughters Lucy, Polly, and Sally. The estate was appraised at £313 4s.11d.and includes seventy acres of land with a house and barn, in the parish of Great Hills.

[16]Ethan Plant, of Saybrook, is recorded as in the Revolutionary army, from May 8, 1775, to December 18, of the same year.Ethel Plant is also enrolled as enlisting at New London, May 24, 1778, in the Third troop of light dragoons, and is described as “a cooper, stature, 5 feet 8½ inches, complexion light, eyes light, hair dark.”On June 5, 1813, Ethel Plant made application for a pension, being at that time 63 years of age, and a resident of Delhi, New York. The pension was allowed for six years’ actual service in the Connecticut troops in the Revolutionary War.The town clerk of Delhi writes, January 26, 1898, that no traces of such a person are now to be found there.His marriage was by the name of Ethiel Plant. The various spellings were no doubt due to the unusualness of the name.The home of this family seems to have passed from Branford to Saybrook soon after the marriage of the elder daughter, devolving on her the care of her younger sister and brothers. In a similar way, after the marriage of Hannah Plant to Mr. Baldwin, her home in Milford may have become a place of frequent resort for her brothers. This would account in a measure for the marriage of Timothy to a person who seems to have been of a Milford family, probably that of Humphrey and Margaret Colebreath.

[16]Ethan Plant, of Saybrook, is recorded as in the Revolutionary army, from May 8, 1775, to December 18, of the same year.

Ethel Plant is also enrolled as enlisting at New London, May 24, 1778, in the Third troop of light dragoons, and is described as “a cooper, stature, 5 feet 8½ inches, complexion light, eyes light, hair dark.”

On June 5, 1813, Ethel Plant made application for a pension, being at that time 63 years of age, and a resident of Delhi, New York. The pension was allowed for six years’ actual service in the Connecticut troops in the Revolutionary War.

The town clerk of Delhi writes, January 26, 1898, that no traces of such a person are now to be found there.

His marriage was by the name of Ethiel Plant. The various spellings were no doubt due to the unusualness of the name.

The home of this family seems to have passed from Branford to Saybrook soon after the marriage of the elder daughter, devolving on her the care of her younger sister and brothers. In a similar way, after the marriage of Hannah Plant to Mr. Baldwin, her home in Milford may have become a place of frequent resort for her brothers. This would account in a measure for the marriage of Timothy to a person who seems to have been of a Milford family, probably that of Humphrey and Margaret Colebreath.

[17]Anderson Plant, of Branford, bought three acres of land in Southington, October 3, 1787, and sold the same to Thomas Stow of Middletown, April 7, 1788. Witnessed by John Plant.—Southington Land Records, Vol. ii., pp. 302-321.

[18]He was a soldier in the French and Indian War, enlisted at the age of 19, April 10, 1760, under Captain Jonathan Baker, in Suffolk County, “from Brandford, New England, wheelwright.” He served in Captain David Mulford’s company. On returning from the war he settled in Stratford, where his children were born.

[19]On May 5, 1770, he, with John Smith, also of Branford, bought of Joseph Pickett forty acres of land in Litchfield, for which they paid £45. Soon after this he removed to Litchfield, and on July 13 following the land was divided, and he took the north half. Here he seems to have lived and reared his family.

[20]He removed to Litchfield, Connecticut, about 1772, the occasion for which was as follows: On June 26, 1734, his grandfather, John2Plant, bought of Josiah Rogers, of Branford, a tract of one hundred acres of land in Litchfield on the west side of the Waterbury River. This land remained undivided at the settlement of John2Plant’s estate, and passed in this manner to his six sons. Of these, Timothy3Plant sold his share of one sixth to his son Timothy,4October 7, 1772, for £17. A little later, January 13, 1773, Timothy4Plant, Jr., bought also the share of his uncle James, which had been previously sold to David Wooster. Then, May 23, 1774, he bought of Asa and Harris Hopkins two thirds of another tract of one hundred acres. He afterward sold both of these tracts at a considerable advance on their cost. But having made his home in Litchfield, the family remained there.In the Revolutionary War he entered the army, March 2, 1777, in the Fifth regiment, Connecticut line, Captain J. A. Wright’s company, and was reported missing at Germantown, October 4, 1777. Tradition says that he was drafted, and that in the battle he was taken prisoner and confined in “the old sugar house” at New York, or in “the prison ship,” and died there, no word having ever come from him to his family. The births of his children are registered in Litchfield, except of the youngest, who must have been born after he went to the war.

In the Revolutionary War he entered the army, March 2, 1777, in the Fifth regiment, Connecticut line, Captain J. A. Wright’s company, and was reported missing at Germantown, October 4, 1777. Tradition says that he was drafted, and that in the battle he was taken prisoner and confined in “the old sugar house” at New York, or in “the prison ship,” and died there, no word having ever come from him to his family. The births of his children are registered in Litchfield, except of the youngest, who must have been born after he went to the war.

[21]Elias5Hall was the eldest child of John4and Abigail (Russell) Hall; (John,3John,2John1). Ruhamah was the only child of his second wife, who died at her daughter’s birth. He served in the French and Indian War in Colonel Whiting’s regiment, under Lord Amherst, and was on duty at Ticonderoga and Crown Point until 1759. He settled in Cheshire, Connecticut; removed in 1784 to Pittsford, Vermont, and died October 30, 1821, at the house of his son Elias, at Williston, Vermont.

[22]“He prepared himself for college at the Cheshire Academy, and was graduated at Yale College in 1804, after which he studied law at the Litchfield Law School. He was a classmate and friend of John C. Calhoun, who was not only with him in college but also studied law at Litchfield. In 1819 and 1820 Mr. Plant was Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, and in 1821 was elected to the Senate, after which he was twice re-elected. He was Lieutenant-Governor from 1823 to 1827, and from 1827 to 1829 was a member of the United States Congress. In politics he was a staunch Whig. Calhoun when Secretary of State offered him, for friendship’s sake, any position within his gift, but he declined to hold office under the dominant party. He was one of the most influential men of his day in political circles of the State of Connecticut.”

[23]For several years of his early life he was in mercantile business in New York City. At the age of twenty he removed to Marcellus, New York, and engaged in farming until 1872, when he made his home in Syracuse, where he became a prominent member of the Brown Memorial M. E. Church.“He was a man of strong character, honorable and upright, with clear intellect and much originality, fond of books, and well informed on the events transpiring in his country and throughout the world.”There were six children by his first marriage, two of whom were Charles H.7Plant and Mrs. W. R. Knowles, who died before him. The four others are Dr. William T.7Plant, Alfred D.7Plant, and Miss Ailda7Plant, of Syracuse, and Mrs. I. W. Davey, of Marcellus.William Tomlinson7Plant, the eldest of these, was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1860, and began practice as a physician in Ithaca, New York. Early in the war he entered the United States Navy as surgeon, and continued till October, 1865, when he resigned, and in 1866 began the practice of medicine in Syracuse. This he followed till about 1894, when paralysis compelled him to retire from active life. He has filled many positions of honor and responsibility; has been on the medical staff of a large hospital, doing duty there four months in the year; was one of the founders of the Medical College of Syracuse, in which he held the chair of Jurisprudence and Pediatrics, and has contributed much to medical journals, having been the editor of one such periodical.He has one son, John W.8Plant, who is in the graduating class of Syracuse Medical College for 1898.

“He was a man of strong character, honorable and upright, with clear intellect and much originality, fond of books, and well informed on the events transpiring in his country and throughout the world.”

There were six children by his first marriage, two of whom were Charles H.7Plant and Mrs. W. R. Knowles, who died before him. The four others are Dr. William T.7Plant, Alfred D.7Plant, and Miss Ailda7Plant, of Syracuse, and Mrs. I. W. Davey, of Marcellus.

William Tomlinson7Plant, the eldest of these, was graduated from the University of Michigan in 1860, and began practice as a physician in Ithaca, New York. Early in the war he entered the United States Navy as surgeon, and continued till October, 1865, when he resigned, and in 1866 began the practice of medicine in Syracuse. This he followed till about 1894, when paralysis compelled him to retire from active life. He has filled many positions of honor and responsibility; has been on the medical staff of a large hospital, doing duty there four months in the year; was one of the founders of the Medical College of Syracuse, in which he held the chair of Jurisprudence and Pediatrics, and has contributed much to medical journals, having been the editor of one such periodical.

He has one son, John W.8Plant, who is in the graduating class of Syracuse Medical College for 1898.

[24]A tradition represents him to have been the son of Joel4Plant, the brother of Timothy,4but no records confirm this view, while a number of points in his story seem to identify him with Joel,5the son of Timothy,4born at Litchfield, according to one entry there, August 22, 1776, and according to another, August 24, 1776. The following account is from his son, Mr. Lauren Plant, of Cicero, New York, December 25, 1897.“Timothy, the son of John Plant, married Lucy Parrish, settled in New Haven, and was in the bookbinding business. Among their children were two sons, Timothy, born July 4, 1750, who subsequently settled in Litchfield; and Joel, born March 25, 1753, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and died, or was killed, on Long Island in 1779, leaving a wife and two children in New Haven. A daughter, Margaret, afterward married Benoni Gleson and went to Vermont. Joel was born August 24, 1776; his mother died when he was twelve years old, and at the age of fourteen he was bound out to work in the bookbindery that his grandfather had established long before. Not liking the business, he ran away, at the age of seventeen, and went west to the banks of the Susquehanna River, where he remained two seasons, returning to his Uncle Tim’s in Litchfield and attending school in the winter, where he made the acquaintance of Mary Jordan, whom he married. They lived two or three years in Worthington, Massachusetts, then moved to Benson, Rutland County, Vermont, and, in 1837, to Onondaga County, New York.”

“Timothy, the son of John Plant, married Lucy Parrish, settled in New Haven, and was in the bookbinding business. Among their children were two sons, Timothy, born July 4, 1750, who subsequently settled in Litchfield; and Joel, born March 25, 1753, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and died, or was killed, on Long Island in 1779, leaving a wife and two children in New Haven. A daughter, Margaret, afterward married Benoni Gleson and went to Vermont. Joel was born August 24, 1776; his mother died when he was twelve years old, and at the age of fourteen he was bound out to work in the bookbindery that his grandfather had established long before. Not liking the business, he ran away, at the age of seventeen, and went west to the banks of the Susquehanna River, where he remained two seasons, returning to his Uncle Tim’s in Litchfield and attending school in the winter, where he made the acquaintance of Mary Jordan, whom he married. They lived two or three years in Worthington, Massachusetts, then moved to Benson, Rutland County, Vermont, and, in 1837, to Onondaga County, New York.”

[25]Anderson Plant’s estate was in probate, June 13, 1827. Mr. Samuel Plant was chosen and appointed guardian of Henry Bradley Plant, who with his mother, Mrs. Betsey Plant, were the only heirs.

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