INDEX.
[A], [B], [C], [D], [E], [F], [N], [P], [R], [S], [T], [W].
Adams Express Company, organized March, 1853, and April, 1854;
list of shareholders, [52];
in 1861 this company sold and transferred its entire interests in the South to H. B. Plant, [54]
Atlanta Exposition of 1895, object of, [157];
Mr. Plant’s interest in, and exhibit at, said Exposition, [157], [158];
“Plant Day” at the Exposition;
Mr. Plant’s seventy-eighth birthday;
importance of “Plant Day,” [159];
Plant System described, [160];
opening up of Florida by this System, [161];
purchase of railroads;
extending the System;
Plant Investment Company, [161], [162];
purchase of railroads and establishment of steamboat lines, [161-163];
steamship line to Canada, [164];
Exposition described by the press;
various newspaper accounts, [221-263];
Atlanta Exposition’s recognition of Mr. Plant’s services to the Exposition, [253];
he is appreciated, feasted, and honored, [254];
Florida’s truest friend, [254]
Blackstone family: William Blaxton
only one in State of Massachusetts;
lived in wilderness among wild beasts and savage men;
Boston Common;
Blackstone’s beautiful character, [23];
Captain Blackstone was father of Mr. Plant’s first wife;
his son Timothy’s gift of a library (memorial to his father);
his education and successful career, [26], [27];
history of Blackstone family in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Branford, Connecticut, [29], [30];
five generations lived and died on the old family farm in Branford;
James a strong character in politics and patriotic service;
Timothy, his son, donor of library, [31-33];
Ellen Elizabeth, second daughter of James Blackstone, married Henry B. Plant;
Sir William Blackstone, author of Law Commentaries, was fifth cousin of James Blackstone, [34]
Board of Trade, Savannah, resolutions, [221];
Mr. Wiley’s address, [222];
Mr. Plant’s acknowledgment, [226]
Branford, Connecticut, purchased from Indians in 1638;
first settled, 1644, by people from New Haven, [15];
first church;
danger from Indians;
records of;
colony from, [16];
John Plum first town clerk;
resembles Harlem, N. Y., in customs, [2];
second church built, its architecture, seating, etc., [17];
its pulpit;
foot stoves, [18];
Rev. Timothy Gillett, its pastor, taught an academy also;
strained relations with his congregation, [19];
he and wife buried at Branford, [20];
this town rendered patriotic service in Revolution, [20], [21];
once shipbuilding flourished;
seaport town;
seat of colonial governor, [22]
Bullock, Ex-Governor: description of H. B. Plant, [99-101]
Canals: Erie;
Suez, [276]
Changes that have taken place in the configuration of the globe during Mr. Plant’s lifetime, [264-269]
Cotton States, development due largely to H. B. Plant, [165], [248-251]
Cuba: scenery;
architecture, Moorish, Saxon, and Doric;
Morro Castle;
Santa Catalina warehouses;
mail service by the Plant line of steamers, [114-116]
Duelling once legalized, [275]
Engineering skill, great achievements of, [279]
England’s bad laws;
favored the rich;
severe in punishing crime;
cruel treatment of prisoners, [271], [272];
war barbarities, inhuman treatment of soldiers, [272], [273];
educational progress, [275]
Frisbee family, sketch of;
Edward Ebenezer;
Elisha;
Professor Levi;
James;
Richard;
John;
Joseph;
President Edward S., of Wells College;
O. L. Frisbee, [4-7]
Nineteenth century: demonstration at its beginning, [269], [270];
political and social condition of France, [270];
Napoleon’s bad and good influence on Europe, [271]
Penny postage originated, [275]
Plant, A. P., his industry, religion, and success in life, [1-2]
Plant, David, [2];
education and career, [3]
Plant, Henry Bradley: birth and parentage, [1];
descended from J. Frisbee, a major in Washington’s army, [4];
right to join the “Sons of the American Revolution,” [13];
the Plants settled in Branford over two hundred years ago;
their descendants still own the lands of the first settlers;
Anderson Plant, father of Henry B., [35];
died when Henry was six years old, [36];
death of father’s sister, and also Henry’s sister;
Henry’s first recollections of his mother, [36];
enduring and tender impressions of an hour;
poem, [37];
poet’s mother, [38];
the boy Henry’s first day at school, [38];
his courage fails him, [39];
diffident all his life, [39];
his mother’s second marriage, [40];
moved from Branford to Martinsburg;
lived part of the time there with mother and stepfather, and part with grandmother Plant at Branford, [40];
here he was thrown from a plow horse and badly injured, [40], [41];
testimony of A. P. B., “one of the noblest and best of men,” [41];
parents moved to New Haven, [41];
declined grandmother’s offer of a course in Yale College, [41];
studies under Rev. Gillett and John E. Lovell, [42];
his first attempts at business did not succeed, [42];
in 1837 began as captain’s boy on New York and New Haven line of steamers, [42];
manly boy, [42], [43];
first experiences in express business, [43];
it was hard at first, but improved after a time, [44];
his development of Southern Express, [44];
enlargement of responsibility by addition of railroads, steamship lines, and hotels, [45];
Captain Stone’s fondness for young Plant, [45];
marries Miss Blackstone in 1842;
first child died, aged eighteen months;
second son, Morton Freeman, now associated with his father, [45];
removes from New Haven to New York;
is employed by Beecher Express Co., [46];
next by Adams Express Co., [46];
his mother banked his savings, [46];
bought some New Haven bank stock, which he still owns, [46];
buys a pew in a new church, [46];
stepfather died at New Haven in 1862 or 1863;
failure of his wife’s health takes him to Florida in 1853;
the journey took eight days by three different steamers, [47];
Mrs. Plant’s improved health and return to New York, [47];
landing at Jacksonville, and romantic experiences while in Florida, [48];
lost their way in the woods five miles from boarding-house;
sail in a “dug-out,” [48];
drive in a buggy;
Indian girl, [49];
boarding at the Judson Hotel, New York;
Captain Stone leaves his son in Mr. Plant’s care;
Plant returns South on account of wife’s failing health;
appointed superintendent of Harnden’s Express, at Savannah, [51];
appointed superintendent of Adams Express Company, 1854, [52];
large development of the company under his superintendence;
difficulty of the work, [53];
extent of business of the Southern and Texas Express Companies, of which Mr. Plant is president, [54];
formed, and became president of, Southern Express Co. in 1861, [55];
death of wife at Augusta, Ga., February [28], 1861;
remains afterward removed to Branford, Conn., [55];
buys a slave, who proves a good nurse to Mr. Plant, [58];
impaired health, and change of climate ordered by doctor;
pass from President Davis to pass through Confederate lines at any point, [59];
goes to Bermuda, Halifax, and Montreal;
son Morton brought to him;
visits his mother at New Haven, Conn.;
in fall sails for Liverpool;
a stranger in a strange land, [59];
goes to Paris;
courtesy of French officials in passport;
visits Rome, Naples, Leghorn, Barcelona, Milan, and Venice, [60];
travelled in Switzerland, [60], [61];
returned by way of Canada, and was in New York when President Lincoln was assassinated, [61];
his second marriage and trip to Europe in 1873, accompanied by his wife, mother, and son, [61];
his third visit to Europe, 1889;
represented the United States as juror in Class Six, at the Paris Exposition, [61];
medals for Plant System, diploma to Mr. Plant, and many courtesies extended, [61];
his busy life in Augusta;
difficulties of express work caused by the war;
bravely met and adjusted, [62];
hotel life in Augusta; letter of a friend, [63];
his health fails, [64];
rewards a kindness done to his wife and child thirty-six years ago [65];
his second wife Miss Loughman;
her ancestors;
her interest and impress on some achievements of the System, [67];
Mr. Plant’s intuitive knowledge and keen insight illustrated, [68], [69];
after-dinner speeches, Tampa Board of Trade banquet, [70-72];
Florida Mr. Plant’s hobby;
banquet given him at Ocala, in 1896, at Ocala Hotel, [87], [88];
his reply to many addresses of welcome on the subject, “The Plant System,” [88-94];
reception, excursion, and banquet given Mr. Plant and friends by the mayor and leading citizens of Leesburg, [95];
reception next day at Eustis, [95];
his words of cheer to the people who had suffered great loss from the freeze of the previous winter destroying their orange groves, [96];
their grateful appreciation of his visit, [96];
honesty, importance of;
testimonies to this quality of his character, [97], [98];
his power and influence over employees and associates, [99];
Ex-Gov. Bullock’s description of Mr. Plant’s ability, fidelity, and gentlemanly character, [99], [100];
industry and power of endurance, [102-104];
character and manner of answering his large mail, [102-104];
missionary letter from Japan, [103];
his private car;
comfort, elegance of, [103];
old darkie “shining up [100],” [104];
keen intuition, and great power of self-control, [105];
calm, quiet spirit, kindly nature, and efficient performance of all he does, [105];
testimony of an employee, of respect and appreciation of Mr. Plant’s character and work for the South, [105], [106];
his calm and kindly spirit saved him the consuming force of friction which grinds some men, [106];
not a pessimist or recluse;
loves music and social life, [107];
medical benefactor, [107], [108];
much pain saved by medical progress, [108];
Mr. Plant’s share in alleviating suffering, [109];
testimony of physicians to healthfulness of Florida for invalids, [110];
Mr. Plant facilitates travel, and provides hotels healthful and luxurious, [111-113];
furnishes comfortable transit from Florida to Cuba and Jamaica;
press notices of Mr. Plant and his philanthropic work for the South in railroads, steamship lines, hotels, etc., [121], [122];
promoted orange-growing by the facilities afforded for getting the fruit soon and safe to market, [123];
railroads induced many people to settle in the South, [124];
various railroads bought, built, and combined in the Plant System, [126];
steamer Mascotte, elegant and comfortable, [127];
railroad topics;
notes, characteristics, and success of his life, [128];
largely a pioneer in his work of opening up the South, [131];
the Plant Investment Company’s president, [132];
his palatial residence in New York City, [132];
never speculates in Wall Street, [133];
analysis of his disposition, temper, spirit, and pleasant manner, [133], [134];
Home Journal;
Ocala Evening Star;
similar descriptions, [134-140];
his close and constant contact with the Plant System, [141];
notes of his voyage from New York to Key West, [142-146];
also from Port Tampa to Jamaica;
attentions of distinguished people, [146];
Lady Blake’s garden party at King’s House on February 1st, [146], [147];
entertainment and enjoyment at Jamaica, [147-149];
his economical management of the Plant System, [150];
riding in a baggage-car saw expressman handle carelessly a box marked “glass,” etc.;
gentle rebuke;
saved the man from discharge by superior officer, [152], [153];
generous treatment of an honored employee, [153];
horrors of strikes contrasted with “Plant Day” at Atlanta Exposition in 1896, [153];
spent over forty years of his life in developing the South, [166];
eulogies on his character and work, [166-168];
“Loving Cup” and other presentations, [169-178];
Mr. Plant’s response, [178-181];
programme of “Plant Day” at Atlanta Exposition, [204], [205];
ringing of the “Liberty Bell,” [206];
services at the Auditorium;
enthusiastic reception, [207];
music and speeches, [208-210];
Mayor King and others, [210-212];
Mr. Plant’s response, [212-217];
resolutions, complimentary, [217-220];
Judge Falligant’s speech, [220-221]
Profanity and drunkenness lessened, [275]
Railroads: waste of railroad strikes, [150];
losses to employers and employed, [150], [151];
damage to commerce, demoralization of labor, inconvenience and losses to the public, [151];
no strikes on Plant System, [151];
due to President Plant, [152];
strikes contrasted with “Plant Day” at Atlanta Exposition, [153];
“Plant Day” as described by employees of the System, [154];
introduction to this description, [154-156];
railroads, introduction of in England, and United States, [277];
Edward Entwistle ran the first train in England, came to this country, [277];
railroad mileage in the United States increased from three miles to [173], 453 in Mr. Plant’s lifetime, [278];
first steamship that crossed the Atlantic;
first regular line established, [278]
Southern Express Company formed, 1861, [54], [55];
its relations to and services for the Southern Confederacy;
given the custody of all government funds, it collected tariffs, and had soldiers detailed for its service, [56];
President Davis’ proclamation for all non-citizens of Confederacy to leave its bounds;
permission given Mr. Plant to remain and conduct express business, 57:
generous service of the company to soldiers in the war, [65-66];
presentation of silver service by the company to its president, [66];
Southern development due largely to H. B. Plant, [165];
history of the company, [233-236];
the company’s building and exhibit on the fair grounds, [236];
reception in this building to Mr. Plant and friends, [237], [238];
thanks tendered the press, [239];
telegrams and congratulations, [239-241];
honors to Mr. Plant, [243];
list of employees present, [245];
sketch of Mr. Plant published in Atlanta Chronicle, [247-248];
slavery abolished, [273]
Tampa, progress of, [70-72];
speech of Mr. Plant, [73], [74];
growth of Tampa, Mr. Plant’s share in its growth, [74], [75];
cigar-making industry, [76];
phosphate mines, [76];
the town as Mr. Plant found it in 1885, [77];
description of the great hotel, [78];
grounds, [80];
description of Tampa, streets, buildings, water supply, brickmaking, [81];
population, character of;
Spaniards, Cubans, colored, Americans, [81-82];
Ybor City, its tobacco factories, [82-83];
rapid increase of population and wealth, [83];
colored people thrifty and well-to-do, [84];
own their homes, have schools, churches, and are respected by their white neighbors, [85];
Port Tampa, its inn, or hotel, open all the year, [85];
good fishing, bass, tarpon or silver king, [85];
Tampa’s boards of trade, health, and education, [86];
Tampa Bay Hotel,—described by W. C. Prime, [183-186];
also by Henry G. Parker, [187-192]
Tampa Bay, De Soto’s dream, Aladdin’s Lamp, [192-195];
description of the Palace Hotel, architecture, furniture, [196-203]
Tampa’s historical interest: De Soto landed here on May [25], 1539, discovers the Mississippi River afterwards, [191];
Navarez obtains grant of land from Charles V. of Spain, [191]
Temperance societies formed, [273-275]
Tunnels, [279], [280]
Varied progress: steel pens, steamships, iron, lucifer matches, kerosene oil used, machine sewing, agriculture, [280];
Mr. Plant on roof of office in New York noting progress, [283];
sanitary progress, life lengthened by it, [282];
territorial extension of our country, increase of wealth, rapid growth of cities, [283-284];
philanthropic and Christian progress;
higher education, better care of the insane, aged, orphans, sailors, neglected children, seamen, and others by societies, [285], [286];
conventions for mutual counsel in reform and charitable work, clubs multiplied, social, scientific, [286], [287];
female education, co-education, [287];
homes for all classes of dependent human beings, [288];
progress of medical science, lessening disease and suffering, [288-290]
World’s Fairs, International, [291];
arbitration;
better Christian spirit, among all who bear the name, [291];
Electrical Exposition, [292];
message round the world in 55 minutes, [292], [293]
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. John2 Plant, 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’s History of Stratford says 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.
John2 Plant 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 Timothy3 Plant 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 Timothy3 Plant, 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, John2 Plant, 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 John2 Plant’s estate, and passed in this manner to his six sons. Of these, Timothy3 Plant sold his share of one sixth to his son Timothy,4 October 7, 1772, for £17. A little later, January 13, 1773, Timothy4 Plant, 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] Elias5 Hall was the eldest child of John4 and Abigail (Russell) Hall; (John,3 John,2 John1). 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.7 Plant and Mrs. W. R. Knowles, who died before him. The four others are Dr. William T.7 Plant, Alfred D.7 Plant, and Miss Ailda7 Plant, of Syracuse, and Mrs. I. W. Davey, of Marcellus.
William Tomlinson7 Plant, 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.8 Plant, who is in the graduating class of Syracuse Medical College for 1898.
[24] A tradition represents him to have been the son of Joel4 Plant, the brother of Timothy,4 but no records confirm this view, while a number of points in his story seem to identify him with Joel,5 the son of Timothy,4 born 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.
