HON. PHILIP WADSWORTH, a retired
business man of Brookside, town of Suffield, Hartford county, was born
in New Hartford, Litchfield county, March 7, 1832, and is of remote English
descent, the Wadsworth family being one of the very earliest to settle
in New England.
Seth Wadsworth, grandfather of our subject,
a native of this State, was an agriculturist of Hartford county.
He was a brother of Gen. Jeremiah Wadsworth (who was attached to the staff
of Gen. Washington), and took a very active part with the patriot army
during the Revolutionary war. Seth Wadsworth married Mary Strong, and to
their union were born four children: Hesakiel, Tertius, Timothy and Daniel.
Seth and his wife died in Farmington, and there their remains repose side
by side.
Tertius Wadsworth, father of Philip Wadsworth,
grew to manhood in Farmington, his native town. He began his business life
in New Hartford, Litchfield county, as a merchant, and was also interested
in manufacturing, later removing to Hartford, where he became interested
in banking and insurance, was a director in the State Bank of Hartford
for many years, and was also a director in the Connecticut Fire Insurance
Co. of Hartford. He was the owner of a great deal of real estate in the
city of Chicago, Ill., and was altogether a prominent factor in business
and public affairs, although he never sought political honors. He was first
a Whig, and later a Republican, and voted simply as a matter of principle.
Mr. Wadsworth married Polly Seymour, a native of New Hartford, and to this
marriage were born six children, of whom the three eldest, James, Elisha
S. and Julius, are deceased; Tertius lives in Chicago; Philip is the subject
of this sketch; and Mary S. died young. Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth, died in
Hartford, in the faith of the Congregational Church, and greatly honored
by all classes.
Philip Wadsworth, whose name opens this sketch,
was educated in the schools of Hartford and at Williston Seminary, Easthampton,
Mass. In 1853 he went West, located in Chicago, which was then in its infancy,
and for years was a leading business man of that city, and largely engaged
in the wholesale woolen business. In 1889 he withdrew from the trade and
returned to Connecticut, settled in Suffield, and is now enjoying he pleasures
of a retired life. He resides in one of the finest mansions in Hartford
county, formerly the prop-erty of his father-in-law, Parks Loomis, and
in remodeling this magnificent home—known as Brookside—there has been expended
over $50,000.
Mr. Wadsworth has always taken a very active
part in public affairs, especially in Chicago. He was one of the early
aldermen of that city, was one of the commissioners that had control of
the building of the Illinois State House, and was one of the first Republicans
in the State. He was a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, and strongly
supported him on his first nomination for the Presidency of the United
States. In 1862 Mr. Wadsworth was appointed by President Lincoln Internal
Revenue collector for the First Congressional District of Illinois, and
ably filled the office many years. In 1895 Mr. Wadsworth was elected on
the Republican ticket as a member of the Connecticut State Legislature
from the Suffield district, and it is needless to add that he served his
people ably and faithfully.
Mr. Wadsworth was united in marriage with
Miss Georgiana Loomis, a daughter of Parks and Emily (Hathaway) Loomis,
of Suffield, and two children were born to their union: Philip, who died
at the age of two years; and Emily, who was married to Charles Schwartz,
a prominent business man of Chicago, and also well known in Suffield as
the builder of Brookside, who died in Chicago in 1893; his remains were
brought to Suffield and here interred. The two children born to Mr. and
Mrs. Schwartz—Wadsworth and Philip—still survive, to cheer her widowed
life. She makes her home in the Brookside mansion, is a regent in the Daughters
of the American Revolution, S. Dwight Kent Chapter, Suffield, and is a
lady of refined taste and culture.
Commemorative
Biographical Record
of
Hartford County,
Connecticut
Illustrated
Chicago
J. H. Beers & Co.
1901
pgs 1311 - 1312
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