Charles Beckley Platt ….
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William A. Wilcox showed an interest in sailing from an early age. He began his career on steamboats in 1836 as a wheelsman (helmsman) on the Norwich piloted by Captain W.W. Coit. In 1838, he served as a pilot on the Connecticut River between Hartford and Saybrook.
Later, he served as the Captain of the Worcester; served on the Cleopatra; served on the Connecticut; served as the Captain of the City of Boston from 1860-1866; and served as the Captain of the City of Lawrence until his retirement.
Captain Wilcox was well known for his courage and expert navigation of steamboats. In mid-October 1856, while traversing from Norwich to New York on the Long Island Sound, he and his passengers found themselves caught in a hurricane. The steamboat Connecticut had just been overhauled, but, like other steamboats of the period, she only drew six feet of water. The hurricane-force winds exposed her to dangerously high waves.
During the storm, Captain Wilcox and two of his seamen courageously secured the deck of his boat with canvas, but a heavy surge swept them from their task, lodging Wilcox under the capstan. He was injured so severely that he could hardly stay on deck. The two men assisting him narrowly escaped going overboard. However, with much effort and divine luck, the steamboat Connecticut and all her passengers survived the storm.
*You can read the entire story by clicking on the “Newspaper Article” button below.
In 1867, Steamboat Willie, as he was fondly called, retired to North Stonington. It was said of him, “Captain Wilcox was widely known as one of the best steamboat men on Long Island Sound… he met not with a single accident, and there was no officer more popular than he…”
One newspaper account wrote: “On Monday, April 12, 1869, he told his daughter, Jane Lester, that he was going to New York, giving her the keys to his trunk, his gold watch, and his eyeglasses. His son-in-law, Henry Lester, took him to the depot. All indications were that he was in good spirits. Tuesday morning, word was received that Captain Wilcox was missing. His hat and cane were found on deck. When his body was discovered in Long Island Sound, there was a bullet hole in his temple. It is believed he “placed himself in a position that he would fall into the water… put the pistol to his head and discharged it.”
Three days after his death, the Norwich Bulletin reported that flags on steamboats were flown at half-mast, out of respect for the memory of Captain Wilcox.
His funeral was held at the Universalist Church in Norwich on April 16, 1869. All the old and young steamboat-men of Norwich and New London attended his funeral. The Reverend J. Riley Johnson addressed the congregation, saying:
“As a fair-haired boy, with heart ambitions and hopeful for the future, the delight of his parents, and the love of all who knew him; as the full grown man, struggling amid the perils and trials of life upon the water, success attending him, and he winning confidence on every hand; his decline in life, when secret trials and troubles had borne him down, when a hidden canker was gnawing his heart strings, culminating in the scene on the last night of his extence on earth, when he fell into the blue waves, so long his home, doubtless intending to sleep ther until the sea shoud be made to give up her dead. Whatever may have been lacking, none can say aught against the general good-heartedness and nobility, the uniform kindness to those under him, of the deceased.”
After the funeral, his remains were taken to Yantic Cemetery and interred in the family lot. There were many who turned away from this last scene, hearts saddened, and eyes dimmed with tears.
Captain William A. Wilcox Gravesite
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William Wilcox was born in Connecticut in 1812. His wife, Nancy A. Wilcox, was born circa 1820 in Connecticut.
Their children were:
William Henry (1840-1843)
George Wilcox, b. circa 1842
Elizabeth Wilcox, b. circa 1846
Charles Wilcox, b. circa 1848
Jane Wilcox, b. circa 1850. Married Henry W. Lester.
Willie Wilcox, b. circa 1853
Lucy Wilcox, b. circa 1855
Captain William Wilcox was laid to rest on April 16, 1869.
His wife Nancy died at the age of 54 on July 7, 1884.
Jedediah Huntington, born September 13, 1791, was a descendant of Deacon Simon Huntington, one of Norwich’s founding fathers. Through much work and persistence, he became a wealthy and successful mercantile businessman in the Norwich community known for his “unbending integrity and large and frequent donations to religious and benevolent objects.” He was also a director of the Norwich Bank for almost 50 years, a trustee and director of the Society for Savings, and one of the projectors and managers of the Norwich Water Power Company.
Mr. Huntington also took an active part in building the railroad from Norwich to Worcester, and when the company was near failure, he helped save it by extending a personal line of credit to it.
In June 1819, Jedediah married Eliza, youngest daughter of the late Judge Marvin Wait, of New London. She was a lady with a warm heart and open hand, and the poor and afflicted were ever drawn towards her by her deep and tender sympathy for them.
In June 1819, Eliza married Jedediah Huntington. At the time of their marriage, she was 21, and Jedediah was 27. Mr. and Mrs. Huntington lived together for more than fifty years. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in June 1869.
Following Jedediah’s death, to further his deceased wife’s desire to provide aid and comfort to women in need in the Norwich community, he bequeathed his home, estimated at $ 25,000 ($625,000 in 2023), along with an additional $35,000 ($875,000 in 2023 dollars).
The facility is known today as the Eliza Huntington Memorial Home.
