Willis Austin, the son of John Punderson Austin, was born in Norwich in January 1819. He was educated in the legal profession and graduated from Yale Law School in 1849, shortly after which he went to Texas. He intended to stay and open a law office. He became interested in cotton and developed a successful cotton business. He left this business and relocated to Philadelphia, where he entered the banking industry.
Following several successful years, he retired and began traveling. Willis traveled extensively throughout this country and then left for three years to explore Europe and Asia. Upon his return, he settled in Norwich, CT, the city of his ancestors.
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Gurdon Chapman was born in North Stonington in 1792. He settled in Norwich at an early age and engaged in trade, which subsequently developed into a large grain business that brought him great financial success. By utilizing his strong work ethic and native common sense, coupled with a photographic memory, Gurdon was able to overcome the obstacles presented by a lack of childhood education common among the country boys of his day.
During his lifetime, he became a familiar figure in the city’s public affairs in Norwich. He qualified himself as a leader and for high positions of trust in the community. He was a director of the Uncas Bank and the Merchants Bank of Norwich, as well as an incorporator, director, and assistant treasurer of the Chelsea Savings Bank.
He served as Norwich’s mayor from 1843 to 1845.
In November 1850, he married Mary Ann Moore. He died in January 1859 at the age of sixty-seven.
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Phillipena Young came to America with her husband, Charles Young, in 1849, just four weeks after their marriage. They sailed from France to New York, a voyage which took thirty-one days.
Two days after landing in New York, the young couple came to Norwich, CT, where Charles learned the trade of molder at Vaughn’s foundry, while his enterprising wife, Phillipena, obtained work as a seamstress. Her skills were immediately recognized. As a popular dressmaker, she often worked from early morning until late at night, contributing to the family’s savings that would eventually lead to financial success.
In April 1864, during the Civil War, the Youngs purchased the corner building at Main and Franklin Streets in downtown Norwich. Over time, they acquired the surrounding buildings, and the block became a landmark known as Young’s Block.
Phillipena Young was a talented businesswoman who significantly increased the family fortune during her seventeen years of widowhood. She remained alert, without the need of spectacles, and traveled often to New York to conduct real estate business until her death in September 1916 at ninety-one. The beautiful vault she erected for her husband’s remains she now shares with him.
Charles and Phillipena had one daughter who died after only two days. Both were Lutherans.
Phillipena Young died at her residence on September 13, 1916, at the age of ninety-one. She survived her husband, Charles Young, who had passed away 19 years earlier, in 1897.
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