Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/43

Rh his election in 1874, but in 1878 he was chosen, by a majority of 15,000, over Benjamin F. Butler and Josiah G. Abbott, candidates of the two wings of the Democratic party, and served till 1880. Gov. Talbot did much to promote the interests of the town of Billerica, and gave liberally to churches of all denominations, building a fine edifice for the Baptist society.

TALCOTT, John, colonist, b. in Braintree, Es- sex co., England, about 1600 ; d. in Hartford, Conn., in March, 1660. He came to this country with the Rev. Thomas Hooker's company in the " Lyon," which arrived in Boston on 16 Sept., 1632, was admitted a freeman by the general court in Boston on 6 Nov., 1632, and in 1634 was a rep- resentative in that body for Newtown. He owned four houses in the " west end " of the town, which he sold to Nicholas Danforth on 1 May, 1636, to remove with Mr. Hooker's colony to Connecticut. His was the first house that was erected in Hart- ford. He was active in all the affairs of the town, was one of the committee that was appointed on 1 May, 1637, to consider the propriety of a war with the Pequot Indians, and was a chief magistrate of the colony until his death. His name is in- scribed on the monument that has been erected by the citizens of Hartford to perpetuate the memory of the colonists of Connecticut. — His son, John, soldier, b. in Braintree, England, about 1630 ; d. in Hartford, Conn., 23 July, 1688, came to Boston with his father, and removed with him to Hart- ford. He was made ensign of colonial troops in 1650, and became captain in 1660, was elected a deputy, or assistant magistrate, of the colony of Connecticut before it was joined to New Haven, and was made treasurer to succeed his father, holding this office from 1660 till 1676. He was one of the patentees named in the charter granted to Connecticut on 20 April, 1662, by Charles I., and the document was intrusted to him with Hezekiah Wyllis and John Allyn for safe- keeping. At the opening of the Indian war of 1676 he was appointed to the command of the army with the rank of major, and in June of that year went into the field at the head of the "standing army " of Connecticut accompanied by 200 Mohi- cans and Pequots. He scoured the country as far as the falls above Deerfield, inflicted severe blows upon the hostile tribes, and saved Hadley from the attack of 700 Indians. He also performed good service among the Narragansetts, and fought a successful battle at the Houssatonnuc, killing the sachem of Quabaug. Early in the war he was promoted lieutenant-colonel, and he was known as the " Indian fighter." In March, 1662, the gen- eral court granted to him and John Allyn 600 acres of upland and 100 acres of meadow-land, to be laid out in Hammonaset (now Killingsworth). Many of his official papers are preserved among the state records in Hartford, and contain inter- esting notes regarding the war with King Philip. — Another son, Samuel, soldier, b. in Newtown (now Cambridge). Mass., about 1634 ; d. in Weth- ersfield, Conn., 10 Nov., 1691, was graduated at Harvard in 1658, and made a freeman in 1662. His father settled him upon land that he owned in Wethersfield, of which town the son was com- missioner from 1669 till 1684. From 1670 till 1684 he was deputy to the general court, of which he was secretary in October, 1684, during the ab- sence of Col. John Allyn. On 16 May, 1676, he was appointed "one of a standing committee to or- der measures and dispose of such affairs as shall be necessary to attend to in the intervals of gen- eral court." He was made lieutenant of the Weth- ersfield trained band on 12 May, 1677, lieutenant of the troop, 14 Oct., 1679, and afterward captain of the troop of Hartford county. He was an original proprietor of the town of Glastonbury, and the lot that he purchased in 1643 is still owned by his descendants. — The second John's son, Joseph, governor of Connecticut, b. in Hartford, Conn., 16 Nov., 1669; d. there, 11 Oct., 1741, became assist- ant in 1711, and in that year was appointed one of a committee to lay out "the town of Coventry. In 1724 he was made governor of Connecticut, serving until his death, and he was the first native of Connecticut to hold this office. — Samuel's great- great-grandson, George, soldier, b. in Glaston- bury, Conn., 6 Dec, 1786 ; d. in Albany, N. Y., 25 April, 1862, entered the 25th infantry, 10 July, 1813, and became deputy commissioner of ordnance, with rank of captain, 5 Aug., 1813. He was made 1st lieutenant, 14 March. 1814, transferred to the 2d artillery, 1 June, 1821, be- came lieutenant-colonel of ordnance, 30 May, 1832, and colonel and chief of ordnance on 25 March, 1848. He was brevetted major on 5 Aug., 1823, for ten years' faithful service in one grade, and brigadier-general on 30 May, 1848, for meritorious conduct, particularly in performing his duties in prosecuting the war with Mexico. On 6 Nov., 1850, he wrote a letter, without the sanction of the secretary of war, containing instructions to Col. Benjamin Huger, commandant of the arsenal at Fort Monroe, regarding the purchase of ammuni- tion. Upon this authority Col. Huger entered into a contract with Dr. Edward Carmichael for the purchase of a large amount of shot and shells. For this offence Gen. Talcott was tried by court- martial, found guilty, and dismissed from the army, to date from 8 July, 1851. The sentence was pronounced illegal and unjust by many well- known persons, who endeavored unsuccessfully to reinstate him in the army. After the decision of the court a " Review " to show the error of the judgment was written by Hon. John C. Spencer (Albany, 1851). This review contains the follow- ing facts, elicited from the evidence given before the court : That the letter from Gen. Talcott to Col. Huger, of 6 Nov., 1850, referred to above, appears to have been the mov- ing cause of the dif- ficulty between the secretary and Gen. Talcott. That this letter was not in- tended by the gen- eral to authorize Col. Huger to make a contract with Dr. Carmichael, or any other person, but to direct Col. Huger to procure, by " open purchase " — a system known to hav been in use for many years in all the departments — such an amount of shot and shells as he might from time to time require for the public service. Huger. misunderstanding the authority given in the letter, made a contract with Carmichael for a large amount of these articles, but did not immediately advise the general of what he had done. In the mean time the secretary of war, Charles M. Conrad, had been informed that a contract had been made with Carmichael, who had tried to dis-