Eliezer Jewett

Eliezer (also spelled Elizier, Eleazor, Eleazer or Elizer) Jewett (born in Norwich, Connecticut August 31, 1731; died December 7, 1817)[1][2][3] was the namesake of Jewett City, Connecticut, now the borough of the town of Griswold, Connecticut. He founded a settlement there in 1771.[4]

Jewett was the great grand son of Jeremiah Jewett,[3] who emigrated from Bradford, England, as a child, with his parents, in 1638 and settled in Rowley, Massachusetts.[5] Author Frances Manwaring Caulkins described him as "not a man of finished education, or of any peculiar mental power, but active, persevering, and of a genial, kindly temperament, happy in doing good and opening paths of enterprise for the benefit of others, without laboring to enrich himself."[6]

Jewett built a saw mill, grist mill and fulling mill, a tavern and an irrigation plant in the area later known as Jewett City.[4] The mills utilized the water power of the Pachaug River.[7][8] About 1790 Jewett was joined in the area by John Wilson, an English clothier from Massachusetts, who married Jewett's daughter, purchased the fulling mill and established a clothier's shop.[6][7] Jewett City was officially named in 1895.[2]

Jewett's monument in the Jewett City graveyard reads:

In memory of Mr. Eliezer Jewett, who died Dec 7th 1817, in the 87th year of his age. In April, 1771, he began the settlement of this village, and from his persevering industry and active benevolence, it has derived its present importance: its name will perpetuate his memory.[1][3]

Descendants

Jewett was married twice and had seven children. He was the father of Joseph Jewett, a prominent judge,[3] and the grandfather of Dr. Charles Jewett, a prominent figure in the Temperance Reform movement.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Barber, John Warner (1836). Connecticut Historical Collections, Containing a General Collection of Interesting Facts, Traditions, Biographical Sketches, Anecdotes, &c. Relating to the History and Antiquities of Every Town in Connecticut, with Geographical Descriptions. New Haven, Hartford: John W. Barber, A. Willard. p. 311.
  2. 1 2 Keller, Michael E. (1999). The Graham Legacy: Graham-Paige To 1932. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company. p. 110. ISBN 1-56311-470-4.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Jewett, Frederic Clarke, History and Genealogy of the Jewetts of America, Volume I, The Grafton Press, New York, 1908. Pgs. 168-9.
  4. 1 2 "Borough of Jewett City". Town of Griswold. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Thayer, William Makepeace (1886). Charles Jewett: life and recollections. Boston: James H. Earle. pp. 11–12.
  6. 1 2 Caulkins, Frances Manwaring (1874). History of Norwich, Connecticut: From Its Possession by the Indians to the Year 1866. Friends of the Author. pp. 448–450.
  7. 1 2 Bagnall, William R. (1893). The Textile Industries of the United States: Including Sketches and Notices of Cotton, Woolen, Silk, and Linen Manufacturers in the Colonial Period. 1. Cambridge: The Riverside Press. p. 593.
  8. ↑ "Jewett City's History in Brief". Town of Griswold. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
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