History of Goshen, (Litchfield County) Connecticut United States of America

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Biographies:

Elisha North, physician, was born in Goshen, Conn., Jan. 8, 1768; son of Dr. Joseph and Lucy (Cowles) North; grandson of Joseph and Martha (Denny) Smith North; and a descendant of John and Hannah (Bird) North, Boston, 1635, Farmington, Conn., 1653. Elisha North's father was a self-taught physician and surgeon, and his grandfather was a farmer. He studied medicine under Lemuel Hopkins at Hartford, and Benjamin Rush at Philadelphia, Pa. He was admitted to practice and settled in Goshen, Conn., where he was married to Hannah Beach, and where his son Dr. Erasmus Darwin North (1806-1858) was born. In 1812 he removed to New London, Conn. He made a special study of vaccination; was among the first to practice it successfully in the United States, and he introduced vaccine matter in New York. He also devoted much study to diseases of the eye and established at New London the first eye infirmary in the United States, in 1817. He was very successful in his treatment of the new disease called spotted fever which was epidemic in New England, 1806-10. He is the author of: A Treatise on a Malignant Epidemic commonly known as Spotted Fever (1811); Outlines of the Science of Life (1829); and Uncle Toby's Pilgrim's Progress in Phrenology (1836). He died in New London, Conn., Dec. 29, 1843.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Erasmus Darwin North, microscopist, was born in Goshen, Conn., Sept. 4, 1806; son of Dr. Elisha and Hannah (Beach) North. He was graduated from the University of North Carolina, A.B., 1826, A.M., 1831, and from Yale, M.D., 1833. He was instructor in elocution at Yale, 1830-33 and 1837-54, and published a treatise on "Practical Speaking" that became recognized as authority on the subject. After Ida resignation from Yale he devoted himself to scientific and literary studies and made notable investigations in microscopy. Some of his scientific papers appeared in the American Journal of Science. He was married in 1836, to Phoebe Summetville, who died in 1841, leaving two children. He died in Westfield, Mass., June 17, 1856.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Bernadotte Perrin, educator, was born in Goshen, Conn., Sept. 15, 1847; son of Lavelatte and Ann Eliza (Comstock) Perrin; grandson of Aaron and Lois (Lee) Perrin, and of William and Ann (Keeler) Comstock, and a descendant of Thomas Perrin, who came from England to Lebanon, Conn., in 1709, and, on the same side, of John Porter, who came to Windsor, Conn., in 1639. He was graduated from Yale in 1869; taught in the high school at Hartford, Conn., and was tutor at Yale, 1869-76. He studied at the Universities of T?bingen, Leipzig and Berlin, 1876-78; was again tutor at Yale in 1878, assistant principal of the Hartford high school, 1879-86, professor of Greek at Western Reserve university, 1881-93, and was appointed professor of Greek language and literature at Yale in 1893. He was married, Aug. 17, 1881, to Luella, daughter of James J. Perrin of Lafayette, Ind., who died in 1889; and secondly, Nov. 25, 1892, to Susan, daughter of Charles S. Lester of Saratoga, N.Y. He was president of the American Philological association in 1897. He edited: C?sar's Civil War (1882); Homer's Odyssey (Books I.-IV., 1889; V.?VIII. 1894); School Odyssey, eight books and vocabulary (1897); Plutarch's Themistocles and Aristides (1901), and contributed articles on Greek and Roman history and literature to scientific journals.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Asaph Hall, astronomer, was born in Goshen, Conn., Oct. 15, 1829; son of Asaph and Hannah C. (Palmer) Hall: grandson of Asaph Hall, who was born in Wallingford, Conn., 1735, and of Esther McNair of Scotch birth; and a descendant of John Hall and Jane Woollen, who came from England to New Haven in 1638. He was given a common school education, worked on a farm and was a carpenter, 1845-53. He then studied at Norfolk academy and taught school in Ohio. He attended the University of Michigan, 1856-57, where he studied astronomy under Brunnow; was under Prof. W. C. Bond as student and assistant, 1857-59, and under Prof. George P. Bond, 1859-62; was aide at the U.S. naval observatory, Washington, D.C., 1862-63; was appointed professor of mathematics in the U.S. navy with relative rank of captain in 1863, and as professor in the U.S. naval observatory had charge of the great equatorial telescope, 1875-91. He observed the solar eclipse from Bering sea, 1869, and Sicily, 1870; and the transit of Venus at Vladisvostok, Siberia, 1874, and at San Antonio, Texas, 1882, where he was chief astronomer of the party. He discovered a satellite of Mars, Aug. 11, 1877, and a second satellite interior to the first the following week. These discoveries were made public by Admiral Rodgers, and Professor Hall named the two moons, Deimos and Phobos, "attendants of the god of war" according to Homer. He announced important observations of double stars and determination of the orbits of the moons to Saturn during 1880-91. He was retired from active service in the U.S. navy in 1891, having reached the age limit. He was lecturer on theoretical astronomy at Harvard, 1897-99. He was elected a member of the National academy of sciences in 1875; a fellow of the American academy of arts and sciences; a member of the American philosophical society; honorary member of the New York academy of science; foreign associate of the Royal astronomical society, London, England; and corresponding member of the Academy of science (Institute de France) and of the Imperial academy of science (St. Petersburg). He was made home secretary of the National academy of science in 1883, succeeding Gen. Francis A. Walker as vice-president in 1897; was elected a member of the Washington national monument society in 1888; and was associate director of the Washburn observatory, Madison, Wis, 1878-79. In 1879 he was awarded the gold medal of the Royal astronomical society of London and the Lalandi prize of the French academy for his discovery and observations of the satellites of Mars and his determination of their orbits. He was also awarded the Arago gold medal of the French academy, and was made a member of the Legion of Honor in 1896. He received the honorary degree of Ph.D. from Hamilton in 1878; that of LL.D. from Yale in 1879, and from Harvard in 1886, and that of A.M. from Harvard in 1879. He is the author of contributions to scientific periodicals.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor