Eliezer Jewett

Eliezer (also spelled Elizier, Eleazor, Eleazer or Elizer) Jewett (born in Norwich, Connecticut c. 1730; died December 7, 1817)[1][2] was the namesake of Jewett City, Connecticut, now the borough of the town of Griswold, Connecticut. He founded a settlement there in 1771.[3]

Jewett was the son of Jeremiah Jewett[4] and a descendant of Edward Jewett, who emigrated from Lincolnshire, England, 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.[3] 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 read:

In memory of Mr. Eliezer Jewett, who died Decr. 7th 1817, in the 87th year of his age.β€”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]

Descendants

Jewett was married twice and had six children. He was the father of Joseph Jewett, a prominent judge,[4] 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 "Borough of Jewett City". Town of Griswold. Retrieved December 7, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Keller, p. 73.
  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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