COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
CHARLES AUGUSTUS MEIGS, born in Oxford, Conn., March 6, 1825, has been prominently identified with the industrial and merchantile interests of this county for the past half century.
Samuel Meigs, his father, was born in the town of Bethlehem, Litchfield County, Conn., in 1791, a son of Dr. Phineas Meigs, a leading physician and prominent citizen of that place who died in 1805. Samuel Meigs was reared and educated in his native town, and at the age of twenty removed to Oxford where he was employed by the Hon. David Tomlinson, grandfather of Charles A. Meigs, as will appear later. Mr. Tomlinson conducted a general mercantile business at Quaker Farms, a village in the town of Oxford, and was engaged in the West Indies trade, owning vessels plying between Derby, New Haven and those Islands; was also largely interested in agriculture, owning 2,300 acres of land, mostly in the town of Oxford, and was a wealthy and influential citizen of that place, serving for a time as Senator in the State Legislature. Samuel Meigs married Lorena, daughter of David Tomlinson, and to them were born five children, namely: Sarah E., who married Charles Dick, and died in 1888; Jane C., widow of George Lum; Benjamin, who died in childhood; David T., who died in 1889; and Charles A., whom we are reviewing. Samuel Meigs spent his last years upon the farm in Oxford, where he died in the spring of 1855, at the age of sixty-five. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity, served in the State Legislature, and although not a lawyer, he was well versed in legal matters through extensive reading.
Charles Augustus Meigs passed the early years of his life at the old homestead in Quaker Farms, and obtained his education in the common schools of the neighborhood. At the age of sixteen he went to Birmingham, Conn., where he served a five years' apprenticeship to the tailor's trade, but owing to ill health, was unable to follow that occupation. Returning to Oxford he taught school for one season, and in, 1849 removed to Waterbury, Conn., where he started the first bakery in the place. He con- tinued in the baking business until the spring of 1852, when, accompanied by his brother David, he went to California by way of the Nicaragua route.
On landing at San Francisco they proceeded to the Feather River country, where they engaged in prospecting and mining until 1855, when they returned to Waterbury. There he again engaged in the baking business, and in 1857 took John T. Trott into partnership, under the firm name of Meigs & Trott. This firm continued for over thirty years and became well known throughout the State on account of its extensive business, especially in the manufacture of crackers. In 1858, leaving the firm business to the management of his partner, Mr. Meigs again went to California, where he remained for seven years. Since his return to Connecticut in 1865, he has divided his time between Waterbury and Quaker Farms, having business interests in both places. He has, however, during the past few years devoted most of his time to his farming interests, and at present resides at the old homestead where he was born nearly seventy-seven years ago.
In 1857 Mr. Meigs was married to Miss Lucy Yale. of Canaan, Conn., who died the following year. He was again married Jan. 3, 1867, Bernice,daughter of Ebenezer and Julia (Davis) Riggs, of Oxford, becoming his wife.
Ebenezer Riggs was a prominent citizen of that town, served in the State Legislature, and was conspicuous for his hospitality and kindly characteristics. Mrs. Meigs' ancestors include many people prominently identified with the early history and development of New Haven county, among them being Sergeant Edward Riggs, one of the first two settlers of Derby, Conn. Of this second marriage have been born three children: David, who died in infancy; Mary, a resident of Waterbury; and Charles E., an attorney at law of that place, who is a graduate of the Scientific Department of Yale University, and was a student in both the Yale and Harvard Law Schools.
In his political views, Mr. Meigs is a Republican, and religiously he is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, to which his wife also belongs.As a business man he is honorable, prompt and true to every engagement. He is a man who has lived and has been active during the world's greatest period of development, and he belongs to the type of New England family that is too fast disappearing.