LUTHER, Rev. Flavel S., Jr.,
President of Trinity College.

Rev. Flavel Sweeten Luther is a direct descendant of one of the few families of purely German extraction which settled in America in the early part of the colonization period. The family traces its lineage to Johannes Luther, brother of Martin Luther, the great leader of the Reformation. Johannes Luther was born in Eisleben, Saxony, the son of Henry Luther. The date of his birth is placed between the years 1475 and 1490. His descendants of the third or fourth generation emigrated from Germany to Holland, whence after a period of about a century
they went to England, some of them settling in County Sussex, where there is record of one Wilhelm Luther, who reached the age of one hundred and eight years. Some branches of the family in England attained great prominence and became the owners of much landed property in the vicinities in which they settled. An anglicized form of the name generally used at the time was Luton, the original form being employed in legal documents, however. The American branch of the family, of which Hon. Flavel S. Luther, is a descendant in the ninth generation, was established in this country in the early part of the seventeenth century, by Captain John Luther, a member of the English branch of the ancient German family.
Captain John Luther, the progenitor, was a native of Shrewsbury, England. He left England in 1635, sailing from Dorset county, England, and arriving in the port of Boston, in Massachusetts Colony. In 1637 he became one of the first purchasers and settlers of Swansea. He is mentioned in early records of the town as the owner of ninety acres of land which are said to have been purchased from the Indians for a peck of white beans. It is thought that the land was assigned by the government, and the exchange of the beans made with the Indians to preclude any opposition. Captain Luther remained in Swansea until 1642, when he sold his interests and became one of the original settlers of
Gloucester. He was a mariner, and was employed by one of the merchants of Boston as captain of a vessel to go to Delaware Bay on a trading voyage. He was killed by the Indians on this expedition in 1644. It is evident from early court records of the time that his son accompanied him on the voyage and was captured at the same time. On May 2, 1646, the General Court of Massachusetts decreed that the Widow Luther should have the balance of her husband's wages according to sea custom, after the merchants had been reimbursed for expenses incurred in redeeming her son.
Hezekiah Luther, son of Captain John Luther, was probably born at Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1640, and died July 23, 1723. He was one of the first settlers of Swansea, Massachusetts, and his descendants settled in the adjoining town of Rehoboth, and in various parts of Rhode Island. He married (first) Elizabeth ; (second) Sarah
Their son, John (2) Luther, was born in 1663, and died April 14, 1697; he married, January 25, 1687, Hopestill Butterworth. Their son, Nathaniel Luther, was born August 17, 1692, and married, June 4, 1715, Mercy Boomer. Their son, Matthew Luther, was born August 26, 1721, and married, December 20, 1747, Eleanor Gansey. Their son, Peleg Luther, was born August 18, 1756, and married, in 1780, Mary Nichols; he later removed to Providence, Rhode Island, where he died, November 4, 1810. Their son, Job Luther, was born April 3, 1793, in Swansea, and died in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, on March 22, 1875; he followed the occupation of teamster in Providence, where he resided; he married (first) Lucy Ann Peck, daughter of Darius Peck, of Seekonk, December 15, 1823; he married (second) October 13, 1829, Caroline Reed Ormsby.
Flavel Sweeten Luther, son of Job and Lucy Ann (Peck) Luther, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, November 9, 1825. He received his early education in the public schools of the city, and later attended a private school in Providence, kept by Benjamin Burns. After leaving
school he was employed for several years in various stores, after which he served an apprenticeship of four years at cabinet making in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Mr. Luther later became interested in the business of organ building. He owned a farm at Brooklyn, Connecticut, where he purchased a news agency, which he conducted successfully for thirty years, becoming a prominent member of the community there. He died August 16, 1913, in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a member of Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church of Brooklyn. His political
sympathies were with the Republican party.
Flavel Sweeten Luther married, March 26, 1849, at Brooklyn, Connecticut, Jane Jerusha Lillie, born at Brooklyn, January 20, 1824, daughter of Jacob and Joanna (Manning) Lillie. Her father was a farmer there, and also a butcher; served as an ensign in the War of 1812, stationed at New London, Connecticut. Children, born at Brooklyn, Connecticut: 1. Flavel Sweeten, mentioned below. 2. Hermon Lillie, born March 12, 1855; graduate of Racine College, took post-graduate course at Harvard, and after a few years of teaching studied law and was admitted to the bar of Minnesota, later becoming a successful lawyer in that State; married, December 29, 1885, Kate C. 0. Blake; died
February 2, 1904; child: Hermon Blake, born October 31, 1886, died February 2, 1887. 3. Riverius Manning, born June 30, 1868; was a graduate of Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, in the class of 1890; electrical engineer by profession; died, unmarried, November 28, 1891.
Rev. Flavel Sweeten Luther, son of Flavel Sweeten and Jane Jerusha (Lillie) Luther, was born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, March 26, 1850. He was educated in the local schools of Brooklyn, and at the age of seventeen years entered the sophomore class of Trinity College in Hartford,
from which institution he was graduated in his twentieth year, the third in his class. He took high honors in mathematics, and won the first prize in that subject in his sophomore year. In the fall of 1870 he went to Troy, New York, where be assumed charge of a parish school of one hundred members, and in addition to his work began the study of theology under the Rev. Dr. Coit. When he became of age be was ordained a deacon of the Protestant Episcopal church by Bishop Doane. His success as a teacher and disciplinarian in Troy was quite marked, and in 1873 he was appointed rector of a large Episcopal school in Racine, Wisconsin. In conjunction with his duties there he devoted much time to
the study of mathematics, in which he had always been extremely proficient and which remained his favorite study. In 1876 he was appointed to the chair of mathematics in Racine College, which he filled until 1881, when he accepted a similar post with Kenyon College, in Gambier,
Ohio. After two years at Kenyon College, he returned to the East, to accept a call to the chair of mathematics in Trinity College, Hartford, thirteen years after his graduation therefrom.
In 1903 Professor Luther became acting president of Trinity, and in 1904 its president, succeeding in that office Dr. George W. Smith. While teaching mathematics and astronomy at Trinity, he also was consulting engineer for the Pope Manufacturing Company, the largest and most important bicycle company in the country, and was actively connected with its development. While engaged in this work, Professor Luther showed a mechanical and inventive genius of a high order, and one of his inventions for the bicycle is used on every bicycle manufactured today. In appreciation of his services to the company in the invention of this part, he was given a handsome present in addition to his salary.
President Luther has brought to the administration of the affairs of Trinity College a spirit of progress which has achieved much for the college. In addition to the long experience in teaching and directing schools, his theological training, his service as a college professor, his love for and thorough knowledge of the field of mathematics and engineering, he has brought to his work the keen judgment and foresight of the man who has been in actual touch with the business world, and who knows the science of handling men and affairs, not theoretically but
practically. Trinity College is not a rich college and this business ability has been of much value in inspiring trust among those who support it by endowments and gifts. President Luther has the gift of being able to bring to the front the loyalty and love of the students under him. During his administration Trinity has prospered in every department of her work and affairs. President Luther received the degree of
LL. D. from Trinity College in 1904, shortly before his inauguration. He is a preacher of note, and has declined several offers of positions of prominence in the church, in the interests of the college.
He is also an able public speaker and a fine conversationalist. Since his coming to Trinity he has done much to advance the athletics of the college to a higher plane in the scale of inter-collegiate sports and was chiefly responsible for the new athletic field of the college. He refused
an offer to become president of Kenyon College while still a professor at Trinity.
President Luther has always maintained a keen interest in public affairs, and has been prominently identified with many movements for civic betterment. He was twice elected to the State Senate, serving from 1907 to 1910, inclusive. During his terms in the Legislature he rendered valuable services as chairman of the committees on education and contingent expenses, and as a member of the committees on military affairs and legislative expenses. In discussing the advantages of a commission form of government in the State, at a City Club Civic Luncheon
President Luther made the following remarks "If we put the responsibility of our affairs into the hands of a small body of trained men and pay them enough to keep them there things would be very greatly improved. Select this body of not more than fifteen from the state at large
to consider such legislation as is necessary and to repeal such laws as are unnecessary and there are a tremendous lot of them and pay them a living salary. Let us select these men because they know something about their jobs. Let them stay in office until they become familiar with
their work. This method will be found to be cheaper, more satisfactory and to the best interests of the State. According to the present plan of State government some good men get into office, but they don't know anything about parliamentary law. As soon as they learn, somebody else comes in and takes their seats. I don't expect to see the plan just outlined to go into effect next year, and it probably never will, but the tendency to fix responsibility is growing." Dr. Luther advocated the elimination of politics, But," said he, "if we must have Republicans and Democrats and Socialists and Prohibitionists and others, let us all vote for this small body of selected men anyway." Dr. Luther made a comparison between State and National legislation. He pointed out that five supreme court judges could repeal any action that representatives and senators might take if they were satisfied that the legislation was not favorable to them. President Luther is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and of the Delta Upsilon fraternity. During 1915, on leave of absence from Trinity, he traveled extensively throughout the United States, visiting many colleges from coast to coast.
Rev.Flavel Sweeten Luther married, November 2, 1871, Isabelle Blake Ely, born in Hartford, Connecticut, August 27, 1848, daughter of Alfred Eli and Mary Jones (Bull) Ely. They have no children. Mrs. Luther is a member of the Colonial Dames of America.

(The Ely Line).

Mrs. Isabelle B. (Ely) Luther is descended directly from Nathaniel Ely, the progenitor of one of the very numerous Ely families in America. The published genealogy entitled "Nathaniel Ely and His Descendants" contains an interesting statement of the results obtained in an effort to trace the family in England; but as no positive knowledge of the antecedents of Nathaniel Ely was obtained, we shall begin this brief narrative with the record of the immigrant ancestor. It has been assumed that Nathaniel Ely was born in 1605, in Tenterden, County Kent, England. He married Martha ---, and came to America about the same time as Robert Day (1634), who was his nearest neighbor in Newtown, now Cambridge, Massachusetts. They both took the freeman's oath at Cambridge, May 6, 1635. The following year they were members of the company who came to Connecticut with the Rev. Thomas Hooker and settled at what is now Hartford. Nathaniel Ely became possessed of ten parcels of land in Hartford. He was constable in 1639; selectman in 1643 and 1649. His name appears on the Central Monument in "The Ancient Burying-Ground of Hartford" erected to the memory of the "Founders of Hartford." He was one of the leaders in the settlement of Norwalk, Connecticut. In 1649, on the petition of Nathaniel Ely and Richard Olmsted, of Hartford, the General Court gave permission for the settlement of Norwalk, and about four years later invested the inhabitants with town privileges. In 1654 he was elected a constable of Norwalk; selectman in 1656; representative to the General Court in 1657. Two years later he sold his property and removed to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he spent the remainder of his life. There he was prominent in public life as he had been at Norwalk and Hartford; was selectman in 1661, 1663, 1666, 1668, 1671 and 1673. In 1665 he became the keeper of the "ordinary," or tavern, and continued in that business until his death in 1675. In granting him his license, the County Court released him "from Trayning in ye Towne soe long as
he continues to keep ye Ordinary." The Ely tavern occupied a prominent site on Main street until about 1845 when the building was removed to the corner of Dwight and Sanford streets, where it was still standing not many years ago. He died December 25, 1675, and his widow died in Springfield, October 23, 1688. There is no record of where or when their son, Samuel Ely, was born. His name first appears as a witness on a deed given by the Indians to his father and others dated February 15, 1651. That was in Norwalk. He was industrious and thrifty and left a considerable estate. He married, in Springfield, Massachusetts, October 28, 1659, Mary Day, daughter of Robert and Editha (Stebbins) Day, who was born in Hartford, Connecticut, 1641. He died in Springfield, March 19, 1692. His widow was married twice after his death, and she died as the widow of Deacon Jonathan Coleman, of Hatfield, October 17, 1725.

Deacon John Ely, son of Samuel and Mary (Day) Ely, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, January 28, 1678, and died in West Springfield, January 15, 1758. He married, December 30, 1703, Mercy Bliss, born July 18, 1680, died in West Springfield, May 5, 1763, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Leonard) Bliss.
Caleb Ely, son of Deacon John and Mercy (Bliss) Ely, was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, October 25, 1714, and died there, May 16, 1754. He married, May 21, 1740, Mary Edwards, born in Hartford, Connecticut, August 20, 1721, died in West Springfield, Massachusetts, March 7, 1783, daughter of Deacon John and Christian (Williamson) Edwards (see Edwards).
William Ely, son of Caleb and Mary (Ed wards) Ely, was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, June 15, 1743, and died there, March 2, 1825. He married, October 12, 1766, Drusilla Brewster, born November 3, 1745, died October 13, 1828, daughter of William and Damaris (Gates) Brewster (see Brewster).
Eli Ely, son of William and Drusilla (Brewster) Ely, was born in West Springfield, Massachusetts, July 25, 1772, and died in Hartford, Connecticut, April 6, 1842. He was for many years a successful merchant in Hartford. He married, in Hartford, April 1, 1798, Bathsheba
Blake, born November 23, 1777, died September 22, 1832, daughter of Amariah and Hannah (Babcock) Blake, of Milton, Massachusetts.
Alfred Eli Ely, son of Eli and Bathsheba (Blake) Ely, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, October 14, 1814, and died November 3, 1887. He and his brothers, William and Henry, succeeded to the father's business. He married, in Northampton, Massachusetts, June 2, 1841, Mary Jones Bull, born January 20, 1820, daughter of James Perry and Mary (Colton) Bull (see Colton). Their daughter, Isabelle Blake, become the wife of the Rev. Flavel S. Luther (see Luther).

(The Edwards Line).
Deacon John Edwards, father of Mary (Edwards) Ely, was born February 27, 1694, and died January 18, 1769. His mother was Mary (Talcott) Edwards, second wife of Richard Edwards, and therefore Deacon John Edwards was a half-brother of the famous Rev. Timothy Edwards, father of the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, president of Princeton College. Richard Edwards was a merchant in Hartford. He married Elizabeth Tuthill,
of Middletown. His father, William Edwards, the immigrant ancestor, was the son of Richard Edwards, of Wales, who removed to Oxford in the latter part of Queen Elizabeth's reign, and after that went to London, where he was a minister of the Church of England. After his death his
widow married a Mr. Coles, who became truly a father to his wife's young son. They brought young Edwards with them to Boston, Massachusetts, where they arrived about 1630. Richard Edwards is first heard of in Hartford, Connecticut, where he married Anne, widow of William Spencer.

(The Brewster Line).

William Brewster, father of Drusilla (Brewster) Ely, was born September 16, 1714. He was probably a farmer, evidently very industrious and successful. He removed from Preston to Canterbury after the birth of his first child in 1738. He joined the church there in 1751. The
following year he purchased land in Windham and removed there. His name appears in connection with many transfers of land between 1752 and 1786, and it would seem that he suffered severe property losses during the Revolution. He married for his first wife at Preston, Connecticut, March 24, 1737, Damaris Gates, born December 18, 1718, died in Canterbury, Connecticut, September 7, 1751, daughter of Joseph and Damaris (Rose) Gates, of Norwich, Connecticut. His father, Benjamin Brewster, was born July 7, 1688. He married for his
first wife at Preston, Connecticut, October 10 or 16, 1713, Elizabeth Witter, born in Preston, March 3, 1694, died February 21, 1740-41, daughter of Ebenezer and Dorothy (Morgan) Witter, and granddaughter of Josiah Witter, and great-granddaughter of William Witter, who
emigrated from Scotland to Lynn, Massachusetts. Benjamin Brewster's estate was appraised at 2,340 pounds, from which we may infer that he was exceptionally prosperous for his day. Letters of administration were granted to his widow and eldest son, William, on November 7, 1752.
His father, Deacon William Brewster, resided at Duxbury, Massachusetts, and was "a worthy man, who was often employed to good advantage in the civil affairs of the town." He took the freeman's oath in 1689. He became a large landowner, and was deacon of the church. He married, January 2, 1672, Lydia Partridge, daughter of George and Sarah (Tracy) Partridge; she died February 2, 1742-43, "aged near 78 years;" George Partridge came in the "James" in 1636.
His father, Love Brewster, came in the "Mayflower" with his parents. He was made a freeman, March 2, 1635-36. "He early removed from Plymouth to Duxbury and devoted himself to the cultivation of the paternal acres in Duxbury, forming there with his father a family
loome * * * where, in due time, a portion of the estate became his own and his children's inheritance." He was among those who volunteered to serve in the Pequot War in 1637, and in the military enrollment of 1643 his name appears as a member of Captain Myles Standish's
Duxbury company. He was grand juryman in 1643, and in 1645 was one of the proprietors of what later was called Bridgewater. The inventory of his estate was made by "William Collyar and Captain Miles Standish" on "January the last day 1650." It amounted to 7-07-0I pounds.
He married, May 15, 1634, (0. S.) Sarah, daughter of William Collier, of Duxbury. She married (second) Richard Parke, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and died at Plymouth, April 26, 1691, in her seventy-sixth year. William Collier was born in England, and was one of the "Merchant Adventurers" who came to New England in 1633. He was elected assistant councillor to the governor of the Plymouth Colony in 1634, and with the exception of the year 1653 held the office continuously until 1666. He was one of the two commissioners appointed by the Plymouth Colony in 1643 to form a confederation of the New England Colonies. "He appears to have been the wealthiest man in Duxbury, being rated the highest on the tax list." "He was a distinguished early settler and a great benefactor to the Colony."
His father, Elder William Brewster, was born during the last half of the year 1566 or the first half of 1567, probably at Scrooby in Nottinghamshire, England. He matriculated at Peterhouse, Cumberland, England, December 3, 1580. A more detailed narrative of the career of Elder William Brewster will be found in the genealogy of the Rt. Rev. Chauncey B. Brewster which appears elsewhere in this work. Elder Brewster married Mary ,who died at Plymouth, Massachusetts, April 17, 1627. He died there, April 10, 1644.

(The Colton Line).

Deacon Reuben Colton, father of Mary (Colton) Bull, mother of Mary Jones (Bull) Ely, was born in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, November 26, 1762. He resided in Enfield for many years; represented the town in the Legislature in 1808-09; was deacon in the church, and recognized as one of the leading citizens.
"Business complications, and a very literal interpretation of scriptural injunctions which seemed to forbid his taking legal measures to enforce his rights, led him to emigrate to the central part of New York State, then the 'far west'." He married for his first wife in Greenwich, Massachusetts, September 13, 1787, Sally Harwood, born in 1768, and died August 1, 1810, in Enfield, Massachusetts. He died on his farm in Geneseo, New York, in 1822. His father, Samuel Colton, was born December 11, 1718. He married, February 19, 1751, Mary Hoar, of Brimfield, Massachusetts. They resided in Greenwich, Massachusetts. The births of their children are recorded in Springfield.
His father, Lieutenant Ephraim Colton, was born February 8, 1672, in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, and died September 22, 1753. He married, in Westfield, Massachusetts, February 1, 1699, Mary Noble, born June 29, 1680, daughter of Thomas and Harriet (Warriner) Noble.

His father, Ephraim Colton, was born in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, April 9, 1648. He married, November 17, 1670, Mary Drake, daughter of Job Drake, of Windsor. She died in 1681. The foregoing is according to the "Longmeadow Centennial" and the "Colton Family Genealogy." According to "Stiles' Ancient Windsor," Mary Drake was born December 12, 1649, and married Thomas Marshall, March 3, 1685-86. Ephraim Colton and his wife first settled in Longmeadow, but about 1696 removed to Enfield, Connecticut, where he died, May 14, 1713.
John Drake, father of Job Drake, was born at Wiscomb, County Devon, England, about 1600. He married Elizabeth Rogers. He came to Boston, Massachusetts, about 1630, and on October 19 of that year, he petitioned to be made a freeman. In 1638-39 he was one of forty-
six original purchasers and proprietors of Taunton, Massachusetts, but did not settle there. Stiles says he settled in Windsor before 1639, and was killed in a runaway accident, August 17, 1659. His widow died October 7, 1681, "at 100th year of age." John Drake was of the
ninth generation in direct descent from Jonathan Drake, of Exmouth, England, 1630, who married Christian, daughter of Jonathan Billett, and acquired the manor of Ashe, County Devon.
George Colton, father of Ephraim Colton, who was referred to as "Quarter-master," is supposed to have been born in Sutton, Coldfield, County Warwick, England. We know not when he came to America, but we find him in Masacksich, Longmeadow, Massachusetts, in 1644.
About that time he married Deborah Gardner (or Goodner), of Hartford. He took the oath of allegiance in 1665; was made freeman in 1669-71; and was representative to the Massachusetts General Court in 1677. He was one of the commissioners appointed by the General Court to lay out and sell lots in the new plantation of Suffield. In 1722 fifty acres of land were laid out in Suffield to the assigns of George Colton, then deceased, in recognition of his services. He was a trusted, prominent and public-spirited citizen.