Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

etained a strong and active interest in
the welfare of his fellow practitioners and
in the profession-at-large. He is a member
of the American Society of Civil Engineers,
the American Society of Engi-
neering Contractors, of which he was a
director for three years, the Connecticut
Society of Civil Engineers, of which he is
a director, and the American Interna-
tionale Permanente des Congres de la
Route. ' He is also affiliated with the
American Society of Municipal Improvement
and the University and City clubs
of Hartford.
Leon Friend Peck married, October 27,
1904, at New Paltz, New York, Mary
LeFevre, daughter of Peter and Rachel
(Freer) LeFevre, of New Paltz. To Mr.
and Mrs. Peck two children have been
born, as follows : Miriam, August 6,
19x16, and Carlton, July 12, 1909. Mrs.
Peck is a member of the Congregational
church.
Mr. Peck's life is an active one. He is
typical of the energetic man of affairs,
whose united labors have built up the
structure of New England's industrial
development. In him also, as in this
type so characteristic of New England,
this energy and industry is based upon a
foundation of moral strength which renders
it doubly effective, with the power
which forbearance always gives. His
honor and integrity are unimpeachable,
his sense of justice sure and his charity
and tolerance broad and far-reaching.
His successes are made permanent,
founded, as they are, on the confidence
of his associates, and he has built up for
himself an enviable reputation among all
classes of men. He possesses his full
share of the domestic virtues, and his
home life is harmonious and affectionate,
so that it is in his relations with the members
of his household that his chief hap-
piness lies.
Conn—5— 14
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
209
MERWIN, George Jared,
Paper Manufacturer.
George Jared Merwin, of Rainbow,
town of Windsor, Connecticut, president,
general manager, and principal owner of
the Merwin Paper Company, Incorpor-
ated, is a papermaker by heredity as well
as practice, for not only was his father
connected with the paper making indus-
try, but in the maternal line he is a de-
scendant of papermakers. And in the paternal
line he is in direct descent from
one of the earliest Colonial pioneers of
Connecticut. He was born in Rainbow,
Windsor, on February 2, 1869, the son of
James J. and Mary A. (Hodge) Merwin.
The Merwins for ten generations have
been connected with the Colony and State
of Connecticut. Miles Merwin, the pro-
genitor of the Connecticut house of that
name, was born in Wales in 1623, became
a settler in Milford, Connecticut, in 1645,
locating on what became later known as
Merwin's Point, and during his life
acquiring considerable property. He died
in Milford, April 23, 1697, and his grave
in the old burial plot of Milford was the
only one of the first Wepawang planters
marked by a headstone. His will was
probated May 12, 1697, and it was found
that he had followed the custom then, as
now, observed by most leading British
families, i. e., he had entailed his estate.
This resulted in many generations of his
descendants remaining in Milford ; in
fact, the Merwin family has held almost
unbroken residence in that vicinity from
the time of the coming of Miles Merwin,
in 1645, to the present. One of the ancestors
of George Jared Merwin was
David Merwin, who was born on the old
homestead at Merwin's Point, October
11, 1746, and died in New Milford, April
25, 1826. He was a Revolutionary sol-
dier, serving with the New Haven forces