Munson Tales: New England Slave Owners

Revelations out of Yale relatively recently brought the public’s attention to the fact that slaves contributed to the building of several early Yale buildings (1747-1752). Called out specifically was the slave of Captain Theophilus Munson, who went by “Dick.” He provided significant labor in building, courtesy of the Captain. The last slave in New Haven was sold on the New Haven Green on March 8, 1825. This despite many other New England states having abolished slavery, some states even before they became states. There was a policy of gradual release of slaves, so the last New Haven slaves were not freed until 1848, just 13 years before the Civil War. 

Connecticut Hall (Yale), built with slave labor

In fact, abolition in most northern states had gradual release rules or the inhabitants just didn’t follow the laws of the land at all. New Jersey, a bastion of Munson progeny, never abolished slavery until the end of the Civil War. Joseph Tuttle (b. 1692), grandson of Thomas Munson’s daughter Hannah, was also a slave owner with eight slaves. Deacon Captain Stephen Munson (b. abt. 1733), who was joined to the 1st Church at Hanover, New Jersey, was named “ruling elder” in 1765 and later deacon. 1st Church published a series of Rules for the Regulation of Families in 1782, of which Stephen was the second signer. One of those rules was: “13. As we suppose all human creatures have a natural right to freedom, so when they have done nothing that forfeits their liberty, and when they do not voluntarily submit to bondage, we cannot but look upon their being held in slavery, as an unnatural evil and one of the greatest injuries to mankind. Therefore we will not use this slavery ourselves, and will prudently endeavor to prevent it in others.” This despite owning a slave named “Caesar.” I guess perhaps “Rule 13” was just a guideline for Stephen.

Munson Tales: Puritans Turned Polygamists

 Mary Elizabeth Potter (Clan Elizabeth) and Burr Frost married as teens in 1835 in Connecticut. Just seven years later, the couple was baptized in the growing church of the Latter Day Saints, led by Joseph Smith. It had been just six years since the Book of Mormon was written. 

The Frost’s moved west first to Nauvoo, Illinois. Joseph Smith and his followers had originally gone to Missouri, but were ejected by the State of Missouri. In 1844, Smith and his brother were later to be tried for treason in Missouri, so turned themselves in only to be killed by a mob at the jail. There was a power vaccuum, but it appeared that Brigham Young would be taking the lead. 

He organized the first Mormon Vanguard Company. In 1847, 14 groups of 9-14 people were assigned to a leader, an ox, and a wagon. They walked or road over 1,000 miles to the Salt Lake valley in what is now Utah. Burr was included in this first set of settlers in Group Seven, led by James Case. Amazingly, the group arrived safely in July of 1847. It was some time before Burr brought his wife and kids out. 

Though the Mormons were split as to whether polygamy should be allowed, Burr dipped his toe into the multiple-marriage pool by marrying Eliza Morris in 1852, the first year polygamy was out in the open. She was also still married to her first husband, Isaac Nash, with whom she had four children. She and Burr had no children together. However, that changed when Burr married 22-year-old Caroline Triplett in 1864. They had at least eight children together. Burr was a reliable and hard-working member of the LDS church. 

He was an effective proselytizer who was called upon to do mission work as far away as Hawaii and Australia. In March of 1878, Burr died. At the time of his death he was one of the Presidents of the Seventy, a significant leadership position. 

All of his wives outlived him. His first wife, Mary Elizabeth, outlived the younger wives, dying in 1904. Polygamy was banned by the church in 1890.

Munson Tales: Larry Welch, Chief of Staff of the Air Force

Young Larry

Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Solomon Munson > Samuel Munson > Ruth Munson > Mary Van Cleef > Ruth Ryker > Polley Hillis > John S Welch > Arthur Welch > Oliver Welch > Larry D Welch

Larry Deane Welch was born in a little town called Morningstar in Oklahoma smack in the middle of the Great Depression in 1934. Three kids had come before him and one would follow. His parents, Oliver and Nina (Stewart) Welch spent most of their lives in Kansas but during the Depression moved wherever there was work both north and south of the panhandle. Larry ended up attending a number of schools, but at least he was getting an education. The two country high schools he attended in no way prepared him for college. But, athletics helped him fit whenever he moved. Between junior and senior year, a recruiter for the local national guard battery came through the high school and Larry signed up. It was an honor to be part of the Guard in town. His skill at calculus allowed him the job of fire control. After graduation, he couldn’t decide on what he would do in college, but thought he’d try a degree in Texas. He transferred his Guard membership to Texas. In the meantime, his draft number was closing in on him. He took a test to enlist and though the Army was offering two years, the Air Force was offering three and Larry hedged his bets and went Air Force. 

Joint Chiefs of Staff under Colin Powell (Larry in blue)

There he would spend the next 38 years, rising to the pinnacle position before he retired. After basic
training at Lackland Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, he was on casual duty, waiting for his advanced training. His main chore was helping training staff get their recruits from one place to the next. One day, he was tasked with taking the recruits to the base theatre to be briefed on the Aviation Cadet Program. On the way out, he filled out an interest slip and dropped it in the box. Next thing he knew, he was selected for officer pilot training. He had the same three year commitment, so it was a win-win. The program was like Officer Candidate School, but wasn’t. After the 13 weeks at Lackland for military training, Larry was sent for his six months of flight training. He completed that near the top and was picked for one of three fighter slots. That’s where Larry really wanted to be. Then, the training command decided that the top eight pilots would stay and train future pilots. Among some of these pilots were Majors and Lt. Colonels. The 2-star general for the base called Larry in one day and that he couldn’t have Lieutenants running around telling senior officers their business. And, he pinned on Larry’s Captain bars. This promotion was called a “below-thezone” promotion, which meant it was ahead of schedule. He was thrilled and went home and walked around the house not saying a word about the giant Captain bars sitting on his shoulders. His wife carried on her conversation about going downtown, which was to be their destination, totally unaware, until Larry became frustrated and said he couldn’t go until she noticed something. She finally noticed! 

As any career military member knows, the spouse is what keeps it all together. He married the former Eunice Ellis about a year after he finished flight school in 1956. The were married for 66 years prior to her death in 2022. Larry was then operations officer of the 366th Tactical Fighter Wing He would be promoted to Major below-thezone as well. There was one slot and four candidates. He was told that he was selected because he went to night classes working towards his undergrad degree. He completed it with 170 credits. Then he spent a tour flying F4C Phantoms in Vietnam. He was back to school upon his return, going to Air War College to get his master’s. Like all career officers, he then spent some time in a headquarters environment. He ascribes much of his success to date with luck, but it was not luck that got one of his analysis papers in front of a bevy of generals and altered military policy. 

Larry is known for only
flying left-seat

His skill analyzing a problem and writing it up to have the greatest impact was now revealed. By 1974, he was a Colonel and Vice Commander of the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing at George AFB. From there, movement was swift. He went on to other analysis positions at the Pentagon. He built battle plans for Iraq and analyzed optimal weapons planning. He received a first and then a second and then a third star. He served as Tactical Air Command as Director of Operations and got his fourth star serving as Commander of Strategic Air Command. In 1986 he was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Air Force. This had a required four-year term. The end of that term would come in 1990, the end of the Cold War. 

The Soviet-Bloc countries got their independence and the Soviet Union collapsed. His charge was challenging. He had to implement the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense (DoD) Reorganization Act, which basically upended the way the DoD did business. He and the Chiefs managed to get the DoD through the process successfully. 

Where do you go after you’ve reached the top? You retire. Not Welch though. After leaving the service, he chaired the advisory committee to the Homeland Security Agency’s Science and Technology Division. He then some time on the Rumsfeld Commission, which reported to Congress on the ballistic missile threat. In 2009, he retired as president of Institute for Defense Analyses. In 2014, he was asked to work on the Independent Review of the Department of Defense Nuclear Enterprise. He is truly retired now and living in Virginia. His three children includes one son who attended the Air Force Academy and was a career officer, retiring as a colonel in 2024. 

Munson Tales: Capt Charles Butman Munson Family: U.S.S. Merrimac to Munson Island

Captain C B Munson

C.B. Munson (Clan Daniel), born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1852 on terra firma, would spend 47 years of his life on the water working his way to captain. He’d sailed clipper ships in Asian waters and steamships in the coastal waters of the United States. His story is one of adventure, but ultimately, his favorite spot was at home, with his family. Not terribly tall and thin as a rail, it’s hard to think of this man living a life of seafaring daring-do, but he did. 

Along the way, he found the love of his life, Fanny Gilbert Taylor. Fanny was born in Nassau, Bermuda in 1857. Her father brought her family to the United States, and started work as a crewman on a whaler. Once he had a few children, he worked on land as a carpenter. Fanny and Charles married in 1877 in Florida. The couple settled in Miami, Florida, during his oceangoing years and in later life settled in Jacksonville. They had one son, Charles Newton Munson, called Newt by those who knew him. Newt grew up at the shore as his father spent most of his days at sea. The family spent their time between New Haven, Connecticut, and Florida. 

Newt & Ruth Ellison

Captain Munson gained a reputation as an expert seaman who had served as shipping clerk, boatswain, quartermaster, lieutenant, second officer and first officer, until he ultimately became a captain who mastered every port between Shanghai and Virginia. He was also an expert of ports through Mexico and South America. His expertise was well-known, which is why he was urgently called by Admiral C. T. Sampson on the very day the Spanish-American war began in 1898 to pilot the Atlantic Fleet to Cuba. Battles ensued and Munson would be shifted from ship to ship. Finally, on 1 Jun he was ordered aboard the Merrimac to captain with instruction to let the Admiral rest until 2 am on 2 Jun. At 3:30 am, the crew, save a band of seven volunteers, were removed from the Merrimac and left in the charge of Lt Hobson, who had instructions to block the harbor entrance with a sunken Merrimac. The skeleton crew of seven improvised torpedoes which were placed strategically on the Merrimac. Then, the Spanish fleet damaged the Merrimac’s steering disallowing it to be put firmly in its blocking space at the harbor entrance. Then, only three of the ten torpedoes exploded, but a Spanish mine put a hole into the Merrimac and finally, the continued gunfired and torpedoes sunk the Merrimac in the wrong poistion. The ship was lost for naught, as the harbor was not blocked. Though the ship was lost, the Spanish were defeated in Cuba a month later. 

Captain Munson had many adventures over the course of his career. In old age, he retired to
Jacksonville, where he died in 1933. In 1923, Newt purchased four small islands in the Keys of Florida - Little Munson Island, Big Munson Island, Cook’s Island, and Carrier Island. He barged a building down from Jacksonville to start his winter get-away on Little Munson. He sold one island was sold to Capt. Percy Cook. He gave Big Munson Island to his secretary, Ruth Ellison. It’s not known who Carrier Island was sold to. 

On Newt’s death, just a year after the death of his father, Ada did not go back to the island. She never cared for it. When she died, Little Munson went to Ruth Ellison as well. Ruth sold off Little Munson Island to a Chicago manufacturer in 1936 and then to another owner during the Truman administration. Its greatest claim to fame was being the site for locations shooting for the movie, “PT-109,” which was based on former president John F. Kennedy’s WWII experiences in the Pacific. The island would go through many owners, including drug kingpins and Homer Formby (of refinishing fame) until being sold to a resort club. It is now known as Little Palm Island.

Munson Tales: Why Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman Moved to Late Night

Ruth Elizabeth Wood

Ruth Wood Pflager (1917-2008) (Clan Obadiah) lived in several locations throughout the U.S. as her
husband Miller “Dan” Pflager built his career. Dan and Ruth married in 1940. They had four children that Ruth was charged with raising: Sandy, Charlene, Bill, and Jessica. She took her charge seriously. Television was just becoming common during those early parenting days. She believed that not all shows should be seen by children as they were incredibly violent or had inappropriate content. She started the Radio-Television Council of Greater Cleveland and served as its president. She spent time working with parents and children and broadcasters to educate all parties in responsible viewing. Parents were encouraged to watch TV with their child, monitor viewing, and limit viewing time. They were also encouraged to write to broadcasters with a critique of shows via a postcard program. 

The organization’s most well-known success was having the 1970s controversial TV show “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman,” moved from the 7:30 timeslot to the 10:30 timeslot. Mrs. Pflager was, however, against censorship. “Broadcasters say they give people what they want, so, if you disagree, turn off the set, tell them you have, and why. Citizens have a right and the responsiblity in the law. Many don’t realize it,” Mrs. Pflager said. 

She was a member of Christ United Methodist Church, Waynesboro, where she served as Chair of the Church and Society Committee. She was also a member of the American Association of University Women, Parent Teachers Associations, Church Women United, Daughters of the American Revolution, Radio/TV Council of Greater Cleveland, United Methodist Women, National Telemedia Council, Cultural Environment Movement, Lamda Delta MU, and she was founder and chairperson of the “TV Tune-In, USA.” Mrs. Pflager received numerous awards from Radio/TV Council, and Church Women United. In 1991, she received the Public Education Partners and Promoters Award from WAEA.

Clan William: Marrying Up - William Edgar Mattison Jr

This is a short little story about a Munson-descended man "marrying up." William Edgar Mattison married Elizabeth Dean Alford, a descendant of Governor Thomas Dudley of Massachusetts.

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson >  Martha Munson > Eliakim Doolittle > Tirzah Doolittle > Mary Eddy Montgomery > Effa Roslie Galusha > William Edgar Mattison Jr m Elizabeth Dean Alford

William Edgar Mattison, Jr. was born to William Edgar Mattison, Sr and Effa Galusha on 07 Sep 1912 in Shaftsbury, Vermont. The Mattison's were of modest means. William Sr. worked at various labor jobs and farmed throughout his life. They had seven children. William was the second youngest. By 1935, they had both passed away.

By the time Jr. was 17, he was no longer in school and was working in a furniture factory. He then took a job as a night watchman at the newly opened women's Bennington College (1932) in southwest Vermont. Bennington was the first liberal arts college to offer visual and performing arts in its program. While patrolling the campus one night, he met young Elizabeth Alford, daughter of the prominent and uber wealthy Brookline, Massachusetts Mr & Mrs Edward Balch Alford family. 

Bennington College

Elizabeth had her society debut in the 1933-34 season and was most eligible. A freshman at Bennington, she was a  member of the junior league and the exclusive Vincent Club. 

The society wedding was held on November 5, 1935 at the Alford Estate in Brookline. The event was picked up on newswire and published all over the country as "handsome cop marries wealthy socialite."

You have to kind of wonder how the senior Alford's felt about a working class young man marrying their daughter.

William became a dairy farmer in Concord and dubbed the farm "Arrowhead Farm." This farm should not be confused with the Arrowhead Farm of Herman Melville in Pittsfield.  This house was the original homestead of Ezekiel Miles, built in 1741. The Mattison's raised their six children on the farm. Mrs. Mattison gave tours to school children and the children participated in 4H. They seemed to live a very happy life. You can read a lovely oral history by the eldest Mattison child, William, about the farm in the 1940s and 1950s.

Farm today. Photo credit JB the Milker

In 1940, Elizabeth's father died, leaving his fortune to his wife and two children, leaving the Mattison's even better off than before. There was an account of her brother, Edgar, after inheriting while serving in the Army, that also made the newswire. 

William died in 1972 while on a visit to his native Bennington. He had been a life member of Nashawtuc Country Club and the Bennington Elks. Elizabeth was listed in her obituary as the wife of William - not the wealthy socialite and descendant of generations of Boston Brahmins. In getting to know her, I'd say that was probably just the way she wanted it.

Click to Enlarge

Clan William: Physicist DeWitt Bristol Brace, PhD

Today's subject is the incredible pioneer scientist, DeWitt Bristol Brace, PhD. He was a brilliant physics professor and researcher who died young. Makes me wonder what he could have done had he lived a full life.

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Peter Munson > Lydia Munson > William Zelus Bristol > Emily Cowles Bristol > DeWitt Bristol Brace, PhD

DeWitt Bristol Brace was born to Emily Cowles Bristol, our Munson descendant, and C. Lusk Brace near Wilson, Niagara County, New York on 05 Jan 1859. Lusk was a farmer and later a Lockport mill operator. Lusk and Emily had four children, DeWitt being the second son and child.

DeWitt received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Boston College in 1881-1882. He then studied under Dr. Henry Augustus Rowland at Johns Hopkins University for two years. He then went to Berlin, Germany to study under Dr Hermann Helmholtz and Dr Gustav Kirchhoff at the University of Berlin. He received his PhD in 1885 in Berlin after he completed his dissertation on the magnetic rotation of the plane of polarization.

Dr Brace returned to the US, he traveled to the University of Michigan, where he spent a year as an assistant professor of physics. 

Old Physics Lab at UNL

The University of Nebraska at Lincoln was founded in 1869 and built in a four block section of the city. It's farm campus was built in 1873, outside of the city of Lincoln on the prairie. In the beginning, the science department was not divided into specialties like Chemistry and Physics. It was the first university west of the Missisippi to offer a doctoral program. There apparently was a bias in eastern academic circles that the western education insitutions were inferior in both the academic backgrounds of its faculty and its research capabilities. DeWitt helped dispell this myth when he arrived to take a full professorship in 1887. Part of his charge was to create a physics department.

Research had not necessarily been a big deal at UNL, but Brace believed that such research was critical to the operation of the University. He believed strongly that higher education centers must develop research.  His own research led to great distinction for the University. With a growing reputation, Brace used his clout to lobby for updated equipment, laboratories, facilities, and money for research. He built a very strong Physics department but the department still needed a home on campus. 

UNL Physics Staff 1905
UNL Library Archives

 "Brace also began building a graduate program and hired two additional instructors in 1896, Burton Evans Moore and Louis Trenchard More. A few years later Clarence Aurelius Skinner and John Edwin Almy were also added to the physics faculty. In 1896 one of Brace's students, Harold Allen, was awarded a Ph.D. degree by the University of Nebraska. This was the very first Ph.D. given by any school west of the Mississippi. With one or two exceptions, no further Ph.D.s were given until the present Ph.D. program in physics was initiated after World War II. The photograph on the left shows members of the Physics Department in May 1905 in front of the old Nebraska Hall, which is where the Department was housed until it moved into Brace Laboratory later that year." https://www.unl.edu/physics/department-history

DeWitt made a special study of radiation and optics and published, "The Laws of Radiation and Absorption," in 1901. Life in Nebraska was good. His mother lived with him and had been with him for many years. But, it was time to focus on more than just science. That same year, he went east to marry Iowa native Elizabeth Wing on 16 Oct 1901 in West Newton, Massachusetts. The couple returned to Lincoln and began their family.

Lincoln Journal Star, 12 Oct 1901, p 6

In addition to securing several patents in the course of his research, his body of work had continued to grow as evidenced here: 

"Brace’s own contributions to physical science were almost exclusively in the domain of optics. By the invention of his sensitive-strip polarizer, and his half-shade elliptic polarizer, he extended the range of observation far beyond that previously attained, and he devised and partly executed many experiments in which this increased sensitiveness could be used in the study of fundamental optical problems. Returning to the question which he dealt with in his first published paper, he succeeded in showing that the beam of polarized light which undergoes rotation in a magnetic field is susceptible of resolution into two circularly polarized beams. He showed that, to a very high order of sensitiveness, no effect is impressed upon a ray of light by a magnetic field, if its lines of force are at right angles to the ray. He showed that, up to the third order of the ratio of the velocities, no double refraction could be observed in a medium due to its motion through the ether. He planned and tested a method for determining the velocity of light, from which he expected still greater accuracy than that attained in the classical researches of Michelson and Newcomb. He executed several repetitions, with greatly improved instrumental appliances, of classical experiments bearing on the fundamental question of the relative motion of matter and the ether."  ~ © American Astronomical Society • Provided by the NASA Astrophysics Data System

Brace fought mightily to get a building in which to house the Physics department. The Regents approved $75,000 for a new building. Brace guided it's development and building with the construction team. Then he hit a roadblock when the all powerful athletics department which believed the building was perilously close to its football field. To keep things on track, Brace altered the footprint of the building. Progress on the new building with its state of the art laboratories continued through 1904 and 1905. 

At the beginning of the 1905 school year in September of that year, Brace became ill. He developed septicemia believed to have stemmed from an infection in having a carbuncle removed from his face (an infected boil)  and would die on 02 Oct 1905, having never seen the completion of the project. The school named the building the Brace Physics building in his honor. Much of his research would not be completed by Brace, leaving other physicists to continue his work. Today's Physics Chair, Dr Dan Claes, believes that Brace's research provided a result that "contributed to Einstein's theory of relativity."

New Brace Physical Science Building
(Click to enlarge)

From 1903 to 1905, the Brace's had three children born to them. The youngest, Alice, was born after her father's death in 1905. 

Dr. DeWitt Brace, wife Emily, Lloyd and Roger Brace about
1905. UNL Library Archives

Mrs. Brace moved to Massachusetts after her husband's death and her children would be educated at top East Coast schools as far from the prairie as they could be.