Résumé

Draftsman, H.W. Lindsley and B. Cutler, Architects, New Haven, CT, 1882-1883. In 1883, Lindsley and Cutler practiced at 350 Chapel Street, the only architects listed as working at this address. The city directory listing for Jewett indicated that he worked at 350 Chapel. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1882, p. 380 and New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1883, p. 196 and 396.)

Draftsman, Leoni W. Robinson, Architect, New Haven, CT, 1884. The New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1884, (p. 216.) indicated that Jewett worked for someone at 847 Chapel Street and Robinson's business address matched that in 1884. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1884, p. 438.)

Draftsman, Shaffer and Read, Architects, Helena, MT, 1890. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Helena, Montana, City Directory, 1890, p. 282.)

Architect, New Haven, CT, 1889 He did not work on his own, as he was not listed in the New Haven Business Directories for 1889 or 1891. Nine other architects were listed in 1889. Allen and Tyler (82 Church Street), Austin Henry and Son (49 Church Street), D.R. Brown (70 Church Street), George C.A. Brown (868 Chapel Street), John Galwey (458 Chapel Street), J.D. Roberts (8 Brown Street), Leoni W. Robinson (847 Chapel Street), R.G. Russell (852 Chapel Street) and C.H. Stilson (780 Chapel Street). (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1889, p. 528.)Jewett lived at 629 Chapel Street between 1889 and 1891, and it is possible that he worked for one located on the same street during 1889-1891. He had already worked for Leoni W. Robinson in 1884, but he also may have gained employment with Allen and Tyler, Architects. (He would work for William H. Allen's solo practice after 1892.)

Draftsman, Henry A. Lambert and Company, Architects, Bridgeport, CT. In 1891, Lambert and Company operated in the Warner Building, 61 Fairfield Avenue. (See Bridgeport, Connecticut, City Directory, 1891, p. 303.)

Draftsman, William H. Allen, Architect, New Haven, CT, 1892-1893. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1892, p. 268 and 532 and New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1893, p. 560.)

Principal, William H. Jewett, Architect, New Haven, CT, 1894-1895. In 1895, Jewett had an office at 792 Chapel Street in New Haven. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1895, p. 598.)

Draftsman, William H. Allen, New Haven, CT, 1896-1897. Allen's office was located at 82 Church Street in 1897. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1896, p. 306 and 620 and New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1897, p. 311 and 636.) It would appear that the Depression of 1893 stifled most architectural work during 1894-1895, forcing Jewett to abandon his own practice and become a draftsman again during the period between 1896 and 1897. Jewett was listed as a draftsman in 1898 and an architect in 1899, but did not have his own practice according to the 1899 business directory listing of architects. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1898, p. 326 and New Haven City Directory, 1899, p. 671.) He may have continued working for Allen in those years.

Associate, [Conradin] Breitung and Jewett, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1901-1902. In 1901 and 1902, Breitung and Jewett shared the same office space, but may not have practiced together. Each man had a separate listing in the architects' classified page of R.L. Polk and Company's Seattle City Directory, 1901, (p. 1268) and R.L. Polk and Company's Seattle City Directory, 1902, (p. 1417). It could have been an informal association or two architects simply sharing space to save money.

Principal, W.H. Jewett, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1902-1905. Jewett leased office space in Room #12 of the Colman Building in 1902. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Seattle City Directory, 1902, p. 1417.) In 06/1904, Jewett maintained his office in Rooms #422-424 of the Walker Building in Seattle. (See W.H. Jewett classified ad, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 06/12/1904, p. 6.)

The architect died prematurely in 1905.

College

B.A., Yale University, School of the Fine Arts, New Haven, CT, 1882. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012; School Name: Yale College; Year: 1882, n.p.)

Relocation

William Henry Jewett was born in New Haven, CT, the son of Pliny Adams Jewett and Juliet Mitchell Carrington.

He lived with his parents, one sibling, a young nephew and two servants at 225 Whalley Avenue in New Haven according to the 1880 US Census. His nephew was Ambrose B. Jewett (born c. 1878 in CT), according to the census form, son of his brother, Thomas Backus Jewett. At this time, the household retained two servants,Mary McCusker (born c. 1857 in CT) and Kate O'Neil (born c. 1850 in Ireland).

His parents and William changed addresses a fair amount within New Haven during the 1880s. They had a place at 163 York Street in 1882. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1882, p. 180.) He resided with them at 594 Chapel Street in New Haven in 1883. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1883, p. 196.) His father passed away in 1884, and he continued to live with his mother at a new address, 1298 Chapel Street, in that year. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1884, p. 216.) It is likely that his father's death had a strong impact on the family, as after 1884, William and his mother left New Haven for new cities.

The New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1885, (p. 224), indicated that William H. Jewett had "rem. to Birmingham." In 1885, he had moved out of New Haven, living at 48 Olivia Street in Birmingham, CT, and working at 97 Main Street. (See Derby, Connecticut, City Directory, 1885, p. 90.) In 1885, Juliet Jewett also left New Haven, moving to Fort Benton, MT, according to the New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1885, (p. 224.)

In 1889 and 1891, Jewett lived at 629 Chapel Street in New Haven. He may have worked nearby in an architectural office on the same street. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1889, p. 268 and New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1891, p. 284.)

In 1890, however, the city directory indicated that Jewett had "rem. to Helena, MT." (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1890, p. 266.) In Helena, MT, he lived on the south side of Knight Street, one house west of Madison Avenue. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Helena, Montana, City Directory, 1890, p. 282.)

Back in New Haven by 1891, the architect returned to live at 629 Chapel Street, where he had dwelled before leaving for MT. He remained at this address through 1893. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1893, p. 276.)

He married in 1895 and resided with Sarah Canfield at 48 Howe Street in New Haven in 1896-1897. (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1896, p. 306 and 620 and New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1897, p. 311 and 636.)

Between 1899 and 1900, they had a dwelling at 72 Howard Avenue in New Haven. He lived with his wife of five years, Sarah, daughter Julliet, his mother-in-law Sarah Wells Canfield, and an 81-year-old boarder, Francis Welk (born c. 03/1819 in CT). (See New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1899, p. 334, New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1900, p. 317 and Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut; Page: 4; Enumeration District: 0358; FHL microfilm: 1240145, accessed 11/28/2020.) This was the last year that the architect would spend in CT, as the New Haven, Connecticut, City Directory, 1901,(p. 323), indicated that he had "rem. to Seattle, Wash."

By 1901, he and his family had a dwelling at 935 17th Avenue in Seattle. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Seattle City Directory, 1901, p. 643.) Jewett died of pneumonia at his Seattle residence,935 17th Avenue, at the age of 42, in 1905. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. Washington, U.S., Death Records, 1883-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008, accessed 11/28/2020.)

A newspaper account in the Seattle Daily Times of 02/09/1905 indicated that his “…remains will be shipped to Portland, Oregon, for cremation," but his remains were buried at the Evergreen Cemetery, New Haven, CT.

Parents

William Henry Jewett came from a financially comfortable family. The US Census of 1860 indicated that WIlliam's father Pliny Adams Jewett (born 1816-d. 04/10/1884 in Providence, RI) lived with his grandfather, Stephen Jewett, an Episcopal clergyman. Stephen Jewett was recorded as owning $35,000 worth of real estate and had a personal estate of $10,000, significant sums for the time. His father owned $5,000 worth of real estate and had a personal estate of $5,000, also tidy sums. The household had four servants, including a coachman, nurse and two household staff, Ellen Frowley (born c. 1841 in Ireland), and Johanna Mack (born c. 1836 in Ireland), a coachman, John Maha (possibly "Mack," born c. 1808 in Ireland), and a nurse, Helen Devlin (born c. 1840 in Ireland). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1860; Census Place: New Haven Ward 4, New Haven, Connecticut; Page: 531; Family History Library Film: 803087, accessed 11/28/2020.)

Pliny Jewett was one of the most eminent physicians and surgeons of post-Civil War New Haven. His father received his undergraduate education at Trinity College and earned a medical degree from Yale University, supplementing his medical education in Paris. He returned from France to practice in New Haven, save for a two-year stint in Aiken, SC. He served as an attending surgeon at the New Haven Hospital between 1843 and 1884, and a Professor of Obstetrics at Yale Medical School between 1866 and 1884. He belonged to the Connecticut Medical Society from 1841 until his death, and served as its president in 1876. He also was a Civil War Veteran, serving as physician in charge of US Army Knight General Hospital in New Haven between 1862 and 1865. (See “News and Miscellany: Obituary Notice Pliny A. Jewett, M.D.,” Medical and Surgical Reporter, vol. L, 1884, 04/26/1884, p. 544 and and "Jewett, Pliny Adams," in The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States, William B. Atkinson, ed., [Philadelphia: Charles Robson, 1878], pp. 88-89.) Ironically, while testifying as an expert witness at a murder trial in Providence, RI, his father died of pneumonia, a malady that also killed William twenty-one years later.

Pliny wed Juliet Mitchell Carrington (born 1826 in Bristol, CT-d. 12/16/1887 in New Haven, CT)) of Bristol, CT, on 11/10/1847 in that city. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information: Connecticut, U.S., Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006, accessed 11/28/2020.)

Juliet Carrington's family had deep roots in Bristol, CT, going back to William's great-grandfather, William Mitchell (born 08/30/1748 in England-d. 02/23/1806 in Bristol, CT). Her parents were Leicester Carrington (born c. 1790-d. 1830 in Lebanon, CT) and Almira Mitchell (born 05/05/1787-d. 03/13/1878 in CT). It was through William Mitchell, a private and sergeant in the 8th and other Connecticut Regiments during the Revolutionary War, that WIlliam H. Jewett applied for admission to the Sons of the American Revolution in 1891. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Volume: 28, Source Information: U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011, accessed 11/28/2020.)

Pliny and Juliet had three children: Thomas Backus Jewett (born 01/09/1850 in New Haven, CT-d. 08/08/1885 in CT), Mary E. Jewett (born 08/30/1857 in New Haven, CT) and William Henry Jewett.

Thomas Backus Jewett also became a ohysician, having followed his father as a twelve-year-old boy on his medical rounds at the US Army Knight General Hospital. He graduated from Yale Medical School in 1879, and became a Fellow of the Connecticut Medical Society. (See Ira Spar, New Haven’s Civil War Hospital, A History of Knight US General Hospital 1862-1865, [Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company, Incorporated, Publishers, 2014], p. 124.)

Spouse

He wed Sarah Louisa Canfield (born c. 05/1867 in CT-d. 11/03/1924 in ) in 1895. Her parents were Edward M. Canfield (born c. 1843 in CT), a wholesale grocer in New Haven, and Sarah Wells (born c. 08/1845 in CT). The Canfields were prosperous, having a personal estate valued at $25,000 in 1870. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: New Haven Ward 1, New Haven, Connecticut; Roll: M593_109; Page: 113A; Family History Library Film: 545608, accessed 11/28/2020.)

Sarah continued to live at 935 17th Avenue in 1918. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1918, p. 1006.) She died at age 57 at the Meadows Sanitorium in Seattle, possibly of tuberculosis. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information: Washington, U.S., Death Records, 1883-1960 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2008, accessed 11/28/2020.)

Children

He and Sarah had two children, Juliet Louise Jewett Griffith Parker and Stephen Jewett. (born c. 1901 in WA).

Biographical Notes

A "William Jewett," a farmer and later a laborer not the architect, lived in Seattle in between 1892 and1899. (See Corbett and Company Seattle City Directory, 1892, p. 491 and R.L. Polk and Company's Seattle City Directory, 1899, p. 530.)

Another "William H. Jewett," a farmer, was born in Vermont in 01/1861. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Corinna, Wright, Minnesota; Page: 1; Enumeration District: 0222; FHL microfilm: 1240798, accessed 11/30/2020.)