Theophilus Yale Winship was born in Norwich on September 14, 1820, continuing a family connection to the city that began when his grandfather relocated there from New York. As a youth, he attended the local district school each winter until he turned fifteen. During his school vacations, he worked as a farm hand in the area, earning twenty-five cents ($9.00 in 2026 $) a day.
At fifteen years of age, Winship entered the commercial life of Norwich by taking a position as a clerk in the wholesale grocery store of Backus and Norton on Water Street. He worked for the firm for ten years, sleeping in the store at night and receiving his board and clothes as compensation during his first five years. In 1846, he established his own grocery enterprise in the Bolles block on Water Street in partnership with his brother-in-law, Avery Smith. Winship bought out Smith’s interest five years later and conducted the business with marked success until 1867, when he sold the store to F. L. Gardner.
NOTE: This photo was originally printed by the Norwich Bulletin on 03/19/1913 and was recently digitally enhanced for clarity
After retiring from the grocery trade, Winship focused his energies on market gardening on a farm he had purchased in 1852 along the New London turnpike at East Great Plain in Norwich. He was one of the first farmers to use greenhouses for early vegetables.
Beyond his agricultural pursuits, he was heavily involved in local corporate and civic affairs, serving as a director of the Norwich Assurance Company and as a member of the New London County Agricultural Society. Spiritually, he was a dedicated Spiritualist, a nineteenth century religious and social movement centered on the belief that human souls survive physical death and can directly communicate with the living. Throughout Norwich, he was widely recognized for his happy disposition and generous, charitable nature.
Winship spent his final decades residing on his East Great Plain property in Norwich, though his advanced age eventually led him to step back from extensive business operations. Although he suffered from blindness during the last two years of his life, he was still able to move about his farm during the summer with the help of an assistant. Following a serious illness of several months, he passed away peacefully at his Norwich home.
Winship spent his final decades residing on his East Great Plain property in Norwich, though his advanced age eventually led him to step back from extensive business operations. Although he suffered from blindness during the last two years of his life, he was still able to move about his farm during the summer with the help of an assistant. Following a serious illness of several months, he passed away peacefully at his Norwich home on a Tuesday morning.
Winship’s personal life was grounded in deep family ties within the Norwich region. He was the son of Thomas D. Winship—a sea captain who was lost at sea in 1864—and Phila Yale Winship. On December 24, 1851, he married Jerusha A. Avery, the daughter of James and Hannah Pride Avery of Preston. Though the couple had no children of their own, they raised Mrs. Winship’s niece, Miss Mary A. Hill, in their home.
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