Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8, Part 1

Author:
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 802

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ENCYCLOPEDIA -OF -

CONNECTICUT BIOGRAPHY GENEALOGICAL-MEMORIAL

REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

Compiled with the Assistance of a

Capable Corps of Advisers and Contributors

ILLUSTRATED

THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY (INC.) PUBLISHERS CHICAGO

NEW YORK

Foreword

E ACH one of us is "the heir of all the ages, in the foremost files of time." We build upon the solid foundations laid by the strenuous efforts of the fathers who have gone before us. Nothing is more fitting, and indeed more important, than that we should familiar- ize ourselves with their work and per- sonality; for it is they who have lifted us up to the lofty positions from which we are working out our separate careers. "Lest we forget," it is important that we gather up the fleeting memories of the past and give them permanent record in well-chosen words of biography, and in such reproduction of the long lost faces as modern science makes possible.

SAMUEL HART.

BIOGRAPHICAL

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY

LOUNSBURY FAMILY, Ancestral History.

In the public records of the State of Connecticut there are many names which stand for all that is high, all that is worthy, all that makes for public prog- ress. But rarely in any State have two members of one family risen to the high- est office in the gift of the Commonwealth, and so commanded the respect of their contemporaries and so endeared them- selves to the general public that they have made their name universally honored and cherished. Connecticut holds the name of Lounsbury second to none in all her history, for the brothers Lounsbury, first Phineas C. and later George E., have oc- cupied the Governor's chair with honor to their name and with wide-reaching benefit to the State. In the contemplation of the lives of men of this calibre it is interesting to trace through former gen- erations the spirit which has come down to them through the centuries, which evolved for the citizens of to-day positive and permanent good.

The significance of the surname, Louns- bury, is literally the "Manor or Fort- ress De La Lond, or De La Land," and' carries with it the fundamental meaning of sovereignty, inasmuch as at that early period of Anglo-Norman history, partic- ularly the eleventh, twelfth and thir- teenth centuries, land owners were land- lords in the best sense of that compound word. It first appears as the name of a locality in Yorkshire, England, and in one of its many forms is still the name of a town there called Londesborough. It is

found in Domesday Book, where it is written Lodensburg. The name has been spelled in many ways, and among the va- rious forms are: Lodensburg, Leone- bergh, Lonesburgh, Lounesburgh, Low- nesburg, Lowndesbrough and Londes- borough. The Church of "Lonesburgh or Lonesbeurg," Yorkshire, England, was granted to William De Lonesburgh by Stephen, King of England, from 1135 to 1154. William De Lonesburgh was also treasurer of the Church of York.

(I) Richard Lounsbury, the Colonial ancestor of the Lounsbury family in America, was a descendant of the De Lounsbury family of Yorkshire. During the religious wars of the seventeenth cen- tury, the period of Puritan and Huguenot persecutions, Richard Lounsbury, with others, crossed to Leyden, Holland, to seek more congenial conditions. There he met and married Elizabeth Du Bois, of a distinguished and wealthy French Huguenot family. Later Richard Louns- bury, his wife, and a little company who sought the perfect religious freedom awaiting them on this side the Atlantic, took passage on the "Bonte Koeu," or "Spotted Cow," and came to the Amer- ican colonies. They settled in Esopus, Ulster county, New York, about 1663. His name appears on a roll of the Foot Company of Militia, Marbletown, Ulster county, New York, under the command of Captain Daniel Broadhead. Richard and Elizabeth (Du Bois) Lounsbury were among the first settlers of Rye, New York, in Westchester county. The com- pany who settled here purchased from the Indians lands which extended from

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY

Long Island sound on the South, to the further boundary lines of White Plains to the Northwest, and to the nearer boun- daries of Norwalk to t the Northeast. White Plains was then included as a part of the New England Colony. The early records preserve but a meagre story of the struggles and achievements of those first pioneers, and even the vital statis- tics are in many cases only fragmentary, but in the first will ever recorded in this settlement Richard Lounsbury bequeathed to his son Henry that portion of the land in Stamford which had been allotted to him. The land purchased from the In- dians is still known as the Lounsbury Farm. Richard Lounsbury's will is pre- served in the White Plains Land Rec- ords.

(II) Henry Lounsbury, son of Rich- ard and Elizabeth (Du Bois) Lounsbury, was born August 15, 1684, in Stamford, Connecticut, and died there in 1763. He married Mercy Scofield, born October 30, 1690, daughter of John and Hannah (Mead) Scofield.

(III) Nathan Lounsbury, son of Henry and Mercy (Scofield) Lounsbury, was born in 1722, and died in 1793. He mar- ried, March 22, 1759, Mrs. Elizabeth (See- ley) Tallmadge, born September 25, 1734, daughter of Nathaniel and Eliza- beth (Holly) Seeley, and widow of Jon- athan Tallmadge.

(IV) Enos Lounsbury, son of Nathan and Elizabeth (Seeley-Tallmadge) Louns- bury, was born May 31, 1763, and died in 1816. He served in the Revolutionary War during the latter part of that strug- gle, being less than eighteen years of age when he received an honorable discharge, January 1, 1781. He married (second), August 3, 1796, Catee Waterbury, born March 12, 1766, daughter of Isaac W. and Thankful (Scofield) Waterbury.

Through the Waterbury family also

the present members of the Lounsbury family trace their ancestry back to the early New England pioneers. John Wat- erbury was born in Suffolk County, Eng- land, about 1620. He came to America about 1641, and settled first at Water- town, Massachusetts. Later he sold his land holdings there, and in 1646 removed to Stamford, Connecticut. He was granted a parcel of land there in 1650, and died in Stamford, July 31, 1658. He mar- ried Rose Lockwood. Lieutenant David Waterbury, their son, born about 1650, in Stamford, Connecticut, served in King Philip's War. He died November 20, 1706. He married (first) Hannah New- man, born October 29, 1657, daughter of William Newman. John Waterbury, their son, was born January 25, 1682, died January 20, 1736. He married, December 4, 1710, Sussanah Newkirk. Isaac W. Waterbury, their son, was born about 1728. He married, February 4, 1750 or 1751. in Bedford, New York, Thankful Scofield. Their daughter, Catee, born March 12, 1766, became the wife of Enos Lounsbury, as above noted.

(V) Nathan Lounsbury, son of Enos and Catee (Waterbury) Lounsbury, was born April 13, 1807, in Stamford, Con- necticut, and died April 27, 1894, in Ridge- field, Connecticut. He was a prosperous and public-spirited citizen of Fairfield county, highly respected by all who knew him. He married, July 9, 1828, in Poundridge, New York, Delia A. Scofield, daughter of Henry and Azubah (Ray- mond) Scofield. She was born January 28, 1809, in Patterson, New York, and died February 21, 1895, in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Their children were: I.

Matilda, born April 16, 1829, died 1867; married Francis Quintard, of Norwalk, Connecticut. 2. William, born June 12. 1831, died October 19, 1874; married, March 1, 1871, Caroline Augusta Youngs,

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY

born October 7, 1850. 3. Sarah E., mar- ried Nelson B. Sherwood ; she died Octo- ber 1, 1896. 4. Ann E., married Joel L. Rockwell. 5. George E. (q.v.). 6. Phin- eas Chapman (q.v.).

LOUNSBURY, George Edward, Fortieth Governor of Connecticut.

There are men upon whom the world looks as individuals. There are men whose breadth of character reaches out only to the little circle about them. Then there are men to whom all the world is brother, who in heart and deed, as well as in the spoken word, extend the hand of fellowship to every man be he king or laborer. This was the man which those who knew him best saw in George Ed- ward Lounsbury, fortieth Governor of the State of Connecticut. This was not an attitude with him. It was the sincere ex- pression of a great soul, attuned to catch the harmony of life through whatever turmoil might arise. He saw good in everything, read faith and high aspira- tion in every human character. De- scended from a long line of ancestors who had held positions of honor in public life, and who had been successful in a material way, he was still a man of simple, whole- some tastes, while at the same time he filled with dignity and grace every pub- lic duty which devolved upon him.

(VI) George Edward Lounsbury was born May 7, 1838, the fifth child of Na- than and Delia A. (Scofield) Lounsbury (q. v.). He received his early education in the public schools of his native town, Ridgefield, Connecticut. Here he became thoroughly grounded in the elementary studies which are so important a founda- tion for future scholarship. He taught school for three years, and in this prac- tical application of knowledge attained won an added mental power which placed

him at a distinct advantage in his later studies. He entered Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1863. He then took a course in preparation for the ministry, a field of usefulness which had come to him with a strong appeal. He was graduated from Berkeley Divin- ity School, Middletown, in 1866. The young man's genius for oratory gave promise of a wonderful career which should be a power. for the upbuilding of the church. He was in charge of the Episcopal church in Suffield for some time, then later was placed in charge of the parish in Thompsonville. He was very popular with the people in both par- ishes, his earnest piety and thorough manliness giving force and meaning to the eloquent words which they heard from his lips in the pulpit. For with him re- ligion was a matter of daily living, a prin- ciple to be applied to all problems, not mere theory to be expounded at stated intervals and laid aside with the vest- ments worn on those occasions.

A radical change in the young man's plans for the future was made imperative by the development of a serious throat trouble. It became impossible for him to continue regular public speaking, and he finally gave up the ministry. In 1868 he became associated with his brother in Norwalk, Connecticut, in the manufacture of shoes. The utilitarian side of his nature here found expression, and one of his most positive characteristics was his wholesome conviction that the practical things of life have a dignity of their own which is second to nothing. Here also he found scope for unlimited good in the true spirit of brotherhood with which he met the workmen in the factory. He was a man mong them, while his position as one of the executive force was by no means disregarded in their attitude to- ward him. Fearless on public questions,

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY

intensely interested in the public welfare, in the field in the Gubernatorial election and gifted with the ability to sway men in of 1898. He was nominated without seri- ous opposition, and as in the case of his senatorial elections he won by a most sat- isfactory majority. Throughout his ad- ministration he held the respect and con- fidence of the people as well as the loyal co-operation of his party. It may safely be said of him that he was master to an unusual degree of the art of knowing when to speak and when to keep silent. His addresses to the different branches of the Legislature were masterly ex- amples of oratory, but except in rare cases were terse and strictly to the point. The practical trend of his administration is evidenced by the fact that he reduced the debt of the State one million dollars. argument, it was but natural that he should find a warm reception in the poli- tical world. His choice was the Repub- lican party, and this organization appre- ciated to the full the force he would be in the forwarding of the party interests. It was soon clearly evident that party in- terests, as such, were subservient in the mind of this new leader to the public good. The party found that a wise and just move would have his unqualified support, but anything which savored of mere par- tisanship would bring out a counter pro- posal which his contagious enthusiasm would at once make popular. Fairfield county knew him, and with unbounded confidence in his future the Twelfth Dis- trict made him more and more their leader as timne passed. In 1895 they nom- inated him for Senator, and he was elec- ted by a gratifying majority. His legis- lative career was marked from the outset by the same fearless utterances which had given him a leading position in the home county. He was made chairman of the Committee on Finance, and his business experience, together with his sound com- mon sense, brought about a distinct im- provement in the work of that committee. He was again elected Senator from the same district, in 1897, and during this term served as chairman of the Commit- tee on Humane Institutions. In this con- nection it may be said that he did much practical good in the prepartion of bills which related to the management of va- rious institutions of this nature through- out the State. In all his senatorial rec- ord he exemplified those ideals which he had always held and had made the very fabric of his public utterances.

So it was with the greatest confidence that the Republican party placed the name of George Edward Lounsbury

The Governor's retirement from public life was not coincident with his relin- quishment of his business interests. He continued actively interested in business for a considerable time thereafter. He was president of the First National Bank of Ridgefield, and during all the period of his residence there was much sought by business men in an advisory capacity. When he finally gave up all active busi- ness, he still spent a large part of his time in managing and improving the fine farm which has been his home for many years. He always made use of the most up-to-date methods in farming, and as a result the products of the place were of the finest. He gave freely of his bounty, not only to his immediate and personal friends, but saw to it that every needy family of his acquaintance, or which might be brought to his attention, should be provided with a generous share of such comforts and delicacies as the farm af- forded. Many individuals over a wide section in that part of the State have reason to recall with feelings of warmest affection and admiration the picturesque gentleman of the old school, whose eye

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY

kindled with genuine friendliness for ev- Governor, has won his share of these un- ery one who greeted him.

A man's possessions are but a poor addition to the review of his personality and achievements. But it would be im- possible to complete even a sketch of Ex-Governor Lounsbury's career without some mention of his wonderful library. Possessed of literary ability of a fine or- der, he was a lifelong collector of books. He lived with his books and lived in them, and they also lived in him and in a meas- ure worked out in his public activities the best thought that has been immortalized on the printed page. His books were his closest friends, and to him a worthy ideal expounded in crisp new binding was as rich a treasure as the rarest old first edi- tion of an early master of literature. A simple tribute published soon after his death, August 16, 1904, expressed the uni- versal sentiment among his friends. It was as follows :

The Connecticut men who knew him will keep pleasant and kindly memories of George E. Lounsbury. He was a pleasant, kindly man. The enjoyment which he took in sharing the treasure of his orchard with his friends was a character- istic trait. An attractive gentleman, he was al- ways a good friend. It is with regret that we say farewell to him.

LOUNSBURY, Phineas Chapman,

Banker, Statesman, Ex-Governor of Con- necticut.

Any man who for the greater part of a long lifetime has stood before the public has received from many sources the meaningless adulation which is the meed of fame. But long before he reached the zenith of his powers he learned to prize, in the kindling eye and the deepened voice, the unstudied response of the peo- ple to his giving of himself. The Hon. Phineas Chapman Lounsbury, of Ridge- field, Connecticut, retired banker and Ex-

spoken laurels, for he is to-day as he al- ways has been close to the people-"a friend to man."

(VI) Phineas Chapman Lounsbury was born in the town of Ridgefield, Janu- ary 10, 1841, the sixth child of Nathan and Delia A. (Scofield) Lounsbury (q. v.). Descended from a long line of high- minded, public-spirited ancestors, and personally gifted with those qualities of mind and heart which command spon- taneous respect, he is a man peculiarly fitted to handle large interests. His child- hood and youth were spent on the farm, where was laid the foundation for the splendid health which he has enjoyed during his later years. He received a thorough academic education, and entered a business career with the organization of the firm of Lounsbury Brothers. They manufactured shoes, the factory being first located in New Haven, Connecticut, then in South Norwalk, same State, when the firm name was changed to Lounsbury, Mathewson & Company. Here the bus- iness was more broadly developed, the fa- cilities and equipment being much more advantageous. The firm became widely known for the excellence of its product and for the honorable dealings which were the basis of its business policy. As the head of the firm Mr. Lounsbury soon became a man of more than local note and was sought by business men in many sections for advice on monetary affairs. He became a member of the Merchants' Exchange National Bank, of New York City, and won so high a place in the es- teem of that important institution that in 1885 he was elected its president by unanimous vote. This bank was organized in 1829 with a capital of one million dol- lars, then an enormous sum of money, and his position at the head of the insti- tution gave Mr. Lounsbury a leading

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY

place among the great financiers of the country. It was not long after his first connection with the Merchant's Exchange National that he was also made a director of the Atlantic National Bank, of New York. He has been a director of the American Banknote Company, of New York, for forty-five years, and is the last surviving corporator of the Washington Trust Company of that city. For many years he was actively interested in other enterprises and was a valued adviser, to which he added a sane appraisal of a critical situation, and he possessed a fear- less courage in going forward along any line which he approved. Although this multiplicity of interests in New York de- manded much of his time, he was during all of his business career closely identi- fied with his manufacturing interests in this State, upon which he still keeps an over-sight. One of his most cherished mementoes of his active business life was presented to him upon his completion, in 1919, of forty years service as a member of the board of directors of the Atlantic National Bank. It was the finest ex- ample of the watchmaker's art which could be obtained, and was presented by his associates as a token of their esteem, accompanied by the following resolutions :

At the completion of forty years of service in the management of the bank by our Chairman, Phineas C. Lounsbury, having in mind the many benefits which have accrued to this institution through his long and faithful services, and the success that has attended his watchful care of the interests of the stockholders, during the vicissi- tudes of more than a generation,

Be it Resolved, That Kimball C. Atwood, Da- vid L. Luke and Lorenzo Benedict be, and here- by are appointed a committee authorized to pre- sent to Governor Lounsbury, on behalf of the bank, a token suitably inscribed to show its ap- preciation of his valuable services, with the con- gratulations of the board on his achievements, and the hope that he may long continue to par- ticipate in the active management of the bank.

But to the people of Connecticut Ex- Governor Lounsbury's political career holds a deeper significance than his long and honorable career in the business world. He exercised the franchise at the first election after he reached his major- ity, casting his first vote in 1862. Then, as now, he supported the Republican party. He was one of the first to enlist at the breaking out of hostilities between the North and South, and served as a private in the Seventeenth Connecticut Volunteers. He was honorably dis- charged after several months on account of serious illness. Later he was recom- mended for a pension. While he deeply appreciated this recognition of his serv- ices, he declined the emolument since he had no need of it.

During the period following the war, he labored with unflagging zeal in the re- construction of the old order, which was as real and vital a problem in the North as it was in the South. His party was not slow to recognize in the young man the possibilities of leadership. In 1874 the Republicans of the town of Ridge- field elected him to represent the town in the State House of Representatives. The temperance question was one of the live issues of the campaign, and it was largely his attitude in regard to it that won him success. In this broader field the tal- ents which had been recognized in the home environment were at once acclaimed by the assembled Republicans, and they placed in his hands the more weighty and important issues which held their inter- est. In short he speedily became a leader. His business experience, together with the sane and practical way in which he ap- plied it to the proceedings of a commit- tee or the handling of a debate, contrib- uted largely to the success of the meas- ures for which he labored. He was a

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY

member of the committee which framed the rigid local option laws of the State.

As an orator Ex-Governor Lounsbury has made a lasting impression on the peo- ple of the State, as well as on his col- leagues at the Capitol. During the pres- idential campaign of 1884 he addressed great gatherings in the interests of James G. Blaine. His eloquence evoked the most laudatory comment on the occasion of the dedication at Woodstock, in 1886, of the monument to the Sons of Connec- ticut who lost their lives on the field of Gettysburg. The personal magnetism which has been a part of his success in the political field made him readily sug- gestable for the highest office in the gift of the State. In 1882 his name was en- thusiastically mentioned for Governor, but for party reasons it was withdrawn and the nomination was given to the Hon. William H. Bulkeley, brother of Ex-Gov- ernor Morgan G. Bulkeley. In 1884 many friends again desired Mr. Lounsbury's nomination, but it was finally given to Mr. Harrison. In 1886 the sentiment was overwhelming for Mr. Lounsbury, who had worked loyally for the success of the previous candidates. At the convention in Hartford in 1886 he was unanimously nominated for Governor on the first bal- lot. His popularity with the people was substantially demonstrated at the polls, and on January 6, 1887, Phineas Chap- man Lounsbury was inaugurated Gover- nor of the State of Connecticut. During the two years which his term of office covered, he fulfilled the most confident prophesies of his friends and administered wisely the trust placed in his hands by the people of the State. A law which has been called one of the most important of his administration is the "Incorrigible Criminals Act." This law provides for the detention for a long period of any criminal convicted twice of any offense

for which the penalty is not less than two years. The justification of the severity of such measures is that primarily the state prison is for the protection of so- ciety. The Ex-Governor's own argument for the bill was that as a mad dog or a tiger must be confined for the safety of the public, so the man who has shown himself to be devoid of honor must be imprisoned permanently, not allowed to prey upon the community. The vote upon this Act was unanimous. His entire ad- ministration was marked by a frank and consistent deference to the highest stand- ards of right and a never failing consid- eration of the welfare of the people. The rare tribute of praise from an opponent was paid him by the "Hartford Times," the leading Democratic paper of the State, at the close of his term of office, as fol- lows :

Governor Lounsbury retires from the executive office to-morrow, with a record alike creditable to him as a man and as an official. While our political preference did not favor his election to the chief magistracy of the state, and while we had, in the outset, some doubts as to the probable methods of his official course, we may frankly say at this time that we are satisfied that he has been one of the best governors Connecticut has ever had. We have found in Governor Lounsbury a gentleman of sterling integrity, of unfailing cour- tesy, gifted with excellent business tact, and in- clined to administer the affairs of the state on business principles and with a view to economy and efficiency in every matter requiring his offi- cial consideration and action. Governor Louns- bury unquestionably retires from office with the respect and hearty good feeling of every one, ir- respective of party, with whom he has been brought into official or personal relations.

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Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8, Part 1

Author: Publication date: 1923 Publisher: American Historical Society Number of Pages: 802

Author:
Publication date: 1923
Publisher: American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 802