Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 103

Author: H. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1899
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1795

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William Samuel Johnson's son, Judge Samuel |lege presidents besides the two Johnson presi- dents of Columbia College, and Jonathan Ed- wards of Princeton, were Rev. Aaron Burr, Woolsey and Dwight of Yale, and Gilman of the Johns Hopkins University, who married Miss Woolsey, of New Haven, a sister of "Susan Coolidge," and niece of the late William Samuel Johnson, of Stratford. The New York connec- tions of the Johnsons include the Van Rens- I selaers, Verplancks and Lawrences and Ex- Governor Hoadley.

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dren of Archdeacon Johnson are Philip Johnson, M. D., the Rev. James Le Baron Johnson, of New York City, and Anne Charity Johnson. The Rev. James Le Baron Johnson married. April 26, 1899, Mabel Van Rensselaer, daughter of the late Alexander Van Rensselaer, of New York City, and sister of Mrs. Edmund L. Baylies.

The Johnson homestead at Stratford, although of ample size, is severely plain in exterior, but its interior is singularly dignified and impressive throughout. The antique hall, hung with stags' horns, opens on one side into a drawing-room terminating in a Colonial apse, and filled with rare old family furniture, several pieces of it im- ported from France in the seventeenth century. The library, the most impressive room of the manse, with its doorway surmounted by ancient replicas of the Johnson, Pierrepont and Edwards coats of arms, numbers ten thousand volumes, the entire collection of books handed down from the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson, the first president of Columbia College, and his illustrious son, the Hon. William Samuel Johnson, who rendered important services preparatory to the framing of the Constitution of the United States. The later generations of the Stratford Johnsons through maternal lineage come down in direct line from Thomas Hooker, the founder of the con- stitution of Connecticut, after which that of the United States was modeled.

The dining room, at the right of the library of Johnson Homestead, contains one of the choicest and most extensive collections of old family portraits to be found in any house in the State of Connecticut; rising tier upon tier, they include a portrait of Jonathan Edwards, painted by Vandyke, and one of Samuel Johnson the lexicographer, done after the style of Sir Joshua Reynolds. As evinced by their ancestral portraits and by the personality of a number of living representations of the family, the Strat- ford Johnsons are a remarkably handsome clan.

The present head of the family, William Samuel Johnson, the son of the late Gen. Samuel William Johnson, and nephew of the late Will- iam Samuel Johnson. of Stratford, and who is to inherit Johnson Homestead, lives at Mamaroneck, N. Y., the homestead being occupied as a summer residence by his aunt, Mrs. S. E. Johnson Hud- son, the widow of William Hudson, of New York, a member of a highly connected English family in whose honor Hudson Bay was named. Born in New York City, distingue in personal appearance, and named after her grandmother, Mrs. Samuel William Johnson (nce Pierrepont), who was popularly known as " Lady Johnson," Mrs. S. E. Johnson Hudson fulfills one's ideal of

a grande dame. She has spent much time abroad, is an accomplished linguist, and the regent for the State of Connecticut of the Ladies' National Mount Vernon Association, secretary of the same, a Colonial Dame of the State of New York, a prominent member of the Ladies' New York Club, and was one of the founders of the Daughters of the Cincinnati. [Contributed by Rev. C. W. de Lyon Nichols. ]

L EWIS RAYMOND, for many years a prom- inent and successful real-estate operator in Norwalk and South Norwalk, with residence at the family homestead in Wilton, Fairfield county, was born July 21, 1807, in Wilton, Conn. After leaving school he was engaged in teaching, and was a successful teacher for several terms in his native town.

On March 12, 1834, Mr. Raymond married Miss Catherine Meeker, who was born December 9, 1811, a daughter of Hill and Charity (Sher- wood) Meeker, of Greenfield Hill, Fairfield county. The children of this marriage were as follows: Hannah M. died young; Charles is also deceased: Lewis H. is still on the homestead; Hannah is now the widow of Charles A. Ambler, and Elizabeth is the youngest. The parents always attended the Congregational Church, and were liberal contributors to that organization. In politics Mr. Raymond was first a strong Whig, later an equally ardent Republican, but was no aspirant for official honors. He passed from earth November 20, 1881. In a large measure he was a self-made man, and by sound sense and good business judgment accumulated considerable property. He always took a keen interest in the home farm, Jesse B., his brother, conducting it, however.

Platt Raymond, father of Lewis, was born December 3. 1774, at the old family home at Norwalk, Conn., which stood in what is now known as Raymond street. In the town of Nor- walk he followed agricultural pursuits all his life, in 1802 leading, and in 1803 buying his father's farm, in Wilton, known as Buckingham Ridge, the same that afterward by inheritance came into the possession of his four children, Jesse B., Alfred, Mehitable and Lewis -spoken of farther on. Platt Raymond married Hannah S. Benedict, who was born in January, 1779, and the names and dates of birth of their children are as fol- lows: Jesse B., April 17, 1799, died August 8, 1872; Alfred. January 27, 1802, died October 20, 1828; Mehitabel, October 25. 1804, died March 29, 1888; and Lewis (subject proper of

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this sketch), July 21, 1807. died November 20, 1881. Of these, Lewis was the only one to marry. Platt Raymond and his wife were con- sistent members of the Congregational Church at Wilton, and there are still standing, in rear of the parsonage, trees planted there with his own hands.

Josiah Raymond, father of Platt, and grand- father of Lewis Raymond, was born in 1737 in Norwalk, Conn. On November 5, 1765, he married Polly Merwine, by whom he had a numerous family, Platt being the eighth child. Josiah was a lifelong farmer in the town of Nor- walk, and was the owner of slaves, the marriage settlement of his wife, Polly (Merwine), being "fifteen slaves ". During the Revolutionary war he served as a soldier in Captain Gregory's company Connecticut Militia, and was honorably discharged at the close of his term of his enlist- ment, but again joined the corps.

R EV. WELLESLEY WELLINGTON BOW- DISH, D. D. "All lives that are in the best sense worth living are so by virtue of being true to their own polarity. There is undoubtedly a certain line of life, a certain definite. however dimly defined, path predestined for each, and that achievement which we are accustomed to call suc- cess is simply the result of the vision that sees and the energy that follows the hidden but divine lead- ing." So writes one of the most thoughtful litterateurs of our time, voicing a truth for the multitude which the world's greatest workers long ago perceived for themselves. In the his- tory of the honored pastor of Danbury Method- ist Episcopal Church we find revealed this dominating faith in the ideal, this zealous obedience, and note that it. is not the accustomed forms of usefulness that have been most widely effective, but rather those in which he has sought by new methods to meet the ever-changing needs of his work.

It is natural that we should desire some knowledge of the personality of those who gain our esteem, and the following brief account of the Doctor's life will serve to introduce the better-known record of his career as a minister. To begin with, he has an excellent heredity. being a descendant of the famous old New England navigator, Nathaniel Bowditch, as the name was originally spelled. A genealogy compiled by a member of the Boston branch of the family reveals many of the race who have won distinc- tion in various walks of life, notably in the min- istry. The Doctor's father, Rev. William S.

Bowdish, was an honored member of the Black River Conference, of which he was secretary for some time. His ability caused him to be ap- pointed to the most important Churches in the Conference, and for years he served as presiding elder. His mother was the daughter of Samuel W. Stanton, who was a cousin of the late Secre- tary of War Stanton. Of their family, six sons and two daughters grew to maturity, and five of the sons became ministers in the Methodist Epis- copal Church. But two are now living besides our subject: Rev. Arvine Clarke Bowdish, D. D., pastor of the Church at City Island, New York City, and Rev. Edward Somerville Bowdish, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dr. W. W. Bowdish was born at Fulton, Oswego Co., N. Y., his father being pastor of the Church there at that time. His education was begun in a public school, but later he at- tended the seminaries at Cooperstown, Fort Plain, and Cazenovia, N. Y., and then securing a State certificate from the authorities at Albany he began to teach in order to obtain the funds necessary for a course in the Wesleyan Univer- sity, at Middletown, Conn. While a student at that institution he joined the New York East Conference. He preached considerably while in college, regularly taking charge of a congrega- tion and overseeing the work of building a new church in Kensington, Conn., the cornerstone of which bears the date 1865, the year of his grad- uation. His Alma Mater bestowed upon him the degrees, of A. B. and A. M., and in 1882 he re- ceived that of D. D. from the Iowa Wesleyan University. Bishop Edmund S. James ordained him as a deacon and elder, and October 21, 186S, at New Haven, Conn., he pronounced the words which united our subject in the bonds of matrimony with Miss Jennie Elizabeth Camppell, of Quebec, Canada. One child was born to this marriage, Jennie (Camppell) Bowdish, who was a student in the American Conservatory of Music, in New York City, till the close of the college year in May, 1898. She was married October 26. 1899, in the Embury Memorial Methodist Church. to Charles R. Gay, manager of the New York office of the Manufacturers Fire Insur- ance Company. An adopted daughter is married to William H. Ziegler, of the firm of Barbour & Ziegler, wholesale coal merchants in New York.

Ministerial work has not circumscribed his sympathies, and Dr. Bowdish takes keen inter- est in all phases of life. As a citizen he upholds strongly the principles of the Republican party, and he belongs to various fraternal societies: The 1. O. O. F., Noseehogan Lodge, at Water- bury, Conn .; the Masonic Veterans of Brooklyn,

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Filledey Wellington Bowdich

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N. Y .; the F. & A. M., St. John's Lodge, No. 2, Middletown, Conn., and the K. T., Washington Commandery, No. 1, at Hartford, from which he took a dimit to Clinton Commandery, Brook- lyn, N. Y .. ex-Governor Seymour having been the one to dub him Sir Knight.

The list of pastorates filled by Dr. Bowdish constitutes in itself an honorable record of work done. Early in his career he had charge of three churches in the Borough of Brooklyn, N. Y., the Warren Street, Carroll Park, and First Place Church, and in the last named he served for two full pastorates. He then went to Wash- ington Park Methodist Episcopal Church, Bridge- port, Conn., and later to First Church, Water- bury, where the growth of the congregation was so sufficiently increased that he was urged to build a second church, now known as St. Paul's. In the Borough of Manhattan, in Greater New York City, he was pastor of Trinity. Cornell Memorial, and the old John Street Churches, and then, returning to Brooklyn, he took charge of Embury Memorial, Decatur Street, and Lewis Avenue Church. At the latter church there was built during the Doctor's stay a new edifice, which is one of the finest in that celebrated "City of Churches." From this charge he came in 1896, to the Danbury church, the largest Protestant church now in Connecticut, where his labors have borne fruit in awakened zeal and in- terest. Plain and practical, popular as a teacher of spiritual truth, his sermons yet show the ten- derness and sympathy of the ideal pastor who has learned the needs of his people in their own homes. Rich and poor find in him a genuine friend, and this quality more than any other has made his intellectual gifts effective. Revivals have usually continued throughout his pastorates with undiminished interest, multitudes of souls having been won to a better life. In fact, it is in the strictly religious lines of work that he has always been the most aggressive, although he has been eminently successful as a manager of the material interests of the Churches which he has served, building new edifices, and raising the debts on old ones, and caring for the varied benevolent enterprises as well as for current ex- penses. To quote the words of one who knew him well: "He is a genial gentleman, and a 'true friend. The more men of this all-round fidelity we have in the ministry the sooner will this sin-cursed world be won back to the Father."

As an instance of the originality and forceful character which have distinguished him we need only mention the inauguration of the inter-denom- inational services at John St. Church, Method-

ist Episcopal, in the Borough of Manhattan of Greater New York, which gained a national rep- utation and influence, and did much to aid the advance of practical catholicity of spirit among all Christians. The old church had lost much of its former usefulness through the removal of the residence portion of the city to up-town dis- tricts, and a serious problem confronted Dr. Bowdish when he began his work there. Old methods, such as he had followed successfully elsewhere, would not meet the peculiar needs of this historic Church, and he bravely launched into new lines, by which he developed and maintained a healthy, active Church life. The formerly-deplored encroachment of business blocks was turned to glorious advantage by the establishment of noonday prayer meetings for business men with results that none but the Re- cording Angel can know. Of the inter-denomi- national sermons, which were sustained through the three years of his pastorate, we will let the Doctor himself speak, copying from some re- marks made by him at the Inter-denominational Jubilee Service held at the old John St. Method- ist Episcopal Church, Monday afternoon, Feb- ruary 2, 1891. "I want to say that the first conception of these services ran along somewhat on the line of the Evangelical Alliance that calls us together once a year for prayer. One night after a very hard day's work I was unable to sleep, and was praying earnestly that God might show me something to do by which all business men might have the week of prayer in this part the city. It occurred to me that when I had been pastor of Churches up-town, the meetings were attended mostly by ladies. Why was it? It was because the men were down in this part of the city, and I said, ' if I can get one or two ministers of different denominations to come here and supply the pulpit, and lead in the services, we can have a week of prayer in lower New York.' But the topics and the leaders came up to my mind so quickly that I said, . I think we might have a month of Evangelistical services here,' and the name ' Inter-denominational ' be- ing suggested, I filled it up in that way. Do you know that when we went to these dear ministers and asked them if they would take part in the first services, there was not one person who was not able to say yes. And so, during the entire three years, these services have been going on. and I have had some of the dearest fellowships I have ever known among the ministers of the dif- ferent denominations in this and adjoining cities. I am glad that the trustees and the official board of this Church have seconded me in this effort. We are all glad that Old John St. Church with

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the memory of 125 years back of us, with prayer during all this time going up from the consecrat- ed spot, is here holding her place among the business men of this city, and is to-day employed in some of the noblest work of her history. I shall feel a little lonesome possibly when these services close. God bless the dear ministers and laymen who have shared in these services during the past three years. I thank you for the reso- lutions you have passed. I am very much obliged to you for this expression of your re- gard."

Notwithstanding his arduous duties as pastor. Dr. Bowdish has found, or made, time to pre- pare several books for the press, including two volumes entitled " Inter-Denominational Sermons Delivered in the Old John Street Methodist Episcopal Church of Manhattan, Greater New York City." The first, published in 1890, con- tained 243 pages, and the second, in 1891, was still larger, 325 pages being required to preserve in this lasting form the inspiring words of those who helped in this memorable enterprise. It is the hope of all that this honored minister of the Lord Jesus Christ has many years of added use- fulness before him, and the State will be glad to preserve his name among the excellent pastors of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

ISAAC B. HALL is a leading agriculturist of the town of Sherman, and is held in high es- teem by his fellow citizens, who have more than once called upon him to fill the offices of respon- sibility and trust in the community.

Mr. Hall comes of excellent ancestry, and in the early days the family was identified with the town of Trumbull, this county, his grandfa- ther, Daniel Hall, having been there born and reared to the occupation of farming, which he followed throughout his life. He and his wife Jemima had six children: Alben; Lansing; Zal- mon, who married Miss Malinda Bennett: Ben- jamin; Tabitha. wife of Curtis Edwards, and Mabel, wife of Hall Beardsley.

Alben Hall, our subject's father, was born October 20, 1798, in the town of Trumbull, where he received his earlier education. During his boyhood he spent a year on a coasting vessel, and afterward was apprenticed to a cloth manu- facturer, with whom he learned the business of wool carding. He then established himself in that line of business, but after a short time he sold out, and for awhile was employed in teach- ing school. after which he engaged in general farming. In politics he was a stanch Demo-

crat, and he took much interest in local affairs, holding various minor offices. His first wife, Hulda (Taylor), lived only eleven weeks after their marriage. She was born August 1, 1802, the daughter of Hiram Taylor, of Hucklebury Hill, in the town of Brookfield, this county, and was one of ten children, all of whom became a credit to their parents. Mr. Hall formed a sec- ond matrimonial union, this time with Miss Lola Turner, daughter of Enoch and Sylvia (Webb) Turner, of New Haven, Conn. She was a lady of marked mental ability, and for twenty-five years previous to her marriage she taught school. Her disposition was unusually bright and cheer- ful, and she won the love of all who knew her. She was a devout member of the Methodist Church at Sherman. She died at the homestead at an extremely advanced age, her faculties be- | ing clear to the last, however. Her father, who was but a boy of fourteen when the Revolution- ary war broke out, served through that struggle; later he followed the mason's trade for some time, and his last years were spent in farming near Sherman. Alben and Lola Hall had two children, our subject being the younger. Phoebe A., born May 28, 1838, was educated in the town of Sherman, and for a few years previous to her death, which occurred when she was twenty-two years old, she was successfully engaged in teach- ing.

Isaac B. Hall was born August 22, 1839, in the town of Newtown, this county, where his education was begun in the common schools. Later he pursued his studies in a select school in Sherman under the instruction of C. B. Andrews, afterward governor of this State and now chief justice of the State Supreme Court. On leaving school Mr. Hall engaged in farming, which he has ever since followed in connection with butch- ering. He takes an active part in local affairs in the town of Sherman, being one of the leading Democrats of the locality, and he has held nu- merous offices, including those of assessor, mem- ber of the board of relief, and justice of the peace. and for many years he was a member of the school board. On November 9, 1869, he mar- ried Miss Abbie J. Wanzer, by whom he has had three children: Lottie P., born September 9. 1870; Emma L., born November 24, 1872, and Charles H., born December 9, 1875, and died July 25, 1876.

Mrs. Hall was born in the town of New Fairfield, this county, and was educated in the common schools. The Wanzer family dates back to Colonial times, having been first repre- sented in this country by four brothers, Isaac, Jacob, Abraham and Cheshire, who came from

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Hessen-Cassel, Germany, in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Abraham settled in Connecticut, and Isaac and Jacob on Long Isl- and; Cheshire's location is not known, all trace of him having been lost. Abraham Wanzer married Abigail Husted, a lady of English de- scent, and had two sons, Moses and Anthony. Moses married Elizapeth Knapp, who was also of English blood, and they had a numerous fam- ily of children, the names with dates of birth being as follows: Abraham, 12 mo., 16, 1748; Nicholas, 10 mo., 22, 1751; Gewiab, 12 mo., 5, 1753; Moses, 5 mo., 11, 1755; Ebenezer (1), 2 mo., 10, 1757, who died I mo., 16, 1758; Abi- gail. 9 mo., 6, 1758; Ebenezer (2), 6 mo., 3, 1760; Husted, 2 mo., 3, 1762; Elizabeth, 6 mo., 17, 1764; John, 7 mo., 13, 1766, and Anna, I mo., 9, 1771. Of these, John Wanzer, Mrs. Hall's grandfather, who was born in the town of New Fairfield, became a successful farmer of the same locality. He married Miss Grace Swords, daughter of Francis Dawson Swords, who is mentioned more fully below. The children of this union were Abraham, born 4 mo., 22, 1793; Isaac, 11 mo., 26, 1795; Jacob, 4 mo., 3, 1798; Ithamer, 9 mo., 13, 1800; Abigail, 9 mo.,. 5, 1802; Amittia, 8 mo., 1, 1805; Elizabeth, 8 mo., 26, 1807; John J., 12 mo., 13, 1809; Francis D. S., 6 mo., 2, 1812; Abbie J., 1 mo., 16, 1815, and Willis H., 8 mo., 20, 1818. Mrs. Hall's father, Francis D. S. Wanzer, was born and reared in the town of New Fairfield, where he was educated in the common schools, and later engaged in farming. In politics he was a Demo- crat, and he did much for the support of the party in his neighborhood, serving at times in town offices. He was a .. birth-right Quaker." On November 14, 1838, he married Lucia S. Osborn, and had nine children, whose names with dates of birth are here given: H. A., April 13, 1840; S. F., October 13, 1841; M. E .. Feb- ruary 22, 1843; A. J., August 5, 1844; R. D., November 21, 1846; F. P., June 10, 1850; T. G., December 17, 1852; G. T., September 18, 1854; C. E., October 22, 1856. All of this family are, at this writing, living, except Sarah F., who died February 22, 184 -. The father passed away February 17, 1875, the mother on May 24, 1882.

Lucia S. Osborn was born March 7, 1818, the daughter of Stephen Osborn, of New Milford. He was born November 4, 1781, and was mar- ried November 2, 1815, to Thalia Leach Dayton, a widow with one son, F. C. Dayton, born May 26, 1813. She was born September 1, 1791, and | former of whom was born March 24, 1783, and died April 12, 1860. Their children were Sarah | died October 19, 1820, from the result of an acci- M., born September 12, 1816; Lucia S., Mrs. j dent; the mother was born November 27, 1786,

Hall's mother; Charlotte E., born November 3, 1819, died March 4, 1821; C. H., born Septem- ber 10, 1821; Charles H., born July 26, 1823; Phobe C., born April 12, 1825, died July 12, 1826; M. A., born May 31, 1827, died May 5, 1898; and Susan P., born December 30, 1830, who is still living.

Francis Dawson Swords, Mrs. Hall's ances- tor, came from Canada about 1750, and located in Greenfield, Conn. He served in the French and Indian wars of his time. His education was unusually good for those days, and for some time he taught school. He always wore buckled shoes, which had been in fashion in his youth and early manhood, believing it to be beneath him to begin in later years "to fasten his shoes with strings." By his second wife, Amittia (Graves), of Boston, a lady of English parentage, he had the following children: Francis, born 7 mo., 17. 1763; Elizabeth, 9 mo., 16, 1766; Libbeus, I mo., 21, 1769; Lovia, 11 ino., 17, 1770; Hector, 3 mo., 5, 1772; and Grace, 9 mo., II, 1774. Of these, Francis died at Craler Ferry in July, 1778, and Hector at Calcutta in 1793.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 103

Author: H. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1899 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1795

Author: H. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1899
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1795