Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 113

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

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In 1882 he was admitted to the Bar. In 1886 and again in 1888 he was elected Judge of the Court of Probate for the District of Greenwich. His term of office expiring in 1890, he resumed the active practice of his profession. The result of the vote of the electors of Connecticut in the Presidential election of 1892 was transmitted to the Vice-President by the hand of Judge McNall. In 1893 he was appointed by the General Assem- bly, Deputy Judge of the Borough Court of Greenwich, and upon the decease of Judge H. W. R. Hoyt, in April. 1894, succeeded to the position of Judge, ably filling the unexpired term. In November, 1898, he was again elected Judge of Probate, being the only Democratic candidate elected in the State. His term of office will expire January 1, 1901.

law. He rarely takes an active part in litigated cases, and never cares to make himself promi- nent as a public debater; but when circumstances require it, he wields a ready tongue. and his sharp repartee and mirthful wit make him a for- midable antagonist. At party caucuses and town meetings he is usually moderator, and on such occasions he presides with dignity and fairness. often controlling unruly crowds by the magnet- ism of his voice and his telling gestures.

Since the organization of the Greenwich Water Company, in 1880, he has been its ser- retary, and for the past ten years he has been the attorney for the borough of Greenwich.

As a member of the Masonic Fraternity, Judge McNall has been prominent for several years, and as an officer of the Grand Lodge has fre- quently acted on important judicial committees. He is past master of Acacia Lodge, of Green- wich, and is a member of Rittenhouse Chapter, R. A. M., and of Washington Council, of Royal and Select Masons of Stamford. He belongs to Palestine Commandery, Knights Templar, of New York City, and also to Mecca Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is a thirty-second-degree Mason, being a member of Lafayette Consistory, A. and A. Scottish Rite. Bridgeport. In Janu- ary, 1899, he was elected grand master of the State, and is now occupying that position.

For many years Judge McNall has been a member of Christ Church (Episcopal), and at the annual parish meeting in 1898 was chosen its honorary counsel.

Judge McNall has acquired by careful study a comprehensive and finished education. He has devoted much time to history, and the different religions of the various races. He is not only a frequent book-buyer, but constant reader, and in discussion of a subject readily refers from memory to the authorities.

Judge McNall was married to Mrs. Emma Frances Montells on the 24th of April, 1899.

A ARON ROWLAND SMITH. Few men in Shelton have done as much for the devel- opment and improvement of that thriving bor- ough as has the subject of this sketch. To name the enterprises with which he is and has been in- terested, either as promoter or manager, would be to give a list of all the important movements in that locality, and he has gained more than local reputation as a man of sound practical judgment combined with executive ability of a high order.

Judge McNall's early experience as town clerk and Judge of Probate has made him famil- iar with local land titles, also the settlement of estates, and has aided him in building up a large Mr. Smith's family is of English origin, his and lucrative practice in real-estate and probate i ancestors coming to America at an early period

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and settling in New Jersey prior to the Revolu- I cation. On leaving school he entered the tionary war. Several members of the family i employ of Redfield & Rice, silver manufacturers, took part in that struggle on the side of this , of New York City, and in 1873 he came to Shel- country, and in every generation a patriotic spirit | ton to take charge of the silver-plating depart- has been shown. Capt. Benjamin Smith, our subject's grandfather, who won his title by gal- 1 1 lant service in the war of 1812. was a farmer in Essex county, N. J., and died there, in 1873, at the advanced age of ninety-five years.

I ment in the new plant of the Derby Silver Company, successors to Redfield & Rice. He held the position until 1880, and has since con- I tinued with the company as director, taking an active part at times in the management of the plant. From 1880 to 1885 he was engaged in a retail business in gents' furnishing goods in Derby. and later he became general manager of the Naugatuck Valley Steamboat Company,

William Allen Smith, the father of our sub- ject, was born in Essex county, N. J., and be- came a successful agriculturist, owning a fine farm near Elizabethport. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian, and in politics he was for . which ran a daily line of steamboats between

many years a Democrat, but the issues which re- 1 New York and Shelton, and he did much to sulted in the Civil war led him to become an ardent | establish efficient means of transportation be- 1

supporter of the Republican party. He married tween those two places. With this company he remained until 1889, and in the meantime he helped to incorporate the Derby & An- sonia Electric Railroad Co., in which he 1 became a director. Their road was the | first electric line in Connecticut, and the I first in any of the New England States, also 1 the sixth in the United States, and it was the first in the world to be used for carrying freight. Miss Phoebe Hand, who was born and reared upon a farm adjoining that of his father. She was a daughter of Ira and Rhoda Hand. and her ancestors removed from Long Island to New Jersey at an early date. This worthy couple had eleven chil- dren: (1) Eveline, who died in childhood; (2) Eli- jah, who served in the Union army throughout the Civil war, and died in Newark, N. J., in 1890 1 {he became first lieutenant); (3) Edwin, a veteran ; that having been the main purpose of its con-

of the Civil war, who resides in Newark, N. J., and was for some time engaged in the business of electro-silver plating; (4) Ira, also a veteran of the Civil war, now residing in Newark, N. J .; (5) Benjamin, also a resident of Newark, who also served in the Union army: (6) Irene, who married William Earl, a veteran of the Civil war, formerly of Newark, N. J., and now of Hartford, Conn .; (7) Myron. who died during the period of the Civil war; (S) Aaron Rowland, our subject; (9) Moses, who died in infancy (a twin of our subject); (10) Angeline, wife of Walter Kelly, of Newark, N. J. : and (11) Eve- line, who died in infancy. The father of this family died in Union county, New Jersey, in 1858: the mother passed away in 1878 at New- ark, New Jersey. All four of the sons, that were old enough at the time the Civil war broke out, went into the Union army from New Jersey, as privates, at the first call for volunteers, and served throughout the entire four years of the war: and when mustered out of the service at the close of the war each one had become a commissioned officer in the army, as follows: Elijah, first lieutenant; Edwin, first lieutenant; Ira, captain; and Benjamin, second lieutenant. All the sons of the family have always been stanch Republicans.

Our subject was born May 7, 1852, at Eliza- bethport, N. J., whence during boyhood he removed to Newark, where he received his edu-

struction. In 1884 Mr. Smith assisted in the organization of the South End Land Company. | of Shelton, in which he served for ten years as I secretary, treasurer and general manager. He has been from the first, and is still, a director in the company. He, with two others, purchased a tract of wild land, then outside the limits of the village, and beautifully located upon a height overlooking Shelton, Derby and Ansonia, and which is now the most beautiful residental por- tion of the borough of Shelton, and is called "South End;" by that name it has been sur- veyed and located upon the new map made very recently by the State of Connecticut. They laid out streets, put in electric lights and water works, built many handsome residences, and constructed an electric railway connecting it with the older set- tlement, making it a most attractive suburb. Dur- ing the fifteen years of its existence the company has had built upon their property an average of over eight houses each year, making a total of over one hundred and twenty-five beautiful resi- dences up to the present time (May, 1899), and therefore making a community of over five hun- dred people residing in South End. At the present time the Electric railroad is being ex- tended from South End direct to Bridgeport, which will allow the residents of Shelton and vicinity to go direct to Bridgeport, and all along the eastern side of Long Island Sound to the many beautiful summer resorts.

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Mr. Smith has been prominent in the manage- ment of the Shelton Electric railroad, the Derby Electric railroad; the Shelton Savings Bank, in which he has been a director from the beginning; and the Board of Trade of Derby, Birmingham and Shelton, which he helped to found and in which he still serves as a director. He deals extensively in real estate, and for a time was a director in the Shelton Building & Loan Associa- tion. In politics he is a strong Republican, but he does not take an active share in partisan work. He has a beautiful residence commanding a charming view of both the Naugatuck and Housatonic valleys, with both rivers in plain sight, and he and his wife are leaders in the best social circles of the locality. On January 9, 1879, he married Miss Fannie H. Seaver, only child of Charles L. and Harriet P. Seaver, prominent residents of Warsaw, N. Y. Four children have blessed this union: Leolyn S .; Harriet, who died in infancy; Charles S .; and Valina, who died in infancy.

John Parsons, and died in Stanwich; Luke, born September 8, 1801, died in New York (he was a cabinet maker); Lot, born September 21, 1803, died in Winsted, Conn. (he married and had four children); Uriah, born September 18, 1805, was the grandfather of Elbert Lockwood. The fa- ther of these children died February 18, 1808, the mother surviving until May, 1857.

Henry Smith Lockwood, the eldest son of Uriah Lockwood, was born April 30, 1828, at Riverside, Greenwich township, Fairfield county, Conn. He received his education in the primi- tive district schools of the day, attending first at Sound Beach and later at Mianus, becoming a pu- pil at the school of the latter place the first day it was opened; Mr. Mead was the first teacher there. Fortunately he learned readily: but even so his schooling was limited, for from the early age of eight years he found more opportunity for work than for lessons. His father being a farmer. he was required to assist in whatever way he could with the work about the home place, and was i also employed from boyhood in his father's boats. He continued his studies when he could | during the winter, and for parts of two winters he attended the Greenwich Academy, when Phil- only eleven years of age he was engaged during the summer as cook on the " Griffen Tompkins," a market boat running between Mianus and New York, in which his father owned a half-interest with Sylvester Newman. Some years later the father sold out his interest in that boat, and built at Nyack the vessel " Adaline," of which he was sole owner. This he also sold, and had | another built at Nyack, the sloop " Empire," which was launched in 1845, but she was never in | the market trade while in Mr. Lockwood's pos- session. The next boat he owned was the " James K. Polk," which he ran as a freighter on the Hudson and elsewhere for three years. when he sold her and bought the sloop " General Ward." running her as a "transient boat." part of the time on the Hudson. After that he hired his boat to others.

E ALBERT F. LOCKWOOD is well known in Fairfield county, Conn., and in all the | district, it might be said. along Long Island i ander Button taught that institution; but when Sound, where for years he has carried on a busi- ness in which several generations of his ances- tors engaged. He has the largest oyster busi- ness on the Sound between Port Chester and South Norwalk, owning twelve hundred acres of oyster beds, and is one of the most successful men operating this branch of industry.

The Lockwood family of Fairfield county, Conn., are descended from Robert Lockwood, who came to America from England in 1630, when he settled in Watertown, Mass. In 1646 he came to Fairfield county, where he passed the remainder of his days, dying in 1658. Our sub- ject is of the eighth generation, tracing his line- age from Robert (1), through Jonathan (2), still John (3), Jonathan (4), Frederick (5). Uriah (6), and Henry S. (7). Frederick Lockwood mar- ried Deborah Reynolds, and they reared a large family, of which we give a brief record: Sey- Henry Lockwood worked for a time in the "Empire," and, with the exception of one trip to Albany on the " James K. Polk," that was mour, born January 14, 1786. moved to western New York; Frederick, Jr., born February 3, 1788, died in Greenwich: Fanny, born April 13, I the last boating he did for his father. When 1790, died unmarried; Ezekiel, born June 5, 1793, became a ship carpenter. working first in Brooklyn and later moving to Cincinnati, Ohio

nineteen he took up farming at home on a small scale, and in 1848 helped drive the piles for the Terminus railroad bridge at Cos Cob, also work- (he passed his last years in retirement): Deborah, | ing on the bridge itself. He was twenty-one years of age when he embarked in the oyster business on his own account, at first hiring a

born July 31, 1795, married Charles Lockwood, and died in Riverside; Alfred, born August 14, 1797, died at Riverside (he married a Miss Whit- | vessel, and later becoming the owner of the ing); Sally, born September 19, 1799, married | " American." the " Flora Temple." the " Sarah

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E. Lockwood" (which he had built at Glen- wood, L. I.), and the "Mina A." owning the two last named at the same time. He used all three boats in his oyster business, in which he continued until his sons, Nelson U. and Elbert F., who had been in partnership with him for years, bought him out, and he has since led a retired life, making his home in Cos Cob. Mr. Lockwood is best known along the Sound as " Captain " Lockwood, and he has an extensive acquaintance throughout his locality. His suc- cess has been well merited, for although he has acquired abundant means, he has never resorted to underhanded dealings or done business on any but a solid basis, and his reputation for integrity and honesty among all who have had dealings with him is unblemished.

On December 22, 1850, Mr. Lockwood was married to Miss Sarah E. White, a native of New York City, born February 10, 1828, daugh- ter of Jacob and Phoebe (Reynolds) White, who had four children: Sarah E .. Emily A., Abel R. and Jane A. Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood located at Riverside after their marriage, afterward re- moving to Sound Beach, where they resided seven years, and finally. in 1863, coming to their present home in Cos Cob. They have had three sons: Nelson U. and Elbert F., who are engaged in the oyster business, and William H., born October 25, 1855, who lives in Brooklyn, N. Y. Mrs. Lockwood is a member of the Methodist Church. The Captain is a Democrat in political faith. He is well preserved and hearty at "three-score years and ten," has an especially good memory. and is in full posses- sion of all his faculties except his eyesight, which is not as good as he might wish.

Elbert F. Lockwood was born October 16, 1853, at Riverside, and commenced to attend school at Sound Beach, where, as above stated, the family lived for some years. He attended other district schools in his early boyhood, and finally entered Greenwich Academy, where he Mr. Riker has passed nealy all of his life in Stamford, having when an infant been taken 1 there by his parents, from New York City, where he was born March 7. 1851. His father, Gilbert K. Riker, was a native of Rhinebeck, N. Y., I where his parents, who were natives of Holland, had settled at an early date. There he was reared and educated, and thence, at the age of sixteen years, he went to New York, where he I began a business career both eventful and suc- cessful. He commenced as a clerk with the | moderate salary of two dollars per week, and j by the exercise of his natural industry and en- ergy, coupled with perseverance and keen fore- studied under Prof. Shepherd. He acquired a | good practical education, and during the vaca- tions and intervals between terms went on the water with his father. After leaving school he commenced work as clerk in a grocery store at East Norwalk, but he did not continue long in that business, preferring to work for his father. He and his brother at length bought out the lat- ter, and continued the business in partnership until 1885, when Nelson sold his interest, El- bert F. becoming sole owner, and he has been alone ever since. His trade is one of the most extensive along the Sound, and he engages from six to twelve men to go over his large grounds, I sight in business matters, he rose steadily in the

this number being able, with the improved ma- chinery at their command, to accomplish an amount of work which once required many more hands. He owns the steamer " H. S. Lock- wood," which he employs in his operations. Mr. Lockwood has been a prominent member of the State Oyster Growers Association ever since its organization, and he is one of the best known men in this section of the country in this connection. He has carried on business along the lines established by his father, and maintains the reputation he built up for straightforward dealing and reliable methods. As a citizen he is considered as one of the most substantial and respected men in the town, and he has many friends who esteem him highly for his genuine worth and many sterling qualities, and admire him as a worthy type of the selfmade successful man. Mr. Lockwood is a popular member of the Riverside Yacht Club, and in connection with that organization has for several years served as ** measurer."

On June 8, 1892, Mr. Lockwood wedded Miss Emma E. Peck, who was born in Cos Cob, February 12, 1859, a daughter of George A. and Ann Eliza (Valentine) Peck. They have a very pleasant home in Cos Cob, which Mr. Lockwood purchased from Benjamin V. Smith. Mrs. Lockwood in religious faith is an Episcopalian. Our subject is a Democrat in politics, but takes only a voting interest, his time being too fully occupied with his business cares.

H ENRY V. RIKER has, in his connection with the Citizens Savings Bank of Stam- ford, become widely known throughout Fairfield county and this section of Connecticut as a ca- pable business man, honorable and reliable in all his transactions, and it is safe to say that no | man holds a higher place in the esteem of his | friends and fellow citizens generally.

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business world until, at the age of thirty-two, | land cemetery. In 1893, when Stamford became a city, he was elected to the responsible office of treasurer of the corporation, and has been re- elected continually to the present time, a com- pliment which he has well deserved. Entering on the duties of the office with a ripe business experience, he has discharged them with the good judgment in financial matters for which he is justly noted, and has been as faithful and con- scientious in his public duties as he is in his per- sonal affairs. he found himself the largest manufacturer of window shades in New York City, with a fortune estimated at a quarter of a million dollars. With the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion, however, his interests began to suffer, and by the time the struggle closed he had lost the greater part of his wealth, and, consequently decided to abandon his old line of business. He opened a factory for the manufacture of coffee mills, and also carried on a feed business, mak- ing a success of these enterprises, as he did of In 1879 Mr. Riker was married, in Stamford, to Emma Waite Beals, who is a lineal descend- 1 everything he took on hand. Mr. Riker was also very active in political circles, though he I ant of John Alden, of New England historical never held office, and was a warm sympathizer of | fame, and two children have blessed their union: the Union cause, toward which he was a liberal Henry Alden and Ralph Gilbert. contributor. He married in Stamford Feb. 1, 1846, Martha M. Weed, a native of North Salem, Westchester Co., N. Y., who survives him, and in 1851 they took up their residence in Stamford, where Mr. Riker died at the age of forty-five years. He was the oldest commuter on the New Haven road. Mr. and Mrs. Riker became the parents of five children, namely: Thaddeus Weed (who is deceased); Henry V., Gilbert K .. and Edward W. (all of whom make their home in Stamford); and Martha M. Weed (living in New York City).

H ORACE LYON. The picturesque region around Bridgeport affords many beautiful building sites, but none more attractive than that occupied by the tasteful residence of this well-known citizen. It is located on Stratfield avenue, in the thriving suburb of the same name, on a valuable farm, which, with the old Lyon homestead, has come to our subject by inherit- ance, as he is now the only representative of his branch of the family.

Henry V. Riker received a good education in the public and private schools of Stamford, where Mr. Lyon is a native of Fairfield Woods Dis- I and his family has long been prominent in that locality, his great-grandfather Lyon having set- | tled there shortly after emigrating from England. In his native land he had been pressed into the army, but he escaped through a window and took ship to America. Webb Lyon, of Easton township, was one of his sons. Stephen Lyon, the grandfather of our subject, was a mason by trade and resided in Fairfield township. He married Abigail Brothwell, and of the children I born to them we have mention of Samuel, Da- his early years were spent. At the age of seven- | trict, town of Fairfield, born February 21, 1828, teen he went to New York City to acquire the experience necessary for practical business life, beginning as runner boy for a Wall street broker at five dollars a week. Two years later he be- came cashier for the firm of Smith, Gould, Mar- tin & Co .. continuing with them for three years, when his health gave way and he was obliged to return home for a year's rest and recuperation. For the year following he held a position in the First National Bank of New Canaan, Conn., after which he returned to his old employers, Smith, Gould, Martin & Co., in New York City. I vid, William, Nathaniel, Eunice, John and An- Six months later he again broke down in health, son. Anson Lyon, father of Horace Lyon, was and again returned to his home in Stamford, i born February 7, 1795, and passed his boyhood where he has ever since been situated.

In May. i in Fairfield. He was engaged in boot and shoe 1874, he entered the First National Bank of | making, and, as the business was not in his day Stamford as bookkeeper, and remained in that i subject to competition with the factory trade in I of this world's wealth. He was a man of strict integrity, and although he had few opportunities in his youth stood well in the community, his excellent qualities of character winning him the · respect of his associates. While he was never an office-seeker, he took much interest in the institution until in February, 1883, when he be- ! that line, he managed to acquire a goodly share came the treasurer of the Citizens Savings Bank, in which capacity he has ever since served. This simple statement of facts is sufficient proof of Mr. Riker's trustworthiness and fitness for the position, but his business associates have given further evidence of their confidence in his meth- ods and principles by making him a director of ; questions of his day, first as a Whig and later as the bank and director and treasurer of the Wood- I a Republican. In appearance he was short and

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stout, and he possessed a good constitution, liv- ing to the advanced age of eighty-three. On August 21. 1818, he married Eleanor Nichols. who was born December 12. 1800, daughter of Peter Nichols, of Easton, this county; she was a most estimable woman and a devout member of the Baptist Church. She died March 25, 1861, at the age of sixty, and the remains of both her and Mr. Lyon now rest in Mountain Grove ceme- tery. Our subject was the youngest of a family of four children. Bradley N., a bachelor (now deceased), was in the shoe business with his fa- ther, and left a fine property; Miss Marietta died some years ago at the home of our subject; and Harriet, who married Daniel Morehouse, died in Dutchess county, New York

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 113

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