Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 12

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

USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut > Part 12

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Samuel Smith (of Norwalk) was one of the first or original proprietors of the town of Ridge- field, Conn. ; was married to Sarah~, June 13, 1717. Samuel Smith, their son, was born July 9. 1719. The mother died October 22, 1719, and June 21, 1722, the father married Elizabeth

Children: Rachel, born March 27,

1723, married - Northrop; Sarah, born March 24. 1724. married (first) Job Smith, and (second) Nathan Olmsted; Patience, born Feb- ruary 19, 1727, married Benjamin Hoyt. The father of these died January 25, 1764, his wife Elizabeth in 17 -. (The home lot No. 23, in the village of Ridgefield, assigned by lot to Sam- uel Smith, in quantity about 74 acres, situated on the corner where the carriage shop now stands, bounded on the south by Daniel Olm- sted's lot No. 24, both of which were too moist to build on. They both purchased and built their first homes on lot No. 2; Samuel Smith's house was south of A. Holmes' present resi- dence).

Samuel Smith, Jr., was married May 18, 1743, to Mary Northrop. Children: Samuel, born December 21, 1743; Daniel, born June 17, 1745, married Mary Smith; Sarah, born June 3, 1748, married Daniel Scribner, of - -; Mary, born August 24, 1750; Rachel, born October 23, 1752. The parents of these both died of small- pox, the father on January 20, 1782, the mother on December 26, 1781. Of the above family:

Daniel Smith was married February 25, 1767, to Mary Smith, daughter of David and Mary (Thorp) Smith. Children: Daniel, born Jan- uary 24, 1768, married Phebe Whitney January 20, 1788; Azor, born October 9, 1769, married Mehitable Fairbanks; Dolly, born September 17. 177-, married John Scott; Sarah, born April 17, 1777, married Caleb Smith; Noah, born March 12, 1774, married Rachel St. John. The mother of these died May 7, 1780, and the father afterward wedded, March 1, 1781, Mrs. Eliza- beth Northrop, a widow. Children: Mary, born March 17, 1782; Samuel Andrews, born July 11, 1784; Betsey, born married (first) Belden Scott, and (second) Mathew Whitlock. Daniel Smith died March 7, 1795. in his fiftieth year, and his widow subsequently married Abra- ham Nash.

Edward H. Smith, the subject proper of this memoir, was born December 27, 1827, in West- port, Fairfield Co., Conn., a son of Samuel Smith, who was born in 1798, and a grandson of Col. Daniel Smith.

Our subject received his education in part at Grammar School No. 14, New York City, under the principalship of Leonard Hazleton, and in part at Wilton, Conn. At about the age of seventeen he left school, and proceeding south to Mobile, Ala., clerked for five years with Henry Smith, clothing manufacturer, with a retail store in Mobile. Henry Smith, relinquishing his busi- ness in Mobile, our subject went into the employ

Digitized by Google

-2:

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of John L. Weeks, a broker (whose main office was in New York, being a branch of Brown Bros., brokers of that city), as confidential clerk, remaining, however, but a few months. In 1848 he returned to Wilton, Conn., for one year, and then moving to Ridgefield, clerked for Henry Smith for some time. For a short period he was in business for his own account, and then re- turned to Henry Smith, with whom he remained till 1854, since when, with the exception of two years, he has been in business in Ridgefield con- tinuously-a period of forty years. For some twelve or fourteen years he was associated with D. S. Sholes in the manufacture of shirts. For the past forty years he has been engaged in gen- eral mercantile business. He has all his life been a very busy man, and for the most part a successful one, his golden motto in all his deal- ings being, "Honesty is the best policy."

In 1849 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Delia J. Gregory, daughter of Lewis P. Gregory, of Wilton, and three children were born to them: Edward L., in partnership with his father; Her- bert, a farmer in the town of Ridgefield, Conn .; and Henrietta Maria, who died in July, 1885. the wife of Charles H. Valden.

During the war of the Rebellion Mr. Smith served as first lieutenant in the National Guard of Connecticut, Colonel Scott being captain of his company, and he continued with the organ- ization some six years, being throughout a strong Union man. Socially, he is affiliated with the I. O. O. F., Our Brothers Lodge No. 10, of Norwalk, and with the F. & A. M., Jerusalem Lodge No. 49. of Ridgefield. He is president of the board of education, and has been town auditor for many years. In religious faith he is a member of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church of Ridgefield, and held office in same for many years.

In his political convictions Mr. Smith was originally a Whig. his first Presidential vote be- ing cast for General Scott, and on the organiza- tion of the Republican party he united therewith. In 1859 he sat in the State Legislature. In 1872 he joined what was known as the Liberal Repub- lican party, and in 1873 was sent to the Legisla- ture by the voice of the Democratic party. In 1892 and 1894 he was the candidate on the Democratic ticket for the Senate in the Twelfth Senatorial District, and at the election reduced a normal Republican majority from 600 to less than 150. For three years he was selectman, nominated, however, much against his desire or inclination. For many years he held the office of president of the Ridgefield Agricultural So- ciety, which, under his guidance, became a

highly successful organization; was also, for a long period, president of the Ridgefield Improve- ment Society, and of the local Debating Society. As an orator and public speaker Mr. Smith's elo- quence and logic gave him high place, and with pleasure we here reproduce an extract from his Decoration Day speech of May 30, 1893:

" When we recall the fact that a little over a quarter of a century ago there were over three million men, women and children, slaves in this Christian land of ours; men who had no rights to the fruits of their labor and toil; men without a right, without a hope, sold at the auction block like so many articles of merchandise; wives separated from their husbands, children from their parents, your lovely girls, as fair in face and form as any within this hall today bought and sold as young cattle in the streets, I speak of scenes and events which I have repeatedly witnessed in the streets of Mobile and New Or- leans, and therefore speak feelingly. When we remember that our forefathers were partakers in this great wrong in the earlier days of the Re- public, and only abandoned it when they found it unprofitable; when we recall these facts; and that also from the press, yes, even the pulpit, from the lips of the eloquent and profound ex- ponents of State Craft, argument and appeal implied, if not directly expressed, in defense of the doctrine of the right of the stronger to en- slave the weaker, were listened to with pleasure and applauded as the words of wisdom falling from the lips of experience and of judgment, and that, by some, it was accounted the loftiest act of patriotism to intercept and return, under that flag, the poor fugitive in his midnight flight to liberty or death, and a great nation, boasting of its religion and independence, had become so debauched by its professional politicians that it seemed almost ready to adopt the sentiment which might be inferred from the decisions of the highest tribunals in the land. Witness the de- cision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Dred Scott case -. the black man had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.' Recalling these facts to mind I wonder at God's goodness to us as a nation, and feel that we ought reverently to thank our God for that first shot fired at Sumter's battlements; for it was the fore-runner of a doomed system announcing a day of deliver- ance; the breaking of the bonds; the opening of the prison doors that the captives might go free; that no more should be witnessed the scarred and bleeding backs of its victims, no more the sobs of the mother, the wail of anguish from the bruised heart of the father, as they saw their little ones torn from their embrace and home.

Digitized by Google

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

"Reverently I can but feel that that shot was a messenger from God, proclaiming that no more should the soil of his chosen land be pressed by the foot of a slave, but by men, free men, no more to be called chattels, articles of merchan- dise, but by a man, a soul responsible to his God, an American Citizen. What a triumph for hu- manity! What a victory for Justice!

.. And as we come together to testify our re- spect and gratitude to the fallen by decorating their graves with flowers, the first fruits of the new birth of Spring, we should rejoice that the lives, the labors, the heroic devotion of the men who composed the most sublime army of the world, fought not for enslavement, but for free- dom; not for destruction, but for preservation; not for personal aggrandizement, but for national honor; and that unmanned by no danger. neither discouraged nor disheartened by any defeat, but with the courage and enthusiasm of the Crusaders of old in their fight for the Holy Land, their steady tramp, tramp, tramp, as they went march- ing on, ceased not until that stainless old flag floated untrammelled over a free land, and they had established the sublime truth, enunciated in the Declaration of Independence, and which for nearly a century had been a living lie in our na- tional life: That all men are born free and equal and endowed by their Creator with certain in- alienable rights among which are Life, Liberty. and the Pursuit of Happiness."

M ON. WILLIAM EDGAR RAYMOND (de- ceased) occupied for many years a leading position in the community, and his death, which occurred February 6, 1890, caused sincere mourning among a large circle of friends whom his sterling qualities of character had won for him.

He was a worthy representative of one of the most respected families in the county, tracing his descent from Richard Raymond, who came from France with two brothers in Colonial times. According to tradition the two brothers settled in New London, Conn., and Richard, who was a mariner by occupation, located first in Salem, Mass., whence, on October 20. 1662, he came to Norwalk, this county, where he engaged in the coasting trade with the Dutch and English set- tlers on Manhattan Island. In 1664 he removed to Saybrook, Conn., and beyond this we have no record of him except that he and his wife Judith were members of the First Church at Salem before 1636.

John Raymond, the next in the line of de- scent to car subject, was a resident of Norwalk

in 1665. He married Mary, daughter of Thomas Betts.

Thomas Raymond, a son of John, was mar- ried November 15, 1701, to Sarah, daughter of Abraham Andrews, of Waterbury, Conn.

Comfort Raymond, the great-grandfather of our subject, resided at New Canaan, and at- tained the advanced age of ninety years.

William Raymond, our subject's grandfather, served in the Continental Army, and his discharge and receipt are on file in the comptroller's office at Hartford. From 1777 to 1780 he was a member of Col. Zebulon Butler's regiment, and was so seriously wounded that he became per- manently crippled. About 1785 he removed from Norwalk to the eastern part of the town of New Canaan, where he spent his remaining years. In 1860 he married Priscilla Haydon, by whom he had a large family of children-sons and daughters-all becoming in after life a credit to their parents. With the exception of the youngest, Samuel, the sons settled in other States, and their descendants have made the name respected wherever it is known.

Hon. Samuel Raymond, our subject's father, began at an early age to show the practical sagacity which later won him a prominent place in business and political life. As his father's little farm gave but a small return for the work bestowed upon its rough soil, he secured per- mission to enter the employ of a neighboring farmer, one Matthias St. John, with whom he remained for some time, and who afterward mar- ried an older sister of his young, enterprising assistant. After a time Mr. Raymond was bound out to learn the shoemaker's trade, but at the age of twenty he purchased his freedom and went to Walton, Delaware Co., N. Y., where he re- mained one year. He then returned to New York City and engaged in the manufacture of shoes, in which he was moderately successful, later entering mercantile life in New Canaan, in which he continued until 1842, when he sold the business to his three sons. His ability and pub- lic spirit made him prominent in local affairs from early manhood, and as time passed he be- came known as one of the chief advisors of the Democratic party in this State. For thirteen years he represented his town in the Legislature, and for one year he was a member of the State Senate. He was a champion of many important measures, and, being well versed in law, was the author of many Bills which were passed during his service in the Assembly. His memory was remarkable, and as he was an extensive reader he was a formidable opponent in debate. While he was a strong partisan, his sense of right and

Digitized by Google

Mon Co Raymond

Digitized by Google

Digitized by

Google

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

honor was so keen that he could never be drawn to support any measure of which he did not per- sonally approve, and on one occasion when he defied a party caucus in a matter relating to the banks of this State, he was "read out" of the organization. From 1842 to 1845 he held the office of sheriff of this county, and his last years were spent in retirement, his death occurring in 1865, in his eighty-second year. His wife, Polly (Selleck), to whom he was married in 1808, was a daughter of Jacob Selleck, a prosperous farmer of the same town, who purchased "the Shaker farm" at the time that society decided to sell and remove to Lebanon, N. Y. Our subject was the youngest of four children, the others being Charlotte, Charles, and Thomas.

William Edgar Raymond was born March I, 1821, in New York City. In 1842, at the age of twenty-one, he engaged in mercantile business with his brothers, as has been said. Later, the elder son retired, and then our subject purchased the entire business, which he continued alone un- til 1857. He then sold out and went to Iowa, where he acquired a large interest in government lands. At the time he had some intention of en- gaging in banking there; but as he did not like the prospects on closer view, he returned, in the fall of the same year, and located permanently in this county. As a trustee and, later, as presi- dent of the New Canaan railroad, he did much to insure the success of that enterprise, and at all times he was ready to promote any project for the improvement of this locality. He was a worthy and influential member of the Congrega- tional Church, warm and generous in his friend- ships, liberal in his charities. He also took great interest in political affairs, holding various offices of trust and responsibility. In 1859 he was elected to the State Legislature, and in 1873 he was chosen to the office of State Treasurer, which he filled ably for the term of four years. In his last report to the General Assembly he recom- mended an issue of four and one-half per cent bonds to cover the State indebtedness, and adoption of his plan caused a saving of many. millions of dollars to the tax-payers.

On February 16, 1852, Mr. Raymond mar- ried Miss Mary A. Comstock, a member of one of the most prominent families of the town of Wilton. Her great-grandfather, Deacon Nathan Comstock, was the owner of a tract of 300 acres of land in that town, and was one of the leading citizens of his day. In 1740 he united with the Congregational Church, and his name is men- tioned as a deacon in the records for December 15, 1766. He was married March 7, 1738-39 by Rev. Mr. Gaylord, to Bethiah Strong, of New

London, Conn., by whom he had two sons, Samuel and Strong.

Strong Comstock, Mrs. Raymond's grandfa- ther, was a farmer by occupation. He married Abigail Westcott, and had two sons, Jabez and Samuel. After her death he married Betty Betts, and had children: Susan, Katherine, Edward, William, Nathan, and Polly.

Samuel Comstock, the father of Mrs. Ray- mond, was born and reared in Wilton, where he received a common-school education. After his mother's death he was adopted by his uncle, Major Samuel Comstock, who is mentioned more fully below. He was active in local politics, holding the office of selectman for some time, and was a leading member of the Congregational Church. His wife, Anna (Dunning), was a daughter of David Dunning, a prominent resi- dent of Wilton, who enlisted during the war of the Revolution and served in Captain Comstock's regiment throughout that struggle. The chil- dren of Samuel and Anna Comstock were as fol- lows: George W., died in Louisville, Ky .; Sam- uel Le Grand married Susan, daughter of Col. George Middlebuck; Eliza Ann married Will- iam Chapman Thorpe, of Camillus, N. Y .; James, married Harriet, daughter of Andrew Betts; and Susan E., William, and Henry, and Mary (Mrs. Raymond).

David Dunning, great-grandfather of Mrs. Raymond, was one of the earliest pioneers of Wilton, and his name is found as one of the signers of the petition for the organization of the parish, in May, 1726.

Major Samuel Comstock was born in 1739. He was the son of Nathan, who was the son of Samuel, who was the son of Christopher, who was the son of Frederic Komstohk, who was born at Frankfort, Germany, March 18, 1575. He mar- ried Mary McDonald, of Edinburgh, Scotland, January 11, 1611. Major Comstock joined in the Revolutionary army May 9, 1775, with the rank of captain, and was subsequently promoted to that of major. He was a member of the So- ciety of the Cincinnati. In 1800 he was elected as a member of the State Legislature from the town of Norwalk. He married Miss Mercy Mead, daughter of Col. Theophilus Mead. He died in 1824.

T HE FARMER, a daily and weekly news- paper of Bridgeport, is published by a cor- poration of which H. B. Stiles is president, and Floyd Tucker is secretary and treasurer.

The Republican Farmer was started in Bridge- port in 1810 by Stiles Nichols, who brought it

Digitized by Google

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

from Danbury, where it had been published since 1803. It became a daily in 1850, when under the proprietorship of the late William S. Pome- roy. It was subsequently under the manage- ment of James L. Gould and Henry B. Stiles, at the corner of Wall and Water streets, and later still in the Waller building, No. 21 Fairfield avenue. Mr. Gould left the concern in 1890. On January 1, 1891, Mr. Stiles and Floyd Tucker became proprietors. Later it became in- corporated. The following is a sketch of several of the men who have been identified with the paper through the present century, and in whose lives is the paper's history.

WILLIAM SEYMOUR POMEROY was born in Hartford, Conn., December 25, 1809, and was the eldest of six children. While he was yet quite young his parents moved to Canandaigua, N. Y., where he remained with them until he was sixteen, when he returned to Hartford and en- tered the office of the Hartford Times, as an ap- prentice. In that situation he remained several years, devoting himself with rare fidelity to the service of his employers, and acquiring a good knowledge of the printing business. Before his term of service had expired, however, he became so impressed with the advantages which a better education would give, that he bought his time of his employers, and devoted one year to study, attending during the time a private school in Manchester. His studies completed, he returned to the office of the Times, and resumed his occu- pation as a compositor. It was there that he became acquainted with Hon. John M. Niles and Hon. Gideon Wells, who, in after years, proved their friendships for him by establishing him in business in Bridgeport. They saw with what fidelity he served his employers, and appre- ciating his character, and having full confidence in his ability and integrity, they selected him, when the time came, to perform an arduous but pleasant duty-to establish in Bridgeport a paper that should advocate the claims of Andrew Jack- son to the Presidency.

The Republican Farmer, then edited by Stiles Nichols, although a Democratic organ, gave its support to Henry Clay, and it was thought ad- visable by the leaders of the Jacksonian Democ- racy, prominent among whom were Messrs. Niles and Wells, not to leave this section of the State to the political control of the friend of Mr. Clay. Accordingly, in November, 1831, Mr. Pomeroy came to Bridgeport, and started the Bridgeport Messenger. He was enabled to do this by the assistance of his Hartford friends. who supplied him with funds, and in other ways contributed to the success of the new organ. The first num-

ber was issued November 26, from the old office of the Connecticut Courier, on Water street, be- tween Bank and State streets.

The Messenger was published for one year, or until November 21, 1832, when, Jackson hav- ing been elected, and the particular mission for which the paper was founded accomplished, its publication was suspended, not, however, until an arrangement had been made for merging it with its rival, The Farmer, by which Mr. Pom- eroy became part owner and editor of the latter paper, the firm name being Stiles, Nichols & Co. With The Farmer Mr. Pomeroy was connected from that time until his death. Mr. Nichols withdrew January 1, 1842, in favor of his grand- son, Charles B. Nichols, when the firm name was changed to Pomeroy & Nichols. The lat- ter's connection with the paper ceased December 23, 1846, when Mr. Pomeroy became sole editor and publisher. He continued to conduct the paper alone until 1855. when the firm became Pomeroy & Morse. On September 8, 1856, the Daily Farmer was established, and both that and the Weekly were regularly published until August 24, 1861, when the office was destroyed by a mob. What remained of the material, to- gether with the "good will " of the establish- ment, was sold at auction to close up the busi- ness of the firm, and was purchased by the late E. L. Simpson, for Mrs. Pomeroy. On Decem- ber 13, 1861, the publication of the Weekly was. resumed by Mr. Pomeroy, who found a host of friends in the sterling Democracy of Fairfield and Litchfield counties, and on September 23, 1864, the Daily Farmer was resuscitated. In 1866 the veteran editor found it necessary, on account of failing health, to again reorganize his establishment, and the partnership of Pomeroy, Gould & Co. (William S. Pomeroy, J. L. Gould and H. B. Stiles) was formed.

Mr. Pomeroy was all his life an ardent, un- compromising Democrat, and in early years took a prominent part in politics. His bold and de- cided stand for Jackson in 1831 gained for him a host of friends, and when in 1832 the unity of the Democratic party was restored, and he be- came identified with The Farmer, the number of his friends was greatly increased. The gallant service rendered by him in the Presidential cam- paign was not forgotten, and as his fellow citi- zens came to know him and to appreciate more fully his many sterling qualities of head and heart, they took delight in paying him honors by electing him to positions of trust and responsibil- ity. He was twice elected from the town of Bridgeport to the Legislature-once in 1837 and again in 1850. He was also nominated for Con-

Digitized by Google

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

gress in 1841, just after the celebrated "Hard Cider Campaign," when the district was almost hopelessly Whig, and was defeated by Hon. Thomas B. Osborne, then of Fairfield, and a very popular man with his party. In 1844 he was run for the State Senate, but was again de- feated, by only twenty-four majority.

The nomination and election of James K. Polk to the Presidency were earnestly advocated by The Farmer in 1844, and, some time after his inauguration., Mr. Pomeroy was rewarded by be- ing appointed collector of the port for the dis- trict of Fairfield. In this position he remained until the inauguration of Zachary Taylor in 1849, when he was removed to make way for a friend of the administration. He was re-appointed in 1853 by President Pierce, and continued to hold the office until the coming in of Mr. Lincoln in 1861. He never afterward held public office, ex- cept such as were conferred upon him by his town or city. At the time of his death in 1870 he was one of the assessors of Bridgeport, an of- fice to which he was elected the spring before he died. To the discharge of all his public duties he brought a clear head and an honest heart and a faith in Democratic principles that never was shaken. He believed that the constitution of his country was the palladium of its people's liberties, and for all the great principles of the Democratic party he entertained a singularly earnest affection. A warm supporter of Jack- son, he imbibed much of that earnest states- man's patriotism, and, like him, was uncom- promising in his opposition to the enemies of the Constitution and the Union. The singular obstinacy with which he adhered to his political convictions, and the fearlessness with which he defened them against all comers, are well-known to his friends hereabouts. He had witnessed the rise, growth and final success of the Republican party; was perfectly familiar with its designs; believed that its leaders contemplated the over- throw of State Rights and the building up of a vast central despotism; and all the powers of his singularly earnest nature were devoted to the task of exposing the objects of the party, and making the designs of its leaders known to the people. But notwithstanding his firm and ear- nest convictions, he was peculiarly cautious and sagacious in his political advice and leadership. In his conduct of The Farmer, he was always earnest and outspoken, and yet always aimed to keep within the pale of journalistic courtesy to his opponent. Indeed we do not know that he ever penned anything that could be justly ex- cepted to. We are not aware that even during the exciting days of 1861 any complaint was

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 12

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