Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 128

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

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where he remained until 1862. From 1862 to 1865 he was a grocer at Westport, and from 1867 until his death (January 19, 1876) he car- ried on a meat market in the same place. His wife, who was born April 8, 1823, survived him him until in 1884, her death occurring April 21. that year. Their children were: Frederick, of this sketch; Arieanna M., born in 1850; Cornelius B., in 1852; Cora B., in 1857; and Maggie M., in 1859. Of these, Arieanna married A. M. Sorennus, of New York, but is now a widow; Cornelius B. is a painter in Westport; Cora B. married George W. Jones, a grocer of New York; and Maggie M. married Frank M. Burkley, of Bridgeport. The father of this family was a Democrat in his political views; he and his wife were members of the Universalist Church, and they were most excellent people.

Frederick Kemper (our subject) when old ,enough began assisting his father in the different lines of business in which he was engaged, and for many years prior to his father's death be was engaged in the meat market with him. In March, 1876, he assumed the conduct of the business himself, and from March I, of that year, until September 1, 1897, he carried on the busi- ness alone. He is an honorable and upright man, and one of the esteemed citizens of West- port. He has been careful and judicious in his transactions, and is numbered among the success- ful business men of his place. His long service to the public in his official relation is an evidence of his ability, and of the confidence his fellow citizens have in his honesty and integrity. He has been a member of the Hook and Ladder Company of the Fire Department of Westport, since its organization.

On December 5, 1878, Mr. Kemper was mar- ried to Imogene Weed, a daughter of W. A. Weed, of Stamford, Conn., and the union has 'been blessed with three children, namely: Wini- fred, born January 3, 1880; Frederick W., born in May, 1881; and Helene, born January 26, 1895. In politics the father of these is a Repub- lican; formerly he was a Democrat.

R OBERT WEBER, the genial town clerk of Bridgeport, Fairfield Co., Conn., is a native of Koenigsbronn, Kingdom of Wurttemberg, Ger- many, and comes of a family who for genera- tions had lived in that town and were ranked among its honored and industrious working people.

John George Weber, the grandfather of Robert Weber, was born in Koenigsbronn in 1782, learned the trade of a mason and builder, and followed

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same throughout life. On January 10, 1806, he married Christina Frederika, and to their union were born seven sons and one daughter. Fred- erick Weber, the youngest son, was the father of our subject. He spent his boyhood days in Koenigsbronn, and received his early educational training in the schools of his native town. Like his father, he, too, became a builder, and finally took contracts for the iron work on buildings. In the stirring times of the Revolution of 1848 he was a very prominent figure, being one of the leaders of his section. In 1865, seeing the greater opportunities offered the working people in this country, he brought his family to the United States, locating in Brooklyn, where he remained two years, engaged in the grocery busi- ness. For the four years following he lived at Woodhaven, L. I., and while there was foreman in a factory, and returning to Brooklyn, he lived there again until 1887, when he removed to Bridgeport, at present making his home with his son Robert. He was married in Koenigsbronn to Marguerite Laquai, a native of Schnaitheim, who died August 21, 1858. They were the parents of the following named children: Robert; Johann and George, both deceased; Adolph, who is employed on the bridge at Brooklyn, and has been ever since it was opened; Frederick, de- ceased; and Casper Johann, also deceased. In 1859 Mr. Weber married,. for his second wife, Miss Eliza Haehnle, and to this union eleven children were born, of whom only three are liv- ing, namely: Rudolph, head butcher Board of Charities, New York City; Mary, who married Christian Laun, of Brooklyn; and Fritz.

Robert Weber, whose name opens this sketch, was born November 19, 1851, and received his earlier educational training in the excellent public schools of the Fatherland, later spending four years in a private school. He learned the trade of machinist, and as such was employed in the Agate Tin Works, at Woodhaven, L. I., from 1867 to 1871. For the year ensuing he was in the employ of the Singer Sewing Machine Com- pany, at New York City, after which he came to Bridgeport and worked for the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Company, for the Howe factory, Secor Sewing Machine Company, Smith & Egge Company. and, finally. for the Bridgeport Lock Company, until in 1878 they moved to Terry- ville; he was engaged as foreman by the last named concern. Deciding to enter business for himself, he then opened a café, conducting same until March, 1897, when he sold out.

On February 3, 1874, at Bridgeport, Mr. Weber was married to Miss Lena W. Koehler, a native of Saxony, Germany, and a daughter

of Heinrich and Barbara Koehler. This union is blessed with five children: Frederick K. G., who is attending Yale College; Flora Louisa, the wife of Louis Kutscher, Jr .; Robert, who is attending high school; and Clara and Norma, at home ..

For years Mr. Weber has been prominently identified with the Democratic party, and he is an earnest advocate of the free-silver doctrine. He has been honored with election to several offices, among them being: Councilman from the old Sixth ward, in 1881; selectman, in 1884- 85-87, and he is now the popular town clerk. Socially, he is connected with the Arion Singing Society, of which he is president; Schuetzen Verein (Sharpshooters Association); Turn Verein; . Schwaben Verein; Bridgeport Lodge of Elks, of which he is a charter member; Knights of Pythias; Seven Wise Men, and the Red Men; he is also president of the Park City Athletic Club. Religiously, he and his wife are members of the German Reformed Church. Mr. Weber is a public-spirited citizen, taking an active and influential part in all measures calculated for the general good, and showing a substantial interest in all enterprises designed to promote the wel- fare of the community at large. He is an ear- nest worker for the bettering of our public schools and the advancement of the cause of education, and Bridgeport is especially indebted to him for one of her most practically helpful benevolent institutions-the Emergency Hospital and Pub- lic Dispensary-in whose establishment he was the prime mover.

HIEF GEORGE BOWMAN, the present C

efficient and popular Chief of Police and Chief of the Fire Department of Stamford, Fair- field county, has been a conspicuous figure about Stamford for. nearly twenty years.

Born May 12, 1852, in Fifeshire, Scotland, he was brought to this country by his parents when he was only six months old, so he is American reared and educated. George Bow- man, his father, was a native of Scotland, born in the city of Glasgow. When a young man he learned the baker's trade, and on coming to America, in 1852, he landed in New York City, where for a short time he followed his trade, then went to West Point, N. Y., and there en- tered the employ of the Military Post at that place, remaining in the capacity of baker for four years. At the expiration of that time he returned to New York, and was in the bakery business there some five years, then selling out worked for a time at pie baking. In 1889 he engaged in

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the general baking business again in New York, in which he continued till his death in 1892. He was a most capable man in his line of business, and was a good citizen of his adopted country. He married Elizabeth Leighton, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and to them were born: Margaret (Mrs. William Taylor), of New York City; George (our subject); Francis L. (killed at the age of twenty-one by falling from a building in Central Park, New York City); James, of Long Island; John (deceased); Elizabeth (Mrs. Joseph Hall), of Long Island; Jessie (Mrs. William Young), of New York City; and Marion (Mrs. Clifford Waldo), also of New York City. The mother of these died in 1895. She was a most estimable woman, and a member of the Presby- terian Church.

George Bowman was reared in New York City, where he at an early age began to do for himself. At thirteen he commenced driving a delivery wagon for an acquaintance of his father who carried on a bakery, and was so occupied for one year. At fourteen he entered the employ of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, and was in their factory in New York City for five years. Following this he went to Ilion, N. Y., and for two years was employed in the general sewing- machine department and in the general machine shop, respectively, of the Remington Company, remaining with that company until 1878. Soon after going to Ilion he became connected with the Volunteer Fire Department of the village, and from that time until he left the village in 1878, he served the department in all the offices, in- cluding that of chief engineer. In 1878 he again entered the employ of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, this time in their works at Elizabeth, N. J., remaining there six months; then went to New York City, and for a short time was in the employ of a Mr. Stewart, who was manufactur- ing Singer sewing machines. After this he again went to Elizabeth, N. J., where for six months he was in the tool department of the Singer Sew- ing Machine Company. He next worked as a machinist for the Cary & Mowen Wire-drawing Manufacturing Company. From that company he went to Peekskill, N. Y., and in a similar es- tablishment there had charge of the machine de- partment. In the latter part of 1880 he came to Stamford, Conn., and entered the tool depart- ment of the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Com- pany. After serving five months, he was engaged by the Novelty Corset Company, of New York. to take charge of the machinery in their press room. He remained there fourteen months, and then returned to the Yale & Towne Company, taking charge of the press and key department.

With that company he remained twelve years. In 1885 he was made assistant chief of the Stam- ford Fire Department, and in 1887 he was ap- pointed chief. In 1894 he was appointed chief of Police and chief of the Fire Department for a term of four years. On April 10, 1899, he was re-appointed chief of Police-term unlimited, or during good behavior; and same date was re-ap- pointed chief of the Fire Department-term four years. Chief Bowman is a thorough machinist, and is otherwise admirably constituted and adapted for the position he holds. He is an efficient and vigilant officer, and as a testimony of the appreciation in which he is held by his as- sociates he was, on May 12, 1894. presented by them with a beautifully engraved gold badge as chief of Police. He is very popular, too, and his recent re-appointment was endorsed by both political parties. Socially, he is a member of Union Lodge No. 5. F. & A. M., and of Rippo- wam Lodge No. 24, I. O. O. F., also of Wassa- cusse Encampment, and of Canton Thomas Wil- ey of the latter order. He is also identified with Excelsior Lodge, K. of P., and is a member of the Caledonia Club in New York City. On August 24, 1893, Chief Bowman was married to Miss Mary Davis, a daughter of Capt. Theodore Davis, of Stamford.

AREDERICK W. CURTISS,. park commis- sioner of Shelton, was born in Huntington township, Fairfield county, Conn., May 18, 1840, about where the paper-mill now stands. He is a son of Morgan and Margaret Owen (Curtiss) Curtiss.

The earliest mention of any one by the name of Curtiss on the town record of Stratford is in 1652, excepting the entry of children's births, and in records we read of the widow, Elizabeth. Curtiss, mother of John and William Curtiss. Her will, made in 1658, mentions these two children, and Mary, daughter of her son, Thomas. There can be but little doubt that Elizabeth Curtiss was a widow when, with ber sons, she came from England, and her sons were then nearly if not quite of adult age. Her will was dated November 4, 1658, and she died soon afterward, in the same year. Her children were John, born in 1611, married Elizabeth Wells, and died in 1707; William, born probably in 1613, and died December 21, 1702: his will bearing date December 15, 1702. Elizabeth Wells, wife of John Curtiss, died in 1682. Their children were as follows: John, born in October, 1642, married Hannah Hamberly, and died in 1686; Israel or Samuel, born in April, 1644,

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died in October, 1704; Elizabeth, born in May, 1647; Thomas, born in 1648 or 1649; Joseph, born in November, 1650, went to Wallingford, and there married Bethia Booth; Benjamin, born in September, 1652, married Esther, daugh- ter of Joseph Judson, and Hannab, born in Feb- ruary, 1654, married Benjamin Lewis.

Joseph Curtiss married Bethia Booth, Novem- ber 9, 1676, and by her had children whose names with dates of birth are as follows: Eliza- beth, in 1677; Anna, in 1679; Ephraim, in 1684; Joseph, in 1687; Nathan, in 1689; Jonah, in 1692; Bethiah, in 1695, and Eleazer, Ebenezer and Eliphalet (triplets), in 1699.

Ephraim Curtiss married Elizabeth Stiles, in June, 1707, and by her had the following chil- dren: Stiles, born March 13, 1708; Henry, Octo- ber 12, 1709; Anne, August 31, 1711; Phebe, August 29, 1713; Elizabeth, May 9, 1715, and died October 1, 1716; Ephraim, August 30, 1717; Elizabeth, October 12, 1719, died November 25, 1720; Martha, November 26, 1721; Ruth, Octo- ber 27, 1723; Edmund, August 7, 1725; Elna- than, January 4, 1726, died January 3, 1812; Bathsheba, born November 7, 1724.

Elnathan Curtiss married Sarah Ufford June 7, 1745. She was born February 15, 1728, and died May 19, 1807. The children of this worthy couple were as follows: Charity, born Novem- ber 7, 1746, died February 23, 1753; Ruth, born May 27, 1748, married Luke Sommers; William, August 24, 1750; Pheby, August 30, 1752, mar- ried Ezra Birdsey; Charity, September 9, 1754. married Joseph Wooster; Sarah, May 3, 1757. married G. Tomlinson; Annie, January 27, 1759, died December 2, 1839; Stiles, February 3, 1761, died November 8, 1827; Elle, March 12, 1763, died July 11, 1843; and Betsey, November 10, 1765, died February 10, 1793. Elnathan Curtiss, the father of these children, died January 3, 1812.

Stiles Curtiss, eighth child of Elnathan and Sarah Curtiss, married Clara Adams, in June, 1781. Their children were as follows: Hannah, born September 18, 1782; Susan, January 3, 1786; Zepy, July 14, 1789; Joseph and Betsey. The mother of these children died May 4, 1796, and Mr. Curtiss married Betsey Hitchcock, by whom he had the following children: Aaron, born July 24, 1798; Sally, January 11, 1800, married Albert Hotchkiss; Morgan, January 11, 1802; Polly, December 7, 1803; and Stiles, Sep- tember 3, 1806. Stiles Curtiss, father of these children, died November 8, 1827, and his second wife died April 29, 1816.

Morgan Curtiss married Margaret Owen Cur- tiss, daughter of Daniel Curtiss, February 13,

1833, and by her had the following children: Jane Pixlee, born December 31, 1833; Franklin, born December 6, 1835, is a farmer in Nevada, lowa; Charles Henry, born November 11, 1837, is a manufacturer of ladies' furnishing goods in Detroit, Mich; Frederick William, born May 18, 1840; and Margaret, born April 9, 1850. Mor- gan Curtiss, father of these children, died Sep- tember 30, 1881, and his wife died March 20, 1868.

Jane Pixlee Curtiss married Robert C. Nara- more, September 24, 1854: Franklin Curtiss married Maggie Schmitz, October 28, 1860; Charles Henry Curtiss married Fannie C. Spen- cer, July 16, 1868; and Frederick William Cur- tiss married Sarah Matilda Curtiss, May 10, 1868 (she died November 28, 1880).

Following is the genealogy of Margaret Owen Curtiss, wife of Morgan Curtiss, and mother of the subject of this sketch: Stiles Curtiss, son of Ephraim Curtiss, married Re- becca Judson in 1730, and by her had the fol- lowing children: Sarah, born May 17, 1731; Elizabeth, December 2, 1732; Silas. December 23, 1734; Elihu, December 15, 1736; Ephraim, March 27, 1739; and John, May 1, 1741.

John Curtiss, sixth and last child of Stiles Curtiss, married Mary Shelton, and by her had the following children: Stiles, born September 29, 1.771; Sarah, April 13, 1769; Judson, Feb- ruary 15, 1774; John, February 8, 1778; Eze- kiel, June 6, 1779; Daniel, April 8, 1781; Har- riet, November 27. 1784; and Julia, who was baptized in February, 1791.

Daniel Curtiss, sixth child of John Curtiss, married Betsy Pixlee, in January, 1810. They had the following children: Mary Elizabeth, born November 2, 1810; Sheldon Pixlee, May 26, 1812; Margaret Owen, October 19, 1813; Charles Henry, January 23, 1815; Peter Pixlee, February 10, 1817, and died May 10, 1817; Peter Pixlee, October 26, 1820; and Elizabeth Ann, February 26, 1826: The children of Mor- gan and Margaret Owen Curtiss have already been enumerated.

Five brothers-Henry, John, Thomas, Fran- cis Styles and another-came to America in 1634; Francis Styles came to Windsor, Conn., from Millbrook, Bedfordshire, England. He was the fourth of five brothers and had two sisters, and he was baptized August 1, 1602. Ephraim Styles, son of Francis, married twice, his first wife being Ruth, daughter of Obadiah Wheeler, his second wife being Bathsheba, daughter of Henry Tomlinson. He died June 21, 1714, and his second wife died in 1735.

Elizabeth Styles, daughter of Ephraim by

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his second wife, was born February 18, 1687, and married Ephraim Curtiss June 26, 1707.

Francis Styles came to America (as stated above) in 1634, as one of a party sent out by Sir Richard Saltonstall to lay out the grants claimed by him. He afterward bought of Sir Richard Saltonstall land in what is now Windsor, Conn., and was called " Mr.," a title that was then an index of social position, and which is confirmed in the town records of 1652, which show his seat at church directly back of the minister's pew.

With reference to the places of residence of the ancestors of Mr. Curtiss it may be related that Elnathan Curtiss was the first of the family to remove to the house which formerly stood on the site where now lives Mr. W. E. Hine. Mr. Curtiss' grandfather lived in this house, and his father lived in a house which stood where the pulp-mill now stands. And then as to their occupations, it should be related that Stiles Curtiss was a farmer, owning quite a large extent of land from the bridge north and west along the river. He served in the militia during the Revolutionary war, and Elnathan Curtiss was one of the officers of in- spection in the town during that war.

Morgan Curtiss was a shoemaker by trade, and became a manufacturer of shoes and boots on a large scale. From 1835 to 1850 he had some apprentices and several journeymen, a large Southern trade and altogether an extensive business for his time. He and George Blake- man at one period of their career were accus- tomed to go to New Haven to buy stock and walk back home. He owned the fishing rights on both sides of the river from the bridge up, and was accounted a good, exemplary citizen. Politically, he was a Democrat up to 1844, when he became a Republican, the tariff being his hobby. He was a man of broad views, well rounded out, and he attended the Congregational Church of Derby.

Frederick William Curtiss was educated in the public schools of Shelton, completing his ed- ucation in the high school of Derby when he was seventeen or eighteen years of age. After teaching school one year, he turned his atten- tion to learning the wood turner's trade. Next he became a clerk in the Birmingham post office under Robert C. Naramore, who was appointed by President Lincoln, and then for a period of three months was engaged in the grocery busi- ness. He then enlisted in Company D, 17th Conn. . V. I., and served two years and ten months, most of the time on detached service. After the close of the war he was employed as superintendent of a skirt manufactory for three

years, and then established himself in the gro- cery and meat business in Birmingham, in which he was engaged for twenty years. In 1887 be was appointed park commissioner of Shelton, a position which he still retains.

For two years Mr. Curtiss served as burgess, and for the same length of time as warden. In 1891 he was appointed, by the board of bur- gesses, street commissioner, which position he still retains. Politically, he has always been a Republican. He is a member of Ousatonic Lodge, I. O. O. F., also of Kellogg Post, G. A. R., and his family attended the Congregational Church. He and his wife have no children.

J OHN NEWTON WILLIAMS, inventor of the Williams Typewriter, was born at Will- iamsburg, L. I., July 20, 1840. He is a son of John Newton Williams, who was born in 1817 at Elizabeth, N. J., and is a grandson of Joseph Williams, who was a citizen of Lyons Farms, New Jersey.

Joseph Williams was a carpenter and builder by trade, and throughout the principal part of his active life was a resident of Lyons Farms and Newark, N. J. He was a man of sterling character and strong influence for good. While he was not prominent in public affairs yet he was always interested in good government, and lent his aid in that direction. He married Elizabeth Lyon, of the family after which Lyons Farms was named, and which was one of the most prominent of the families of that part of the State. Joseph Williams and his wife had three children, as follows: Joseph Lyon, who died when fourteen years of age; John Newton; and Sarah, who mar- ried Edwin O. Hall, who went to the Sandwich Islands with the early missionaries, and took to those islands the first printing press, and who there became a leading planter and a wealthy man. He there held many positions of trust. His only son, W. W. Hall, succeeding him in the mercantile business, and his son-in-law, Peter Cushman Jones, was Minister of Finance under the Doyle Government. It is believed that Joseph Williams was a Presbyterian in religion, and he was a man of character and influence in his community. He died when his son, John Newton, was about six years of age.

John Newton Williams was educated in New- ark, N. J., and in the City of New York, where he for some time was a student of theology, and where he was for several years a clerk for the Aspinwalls. In 1844 he went to Carlinville, Ill., where he took charge of a Church for three

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or four years. From Carlinville he went to Litchfield, Mich., and thence to Bristol, Ind .. and still later to Dubuque, Iowa, preaching at all these places to Presbyterian and Congregational Churches. While he was in the latter place he became engaged in the American Sunday-school Union work, and established several hundred Sunday-schools and organized many Churches throughout the country, retaining in the mean- time his connection with the Presbyterian and Congregational Churches. He went from that place to Lake City, and later to Lake Minne- tonka, Minn., at which place he lived until his death, still engaged in the ministry. He was possessed of forceful character, of great energy, and self-reliance, and with all his other charac- teristics was a man of much tact and a great peacemaker. He married Susan Amelia Hal- stead, daughter of John T. Halsted, of New York City, and by her had twelve children-six sons and six daughters. These children were as follows: Harriett Elizabeth, who married Daniel Andrews; John Newton, the subject of this sketch; Sarah Louisa, who married Capt. William R. Noble, of St. Paul, Minn .; Edwin Oscar, who married Emma L. Parker, of Pine Island, Minn., and has one son, Roy Parker, and who died in Little Falls, Minn., in 1896; Susan Emily, who married David Robinson, then - of Connecticut, but now of Minneapolis, Minn .; Mary Eliza, who married Frank Marvin, of St. Paul, Minn., and who is now deceased; Milton Mathias, who married Miss Florence Bennett, of St. Paul, Minn., and who is president of the Lit- tle Falls Water Company, of Little Falls, Minn., and connected with other prominent interests there and in St. Paul; James White, who lives in Shelton, and who married Miss Eva Bailey, of Lake City, Minn .; Willis Stetson, who married Belle Hubbard, of Lake City, Minn., and is now living in London, England, and who is a manu- facturer of a bank check punch; Evalina Adelaide, who died single in 1891; Herbert Ogden, who died about 1883; and Ada Florence, who married Alexander M. Drake, of St. Paul, Minn. John Newton Williams, the father of these children, died in December, 1882, and the mother died in 1880.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 128

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