Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 132

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

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Among the other descendants of Henry Tom- linson, the emigrant, whose place in the history of Connecticut entitles them to representation in a volume of this kind, was Theodore Tomlinson, who was born at Rhinebeck, Dutchess Co .. . N. Y., in 1817. He entered the University of the City of New York, and was admitted to the Bar after his graduation from Yale Law School. Imme- diately after his admission to the Bar he began the practice of his profession in New York City, and in 1850 was appointed attorney of the cor- poration of the City of New York. He rapidly rose in the profession, and attained considerable prominence. His ability as an orator was such as to make his name a familiar household word, and he was often compared with Henry Clay. Act- ive in the work of the Whig party, he was in 1859 elected to the General Assembly of New York, and was one of the most noted debaters on the floor of either house. His sound judgment, his logical reasoning, his practical ideas, clothed in the purest and simplest language, held his lis- teners spellbound, and won him an undying fame.

Another prominent representative of this fam- ily was Gideon Tomlinson, the son of Jabez (who

was an officer in the Revolutionary army), born at Stratford, Conn., December 31, 1780, and ed- ucated at Yale College, where he graduated in 1802. In 1817 he was elected to the General Assembly of Connecticut, re-elected the follow- ing year and chosen speaker of the house. He was a member of the convention that formed the constitution of the State; and gave it his effective support. In 1818 he was sent to Congress, tak- ing his seat in 1819. He continued to represent his district in Congress until 1827, when he was chosen Governor of the State, being re-elected during the three succeeding years. In 1831 he resigned the office of Governor to become a United States Senator. At the close of his term in the Senate, during which six years he had taken a prominent and brilliant part, he retired to his home in Greenfield Hill, where he died October 8, 1854, at the age of seventy-three. His wife was Sarah Bradley, daughter of William Bradley, of Greenfield Hill.

The Tomlinson family have been well repre- sented at Yale, no less than sixteen members having graduated from that institution between the years 1744 and 1885.

REDERICK C. TOOLEY, a leading resi- ident of Danbury, has been identified for a number of years with industries of that busy city, but is now engaged in the real-estate and insur- ance business, with an office at Bridgeport. An able business man, he is also an excellent citizen, and is held in high esteem by all who know him.

Mr. Tooley comes of good New England stock in both the paternal and maternal lines. Alvin L. Tooley, his father, was born in Ver- mont in 1829, a son of Cyrus and Lydia Tooley, and is now residing in Danbury. He married Miss Frances Mary Nash, daughter of and Sophronia Nash, and a native of Vermont. This worthy couple have had three children: Frederick C., Ella L. and Alvin DeLos.

Mr. Tooley, our subject, was born July 9, 1855, at Poultney, Vt., but was educated in the common schools and the academy at Holley, Orleans county, N. Y., his parents having re- moved to a farm in that locality when he was a small boy. On leaving school at the age of eighteen, he assisted his father in the farm work for a time, but at twenty-one he came to Dan- bury and engaged in the hatter's trade as an em- ploye of the Tweedy Manufacturing Company, remaining several years and holding the position of assistant foreman during the greater portion of the time. He then spent three years with Hol- ley, Beltaire & Co. as a foreman of their form-

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ing department, and on giving up that responsi- ble post he went into hat manufacturing on his own account, in partnership with L. W. Comes and Alvin D. Tooley, a brother, the firm name being F. C. Tooley & Co. After five years he sold out his interests and engaged alone in a wood-working enterprise, making.a specialty of hatters' supplies. A serious accident which nearly caused the loss of his right arm, led him to abandon this line of work in 1894, and since that time he has been successfuly conducting a real-estate and insurance business, his brother Alvin D. being his partner under the style of Tooley Brothers.

Mr. Tooley married Miss Mary A. Vintz, a native of Baden, Germany, whose parents, Fred- erick and Mary (Shafner) Vintz, came to this county during her childhood. She has two sis- ters residing in Danbury: Mrs. Ferguson and Mrs. J. G. Irvine. Mr. and Mrs. Tooley have one daughter, an adopted child, Mabel K., born August 10, 1892. All progressive movements command Mr. Tooley's sympathy, and he is especially active in religious work, he and his wife being members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Danbury. For several years he has been librarian in the Sunday-school. Politically he is a firm supporter of the Republican party.

A RTHUR H. SENIOR, proprietor and gen- eral manager and treasurer of the A. H. Senior Corset Company, Bethel, was born April 2, 1857, in the town of Morris, Litchfield Co., Connecticut.

William Senior, father of our subject, was an Englishman by birth, having been born, in 1810, in Derbyshire, England, whence, when twelve years old, he came with his parents to this coun- try, locating at Washington, Litchfield Co., Conn., where he passed his youth on a farm. His education was received partly in Connecticut, and he was an agriculturist all his life. In the town of Danbury he married Catherine Wheeler, a native of Redding, Conn., who, after the death of her husband, March 12, 1864, made her home in the town of Bethlehem, whence after a year she removed to a farm in Woodbury, Conn., where she resided eleven years. In 1882 she married a Mr. Perkins, a retired farmer. By her first husband, William Senior, she had six chil- dren, as follows: Charles is a painter by trade, and resides in New London, Conn .; Hattie mar- ried Joseph Hawley, and resides in Danbury; Carrie J. married Thomas Cassady, and lives in Springfield, Mass .; Emma (deceased) married Frank Ganung; Arthur H. is our subject; and

Clarence E. resides in Morris township, Litch- field Co., Conn. The mother of these died in August, 18 -. In his political preferences Mr. Senior was a Republican, in religious faith a member of the Episcopal Church.

Arthur H. Senior, of whom this sketch more particularly relates, passed his boyhood on a farm, and attended the district schools of the neigh- borhood. At the age of sixteen years he went to Bridgeport, and for a year clerked for D. Bost- wick & Co., after which he was in similar employ with William H. Ladd and Joseph Scott, in Waterbury, one and one-half years. He then moved to the town of Woodbury where he learned the trade of carpenter, in 1878 removing to Bethel, and for three years working for Gilbert Brothers, carpenters at that place; he was also employed in a hat shop one season. He then embarked in the building business, in connection operating a lumber yard, and still carries on the enterprise.

On November 13, 1893, Mr. Senior bought the New York City branch of the Madame Gris- wold corset business, and November 28, 1894, a stock company was formed known as the A. H. Senior Corset Company, which was incor- porated April 15, 1895; the firm bought out the entire Madame Griswold corset business, and consolidated it with the A. H. Senior Corset Company. They manufacture the Madame Gris- wold and the Parisian corset; also waists, girdles, belts, skirt supporters, etc. Mr. Senior has been treasurer and general manager of the con- cern ever since it was started.

On October 4, 1883, at Bethel, Conn .. Arthur H. Senior was married to Evanna Bene- dict, daughter of Gad and Delia (Toucey) Bene- dict, of Newtown, the former of whom was a farmer and hatter, and one child, Harold, born December 25, 1886, has come to brighten the home of our subject and wife. Mr. Senior is a member of the F. & A. M., King Solomon Lodge No. 7, at Woodbury, of Eureka Chapter No. 83, at Danbury, and of Wooster Council and Cru- sader Commandery No. 10, of Danbury, and Pyramid Temple, of Bridgeport, Conn .; also member of the Knights of Honor, Bethel Lodge No. 3159, and of the Heptasophs, No. 379, Bethel Conclave.

C HARLES O. BROWN, city engineer of Dan- bury, Fairfield county. Conn., is an able official, and is now serving his second term in his responsible position.

The Browns are of Colonial stock, and our subject is a relative of John Brown, who served

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as a private in the Revolutionary army. Fred- erick and Mary (Brown) Brown, the grandpar- ents of our subject, were residents of Greenboro, N. Y., and Isaac Brown, his father, was born there in November, 1809, and for many years conducted the leading grocery of the place. He died June 16, 1857, but his wife, whose maiden name was Mary E. Losee, is still living. She was also a native of Greenboro, and was a daughter of Abram and Eliza Losee.

Mr. Brown, our subject, who was the only child of his parents, was born October 8, 1852, at the old home in Greenboro, where he obtained an elementary education in the public schools. In 1868 he entered the Weston Military Insti- tute at Weston, Conn., where he spent two years; then taught for eighteen months in the Wilcox Military Institute, on South street, Stam- ford, Conn. During his school course he became familiar with the theoretical side of civil engin- eering, and desiring to secure practical work in that line he entered the office of M. K. Couzens, then city engineer at Yonkers, N. Y., and re- mained there six years. George Raynor having succeeded Mr. Couzens in the office, two years were spent with him. and then Mr. Brown left Yonkers to find or make an opening for an inde- pendent business. Locating in Danbury. he was engaged for four or five years in other enter- prises, but in 1885 he opened an office and es- tablished himself in business in his chosen call- ing. In 1895 he was elected to the office of city engineer, and at the end of his first term of one year he was again chosen, his efficient service gaining for him appreciative recognition from the people.

Mr. Brown is an influential worker in the Re- publican organization of his locality, and is iden- tified with only one secret order, the Improved Order of Red Men. In 1878 he married Miss Jennie Floretta White, daughter of Charles White, a well-known citizen of Danbury, with whom they reside at No. 22 Grandview avenue, corner of Morris street. They have no children.

CHARLES WHITE, the father-in-law of Mr. Brown, was born February 16, 1826, in Wilt- shire, England, a son of John V. White and grandson of John C. White. His mother, whose maiden name was Penelope Norton, was a daugh- ter of Thomas Norton, of England. John V. White and his wife had ten children: Mary, John, George H., Cornelius. Edward, Charles; Elizabeth, Eliza, and two who died in infancy and whose names are not now recalled. Only four lived to adult age, and of these, John came to America in 1836, George H., Charles and Eliza coming in the following year with their

parents. Mr. White and his brother George H., who is also a resident of Danbury, are now the only survivors of this large family. Mr. White was educated in Amenia, N. Y., and in Danbury, where he attended the common schools of the time. At the age of sixteen he began to learn the hatter's trade with Hoyt & Tweedy, and on the completion of his apprenticeship he worked for a short time as a printer. He then decided that as "a rolling stone gathers no moss" he would cling to his trade, so returning to his for- mer employers he remained in the factory some thirty-six years. During the greater part of this time he was foreman, most of the hats passing through his hands, and for a while he had charge of the stiffening department also. The firm under- went several changes from Hoyt & Tweedy, Tweedy & Hoyt, Tweedy & White, A. E. Tweedy & Co., to the Tweedy Manufacturing Com- pany, as it is now known. In 1886 Mr. Whitere- tired from the service of the firm, and he has since remained free from business care, except for the management of his valuable real-estate holdings in Danbury, which include a number of houses.

Mr. White is a stanch Republican in politics. For about forty-five years he has been a member of the Masonic Fraternity, and he belongs to Union Lodge No. 40, F. & A. M., also Eureka Chapter R. A. M., of Danbury. He was a mem- ber of the I. O. O. F. under the old regime, but when the lodge to which he belonged surren- dered its charter he declined to enter the new lodge which succeeded it. In religious faith he is an Episcopalian, and he and his family are active members of that Church. In 1850 Mr. White married Miss Alvira Jennie Deere, daugh- ter of George and Rebecca (Fillow) Deere. She died in October, 1887, leaving three children, all of whom reside in Danbury: Charles Edgar, who resides in the second house below that of his father, married Miss Lizzie Berry, and has four children-Maude E., Asa B., May Louise and Marguerite W. Jennie F. is the wife of Mr. Brown. Marian D. married William St. John, and resides next door to her father; she has three children-Ethel Deere, Bessie N. and Jen- nie B.

J ACOB MILLER. During our Civil war many of our foreign-born citizens showed their devotion to the cause of liberty by gal- lant service in the Union army. Among these was the subject of this sketch, who is now the proprietor of the "Half Way House," a popular hostelry at Noroton Bridge, in the town of Darien.

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Jacob Miller

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Mr. Miller was born in Germany October 14, 1842, a son of Jacob and Mary Miller, both natives of the Fatherland. He was about a year old when his father brought the little family to New York City, and engaged in business as a blacksmith there. This occupation he continued but a few years, his death occurring in 1847. and his faithful wife, who survived him many years, passed away in 1892. They had six chil- dren: Mrs. Catherine Miller. a widow; C. F .; Frederick; Jacob, our subject; David; and Charles, who died in 1859. his death resulting from an accident.

As the father's death left the family in limited circumstances, Jacob Miller was obliged to earn his own livelihood from an early age, and his educational opportunities were accordingly few and far between. Since he was thirteen years old he has been self-sustaining, and it is greatly to his credit that he should have succeeded in the face of such discouragements. On October 14, 1861, he promptly offered his services to the government, enlisting in Company E, 40th New York Volunteer Infantry, and served with the Army of the Potomac three years, during which time thirty-two days were spent in hard fighting in decisive engagements, in addition to the occa- sional skirmishes in which he participated. On May 12, 1864, he received a gunshot wound in the left thigh at the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, and this terminated his career as a soldier, on October 14, 1864. Hereturned to New York City, where he remained until 1876, and since that time he has been conducting his hotel at Noroton Bridge.

On September 19, 1886, Mr. Miller was mar- ried, by Rev. Samuel Alman, rector of the Emanuel Baptist Church, to Miss Jennie C. Lucas, of New York City, who was formerly an active member of the Suffolk Street Baptist Church in that city. Socially, Mr. Miller and his wife are much liked, and he is a member of various fraternal orders, including the F. & A. M. and the G. A. R., unit- ing with Hobbie Post No. 23. In politics he is an unwavering supporter of the Republican party, but does not seek official honors, preferring to devote his attention to his business.

W ARREN H. TAYLOR, superintendent for the Yale & Towne Manufacturing Com- pany, of Stamford, Fairfield Co., Conn., is one of the most active residents of that city, with whose interests, social and commercial, he has been closely identified for the past thirty years. He was born February 17, 1846, in Winchendon, Mass., a son of Stillman Taylor, who was a

painter and decorator by occupation, and also followed farming. He lived in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

Mr. Taylor, our subject, received his school- ing at the public and private institutions of Fitz- william. N. H., and Winchendon, Mass., and was afterward apprenticed to his uncle, George W. Davis, of Milford, N. H., to learn the machin- ist's trade. During the time of the Civil war he was given another year's schooling. Although quite young at this time he was anxious to serve his country, and assisted in recruiting a large part of one company for a New Hampshire regi- ment in which he had already enlisted, but did not go to the front, being laid up with a severe sickness at the time the regiment was ordered south. After his recovery he returned to his trade, entering the employ of a sewing-machine company at Winchendon, where he remained a year and a half. Subsequently he worked a year and a half for the Smith & Wesson Arms Com- pany. of Springfield, Mass .; a year with the Remington Arms Company, of Ilion, N. Y .; for a lock company founded by Linus Yale's father, at Newport, N. Y .; and for Linus Yale, Jr., at Shel- burne Falls, Mass., that gentleman operating what has since become the Yale & Towne Man- ufacturing Company, of Stamford. In the spring of 1868 Mr. Taylor came with his last-named employer to Stamford, and has continued with the firm ever since, acting as superintendent of their large lock manufacturing department until 1896, when he entered upon the duties of super- intendent of designing and construction. The many inventions and patents, which have been issued to him, in connection with their goods, and most of which they are using in conjunction with the manufacture of their so popular and well-known products, are universally known, not only to the people of Stamford but to everybody connected with the hardware-manufacturing busi- ness. Mr. Taylor has, however, been engaged in various lines of enterprise on his own account, principally real-estate dealing, in which he has had many important transactions, and he is a prominent member of the Business Men's Club, and a member and officer of the Board of Trade. He has taken a leading part in the pub- lic affairs of Stamford, and though not an office- seeker he has served as assessor and burgess or councilman, several terms in each office. He was instrumental in the organization of the Fire Department of Stamford, being chairman of the committee at the time of the reorganization, when steam fire-engines took the place of hand- engines, and has shown himself public-spirited and valuable as a worker for any cause which is

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likely to prove a public benefit or promote the welfare of the city.

Socially, Mr. Taylor is a member of Union Lodge No. 5, and the Chapter, F. & A. M .; of Rippowam Lodge, I. O. O. F., and of the Su- burban Club; and he also belongs to the Ameri- can Association of Mechanical Engineers, of New York City, the Democratic Club of New York City, and the Reform Club of New York City.

Mr. Taylor has been twice married. His first wife, whose death occurred in 1893, was a Miss Ida Tyler, of Newport, N. Y., by whom he has one daughter, Grace, wife of Harry S. Van- Demark, of New York City. His second union was with Miss Virginia Barney, also of Newport, N. Y., and they have two children, Hazel Gean and Warren H., Jr., both at home.

G EORGE H. KNAPP is one of the most prom- inent and substantial citizens of Fairfield, and his history shows that he possesses the char- acteristic qualities of the typical business man.

Mr. Knapp is a native of Connecticut, born August 25, 1855, in the town of Fairfield. a son of Henry A. and Caroline Burr (Sherwood) Knapp, and a grandson of James Knapp, who was pro- prietor of " Knapp's Tavern," in its day a well- known and highly popular hostelry in Fairfield.

Henry A. Knapp was born March 1, 1822, in the town of Fairfield, one of a family of two sons and two daughters. Reared in Fairfield, he attended the academy of that day, and for his life work he chose the profession of architect. When he was nineteen years old, however, his plans were changed, owing to the death of his father, and he had to take charge of the home farm, the other son being absent. He followed agricultural pursuits successfully, and at his death, which occurred November 16, 1874, after a brief illness, he was . possessed of considerable wealth. He was a man of more than average intellectuality, a bright scholar, close reader, and profound thinker, well up in classics, and, withal, a deep student of the Bible and theology gener- ally. During his early manhood he was a mem- ber of the Congregational Church, but before his marriage, owing to research in and study of the doctrine of the Episcopal Church, he united with that faith, later taking an active interest in the erection of the first Episcopal church building at Fairfield, and at all times he gave liberally of his time and means toward that Church. He was always a member of the ves- try, was senior warden, and served as treasurer for years. In politics, he was a stanch Whig and Republican, and never failed to take a keen

interest in the affairs of the party, but declined the nomination for representative from his town. He was an excellent type of good, loyal citizen- ship, one whose integrity was never questioned, and whose opinion and advice were often sought. He improved his property in various ways, built houses on his land, by doing so materially en- hancing the value and general appearance of that part of the town.

Henry A. Knapp was married April 23, 1846, at Fairfield, Conn., to Miss Caroline Burr Sher- wood, a native of that borough, born November 10, 1822, a daughter of Hull Sherwood, and they had a family of five children, as follows: Lucy C., born March 2, 1847, died June 1, 1896, un- married; Caroline S., born December 3, 1849, died July 25, 1895, unmarried; George H., our subject, comes next; James L., born April 12, 1857, died April 7, 1884 (he was named for Rev. James Lefingwell, the first Episcopal clergyman in Fairfild, and during the greater part of his life was an invalid); and Henry A. died in infancy. The mother of this family passed from earth May 28, 1885, and her remains were laid to rest in Oak Lawn cemetery, Fairfield. She was a member of one of the leading Episcopalian fami- lies of Southport.

George H. Knapp, whose name introduces this memoir, attended private schools in Fairfield, and would have further prosecuted bis studies had not the sudden death of his father changed his plans. His brother being an invalid, the re- sponsibility and care of the property left by the father fell upon our subject, which meant noth- ing more or less than farming, and this occupa- tion he followed until 1887, in which year he abandoned that pursuit and became assistant railroad agent at Fairfield depot. This incum- bency he filled some six years, when impaired health compelled him to give up, and seek a re- establishment of health at Southern Pines, N. C., remaining there two winters, much to his benefit. In 1896 Mr. Knapp was elected town clerk and tax collector of the town of Fairfield, and re-elected in 1897, he filling the position with characteristic zeal and ability, giving emi- nent satisfaction to all concerned.

Mr. Knapp has been twice married, first time, November 10, 1880, to Miss Amelia C. Hull, of Greenfield Hill, daughter of Albert B. and Catherine (Banks) Hull, and five children were born to them, their names and dates of birth be- ing as follows: Harriet A., September 2, 1881; Albert H., August 30, 1883; George H., Jr., November 25, 1886; Ethel H., April 8, 1888; and Kate A., April 16, 1889, all living at home except George H., who died August 25, 1887.

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The mother of these died May 19, 1889, and January 25, 1893, Mr. Knapp wedded Miss Marietta T. Gould, daughter of William C. and Josephine (Thorp) Gould. One child, Mabel Sherwood, born November 23, 1893, has blessed this union.

Mr. and Mrs. Knapp are members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Fairfield, of which he became a vestryman at the early age of twenty- one, has served as clerk several years, and is the present treasurer and junior warden; in 1896 he was elected superintendent of the Sabbath-school. Socially, he affiliates with Pequonnock Lodge, I. O. O. F., at Bridgeport, and was a charter member of the lodge in that order established at Southern Pines, N. C., from which he transferred to Bridgeport; is also a member of Greenfield Hill Grange No. 133. He is collector for the Connecticut Building & Loan Association of Hartford. His uprightness, integrity and public- spiritedness have won for him the confidence and esteem of his neighbors, and he is classed among the most respected representative citizens of Fairfield.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 132

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