Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 140

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

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C HARLES E. PALMER, of Sound Beach, has demonstrated the true meaning of the word success as the full accomplishment of an honorable purpose. Energy, close application, perseverance and good management-these are . the elements which have entered into his busi- ness career and crowned his efforts with prosper- ity. He is, with one exception, the most ex-

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tensive oysterman in Fairfield county, and does a larger business in his line than any other resi- dent of Sound Beach.

Mr. Palmer was born June 14, 1847, on Staten Island (where his father was a gardener at the time), a son of Darius and Susan (Jones) Palmer, the family afterward returning to Sound Beach, where they had previously lived. He was educated altogether in private schools, and among his early teachers at Sound Beach were Maria and Isaac Lockwood. For a time he at- tended the graded school at Stamford, and was a student in Professor Glendenning's school at that place. At an early age Mr. Palmer began assisting his father, who was a large raiser of onions, and had plenty of work to keep his son busy. He continued to work at home until seventeen years of age, when he embarked in the oyster business, which has since claimed his at- tention. He built his first sailboat himself, and the first sloop he owned was the "Emma," which, before he altered her, had borne the name of "J. B. Thurber." Later, at Glen- wood, L. I., he built the " Clara A. Palmer," one of the largest sloops in the oyster business in her day, and this vessel he still owns. He owned the steamer "Adaline," and also the steamer "Ithiel," built at Port Jefferson, L. I. He is a most extensive operator in the oyster business, having over 850 acres of oyster beds on both the north and south shores of Long Island, which he operates either alone or in part- nership with his sons.

At the age of twenty-four years Mr. Palmer married Miss Emma E. Wilson, and to them were born five children, of whom four are still Jiving: Charles F. and Clarence E., both oyster- men of Sound Beach; and Harry and Elmer I. .Cortland, both at home. The mother of these dying, he married Anna S. Fuller, and after her .death he wedded Miss Mary L. Hatter. All of .his children are of the first union.

During the Civil war Mr. Palmer was a strong Abolitionist, and though at present he is inde- pendent in politics, his sympathies are usually with the Republican party. Fraternally, he is a member of the Knights of Labor. Throughout his entire business career he has only worked for his father and himself, and he has risen to an exalted position in the business world through his own efforts. He is thoroughly familiar with every detail of his calling, and the success that he has achieved is certainly well-merited, and he .commands the respect and confidence of all with whom he comes in contact, either in business or social life. Despite his long years of toil, he is still a hardy, rugged man.

SAMUEL S. SCUDDER is a prosperous agriculturist of Newtown township, and by the application of business methods to his work he has shown that scientific farming can be made to pay. His success is the more notable because it has been gained through his own efforts, and his fine farm near Newtown is a substantial evidence of thrift and industry.

The name of Scudder has been well known in this section from an early date. Capt. Isaac Scudder. the grandfather of our subject, was born in Newtown August 11, 1776, and was a lifelong resident of that town, his home being on Sugar street. He was the leading carpenter and builder of this county in his day, and in filling his contracts kept many apprentices and workmen employed. Among the buildings constructed by him was the court house in Danbury, while many of the best of the old residences of Newtown were erected by him. He also owned large tracts of real estate, and carried on farming to some extent. His sound judgment and force of character made him a prominent figure in local affairs, and he was especially active in religious work, being a noted exhorter in the Methodist Church. His name is found in the list of trustees of the first church of that denomination built in Newtown. As early as 1805 he had been one of a class which was formed as a nucleus of a Church organization to secure the occasional services of itinerant minis- ters of the faith. At the time of building the church, which was dedicated in 1831, he was one of the chief promoters of the enterprise, the edifice being constructed by him. It has now fallen to secular uses, and is occupied by Charles Gay as a wagon shop. On December 29. 1797, Captain Scudder married Miss Sarah Banks, who was born March 31, 1779, in Greenfield, Conn., and they had three sons, of whom Isaac B. Scudder, our subject's father, was the eldest. 2. William S., born March 5, 1812, married Miss Laura Platt, and had two children-Theodore, married to Miss Sarah Robinson, and Emma, who married a Mr. Milham, of Kalamazoo, Mich. 3. Samuel, born November 14, 1816, became a leading citizen of Grand Rapids, Mich., and ac- quired considerable wealth as a lumberman. He married Miss Mary Jane Miller, but no children blessed the union. Capt. Isaac Scudder died May 20, 1845, at the age of sixty-eight, and his wife passed away in 1856.

Isaac B. Scudder, the father of our subject, was born May 23, 1809, and became a success- ful agriculturist in the town of Newtown, OWD- ing the farm now occupied by William C. North- rop. He was a believer in the political princi- ples of the Whigs, but did not take an active

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part in local affairs. He attended the Methodist Church, while his wife was an Episcopalian. His death occurred September 7, 1842, in his thirty- third year. On May 12, 1830. he married Miss Lucinda Hickock, who died June 21, 1831, leav- ing one daughter, Lucinda, born June 12, 1831, now a resident of Bethel. On October 28, 1832. , he married Miss Betsey Skidmore, daughter of Wheeler Skidmore, of Brookfield, this county. She died January 13. 1878. leaving three children -(1) Samuel S., our subject, is mentioned more fully below. (2) Sarah, born December 5. 1834. was married April 3, 1854. to Charles Lamour- eaux, of New Haven, Conn., but now of Roch- ester, N. Y., and had four daughters-Lucy, born July 16, 1855, died December 31, 1875; Julia, born June 3. 1858, died October 3, 1878; Susie, born September 3. 1860; and Hattie, born November 2, 1862. (3) Lucy, born December 18, 1838, was twice married, first on October 10, 1860, to Henry Lake, of Brookfield, Conn., by whom she had one son, William, born August 4. 1861, died October 18, 1864. Henry Lake died March 3. 1873. and Lucy was married October 5. 1876. to William Smith Lamoureux, of Roch- ester, N. Y., and they have one daughter, Lill- ian M., born August 6, 1880.

Samuel S. Scudder, our subject, was born August 7, 1836, at the old homestead in New- town, and received a fair education in the com- mon schools and the academy, the latter institu- tion being then under the direction of Elijah Keeler. At the age of sixteen he left school and went to New Haven to learn the art of silver plating. From 1853 to 1857 he worked as a journeyman in Quincy, Ill., and then conducted a business in Danbury, Conn., until 1863. Farm- ing attracted his attention next, and from 1863 to 1864 he had charge of his grandfather's farm on shares, but in the latter year he rented a farm from Zera Judson. A year later he purchased his present homestead, consisting of about one hundred acres of excellent land, and since that time he has devoted his time exclusively to its cultivation and improvement. the result being that it is regarded as one of the best estates in the locality. He raises grain, and for eleven years past has been interested in dairying, while he has also engaged extensively at times in fat- tening cattle. He has always been in sympathy with progress, and politically is a stanch Repub- lican, but he does not aspire to prominence in party work.

On June 30, 1858, Mr. Scudder married Miss Jennie Wright, daughter of Samuel Wright, of East Bloomfield, Ontario county, N. Y., and their home is brightened by three children: Susan

Jennie, born November 1, 1863; Mary Elizabeth, born July 3. 1865, and Frances Carolyn, born January 4. 1874, married, May 26, 1897, to Ar- thur Judd Smith, the business manager of The Newtown Bee. The family is identified with the Congregational Church of Newtown, in which Mr. Scudder has at times held office.

S TANTON COLEY, a prosperous farmer of the town of Wilton, Conn., was born in the town of Westport, Fairfield Co., Conn .. Decem- ber 17, 1864, and obtained his early education in the district schools of the town of Wilton, to which place his father had removed his family when the subject of this sketch was two years old. Afterward he attended and graduated from the high school, and still later graduated from Professor Olmstead's academy.

After thus completing his education, our sub- ject returned to his father's farm in Wilton, and upon it obtained a thorough, practical knowledge of farming, continuing in that business ever since at Cannon's Station with unusual success. Po- litically, he is a strong Republican, but has never sought or desired office. In 1889 he united with the Congregational Church of Wilton, and is as- sistant collector of his Church. Mr. Coley is a good deal of a vocalist, and was at one time a member of the Temperance Division of Wilton. On May 1, 1890, he married Miss Susie M. Hub- bell, who was born February 21, 1866, a daugh- ter of John W. and Emily (Adams) Hubbell, the former of whom is a prosperous farmer of Wilton, formerly a successful lumber merchant of Wilton. To this union have come the following children: William Stanton, born December 13, 1891, and Emily Eleanor, born February 10, 1897.

Ebenezer Coley, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in the town of Westport, Conn .. then known as Coleytown. He received a much better intellectual training than most boys and young men of his times, his early education be- ing obtained in the district schools, and for sev- eral years during his earlier life he taught school with success in various parts of the sur- rounding country. After removing to Wilton, as mentioned above, he had charge of a school in that place. Retiring from this profession, he purchased a farm, and has since contented him- self with conducting this farm, which he is doing with success. During the Civil war he was drafted, but was too ill to attend to the matter, and consequently furnished a substitute. Polit- ically he is a Republican, and has served as tax collector, and also as contractor on the roads. In early life he united with the Congregational

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Church of Westport, being for many years a prominent and leading member of the Church. He married Miss Eleanor O. Gregory, daughter of Samuel and Ellen (Fillow) Gregory, of Wil- ton, in which place she was born. To their mar- riage there came two children: Stanton and Chester E.

Chester E. Coley was born on Chestnut Hill, in the town of Wilton, December 1, 1874, and his education was obtained in the common schools of the town of Wilton, also at Professor Lambert's school in the same place. Since com- pleting his education he has always been engaged in farming with his father. He married Miss Edna C. Bradley, daughter of Arthur Bradley, a farmer of Weston. They have no children.

W 'HEELER FAMILY OF STRATFORD .* I. Moses Wheeler (1) was born in Eng- land, probably in the County of Kent, in 1598, where the Wheeler family had resided for over four hundred years. He left London in 1638, and coming to America joined the New Haven Colony, and was among the first to receive an allotment of land in that Colony. Here he married Miriam Hawley, a sister of Joseph Hawley, one of the first and most influential settlers in this Colony.

Here he resided until 1648, when he was ex- pelled from the Colony, because of a slight in- fringement of one of the Blue Laws, for which this Colony was so noted. According to tradi- tion he had been absent from home for several months. The day on which he returned from his long journey was Sunday. The happiness, which he naturally felt on being united to his family once more, completely banished from his remembrance all idea of the Blue Laws, and he accordingly kissed his wife and children. This act coming to the knowledge of the authorities, he was immediately expelled from the Colony. He then joined the little settlement of Stratford. Here he purchased his home lot from the Indians on the Shore, near what is now known as Sandy Hollow. He afterward bought a vast tract at the upper part of the town, extending from the river to some distance above the present site of the New York, New Haven & Hartford rail- road.

In those days all these first settlers pursued some trade or occupation, and Moses Wheeler worked at the trade of a ship carpenter-which occupation according to history was then sorely needed-besides cultivating his land. Shortly

after his arrival at Stratford, Roger Ludlow presented to the General Court a request that Moses Wheeler should be allowed to keep the ferry at Stratford, and the decision of the matter being referred to the next Fairfield Court, the request was granted.

It appears from the records that the ferry was already established, and this application was only to secure the privilege as legal property. What the conditions for the privilege of the ferry were are not stated, but seventeen years after its es- tablishment the town saw fit to lease to Moses Wheeler the ferry with thirty or forty acres of upland adjoining it, for twenty-one years, with- out tax or rate except sixpence per annum during the time of said lease. The inhabitants were "to be ferried over for one half penny per per- son and two pence for horse or beast." If he should leave the ferry at the end of twenty-one years, the town agreed to pay him for any im- provements he might have made, and then take the property. By the will of Moses Wheeler (2). proved January 23, 1724-25, it is ascertained that he received the ferry from his father (Moses 1), and left it to his own Elnathan; therefore it remained in the family at least three generations, or over one hundred years.

Ten years previous to his death, Moses Wheeler disposed of most of his property to his sons-Moses, to whom the homestead descended, Samuel, and his son-in-law, Joseph Walker, the last named receiving the large tract of land be had bought of the Indians at Derby, Connecticut.

Besides being one of the largest land holders, he was one of the leading and most influential men in the town. He was a strong, powerful man, of whom the Indians are said to have stood in mortal terror. In 1665 he returned to Eng- land, but on his arrival in London he found the "Great Plague" raging there, and consequently did not remain long, but returned again to Strat- ford. He died on the 15th of January, 1698, and enjoys the distinction of being the first cen- tenarian white man in New England. He is buried in the old Congregational churchyard at Stratford. A rough stone, cut from the rocks at the homestead, marks his grave, with the inscrip- tion as follows :

MOSES WHELER, AGED 100, DYED JAN. 15TH. 1698.

By his will, proved February 19, 1698, after disposing of his real and personal property gen- erally, he says as follows :

*Compiled for the most part by E. Louise Scott, 1891.

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I give to my daughter Miriam two pewter dishes, to my son Moses, his wife, ye pewter platter, and to my daughter Mary, a bras kitle houlding ten to twelve gallons, the Abridgement of the Marter Booke, and Mr. Brooks His De- vices of Satan, and to Elizabeth ve wife of my son Samuel, ye great kitle, and to Mr. Israel Chauncey twenty shillings in silver.

Jane, a sister of Moses Wheeler, also came with him to America. She married the Rev. Adam Blakeman, the first clergyman of the Church of England in Stratford. She was two 1

years younger than her brother, having been born in 1600. She died in 1674. After the death of her first husband, she married Jacob Walker, son of Robert Walker, and brother of Rev. Zachariah Walker, pastor of the Congregational Church in Stratford. The Rev. Adam Blake- man was rector of the Church from 1639 to 1665. A son of his married Elizabeth, daughter of Moses Wheeler. Moses Wheeler had six children as follows: 1. Elizabeth, who married Samuel Blakeman (first). and Jacob Walker (second), and was the grandmother of Gen. David Woos- ter. 2. Miriam, who married James Blakeman, and was the mother ancestor of all the people named Blakeman or Blackman in the towns of Hunting- ton. Monroe, and Newtown: 3. Samuel, who left no children; 4. Moses, the ancestor of a numer- ous people: 5. Mary, who married (first) Sam- uel Fairchild, and (second) Benjamin Beach; and 6. Joanna. who died in 1694. unmarried.

11. MOSES WHEELER (2). son of Moses and Miriam (Hawley) Wheeler, was born at Stratford, July 5. 1651. He married Sarah, daughter of Caleb Nicholls, October 20, 1674. He inherited from his father the ferry, together with the home- stead. In time he removed the stone house which Moses (1) had erected, and replaced it with one of wood, which remained standing until May 12. 1891, when the old ruin was blown up with dyn- amite. Agricultural pursuits, together with the duties of the ferry, claimed the greater share of his attention. He died January 30, 1724. He is buried at the side of his father, and a similar stone marks his grave, evidently taken from the same place. The epitaph on his headstone is as follows, and the inscriptions on both are still quite legible :

HERE LAYS THE BODY OF MR. MOSES WHEELER WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE JAN. THE 30TH. 1724, IN THE 74TH. YEAR OF HIS AGE.

His estate inventories 1,463 £. 5s, 6d. mak- ing him among the wealthy men of Stratford.

The following is a copy of the will of Moses Wheeler (2):

In the name of God, Amen.

1. Moses Wheeler, of Stratford, in the County of Fairfield, in New England, in the Colony of Connecticut, yeo- man, being in Old Age and Weak of Body, But of Sound Mind, memory, and understanding. Thanks be given to God for the same, and considering the Uncertainty of Life and the Certainty of Death, do make and ordain This my Last Will and Testament in Manner and form following (that is to say) first I recommend my Soul into the hands of Al- mighty God who Created me, hoping through the merits of my Beloved Savior Jesus Christ, who redeemed me, to be made Partaker of Everlasting Life, and my Body I commit to the Earth from whence it was taken, to be Decently buryed at the Direction of my Executor hereinafter Named, and touching all what Temporal Estate it hath pleased God to. bless me with, I Give, Devise, and Dispose of as followetb: First-I will that all my just Debts and funeral charges are paid and satisfied. Then I give unto my Wife, five Pounds above what our agreement was before marriage. Then I give unto my Son James Wheler forty Pounds money. Then I give unto my son Nathan Wheler and Robert Wheler and my Daughter [illegible here where the documents are folded] * * *; unto my Son Samuel's Children and Granddaughter Sarah, wife of Jessup, forty shillings to each of them (that is to say four pounds, two pounds for the Children and twc pounds unto Sarah Jessup).

Then I give unto my Son Elnathan Wheler, whom I likewise Constitute, Make and Ordain my only and sole Executor of This my Last Will and Testament all and Sing. ular, my land, houses, tenements, Mortgages, ferry, and all movable Goods, chattels, household Goods, plate, Jewels, Debts, Credits, and Personal Estate of what kind, nature, circumstances soever is mine. To him my Loving Son El- nathan Wheler, to him, his Heirs, administrator, assigns for- ever, that is to say if my son Elnathan Wheler shall have Lawful Heirs born in Wedlock, if not, then the Tenements after his death to Return to the above said Brother and Sisters and Children in Eaquil Heirship, to the Sons of my children and Grandchildren, unto them and their Heirs forever, and I do hereby utterly Disavow, Revoke, and disallow all and ev- ery former Testaments, Wills, and Legal Writing heretofore Maid, Declaring this to be My last Will and Testament.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Seal this first Day of January 1724, and in the Eleventh year of the reign of our Soverign Lord, George, by the Grace of God of Great Britain King.

MOSES WHELER (Seal)

Signed, Sealed, Published.

To Moses Wheeler (II) and Sarah (Nicholls) Wheeler were born eight children as follows: 1. Moses, 2. Caleb, 3. Sarah, 4. Nathan or Elna- than. 5. Samuel. 6. James, 7. Robert, and 8. Elizabeth.

Sergeant Francis Nicholls, the grandfather of Sarah Nicholls. who married Moses Wheeler (II), came from England in 1635, and was in Stratford in 1639, among its first settlers. He was closely related 10 Col. Sir Richard Nicholl. the first English governor of New York, who es- tablished the first Episcopal Church in New York. and who. under the command of James. Duke of York, commanded the fleet that took New Netherlands from the Dutch in 1664, and named the place New York.

Francis Nicholls was a military man in Eng- land, and was a member of one of the famous regiments of Horse Guards in London; but the

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title of Sergeant was conferred upon him at Stratford. He was a member and communicant of the Church of England, and the ancestor of a pious, wealthy and distinguished family, whose fortunes are closely linked with the subsequent history of Stratford, and with the settlement and growth of Bridgeport. His son, Caleb, married Anne, daughter of Andrew Ward, of Fairfield, and died in 1690. He was the father of Sarah, who married Moses Wheeler (II) October 20, 1674.

III. MOSES WHEELER (3), son of Moses Wheeler (II) and Sarah (Nicholls) Wheeler, was born July 8. 1675. He married Ruth Bouton in December, 1698. To them were born two sons, as follows: Elnathan, and Nathaniel, who was drowned at the ferry. After the death of his wife he married Mercy, widow of Thomas Lattin and daughter of Henry Wakelyn.

IV. DEACON ELNATHAN WHEELER, the elder son of Moses Wheeler (III) and Ruth (Bouton) Wheeler, was born January 31. 1703. On De- cember 8, 1726, he married Martha De Forest, daughter of David and Martha (Blagge) De For- est. He died March 14, 1761. His estate in- ventoried 1,619 £. 11 s, 1 d, and included ** one negro man, Will., 30 £. twelve Silver Knee Buckles, a part of a set of china dishes, 4 Bibles and a number of books."

To Deacon Elnathan and Martha (De Forest) Wheeler were born eight children, namely: Ruth, Martha, Sarah, Nathaniel, Elizabeth, Mary, Elnathan and Eunice.

The following is a brief sketch of the De For- est family into which Deacon Elnathan Wheeler married: "This family first appears in Avesne, France, where from 1559 for many years a Span- ish Garrison was maintained, so that any tenden- .cy to the Protestant faith was especially subject to cruel persecution; but here, however, the De- Forests and several other families embraced the reformed doctrine. Successive persecutions led to several removals to Le Couteau, to Ledau, .and to Leyden. In the last named place, in 1606, were living four brothers: Jean, Jesse, Michel and Girard De Forest and their sister, Jeanne."

Jesse, ancestor of the Stratford Wheelers, married, at Leyden, Marie du Cloux. He with others. soon after the Plymouth Pilgrims left Holland, corresponded with the English authori- ties relative to the settling of Virginia; but this project was never consummated, and in 1623 he joined an expedition for the conquest of Brazil, where he died in 1624, probably at St. Salvador.

Isaac, son of Jesse and Marie (du Cloux) De- Forest, sailed with his brother for New Nether- lands, October 1, 1636, in the yacht Rensselaer- wick. At New Netherlands, June 9, 1641, he married Sarah du Trieux. daughter of Philip and Susanna (du Chiney) du Trieux, who were Wal- loons of the earliest migration.

David, son of Isaac and Sarah (du Trieux) De Forest, in 1696. married Martha Blagge, daughter of Samuel Blagge, of New York, who was the son of Capt. Benjamin Blagge. David came with his wife to Stratford, where they "cov- enanted with the Church " August 7, 1697. He was a glazier by trade, and died April 20. 1721.

Martha, daughter of David and Martha (Blagge) De Forest, was born April 13. 1700, and married Deacon Elnathan Wheeler, Decem- ber 8, 1726.

V. ELNATHAN WHEELER, the son of Deacon Elnathan and Martha (De Forest) Wheeler, was born May 20, 1740, and married Charity Frost, January 26, 1765. Charity Frost was the daugh- ter of Stephen Frost, son of Joseph Frost, of Charlestown, Mass. She was born in 1740. Her sister, Esther, married Solomon Plant, the father of David Plant, Lieutenant Governor of the State of Connecticut from 1823 to 1827, and from 1827 to 1829 a member of Congress. and one of the most influential men of his day in political cir- cles. To Elnathan and Charity (Frost) Wheeler were born six children, whose names and dates of birth and death are as follows: Elnathan, March 5, 1766, November 1, 1805; Charity. July 8, 1769, in 1797. unmarried; Elisha, July 26. 1772, May 5, 1853; Reuben, July 1, 1775. Octo- ber 24, 1852; Ruth, May 15, 1780, September 23, 1860; Stephen, March 1, 1782. September 18, 1847.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 140

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