Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 141

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 141

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).

Elnathan Wheeler lived at the Wheeler homestead, which he inherited from his father. He occupied himself, as his ancestors had done for four previous generations, with farming. By this time the occupancy of the ferry had passed out of the family, and in 1813, when the first bridge over the Housatonic river, between Strat- ford and Milford, was built, the custom of ferry- ing people across the river was discontinued altogether. He was a man of firm principle. upright and honest in all his dealings, and greatly respected by all his associates. He was a large landholder, as may be seen from the fact of his liberal provision for his four sons. For his eldest son, Elnathan, he provided a large farm at Harvey's Farm, a short distance north of his own home. Elisha was given a farm adjoining that of his father on the north. To Reuben he

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gave a farm in Putney, in the northern part of the town, and at his death, February 14. 1809, he left the Wheeler homestead to his youngest son, Stephen. His wife survived him several years, and after his death lived at the homestead with her son Stephen. She died March 6, 1816, in her seventy-seventh year.

VI. ELNATHAN WHEELER. eldest child of Elnathan and Charity (Frost) Wheeler, was born at Stratford. March 5, 1766, and died November 1, 1805. He married Phebe Peck, and to them were born two children: Johannah, who married Curtis Lewis, of Stratford, and was the mother of several children; and Capt. James Wheeler, a sketch of whom follows. Elnathan Wheeler was engaged in agricultural pursuits, living at Harvey's Farm until his death. November 1, 1805. After his decease his widow resided with her son, Capt. James Wheeler, until her own death in 1840, at the age of seventy-two.

VII. Capt. James Wheeler was born in Stratford, Conn., in 1792, and passed his life there as a prosperous farmer, dying January 3, 1875. He was prominent in local affairs, being active in the Democratic organization of his day. and he took a leading part in the founding of the M. E. Church in his locality, his homestead on the "River Road " being the first place of meeting for the society. He also manifested much interest in military matters, his title of Captain being gained by service in the State Militia. He died January 3, 1875, and his wife, Hannah Wilcox, a daughter of Gideon Wilcox, passed away May 24, 1841. This worthy couple had eight children as follows: (1) Stephen Lewis (known as Lewis) died in the West, where he was engaged in farming. (2) Esther died at the age of seven years. (3) Stiles W. died in infancy. (4) Phebe (deceased) married David Curtis, a carriage maker and blacksmith in Trumbull. (5) John Peck is fully spoken of farther on. (6) James died in childhood. (7) Stiles (2), a farm- er, married Jane Stitson, of Newtown, and died at the age of sixty-eight leaving two children: Cortez, a farmer; and Jane, wife of Samuel Les- sey, who is connected with the Birmingham Bank at Derby. (8) Elnathan died in infancy.

Charity. the second child of Elnathan and Charity (Frost) Wheeler, was born July 8, 1769, and died May 1, 1797. unmarried.

Elisha, the third child of Elnathan and Chari- ty (Frost) Wheeler, was born July 26, 1772, and died May 5. 1853. He married Dorothy Bird- seye, who was born in 1776, and died January 12, 1847. She was the daughter of Ezra Birdseyse, of Oronoque, and a granddaughter of the Rev. Nathan Birdseye, who lived to an extreme age;

in fact he preached a sermon in the Congrega- tional Church in Stratford, on his one hundredth birthday! His tombstone bears the following in- scription.

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF THE

REV. NATHAN BIRDSEYE, A. M. HE WAS BORN AUGUST 19TH. 1714. GRADUATED AT YALE COLLEGE IN 1736, ORDAINED AT WEST HAVEN, 1742, DISMISSED AND RECOMMENDED BY THE CONSOCIATION 1758 AND DEPARTED THIS LIFE JANUARY 28TH. 1818. AGED 103 YEARS. 5 MONTHS, AND 9 DAYS. THE MEMORY OF THE JUST IS BLESSED.

To Elisha and Dorothy (Birdseye) Wheeler. were born three children: George, Ralph and Ezra. George was born at Stratford in 1800. He married Betsy C. Booth, of Stratford, Octo- ber 23, 1829, and died July 16, 1835. To George and Betsy (Booth) Wheeler were born three children as follows: Mary Curtiss, born December 26, 1831, and died July 29, 1833. Lucy Birdseye, born September 4, 1830, now re- siding at Stratford; and George Birdseye, born June 6, 1835. He married and removed to Kansas City, where he still resides. Ralph, the second son, was born in 1807. He married Eliz- abeth Gall, of Hudson, N. Y., and to them was born one son, Elisha, who died several years ago. He married (second) Mary -, and to them were born two children: Phebe, who married and resides in New York City; and William, who went to the West, where he settled. Ralph died a few years since.

Ezra, the youngest son, was born in Strat- ford November 18, 1809, and died at New York City December 18, 1885. At an early age he went to New York City, where he engaged in business, and amassed a fortune of over one mil- lion dollars. He married (first) Caroline Dar- row, of New York City. To them were born two children: Sarah Ellen, who married Dr. Walter De F. Day, of New York City; and Car- oline, who is unmarried. He married (second) Celia Vischer, of Albany, New York. To them were born two children: John Vischer, who re- sides in New York; and Celia Vischer, who died several years ago. He married (third) Emily Curtiss, of Stratford, who survives him. Their children were: (1) Emily Curtiss, born in 1852, and died August 28, 1872. (2) Arthur De For- est, who married Caroline May Dunbar, of Strat- ford, in 1884. (3) Laura. (4) Walter and (5) Edward, who both died in infancy.

Reuben, the fourth child of Elnathan and Charity (Frost) Wheeler, was born at Stratford,

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July 1, 1775, and died at his farm in Putney on October 24, 1852. His first wife was Phebe Booth, who was born in 1779, and died July 12, 1819. To them were born eight children, namely: Charity, Harriet, Elnathan, William, Jane, Charles, Catherine and Phebe. He mar- ried for his second wife, Juliette Wilcox, of Strat- ford, and to them were born four children, namely: (1) Emily, who married Samuel Mc- Carthy, of Chicago, but who died shortly after- ward. (2) Jane, who married the Rev. Thomas Oakley, a Methodist clergyman, but lived only a short time afterward. (3) Betsy Ann, who after Jane's death married the Rev. Thomas Oakley, and who is also dead; both she and her sisters are interred in Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport, Conn. (4) Frank A., who was born in 1825, and died February 27, 1827.

Charity, the eldest child of Reuben and Phebe (Booth) Wheeler, was born August 9, 1801. In August, 1824, she married Nathaniel Wheeler Curtis, a grandson of Nathaniel Wheeler, who was a son of Deacon Elnathan Wheeler. To them were born two children: Edwin W., who resides in Bridgeport; and Cornelia I., who lives in Stratford. Harriet, the second child, was born in 1804. She married (first) Philo Hawley, a wealthy farmer of Putney, and to them was born a son, Lewis Henry, who died at about the age of twenty. After the death of Mr. Hawley, she married Nicholas Northrop, of Bridgeport, Conn. She died in March, 1888.

Elnathan, the third child of Reuben and Phebe Wheeler, was born in 1806. He married Maria Elizabeth Wells, daughter of Judson Wells, of Stratford. He settled in Westport, Conn., where he engaged in business, and where be now resides. To Elnathan and Maria Eliza- beth (Wells) Wheeler, were born four children, namely: (1) Emeline Augusta, born in August, 1829; (2) Sarah Maria, born in December, 1831; (3) Henry A., born about 1835, who resides in Bridgeport, where he is engaged in business; and (4) Elbert Lewis, who was born about 1837.

William, the fourth child of Reuben and Phebe Wheeler, was born at Stratford, Conn., November 25, 1809. In December, 1833, at London, Canada West (now Ontario), he married Caroline Milinda Flanegan, daughter of Joseph and Milinda Flanegan, who was born at London, C. W., November 19, 1814. In 1838 they re- moved to Chicago, and were, therefore, among its first settlers. He was engaged in the hard- ware business at both London, C. W., and Chi- cago until 1856, when he retired from business, having amassed a fortune of $300,000. He was an earnest Christian, both he and his wife being

great workers in the Methodist Church, where he held high offices, being first president of the board of trustees of the First Methodist Church in Chicago, which office he held until the time of his death. He also held other offices of trust. He was elected as an alderman in 1843. He was held in high esteem by his neighbors and as- sociates, and was never known in his life to have an enemy. He died November 10, 1878. His wife died in Chicago, March 6, 1875.

To William and Caroline Milinda (Flanegan) Wheeler were born eight children as follows: Phebe, born in London, C. W., May 9, 1835, and died at the same place May 19, 1835. Charles Gilbert, born in London, C. W., July 23, 1836. William, born in London, C. W .. August 8, 1837, and died January 29, 1844, at Chicago. Mary Jane, born at Chicago, May 31, 1839. Louise W. (Brown), born at Chicago, April 10, 1842, and died June 30, 1878, at Chi- cago. Augustus William, born at Chicago, No- vember 9, 1843. Edward, born at Chicago, Au- gust 3, 1845, and died there June 10, 1846; and Henry, born at Chicago May 20, 1848, and died at the same place July 28, 1854.

Jane, the fifth child of Reuben and Phebe Wheeler, was born at Putney (Stratford) in 1811, and died August 26, 1822.

Charles, sixth child, was born March 9, 1812. He married, November 29, 1837, Ruth Ann Nich- ols, of Nichols Farms, Conn. To them were born two children as follows: Charles Beach, born December 5. 1840, married Julia Bradley, of Westport, Conn., where he was for a time en- gaged in business, and where he now resides; and Phebe Maria, born May 3, 1852, married Win- field Kellogg Hoagland, and resides at Elgin, Ill. Charles Wheeler died September 29, 1867.

Catherine, seventh child of Reuben and Phebe Wheeler, was born in 1816, and died in 1874. In 1840 she married Charles Curtiss, of Putney, and they afterward removed to Bridgeport where she died. He died in March, 1888. To them were born two daughters: Mary Kate, who mar- ried Dr. A. E. Fones, a dentist in East Bridge- port, where they reside; and Hattie Louise, who married (first) the Rev. Mr. Hughes, a Methodist clergyman, who died a few years since, and (sec- ond) in 1890 wedded the Rev. Mr. Bassett, also a clergyman of the same Church).

Phebe, the youngest child of Reuben and Phebe Weeeler, was born in June, 1819, and died in December, 1819.

Ruth, the fifth child of Elnathan and Charity (Frost) Wheeler, was born at the Wheeler home- stead May 15, 1780, and died at Derby, Conn .. September 23, 1860. In January, 1806, she was

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married to Elijah Booth, of Stratford, who was born in May, 1776, and died in September, 1868. He was one the wealthiest and most influential men of his day in Stratford, and was universally known as "Squire Booth." He was a pious, cultivated man, much respected by the com- munity in which he lived. They had one daughter, Charity Wheeler, born in October, 1806. who in April, 1835, married Urban H. Swift, of Derby, Conn., son of the Rev. Mr. Swift, who was pastor of the Congregational Church at Derby for over thirty years. She was a saintly woman of an exceptionally lovely char- acter, who ministered lovingly to her parents in their declining years.

Her father and mother both died at her home, the former in 1868 and the latter in 1860. She died in May, 1886. A local paper said of her at the time of her death: "The deceased was a lady of most exemplary and inestimable worth. While modest and retiring in her manner, her hand was ever open to acts of benevolence and kindness, and she will be greatly missed in this community, where she has lived since her mar- riage to Mr. Swift, fifty-one years ago. She was a devoted member of the Derby Congregational Church, where her loss will be keenly felt. She was a lady of more than ordinary ability, and in her own home the blow will fall very heavily." To Urban H. and Charity (Booth) Swift was born one daughter, Sarah Elizabeth, who was born December 30, 1842, and who resides with her father at their residence at Derby.

Stephen, the youngest child of Elnathan and Charity (Frost) Wheeler (so named for his grand- father, Stephen Frost), was born March 1, 1782, and died September 18, 1847. In 1811 he mar- ried Phebe Beardslee, daughter of Curtis and Mary (Allen) Beardslee, who was born Decem- ber 12, 1790, and died September 12, 1868. He inherited from his father the Wheeler home- stead, which he was the last of his name to oc- cupy, for at his death it passed into the hands of his daughters (he having no son), who in 1875 sold it to the Hon. D. M. Read, of Bridgeport. The house, which was built by Moses Wheeler (II), sometime between the years of 1698 and 1724, after it ceased to be occupied by the grand- mother of E. Louise Scott, who and her sister, as just stated, transferred it in 1875 to Hon. D. M. Read, rapidly fell into a ruined state, and on the 12th of May. 1891, it was blown up with dynamite, and nothing now remains of the house which sheltered the heads of seven generations, except a heap of stones and a few pieces of tim- ber and some charred shingles.

Mrs. Phebe Wheeler possessed great personal

beauty, which, added to a fine intellect, ease of manner and affability, made her the belle for miles around; and these girls as they arrived at maturity, became as noted for their charming manner as their mother had been before them. Margaret and Louisa particularly were great beauties. Mary and Elizabeth resembled the Wheeler family more, but were none the less at- tractive, and their society no less sought after. being brilliant conversationalists. Both Stephen Wheeler and his wife were very hospitable, and their house was constantly filled with company. Among others who used to delight to visit there were James Scott (great-grandfather of E. Louise Scott), with his three sons, William, James and Henry. Mrs. Wheeler was quite a favorite of Mr. Scott, and he used to take delight in telling her, and she in listening to him, about his for- mer home in Scotland, and of his father's fam- ily, and his'relatives, the family of the Duke of Buccleuch. He lived to the age of ninety-three, and maintained the same friendly feelings toward her to the last.

Stephen Wheeler was a man of a mild, ami- able disposition, well read, priding himself upon his knowledge of current events, polished in his manner, of an exceedingly social disposition, and was famed for miles and miles around for his un- bounded hospitality; and not for his friends alone, but the usually unwelcome guest and the "poor relation " were always accorded a warm welcome at his fireside. He died September 18, 1847. and was buried in the Union cemetery at Stratford. He was bred a Presbyterian, in com- mon with the rest of the Wheeler family, but after his marriage to Phebe Beardslee, who had been educated in the Church of England, he with his wife attended the Episcopal Church. of which she was a communicant, and into which all their children were admitted by the holy sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. It was commonly said of him in Stratford that he never had an enemy, so great was the esteem in which he was held. His occupation was farm- ing, and several old account books owned and used by him which are still in the possession of the family, show the methodical way in which his business was conducted.

To Stephen and Phebe (Beardslee) Wheeler were born four children, as follows: Mary Cur- tis, born November 14, 1813, died March 5, 1836; Louisa Anne, born May 10, 1815; Sarah Eliza- beth, born February 12, 1818; Margaret Eleanor, born March 13, 1820, died October 15, 1884.

Mary Wheeler, eldest daughter of Stephen and Phebe (Beardslee) Wheeler, married, May 15. 1832, Henry Clancy Scott, son of James and

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Elizabeth (Clancy) Scott, of New York. To them were born two sons, namely: Henry Clancy, born at Stratford, May 7, 1833, died at Derby, Conn., July 13, 1856; and Stephen Wheeler, born at Little Bay Side (Flushing), L. I., June 11, 1835, and now residing at Osakis, Douglas Co., Minnesota.

Louisa Anne, the second daughter of Stephen and Phebe Wheeler, married Charles Gilbert, of Stratford, in 1842. He died March 3, 1877; she still resides in Stratford. To them were born four children: Mary Louisa, born in 1847, died December 22, 1868. Margaret Allen, born Feb- ruary 11, 1848, married Frederick C. Beach, son of Alfred E. Beach, of Munn & Co., publishers of the "Scientific American;" they reside at Stratford. William Howard, born in 1851, died April 17, 1864. Fanny Louise, born in 1856, died March 13, 1873.

Sarah Elizabeth, the third daughter, mar- ried, November 26, 1837, Henry Clancy Scott, of New York City, son of James and Elizabeth (Clancy) Scott, who was born in 1808, and died January 19, 1848. She now resides at Bridge- port, Conn. To them were born two sons: James Griffith, born at Stratford, January 9, 1839, married February 13, 1872, at Garner- ville, N. Y., Caroline Louisa Garner, daughter of Henry and Caroline (Wheeler) Garner. For thirteen years he held the position of secre- tary of the Rockland Print Works at Garner- ville, and then became a member of the firm of Bennett, Rowan & Scott, brick manufacturers at Haverstraw, N. Y., of which Garnerville is a suburb.

Thomas Carnley Scott, the younger son, was born at .. Moscow " (Stratford), September 4, 1841, married December 20, 1865, Margaret Jane, daughter of William M. and Amelia Louisa Dunning, of Bridgeport, Conn. She died at Bridgeport, Conn., December 17, 1876. To them were born two children: Emme Louise, born April 14, 1869, and Bertha Frances, born April 28, 1874.

Margaret Eleanor, the youngest daughter of Stephen and Phebe (Beardslee) Wheeler, was born at Stratford, March 13, 1820. She mar- ried James Clifford Allen, son of James Clifford and Hanna (Hinmon) Allen, of Bridgeport. They resided in Brooklyn, N. Y., where they both died in 1884, the former on October 15, and the latter in November of the same year. To them were born five children: James Clifford, Jr .; Francis Hamilton, who died in 1875; Margaret Eleanor, married to William B. Gould, who is in business in New York City; they reside at

Montrose (Orange), N. J. Theodore Hinman, who resides in California. Harriet White, who married Henry W. Raymond, son of the late Henry Jarvis Raymond, of the New York Times; they now reside in Washington, D. C., Mr. Ray- mond being private secretary to Benjamin F. Tracey, Secretary of the Navy.

VIII. JOHN P. WHEELER, in his lifetime a prominent resident of Stratford was, as will be seen by the foregoing, of the eighth generation in descent from I. Moses Wheeler (1), the immi- grant. He was born August 30, 1825, in the old Wheeler homestead on the Ferry road, in the town of Stratford. where he attended the com- mon school and the academy. Reared to farm work, he was always interested in agriculture.

In 18- Mr. Wheeler was married to Harriet A. Baldwin, daughter of Noah Baldwin, of Mil- ford, and settled upon a farm which he had por- chased in Derby. This farm he shortly after sold to good advantage. He then moved to Stratford, where he bought several different farms, and sold each one at a profit. He finally bought a large tract of land on the Ferry road nearly opposite the old homestead, where he built a large, comfortable house. Here he lived until shortly after his wife's death, which oc- curred April 19, 1892.

Their union had been blessed with six chil- dren: Emma, Noah, Sarah, Harriet, Lewis and Sterling. On December 7, 1893, Mr. Wheeler was again wedded, this time to Miss Elizabeth I. Clark, who was born in Stratford, Conn., a daughter of Nathan W. and Mary J. Clark, the ·former a native of Milford, the latter of Strat- ford. At this time he built a handsome residence in the center of Stratford, upon the main street, where he enjoyed the comforts of life in his de- clining years. By this marriage there was one child whose memory was sacred and sweet, a daughter named Miriam Elizabeth, born Sep- tember 22, 1894, and died December 2, 1897.

Although Mr. Wheeler had sold a good por- tion of his property, he still retained the old Wheeler homestead, which had been in the family for so many generations.

The death of Mr. Wheeler occurred January 27. 1899, as a result of injuries received from being thrown from a wagon, caused by the run- ning away of a pair of horses. He was seventy. three years old at the time. In religious faith he was identified with, and enrolled upon, the membership of the M. E. Church, to which be contributed regularly during his life, and of which at the time of his death he was a member of the official board, serving on the board of

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stewards. By his will the M. E. Church at Stratford received about seven thousand dollars, one-sixth of the residue of his estate, to be con -. stituted a permanent fund to be known as "The Miriam E. Wheeler Memorial Fund," in honor of the little daughter whom he dearly loved. In politics he was a Republican, but never sought public office or engaged in active party work.

W ATSON E. RICE, M. D., one of the new comers to Stamford, Fairfield county, where he has just been established in the prac- tice of medicine, was for twenty years a success- ful and leading physician at North Grafton, Massachusetts.

Born December 15, 1848, at Shrewsbury, Mass., Dr. Rice is a son of Rev. Gardner Rice, who was an educator of considerable note. He was a regularly ordained minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but never took a charge. For years he conducted academies at Holliston, New Salem, and Shrewsbury, all points in Massachu- setts. Nathan Rice, the father of Rev. Gardner Rice, was a physician at Wayland, Mass. Our subject passed his boyhood at New Salein, Athol, Berlin and Shrewsbury, Mass. He was schooled principally under the tuition of his fa- ther. He prepared himself for teaching, and for six years was engaged in that profession in his native State. He also taught some in Parkers- burg, W. Va., and while teaching there he began the study of medicine under the direction of Dr. Willliam Gilman, of that place. Later he en- tered the Medical Department of the University Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he took a three- years' course, and was graduated in 1872. After his graduation he located in practice at Plymouth, Mich,. remaining only two months; from there he went to North Grafton, Mass., where for nineteen years and six months he made for himself the repu- tation of being an intelligent gentleman, a useful citizen, and a skillful physician. He sold his practice at that point and went to Seattle, Wash., where he passed the winter of 1891-92. In May, 1892, he located at Stamford, Conn., where he has since been actively engaged in his professional duties.

The Doctor is a member of the Massachu- setts Medical Society, of which he was counsel- or for twelve years, and of the Fairfield County Medical Society, of which he was elected vice- president in the spring of 1898. He was elected a member of the General Assembly in November, 1898. Doctor Rice since coming to Stamford has taken much interest in the public schools. and he is now a member of the school board.

He is also a member of the Stamford board of health. Fraternally, he is identified with Ritten- house Chapter, also with the Commandery, F. & A. M., at Worcester, Mass., and is a member of the Royal Arcanum at Stamford.

Doctor Rice was married, at North Grafton, Mass., to Miss Emma F. Pierce, West Brook- field, Mass., and their home has been blessed with the following named children: Winthrop Merton, Philip Bernard and Rowland Granville.

A NDREW B. CURTISS, a resident of Step- ney, Monroe township, Fairfield county, has since early manhood been connected with some of the most important business enterprises of that place, and as the successor of his father, has made the name of Curtiss a synonym in Stepney for progress, industry and honorable conduct in all matters, business or otherwise.

Mr. Curtiss is a native of the town, born July 25, 1844, and is the son of Barnum Curtiss, who founded the business now carried on by his son, and is still remembered by the people as a most deservedly successful business man and a public- spirited citizen. Barnum Curtiss was born Janu- ary 31, 1807, in Southbury, New Haven Co .. Conn., and was one of the five children of Lewis and Polly Curtiss, viz .: Barnum; Mary (Mrs. Northrop), born October 6. 1808; Samantha (Mrs. Styles Johnson), born August 27, 1813; Alfred (now deceased), born July 8. 1818; and Lewis, born April 17, 1825, living in Huntington, Fairfield Co., Conn. Lewis Curtiss. Sr., mar- ried a second time, and by that union had one son, Stiles, who was born November 6. 1838, and died April 5, 1842. The father passed away September 12, 1839. The great-grandfather. Samuel Curtiss, married Hannah Sears. He had a sister Allie and a brother Doremus.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 141

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