Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 182

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

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America. At fourteen he left school and began an apprenticeship in a tin shop, where he re- field, Conn .. where he spent one summer. The : mained nine months. In 1870, at the age of six: next seven years were passed in the employ of : teen, he left the Fatherland for America, and in

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lite, and has given ample proof of energy in doing SO. Politically, he is a stanch Democrat, and he takes keen interest in local affairs. In No- vember, 1896, he was elected a member of the General Assembly by a majority of 150, the fight being a hard one, while his majority was among the largest on the ticket. In religious faith Mr. Houlihan is a Catholic. and he is a leading inem- ber of St. Rosa's Church at Newtown. Socially. he is identified with the Order of Foresters. Sandy Hook Court.

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March of that year landed in New York. Going | his first wife had children as follows: Harvey, immediately to Patterson, Putnam Co., N. Y., | Mary, Samuel, Laura, George, Deborah, Green he found employment on a farm, and followed | and William, all now deceased. Samuel was agricultural pursuits until he was nineteen years the last to pass away; he was a bachelor and for years lived in the West (where he had acquired a ! snug fortune), spending his winters in Florida. He is buried in Middle Patton cemetery. of age. He then went to New York and shipped as a seaman in the United States navy, on the old ship .. Vermont. " setting sail from the Brook- lyn Navy yards. Three years he spent in the George Sutherland was born in April, 1813. navy, and then, returning to Patterson, he re- | in Greenwich township, near the New York mained there a similar length of time, in August, | State line. He was given such education as 1879, removing to Danbury, where he learned i could be acquired in the schools of his day, and the hatter's trade. For eight years he worked at this business for two different firms, Beckerle & Co., and Loewe & Co., but in September. 1887. he was appointed to a position on the Dan- bury police force. Since that time he has been in active service in that department, and on De- cember 7. 1893, he was appointed to his present rank of sergeant. Politically, Mr. Dittmar is a Democrat, and he has always taken much inter- est in the questions that concern the welfare of his adopted country. early in life learned the shoemaker's trade, at which he worked in different places in this re- gion. In North Castle he married Deborah A. Searles, who was born in 1822 in Bedford, N. Y., daughter of James Searles, a farmer, and they commenced housekeeping in that township. | later removing to Greenwich. Here he lived for twenty-five years before his death, which oc- curred in 1883, and his remains were buried in the cemetery at Middle Patton, N. Y. Mrs. Sutherland still survives, living at present in Norwalk. Conn. This worthy couple were the parents of six children: Mary, who married Daniel F. Thomas, and died in Greenwich; Si- las; James, who is a resident of Norwalk, Conn .: Phoebe A., who died when fourteen years old: Samuel, deceased; and Evaline, who became the wife of Walter E. Scofield, and died in Rye, N. Y. Mr. Sutherland was a stanch Democrat in politics, but he took no part in public affairs be. yond casting his vote regularly.

In 1883 Mr. Dittmar married Miss Annie C. Tilk, daughter of John and Fredericka (Miller) Tilk, and four children have blessed the union: Julia Fredericka. Carrie, Emil John and Hen- rietta Louisa. Mr. Dittmar and his wife and children are all identified with the German Lu- theran Church; socially, he is an active member of Samaritan Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Danbury.

SILAS SUTHERLAND, a popular citizen and well-to-do farmer of Greenwich township, Fairfield Co., Conn., was born November 16, 1846, in North Castle township, Westchester Co., N. Y., in which neighborhood the family has lived since the middle of the eighteenth cent- ury. He is a great-great-grandson of Roger Sutherland, who came from Putnam county, N. Y .. and settled in the town of North Castle near the Connecticut State line.

Roger Sutherland and his first wife, Abigail. were the parents of seven children, born as fol- lows: William, March 16, 1745; James, January 27, 1747: Roger, Jr., March 16. 1748; Joseph, January 19, 1749; Hannah, March 15, 1751; Stephen. April 6, 1753; Silas, February 5, 1755. Mr. Sutherland's second wife was Mary Scofield, and her children were Abagail, born September 7, 1759: Mary, born June 24, 1761: and Sarah, born January 26, 1763. Silas Sutherland. the youngest child of the first wife, was a farmer, and died in 1846; he was for years a deacon of the East Stanwich Church. His remains rest in the Middle Patton cemetery, in Westchester county, N. Y. His son Silas was twice married, and by

Silas Sutherland attended the country dis- trict schools in his boyhood, and began to learn the shoemaker's trade with his father when four- teen years old. He soon abandoned it, however. and engaged as a farm hand. working for the three sisters of Capt. John Banks, who conducted a farm in North Castle township. For five years after this our subject was employed as clerk in a grocery store at Twentieth street and Third ave- nue, New York City, and thence, in 1868, went to Texas, before there was a railroad to Austin, in that State. He was engaged in clearing the right of way for the railroad, and similar work, for two years, after which he returned east, liv. ing in New York for a time, where for over a year he was employed as conductor on the Third Avenue railroad. During his stay in Texas he made and spent money freely, but he has since been content with the more peaceful life of a farmer, in which he has been no less successful. In July, 1877, he was married, in Banksville, N. Y., to Miss Christina Sauter, of Washington Heights, N. Y .. and they commenced housekeep- ing in Banksville, where they resided until 1882. The family then settled on the farm which has

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since been their home, the old .. Conklin Husted ! of Ireland, and they became the parents of seven Farm." which consists of 115 acres of good land. : children, viz. : Thomas, who lives in Greenwich; Mr. Sutherland has made numerous improve- | ments upon this piace since he became the owner . and has also remodeled the residence at consider- ! able expense, converting the place into a most comfortable, desirable home He carries on gen- eral agriculture, enjoying a comfortable income from this source. and is considered one of the best farmers in his locality.

Annie, deceased in childhood: Mary E., unmar- ried; John (1). who died in childhood; John (2). who lives in Greenwich; William H., who died ' in Greenwich; and Patrick. The father was forty-five years of age when he died, the mother passed away at the age of fifty-four and they sleep their last sleep in the Catholic cemetery at Greenwich. Mr. Doran was an active and | enthusiastic supporter of the principles of the Democratic party, in whose interest he was a

1 Five children have blessed the union of Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland. viz. : Edith E .. Cora A . Laura E .. Silas S. and Lilhan M., all of whom | hard worker, especially about election day. when are still at home, and the domestic circle is an : he would do his best to get out every voter on his unusually bright and cheerful one. The family | ticket. Few men do as much as he did for the are known all over the township for their socia- ; success of the party without some expectation of bility and hospitality. Mrs Sutherland unites reward; but he was no politician in the sense of with the Congregational Church. Fraternally, I office seeker, and had no ambition for political Mr. Sutherland belongs to Banksville Council preferment for himself. Personally, he was a No. 86, Jr. O. U. A. M., of which he was a . man of ordinary height and build, weighing about charter member. He is a Democrat in politics. I one hundred and fifty pounds.

and has taken an active interest in the public al- Patrick Doran, whose name introduces this fairs of this vicinity, having served creditably in t sketch, attended school in Greenwich during his various local offices of honor and trust. For four years he held the office of assessor, was select- 1 man two terms, and has also been a member of the grand jury. He has an extensive acquaint- ance throughout the township, where he num- bers his friends by the score youth, at which time Prof. Wright was at the head of the public schools. His education was I over when he was seventeen, and he then com- , menced to learn the molder's trade, spending two years and a half in that business in Port I Chester, N. Y. When work in that line grew I slack he returned to Greenwich and started an express and draying business, which he sold at the end of a year, going to Stamford, where he

P ATRICK DORAN, one of the substantial ! citizens of the thriving little village of Green- I found employment as a barber. Later he had a wich. Fairfield Co .. Conn., is a native of the i barber business of his own in that city, and in place, born October 17, 1854. He is of Irish descent. his father. Patrick Doran, having been :

1 born in County Westmeath, Ireland, where he . strict attention to business and carefulness in all grew to manhood.

things, he has gathered a snug property, and is 1 1881 he returned to Greenwich for good, open- ing the liquor store he has since conducted. By spinted citizen should display. He is an ardent admirer of fine horse-flesh, and is the owner of some of the best horses in Greenwich.

The latter came to the United States when a : one of the well-to-do men of his town. in whose young man, and for a number of years worked as ; progress he takes the interest every public- a laborer. being employed during part of the time | in the construction of the New York & New Haven railroad. By industry and frugality he managed to save some of his earnings, accumulating enough to set him up in the grocery and liquor business

Mr. Doran was married October 8th, 1884. in Mt. Vernon, N. Y., to Miss Mary McCann, a in Greenwich, Conn . where he settled. He . native of Stanwich, Fairfield Co., Conn., daugh- built his own store, and commenced on a small , ter of Charles McCann. They have three chil- scale. enlarging the place as trade grew. and | dren: Bessie, Frank P. and Veronica ]. The never once relaxing his early habits of steadiness. family are Catholics in religious faith; politically, Mr. Doran is a stanch Democrat. perseverance and economy. On commencing life he was poor in this world's goods, but his honesty and many other good traits were a capital not to be despised, and when he died, in : 18;0, in the prime of life, he had acquired a com- L YMAN M. FERRIS is prominent among the large land owners and successful farmers of Greenwich township, Fairfield county, and is a native of same, born November 7. 1851, on the fortable competence by his labors. In New York City Mr. Doran was married, by Bishop Hughes, to Jane Mathews, who, like himself, was a native , farm which he now owns and resides upon. The

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property has been in the Ferris family for about a century, having been owned by Nathaniel, the grandfather of our subject, who was also a farmer.

on shares, and he has since conducted it on his own account, making numerous improvements on the place in the passing years. From time

Nathaniel Ferris was born May 27, 1766. and | to time he has added to the original tract, and died April 16, 1824; he was buried on the farm. now has 150 acres, which he cultivates in a sys- I tematic manner. deriving a comfortable income 1768, and died August 13. 1808; the second wife, I from the proceeds of his work. He has also 1 engaged to some extent in stock dealing, making a specialty of horses, and has raised some fine drivers, being an ardent admirer of good horse- | flesh; he owns several valuable animals, and is a prominent and enthusiastic member of the Green- wich Driving Club, which has done much to raise interest in fine horses in this locality. He I is a charter member of the Greenwich Farmers His first wife, Lydia, was born September 13. Permelia, was born March 30, 1783. and died November 30. 1856. There were ten children in the family. Henry Ferris, the father of Lyman, being among the younger members. He was born October 29, 1811, on the farm where he grew to manhood, during his early years attend- ing the common schools and assisting with the work at home. When old enough he entered an

apprenticeship to the shoemaker's trade, which | Club, and is always found foremost among the i advocates of improvement and progress in his I township, where he is regarded by all as a most

years. Henry Ferris was twice married, first to | substantial citizen, one who is worthy of the respect he commands.

he learned thoroughly, and which he followed, especially during the winter seasons, for many

Eliza Mead, who was a native of Greenwich and a daughter of Bush Mead, and by her he had

On April 28, 1875, Mr. Ferris was united in three children: Adaline (Mrs. Henry Searles), i marriage with Miss Emily Derby, of Round Hill, who died in Sing Sing. N. Y .; Emily, who is the i who was born at that place in 1850, the daughter wife of David Ingersoll, of Greenwich; and Sarah | of Edward Derby. They have always lived on E., who died young. Mrs. Eliza Ferris passed | the farm. One child has come to bless this away in 1847. and Mr. Ferris subsequently wedded | union, Herbert H., born March 1, 1877, who is I now attending college at Worcester, Mass. Mr.

Miss Lydia Mead, who was born February 6, 1809, in Greenwich, where her father, Eumund | Ferris is. a member of the Jr. O. U. A. M .. Mead, carried on farming. Two children came I uniting with Banksville Council No. 86. Polit- ically, he follows in the footsteps of his father, being a firm supporter of the Republican party. to this union: Lyman M., and Eliza (Mrs. Lean- der Sniffire), of Sing Sing, N. Y. After his mar- riage Mr. Ferris lived for some years in another house on the farm, but he finally bought the ! place and took up his residence in the old home- stead. He died November 13, 1873, Mrs. Ferris

on January 8, 1892, and their remains lie in the private cemetery on the farm. They were mem- bers of the Greenwich Congregational Church. Tall and spare in build, and in early years blessed with robust health. Mr. Ferris was a good work- er, and became the owner of his desirable prop- erty by dint of steady industry during his active years. In early life he was a Whig, in later years a stanch Republican, and at one time he held office, serving his township creditably, though he was no seeker after political honors.

RANCIS E. WEED, senior member of the firm of F. E. Weed & Co., coal and lumber merchants at New Canaan, has been identified in numerous ways with the business, political, and I social life of the town and locality where he makes his home, and is regarded as one of its most valuable and enterprising citizens. He was born in New Canaan. November 26, 1841, as was also his father: his grandfather, Carey Weed: settled on a farm here at an early date, coming from Stamford.

Carey Weed was born in 1782, and died November 9, 1842. He married Clarrissa St. John, a native of New Canaan, and by her had two children: Delia, born in January, 1811, in New Canaan, who married Morris Seeley (he is now deceased); and William H. (father of Fran- cis E.), born April 23. 1813, died November 10. 1863. For his second wife Carey Weed married Hannah Reed, and they had one child, An-

William H. Weed spent his boyhood in the

value to him. He was just one year past his majority when his father died, leaving him the | locality of his birth, where he attended the farm, which he had worked the year previously | district school, and was reared to farm life.

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Lyman M. Ferris was given a good practical education, in his early youth attending the pub- lic schools of Stanwich, and, later, a select school of that place. As he was the only son in the family. he was initiated into the details of farm work at a tender age, receiving a thorough training under his father's tuition in general agriculture, which has proved of inestimable I drew J., who is now deceased.

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When a young man he learned the shoemaker's trade, but he did not follow it long, engaging for ; the New Canaan R. R., and acted as general the most part in farming, and. to some extent, in butchering. He also did contract work of vari- ous kinds, making cellars, laying stone walls, etc. On January 27, 1837. he was married at Pound Ridge, N. Y .. to Mary E. Hanford, whose father, , Austin Hanford. died in the service during the | May, 1882, when he took as a partner George E. 1 1

1852; Julia M., born December 23, 1838. is liv- | formed another, George Kellogg becoming a

war of 1812. Seven children were born to this marriage, a brief record of whom is as follows: Harriet, born August 3, 1837. died September 7, 1 ing in Norwalk, Conn. ; Francis E. is the sub- ject proper of this sketch; William A., born Sep- tember 21. 1846. died June 9, 1804: Sarah A. (twin of Wilham), born September 21, 1846, married Pierre Gentieu, and lives in Delaware; | handling and shipping of their stock. George W., born February 22, 1850, died De- ember 19. 1873; Emma L., born May 18, 1851, married Juhan Burt, and died September 19. 1893. The father of this family belonged to the Connecticut Militia, and was a captain in the horse artillery.

Francis C. Weed was reared in the town of New Canaan, and there received his education. He began active hte at an early age, for when only mine years old he was working out by the month. At the age of eighteen he entered the New Canaan post office under postmaster H. B. Hoyt, and was employed there continually until the lincoln administration. During the early part of the Civil war, he went down to Capt. Isaac Hoyts farm, in Darien, to take charge while the Captain was in the service, but in the fall of 1861, not satisfied to remain at home at such a time, he himself enlisted. He joined Company B. 13th Conn. Vols., under Captain Comstock, and they served in the Department of the Gulf until the last year of the war, when they were transferred to Sheridan's command, and served with him in the Shenandoah Valley. Mr. Weed was taken prisoner at the battle of Winchester. Va .. was first confined in Libby prison, and thence taken to the prison on Belle Isle, and Salisbury, N. C .; he was paroled at Goldsboro, and passed into the Union hines at Wilmington, N. C., just after the capture of Fort Fisher. He was a member of the famous storming column at Port Hudson, La. He was wounded in the Red river expedition, but cons tinued in active service until 1865, when he wa- mustered out at Savannah, Ga. On his return to New Canaan he found employment with the Hoyt Manufacturing Company as shirt cutter, remaining with them until 1868, when the New Canaan railroad was built, and he was made station agent. In addition to the ordinary duties

of agent he made all the freight contracts for

--- freight and ticket agent, retaining this position until January 1, 1879, when the road went into the hands of a receiver. In 1880 he embarked in the coal and lumber business, which he has ever since carried on, conducting it alone until Lockwood, the firm name becoming Weed & Lockwood. This partnership was dissolved in 1888, and in August of that year Mr. Weed

I member of the firm, which has since been known as F. E. Weed & Co. They do a very large business, and have side tracks, trestle work and all other necessary conveniences to facilitate the

Mr. Weed has been quite active in the public life of the community, and has assisted in the local government in various capacities, having been honored with election to the offices of select- man, assessor, constable, member of the board of relief. and justice of the peace. At one time he represented the town in the State Legislature, and he has in all these positions displayed marked ability and good judgment in the discharge of his duties. He was the first business manager of the New Canaan Messenger, and then, as ever. gave his influence and support to all worthy and beneficial measures for the general good. He is at present one of the directors of the New Canaan Water Works; was instrumental in reorganizing the present volunteer Fire Department, and was its first president. He is president of the New Canaan Savings Bank. Fraternally, Mr. Weed is a prominent member of Wooster Lodge No. 37, I. O. O. F. ; of Harmony Lodge No. 67, F. & A. M., of which for six years he has been master: and of S. P. Ferris Post No. 61, G. A. R., of which he was first commander.

Mr. Weed was married April 3, 1867, in South Norwalk, Conn., to Miss Martha J. Brush, who was born September 7, 1845, and two children have blessed their union, viz .: William Francis, born January 31. 1873, now an artist and a pro- fessional illustrator; and Bertha G., born April 25, 1875, who died July 9, 1880. The family worship at the New Canaan Episcopal Church, of which Mr. Weed is a member and vestryman. and for a number of years was superintendent of the Sunday-school.

Mrs. Weed's great-great-grandparents were Thomas and Lucy (Ball) Brush, the latter of whom was a daughter of Capt. Allen Ball. The great-grandparents were Eliphalet and Eunice Hall (Lee) Brush. Her grandfather was named Arza Brush, while her father was Henry Chap-

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man Brush. He was born February 16, 1820, and died at Ridgefield, Conn., April 26, 1897. Her mother, Clarissa (St. John), was born Janu- ary 18, 1820, and died December 22, 1888.

R' EUBEN MOORE GIBBS, a well-known merchant of Bethel, Fairfield county, is of the eighth generation in direct descent from the noted pioneer, Giles Gibbs, who was among the earliest settlers at Windsor, Conn., coming from Dorchester, England, in 1633, and after a short residence at Dorchester, Mass., locating at Windsor. where he died in May. 1641.

The line is traced as follows through a list of ancestors whose high character has made the name an honored one in various fields of effort: (2) Samuel Gibbs, born at Windsor, died there February 8, 1719. (3) Benjamin Gibbs, who was born at Windsor in 1675. made his per- manent home at Litchfield; he married Abigail Marshall in 1708. (4) Gershom Gibbs, who was born at Litchfield in July, 1721, was the first white male child born there; he married Tabitha Moore. During the Revolutionary war he served as a soldier under Captain Beebe and on Novem- ber 16, 1776, he was captured by the British while defending Fort Washington. near New York City. He died on December 29, of that year. on board a prison ship. His brother Caleb also fought in the cause of liberty and was first commander of General Washington's Life Guards. (5) Moore Gibbs, who was born at Litchfield, January 12, 1751, was married in New Britain, Conn .. on June 29, 1786, to Patience Skeels; he died in 1844 at the advanced age of ninety-three years. (6) Reuben Marshall Gibbs. our sub- ject's grandfather, was born at Litchfield, March 14. 1794. and after attaining manhood's estate located at Kent, Conn., where he died August 22. 1871. His wife was Catherine Cole. In 1812 he enlisted in the Twenty-second Regiment Connecticut Militia, under Capt. David Scott. and did gallant service. (7) Marshall Cole Gibbs, the father of our subject, was born at Litchfield, October 20, 1820, but he has been spending his later years at Kent, Conn., where he still lives. He served as justice of the peace, was repre- sentative to the State Legislature, and was a prominent member of the Congregational Church, in which he held the office of deacon. He mar- ried Mary Ann Yale, a descendant of Elihu Yale.

The subject of this biography was born Feb- ruary 20, 1860, at New Haven, but his educa- tion was obtained in Kent, Conn., where he at- tended the public schools for a time and then

took a course in the Cottage Seminary. Later he taught in the public schools of that town, and he has always manifested great interest in edu- cational work. having served as a member of the board of school visitors at Kent. In the spring of 1887 he engaged in a general mercantile busi- ness at Kent, and in 1891 he went to Derby, Conn., as a member of the firm of Dunbar & Gibbs. This partnership was dissolved at the end of two years, and in the spring of 1893 he located at Bethel where he has ever since been engaged in the business as a general merchant. His success has been remarkable, his business now occupying two stores at Nos. 73 and 75 Center street.

On November 20, 1890, Mr. Gibbs was mar- ried in Brookfield, this county, to Miss Mary Adelaide Bradley, a native of Litchfield. The union has been blessed with three children: Mary Lemyra, born October 1, 1891; Marshall Bradley, February 16, 1894. and Dorothy Yale, January 13. 1896. The family is identified with the Congregational Church at Kent.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 182

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