Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 193

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

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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).

Nathaniel Selleck, father of Mrs. William B. Hill. was born in 1801 in the town of Danbury, Conn., and was a lifelong farmer. In politics he was originally a Whig, later, during the Civil war. becoming a Democrat. He married Miss Eunice Hull, who was born in 1809, daughter of Dennie and Polly (Platt) Hull, farming people of Redding, Conn., and children as follows were born to them: (1) Nathaniel B., a hatter by trade, was thrice married-to Sarah M. Burr, Decie M. Sherwood, and Martha Roscoe, respect- ively- and of his children one son, Nathaniel, is a physician in Danbury (he married Miss Mary Benedict). (2) David M., who resides in Cali- fornia. married Celia F. Miller. and has children -Eunice. Arthur, Katie, Laura and Oliver. (3) Ethan F., a carpenter by trade, died in Danbury; he married Julia Goodsell, and had one child- Caroline Selleck. (4) Oliver F., who was a car- penter in Danbury, married Mary Goodsell, and they had two children-William R. and Dora. (5) Katie A. (wife of our subject). born July 23, 1835. in Danbury, received her earlier education there and afterward attended the Normal School at New Britain, subsequently teaching school for some time prior to her marriage with Hon. W. B. Hil. By a second marriage Nathaniel Sel- Jeck had one son, Eugene W .. who married Clara Banks.

Beniamin Selleck, grandfather of Mrs. Hill, was born in Maryland, and was the owner of a large plantation in the South: he was also exten- sively engaged in contracting. He married Hanna Taylor. of Ridgefield, Conn., and had children: Nathaniel, mentioned above: Hanford, married to Betsey Bennett: Benjamin. married Ridgefield. where he practiced the healing art to Phebe Wood; and Katie A., who died young. | for fifty-nve years, having a very extensie

forty-five years in Ridgefield, is the fifth in the line of medical practitioners who have brought distinction to the name of Perry, his career com- pleting an unbroken record of one hundred and fifty years in which some one of his family has been in active practice in Ridgefield. As a phy- sician and surgeon he has fully sustained the prestige of his name, winning a place in the front ranks of the profession, and during his long term of practice he has so established himself in the affectionate regard of the community that the following history will be read with unusual interest.

The first ancestor of whom we have definite knowledge was Richard Perry, a lawyer, who came from England in 1637 and settled at New Haven. In 1649 he received a grant of land in Fairfield county, where many of his descendants have remained. Richard Perry's son Nathaniel. born in 1652, died in 1681; he married, in 1675. Hester, daughter of Richard Lyon. Their son Joseph, born in 1677, died in 1753; his third wife was Mary. daughter of Michael Clugstone. Their son Micah (or Michael), born in 1721. died in. 1797: he married, in 1742, Grace. daughter of Peter Sturges. Their son David was the grandfather of our subject.

Dr. David Perry was born in this county in 1747, and in 1772 settled in Ridgefield, where he was engaged in the practice of medicine for fifty years. He often rode to Bridgeport, and even to New York City, for text-books, and he acquired a wide reputation for skill and learning. He married Hannah Brown, by whom he had six children, viz .: David, who married Clarissa Benedict, of Ridgefield; Samuel, who married a Miss Catharda: Nehemiah, our subject's father: John, who died unmarried; Betsy, who became the wife of Thaddeus Keeler, of Ridgefield: and Lucy, who died unmarried.

Dr. Nehemiah Perry, Sr., the father of cu: subject, was born in Ridgefield in 1700 and died in 1860. He began the study of medicine with his father, and after completing a course in New York City received his degree in Connecti- cut from President Day, of Yale College. In ! 1811 he entered upon his professional career in

i clientele throughout this part of the State. For years he was a leading member of the Fairfield Medical Society, and his inherited talents. dr. veloped by study and observation, made him

N EHEMIAH PERRY. M. D. For more than two hundred years the Perry family has : been noted for the achievements of its members . eminent in correct diagnosis and skillful str- in professional lines, and especially in the science , gery. He owned the property now in the pos. of medicine. The subject of this sketch. who | session of Ex-Governor Lounsbury. His first recently retired after a successful practice of i wife was Mary Sanford, daughter of Esquire

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Lemuel and Betsy (Herron; Sanford, leading res- dents of Redding. Conn., and after her death he married Clarissa Purdy, of Somerstown, Westchester Co., N. Y. By his first marriage it had five children, as follows: Lucy, who lied in childhood; Sarah, wite of Hon. Henry Kuggles, of Norwich, Conn., who was consul at Barcelona, Spain, during Grant's administration, ind is now hving retired; Nehemiah, our sub- . rect, who will be mentioned more fully below; Lemuel, who died in infancy: and Samuel, who hatned Mary Osborn. of Redding. Cons .. By the second marriage there was one daughter, Ellen Cliff Perry, who died in 1890. unmarried. Dr. Nehemiah Ferry, and Sarah. Mrs. Henry Kureles, are the only children hvis

Dr. Nehemiah Perry was born in Ridgefield in 1827. He received his early education in the academy of Hugh Stocker Banks, and the pri- vate school conducted by Doctor Short, an Epis- 1 of Daniel Herbert; Rachel A. is the wife of copal clergyman. His medical education was acquired under the able instruction of his father. . the wife of Rev. Cheney, a Congregational min. with whom he was in practice from the age of , ister of Wisconsin; James was a highly success- eighteen until 1866. From that time until his . ful physician of Chicago, where he died. upon retirement, in 1893. he practiced alone, his his deathbed receiving the appointment to suc. reed Doctor Lee " in the highest medical posi. tion in Chicago:" and John H. (the youngest in the family), who died in Peoria, Illinois patients being scattered over an area of twenty miles in the immediate vicinity of Ridgefield. He undoubtedly inherited his adap tability to his profession, and by his skill and success gained During his boyhood and youth B. E. Mead attended the public schools, which at that time Were very crude. After his parents removal to more than a local reputation, having been called to New York City for consultation in more than one critical care. In surgical work . New York he attended the Gilbertsville Academy he was notably efficient, although he is unus- ually well-grounded in all branches of general practice, and has been a close student all his life

Doctor Perry married Miss Emily Pierson Jennings, daughter of the late Augustus Jen- nings, of Southport, Conn., and they have two daughters-Lucile Jennings Jetty and Grace Jennings Perry. The family is identified with the Episcopal Church, and is prominent in the best social circles of this section. The Doctor is not active in public affairs, but he is a firm believer in the principles of the Republican party. while his father and grandfather were stanch Whigs.

B E. MEAD, one of the leading dentists and worthy citizens of Greenwich. Fairfield county, was born in the northein portion of that town, March 8, 1826, a son of Allan and Rachel (Hait) Mead. The Hait family (whose name has been corrupted to Host, is one of the old and well-known families coming of Revolutionary stock, and was originally of Swiss extraction.

Our subiect's father was born in Greenwich, Conn., in 1,99, and was a son of Edmund and Rebecca (Knapp) Reed. In his younger days he worked at the cooper's trade, though he was reared as a farmer boy. He was married in Greenwich, and in 1837 removed to Otsego coun- ty. N. Y., which was a great dairying country. and while there he made many firkins of butter. He died of cholera in 1849, and his wife, who survived him for many years, passed away at the npe old age of eighty-two, both being buried in Greenwich. They were faithful members of the Congregational Church, and he was a Whig in politics

In the family of this worthy couple were the following children: Seth, a druggist, who died in . Peekskill, N. Y .; B. E. is next in order of birth: Wilham, a farmer, is also deceased; Nehemiah is a drugeist of Akron, lowa; Sarah is the wife Charles F. Horton, of Akron, Jowa; Mary L. is

for a time, but when yet in his 'teens he went to I live with his uncle, Nehemiah Hait, of Green- wich, Conn., where he made his home for sev- eral years. After the death of his father he set- ! tled up the business of the estate in a skillful 1 manner without any litigation, although he was yet quite young. He then looked after no small amount of business for his mother in connection with the estate of her brother, Nehemiah Hait.

For several years Mr. Mead was a resident of Peekskill. N. Y., and while at that place started the Peekskill Enamel Iron Company, which flourished under his superintendency. but rapidly declined under his successor. While in Otsego county, N. Y., during his youth, he spent considerable time in a dental office, but circum- stances caused him to give up that work for awhile, and on his removal from Peekskill to Un- adilla. that State, he again took up the study of dentistry under Doctors Niles & Ireland, success- | ful and skilled practitioners. On returning to Greenwich, in 1869, he opened an office, and soon succeeded in building up a large and lucra- ' tive practice, which he still enjoys.

At the age of twenty-seven years. Doctor

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Mead was united in marriage with Miss Eliza- beth J. Weed, of Greenwich, a daughter of Isaac Weed, and their children are: Carrie, at home; Libby, now Mrs. J. Merritt Smith, of Greenwich; and Edward J., a leading dentist of Mamaroneck, N. Y. Doctor Mead has always been a robust, stout and hardy man, and is exceptionally well preserved for his years. In politics he is a stal- wart Republican; in religious faith he is a mem- ber of the Congregational Church, while socially, he is identified with the Royal Arcanum.

TACOB MORRIS LOCKWOOD, of Ridge- field, Fairfield county, was born May 13, 1817, at Pound Ridge, Westchester Co., N. \' .. of English descent which is traced as fol- lows:

(1) Robert Lockwood came from England in 1630, settling in Watertown, Mass., where six of his children were born, and he was made a freeman in March, 1636-37. He was appoint- ed executor of the estate of Edmond Lockwood. About 1646 he removed to Fairfield, Conn., where his four younger children were born-ten in all, named respectively: (II) Jonathan, De- borah, Joseph, Daniel, Ephraim. Gersham, John, Abigail, Sarah and Mary. The mother of these children was Susannah- (II) Jonathan Lockwood (Lieut.), son of Robert (I), was born September 10, 1634, in Watertown, Mass., and died May 12, 1688, in Greenwich, Conn. On January 1, 1657, he signed a paper at Easttowne, N. Netherlands, promising allegiance to the Gov- ernor so long as he lived within his jurisdiction. He moved to Stamford. Conn., October 16, 1660, and resided there until 1665, when he re- moved to Greenwich, and there became a free- man in 1670; in May, 1671, he was an assistant, and in 1672 he was one of twenty-seven proprie- tors. He became a prominent citizen of Green- wich, and represented the town in the Legisla- ture four years. By his wife Mary (Ferris), daughter of Jeffrey Ferris, he had children: Jona- than, Robert, Gersham, (111) Joseph, John, Sa- rah (who married Michael Lounsbery), and Abi- gail.

(III) Joseph Lockwood. son of Lieutenant Jonathan (II), was born, in 1673, in Stamford, Conn., was admitted a freeman February 17, 1697, and died in 1759 at Pound Ridge, West- chester Co., N. Y. He was twice married, first on May 19, 1698, to Elizabeth Ayers, who died in childhood December 16, 1715. For his sec- ond wife he wedded, August 10, 1716, Margery Webb, who was born October 4, 1683, and died January 2, 1739. A brief record of (III) Joseph's

children by his first wife is as follows: Joseph, born March 15, 1699, married Sarah Hoyt; Han- nah, born March 24, 1701, married David Dann; John, born September 18, 1703; Nathaniel, born April 1, 1706; Elizabeth, born May 15, 1708; Israel, born June 4, 1710; Mary, born~, 17 -; and Reuben, born December 15, 1715. The only child born to (III) Joseph by his second wife was (IV) James.

(IV) James Lockwood (Lieut .- Col.), youngest son of (III) Joseph, was born July 15, 1722, at Stamford, Conn., and married Mary Norton. Issue: Mary L., born March 3, 1742; James, born March -, 1758; (V) Jacob; Susannah, who married Ephraim Lockwood; Thankful, wife of James Benedict; Elizabeth, wife of Jacob Wood: Lydia, who married Elisha Pelham; and Esther, wife of James Harford.

(V) Jacob Lockwood, son of (IV) James, was born at Stamford, Conn., and appears to have moved to New Canaan. He married Mary Pel- ham, and children as follows were born to them:

(VI) James Lockwood, son of (V) Jacob. was born July 1, 1787, in New Canaan. Fairfield Co .. Conn. He was a worker in wood, a wagon maker and mill-wright by trade, and frequently went to the South, being a widely-known expert in his line. He lived in Pound Ridge, Fishkill and Bedford, N. Y., in which latter place he died June 3, 1834, in his forty-seventh year. He served in the war of 1812. On August 3, 1808, at Pound Ridge, N. Y., he married Nancy J. Al- bin, daughter of Jonathan Albin, and children. as follows were born to them: Hannah, born June 20, 1809, married Aaron Arnold, and died May 14. 1877; Sidney, born February 8, 1811, mar- ried Polly Arnold, and died in 1889; Mary, born January 10, 1813, married Alexander Lounsbury, and died in 1891; Jeremiah T., born January 7. 1815. married Jane Sheriger, and died in 1869 (she died in November, 1892); (VII) Jacob M. [see below]; Nancy J., born June 7, 1819, mar- ried D. Bishop, and died March 14, 1896; George W .. born March 14, 1822, married Betsey Saun- I ders, and died June 7, 1893; Eliza, born October 26, 1826, married David De Forest, and lives in New Canaan; John H., born August 3, 1828, died August 6, 1838; Charles, born February -, 1831, died January 19, 1881; and Anna M., born February 6, 1833, died in New Canaan June 17. 1886.

(VII) Jacob M. Lockwood, son of (VI) James, and the subject proper of this biographical sketch. was born May 13, 1817, at Pound Ridge. West- chester Co., N. Y., and up to the age of fifteen years attended the public schools, receiving a liberal education, after which he learned the

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trade of cabinet maker with Hawley & Picket, of , say that there is no more highly respected resi- Ridgefield, following same as a journeyman some : dent of this village, where he is as universally seven years, and also carpentry for a time. From , esteemed as he is well known. Mr. Bennett is 1840 to 1866 he conducted the principal trade in i a son of Deacon Charles Bennett (who in his day his line in that town, doing a large business, and . was an equally prominent man in this locality), he helped to build the M. E. church in Ridge- 1 and a grandson of Moses and Abigail Bennett.

field, which still stands. In 1866 he commenced

Charles Bennett was born in 1792 in West- the undertaking business in Ridgefield, which he ; port. Conn., learned the trade of shoemaker, continued until 1875 in connection with carpen- . and after his marriage settled in the village of tering, and he has occasionally engaged at it | Fairfield, Fairfield county, where he passed the since. By hard work, judicious care, and strict . remainder of his days. He engaged in the man- integrity in all his dealings, Mr. Lockwood suc- ufacture of boots and shoes on what was in those ceeded in amassing a comfortable competence. i days considered an extensive scale, and was Leaving the paternal roof when he was but ten years old, he has in truth been the architect of his own fortune, and stands pre-emment among the typical self-made men of his time. At one

finally enabled to purchase the property still owned by his son Arthur. whereon he erected a I factory, also the family residence, where he died February 1, 1871. Mr. Bennett prospered, and time he owned the land about his own home i deservedly, after his removal to Fairfield, and he where now stands the Catholic church. In 1865 i supplied a large Southern trade for many years. he started what was called the Ridgefield Come- . He became one of the foremost citizens of that tery Association, and he has ever since been its neighborhood, taking an active part in public af- superintendent: from time to time he has sold ' fairs, and as a public-spirited man, deeply inter- lots to the association from his land.

. ested in the welfare of his community, he was

In 1838 Mr. Lockwood married Miss Julia M. . often consulted on matters of local importance. Stevens, daughter of Abner and Abigail M. possessing the confidence of his fellow men to Stevens, of Greenwich, Conn., and they had three children, as follows: (1) Adeline A., born April 25, 1840. marned (first) Andrew Smith, by whom she has two children -- James W. and Emma Frances: and after his death she became the wife of Bradley Edmond. (2) Frank Wil- mot, born March 19. 1842, is a minister of the M. E. Church. in Philadelphia; he married Re- becca J. Hamilton, of Philadelphia, and has one

an unusual degree. He was a Whig and later a Republican in political faith, and though no poli- . tican in the sense of office-seeker he was elected to represent Fairfield in the State Legislature, an incumbency he filled with the ability and thoroughness which characterized all his under- takings. He was no less active in religious matters, and he was an earnest member and zealous worker in the Church, for many years son. Frank Hamilton. (3) Imma Lind (named : holding the office of deacon. Mr. Bennett be- after Jennie Lind, the songstress), born June 16. 1850, married Amos Randolph Northrop. of Lewisboro, N. Y., and had one child, Nelle Wilmot, who died at the age of six years.

gan life with no capital save a thorough knowl- edge of his trade and a pair of willing hands: but in spite of this discouraging lack of financial means at the outset he managed to accumulate family well, at his death leaving a valuable estate.

In politics our subiect was originally a Whig. I a comfortable competence, and he reared his voting for William H. Harrison in 1840, and since the organization of the party has been a . As a man of strict integrity and honorable prin- stanch Republican. In religious faith he is a ( ciples in all the relations of life, he ranked sec-

member of the M. E. Church at Ridgefield, of which he has for many years been trustee. He has always taken an active interest in the pros- perity of the village and its enterprises, has been one of its most public-spirited citizens, and no one is more deserving of prominent representa- tion in the pages of this work than Jacob Morris Lockwood.

ond to none in his vicinity, and he was a most influential and respected member of the com- munity where all his active years were spent. He was one of the executors of the will of Roger Sherman.

Mr. Bennett was first married, at the age of twenty-one. to Miss Polly Bennett, who was born in 1793, and died September 14, 1862. Her remains rest beside his in the Fairfield East cemetery. Five children blessed this union, as follows: Henry, who became his father's part- ner in the shoe business, died November 27, 1857; William, who was a tailor by trade, died Octo-

A RTHUR BENNETT has been living retired in Fairfield, Fairfield Co., Conn., for the past twenty-five years, occupying the "old homestead " where he was born, and it is safe to i ber 13, 1896, aged seventy- five years; Oliver, of

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whom all trace has been lost; Arthur; and Jane (Mrs. Charles Bibbins). The father wedded, for his second wife, Miss Mary Bennett, who passed away August 15, 1892, at the age of eighty-five years.

turning to Bridgeport, our subject was appointed. by Governor Buckingham, to the position of in- structor for Captain Siprell's company, 4th Conn. V. 1., which was then being organized. As soon as his engagement with that company was ended he assisted Col. Richard Fitzgibbons in raising

Arthur Bennett was born July 18. 1826. in the village of Fairfield, where he grew to man- ! Company 1, 6th Conn. V. I., of which he was hood, in his earlier years attending the common made captain, and with which company he served in all its operations around Charles- ton, S. C., on James Island, the investiture of Fort Pulaski, and the battle of Pocataligo. schools and later the Fairfield Academy, under Professor Benton and Professor Tufts. When seventeen he took up the shoemaker's trade in his father's shop, and he continued at the busi- | S. C., until the spring of 1862. After that he ness during all his active years, conducting the | was on recruiting service, and was assigned to factory after his father's retirement until it was abandoned. As above stated, he has led a retired life for the past quarter of a century, and he has passed all his days on the "old home- stead" of the Bennett family. Our subject was married, at the age of forty-six years, to Miss Ellen Burr Perry, daughter of Curtis and Harriet (Sherwood) Perry, of Westport, Conn. Mrs. Bennett is a member of the Congregational Church. Mr. Bennett was originally a Whig in politics, and is now a loyal Republican, though he takes no interest in party affairs beyond voting. duty under the provost marshal to assist in en- forcing the draft. At Grapevine Point, New Haven, Conn., he organized the depot of drafted men for the States of Rhode Island and Con- necticut. In 1863 he resigned his connection with the Connecticut Volunteers to accept serv- ice in the 25th United States Colored Troops, ten regiments of which were organized under the direct supervision of the War Department at Washington. He joined the 25th as captain. from which rank he was in course of time pro- I moted to major, and he served in the defense of Newbern, N. C., and the department of Flori- da. He was also ordnance officer on the staff of M MAJOR THOMAS BOUDREN. who for the past twenty years has been superintendent of the White Manufacturing Company, of Bridge- port. is a native of New Jersey, born at Newark, January 3, 1832, a son of Michael Boudren, who came from Ireland to America in 1828, and died in 1844. General Asboth, commanding the Department of West Florida. At the close of the war he was honorably discharged, having served his country continuously from August, 1861, to December 2. 1865. Once more taking up the vocations of peace, he renewed the carriage-lamp manufactur- ing business, and in 1877 he became the super- intendent of the White Manufacturing Company, of Bridgeport, manufacturers of carriage lamps. carriage hardware and hearse mountings, which concern has been in existence since 1832. Our subject is also a stockholder in same.

Mr. Boudien passed his boyhood in Philadel- phia, New York, New Haven and Bridgeport, attending school in New York, New Haven and Bridgeport. At the early age of nine years he commenced earning a living, at first as errand In 1854. in Bridgeport, Conn., Major Bou- dren was married to Miss Elizabeth North, a na- tive of England, and two children have been born to them: (1) Elizabeth North, who mar- ried Alvin A. Libby, and has two children- Bessie and Helene; and (2) Sarah Ellen. Po- boy, and when he was fifteen he was apprenticed in Newark, N. J .. to the carriage-lamp making business. Leaving Newark for Bridgeport, in 1852, he commenced working for the Bradley & White Manufacturing Company, corner of Broad and Carmon streets, and continued with that | litically, the Major is a pronounced Republican. in which year he went to Phila- I delphia anu . mbarked in the manufacture of carriage lamps on his own account.

At the breaking out of the Civil war. how- ever, he closed his business and secured an en- gagement as instructor for several military or- ganizations, and for six weeks put the 20th Penn. V. I. " through their facings" until that regiment was ordered to the front. On that occasion he was offered a commission by Governor Curtin, of Pennsylvania, but declined the honor. Re- | the year 1898. He is affiliated with St. John's

but has never sought office. Socially, he is a member of Elias Howe, Jr., Post No. 3, G. A. R., and has served the Post in every elective ca- pacity from officer of the guard to post com- mander, which latter office he filled two years. He has a record of never having been absent from post meeting for over fifteen years, except- ing in case of sickness or absence from town He was also Senior Vice Department Commander of the Department of Connecticut, G. A. R., for

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 193

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