Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 195

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 195

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).

connected with the sub-treasury at New York, and he has been for many years regarded as one of the shrewdest and most successful inanciers of the center of monetary interests He helped to organize the Bank of New Amsterdam, of which he was the first president, and since his retirement from that position he has held the : the name of the corporation was changed by once of director. He has always been a leading order of court to the Norwalk Street Railroad worker in municipal affairs. and at the time of . Company, and he has since acted as secretary. the great riots in New York he served as acting treasurer and manager of same. He is a mem-

Digitized by Google

958

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ber of the Board of Trade, and his sound judg- ment is appreciated in business circles. He is prominent socially as a member of the Masonic and other fraternities, including the Norwalk Club, of which he is president, and the Tennis Club, in which he formerly held the same posi- tion ; he also belongs to the Connecticut State Dental Society. Politically, he is affiliated with the Republican party. The Doctor is unmarried.

E ADWARD McCALL. This well-known resi- dent of Bridgeport, who is now living in re- tirement after a life of industry, is held in high esteem among his acquaintances, and the enter- prise and business ability shown in his successful struggle with adverse circumstances deserves a lasting record.

The McCall family is of Irish origin, and the home of our subject's ancestors has been located for many generations in County Monaghan, Ire- land. Thomas McCall, our subject's father, who was a farmer in that county, married Miss Jane Smith, and had nine children, as follows: John {who died in infancy), Owen, Patrick, Margaret, Bridget, Jane, John (2), Edward and Thomas.

Our subject was born in 1833 at the old home in County Monaghan, and was educated in the national schools at that place. On leaving school at the age of seventeen he spent a year at home, but in 1852 he came to America, landing in New York City in May of that year. Being familiar with agricultural work, he soon found employment on a farm near Monroe, Conn., where he remained about a year, and he then went to Bridgeport and worked two years upon a farm at ten dollars per month. His next situa- tion was at Black Rock, where he spent eight months in farm labor, but on drawing his pay for that time he decided to seek better opportunities in the West. Going to Detroit, Mich., therefore, he was employed for two years in the hardware store of Mckibbon & Co., and then he purchased a horse and wagon with which he engaged in a trucking business. This be continued for three years, meeting with gratifying success, and his savings enabled him to purchase a farm fourteen miles from the city. After residing at the farm for three years he returned to Detroit, but soon afterward he wisely concluded that this section afforded greater advantages than he had found in the West, so, coming back to Bridgeport, he lo- cated here permanently. For a time he worked at various callings as opportunity permitted, and it was nearly a year after his return before he secured steady employment as driver of a milk wagon for a Mr. Hough, with whom he remained

about three years. He then took a lease of the Bailey farm, where the Sea Side Park is now lo- cated. Twelve years later the farm was pur- chased by George Mallory, P. T. Barnum and Nathaniel Wheeler, who were then associated in extensive real-estate transactions, and Mr. Mc- Call was employed by Mr. Mallory to attend to certain details of the work of the park. For about four years he had charge of the mowing, the machine being drawn by a horse, and about 1887 he retired from active work. During his business career he managed to accumulate a fine competence, his real-estate holdings in Bridge- port being worth from $25, 000 to $30,000. This includes his comfortable residence at No. 156 Railroad avenue, three double houses on Myrtle avenue, and a store at the corner of Myrtle and Railroad avenues. For several years Mr. Mc- Call served as a special policeman at Bridgeport, and he has always taken a keen interest in local affairs. In politics he is a Democrat, and he and his family are prominently identified with the Church of the Sacred Heart (Roman Catholic). in which he holds the office of first trustee.

Mr. McCall has been twice married. first to Miss Julia Monaghan, who died in 1877, and in 1880 he formed a second matrimonial union, this time with Miss Annie Gaynor, of Bridgeport. who died August 3, 1898. He has had three children (all by the first marriage), two of whom are living: Thomas, who is married and has two children (he is employed as engineer on a ferry boat plying between New York and Staten Island,; and Mary Ann, who married Friendship Cole, and has five children-Lillie, Willie, Eddie. Charles and Annie. The family reside in one of our subject's houses. Mr. McCall has been a hard worker, is a man of good judgment, and commands the respect of the community.

J TAMES CHASE LEACH is a prosperous agri- culturist residing in Pembroke District, town of Danbury, his farm, though small, being well-managed and maintained in a fine state of cultivation.

Mr. Leach comes of good New England stock, and his grandparents, Amos and Helen (Pepper) Leach, were both born in Vermont, the former on September 25, 1776, and the latter on July 6, 1760. Their son Jacob, our subject's father, was born in Vermont January 9, 1801, and died in 1863. He was an excellent mechanic. and for many years was engaged in business at New Fair- field. Conn., as a millwright, blacksmith and car- penter, acquiring through his industry a valuable property, including a house, a gristmill, a saw-

Digitized by

Google

959

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

mill and a cider-mill. He married Miss Lavina Chase, who was born April 15, 1801, and died in 18;4. Our subject was the youngest of tive chil- dren, the others being Elial. Lorinda. William Bannett, and Daniel Pepper.

a native of Wilton. Our subject is the youngest in their family of seven children, the others be- ing Mary E., wife of Frank Nash, of Danbury. this county; Miss Anna A., who resides in Wil- ton; Helen (deceased), formerly the wife of Theo-

Mr. Leach, our subject, was born July 26, ' dore Goff: Miss Josephine, who is at home: 1840, at the old home in the town of New Fair- George (deceased), who was an engineer by oc- cupation: and Emma, wife of James Hanford, of Wilton. field, and he received his early education in the district schools of that locality. At eighteen he bepan to work for his father, and so continued session of his present place, which was known as Miss Harnet Matilda Frost, daughter of Jacob and Angeline (Stevens) Frost, and granddaughter of Stephen Frost. On the maternal side her grandparents were Zadoc and Phabe (White) Stevens. Mr. Leach raises general crops, includ- ing corn and potatoes, and for several years he was engaged in tobacco growing. The farm con- tains about sixty acres, and is bounded on the north by the lands of Aaron Maliett, on the cast by the Neversink Swamp, on the south by the lands of Aaron Mallett, and on the west by the highway running from Danbury to New Fairfield, commonly called the bear Mountain road.

Mr. and Mrs. Leach have had five children: Haret Annette, George Henry, Lewis LeGrand, Cora Belle (who died in infancy), and Floyd James. The family is identified with the Method- ist Episcopal Church in New Fairfield, of which Mr. and Mrs. Leach, Lewis and Floyd are all members. In politics Mr. Leach is a Democrat, and he has always taken an active interest in lo- cal affairs, especially in those pertaining to educa- tional advancement, and for five years he served as school trustee.

F RANK D. MOREHOUSE, of Bridgeport, has won more than local reputation as a manufacturer of carbonated beverages, and his celebrated " Berkshire " distilled water has a wide sale.

Mr. Morehouse is of English descent in the paternal line, but his ancestors came to this sec- tion at an early day, and his grandfather More- house was a farmer in the town of Westport. Eliphalet Morehouse, our subject's father, was born in the town of Westport and, although he learned the shoemaker's trade in youth, became . a farmer there. Later he removed to a farm in ' what was substantially a school of navigation. Wilton, this county, where he now resides. His | He died in the year 1845, his wife in 1861. wife, whose maiden name was Grummond, was .

Henry Sturges, only son of Jeremiah, suc-

Digitized by

Google

Our subject was born September 11, 1854. until he reached the age of twenty-two when he I at the old home in Wilton, where his boyhood engaged in farming. For some time he rented ' was spent. He learned the hatter's trade, but different farms, but in 1876 he came into pos- i after following it about seven years he engaged i in his present line of business, in 1882 opening the old Frost homestead. In 1860 he married ( a bottling establishment at Long Branch, N. J. 1 In 1887 he removed to Bridgeport and founded I his present establishment at No. 40 Ogden street, where he has built up a fine trade, the local cus. tom being especially large. In 1882 he married Miss Catherine Sherwood, daughter of Perdy and Sarah Sherwood, of Wilton, and two children have blessed this union: Essie and Catherine. Mr. and Mrs. Morehouse are much esteemed so- cially, and he is connected with the Order of Woodmen of the World, an insurance society; the I. O. O. F., Butler Lodge of S. Norwalk, and the K. of P., Joseph Dowdell Lodge No. 40. at Bridgeport. Politically, he affiliates with the Republican party.

W ILLIAM SHELTON STURGES was born May 29, 1852, at Southport, Conn. He is a son of Henry Sturges, who was born in 1812 at the same place, and he is a grandson of Jeremiah Sturges, one of the early settlers of Southport. Jeremiah Sturges was a shipbuilder of that place, also carried on a drug store and a coal yard. He owned some ocean- going ships, having nine vessels in the Mediter- ranean trade, besides several in the coastwise trade and in the West Indies trade. He was one of the most public spirited men of his times, and a great benefactor to humanity. He was largely instrumental in securing the building of the breakwater. himself being the contractor. Jeremiah Sturges married Maria Shelton. daugh- ter of Philo Shelton, of Bridgeport, and by her had children as follows: Henry, and Henryetta, who married Henry Perry, a brother of Francis and Charles Ferry. Jeremiah Sturges was prom- inent in political affairs, and he was president of | the bank for many years. He taught naviga- tion to all the sea captains of the State. keeping

960

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

ceeded to his father's business at Southport, ex- cept to the presidency of the bank. Though he followed shipbuilding only for a time, yet he re- tained his interest in the marine business for some years, retiring altogether early in life. Some time previous to the breaking out of the Civil war he purchased a farm in Plymouth, Litchfield county, on which he lived for some ten or twelve years, and then he purchased a plantation in southwest Georgia, which he kept seven years. This he exchanged for various properties, including a farm on the Raritan river, and engaged in dairying on a large scale. After six or seven years thus spent. he retired from farming and dairying and returned to Southport, where he lived the remainder of his days. Though he was a graduate of Trinity Col- lege and a licensed lawyer, yet he never practiced law. Politically, he was a Republican, and had much to do in the way of administrator of estates, holding also several minor offices.

Mr. Sturges married Henryetta Baldwin, daughter of Abram Dudley Baldwin, of Green- field Hill. He and his wife had six children, viz .: Jeremiah; Henry, living in Montreal, Can- ada; Henryetta Maria, married to Dr. William L. Wells; Dr. Abram Baldwin Sturges. of South- port; Anna B., married to John A. Gorham, of Southport; and William Shelton Sturges. Henry Sturges died in 1885; his widow is still living.

everything he has undertaken he has been suc- cessful, being a man of ability as well as enter- prise. Politically, he is a Republican, and he was a member of St. James' Episcopal Church some twelve years, having been one of the ves- trymen for a number of years. He is now junior warden of the Church of the Good Shepherd, of Shelton, and is also a member of King Hiram Lodge No. 12, F. & A. M., of the Royal Arca- num, of the Knights of Pythias, of the A. O. U. A. M., and of the Grange of Huntington.

Mr. Sturges was married to Julia A. Thorp. daughter of William A. Thorp, of Mill Plain, Fairfield county, and has six children : Ruth. Shelton. Thorp, Henry, William Shelton and Helen Hope.

B BENJAMIN B. AVERY. There is probably no citizen in Stamford and the surrounding country better known than this gentleman, who has been identified with the best interests of the town all his active life, as an able business man and an active worker for the progress and good of the community.

Mr. Avery is a native of Iowa, born in 1849 in Mt. Pleasant. When he was four years old the family came east, locating in New Canaan. Fairfield Co., Conn., and where he lived up to the age of seventeen years, when he commenced work for himself. He obtained a situation as clerk in a grocery store in Bridgeport. Conn .. and remained in that employ seven months, after which he began work with Aaron Ferris. a builder at Greenwich, Conn., under whom he learned his trade, that of a carpenter. Two years later he

William Shelton Sturges was educated in the military academy at Cheshire, graduating in the vear 1870. After leaving school he went to New York, where he learned the machinist's trade and studied drafting. Having served an apprenticeship of three years he went to the Norwalk Iron Works, and was there engaged in | returned to New Canaan where he lived for the drafting room for three years. During the next | about a year. and thence, in 1872, came to vear he was on his father's plantation in the ! Stamford, where he has since made his home. South, after which he turned his attention to | Here he entered the employ of the Yale Lock farming, having a farm near Paterson, N. J. 1 Company. for whom he worked until 1882. dur- ing which time (1872-82) he took a contract from the post office for making the boxes to be used in became superintendent in the building depart- Selling this farm, he purchased one near ! Southport, Conn,, which he likewise sold. and i then bought one in Raritan, N. J .. which he also | distributing mail. The following year (1883) he sold : then he went to work in the Norwalk Iron Works. After remaining here about one year he i ment of the St. John Wood Working Company. took a position with Forbes & Curtiss, and went retaining that position until 1888, when he took : making his headquarters at Stamford. In the vear mentioned he was given a contract by the New Haven Railroad Company, for the erection of depots at Portchester, Mt. Vernon. Rve and | Harrison, N. Y., respectively, which marked the out traveling over the entire country to introduce ; up contracting and building on his own account. a patent, in which he was very successful, and remained with Forbes & Curtiss about two years. In 1883 he inherited a large farm in Huntington ! township, on which he began farming, and he has been thus engaged ever since. He has also for several years been engaged in the manu- i opening of his business career in this line. Year facture of lumber, having two or three portable by year his contracts have increased in number and importance until they are now estimated 10 mills in operation. In 1895 he erected for him- self a handsome home just north of Shelton. In | be worth at least $60,000. Such success is

Digitized by

Google

Digitized by Google

Coole

Digitized by

961.

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

indeed out of the ordinary, but all who know Mr. Avery unite in saying that it is merited, for no man in his line has a better repu- tation for honesty in his dealings, fidelity to contracts, or thorough and reliable work. A record of this kind can only be made by constant and conscientious care in the supervision of de- tails, and an earnest desire to give complete satisfaction to all; and Mr. Avery's prosperity has been the sure reward attending the exercise of such methods and principles in his business affairs. He has been no less prominent, how- ever. in local and public matters, to which he has devoted considerable time and attention, in spite of the demands his private interests have claimed. In political sentiment he is a Repub- lican, always supporting the men and measures of that party in unportant issues, and though no politician in the ordinary sense of office-seeker, he has been honored by his party with election to several positions of trust and responsibility. In 1895-96-97-98 he was nominated for the office of assessor, and at the time of election re- ceived a larger number of votes than any other candidate elected. In the year 1897 he served as a member of the city council, and was chair- man of the street committee, which has full con- trol of all street improvements; in this incum- bency he has won special praise and gratitude from his fellow citizens for the gallant fight which he has made on the question of park improvements, particularly the removing of the old railings around the parks, which was accomplished chiefly through the influence and support which he gave to the enterprise. This is but one in- stance, however, of the interest he continually shows in discharging the duties of his office and promoting the general welfare.

In 1874 Mr. Avery was married to Miss Mary Studwell, daughter of Calvin Studwell, of Stam- ford, and they have had four children, viz .: Stewart B., now (1899) aged nineteen; Leland R., thirteen; Bertha E., nine; and Willard C., six. Fraternally, Mr. Avery is a member of Union Lodge, F. & A. M., and of the Royal Arcanum.

G EORGE PHILIP WATERBURY was for a quarter of a century one of the busiest and most substantial merchants of Greenwich.

He is a great-grandson of Josiah Waterbury, | and a grandson of Jared Waterbury, who was killed by the Indians before the war of 1812. 1 He left a widow and children, of whom four grew to adult age, namely : Samuel, who be- came a farmer, died in Pound Ridge ; Phineas,

a shoemaker, died in New Canaan, Conn., : Elmira (Mrs. William Haight) died in Pound Ridge; Ebenezer was the father of our subject .. The mother married, for her second husband, Thomas Potts, and lived to the advanced age of ninety years, dying at Pound Ridge.

Ebenezer Waterbury was born April 7. 1805, in Pound Ridge, and there he was reared, dur- ing his boyhood receiving such educational ad- vantages as the primitive schools of that day afforded. His brothers learned trades, but he began to assist his step-father on the farm as soon as he was able to be of any use, and he continued to follow agricultural pursuits all his life. When a young man he married Caroline Smith, who was born in New York City, the daughter of Aaron and Betsy Smith, and they commenced housekeeping in Pound Ridge, Mr. Waterbury buying the farm on which they made their home.

Later he removed his family to Long Ridge, and there passed the remainder of his days, dying at the good old age of seventy-nine. He was small physically, but he had excellent judg- ment in farming matters, was an energetic, de- termined worker, and by his own exertions became the owner of a comfortable property and acquired a competence for his declining years. Mrs. Waterbury passed away at the age of eighty-two years. They were the parents of nine children, viz .: Aaron T., who recently died in Pound Ridge, where he had been a suc- cessful farmer ; George P., of this sketch; Eben- ezer B .. a farmer of Greenwich; Sarah E., widow of Isaac Williams, of Bedford, N. Y .; William S., of Stamford, Conn .; Jared W., a farmer of Greenwich ; John O., of Pound Ridge; Charles P., of Stamford, and Caroline E., wife of Henry Lockwood, of New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Waterbury's religious connections were with the Congregational Church, and they were highly esteemed by all their neighbors and friends, who were numerous in Greenwich and vicinity.

He was originally a Whig in political senti- ment, in time becoming a member of the Repub- lican party ; but although he took a patriotic interest in the public welfare, he consented to hold office but once, in later years steadfastly re- fusing to take any active part in political matters.

George P. Waterbury was born May 22, 1832. in Pound Ridge, Westchester Co., N. Y., and there received his education in the district school which he attended until he was nineteen years of age, receiving his instruction from Dayball's arithmetic, the English reader and the history of the United States, which were the principal

Digitized by

Google

962

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

books then considered necessary for the enlight- ening of youthful minds. Being a farmer's son, he engaged in agricultural work while at home whenever his assistance was needed on the pa- ternal farm, and he also worked for other farm- ers, cultivating land on shares, until he was about twenty-five years old, continuing mean- while to live at home. After his marriage he worked land belonging to others until the spring of 1868, when he came to Greenwich and spent his first year learning the coal and lumber busi- ness. He then became a partner in that busi- ness with William P. Brush, with whom he continued four years, the firm being known as Brush & Waterbury. His next partner in busi- ness was his brother-in-law, H. Frank June, under the style of Waterbury & June. This co- partnership lasted until Mr. June's death in 1893, when Mr. Waterbury sold out the busi- ness and again took up the occupation of farm- ing. His farm is located in the North Street School District, and his residence, "Stonybrook." is one of the most attractive farmhouses in Greenwich.

Mr. Waterbury was married on April 12, I he has served as justice of the peace.

1859, to Miss Ellen F. June, and they have had one child, Agnes H., who is now the wife of Frederick A. Hubbard, of Greenwich; she has two sons, Carleton Waterbury and Drexel Tenney. Mrs. Waterbury's parents were Henry and Ann H. (Reynolds) June, the former of whom was a bootmaker by trade, and also owned and conducted a small farm. They had three children, Ellen F. being the only daugh- ter. She was born April 14, 1837, in Stam- ford, Connecticut, and lived there until her marriage. She and her husband are devout members of the Congregational Church. They are spending their days in peaceful enjoyment of the fruit of their early labors, and of the esteem of all who have the pleasure of their acquaintance.

pation. He married Polly Sniffin, who was a Quakeress, and they had eleven children, of whom Charles, the eldest, is the only one now living. He, too, was a native of Port Chester, where he spent his early life, At the tender age of nine years he was bound out to James Griffin for an eight-years' apprenticeship at the shoe- maker's trade, which he followed for some time. On his removal to Connecticut, he first settled at the Cove, in the town of Stamford, Fairfield county, and entered the employ of the Stamford Manufacturing Company, with whom he re- mained seventeen years. In 1845 he took up his residence on the Dann homestead, in North ! Stamford, where he carried on farming and com- menced the manufacturing of barrels, in which he had an extensive business, employing twenty nen. On March 24, 1861, he engaged in the mercantile business at North Stamford, which | he conducted until 1872, at that time resuming 1 farming, which he has ever since continued. Mr. Slater has for the most part devoted all his at- I tention to his personal interests, and has not been particularly active in public affairs, though

Mr. Slater has been twice married, the first time at Port Chester, N. Y., to Voleria Clawson, by whom he had three children: Charles, Lu- cretia and Mary, all of whom are deceased. The mother died in Stamford, and for his second wife he wedded, at North Stamford, Elizabeth F. Dann, daughter of John F. Dann. Four chil- dren blessed this union: Jeremiah, deceased; Charles, who died in infancy; Charles Merwin; and Amelia L., who died in North Stamford. Mrs. Elizabeth Slater died at the old Dann home- stead, in the room in which she was born. Her grandfather, Squire Dann, who was born in North Stamford, was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, serving 178 days; his old musket and the old powder-horn belonging to his son, John F., are now in Mr. Slater's possession. He was known as a strong Congregationalist. John F. Dann was born at North Stamford, married Elizabeth

C HARLES MERWIN SLATER, a prosperous | Clawson, and had eight children, all of whom are and well-known citizen of Stamford, Fair- I now deceased, viz .: Louisa A .; Elizabeth F. field county, who is now living a comparatively | (Mrs. Slater); Walter S .; Rachel L .; Theodore (who died while serving in the Civil war); Elvin retired life in that pleasant little city, is a native ! of this county, born September 13, 1847. The | L .; Fannie and Angeline O. family has been prominent in Port Chester, N.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 195

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