Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 214

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

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Morris Burr Whitlock was born in Ridgefield. August 5, 1853. and received but a limited educa- tion, as he did not attend the public school after he was sixteen years of age. Using his own language. "he was put out at twelve to shit: for himself." He attended the schools in Ridge- field, at Starr's Plains, and for a time in Tioga county, Penn .. and one term at Ridge Institute. a school for boys under the tuition of William. O. Seymour. When twelve years old young Whitlock went to Tioga county, Penn., to live with a cousin of his father's, and there he re- mained two years, living on a farm. Foliowing this he for one year drove team for his father on the stage route to South Norwalk: ther. drove on the Branchville route for three years After this he went to Corning, N. Y., and cierked for Loriane Dodge, whose daughter he married With Mr. Dodge he remained three and one-ha .: years, and then went to Tioga county, Fena . where he engaged in farming on a four-hundred- acre tract of land. also becoming engaged in the dairy business, keeping some forty milch com: For nine years he was thus occupied, raising horses toward the latter part of this period in et- dition to his other occupations. Beginning In April, 1884, he for six months conducted a ine !! stable on a small scale. During the latter ha !! of the same year he kept a hotel and carried en. a livery stable at Mansfield, Penn. This business. owing to ill health, he gave up, and in the spring of 1885 returned to Ridgefield, Conn. Here be purchased of his father the latter's livery stock. then consisting of two coaches and four horses.

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and from this humble beginning has come the large business he now enjoys. His barn is large and rou my, and his horses -from forty to sixty in number-and vehicles are of the best. Mr. Whitlock is a self-made man, and is deserving of great credit for his efforts and success in life. He is a wide awake and progressive citizen, and takes a great interest in his he me town. at home until eighteen years of age. when he went to New York, clerking in a clothing store located on the corner of Water and Rosevelt streets, owned by a Mr. Walker. Young Peck was industrious and economical, saving his earn- ings, and soon became a partner in the business. and later the sole proprietor. He possessed great business tact and ability, was full of energy-too. As before stated, Mr. Whitlock married a daughter of Loraine Dodge, whose home was at Sulivan. Fenn .. and to this manage were born: Loraine Dodge, on June 10. 1875: Henry Morris, August 31, 1879. Arthur burr. May 4. 1886; and Joseph Laverne. August 20, 188 ;. Of this family. Loraine D. was married October 27. 1895, to Ida Veil Clark, and they had one child. Hazel V .: beafterward married. April 12. 1868, Blanche M. Stevens, daughter of R. G Stevens, of much so for his constitution-and was not con- tent with anything short of a large business, so he turned his attention to the manufacture of clothing, and, later on, to oil clothing, in which hne he was a pioneer manufacturer. The oil clothing manufactured by him was extensively used by the United States Government in the army and navy, and went into the western coun- try. Failing health caused him to retire from . business in 1854, and he came to his home at Cos Svivania, Bradford Co .. Fenn .. and by this I Cob, where his remaining days were passed in 1 comfort and ease.

union there is one child, Moins Stevens. Henry M. Whitlock was married January 1. 1899. to Amanda ( opp Dodge. of Caledoma, Elk Co., Fem. Mrs. Morris B. Whitlock is a grand- daughter of Rufus Smith, who is a brother of making the great-grandfather a common ances-

Mr. Peck was married in New York to Miss Anna E. Valentine, a daughter of Elijah and Catherine (Schenck) Valentine, both of whom came from families ranking among the oldest and Polis Smith, the grandmother of our subject, , most respected of New York. Elijah Valentine was a successful merchant. To the marriage of for The family of Mr. and Mrs. Morris Burr . George A. and Anna E. (Valentine) Peck were Whitlock attend the M. E Church. In politics he is a Republican.

J OSEPH E. PECK. the genial and affable treasurer of the Riverside Yacht Club, in Fairfield county, in which he has ever been a leading spirit, taking great interest in all of its affairs, is a member of one of the old and promi- . gether for a time, then for a period passed his nent families of the town of Greenwich.

born children as follows: Henry V .. now a resi- dent of Cos Cob; Mary E. (Mrs. Townsend Crook . of Rye, N. Y .; George A .. who died in ISot at Los Cob; Jennie A., residing at Cos Cob; Joseph 1 ... our subject; Emma F. (Mrs. Elbert F. I Lockwood;, of Cos Cob; and William, also a , resident of Cos Cob. The father of these, while engaged in business in New York, lived there alto-

Born February 29. 1856. in New York, Mr. Peck is descended from the pioneer preacher of I old Stearns homestead at Cos Cob, remodeled it

that name of Colonial times, who was a resident of the town of Greenwich George A. Peck, the

summers in the country-at Stamford, Sound beach and Cos Cob. He finally purchased the i and made a permanent home there; it is yet oc- cupied by members of the family. When a father of our subject, was born at old Greenwich, , young man he became identified with the First now Riverside, in November, 1813. a son of I Congregational Church at Sound Beach, but after Joseph Peck, who was the father of a large fam- I his marriage, his wife being a member of the ily of children, the only son to reach adult age being George A. Of the daughters, Betsey, Je- rusha and Charlotte, the first-named lived to the age of eighty-four years, lerusha to eighty-one

Joseph E. Peck attended the district schools of Cos Cob, where among his first teachers was a Miss Quintard, and later went to the Green- wich Academy when it was in charge of Professor Shepherd. After reaching manhood he went to

Episcopal Church, he attended the services of that Society. His wife died in 1881, and he passed away in April, 1894, leaving a valuable estate. He was a successful business man and a years: none of them married. Joseph Peck was . citizen who held the respect and esteem of all a farmer, and, possessing considerable business with whom he came in contact. ability and force. he made money and became the owner of much property. He and his wife Were members of the First Congregational Church at Sound Beach; both are buried in a small cem- viery used only by a few families.

George A. Peck received his educational train- , New York and became a salesman for a firm that ing in the schools about his birthplace. He lived . manufactured and sold silverware. continuing thus

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for some time, when he returned to Cos Cob | homestead, farming and peddling milk. During his father's life he spent much of his time in as- sisting and relieving him from active cares, bor since 1893 he has occupied his present farm. He keeps from twenty to thirty cows, and runs a well-patronized milk route in Danbury. and has since made that place his home. He has ever taken an interest in outdoor sports, and in 1888 was foremost in the organization of the Riverside Yacht Club, which was founded by himself and George Tyson, Mr. Peck being ! chosen treasurer, an office he has ever since held. To his energy and active interest that club owes its success. Mr. Peck is also fond of hunting and fishing, and is an authority on matters per- taining to these sports. He has a beautiful and most comfortable home, is an indulgent husband and father, and he and his family enjoy life thor- i interest in the questions of the times, and is a oughly.

In 1876 Mr. Elwell married Miss Lydia | Waite, daughter of John and Lena (Griffing Waite, and seven children have blessed this union: Clarissa, Clason, Wilbur, Lewis, Miles. Jr., Waite and Arthur. While Mr. Elwell is i not specially interested in politics, he takes much believer in the principles and policy of the Re- publican party.

In politics Mr. Peck is a Republican, but he takes no active interest in party affairs, not as- piring to public honors. He is enterprising and .progressive, aiding with his means all laudable J TOHN A. WALDRON is one of the enterpris- ing and successful agriculturists of the towt of New Fairfield, where he owns a fine farm. enterprises, and is well and favorably known throughout Fairfield county. He married a na- tive of New York City, Mrs. Josephine E. I conducted according to modern methods. ,(Platt) Hamilton, widow of James Hamilton. Mr. Waldron was born at Quaker Hil .. and to this marriage was born, April 22, | Dutchess Co., N. Y., a spot which has become 1894, George Valentine, who is the only male ! historic through the many important movements representative of his generation in direct line ! which centered there in the early days when the from his great-grandfather, Joseph Peck. Mrs. ; question of our national independence hung ir Peck is a woman of culture and refinement, and i the balance. His father, Elmore Waldron, was from this home is dispensed a generous hospi- I a native of Sharon, Conn., and was educated tality to the many friends and acquaintances of | there, but his later years were mainly spent in the family.

M ILES H. ELWELL, a prominent agri- culturist and dairyman of Pembroke Dis- I necticut Volunteer Infantry, and serving through- trict, town of Danbury, has a fine farm of two hundred acres which, under his able management, is maintained in an excellent state of cultivation.

I the town of Sherman, this county, where he was I engaged in farming. This worthy citizen showed ! his patriotism by enlisting, at the outbreak of the Civil war, in Company G, of a regiment of Con-

Mr. Elwell was born June 22, 1849, in New Fairfield, Conn., the son of Lewis and grandson of John Elwell. His father, who was a success- ful farmer, was born in the town of Southeast, i Putnam Co., N. }., and died in 1892. Our sub- 1 town of Sherman, where he received a common- ject's mother, whose maiden name was Mary Hayes, was the daughter of John Hayes. The i family consisted of three children: (1) Phobe

. Ann married David Disbrow, and died in 1894, . quires such skill and knowledge of the different leaving six children-Miles, Mary, Arthur, Lewis, Annie and Charles. The third in the family, . George, died in childhood. (2) Miles H., our sub- ject, is mentioned more fully below. (3) Mary Eliza married Frank Elwell, and they have one .child-Mary.

Mr. Elwell, our subject, was educated in the schools of his native town. and at the same time . the town of Sherman for some time, and from ar assisted his father in the farm work. At the age of fourteen he left school and for several years : gave his entire attention to the work of the ! farm in the town of New Fairfield, which con-

. out that struggle. He received a wound in one of the many engagements in which he took part. and during his last years drew a pension. He married Miss Almira Webb, a daughter of Lymar. and Emily Webb, farming people of Massachu- setts, and our subject is the youngest of the !! three sons. (1) Everett was born in 1868 in the school education and afterward engaged in farm- ing. During the winter season he is employed as an expert in the sorting of tobacco, which re- varieties of the plant that it may be considered a distinct trade. He is unmarried, and at present resides in Brookfield, this county. (2) Charles. who was born and educated in the town of Sher- man. became interested in agriculture there, bet died at the age of nineteen years.

Our subject attended the common schools of early age has been engaged in agriculture. W'her twenty-seven years old he purchased his present

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tains 110 acres of excellent land, devoted to general crops, although at times he raises tobacco extensively. On September 20, 1896, Mr. Wal- dron married Mrs. Sauna Hoag. daughter of Mur- ray and Charlotte Lamson, and they now reside up-

went to Cheraw, S. C. ; Sarah. who married Smith Scott, of Stamford; and Esther K., born December 30, 1798, who died January 8, 1860. In his will-executed July 2. 1831. probated August 29. 183 ;- Jeremiah Keeler (2) makes on her farm, which adjoins that of Mr. Waldron. , specific legacies as follows: $100 to his son Ben- being a man of strong convictions, our subiect taxes pride in giving substantial support to the Democratic party, in whose principies he firmly believes. For a number of years he has held the ofce of constable.

J OHN S. KEELER. The records of Fair-

feld county have been kept intact from the i the coastig trade, and was also connected with

cathest times, and the records of those fami- he's who were promiment and intidential citizens in the early days of the Colony of Connecticut caf not fail to be of intense interest to the student of history

John S. Keeler, a representative citizen of Rideeneld township, is a lineal descendant of February 10. 1807 (he was a saddler and har- Ralph heever, who, according to the Fairfield , ness makes. he married Mary Jane June, of probate record, made his will August 20, 1072; 1 Stamford, and in his later years resided in Stam- this will was admitted to probate in November ( ford); and John S. the subject proper of this of that year In his will Ralph heeler distrib- i sketch, born August 3. 1829. The father of utes his property, making bequests to John, , these died intestate, and the estate was divided Kaiph and Samuel Keeler, and aro to his dauph- by mutual agreement. His death occurred Au- ters. Enzabeth and Rebecca. Samuel Keeler, son . gust 23, 1804. when he was seventy-two years of Kaiph, became one of the original twenty-five I of age, and his wife passed to her long rest May proprietors of Ridgefield, having a grant to prop- 5. 1875. aped seventy-five years and six months. erty in what is now the lower end of the town. John S. heeier, whose name opens this re- He marned, and became the father of Samuel I view, was given a good education in the common (2), Joseph. Jonah and Timothy

I schools, and by diligent reading has greatly sup- plemented his carly training and become well in- Alvin Jennings, and is still following same. For

The will of Timothy Keeler was made August 30. 17 42. and proved September 22, 174%. He formed. He learned the carpenter's trade under had three sons- Timothy (2), Benyamin and Jere- 1 mat - and his property was equally divided, giv- ! nearly half a century he has worked as a jour- ing one-third to each son, excepting a portion to his wife. Jeremiah, the youngest son, succeeded to the home property, and m 1750 he built the | on nearly all of the principal buildings in the house ever since occupied by the family, the old- est original house remaining in the town. He married Hannah Seymour, and by her had three children, two sons and a daughter, as follows: ; Jeremiah (2), born January 5. 1703: Thaddeus, I and Hannah Mrs. Truesdell . In his will, Jere- miah Kevier bequeathed to his wife " my negro wench named Ellen," and to Jeremiah (2), his eldest son, the land at Flat Rock, as a birth- right

Jeremiah Keeler (2, married Sarah St. John. who was born February ;. 1763. and died Janu- ary 27. 1852. They became the parents of the following named children. Benjamin, born : March 2. 1792, married in 1919 to Sarah Slessor, ' the greatest number. His colleague at this time who was born October 13, 1799: Samuel, who I was Peter P. Loonen. In local affairs, too, Mr.

jamin: to his daughter Sarah $500 in value of his real estate: to his daughter Esther $500 in value of his real estate in same manner; and the residue of his estate goes to his two sons, Ben- jamin and Samuel, in equal proportions.

On the death of Sarah (St. John) Keeler. wife of Jeremiah Keeler (2), Benjamin Keeler succeeded to the estate. He was engaged in a pottery at Huntington, Long Island, but dur- ing the latter portion of his life was a farmer. I In 1810 he married Sarah C. Slessor, and he be- came the father of three sons: William Edgar. born September 15. 1820, died September 9. 1836; Samuel S. born February 18. 1826, died

neyman in Stamford and Norwalk, but generally I in Ridgeheld, and his handiwork may be found town, his high-grade workmanship being always in great demand; he has been very successful in his business trom a financial point of view. His interest in all public movements has in no way interfered with his business. Always a Demo- crat in his political views, he has given much aid to the party by his disinterested advice, and his sound judement and forethought have been of incalculable assistance to the campaign man- agers. In 1871 he represented his town in the Legislature. and made a lasting name in the State records for his determined efforts to carry out the wishes of his constituents, and to secure such legislation as would be of the greatest good to

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Keeler has always taken an active part, and is to be found at the front in all progressive enter- prises.

On July 1, 1875, our subject was married to Miss Nancy Hoyt, who was born July 24, 1825, a daughter of Isaac Hoyt. On November 19, 1890. Mrs. Keeler passed away, and Mr. Keeler has since lived practically retired. During a life of over three-score years passed in one town, he has ever maintained the sincere respect of the community, and is regarded as one of its most substantial men.

E ALBRIDGE GERRY. This resident of Dan- | of Elbridge Gerry & Co. Mr. Gerry is prominer .: bury, Fairfield Co., Conn .. comes of good | in local affairs. He is an earnest Republican New England stock, tracing his descent in the | and in 1892 was president of the Young Men : paternal line to one of two brothers who came Republican Club of Danbury, at present servic: as secretary of the Republican League Club cf that city. from England at an early day and located in Massachusetts, one choosing the northern part and the other the southern. These two were progenitors of the various branches of the Gerry family in this country.

David Gerry, our subject's great-grandfather. married Lucy Thompson, and their son Charles, the grandfather, married Orissa Haynes, daugh- ter of Capt. Israel and Sarah (Jewell) Haynes. Her father earned his title in the militia, and he was prominent in the political movements of his time, serving as a member of the Massachusetts Legislature; he is mentioned in Henry Wilson's "History of Massachusetts " as having been chiefly instrumental in the election of Charles Sumner to the United States Senate.

Israel H. Gerry, father of Elbridge Gerry, was born April 12, 1833. at Sudbury, Mass., and for many years was in the commission business in | A. M .: the Roval Arcanum, and Progressive

New York City, where he resides at the present time. He was at one time superintendent of the public schools of Orange, N. J., and was chair- man of the liberal Republican State executive committee at the time Horace Greeley ran for the Presidency. He married Miss Josephine M. Packard. daughter of Nathaniel R. and Mary (Warren) Packard. Mrs. Gerry was born in Brockton, Mass., September 25, 1836, and died April 14, 1874, leaving six children: Elbridge, Irving, Gertrude, Josephine, Florence and Rus- sell. Israel H. Gerry has a daughter by another marriage-Miss Edna Kingingham.

Elbridge Gerry was born April 29, 1858, at Sudbury, Mass. He was educated at Orange, N. J .. attending the public schools through all 1 1 the grades, and also a private school. At eighteen he was employed in a broker's office in New York City, where he remained a couple of years, and / Elizabeth St. John, who was born in Norwalk. a he then spent the same length of time with his | daughter of Buckingham St. John and his wale

father in the commission business, after which te gave two years to the hatting industry in New- ark, N. J. Later Mr. Gerry was in Canada for three years and a half. In June, 1885, be - cated at Danbury, where for eleven years he was employed by Mallory & Sons as foreman in the curling department of their hat factory. Cz leaving this position he formed a partnerst; with E. Starr Sanford, and on November It. 1896. they purchased the business of J. G. In- ing, No. 9 Library Place, manufacturers' agen: and dealer in hatters' supplies. This business I the only one of the kind in the city, has since | been continued successfully under the firm name

On April 27, 1882, Mr. Gerry was married z Canada to Miss Bessie MacDonald, daughter of John and Margaret (Cuthbert) MacDonald, c: Inverness. Scotland, and three children have blessed this union: Sarah M. and Olivia Tracy, who died in childhood, and Alexander Leroy i who is a bright and promising boy. Mr. Gerry is a member of the present Board of Trade. He and his wife hold a place in the best social circles of Danbury, and they are members of the Dis- ciples Church, in which he holds the office of deacon. For several years he has been one o. the vice-presidents of the Y. M. C. A. and a member of the board of directors. He belongs I to various fraternal societies, including Union Lodge No. 40. F. & A. M .; Eureka Chapter, R

Lodge No. 18, 1. O. O. F.

TAMES H. HOYT, prominent in Grand Army circles, and one of the most popular business men of Norwalk, was born in New York City June 19, 1840.

James A. Hoyt, his father, was for many years engaged in the dry-goods and silk business in New York City. At the time of the fire is 1835 he engaged in the banking business with. Dunkin. Sherman & Co., on Wall street. Mr Sherman, of this firm, a relative of the Hoyts. afterward gave his name to history, and so long as the American loves liberty the fame of Ger. William T. Sherman will live. About 1860 Mr. Hovt entered the Custom House, where he re- mained until his death in 1876. He married !

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Charlotte (Bush). To Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt eight children were born: Charles, a farmer in Nor- walk, where he died; Charlotte, who died at the age of twenty years; James H. , our subject; Lou- ise, who married George B. Day, a native of Providence: Buckingham, a stock broker in New York: Gould, an attorney at law. now hving re- tired at Norwalk; Frederick, a jeweler and man- ufactures in New York; and Francis, at home. Mr. Host was a man of high attainments, and Italian. In politics he was a faithful Republican. Mrs. Hoyt died in 1891.

Mr. Hanson was born December 25. 1843. in Hamburg, Germany, where his father, Chris- tian Hanson (now deceased), was in business as a , grain dealer. The mother, whose maiden name was Margaret Pfeiffer, was also a native of Ger - many, and is still living in Hamburg. This worthy couple had three children, of whom our subject is the youngest. Johanna is deceased. and Mane resides in Germany.

During his boyhood Charles Hanson acquired for four years he clerked in a grocery store there, receiving only his board and some valuable ex- perience as recompense. At the age of nineteen he came to the United States, and for ten years he was employed as clerk in a grocery in New York City, but in 1873 he located at Bridgeport account, at the corner of Main street and Rail- road avenue. He met with the success which his well-directed efforts deserved, and in 1891

James H. Hoyt received his education in New York and Norwalk, and in 1854 he went to New York where he engaged in the steamboat busi- hess. In 18os. at the outbreak of the Civil war, Mr. Host answered the first call for volunteers, , and engaged in a similar business on his own by enlisting May 27. 1801. and started for the front Though he first enlisted for three months. he was afterward sworn in for three years, and participated with his regiment in all its move- I he retired with a comfortable competence. Mr. nents. At the battle of Antietam he was shot I Hanson has always taken an active interest in through the body, and October 15, 1862, he was politics as a stanch supporter of the Democratic party, and at times he has been chosen to office ; in the municipality. He was the first Democrat . honored with election to the position of alder- man from the First ward, and his efficient serv- ice so won the approval of the people that he , was re-elected for two years longer. decharged with promotion. As soon as he had itrained a portion of his strength he joined the 19th N. Y. V. J. and was promoted to first heu- tenant, then to captain, and as such was hon- orably discharged April 18. 1203, when he re- turned to New York and made that city his home until 150. In that year he came to Norwalk,

Mr. Hanson married Miss Josephine Stegkem- and five years later opened up his present busi- , per, who was born in New York of German ances-

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 214

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