Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 222

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 222

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Thomas Ritch, the father, was born in 1826, in Greenwich, son of Ralph and Clemence (Mead) Ritch. Clemence Mead was a granddaughter of Capt. Matthew Mead, a Revolutionary officer, and a daughter of Matthew Mead. Capt. Matthew Mead, was the great-grandson of John Mead, who came to America from England in 1642. Thomas Ritch, the father of our subject, is a resident of Greenwich. and one of its most highly respected citizens. He was reared in Greenwich, and had but the training of the common schools of his time. His parents were people of limited means, and as a boy he always remained at home help- ing in the support of the family. His father was a farmer. and also conducted a stone quarry to a certain extent. When a lad of fifteen Thomas began life for himself on a vessel plying between Greenwich and New York. He received for his services $10.00 per month; but he afterward be- came mate. His earnings were carefully saved, and in later years he engaged in the shipping business, as owner of the "The Mariner." In the beginning of the stone quarry business,

Thomas and his brother William were partners. They carried their product to market, also trans- ported freight and merchandise for others be- tween Greenwich and New York, and for thirty years these brothers continued as partners. During this time they accumulated no little prop- erty, and when the partnership was dissolved in their old age, their extensive interests were amic- ably divided, in a few minutes, each continuing the business which is managed by their sons.

Thomas Ritch at the age of twenty-eight married Miss Elizabeth A. Selleck, daughter of Thaddeus Selleck. This wife died childless, and for his second wife he married Sarah Frances Selleck, her sister, who bore him the following four children: Hudson L., who died at the age of twenty-eight years, in New York (but who re- sided in Greenwich), and left two children, Frances and Hudson L .; Elizabeth A., now Mrs. E. W. Smith, of Greenwich, and mother of two children, Wellington and Stanley R .; Mary B., Mrs. W. H. Waterbury of Greenwich, who has two children, Thomas R., and Lucy F .; and William T., the subject of this sketch.

Thomas Ritch is a stanch Republican, and is at present a burgess of Greenwich. While not a politician, he is looked upon as one of the rep- resentative Republicans. He was one of the in- corporators of the Greenwich Savings Bank, and of the Greenwich Trust, Loan and Deposit Com- pany, also an incorporator of the First National Bank of Port Chester, N. Y. He is a member of the Second Congregational Church, and was chairman of the Society's committee for thirty years. He has held various offices in the Church, and is a liberal contributor to its support. Thomas Ritch is one of the substantial men of Greenwich. He has risen from the conditions of a poor boy to that high position in which he commands the respect of all. For his years and labor he is a well-preserved man, physically and mentally. . He worked hard at a time when manual labor was necessary to success, and later in life he has shown more business capacity in the accumulation of a most comfortable com- petence. An active business life does not make desirable a sudden and complete retirement, but Thomas Ritch has retired from the more important and arduous duties in connection with the stone business, and is at this time practic- ally a retired man.

William T. Ritch, our subject, was reared in Greenwich. His schooling concluded with a course at the Greenwich Academy under Profes- sor Shepherd and Professor Root, successively: From boyhood he took an interest in the busi- ness of his father, and as a boy was foreman in

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the quarry. Consequently he acquired a thor- ough knowledge of the same to the most minute detail, and his able management is the result, at least in part, of such familiarity and close appli- cation.

The present trade of William Thomas Ritch is the outgrowth of a business that was started in 1845. Oxen then furnished the sole power, and the crude apparatus was in keeping. That method has been supplanted by improved modern machinery, including steam derricks. drills, and every convenience for the speedy handling of stone. The product from this quarry has a greater transverse strength than any other in the United States, surpassing even any granite in this respect, as shown by scientific tests. It is a very heavy stone, and as a crushed stone has no superior. It has been extensively used by the government for seawalls, breakwaters, and other coast improvements, salt water having no effect on it. It was extensively used in the re- cent improvement of Fort Schuyler. and among the structures where it has been extensively used may be mentioned the American Sugar Refinery of Brooklyn, and other large warehouses there; Brooklyn bridge; the Equitable building, New York Tower building, Produce Exchange and Hoffman House, New York; the W. M. Rocke- feller mansion, at Tarrytown, N. Y. From Bridgeport, Conn., to Staten Island there is a large and growing demand for this stone. Mr. Ritch owns the vessels carrying the product to market, while he also does contracting work on stone buildings, and in recent years this quarry and management have furnished cut stone for many churches, among which may be mentioned the Episcopal church of Stamford, the Catholic cathedral at Brooklyn, the Catholic church at South Norwalk. the Catholic church at Oyster Bay, L. I., and others. Mr. Ritch has an office in New York, and the quarry is located in Green- wich, on Long Island Sound.

Mr. Ritch married Miss Jennie Reva Wade, of New York, and they have one child, Reva Mare. Our subject is a stanch Republican, but he has no ambition politically except to support good men for office, his greatest interest and en- thusiasm being entirely along business lines. He is a member of the Mechanics and Tradesmens Society, trustee of the Mechanics and Trades- mens Exchange, is a member of the board of | managers of the Building Trades Club, and chairman of the finance committee in the latter club, in New York. He is also one of the incor- porators of the Greenwich Savings Bank and Trust. Loan & Deposit Company. In 1890 Mr. Ritch built his cozy home in Belle Haven. He

and his wife are members of the Second Congre- gational Church at Greenwich. Absorbed as he is in business, and thoroughly trained in all that pertains to this important industry, he is a young man of more than usual capacity, and one to whom the commercial life of the nation is more than ordinarily indebted for the gigantic strides which it is now making in material advancement.

C CHRISTOPHER RICKARD. The Emerald Isle has given to America some of her best material. and to our witty, fun-loving but hard- working Irish-Americans we owe much in a com- mercial way. Christopher Rickard was born in County Meath, Ireland, July 9, 1856, the son of Edward and Marcella (Smith) Rickard.

Edward Rickard was also a native of Ireland, as was his father before him, and he learned the shoemaker's trade and also followed the occupa- tion of farming. He married Marcella Smith, of the same county, and they became the parents of five children: Christina, who married Thomas Gilligan, of Bridgeport; Ann; Christopher, our subject; Edward and James, all now deceased except Christopher. The father of this family died in Ireland, where he passed all his life; the mother is still living, making her home in Bridge- port. All the family have been faithful and de- vout adherents of the Roman Catholic faith.

Christopher Rickard attended school in Ire- land, and at the age of ten years came to Amer- ica, living first at Haverstraw, N. Y., where he continued his education until he was old enough to go to work. For one season he was employed in a brickyard, carrying water for the men, and later, for one and one-half years. he was em- ployed in a sale stable in New York City. In 1870 he came to Bridgeport and found employ- ment in Sanford's hat shop, remaining there for three years, when he bought a horse and truck. He carried on trucking in a small way for some time, but gradually began to enlarge the scale of his operations until now he has the largest estab- lishment of the kind in New England. His prompt attention to business has won for him the com- mendation of all his patrons, and his integrity gains and maintains the respect of his associates in the business world.

On January 2, 1878, Mr. Rickard married Miss Mary L. Murphy, of Stratford, Conn., a daughter of John Murphy, and eight children have come to bless the union, six of whom are now living: Louisa. Ann, Marcella. Margaret, Christopher, Jr., and Laura: Edward died at the age of six years. and Rosanna at the age of ten months. Mr. Rickard has been the molder of

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his own fortune, his conscientious performance of duty and his unswerving honesty having been the stepping-stones to his success. In his polit- ical relations he is wholly independent, voting for the men and measures his judgment approves; in religious faith he and his family are members of the Roman Catholic Church, practicing in their daily lives the teachings of that ancient faith.

W ALLACE A. SMITH. Taught and prac- ticed by the hardy Scots, it was for their immortal Sir Walter Scott to declare that "stranger is a holy name." While it cannot be said that this is the general law in this country, it is so, in the spirit to an extent greater, per- haps, than in any other civilized country. Stand- ing wholly on his own merits, the kind of wel- come accorded depends entirely upon the indi- vidual himself. But little time elapsed after the arrival of Wallace A. Smith in Bridgeport, be- fore his genial nature had won the friendship, as his manly bearing had the respect of all with whom he came in contact, and his career as a "stranger " was of very short duration.

Nicholas Peck Smith, the father of our sub- ject, was born at Perry's Mills, Tattnall Co., Ga. He engaged in the cotton business at Savannah, Ga., where he died in 1876, a victim of that terrible scourge-yellow fever. He married Miss Mattie S. Crosby, who died in 1882. Two sons were left to mourn the loss of this worthy couple. Wallace A., our subject; and Ernst, a resident of Brooklyn, New York.

Wallace A. Smith was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., April 17, 1859. In December. 1866, he went to Germany, where his boyhood days were spent. He received his education at the unex- celled schools of that country, attending in Ham- burg and Dresden, also amid the beautiful scenery of. the Hartz Mountains in northwestern Ger- many. During the nine years spent abroad, chiefly in the land of the Teutons, he traveled a great deal, and became thoroughly familiar with the country and the people. He has a very vivid recollection of the excitement attending the Franco-Prussian war, that ended in the triumph for the German, and the changing of the map of Europe. On December 5, 1875, he again set foot on native soil, and at his old home in Brook- lyn remained until 1884. During this time he was at the New York office of the Fairfield Chemical Works, where his remarkable business ability. and conscientious performance of his duty, won the hearty approval of the company, and in 1884 he came to Bridgeport as the super-

| intendent of their factory. This responsible position he filled for nine years, giving satisfac- tion to those he served, and winning the con- fidence and esteem of the employes. There was a general rejoicing at his gain, but a feeling of sorrow at their own loss, when in 1893, Mr. Smith resigned to become Special Deputy Col- lector United States Customs. This position he is still holding. and a more popular official could hardly be found.

Socially he is past chief counselor Order of United Friends, at Bridgeport; grand counselor of the Fraternal Order of Connecticut, and a member of the executive committee; court deputy high chief ranger, Independent Order of Forest- ers; secretary of the Board of Trade; and a mem- ber of the Democratic Club, in which he is one of the most active members.

On April 23. 1884, in Brooklyn, N. Y., Mr. Smith was married to Miss Pauline A. Cawthorne, daughter of James P. W. Cawthorne, deputy commissioner of jurors, Brooklyn, N. Y. Mr. and Mrs. Smith have no children. In religious faith they are communicants of the Prostestant Episcopal Church, in which Mr. Smith holds the office of parish clerk. This charming couple occupy an enviable social position, and their home is ever open for the entertainment of their many friends. With the enthusiasm born of his Southern blood, Mr. Smith enters fully into the spirit of any measure that tends to the welfare or wholesome enjoyment of the community, and contributes liberally of his means toward any worthy cause.

T HOMAS WARD, who by dint of honest toil and close economy, has secured a comforta- ble competence, was born in County Monaghan, Ireland, on Christmas Day, 1844.

Patrick Ward, his father, was also born in County Monaghan, and there he married Bridget Ward, and in 1848 brought .his wife to this coun- try, locating on a farm in the town of Redding, this county, where Mrs. Ward died in February, 1885. Four children were born to them: James (now deceased) was a blacksmith by trade in Port Chester; John is a tinsmith in Danbury; Thomas is our subject; and Peter is a hatter in Norwalk. Patrick Ward is a Democrat in poli- tics, and he and his family are all Roman Catho- lics in religious belief.

Thomas Ward passed his early life on the farm in Redding. and at the age of fifteen started out in life for himself, going to Bethel, Conn., to learn the hatter's trade in the establishment of Fisher & Co., where he remained for one and one-

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half years. After this he was employed at various places-for seven years with the Tweedy Manu- facturing Company, of Danbury, one year with Giles Hoyt, of Grassy Plain, and for about a year with Nichols & Nichols, of Bethel. all in the same business. In 1867 he came to Norwalk and en- tered the employ of Crofut & Knapp, and his efficiency is well proven by the fact he was in this one place for fourteen years, when he be- gan to manufacture hats on his own account at South Norwalk, in which business he continued some thirteen years. He then opened a retail hat store in Bridgeport, but in less than two years he sold out, and, returning to Norwalk, opened up a retail hat store there. He had continued the manufacturing business during the interim, and now is one of the substantial business men of the city, his reputation as such being acquired through his own exertions. Careful and honest, wise and dauntless, he presents an example it were well the young men of to-day would emu- late.

In 1867 Mr. Ward married Miss Ellen Ly- ons, of New York, whose father died when she was quite young. Four children gladdened the home of our subject and his wife: John, a laund- ryman of Norwalk; Thomas, Jr., a hatter: Wil- liam, a clerk in Bridgeport; and Mary, at home. The political allegiance of Mr. Ward is given to the Democratic party, in which he is much inter- ested. The family are all devout members of the Roman Catholic Church, and active in its varied lines of work. They occupy a prominent social position, and are highly respected and esteemed by all who know them.

W ILLIAM A. STAGG, a well-known con- tractor and builder of Stratford, is the senior member of the firm of Stagg & Beardsley. through whose skillful workmanship many of the best residences and other buildings in that local- ity have been constructed.

Mr. Stagg is a native of Stratford, where he was born May 27, 1854, and on the maternal side he is descended from one of the old families of that town. Hon. Joseph H. Stagg, the father of our subject, was born in Newark. N. J., the In the family of Dr. Stephen Middlebrook. was a son Elijah, who for nearly half a century practiced medicine in Trumbull, and became widely-known as the publisher of the Middlebrook Almanac. He built the house in which our sub- ject now lives. his wife burning the brick which entered into its construction. He married Com- fort Hawley, of Stepney, and their son Charles Stephen Middlebrook was born in Trumbull. He greater part of his life, however, being spent in this county. For some time he was engaged in a flour and feed business at Bridgeport, but his attention was chiefly given to the manufacture of combs at Stratford, where he was also interested in the phosphate business and the butcher's trade. He was prominent in political affairs as a worker in the Republican party, his high standing as a citizen making him a favorite candidate for office, | attended Yale College, in early manhood read

and he held various local positions, including that of town clerk, while he also served as representa- tive in the State Legislature. In religious faith he was a Congregationalist, and he and his esti- mable wife were leading members of that Society in Stratford. He married Miss Helen B. Curtis, daughter of Deacon Agur and Alice (Peck) Cur- tis, who were both natives of Stratford, and seven children were born to them, as follows: Cornelia, who married (first) P. L. Tucker, of New York (now deceased), and (second) Cornelius Van Hou- ten, a screen manufacturer connected with the Dewitt Manufacturing Company of Belleville, N. J .; Henry, a prominent citizen of Stratford, now serving as town clerk; Maggie, who died in 1870; Callie, widow of George Spall. of Strat- ford; Charles E., deputy sheriff for the town of Stratford; William A., our subject; and Jessie L., wife of A. Bedell Benjamin.

Our subject was educated in the schools of Stratford, and began his business career as ship- ping clerk for the Hotchkiss Sons' Manufacturing Company of Bridgeport, with whom he remained fifteen years. He then began to learn the car- penter's trade with A. W. Burritt, of Stratford, and after spending four years with him he was employed for four years by Savage & Smith in the same line of work. With the experience thus gained he engaged in business on his own ac- count, and soon afterward he formed his present partnership with S. J. Beardsley. Mr. Stagg has never been especially active in political affairs, although he is a strong Republican in principle. and has always taken an intelligent interest in the questions of the time. In 1884 he married Miss Anna F. Brinsmade, daughter of Lewis Brinsmade, a respected citizen of the town of Trumbull, and he and his wife are much esteemed socially.

E' LIJAH MIDDLEBROOK, of the well-known trucking firm of Middlebrook & Son. in Long Hill, was born in Vergennes, Vt., March 23, 1853, a great-grandson of Dr. Stephen Middle- brook, one of the earliest physicians in the town of Trumbull.

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medicine with his father and practiced for some time, and then engaged in the manufacture of wine, cider and vinegar. He married Annie ' Orange, N. J., where he attended the public -- , and their children were Elijah, our sub- , schools, including the high school. When about i jest, and Charles, now deceased

Einah Middlebrook spent the days of his boy- h xd and youth in Long Hill, and has since en- Baked in a general trucking business, which has proved quite lucrative. He was married in Mon- Hoe to Miss Mary Elizabeth Sherman, a daughter of Frederick Sherman, and five children have Blessed this union: Charles Stephen, who mar- ned Miss Alice Bradley: John Theophilus and Eigah. Jr., ire dealers in Bridgeport, Mary Com- fort, and Robert B. The family are well-liked and respected, and are ranked among the sub- stantial residents of Trumbull.

IRVING GERRY. of Danbury, is a man whose I ability and integrity especially fit him for places of trust, and for some years he has been connected with the hat industry, as the repre- sentative of Byron Dexter, of Danbury, having control of his interests in the hat business, and his judgment is an acknowledged factor in the man-

Mr Gerry comes of good New England stock. tracing his descent in the paternal line to one of two brothers, who came from England at an early - day and located in Massachusetts, one choosing the northern part and the other the southern. These two were the progenitors of various branches of the Gerry family in this country. ! David Gerry, our subject's great- grandfather, married Lucy Thompson, and their son, Charles, our subject's grandfather. married Orissa Haynes, daughter 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 instru- mental in the election of Charles Sumner to the United States Senate. Israel H. Gerry, our subject's father, was born April 12. 1833. and for many years was in the commission business in New York City, where he still resides. He married Miss Josephine M. Packard, who was born in Brockton. Mass , daughter of Nathaniel R. and Mary (Warren) Packard, and died leav- ing six children: Elbridge, Irving tour subject). Gertrude, Josephine, Florence and Russell. Our subject's father has a daughter by another mar- riage-Miss Edna Kingingham.

Irving Gerry was born September 12, 1860, at Sudbury, Mass .. and spent his boyhood in

eighteen years old he began his business career by keeping books for his father, who was then in the wholesale commission business at Newark, N. J. After several years in this work Mr. Gerry became a traveling salesman for a firm of patent- leather manufacturers at Newburyport, Mass., with whom he remained for some time, finally removing to Danbury, where he learned the hat- ter's trade with E. A. Mallory. Two years in that factory gave him a thorough knowledge of the business, and on leaving he found employ- ; ment with Nicholas & Hine. After their failure he entered the factory of Byron Dexter, who, seeing his ability and trustworthiness, placed him in charge as superintendent. Mr. Gerry's - next position was with T. Brothwell & Co. as the representative of the widow of Mr. Brothwell. and he filled this responsible post until the business was suspended. The following year he 1 spent at Bethel, and he then returned to Dan- bury to take his present position.

Mr. Gerry is too fully occupied with business agement of the well known firm with which he is ; cares to have any aspirations for public office. identited.

but he is an ardent Republican and takes an ac- live interest in local affairs. He married Miss Annie M. Johnston, a native of London, Eng- land, who, at the time of her marriage, was re- siding at Kansas City, Mo .. with her parents, Lawrence and Martha Johnston. No children were born to this union. Mr Gerry and his wife are prominent members of the First Congrega - tional Church at Danbury, and socially he is identified with Union Lodge. F. & A. M.

J' OHN C. BENJAMIN, a prominent business man of Bridgeport, is a representative of one of our most distinguished families. His des- cent is traced back to the time of William the Conqueror to Walter de Lacey. Great Baron (1074), who was of Norman blood. The line was continued through Roger de Lacy (1095), Ilbert de Lacy (1137), and John de Lacy (1222). but in the latter's day the confederacy of Barons was dissolved by Henry III. and merged into what has since been known as " landed gentry." After 1222 the Barons de Lacy are found in Hertford- shire as landed gentry of Beryton of Stoke Lacey. Later they adopted Beryton or Berington as a patronymic, and about 1494 the name of this branch of the family became changed to Benja- min. The coat of arms now used by both branches of the family is supposed to have been

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granted to a Berington on July 21, 1403, for services on the battlefield of Shrewsbury. The first of the family to come to America was John Benja- min, who crossed the ocean in 1630 with his wife Abigail and two brothers. He settled in Water- town, Mass., and in 1633 was appointed high sheriff of Boston.

Gideon Benjamin, our subject's grandfather, was born probably in Danbury, and for many years he conducted the " Benjamin House " in Stratford, where he once had General LaFayette as a guest. William H. Benjamin, father of our subject, was born in Stratford and engaged in farming there. He married Cynthia A. McEwen, and they had six children: Samuel, William H., Albertina, Mary, Fannie and John C.

John C. Benjamin was born in Stratford September 26, 1845, and was educated in the public schools and academy of that town. When sixteen years of age he began to learn the trade of steam and gas fitter with E. R. Lamson, of Waterbury, Conn., with whom he remained five and a half years, and in about 1866 he located in Bridgeport. In 1884, having worked at his trade for some time as a journeyman, he formed a partnership with C. S. Eames, and engaged in business on Water street under the firm name of Benjamin & Eames. In 1890 the partnership was dissolved, and since that time Mr. Benjamin has conducted the business alone, now being located at No. 35 Middle street. Politically he is a Democrat, so far as national issues are con- cerned, but in local affairs he believes in giving his support to the " best man."

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 222

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