Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 252

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

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always been a strong Democrat, and has served | in various town offices. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Wilton, in which he is steward and class-leader, and has held other offices. He married Miss Juliana Craw- ford, daughter of Thaddeus Crawford, of New Canaan, Conn., and they became the parents of two children: Charles S., and Mary, born De- : characteristic thrift and enterprise of his race. cember 31, 1877, who is unmarried.

1868. Sylvester Olmstead died April 5, 1890.

TULIUS PFAU. This well-known resident of Bridgeport is one of the leading German- born citizens of the county, and in his successful business career he has shown the

Born January 25, 1835, in the village of Es-

Thaddeus Crawford, maternal grandfather of i lingen, in. the Province of Wittenberg, Ger-

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many, Mr. Pfau is a son of Abraham and Clara (Seller) Pfau. The father, who was a brewer by occupation, possessed considerable means, and the family lived comfortably. In 1848 they came to America, the voyage, made in a sailing vessel, between Havre and New York City, occu- pying some thirty-nine days. The father (now deceased) at once engaged in the liquor business in New York City, and at one time he owned five saloons, which he managed with rare ability and judgment for many years. Our subject's mother died at the age of eighty-two. This worthy couple had the following children: Fred- erick, a resident of Salt Lake City, Utah; Julius, our subject; Henry, who died in early manhood in Savannah, Ga., from yellow fever; Adolph, a butcher in New York City; Matilda, who married Ludwig Laux, of Port Jervis, N. Y .; Emily (deceased), who married Philip Burg, for thirty-five years superintendent of Stratton &

ing children have blessed this union: Henry, who died when fourteen years old; Fritz, the propri- etor of the American Cafe on Canon street, Bridgeport, one of the finest establishments of the kind in the city; William, who is engaged in the bottling business on Middle street, Bridge- port; Julius, Jr., a cigarmaker; Edward, who died in childhood; and Miss Louisa, who is at home. The sons are successful business men, and any parents might well take satisfaction in their ability and enterprise. Beginning with no capital except that acquired by his own industry, ¡ our subject has built up a large trade as a dealer in choice liquors, and his establishment is one of the oldest and most prosperous in the city of Bridgeport.

G EORGE A. ROGERS has for a number of years been known as one of the busiest con- | Fairfield Co., Conn., where he has resided since

Storm's Cigar Company, and Miss Clara, who I tractors and builders in and around Stamford, resides in New York City.

Our subject attended school in his native i 1881. He came to Stamford from Spring Glen, land, and, as he was thirteen years old when he | Ulster Co., N. Y., where he was born June 25, came to New York City, he was apprenticed | 1856, son of George Rogers, who was a native soon afterward to a brewer, with whom he i of Sullivan county, N. Y., born January 27, learned all the details of the trade. Later he | 182 ;.

purchased his present liquor store at No. 574 and in all these years his methods have been worked for a time in New York City, Staten

William Rogers, the great-grandfather of our Island and Philadelphia, and in 1863 he located . subject, was a resident of Sullivan county, N. in Bridgeport, taking the place of foreman in a | \'., and his son Andrew was born in Westchester brewery belonging to John Benz. In 1864 he : county, that State. The latter worked in a sawmill in Sullivan county. He married Susan Main street, which he has conducted ever since, ! Sarles, and they had a family of twelve children, of whom, George grew to manhood in Sullivan thoroughly straightforward, his establishment i county, and when fourteen years of age com- being conducted in a most creditable manner. I menced the carpenter's trade, which he contin- His word is considered as good as his bond, and, I ued to follow all his life. He made his home in Ulster county, N. Y. In Sullivan county he was I married to Ann Thornton, and by her had five children, namely: Clarissa (Mrs. John F. Wins- low. of Ellenville, N. Y.), George A., Joseph, Christopher, and Hattie (Mrs. J. Darling, of Stamford). notwithstanding his unassuming manner, he is a | shrewd and accurate observer of men and affairs. He has accumulated a handsome com- petence, and now owns a valuable residence and business property in Bridgeport. Few men of his age show such vigor of mind and body, and, while he is averse to notoriety in any form, George A. Rogers acquired a practical know- he takes an intelligent interest in local affairs. | ledge of the common branches in the public While he is not a Church member, he is inclined i schools of Sullivan county, N. Y., and at the age to the Lutheran faith and the Church of that i of fifteen years began to work for his father, that denomination. Politically he is independent, voting on all occasions for the best men irre- spective of party lines.

Mr. Pfau attributes his success largely to the help of his estimable wife, formerly Miss Mar- garetta Huber, to whom he was married in Staten

| learning the carpenter's trade under his tuition. | He worked around his native place until his re- I moval to Stamford in 1881, since which time he I has built up a handsome and profitable trade in I his line, having probably erected more houses and other buildings during this period than any

Island. She was born July 26, 1842, in Nurem- I other contractor in the vicinity. The neighbor- burg, Germany, and came to America alone at ! hood abounds with these substantial evidences the age of fourteen, supporting herself after her . of his skill and industry, which has brought him arrival by working as a domestic. The follow- | prosperity in the course of years, and placed him

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in the front rank in his line of honest, deserving men, who have risen in life by their own efforts. He gives employment to about twenty-two men, and is looked upon as one of the most substan- tial citizens of Stamford, where he is highly es- teemed by all who know him, either personally or in a business way.

Mr. Rogers was married, at Spring Glen, Ul- ster Co., N. Y., to Miss Nellie Tullins, by whom he has had three children: Lillie, Edna and George A., Jr. Socially, our subject is a mem- ber of the Royal Arcanum lodge at Stamford.

ARED. L. TURNEY, a well-known justice of the peace and registrar of voters in the town of Trumbull, was born at Long Hill, De- cember 3, 1838.

Robert Turney, grandfather of our subject, was a resident of Trumbull, and there wedded Ruth Treadwell, by whom he had children as fol- lows: Ephraim, Agur, Robert, Jr .. Eunice, Patty, Thirza and Rebecca. Robert Turney, Jr., passed his early days in Trumbull, and after obtaining the rudiments of an education was sent to Easton to learn the shoemaker's trade. After completing his apprenticeship, he worked at his. trade, and later began farming, but he did not entirely abandon shoemaking, engaging in it to some extent as long as he lived. He was a Royal Arch Mason, holding membership in the chapter at Monroe, and politically he affiliated with the Democratic party. He married Miss Betsey Sherwood, by whom he had children as follows: Theodore, Alanson and Emma, all deceased; Fred. L., and Jennie.

Fred. L. Turney passed his boyhood in a man- ner no way different from that of other farmers' sons at that time. He was educated in the pub- lic schools and a private school, where he dis- tinguished himself by his quickness of intellect and his ability to reason in a strictly logical way. After he had laid aside his school books and was ready to take up the business of life, he learned the coachmaking trade with the widely-known Brewsters, at Bridgeport. For thirty-three years he engaged in the butcher business and also in the wholesale cattle trade, in which he was suc- cessful in no small degree, and by his wise invest- ments and careful management was enabled to secure a comfortable competence. In 1892 he retired to the old home farm in Trumbull, to the cultivation and improvement of which he has since devoted his time. The most casual ob- server can readily see that the proprietor of that beautiful estate is a progressive, up-to-date man, as well as a most systematic and practical farmer.

Mr. Turney was married, at Grace Episcopal church, Trumbull, to Miss Martha French, a daughter of George French, and two children have graced this union: Edith M., who married George A. Clark, and has one child-Beatrice Maud; and Robert Bruce. . In all his work Mr. Turney has been ably seconded by his devoted wife, whose careful attention to detail and hearty co-operation have given life and energy to his enterprises. Politically, he takes an active inter- est in the workings of the Democratic party, and has held a number of town offices, at present serving as registrar of voters and as justice of: the peace. He so carefully bases his decisions on the merits of a case that his judgment cannot be questioned, and his disinterested advice is freely sought by his neighbors and friends.

TOHN VOORHIS, one of the prominent and wealthy citizens of Fairfield county, residing in Greenwich, has been conspicuously before the people of this section in a business way for many years.

The family name, originally Van Vorhis, is Dutch. The founder of the family in America. came from Holland, and on arriving in this coun- try settled at Flatlands, L. I. One of his de- scendants settled near Belleville, N. J. From this latter branch of the family descended the father of our subject, Jacob Vorhis, who was born at Red Mills, near Paterson, N. J., a son of Peter Vorhis, an agriculturist of that locality. Jacob was reared to agricultural pursuits, but at the age of twenty years began his mercantile career in New York City, where he was in busi- ness for some seven years, thence moving to Nyack, N. Y., where his wife's parents resided. There he embarked in business, and spent the remainder of a most useful career, becoming eminent and successful, and accumulating a vast estate. He was an upright, honorable, Chris- tian gentleman, one whose influence was ever for good, and he gave liberally of his means to every cause that had for its object the elevation of mankind. He possessed rare judgment and : business ability, and his advice was often sought. He and his wife were consistent members of the Methodist Church, in which he was for forty years a class-leader and active in all Church work. Politically, he was a Republican. Mr. Vorhis married Miss Hannah Palmer, who was born in Nyack, N. Y., and to this marriage were born: William and Peter, who died at Nyack; John, subject of this sketch; Jacob, who died in New York City; Catherine, who married James M. Weston, and died in Greenwich, Conn .; Ger-

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trude, who married Allen H. Close, and died at Greenwich, Conn .; and Hannah, who married John Stewart, of Nyack, New York.

John Voorhis was born January 24, 1823, at Nyack, N. Y., a beautiful point on the Hudson river. He was reared and schooled there, mak- ing his home in his birthplace until twenty-three years of age. When eighteen he began as cook on a vessel running between New York and Albany, and then was " conductor " of a sloop that plied on the river. He was fond of the water, and before he had reached his nineteenth year was master of the sloop " Marietta, " one of the princi- pal boats plying between the points above named. When twenty-four years of age he left the river and went into the business of stone quarrying, the location of his quarry being between Thirty- seventh and Forty-second streets, New York, on East river; here he employed from 100 to 300 men, continuing in the business for years. At the same time he operated a quarry at Green- wich, Conn. Subsequently he purchased from the heirs of John R. Grigg their holdings in the business, which he has since conducted alone. Mr. Voorhis' experience in this line here covers a period of nearly a third of a century, and he is most widely and favorably known throughout this portion of the country, where his product has found a ready market. He is a man of rare business tact and ability, qualities which. coupled with energy and industry, have enabled him to make a success of life and acquire larpe means. He early learned to live within his income, and waseconomical at the very threshold of hiscareer, keeping before him the motto of "studying to learn what he could do without," and practicing its principles until the time came when his in- come justified a liberal supply of the comforts and luxuries of life. He has been consistent in his manner of life, and has proved himself a useful man and good citizen among the people with whom he has so long mingled.

Mr. Voorhis has never been an active politi- cian, never aspired to office, or adhered strongly to party ties, believing in supporting the men, and not the party. He voted for Abraham Lincoln for President. From a sense of duty. while he has never sought office, he has never shrunk from it when he believed he could do his community a service by accepting. and for ten years he held the position of warden of Green- wich. He has ever shown considerable public spirit, and the " Lenox House " of Greenwich is a monument to his enterprise. Throughout the Civil war he was one of a committee to look after filling the quota of Fairfield county. For twenty-nine years he was trustee of the Port

Chester (N. Y.) Savings Bank, only retiring there- from on account of the passage of a law barring non-residents of the State from holding office therein. He has declined official recognition by banks in which he is or has been a stockholder. He owns a fine farm in the town of Greenwich. on which at one time he made his home, moving to his present comfortable residence in the box- ough in 1868. He and his wife are members of the Congregational Church.

On July 25, 1845, at Pompton Plains, N. J., Mr. Voorhis was married to Miss Jane Alyea, a native of that place, born June 10, 1826, daugh- ter of Adam and Susan Bertholf, farming people. She was the younger of their two daughters, the elder being Mary E., who married John A. Hop- per, and died at Fairlawn, N. J., in 1881. To the marriage of our subject and wife have been born children as follows: (1) Jacob is now the manager of his father's business. (2) Ella mar- ried Charles E. Lydecker and died in New York, leaving three children-Lee K., Kenneth and Nathalie. (3) Frances is the widow of James M. Sanford, of New York, and has one child- Harold M. (4) Catherine is Mrs. Henry Reigh- ley. of Greenwich, and has two children-Marion and Lester. (5) William is a resident of Mama- roneck, N. Y., engaged in business with his fa- ther. He is married and has three children- Alyea, Gordon and Ethel. (6) Jennie and (7) Bertha are at home.

D OMINIKUS KUNKEL, a well-known resi- dent of Bridgeport, Conn., is a native of Germany, born October 2, 1856.

George Kunkel, father of our subject, fol- lowed farming in the Fatherland, and is still liv- ing there at the advanced age of over eighty years. He married Theresa Rice, of the same nativity, who is deceased, and four children were born to them, viz .: John, Dominikus, Caroline and Leopoldina, all living in Germany except Dominikus.

Our subject received his education at the schools of the neighborhood of his boyhood home, then served in the army three years, after which he was engaged in the liquor business some nine years. At the age of twenty-five, in 1882, he came to the United States, arriving in Bridgeport. Conn., in February of that year, and here found employment in Keefer's furniture fac- tory, in the finishing department, where he re- mained seven years. In 1889 he commenced his present business, first opening out on Wait street, thence after about eighteen months mov- ing to No. 506 North avenue.

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In March, 1882, Mr. Kunkel was married to | member of the Masonic order, belonging to Arch Miss Bertha Hallmann, who was also born in Lodge, F. & A. M., at Georgetown. In conse- Germany, and eight children came to brighten | quence of injuries received during his faithful their home, two of whom are deceased; the ; service in the army, as a private in Company E, names of those living are: George, Frank, | Twenty-third Conn. V. I., he has been granted a Joseph, William, Charles and Oscar. Mr. and pension by the government. Mrs. Kunkel are members of the German Catho-

Mr. Smith married Miss Mary E. Gregory, lic Church, and he is affiliated with the St. : who was born February 12, 1841, in the town of Joseph Benevolent Society, of Bridgeport. In Redding, and was educated in the common politics he is a Democrat, and at one time he i schools of that locality. Her father, Matthew was elected selectman of the Sixth district, serv- --- ing two years. An upright, honorable business man, Mr. Kunkel has gained the confidence of all with whom he has come in contact, and has made a host of warm friends in his adopted city, where he is proprietor of a popular grocery, : liquor and bottling establishment at No. 506 North avenue.

Gregory, was born in the same town and was a prosperous. farmer there. For many years he. was a leading member of the Congregational ! Church at Georgetown, and although he lived to I the advanced age of ninety years, he bore the weight of age lightly, retaining his health and strength almost to the last. He married (first). Miss Mabel Morgan, and (second) Miss Mary Godfrey, daughter of Ephraim and Mary Wake- man Godfrey. By the first union he had one

D DAVID SMITH, a prominent agriculturist re- 1 son, Minot, who married Miss Hannah M. More. siding near Georgetown, is a man whose i and had one child, Charles. By the second mar- character and career command the respect of all . riage there were two children, of whom Mrs. classes in the community. In addition to the : Smith was the younger; Charles C., who is now management of his farm he has been engaged

· engaged in the machine business at Bridgeport, for many years at the hatter's trade, industry | this county, married Miss Cornelia A. Main, and being in his opinion the key to success. During has had seven children-Mary (who married the war of the Rebellion he won an honorable | Frank Haskell), Rebecca (wife of Arthur Beers), record as a soldier, and he has served with credit in various public offices, including that of repre- sentative in the State Legislature.

Mr. Smith was born July 3, 1834, in the town of Ridgefield, this county, where his father, Samuel B. Smith, was a well-known farmer. Samuel B. Smith was also a native of Ridge- field, and his wife, whose maiden name was Mercy Pulling, was born and reared in the same locality. They had five children, of whom the two first, (1) Timothy E. and (2) David, were twins. Timothy E. received a common-school education in his native town and has been connected with railroad work for a number of years, being now a conductor on the Consolidated railroad. He married Miss Ann E. Burr, of Redding, and they have had one child, Minnie B., who is now the wife of Doctor Frazier, a : dentist in Danbury. (3) Eliza married Abram . Pulling. (4) Maria married Albert Johnson. (5) M. Jane married Frank Fields.

David Smith secured a good practical ed- ucation in the district schools near his father's farm, and, possessing an intelligent mind, he has kept well-informed on the topics of the day. His influence among his associates is marked, and in 1886 he was elected to represent his town in the Legislature. In 1896 he was chosen jus- tice of the peace. Fraternally, he is an active i a number of years; Elizabeth; Mary, of Trum-

Nellie (wife of Stoddard Goodsell), Howard (who is not married), and Reuben, Mabel and Samuel, all three deceased in childhood.

E ALI DEWHURST. When one attempts the. study of the peculiar customs of a place or community, whether it consists of a few homes or of many, there are certain persons in that community with characteristics so strongly marked that their individuality seems to have permeated the lives of all, and these few become the prototypes for the whole. So it is with Eli. Dewhurst, whose beautiful home, facing Wash- ington Park, in Bridgeport, is one of the charm- ing spots in that well-known New England city.

Mr. Dewhurst was born July 24, 1824, in Manchester, England, son of James Dewhurst, a. native of the same place, who was a farmer and i woolen manufacturer. About 1827 the family left England and came to the New World, set- ! tling in Pawtucket, R. I., where the father con- i tinued to work at the woolen business the rest of ' his life. He and his wife, whose maiden name was Mellon, had a family of seven children, two. : of whom died young; the others were: Eli, our subject; James, deceased, who was with the. Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company for

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bull, Fairfield Co., Conn .; and George, a me- chanic, who is deceased.

Eli Dewhurst grew to manhood in Pawtucket {R. I.) and Andover, and received his education | in the town of Oxford, Conn. His school days over, he proceeded to follow in the footsteps of his father, learning the woolen trade, at which he worked for a number of years in the woolen mills at Oxford and Woodbury, Conn. In 1856 he came to Bridgeport, where he connected | for one term of four months, and in the winter himself with the Wheeler & Wilson Manufactur- ing Company, continuing there until May, 1880, when he retired from active business.

| of 1887 he resumed teaching, remaining in the | school at Rockville, R. l., until June, 1888. In September of that year he went to Westerly, Mr. Dewhurst married Miss Elizabeth Simp- son, who was born in Leeds, England, a daugh- ter of Robert and Mary Simpson. She passed to her last rest in March, 1895. In his political affiliations our subject is a Democrat, and he has always taken a prominent part in all local affairs. For sixteen years he served as fire commissioner, and for one year he was member of the Common R. I., where he had accepted the position of principal of the Pleasant Street Grammar School, which incumbency he held two years. He then became a high-school teacher at Westerly, re- taining that position for one year, and in Sep- tember, 1891, coming to Mystic, Conn., as prin- cipal of the high school and the graded school in the town of Groton. Here he also continued for 1 Council from the Fifth district. He is a member i one year, since which time he has held his pres- of the Masonic Fraternity, and a charter member i ent position in Stamford, Fairfield Co., Conn. of Corinthian Lodge. of Bridgeport. In his re- ! In the Henry street school nine grades are taught, and ten teachers, including the princi- pal, are needed. The fact that he has been continuously retained in this position for so long a time is sufficient evidence of Mr. Burdick's efficiency, and his zeal in promoting the interests i of his school, and educational work generally, is ligious belief he is an Episcopalian, attending St. Paul's Church, on the East Side. Mr. Dew- hurst has been a familiar figure in the social life of Bridgeport, where his keen intellect and well-stored mind make him a welcome addition to any assembly. He passes the colder part of the year in the " sunny South," coming home | noted by all who know him in this connection. with the warmer season, and finds hearty greet- I ings awaiting him from his old-time friends and neighbors. He is an active member of the Fairfield County Teachers Association, of the School Masters Round Table of Western Connecticut, and of the Rhode Island State Teachers Association.

0 SCAR L. BURDICK has been the able prin- cipal of the Henry Street School, in Stam- ford, Conn., since September, 1892. The teach- er's calling has always been given a foremost place among the professions in New England, and Mr. Burdick has. during his administration, endeavored to keep his vocation up to the stand- and out of it, as an educator's work should be.

In November, 1888, Mr. Burdick was mar- I ried, at Rockville, R. I., to Miss Myrtie T. | Buffington, by whom he has one child, Maida C.

VANDERBILT GODFREY is a prominent resident of the town of Weston, Fairfield county, in whose career as a successful educator I in more recent years, we find one of the best ex-

ard, and his work as effective, in the schoolroom | in earlier life, and no less successful agriculturist

Mr. Burdick comes from good Colonial stock. : amples of good, useful citizenship.

Mr. Godfrey was born December 29, 1853,

One of the original settlers of Newport, R. J., was a Burdick, and our subject's great-grand- I in the town of Weston, Fairfield county, receiv- father, Alpheus Burdick, his grandfather, Gard- i ing his early education at the neighboring schools ner Burdick, and his father, Leander C. Burdick, I of the locality of his birth, and, later, attending were all natives of that State. The last named ' Staples Institute, Easton. For two years after is still living, engaged in farming at Hopkinton, I leaving school he was engaged in mercantile busi- R. I. He married Mary C. Davis, and they had | ness, and then for twenty years taught school a family of six children, namely: Lottie J., : successfully, since when he has devoted his time Oscar L., Walter L., Mary E., Elisha C. and | to farming pursuits. In his political preferences | he is a strong Republican, and he has served in

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 252

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