Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 259

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

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was decided in his convictions and prompt to de- fend them, he met at times with much opposition, I Griffin, and they had the following children:

Mr. Dick was twice married, first to Sarah

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Charles L. and John. The mother of these dy- ing, Mr. Dick afterward married Electa Crit- tenden, who became the mother of the late Will- iam J. Dick; she survived her husband nine years, dying in 1855. Mrs. Dick was a New Jersey woman, though of Connecticut antecedents. She had a daughter, Clarissa, who married Joseph Wheeler, a tailor.

After the firm of Dick & Sanford separated, the shop, which was Mr. Dick's own property, was used for making screws and rivets. The three sons, Charles L., John and William J., car- ried on the business after the father's death, under the firm name of John Dick & Co. The firm turned into rivets one hundred tons of wire a year, and made the first gimlet-pointed screws. Lorenzo Bidwell assisted in their invention, and the machinery for the manufacture was made in the shop. The firm rented power to Isaac Beers and other comb makers, and also to Loren and LeGrand Platt, brothers and cousins to William Platt. for the manufacture of buttons. The busi- ness was finally wound up in 1856, and the shop was sold to the Rubber Company, who tore it down and flooded its site. In 1849 John Dick went to California, where he was first alcalde and then judge of court, member of the Legisla- ture, and a prominent man generally. He was interested in mining ventures, and was sent as delegate to the Philadelphia Convention that nominated his friend, John C. Fremont, as a Presidential candidate, which was the only time he visited his boyhood home. John never mar- ried, and died at Oroville, Cal., in December, 1873, aged fifty-nine years. Mr. Dick's picture in his later years represents him as clean-shaven, like his father before him, though when he at- tended the Philadelphia Convention he wore a luxuriant beard.

Charles L. Dick went to the war in 1861, and died at Harper's Ferry, Va., December 22, 1862, aged forty-seven. He married Sarah Meigs, of Oxford.

TILLIAM J. DICK was born September 12, 1822, in Newtown. Joseph Dick, his father, was an active business man of the town sixty years ago, being connected with Josiah San- ford in the manufacture of broadcloths, cassi- meres and satinets, at Sandy Hook. He was called from earth October 3, 1846, aged fifty- nine years. His first wife, Sarah, died Septem- ber 24, 1820, and his second wife. Electa, passed away April 18, 1855, aged seventy years. Of his children we have record of the following de- ceased: Clarissa A. Wheeler died August 26,

1851. aged twenty-six years; Charles L. died at Harper's Ferry, Va., December 22, 1862, aged forty-seven; and John, at Oroville, Cal., in De- cember, 1873, aged fifty-nine.

William J. Dick received a common-school and academic education, completing the course at Chilton Hill Seminary, Elizabeth, N. J. He was engaged in mechanical and manufacturing pursuits, traveled extensively, visiting nearly every State and Territory in the Union, and for twenty-six years was the proprietor and manager of the famous "Dick Hotel," at Newtown, said to have been one of the best country hotels in Connecticut. He was well-adapted for the busi- ness, and made a great success at it, being a typ- ical landlord of the olden type, and was original in his ideas and methods of doing business. The hotel building, which so long bore his name, is said to have been built by Doctor Perry about 1790, and its successor is the beautiful and com- modious "Newtown Inn." Mr. Dick retired from business some years before his death. He was twice married, (first) to Caroline Candee, who was born in 1826, and died in 1858, and (second) to Mary E. Beardsley. There were four children by the first marriage, all of whom are deceased. Mr. Dick held various local offices, was a justice of the peace. member of the burgess board of Newtown, and president of the cemetery asso- ciation.

M OSES PARSONS (deceased) was a promi- nent citizen and business man of Newtown during the first half of the present century. Born May 9, 1794. at Warehouse Point, Conn., Mr. Parsons was a son of William Parsons.

Moses Parsons when a boy went to Danbury, where he learned the hatter's trade, and at the age of twenty-one he came to Sandy Hook, Fair- field county, where he began the manufacture of hats, continuing in this business until some years just before the Civil war. He farmed to some extent in connection therewith, and after aban- doning the hatting business engaged in agriculture more extensively. In 1832 he was one of the representatives from Newtown in the State Leg- islature; in 1846 he served as selectman; in 1855, on the organization of the Newtown Savings Bank, he was one of the board of trustees, and at the time of his death, September 5, 1875, he was vice-president of that institution. Mr. Parsons was active in Church work, serving at one time as warden of Trinity Episcopal Church. In his political views, he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican.

For his first wife, our subject married Mary

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Stowe, who died June 19, 1822, in her twenty- eighth year, leaving no children. His second wife was Huldah Adams, whose death occurred Septem- ber 16, 1839, when she was in her thirty-seventh year. Their children were: William A .; Mary E., who married Julius Sanford, formerly of Newtown; Edward A .. who died in November, 1898, aged seventy-two years, at New Haven, Conn .: Charlotte S., who married John P. Beers,

Abel Prindle, the father of our subject, was born in 1760. He learned the tailor's trade, which he followed the greater part of his life, also carrying on farming operations. He was an officer in the local militia, was a substantial citi- zen, held in high regard, and was a member of of New Haven (he is now deceased, as is also | the Episcopal Church. He married Ruth, | daughter of Abner Griffin, and their children were: Anna; and Abel B., our subject. The father died in April, 1818, and the mother on April 5, 1864. in her eighty-seventh year.

their only son, Charles H. ); and John D. For his third wife, Moses Parsons married Mary Emily, a daughter of Andrew Andrews, of Bethel. She was born in 1816, and died November 7, 1890. Of the children by the last marriage: Catherine C. died in July, 18So, aged thirty-eight years; Charles M. is referred to farther on; Rev. Arthur T., an Episcopal clergyman, is the rector of a Church in Thomaston. Conn. : and James E. died at the age of forty-seven years, in Septem- ber, 1897. at which time he was bookkeeper in the Yale National Bank, New Haven.

Charles M. Parsons is a farmer, residing at the Parsons homestead, at Sandy Hook. When a young man he entered the United States army during the Civil war, enlisting in Company F, Eighth Conn. V. 1 .. in which he remained until honorably discharged. Some years later he was for several years engaged in surveying for Daniel G. Beers, in the map business. He taught school for some years, and finally settled down to farming. Mr. Parsons married Nellie E., daughter of C. Lawrence Mitchell, and the chil- dren born to this union are: Herbert A., L. Birdsey, Ethel G. and Pearl F. Mrs. Parsons died in June, 1892, aged thirty-two years. Mr. Parsons was the first senior warden at St. John's Episcopal Church, at Sandy Hook. For many years he served as a member of the school board of education of the town of Newtown.

BEL B. PRINDLE, formerly of Newtown, was born July 24, 1814. on his late farm, whereon resided his father and grandfather be- tore him.

Mr. Prindle was a son of Abel Prindle, and a grandson of Jonathan Prindle, who was a tailor by trade, and bought the farm mentioned, of Thomas Chambers, in 1700, soon after his mar- riage to Damarias Peck. Their children were: Sarah, who married Daniel Terrill and went to Wheeling, W. Va .; Jerusha, married to Abel Stilson; Lucy and Anna, who remained single; Abel, referred to farther on; Lemuel, deceased when young; Lemuel (2). who resided on the home farm; and Keziah, wife of Ezekial John-

son. The father of these was a pronounced Episcopalian, a member of Trinity Church. He died in 1813.

Abel B. Prindle in his youth attended the neighborhood schools. He served seven years as an apprentice to the trade of comb maker; then went into a store in Newtown village and was there employed from 1832 to 1835. His | employer having failed, young Prindle then taught school in Flat Swamp District, receiving for his services nine dollars per month, following which he taught in Centre District, at twenty dollars per month. He taught in other districts, including eight or ten terms in his home district, and he was considered one of the best and most successful teachers in the locality. While teach- ing in his home school he had for one of his pu- pils John W. Toucey, who became a man of considerable note. Our subject taught from 1835 to 1848, then abandoned the profession for a decade, when he again went into "the harness." and taught a period at Sandy Hook. From 1860 to 1868 he followed civil engineering in the map-publishing business, with Silas N. and Fred. W. Beers. and was so employed from 1865 to 1868, for Beers, Ellis & Soule. He worked in the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut. From that time on up to about the time of his demise he was engaged in public and private work in his line. Polit- ically, he was in his early life a Democrat, then a Whig after about 1837, and later a Republican. In 1872 and 1873 he served as first selectman, and in 1874 he represented the town in the Leg- islature; was school visitor twelve years or more, and, for probably the same length of time, assessor. In all of these trusts he proved himself a satis- factory officer, and was held in great esteem and respect by his fellow citizens. He had charge of the settling of many estates. At the time of his decease he was auditor of the Newtown Sav- ings Bank. and had been a director of the same. In religious faith he was a member of Trinity Episcopal Church. Mr. Prindle died December 16, 1898, aged eighty-four years, five months.

On December 31, 1843, our subject was

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married to Betsey A. Glover, a daughter of Silas ·Glover, and granddaughter of Capt. Solomon Glover. To the marriage have come two chil- dren: Julia M .; and Robert Morris (a civil en- gineer), who died in 1873, aged twenty-two vears.

M ARTIN K. OSBORN. whose death oc- substantial citizens of Fairfield county. Born in 1818 in Brookfield, Mr. Osborn was a son of Ezra and Rachel (Kellogg) Osborn, whose other children were: Henry B .. Ezra B., and Orrin H.

curred on April 10, 1878, was one of the | acres of the place on which he now lives, to

Martin K. Osborn married, January 15. 1840, Lois Vail, a daughter of Oliver Vail, of Stony Hill District, Bethel, and their children were: (1) Mary E., born December 19, 1842, died April 11, 1888; she married Lemuel Beach Clark, a sketch of whom follows. (2) Charles B., born November 8, 1840, was killed in battle at Sharps- burg, Md., September 19, 1862. The mother of these survives. The father was a farmer, and resided in Stony Hill District, of the town of Bethel; he dealt largely in cattle, and was an active, energetic man of affairs; in his political views, he was a Republican.

LEMUEL BEACH CLARK, mentioned above, is a son of Zachariah Clark, who was born August 27, 1808, and was married, May 4, 1831, to Sarah Ann Camp, who was born February 14, 1811, a daughter of Lemuel and Sarah Camp. Three children came of this union: Lemuel B. (1), born September 27, 1832, died July 14, 1834; Lemuel B. (2), born May 7, 1837; and Sherman Beers, born September 11, 1845, died March 10, 188 ;. The mother of these died June 23, 1854, and the father on December 24, 1854, wedded, for his second wife, Sarah Ann Gregory. He died February 27, 1875, his widow in November, 1890.

Lemuel B. Clark married, March 23, 1864, Mary E. Osborn, and two children were born to them, as follows: Jennie E., March 22, 1865; and Fred Beers, January 23, 1868. The last named was married, August 29, 1894, to Nellie Tomp- son, and two children were born to them: Bertha E. and Fred B., both living. The father was called from earth November 9, 1896.

H ON. WILLIAM N. NORTHROP, who has long been a man of prominence, and a leading citizen of Newtown, Fairfield county, is a son of Walter Northrop, whose family history is set forth in the sketch of the Northrop family.

William N. Northrop was born July 15, 1829,

and received his education in the schools of his home district, Head of Meadow, Newtown. He also attended the select school of Harry Peck, in Taunton District, having as schoolmates John M. Toucey, Robert T. and Sylvester Clarke, and Judge Charles A. Briscoe. He left school when about seventeen, and began keeping books in a store at Saugatuck. In 1855 he went on his father's farm, and soon afterward bought fifty which he has since gradually added until he has now an excellent farm of upward of two hundred acres, and he has given his attention exclusively to the fattening of fine cattle. Mr. Northrop is a self-made man, and can take pride in the success he has attained. He has ever been an ardent Democrat, of the Jacksonian type, has taken quite an active interest in politics and public affairs, and it is safe to say that he is to-day, and has been for thirty years past, the foremost and most influential Democrat in Newtown. His ability in public lines has been recognized by his fellow-citizens, who have at various times placed him in official positions of honor and trust, and he | has as often satisfactorily and ably filled the same. He has served the town as constable, as- sessor, justice of the peace, and in other minor i offices. In 1875 he was elected first selectman, and for eight years he was annually chosen to the same office. In 1881 he was nominated and elected State senator for the Fifteenth District, and ably represented his constituents in that body for two years, serving, the first year, as chairman of the committee on Capitol Buildings, Furniture and Grounds. During the second year he was chairman of the committee on Roads and Bridges. Since 1883 Mr. Northrop has.been town auditor. He is one of the directors of the Newtown Savings Bank, and a stockholder and director in the Newtown Agricultural Society.

On May 15, 1855. Mr. Northrop was married to Julia, daughter of Henry and Eveline Lamber- ton, of Westport, Conn. The marriage has been blessed with children as follows: Eliza, Charles Henry, John James, and Mary Hattie.

C CHAMBERS. Thomas Chambers, the first of the name to settle in Newtown, removed from the State of New York about 1736, settling at the head of Newtown Street. He had twelve children, whose names, with dates of birth, are as follows: Mary, May 14, 1743; Asa, Novem- ber 3, 1744; Abigail, March 12, 1746; Jesse, Dec. 1, 1747; Nathan, Aug. 20, 1750; Charles (or James), July 10, 1752; Thomas, July 7, 1754; Ann, April 29, 1756; Jemimah, December 31, 1757; Elladah,

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March 22, 1760; Amerillis, May 10, 1762; and In 1833 Mr. Chambers went trafficking in the the South, and for some fifteen years he followed that business seven months in the year, going i south in the fall of each year, and dealing in car- riages, wagons, etc. He had yards and sheds in Newbern, N. C. His second son, Doctor Cor- nelius, a bright young man, died there. Thomas O. Chambers' modest. ambition, however, was Joseph, August 16, 1764. The elder children had grown to manhood and womanhood in the stirring times of the Revolution, and three of them died during the war-Jesse and Nathan in the British army. and James in the American service. Mary, the eldest child, married Dr. : William Warner, and went to Waterbury. Her- I mon Warner, one of her sons, was for a long | to be a farmer. He served in the Legislature in time deputy sheriff of Fairfield county, and proved | 1848 or '49. The children born to Thomas O. a first-class officer. His son, Judge Charles C. | Chambers were as follows: Henry R., born No- Warner, was sacred to Newtown. Jemimah. the ! vember 3, 1820; (Doctor) Cornelius, September fourth daughter of Thomas Chambers, became the 1 2. 1822; Jane Elizabeth, February 6, 1825; and second wife of Dr. Benjamin Warner, who lived : Frederick, August 27, 1833. Of these,

in New Milford, in what is now Bridgewater: and

Henry R. Chambers went to Waterbury Joseph. the youngest son, located in Newtown, ! about the time his father went south. He was afterward removing to Redding. Elladah died ! bound out for five years in the woolen-mill of there, but Joseph went on to central New York, the then " western wilderness."

De Forest & Co., but after the completion of his apprenticeship the building was burned, and he ! then, still quite a young man, worked at

Asa Chambers, father of the late Thomas O. Chambers, of Newtown, built the house in Zoar i daguerreotyping seven vears. He went into where Thomas O. lived, and died there when nearly ninety years of age. Asa Chambers mar- ried a Miss Adams, by whom he had three daughters -- Chloe, Lucy and Polly. Lucy mar- ried a Mr. Gray, went to Vermont, and then to Salem, Washington Co., N. Y. Her son, Alonzo Gray, married a daughter of Joseph Hawley, who went there from Bridgeport, and his widow, a : partnership with Doctor Blake, and has since so i remained. On December 25. 1852, he was mar- ried to Emeline Munson. Their son, Cornelius Clifford, is now in the office of the firm of Cham- bers & Blake. Jane E. was married, September 7, 1850, to Eli J. Morris, of Newtown. Fred- erick is a resident of Zoar District, town of New- town. Besides learning surveying, he taught much-respected lady, is now living in Salem. i school for seven years during his younger man- Mrs. Chambers died of smallpox, and after re- ! hood. On October 23. 1862. he married Miss maining a widower three years Asa Chambers : Betsie M. Burritt. daughter of Fairchild Burritt. married, in 1793, Mrs. Elizabeth Clifford, a : a large Roxbury farmer. and their children are: widow, whose maiden name was Osborn, her : Susie Sturges, born April 30, 1864; Jennie Mor- i ris, July 18, 1868: Sarah Burritt, December 15,

home being in Oxford, where she remained until after her first marriage, then removed to Strat- i 1869; and Elizabeth Burritt, January 6, 1876. field (now Bridgeport), when there were but two houses in the place. The Cliffords had three children-Hannah, Daniel and Leverit. Hannah married Captain Allen, an old sea captain of sail- ing vessels, and had three sons who became ship- masters.

D AVID H. JOHNSON, who died in Newtown February 24, 1874. aged fifty-nine years. I was a son of John and Clarissa (Peck) Johnson. who died March 8, 1845. aged sixty-three, and | August 29, 1845, aged sixty-two, respectively.

The late Thomas O. Chambers was born September 5, 1795. and died July 23. 1883, both Our subject was for many years a merchant events occurring in the old house at Zoar. He | in Newtown village, and the local press, at the was the only child born to Doctor Asa and I time of his death, remarked, in substance: "In Elizabeth (Clifford) Chambers. He was edu- ! his death Newtown loses one of its best citizens, cated in Zoar District school, also in Naugatuck i one who possessed the noble traits of manhood. as his acts and dealings with his fellow-men have (then Waterbury), and when about seventeen years old commenced teaching school. For ! fully shown. Mr. Johnson lived a little past I the prime of life. and during most of this time was engaged in active business, and by all who I knew him was considered an honorable, upright. eight or nine years he taught in Monroe, then in Southbury, in Lake George District two seasons, in Oxford. and was teaching in Zoar District when, on Thanksgiving Day, December 2. 1819. : and, to young business men, a model, merchant. he married Sarah Curtis, who was born March ;. 1802. Her father lived where Charles Curtis has his home.

| In politics, he was always identified with the Democratic party. At different times he held positions of honor and trust. Among these it

C 1

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may be mentioned that he was representative to the Legislature (in 1855), and for many years was the town treasurer. Always generous, in a quiet way, his gifts to the Church were liberal." Mr. Johnson was twice wedded, both wives being daughters of Abel Beers. His first marriage was with Esther Beers, who died November 28, 1863, aged forty-nine years, and his second was with Rebecca Beers. who passed away June 3, 1890. There were no children by either mar- riage.

S ALLU PELL BARNUM. Forty or fifty years ago the name of Barnum was well-known to this part of Connecticut, it not to the State gen- erally.

Newtown has ever doted not a little on its commanding and beautiful town site. Its loca- tion and surroundings have made it an ideal sum- mer resort, and its well-appointed hotels have not been the least attractive to summer visitors. Less than a decade ago the late William J. Dick, after a successful term of twenty-five years as the proprietor of the well-known and popular "Dick House," retired. His predecessor at the same stand for years was the gentleman whose name opens this sketch. Every one in that day knew " Pell " Barnum as the genial landlord in Newtown village.

Mr. Barpum was born September 2, 1808, and October 5, 1831. married Laura Fairchild, born November 24, 1811. Their children were: Catharine J., born January 8, 1834. in Danbury; David Beach, born February 21, 1837, in New- town: and Sarah Frances. born May 14. 1845, in Newtown. It appears that in and about the year 1854- Mr. Barnum was town clerk. The son, David Beach Barnum. was reared in New- town, where he clerked in the store of Henry Sanford. He became connected with the Adams Express Company, and " rose from the ranks" to be its treasurer, with headquarters in New York City, where his death occurred. Sallu P. Barnum died July 26, 1872, in his sixty-fourth year; his wife passed away April 15, 1861, aged forty-nine years.

L AMSON BIRCH LAKE, whose death oc- curred March 9, 1897. was one of Newtown's respected citizens. He was born December 23, 1834, a son of Philo Lake and Polly (Birch) Lake.

Lamson B. Lake descended from Newtown's early settlers. At the death of his parents four children were left orphans: Hannah (Mrs. John Hubbard), now of Meriden, Conn .; Catherine,

second wife of the late Amos Hard; Ezra; and Lamson B. The latter, who was the youngest, was taken in charge by his grandfather, Lamson Birch. For years our subject was one of a sur- veving corps, then was a teacher. On April 22, 1860, he married Sarah Maria Beers, who was born February 4. 1836, a daughter of John and Roxy A. Beers, of Coldspring. Newtown. Soon afterward Mr. Lake bought the place where about half of his life was spent. This wife died May 27, 1870, leaving three children: Carrie Louisa. born May 28, 1861; Frederick Beers, born August 11, 1864; and Catherine Augusta, born January 29, 1866. The mother of these died of pneumonia, May 27, 1870, and April 19, 1871, Mr. Lake, for his second wife, married Sylvia Maria Beers, who was born March 6, 1842, a daughter of Norman and Betsey Beers, of Palestine, Newtown. By this union were born two daughters: Grace Elizabeth, March 8, 1873, and Florence Amelia, January 2, 1880. The eldest daughter, Carrie Louisa. was married, February 21, 1884. to Frank Augustus Mallette, of Monroe, who was born in Trumbull. October 27, 1856: they have no children. Frederick, the son, died July 8, 1885, of consumption. The second daughter, Catherine Augusta, was mar- ried October 10, 1889, to William Camp John- son, who was born June 16, 1862, in Newtown; they have no children. The third daughter, Grace Elizabeth, as were also her sisters Carrie and Catherine before marriage, is a popular school teacher, and is to teach in Greenwich Academy, Greenwich, Conn., the coming year. The fourth daughter, Florence Amelia, is at- tending school.

Mr. Lake was a progressive farmer. and en- joyed the life that grew out of his occupation. Exemplary in his daily life, upright in his deal- ings between man and man, of strong Christian principles, he left behind a memory sweet with the fragrance that flows from the strong purpose to do that which commends itself to God rather than to man.

D AVID G. PENFIELD, who in his lifetime was a wholesale grocer and one of the lead- ing business men of the city of Danbury, was born in the town of New Fairfield, Conn., August 8, IS42.

The Penfield family are of English origin, but for generations have resided in Fairfield county. Thaddeus Penfield, the grandfather of David G., was a native of Fairfield, whence on reaching manhood he removed to the town of New Fair- field, where he was engaged in farming. His'

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 259

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