Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 26

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

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The following account of a visit to New York, City in 1823, shows the wide difference between then and now in invention, progress and popula- tion. Saturday after Thanksgiving, 1823, a party of young men from Stratford and Hunting- ton took a trip to New York City with Capt. Levi Wheeler on his coasting vessel, which was carrying down a cargo of wood and flax-seed, while the passengers took with them quite a sup- ply of Thanksgiving goodies. The party was composed of the following gentlemen: Isaac Wells, Charles Curtis, Walker Curtis, Selim Booth, Sydney Lewis, Willis Curtis, John Wil- coxon, Levi Curtis and Eli Lewis, of Stratford, with Edwin Shelton, Newton Shelton and Sydney DeForest, of Huntington, Conn. After a fair voyage the city was reached in a little more than twenty-four hours, and there they took in the sights for about eight days, leaving for home on the second Tuesday. It was quite warm weather, and they greatly enjoyed the society of several of their former fellow-towns- men and school mates who had a year or two previously gone to New York to earn a livelihood, hoping to make their fortunes. These former Stratford boys were Isaac Lewis, James Lang- don Curtis, Frederick A. Benjamin and Alfred Fairchild. A young man named Hyde, from Huntington, had made a home for himself in the metropolis. The New York boys cordially wel- comed their guests from Connecticut, and accord- ing to their ability entertained them. William A. Booth took Selim Booth and Eli Lewis to Chatham Theater one evening, while the other boys had some other plans and place in view. Of these New York young men-former Stratford residents-Alfred Fairchild died while quite a young man, Isaac Lewis, Frederick A. Benjamin,

William A. Booth and James L. Curtis lived to old age and amassed large fortunes. Mr. Hyde, formerly of Huntington, lived many years in com- fortable circumstances. It is supposed that William A. Booth and James L. Curtis are yet (1899) living. Most of the Stratford gentlemen above mentioned lived to a good age, and died in comfortable cirumstances.

Mr. Lewis possessed a remarkable memory for ancient events and dates, together with a great taste for reading, and enjoyed the leading magazines of the day, reading without spectacles until rather more than a year previous to his decease. The last paper he read was the Bridge- port Weekly Standard, nineteen days before his death. This paper stated that the Bridgeport Horse Railway Company had obtained a charter to extend its roadway to the Congregational church in Stratford.

The Lewis race from which Mr. Lewis sprang is an honorable lineage (whether tracing back across the ocean to a long line of kings, as is claimed by some, or of a more humble race), and his descendants are more proud of the near-an- cestry-parents-grandparents and great-grand- parents of the Lewis family-than of any other race to which they belong, no matter how illus- trious. They trace back to Colonial ancestry, to Loyalist also, in company with many of those who belong to early New England settlers; on the side of both grandmothers to ancestry that gives entry to the Daughters of the Revolution,- on one side through Abraham Beardsley, a great- grandfather of Mrs. Lewis, and on the other side through Rev. Nathan Birdseye, great-grand- father of Mr. Lewis, who held a civil office-a government appointment-during the war of the Revolution, that entitles to membership. Mr. Lewis and his ancestors did well for the times in which they lived. They builded well for pos- terity.

EORGE H. WHITE, a highly respected I citizen of Danbury, Fairfield county, is now enjoying in well-earned leisure the rewards of many years of toil. He was born September 6, 1820, in Hindon, England, where his father, John V. White, and grandfather, John C. White, were well-known residents.

John V. White was born January 5, 1788, and married Miss Penelope Norton, a native of England, born October 15, 1788, a daughter of Thomas Norton. They had ten children, of whom six died in England in childhood or in- fancy. The others-John, Charles, George H. and Eliza-came to America, our subject and his brother Charles being now the only survivors.

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In 1837 John V. White crossed the ocean with his wife and family to seek a new home in the United States. He was a landscape gardener and, finding in the wealthy and cultured resi- dents of this section most appreciative employ- ers, he located at Danbury, Conn., where he and his wife lived to the advanced ages of eighty and seventy-four years, respectively. Mr. White dying September 19, 1868, and Mrs. White on October 8, 1862.

As George H. White was but a lad when he came to Danbury, his education was continued there in the common schools, which he attended in the evenings, his days being spent in working with his father. In 1840 he left the paternal roof and went to New York City, where for twelve years he was engaged in the painting busi- ness at the corner of Eighth avenue and Twen- tieth street. On returning to Danbury in 1852, he established himself in a house and sign painting business, which he continued successfully until his retirement in 1889. For about eight years he was interested also in photography, in which he had a fine custom. He has acquired a goodly competence, and owns a number of houses in the city of Danbury, while his own residence, at No. 103 Rose Hill, Danbury, is a beautiful place, the grounds, comprising about two acres, show- ing his artistic taste in arrangement. The fine large trees were planted by his own hand, and the beautifying of the place has been a pleasant occupation for his spare time for many years. When he purchased the property in 1851 it was a farm, his house being the only one within some distance, but it is now in the city, and is built up closely with residences. Nearly all the large trees on the hill were planted by Mr. White, and he has straightened and opened streets through his property, being ever ready to do all in his power to improve and beautify, not only his own place, but the neighborhood in general. The in- terior of his house is adorned with numerous oil paintings of considerable merit, the work of his own hand.

Mr. White has been twice married. His first wife, Caroline Michaels, daughter of John and Amelia Michaels, of New Hurley, N. Y., died in April, 1874, leaving one daughter, Caroline, who married William Jacobus, a hardware merchant at No. 90 Chambers street, New York City; they have one child, George Richard Jacobus. In 1882 Mr. White married Miss Anna M. Ritch, and by this union he has one son, George Ritch, who is still at home. Mr. White is a member of the Episcopal Church; his wife is a Methodist. In politics he is a Republican, and for many years he has been prominent in fraternal society

work, being one of the oldest members of Union Lodge, No. 40, F. & A. M., at Danbury. He was also active at one time in the I. O. O. F., but the lodge to which he belonged surrendered its charter, and he did not again join the Order.

H ERMAN SELLECK (deceased) had lived on his farm in the town of New Canaan, Fairfield county, for half a century, and his father and grandfather also carried on agricult- ural pursuits in that town, where the family have been well-known for the last century.

Jacob Selleck, grandfather of Herman, was born in the town of Stamford, of Welsh ancestry, and early removed to New Canaan, being a resi- dent of Canoe Hill when the town was organ- ized. He was a prominent member of the Episcopal Church at Norwalk, in which he served as vestryman. For his first wife he married a Miss Fitch, of Norwalk, and after her death he wedded her cousin, also named Fitch.

Samuel Selleck, son of Jacob, was born in Carter Street, in the town of New Canaan, where he was reared, acquiring his education in the common schools of the neighborhood. Under his father's guidance he was early instructed in the science of agriculture, to which he devoted his time, farming on the paternal homestead until 1836, when he sold it to Stephen Hoyt, the nurseryman. Removing to Orleans county, N. Y., he spent his remaining days there, pass- ing away in 1840 when a comparatively young man. He married Ann DeForest, who survived him many years, dying in New Canaan in 1872. They were the parents of ten children, namely: Caroline, Charlotte, Herman, George, Charles, Julia, Mary, Benjamin, William and Eliza, all of whom are now deceased.

Herman Selleck was born in 1823, in Carter Street, town of New Canaan, on the family homestead occupied by his father and grand- father. His early boyhood was passed there, and for about five years he lived in Orleans county, N. Y., whither his parents had removed in 1836. He lived on his late farm from the year 1841, with the exception of one year spent in Morris, Ill., and his entire life was devoted to farming, in which he met with encouraging and well-merited success, acquiring, by years of in- dustrious toil, a fine farm and a comfortable home. He did not give much attention to out- side affairs, but he served acceptably for one term as assessor of his town. Socially, he was affiliated with the Grange, and in religious faith he was a member of the M. E. Church. He passed from earth about 1897.

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Mr. Selleck was married at Darien, Conn., to Miss Adeline M. Hoyt. daughter of Rufus Hoyt. There have been no children. Rufus Hoyt was born in Darien, a son of Thaddeus Hoyt, and passed his entire life in the town of his birth, engaging during his active years in farming. He married Sarah E. Reed, and of the ten children born to them we have the following record: Louisa Rebecca (Mrs. Charles Rogers) is living in Danbury; Frances Elizabeth lives in Darien; Thaddeus married a Miss Hutchins, and lives in Darien; Adeline M. is the widow of Herman Sel- leck; Sarah Jane makes her home in Darien; John Woolsey, Oscar Rufus and Edward Morti- mer are deceased; Mary Virginia lives in Darien; and Charles Reed is a resident of Norwalk.

H ON. JULIUS B. CURTIS, of the Fairfield County Bar, is a well-known resident of Stamford. He has for many years been one of the leading members of the Bar, a fact which alone gives abundant proof of his ability and high character.

The family of our subject is of English origin, and they have a coat of arms, the right to use which was confirmed in the time of Charles I. The first ancestor of whom we find a definite ac- count was Capt. William Curtis, who came to America from England at a very early date with a brother John, and settled at Stratford, Fair- field Co., Conn. He became prominent among the pioneers of that locality, and was sent to rep- resent them in the Colonial Assembly twelve times. His military title was gained by his ap- pointment as captain of forces raised for service in King Philip's war, and to serve against the Dutch at New Netherlands, with power to ap- point his inferior officers,

Capt. Josiah Curtis, the next in the line of descent, was born in Stratford, and engaged in farming there. He served in the militia in his day, and was also active in political movements, being elected in 1716 as a member of the As- sembly.

Benjamin Curtis, the great-great-grandfather of our subject, was a native of Stratford, but made his home in Newtown, where he followed agricultural pursuits during his later years. He too was a member of the General Assembly.

Benjamin Curtis (2), our subject's great- grandfather, was born in Newtown, and resided there throughout his life. He served as select- man of the town. He married (first) Fedima Nichols, and (later) wedded Mary DeVine.

Philo Curtis (a son by the first wife, Fedima), grandfather of Hon. J. B. Curtis, was a lifelong

resident of Newtown, where he died in 1818. He was an influential citizen, an Episcopalian in re- ligion, a Federalist in politics, and for many years he held the office of selectman of his town. His wife, Huldah (Hubbell), was a native of Weston, Fairfield county. They had eight chil- dren: Nichols, our subject's father; Carlos, who went west to reside; Huldah, who married M. C. Hatch, of Oxford, Conn .; Fedima, wife of Thomas Beers; Polly, wife of John Glover; Bet- sey, who married Amariah Beers; Philo, a resi- dent of Newtown, and Julia, who never married.

Nichols Curtis was born September 27, 1784, in Newtown, and was educated there in the dis- trict schools and at a private school taught by Capt. Luther Harris. Throughout his life he followed farming as an occupation, occasionally teaching, and until 1822 he resided at the old homestead in Newtown. Like all of his family he was a public-spirited citizen, and although he did not aspire to political honors he took much interest in a quiet way in local affairs, being es- pecially active in the cause of education and in religious work as a member of the Episcopal Church. He died April 20, 1852, and his wife, Sarah Ann Bennett, who was born June 4, 1786, the daughter of Amos Bennett, of Newtown, sur- vived him a little over six years, breathing her last on October 30, 1858. Our subject is the younger of two children: The elder, Charlotte Nichols, married Monroe D. Downs, of South- bury, Conn., and died in 1881.

Hon. Julius Bolivar Curtis was born Decem- ber 10, 1825, in the town of Newtown, where his youth was spent. His education was begun in the public schools of the locality, and he also attended the Newtown Academy and a private school of academic character for short periods. These opportunities were not sufficient for his wishes, however, and he is largely indebted to private reading and study for his wide range of information. His professional studies were be- gun in the summer of 1846 with Hon. Edward Hinman, of Southbury, and afterward continued under Isaac M. Sturges, Esq., then of Newtown, and Hon. Amos S. Treat. Later he entered the law school at Ballston Springs, Saratoga Co., N. Y., where he spent the summer of 1850. In the same year he was admitted to practice at the De- cember session of the Fairfield county court, and in the following summer he opened an office at Greenwich, this county, where his worth was speedily recognized, aud rewarded by a fine practice. In the fall of 1864 he removed to Stamford, and has since continued in practice there. In 1867 he was elected judge of the pro- bate court for the district of Stamford, and he

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held this position for three years, by successive re-elections. He was also judge of the borough court of Stamford (now the city court) from April 1, 1887, to April 1, 1893. Judge Curtis has al- ways been noted for his keen insight into the the facts of a case, and his positive and inde- pendent character is demonstrated by his fearless championship of principle, and his unwillingness to follow the lead of others blindly.

Mr. Curtis' first Presidential vote was cast for Van Buren in 1848, as he was an ardent be- liever in Free-soil principles, and although his early affiliations had been with the Whig party he joined heartily in the movement that resulted in the formation of the Republican organization. In 1858 he was elected senator to represent the Twelfth Senatorial District in the General Assem- bly, and in 1860 he was re-elected to that po- sition. During the latter year he also served as an ex-officio member of the corporation of Yale College. His sound judgment, his wide knowl- edge, and his public spirit made his political ca- reer a notable one, and in every post he dis- played a rare perception of duty.

On October 30, 1854, Mr. Curtis married Miss Mary Acker. daughter of Peter and Mary Acker, of Greenwich, this county. Two children were born of this union: Sarah, on March 9, 1866, and Louis J., on March 11, 1869. The mother of these died February 20, 1884, and on May 11, 1886, the Judge married Mrs. Alice (Kneeland) Grain, daughter of Mr. Henry and Mrs. Margaret Kneeland, of New York City, and widow of Mr. Francis H. Grain. Judge Cur- tis has two children by his first wife, viz .: Sarah L. Curtis, and Louis J. Curtis, a practicing law- yer, and clerk of the city court of Stamford.

IRAM WARREN, M. D. (deceased). De- scended from Revolutionary stock, and a soldier himself, was the late Dr. Hiram Warren, at the time of his death one of the older mem- bers of the medical profession in Fairfield county. He was born in the town of Patterson, Putnam Co., N. Y., August 7, 1828, a son of Rev. John Warren, formerly pastor of the Baptist Church at Carmel, New York.

Rev. John Warren was born in Ulster county, N. Y., a son of William Warren, who came to this country from Glasgow, Scotland, with an uncle who was a colonel in the British army. Not having an all-absorbing passion for things British, and having the inherent Scotch love of liberty, this William Warren deserted his uncle and joined the ranks of the Continental army, where he remained until the close of the war.

He died at the age of ninety-seven. Rev. John Warren was a resident of Ulster county until he entered the ministry, when he was called to Car- mel, N. Y., where he was pastor of the Baptist Church for thirty years. He married Desire Grant, of Ulster county, and to this union came twelve children, as follows: Anna Bell, Rev. John, Jr., Jonathan, Mary Hill, Olive Buckley, and Euphemia, all deceased; David, of Carmel; Solomon, deceased; Hiram, our subject; Levi (deceased), who was a surgeon in the army; Eliza Fols, of Yonkers, N. Y .; and Maria Shrive, also of Yonkers. The father of this family died at Danbury at the age of eighty-seven years.

Hiram Warren attended the common school at Carmel, and on acquiring all the knowledge to be obtained in the district schools, he engaged in teaching while preparing for college. He graduated from Madison University and from the medical department of New York University. Entering the Union army as surgeon, he went on the Banks expedition to Louisiana, but dur- ing his service he was thrown from a horse and injured so severely that he was mustered out of service. He then settled down to private prac- tice at Hamburg, New London Co., Conn., where he remained until 1865. His spine having been injured by his fall, he decided that to engage in active practice would result in entirely under- mining his health, so he accepted the principal- ship of Walkill Academy. Later he was super- intendent of schools at Middletown, N. Y. In 1885 he moved to Danbury, Conn., and after a five-years' residence in that city he came to Brookfield. He died April 1, 1897.

At Middletown, N. Y., Dr. Warren was mar- ried to Mary E. Bennett, and by this union he became the father of two sons: John W .; and Levi G., who is with the Western Electric Com- pany, New York City. Dr. Warren was at one time a member of the F. & A. M., and during his college days was one of the workers in the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, of which he was presi- dent. In religious faith he was a Baptist, an active member of a number of religious societies, and in former years he had been superintendent of Sunday-school.

PHILIP J. JONES. The good will of one's neighbors is popularly regarded as an evi- dence of worth, and this venerable and kind- hearted gentleman, of whom every one speaks well, is in all respects deserving of the esteem in which he is held in his community.

Mr. Jones is of Irish birth and parentage, and his family has long been identified with

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County Kildare, Ireland. Samuel Jones, the father of our subject, was born in that county, and became a successful farmer there, making a specialty of raising cattle. He also operated a gristmill for many years, but late in life he came to America, locating upon a farm at Hawley, Penn., where he died May 26, 1860. His wife, Mary (Henderson), of County Dublin, Ireland, died in the old country in 18 -. Of their large family of children five lived to maturity: Charles, a farmer by occupation, died in Cincinnati, Ohio; John was a butcher in Stratford, Conn .; Philip J. is the subject proper of this sketch; Eliza, who married Thomas Spooner in Ireland, did not come to America; and Harriet, the youngest, did not marry.

Our subject was born November 14. 1821, at the old home in County Kildare, Ireland, and re- mained upon the farm until he reached the age of eighteen, his education being obtained in the local schools. In 1839 he came to Connecticut, and after making a short stay in Stratford he settled in Bridgeport, where he was employed about fifteen years by the Hart & Calhoun Co., manufacturers of harness and saddles. While there he married Miss Isabella Bradley, daughter of John Bradley, a well-known resident of Bridgeport. Removing later to New Jersey, he spent a year upon a farm, and he then went to Hawley, Penn., where his first wife died. About 1856 he came back to this county and purchased a farm, which he soon sold, and in 1858 he took possession of his present homestead, a fine farm of 250 acres near Shelton. All of the improve- ments upon the place have been made by him, as the land was in a primitive condition when he bought it, and his handsome residence was built in 1870. His barns and other farm buildings are models, and the roads and fences about the place are kept in admirable repair. His atten- tion is largely given to the raising of blooded horses and cattle, and at one time he rented three or four other farms in the vicinity in order to carry on that business more extensively. He is an excellent business man, and has met with good success financially. In politics he is a Democrat, for two years he held the office of township assessor, and he has also taken an active part in educational affairs in his locality, being always ready to aid in any worthy move- ment. In religious faith he is an Episcopalian.

After the death of his first wife Mr. Jones married Miss Sarah G. Booth, of Bridgeport, daughter of David Booth, a prosperous farmer of Trumbull township. She died in Huntington, and he afterward married Miss Fannie Tyrrell, of Roxbury, Conn. He has had four children,

of whom three are living. Of the two children by his first marriage, one died in infancy at Haw- ley, Penn .; and Eliza is now the wife of Theo- dore Hubbell, a farmer of Huntington township. By the second marriage there were also two children: William, who is a farmer at the home- stead, was married in 1881 to Miss Teresa Hub- bell, daughter of Charles Hubbell, of Hunting- ton; and Sarah, who married James Stone, a corset manufacturer at Aurora, Illinois.

W ILLIAM GREENE BROWNSON, M.D., who died at Noroton of pneumonia, Jan- uary 3, 1899, was the resident physician and sur- geon of the Connecticut Soldiers' Home at Noroton, and ranked among the leaders of his profession in this country, his numerous articles in the medical journals of the day having won for him a wide reputation as a scientific observer in professional lines.

Doctor Brownson was born August 6, 1830, at Fenner, Madison Co., N. Y., and belonged to a well-known family, his uncle, Hon. Greene C. Bronson, having been chief justice of the New York Supreme Court for thirty years, and, later, corporation counsel for the City of New York. Simeon Brownson, the father of our subject, was a native of Connecticut, whence he went to cen- tral New York when about twenty years of age, making his permanent home there, and engaging in agricultural pursuits upon a farm which he cleared from the primeval forest. He was a quiet, unassuming citizen, and was held in high esteem by his associates. He died November 6, 1852, and his wife, Lucretia Stewart, who was a native of the Empire State, passed to the un- seen life in 1887, at the advanced age of eighty- nine years. Doctor Brownson had one sister, Mrs. Celestia Kayner, of Gasport, N. Y., and two brothers, Addison, now a resident of Mar- shall, Mich., and Oliver J., of Middleport, N. Y. He also had a half-brother, Rev. Isaac K. Brownson, formerly of Fayetteville, N. Y., who died January 28, 1899, at an advanced age.

The Doctor's education was begun in the dis- trict schools near his early home, and later he attended the New York Central College at Mc- Grawville, N. Y., and the'State Normal School at Albany, N. Y., where he was graduated in February, 1853. He had taught at various times while securing his education, and after graduat- ing he accepted a position as instructor in a boarding school in New Jersey, subsequently teaching in union schools on Long Island, and at Ogdensburg, N. Y. Later he became principal of a large school at Jamaica, Queens Co., N. Y.,

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where he remained four and one-half years. During this time he began his medical course in the University of New York, and in February, 1865, he received the degree of M. D. from that institution. On the day of his graduation he en- listed in the army, and was appointed acting assistant-surgeon in the De Camp General Hos- pital, New York Harbor, which position he held until discharged in September, 1865. He located in New Canaan, this county, and remained in active practice some twenty-six years, meeting with success from the outset.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 26

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