Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 32

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

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Solomon Mead, whose name opens this sketch, was reared on his father's farm, receiving such advantages in an educational line as the time and locality of his boyhood afforded. He attended the Greenwich Academy when that institution was under the direction of Professor Grosvenor. The active part of his long life was almost en- tirely given to agricultural pursuits, and he was eminently successful in the same and in his busi- ness transactions. To read the history of the numerous members of the Mead family whose lives through the nine or more generations have been passed in Fairfield county is to know of lives that have been given to the cause of Christ, and their influence lent to such measures as tended to uplift humanity and elevate society. Our sub- ject in this respect followed in the line of his an- cestors. For nearly three-quarters of a century he was identified with the Congregational Church, becoming a member of the Society in Greenwich in 1828. When he was sixteen years of age-in 1824-General LaFayette visited Greenwich, and Mr. Mead recalled vividly the incidents connected with that visit and occasion, remembering the

looks of the General and the impression he and his son-George Washington-made upon his boyish mind. Mr. Mead, too, recalled the faces of many of the soldiers of the war of the Revolu- tion, whose acquaintance he enjoyed in boyhood. He was always a close observer of passing events, and was possessed of much general information which made him an interesting conversationalist and a pleasing companion. He was quite a traveler, having been across the continent some five times, and in 1887 he published in pamphlet form a very readable and interesting work en- titled "Two Trips to California." On February 26, 1879, the occasion of the one hundredth an- niversary of the ride of Gen. Israel Putnam to Greenwich, Mr. Mead was given the honor of re- plying to the toast " Greenwich in the Revolu- tion."

From 1824 to 1845 Mr. Mead resided on what is known as the Titus Mead place (now in the borough of Greenwich), thence coming to the place where he ended his days. In 1858 he be- gan building the house thereon, and in Decem- ber, 1860, moved into it. The grounds are high, the dwelling standing on an eminence near the Second Congregational Church, which is said to be the most elevated place on the Sound between New York and Boston. From the observatory on the house one has a grand view of all the surrounding country, even across the Sound on Long Island. This place Mr. Mead purchased from the Seymour family, and he made it one of the most attractive in the borough.

Until the organization of the Republican party Mr. Mead was a Whig in his political views. From 1856 he was a stanch Republican, taking great interest in its measures and working for its success. He held various town offices, and was often a delegate to County and State conventions. He was a trustee of the Green- wich Savings Bank, and his name is linked with many enterprises which have related to the best interests of his town. As a financier and busi- ness man he was able and successful, and he be- came one of the wealthy men of Greenwich. For his success in life he always gave great credit to the teaching of his mother, to whom he thus beautifully referred in an article written for his daughter:

"Even though there had been many persons in the town by the name of Hannah, I could not have given you any other but that of my de- parted mother. And here I cannot refrain from speaking of her life. Her Christian character, for beauty and symmetry or for modesty, meek- ness, gratitude, and benevolence, is rarely equaled by any person. Her conviction of un-

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worthiness as a sinner was deep, but her faith in Christ was firm, and the key of her whole life. Cheerful and happy, without worry or apprehen- sion, trusting with unswaying confidence in an ever over-ruling Providence, living the life of a true child of God, she was uniformly the most fearless person that I have ever known; even in death, with an unclouded intellect, she was no less fearless than in life. Her life shone with all the traits of the true Christian, which was exem- plified still more beautifully in her death. She was fully ripe for the heavenly world. She feared only evil beings, as I have frequently heard her remark. The scenes of lawlessness and robbery, which she witnessed during the Revolutionary war, in this town, gave her a greater detesta- tion of the character and deeds of wicked beings. She was then about twelve years of age. I make this tribute to my mother, knowing that what I have said is but just and true, from long, inti- mate, personal acquaintance in everyday life. I have a profound sense of the worth of such a character."

On April 22, 1856, our subject was married to Mary Elizabeth, daughter of David and Eliza- beth Dayton, and to them came children as fol- lows: Hannah More (Mrs. Judson I. Wood, of Ilion, N. Y.), who has three children; Abram Newton, a farmer and prominent citizen of Riv- erside Co., Cal .; Emily Judson, wife of Rev. Benj. Mead Wright, a minister of the Congre- gational Church of Orange, Conn .; Mary Eliza- beth (Mrs. Augustus I. Mead); Solomon Christy, an attorney of New York; Sarah Lewis, residing at home; Everett Dayton, a resident of New York; and Charles Henry, who died in infancy. Solomon Mead, the father of these, died at his residence in Greenwich, Conn., June 14, 1898.

H ON. CHARLES CURTIS WELLS. Among the oldest and most influential families of Connecticut is that founded by Thomas Wells. who was an early settler at Wethersfield and Hartford, and in 1655 was governor of the colony, being the fourth man to serve in that capacity. He had previously served as lieutenant-governor. and he subsequently served two more terms in that incumbency. Thomas Wells was born at Hathwell. Northamptonshire, England, and was descended from Norman ancestry, the head of the family having landed in England as one of the force of William the Conqueror It is also stated upon authority that the family became related at an early period to that of William Shakespeare, the poet. But little is known of Thomas Wells, and the name of his wife and the :

number of their children are not now obtainable; but his descendants are numerous, and in every generation the name has been associated with a high order of citizenship. The subject of these lines, a well-known resident of Stratford town- ship, Fairfield Co., Conn., is of the ninth genera- tion in direct descent from this noted pioneer, and the genealogical record is given below:

II. John Wells, son of Thomas, was born [date of birth not now known] in Hartford, and died in 1661, leaving a son, John. His wife, Elizabeth Bourne, afterward married John Wil- coxson, who died in 1690, and she had 'by him four children. John and Elizabeth Bourne Wells had seven children: John, Thomas and Robert (twins), Temperance, Samuel, Sarah and Mary.

III. John Wells, the next in the line of de- scent in which we are now interested, was born in Stratford in 1648, and died there. [Date of death not now known.] He married Mary, daughter of John Hollister, and had eight child- ren: Harry, Thomas, Sarah, John, Comfort, Joseph, Elizabeth and Robert.

VI. John Wells, son of John III. married Mary Judson, daughter of Isaac Judson; they had eleven children: David, Mary, Elizabeth, Sarah, Phoebe, Isaac (1), Isaac (2), John, William, Hannah and Charity.

V. David Wells, son of John IV, was born at Stratford in October, 1699, and died in . April, 1742. He married Mary Thompson, daughter of Deacon John Thompson, and they had six children: Nathan, Ruth, Mary, Phoebe, David and Stephen.

VI. Nathan Wells, great-grandfather of our subject, was born in Stratford, April 27, 1728. and died May 20, 1776. In 1750 he married Eunice Pixley, who died in 1816, and they had three children: Isaac, Mary and Samuel.

VII. Isaac Wells, grandfather of our sub- ject, was born December 16, 1751, in Stratford, and became a successful farmer in that town. He married Eunice Burritt, and had five child- ren: Nathan, a farmer in Stratford, who died in 1843; David. a farmer, who died in Huntington in 1834; Polly, who died in 1872, unmarried: Eli, a farmer in Stratford, who died in 1860, leaving no children; and Isaac, father of Hon. Charles C. Wells.

VIII. Isaac Wells was born in Stratford August 12, 1801, and followed farming there for many years, his death occurring July 28, 1874. His wife, Sarah Curtis, a daughter of Levi Cur- tis, of Stratford, was born in 1804 and died October 18. 1834. They had two children: Charles Curtis, and Sally, who died in infancy.

IX. Charles C. Wells was born July 20,

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1830, at the old home in Putney District, of the town of Stratford, and after attending the local schools for a time he pursued his studies in the academy in Stratford, and at a private school in Birmingham, now the city of Derby. He was reared to farm work, but as he felt an inclination to try some other occupation he learned the tin- ner's trade, which he followed some years. When twenty-three years old, his health failing, he returned to the homestead, and for the next seven years he taught school, also engaging in agricultural pursuits. His farm comprises about one hundred acres of excellent land, which he devotes to general crops, and his judicious man- agement has won for him a good reputation as an agriculturist.

On October 24, 1853, Mr. Wells married Miss Caroline M. Wheeler, who died February 14, 1863, and on June 8, 1870, he formed a sec- ond union, this time with Miss Julia S. Hill, who died June 15, 1876. On October 24, 1877, he married Miss Myra Curtis Blakeman, of Strat- ford (daughter of Gould and Harriet Blakeman), who is a representative of one of the most prom- inent and highly respectable old families of the county; she is a woman of refinement, kindly disposition and generous hospitality. Mr. Wells had one son by his first marriage, Charles H., who is now a farmer in the town of Stratford. Mr. Wells and his wife are leading members of the Congregational Church, in which he has served as deacon and treasurer since 1867. In politics he is a stanch Republican, and his inter- est in local affairs has been shown in many ways. He has served ably in several official positions, having been a member of the board of education for fifteen years, and in 1879 he was chosen to the State Legislature. This session 'was espe- cially remarkable for the number of prominent men then serving as representatives, such as Henry C. Robison, of Hartford, P. T. Barnum, and others.

DAVID TERRY WINTON, the manager and editor of the Bridgeport Morning Union, is descended on both sides from sturdy New Eng- land stock, from ancestors long identified with the growth and development of Fairfield county.

James H. Winton, great-grandfather of our subject, was a resident of the town of Bridge- port. James Winton. the grandfather, owned and operated a large tannery in the vicinity of "Horse Tavern," in the same town. He was born April 12, 1778, and died March 26, 1857. On November 18, 1805. he was married to Par- themia, daughter of Ebenezer and Ann Seeley.

She was born July 26, 1784, and died April 13, 1850. To this marriage came children as fol- lows: (1) Anna Maria, born April 17, 1808, mar- ried Aaron Summers. They lived in the vicinity of the old homestead throughout their lifetime. Anna Maria died December 30, 1887. (2) Eliza- beth Emily, born August 25, 1809, married Philo Baldwin. She died January 30, 1888. (3) Char- ity Susan, born June 6, 1811, married Samuel Baldwin. She died August 20, 1884. One of their daughters married Elliott Peck, of the firm (in days gone by) of Sterling & Peck, of Bridge- port. (4) Ebenezer Seeley, born October 6, 1813. married November 30, 1831, Hannah Maria Downes. He died November 10, 1867, his death being the result of a kick from a horse. (5) Louisa Augusta, born August 4, 1816, was mar- ried November 17, 1839, to Eli Lyon. They went to Michigan and reared a large family. She died April 16, 1888. (6) George Hoadley, born September 6, 1818, married February 19, 1845, Betsey Reed, of Redding. He died Sep- tember 21, 1875. (7) Mary Rebecca, born April 6, 1821, married Isaac Beach, and moved to Michigan, where she still lives, being the only member of the family surviving. (8) Andrew Leavenworth is referred to at length farther on. (9) Charles Carroll, born December 6, 1824. died January 12, 1849. (10) David Beardsley, born November 20, 1827, died January 19, 1849.

The late ANDREW LEAVENWORTH WINTON, whose sad death occurred at Bridgeport, on July 29, 1892, having been killed by the cars while endeavoring to quiet a fractious horse he was driving, was one of the most prominent of the older citizens of Bridgeport. Born November 20, 1822, at the old Winton homestead, the lad, at the early age of fourteen, went to Easton, where he attended the academy through the winters and worked on a farm during the sum- mers. At nineteen he began his career as a school teacher, engaging in the work several sea- sons. When twenty-two he for a time was asso- ciated in a store at Easton with a brother, and in the spring following he began business for himself, starting a store on temperance princi- ples, on account of its intemperance in the place " Devil's Den, " and succeeded in business, leav- ing the place at the end of eight years without a grog shop in it. We next find him at Sauga- tuck, where in 1853 he built a store and resi- dence. A man of tact and excellent judgment and business ability, he left Saugatuck after a period of thirteen years with twenty-five thou- sand dollars. For three years thereafter he operated very successfully a flouring-mill some two miles above Westport, and in 1863 he per-

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manently located at Bridgeport, purchasing the Berkshire mills, which were very much out of repair. He took great pride in this property and expended thousands of dollars in its improve- ment until the mills were commodious and mod- ern, and to this business he gave the balance of his life. The history of the mills is that a custom- mill was built on the east side of the river in 1783 by William Pixlee and James French, while in 1792 it was secured to them by charter. This was afterward bought by a Mr. Penny, who built the present mill on the west side of the river, and did a large business in kiln-dried meal for the West Indies. Gen. Enoch Foote became the next proprietor; his successor was James Porter, who bought the property, and while in his hands the dam and the east-side mill were carried away in a flood. The dam was re-built, but not the east-side mill. The mill was owned afterward successively by Anson Ryan, Wasson & Craft, Ryan & Wells and Mr. Winton.

Mr. Winton was an earnest and consistent Christian, and an ardent temperance advocate. He had been a member of the Congregational Church since 1842, and was one of the founders of the Park Street Church of that denomination. in which at the time of his death he held the of- fice of senior deacon. He was a man of strict integrity, honorable in all his dealings, and though stern and firm he had a kind heart, and was generous though quiet and devoid of show in his gifts. A man of force and strong charac- ter, he was not without enemies, yet was ad- mired for his straightforward course. One al- ways knew where to find him. Full of energy and ambition, he made and lost many thousand dollars.

On November 24, 1847. Mr. Winton was married to Miss Mary Esther Gorham, and there were born to them the following children: Fred- erick Norman, August 2, 1852, died July 15, 1857; David Terry is referred to farther on; and Andrew Lincoln, born January 26, 1864, who was graduated at the Bridgeport High School, and in 1884 at the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale College, is now chief chemist of the Connec- ticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven, with which he has been identified since his graduation. He is at this time president of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists of the United States.

David Terry Winton, the subject proper of this sketch, was born May 20, 1859, at Sauga- tuck, Conn. He attended the private school of Emory F. Strong at Bridgeport, the Sedgwick Institute at Great Barrington, the Park Avenue Institute at Bridgeport, and the Norwich Univer-

sity at Northfield, Vt. His first newspaper ex- perience was in 1877 during his stay in North- field, where he was special correspondent for the Northfield News. For a period after leaving school in 1879 he traveled in the West and South, in Texas and throughout Mexico. Re- turning to Bridgeport, in 1881, he was contented for probably a year, then again went to the West, where at various points throughout Illinois, In- diana and Michigan for some ten years he de- voted himself to the newspaper business. In 1892 he returned to Bridgeport, and has since been identified with its interests. For several years he has been connected with the publication of the Morning Union in different capacities, and is now its directing head. With a natural taste and aptitude for newspaper work, and the prac- tical experience travel and contact with the world has given him, coupled with his energy and ca- pacity for work. Mr, Winton is making a success in his calling. He has taken hold of the Union, and is making out of it a newsy paper, one of the great advertising mediums of the Park City. The paper, established some fifteen years ago by Frederick A. Bartlett and Charles O'Cain, is typographically speaking one of the neatest pa- pers in the State. It is a seven-column, eight- page journal published daily (Sundays excepted) by the Morning Union Company, of which Fred- erick A. Bartlett is president.

On November 19, 1898, David Terry Winton was married to Rosamond C. Zwisler, a native of New York City, and a daughter of Dr. Will- iam C. and Catherine Dorothy (Kraussman) Zwisler, the latter of whom is deceased.

Ebenezer and Ann Seeley, the great-grand- parents of David Terry Winton, were born Jan- uary 10, 1761, and July 15. 1762, respectively, and were married November 7, 1782. Their death occurred May 21, 1842, and April 19, 1813, respectively.

Lieutenant Nathaniel Seeley, from whom many of the Fairfield county Seeleys sprang, was the son of Robert Seeley, who was made a free- man of the Massachusetts Colony May 18, 1631. Lieutenant Seeley was in New Haven, Conn., in 1646, whence he removed to Fairfield, and was made a freeman in 1647.

Mary Esther (Gorham) Winton, the mother of our subject, born July 22. 1829, died January 16, 1889. She was a daughter of Isaac (3) and Adeline E. (Bennett) Gorham, born, he on March 10, 1802, and she on October 28, 1804. They were married October 24. 1821, and died Sep- tember 19, 1881, and April 3, 1884, respectively. They had two children, the other being George M., born November 15, 1822.

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From one Joseph Gorham, son of James Gorham, of Barnstable, Mass., came many of the name who have lived in Fairfield county. Joseph Gorham was in Stratford as early as 1715.

H TON. HOBART RUTLEDGE WHEELER is one of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of Trumbull, having valuable real-estate holdings in that town and in Bridgeport. His winters are spent in the city of Bridgeport, while in the summer he removes to his pleasant country residence in the town of Trumbull. He takes an active interest in all that concerns the welfare of the public, and for years has been a leading worker in the Democratic party, serving at one time as representative from Trumbull in the State Legislature.

Mr. Wheeler belongs to a well-known pioneer family, and is of the eighth generation in descent from Sergeant Ephraim Wheeler, who came from England at an early date in company, pro- bably, with Rev. John Jones and party. He located first at Concord, Mass., where he was made a freeman March 13, 1639, and in 1644 he came to Fairfield, this county, with Mr. Jones' colony. At this time he had a wife and one child, if not two. He became prominent in the colony, acquiring a large amount of land, which was mentioned in his will, dated September 22, 1669. On October 28, 1670, his estate was inventoried at ten hundred and twenty-six pounds sterling, eighteen shillings and sixpence, and in 1681 his widow paid taxes on 706 acres of land. He had eleven children: Isaac, born in 1638, who died in infancy; Isaac (2), born December 13, 1642; Mary; Ruth; Hannah; Rebecca; Judith; Abigail, who died February 7, 1712; Samuel, who was not twenty-one years of age in 1669; Timothy; and Ephraim.

II. Deacon Isaac Wheeler, the next in the line of descent which we are now tracing, re- ceived from the town of Fairfield, on February 12, 1673, a building lot and pasture lot, accord- ing to the custom of the town with new house holders. This tract lay on the west side of what is now Park avenue, and in the vicinity of State street, and it was occupied by him as a home- stead. He also received from his parents a large amount of real estate, and became a well-to-do farmer. His interests in religious progress is seen from the fact that he was one of the first nine members of the Stratford Congregational Church. He married, and had seven children: Isaac; Samuel; Sarah, who married John Odell; Rebecca (Mrs. Benjamin Sherman); Mary, who married Henry Jackson; Experience, wife of

Samuel Sherwood; and Mercy, who married Capt. David Sherwood.

III. Isaac Wheeler resided in Fairfield, and on April 18, 1698, his estate was inventoried at four hundred and thirty-nine pounds, nine shill- ings and five pence. He married, and had three children: Isaac, born in 1692; Ebenezer, 1694; and Elizabeth, 1696.

IV. Ebenezer Wheeler made his home in Stratford, and his estate was distributed June 12, 1747 or '48. He married Abigail Edwards, and had five children: Ebenezer, born February 21, 1732, died April 27, 1735; Sarah, who died July 29, 1733; and Mary; Rebecca; and John.

V. John Wheeler was born in 1738, and was married January 26, 1761, to Esther Nallett, born January 1, 1745. They had three children: Ebenezer, born February 11, 1765; David, born in August, 1767; and John M., our subject's grandfather.

VI. John M. Wheeler was born January 7, 1769, and settled in the town of Trumbull, where he followed agriculture. He married Ann Walk- er, who was born July 11, 1774. the daughter of Eliakim Walker, and they had three children: Melissa, born in 1797; Walker, born January 21, 1803; and Ebenezer.

VII. Ebenezer Wheeler was born November 18, 1812, in Trumbull. He always took a lively interest in all the affairs of his town, holding va- rious town offices, and was a member of the State Legislature in 1853. He was an active member of the Episcopal Church at Long Hill, being warden at the time of his death. He died Sep- tember 17, 1887. On February 20, 1840, he married Miss Cordelia Mallett, and they had two sons, of whom our subject is the elder. Hon. Wilmot C. Wheeler, born March 11, 1848, is a prominent citizen of the town of Trumbull, and has devoted much attention to agriculture. He has served as a representative in the State Leg- islature, and is active in religious work as a mem- ber of the Episcopal Church. He married Miss Sarah Curtis, daughter of Peter Curtis, of Strat- ford.

VIII. Hon. Hobart R. Wheeler was born November 20, 1840, and his education was be- gun in the schools of Trumbull and New Britain, Conn. Later he attended school in New York State, but has always maintained his residence in his native county. He married Miss Antion- ette S. Fairchild, daughter of Daniel Fairchild, of Trumbull, and two children have brightened their home: (1) Edith Anna, born July 2, 1867, married Charles Mallett Cole, and has one son, Hobart F. (2) Daniel Fairchild, born March 28, 1872, resides with his parents.

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DLATT PRICE, now living retired in his beautiful home at Norwalk, has spent a use- ful and active life, the greater portion of which has been passed in the beautiful New England city where he now lives.

Mr. Price was born February 16, 1822, and passed the first sixteen years of his life on a farm and attending the local schools. In 1838 he left the sunny sands of Huntington, N. Y., and came to Norwalk, where he learned the carpen- ter's trade. For six years he followed this trade, mastering the details and becoming thoroughly familiar with the requisites for good work in that line. He then entered the contracting and building business for himself, later taking Henry Allen as a partner. This partnership lasted for twenty-seven years, or until 1873, when the firm dissolved partnership, Mr. Price continuing the business alone. In 1886 he retired from the active cares of commercial life. Nearly half a century of almost unvaried success at his calling, is a record of which he may well be proud. The many contracts that came to him bear witness that his dealing was as straight and honorable as his buildings were true. But with all his busi- ness care and responsibilities he found time to keep well informed on all topics of the day, and to take a very active part in all the political world about him. He was first a Whig, then a Republican, lastly a Democrat, and has been honored many times by being elected to various offices: Three times a member of the board of burgesses; in 1872 elected selectmen by the Democrats, and twice re-elected; in 1885-86 represented his district in the State Legislature, and he has held a number of minor offices. In all of these he has discharged the duties of the office he has held with strict fidelity and impar- tiality. No petty partisanship biased his deci- sion; as a representative of the people he treated all alike, and won the honest respect and esteem of all parties.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 32

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