Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 49

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

USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut > Part 49

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Socially, Mr. Mason is a member of Union Lodge No. 40, F. & A. M .; of Eureka Chapter No. 23, R. A. M .; of Crusader Commandery No. 10, K. T .; of the Royal Arcanum; of Pyramid Temple, Order of the Mystic Shrine; of Progress- ive Lodge No. 18, I. O. O. F .; of the order of the Knights of Honor; and is a member of the Connecticut Sons of the Revolution. He is a member of St. James Church (Protestant Epis- copal), and from 1862 to 1869 was a vestryman. In 1867 he was one of a building committee of three who superintended the construction of the present church edifice.

On January 4, 1863, Mr. Mason was married to his first wife, Miss Mary Augusta Bennett, daugh- ter of Austin and Maria Bennett, of Brookfield, Conn. She was born at Lake Mahopac, N. Y., in 1845. and died at Danbury in 1882. Mr. Ma- son formed a second matrimonial union, this time on June 5, 1883, with Miss Annie Evaline Lovell, who was born at New Bedford, Mass., January 13, 1862, the youngest daughter of Henry Sylvanus and Eliza Ann Lovell. Mrs. Mason also came from Puritan ancestry. Her paternal great-great-grandfather was Nathan Briggs, who was born September 22, 1716, and died June 18, 1798. Sarah, his wife, was born January 27, 1719, and died July 15, 1792. They had eleven children, whose names and dates of birth, etc., are as follows (old style): Lidea. December 26, 1745; Sarah, March 19, 1747, died January 18,

1830; Nathan, October 7, 1748; Leonard, Feb- ruary 26, 1750, died November 13, 1844; Mary, October 11, 1751; Stetson, April 16, 1753, died November 28, 1754; (new style): Benjamin and Rachel (twins), March 2, 1755 (Rachel died March 12, 1818); Jesse, May 14, 1757, died March 3, 1841; Hannah, October 5, 1758; and Rowland, September 28, 1760, died October 25, 1781. Leonard, fourth son of Nathan and Sarah Briggs, was born at Wareham, Mass., and died at Sylvanus Lovell's home at Middleboro, Mass. The abstract from the record index of the Revo- lutionary archives of the Commonwealth of Mas- sachusetts reveals the following: Leonard Briggs appears with the rank of private on the muster and pay roll of Capt. Nathaniel Hammond's com- pany, as enlisting July 17, 1775; time of service, five months, twenty days. He appears with the rank of private in a return of Capt. David Nye's company, Colonel Sprout's regiment, as in service seven days, having marched to Dartmouth, on an alarm, September 3, 1778, in the Second Com- pany of Wareham. He appears with the rank of private on the muster and pay roll of Capt. Jacob Haskins' company, Col. John Hathaway's regiment, for service at Rhode Island, enlisted March 19, 1779, discharged April 15, 1779. He also appears with the rank of private on muster and pay roll of Capt. Simeon Cobb's company, under command of Capt. Samuel Fisher, Third regiment, Gen. Godfrey's brigade, detached for four weeks for service at Rhode Island. He en- listed August 14, 1779; time of service, one month and two days. He was taken prisoner by the British and escaped from jail, but suffered ill health ever after because of the exposure and privation endured. He wrote a history of his experiences during the war, which was very inter- esting, but was unfortunately destroyed. He married Hope, daughter of Henry and Lidia Wood. She was born in Maine. October 15, 1757, and died at the home of Sylvanus Lovell, in Middleboro, Mass., February 9, 1837. Eight children came to them: Ancil, born December 26, 1781, was caught in a mill wheel and killed January 18, 1793; Howland, born November 4, 1783, died in Maine suddenly while drinking a cup of coffee; Martha, born November 3, 1785; Deborah, born March 28, 1788, married Aber- deen Keith; Keziah, born September 12, 1790, married Philip Leonard; Hope, born March 5, 1793, married Alen Bronson, and died September 12, 1832; Betsey, born December 24. 1796, mar- ried Foster Keith; Joann, born May 22, 1799, at Middleboro, Mass .. died July 11, 1869, at New Bedford, Mass. She married Sylvanus Lovell, who was born at Wareham, Mass., and died at

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New Bedford October 26, 1854. Three children were born to them: Joann Frances, Lucy Ann, and Henry Sylvanus, who was born at Carver, Mass., March 4, 1828, and died at New Bedford June 15, 1896. He was married March 23, 1851, to Eliza Ann, who was born at New Bedford, June 5, 1833. the daughter of Samuel and Mary Dunham. Five children came to them: Charles Henry, born May 22, 1852; Walter Herbert, October 18, 1854; Hattie Eliza, June 2, 1856; Caroline F., April 8, 1860; and Annie Evaline, January 13, 1862. Annie Evaline Lovell Ma- son's branch of the Lovell family is as follows: Robert Lovell was admitted as freeman in Eng- land in 1635. John, son of Robert, came to Weymouth, Mass., in 1655. James, son of John; Jacob, son of James; Joseph, son of Jacob; Syl- vanus, son of Joseph; Sylvanus, son of Sylvanus; Henry Sylvanus, son of Sylvanus; Annie Evaline, daughter of Henry Sylvanus.

Mrs. Mason's maternal ancestors were like- wise of Revolutionary stock. Her great-grand- father, Nathaniel Downs, was born in 1740, and served during the Revolutionary war as a private in Thomas Nickerson's company, Major Z. Wins- low's regiment, on an alarm at Bedford and Fal- mouth, Mass. He married Tabitha -, who was born in 1742 and died May 15, 1826. Their silver spoons, all hand-made and engraved Na- thaniel and Tabitha Downs, are in the possession of their great-granddaughter, Mrs. Mason. Fourteen children were born to them: Nathan- iel, Jr., Deborah, Jane. Rhoda, Shubad. Anna, Warren. Tabitha, Temperance, Aca, Lidia, Lucy, Nancy and Mary. Warren was a United States naval officer, and died on a warship June 11, 1795, at Norfolk, Va. Mary was born April 23, 1790, and died in 1872. (An elaborate framed memorial, designed and embroidered by her in 1813, is still in the possession of her granddaughter, Mrs. Mason.) On May 17, 1829, she married Samuel Dunham, and died Novem- ber 15, 1870. Two children came to them: Samuel W., born October 19, 1830, and Eliza Ann, the mother of Mrs. Mason.

Mr. Mason's home, at No. 29 Fairview ave- nue, Danbury, is a pleasant one within and with- out. Of his three children by his first marriage the eldest, Charles Edmund, is now a successful business man of Danbury. John Holmes, born October 30, 1867, died February 26, 1892; Ben- nett Howard, born September 30, 1874, died April 7. 1893. By his second marriage he has one son, Lovell Waldo, born August 27, 1891.

CHARLES EDMUND MASON, the eldest son, was born at Danbury December 14, 1863, and re- ceived his education in the public schools of that

city. At the age of fifteen he began clerking in the jewelry store of A. A. Trowbridge, and a year later entered Mrs. V. E. Hawley's drug store as clerk, remaining one year. He then went to New York City, and spent two years with I. M. Seltzer, a druggist on Hudson street. On re- turning to Danbury he was employed in E. M. Baldwin's pharmacy for about seven years, and then he took charge of a drug store belonging to his father, continuing three years. On August 22. 1898, after a competitive examination, he was appointed money order and register clerk at the Danbury post office, which position he now holds. He is enterprising and capable, and has already won a high reputation in business circles.

On September 1, 1886, Mr. Mason married Miss Katherine Flint, daughter of Harrison and Kate (Fairbanks) Flint. He and his accom- plished wife are prominent socially, and re- ligiously they are members of St. James Episco- pal Church. He belongs also to the Masonic Order, and is an active worker in Union Lodge No. 40, F. & A. M., in which he is master; Eureka Chapter No. 23, R. A. M .; Wooster Council, R. & S. M .; Crusader Commandery No. 10, K. T., in which he is generalissimo; Lafayette Consistory, S. P. R. S., thirty-second degree; and Pyramid Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. In political faith he is independent.

Katherine (Flint) Mason was born in Dan- bury April 9. 1864, and is the eldest daughter of Harrison and Kate (Fairbanks) Flint. On her father's side she is descended from the earlier settlers of Salem, Mass. Her great-grandmother was a sister of Fisher Ames, the great Massa- chusetts jurist and orator. Her father, Harri- son Flint, established the first regular machine shop in Danbury, and afterward, associating with Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, founded the United States Bunting Company, of Lowell, and manufactured the first bunting woven in the United States. On her mother's side Mrs. Mason traces her descent from Jonathan Fair- bank, who settled at Dedham, Mass., in 1636, and was the founder of the family in America. Her great-grandfather, Zaccheus Fairbanks, served with honor in the war of the Revolution, being on the roll of minute-men, and taking part in the battles of Concord, Lexington and Bunker Hill; he afterward served at different times to the close of the war.

E BELCHER MEAD is related to many of the prominent families of Fairfield county, Conn., including the Howe and Waterbury fam- | ilies, and is a descendant in the eighth genera-

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tion from William Mead [other authorities say John], the noted pioneer, who came from Eng- land in 1635 [other authorities say about 1642].

The . Mead Family " of Greenwich, Fair- field Co., Conn., was originally from England, and from researches that have been made there it would seem that they are from Greenwich, County of Kent. In the "History of Lexing- ton, Mass.," we find that Gabriel Mead was among the first settlers of that place, as also David. The dates of their arrival and of Will- iam at Horse Neck (or rather Stamford) agree with one another, leading to the conclusion that all three were near relatives; furthermore, the "Coat of Arms" of the three is identical. The first record of any Mead in Fairfield county is the following in Stamford Town Records: " De- cember 7, 1641. William Mayd received from the Town of Stamford, a homelot and five acres of land." This William, recent researches show, was undoubtedly the ancestor of the Fairfield county Meads. Very little concerning him, ex- cept that already mentioned, can be found. He. however, appears as a petitioner in behalf of his son Joseph in 1654. His wife died in Stam- ford in 1657. No record of his death has, as yet, been found. We have record of three chil. dren (but there probably were four, a son who died in 1657-58): (1) Joseph, born in 1630, married, December. 1654, Mary Brown, of Stam- ford, died May 3, 1690. He was the ancestor of the Ridgefield and North Fairfield county Meads, and had Zachariah, Joseph, Daniel, Elisha, Richard and Mary. (2) Martha, born about 1632, married John Richardson, of Stamford. No further traces have been found. (3) John. born about 1634, married Hannah Potter, of Stamford, probably in 1657, died February 5, 1699. He was the ancestor of the Greenwich Meads.

THE FAMILY IN GREENWICH .- The two sons. Joseph and John (1), seem to have migrated (though it afterward proved only a temporary stay) to Hempstead. L. I., where they resided un- til about 1660. Joseph, during that time, in 1658, was assistant justice of Hemptead. John (1) removed to Greenwich from Hempstead, L. I., in 1660. He had eight sons and three daugh- ters, as follows: John (2), Joseph, Jonathan, Ebenezer (1), David, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Sam- uel, Hannah. Abigail and Mary Elizabeth. Thus it will be seen that John (1) was the ancestor of the Greenwich Meads, and in his day he was one of the leading citizens in the town, where he owned large tracts of land. His descendants are now numerous, as will be seen by various records preserved in this volume, and much of the real

estate acquired by him is still in their possession. In the third generation the line of descent is traced through Ebenezer (1), a son of John (1). Lieut. Caleb Mead, next in the line of descent, served during the Revolutionary war as a ser- geant with Capt. Joseph Hobby's "company of householders," attached to Captain Mead's mil- itary district of Col. John Mead's regiment, the Ninth Connecticut Militia.

Elkanah Mead, the great-grandfather of our subject, was born March 6, 1748, at the old homestead in North Street, Greenwich, and was a farmer by occupation. He took an active part in the struggle for independence, and in August, 1776, he accompanied an exposition to New York under the command of Lieut. Charles Smith. Later he served as a member of Capt. David Hoyt's company in the Ninth Connecticut Mili- tia under Col. John Mead. He married Hannah Mead, who was born March 6, 1753, and died November 12. 1785. and his death occurred June 20, 1816. They had three children, of whom Amos was the youngest; Hannah B., born March 4, 1777, married a Mr. Husted, and died in New York July 2, 1826; Sally, born August 18, 1779. married Benjamin Smith. and died February 19, 1854.

Amos Mead, the grandfather of E. Belcher Mead, was born July 7, 1781, at the farm in North Street, in the town of Greenwich, and be- came one of the leading agriculturists of that lo- cality, his real-estate holdings being extensive. He was also influential in local affairs in his day. He died August 24, 1850, in his seventieth year. His first wife, Alice (Belcher). to whom he was married May 24, 1803, died February 17, 1815. leaving no children. On November 14, 1816, he married Mary Prudy, who died March 1. 1832. The following children came to the second union: Elkanah, who is mentioned more fully below; Catherine, born November 13, 1819, who mar- ried Capt. William L. Lyon, of New York, and died at Marcellus, N. Y .. in 1895; Stephen, born August 15, 1821, who was engaged in farming in North Street, Greenwich, and died February 23. 1852, leaving one child; Elisha B., born August 20, 1823, who became a physician, and died April 5, 1849, at the beginning of a promising career; Sarah P., born June 15, 1825, married i Amos M. Bush, and died September 4. 1859; Evelina, born November 8, 1828, married Stephen G. Howe, of Salem, N. Y., where she died May 20, 1855; Edgar. born in 1830, died in infancy: and Mary P., born February 8, 1832. married John G. Clark, and died at Bedford, N. Y., July 25, 1853.

Capt. Elkanah Mead was born March 16,

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1818, at the old homestead, and was reared a farmer boy. His father, who gave all his sons a liberal start in life, intended to educate him well. and sent him to a boarding school at Wilton, this county, during his boyhood: but at the death of his mother he was called to the old home- stead. As the other sons grew to a helpful age he was permitted to leave home, and having some inclination for a mercantile life he went to New York City to take the place of clerk in a clothing store in Greenwich street, kept by Mr. Close. He was there during the great fire of 1836. A few years later he returned to his na- :ive town to engage in farming. On March 4. 1839, he married Miss Jane Mead, and he soon afterward settled upon a farm in North Street. Later he resided upon a farm in Stamford town- ship for two and one-half years; but returning to Greenwich he purchased the "Augustus L. Rey- nolds farm " in Cos Cob District, where his last years were spent, his death occurring April 12. 1894.

Like all of his family, he was public-spirited, and although he never cared for office, he never declined to serve when elected to the various positions when there was good work to be done. Among the offices he held were those of select- man and road commissioner, and his fidelity to duty was shown in the least as well as in great and important undertakings. On May 12, 1843, he was commissioned by the Governor as cap- tain of the Second Company of the Ninth Regi- ment of Connecticut Militia, his appointment dating from August 2, 1841. In politics he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican, and in religious faith he was a Congregationalist, being a leading member of the Greenwich Church, in which he held the office of deacon for more than :wenty years. His sound judgment and integ- :ity gave him great influence among all classes n the community, his advice being sought on various questions. Of his eight children, the eldest, Thirza J., born January 14, 1841, died June 13, 1843. Catherine L., born August 20, 1842, died in Greenwich township January 31, 1893, unmarried. Hannah B., born December 21, 1844, in Stamford township, married Jared Finch, and died January 11, 1871; she had one daughter, Jeannette Mead, born May 9, 1868. Elizabeth H., born January 13, 1847, resides in Greenwich, unmarried. E. Belcher was the fifth n order of birth. Stephen W., born July 25, 1853, died April 29, 1855. Abram V. was born June 30, 1857. Elkanah Mead. Jr., born June 23, 1851, was married October 20, 1880, to Miss Esther L. Waterbury, who was born in Stam- ord July 11, 1856, the daughter of Aaron T.

and Lavina (Searles) Waterbury; they had three children-E. Belcher, born May 11, 1884, who died July 31, 1885; Catherine, born June 30, 1886, and Winifred E., born November 21, 1889.

Jane Mead, the wife of Elkanah Mead, was born July 19, 1817, at Indian Field, in the town of Greenwich, and died April 28, 1872. She was of the seventh generation from John, the pioneer, and was a daughter of Ephraim Mead, who was born March 15. 1778, and died July 16, 1850. He was married November 30, 1808, to Azuba Mead, who was born January 9. 1787, and died January 31, 1861. Ephraim Mead was a son of Deliverance Mead, who was born May 4, 1728, and died May 3, 1785; he was married in June, 1759, to Abigail Howe, born April 28, 1737, died April 26, 1808. Deliverance Mead was the sixth son of Ebenezer Mead (2), who was born October 25, 1692, and died in May, 1775. and whose wife. Hannah Brown, of Rye, N. Y., bore him twelve children. The line of descent is traced back through Ebenezer (2), Ebenezer (1) and John (2) to John, the pioneer.

E. Belcher Mead was born April 15, 1849, at the homestead in North Cos Cob District, Green- wich, where he attended the common schools for some time, later entering the academy at Green- wich, where he studied under Prof. Frank Shep- herd. For several years he worked as assistant to Daniel S. Mead, Jr., a civil engineer of New York City, and for some time he was himself employed as a civil engineer by the municipality, but he subsequently secured a position with the Standard Oil Company and is now the manager of one of their departments. Mr. Mead is a member of the Congregational Church at Green- wich. In politics he is a Republican, but aside from voting regularly he does not take an active part in the work of the organization.

C LARK SEELEY (deceased). The subject of this memoir was for many years identified with agricultural interests in the town of Bridge- port and Stratford, and his death, which occurred July 16, 1871, at the comparatively early age of forty-six years, caused sincere grief among a large circle of friends whose esteem had been won by his sterling qualities of character.

Mr. Seeley was born September 12, 1825, at Bridgeport, and was a descendant of an honored pioneer family of that locality. Monson Seeley, the father of our subject, was also a native of Bridgeport, where he followed farming during his active life, and his first wife, Fannie Mallett, was a daughter of Lewis Mallett, a well-known resi- dent of Tashua, Trumbull. They had three 1

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children: (1) Mallett, who married Mary Beach, and died leaving two sons-George, now a livery man in Bridgeport, and Henry, a farmer at Rocky Hill; (2) Clark, our subject; and (3) William, who died in infancy. For his second wife Mr. See- ley married Lucinda M. Summers, sister of :Stephen Summers, of Birmingham.

The early life of our subject was spent in Bridgeport, and for some years he was engaged in agriculture there, but in 1861 he removed to the present homestead in the town of Stratford. While he was not especially active in politics, he was always interested in public affairs, and throughout his life was a devout adherent of the Democratic party. On September 3, 1848, he married Miss Caroline C. Peck, who survives him with three daughters: (1) Julia C. married Henry Thompson, of Bridgeport; (2) Cornelia J. mar- ried (first) Domingus O. Mello, of New York City (now deceased), and (second) Charles A. Billings, then of Rhode Island, but now a resi- dent of New York. (3) Lucinda M. married Bernard T. Burchardi, a business man in Florida.

Mrs. Seeley, who still resides at the home- stead, is a devout member of the Episcopal Church, with which her ancestors have been identified for many generations, and she is held in high esteem in the best social circles of Strat- ford. She was born in New York, October 10, 1823, a daughter of Benjamin Williams Peck, and granddaughter of Deacon Daniel Peck, a shoemaker by trade, who married Phoebe Whit- lock. Benjamin Williams Peck was born in Dan- bury, this county, November 20, 1791, and died October 8, 1823, aged thirty-two years. He was married November 20, 1810, to Miss Caroline Hawley, who was born in Trumbull, this county, May 23, 1796, a daughter of Thomas Hawley, a native of England. She survived him many years, dying July 14, 1871, at the age of seventy- five years. Mrs. Seeley was the youngest in a family of five children, the others being: Emeline Delia, born December 31, 1812, who married Samuel LaForge, of New York.and died January 8, 1856; Ursula C., born January 4, 1815, who died October 9, same year; Benjamin W., born December 24, 1816, who died in Milford, where he was engaged in the shoemaker's trade; and Daniel S., born February 6, 1821, who died Jan- uary 10, 1822.

C HARLES T. LEONARD, prominent in busi- ness circles and well-known in social life in Norwalk, is a native of Long Island, having been born at Flushing, October 11, 1823, of English extraction.

Stephen Leonard, his father, was born in New Jersey, where he learned the carpenter's trade. This he followed for some time in that State, later removing to Flushing, L. I., where he became captain of a steamboat, and followed the sea during the rest of his life. He married Sarah Cornell. a member of an old English fam- ily on Long Island, and four children were born in this family: William, of a Life and Accident In- surance Co., with office in New York; Charles T., our subject; George, deceased; and Elijah, of the firm of S. D. Althouse & Co., New York City. Stephen Leonard was a Democrat in politics. He is interred in the cemetery at Flushing, Long Island.

Charles T. Leonard spent his early days on Long Island, and was given superior educational advantages, of which he made exceptionally good use. He first attended school at Flushing, then at Whippany, N. J. (a town where the stage coach was its only means of communication with the outside world), and finally completed his education at Jamaica. Long Island. In 1838 Mr. Leonard came to Fairfield county, and entered the general store of his cousins, T. L. and J. R. Peck, at South Norwalk, where he remained for nine years. Then, in company with his brother William, he started a general merchandise store at Newtown, Long Island, but this lasted for only six months, when Mr. Leonard sold out his interest and returned to Norwalk, there opening a similar store, which he conducted for the space of one year. At the close of his mercantile ventures he engaged in the slooping business, carrying freight between here and New York City. His work prospered, and in a short time he purchased valuable dock property and two boats, later adding a third boat. The business rapidly increased, and for a few years proved quite lucrative, though for some time he contin- ued to conduct the freighting at the Connecticut end of the line. In 1859 he bought his present property, since engaging in the coal, brick and building material business. He deals in all kinds of coal and masons' building materials, and manufactures cement pipe for sewers, etc. He is also an owner or a part owner of a water plant in New York State. Ever since his coming to Norwalk his activity and commanding personality have made themselves felt in business circles. and he has become widely known as a business man far beyond the boundaries of Fairfield county.

On January 17, 1847, Charles T. Leonard was married to Emily Street, a daughter of Ed- ward H. Street, of Norwalk. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leonard.

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Mr. Leonard is a stanch Republican, and while he faithfully exercises his right of franchise he has had but little time to devote to the active work of the party, his private interests fully ab- sorbing his time. He is a member of the F. & A. M., and for some time served that fraternity as junior deacon. The entire family are active members of the Episcopal Church. Though now advanced in years. Mr. Leonard still attends to his own affairs with all the energy and acumen that characterized his early efforts. Genial and courteous, wide-awake and progressive, he is a bright companion, and socially a very popular man.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 49

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