Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 64

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 64

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

24, 1835. married Sarah E. Curtis; Sophia, born July 29, 1837, married Jason Haynes, and died in early womanhood; and Betsey, born July 2, 1839, married Ezra Meeker. Benjamin N. Glover, son of Benjamin Curtis Glover, was born in 1812, and died June 2, 1860. He was mar- ried on February 12, 1845, to Harriet A. Lake, daughter of Ziba Lake, of Brookfield, and they had three children, viz .: Birdsey, born April 30, 1846; Walter Henry. born October 16, 1848; and Lemuel, born December 3, 1852.

VIII. Henry Beers Glover, son of Abiel Booth Glover, and great-grandson of John (4), was born December 8, 1824, and was married July 30, 1848. to Eliza Maria Blakeslee, daughter of William Blakeslee. She died in May, 1875. They had four children, viz .: William Booth, born September 15, 1850, died September 9. 1851; Florence Stanley. born July 28, 1854, married Abel Clark. and died April 3, 1891; Mary Blakes- lee, born October 31. 1856, married William Beecher; and Maria Nichols, born May 7, 1859, died May 15, 1859.

P HILO NICHOLS is a successful business man of Newtown, and as the only lumber dealer of his locality has enjoyed for many years a large and profitable trade. While he has never sought prominence in any way, his excellent qualities have secured for him the esteem and confidence of his fellow citizens, and his influ- ence, though quietly exerted, is recognized as a force in various lines of local progress.

The Nichols family has been identified with Newtown from pioneer times. [See Nichols genealogy elsewhere. ] Nathaniel Nichols, the great-great-grandfather of Philo, born April 8. 1708, settled in Newtown, where in 1730 he was married to Ann Booth. Their eldest son, Peter Nichols. the great-grandfather of Philo, born in Newtown. March 1, 1732, married, April 29. 1753, Rebecca, daughter of Lemuel Camp. Capt. Peter Nichols. as he was called, died January 15, 1799, and his wife died October 12, 1793. Na- thaniel Nichols (2), born July 11, 1769, married Grace Sherman, daughter of Jotham and Grace (Peck) Sherman. Later he removed to Sanborn, Vt., where his first wife died, and he finally lo- cated at Natchez, Miss., where his remaining years were spent. By his first marriage he had two children: Henry, our subject's father, and Grace, who married a Tousey. By his second wife, whom he married in Natchez, he had three children: Charles G., a merchant, Henry S., and Philo.

Henry Nichols was born January 4, 1794, in

Google

Digitized by

309

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Newtown, and throughout his active life was engaged in farming in South Center District, of that town. While he never attained to great wealth, he had a fair competence, and as a citi- zen and neighbor he was held in high regard. His patriotism was shown by gallant service in the war of 1812. He was a member of the Episco- pal Church, in which he had been baptized in in- fancy, and his sympathies were at all times on the side of social and educational advancement. He died September 8, 1878, sincerely mourned by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. His wife, Sarah (Blackman), to whom he was married in June, 1825, was a daughter of Eli and Mary Ann Curtis Blackman, of Huntington, Fairfield county. She survived him some years, dying on May 2, 1886, in her eighty-seventh year. They had three children, of whom Philo was the young- est. (1) David M., born July 1, 1826, died Feb- ruary 25, 1893. He was for many years a suc- cessful boiler maker in Brooklyn, N. Y., attain- ing a fine reputation in that line of work. His first wife, Caroline (Crane), of New York, died leaving one son, John Henry, who is now resid- ing in Brooklyn, and by his second wife, Mrs. Phoebe Tompkins, nee Crane, he had one son, David Arthur, also a resident of Brooklyn. (2) Mary, born May 28, 1828, married Samuel Cur- tis, a button and comb manufacturer of Berkshire District, Newtown. She died March 22, 1871.

Philo Nichols was born April 27, 1832, at the old home in South Centre District, Newtown town- ship, and after attending the common schools of the vicinity for a time pursued more advanced studies in the academy at Newtown and a board- ing school in the same village conducted by Harry Peck. On February 28, 1854. he mar- ried Miss Sarah E. Glover, and established his home on a farm in Zoar District, Newtown township, where he followed agriculture until 1865. About 1870 he engaged in the lumber business, which he has ever since followed with gratifying results. In politics he is a stanch Republican, but he is not an office-seeker. He is interested in all that pertains to the welfare of the community, and while not a Church mem- ber he contributes to the support of the Episco- pal Church, and to other worthy causes. He and his family are prominent socially, and he is an active worker in the Masonic Fraternity, be- longing to Hiram Lodge No. 18, F. & A. M., and the Chapter, of Newtown. Mr. and Mrs. Nichols have had three children, as follows: Frank B., born January 18. 1855, died March 17, 1857; Grace, born June 15, 1863, died Au- gust 15,1864; and Ruth, born August 17, 1865, was married October 1, 1895, to Hobart H.

Curtis, of the firm of Warner, Taylor & Curtis, of Sandy Hook, and has one child-Marion Nich- ols Curtis.

Mrs. Nichols is a daughter of Villeroy Glover, and a descendant of Henry Glover, an early set- tler at New Haven, who came from England in 1636; the family has long been prominent in this section and a genealogical sketch is given else- where in this volume. On the maternal side Mrs. Glover is descended from James Hard and his wife Elizabeth, who had several children, among them James, James (2) (born in 1695, died in 1775), and Abner. Abner Hard married Hannah Beers in 1740, and died in 1785. Nirom Hard, one of their sons, was the great-grand- father of Mrs. Nichols. He was born in 1740, and in 1764 married Sarah, daughter of Benja- min and Elizabeth Curtis; he died in 1834. They had six children: Sally, who married Alfred Divine Curtis: Mercy, wife of Mr. Weed; Han- nah, who never married; Lazarus, who made his home in Bristol, Conn .; Benjamin, the grand- father of Mrs. Nichols; and Cyrenius, who did not marry.

Benjamin Hard was born February 8, 1779. and became a leading resident of Toddy Hill District, Newtown. As a citizen he was held in high esteem, and he was especially active in re- ligious work, taking the entire supervision of the construction of St. James Episcopal Church at Zoar. He also did much public business, and was largely employed in the settlement of estates. On December 17. 1801, he married Mabel Tomlin- son, daughter of Webb Tomlinson. His death occurred May 1, 1836, and his wife survived him many years, passing away June 29, 1865. Of their three children the eldest, Charles, born May 21, 1804, married Eliza Greaton, of New York, and died February 17, 1873; Susan (the mother of Mrs. Nichols) was born October 13, 1806, married Villeroy Glover, and died January 18, 1847. and Sarah, born May 8, 1820, married Charles Johnson, and died March 22, 1892, leav- ing no children.

E D)IRDSEY C. AND LEMUEL P. GLOVER, well-known residents of Hanover District, town of Newtown, are the present owners of the old family homestead, a fine estate, which their industry and good management maintain in a high state of cultivation. These two brothers are members of one of the oldest and most highly- esteemed families of the county, and are lineal descendants of Henry Glover, an early settler at New Haven, who came to this country from Eng- land in 1636. The name appears in the records

Digitized by Google

310

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

of this county two generations later, and for many years the immediate ancestors of these gentlemen have been identified with the town of Newtown. Their father, Benjamin N. Glover, who was born in 1812, died in 1860; their mother, whose maiden name was Harriet A. Lake, is still liv- ing at the old homestead. There were three children: Birdsey C., born April 30, 1846; Wal- ter Henry. born October 16, 1848; and Lemuel P., born December 3, 1852.

Ever since the death of the father the two brothers, whose names open this sketch, have had charge of the old farm, although, when that sad event occurred, they were but fifteen and eight years of age, respectively. In this under- taking they have shown marked ability, and have won deserved success, ranking among the sub- stantial men of the locality. Much attention has been given by them to fattening cattle, and they have made frequent visits to the West for the purpose of purchasing stock, this line of work having previously been carried on successfully by their father. In politics they are both stanch Republicans, but they do not take an active part in the work of the organization, and when nomi- nations for office have been offered them, they have invariably declined. They are in full sym- pathy with all movements for the benefit of their community, and are leading members of Trinity Episcopal Church of Newtown, contributing gen- erously to its work.

Birdsey C. Glover was married April 2, 1873. to Miss Sarah E. Northrop, daughter of Walter Northrop, Jr., a prominent resident of Newtown, and three children have been born to them: Emma. who died May 20, 1893, at the age of nineteen years; Bessie E., born November 1, 1876; and Florence A., born August 31, 1882, are at home. Lemuel P. Glover, brother of Birdsey, is unmarried.

member of the State Legislature in 1893 he did efficient work, not only for his constituents, but for the people of the State at large, and the fol- lowing brief history of him will be of general interest.

Mr. Fairchild was born at Nichols, November 21, 1853, and after a preliminary course of study in the district schools of that neighborhood he attended Strong's Military Institute at Bridge- port. On leaving school he became a bookkeeper for Dean, La Mont & Co. at their woolen-mill in Bridgeport, and later he spent six years in their establishment at Stockbridge, Mass. He then re- turned to Bridgeport, and for two years conducted the Berkshire coal yard, of which he was the pro- prietor, and later he purchased a farm at Nichols, where he made his permanent home. Since lo- cating there he has become interested in various enterprises, and at present he is engaged in lum- bering, in manufacturing vinegar, and in a flour and feed business, in all of which he is successful. He was married in Stockbridge, Mass .. December 22. 1874, to Miss Alice A. Wentworth, daughter of Ebenezer Wentworth, a well-known citizen of that town. They have one son, Charles W., now a student at Storr's Agricultural College at Storrs, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Fairchild are prom- inent in social life, and are active in religious work as members of the Congregational Church at Trumbull.

The Fairchild family originated probably in Scotland, where the name was, and still is, Fair- bairn, but the ancestors of our subject removed to England at an early period. On the family crest there are three crescents, showing that three prisoners were taken by some of its mem- bers while serving as Crusaders, and three birds (martlets), indicating three pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The first to come to America was Thomas Fairchild, of England, who settled at Stratford, this county, in 1639, and became a leader in the little colony, serving as its first magistrate. Our subject is of the eighth generation in descent from this worthy pioneer, the line being traced as follows: Joseph (eldest son of Thomas by his second wife) was born in 1664, and married Jo- hanna Wilcoxson; Timothy, born in Stratford in 1687. married Sarah Humphrey; Daniel, born in 1720. married Hepzibah Lewis; Lewis, born in Trumbull in 1746, married Mary Ufford; Reuben, our subject's grandfather, and Charles Nichols Fairchild, our subject's father, are mentioned more fully below. The family displayed a patri- otic spirit during the Revolutionary war, several of its members doing gallant service in Washing-

H ON. ERWIN S. FAIRCHILD, of Nichols, is one of the leading citizens of Trumbull township, and few have done as much as he to promote the best interests of that locality. As a founder and active member of the Village Im- provement Association of Nichols he helped to give new impetus to the development of that thriving community, while as a worker in the Trumbull Grange he has aided in the dissemina- tion of scientific knowledge among his fellow ag- riculturists. He is an influential worker in the local Democratic organization, and has held every public office in his town, from selectman down, his service as a member of the school board I ton's army, and at all times the name has been being especially fruitful in good results. As a | associated with a high order of citizenship.

Digitized by Google

311

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

Reuben Fairchild, the grandfather of our subject, was born in 1782, and died October 4, 1855. He received a common-school education, and in his youth learned the cabinet-maker's trade. As a young man he became interested in the manufacture of saddle-trees at Nichol's Farms, Trumbull township, where he made his home, and he and his brother Eben, under the firm name of R. & E. Fairchild, built up an ex- tensive trade in that line. In 1817 Eben re- moved to Bridgeport to take charge of a similar business, and in 1826 Reuben formed a partner- ship with Eben and another brother, Lewis, and engaged in the manufacture of paper. About 1836 he established a carriage factory in Bridge- port, in partnership with Haight, Hurd & Keeler, under the firm name of Haight. Fairchild & Co., but in 1840 he withdrew, and his remaining years were spent in farming. He married Anna Hawley, and had six children: Caroline, Elizabeth, Mary Ann. Starr, Lewis and Charles Nichols.

Hon. Charles Nichols Fairchild, the father of our subject, was born in Trumbull, October 27, ISIS, and was educated in the district school at Nichol's Farms. He learned the trade of car- riage making in Bridgeport, and for a short time was engaged in that business at Nichol's Farms, but has since followed farming as an occupation. He is prominent in local affairs, and has been elected on the Democratic ticket to various offi- cial positions, including that of representative in the State Legislature. His first wife, Louisa Beach, daughter of Alfred Beach, of Trumbull Center. died on August 13. 1845, aged twenty- four years, and on April 21, 1846, he married Miss Mary B. Banks, daughter of S. O. Banks, of Easton. By his first marriage he had two sons: Henry Charles and Alfred Beach, both of Bridgeport. By the second union there were also two children: Laura Frances, and Erwin Starr, our subject.

MENRY I. BROWNSON (deceased), who in his lifetime was a prominent agriculturist of Huntington township, was the owner of a fine farm near the village of Huntington, and his scientific management won for him a high repu- tation as a man of progressive ideas and execu- tive ability.

The Brownson family, which is of English ex- traction. has been identified with Connecticut from an early date, and our subject's grandfather, Israel Brownson, was born probably in Kent, where his manhood was passed. He was a gun- smith by trade, though much of his time was given to agricultural pursuits. He died in Kent,

and his wife, Anna (Dayton), passed from earth in 1822. They had four children: Eliza, Hannah, Anna and Sheldon M.

Sheldon M. Brownson, our subject's father, was born and reared in Kent, and was married there to Miss Alma Goodsell, who was born near New Milford, the daughter of Stiles Goodsell. Soon after his marriage he removed to Susque- hanna county, Penn., where he followed farming about sixteen years, but later returned to Con- necticut in about 1849, locating permanently in the town of Huntington, his death occurring there in 1886. In politics he was a Republican, and he and his wife, who died in 1884, were devout members of the Congregational Church. Of their eight children, the eldest, Hannah (now deceased), married Col. John Stearns, of Vermont, an official in the employ of the general government; Chloe A. died unmarried; Abigail married Dr. John Neff, of Baltimore; Henry I., our subject, is mentioned more fully below; Byron is a farmer in the town of Huntington; William H., formerly a merchant in Chicago, was burned out there in 1870, and subsequently conducted a fruit farm in Vineland. N. J., where he died October 3, 1898; Medad G. (deceased) was a farmer in Great Barrington, Mass., and Charles (deceased) was at one time a traveling salesman, later a merchant in Chicago.

Henry I. Brownson, our subject, was born December 16. 1833, in New Milford, and was but a child when his parents removed to Pennsyl- vania. At the age of fourteen he returned to Connecticut and found employment at Bridge- port, where he worked for five years. He resided in the town of Huntington from the year 1849, following farming during the greater portion of the time, and from 1865 up to his death he made his home at his late farm. The place contains 140 acres of excellent land, and is devoted to general crops, a fine greenhouse supplying facili- ties for raising early vegetables of all sorts. Mr. ness. He was a Republican politically, but took Brownson died June 25, 1898, after a year's ill- no active part in partisan work. In 1869 he married Miss Anna Booth, a native of Newtown. and a daughter of Lewis Booth, a leading citizen of New Milford. Four children have blessed this union: Harry B. (who now takes charge of the active work on the homestead), Mary Louise, Edith E. (deceased) and Anna G.

H OMER STILLÉ CUMMINGS is a rising young attorney of Stamford, and since 1895 has been the junior partner in the well-known firm of Fessenden, Carter & Cummings. He has

Digitized by Google

312

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

already won an enviable reputation at the Bar, while he is also taking a prominent part in polit- ical life as an ardent supporter of the principles of the Democratic party.

Mr. Cummings was born April 30, 1870, at Chicago, Ill., and is the only child of Uriah and Audie Schuyler (Stille)) Cummings, of New York City. His father, who is a native of the Empire State, is the president of The Cummings Cement Company (which owns an extensive plant at Akron, N. Y.) and the author of a technical treatise on " American Rock Cements," which was published by the Brick Builders' Publishing Company, of Boston, Mass .. and has made a wide impression, being regarded as authority on that subject in scientific circles.

Our subject's early life was mainly spent in Buffalo, N. Y., where he prepared for college, and in 1891 he was graduated from Yale. He then entered the law school connected with that institution, and in 1893 received the degree of LL. B. During his stay at Yale he represented the University in an intercollegiate debate with Harvard University, the meeting being held at Cambridge, and he was also connected with various societies at the University, including " Book and Gavel " and ". The Yale Kent Club," of which he was president. In the fall of 1893 he located at Stamford. entering the office of Fessenden & Carter, and on January 1, 1895. he was admitted as a member of the firm. He is secretary of The Cummings Cement Company, the corporation of which his father is the head, and few young men have started in life with as brilliant prospects. He has always taken a keen interest in political affairs, and being a member of a family which had long been identified with the Republican party he naturally affiliated with that organization, but while engaged in the ex- amination of political and social questions he be- came convinced that the restoration of bimetal- ism by the independent action of this nation was necessary to the prosperity of the country. He decided that he would give his vote and influence to the party which should first accept that view and carry it to the front as a national issue, and in 1896, when the Democratic party clearly en- dorsed the principle, he joined that organization and at once began to work for its success. In September of that year he was nominated by the | Democratic State Convention at New Haven for the office of Secretary of State. and from that time until the day of election conducted an aggressive and vigorous campaign, and established a reputa- tion as a brilliant and effective political speaker.

On June 29, 1897. he was married to Miss Helen W. Smith, and the next five months he

spent in a foreign tour. Mrs. Cummings is a daughter of Commodore James D. Smith, of the New York Yacht Club, who is a prominent resi- dent of Stamford, and at one time was the presi- dent of the New Stock York Exchange. Mr. Cum- mings and his wife are popular socially. They have one child, Dickinson Schuyler Cummings. born June 17, 1898. Mr. Cummings is an active member of the Masonic Fraternity, belonging to Old Hiram Lodge No. 1, F. and A. M., at New Haven, and is also a member of the Royal Arcanum, No. 999, of Stamford.

TOEL FARIST. of Bridgeport, is a ruling spirit in many of the business enterprises of that thriving city, and his reputation as a financier is an enviable one. His name is more closely identified with The Farist Steel Company. of which he is the founder and present head; but his sound practical judgment and rare executive ability have caused his co-operation to be sought in almost every line of business effort.

Mr. Farist was born June 27, 1832, in Shef- field, England, a son of Joseph Farist, who was also a native of Sheffield. He came to America in 1844 to follow the trade of a steel-forging man, being one of the first workers in that line in this country, and after spending some years in Cov- ington, Ky .. in an iron mill, he removed to Pitts- burg, and later to Jersey City. where he helped to organize the Adirondack Steel Company. He died at Windsor Locks, Conn., in 1861, his wife, Grace (Wolstenholm), passing away six days later.

Our subject was educated in the schools of his native city, and was also employed for a time in a rolling-mill there. In 1845 he joined his father in Covington, afterward accompanying him to Pittsburg, being employed in rolling-mills in both places. On going to Jersey City he entered upon an apprenticeship to the blacksmith's trade, receiving for one year and a half nine dollars per month for board, and three dollars per month for clothing. Four years he then spent in work at the rolling-mills of the Adirondack Steel Com- pany, in the capacity of blacksmith and roller. and for a year and a half he held a similar posi- tion with the Rockaway Steel Manufacturing Company. at Rockaway, N. J. The firm failing. and Mr. Farist desiring to engage in the business for himself, he formed a partnership with two other workmen, and leased a portion of the plant of the Rockaway Manufacturing Company, the capital of the new partners being $130, $90 and $230 respectively. They continued on a part of the old plant for six months, and so successful

Digitized by Google

Fall Farist

Digitized by Google

...

Digitized by

Google

313

COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.

was their venture that they decided in the early part of 1857 to lease for three years the Pompton Rolling Mill, near Paterson, N. J., which they operated through the financial panic of 1857. In 1860 Mr. Farist removed to Windsor Locks, Conn., where he again engaged just at the begin- ing of the war of the Rebellion, in the manu- facture of cast steel under the firm name of Joel Farist & Co., manufacturing gun barrel and bayonet steel for the United States Government arsenal at Springfield, Mass., and in 1863 he organized The Farist Steel Company. In 1872 the present plant in Bridgeport (then called the American Silver Steel Company) was purchased and put into operation under the firm name of Farist & Windsor. In 1874 The Farist Steel Company, which had in the meantime continued the business in Windsor Locks, sold to the new company, and the entire business was consoli- dated at Bridgeport under the special charter of "The Farist Steel Company." Mr. Farist is president of the company. George Windsor being treasurer. They manufacture steel forgings and shapes of all kinds; they also manufacture and roll their own steel for spiral and elliptical car springs for market, having agencies in Chicago, St. Louis and New York. Mr. Farist organized and was president of the Bridgeport Crucible Company, in which he is still the largest stock- holder, and he has more or less been directly interested in other manufacturing concerns too numerous to mention.

For fifteen years past he has served as direct- or in the Pequonnock National Bank at Bridge- port, and he was chief promoter and first presi- dent of the Bridgeport Electric Light Company. .continuing in office until he sold his shares in the enterprise. He has also been an active member of the Bridgeport Board of Trade since its organi- zation. He is one of the charter members of the Sea Side Club. As a citizen he is progressive and public spirited, and his interest in educational affairs is shown by nine years of effective work as a member of the Bridgeport Board of Educa- tion, and as vice-president of the Bridgeport Hospital. since its organization. For thirty-five years he has been a member of the M. E. Church, and for twenty-eight years he has served on the board of trustees. Socially, he and his family are much esteemed, and he is an active member of the Masonic Fraternity.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 64

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