Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 7

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

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Mr. Dayton was married September 9, 1851, to Miss Matilda Selleck, daughter of Shadrack and Anice (Waterbury) Selleck, and a native of Stamford, Conn. Mr. and Mrs. Dayton have one child. Mary Frances, whose home is with her parents. In 1895 he erected his elegant home on Field Point road, Greenwich.

Throughout the long and active business ca- reer of Mr. Dayton there is one fact that stands conspicuous: it is that no taint or suspicion of dishonesty has ever been attached to his name. Even through the passion of political strife, when men too often take unwarranted liberties with reputation, he has passed unscathed. Mr. Day- ton has been universally respected, and his polit- ical enemies have been his warm personal friends. In the fullest sense of the term he has been a self-made man. His judgment has been keen and unerring, and the general recognition of this fact in the community in which he lives gives unusual weight to his opinion in business affairs. Mr. Dayton has attained the age of three-score years and ten. If the records did not show it, the observer would be deceived, for Mr. Dayton is exceptionally well preserved, both in physical and mental powers. He is still active in business affairs, for he belongs to the hardy and long-lived race of his forefathers.

L EVI CURTIS, (deceased.) The Curtis family has long been prominent in the town of Stratford, and the old homestead of the sub- ject of this memoir is one of the noted Colonial estates. The present dwelling house has been occupied by succeeding generations of the Curtis family for more than one hundred and fifty years, and the farm has been in their possession since the settlement of that part of the town. this being the second house erected by them on

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the premises. Elizabeth Curtis (a widow) came with the first settlers, from Massachusetts, ac- companied by two sons, William and John, and our subject was of the seventh generation in de- scent from this honored pioneer, who braved the dangers of the wilderness in order to establish a home for herself and her children.

II. William Curtis married, and had nine children: Sarah, born in 1642; Nathan, 1644; Joshua, 1646; Abigail, 1650; Daniel, 1652; Eliz- abeth, 1653; Ebenezer, 1657; Zachariah, 1659, and Josiah, 1662.

III. Josiah Curtis, the next in the line of descent in which we are now interested, was married in 1692 to Miss Judson, by whom he had two children: William, born September 22, 1693, and Abigail, February 28, 1696. By his sec- ond wife, Mary -, he had nine children: Eu- nice, born August 1, 1699; Abraham, May 10. 1701 ; Benjamin, December 25, 1704; Peter, April 1, 1707; Josiah, January 6, 1708; Mary, July 25, 1711; Matthew, December 1, 1712; and Charles and Mehitabel (twins), born January 1, 1716. Josiah Curtis, father of these children, died in 1745.

IV. Abraham Curtis was married in 1724 to Elizabeth Webb, who died in 1770, and his own death occurred in 1779. They had two children: Stephen, who is mentioned below; and Elizabeth, born November 25, 1729, who married - Tomlinson, of Huntington town- ship.

V. Stephen Curtis was born June 3, 1727. and died May 8, 1806. He was married in 1746 to his first wife, Jerusha Gould, by whom he had one son, Abraham, born in 1746. In 1750 he was married from the present residence of the family to Sarah Judson, and the following child- ren were born of the union: Jerusha, August 1, 1751; Abraham, February 6, 1754; Stephen J., July 5, 1757; Stephen (2), October 30, 1760; Sarah, August 4, 1763; Bette, February 6, 1767; Phobe, September 6, 1769, and Levi.

VI. Levi Curtis, our subject's father, was born May 26, 1772, and died February 21, 1854. On January 28, 1795, he married Elizabeth Uf- ford (or Uffoot), who died May 13. 1853. They had ten children: Stephen, born November 19, 1795; Elbert, June 27, 1797; Phoebe, April 8, 1799; Willis, October 28, 1801; Sarah, January 26, 1804 (she married Isaac Wells, father of Charles C. Wells); Levi, our subject; Betsy, born May 26, 1808; one that died in infancy un- named; Charles B., born August 17, 1811; and Cornelia, born May 15, 1815.

VII. Levi Curtis, our subject, was born April 11, 1806, and became one of the prominent

citizens of Stratford in his day. Politically he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and he was frequently chosen by his fellow townsmen to offices of responsibility and trust. Like all of his ancestors from pioneer times, he followed farming as an occupation, and he died June 7. 1874, at the old Curtis homestead, in the north- ern part of the town. On September 26, 1836,

he married Miss Jerusha Lewis, daughter of Eli W. Lewis, and granddaughter of Eli Lewis, both well-known residents of Stratford. She survived him eleven years, her death occurring October 14, 1885. Their two daughters, Misses Celia and Cornelia Curtis, now reside at the old Jud- son homestead, on Academy Hill, where the ma- ternal great-grandmother, Sarah Judson, was born.

H EZEKIAH BANKS, a venerable and highly esteemed resident of Fairfield township, has been for many years prominently identified with the best interests of that locality, and at the ad- vanced age of eighty-seven years (April 8, 1899) he keeps fully in sympathy with the progressive movements of the time. He derives his vigor of mind and body from a hardy, long-lived pioneer race, of whom a writer has said, "Longevity, honesty, industry and frugality are prominent in this line of settlers." Two districts in Fairfield township are named in their honor, the Banks North and the Banks South districts. As the family is a noted one in this section, the follow- ing review of the earlier generations will furnish an appropriate introduction to his own history.

I. John Banks, a lawyer, and Englishman by birth, was the first of the name to locate in this county, and purchased land in Fairfield township in 1649. He had previously spent some years in Wethersfield, Conn., where he was town clerk in 1643, and on removing to Fairfield he at once took a leading part in the affairs of the colony, serving from 1651 to 1666 as repre- sentative in the General Assembly. Later he settled at Rye, N. Y., and from 1670 to 1673 he represented that town in the Colony Assembly. While residing in Wethersfield he married a daughter of Charles Taintor.

II. Benjamin Banks, a son of the pioneer, was born August 7, 1703, and died May 19, 1805, having attained the age of one hundred and two years. He had three sons-Benjamin, Jonathan and Hezekiah.

III. Hezekiah Banks, our subject's grand- father, was a farmer by occupation. He died at the age of sixty-four years, in Easton township, this county, and his remains were interred there. His wife, Sarah Couch, was a native of Greens

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Farms, and of their eight children nearly all lived and died in this county. Hezekiah, our subject's father, is mentioned below; Sturgis was a resident of Easton township; Jessup, a sur- veyor and justice of the peace, died in Bridge- port, February 2, 1863, aged seventy-two years; Walter, a resident of Easton, died March 19. 1887, in his ninety-fourth year; Mary married Sherwood Seeley, and died January 4, 1879, in Easton, aged ninety-six and one-half years; Sarah (Mrs. Joseph Hill) died in Sullivan county, N. Y., September 8, 1868, in her ninety-third year; Patta (Mrs. John Staples) died in April, 1858, at the age of seventy-eight; and. Arity (Mrs. Will- iam Nichols) died in early womanhood.

IV. Hezekiah Banks, the father of our sub- ject, was born Dec. 12, 1777, in what is now Easton township, and became a successful farmer in that locality, acquiring a handsome compe- tence. He was a powerful man, of robust phy- sique, while he possessed an excellent mind, and was generally respected for his sterling qualities of character. While he was not an office seeker he was a strong supporter of the Democratic party, and in religious faith he was a Congrega- tionalist, belonging to the old Church in Easton township. He had a firm will, and as a disci- plinarian was strict and determined. He died October 6, 1872, in his ninety-fifth year, at the old homestead, where he had resided throughout his married life, which extended over a period of nearly sixty-six years. His wife, Ruhamah Betts, to whom he was married December 30, 1806, was born September 4, 1785, near Green- field, Conn., the daughter of Moses and Mary (Gregory) Betts (Moses Betts died February 19, 1818, aged sixty-three years, and Mary, his wife, died March 4, 1861, aged ninety-seven years and eight months), and her death occurred February 12, 1875, when she was in her ninetieth year, her remains being interred beside those of her husband in Easton cemetery. This worthy cou- ple had six children: (1) William, born April 24, 1808, became a farmer in Fairfield township, where he died September 26, 1882, leaving two children - Moses E., of Stratfield, and Eliza M., widow of Minot Tuttle, of Bridgeport. (2) Mary S., born November 9, 1809, married Ezra Peet, and died December 29, 1889, leaving two chil- dren-Frank B., in Bridgeport, and Sarah E., now Mrs. Henry S. Knapp, of Fairfield. (3) Hezekiah, our subject, is mentioned more fully below. (4) Eliza G., born October 15, 1815, died April 2, 1896, unmarried. (5) Moses B., born April 2, 1819, resides in Greenfield, and has two children - Sarah and Lizzie. (6) Sarah A., born January 26, 1822, died July 4, 1834, and

is remembered as a remarkably bright and clever child.

V. Hezekiah Banks, our subject, was born April 8, 1812, in what is now Easton township, then Weston, and was reared as a farmer boy. being taught to work as soon as his strength per- mitted him to assist on the farm. His schooling was limited to a few months in each winter, and although eighty years have passed since he sat in the old log school building as a pupil he vividly recalls the incidents of his school life, and the rude furnishings of the room with its slab seats and open fireplace, at which the scholars were allowed to warm themselves during the school hours on asking permission from the teacher. Among his early instructors were Moses Burr, Hezekiah Bulkley and Burr Wake- man. When sixteen years old he left home to serve an apprenticeship with his uncle, William Nichols, a shoemaker at Greenfield. He in- tended to remain five years, his wages being $15 per year and his shoes; but a short time before the expiration of his term, his health failed and he gave up the work for a while. He was a careful workman, capable of making the finest goods then known to the trade, and the first pair of boots that he ever wore were made by himself. On resuming his work he was employed as a journeyman at $10 per month, first at Southport and later at Norwalk.

When twenty-one years old he decided to go into business for himself, and, as he had saved about $75, he went to New York City to secure his stock, making the trip from South- port in a sloop market boat, commanded by Capt. Seth Bulkley. He purchased leather, lasts and other necessaries, and opened a shop at Greenfield Hill in the residence of his uncle, Moses Betts, his first customer being Dr. Blake- man. As time passed and his trade increased his uncle built a small shop for him, where he conducted a profitable business for several years. He then formed a partnership with Aaron Jennings and engaged in business at Southport, the work of the shop being in his charge while Mr. Jennings gave his attention to the meat busi- ness. As Mr. Banks found his health failing again, he retired from the firm after one year, but on his recovery he began filling special orders for fine shoes and boots from Westport, doing the work at home. In 1837 he bought eighteen acres of land in Fairfield township from Ephraim Middlebrooks, and to this he has added from time to time until he now owns a fine homestead, having resided there for more than sixty years. He built a shop on the farm and there followed his trade for a time, but as his agricultural interests

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increased he devoted his time to them entirely. He has met with good success financially. as he now possesses a comfortable competence as the reward of his industry, and he has the satisfac- tion of knowing that it has been gained by strictly honest methods. At seventy-five he was still working, keeping pace with the young men in a day's work, but of late years he has permitted himself to rest, leaving the active labor to others. Throughout his life he has taken keen interest in politics, although he was never an office seeker, and since he attained his majority he has not missed a Presidential election, having voted for every Whig or Republican President since Andrew Jackson. He is one of the "pillars " of the Greenfield Congregational Church, with which he united in 1842, on the Sabbath previous to the ordination of Rev. Thomas B. Sturgis. Dur- ing all these years he has given liberally to the support of the society and its work, and he has helped to build two churches, an academy and a parsonage.

On May 20, 1838, Mr. Banks married Miss Abby Williams, who was born November 22, 1815, daughter of David and Olive (Treadwell) Williams, well-known residents of Easton. She died March 5, 1892, after fifty-four years of hap- py wedded life, and her remains now rest in Oak Lawn cemetery, in Fairfield township. As an earnest Christian she left a memory which is an inspiration in her family, and among the large circle of friends connected with Greenfield Con- gregational Church, of which she was a devout member. Four children were born of this mar- riage, three of whom are living: (1) George W., born July 11, 1839, is a Congregational minister, and has been in charge of the Church at Guil- ford, Conn., for twenty-five years. (2) Henry W., born September 15, 1841, died February 8, 1896; he was a farmer by occupation and was re- spected among his associates, being especially active in religious work as a member of the Con- gregational Church at Southport, in which he held the office of deacon. (3) Dwight M., born March 14, 1847, is engaged in farming at Green- field Hill, and is a deacon of the Congregational Church at Greenfield Hill. (4) Carrie A., born April 1, 1855, married Simeon Pease, of Tru- mansburg, N. Y., but now of Greenfield Hill.

H ON. JOSEPH G. HYATT, ex-member of the State Legislature from Fairfield county, an educator of note and an official for years in the town of Westport, where he has been prom- inent both in public and social life, is a native of the town, born September 19, 1852.

Gilbert Hyatt (his grandfather) was engaged . in farming operations throughout his lifetime. His wife was Miss Julia St. John, of Norwalk, and shortly after their marriage they settled in that town, and there reared a family of several children, the youngest of whom was James W., the father of our subject.

James W. Hyatt was born in the town of Norwalk, Conn. At the age of eight years, on the death of his father, he was taken to the South, and there reared and educated, residing in the States of Georgia and Alabama. He learned the shoemaker's trade in that section, and worked at same there and later in Westport, Conn., he having returned to Fairfield county when of age. He was twice married, (first) to Ann Quintard, and (second) to Abigail Couch, a daughter of Joseph Couch, a native of the town of Fairfield, Conn., where also the daughter (mother of our subject) was born. After his sec- ond marriage, James W. Hyatt and wife located in Westport. Hisdeath occurred there February 28, 1888. He was a man of intelligence and an excellent citizen, lending his influence to such measures as tended to the good of the commu- nity. In religious faith he was an Episcopalian, while his widow, who yet survives, is identified with the Methodist Church. In his political views he was a Republican.

Joseph G. Hyatt, the only child of James W. by the second marriage, passed his boyhood and received his primary education in Westport. At the age of eighteen years he began teaching school at Greens Farms in his native town. Later he taught in Wilton, and, in all, followed the profession nearly twenty-one years, until 1890. During this period he read law, was admitted to the Bar in 1882, and for a time was engaged in practice. Since 1890 he has much of the time been engaged in public life. In politics he is a Republican, being active and influential in his party. During the administra- tion of President Harrison he served as post- master at Westport, conducting the business of the office with ability and dispatch; his term extended four months beyond the four-years' term, or administration period. He has served the town as justice of the peace and town clerk, having been elected in 1897 to the latter office, which he yet holds. In 1897 he was chosen a representative in the State Legislature, and per- formed the duties of that high office in a manner entirely satisfactory to his constituents, as well as to his own credit. He has held many of the minor offices of the town. He takes a great interest in public affairs, and his name is identi- fied with many local movements which have

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been of benefit to the town. He is a member of the Westport Historical Society, and first vice-president of the Reading Room and Library Association. Socially, he is past master of Tem- ple Lodge No. 65, F. & A. M .; is also a member of the I. O. O. F.

On April 14, 1874, Mr. Hyatt was married to Miss Mary A. Comstock, a native of the town of Wilton, and daughter of Charles E. Com- stock, of Wilton. They have no children. Mr. and Mrs. Hyatt are members of the Congrega- tional Church.

R EV. WILLIAM TOUCEY HILL, M. A., the only child of William Hawley and Emma (Clarke) Hill, was born July 22, 1830. in Redding, Conn. John Reade Hill (our subject's grandfather), of Redding, Conn., descended from the American ancestor, William Hill, who came from England and settled in Connecticut in 1632, and died in Fairfield in 1650. John Reade Hill married Miss Betsey Sanford in 1799, a daughter of Aaron Sanford, of Redding, Conn., who was the first male Methodist and the first Methodist local-preacher in Connecticut. John Reade Hill's children were Aaron Sanford, Moses, Will- iam Hawley (born March 29, 1804, and died in December, 1830), Morris, Betsey, Lydia and Joseph.

On his mother's side, also, W. T. Hill came from ancestors long in this country. His mother's mother was Hannah Toucey, wife of Zechariah Clarke, of Newtown, Conn. Hannah descended from Richard Tousey, who came from England and settled in Wethersfield in the seventeenth century. Emma Clarke Hill was born Novem- ber 11, 1806, and died February 6, 1886.

A few months after his father's death (Decem- ber, 1830) our subject was taken by his mother to her father's home in Newtown, where she con- tinued to reside and the son grew up. At fifteen he went to Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., and prepared for college; entered Wesleyan University, Middletown, Conn., in 1850, and was graduated in 1854. In 1855 he joined the New York East Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he is still a member. As pastor he has served the Churches in Seymour, Stratford, Winsted, New Canaan, Danbury, Redding and Forestville in Connecticut, and Brooklyn, New Rochelle, Jamaica and Bridge- hampton in New York. From 1876 to 1884 Mr. Hill was presiding-elder of the New Haven and the New York East Districts of his Conference, residing in New Haven, where he bought a home. In April, 1899, he retired from the itinerant

pastorate, and now resides at No. 37 Howe street, New Haven, and is pastor of the Stony Creek Church as supply.

On August 4, 1854, Mr. Hill married Miss Jane C. Burr, daughter of Linus Burr, Esq., of Middletown, Conn. Their children were Emma Elizabeth, William Burr, Cyrus Foss and Ellen. Of these, the two sons graduated from Yale College in 1881, and William B., from the Yale Law School in 1883. Emma E. graduated from the Yale Art School in 1882, after a four-years' course. Ellen is a kindergartener in the public- school system of New Haven. In 1891 William B. married Miss Illie Clapp, daughter of Dwight P. Clapp, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and is now practic- ing law at No. 56 Pine street, New York City. Cyrus F. married, in 1885. Miss Kate Stratton Giles, daughter of William A. Giles, of Chicago, Ill., and taught in the "Harvard School for Boys " five years, when he purchased the " Mil- waukee Academy", of which he was principal till his death, which occurred November 16, 1889, when he was thirty years of age.

STARR CLIFFORD BARNUM, one of Bethel's enterprising and progressive busi- ness men, belongs to a family which is noted for the possession of those admirable qualities.

His ancestors were among the first settlers of this county, and he is of the eighth generation in direct descent from Thomas Barnum, who was born in England in 1625, and died in Danbury, December 26, 1695.

A son of this worthy Thomas Barnum (2), who was born July 9, 1663, and died in 1730, was one of the eight pioneers of Danbury, and his wife, Sarah, daughter of William and Mary Beardsley, was a native of Stratford. In the third generation the line of descent is continued through Ephraim Barnum, who was born in 1710 and died in 1775. Of his wife, Mehitable, but little is known. Their son, Capt. Ephraim Barnum, who gained his title by service in the Revolutionary war, was born in 1737, and died in Bethel, April 17. 1817. In 1753 he married his first wife. Keziah Covell, and after her death he married, in February, 1776, Mrs. Rachel Starr Beebe, widow of Jonathan Beebe, of Danbury, and daughter of Jonathan and Rachel Taylor Starr. Jonathan Starr was a descendant of Dr. Comfort Starr, who was born in England in 1625. and died in 1659. He (Dr. Comfort Starr) had two sons, viz .: (1) Josiah, born in Charlestown, Mass., in 1657. He married Rebekah and for a time resided on Long Island. They came to Danbury soon after its first settlement.

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He was one of the first Patentees of the town of Danbury, its second justice of the peace, and its first town clerk. He died in 1715. (2) Thomas, born October 26, 1658, married Rachel [The maiden names of the wives of Josiah and Thomas are not now known. ]

Ephraim Barnum had fifteen children, ten by the first marriage and five by the second, and among his grandchildren was the cele- brated showman, Phineas Taylor Barnum. In ithe next generation the line is traced through Abel Barnum, our subject's great-grandfather. who was a resident of Bethel. Edson Barnum, the grandfather of our subject, resided in the Plum Trees District, in the town of Bethel, and he and his wife, Cynthia Hamilton, reared a family of three children.

James Edson Barnum, our subject's father, was born, April 23. 1845, in New Milford, and in his youth learned the hatter's trade with E. T. Farnam. For many years he followed that 'business in connection with farming, but on Sep- tember 9, 1885, he removed to Bethel, where for twelve years past he has been in the employ of the Judd & Dunning Hat Company. Although his early education was limited to the course offered in the district schools of his locality, his native intelligence enabled him to acquire a good fund of practical knowledge on various topics, and he is highly esteemed as a citizen. He is a imember of the St. Thomas Episcopal Church at Bethel, and since 1867 has been identified with Eureka Lodge No. 83, F. & A. M. On De- cember 12, 1865, he was married, at Bridge- ·water, to Miss Laura Erwin, by whom he has had four children, our subject being the eldest. Of the others, Nellie Augusta, born October 11, :1871, died November 6, of the same year; .Howard Fenn, born October 17, 1874, died February 1, 1875, and Miss Edith May, born :December 19, 1876, is now at home.

"The mother of our subject is a member of one of the well-known families of Roxbury, Conn. She was born July 30, 1844, the daughter of (Charles and granddaughter of John and Phoebe Erwin, of Roxbury. Charles Erwin, who was born March 17, 1809, spent his early life in Rox- bury, and was married in 1833 to Miss Mary Fenn, daughter of Col. David Fenn, of Revolutionary fame, who was pensioned by the government for his services. After his marriage Mr. Erwin lo- cated at Bridgewater, where he engaged in farm- ing, and his death occurred there February 15, 1881. His wife passed to the unseen world on December 31, 1874. They had seven children: Sarah A., deceased; Mary J., deceased, formerly wife of Cyrus A. Todd, of New Milford, Conn. ;

Homer Fenn, who met a soldier's death in the Civil war; Rev. Charles H., a resident of St. Charles, Iowa; Laura (Mrs. Barnum); Darwin, who resides in Orange, N. J .; and Lyman, de- ceased.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 7

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