Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 72

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

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Isabell R. Park, who married Frank Finch, was born in the town of Ryegate, Vt., and was educated in the district schools. She is a mem- ber of the Presbyterian Church, and is faithful to all society and family duties.

They first hired a quarry, and when able pur- I chased one, at Byram, and from a small begin- i ning they established and built up an extensive I business, requiring three vessels in their trade, 1 the ". Mariner." " Adaline " and " Mail." They I were obliged to go into debt for the sum of $600 when they made their advent in the vessel busi- ness, but that was the only time they gave their ! note during the forty years of their commercial life together, for although it was not all smooth | sailing, and they met with the usual setbacks and i disappointments which fall to the lot of men in i any branch of trade, they kept their business

W ILLIAM M. RITCH has for the past ten years lived retired in his elegant home on Cherry Hill, in East Port Chester. There are a number of well-to-do men of this section of the country whose lives are splendid illustrations of that American term so often used, and misused, i clear of incumbrances. in praising the career and accomplishments of On deciding to retire to private life to enjoy men who have been successful in. the face of | the abundant means which had come to them trying and discouraging circumstances-selfmade; | through patient and unceasing toil, the brothers and Mr. Ritch is one of the worthiest examples : divided their stone quarries and property ami- of this class. He has worked his way to ease and affluence through years of industry and steady application to business, for he commenced life a . poor boy financially, and earned his first capital 1 by manual labor.

Mr. Ritch is a native of Greenwich township. Fairfield county, born June 1, 1825, and belongs to one of the old families of the neighborhood. His grandfather, James Ritch, and his father, 1 Ralph Ritch, were farmers, and the latter also | tegrity in any matter, and no citizen in Green- carried on a stone quarry. He married Clemence i wich commands higher respect or bears a better name. Mead, daughter of Mathew Mead, and . they | reared a family of twelve children-six sons and Mr. Ritch was married in Greenwich to Miss Sarah Hamilton, a native of Ireland, and five four daughters-still survive. The parents died i children came to bless their union, namely: six daughters, of whom, seven-three sons and ! in Greenwich at a ripe old age. Mrs. Ritch was i a member of the Congregational Church.

cably, not even a third party being aware of the division. From the above statements it may be easily seen that Mr. Ritch deserves to be called a self-made man, and he may be justly proud of the results of his labors, which enabled him ten years ago to give up active work to pass his years in comfort and even luxury. He always maintained a high reputation for honorable and straightforward dealing, and unquestionable in-

George, who died in Brooklyn at the age of thirty-five years; Esta, widow of William Oxer, living with her parents; Willis, who is in the stone business in East Port Chester; Elizabeth,

During the boyhood of our subject the com- 1 mon schools did not afford the advantages offered to all in the present day, but he acquired all his . who married P. Moffet, and died in East Port book-learning in those institutions, such as they Chester; and Silas, engaged in the stone busi- ness in East Port Chester. The children were all given superior educational advantages. The family live in the beautiful home on Cherry Hill erected by Mr. Ritch, and usually spend the win- ter season at Crescent City, Fla .. where he owns a pleasant residence and orange grove. Up to 1862 Mr. Ritch gave his political support to the . Democratic party, but he has since been a Re- were. "Uncle Johnnie Gray" was his first teacher. His father wished him to attend Prof. Philander Button's school at Greenwich, but he preferred to begin work, and did so. At the age of seventeen he went to learn the carpenter's trade with John Weed. of Greenwich, with whom he . remained three years, receiving $20 the first year, $30 the second and $40 the third, clothing him- self. For two years after he followed his trade in 'publican; he has served his township one term the employ of others, and then for a year and a . as member of the board of relief, and also as as-

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sessor, holding the latter office two or three years. In religious connection he is a devout member of the Presbyterian Church, in which he was trustee for a number of years.

E ALMER HAWLEY NORTHROP. To the superficial observer, youth doubtless pre- sents a more attractive aspect than age, but to one who can appreciate the rich inner life of a spirit which has been refined and enlightened by the experience of years, gray hairs suggest deeper harmonies and pleasure than the younger ones can know, especially in this case, when physical and mental vigor are unimpaired, and the wis- dom of years is brought into play in an effective vet quiet and dignified participation in the ac- tivities which constitute the outer bonds of social life.

The subject of this sketch is fortunate in this regard. as, although he has come almost to the allotted limit of three-score years and ten. his strength gives promise of prolonged life, in which he may teach-even if unconsciously-the dig- nity. value and charm of old age.

Mr. Northrop was born in the town of Brook- field, October 24, 1828, and has never been out- side the limits of that town for a longer period than two weeks. His education was obtained, in part, in the district school, in part at a private school near his home, and on attaining manhood he engaged in agriculture, which pursuit he fol- lowed until his retirement from business a few years ago. He has been very successful in the management of his affairs, and his sound judg- ment has been called into service by his fellow- citizens in various ways, notably as an adminis- trator of estates. He is one of the leading ad- visers of the Republican party in his locality, and is at present serving as first selectman of Brook- field. In religious work he is also prominent as a member of the Congregational Church. On October 23, 1851, he married Miss Laura Jane Dutton, who was born July 3. 1831, and died December 24, 1855. Two children blessed this union: Amelia Irvine, born February 14, 1853. and George Dutton, born November 12, 1855. The latter married Miss Ella Kate Hoyt, on July 26, 1893, and they have one daughter, Laura Dutton, born August 27, 1896.

The Northrop family has been identified with Brookfield from a very early date. Our subject's great-great-grandfather, Jeremiah Northrop, died there July 4. 1771, at the age of eighty-two years, and his wife, Hannah (Benedict), died February 19, 1767, aged seventy. They had three sons: Amos died February 3, 1789, aged

sixty-one years and four months; Ezra died May 21. 1770, at the age of forty-six years; the youngest. Waite, our subject's great-grandfather, died August 3, 1773, aged forty-three years. His entire life was spent in Brookfield. His wife, Anna Benedict, died August 7, 1806, at the age of seventy-seven. They had four children: John, Waite. Anna and Andrew.

Waite Northrop (2), our subject's grand- father, was born May 12, 1765, and died De- cember 6, 1824. He married Jerusha Baldwin on July 5. 178 ;. . She was born July 26, 1770, and died November 6, 1827. Their children were Elmore Baldwin, our subject's father; Sarah, born March 23, 1800, married January 20, 1824. to Hiram Fairchild, and died September 20. 1830; Anna, born June 27, 1802, married April 10, 1826, to Charles Hawley, and died No- vember 13, 1832; and Baldwin, who died in infancy.

Elmore Baldwin Northrop, the father of our subject, was born in the town of Brookfield, August 12. 1794, and became a prominent citi- zen of that locality, engaging in mercantile busi- ness and in silver-plating, making a specialty of plating harness and carriage fixtures. He was an ambitious man, energetic in all his undertak- ings, and was very successful. At various times he held township offices, and he was a prominent member of the Congregational Church of Brook- field. On December 4, 1821, he married Miss Lucy Hawley, who was born June 23. 1801, a daughter of Daniel Hawley, and died June 8, 1883, after a long widowhood, Mr. Northrop's death having occurred April 30, 1834. They had two children. our subject being the younger; the elder. Mary A., born September 5, 1824, was married September 17, 1844, to George C. Corn- wall, and they have one son, Elmer N.

On the maternal side our subject was de- scended from Joseph Hawley, one of the earliest settlers in Connecticut, who was born in Par- wick, Derbyshire, England, in 1603, and crossed the ocean in 1629, landing near Boston, Mass. Later he settled in Connecticut, and died at Stratford in 1690. His son, Samuel, who was born in 1653, had a son Samuel, who reared a family of ten children: Jonathan, Nathaniel, Ephraim, Matthew, Obadiah, Francis, Richard, Nathan, Stephen and Benjamin. Benjamin Hawley, our subject's great-great-grandfather, born in 1694. had four sons, as follows: Eben- ezer, Benjamin, Abel and William. William Hawley, our subject's great-grandfather, born in 1732, reared a family of four children: William, Anna, Daniel and Joseph. Daniel Hawley, the grandfather of our subject, was born December

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25, 1766, and died February 9, 1826. He was married (first) on August 9, 1787, to Miss Lucy Dibble, who was born in 1766, and died February 25, 1789. On January 14, 1796, he married, for his second wife, Joanna Seelye, who was born February 24, 1773. and died April 5, 1837. By the first marriage there was one son: Eleazar, and by the second there were three children: Lucy, our subject's mother; Charles, born Febru- ary 6. 1804, and Sidney, born April 3, 1807.

TAMES S. SHERWOOD, one of the sub- stantial agriculturists of the town of West- port, Fairfield county, a veteran of the Civil war, and for twenty or more years a school teacher of this locality, is of the fifth generation of the Sherwood family who have been engaged in farming in Fairfield county.

Mr. Sherwood's line of descent is through David, Sr., David, Ruel, and Charles E. The first three were residents of the town of Fairfield. Ruel Sherwood, who was a native of that town, married Rachel Beers, a native of the town of Westport. After their marriage they settled on the farm on which Mrs. William Sherwood now lives. Their children were: Charles E. is re- ferred to farther on; Eliza married Edwin Weed, a millwright of Darien; Harriet D. married Walter Bradley a farmer of Redding; and William was a farmer in the town of Westport. The mother of these was a member of a patriotic family, having seven brothers who served their country in the war of the Revolution.

Charles E. Sherwood was born March 29, 1807, on his father's farm in the town of West- port, and was there reared in a manner not unlike the sons of the general farmer, attending school during the winter season and working on the farm in the summers. He married Anna Beam, a native of Paterson, N. J .. and of German stock on her father's side. After their marriage they located on the farm where their eight children were reared. A brief record of them is as fol- Jows: Henry M. is a retired business man residing in Chicago; Charles W., who served as a soldier in the Civil war, was a carpenter by trade, re- sided in Westport, and there died; James S., our subject, is referred to farther on; Mary E. mar- ried James Punzelt, and resides in South Nor- walk; Harriet D. married James Smibert, of Chicago; John B. is engaged in the school furni- ture business in Chicago; Roston died at the age of sixteen years; and George died in infancy. Both parents are deceased, the father dying March 18, 1897. when nearly ninety years of age, and the mother on February 28, 1870, aged about

sixty years. They were members of the Congre- gational Church, good Christian people who bore the esteem and respect of their many acquaint- ances. In politics he was a Democrat, but later became identified with the Republican party.

. James S. Sherwood was reared on the home- stead, where he remained working on the farm in the summer season, and attending the neigh- boring district schools through the winters until sixteen years of age. He then for a period at- tended the schools at Westport, later taught school during the winter and farmed in summer for some ten years. Next he taught at Sauga- tuck for about the same length of time. After this he settled on the farm where he now re- sides and has since been occupied in farming. During the Civil war, inspired by that patriotism that led thousands of brave boys to sacrifice home and loved ones to answer their country's call, many never to return, young Sherwood en- tered the Union army, enlisting in August, 1862, as a private in Company C, 28th Conn. V. 1., and served one year. His company and regi- ment formed a part of General Banks' division, and he shared the glory of his company, coming home with an honorable war record. He has a nice little farm of some twenty acres where he resides, and about the same number in the north- ern part of the town. In his political views he is an Independent. For four years he was a member of the school board of the town, his long years of teaching making him exceptionally well qualified for the position. Socially, he is a member of the G. A. R.

On April 5, 1876, Mr. Sherwood was mar- ried to Melissa Hull, a daughter of William Hull, of the town of Westport. The marriage was blessed with four children, namely: Edward ]. is now a student of Yale College; Minnie M. is at Normal College; and Henry M. and Sadie are still attending school. The mother of these children died November 1, 1897. She was an amiable woman, greatly esteemed.

T HOMAS F. FAY was born in Danbury. Conn .. March 4. 1848, the eldest son of John and Margaret Fay. His father had en- listed in Company A, Eleventh Connecticut Vol- enteer Infantry. and was killed at the battle of Cold Harbor. Mr. Fay learned the hatter's trade, and in 1879 entered the firm of Beckerle & Co. As a member of this firm, he is best known to Danburians.

In December, 1875, Mr. Fay married Miss Sara McConnell, who died February 5, 1884. There were five children by this marriage, four of whom

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-M. Josephine, Edward R., John N. and Anna S .- are now living. Thomas, the youngest, died in 1889 at the age of five years.

Mr. Fay was a man of singular gentleness of disposition. He never entered public life, al- though frequently urged to do so. He was a member of the Hat Manufacturers Association, and his death was the first to occur among the members of that organization, which was then about ten years old. He died June 25, 1892, after a brief illness.

AIT AND SONS PAPER COMPANY, of Bridgeport. Industry puts an entirely new face upon the productions of nature. By labor man has subjugated the world, reduced it to his dominion and clothed the earth with a new gar- ment. The first rude plow that man thrust into the soil; the first rude axe of stone with which he felled the forest trees; the first rude canoe scooped by him from some pine trunk to cross the river and reach the greener fields beyond, were each the outcome of a human faculty which brought within his reach some physical comfort he had never enjoyed before. Material things became subject to the influence of labor, not the least among which we are reminded that from the flax plant man draws its fibres and makes him linen and cambric; from the cotton pod he fabricates fustians, dimities, calicoes, etc. From the rags of these, or from weeds, the shavings of wood, or from straw he makes paper, card- board, strawboard, etc., in which latter connec- tion it is with pleasure we turn to the steam and air-dried strawboard manufacturing industry, in Bridgeport, known far and wide as the Tait & Sons Paper Company.

Andrew Tait, the founder of this industry, was born January 27, 1799, near Edinburgh, Scotland, and was descended trom a long line of paper makers. He served his full time (seven years) as an apprentice at that employment, and in 1820 he came to this country, first locating in Morris county, N. J. Here he worked about one year at his trade, then moved to Hartford, after which we find him in various places till his marriage, in 1822. He then settled in Trumbull, Fairfield county, where, as superintendent for D. & P. N. Fairchild, paper manufacturers, he built their mill and set it in operation. With this firm he remained but a short time, however, and on leaving their employ he commenced busi- ness in a small way at Trumbull Center, mar- bling paper for bookbinders' use; but in 1856 he erected in Trumbull what is known as Tait's

Mills, and embarked in the box-board or straw- board manufacturing industry.

Andrew Tait was married June 14, 1822, to Miss Bella Ronaldson, who crossed the ocean alone from Scotland, to wed her old sweetheart. the voyage occupying six weeks and four days. The issue of this union was as follows: Nancy, wife of Plumb Hoyt, of New York; William, a sketch of whom follows; Mary E., wife of J. M. Prindle, of Bridgeport; John, a physician in Meriden, Conn .; Bella, who died in 1851; and Fannie. The father of these was called from earth January 27, 1891, the mother on May 22, 1875. They were members for many years of the Congregational Church at Trumbull; in poli- tics he was originally a Whig, later a Repub- lican, and for several terms he served as town clerk. On the occasion of the golden wedding of this honored pioneer couple a large concourse of relatives and friends assembled at the Tait man- sion in Trumbull, bringing with them congratula- tions and kind wishes as well as valuable and use- ful gifts. Mr. Tait's business career was marked by industry, frugality and the integrity of an up- right Christian man.

WILLIAM TAIT, the eldest son of Andrew and Isabella Tait, was born May 29, 1824, in Scot- land, Hartford county, Conn., being a child when brought from there to Trumbull. In the latter place he received his education, learning the paper-making business with his father. In 1848 he went to California, but after a couple of years returned to Trumbull and en- tered into partnership with his father, who withdrew from the business in 1872, William F. Tait (son of William) becoming a member of the firm. They continued to carry on the business in Trumbull until 1895, in which year they removed it to Bridgeport, or rather North Bridge- port, where they have since remained. The firm is now know as The Tait & Sons Paper Company, the firm consisting of William Tait, president; William F. Tait, treasurer; Andrew Tait, secretary; and the product of the mills is chiefly steam and air-dried straw board. At the present time (1899) they are making only box board. William Tait was married May 31, 1848, at Milford, Conn., to Miss Grace Camp, who was born September 4, 1831, at Milford, Conn., and five children have graced their union, to wit: Isabella R., wife of E. M. Goulden, of Stratford, Conn .; William F., sketch of whom follows; Andrew (1), who died at the age of two years; Andrew (2), who is spoken more fully of later on; and Elizabeth, wife of Frank Plumb, by whom she had three children-Ethel and Virgil (both now deceased) and Verna. The parents

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of this family were members of the Congrega- tional Church at Trumbull. Mr. Tait enlisted during the war of the Rebellion in Company D (Captain Hall's company), 23d Conn. V. I., in which he served as corporal. Subsequently he was orderly sergeant of Company C. 4th Regi- ment Conn. N. G. He is now a member of Elias Howe, Jr., Post, G. A. R., at Bridgeport.

WILLIAM FRANKLIN TAIT was born October 27, 1852, in Trumbull, where at the pub- lic schools he received his primary educa- tion, later attending a private academy at Stratford. On June 6, 1876, he was married in Huntington, to Miss Mary, daughter of Lyman Lattin, of Huntington, Litchfield county, and by this union there was one child, Mary Frances, born January 16, 1878, whose mother died on the third of the following month. On September 26, 1883, at St. Paul's Church, Bridgeport, Conn., William F. Tait wedded Miss Laura Frances Morris, of Bridgeport, daughter of William and Mary Louise Morris. Issue: Morris William, who was born July 31, 1893, and died July 14, 1894. and Natalie Crosby, born February 13, 1898, yet living. Mr. and Mrs. Tait are mem- bers of Olivet Congregational Church at Bridge- port, of which he is a deacon.

Andrew Tait, junior member of the firm, was born September 21. 1866, in Trumbull. In early life he attended the public schools in Trumbull, later taking a course of study at the Park Avenue Institute in Bridgeport. On October 9, 1889, at Fairfield, Conn., he married Miss Laura Wilson, who was born April 15, 1868, and three children grace their union, whose names and dates of birth are as follows: Eloise Wilson, February 24, 1892 ; Andrew Clifford, April 4. 1895; and Grace Elizabeth, August 25, 1897. Mr. and Mrs. Tait are members of Olivet Congregational Church at Bridgeport.

D ANIEL SMITH MEAD. This venerable and respected resident of Greenwich, who is now nearing his ninth decade with physical strength and mental faculties well preserved, is a man who does credit to his hardy pioneer ancestry. "Smith Mead," as he is generally called, has never sought notoriety. his quiet and unassuming disposition making public life uncongenial; but he holds a high place in the esteem of all classes in the community. His popularity is based upon his sterling qualities of character, and among the traits which have contributed thereto is his life- long habit of minding his own business.

Mr. Mead was born April 9, 1811, in the town of Greenwich, where his ancestors were

early settlers. John Mead [other authorities say William], head of the family, came from Eng- land in 1642 [other authorities say 1635], and his son John, after remaining for a few years in Mass- achusetts and at Hempstead, L. I., located per- manently at Greenwich, in 1660. The line of descent is thus traced through John, son of the pioneer, Ebenezer (1). Ebenezer (2), Jared, our subject's grandfather, and Daniel S. Mead, Sr., the father of our subject. Ebenezer Mead (2) married Hannah Brown, and had twelve children -eleven sons and one daughter. Jared Mead, the grandfather of our subject, was born De- cember 15, 1738, the eleventh child and tenth son of Ebenezer (2), and his death occurred in May, 1832, when he was ninety-three years of age. Throughout his life he followed farming in Greenwich township, where he was popular with all classes, being familiarly known far and near as " Uncle Jared." He married Lydia Smith, and had the following children: Zetta, Daniel S., Lydia, Alma, Hannah (who married Deacon Jonas Mead), Jared and Alvan.

Daniel S. Mead, our subject's father, was. born November 20, 1778, at the old homestead in Greenwich township, where he passed his life in agricultural pursuits. He was of medium size, and was not blessed with a strong constitution, his death occurring in 1831 at the comparatively early age of fifty-three years. Politically, he was- an anti-Democrat, and as a citizen he was much esteemed for his uprightness and integrity. His- estimable wife, whose maiden name was Rachel Mead, was a daughter of Joshua Mead and a de- scendant of John Mead, the pioneer. She sur- vived him several years and at her death was in- terred beside him in the cemetery of the Congre- gational Church at Greenwich, of which both had long been active and consistent members. Our subject was the fourth in a family of nine children, the others being Jared, who was acci- dentally killed while captain of his vessel, being run down by a steamer on North river; Edwin, who resides in California; S. Merwin, a farmer in Greenwich township; Miss Zetta, who is de- ceased; Elizabeth, who was married (first) to O. Close, and (second) to David B. Mead; and three who died young.

Our subject was educated in the common schools near his home, his first teacher being Reuben Holmes, a well-known educator of that day. He well remembers the old building, fitted up with rude slab seats, and has always given his hearty approval to any project which would pro- mote the efficiency of the schools and the com- fort of the pupils. As his school days ended be- fore Greenwich Academy was founded, his

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opportunities were limited, but he made the best of them, and an excellent memory has enabled him to gain much information through later reading and observation. During boyhood he became familiar with the details of farm work as the eldest son of a busy farmer, and at twenty years of age he took charge of the homestead on account of his father's death. In 1832 he was married in Greenwich to Miss Huldah Mead, who was born in that town February 5, 1812, the daughter of Ephraim and Azubah Mead. For a few years he continued to reside at the old home with his widowed mother, but he then settled at his present farm on Greenwich avenue, formerly called "Steamboat road." He has made many improvements upon the place, remodeling the house and rebuilding the barn twice, and it is one of the best homesteads in the locality. As the land lies chiefly in a part of Greenwich which has been settling up rapidly of late years, it has increased greatly in value, and although he has sold a large number of building sites, he still owns some desirable land in the town. Among the tracts which he has disposed of is the ground upon which the new school building stands. He has always taken much interest in local affairs, serving at times in minor township offices, and throughout his life he has been an ardent student of national questions, having never missed voting in a Presidential election. In early years he affiliated with the Whig party. but the slavery agitation led him into the Re- publican party, of which he has ever since been a firm supporter. In religious faith he is a Con- gregationalist, as most of his relatives have been from pioneer days.

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Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 72

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