USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut > Part 84
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Lockwood, and had four children-three daugh- ters and one son, our subject. The mother was born January 5, 1803, and died January 11, 1836; the father was born October 26, 1798, and died November 6, 1870.
Mr. Lockwood, who is the only survving mem- ber of his family, was educated in the public schools of Stamford and Greenwich, and in private schools at Norwalk and Westport, this county. In early manhood he engaged in farming at the homestead, and he has since continued that oc- cupation without interruption, being known as .one of the successful agriculturists of the town. In politics he has always been a Democrat, and for many years he has held an influential place in the councils of the local organization. At one time he served as assessor of the town of Stamford.
On May 20, 1861, Mr. Lockwood was mar- ried at Watertown, Ohio, to Miss Mary L. Hen- drie, daughter of Alexander Hendrie, a promi- nent resident of that town, but formerly a resi- dent of Greenwich. No children have blessed this union. The family has always held an en- viable position socially, and Mr. and Mrs. Lock- wood are in sympathy with all movements that promise benefit to the community in which they reside. Fraternally, Mr. Lockwood is a Free- mason.
BENHAM BROTHERS, OF BRIDGEPORT. The name of this well-known firm of con- tractors and builders has long been the synonym for enterprise, and the numerous specimens of their skill which are to be found in different parts of the State afford convincing evidence of their wide reputation. Since the firm was founded, July 8, 1838, a large portion of the best and costliest buildings erected in Bridgeport have been built by them, the list including the South Congregational church, Baptist church, Dr. Hewitt's (Presbyterian) church, and a num- ber of buildings on Water street between Wall and State streets. For some years past the firm have made a practice of buying lots and improving them with blocks of handsome buildings, which they have placed on the market profitably. To name the important buildings constructed by them in Bridgeport and other places would exceed the limits of this sketch. Since 1865 they have de- voted their time largely to their real-estate busi- ness, and, in addition to the buildings sold by them, they have erected others, which are now occupied by fifty tenants. Their success is all the more creditable because they have won it unaided, having begun business without a dollar
of capital. As citizens they have always been held in high esteem, and, while they are not poli- ticians, they have taken keen interest in public affairs, and are stanch supporters of the princi- ples of the Republican party.
The brothers, Julius H. and Junius N. (twins), are natives of Middlebury, Conn., having been born July 8, 1817. In 1824 they removed to Seymour, where they were instructed in the pub- lic schools, and in April, 1834, they located at Bridgeport, where they learned the builder's trade.
Samuel Benham, their grandfather, was a thrifty farmer of Middlebury. Truman Benham, a son of Samuel, was born in Middlebury, Conn., December 4, 1772. In 1824 he removed to Sey- mour, Conn., and in 1845 he settled permanently at Woodbridge, where he died in 1858 at the age of eighty-eight years. His wife, Annie (Scoville), was born in Waterbury, and died in Bridgeport in 1865, aged ninety-six years. This worthy couple had seven children-four daughters and three sons-and were the parents of the founders of the present firm.
JULIUS H. BENHAM was married April 27, 1845, to Miss Mary Thompson (also a twin), who was born at Middlebury, and was the daughter of Eli Thompson; she died in 1884 in Bridgeport, and on December 21, 1886, Mr. Benham mar- ried Miss Mary F. Gilbert, daughter of Horace Gilbert, of Newtown. He had three children, all by the first marriage: (1) John S., and (2) Charles N., both deceased; (3) George T. (now deceased) married Miss Annie Strong, and they had two sons, George T. and Howell P.
JUNIUS N. BENHAM was married May 18, 1843, in Derby, New Haven county, to Miss Elizabeth Ann Curtis, daughter of Capt. Knee- land Curtis, and they had four children: (1) Frank N., cashier. of the Bridgeport National Bank, married Miss Annie Lord, and they had two sons-Herbert (now deceased) and Nelson; (2) Mary C. married John E. Close, of Elizabeth, N. J., and they had five children-Frank N. B., Bertha, Bessie and Jessie (twins) and Junius B .; (3) Hattie, who died in 1888, was the wife of A. L. Foster, of Hartford, Conn .; and (4) Miss Elizabeth is at home.
The brothers are now simply caring for their real estate. Both have been healthy all their lives, having inherited good constitutions and honest and upright principles, which have been the foundation of their business career. Their lives have been temperate and, as a result, they are remarkably well preserved. In size they are almost identical, both being about five feet eleven inches in height, and weighing in the neighbor-
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hood of two hundred pounds. They come of a long-lived race, and, of their father's family, at one time five brothers and sisters were living, the oldest of whom was ninety-four years of age, and the youngest eighty-one.
A UGUSTUS N. REYNOLDS, one of the best of the citizens of the town of Green- wich, and an agriculturist of standing in Fair- field county, is a direct descendant of John Rey- nolds, Whig commissioner and justice of the peace, one of the first settlers of Greenwich (set- tled in 1634), and whose descendants were for over a hundred years among the wealthiest and most influential families of Greenwich.
Ambrose Reynolds, his grandfather, who was a native of Greenwich, was an agriculturist and a resident of the town of Greenwich. His wife was formerly Miss Mary Knapp, and their chil- dren were as follows: Sarah, Ambrose, Joshua, Gideon, Mary, Bertha, Jared, Benjamin and Eunice.
Joshua Reynolds (father of our subject) was born in 1793 in the town of Greenwich. He was reared on his father's farm in a manner not un- like the. general farmer's boy. He was one of eight children, four of them being boys. He married Miss Rachel Reynolds, and they went to housekeeping on the adjoining farm, where he and his brother Ambrose were in partnership, which continued many years. When they ceased working the farm together they divided the place, Joshua taking as his portion the land now occu- pied by our subject, it being land on which Joshua always made his home. He started in life with $600. He and a brother Gideon bought a sloop styled "Tradesman," and in addition to the specialty of raising potatoes themselves, they bought thousands of bushels from others, and the " Tradesman " was used in transporting them to market. As a potato raiser, Joshua was a great success, two thousand bushels being but an ordinary crop. He pos- sessed great business tact and foresight, and being a close figurer, prospered and accumulated a competence. He had the benefit of only a common-school education, but being shrewd and capable, endowments of nature, he soon ac- quired a taste for reading and became a well-in- formed man. He was affable and kind, and although reticent and retiring, he had his opin- ions and was true to his convictions, never afraid to assert himself. He was indulgent to his family, and aided his children in getting started in life. He was a good disciplinarian in the family, and when occasion required it he
could be stern, yet he was never domineering. He and his wife were both of a religious turn of mind, and were members of the Congregational Church. He took an active interest in the Church and was prominent in its work. He was one of the building committee that erected the present edifice at Greenwich. His efforts in all walks of life seemed to be crowned with success. In the later years of his life he speculated con- siderably, giving up farming to his sons. The farm he divided among them, yet held on to the deed, feeling that he himself should be at the helm. His wife, a most estimable woman, died December 25, 1843, at the age of forty-four years. His death occurred September 29, 1866, when he was aged seventy-three years; both were buried in the Episcopal Church cemetery at Greenwich. The children born to this couple were as follows: William Todd died at Stanwich in advanced life; Elthea married Silas M. Mead, of Greenwich, a sketch of whom is given else- where; Rachel Ann, the widow of Ezra B. Knapp, resides at Greenwich; Abram is an agri- culturist of Greenwich; Augustus N. is our sub- ject, and is referred to farther on; Edgar died in New York; and Mary Louise died at the age of fourteen years. These children imbibed the good influence thrown around them by their Christian parents, and all became the best of citizens-men and women who reflect credit on the community in which they have moved.
Augustus N. Reynolds was born June 21, 1834, on the farm on which he now resides on North Street in the town of Greenwich, He at- tended the North Street District school, Deborah and Mary Knapp, of Round Hill, being among his teachers. Later he attended Greenwich Academy, then under the principalship of Phil- ander Button. Young Reynolds was reared on the home farm, and there remained until his marriage, which occurred when he was twenty- eight years of age, when he wedded Miss Martha A. Mills, of Clapboard Ridge, a daughter of Samuel and Maria (Trowbridge) Mills, a sketch of whom will be found elsewhere. They went to housekeeping on the home place, his father having built another house for himself. Our subject, however, has greatly remodeled and im- proved the house and farm buildings generally, made an addition to the dwelling and built a carriage house and barn. The latter burned January 3, 1895, together with some cattle and much of its contents, entailing a great loss. The barn Mr. Reynolds at once rebuilt. He has been mainly through life engaged in general farming; however, he has at different times branched out into other lines. He grows a great
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many apples; also conducts a dairy, wholesaling the milk, keeping from twenty-five to thirty cows, chiefly Holsteins. His farm is an excellent one, comprising some hundred and fifty acres.
To his marriage with Miss Mills were born children as follows: Elbert M., a farmer of Fairfield county, residing on the home farm; Norman T., employed in a broker's office in New York; and Lillie T. and Bertha M., who both died in childhood. The mother of these passed away May 12, 1887, aged fifty years, and lies buried in the Episcopal cemetery at Greenwich. She was a member of the Congregational Church, and a woman who was esteemed by her large circle of acquaintances. Mr. Reynolds has also been identified with that Church, and for years was one of the standing committee. In politics he is a Republican.
W ILLIAM WAKEMAN. A rural life has many charms for a man of culture, and it is a happy fate which permits the retirement to some quiet country home when once the strenu- ous efforts of life's mid-day have passed. The subject of this sketch, who was for many years a prominent educator in Connecticut and New York State, is to be congratulated upon his re- turn to the scenes and associations of farm life, and his able management of his farm in Easton township shows that he has not forgotten the lesson gained by practical work on the old home- stead during boyhood.
Mr. Wakeman is a member of one of the well-known families of this county, his grand- father, Aaron Wakeman, having been a success- ful agriculturist of the town of Weston. This worthy citizen married, and had eight children: Charles, Eli, Aaron B., Moses, Sally, Betsey, and two whose names are not given.
Eli Wakeman, our subject's father, was born in the town of Weston, October 24, 1809, and was reared to farm work. In early manhood be married Miss Delia M. Sherwood, daughter of Jeremiah Sherwood, a prominent resident of the town of Fairfield, and soon afterward he settled upon a farm in that town, where his remaining years were spent, his death occur- ring October 13, 1883. Politically, he was a Democrat, and he took an active part in local affairs, serving as assessor of the town of Fair- field for a number of years. He and his wife, who died January 16, 1879, were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of their eight children, the eldest, Herman, is now a merchant tailor in Bridgeport; Amelia is the widow of Charles Sherman, formerly a farmer in
Easton township; William, our subject, is men- tioned more fully below; Henry is a merchant in Ohio; Elizabeth (deceased) married Moses A. Bulkley, of Weston; Mary (deceased) never mar- ried; Dwight died in childhood; and Eli is in the employ of the Adams Express Company at Bridgeport.
Our subject was born July 12, 1834, at the old homestead in the town of Fairfield, where he grew to manhood. On completing the course offered in the local schools, he attended the academy at Easton, and at an early age he be- gan his professional career by teaching in the dis- trict schools of Weston, Easton, Fairfield and Westport. He then taught for a time in the high school at East Bridgeport, and in 1869 he accepted a position at Rockville Center, Long Island, his work there being so satisfactory that he spent twenty years in that section, taking charge of schools at Rockville Center, Hewlett's and Smithville. In 1882 he returned to this county, and engaged in general farming at his present homestead, which contains seventy-five acres of excellent land. He affiliates with the Democratic party in politics, and since locating in Easton township he has held numerous offices of trust and responsibility, serving at various times as selectman and justice of the peace. His knowledge of educational affairs has also been called into service by his fellow citizens, and for a number of years he has been a member of the local school board. In 1858 he married Miss Eveline J. Meeker, daughter of William Meeker, a highly-esteemed citizen of Westport township. The only child of this union, Georgia A., is now the wife of Charles Jennings, of Southport, Con- necticut.
FREDERICK S. SHELTON, proprietor of a
LIII carriage-painting establishment in Long Hill, town of Trumbull, and tax collector of that town, is a native of Connecticut, having been born December 22, 1834, in the town of Hunt- ington, Fairfield county.
The Shelton family originated in England, and all of that name in this country are believed to be descendants of two brothers, Daniel and Richard, who crossed the Atlantic prior to 1690.
The ancestral home was at Shelton, in the County of Norfolk, England, but the branch of the family to which the two brothers belonged had been identified for some time with Derby- shire. Richard Shelton settled in Virginia, and his 'descendants are now numerous in the Southern States, the name having been changed, however, in some instances to Chilton. . Daniel
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located in Stratford, this county, at a place known as Long Hill, while he also owned large tracts of land in Stamford, Farmington, Oxford, Woodbury, Derby, and Waterbury, Conn. His name appears among those of the earliest churchmen of Stratford, which then included Huntington, and next to the head of the list of those who petitioned the Bishop of London, in 1707, to aid them against some rigid Presby- terians and Independents who had threatened serious trouble to the petitioners because of the visit to the town of Stratford of a Church missionary who had conducted service and administered the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. The petition requested the bishop to send over as a missionary "an exemplary man in conversation, fluent in preach- ing, and able in disputation, that he might silence the cavils of the enemy." It is also recorded that in 1722 sixteen Episcopalians, inhabitants of the town of Ripton (now Hunt- ington), addressed a paper to the secretary of the Society for the Propogation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, asking for a pastor of their own or for stated supplies every third Sunday from the ministers settled in Stratford and New Haven. "We are emboldened to hope this," say the petitioners, "both because we design to set apart a glebe for our spiritual guide when he comes, and also because we suffer great persecu- tion for the Church's sake from those who have the Civil power here, and have made that a handle to grasp the Ecclesiastical." The second signature to this document is that of Daniel Shelton, who did not live to see a Church established at Ripton, while the fifteenth name is undoubtedly that of his son, Joseph, then a young man of twenty-four. In 1709, Daniel Shelton suffered imprisonment for his devotion to the Church of England, and we take the account as given in the Documentary History of Connecticut, as follows: "They, the Inde- pendents, still persisted with vigor to continue their persecution, and seized the body of Daniel Shelton at his habitation or farm, being about eight miles distant from the town, hurrying him away towards the town in order to carry him to the county gaol. Passing by a house he re- quested of them that he might go in and warm him and take some refreshments, which was granted; they, however, being in a hurry, bid him come along, but he desiring a little longer time, they barbarously laid violent hands upon his person and flung his body across a horse's back, and called for ropes to tie him upon the horse ; to the truth of which several persons can give their testimony and are ready when thereon
to be called; and having brought him to the town they immediately seized the bodies of William Rowlinson and Archibald Dunlap, and carried them all three to the county gaol, it being the 16th day of January, 1709, and there con- fined them until such time as they disbursed such sums of money as the gaoler demanded of them, which money was last in the hands of the Lieutenant Governor, Nathaniel Gould, Esq., he promising them that the next General Court should hear and determine the matter, and that the money left in his hands should be disposed of as the court should order; and they were at pre- sent released, being the 17th day of the same in- stant." Daniel Shelton died in January, 1728, aged about sixty years. He was married April 4, 1692, to Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Welles, of Wethersfield, Conn., and grandaughter of Hon. Thomas Welles, one of the early governors of the Commonwealth. Nine children were born of this marriage: Elizabeth, Sarah, Joseph, Daniel, Thaddeus, Samuel, James, John and Josiah.
Samuel Shelton, through whom is traced the line of descent in which we are now particularly interested, married Abigail, daughter of Philo and Mehitable Nichol, and had fourteen children: Mary, Daniel, Samuel, Elizabeth, David, Abi- gail, Joseph, Andrew, Sarah, Ann, Josiah, Philo, Isaac Welles and Agur.
Daniel Shelton, the great-grandfather of our subject, married in 1760 Mehitable Shelton, daughter of Daniel Shelton, Jr., and Mary (Hub- bell) Shelton, and they had seven children: Jane, Elizabeth, Susannah, Samuel Frederick, Elijah Daniel, Avis Newton and Isaac.
Samuel Frederick Shelton, the grandfather of our subject, married Eunice Hannah Curtiss, and had six children: Samuel Daniel, Judson Curtiss, Juline, Sally, Hannah Maria and Abigail Avis.
Judson Curtiss Shelton, our subject's father, married Miss Hannah Lewis.
Frederick S. Shelton, the subject proper of these lines, passed his boyhood at Booth's Hill, town of Huntington, attending the public schools of the locality. At Nichols, in the town of Trum- bull, he was apprenticed to the trade of carriage painter, serving his time with the Nichols-Peck Company, remaining in their employ until 1890, in which year he commenced the business for his own account at Long Hill, where he has since made his home.
On May 6, 1857, Mr. Shelton was married in Stratford, Fairfield county, to Miss Ann Elizabeth Peck, who died in 1874, leaving one child, Jen- nie E. For his second wife Mr. Shelton wedded, November 21, 1877, Miss Sarah French. They are
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members of the M. E. Church. Socially, our subject is affiliated with the United American Mechanics at Long Hill; the Trumbull Grange; and the Good Templars. In his political predi- lections he is an uncompromising Republican, is a member of the town school committee, and at present is serving as town tax collector. As a useful and loyal citizen he has the respect and esteem of all who know him.
ILBERT. The family of this name have long been established in Connecticut, and none stands higher for respectability and probity.
Seth Gilbert, a cooper by trade, was known to have lived in Newtown at an early day, and died in Weston while passing his declining years with his daughter, Mrs. Obadiah Wheeler. He married Jane Gray, of Redding, and by her had nine sons and one daughter. One of the sons, Ichabod, a carpenter and chairmaker by trade, was also a resident of Newtown. He married Tamar Rowland, daughter of Jabez and Sarah (Lacey) Rowland, and died August 4, 1857. Their children were: (1) Jabez. (2) Seth, of whom special mention will presently be made. (3) Mary, who married Hiram Cole, and is now deceased. (4) Betsey, who married Preston Dur- ant, and is deceased. (5) Esther, deceased. (6) Eunice, who, October 17, 1839, married Zalmon Whitlock, who was born March 19, 1809, and died February 26, 1892; two children were born to them-Addison Myron, September 19, 1840, married, November 23, 1870, to Mary E. Stur- gess, by whom he had one child, Edith; and Sarah Jane, June 17, 1842.
Seth Gilbert was born in Newtown, Conn., in 1800, attended the district schools and learned the trade of carpenter, which he followed the greater part of his life. He used to walk from his home to Bethel in the morning, do a day's work, and walk back at night. He spent the last twelve years of his life in Bethel. In Red- ding, Conn., he married Nancy Sanford, and their children, seven in number, were: Eliza A., married to Edwin Stone, of Bethel. Esther Jane, who married (first) Andrus Rusco (she had one child, Malvina); Aaron S. Lacey, her second husband, is now also deceased. Eli W. (sketch of whom follows). Philo. Julia M., wife of Horace Wheeler, of Bethel. Fannie, who died at the age of sixteen years. Henry A., a resi- dent of Bethel. Seth Gilbert was a Whig in his political affiliations, and he was a member of the Episcopal Church at Redding.
ELI W. GILBERT was born October 1, 1834, in Newtown, Conn., and when twelve years old
was taken to live with his granduncle, Philo Gil- bert, at Stepney. There he remained until he was fifteen years old, after which he worked on a farm at Redding for a year; then on one in Newtown. In the fall of 1851 he began to learn carpentry with Thomas L. Sanford, of Redding, and in the following year came with Mr. Sanford to Bethel, remaining in his employ till 1854. During the next season he worked near Brewster, N. Y., for a time, returning to Bethel, and in 1858 he commenced the carpentry business under the firm name of E. W. & P. Gilbert, which part- nership existed until 1870, when Henry A. Gil- bert was admitted as a partner, the firm name being changed to Gilbert Bros. In that year they built a planing-mill, which was burned in March, 1878, after which the firm put up their present mill. They carry on a lumber yard as well as the planing-mill, and do all kinds of contract work. In 1890 Henry A. retired from the firm, and his son William became a partner.
In 1859, at Bethel, Conn., Eli W. Gilbert was married to Samantha M. Hoyt, daughter of Eli Hoyt, of Bethel, and a daughter was born to them: Ida J., who married Fred J. Mckenzie, and had issue-Harvey G. and Daisy L .; the mother of these died at the age of twenty-six, and the children are now living with Eli W. Gilbert. Our subject is a member and trustee of the M. E. Church at Bethel. He has been a lifelong Democrat, and has served as selectman, justice of the peace, grand juryman, assessor, warden of the borough, and water commissioner (seven years). He commenced business on a small scale, and has steadily increased it until it is now one of the best of the kind in the county.
HENRY A. GILBERT, brother of Eli W., was born in the town of Newtown, Fairfield Co., Conn., July 25, 1846, and attended school at Newtown, Redding and Bethel. In 1862, at the age of sixteen, he enlisted in the 23rd Conn. V. I. The mustering officer refused to take him, but the captain interceded for him, and after showing his strength by lifting Capt. Sam Bailey, who weighed 240 pounds, he was accepted. Aft- er serving in that regiment one year, he re- enlisted, this time in the 2nd Rhode Island Cavalry. At Thibodaux, La., he was wounded, taken prisoner, paroled, and turned over to the Union lines at Donaldsonville, whence he was sent to Ship Island and from there to hospital at New Orleans. In September, 1863, he was sent home with his old regiment.
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