Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut, Part 95

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 95


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).


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A NDREW P. WAKEMAN, of Fairfield town- ship, is one of the most influential and pub- lic-spirited citizens of Fairfield county, worthily representing a family which has held a promi- nent place in this section from pioneer days. He is of the seventh generation in direct descent from John Wakeman, one of the founders of the New Haven colony, from whom nearly all of the Wakemans in the United States trace their lin- eage. Robert Peel Wakeman, of Southport, is now compiling a genealogy of the family; a task which has already occupied more than a quarter of a century, and from him we have obtained the following brief but interesting account:


(I) John Wakeman was born March 29, 1601, in Bewdley, Worcestershire, England, and came


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to America in the spring of 1640. He became a leading spirit in the New Haven colony, serving as its treasurer for a time, and his death oc- curred at Hartford in 1661. On January 28, 1629, he was married in England to Miss Eliza- beth Hopkins, daughter of William Hopkins, a member of the famous "Long Parliament." She died in 1658, having four children: John, Helena, Samuel and Elizabeth.


(II) Rev. Samuel Wakeman was born June 7, 1635, and died March 8, 1692. He was the first of the family to locate in Fairfield township, where he was active and influential as a citizen. He married Hannah Goodyear, daughter of Hon. Stephen Goodyear, who served at one time as deputy governor of the colony of Connecticut.


(III) Capt. Joseph Wakeman, son of Rev. Samuel, was born in 1670 and died December 5, 1726. He was married in 1697 or 1698 to Eliz- abeth Hawley, born May 6, 1679, died August 18, 1753.


(IV) Lieut. Samuel Wakeman, son of Cap- tain Joseph, was born in 1713, and died August 15, 1752. He served in the French and Indian war, and in 1745 he was appointed ensign in the First Militia company of Fairfield. He married Ruth -


(V) Capt. Andrew Wakeman, our subject's grandfather, was born December 22, 1745, and died August 22, 1821. During the troubled time preceding the Revolution he served in the Lex- ington Alarm List, and in 1777 he was a conduc- tor of teams for transporting supplies from Con- necticut to the Continental army, having charge of eleven teamsters. In May, 1777, he was ap- pointed lieutenant of the First Company, 4th Connecticut Regiment, later becoming captain. On April 14, 1773, he married his first wife, Hannah Allen, who was born May 13, 1747, daughter of David Allen. She died September 8, 1787, and on June 16, 1791, he married Eunice Smedley, born December 26, 1767, daughter of John and Eunice Smedley, and her death occurred October 5, 1821. By the first marriage there were four children: Sallie, who married Daniel Osborne, and died in Fairfield; Samuel, who died in Fairfield at the age of about fifty-five years; Catherine, who married, and settled in New York State; and Betsey, who died young. The children, two in number, by the second marriage, were Joseph Wakeman (a sketch of whom follows); and Benjamin, who died in Monroe, this county.


(VI) Joseph Wakeman, father of our sub- ject, was born June 12, 1792, and was reared to . the ancestral occupation of agriculture, his resi- dence throughout life being upon a farm which


has now been in the possession of the family for more than one hundred and fifty years. He owned a large tract of land, and was a successful manager, while as a citizen he was greatly esteemed for his excellent qualities of character. For many years he was a leading member of the Congregational Society in his locality, and although he was never an office-seeker, he took keen interest in the political issues of his time, voting regularly with the Democratic party. He died August 15, 1854, and his wife, Sarah Ann (Buckley), survived him many years, her death occurring in 1880. The remains of both now rest in the East cemetery, in Fairfield. Mrs. Sarah Wakeman was born in Fairfield in 1813, a daughter of Henry and Nancy Buckley, and, although her parents removed to New York State during her childhood, they afterward returned to the old home. Our subject was the younger of two children, and his sister, Jane, who died in New Haven, was formerly the wife of B. P. Bacon.


(VII) Andrew P. Wakeman was born January 17, 1738, at the old family homestead, where he still resides. His education was begun in the local schools, a Mr. Morse being one of his ear- liest teachers, and after he had completed the somewhat limited course offered there he attended Fairfield Academy, then conducted by Morris Lyon. When not in school he assisted in the work of the homestead, and his first business ex- perience was gained, while still in his 'teens, as clerk for James W. Beach in a store in Wall street, Bridgeport. He remained there about two years, when the death of his father made it necessary for him to devote his attention to the management of the home farm. In this he was very successful, and even now, although he has turned the active work over to his sons, he keeps a general oversight of the estate. He is a man of the strictest integrity and is a valued citizen, his influence being always cast on the side of progress. For many years he has been promi- nent in the local Democratic organization, his advice being sought in the party councils, and at various times he has served in positions of honor and trust. He has served his township as first selectman for four consecutive years; was chair- man of the board of education two years, and held minor offices of various kinds. In 1881, 1884 and 1885 he represented his town in the State Legislature, and in this important position, as in all others, he served with conspicuous abil- ity. He and his family are identified with the Congregational Church at Fairfield, in which they are active workers; he is at present serving as deacon, and he was also chorister for nearly twenty years.


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On May 15, 1861, Mr. Wakeman married Miss Cornelia K. Burr, daughter of Eben and Hannah Burr, and a descendant of the well- known Burr family of this county, her ancestors having located here about 250 years ago. Nine children, two dying in childhood, have blessed this union, the others being: Jennie is the de- ceased wife of William D. Aiken, of Putnam, N. Y .; Samuel B. resides in Fairfield township, and is mentioned more fully elsewhere; Andrew S. is a farmer of Fairfield township: Bacon is an attorney in Bridgeport; and J. Howard, Florence C. and Emma F. are at home.


DANIEL E. MARSH. The American nation will ever hold in grateful memory the names of those whose courage and devotion put down the Rebellion, and established, beyond question, the indivisibility of the United States. Among the brave men who went down from this State, in response to the call of the government, was this well-known resident of Bridgeport, who made an honorable record for gallantry, serving throughout the entire struggle.


Mr. Marsh was born June 16, 1839, in New Milford, Litchfield Co., Conn., and is a lineal descendant of William Marsh, who emigrated to this country from Kent, England, in 1642, and served as commissary in King Philip's war, being wounded in the fight with the Narragansetts at Stonington, Conn. Wanzer Marsh, our subject's grandfather, was born at New Milford, and passed his life there in agricultural pursuits. John B. Marsh, the father of our subject, was also a na- tive of that place, and, like his father, followed farming through life. He died in February, 1867; his wife Laura (Hine), a native of North- ville, Litchfield county, passed away in 1882. Of their nine children, five are now living: Clark, a retired resident of Bridgeport; Daniel E., our subject; Helen, wife of James A. Cook, of Brook- lyn, N. Y .; Lucy, widow of the late J. S. Tur- rell, an attorney of New Milford; and Francis W., a member of the banking firm of Marsh, Merwin & Lemmon, of Bridgeport.


During his boyhood Daniel E. Marsh attended the schools of New Milford and Watertown, Conn., and at the age of twenty-two he enlisted in the 19th Conn. V. I. Soon afterward the regiment was transferred to the 2d Conn. Heavy Artillery, and assigned to service in the Sixth Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. For some time he was stationed at the fortifica- tions at Washington, D. C., and later he did some severe fighting with Grant in the Wilder- ness, and with Sheridan in the Shenandoah Val-


ley, Va., being wounded at the battle of Win- chester or Opequan. He remained in the service until peace was re-established, and was mustered out August 18, 1865. On the very next day he entered the employ of his brother Clark, and about a year later became his partner, they being contractors for the Wheeler & Wilson Manu- facturing Company, with whom he continued in that capacity until 1896, when he was given gen- eral supervision of certain details of work in all parts of the factory. Thirty-three years of busi- ness life in connection with such a firm is, of it- self, an evidence of worth and uprightness, and one is not surprised to learn that Mr. Marsh has been chosen to positions of importance in social, religious and philanthropic movements. Bridge- port has a very flourishing Y. M. C. A. of nearly one thousand members, with a building costing $150,000, of which Mr. Marsh was a charter member, vice-president, member of the building committee and for many years director. He has been a member of the Park Street Congregational Church ever since its organization in 1871, and for four years was superintendent of its Sunday- school of more than six hundred members. He also belongs to the Loyal Legion N. Y. Com- mandery, and to the G. A. R., Post Elias Howe, Jr., Bridgeport. Conn. Politically he is a Re- publican, and for three years he was a member of the Board of Apportionment at Bridgeport.


On May 23, 1866, Mr. Marsh married Miss Sarah F. Merwin, daughter of Hon. Horace Mer- win, of New Milford. Two sons were born to them: Arthur M. and Egbert, both of whom are graduates of Yale University (classes of '92 and '95 S. respectively), and are regarded as ranking high among the promising young men of Bridge- port. Arthur M., not married, makes his home with his parents; Egbert, who also resides at Bridgeport, married October 14, 1896, Miss Lucy J. Catlin, of Bridgeport.


W ILLIAM G. HARD, a successful agricult- urist of Zoar District, Newtown town- ship, enjoys the distinction of occupying the homestead which three generations of his family have owned and cultivated, his grandfather, Cy- rus Hard, who was born in April, 1773, having made his home there after his marriage to Abi- gail Curtis. Their family consisted of two sons- William and Amos-and one daughter-Sophia.


The late Amos Hard, our subject's father, was born August 13, 1809, at the homestead, and, being the only survivor of the family at his father's death, inherited the property. He was a man of excellent judgment and fine business


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sagacity, and became one of the leading farmers of Zoar District, Newtown. The farm comprised about one hundred and seventy-five acres, and its care occupied his entire attention throughout his lifetime. He was never an office-seeker, but he took much interest as a citizen in public ques- tions, being in his party affiliations a stanch Republican. For many years he was a promi- nent member of Trinity Episcopal Church in Newtown. On November 29, 1832, he married Miss Mariette Camp, daughter of Silas Camp, and they had two children: Elizabeth, born July 28, 1837, died March 25, 1844; William Gould, our subject, is mentioned more fully below. The mother of these passed away February 17, 1847, aged thirty-two years, six months. and on March 6, 1849, Mr. Hard wedded Miss Catharine Lake, daughter of Philo Lake; she died April 4, 1882, aged fifty-seven years. To this union came one son, Chester, born September 26, 1852, who is now living in Ohio.


Our subject was born May 21, 1840, and was reared in the town of Newtown, receiving a fair education for that time in the district schools and in Newtown Academy, then under the control of John H. French and J. E. Goodhue; he also at- tended the Connecticut State Normal School, at New Britain, for one term. Having made good use of his opportunities, he was, at the age of seventeen, qualified to teach, and he followed that profession successfully for some time at Botsford's Hill, Gray's Plain, and in Taunton District, Newtown, where he was engaged one year. Later he took up farming and spent a few summers in working for D. J. Lake in the map business, the territory he traveled over including Ohio, Michigan, Maryland and Pennsylvania. In 1870 he gave up this line of work and settled down to farming in Taunton District, where he remained until 1887, and he has since been re- siding at the old homestead.


Mr. Hard's first wife, Miss Sarah E. Erwin, was a daughter of Dr. Erastus Erwin, a well- known physician of Newtown. She died Decem- ber 16, 1868, and on January 6, 1875, he mar- ried Miss Sarah E. Camp, daughter of Hiram and Eliza Camp, prominent residents of Taunton District. He has had three children, all by the first marriage, viz .: Katie Nichols died in child- hood; Charlotte is the wife of James B. Bedient, a merchant of Wilton, this county; and William died in infancy. In religious connections Mr. Hard is a member of St. John's Episcopal Church at Sandy Hook. He has always shown sympa- thy with any movement which in his opinion was likely to benefit the community, but he has not taken an active part in local affairs of a


political nature. He votes the Republican ticket, and holds decided convictions upon all the ques- tions of the day.


TACOB ARNOLD is one of the best-known business men of Bridgeport, as manufacturer of cigars, wholesale and retail dealer in to- bacco, and direct importer of Havana tobacco from the port of Havana to the port of Bridge- port. Mr. Arnold now enjoys a large, well- established and lucrative patronage, which he has won by his own efforts, and it is an evidence of his superior business ability and stamen that he has passed successfully through several finan- cial crises, and that no one of his creditors is a dollar the loser on any of his accounts. Call it sterling integrity, or only business sagacity, Mr. Arnold has a reputation that is an honor to him- self and a comfort to all the admirers of the old school of mercantile fidelity.


And yet Mr. Arnold is not indigenous to this soil. He is one of those freedom-loving spirits who left a fatherland and all its ties to breathe a freer atmosphere, and to struggle for a livelihood among strangers-even to battle in warfare for the country of his adoption. He was born in Ger- many, October 11, 1841, a son of Philip and Margaretta (Ruffer) Arnold. Philip Arnold was a son of a German soldier, who was mortally wounded in the battle of Leipsic, though he lingered some time before death. Mr. Arnold's mother was the daughter of Jacob Ruffer, and died in Germany in 1850, survived by her hus- band and four children: Philipine, wife of Charles Eberle, a retired baker, who now lives in Mt. Vernon, N. Y .; Caroline, who married Henry Helwick, a builder at Mt. Vernon, N. Y., and is now deceased; Lena, who died in Germany; and Jacob, the subject of this sketch. In 1852 the father, who was a gardener by occupation, came to this country with his son Jacob, Philipine fol- lowing in 1857 and Caroline in 1871. At this time Jacob was only eleven years old, but when they reached New York he found employment with Powell Orth, a tobacconist at No. 113 West Broadway, that city, and, with the commend- able pertinacity for which his race is noted, he clung to the trade which he thus adopted on the new continent. There was one interruption: On April 23. 1861, he enlisted in the Ist Conn. V. I., Company B, Capt. John Spidell, in the three-months' service, serving ninety-nine days, and was honorably discharged at New Haven, Conn., July 31, 1861. His father, Philip Arnold, also became a soldier, enlisting in Company B, 132d N. Y. V. I., August 25, 1862, for three


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years, and was honorably discharged June 21, 1865.


After returning from the army, Jacob, then in his twentieth year, entered the large shop of Thomas Russell & Co., where he soon became foreman, remaining until 1864; then, after work- ing for a year as journeyman for George Warner at New Haven, Mr. Arnold, in 1865, started in business for himself at Bridgeport, in partnership with Antonio Kern, under the firm-name of Arnold & Kern. Six months later Mr. Arnold purchased the interest of his partner and formed a new business alliance with Rudolph Kost, under the name of Arnold & Kost, at No. 1 Bank street. A year later the property was partially destroyed by fire, and the remnant of the stock was sold to Nelson Davidson.


Mr. Arnold's experience was now sufficiently wide and varied to warrant him in engaging in business alone. The name Jacob Arnold ap- peared as a business house at No. 57 Water street, and several years later was transferred to his present address, Nos. 311-313 Water street, where he had previously purchased property. Here Mr. Arnold has been successfully conduct- ing business for the past thirty-three years. He has not only built up a large local trade, but one which extends through several States. In nation- al politics he is a Republican, but locally he is independent. Socially he is a member of St. John's Lodge No. 3, F. & A. M., at Bridgeport, and of Elias Howe Post No. 3. G. A. R. He is an active member of the Bridgeport Board of Trade, is an honorary member of the Turnverein of his city. and is associated with the German Workingmen's Benevolent Society.


On May 16, 1862, Mr. Arnold married Caro- line Wiggins, daughter of Henry and Caroline (Cook) Wiggins, and nine children have been born to them: Amelia (deceased). Philip (de- ceased), Louise (deceased), William Augustus, Henry, Edward (deceased), George (deceased), Charles, and Jacob (deceased). William Au- gustus and Charles are in the tobacco business with their father.


ON. WILLIAM HENRY GLOVER is one of the leading citizens of Newtown, and has been chosen by his fellow-townsmen to many positions of public trust, which he has filled with marked ability and faithfulness. He is a native of the town, having been born at the old family homestead near Newtown, on January 15, 1840, and he is a member of an old Colonial family. being a direct descendant of Henry Glover, of England, who landed in Boston in 1636, and be-


came an early settler at New Haven. The family name has always been associated with good citizenship, and Capt. Solomon Glover, our sub- ject's great-grandfather, was a prominent resi- dent of Newtown in his day, wielding much in- fluence in local affairs and in religious work; he built the old town hall for use as a church for the Universalist Society.


Norman Booth Glover, our subject's father, was born January 22, 1807. in Hanover Dis- trict, of the town of Newtown, and became a prosperous agriculturist of that locality, owning a farm of more than two hundred acres. He possessed the industry and thrift characteristic of the family, and was known as one of the sub- stantial men of the town, but he never gave much attention to public affairs, the only office he held being that of member of the board of relief; he also served as grand juror. In his early years he was a Whig, but after the passage of the Maine law he became a Democrat. In religious faith he was an Episcopalian, and for many years he was an active worker in the Church. In 1833, he married, for his first wife, Esther M. Hawley, who died in 1842, and he afterward formed a second matrimonial union, with Amelia Gilbert. His death occurred in 1889. By his first marriage he had four children: Booth Fayette, born April 1, 1834, is a success- ful commission merchant in New Orleans; Ed- ward Leroy, born in June, 1836, was a hatter by occupation, and died in Danbury some years ago; Miss Mary Sophia, born November 10. 1838, died in New Orleans in 1865, and William Henry, our subject, is mentioned more fully be- low. By the second marriage there was one daughter, Julia Frances, born in 1850, who mar- ried Henry L. Beers and died in 1880.


William H. Glover acquired his education in the district schools near his old home and in the Newtown Academy, under the instruction of Professors French, Frost and Goodhue, and as he has always been a reader of current literature he has kept well informed upon the questions of the time. When about sixteen years old he left school, and until he reached the age of twenty- three he remained at home. In 1864 he married Miss Elizabeth G. Bartram, of New Milford, Litchfield county, and soon engaged in farming on his own account in his native district, pur- chasing a farm from his uncle, Granville S. Glo- ver. Two years later he bought a half-interest in his father's farm, which consisted of more than two hundred acres of choice land; but after residing there four years he sold his interest to his wife's father and removed to the village of Newtown. While there he followed various call-


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ings, and for some time held the office of town collector, but in 1872 he purchased a farm south of Sandy Hook and engaged in raising tobacco, in which he was very successful, his crops being valued sometimes at three or four hundred dol- lars a year. He spent about eight years in this occupation, and then sold the property, moving back to Newtown, where he has since resided.


From an early age Mr. Glover has been in- terested in politics, and for year she has been re- garded as one of the chief workers in the local Democratic organization. In the spring of 1871 he was chosen to represent his town in the State Legislature, and so well did he discharge his duties that in 1882 he was again elected to that position. From 1876 to 1879 he held the post of deputy sheriff under appointment from Aaron Sanford, and he was later appointed by Sheriff Swartz in 1883, and Sheriff Clarkson in 1886 and 1889, holding the office in all for fourteen years. In the fall of 1888 he was elected first selectman, a position to which he has been annually re- elected for twelve years, and he is serving as such at present. For many years he has been chair- man of the town committee of his party. In 1880 he was made census taker by appointment from William E. Disbrow, of Bridgeport, and in fact it would be difficult to enumerate all the lines of public service in which he has taken an act- ive part. As selectman he has done much for the welfare of the community, and the improve- ment of the highways has been an object of espec- ial care with him.


Socially Mr. Glover and his family are prom- inent, and he is identified with the Masonic or- der as a member of Hiram Lodge No. 18, F. & A. M., at Sandy Hook. While not a Church member, he was baptized in Trinity Episcopal Church, and is in sympathy with all religious work. His only son, Charles B. Glover, who is now a successful farmer at the old Glover home- stead, married Miss Mary E. Bishop, and has one son, named William H., Jr.


TOHN DURGY, a well-known agriculturist of the town of New Fairfield, is the third of the name to follow that occupation in this county.


John Durgy (1), our subject's grandfather, was born in the northern part of Ireland, and on com- ing to the United States located in what is now the town of New Fairfield, where he engaged in farming. At the beginning of the Revolutionary war he enlisted in the American army, and served throughout the long struggle that followed. His wife, Hannah (Congo), lived to the advanced age


of one hundred and three years. They had seven children, among whom were John, who is men- tioned below; Francis, who married Hannah Wanzer; Marcus; Joel, who married a Miss Wan- zer; and Andrew, who married Huldah Whittock.


John Durgy (2), our subject's father, was born in the town of New Fairfield, and received a common-school education there. At an early age he began farming, and this business was continued successfully during his life. Although he was a stanch Democrat in politics, he neither sought nor held office. In religious work he took an active part as a member of the Methodist Church, and he was quite prominent in the local organization. His first wife, Miss Abbie Osborn, died leaving several children, and he afterward married Miss Maria Monroe, daughter of Eben Monroe, a farmer of near Roxbury, Conn. By the second marriage there were six children: Levi and Eben, who both died in infancy; Chauncy, who married Georgianna Wooster; John, our subject; Alonzo, who married Sylvia Stevens; and Seth, who married Georgianna Wooster.


Our subject was born in 1840 in the town of New Fairfield, where he attended the common schools for some years of his boyhood, and from an early age he has followed agricultural pursuits in that locality. He married Miss Clarinda Wildman, by whom he has had ten children, three of whom died in childhood, the others be- ing Irene, Edrick, Hattie, Nora, Alpheus, Cora and Carrie. Of these, Cora married Charles Treadwell, and has a son, Harvey B .; Carrie married Elmer Pearce, and has a daughter, Annie C .; and Alpheus married Lucy Mosher, and has a daughter, Irene M.




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