USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Commemorative biographical record of New Haven county, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, V. I, Pt 3 > Part 62
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HIRAM JESSE PECK is a leading and influ- ential citizen of Cheshire, where he owns and op- erates a fine farm of seventy-five acres, under a high state of cultivation and well improved with good and substantial buildings. A native of that town, he was born Nov. 3. 1859, and is a worthy representative of one of the most prominent early families of Cheshire. His grandfather Peck was a shoemaker by trade. He married Patty Iver, and to them were born four children: Hiram A., father of Hiram J. ; Sarah, Mrs. Ilall, who died in Water- .bury ; Chauncey, who lived in New York, where his death occurred ; and one that died at the age of four years.
Hiram A. Peck was born in Cheshire. Sept. 9. 1820, and was there reared and educated in much the usual manner of farmer boys of his day. In 1848 he was married to Miss Mary Ann Peck, a . native of Cheshire, and a daughter of Capt. Will-
iam and Marianne ( Atwater) Peck. . Her father was born in the same town, and made his home on the farmi now owned and occupied by our subject. There his death occurred in April, 1884, at the age of ninety-seven years, and his wife died in 1871, aged seventy-nine years. In their family were three children : Matilda, Mrs. Sanford, a resident of New York: William, who died in Cheshire in May, 1899, at the age of eighty years ; and Mary Ann, mother of Hiram J. Peck. After his mar- riage Mr. Peck located on the Waterbury road, at the corner of Peck lane, where he followed farm- ing, and also worked in a button shop in Cheshire, and subsequently in a pin shop at Waterbury. His wife died, leaving one child, Hiram J. For his second wife he married Celia Roberts, who became the mother of Clinton C., Clayton E. and Mary H. He died in Cheshire, Aug. 1, 1876. Mrs. Celia (Roberts) Peck was a native of England, and a daughter of Elijah and Sally Ann Roberts.
Hiram J. Peck received a practical education in the public schools of his native town, and since leaving the school room has devoted his energies to agricultural pursuits. He is. a thrifty and pro- gressive farmer, and is meeting with well-merited success in life. In his political views he is an ardent Republican. Mr. Peck was married in Meriden, in 1893. to Miss Mary Helena Brown, who was born in Berlin, Hartford Co., Conn., a daughter of Charles and Cornelia (Thrasher) Brown. The father died in Meriden in 1891, but the mother is still living, and now makes her home in New Haven. Mr. and Mrs. Hiram J. Peck have an adopted son, born Oct. 1, 1892, who was named Frank Amos.
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HENRY F. SANFORD, for the past fifteen years a faithful and competent employe of the American Ring Co., Waterbury, is a native of that city, born Dec. 16, 1843.
Ruel F. Sanford, his father, was born in the town of Wolcott, Conn., and was a son of Truman Sanford, who was also of Wolcott nativity, and died in Waterbury, Nov. 26, 1856. Henry San- ford, grandfather of Truman, was born in Boston, Mass., a son of Thomas Sanford, who came from England, and was the father of four sons: Nathan. Archibald, Freeman and Henry. Of these, Nathan settled in Plymouth, Archibald in Bethany, and Freeman in Prospect, all in Connecticut, and they were all farmers. Henry, Jr., married Rhoda Per- kins, settled on a farm in Wolcott, reared the fol- lowing named children: Jared, Truman, Joseph, Rhoda, Francis and Tryphena, and died Dec. 25, 1830, aged seventy-eight years.
Truman Sanford, grandfather of our subject, was born in 1782, and died Nov. 26, 1856, aged seventy-four. He married Anna Curtis, who was born in 1780, and died Aug. 24, 1862, aged eiglity- two. The following children were born to them: Tryphena, Maria Ann, Abel Curtis, Rhoda, Marilla,
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Ruel F. and Rufus B. Of these, Tryphena married Julius Buckingham, a farmer of Middlebury, Conn .; Maria Ann married David H. Buckingham, a farmer of Middlebury, Conn .; Abel Curtis mar- ried Elizabeth II. Judd, and was a farmer in South- ington, Conn .; Rhoda married Lambert Russell, and they settled on a farm in Darlington, Wis .; Marilla was the wife of Lyman Smith, a mechanic of Waterbury; Ruel F. was the father of our sub- ject ; Rufus B., a brass caster in Waterbury, mar- ried (first) Elmira Russell, and (second) Ellen Russell, who is yet living.
Ruel F. Sanford married Nancy H. Neal, who was born in Southington, Conn., a daughter of Timothy Neal, a farmer in Cheshire, Conn., and who served in the war of 1812. The Neals were an old settled family in this country. Timothy Neal had three children: Nancy H., Lucinda and Den- nis, and of these, Nancy H. was the mother of our subject ; and Lucinda married Thomas M. Payne, a carpenter of Waterbury; but of Dennis there is nothing now known. To Ruel F. Sanford and his wife were born five children: Henry . F., William M., Ella A., Emma J., and Caroline A. Of these, Henry F. is our subject: William M. is a brass caster in Meriden, Conn .; Ella A. died at the age of twenty-two years; Emma J. is the wife of John Jopson, of Meriden, Conn .; Caroline A. is the wife of Merle C. Coles, of Bridgeport, Conn. The father of this family came to Waterbury when a boy, and followed the trade of brass caster. In politics he was a Whig, later a Republican, and in religious faith he and his wife were Baptists. He died June 3, 1878, at the age of fifty-eight, his wife on April 3, 1897, when she was aged seventy-seven years.
Henry F, Sanford, the subject proper of this memoir, attended the schools of his native city, Waterbury, until he was sixteen years of age, at which time he commenced to learn the brass caster's trade with his father. In August, 1862,. he enlisted in Company A. 23d Conn. V. I .; served in the Banks expedition; was taken prisoner at Bayou Boeuf, La. After being mustered out, Ang. 31, 1863, he returned to Waterbury, and learned the machinist's trade and worked in various manufac- tories, including that of the American Ring Co., where he has been employed for the past fifteen years.
On Dec. 23. 1868, Mr. Sanford married Agnes L. Griffing-Speirs, a native of Scotland, and daugh- ter of Robert and Agnes Speirs, also of the same nativity, and five children were born to them: May L., Bertha A., Elsie M., Henry F., Jr., and Grace E. The mother died Sept. 2. 1899. She was a Baptist in religious faith, member of the First Church, as is also her husband, and he has been. connected with the same over thirty years, and. been clerk for the past sixteen years. In politics he is an active Republican, has been councilman of the First ward two years, also aklerman three years,
and served on the board of health two years. So- cially he is a member of the I. O. O. F., Pacific Lodge, of Meriden, Conn .; of the K. of P., Speed- well Lodge, Waterbury ; and of the G. A. R., Wad- hams Post, No. 49, Waterbury.
SAMUEL HALPER, deceased. The story of this gentleman's life is a record of carly struggles and hard work, crowned with the ultimate success which is the fitting reward of patient industry, earnest purpose and unwavering integrity. He was of the Jewish race, a people which has given to the world more than its full quota of merchant princes, financiers, statesmen and eminent men of science and letters, and which, without a distinctive country of its own, has preserved through centuries its homogeneous national character and religious faith.
Mr. Halper was born in Roumania March 25, 1841. His school days ended when he was twelve years old, and at that early age he went into the world to struggle alone against the vicissitudes and temptations of life. For six years he worked at the jewelry business, and at the age of eighteen engaged in the sale of linen on his own account. After a year so spent he was made overseer of the construction of some macadamized roads, a position which he filled for a considerable time, with credit to himself and satisfaction to his employers. When this employment came to an end he again embarked in mercantile business. In 1867 he resolved to emi- grate to the United States. On reaching this coun- try he invested his slender capital in a stock of small wares, and for a few months carried a peddler's pack upon his back, through Connecticut. Weary- ing of this life, he went to New York City, where he opened a small store in Spring street, for the sale of millinery and fancy goods. This venture did not prove financially as successful as he had hoped. and in 1872 he removed to Seymour, New Haven Co., Conn., where with a cash capital of but seventy dollars, he embarked in similar business. He re- mained in Seymour five years, and in March, 1877, transferred his stock to Derby. His first store in that city was in Main street, nearly opposite the present location of the business, at No. 223, in that thoroughfare. He moved into the latter premises about 1880, and in 1891 purchased the property. which he thoroughly remodeled and greatly im- proved, putting in handsome fixtures, and fitting the store up with such artistic taste and lavish ex- penditure that it is to-day the handsomest and best appointed of its class in the city of Derby. To an extensive line of millinery he added cloaks, and in both these specialties built up a large and re- munerative trade. Besides attending to luis mer- cantile interests, Mr. Halper dealt quite extensively in real estate, investing considerable capital in build- ing and improving. At the time of his death he was a member of the Derby Board of Trade, of which he was one of the organizers. Upright, en-
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Samuel Halfez
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
terprising and public-spirited, he was one of Derby's most highly esteemed citizens. He took a deep interest in educational matters, as well as in the advancement of every enterprise looking to the pub- lic good, and shortly before his death subscribed Stoo toward the founding of a general hospital at Derby, his name heading the list. Had he lived. he would have doubtless brought the undertaking to a successful completion, for he was as zealous and careful in the prosecution of any work into which he entered as he was in business matters. Political- ly Mr. Halper was a Republican. but never sought public office, though at his death he was a member of the board of apportionment and taxation. Fra- ternally he was an Odd Fellow, having become connected with that order in Seymour, and he was . - also a member of a mutual benefit society in New York. He passed away May 22, 1900.
Mr. Halper was twice married, first to Miss Matilda Greenfield. a native of Germany. who died in 1878, leaving one son, Charles J: On March 17, 1879, our subject was united in marriage with Miss Jennie Gottlieb, of New York, and two chil- dren were born to this union, Frances and Joseph . W., the former of whom is a graduate of Derby high school. The beautiful home occupied by the family, on the corner of Anson and Fifth streets, is one of the finest in Derby.
. Charles J. Halper, after finishing the course in the public schools of Derby, entered Yale Business College, from which he was graduated in 1888. Later he took up the study of medicine, intending to adopt the profession. but he abandoned same on his father's death, since which time he has assisted his mother in the management of their extensive interests. During the Spanish-American war he served as a member of the Hospital Corps of the 3d Division, 4th Army Corps.
SYLVANUS ARTHUR SCRANTON, a well- known, prosperous and progressive citizen of the town of Madison, is a native of the same, born May 13, 1852. He. is a member of one of the old- est families of New Haven county, a sketch of which, from the pioneer John down to our sub- ject's great-grandfather Theophilus, will be found in the sketch of Ichabod Lee Scranton elsewhere.
Hubbard Scranton, grandfather of Sylvanus A., was born May 4. 1788, in the town of Madison, a son of Theophilus and Abigail (Lee) Scranton. He was a lifelong farmer of Madison, and during the war of the Rebellion furnished vegetables for the War Department, and ran a coasting line from Madison to Georgetown. D. C. He died in 1876. and was interred in Madison cemetery. On April 25, 1810, he married Elizabeth H. Auger, born Jan. 10, 1792, a daughter of Philemon Auger, of New Haven. Their children : ( 1) Philemon Auger, born Sept. 30, 1812, was a merchant at Augusta. Ga .: he married Elizabeth Lee Starks, a native of Lyme. Conn., and died June 5, 1878. (2) .Abigail, born
Feb. 2, 1815, married Austin Dowd, and died in February, 1873. (3) Parmelia, born July 2, ISI9, married Richard E. Rice and died in March, 1893. (4) Daniel Hubbard, a sketch of whom follows. The mother of these was called from earth in De- cember, 1871.
Daniel Hubbard Seranton, father of Sylvanus A., was born April 26, 1826, and received his edu- cation at the schools of Guilford. All his life he followed farming in the town of Madison, where he was a land owner ; he died there Feb. 28, 1897, and was buried in Madison cemetery. In matters of religion he was a member of the Congregational Church, and in politics he was a stanch Whig and Republican; fraternally he was affiliated with the F. & A. M. lodge of Madison, and with the I. O. O. F.
On Sept. 22, 1847, Daniel H. Scranton was united in marriage with Phebe Ann Shelly, born in Madison, Nov. 20, 1825, a daughter of Sylvanus and Harriet (Loveland) Shelly, the latter of whom was a granddaughter of John Loveland. Children : (1) Rufus Henry, born Dec. 29, 1848, died Jan. 18. 1849: (2) Elbert Newton, born Sept. 16, 1850, died Aug. 1, 1866; (3) Sylvanus Arthur, sketch of whom follows: (4) Elizabeth Harriet, born Nov. 20, 1856, married William H. Golden, of Meriden, Conn .; (5) Austin Dowd, born Feb. 9, 1859; (6) Nellie Rice, born Feb. 12, 1862, married William H. Demorest, of New York.
Sylvanus Arthur Scranton, the subject proper of these lines, attended the district schools of Mad- ison, also Lee's Academy, and at the age of four- teen years commenced clerking in a wholesale and retail grocery store, which position he filled a couple of years. This was in New Haven, Conn., and he then returned home and commenced in the ice business, at first on a small scale, since when, a period of over thirty years, he has been engaged in that line of trade, both wholesale and retail, hav- ing over 3.000 tons of ice stored each winter, and supplying both Madison and East River. He is also engaged in farming. In 1894 he purchased the old Scranton homestead, which was built over forty years ago, and is one of the oldest in Madison.
On Oct. 7, 1879. S. A. Scranton married Rose R. Williams, daughter of Charles Williams, late of Madison, and one child was born to their union, Mande A., a student at Hand's Academy, Madison. In politics Mr. Scranton is a Republican, and in 1898 was elected first selectman of Madison, an office he has filled the past three years with credit to himself and the satisfaction of the people. For seven years he served as deputy sheriff, and for eight years was constable of Madison. In religious faith he and his family attend the services of the Congregational Church.
CHARLES RANDELL LAMB. trustee of the Valesville M. E. Church, and constable for the town of Wallingford, is one of Yalesville's best
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
known and highly respected citizens. Mr. Lamb traces his ancestry to England, and belongs to one of the old and substantial families of Connecticut.
William Lamb was a native of Mystic, and throughout life was a seafaring man, following the business of fishing, and he was one of the most respected citizens of that old Connecticut town.
Sanford Lamb, son of William and father of Charles R., was born in Mystic, Conn., where he was educated in the branches then taught in the district schools. He learned the trade of black- smith and general iron worker. His life was an exemplary one, honest and upright, and he enjoyed the esteem of the community. He was liberal minded ini religious matters, and was noted for his generosity and public spirit. In politics he was an active member of the Whig party. Sanford Lamb was married in Mystic, Conn., to Miss Julia Giant, who died in Medfield, Mass., from heart failure, and was buried at Norwich, Conn. A pious and worthy woman, she was sincerely mourned not only by her devoted family but by a large circle of friends who valued her for her lovely traits of char- acter. Six children were born of this union: Eme- line died at the age of fourteen ; William A., a min- ister in the Congregational Church in Los Angeles, Cal., married Mary Proctor, of Massachusetts; Charles Randell ; John H., a shoe dealer on Washi- ington- street, in Boston, Mass., married Lillian Mayel, of Massachusetts ; Minnie married John H. School, of Medfield, Mass .; and Hattie married Dwight Sanford.
Charles R. Lamb was born in Mystic, Conn., Sept. 28, 1847, and was given good school ad- vantages, attending the higher grades in the schools at Norwich, Conn., where he graduated when only fourteen years old. One year later he removed to Meriden, and immediately found employment in E. Miller's brass works, where he remained for one year. In 1866 he came to Yalesville and entered the spoon factory of G. J. Mix & Co., and in the employ of this firm he continued for twenty-six years, receiving promotions until he became fore- man of his department.
On account of health, Mr. Lamb decided to make a change in his business, and with this end in view, removed to Medfield, Mass., where he opened up a provision and meat store, which he conducted but a short time, and then came back among his old friends in Yalesville and entered the shipping room of the piano stool depart- ment of the Charles Parker Co .. and remained here for eight years, resigning this position to engage in the shoe business as a silent partner with his sons at Leominster, Mass., which business was con- ducted under the firm name of Lamb Bros.
Charles R. Lamb was married in Yalesville, Conn., to Miss Alice MI. Jeralds, who was born in Prospect. Conn .. a daughter of Bennett Jeralds. one of the best-known citizens of Yalesville. Eight children have been born of this union : Eva J., who
married Wallace A. Shipton, of Newton, Mas -. : Wilbur R., who married Annie Farrell, of Hart- ford, and has one child, Wilbur Raymond, Jr .; Charles S., of the shoe firm of Lamb Bros., of Leo- minster, Mass .: Clifton Jeralds, engaged in the piano stool department of the Charles Parker Co .; Roscoe Edward, a bookkeeper: Dexter, in the Parker factory in Yalesville; Mary, who attends high school in Meriden ; and Alice. Both the young ladies are at home, and with their estimable mother are among the most cultivated and intellectual mem- bers of social life in Yalesville.
Mr. Lamb has long been one of the most active members of the Yalesville Methodist Church, and for a number of years has been a trustee and one of the faithful stewards. He was a member of the building committee of the new church, erected in 1899. Not only is Mr. Lamb prominent in church matters, but he has been conspicuous in public at- fairs, and has been selectman, grand juror, and for twelve years has been the efficient and reliable con- stable of Wallingford. In 1884 his popularity in the Republican party was attested by his selection as its candidate for the State Legislature. Soci- ally he is connected with the Pilgrim's Harbor council, No. 543. Royal Arcanum, of Meriden. Mr. Lamb has succeeded in many lines of work. and his ability as a mechanic has been developed in his son, Charles, in the line of invention. An in- genious invention of the latter, which has been patented and has come into general use, is the auto- matic self-closing window grip, and this is but one of this talented young man's ideas.
The Jeralds family, of which Mrs. Lamb is a member, is one well known through this part of. Connecticut. Bennett Jeralds. the father of Mrs. Lamb ,was born in Watertown. Conn .. Oct. 10. 1818, a son of Ransom Jeralds, a native of Cheshire, Conn., whose father, a seafaring man, lost his life on the water.
Ransom Jeralds grew up in Cheshire, and throughout his life was a very successful farmer, operating in Wallingford, but the last years of his life were spent in Yalesville, where he owned an estate. His death, at the age of seventy-six years. occurred in 1870, in Yalesville, where he was re- spected by the community. Mr. Jeralds, also, was a man who held to his convictions of right; early in life he embraced the principles of the Democratic party, but was a free-soil man, and possessed anti- slavery views, and later became a stanch Republi- can. Temperate in all things, honest and upright in life, he was. one of the most consistent members of the M. E. Church. He served as a soldier in the war of 1812. Ransom Jeralds married Alma Judd, of Bethany (then Woodbridge), a daughter of Isaac Judd, and to this union ten children were born, all of whom have passed away with the ex- ception of four: Bennett: Patience Juliet, widow of Lewis W. Turner, of Yalesville; Orrin, of New , York; and Edward, a manufacturer of Cheshire.
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COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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The beloved mother died in Wallingford, at the age of eighty-two years, after a life filled with good deeds of charity and neighborly kindness. She was formerly connected with the Episcopal Church, later with the M. E. Church.
Isaac Judd worked in summer as a stone mason and was a teacher during many winter terms, num- bering his own children and grandchildren among his pupils. In early life he held a lieutenant's com- mission in the King's militia, and at the opening of the Revolution organized a company of minute inen at what is now Naugatuck. He was almost constantly in the service of the Colonies during that struggle, although he was not enrolled in the regu- lar service. He was also active in civil life, and served many years as a magistrate, both before and after the Revolution.
. Bennett Jeralds received his schooling in Beth- any and Prospect, Conn., but it was limited, as at the age of thirteen he was hired out to work during the summer months, and could only attend school during the short winter sessions. Until he was eighteen he worked at different places, and then entered the employ of William Mix, at Prospect, Conn., who was the first spoon manufacturer in the United States, and with him he remained three years. During these years of toil the fertile brain of Mr. Jeraids was at work, and when he reached his majority he began the manufacture of Britan- nia spoons on his own account, in Yalesville, and continued in this business until 1845, when he formed a partnership with Eli Ives, of Meriden, and the business was successfully continued until 1853. During that year Mr. Jeralds bought out the interest of Mr. Ives and managed alone until he sold the business to Charles Parker, of Meriden, and immediately became the capable superintend- ent of the factory, which was removed to Walling- ford in 1854, retaining the position until 1876, when the contract system was inaugurated. At this time Mr. Jeralds became a contractor in the establish- ment, which position he filled until 1886, when he retired from activity. Through the application of sound business principles and individual enterprise, he has accumulated large means, and is personally one of the most esteemed citizens of this locality.
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cox, and his fifth wife was Mary B. Wilcox, widow of Charles Sherman.
In politics Mr. Jeralds identified himself with the Free Soil party, and was defeated as a candi- date for the Legislature, in 1851, by a very small majority, although this party was greatly in the minority : in fact, one vote decided the contest against him. Since the organization of the Re- publican party he has been an active member. For years he was justice of the peace, and has always been interested in educational matters, and has held many offices of public trust. For thirty-three years he has been a warden in the Episcopal Church, at Yalesville, and is fraternally connected with Com- pass Lodge, A. F. & A. M., in Wallingford.
CHARLES ROBERTS, a well-known horse dealer and the popular proprietor of the "Roberts House," of Hamden, is a native of New Haven county, born in the town of Wallingford, June 13, 1842. His father, Ephraim Roberts, was born and reared in Meriden, Conn., and when a young man removed to Wallingford, where he engaged in the butcher business for many years. selling his meat in the towns of Cheshire and Wall- ingford. His political support was given the men and measures of the Democratic party. He. died suddenly in Southington, in 1872, at the age of seventy-two years. For his first wife he married Susan Ellis, a sister of William Ellis, of New Haven, and to them were born nine children, namely: Amanda, wife of Zadock Morgan; Ho- ratio, deceased; Harriet, deceased wife of James Bell: Louise, deceased wife of Charles Pardee ; Emily, deceased wife of F. F. Bailey ; Ralph, a resi- dent of Forestville, Conn. ; Nancy, deceased wife of Frederick Minott : Charles, our subject : and Susan, widow of R. L. Lake. The mother died in Wall- ingford, and the father subsequently married Polly Dunham, by whom he had two children: James, deceased : and John, a resident of Meriden.
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