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 70
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The early life of our subject was passed in Wolcott, Westville and Waterbury, and for nine years after starting out in life for himself he con- ducted a meat market in Meriden, Conn. In 1888 he came to Cheshire, where he now owns a well- improved and valuable farin of eighty-six acres, which he has placed under a high state of cultiva- tion, and which he successfully operates. Like his father, he is a stanch supporter of the Democratic party and its principles, and in 1896 he was elected third selectman on his party ticket.
In January, 1875, in Waterbury. Mr. Minor was married to Miss Margaret Rogers, a native of Cornwall, Conn., and a daughter of Frank and Susan Rogers, early settlers of Connecticut, who died on the farm in Cheshire where their daughter now resides. To this union have been born five children : Frank, a resident of Waterbury; Mary A., wife of Arthur R. Barnes, of New York ; Stella ; Earl; and Elsie.
EDGAR THOMAS CLARK, a prominent resi- dent of Milford, is a member of a well-known pio- neer family which is now numerously represented in that section, being a descendant of George Clark, who came from England in 1639, and became one of the first settlers of Milford.
Elisha Clark, our subject's great-grandfather, resided in the town of Milford, at Woodmont, and died May 30, 1840, aged eighty-six years. Thomas Clark; his son, was also a native of Woodmont. born July 8, 1786, and died Dec. 15. 1854. aged sixty-eight years. On Jan. 2, 1812. he married Eunice Mallett, a native of Bridgeport, who died Oct. 1, 1867, aged eighty-one years. They made their home upon a farm in Woodmont, and seven children came to them, as follows: Lewis E., born April 4. 1813, was a painter by trade, and died in Woodmont June 29, 1846; Lanson B., born June 19, 1815, became a Methodist minister, and died March 5, 1866: Sarah A., born Dec. 30, 1817, mar- ried John P. Hubbard, a farmer of the town of Orange, and died Oct. 20, 1899, in Waterbury; Avis M., born Feb. 18. 1820, married Jonas Buck- ingham. a shoemaker of Milford, and died Oct. 13, 1883, aged sixty-three years: Nehemiah T .. our subject's father, is mentioned below ; Harriet A .. born July 3. 1825, married Willis A. Law, a retired merchant of New Haven ; and Mary E., born June II, 1829, died Oct. 7. 1830.
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Nehemiah T. Clark was born on the old home- stead in Woodmont May 4, 1823, and died July 22, 1899. In early manhood he engaged in farming there, but he also conducted a factory for many years, making carriage spokes and hubs. He was an excellent citizen, was a Republican in politics, and a Congregationalist in religious faith. On Dec. 23, 1858, he married Abigail P. Baldwin, daughter of Samuel D. and Susan A. ( Peck) Bald- win, of Milford. She died March 12, 1891, leaving three children, of whom (1) Edgar Thomas, our subject, is the eldest. (2) Annie B., born Dec. 25, 1860, married George A. Elmer, then of Milford, and now a resident of Stamford, Conn. (3) Berthia A., born Sept. 26. 1868, is at home.
Edgar T. Clark was born Dec. 14. 1859, in Woodmont, where he grew to manhood. the schools of the town affording him a practical education. He never learned a trade, and on June 12, 1882, he went to Milford to work in the shipping dspart- ment of the straw factory, where he remained eight years. For some time afterward he was occupied with the care of his father's property, and for four years he conducted a grocery and bakery. but at · present he merely looks after his rents and invest- ments. He takes a loyal interest in all that con- cerns his town, and has for twelve years been a member of the Milford fire department, the local Grange, the Royal Arcanum, and the I. O. O. F. On Nov. 6, 1900, he was elected on the Republican ticket as representative of Milford for two years, and for years he has served as chairman of the board of assessors.
On Aug. 2, 1888, Mr. Clark married Anna L. Botsford, daughter of Treat Botsford, of Milford. She died Dec. 7, 1888, and on Oct. 30, 1895. he mar- ried Miss Charlotte M. Clark, of Orange, Conn .. daughter of Henry M. Clark, of that town, and his wife, Ida Merwin, a native of New Preston, Conn. Mr. Clark is a member of the First Congregational Church, is a member of the First Ecclesiastical Society, and has been treasurer of same for the past six years.
. EDWARD B. BRADLEY. a conductor on the New York & New Haven railroad, now residing at No. 100 Cliff street, Ansonia, was born March 20, 1845, in Newtown, this State, where the family had long been established. There his father, James W. Bradley, and his grandfather, Abijah Bradley. were born. The latter was in his early life a chair manufacturer, and in his later years a farmer. He reached the great age of ninety-one years.
James W. Bradley was reared on the farm, and in his early life learned the trade of chairmaking. For a number of years he was the proprietor and manager of a lunch counter and eating house in Newtown, and then moved to Derby. to take a po- sition as stage driver between that city and Bridge- port. He was later given a run between Wood- bury and the Derby docks. He had a stage from
Woodbury to Seymour, in connection with the Naugatuck railroad. Selling this stage route, he bought a farm in Southibury, which he cultivated for seven years, and then sold, going into a hotel at Seymour, which he conducted for a time. He then again became a farmer for a time, and after- ward had a restaurant in New Haven, which he disposed of to take the "Madison House," and later the "Tontine Hotel," both in New Haven. For twenty-five years he was proprietor and manager of the "Tontine," where he died at the age of seventy-six years. He built up that hostelry until it became one of the leading hotels of the State; it has been patronized by many thousand people. James W. Bradley married Abigail Somers, who was born in Newtown. She became the mother of five sons, three of whom are still living: James Monroe, now in Muskegon, Mich .; Albert H., re- tired, and living in New Haven; and Edward B. Mrs. Bradley died in 1890, at the age of seventy- five. Both parents belonged to the First Methodist Church, and were highly respected people in their day
Edward B. Bradley spent the earlier years of his life under the parental roof, and obtained his education in the public schools of the city. When he was eighteen years of age he left home and secured a position as driver on a stage running between Seymour and New Haven. Very shortly he bought this run, giving his note of $1,500 to his father. This enterprise proved highly successful, and the young man spent seven years on the line. Mr. Bradley ran the first train on schedule time on the New Haven & Derby railroad, Aug. 9, 1871. There was not a platform along the line. Our subject was new at the business; not a ticket was sold, and he took all cash fares. He had a hard time, but he persevered, and is now known as one of the tried and capable conductors in the State. During the years that have intervened Mr. Bradley has witnessed a wonderful transformation, not only in the road, but in the region through which he passes. The road has become one of the best in New England, and the cities have greatly prospered. When Mr. Bradley began in this line two trains a day were sufficient for all the needs of the business. Now he goes over the line six times a day. and there arc tweive other trains. He has seen but one wreck, and never has had a charge of any kind preferred against him. His record as a train- man is clean, and his showing as a man and citizen is equally good. Mr. Bradley lived in Seymour un- til 1881, when he moved to Ansonia.
Mr. Bradley was married, Nov. 29, 1866. to Celestia A. Steele, daughter of John B. and Emeline ( Stewart ) Steele, of Seymour, who had two chil- dren, Mrs. Bradley being now the only survivor. Her mother died in 1881, at the age of sixty-two years. and her father at the age of forty years. Mr. and Mrs. Bradley have one child, Emma. who married L. F. Anschutz, and is the mother of three
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children, Edward Bradley, Louise F. and Lora May.
Mr. Bradley is a Republican in politics. He is a member of George Washington, Lodge, F. & A. M .: Mount Vernon Chapter; New Haven Com- mandery, Knights Templar; Mechanics Lodge, No. 73. I. O. O. F., at Seymour ; and is a charter mem- ber of the local division of the Order of Railway Conductors. He and his wife attend the First Con- gregational Church of Ansonia. Mr. Bradley has ·been remarkably successful throughout life, and stands to-day on an enviable plane, where his talents, business ability and upright and manly character alike command the respect and confidence of the public.
DAVID SMITH, a man highly esteemed for his many good qualities, was a direct descendant of George Smith, one of the first settlers of New Haven. He was born in West Haven Feb. 10, 1798, and died in that township at the age of seven- ty years. Left fatherless at an early age, he was reared by an uncle, and acquired such education as the district schools afforded. He became a car- penter by trade, and followed that calling in the South, but later returned to his old home in West Haven, where his declining years were spent. He built the house now occupied by Mrs. Beardsley. on the site of the first West Haven parsonage. In all affairs of the town he took an active part, and . was ever in the van in any move that would ad- vance the moral or material welfare of this com- munity. Of the strictest integrity himself, he looked to find the same honesty of purpose in others, and his presence, with its fearlessness for the right, inspired what was best in his associates.
On Aug. 10, 1854, Mr. Smith married Susan Prudden, who was born in Orange, this county, Aug. 25, 1819, a daughter of Samuel Prudden, and a direct descendant of Rev. Peter Prudden, the first pastor of the church at Milford. Of this union was born Sept. 13, 1855, a son, David Prud- den, who died Feb. 13, 1871. On Oct. 6, 1874, Mrs. Smith married Dr. Lucius N. Beardsley, whose life record may be found elsewhere in this volume.
Rev. Peter Prudden was a prominent preacher in England before emigrating to America. He came to Connecticut from Boston with the New Haven Colony and afterward led a branch colony to Milford. He married Joanna Boyse, daughter of an English clergyman. Rev. Peter Prudden was a college graduate, and a man of much natural ability. He was greatly esteemed as a peacemaker and as a wise counselor not only in his own com- munity, but throughout the entire colony of New Haven. Of him Cotton Mather says, "his death was felt by the colony as the fall of a pillar, which made the whole fabrick to shake."
Samuel Prudden. Mrs. Beardsley's father. was the son of Samuel Prudden, of North Milford, now
called Orange, and Anna Clark, a representative of another pioneer family of Milford. He was a suc- cessful teacher as well as an intelligent and enter- prising farmer. Like others of his family he was identified with the Congregational Church. His wife, Susanna Smith, was the daughter of Captain Gould Smith, and through her mother was a de- scendant of Rev. Thomas Hooker.
Since Dr. Beardsley's death Mrs. Beardsley has resided in the home erected by Mr. Smith, as above stated, and is wearing her eighty-two years of a well-spent life with all the grace and dignity of a noble woman. Among her benefactions may be mentioned a tablet in the Milford Church, in- scribed to the memory of its first pastor, Rev. Peter Prudden.
EDWARD T. ROOT was born in Waterbury Feb. 12, 1840, and his lifelong career in that city has been honorable and upright. George Root, his father, was born in 1796 in New York City, where he died at the age of ninety years.
Reuben Root, the father of George, was born in Southington, Conn., and died in New York. He was of English extraction. He worked in New York as a ship carpenter during the war of the Revolution. He married Hannah George, and they had two children: George, the father of Edward T .: and Amos, who lived in New York, where he was a merchant, and died when quite young.
George Root, the father of Edward T., spent the first twenty-one years of his life in the city of New York, where he acquired his education, and where he learned the trade of cabinetmaker. When a boy he helped to make the coffin of Robert Ful- ton. In Waterbury he followed his trade as long as he was able to work, living there about seventy years. He married Temperance Bronson, who was born in Waterbury, a daughter of Samuel Bron- son, and a granddaughter of Major Samuel Bron- son, a soldier of the Revolution. George Root and his wife were the parents of three children, Jane A., Edward T. and Henry B. Jane married Samuel Pemberton, of Newark, N. J. George Root was a Whig, and in his later life a Repub- lican. For many generations back the Roots were identified with the Congregational Church.
Edward T. Root spent his boyhood days in Waterbury, where he was reared. He attended the public schools until he reached the age of sixteen, when he became a clerk in the postoffice, holding that position for a year. For a time he also clerked, boy fashion, in his father's store, and in 1859 en- tered the insurance office of Hall & Smith. After a time Mr. Hall retired, and Mr. Smith continued the business alone for some years. About 1885 the firm became Smith & Root, and in 1896 the firm of Root & Boyd was formed. They write all kinds of insurance, and have a fine list of clients.
In 1868 Mr. Root married Miss Julia M. Rog- ers, of Chester, Vt., daughter of Isaac Rogers.
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DAVID SMITH.
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Mrs. Root died in 1886, and the only child of this union, Frederick H., died in January, 1895. In 1888 Mr. Root married Miss Caroline B. Blake. daughter of Dr. A. S. Blake, of Waterbury. Mr. Root is a Republican, and has been councilman, town assessor and representative of his town in the State Legislature. Fraternally he is a thirty- second-degree Mason, and is a charter member of Continental Lodge, No. 76, F. & A. M., organized in 1862; he has been a member since 1862 of Nosahogan Lodge, No. 21. I. O. O. F. As a mem- ber of the Waterbury Club he comes into contact with the best and leading men of the city, and in these circles his standing is unquestioned. With his family he attends Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mr. Root enlisted in the Union army in 1862. in Company A, 23d Conn. V. I., and was mustered out at New Haven the following year. He was taken prisoner and paroled, so that his experience of active warfare was limited.
HERBERT LOUIS BENTON, a farmer and dairyman in Guilford, was born April 16, 1843, and is a native of that town. The first of the name in Guilford was Edward Benton, a native of England. who died in Guilford in 1680. His wife, Anna, died in 1671. They had the following children: Ed- ward; Daniel; Andrew, who married Elizabeth Rolfe; Hannah, who married Robert Ackerly : Mary, who married Samuel Thorp: John, who died young; Tabbitha, who married Simon Simpson ; Elizabeth; Sarah, who married Thomas Wright ; and Zacheus.
Daniel Benton, the second child in the family of Edward, was born in 1638, and died June 10, 1672. He was a farmer and land owner, and belonged to the church. A man of character and standing, he ranked well in his day. He married Rachel Good- rich, who died in 1685, and they were the parents of four children : Joanna, who married John Tur- ner ; Ebenezer, mentioned below; Beltzah : and Re- becca, who married Joseph Halsey.
Ebenezer Benton was born in October, 1663. in Guilford, where his entire life was spent, en- gaged in farming. He was a prominent citizen, especially in church matters. He died on his farm June 22, 1758, and was buried in Guilford. His wife, Abigail, was born March 6, 1670. and died April 13, 1753; she was buried in the Guilford cem- etery. They were married June 14, 1694, and their children were: Daniel; Elizabeth, who married Samuel Buell ; Ebenezer, who married. Esther Crit- tenden; Abigail, who married Ebenezer Critten- den ; and Caleb, who married Sarah Stone.
Deacon Daniel Benton was born in Guilford June 1, 1695, and was a deacon of the Congrega- tional Church. He died Aug. 25, 1756. In 1728 he married Elizabeth Stone, who was born Oct. 6, 1706, died in 1753. and was buried in Guilford. For his second wife he married Mrs. Sarah Seward. who died March 12, 1762. His family consisted of
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the following children: Sarah ; Daniel : Eli; Sam- uel ; Jared. who married Elizabeth Collins; Silas. who married Abigail Lindsley; Nathan, who mar- ried Rachel Chittenden ; Ann, who married Philip Mann; Elizabeth, who married Rufus Graves; Daniel James ; and one that died in infancy.
Silas Benton, who was born July 25, 1739, was engaged in farming throughout life, and died March 19, 1828. On June 6, 1768, he married Abigail Lindsley, who was born in 1743, in Branford, and died in 1811. About the close of the year 1811 he married for his second wife Widow Lois Plant. He had the following children: Abigail; Daniel, who married Fannie Eliot ; Joseph ; Isaac, who mar- ried Sarah Robinson; Dan Lindsley; Julin; and Silas.
Dan Lindsley Benton, the grandfather of Her- bert L. Benton, was born in 1780, and was a life- long farmer. He was a well-known citizen and a member of the church. He died June 18, 1859, and was buried in the West cemetery. On March II, 1805, he married Betsy Seward, who was born in 1788, and died Aug. 20, 1865. They had the fol- lowing children : David Merrick ; Betsy Ann, who married Eli Parmelee ; Dan Lindsley; Harriet, who married Samuel Davis ; Clarissa, who married Nel- son Hotchkiss : Lydia, who married Henry Rankin ; Mary Elizabeth, who married Charles Landon ; Ella Maria, who married Charles M. Stone; Rich- ard Henry, who married Charlotte E. Parcus ; John, who married Catherine L. Kelsey ; Martha Seward, who married Deacon Edwin O. Davis, of Guilford ; and David Merrick (2), who married Frances S. Smith.
Dan Lindsley Benton, father of Herbert L., was born March 5. 1810, on the Guilford farm, where he received a good common-school education, and was reared to farming, which was his life business. He owned a large tract of land at Sachem's Head. on which he made extensive improvements. In politics he was a Democrat. He died in 1894, and was buried in the West cemetery in Guilford. In 1833 he married Martha M. Norton, who was born Nov. 20, 1811, and died June 12, 1835. They were the parents of one child, Darwin M. For his second wife Mr. Benton was married, May 30, 1841. to Elizabeth Blakeslee, who was born June 29, 1818, in Northford, and is still living. To this union were born three children : Herbert Louis : Charles Linds- lev, who resides on the homestead; and Edward W., also making his home on the homestead.
Herbert Louis Benton was born on the home- stead April 16. 1845, attended the district school and Guilford Academy, and remained on the farm until after his marriage, when he began farming on the place where he is now located. Mr. Benton has also been a carpenter and a boatbuilder. He is a hard worker, and is much respected for his indus- try. In religious connection he is a member of the Episcopal Church, where he officiates as a vestry- man. His political affiliation is with the Democratic
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party ; he has never sought an office. Mr. Benton was married, in Guilford, June 11, 1885, to Miss Fannie M. Eliot, daughter of Louis R. and Fannie (Griswold) Eliot, both of whom are deceased, and is the father of two children: Eliot H .. born Sept. 16, 1889; and Ruth E., born Oct. 15, 1892.
ELIAS W. DAVIS, M. D., Seymour, is a native of Massachusetts, born in Paxton in 1855, a grand- son of Deacon David Davis, also born in Paxton, who married Patty Howe in 1780 or 1785, and had a family of ten children. He was a captain of a militia company formed after the Revolutionary war, which corps he drilled to such perfection that it became known as one of the crack companies of that day. Up to the time of his death he was a deacon of the Congregational Church.
. David G. Davis, father of our subject, is the youngest of the ten children born to Deacon David Davis, and at the present time is living in Worces- ter, Mass., at the ripe old age of eighty-seven years. He was engaged in farming, also in the manufacture of boots and shoes and was prominent in business enterprises till within a few years ago. For twenty- five years he was a selectman, and at one time rep- resented his town in the State Legislature of Mas- sachusetts. He married Sarah Gilbert Earle, of Paxton, Mass., and through her the family is traced to old English ancestry, though the first. Davis an- cestor was a Welshman. Five children were born of this union, all yet living, viz .: William P., Eliza A., David, Elias W. and Gilbert G. Of these, William P. is a physician in Reading. Mass .; Eliza A. married John Davis Hudson, a cabinetmaker of Mason City, Ill., and died in 1900; David, a boot manufacturer in Wilkesbarre, Penn., married Mary Sherman ; Gilbert G., who carries on a printing and blank-book manufacturing business in Worcester, Mass., married Minnie Warren, of Worcester.
Elia's W. Davis, the subject proper of this sketch, lived in Paxton Hills. Mass., until he was fifteen years of age, receiving his primary education at the district schools, after which he prepared for Yale College at the Leicester and Worcester ( Mass.) Academies, graduating in the class of 1880. He then returned home and because of poor health took up farming. In 1889, having in the meantime married, he moved with his family to New Haven, where he commenced the study of medicine in Yale Medical College, graduating in June, 1892, from the Medical School, after which he commenced the practice of his profession in Seymour, Conn., where he is meeting with eminent success.
On Nov. 5. 1883. Dr. Elias W. Davis married Eliza H. Dodd, a native of Paxton, Mass., and a descendant of the celebrated Bigelow family of that State. Two children, both daughters, have been born to this union: Florence Marion, 1893; and Gertrude Elizabeth, 1805. The parents are members of the Congregational Church. Socially the Doctor is affiliated with Morning Star Lodge,
No. 47, F. & A. M., and with Evening Star Chapter, No. 45, of Seymour. He is medical examiner for the town of Seymour, and one of the medical di- rectors of the State Masonic Home at Wallingford, Conn. As a physician there is none more promi- nent or popular in the county. In his office stands an old-fashioned desk that has been handed down in the family for some one hundred forty years, a work of art which at once suggests the time honored saying : "A thing of beauty is a joy forever."
'FREDERICK W. HUBBELL, one of the valiant defenders of the Union during the dark days of the Civil war, and the present efficient su- perintendent of the Oxford town farm, has made his own way in the world without the aid of influ- ence or wealth, and has arisen to a position of prominence through his own well-directed efforts, his native genius and acquired ability being the stepping-stones on which he has mounted. He was born in Oxford March 24, 1844, a son of Everett and Jane E. (Sperry) Hubbell, natives of the same place. In their family were nine children, eight sons and one daughter, namely: Samuel; John Henry; Frederick W .; Wales, deceased; Lewis; George ; Charles and Henry W., both deceased; and Elizabeth, deceased.
Frederick W. Hubbell was born and reared on a farm, and received his education in the common schools. At the tender age of seven years he be- gan earning his own livelihood by working for his board and clothes for Capt. Hull, with whom he re- mained seven years, and then worked as a farm hand for others until he entered the service of his coun- try during the Civil war. On June 7, 1862, he en- listed as a private in Company B, 20th Conn. V. I .: was mustered into the United States service at New Haven : from there was ordered to Washington, D. C .; and later to Alexandria, Va. His first engage- ment was at Chancellorsville, and the second at Cassville, where he was wounded in the left side by a minie ball; however, he was never absent from duty one day. Later he participated in the battles of Gettysburg and Savannah, and the siege of At- lanta. After leaving the last named city he was detailed as a scout, and while on a scouting expedi- tion near Columbia, Va., was captured, but soon afterward he and two companions escaped, and he was finally exchanged. Shortly after this Mr. Hub- bell received a furlough and returned home, and while here Lec surrendered, thus putting an end to the war. Since then he has made his home in Ox- ford with the exception of two years spent at Naugatuck, Conn. In 1882 hie was appointed su- perintendent of the Oxford town farm, and has most capably and satisfactorily filled that position ever since. He also owns and operates a fine farm of ninety acres in the same town, and in all his un- dertakings has met with most excellent success.
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