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 4 > Part 24
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THEODORE E. BEARD, M. D., a successful voung physician of New Haven, was born in Hunt- ington, Fairfield Co., Conn., Feb. 7, 1866, son of Theodore E. Beard, Sr., a prominent lumber dealer of Huntington township and a worthy representa- tive of a family which has long been held in high es- teem in that section.
LOUIS F. GARDNER, member of the well- known firm of Jolin B. Gardner's Sons, manufac- turers of clock trimmings, nickle plating and brass Among the first settlers of Milford, Conn .. in the year 1639, were Widow Martha Beard with finishing, Ansonia, is a native of that city, born Aug. 18, 1859. John B. Gardner, his father, was : three sons and three daughters. Her husband, born in Germany whence, when about fourteen | James Beard, died on the passage from England to
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America. The names of the sons are James, Jolin and Jeremy (or Jeremiah ). James, who was the eldest, died in 1642, unmarried, and his estate was the first ever settled in Milford. The name of Jeremiah is not conspicuous on the records of the town. He was propounded for freeman by the Gen- eral Court at Hartford, May 11. 1671. Capt. John Beard, the ancestor of those bearing the name in this region, was a prominent citizen of the town. He was married about 1653 to Hannah, the di- vorced wife of John Oviatt. They had eight chil- dren, whose names with dates of birth, are as fol- lows: John, June 27, 1654 ( old style ) ; Mary. Nov. 12, 1658; James, Dec. 4. 1661: Joseph, July 20. 1666; Samuel, Feb. 4, 1669: Jeremiah and Ebe- nezer, twins, April 16, 1672; and Sarah, July 22. 1675. John was appointed captain of a military company Jan. 17, 1675. He was deputy from Mil- ford to the General Court for October, 1677, term, and was re-elected continuously for the next thir- teen years, with two exceptions. He was frequently appointed by the General Court commissioner to settle boundaries, etc. His name appears frequently in the Colonial records.
Samuel Beard, son of Capt. John, was born Feb. 4, 1669.
James Beard, son of Samuel, was born in 1702. Samuel Beard, son of James, was born in 1734 and served in the Revolutionary war. He married Elizabeth Wheeler and had children as follows: Lavinia, Rebecca, Joel, James, Elizabeth, Sarah, Joanna, Samuel and Polly.
Joel Beard, son of Samutel, was born Aug. 16, 1765. and was a resident of Huntington. He mar- ried Nancy Blackman and had children as follows : Eli, Sally, Naney, Laura, Lucy, Caty, Polly, Annie and Joel.
Joel Beard, son of Joel. was born in July. 1805, in Huntington and was a lifelong resident of that town, where he followed farming. He married Ma- ria Chatfield and had the following children : Will- iam T., Theodore E., James H. and Oliver G.
Theodore E. Beard, Sr., was born Dec. 21. 1833, at the old homestead in Huntington and received a common school and academic education during his boyhood. As the son of a busy farmer he had a practical training in agricultural work and at an early age he began to display marked business abil- ity. . In 1854, when only twenty-one years old, he engaged in the manufacture of straw paper in part- nership with his brother, William T. Beard, build- ing a mill about three and a half miles from Derby. They continued the partnership for a quarter of a century then, in 1880, Theodore E. purchased his brother's interest. After that time he carried on a gristmill and sawmill business, his son, Frederick W., being associated with him. They enjoyed a large trade, keeping about twelve men employed all the year round. They purchased extensive tracts of land from which they cleared the timber, but they did not attempt to bring the property under culti-
vation. Mr. Beand died Dee. 9, 1901. In politics he was a Democrat and his sound judgment and up- right character have caused him to be chosen to different offices in his town, including those of se- lectman, assessor and justice of the peace. He was a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, in which he had been senior warden.
On Nov. 10, 1857, Theodore E. Beard, Sr., mar- ned Miss Julia Ann Wheeler, daughter of Augur Wheeler, a well-known citizen of the same town. Six children have blessed this union : Joel A., who married Miss Grace Morse, of Huntington, resides in South Britain, Conn., where he is engaged in business as a grain dealer and lumberman, and also operates a gristmill : Frederick W. was in bus- iness with his father : Zina C., who married Miss May Turney, of Easton, is a grocer in Shelton ; Theodore E., our subject; Lavinia M., at home ; and Anna S., a stenographer and typewriter in New Haven.
Dr. Theodore E. Beard's early education was acquired in Huntington, where he attended the pub- lic schools until he was sixteen vears of age. Ile then entered Staples Academy in Easton, Conn., and after completing the course there was employed three years in the Derby paper mills. The failure of his eyesight had compelled him to give up his studies temporarily and at the age of twenty-five he entered Yale College and was graduated from the Medical Department of that institution with the class of 1897. He had, however, begun prac- tice the year previously in New Haven on a State license and he has been successfully engaged in the active duties of his profession ever since, his office being at No. 163 Wooster street. He is a member of the City, County and State Medical So- cieties, and fraternally, of Hiram Lodge, No. I. A. F. & A. M., and of the English Order of Odd Fellows, Manchester Unity. He is medical exam- iner for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
In May, 1893, Dr. Beard was married at St. Paul's Church to Miss May Carroll, a native of Northampton, Mass., and a daughter of William and Elizabeth (Cook) Carroll, the latter born in Colerain, Mass. Mr. Carroll was born in Vermont and was an officer in the Civil war.
EDWARD WIER SMITH, M. D., a prominent I physician of Meriden, was born in that city Oct. 17, 1854, son of David and Fidelia ( Parker) Smith, and comes of sterling ancestry. Both the Smiths and Parkers bore by no means an inconspicuous part in the American Revolution. The first known 1 ancestor of Dr. Smith in this country was James Smith, one of three brothers who came from Eng- land to the Massachusetts Colony. He settled at Taunton in 1636, with his wife, Johanna.
(II) Nathaniel Smith, son of James, was born at Taunton, where he and his wife, Experience. passed their lives.
(III) Nathaniel Smith (2), son of Nathaniel,
David Smith Edid Was Dwith Me. David Q, Smith
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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born in Taunton, moved to Hartford and was one of the first settlers at Litchfield, where he died. His wife was Anna Hoskins.
(IV) Jacob Smith, son of Nathaniel (2), lived at Litchfield and died April 14, 1807, at the age of sixty-nine years. He was a lieutenant in the Revo- lutionary army. His wife, Mary, daughter of Ger- shom Lewis, of Cape Cod, died Dec. 30, 1833, aged eighty-one years. Upon his tombstone in Northfield cemetery, Litchfield, is inscribed :
"Oh! Thou Great Arbiter of Life and Death ! Thy call I follow to the Land Unknown.
I trust in Thee and know. in Whom I trust."
(V) David Smith, son of Jacob, was born on the homestead farm in Litchfield and was a far- mer all his life. He married Anna, daughter of Benjamin and. Mary ( Spencer) Bartholomew, and they became the parents of ten children, namely : Hiram, Charles, Truman, Mary, Benjamin, Sam- uel, Edward, David, James and Anna. The last named became the wife of Merritt Clark and lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
(VI) David Smith, son of David, was born April 6, 1822, in Litchfield, where he grew up and acquired the trade of stonemason. At the age of thirty years, in 1852, he became a resident of Meri- den, where he lias since continued to make his home, and where he has been active in building operations as a contractor. His home is on West Main street. An advocate of temperance, his life has afforded a worthy example to all. Since the advent of the Republican party in National politics he has been among its adherents and religiously he is identified with the First Congregational Church, of Meriden. In 1848 Mr. Smith married Miss Fi- delia Parker, a daughter of Daniel and Ruth ( Hull) Parker, of Meriden, the latter a daughter of Jesse Hull, a Revolutionary soldier whose wife, Hannah. was a daughter of Jehiel Preston, a sergeant in the Revolutionary army. On Nov. 22, 1898, Mr. and Mrs. Smith celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their wedding, surrounded by their surviving chil- dren, and received the congratulations of many friends. The youngest of their six children, Fran- ces Eva. whose numerous paintings show much ar- tistic ability, died Oct. 27, 1808. The others are: Nettie, wife of Julius Augur, of Meriden : Frank D., of that city ; Edward W., one of the most suc- cessful physicians of his native place ; and Ella Isa- bel and Jennie S., leading members of Susan Car- rington Clark Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.
Daniel Parker, the maternal grandfather of Dr. Smith, was a son of a Revolutionary soldier, and his mother's maternal grandfather also participated in that war, as related in the foregoing. These hon- orable and gallant gentlemen did their country good service in its early days and the Doctor is justly proud of his ancestry.
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his academic education in the public schools of that city, the Hopkins Grammar School, in New Ha- ven and Yale College, from which institution he was graduated in 1878. During his college course he took considerable interest in athletics and played on the Yale University baseball team, taking part in contests with Harvard, Princeton and others. Be- ginning the study of medicine in the Medical De- partment of Yale his course was interrupted after a year of work by a year of teaching, and was re- sumed in 1880 at Montreal, Canada, where he was graduated from the McGill Medical School in 1882. In that year he located at Meriden, where he has since been engaged in the active and successful prac- tice of his profession. In 1892 he took a course in the Post Graduate Medical College, of New York.
Dr. Smith was married Oct. 14, 1885, to Helen B., daughter of Oliver and Abbie C. (Caldwell) Rice, of Meriden, and to this union have been born two children, Marion R. and David Parker. Dr. Smith is a member of the First Congregational Church. He enjoys a prominent place as a citizen as well as in his profession. He holds membership in various Medical associations, belonging to the State Medical Society, the National Medical Society and the American Academy of Medicine. He is on the staff of the Meriden Hospital and is much respected and esteemed wherever known.
JOSEPH GILLET NOYES, late secretary and general manager of the National Electrical Manu- facturing Co., of Milford, was born Aug. 6, 1861. in New York City, a son of Oliver H. P. and Louisa (Boyd) Noyes. His family is of English origin and at an early date his ancestors settled in Maine but later generations moved southward, lo- cating in Maryland.
Oliver H. P. Noyes, our subject's father, an : able and successful business man, was born in Bal- timore and became one of the first tea merchants there. He also engaged in the same business in New York City for a number of years, his trade be- ing extensive for that day. Politically he was a stanch Republican. His death occurred in 1888. His wife, Louisa Bovd. was probably a native of Baltimore. Joseph Gillet was the youngest of a family of four children, the others being: Louise O., who died in Mav, 1800. unmarried ; Miss Adele ; and Oliver H. P., manager of the tea department of John D. Matherson, in Japan.
Joseph Gillet Noyes grew to manhood in his native city, attending the public and private schools and the college of the City of New York. On ac- count of illness he left the latter institution before graduation and on his recovery he entered the New York office of the New Haven Clock Co., where he remained nine years. His capabilities were rec- ognized, promotion rewarding his efforts from time to time, and during the last four years he held the position of manager. He then started an electrical
Dr. Smith was reared in Meriden and obtained , department in connection with the clock company
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and the business increased so rapidly that after three years a new company was formed, called the National Electrical Manufacturing Co. This was organized in 1890, and in the following year the business was removed to Milford, Mr. Noyes con- tinuing the management without interruption until his death. At present the company occupies a large brick building and employs many skilled workmen. Mr. Noyes took a loyal interest in the development of the town where he made his home and was one of the incorporators of the Milford Savings Bank.
On Jan. 10, 1883, Mr. Noyes married Miss Edith Wetmore, daughter of Henry Wetmore, of New York City, and three children brightened their home: Joseph G., Jr. (now deceased), Edith I. and Louisa W. In politics he was a Republican and in religion a leading member of the Episcopal Church, of Milford, with which his family also unite. Mr. Noyes was at one time vestryman and at the time of his death, which occurred in January, 1901, had served as junior warden for four years.
. STURGIS G. GARDNER, a leading business man of Ansonia and one of the solid and influential citizens of the town, was born in New Haven April 15, 1859, a son of John Gardner, who was born in Munich, Germany, and was a son of John Gardner, who lived and died in Germany.
John Gardner, the father of Sturgis G., came to Ansonia at the age of twelve years and learned the clock maker's trade of the celebrated Jerome, of New Haven, remaining in that famous establishi- ment until he was twenty-eight years of age. At that time he came to Ansonia and in 1857 began business in a small way. By close application he built his business into large proportions, and at his death in 1891 it was in a most prosperous condition and it is continually increasing. John Gardner was a member of Bristol Lodge. He owned considerable real estate and built several houses. He was one of the representative and successful men of the day. He was married to Mary Gregory and they had seven children, five of whom are living: Sturgis G .; Louis F., with his brother, Sturgis; Anna Lou- ise, who married Emil Schultze; Christine; and Gertrude. The mother died when fifty-three years old. The parents were members of Christ Church, of Ansonia, and the father was vestryman. He was a Republican and took much interest in the public affairs of the town and State. In his last years Mr. Gardner was a judge of the District Court.
Sturgis G. Gardner spent his early years in Ansonia and acquired his education in the public schools and St. Paul's Academy. In 1878, when less than twenty years old, he was taken into the firm with his father and the very rapid progress that the business has made in the last twenty years may be in good part attributed to his push and go. The firm is still active and aggressive and their goods reach every part of the world. They employ about seventy hands and such is the demand upon
them that for much of the time since 1899 they have worked night and day. They are using im- proved machinery and are thoroughly up-to-date in every particular. The fine reputation of the father for integrity and unswerving honesty has been their principal capital in business and the firm by follow- ing along the lines of honesty and candor which the father followed have retained the respect and confidence of the trade.
Mr. Gardner is a public-spirited citizen and at the request of his friends and neighbors he ac- cepted the nomination of the Republican convention for the State Assembly, to which he was elected in 1808; he was a member of the committee on Appro- priations and on Banks. He was a faithful and conscientious legislator and made many friends throughout the State. Mr. Gardner belongs to George Washington Lodge, No. 82, F. & A. M .. Mt. Vernon Chapter, Union Council and New Hla- ven Commandery.
Mr. Gardner was married in 1880 to Anna Wolf. the daughter of John Wolf. She was born in Broadbrook, Conn., where her father was engage.1 in business as a woolen manufacturer. To this mar- riage have come four children : Anita, Helen, Lou- ise and John.
WARREN DOOLITTLE, an enterprising and progressive young farmer of Cheshire, New Ha- ven county, was born in that town March 12, 1871. and belongs to a prominent early family of the county, his parents being Amos and Mary ( Reyn- olds) Doolittle. The father was born in Cheshire March 29, 1838, and was a son of Joel and Narcissa ( Ives) Doolittle, the former a native of Walling- ford, New Haven county, and a son of Solomon Doolittle.
Joel Doolittle was reared and married in his native town, but at quite an early day came to Che- shire and located on the farm where our subject now resides. There he continued to make his home until he was called from this life. His wife, who was also born in Connecticut, of English ancestry, die l in Cheshire some years after her husband's death. Their children were Amos, father of Warren; and Leverett, now a resident of New Haven.
Amos Doolittle attended the common schools of. Cheshire and on reaching man's estate was mar- ried in his native town to Miss Mary Reynolds. who was born in Ireland, and they had four chil- dren : Elizur H., who lives on the old homestead ; Mary E .; Warren ; and Alice S., all at home. The father was again married in Cheshire in 1880 to Miss Mary J. Doolittle (a cousin ), a native of Mad- ison, Conn., who also resides on the home farm. There Mr. Doolittle died May 5. 1882. honored and respected by all who knew him.
During his boyhood and youth Warren Doo- little pursued his studies in the schools of Cheshire. and since completing his education has engaged in farming, he and his brother successfully operating
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
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the home place, which comprises 250 acres of valu- able and productive land under a high state of cul- tivation and well improved. As'a business man he is thrifty, reliable and energetic and commands the confidence and respect of all with whom he comes in contact. In political sentiment he is an ardent Republican.
JAMES A. PERRY, senior member of the firm of Perry & Perry, well-known grocers of Milford, was born in Westport, Conn., Nov. 1, 1855. a son of Alfred and a grandson of Thaddeus Perry. The family has been identified with this State from an early day.
Thaddeus Perry was born in the town of Red- ding, Fairfield county, and became a farmer there. He married Mary Cable and had a large family of children, as follows: Gershom was a stone mason in Westport; Thaddeus is a blacksmith in South- port ; Ward was a farmer and married Esther Bulk- ley ; Monson was a shoemaker in Westport; Curtis is mentioned more fully below; Alfred, our sub- ject's father, was the next in order of birth ; Charles married Susan Howard; Grace married Horace Downs, a shoemaker in Westport : and Mary is the widow of James Banks, who died in Savannah, Georgia. .
Alfred Perry, father of our subject, was born in 1824 in the town of Redding, Fairfield county, and is now a resident of Bridgeport. In early man- hood he went to Weston to learn the shoemaker's trade, which he followed for many years. His wife, Martha Holden, was born in Manchester, England, the daughter of Robert Holden, who set- tled in Weston, Conn., as a millwright. Our sub- ject was the second child of a family of three chil- dren, the others being Emma, who died aged twenty years; and Louisa, who died at the age of three years.
James A. Perry was reared in Wesport where he attended school until he reached the age of sev- enteen. He then went to Bridgeport and after working two years in a tap and die factory he learned the shoe cutter's trade, which he followed twenty-one years there and in Milford. He lo- cated in Milford in 1886 and in 1895 purchased a grocery, but he conducted it only two years, as he became associated with John A. Birge in the coal business in . Shelton, Conn. After two months there he returned to Milford to take charge of the branch business, which he carried on four months, and in 1897 he and his cousin, Stephen O. Perry, en- .gaged in the grocery business under the firm nanie of Perry & Perry. Mr. James A. Perry married Miss Mary A. Fletcher, of Bridgeport, a daughter of Thomas Fletcher, of Birmingham, England. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, the Order of United American Mechanies and the United Work- men and politically both he and his partner are Re- publieans.
STEPHEN O. PERRY was born in Westport,
Conn., May 30, 1856, the son of Curtis Perry and grandson of Thaddeus Perry, mentioned above. Curtis Perry grew to manhood in Westport and followed shoemaking and farming there and in Fair- field. He died in Fairfield in 1888. His wife, Har- riet Sherwood, who died in 1891, was a native of Westport and a daughter of Moses Sherwood. Of their six children, Ellen B. married Arthur Ben- nett, of Fairfield: Celestia C. married C. B. Dake, of Norwalk, Conn. ; Curtis G. is a rubber cutter in Fairfield ; Sarah married William H. Fox, of Bridgeport; Stephen O. is mentioned below ; and Arthur W. is a traveling salesman.
As a boy Mr. Stephen O. Perry attended the schools of Westport and when seventeen years old he went to Bridgeport to learn the trade of shoe cut- ter. In 1878 he removed to Milford where he fol- lowed his trade until 1896, making twenty years in all. and he then engaged in the undertaking and plumbing business with Noves Bailey, under the firm name of Bailey & Perry. Two years later he turned his attention to the grocery business, in partnership with Orlando N. Clark, under the firm name of Perry & Clark, but after six months he purchased his partner's interest, the business be- ing continued by him under the name of S. O. Perry for some time before he formed his present partnership with his cousin. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Congregational Church, and like all of the family has shown loyal interest in public movements of a beneficial kind. In 1881 he married Miss Sophia Cornwall, a native of Milford, and daughter of Josiah Cornwall, a well-known citizen. They have had three children : Dorothy, Arthur and Carleton.
DAVID H. CARTER is an influential business man of Derby, whose fellow citizens respect him alike for his native ability and his moral worth. His grandfather Carter removed to Connecticut from Berkshire county, Mass.
Joel Carter, father of David H., settled in the town of Redding, Fairfield county, in early man- hood and died there highly respected in 1889. He was a native of Massachusetts and a farmer by oc- cupation. Active in political affairs he affiliated with the Republican party and represented his town in the legislature. Joel Carter married Sarah A. Miller, of Pound Ridge, Conn., a daughter of Ep- enetus Miller, who was born there and passed his life in farming. Her mother's name was Water- bury and more than one of her maternal ancestors did gallant service in the struggle for American independence.
David H. Carter was horn in 1841 upon the farm in Redding where his parents passed their days. He was the youngest of a family of four children, his three sisters being named Catherine, Adele and Minnie. Catherine married Luzon Hub- bell. of Stepney, Fairfield county : Adele became the wife of William E. Crofut, of Stepney : and Minnie
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is now Mrs. John Carson, of that town. David H. Carter, himself, improved to the utmost the rather Imited educational advantages which the times and the locality afforded ; and after quitting school, at the age of fifteen, he passed two years in alternately working upon the farm and teaching young minds to germinate in the district school. He remained in the town of his birth until he was twenty-eight years old, when going to Derby, he entered the em - ploy of the Derby Lumber Company. For nearly a quarter of a century he was with that concern, de- voting to its service the physical strength of early manhood and the mature judgment of middle life. Leaving the Derby Company he worked for a time for a lumber firm in New Haven and in March, 1896, engaged in business on his own account, in co-partnership with Mr. H. M. Hubbell, under the firm name of Carter & Hubbell and they have ever since successfully continued a prosperous and con- stantly increasing trade. They deal in finished products, such as doors, windows, blinds, mantels and mouldings, as well as in raw material. To ascribe the success of the enterprise wholly to the knowledge and efforts of Mr. Carter would be to accord to him an undue meed of praise. Yet the fact remains that to the management of the business he brought a mind of no ordinary caliber, well cul- tivated, and a judgment ripened by the experience of nearly thirty years.
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