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 84
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1889) ; and Phoebe S., born N. : 25. 1820, married Captain William Cowper Baldwin, Sept. 23, 1842, in New Haven, and died June 1, 1899 (Captain Baldwin was a native of Middlebury, and died on Jan. 17, 1858). Jere Sheldon in 1822 moved from Stony Creek, in town of Branford, to Pine Orchard, where he and his wife lived to advanced age, his death occurring Nov. 30, 1870, when ninety-one years old.
Nicholas Sheldon, son of Jere, was born in Bran- ford, then went to New Haven, later moving to Bristol, Conn. After a few years, in the interests of his business, which was that of cabinet and elock case maker, he removed to a better field of opera- tion, at North Goshen. Conn., where he had a fac- tory, and added cheese boxes to his output. In 1853 he returned to New Haven, and here followed his former trade, adding carriage wood work, at which he was actively engaged until within a few weeks of his death, Sept. 15. 1860. On Nov. 22. 1830, he was married in North Goshen, by Rev. George Carrington, to Miss Susan Norval, of Scot- tish extraction, who was born Sept. 3. 1805. and died Dec. 26, 1870. Their children were : Mary B., born Dec. 17, 1831, died Nov. 11. 1833; Newton R., born Dec. 19, 1835. died Sept. 14. 1841 : Mary I., born May 15, 1838, and married William B. Nichols, formerly of New Haven, now of Seymour ; Amelia, born and died Sept. 21, 1841 : Ellena A., born April 23, 1843, married Howard G. Ford, of the town of Hamden ; and Eulius B., of New Haven. Nicholas Sheldon was well known in early days as a stanchi Whig, but later became an active Republican. The family for many years have been prominent in the Congregational Church.
Enlins B. Sheldon, son of Nicholas, was born in North Goshen, Conn., Dee. 20. 1845, and there spent his boyhood until the age of seven years, at which time the family moved to New Haven. Mr. Sheldon received an excellent common school education, be- ing a pupil of the Dixwell school. in New Haven. and then went to work in the Whitney armory, where he remained for some time, later going into the Plant Manufacturing Co., working on a gov- ernment contract. Later he was employed in this same place by John Marlin, and continued until 1868, when the burning of the establishment caused him to make a change. In the electrotype business, with the firm of Arvine & Twiss, he continued for a short time and then obtained an interest in the busi- ness, and some three years later bought the interest of Mr. Arvine and has remained in this connection ever since. . For some time he conducted the elec- trotype business on State street, but later formed a company, admitting C. S. Butler and E. II. Park- hurst to partnership and the business was continued on State street. In 1800, a joint stock company was formed under the name of The E. B. Sheldon Co., and this company bought the land and erected the imposing brick block, on Meadow street, which has been the plant's location, and where a very large
business is carried on. The name is one which is respected in the business world, and ably represents its line in New Haven.
On Nov. 18, 1868, Mr. Sheldon, the efficient and capable head of this large company, was mar- ried to Miss Grace Benton, a native of Woodbridge, Conn. Six children have been born to this union : Beulah, who married Henry Bushnell; Mary, who married Frederick Downs; Everett, who is follow- ing the trade of electrotyper ; Emma, who married C. O. Buckingham, of Deep River, Conn. ; and Su- san and John, at home. In his political sympathies, Mr. Sheldon is a Republican, but his business ab- orbs him too closely to permit of seeking political honors. With his family, he is connected with the Congregational Church, where he is a liberal sup- porter of its various lines of benevolent work. As an intelligent and successful man of business, a lover of law and order, a supporter of charitable and public-spirited enterprises, Mr. Sheldon may well be regarded as one of the representative citizens of this city.
EZRA PIERCE. Throughout the length and breadth of Southbury and in the neighboring towns, Ezra Pierce is widely known as a successful farmer, and as a man of unusual force of character. He has been a farmer all his life, and in his person- ality displays one of the splendid types of this vo- cation.
Mr. Pierce was born Dec. 4. 1842, on the farm now occupied by his brother. Charles B., and is the son of Edwin Pierce, grandson of Benjamin Pierce and great-grandson of Joseph, who was a farmer and a native of Southbury. Benjamin Pierce, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Southbury, in 1764. He married, Nov. 29, 1798. Miss Lucy Beers, of Newtown, and to them were born three children: Starling, born Jan. 13, 1800; Chloe, born March 31, 1801 ; and Edwin, born July 9. 1807. on the farm which our subject now occupies. Ben- jamin Pierce was for a great many years constable of the town. He died Dec. 16, 1843. aged seventy- nine years, and his wife died March 30, 1855. Starling B., their eldest child, married Sally Hunt, and had one child, Mary A., who was born Nov. 28, 1825, married Etson C. Chamberlain and died Feb. 2. 1877, aged fifty-one years, her husband dying Jan. 26, 1877, aged fifty-five years. Chloe died April 9, 1878, aged seventy-six years.
Edwin Pierce, the father of our subject, when thirteen years of age, moved with his parents to a farm adjoining the old homestead, and there spent his entire life engaged in farming. He married Miss Naney Mallory, who was born in Southbury, in October, 1815, and to them were born four chil- dren, namely: Susan, who was born Jan. 28, 1837. and married John Bryan: Lucian, who was born Feb. 24, 1839, and died Sept. 30. 1888; Ezra, our subject ; and Charles B., born May 30, 1857, now a farmer of Southbury. Edwin Pierce was a Demo-
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crat in politics. He served as a member of the State legislature in 1852, and for nine years was selectman of the town. He died Nov. 2, 1875, his wife sur- viving him until Dec. 29, 1893.
Ezra Pierce received his education in the public school in Southbury, and a private school of Wood- bury, and remained on the farm where he was born until his marriage, Feb. 24, 1878, to Miss Matilda Gates, a native of Vermont. In 1882 he built the house in which he now resides, and there has since engaged in general farming and dairy business. He owns about 300 acres of land, and is one of the most prosperous farmers of Southbury. His well improved property is located two miles from South Britain. In politics Mr. Pierce is a Democrat. He has filled many local offices, including those of town treasurer one year, constable and school visitor for several years each. In 1872 he was elected a member of the State Legislature, serving with satis- faction to his constituents and credit to himself. He is highly esteemed and eminently successful as a farmer.
FREDERICK MONCKMEYER, contractor with the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Co., and one of Meriden's respected German-American citizens, was born Feb. 26, 1843, in the city of Hanover, Province of Hanover, Germany.
Christian Monckmeyer, father of Frederick, was also born in Hanover, Germany, and followed the business of carpenter and builder, becoming before his death a large contractor. He spent his whole life in his native country, and died at the age of eighty-one years, a consistent member of the Luth- eran Church. He was twice married, his first wife being named Louise; and the second, Hannah. Both died in Germany. The five children born to Mr. Monckmeyer were as follows: Sophia, deceased ; William, a resident of Hanover, Germany ; Chris- . tian, who died in Meriden, in 1808; Eliza, who lives in Germany; and Frederick, the subject of this sketch.
Frederick Monckmever was very thoroughly in- structed in the German schools, and then learned the machinist's trade. He was offered and accepted a position as assistant engineer on board the S. S. "Hansa," of the North German-Lloyd line, in 1864, and held the position for two years, making schedule trips between New York and Bremen. In 1866 he gave up the sea and came to Meriden, Conn., which as a manufacturing center, attracts skilled work- men from all over the workl. He soon became es- tablished with the Bradley & Hubbard Mig. Co .. with whom he has remained for the past thirty-six years, during the greater part of this period being engaged on contract work, in the architectural iron department. His skill has won him the confidence of his employers, while his personal attributes have made him esteemed and respected by all with whom business or social life brings him into contact.
to Sophia UIbrand, born in Oldenburg, Germany. daughter of William Ulbrand, who lived and died in his native home. Mrs. Monekmeyer is a woman much devoted to her home and family, and has a host of friends. Her fine home on Crown St. shows the presence of an excellent housewife. Six children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Monckmeyer, namely: Arthur C., a foreman in the Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Co., married Dora Sta- mer : Josie C. married Charles H. Beyerle, of Brook- Ivn, N. Y., and they have one son, Arthur F .: Charlotte M. is at home : Frederick W. is a student of architecttire at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y .; and two died young.
Mr. Monekmever is a man of more than ordin- ary intelligence, has taken a deep interest in edu- cational matters, and was one of the organizers of the German-American school, serving as one of its first trustees. He is well read on many subjects. and keeps abreast of the times. In national affairs. he supports the Republican party, but in local mat- ters he prefers an independent attitude. His family are connected with St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. He has been prominent in fraternal circles and he- longs to Meridian Lodge, No. 77. A. F. & A. M .: and Keystone Chapter, No. 27. R. A. M .. of Meri- den. He is connected with Teutonia Lodge, No. 95. I. O. O. F., of Meriden, in which he is a past grand, and he also belongs to the Grand Lodge of the State, in this order.
FRANKLIN B. SHUSTER, a well-known res- ident of New Haven, was born in that city May 10. 1866, son of John Shuster. His father was a na- tive of Vienna, Austria, born in 1844. His grand- father, Fabian Shuster, came to New Haven many years ago, being one of the early German settlers of this section. Fabian Shuster died in 1807.
John Shuster, the father, was six years of age when his parents brought him to New Haven, and here attended the district schools. He then learned ornamental painting, and formed a partnership with Henry D. Phillips, in the sign painting busi- ness, which lasted for thirteen years. For ning years he was with Henry Hooker, doing orna- mental painting in his carriage manufactory, his work being so excellent that samples were sent to the National Carriage Builders' Association of the United States, and on two occasions received first prize. Mr. Shuster has done much ornamental painting, and is an expert in that line. In 1801 he opened up his present dry goods store in State street, where he carries an immense stock, owning the commodious building, which he erected in 1884. In 1879 Mr. Shuster was elected town clerk, on the Democratic ticket, and held the position four years. being the first German who ever filled that ineum- beney in New Haven.
On June 3. 1865. Mr. Shuster married Ophelia A. Talmage, the widow of William Talmage, am!
On May 2, 1869, Mr. Monckmeyer was married . a daughter of David Camp, of Woodbridge, the
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latter being a member of one of the oldest fam- ilies in New England. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Shuster are: Franklin B., Edson F., Ella L. and Estella. In politics he is independent. So- cially he is connected with Hiram Lodge, No. I. F. & A. M. ; and with Humboldt Lodge, No. 91, I. O. O. F .; he is also a member of the 2d Company, Governor's Foot Guards.
Franklin B. Shuster grew to manhood in New Haven, and completed the primary school course when but twelve years of age, at which time, on account of family reverses, he was obliged to look after himself to some degree, beginning by enter- ing the machine shop of John Adt. There he remained for fifteen months, and then accepted other work in the same line. But he had not given up hope of pursuing a higher education. When other lads were at play he was at study, and, much to his credit, kept up with his class and prepared himself for the Sheffield Scientific School. .However, this overwork broke him down, and he was obliged to relinquish the course, and later re- turned to work at his trade. At the age of twenty- one he was made foreman in the machine depart- ment of the New Haven Clock Co., with which firm he remained four years, and then took charge of the mechanical work of the E. Ingraham Clock Co., of Bristol, where he remained six months. He was next with Wilmot & Hobbs, of Bridgeport, who made him their superintendent, and with them he continued five years. On May 14. 1895, F. B. Shuster purchased his present business, of the heirs of John Adt, with whom he learned his trade, and since then has controlled a large volume of busi- ness. He started in with six men, which number has increased to eighty-two. The business was es- tablished in 1866 by John Adt and his son under the firm name of John Adt & Son, was incorporated in 1808, and now has foreign agents in Glasgow. Brussels, Christiania, Paris. Yokohama. Berlin and St. Petersburg, the fame of the machinery turned out by this company extending all over the world. The corporation is now known as The F. B. Shuster Co., and Franklin B. Shuster is president and treasurer.
On Nov. 17, 1886. Franklin B. Shuster was mar- ried to Miss Luella Tvrrill, who was born in Nauga- tuek, daughter of E. S. Tyrrill, of Newtown, Conn., and two children have been born of this marriage, . Elmore F. and Corinne O. In his political belief Mr. Shuster is an ardent Republican, and socially he is connected with St. John's Lodge, F. & A. M .. No. I, of Bridgeport. the A. O. U. W. and the Quinnipiac Club ; he is also a member of the Gov- ernor's Foot Guards and of the Chamber of Com- merce, and displays interest in all, despite the busy iife he leads.
Not all of Mr. Shuster's time is given to busi- ness, however, for the fertile brain of this enter- prising young man is teeming with new ideas, of
strong intellectual fiber, and he is filled with that restless energy that is a constant incentive to un- tiring effort in the line of machinery. It is no wonder that he has won such rapid promotion, as he says his hobby is "anything in the machinery line." He has a number of inventions, and has nine patents pending at the present time, besides many which have been granted, one of the latter being the machine by which cotton can be baled by wire.
Mr. Shuster is justly proud of his father's talents as an artist, some of the landscapes which have come from the latter's brush, painted for pastime, having won the approbation of the public wherever exhibited.
WILLIAM G. NEWTON, superintendent of Peck Bros. & Co.'s manufacturing plant, is prob- ably the youngest man in New Haven to hold so responsible position. He was born in Kent, Conn., Feb. 15, 1867. and has from a very early age looked after his own affairs.
James Newton, his grandfather, came from Mas- sachusetts, and located in Kent. He married a Miss Calkins, and then located in Cornwall, where he reared his family of ten children, viz .: Henry, William ( father of our subject), George, Edward, Frederick. John, Charles, Mary, Nancy and Phoebe. Some of the boys became mechanies, and the others engaged in farming.
William Newton, son of James, grew up and married in Cornwall. Immediately after his mar- riage he went to Kent, and engaged in farming. later, at different times, living in Branford and East Haven, where he continued in the same occu- pation. After his removal to New Haven he fol- lowed the trade of carpenter and molder, which he had learned, continuing at this until obliged by age to refrain from active labor. His wife, Lois Stone. was a native of Ellsworth, Conn. They had a family of five children: Jennie, who married Fred A. Forbes, who is engaged in the gristmill business in East Haven (he is a son of Alexander Forbes, who represented the town of East Haven in the Legislature three terms) ; Fannie, who married Frank A. Woodward, a farmer of New Haven; Hattie, who married Samuel A. Smith, a farmer and milk dealer of East Haven; William G., our subject : and Royal S., a patternmaker in the em- ploy of Sargent & Co.
William G. Newton passed his bovhood days in East Haven on the farm, and until the age of thirteen attended the district school and a private school in the vicinity of his home. For a time he went to school in New Haven, but soon found em- ployment with Peck Bros. & Co. On Oct. 25, 1882, he entered the machine department. and learned the brass finisher's trade, serving a three-years ap- prenticeship. Thence he was transferred to the jobbing department, where he remained up to the
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age of twenty-one, at which time he was made fore- man of that department. At the end of five years he was promoted to the position of assistant su- perintendent, in which capacity he had charge of the repairs of the entire plant, boilers, machines, buildings, etc. On July 1, 1900, he became super- intendent, and in this position he is to-day fulfill- ing the prophesies made concerning him when, as a boy, he took such a keen interest in the details of the work in the various departments in which he found himself. There is no part of the work of which he is not master, and which he has not learned in this particular factory. The product of the plant consists of plumbers' brass supplies for water, gas and steam. About five hundred hands are under Mr. Newton's care, and the ability with which he discharges his duties has won the praise and admiration of his employers, and by those em- ployed about the plant he is justly regarded as a wise and efficient executive, who will in every way look after the interests of his men. He is the same friendly comrade to the men that he was when he worked side by side with them, and in time of trouble they appeal to him just as of old, when his cheery greeting made the day's work seem lighter.'
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On Oct. 2, 1893, Mr. Newton married Jessie Nickerson, who was born in New Canaan, Fair- field Co., Conn., daughter of Richard Nickerson, who is in charge of the New Canaan branch of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road. Three children have by their presence lent joy and gladness to the home: Lois A., William Irving and Ralph Hudson. In politics Mr. New- ton is a Republican, but though he takes an active interest in the work of his party, and has fre- quently been offered nominations to various offices, he has ever declined official honors. He has found it necessary to supplement the education he re- ceived at school by night study at home, and he has taken a good course in mechanical drafting and en- gineering, which has been of inestimable benefit to him in his work. Socially he is identified with a number of societies. He is a thirty-second-degree Mason, and holds membership in Adelphi Lodge, No. 63, F. & A. M., of which he is past master, for two years was treasurer and is now trustee. He also belongs to Quinnipiac Lodge, No. 21, I. O. O. F., which he joined when he attained his majority. He and his family attend the East Pearl Street M. E. Church, and all are highly esteenied.
LUCIUS W. MOODY-twelfth and sole sur- vivor of the thirteen children of Joel and Betsy Amadon Moody-was born in Springfield, . Mass .. March 4, 1831. His parents died while he, was yet a small boy, and he spent his youth in farm work, receiving such schooling as could be obtained dur- ing the winter. At eighteen he entered Wilbraham Academy. He taught school successively in Belch-
ertown, Mass., Deposit, Broome Co., N. Y., and Fairhaven, Conn. At the age of twenty-five he be- came school commissioner for the Eastern district of Broome county, having under his supervision about one hundred schools. This office he filled for nearly five years. In 1860 he married Mary J. Blair, of Chenango. They made their first home in Binghamton, N. Y., where he was principal of some of the public schools. Early in 1863 he en- tered the life insurance business, and the following year moved to Buffalo, N. Y., where he continued in the same business for twenty-two years, success- fully representing leading companies. In 1885, having been offered the general agency for Con- necticut of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insur- ance Co. of Milwaukee, he moved with his family to New Haven, where he has remained ever since. The business built up by himself and his staff of efficient helpers is one of the largest of the kind in the State. Mr. Moody is a Republican in politics ; for fifty years has been a member of the Methodist Church, in which he has long held official posi- tions ; is a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 1, F. & A. M .; of the American Association for the Advance- ment of Science; of the New Haven Historical So- ciety ; the Republican League; and several social organizations.
DR. MARY B. MOODY, wife of Lucius W. Moody, born in Barker, Broome Co., New York, in 1837. is, like himself, descended from the earliest New England settlers. Her father, Edson A. Blair, was a farmer ; her mother, Caroline ( Pease) Blair, a writer of magazine poetry under the pen name of "Waif Woodland." She is a niece of the late Rev. L. M. Pease, who founded the Five Points House of Industry in New York, and while yet in her 'teens was called to assist him in the School, which was a part of the work of this institution for im- proving the condition of the children of the "slums." In 1876 Dr. Moody graduated with hon- ors from the Medical Department of the Univer- sity of Buffalo, being the first woman admitted to that University as a student. She practiced her profession in Buffalo until the removal of the fam- ily to New Haven, and continues to do so in her present beautiful home on Fairhaven Heights. All her life she has been active in good works, and a leader in charitable, philanthropic and educational movements. She is a member of the County, State and National Medical Associations, and of various scientific and philanthropic bodies.
Seven children have been born to Lucius W. and Mary J. ( Blair ) Moody, of whom six survive. the first, Lucius Wilbur, dying in infancy. Charles Amadon resides with his family in Los Angeles, Cal., being one of the publishers and editors of the magazine "Out West." Dr. Robert Orton is a graduate of Cornell University, and of the Medical Department of Yale; he is now instructor in anat- omy in the Medical Department of the University
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of California, at San Francisco. Frederick Stowell is in the life insurance business in New London, Conn. Rev. Francis Miner (M. A., Yale, B. D., Northwestern University) is pastor of the Meth- odist Church at Elsinore, Cal. Arthur Blair is in the life insurance business with his father in New Haven, Conn. Mary Grace, the youngest, the only and beloved daughter, who recently graduated from Cornell University, resides with her parents. Home comings at intervals and correspondence keep the family still united, though its members are in widely separated localities, with families of their own to cherish.
HENRY BOHN, whose name was familiar in Branford, was born in the town of Weyer, Alsace- Lorraine, April 11, 1859.
Michael Bohn, his father, was also born in Alsace-Lorraine, and by occupation was a contractor and builder. He married Catherine Lnx, of the same nativity. His father, Joseph Bolin, married Maria Cuni, whose mother in her maidenhood was Mary Zenus.
Henry Bohn, whose name opens this sketch, re- ceived a good education at the public schools of his native place, and served a five years' apprenticeship at the general mason's trade, afterward working as a journeyman in Weyer, and seven months in Paris, France. In 1879. he came to the United States, landing in New York City April I, that year, thence at once proceeding to New Haven, Conn., where he entered the employ of his uncle, George Bohn, gen- eral contractor. With him he remained some eight- een months, after which for a year he was in the employ of Philip Fresones, brewer ; he was with the Quinnipiac Brewing Co. five and one-half years. On Dec. 26, 1886, he opened the "Oak Hall Cafe," which he successfully conducted, and he also had a branch establishment at Branford Point, besides be- ing owner of the "Bay View Hotel," Stony Creek. His death occurred in September, 1899.
On Oct. 12, 1884; Mr. Bohn was united in mar- riage with Anne Miller, daughter of Frank and Ann N. (Weber) Miller, of Germany. In relig- ious faith our subject was a member of the Catholic Church, as is his wife. Mr. Bohn's name was on the rolls of the following fraternities: Rock Lodge, No. 92, F. & A. M .; Humboldt Lodge, No. 91, I. O. O. F .; Woodland Lodge, No. 39, K. P .; U. R. K. of P., No. 13; New Haven Lodge, No. 25, B. P. O. E. ; Court Herman, No. 8, Foresters of Amer- ica ; and the Harugari, No. 600. In politics he was a Republican.
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