USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 10 > Part 28
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Henry M. Minor was born in Litch- field county, Connecticut, and died in Alexandria from sickness contracted in the army. He was a member of Company A, 19th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. Previous to enlisting he had followed farming in Northfield. Mr. Minor was a member of the Masonic fraternity. He married Amelia Heaton. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Minor married (sec- ond) Henry Ray. The only child of the first marriage was Sheldon E., of whom further.
Sheldon E. Minor was educated in the schools of Litchfield and Thomaston, Con- necticut, and was graduated from Shef- field Scientific School in 1882 with the de- gree of Ph. B. Equipped with a good education, Mr. Minor applied himself to the mastering of the practical side of his profession, and for several years worked on river and harbor improvements and in building railroads in Cuba and Pennsyl- vania. In 1887 he located in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he opened an office and has met with success. He has been engaged in a general civil engineering and surveying business since that time. Mr. Minor entered into the public affairs of Greenwich soon after making his resi- dence there, and is a staunch Republican. He served as clerk and treasurer of the borough of Greenwich for seventeen years and discharged the duties incumbent on
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these offices in a manner which brought satisfaction to his fellow-citizens. While at college Mr. Minor became a member of Chi Phi, and he is also a member of Aca- cia Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
Mr. Minor married Mary E. Pierpont, daughter of Robert Pierpont, of Morris, Connecticut, and they were the parents of a son, Pierpont Langdon, born Decem- ber 10, 1889. The latter graduated from Sheffield Scientific School in 1911, and en- gaged in the practice of civil engineering with his father. In 1920 he was elected commissioner of highways of Greenwich, which office he now holds. Mr. Minor served in the World War as lieutenant of engineers in the Engineer Corps, and was in France for about nine months. In the service his period of enlistment was for about two years. He married Olive Ad- ams, of Hastings-on-Hudson. Mr. Minor, Sr. and his family attend the Congrega- tional church.
SCOFIELD, Henry Ellsworth, Honored Citizen.
The life of Henry E. Scofield was a busy one. He was one of the organizers and vice-president of the Cove Transpor- tation Company of Stamford, and for the space of half a century one of the best known representatives of the industrial interests of his community. Mr. Scofield was officially identified with other busi- ness organizations, and his standing as a conscientious and public-spirited citizen was always, and most deservedly, of the very highest.
(I) Rufus Scofield, great-grandfather of Henry Ellsworth Scofield, owned and operated a mill at the west end of the bridge over the Mianus river at Cos Cob. He married Sally Wardwell, whose ances- tral record is appended to this biography,
and until May, 1823, they resided near the Cove Mills, removing then to Kings- ton, New York, remaining there until the following October. Their next migra- tion was to New York City where, on November 10, 1823, Mrs. Scofield passed away. The death of Mr. Scofield oc- curred at Greenwich, Connecticut, on July 28, 1854, aged seventy-five years.
(II) William Scofield, son of Rufus and Sally (Wardwell) Scofield, was born September 29, 1816. He was a black- smith, following his trade in Greenwich. He married Cornelia Mead, a member of an old and honorable family which was founded in the American colonies by John Mead, one of two brothers who came from England in 1642.
(III) Lewis Scofield, son of William and Cornelia (Mead) Scofield, was born February 28, 1806, died July 19, 1867; for many years he was employed in the Cove Mills, at Stamford. He married Sarah Ann Palmer, born May 5, 1813, daughter of Squires and Elizabeth (Thompson) Palmer, who were married December 14, 1806. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Sco- field were: I. Henry Ellsworth, men- tioned below. 2. James Theodore, born March 4, 1834; served in the Civil War as a member of Company F, Third Regi- ment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and in Company B, Seventeenth Regi- ment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry ; was promoted to corporal September 3, 1862, and mustered out at New Haven, September 3, 1865. 3. George Albert, born June 14, 1836, at Stamford, as was his elder brother. His trade was that of a house painter. On May II, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Third Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out at Hartford, August 12, 1861 ; reënlisted, July 24, 1862, as sergeant of Company B, Seventeenth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and was
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mustered out at New Haven, September 3, 1865, having been confined for eight months in various prisons; he was cap- tured, May 19, 1864, at Welaka, Florida, and paroled February 27, 1865 ; he mar- ried, October 8, 1866, Abigail Thompson, born October 31, 1846, daughter of Elias and Hannah Maria (Palmer) Thompson. In 1873 Mr. and Mrs. Scofield were living at Stamford, and at Darien in September, 1877. 4. Alfred Van Buren, born Feb- ruary 21, 1838, and was a farmer; en- listed, August 11, 1862, in Company B, Seventeenth Regiment, Connecticut Vol- unteer Infantry, and was mustered out as corporal at New Haven, September 3, 1865; was captured by the Confederates the same day as his brother and confined in various prisons until paroled, February 27, 1865 ; married, December 25, 1866, Lu- cretia Worden, born February 26, 1831, in Greenwich, daughter of Andrew and Amanda (Tenpenny) Worden, and widow of Edward Fields, of Rye, New York. 5. Lewis Washington, born June 21, 1840, and was employed at the Cove Mills; enlisted July 28, 1862, as corporal, in Company B, Seventeenth Regiment, Con- necticut Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out at New Haven, September 3, 1865; was captured with his brothers at Welaka, Florida, and paroled February 27, 1865; married, February 22, 1870, Eliza Priscilla, born February 22, 1851, in New York City, daughter of William and Eliza (Easton) Self. Mr. and Mrs. Sco- field have lived many years in Stamford. 6. Noah Franklin, born March 21, 1843, at Stamford, and is a house painter ; en- listed, September 13, 1862, in Company B, Twenty-eighth Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out at New Haven, August 28, 1863; did not marry. 7. Chauncey Ayres, born July 22, 1845, at Stamford, and was em- ployed at the Cove Mills ; married, April
15, 1866, at Stamford, Melonee Morrell, born July 18, 1845, daughter of Robert and Mary Jane (Lockwood) Morrell, of Mianus. Mr. and Mrs. Scofield lived at Stamford, and both are now deceased. 8. Charles William, born August 23, 1848, at Stamford, and is a carpenter; mar- ried, December 24, 1869, at Darien, Caro- line Matilda Flannigan, born March 26, 1851, daughter of Frederick and Emiline (Waterbury) Flannigan, and lived for some years in New Haven, now residing in Waterbury. 9. Edgar Homer, born October 31, 1855; married Frances Ade- laide Morrell, of Mianus. Lewis Scofield, the father of the family, passed away July 17, 1867, and was survived many years by his widow, whose death occurred Septem- ber 26, 1904, after she had entered her ninety-first year.
(IV) Henry Ellsworth Scofield, son of Lewis and Sarah Ann (Palmer) Scofield, was born March 4, 1828, in Stamford, and received his education in the public schools of his home town. On leaving school he went to New York City to learn the trade of a wood carver, but soon aban- doned the project. Returning to Stam- ford while still a boy, he entered the Cove Mills, thus forming a connection which was destined to be lifelong. Step by step he advanced, filling, in turn, every posi- tion up to that of general superintendent which at the time of his death he had held for some years. After the mill was de- stroyed by fire he assisted in the erection of the new structure, and when his useful life reached its earthly end he was able to look back upon sixty years of faithful service, and his record was such as might well inspire in those of his race and his name a just and laudable pride and a feel- ing that such a narrative should be care- fully and permanently preserved.
In 1893, on the fiftieth anniversary of Mr. Scofield's entering the service of the
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Stamford Manufacturing Company, the house presented him a beautiful gold watch and chain bearing his monogram and the following inscription : "Presented to Henry Ellsworth Scofield by The Stamford Manufacturing Company in recognition of his fifty years of faithful service and constant devotion to this com- pany, December, 1895."
The other business activities of Mr. Scofield included his work as one of the organizers of the Cove Transportation Company and his service afterward as its vice-president. He was also one of the founders of the Spring Grove Cemetery and a member of its board of trustees, and the Fidelity Title and Trust Com- pany numbered him among its original stockholders.
Mr. Scofield married, March 18, 1855, Lois Amelia Holly, whose ancestral rec- ord is appended to this biography, and they were the parents of one daughter, Mary Louise Scofield. Miss Scofield is corresponding secretary of the Stamford Historical Society, and belongs to the Ladies' Club, the Schubert Club, the La- dies' Auxiliary of the Young Men's Chris- tian Association, and the Young Women's Christian Association. She is also a mem- ber of the Stamford Hospital Aid, and a Daughter of the American Revolution. Miss Scofield is an Episcopalian, being a member of St. John's Protestant Epis- copal Church.
On January 17, 1903, Mr. Scofield passed away, rich not in material wealth alone, but also in the far more precious endowment of the honor and esteem of his entire community and in the warm affec- tion of those friends whom he had ad- mitted to the inner circle of his intimacy. It is now many years since Henry Ells- worth Scofield "ceased from earth," but he still lives among us by the force of his example and the continuance of his work.
He was a just man, and his memory is blessed.
(The Wardwell Line).
William Wardwell was the first ances- tor of record.
(II) Uzell (also spelled Usal and Usual) Wardwell, son of William Ward- well, was born April 7, 1639, in Boston, and received an allotment of two acres of land there. He removed to Exeter, New Hampshire, on being disarmed as a friend of the Antinomian party. He took with him some cattle, as it appears that he received in the first division of land, one hundred and twenty poles of meadow, and the same number at Lam- prey river ; also ten acres and fifty poles of upland. He lived at Exeter and is named as a subscriber to the deed of Sagamore. Uzell Wardwell was a trooper in Captain Paige's company in the Mount Hope campaign, and sergeant in Major Appleton's company in the Narragansett winter campaign in King Philip's War. He lived some time in Ipswich and subse- quently removed to Bristol, Rhode Island. He married (first) May 3, 1664, in Ips- wich, Mary (Kinsman) Ring, widow of Daniel Ring, and daughter of Robert and Mary (Bordman) Kinsman, of Ipswich. After her death he married (second) in Bristol, Grace
(III) William (2) Wardwell, son of Uzell and Grace Wardwell, was born May 13, 1693, in Bristol, Rhode Island, and previous to 1743 was settled in Stamford, as appears from the fact that in that year he was the town's scaler of weights and measures. He married Margaret
(IV) Jacob Wardwell, son of William (2) and Margaret Wardwell, was born August 19, 1744, and is said to have served seven years in the Continental army. He married, January 30, 1769, Hannah Whitney, who was born in Stam- ford, September 2, 1746. The Whitney
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race is of ancient English origin, and the American branch is among the oldest of the Colonial families of New England. Jacob Wardwell was of Stamford, and later of New Canaan.
(V) Sally Wardwell, daughter of Ja- cob and Hannah (Whitney) Wardwell, was born in 1777, in Stamford, and be- came the wife of Rufus Scofield, as stated above.
(The Holly Line).
John Holly was born in England, about 1618, and about 1640 emigrated to the American colonies, settling in Stamford, Connecticut, where he soon became prom- inent in public affairs and was honored with various posts of trust and impor- tance. He was a well-to-do and influen- tial man, and in 1643 was made marshal of the court ; in 1644 appraiser of estates ; and in 1655 and 1667 a member of the committee appointed to arbitrate between the English and the Indians. In 1667 he was a member of the committee on the boundary question between Greenwich and Stamford, and he also belonged to the building committee having charge of the erection of the Congregational meet- ing house. John Holly married Mary -, and their children were: John, Samuel, Increase ; Elisha, mentioned be- low; Jonas, Elizabeth Tierney, Bettina Weed, Hannah Hoyt, and Abigail. John Holly, the father, died May 25, 1681.
(II) Elisha Holly, son of John and Mary Holly, was born June 1, 1659, and married, December 2, 1686, Martha Holmes, whose ancestral record is ap- pended (see Holmes line). The death of Elisha Holly occurred October 28, 1719, and his widow passed away August 4, 1721.
(III) Elisha (2) Holly, son of Elisha (1) and Martha (Holmes) Holly, was born November 10, 1687, and married,
January 24, 1716, Rebecca Bishop, daugh. ter of Stephen Bishop. Elisha (2) Holly died May 14, 1752.
(IV) Stephen Holly, son of Elisha (2) and Rebecca (Bishop) Holly, was born October 19, 1728; he married (first) Oc- tober 9, 1751, Hannah Marshall, who died May 26, 1761 ; he married (second) April 19, 1762, Lois (Todd) Mead, a widow, daughter of the Rev. Abraham Todd, and removed to Greenwich, Connecticut. Ste- phen Holly died in 1771.
(V) Stephen (2) Holly, son of Stephen (1) and Lois (Todd-Mead) Holly, was born January 12, 1763, and married, Jan- uary 5, 1780, Deborah Ferris. The Ferris family, an ancient one, is indubitably of Norman origin, one branch having been long resident in New England.
(VI) Silas Holly, son of Stephen (2) and Deborah (Ferris) Holly, was born November 16, 1781, and married Rhoda Sherwood.
(VII) Samuel Augustus Holly, son of Silas and Rhoda (Sherwood) Holly, was born August 22, 1815, died August 22, 1897 ; he was of Long Ridge. He married (first) Phoebe Seeley, daughter of John Seeley, of High Ridge, and they were the parents of three children: Lois Amelia, of whom further; Jane Ann; and John Morgan, born May 31, 1840, died January 19, 1892; married, December 4, 1873, Ella Abitha Waterbury, and had one son, Wil- liam Percival. He married (second) Elizabeth Ingersoll, and they had one son, Frank Corwin, who married Joseph- ine Studwell, and they had a daughter, Ella.
(VIII) Lois Amelia Holly, daughter of Samuel Augustus and Phoebe (Seeley) Holly, was born October 29, 1838, dieđ May 30, 1914; she became the wife of Henry Ellsworth Scofield, as stated above.
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(The Holmes Line).
(I) Francis Holmes was born about 1600, in Yorkshire, England, and about 1635 emigrated to the American colonies, settling first in Massachusetts and later removing to Stamford, where he was liv- ing as early as 1648. His death occurred in 1675, his widow, Ann, surviving him.
(II) Stephen Holmes, son of Francis and Ann Holmes, was born about 1632, and died at Stamford, May 15, 1710; his widow, Martha, passed away March 13, 1728.
(III) Martha Holmes, daughter of Stephen and Martha Holmes, was their fifth child, and became the wife of Elisha Holly, as stated above (see Holly line).
SCOFIELD, Walter Keeler, Physician, Naval Medical Officer.
In the annals of Fairfield county there is frequent mention found of the Scofield family. Its members have been among the leading citizens, men of worth in their communities, from the time of the first settlers. Daniel Scofield, the immigrant ancestor, settled early in Stamford, and was among the most prominent of his fellow-citizens. Since that time there has been a Scofield holding a respected and honored place in the business and profes- sional life of Stamford, and there is none more worthy of mention than the late Dr. Walter Keeler Scofield. His career was one of ability and usefulness, and he furnished an exemplification of the high- est virtues of his calling. Dr. Walter Lewis Scofield, his son, is now engaged in the practice of medicine in Stamford, and although comparatively a young man, has succeeded in attaining well deserved success in his chosen vocation.
There were many surnames derived from the localities where the individuals resided who adopted them : Slocum, from
Sloe Combe, the wild plum pasture ; Welles, which was taken from the springs of water near a home. Scolefield, the original form of Scofield, literally signi- fied a field containing small houses or cottages similar to that which would be. found on the estate of the early titled English families. Through the centuries this changed in spelling and form to the present day usage, Scofield.
(I) The progenitor of the family, Dan- iel Scofield, was born in the parish of Rochdale, Lancashire, England. He was a grandson of Sir Cuthbert Scofield, of Scofield Manor, the family being of an- cient and honorable lineage. In 1639 he came to America in the ship "Susan and Ellen," and after residing for a time at Ipswich, Massachusetts, he located at Stamford, Connecticut, where his death occurred in 1671. On December 7, 1641, he received two acres consisting of a home-lot, and three acres of woodland, as the first company. He was a man of prominence in the colony, and served as marshal of Stamford in 1658. His wife was Mary Youngs, daughter of Rev. John Youngs.
(II) John Scofield, son of Daniel and Mary (Youngs) Scofield, was born in 1650, and died March 27, 1699. He mar- ried, at Stamford, July 12, 1677, Hannah Mead, and they were the parents of Na- thaniel Scofield, of whom further.
(III) Nathaniel Scofield was born De- cember 10, 1688, and died in 1768. He married, June 13, 1713-14, Elizabeth Pet- tet, and they were the parents of John (2) Scofield, of whom further.
(IV) John (2) Scofield, son of Na- thaniel and Elizabeth (Pettet) Scofield, was born October 4, 1714. In 1743 he married Hannah Mills, and they were the parents of John (3) Scofield, of whom further.
(V) John (3) Scofield was born Sep-
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tember 14, 1746. His wife was Elizabeth Nicholas, a Scotch woman. She was a fearless horsewoman, and during the Revolution was riding near Norwalk one day when she was overtaken by some British officers who boasted that they had burned Norwalk and would soon burn Stamford. Mrs. Scofield quickly grasping the situation, thought of a short cut back to Stamford, and with confidence in the speed of her horse, she rode back through the woods and warned the men of Stam- ford of the British coming, and thereby saved the town. John Scofield and his brave wife are buried in the family lot two miles north of the city of Stamford.
(VI) Silas Scofield, son of John (3) and Elizabeth (Nicholas) Scofield, was born in Stamford, and married, February 13, 1803, Rebecca Holmes, and they were the parents of Alfred Scofield, of whom further.
(VII) Alfred Scofield was born May 27, 1805, and died February 13, 1877. He lived in Stamford all his life, was a farmer by occupation, and one of the foremost citizens. He married, January 19, 1837, Ann Maria Keeler, of Bedford, New York, born January 14, 1811, died September 8, 1879. Their children were: Walter Keeler, of further mention; George Al- fred, born August 10, 1841 ; John Oscar, born October 4, 1844 ; Jane A., born April 19, 1847, married Charles H. Brown ; Frances Maria, born October 13, 1851, married John G. Powell.
(VIII) Walter Keeler Scofield, son of Alfred and Ann Maria (Keeler) Scofield, was born in Stamford, April 28, 1839, and died August 5, 1910. He was educated in the Stamford public schools and at Prof. Glendenning's Academy. He read medi- cine under the preceptorship of Dr. Kee- ler, and then entered Yale Medical School. The outbreak of the Civil War inter- rupted his studies, and he successfully
passed the examinations for medical serv- ice in the navy. After the Civil War and while still in the navy, Dr. Scofield was permitted to complete his medical studies in Columbia University, where he re- ceived his degree. It is related that his father, Deacon Scofield, at a gathering of the family, said to his daughters: "You and I shall stay home, but the boys will fight for the Union." The three sons went into the navy, and each of them gave a good account of himself. When Dr. Scofield received his first commission he was only twenty-two years old and the war had just begun. He was attached to Farragut's fleet during many of the most memorable engagements of the war, serving off Charleston and later off the coast of Florida. For many months his skill was employed in caring for the sick and wounded in the hospitals of New Or- leans, and when peace was declared he was on the staff of the naval hospital at Norfolk, Virginia. As a surgeon he ranked high, and it would be hard to es- timate the value of his skill at a time when good surgeons were sorely needed. Naval veterans all over the land remem- bered him with gratitude.
In the years following the war, Dr. Scofield was stationed in China, Japan, South America, Africa and Europe. In 1895 he was transferred to headquarters at Philadelphia, where he remained until his retirement. Dr. Scofield entered the service as assistant surgeon attached to the steam gunboat "Sagamore," East Gulf blockade squadron, 1861-63 ; steamer "Union," same squadron, 1864; Naval Hospital, Norfolk, Virginia, 1865-66; steamer "Augusta," European squadron, 1866-67; was commissioned as surgeon, June 19, 1866; assigned to the naval ren- dezvous at Boston, 1868; attached to the sloop "Saratoga," North Atlantic squad- ron, 1869; iron-clad "Terror," special
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service, in 1870; receiving ship "Ver- mont," 1871-72; "Lackawanna," Asiatic squadron, 1873-75; receiving-ship, "Wa- bash," Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1875- 79 ; fleet surgeon, Pacific station, 1881-82 ; navy yard, Mare Island, 1882-86; commis- sioned as medical inspector, November, 1883 ; steamer "Lancaster," European sta- tion, 1887-89; special duty, New York City, 1889-92; commissioned as medical director, February 8, 1889; leave of ab- sence, April, 1892-94; president of Medi- cal Examining Board at League Island, October, 1894-99; marine rendezvous, Philadelphia, October 8, 1899-1901; re- tired, April 28, 1901.
Always modest in his speech, and not con- spicuous in his personal appearance, only those who had served with Dr. Scofield in the navy, or who had known him intimately, were aware of the vast fund of knowledge he possessed, not only of things pertaining to his profession, but subjects of general interest. He was a man of exceptional culture, and his acquaintance with the affairs of the world was gained not only by extensive read- ing, but by a wide and varied general experience. He was able to speak six languages fluently, un- derstood Japanese and could speak the language well enough to make himself understood, and had a reading knowledge of several other tongues. During his service in the navy, he visited nearly every civilized country. He was a guest at the palace of the Czar in St. Petersburg as a mem- ber of the Fox Commission in 1866. They were sent to congratulate the Czar on his escape from assassination and to thank him and the Russian people for their assistance to the North during the Civil War. Dr. Scofield met the Mikado in Japan, where he was stationed at the time the Japanese were organizing their military medical system. He was a close observer of men and events. It was seldom he could be induced to talk about his experiences, or to give his impressions, but those who were able to break through his re- serve were astonished at the extent and accuracy of his information. He would converse with equal interest concerning any country, and he was an encyclopedia of information concerning his own. He had seen the navy develop from old wooden vessels to fleets of modern dreadnaughts. He had seen an American navy spring into exist-
ence in the days of the Civil War, and had seen the new navy develop in the last quarter of a century of his life. He made a record of splen- did service in the Civil War, and he reached the highest rank a surgeon can attain in the service -- rear-admiral.
Dr. Scofield was a member of many patriotic societies, among them being the Loyal Legion ; Society of Army and Navy Surgeons; Grand Army of the Republic; Sons of the American Revolution, through his ancestors, John Holmes, and Jacob Waring ; and he was a member of Union Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons.
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