USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 10 > Part 3
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In the winter of 1919-20 the census bureau solicited Mr. Marks' assistance in taking the census of manufacturers. Mr. Marks declined on the ground that he had passed the age limit prescribed by law, but a special representative sent from Washington persuaded him to ac- cept an appointment as a special agent to cover the district from the New York State line to the Bridgeport district, and from the Danbury district to the sound. He was allowed three months in which to cover his territory, but he finished the task within a month and a half, thus placing himself at the head of the workers in the Sixth District, and making a record of remarkable activity for a man of his years and for thoroughness and accuracy unsurpassed.
On the completion of this important work, Mr. Marks was assigned to the un- finished district of Danbury, which he finished in record time, refusing a third appointment to the southern section of Litchfield county. In taking the popula- tion census he covered two districts in the time usually allotted for one, and after the canvass was supposed to be complete scoured the town for people who had been missed, doing this latter work without compensation.
Through his ancestor, John Merwin, Mr. Marks holds membership in the Sons of the American Revolution of Connecti- cut. The connection of the Merwins with the Marks family is traced in the geneal- ogy contained in the biography of Amasa
A. Marks. Mr. Marks is a veteran Mason, affiliated with Ark Lodge, No. 39, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of George- town, and also a member of Washington · Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, and Clin- ton Commandery, Knights Templar, of Norwalk. He has served seven terms as grand chaplain of the Grand Lodge of the First Masonic District of Connecticut, an unprecedented honor.
Mr. Marks married Mary Devine, born in Brooklyn, New York, daughter of Nicholas and Mary (Stoddard) Devine, of that city. Mr. Devine was a native of Ireland, and Mrs. Devine was born in England. Mr. and Mrs. Marks became the parents of the following children: I. Lucy May, educated (academically ) in St. Mary's School, Burlington, New Jer- sey ; received a thorough musical training and is a well known vocalist; married Dr. F. J. Morrison, of Norwalk, and is now supervisor of vocal music in the schools of New York City, examiner of the teach- ers and graduates of the college, also a musical director. 2. Anna Adelia, died unmarried at the age of twenty-six; a graduate of Holyoke College, and at the time of her death teacher of political economy in the Bethel (Connecticut) High School. 3. Mary Esther, of Stam- ford; holds two degrees from Oberlin College, and is supervisor of physical training for the schools of Stamford. 4. Charles Edwin, resides in New York City; superintendent of the Electric Power House of the United Electric Light Company, the largest in the world; married Lillian Simpson, by whom he has two children: Charles E., Jr., and Richard S. 5. Eliza Jeanette, supervisor of physical training of the high schools of Brooklyn, New York. 6. Amasa Abraham, has charge of physi- cal training in the high schools of Passaic, New Jersey ; this has been considered an
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especially difficult field, the boys of Pas- saic having made a reputation for being unruly ; Mr. Marks has succeeded in win- ning their confidence, esteem and coöper- ation to such an extent that, under his coaching, the school boys of Passaic have won every game of basketball they have played ; the principal of the Passaic High School, through the mayor, reported to the governor of New Jersey that A. A. Marks was the best disciplinarian the schools have had, and so pleased were the citizens of Passaic with the achieve- ments of Mr. Marks in the training of their boys that they presented him, in 1920, with a gold watch, appropriately inscribed, the gold chain and basketball fob for the chain being the gift of the high school boys themselves. He mar- ried Blanche Joan, and they have one daughter, Margaret.
The Rev. Charles A. Marks is now rec- tor emeritus of St. Matthew's Church, Wilton, Connecticut. As clergyman and citizen he has given the best that was in him to his church, his country, and his fellow-men.
MARKS, George E., Manufacturer, Financier.
As a member of the internationally known firm of A. A. Marks, the citizen of New York and Greenwich, whose name we have inscribed at the head of this article, requires no introduction in a work of this character. Mr. Marks, while prominent in the business world of the metropolis and identified with a number of her leading interests, has always been intimately associated with all that tended to advance the welfare and progress of his home community in Connecticut.
George E. Marks was born January 29, 1853, in New York City, a son of Amasa A. and Lucy Ann (Platt) Marks (q. v.).
The early education of George E. Marks was received in schools of New York City, supplemented by attendance at a private school in Milford, Connecticut. In 1879 he graduated from Union College with the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Civil Engineer, receiving in due course, three years later, the degree of Master of Arts. Immediately thereafter he was associated with his father in the latter's business with which he has ever since been continuously connected and to which his sagacious foresight and skillful management have imparted additional impetus, greater strength and a more extensive scope. He is vice-president and a director of the West Side Savings Bank of New York.
In 1917 Mr. Marks organized the As- sociation of Limb Manufacturers, and for three years served as its first president. Upon his retirement from that office he was presented with a beautiful silver lov- ing-cup. Mr. Marks' first vote was cast in Connecticut, and he has held several town offices in Greenwich. Since 1885 he has been been a resident of New York City, but has always had a summer home in Riverside, in the town of Green- wich, and in 1920 made it his permanent home. The fraternal and social connec- tions of Mr. Marks are numerous. He is past master of Manitou Lodge, No. 106, Free and Accepted Masons, and a mem- ber of the Past Masters' Association of New York City. He affiliates with Man- hattan Chapter, No. 184, Royal Arch Masons ; Palestine Commandery, Knights Templar; and Mecca Temple, Mystic Shrine. He was one of the incorporators of the Sound Beach Golf Club and the Riverside Yacht Club, in which he still holds membership. Among the other organizations in which he is enrolled are the New York Historical Society and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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Mr. Marks married, October 30, 1888, Louise Ridabock, daughter of James and Frances U. (Gratacap) Ridabock. Mrs. Ridabock was a daughter of Henry G. Gratacap, of New York City, a well known manufacturer of firemen's hats and general equipment. Mr. and Mrs. Marks are the parents of three children: I. Frances Louise, born December 10, 1889; now the wife of the Rev. H. Baxter Liebler, rector of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church, Riverside, Connecticut. 2. Anna Grace, born November 22, 1890. 3. George E., Jr., born April 28, 1898, now associated with his father in busi- ness. Mr. and Mrs. Marks are members of the Episcopal church in Riverside, Connecticut.
By his able leadership, in the second generation, of a business enterprise which has achieved an international reputation, Mr. Marks has brought additional honor to the family name.
MARKS, William L.,
Manufacturer, Public-Spirited Citizen.
So thoroughly is Mr. Marks indentified with New York City and with Sound Beach, Connecticut, that it is difficult to decide whether he should be regarded, primarily, as a citizen of the metropolis, or as belonging to the place which, al- ready beautiful, has been rendered even more so by his public-spirited endeav- ors. A member of the noted firm of A. A. Marks, of New York, Mr. Marks is also conspicuously associated with the fraternal circles and social life of that city as well as with those of his Connec- ticut home.
William L. Marks was born August II, 1862, in New York City, and is a son of Amasa A. and Lucy Ann (Platt) Marks (q. v.). The education of William L. Marks was received in schools of his
native city and in those of Sound Beach. Very early in life he gave evidence of un- usual business ability, and on becoming the assistant of his father his services proved of great value in the maintenance and conduct of the enterprise. When Mr. Marks, Sr., retired, William L. Marks and his brother continued the business under the old name of A. A. Marks. Mr. Marks is a director of the First-Stamford National Bank of Stamford. In 1893 Mr. Marks purchased Laddin Rock Farm and by subsequent acquisitions of land en- larged it until he became the owner of two hundred and twenty-five acres. The natural beauty of the place has been en- hanced by improvements. A superb driveway winds past most of the pictur- esque points of the landscape, and the rocky land has been made to assume the aspect of a park. A building which has been constructed in the semblance of an old farm house forms the residence of the farm superintendent, and North Gate Lodge, a structure composed entirely of boulders, produces a novel effect and is the home of the superintendent of the nursery. The stables are of the same material. The aspect of the entire place is one of artistic beauty. The rock from which the place derives its name is so called in memory of an early settler, Laddin, who had made his home near it and was attacked by Indians. After a brave defense, seeing that he must event- ually be overpowered, he threw himself and his horse over the precipice. Politi- cally Mr. Marks is a Republican. He be .- longs to the New England Society in the City of New York, and the Students' Dra- matic Club of New York. His other clubs are the Suburban Club of Stamford, the East Side Rod and Gun Club, the Riv- erside Yacht Club, the Stamford Yacht Club, and the Woodway Country Club, also the Greenwich Driving Association.
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He affiliates with Manitou Lodge, No. 106, Free and Accepted Masons; Man- hattan Chapter, No. 186, Royal Arch Masons; Palestine Commandery, No. 18, Knights Templar; and Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mys- tic Shrine.
Mr. Marks married, February 23, 1886, Mary Elizabeth Quintard, daughter of Charles E. and Isabelle (La Chapelle) Quintard, of Sound Beach. In August of the same year Mrs. Marks passed away.
In addition to his superior qualifica- tions as a business man, Mr. Marks has shown that he possesses in full measure that high degree of public spirit which has always been a characteristic of the gifted family from which he traces his descent.
HARTLEY, Emily Isabel (Wakeman), Actress, Theatre Manager.
Today, as never before in the history of the world, the woman in business is recognized as an asset in a community. There are many American women of the finest type who have become widely known because of their superior execu- tive abilities. Emily (Wakeman ) Hartley, manager of the Stamford Theatre, has at- tained signal success in the world of busi- ness. Mrs. Hartley was born October 28, 1873. daughter of Thaddeus Burr and Emily Frances (Ludlam) Wakeman.
(I) She is a descendant of Francis Wakeman, who married, in Eastham, England, Anne Goode. He died Septem- ber 2, 1626, and his wife, January 29, 1621.
(II) John Wakeman, son of Francis and Anne (Goode) Wakeman, was bap- tized March 29, 1601, in Bewdly, Wor- cestershire, England. He married Eliza- beth Hopkins, January 28, 1628-29,
baptized October 7, 1610, died in 1658 in New Haven, Connecticut. John Wake- inan died in 1661 in Hartford, Connecti- cut.
(III) Rev. Samuel Wakeman, son of John and Elizabeth (Hopkins) Wakeman, was baptized June 7, 1635, and died March 8, 1692. He married, August 28, 1656, Hannah Goodyear, daughter of Rev. Stephen Goodyear, who died in 1721. (IV) Captain John (2) Wakeman, son of Rev. Samuel and Hannah (Goodyear) Wakeman, was born about 1659, and died February 15, 1709. He married, April 24, 1687, Martha Hubbell, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Hubbell, who died June 5, 1710.
(V) John (3) Wakeman, son of Cap- tain John (2) and Martha (Hubbell) Wakeman, was born August 27, 1705, and died in 1789-90. He married, April 8, 1730, Catherine Gilbert, born in July, 1706, died April 9, 1777, daughter of Moses and Jane Gilbert.
(VI) Ebenezer Wakeman, son of John (3) and Catherine (Gilbert) Wakeman, was born July 20, 1737, and died March 31, 1823. He married (first) March 3, 1764, Elizabeth Webb, born in 1737, died March 29, 1776, daughter of Hosiah and Susana (Disbrow) Webb. He married (second) Sarah Shelton, born 1744, died March 22, 1814, daughter of Daniel and Mary (Hubbell) Shelton.
(VII) Jonathan Wakeman, son of Ebe- nezer Wakeman, died in Albany, New York, July 6, 1843. He married, August 28, 1815. Clara Wakeman, born in 1784, died November 16. 1850, daughter of Thaddeus and Esther (Bradley) Wake- man.
(VIII) Thaddeus Burr Wakeman, son of Jonathan and Clara (Wakeman) Wakeman, was born in Greenfield Hill, Fairfield county, Connecticut, December 23, 1834. His father died while he was
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a small boy, and when he was nine years of age he was taken by his mother to Herkimer county, New York. When a youth he went to New York City where an older brother, Abram Wakeman, who became a warm friend of President Lin- coln, was already practicing law. Thad- deus Burr Wakeman went to school there and later was a student of Princeton University, from which he was gradu- ated. He then studied law with his brother and practiced many years in New York City.
Mr. Wakeman was a thorough Demo- crat in spirit, and believed in the utmost freedom of conscience, speech and the press. Progressive in his thought, he was glad to follow the lead of science in sweeping away the superstitions of a dead and ignorant past. He was one of the founders of the Thomas Paine Soci- ety in New York, and served as its president. Mr. Wakeman started the sub- scription to retain a portion of the Paine farm and the little house on it where are preserved many historical relics of Paine. He wrote a great deal for liberal papers along sociological lines. Thirty-eight years ago he started a weekly called "Man," and published it for three years in the midst of a very busy law practice. He was known as "the poor man's friend," and was always ready to take, without hope of compensation, cases for the poor who were being wronged. He was one of the founders of the Manhattan Liberal Club, the Nineteenth Century Club, and the Goethe Club of New York City, in each of which he held high office. After retir- ing from his law practice, Mr. Wakeman lived on his farm near Greenwich, Con- necticut, devoting himself to scientific study and writing. He was a friend of the late Professor Ernst Haeckel, of Jena, of whose school of philosophy he was the chief representative in America, and two
years before his death he was the Amer- ican delegate to the convention of the Monist Society, in Hamburg, Germany.
Mr. Wakeman married, May 24, 1859, in Oyster Bay, New York, Emily Frances Ludlam, daughter of Elbert and Mary (Cock) Ludlam, of Oyster Bay, Long Island. The Ludlam family had been in continuous possession of the farm on which they lived from the time of the original grant by the King of England in the seventeenth century. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Wakeman were: I. Clara, born May 20, 1860. 2. Elbert, born May 24, 1862, now a resident of St. Mary's county, Maryland. 3. Mary, deceased. 4. Emily Isabel, of this review.
(IX) Emily Isabel (Wakeman) Hart- ley, daughter of Thaddeus Burr and Emily Frances (Ludlam) Wakeman, was educated in the schools of New York City. When she arrived at the proper age, she became a student of acting in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York City, from which she was graduated in 1892. Her first professional engagement was with James A. Hearn in the famous play, Shore Acres. Mrs. Hartley continued on the stage for eighteen years, acting in many of Clyde Fitch's plays, and for eight years of that time played almost continuously in New York City. In 1913 she retired from the stage to devote herself to the enterprise of establishing a theatre in Stamford. She organized two corporations: The Stamford Theatre, Incorporated, for the purpose of erecting the theatre, and The Hartley Operating Company, of which Mrs. Hartley has since been president, which leased the theatre, and has since conducted it. The theatre was opened on August 6, 1914. The best plays are brought to Stamford and the theatre fills an important and helpful place in the recreative life of the city. The first play
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produced there was "On Trial," but the most notable production in the theatre, and the first in America, was John Drink- water's "Abraham Lincoln." How fitting that this first performance of this won- derful play should have been produced in a theatre conducted by the niece of the man who had been Lincoln's intimate friend, Abram Wakeman.
Mrs. Hartley is a member of the Stam- ford Yacht Club, Women's Club, vice- president of the Alumni Association of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts of New York. She is a strong believer in woman suffrage, having been early taught the right of women to vote. Her parents were intimate friends of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other pioneers in this movement.
On May 14, 1902, Emily Isabel Wake- man married Randolph Hartley, of New York, son of the Rev. Benjamin and Emily (Griswold) Hartley. The Rev. Mr. Hartley was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland; was a missionary in Africa, a landscape painter and author, and during the last twenty years of his life was the rector of the Episcopal church at San Ga- briel, California. On his mother's side Randolph Hartley is the tenth in descent from Thomas Mayhew, the first governor of Martha's Vineyard, and is the grandson of Rufus Wilmot Griswold, the author of numerous works on American literature and history and some time editor of "Gra- ham's Magazine." Emily (Griswold) Hartley was a prolific writer of books for children. Randolph Hartley was for sev- eral years a member of the editorial staff of the New York "Dramatic Mirror," and is the author of several plays and libret- tos. In collaboration with Arthur Nevin, the American composer, he wrote the grand opera, "Poia," which was produced at the Royal Opera House, Berlin, in 1910, being the first American work of its
kind to be sung in a court theatre of Europe.
Randolph and Emily Isabel (Wake- man) Hartley have one son, Randolph Wakeman, born in Greenwich, Connecti- cut, March 16, 1909.
STAUB, John Howard,
Physician, Surgeon, Hospital Official.
It is impossible to overestimate the im- portance to the community of those men of science who use their knowledge for the everyday safety and health of their fellow-beings. The life of a physician is no sinecure. He is at the beck and call of every one who finds himself subject to various ills, be they real or imaginary. Yet no profession is so exacting in the imperative necessity of constant study and unremitting devotion. And the only tribute a thoughtless public yields to the skillful physician is that of confidence, which means added labor. Thus it is a peculiarly happy circumstance that places the name of John Howard Staub, M. D., the Stamford physician and sur- geon, in this work, among his contem- poraries in other lines of effort.
Nicholas Staub, the grandfather of Dr. John H. Staub, was born near Strasburg, then the capital of the French province of Alsace-Lorraine, taken by the Germans in 1871, and restored by France in the World War. He was a finely built man, active and of commanding presence, and was for years in the German military service. In this strenuous life he was early broken down, and after spending his later years on a farm died at the age of forty-five. He married Gracia Fisch- ter, who survived him by many years, liv- ing to the age of seventy.
Nicholas (2) Staub, father of Dr. John H. Staub. was born February 2, 1841, in Alsace-Lorraine, and died January 5,
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1907, in New Milford, Connecticut. He went to work in his home city for a grain dealer, and for his services received eighteen dollars a year and a pair of boots. It is not surprising that stories of the "Land of Opportunity" appealed to him. He came to America alone at the age of sixteen to seek his fortune. Pen- niless and unfamiliar with the language, his assets were a wholesome, sturdy char- acter, rugged physique and determina- tion to win. Neither were these all. He was possessed of mental capacity that reached out for every possibility which he could turn to account. It was not with his hands alone that he conquered circumstances. He arrived in New Or- leans, Louisiana, in December, 1857, and came to Bridgewater, Connecticut, in 1860. He made a place for himself there, not only in the world of industry, but as a man of dignity and influence in the community. He remained there for thir- teen years, during that time serving as selectman, and in many ways contribut- ing to the progress and prosperity of the town. In 1873 he became a resident of New Milford, Connecticut, and entered the employ of John Peck, a prosperous farmer whose daughter he m married. Later he bought the Peck farm. He was one of the first to become interested in the production of tobacco in that section, and grew quite an extensive acreage for some years. He then gave up farming, and took up his residence in the village of New Milford, where he engaged in the business of buying and packing tobacco. Still later he retired from the packing business, and became a member of the firm of Soule & Staub, engaging in the hardware business for a time, then passed his interests to his son, Verton Staub, who sold out to the present owner, M. H. Mallett. Mr. Staub resumed the production of tobacco on a more exten-
sive scale than formerly, raising twenty to twenty-five acres annually. He also raised general farm crops and developed a fine herd of dairy cattle.
A man of force and ability, holding broad views of life, and acknowledging his responsibility to the public in general, Mr. Staub was not the man to stand back and neglect his duty to the social order in which he had won success. He was an organizer of the New Milford Power Company, whose dam across the Housa- tonic river is one of the most striking feats of engineering in the State of Con- necticut, and opened a wonderful field of industrial development throughout the western part of the State. The company was chartered in 1893, and Mr. Staub sold out his interest in 1901.
In the prime of life, with the dignity of achievement placing him among the big men of the town and county, he had time for political activities. It was with gen- eral satisfaction that the Democratic party hailed him as a leader. He was elected to the Legislature in 1876, also in 1884, 1885 and 1903 ; also served in the State Senate in 1886 and 1888. In 1891 and 1895 he was State comptroller, being the only Democrat elected on the State ticket. He was always keenly alive to the movements of the day, loyal to party principles, yet never losing sight of the public good. He possessed a genius for organization and construction, and his services were frequently sought in the committee room. At different times he served on the committees on insurance, new counties, county seats, railroads, manual and roll, banks, and on the con- gressional and senatorial committees. He was active in public life up to a few years before his death, and is widely remem- bered among his surviving associates as a man of powerful initiative and progres- sive spirit, tempered by an unusually
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broad mental grasp, which enabled him to consider every phase of a subject be- fore definite action.
Mr. Staub married, November 29, 1866, Nancy J. Peck, daughter of John Peck, of New Milford, and they were the par- ents of three children: I. Verton Peck, born October 28, 1867; now a prominent citizen of New Milford, who grows to- bacco on a large scale, and is connected with many local interests, including the New Milford Security Company ; married Winona Powe. 2. George Edwards, M. D., of New Milford, born November 20, 1869. 3. John Howard, M. D., of Stamford, of whom extended mention will follow. The family was connected with the Congregational church, and ac- tive in all its interests.
Mrs. Staub was descended from the old Connecticut family whose founder, Jo- seph Peck, settled in New Milford in the early history of the Colony. Joseph Peck was born in England, and came to this country among the early immigrants. He is recorded here as far back as 1643, in New Haven. In 1649 he removed to New Milford, where he remained, becoming a member of the church in 1652. He mar- ried (first) Mrs. Alice Burwell, widow of John Burwell. She died December 19, 1666. Joseph Peck died in 1700 or 1701. Joseph Peck, their son, was baptised in New Milford in 1653. He married Mary Camp, January 27, 1678 or 1679. Ephri- am Peck, their son, was baptized in Sep- tember, 1692, and died in Newtown, Con- necticut, July 23, 1760. He married, No- vember 7, 1716, Sarah Ford. Henry Peck, their son, was born April 14, 1719, and married (first), December 23, 1755, Ann Smith ; (second), August 6. 1765, Hannah Leavenworth. Andrew Peck, son of Henry and Hannah (Leavenworth) Peck, was born May 21, 1773, and died August 25, 1826. He married Lucinda Terrill.
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