USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 10 > Part 48
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(IV) Samuel Allen, son of Edward (2) and Martha (Wells) Allen, was born in 1720, and lived in Deerfield, Massachu- setts. He was killed by Indians on Au- gust 25, 1746, while he was courageously defending his children from the foe. He married, in 1737, Hannah Hawkes, daugh- ter of Eleazer Hawkes.
(V) Caleb Allen, son of Samuel and Hannah (Hawkes) Allen, was born in 1737, and also lived in Deerfield, Massa- chusetts. He died on November 26, 1807. He married, on February 4, 1768, Judith Hawkes, daughter of Eleazer Hawkes.
(VI) Eliel Allen, son of Caleb and Ju- dith (Hawkes) Allen, was born in 1775, and lived in Wapping, Massachusetts. He died in November, 1844. He married, in 1802, Electa Allis, of Hatfield, Massa- chusetts.
(VII) Carlos Allen, son of Eliel and Electa (Allis) Allen, was born in 1805, and lived for a considerable length of time in Richmond, Virginia. There he con- ducted a china store. Later he came to Massachusetts, and finally located per- manently at Chicopee, where he was en-
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gaged in the coal business and became one of the prominent merchants of the town. He died on December 22, 1877. He married Martha Hartwell, daughter of Jonathan Hartwell, of Montague, Mas- sachusetts. Mr. Hartwell was a man of dignity and local renown, and was at one time postmaster of Montague.
(VIII) Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Carlos and Martha (Hartwell) Allen, be- came the wife of Albert Seymour Alden, as heretofore noted.
CHURCH, Isaac, Manufacturer, Inventor.
The enterprising and adventurous spirit which characterized his ancestors at the time of the settlement of New England seems to have been imbibed by Isaac Church, manufacturer and inventor and one of the most distinguished citizens of East Norwalk, Connecticut.
The name of Church is of local deriva- tion; it is derived from the Old English, chirch, a house of Christian worship. The root of the word is from the Gaelic, car, roundness from which we have circe or kirk.
(I) Richard Church, the ancestor of the family, was born February 6, 1610, in England, and died December 16, 1667, in Hadley, Massachusetts. He came to America in 1636, and was one of the little company which followed Hooker to Hart- ford, Connecticut, where he was among the first settlers. Richard Church was granted twelve acres of land in the first land division. In 1647 he served as viewer of chimneys, and was freed from "watching, warding and training" in March, 1654. Richard Church was among those who signed the Hadley agreement, and it was shortly after his removal there that his death occurred. He married, May
18, 1627, Anne Marsh, daughter of Ed- ward Marsh, of Braintree, England.
(II) John Church, son of Richard and Anne (Marsh) Church, was born May 9, 1636, and died October 16, 1691. He mar- ried, October 27, 1657, Sarah Beckley, of Wethersfield, Connecticut.
(III) Samuel Church, son of John and Sarah (Beckley) Church, was born in 1671, and died in 1718. He was a mem- ber of the Second Congregational Church. Samuel Church married (first) Elizabeth Stannard, of Saybrook, Connecticut, and she died before October 29, 1708; he mar- ried (second), August 17, 1710, Eliza- beth Clark.
(IV) Ebenezer Church, son of Samuel and Elizabeth (Clark) Church, was born February 1, 1718. He removed from Hartford to Woodbury, Connecticut. His first wife was Susannah Fitch, and they were married in January, 1746; he mar- ried (second), November 17, 1755, Ruth (Raymond) Sears, born about 1732, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Kitto) Raymond, and widow of Nathaniel Sears. (V) Ebenezer (2) Church, son of Eb- enezer (1) and Ruth (Raymond-Sears) Church, was born in Norwalk, Connec- ticut, July 31, 1758, and was a farmer on the Post Road. He married Mrs. Polly (Hoyt) Gregory.
(VI) Isaac Church, son of Ebenezer (2) and Polly (Hoyt-Gregory) Church, was born March II, 1806, in Norwalk, Connecticut. He attended the public schools and was engaged in agricultural pursuits during his lifetime. Upon the death of his father he succeeded to the ownership of the homestead. Mr. Church was a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 6, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was a past master; he was also a mem- ber of the old "train band." Mr. Church married Lillie Antoinette Foote, daugh-
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ter of Reuben Foote, of Weston, Connec- ticut, and they were the parents of two children, one of whom grew to maturity and receives extended mention below.
(VII) Isaac (2) Church, son of Isaac (1) and Lillie A. (Foote) Church, was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, July 24, 1842. He was educated in the public schools and for a time was on the home farm assist- ing his father in the care of it. While still in his teens he went to New Haven, Connecticut, and there worked for Wil- liam A. Parmley, who was a contractor in the machine shop of H. B. Bigelow. The Civil War came on and that made can- cellation of Mr. Parmley's contract nec- essary, and subsequently Mr. Church went to work for the Bigelow company as a machinist. The product of manufac- ture was blowing machines for blast fur- naces, also fire hydrants. In all Mr. Church spent about seven years in New Haven and then returned to Norwalk. He purchased the machine shop of A. C. Ar- nold and carried on a jobbing machine shop business for about eleven years. He then went to Brooklyn, New York, and became a member of the United States Machine and Pump Company, which was dissolved after a year's time on account of the panic of 1873. After a short time spent in Norwalk, Mr. Church went to Toledo, Ohio, and there worked at his trade of master mechanic for the govern- ment. He helped in the construction of the Toledo custom house and the post office. He filled many positions, such as custodian of the buildings, engineer, etc. In 1879, while in the employ of the gov- ernment, Mr. Church took out a patent on an expansion bolt and had the bolts manufactured. Since that time he has given his entire time to the development of the bolt business; his invention sup- plied a much-needed device and created a demand which covered the United States.
In all Mr. Church has taken out nine pat- ents covering improvements on the bolts, and in 1907 the business was removed from Toledo to Norwalk.
Mr. Church is a Democrat in politics and has always taken an active interest in public affairs. While in Toledo, he served as a member of the Board of Education. Mr. Church was one of the committee that built the Washington street bridge, connecting South and East Norwalk. He is one of the organizers of the Peoples Trust Company, of South Norwalk, and is now a member of its directorate. His fraternal connections are: Member of St. John's Lodge, No. 6, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master ; Washington Chapter, Royal Arch Ma- sons; and Clinton Commandery, Knights Templar.
Mr. Church married Lydia Ann Finch, daughter of Harry Finch, of Norwalk, Connecticut, representative of an old Fair- field county family.
ALLCORN, Luther Herbert,
Business Man.
The combination of energy and enter- prise, directed by sound judgment, com- mands success in any line of effort. The success attained by Luther H. Allcorn, of Greenwich, reflects more credit upon him because he has gained it through his own merits. Mr. Allcorn was born February 8, 1869, in Greenwich, son of Charles and Hope (Trower) Allcorn.
Samuel Allcorn, grandfather of Luther H. Allcorn, was born and reared about twenty-five miles from Brighton, Eng- land. He was a blacksmith. He mar- ried Nancy Walker.
Charles Allcorn, father of Luther H. Allcorn, was born April 14, 1831, in Brighton, Sussex, England. He was an only child, and was well educated. He
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learned the trade of tinsmith, copper- smith and gasfitter, and was in that busi- ness for himself for some years in Brigh- ton before coming to America. It was in the middle sixties that he located in Greenwich, Connecticut, and there he fol- lowed his trade as long as he lived. Pre- vious to coming to America, Mr. Allcorn was a member of the Odd Fellows in Eng- land, and when he sailed for America they presented him with a watch.
Mr. Allcorn married Hope Trower, one of triplets, born to Charles Trower, of Henfield, England. The great-grand- father of Mr. Allcorn on the maternal side was a wealthy market-gardener of Hen- field. He did no work himself except to manage his farm or estate. Owing to some mistake in spelling the name and to the legal red tape so ably exposed by Dickens in "Bleak House," the estate was thrown into chancery, and the heirs were unable to gain possession of their just heritage. Charles Trower was reared in the Episcopal church, and played the cor- net in the famous old St. Nicholas Church in Brighton. He was the father of triplet daughters born September 15, 1832, and all of whom reached the age of fifty or more. Mrs. Allcorn died April 18, 1913, aged eighty-two. The other two daugh- ters were named Faith and Charity. Mr. and Mrs. Allcorn were married fifty years in 1902, and they were the parents of the following children: I. Alice Hope, born September 7, 1855. 2. Arthur Frederick, born August 14, 1857. 3. Ernest Albert, born August 17, 1859. 4. Frances Walter, born December 25, 1863. 5. Luther Her- bert, of further mention. 6. Leonard Lionel, born March 6, 1871. The last two sons were born in Greenwich, and the other members of the family in Brighton.
Luther Herbert Allcorn was educated in the public schools of Greenwich and at the Greenwich Academy. Soon after
leaving school he entered the employ of the Greenwich Trust Company, as a mes- senger, and filled the various positions up to trust officer, which he held for about fifteen years until December 1, 1919, when he became assistant secretary and assist- ant treasurer of the Greenwich Country Club. He is prominent in public affairs in Greenwich, and one of the leading bus- iness men. Mr. Allcorn finds his recrea- tion in music and has played the organ in the Presbyterian church for fifteen years.
Mr. Allcorn married Katherine Eliza- beth Pryer, daughter of Jasper Pryer, born in Mount Vernon, New York, and they are the parents of a son, Luther H., born in 1910.
NORRIS, A. J.,
Interior Decorator.
To know that the work of one's hands will stand for uncounted years, and de- light the eye of every beholder, must be a source of gratification to the creator of beauty. Yet the identity of the interior decorator is too often lost in his work. The work becomes the background of paintings and statuary; the atmosphere of the home; the lofty motif, which like the half hushed accompaniment of a sa- cred melody breathes the spirit of rev- erence over the worshippers before the altar. Such is the work of A. J. Norris, president of the A. J. Norris Company, the interior decorators of Greenwich, Con- necticut.
Mr. Norris was reared in the traditions of fine interiors. His father, Simeon Nor- ris, was born in Buckland, St. Mary Black Down Hills, Mid-Somerset, England. He was endowed with that peculiar combina- tion of manual skill and artistic taste which makes of the artizan the artist. When he was only about twelve years old he left home to make his own way in the
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world. Thus free to choose for himself, he learned the trade of cabinetmaker. He put into his work beauty of design and perfection of finish, to say nothing of the distinctive touch of originality. He de- veloped a profitable trade among the best people, and became the most renowned cabinetmaker in the West of England. As his business grew he made many im- provements in his equipment, and added to his working force until he employed a large number of men in his workshops. He located in Bath about the time of his marriage, where he was employed as a factory foreman by a large firm of dec- orators. But owing to the methods there in practice he found that an appreciable part of his time and energy was frittered away on matters of minor importance, which really should be separated from his work. After considerable discussion, he succeeded in convincing his firm that he could serve them better in a shop of his own, and beginning in that way, he de- veloped a business that became Nation- wide in its scope and reputation. The finest work from all over England was brought to him. He was twice married. Five children resulted from the first union. His second wife, Catherine Nor- ris, was a daughter of James Cozens, of Lynn, Norfolk, England. Their children were: Kate, who became the wife of Paul Coe, of Gloucester, England; A. J., of whom further ; and Edgar, still a resident of Bath, England. A half-brother of Mr. Norris, Frank, resides in New Rochelle, New York.
A. J. Norris was born in Bath, England, March 19, 1872. He received his educa- tion in the King Edward Grammar School, whose history dates back to the time of Queen Elizabeth. Following school days, he learned his trade with his father. Possessing considerable inde- pendence of character, he preferred to
make his own way rather than continue under his father's patronage. Leaving home at the age of seventeen, he took a position in Sheffield as a designer. Here it was at once evident that the young man was gifted with talent of a high order. He was encouraged to develop it to the utmost, and during the six years that he remained in Sheffield he went through the South Kensington course of study. His work met with such cordial appreciation there that the school offered to send him to Italy to study on a free scholarship. Unfortunately his father objected to this arrangement, and the plan was relin- quished. But the lad took the highest awards in the gift of the school, in the different subjects, going through the com- plete course of designing for his special trade, including figure drawing and mod- eling, in which he took special prizes. With broadly comprehensive and more or less definite plans for the future, he tried to anticipate the requirements and possi- bilities of such a business as that in which he is now engaged.
During the next ten or twelve years, perhaps more than for any other reason to get a true perspective on his own work, the young man dropped his trade. He did drawing for a time, then was with a firm in the midlands for eighteen months as a designer for the trade. Next he was in- duced to become factory manager for a West End concern, Smee & Cobay. These changes gave him breadth of experience, and took him into out-of-the-way places to do interesting restorations in old pub- lic buildings, city halls, etc., and in the castles and country homes of the old fam- ilies of England. He next became asso- ciated with one of the largest concerns in North Britain, Wylie & Lockhead, of Glasgow, as factory manager. Here he remained for eighteen months.
It was here that Mr. Norris finally de-
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cided on the course which he had in mind for some time, breaking the familiar ties of place and circumstance, and coming to America. He landed on this side, July 4, 1904. In his natural modesty he made no personal application of the celebration then in progress, but surely the Nation has reason to rejoice in every adopted son who brings gifts such as his to her "Al- tars of Industry." He entered the employ of that old established New York firm, W. & J. Sloane, where he remained a year and a half as salesman. Then for about three years he was with A. Kimbel & Sons in the same capacity. This gave him a practical working knowledge of condi- tions on this side of the water, and en- abled him to apply his rich and broad ex- perience to the future that lay before him. In 1900 he removed to Greenwich, Con- necticut, and in March of that year op- ened a business of his own. He was now beginning to realize the dreams of a life- time ; but at first it was in a small way, employing one upholsterer and one cabi- netmaker. The plans, the study, the train- ing, the experience which had gone be- fore, now rapidly began to bear fruit. The business prospered. People discovered his fine native taste, rounded and devel- oped by systematic study, and broadened by his varied experience. All this en- abled him to suggest schemes for treating interiors which were unique, yet re- strained, always finely adapted to the cir- cumstances of each individual case, his treatment of an interior always being in perfect harmony with the character of the structure in which he was to work. In recent years he has branched out also into the making of fine furniture, in which line he is doing a considerable amount of most distinctive work, all from special designs, employing sixty to seventy-five men on the average. This department of his work is a natural outgrowth of the
earlier business; and taken together the various branches include carpentering, cabinet making, upholstery and drapery, plain and decorative painting, and orna- mental plaster work. His factory stands three stories high, 100 by 50 feet. Be- sides this important industry he conducts a retail store, where are displayed the choicest of his productions.
Mr. Norris married Gertrude Barton, daughter of John Barton, of Sheffield, England, and their children number four : Edward Omar, Elspeth Rose, Ruth Mar- ian, and Katherine Eleanor. The family are devout members of Christ Episcopal Church, of Greenwich.
BRUSH, Alexander B.,
Agriculturist, Public Official.
The first mention of the name of Brush appears at the time William the Con- queror came into England, 1066. Among his retinue was one Robert De Brus, as the name was then spelled. The ancestor of most of the name in America was Thomas Brush, among the early settlers of Southold, Long Island.
(I) His descendant, Thomas Brush, born about 1715, removed to New Fair- field, Connecticut, where he died in 1802. He married Lucy Ball, of New Haven, born in 1717, died in 1811. Children : Three daughters. I. - , married-
Hall; went to Fairfield, Vermont. 2. , married - Rice ; went to near Cincinnati, Ohio. 3. - - , married Starr; lived in Patterson, New York. Five sons : 4. Eliphalet, lived and died in Ridgebury, Connecticut. 5. Jonas, mar- ried a resident of Brookfield, Connecti- cut; enlisted in the Revolution, fought, was honorably discharged, and lived in Great Bend, Pennsylvania ; four children : Calvin ; Almon, married Rose ;
married
Williams. 6.
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Thomas, went to Canada. 7. Amos, lived and died in New Fairfield; children : Elijah E., Amos (2), Amy, married Dr. Isaac Knapp; Hannah, Easter, Ada, Ely, Armida. 8. Eli, went to Ohio, had chil- dren, came to Patterson, New York.
(II) Amos Brush, son of Thomas and Lucy (Ball) Brush, was born June 6, 1753, and died July 5, 1813, in New Fair- field, Connecticut. He married Hannah Bearse, or Bearss, born November 9, 1757, died March 9, 1849, daughter of Thomas Bearse and Esther Lyon (Smith) Bearse, of Redding. Children: Elijah, Amos, Amy, Hannah, Easter, Ada, Ely, Armida. Amos Brush, second son of Amos Brush, resided in New Fairfield. He married Aurilla Barnum. Children: Eliza, mar- ried - Duncan ; George, died young ; Austin, married Lucetta Rogers, of North Cornwall, Connecticut, and they had three children, namely: William, Ella and Ed- ward; William, a bishop, went to Texas ; Irene, married Cutler, of Dover Furnace, New York, and they had three children : William, Charles, and Irene, who married Otis Arnold, of Pawling, New York; Augustus, state warden for Sing Sing prison, New York; Harriet, married - Hill, and they had three children, Irene and two sons; they reside in Lake Mahopac, New York.
(III) Ely Brush, son of Amos and Hannah (Bearse) Brush, was born in 1798, and died in 1868. He was a farmer. He married, in 1827, Rilla Davis, born in 1806, died in 1855, in New Fairfield, daughter of Stephen and Hannah (Leach) Davis, the latter named a daughter of Ichabod and Ruth (Marsh) Leach, who were the parents of two other daughters: Lina, married Dr. Henry Orton, resided at Nine Partners, near Washington Hol- low, Millbrook, New York, and Eunice, mother of Mrs. George Barnes, of Sher- man. The Davis family, that has been
resident in Huntington, Long Island, was established in Connecticut by Thomas Davis, who died in Greenwich in 1780. He and his wife, Isabella, were the par- ents of Elizabeth, Elisha, and Stephen. Elisha, son of Thomas and Isabella Da- vis, was born in 1739, and died in 1813. He and his wife, Anna, were the parents of a number of children, including Tho- mas, born 1765; Clarinda, born in 1768; Walter, born in 1770; Silas, born 1770, and probably Stephen. Stephen Davis was born in 1767, died in Sherman, Con- necticut, December 25, 1838, and is bur- ied in the old Leach burying ground. He married Hannah Leach, daughter of Ich- abod and Ruth (Marsh) Leach, born in 1776, died October 12, 1829, and had chil- dren : William, born 1792, died 1839; Paul ; Daniel, born 1797, died 1835; Lucy, married - Marsh, went to Bath, New York; Electa, born 1800, died 1801 ; Rilla, married Ely Brush ; and Lina. Ely Brush and his wife were the parents of a son, Alexander Buckley, of further mention ; and a daughter, Hannah Elizabeth, born in 1836. She married George Graves, of Sherman, Connecticut, later of Danbury, and had children: Annie Elizabeth, of Waterbury; Georgia Ella, Hubert Brush, Emma Rilla, Alexander Ely, Harriet, Ma- bel, Cora, Raymond, Leonard, Frederick George.
(IV) Alexander Buckley Brush, only son of Ely and Rilla (Davis) Brush, was born in New Fairfield, Connecticut, May 14, 1829, and died in Danbury, Connecti- cut, September 26, 1920. He attended the district schools of his native town, and completed his formal education at the Seminary, Amenia Union, New York. He followed the occupation of farmer most of his lifetime, and served as selectman. Mr. Brush was a member of the Congrega- tional church. He married, May 15, 1873, in Greenwich, Mary Louisa Mead, born
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February 24, 1853, in Greenwich, daugh- ter of Silas Merwin and Elethea (Rey- nolds) Mead, and a descendant of one of the earliest Colonial families (see Mead line). Mr. and Mrs. Brush were the par- ents of the following children: I. Alex- ander Augustus, born April 8, 1875; mar- ried Grace McLean, of Danbury, and is now a resident of Houston, Texas, where he is engaged in the real estate business. 2. Ella Mead, born September 20, 1876. 3. Anna Louise, born August 1, 1878, lives in Greenwich. 4. Emma Rilla, born April 27, 1881; graduated from the State Nor- mal School; taught school four years, and resides in Danbury, where she follows the occupation of milliner. 5. Ruth, born September 4, 1883; married John Theo- dore Rogers, and resides in Sherman. Children : Burton Brush, Malyn, Kenneth Wilson. 6. George Merwin, born Septem- ber 2, 1885 ; attended Connecticut Agricul- tural College; served in the American Expeditionary Forces, and is now engaged in practical farming; married Alma Wil- liams, of Brookfield, and has three chil- dren : Hubert W., Lois Alma, and Allan Davis. 7. Mary Elizabeth, born April 22, 1887, died in March, 1917. 8. Elethea Reynolds, born June 1, 1890, is a nurse, stationed in Asheville, North Carolina.
(The Bearse Line).
(I) Augustine Bearse, the immigrant, was born in or near Southampton, Eng- land, in 1618, and sailed from there in the ship "Confidence," April 24, 1638. He came to Barnstable, Massachusetts, with the first company in 1639. He was ad- mitted a freeman, May 3, 1653, and the same year served as grand juror. He also held this office in 1662, and was a sur- veyor of highways in 1674. Augustine Bearse died before 1697.
(II) Joseph Bearse, son of Augustine Bearse, was born January 25, 1652, and
was baptized the same day. He was a soldier in King Philip's War, 1675-76. He married, December 3, 1676, Martha Tay- lor, of Yarmouth, daughter of Richard and Ruth (Wheldon) Taylor, born De- cember 18, 1650, died January 27, 1728. Joseph Bearse died after February 13, 1717-18.
(III) Josiah Bearse, son of Joseph and Martha (Taylor) Bearse, was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts, March 10, 1690, and died August 31, 1753. He mar- ried at Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, November 2, 1716, Zerviah Newcomb, born 1689-90, died September 5, 1789, daughter of Lieutenant Andrew and An- na (Bayes) Newcomb. Josiah Bearse lived in East Barnstable until 1734, in which year he removed to Greenwich, and four years later to New Fairfield, Connec- ticut, where he died.
(IV) Thomas Bearse, son of Josiah and Zerviah (Newcomb) Bearse, was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts, March 10, 1729, and died December 29, 1814. He was a boy of eight years when he was brought with his parents to New Fairfield. He married (second), December 9, 1756, Widow Esther (Lyon) Smith, of Redding, and she died in 1797. Thomas Bearse was a farmer, successful and well-to-do. He was the father of Hannah Bearse, who became the wife of Amos Brush, as above mentioned.
(The Mead Line).
The earliest traces of the Mead family are to be found in a history of "The Nor- man People and their Descendants in British Dominions and the United States of America." In 1180-1195 there is found in Norman records the names of William, Robert, Matilda, Roger and Reginald De Prato. In 1199 the name Roger De Prato is found in Essex, England. The Nor- man "De Prato" was translated into the
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