USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 11 > Part 40
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Fraternally, Dr. Harström is a member of many organizations : St. John's Lodge, No. 6, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is senior warden; Phi Beta Kappa; and Theta Delta Chi. For five consecutive years Dr. Harström was pres- ident of the Grand Lodge of T. D. C., two years longer than any other man ever held the office. His clubs are the Nor- walk Club; Norwalk Country Club; Craftsmen's Club ; and Yale Club of New York. Dr. Harström and his family are members of Grace Episcopal Church, of which he is senior warden. He has been a delegate to many conventions, and ac- tive in church work; he is a member of the American Philological Association.
There is perhaps no other man in Nor- walk who has been in such demand for public and after dinner speaking as Dr. Harström. With an easy flow of beauti- ful English, interspersed with shafts of wit, sharp but never poisonous, Dr. Har- ström is apropos always, a genial, whole- souled man-loving personality.
Dr. Harström married Lee Selden Part- ridge, daughter of Samuel Selden and Frances Augusta (Bellamy) Partridge.
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Dr. and Mrs. Harström are the parents of two children: I. Frances, who was educated in Europe. 2. Carl Eric, who graduated from Yale in 1915 with the de- gree of Bachelor of Arts; he is now engaged in the advertising business in New York City, and resides in Norwalk; he married Emily Ives, of Danbury, Con- necticut.
(The Partridge Line).
Samuel Selden Partridge, father of Lee Selden (Partridge) Harström, was born at Brockport, New York, January 9, 1839, and died at Phelps, New York, December 22, 1913. He was a graduate of the Col- lege of the City of New York, in the class of 1857, taking up the study of law. He engaged in the practice of his profession with his great-uncle, Judge Samuel Lee Selden, in Rochester, New York, and later was in Phelps, New York. In poli- tics he was a Republican, and was several times honored with public office. Mr. Partridge was a soldier in the Civil War, taking part in many battles, among them that of Bull Run. He held the rank of brevet major, and was a member of the Thirteenth New York State Volunteers. During one of the engagements Mr. Part- ridge was wounded in the leg, which caused him to drag one foot for many years; he was also confined in Libby Prison for some time. A Freemason, Mr. Partridge was master of his lodge; he was also an Odd Fellow, and commander of the local Grand Army of the Republic Post at Phelps.
Samuel S. Partridge was married, Oc- tober 19, 1864, at Rochester, New York, to Frances Augusta Bellamy, born at Rochester, April 27, 1847, died at Phelps, March 19, 1914, daughter of Thomas and Maria Mahala (Bayley) Bellamy. Their daughter, Lee Selden Partridge, born
February 15, 1870, married Dr. Har- ström, as above noted.
Thomas Murdoch Partridge, father of Samuel S. Partridge, was born at Nor- wich, Vermont, May 25, 1811, and died in New York City, May 2, 1880. He mar- ried Elizabeth Selden Jack, born on the Island of St. Thomas, in 1814, and died January 9, 1839, in Brockport, New York; she was a daughter of Morison and Ro- zana (Selden) Jack, the former of Bal- merino, Fifeshire, Scotland, and the lat- ter of Lyme, Connecticut.
Elisha Partridge, father of Thomas Murdoch Partridge, was born August 2, 1778, and died March 2, 1845, in Norwich, Vermont. He was a son of Elisha and Margaret (Murdoch) Partridge, who were married November 14, 1765. He died April 1, 1823, and his wife March 15, 1815. Through the collateral lines the ancestry of Mrs. Lee Selden (Partridge) Har- ström traces to several of the early immi- grants in New England, among them be- ing Richard Ely and Thomas Selden.
HARRIS, Channing Page, Enterprising Citizen.
The Harrises are among New Eng- land's most distinguished families and have furnished many excellent citizens to Connecticut. It is rather difficult to trace this family to a common ancestor, as many distinct emigrations of persons bearing the name took place at a very early period in the history of New Eng- land. Channing Page Harris, a leading banker of Westport, Connecticut, is a worthy scion of this family ; he was born at Westport, November 25, 1873, son of Charles and Chloe Esther (Goodsell) Harris. His great-grandparents were Stephen and Charity Harris, and they were the parents of Sylvester Harris, who married Mary Ann Johnson.
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Charles Harris, son of Sylvester and Mary Ann (Johnson) Harris, was born in Southbury, Connecticut, November 23, 1849. He grew to manhood in East Vil- lage, Monroe, and went to school there. He also attended Hinman's private school. His first employment was in the yarn mill at Newtown, and later he clerked in various retail stores until he came to Westport, when he was about twenty years of age. There he entered the employ of D. A. Salmon & Company, dry-goods merchants. Soon after the Civil War he went into business for him- self in partnership with Dwight Fenton, under the firm name of Fenton & Harris. This arrangement lasted for about two years, until the stringent times of 1873 forced them to discontinue business. From that time until his appointment as postmaster of Westport, in 1900, Mr. Harris traveled on the road as a sales- man. He held the office of postmaster for sixteen years, resigning to go into the retail shoe business. He started the Westport Shoe Shop, and still retains a financial interest in the business.
Mr. Harris is a Republican, and one of the most public-spirited citizens of West- port. He is a member of Temple Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is past master, and a member of Aspetuck Lodge, Knights of Pythias.
Mr. Harris married, May 6, 1871, Chloe Esther Goodsell, daughter of John and Betsey Ann (Taylor) Goodsell, born March II, 1846. John Goodsell was the sixth John Goodsell in direct descent. He was a son of John and Rachel (Meeker) Goodsell, and a grandson of John Good- sell, who was killed by the Hessians at the burning of Fairfield, July 8, 1779. He married, January 28, 1834, Betsey Ann Taylor, daughter of Alfred and Chloe (Gregory) Taylor, born December 9, 1812. Captain Alfred Taylor was born
November 24, 1791, son of Jonathan, Jr., and Nancy (Taylor) Taylor. He was se- lectman in Westport in 1839 and 1849, and first voted for James Monroe, in 1816, and last for Grover Cleveland. His name appears among the incorporators of West- port, and he received his title of captain from commanding a company of State Militia for three years. For fifty-five years he served as vestryman at Christ Church. He married, April 23, 1812, Chloe Gregory, born February 3, 1796, daughter of Moses and Polly (Fillow) Gregory. Moses Gregory was born Feb- ruary 22, 1771, and died May 5, 1881, son of Stephen and Molly (Benedict) Greg- ory. About 1795 he married Polly Fil- low, born February 14, 1779, died June 14, 1859.
Charles Harris and his wife, Chloe Es- ther Goodsell, were members of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Har- ris was a trustee for many years. Their only child was Channing Page Harris, of further mention.
Channing Page Harris was educated in the Westport public schools, and was one of the pupils of the first class gradu- ated from the Staples High School. Then he took a course in Martin's Business College at Bridgeport, and was in the office of the Bryant Electric Company for almost seven years. He then became identified with the banking firm of Marsh, Merwin & Lemmon of Bridgeport, where he spent about the same number of years. In May, 1904, he entered the employ of the First National Bank of Westport. His years of experience were of untold value to him in this work, and in due course of time he was promoted to the office of cashier. In 1913, when the bank was reorganized as the Westport Bank and Trust Company, Mr. Harris became secretary and treasurer, and also a di- rector of the new corporation. Other
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Stephen Z. Radford
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business interests include a directorship with the Colyars Shoe Stores, Inc., and a similar office with the Toquet Carburetor Company. He also is a trustee of the Staples High School. In politics, Mr. Harris is a Republican, and takes an ac- tive interest in all public matters. He has been a member of the Board of Fi- nance since the latter was organized about four years ago.
Mr. Harris married Esther Alsop, daughter of Samuel Alsop, Jr., a resident of near Philadelphia. His father, Samuel Alsop, Sr., had a boarding school where the Hotel Glenwood now stands at the Delaware Water Gap. Mr. and Mrs. Harris are the parents of three children : Rachel Griscom, Esther Kite, and Mar- garet Alsop. The family are members of the Society of Friends in New York City.
RADFORD, Stephen Lockwood, Judge of Probate.
To introduce Judge Radford to his fel- low-citizens of Greenwich, or to the mem- bers of the Fairfield county bar and bench, would be an act of presumption on the part of the biographer. Having loyally made his native city the scene of his professional career, Judge Radford has identified himself quietly but influ- entially with the chief interests of his community.
The name of Radford seems to be of ancient English origin, being found as the designation of various villages and hamlets in the counties of Nottingham, Oxford and Warwick.
(I) Stephen L. Radford, grandfather of Stephen Lockwood Radford, was de- scended from John Radford, of Portland, Maine, the family having been long rep- resented in the "beautiful town that is seated by the sea." Stephen L. Radford
was a sea captain, and in common with so many of his calling found an ocean grave. Captain Radford married Har- riet Lockwood, a member of an old Eng- lish family, represented in this volume. The following children were born to Cap- tain and Mrs. Radford: Mary, Frances, Clarissa, and Stephen L., of whom fur- ther.
(II) Stephen L. (2) Radford, son of Stephen L. (1) and Harriet (Lockwood) Radford, was born November 17, 1828, in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was reared on a farm to which his parents moved when he was but five years old, and to the close of his life he remained upon the homestead. His education was received in local public schools. Mr. Radford married Julia S. Ritch, daughter of Ralph and Clemence (Mead) Ritch, and grand- daughter of James Ritch and Matthew Mead. Matthew Mead was a son of Cap- tain Matthew Mead, a Revolutionary officer, and a great-grandson of John Mead, who came from England in 1642. The Ritches and Meads were both old families of Greenwich. Mr. and Mrs. Radford were the parents of four chil- dren, two of whom reached maturity : Jesse F., now deceased; and Stephen Lockwood, of whom further. Mr. Rad- ford was a member of Christ Episcopal Church of Greenwich, while Mrs. Rad- ford was a member of the Second Con- gregational Church of that place; the former held the office of vestryman and took an active part in church work. It is worthy of note that both Mr. and Mrs. Radford were the children of seafaring men, Ralph Ritch, who was a native of Greenwich, having "followed the water" nearly all his life.
(III) Stephen Lockwood Radford, son of Stephen L. (2) and Julia S. (Ritch) Radford, was born May 16, 1877, in Greenwich, Connecticut. He received
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his early education in public schools of his native town, passing thence to the Greenwich Academy. He was entered as a law student in the office of the late Michael Kenealy, of Stamford, and at- tended lectures at the Law School of the University of New York. In 1899 he was admitted to the bar. After practising for nearly a year in the office of Mr. Kenealy, Mr. Radford (as he then was) opened an office of his own in Greenwich. The most conclusive evidence of his success in achieving a deservedly high reputation both for legal learning and skill in the application of its principles is furnished by the fact that on January 1, 1915, he was elected judge of probate. His record as a member of the judiciary has more than justified the choice of those whose votes placed him upon the bench. Po- litically Judge Radford is a Republican, and for eight years filled the office of clerk of the Court of the Borough of Greenwich, serving for three years as assistant town clerk, and member of the Republican town committee. He affili- ates with Acacia Lodge, No. 85, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, of Green- wich; Rittenhouse Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Stamford ; and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of Green- wich. He and his wife are members of the Congregational church.
Judge Radford married, June 11, 1892, Bessie H. Russell, daughter of Charles E. and Lillian (Green) Russell, of Green- wich, and they are the parents of one son : Jesse Russell, born October 24, 1903. The Russells are an old English family, trac- ing descent from Hugh de Rosel, who came over with William the Conqueror and was rewarded with possessions in Dorsetshire. The escutcheon of the Rus- sells is as follows :
Arms-Argent, a lion rampant gules, on a chief sable three escallops of the first.
Crest-A demi-lion rampant gules.
The Green familiy is of Anglo-Saxon origin, the name being derived from the word "gréne," a common prefix to local surnames.
Judge Radford is now in the prime of life and his record, both at the bar and on the bench, indicates that, rich as the past has been in results, the future in all prob- ability holds for him greater honors and more signal achievements.
CRANE, Albert,
Lawyer, Philanthropist.
There is no department of activity in human life more worthy of record than that which aids and assists those worthy objects which tend to upbuild and develop mankind. The life of the late Albert Crane, A. B., LL. B., of Stamford, Con- necticut, was marked by many splendid qualities, but above all by his great gen- erosity and broad charity. Many public institutions and individuals have been the recipients of his generosity. Each has been enabled through this good man's deeds to broaden the extent of its help- fulness. The Stamford Hospital, the Stamford Children's Home, the Stamford Day Nursery, and the free library at Quincy, Massachusetts, are a few of the institutions which will long revere the memory of Albert Crane.
The use of signs to designate the oc- cupation or trade was of ancient origin. Even today we often see a boot hanging in front of a shoemaker's store. Inns es- pecially made use of different species of birds, fowls, and animals, on their signs, thus giving the hostelry a name. After the general adoption of surnames, many of these were retained as a patronymic, one of these being Crane, taken from the sign-name of the bird. The first mention of it is found in 1272, when it was writ- ten de Crance.
(I) Henry Crane, the ancestor of the
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family herein recorded, was born about 1621 in England, and died March 21, 1709. He was among the early Dorchester set- tlers, where he bought a farm of one hundred and twenty acres, and a house, September 1, 1654. He served as select- man of the town of Milton, 1679-80-81 ; was one of the first trustees. Henry Crane became a large landowner and was a man of considerable education. He married (first) Tabitha Kinsley, daugh- ter of Elder Stephen Kinsley, who died in 1681.
(II) Ebenezer Crane, son of Henry and Tabitha (Kinsley) Crane, was born in England, August 6, 1665. He enlisted in the company which went with Sir Wil- liam Phipps' expedition to Quebec, in August, 1690, under command of Colonel John Withington. He was one of the twenty-nine men to return out of seventy- five sent. He married, November 13, 1689, Mary Tolman, born November 26, 1671, daughter of Thomas, Jr., and Eliza- beth (Johnson) Tolman, granddaughter of Thomas Tolman, Sr., who came from England in 1635, a first settler of Dor- chester.
(III) Thomas Crane, tenth child of Ebenezer and Mary (Tolman) Crane, was born May 12, 1710, in Braintree ; married, January 13, 1732, Deborah Owen, daugh- ter of Nathaniel and Deborah (Parmen- ter) Owen. They were admitted to the Braintree church in 1732.
(IV) Joseph Crane, son of Thomas and Deborah (Owen) Crane, was born Sep- tember II, 1737, and died in 1810. He was a cordwainer by trade, and lived at Braintree. He served in the Revolution- ary War, in Captain Silas Weld's com- pany, Colonel William Heath's regiment. He married, December 20, 1757, Mary Savil, daughter of Benjamin and Mary (Blanchard) Savil, born November 24, 1739, died August 1, 1809. .
(V) Thomas (2) Crane, sixth son of Jo- seph and Mary (Savil) Crane, was born in May, 1770, in Braintree, and died Sep- tember 25, 1818. He removed to George's Island, Boston harbor, where he lived until 1810. In the latter year he pur- chased a house on Quincy Point, near his boyhood home, and where there is a stream which is still known as Crane's Brook. He was a successful and well- to-do man. He married, November 6, 1796, Sarah Baxter, daughter of Daniel and Prudence (Spear) Baxter, born in 1771, at Braintree, died August 19, 1824. (VI) Thomas (3) Crane, son of Thomas (2) and Sarah (Baxter) Crane, was born on George's Island, October 18, 1803, and died in New York City, April I, 1875. He grew to manhood in the clear, invigorating air of his native home. He was only fifteen years of age when his father died, and he early went to work. Desiring to be occupied out-of-doors, he learned the trade of stonecutter, and in 1829 removed to New York City. There, in association with others, he purchased a stone yard. Mr. Crane furnished the granite for the New York Customs House; St. John's freight depot ; and the Forty-second street district reservoir. He was a member of the Universalist church, and when he was a young man in Quincy, was accustomed to walk nine miles to and from church. He was an in- timate friend of Horace Greeley, and was one of the founders of Tufts College at Medford, Massachusetts, of which he was a trustee. After his death his widow and sons presented "The Crane Memorial Hall," one of Richardson's fine designs, to the town of Quincy, beloved by Mr. Crane for his childhood associations there.
Mr. Crane married (second) in Boston, November 23, 1836, Clarissa Lawrence Starkey, born in Troy, New Hampshire, March 3, 1813, a descendant of John
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Starkey, who was early in Boston. They were the parents of four sons.
(VII) Albert Crane, third son of Thomas (3) and Clarissa L. (Starkey) Crane, was born December 30, 1842. in New York City, and died at his beautiful home in Stamford, Connecticut, Septem- ber 21, 1918.
The early education of Mr. Crane was obtained in the schools of his native city and he prepared for entrance to Tufts College, Medford, from which he was graduated in the class of 1863. Mr. Crane had previously decided to take up the profession of law for his career and with that aim in view entered Columbia Law School, graduating three years later, and was admitted to practice at the New York bar the same year, 1866. The love of fine arts and literature was inborn in Mr. Crane, and in a few years the sordid- ness of the city conceived in him a desire to live in the atmosphere of country life. Accordingly, he gave up his practice and retired to the peacefulness of his country home, "Rock Acre." He was fortunately blessed in that he was able to gratify his tastes and desires. He had traveled ex- tensively, and at least two score times Mr. Crane had voyaged across the At- lantic ; his journeyings were over the en- tire European continent, as well as into other countries. Mr. Crane seemed to have an especial fondness for England, as one writer has said, "an ancestral inheri- tance perhaps." He spent one entire season in London, maintaining a home there, and was presented at Court. While there he also became a member of the Thatched House Club, on St. James street. Many of his English and Amer- ican friends were entertained at his Eng- lish home.
Mr. Crane's love of music was equally as great as his love of travel and the arts. He was a life member of the New York
Oratorio Society, and was a director of the New York Symphony Society. Among his warm, personal friends in the world of music was Theodore Thomas. In 1876, when the first performance of Wagner's music-drama, "The Niebelun- genlied," took place at Bayreuth, Mr. Crane made a special trip there, and also, in 1882, was at the first hearing of "Par- sifal."
Many institutions were recipients of Mr. Crane's benefactions. The Crane Theological School of Tufts College was endowed by him with a gift of one hun- dred thousand dollars. This was to com- memorate his father's adherence to the Universalist faith. The Stamford Hospi- tal stands on a site which was purchased by a fund donated by Mr. Crane.
By virtue of his descent from Major Simon Willard, of Concord, Massachu- setts, and John Starkey, of Boston, Mr. Crane was a life member of the Society of Colonial Wars. As a great-grandson of Sergeant Joseph Crane, he was a mem- ber of the Sons of the American Revolu- tion ; was a member of the New York Historic Genealogical Society ; the Stam- ford Historical Society; Stamford Hospi- tal Corporation; New York Historical Society ; the Blue Anchor Society ; Amer- ican Geographical Society ; and the Union Club of New York. For seven years, from 1863 to 1870, Mr. Crane was a mem- ber of the New York National Guard.
On January 24, 1884, Mr. Crane married (first) Ellen Mansfield Davies, daughter of Colonel J. Mansfield and Martha M. (Brooks) Davies, of Fishkill-on-the-Hud- son, and she died January 5, 1893. He married (second) February 10, 1902, Fanny Starkey, daughter of George Ly- man and Elizabeth Neal (Ames) Starkey, of Boston. George Lyman Starkey was a descendant of John Starkey, the immi- grant. He married, July 9, 1843, Eliza-
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beth Neal Ames, who was born August 3, 1815, in South Tamworth, New Hamp- shire, and died in Boston, Massachusetts, September 4, 1891, a daughter of John and Sarah (Glidden) Ames. The former was a native of Dublin, New Hampshire, and the latter of Parsonfield, Maine. Mrs. Fanny (Starkey) Crane, their daughter, survives her husband, and now resides at the Crane home, "Rock Acre," in Stam- ford. She is a member of Mt. Vernon Church, Boston, Massachusetts, and is one of the executors of Mr. Crane's will.
POST, Robert Woodbridge, Head of Great Paper Business.
The manufacturing world has claimed many men of broad business calibre and efficiency. One who has achieved well deserved success in this line is Robert Woodbridge Post, paper manufacturer of Westport, Connecticut. Mr. Post is a true son of Connecticut, and his family has been prominent in that State for many generations.
(I) The immigrant ancestor, Stephen Post, was a first settler of the beautiful Capital city. He was born in Chelmsford, England, and crossed the Atlantic in 1663, accompanied by his wife and four chil- dren, in the ship "Griffin," landing in Boston, Massachusetts. Stephen Post became associated with a band of Puri- tans and settled with them in Hartford, Connecticut, as above stated, under the Rev. Thomas Hooker. His name appears on the Founder's Monument in the burial ground of Hooker's church. Soon after coming to Hartford, Mr. Post removed to Saybrook, and settled in a section called Oyster River, some two miles from the fort where he died, August 16, 1659. His wife, Eleanor, survived him more than eleven years, and died November 13, 1670.
(II) Abraham Post, son of Stephen and Eleanor Post, was born in Hartford, Con- necticut, 1640-41. He was made a free- man, May 11, 1665. He died in Saybrook, about 1713-15. He was appointed to the office of ensign of the Saybrook Train Band, in 1667, and appointed lieutenant in 1680. Lieutenant Post married, in 1663, Mary Chulker, and she died March 21, 1683.
(III) Gurdon Post, son of Abraham and Mary (Chulker) Post, was born May 29, 1676. He married and had a son, Jedediah, of whom further.
(IV) Jedediah Post, son of Gurdon Post, lived all his life in Hebron, Connec- ticut. He married and had a son, David, of whom further.
(V) David Post, son of Jedediah Post, was born in Hebron, Connecticut, Novem- ber 25, 1752, and died October 5, 1840. He removed to Gilead; he was a farmer and shipped beef and pork South. On May 20, 1784, he married Martha Warner, daughter of Dr. A. I. Warner, of Bolton, Connecticut, and she died August 14, 1846.
(VI) Elijah Post, son of David and Martha (Warner) Post, was born July 31, 1792, and died April 20, 1869, in Gil- ead, Connecticut. The whole of what is now Gilead street was once owned by the Post family. Elijah Post married Anna Bissell, born April 30, 1795, in He- bron, Connecticut.
(VII) Bissell Elijah Post, son of Elijah and Anna (Bissell) Post, was born No- vember 13, 1817, and died in Andover, about 1909. He grew to manhood in Gilead, and learned the tanner's trade, which he followed many years. About 1855 he removed to Andover and bought a farm and mill there. . In this mill he did sawing and wood-turning; he sawed oak timber, which was used largely by the New Bedford whalers. Until the late
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