USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 11 > Part 44
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(II) Jonathan Ingersoll, son of John and Mary (Hunt) Ingersoll, was born May 10, 1681, in Westfield, Massachu- setts, and during the greater part of his life lived in Milford, where he died, No- vember 28, 1760, his wife, Sarah, having passed away February 14, 1748.
(III) Jonathan (2) Ingersoll, son of Jonathan (I) and Sarah Ingersoll, was born in 1713, at Milford (or Stratford), and 1736 graduated from Yale College. On November 8, 1738, he was installed as pastor of the Congregational church of Ridgefield, and served it for the remainder of his life, a period of nearly forty years. In 1759, during the French War, he served as chaplain of a Connecticut regiment. Mr. Ingersoll married, November 10, 1740, Dorcas Moss (see Moss line), and his death occurred October 2, 1778. His widow passed away September 29, 1811.
(IV) Anne Ingersoll, daughter of Jon- athan (2) and Dorcas (Moss) Ingersoll, was born April 5, 1765, and became the wife of Joshua King (see King line).
(The Moss Line).
(I) John Moss was born in England, in 1619, and in 1639 settled in New Haven, Connecticut, removing, in 1670, to Wal- lingford. His death occurred in 1708.
(II) Joseph Moss, son of John Moss, was born in 1651, in New Haven, where he passed his entire life, holding various offices in that city. He married, April II, 1667, Mary
(III) Joseph (2) Moss, son of Joseph (1) and Mary Moss, was born April 7, 1679, and received from Yale College the honorary degree of Master of Arts with the first class which graduated from that institution, which was in 1702. After teaching a classical school at Derby, he became pastor of the Congregational church in that town, and served it for twenty years. He died January 23, 1732. Mr. Moss was the author of several books, and no clergyman of his time enjoyed a higher reputation.
(IV) Dorcas Moss, daughter of Joseph (2) Moss, was born in 1726, in Derby, and became the wife of the Rev. Jonathan In- gersoll (see Ingersoll line).
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
BENNETT, Edwin B.,
Manufacturer, Public-Spirited Citizen.
The name we have just written is familiar as that of president of the Ben- nett Wire Company, not only to Mr. Ben- nett's fellow-citizens of Norwalk, but also to the manufacturing world of the United States and Canada. As a citizen who ever studies the best interests of his commun- ity, Mr. Bennett is numbered among the most highly respected residents of Nor- walk.
The name of Bennett is of Latin origin, signifying blessed, and is derived from the personal name Benedict. In the reigns of Edwards Second and Third, of England, it is found under the forms of Fitz-Benedict, Benediscite, Bendiste, Ben- edick and Bennett. It is also said to mean a place overgrown with bennet or bent grass, and hence, a dweller at such a place.
(I) James Bennett, founder of the Fair- field and Compo branch of the family, was born in England, in 1616. He emi- grated to the Massachusetts Colony, set- tled in Concord, and in 1637 was made a freeman. In 1639 he married Hannah Wheeler, daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Wheeler, of Concord, and in 1644, in com- pany with his father-in-law and many other residents of that place, he removed to the Connecticut Colony. This migra- tion was called the Concord Exodus. The settlers found homes in what is now Fair- field, and James Bennett, with nine others, founded what is now the city of Bridgeport, but which then received the name of Stratfield. He became a man of prominence in the colony, and for many years was deputy to the Colonial Assem- bly. He was lieutenant of the Train Band, and one of the founders of what later became the First Congregational Church of Bridgeport. He was buried in the old Stratfield burying-ground.
(II) Thomas Bennett, son of James and Hannah (Wheeler) Bennett, was born in 1642, and lived with his father until 1664, when he was made a freeman. He purchased land in Sasco (Southport), and in 1668 married Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of John Thompson, of Strat- field. Later he bought the rights of Emma, widow of the Rev. John Jones, in her husband's parsonage, which faced the common, southeast of the town hall, Fair- field. In his latter years he removed to Compo, where he died in 1704.
(III) Thomas (2) Bennett, son of Thomas (1) and Elizabeth (Thompson) Bennett, married Sarah Hubbell.
(IV) Thomas (3) Bennett, son of Thomas (2) and Sarah (Hubbell) Ben- nett, was born in 1694. He married (first) Mary Rowland, and (second) Mercy Schofield.
(V) Nathan Bennett, son of Thomas (3) and Mary (Rowland) Bennett, was born March 4, 1725, in Compo, now West- port, and married Hannah Sturges, daughter of John Sturges, of Fairfield. Nathan Bennett died October 5, 1792.
(VI) Elias Bennett, son of Nathan and Hannah (Sturges) Bennett, was born May 10, 1752, in Compo, and in 1773 was made a freeman. During the War of the Revolution he served first as a member of the Coast Guard, and participated in the battle of Ridgefield in which General Wooster was killed. Later he was a mu- sician in Captain Lemuel Clift's company, Ist Regiment, Connecticut Line, and in 1840 was a war pensioner. He married (first) Anna Crossman, born November 25, 1756, daughter of John and Annie (Allen) Crossman, and (second) Eliza- beth Squires. About the time of his first marriage he removed to Weston, where he died in 1842, and was buried in the Kettle Creek burying-ground.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
(VII) Elias (2) Bennett, son of Elias (1) and Anna (Crossman) Bennett, was born December 25, 1778, in Westport, and early in life began the manufacture of flour sieves, making his netting from horschair, and these he peddled about the country himself. For a long period he was engaged in teaching, having charge of one district school for twelve years. In politics he was an old-time Whig. While engaged in teaching his health failed and he became a post rider on the road from Bridgeport to Weston, Redding and Georgetown. By many he was called "Post Bennett." He and his family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He married, about 1804, in Redding or Weston, Mary Perry, some account of whose family is appended to this biography. Mrs. Bennett died in 1853. She and her husband were the par- ents of the following children: Sturges, mentioned below; Mary, born in 1807, died in 1822; Aaron, born in 1810, died in 1890; Burr, born in 1813, died in 1887; William, born in 1818, died in 1899; and Samuel, born in 1822, died in 1889. Elias (2) Bennett died April 10, 1863, in Georgetown, Connecticut. It is evident that he was a man of fine mental endow- ments, for although he received only a common school education at a time when common schools were not what they are now, he was a remarkably successful teacher. He and his wife are buried in the Umpawaug Cemetery, in Redding. The death of Mr. Bennett occurred at the home of his son, Sturges, the eldest of the family, and in some respects its most noteworthy member.
(VIII) Sturges Bennett, son of Elias (2) and Mary (Perry) Bennett, was born in 1805, and it is not improbable that as a youth he sometimes assisted his father, "Post Bennett," in distributing through various towns the Bridgeport "Standard"
and "Farmer," and the Norwalk "Ga- zette."
Events proved, however, that he was destined for a wider field of action than any in which his ancestors had moved. In 1830 he married (first) Charlotte Gil- bert, daughter of Benjamin Gilbert, hav- ing been admitted in 1828 to partnership in Mr. Gilbert's business. This event it was which broadened his sphere and marked the beginning, from a temporal point of view, of the great success of his entire life.
After the death of Mr. Bennett's first wife, who was the mother of all his children, he married (second) Betsey A. Burchard. On May 30, 1880, Mr. Ben- nett passed away, having completed fifty-two years in the service of the enter- prise in the upbuilding of which he had been so largely instrumental.
(IX) Eli G. Bennett, son of Sturges and Charlotte (Gilbert ) Bennett, was born February 2, 1831, in Georgetown, and there grew to manhood. In 1855 he grad- uated from Amherst College, afterward associating himself with his father's busi- ness in the capacity of bookkeeper.
After the Civil War, Mr. Bennett sev- ered his connection with the firm of Gil- bert, Bennett & Company, establishing himself independently as a general mer- chant in Georgetown. About 1880 he disposed of the business and removed to Brooklyn, New York, in order to assume the position of bookkeeper in the New York office of the Gilbert & Bennett Man- ufacturing Company.
In politics, Mr. Bennett was a Repub- lican, but never in the least a politician, the only office which he ever held being that of justice of the peace. He and his family were members of the Congrega- tional church, in which for some years he served as deacon.
Mr. Bennett married Mary Esther
3II
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Birchard, daughter of Edwin Birchard, of Cannon Station, in the town of Wilton, and their children were: Eli Sturges, of Brooklyn, New York; Mary Esther, also of that city ; Jennie, wife of I. D. Hurlbutt, of Brooklyn; Edwin B., mentioned be- low; and Charles, of Brooklyn. About twenty years before his death, which oc- curred July 10, 1920, Mr. Bennett retired from active business. He was a man of more than ordinary executive talent, and was highly esteemed as a useful and public-spirited citizen.
(X) Edwin B. Bennett, son of Eli G. and Mary Esther (Birchard) Bennett, was born April 23, 1869, in Georgetown, Connecticut, and received his education in the public schools of his native place.
After completing his course of study Mr. Bennett, true to the traditions of his family, entered the service of the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company, re- ceiving his initiation in the business in which his father and grandfather had ren- dered such notable assistance. It soon became evident that he had inherited a full measure of their ability and also of their energy and aggressiveness, and dur- ing the twenty-two years of his connec- tion with the firm he did much for the strengthening and expansion of the busi- ness, serving for the greater part of the time as salesman.
A spirit of enterprise, however, has al- ways been one of Mr. Bennett's dominant characteristics, and in 1907 he established his present business. From a small be- ginning the concern has grown to note- worthy proportions, and is now numbered among Norwalk's most substantial indus- tries. The product is wire cloth, sold directly to stores and manufacturers of wire cloth goods, and finds a market in every part of the United States and also in Canada, having a growing export trade. In 1912 the business was incorporated as
the Bennett Wire Company, with Mr. Bennett as president, an office which he has since continuously retained.
While predominantly a business man, Mr. Bennett never forgets that he is a citizen, and any cause or movement hav- ing for its object the improvement of community conditions invariably enlists the support of his influence and means. He and his family are members of Grace Dutch Reformed Church of Brooklyn, New York.
Mr. Bennett married Isabelle W. Gib- son, daughter of James D. Gibson, a na- tive of Edinburgh, Scotland, who emi- grated to the United States. Since the age of nine years Mr. Gibson has been a resident of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett are the parents of one child: Birchard Gibson, born January 17, 1902.
Edwin B. Bennett is the son and grand- son of men who gave the best years of their lives to the upbuilding of a great in- dustry, and he himself, as a representa- tive of the third generation, has ably and worthily carried on the work. As head of a large and constantly growing enter- prise in the same line of endeavor, he has added to the long-established prestige of the family name.
(The Gilbert Line).
The name Gilbert, which has been as- sociated for more than a century with a manufacturing enterprise of National rep- utation, is of French origin, and is a personal name which was largely intro- duced into England at the time of the Norman Conquest in the form of Gisle- bertus. The meaning is pledge, or host- age-bright. Not only is it a very common surname, but it is the source from which are derived Gibb, Gibbs, Gybbes, Gibbard, Gibbings, Gibbonson, Gibson, Gill, Gilks, Gilpin and many others.
Benjamin Gilbert, founder of the busi-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
ness which to this day bears his name, was born in 1788, in Connecticut, and fol- lowed the shoemaker's trade in the town of Weston, in that State. This was after the War of 1812. He also was master of the trades of tanning and currying, but in none of the three branches of industry in which he was proficient was he to find the key to his future prosperity. Those were the days when families made their own meal, sifting it from the bran through sieves made of horsehair. Benjamin Gilbert was a man alert to opportunity, and his far-seeing mind quickly discerned the latent possibilities of the manufacture of these articles. Abandoning his shoe- maker's last, he embarked in the manu- facture of horsehair sieves. His place of business was the basement of his house, and his entire factory force consisted of his wife and daughters, who wove the hair while he shaved wooden hoops to form the rims of his sieves. The year of the humble beginning of this great business was 1818.
The horsehair sieve market not prov- ing as large as he had anticipated, Mr. Gilbert increased his business by adding the manufacture of curled hair, used for cushions, mattresses and furniture. He moved from Weston to Georgetown, Con- necticut, fifty miles from New York City, where the business continues to this day. In 1826 he installed and put into opera- tion the first machinery ever used in pick- ing hair, and about the same time he leased a small part of an old sawmill, thus obtaining a separate factory at last. It was at this early period of the progress which subsequently increased so amaz- ingly that Sturges Bennett was admitted to partnership, the style of the firm be- coming Gilbert & Bennett. In 1832 Wil- liam J. Gilbert, a son of the founder, was also admitted, the firm name being changed to Gilbert, Bennett & Company.
In 1834 fine wire was substituted for horsehair in the manufacture of their product, and the old Red Mill was pur- chased. Thenceforth the history of the enterprise is that of a rapid and continu- ous march of progress.
Edwin Gilbert, son of Benjamin Gil- bert, became a member of the firm in 1844, and with his brother, William J., and E. O. Hurlbutt, comprised the selling force. Even under the difficult selling conditions of those days, the sale of their goods spread as far as the Western Re- serve of Ohio, but very few, indeed, fore- saw the time when the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company would run their rails alongside factories of the Gilbert, Bennett & Company and on them take out shipments for all parts of the United States. In 1852 a store was opened in New York City, and in 1885 the firm was established in Chicago. Ben- jamin Gilbert, the founder, conducted the business to the last day of his life, pass- ing away in 1847. On May 30, 1874, the company was incorporated under the name of The Gilbert & Bennett Manu- facturing Company, with Sturges Bennett as president. In the simple statement of this fact may be read the whole narrative of the important part Mr. Bennett had played in the progress of the business almost from the first day of his connection with it. His cool, calm judgment, his unceasing vigilance, and his indefatigable industry, had been of inestimable value during the struggling years of the enter- prise, and continued to be so when he became its leader. In 1876 he resigned the presidency, but remained to the close of his life a director of the company.
(The Perry Line).
This ancient name signifies dweller by a pear tree, and is also said to be derived from the personal name Pierre, and thence to mean a stony place.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
(I) Richard Perry, founder of the fam- ily in America, came from England, in 1637, and settled in New Haven. In 1649 he received a grant of land in Fairfield county, where many of his descendants have remained. He was a member of the legal profession, and is mentioned in rec- ords of New Haven as "Secretarie of the Court of New Haven."
(II) Thaddeus Perry, a descendant of Richard Perry, was born in Fairfield, and all his life followed the calling of a weaver. He is said to have woven the first piece of cotton cloth made in Con- necticut. He married Grace Buckley, daughter of Nathan Buckley.
(III) Mary Perry, daughter of Thad- deus and Grace (Buckley) Perry, became the wife of Elias (2) Bennett, as stated above. (See Bennett VII).
MILLER, David H.,
Business Man, Public Official, Soldier.
President and treasurer of the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company, and representative of his home town, Red- ding, in the General Assembly. In these two spheres of action Mr. Miller achieved merited distinction, and to them he added a record of honorable military service during the Civil War. Despite the fact that some years have elapsed since his decease, his memory is still vividly fresh in the minds of his fellow-citizens of Fairfield county and the State of Con- necticut.
The name of Miller is a very old one of English origin, its meaning, corn-grinder, indicating its derivation from mill and placing it among the very numerous pat- ronymics whose origins are traced to va- rious occupations and callings.
John H. Miller, father of David H. Miller, was born in London, England, and was always connected with the Eng- home.
lish army, being at one time captain of a company stationed in the West Indies. He married Sarah Nevill, daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Pulbrook) Nevill, and they were the parents of two sons: John H .; and David H., mentioned below.
John H. Miller, Jr., was born in Lon- don, and early in life came to the United States, where he engaged in the manu- facture of showcases in New York City. Later he was among those who went to California in quest of gold, and was a delegate from that State to the na- tional convention at which John C. Fre- mont was nominated for the presidency. Mr. Miller spoke many languages, and at one time was editor of one of the Sacra- mento papers. He visited various coun- tries and died in Buenos Ayres, South America.
David H. Miller, son of John H. and Sarah (Nevill) Miller, was born August 12, 1831, in London, England, where he attended private schools until his twelfth year. His father died while he was still 'a child, and on leaving school he found employment in his stepfather's office. By attending night school he learned bank- ing, and at the age of fourteen years came to the United States with D. M. Peyser, becoming cashier in Peyser's store, and afterward engaging in the man- ufacture of showcases. In 1851 Mr. Mil- ler returned to England and was em- ployed by his stepfather in the curled hair business. In 1852 he came once more to the United States and established in New York City a factory for carrying on the business. In 1853 he entered the service of the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company in the capacity of bookkeeper, and in the course of time transferred his New York business to Georgetown, Con- necticut, which thenceforth became his
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Before many years had elapsed Mr. Miller's business career which had opened so auspiciously suffered an interruption. In 1861 the Civil War broke out and he was among those of the Gilbert & Ben- nett men who answered the call to the colors. Prior to this he had belonged to the Eighth Regiment, New York Wash- ington Grays. In the Union army he served over a year, winning honors, and the rank of major in the Twenty-third Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.
On returning to his place in the Gil- bert & Bennett force, Mr. Miller resumed that course of steady advancement which was destined to lead to the highest office in the gift of the company. From book- keeper he was advanced to a director- ship, being then made secretary and later vice-president. In 1906 he succeeded to the presidency, an office which he re- tained to the close of his life.
In politics Mr. Miller was a staunch Republican, helping to organize, during the Fremont campaign, the first Repub- lican club of Georgetown. He was a staff officer of the Putnam Phalanx of Hart- ford, which was organized in 1858. For many years he was active in the political life of his community, holding the offices of justice of the peace and notary public, and serving as secretary and treasurer of his school district. He was vice-presi- dent of the Fairfield County National Bank. In 1881 Mr. Miller was elected to represent Fairfield county in the General Assembly, and served one term with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents. His scrupulous fidelity to every duty and his unceasing vigilance in protecting and maintaining the rights of his fellow-citizens entitled him to the re- spect and gratitude of those whom he represented. As a veteran of the Civil War, Mr. Miller held membership in James E. Moore Post, No. 18, Grand
Army of the Republic, of Danbury, and he also belonged to the Army and Navy Club. He affiliated with Ark Lodge, No. 39, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, in which for many years he served as secretary. He also affiliated with Cru- sader Commandery, Knights Templar ; and Pyramid Temple, Mystic Shrine, of Bridgeport. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church.
Mr. Miller married Catherine Welling, who was born in 1833, in Dublin, Ireland, and their children were: I. Samuel J., a sketch of whom follows. 2. Mary C., married Joseph A. Gray, a prominent law- yer of Norwalk, and has eight children. 3. David Henry, a vice-president of the Gil- bert & Bennett Manufacturing Company. (See sketch on following pages.) 4. Catherine W. 5. Louis P., a biography of whom follows. 6. Charles J., first vice- president of the company; entered the offices of the concern in 1882 and now has direct charge of the Wireton Mills, the Chicago office and the Kansas City branch-thirty-eight years with the com- pany. 7. Julius W., machinery manufac- turer in South Norwalk. 8. Sarah F., graduate of South Norwalk High School (valedictorian of her class), also of the State Normal School. 9. Bessie E., grad- uate of South Norwalk High School (val- edictorian of her class) and the State Normal School.
On April 5, 1915, David H. Miller died "full of years and of honors." His ca- reer was varied and eventful, the career of a man able, energetic, abounding in in- itiative, and not without a dash of the spirit of adventure which animated his brilliant but somewhat erratic brother. Both as soldier and citizen, David H. Miller was true to high ideals, and the record of his sixty-two years with the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Com- pany is from first to last a story of honor.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
MILLER, Samuel J., Manufacturer.
When a man's name is familiar not only to his home community, but also to numbers of his fellow-citizens in different parts of the United States, he stands in no need of an introduction from his bi- ographer. This is true of Mr. Miller as the present president of the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company, and among his friends and neighbors of Georgetown he holds the place of a highly esteemed citizen.
Samuel J. Miller was born November 18, 1856, a son of David H. and Cather- ine (Welling) Miller (q. v.). He re- ceived a common school education, and in 1869 entered the service of the firm of Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Com- pany in the capacity of office boy. Be- ginning at the bottom of the ladder, Mr. Miller learned the wire business, as the saying is, "from the ground up." Surely and steadily he advanced, filling succes- sively the offices of assistant superintend- ent, director, general superintendent, sec- retary, vice-president and general man- ager. In 1915 he succeeded his father in the presidency of the company, retaining the position of general manager. The subsequent history of the organization has proved that, with the executive abil- ities of which he has so long shown him- self possessed, he combines unusual tal- ents for leadership. He is a director of the Fairfield County National Bank, of Norwalk.
Mr. Miller married, January 15, 1879, Esther A. Cannon, daughter of Charles Cannon, of Cannondale, in the town of Wilton, and they are the parents of two children : Mary Catherine, born August 15, 1880, wife of Louis R. Ambler, of Cannondale; and D. Henry, whose biog- raphy follows in the work. Mr. and Mrs.
Miller are members of the Protestant Episcopal church, of Wilton.
The almost lifelong connection of Sam- uel J. Miller with the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company, a period of fifty-one years, furnishes strong evidence of the value of concentration of energy and persistent, high-minded adherence to one line of endeavor. Moreover, he has always been public-spirited, as he showed by serving five years as regimental clerk to the Connecticut National Guard. He is an all-round man.
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