USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 11 > Part 53
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October 23, 1754, Mary Newton, widow, of Southborough. The third child of his first marriage was Thomas, of whom further.
(V) Thomas Shattuck, son of John (2) Shattuck, was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts, March 3, 1724. As early as 1751 he settled in Petersham, then called Nichewang. He often bought and sold real estate in that and the neighbor- ing towns. He married Elizabeth Par- menter, daughter of Joseph Parmenter, of Framingham, born May 17, 1722, and they both died in Petersham. The line continues through their sixth child, Abel.
(VI) Abel Shattuck, son of Thomas Shattuck, was born in Petersham, Massa- chusetts, in 1759. He first settled in his native town, but after the death of his first wife went to New Lebanon, Colum- bia county, New York, and united with the Shakers, with whom he lived ten years, during this time learning the clothier's trade. He afterwards left that group and followed the same occupation in Coleraine, where he died July 1, 1816. He was much employed in the public business of the town, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War (Massachusetts State Records). He married (first), in Petersham, in 1780, Mary Marble, of that town, who bore him one son, and died a year after their marriage. He married (second), in 1793, Lydia Oak, (see Oak line), and there were fourteen children of this union, the second, Jethro, of whom further.
(VII) Jethro Shattuck, son of Abel Shattuck, was born in Coleraine, Mas- sachusetts, June 14, 1795, and died May 20, 1865. He was a local inspector of the Erie canal, a Whig in political faith, and either a Unitarian or a Universalist in re- ligious belief. He married, 1840-41, Eliz- abeth Brown (Barber) Walker (see Bar- ber line).
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(The Oak Line).
Oakes, Oak, Oaks, Oke, are variations of the name which originally was Oak, a form found in Colonial records. Oakes and Oaks are the usual present day spellings. Ac or Ack was an Anglo-Saxon word, meaning oak, the oak tree, and it formed part of many local names in Great Brit- ain; Ackley, now Oakley ; Acfield or Ack- field, now Oakfield ; Acden, now Oakden ; Ackam, now Oakman; and Halyac, now Halyook, Holyoake or Holyoke. From residence in an oak forest or near oaks the family came to be called Oak, and all coats-of-arms of the family have borne oaks or acorns. Another theory accounts for the name Oak as derived from the Gaelic act or auct, meaning a field in Somersetshire there is an ancient parish called Oake; in Shropshire live the Oak- leys, who trace back to Philip, Lord of Oakley, in the time of Henry III. Del Oak, or "of the oak," is a surname found in old English records.
(I) Nathaniel Oak was the immigrant ancestor of the branch herein recorded, and a writer of 1826 calls him an English- man. Of his coming to America there is only the following record, doubtless his own statement, handed down to his grand- children and by the son of one of them (John Conant) inscribed in the family Bible: "The grandfather of my mother was a cabin boy on an English vessel bound to Boston. Nine miles from land the vessel foundered. All the ship's crew except the boy, whose name was Oaks, were lost. He, being a good swim- mer, swam ashore. In his distress he solemnly promised the Lord that if He would preserve him to get to land he would never go onto the water again. This promise he sacredly kept. His wife, my great-grandmother, could never persuade him even to cross Charles river in a boat to Boston. He would always go around
upon the neck. Thus he reached his after- home, poor and penniless, and without even clothes to cover; and as was then the custom, having no friends in America, he was bound out to earn his living. His master set him to work in a pitch-pine forest to pick up pine knots. In this employ he was attacked by a catamount, or wild cat, which he slew with a large pine knot. His master gave him the bounty the State paid for the pelt of this furious beast, with which he bought a sheep or two, which he let out to double. These sheep were all the property he began the world with when he became of age." The first record of Nathaniel Oak is of his marriage in 1686. In documents of the time he is named "yeoman," "planter," and sometimes "gentleman." In 1692 he served in a garrison, and in 1707 as one of the Goodnow garrison he took part in a fight with the Indians. He married (first), December 14, 1686, Me- hitable Rediat, daughter of John and Ann Rediat; (second), May 20, 1703, Mary (Holloway) Farrar, daughter of Adam and Hannah (Hayward) Holloway, and widow of Jacob Farrar, who was killed in King Philip's War. There were eight children of his second marriage.
(II) George Oak, son of Nathaniel Oak, was born in Westboro, Massachu- setts, February 15, 1720. He lived in Westboro on the farm that became known as the "Wesson Place," through the own- ership of one of the firearms firm. As early as 1769 he settled in Rutland. He had served in the Colonial wars, being mustered into service, September 25, 1755, for the Crown Point expedition ; enlisting again April 2, 1759, and serving as ensign in 1762 in Captain Jonathan Fay's com- pany. In the Revolution he is named in a company of Rutland minute-men at the Lexington alarm, 1775, and he enlisted August 20, 1777, in the company of Cap-
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tain David Bent, marching to Benning- ton. After 1777 nothing is known of him. He married (first), October 23 or 26, 1744, Lydia Eagar, daughter of Captain James and Tabitha (Howe) Eagar; (second), June 12, or 13, 1765, Mercy Bartlett, daughter of Ensign Daniel and Martha (Howe) Bartlett. There were six chil- dren of his first marriage, two of his second.
(III) Sylvanus Oak, son of George Oak, was born in Westboro, Massachu- setts, March 30, 1749, died about 1800. In 1771 he bought of Nathaniel Waite for one hundred and sixty pounds a fulling mill and clothier's shop in Princeton, Massachusetts, and lived also in Holden, where some of his children were born. He served twelve days, from April 20, 1775, at the Lexington alarm, in the company of Captain Sargent, marching from Rutland to Cambridge. After the war he sold out his Princeton property, took his pay in Continental money, and lost it all. He lived subsequently in Coleraine, dying, it is said, across the line in Vermont. He married, in Rutland, November 25 (or December 3), 1771, Abigail Ball.
(IV) Lydia Oak, daughter of Sylvanus Oak, was born in Holden, Massachusetts, September 17, 1774, died February 25, 1852. She married, in 1793, Abel Shat- tuck (see Shattuck line).
(The Barber Line).
The origin of the name of Barber is a question upon which there is some differ- ence of opinion. All agree, however, that Normandy was its original European home, and that it came into England at the time of the Norman Conquest in the elev- enth century. The greater number of those who have made a study of family names ascribe its derivation to the trade of hair- cutting and hair-dressing. The fashion of elaborate hair-dressing and of fastidious care of the beard was brought into Eng-
land by the Normans, and so popular did it become at court that skillful hair- dressers were much sought. Among the royalty, nobility, and wealthy gentry, the barber's position was an important one in the household. No less an authority than Dr. Henry Barber (deceased) of London, claimed that the theory of its derivation from the hair-dressing trade was extremely doubtful. He stated that the more probable origin "is from St. Barbe sur Gaillon, a local name in Nor- mandy, where was the celebrated Abbey of St. Barbara, whence comes the name Barber or Barbour, a hamlet in Dunbar- tonshire," and he cites in support of this theory the personal names "Bernard Barb de Barbes, tenant in the Domesday Book, St. Barbe on the Roll of Battle Abbey, William de St. Barbara, Bishop of Dur- ham, A. D. 1143, Le Barbier Court of Husting, London, 1258." Dr. Barber also gives the various French forms of the name as Barbe, Barbier, Barbare, Bar- berie, and Barbry; the German form as Barber.
(I) Thomas Barber, whose name ap- pears in the early Colonial records of Windsor, Connecticut, was born probably in the County of Bedford, England, about 1614. He came to Windsor in 1635 with the party fitted out by Sir Richard Salton- stall, under Francis Stiles, a master car- penter of London. He was then twenty- one years of age, and was the first of the Barber name in New England. Thomas Barber was a soldier with the rank of ser- geant in the Pequot War, and distin- guished himself by his bravery in a number of fights with the Pequots and particularly in the taking of a fort which the Indians considered impregnable. He died September II, 1662. He married, October 7, 1640, and he and his wife, Jane (or Joan), were the parents of six chil- dren.
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John &. Keler .
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
(II) Samuel Barber, son of Thomas Barber, was baptized October 1, 1648. He married (first), December 1, 1670, Mary Coggins ; (second), January 25, 1677, Ruth Drake, daughter of John and Han- nah (Moore) Drake, descendant of the noted English family of Drake. There were fourteen children of his two mar- riages, three being of the first, Joseph, through whom this line continues, a child of the second.
(III) Joseph Barber, son of Samuel Barber, was born in Windsor, Connecti- cut, in 1681. He married, May 6, 1707-08, Mary, daughter of Nathaniel and Eliza- beth (Moore) Loomis, his second cousin. They had nine children.
(IV) Joseph (2) Barber, son of Joseph (1) Barber, was born January 28, 1708-09. He married, June 18, 1728, Elizabeth Cook, daughter of Nathaniel Cook, who was born in 1707. The line traced through Joseph, the eldest of their five children.
(V) Joseph (3) Barber, son of Joseph (2) Barber, was born May 6, 1729. He and his wife, Zain, lived for a time in Harwinton, Connecticut, but later moved to Bethlehem, New York, where he died in 1795, his wife in February, 1817. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War (Connecticut State Records). They had eleven children, Roswell continuing this branch.
(VI) Roswell Barber, son of Joseph (3) Barber, was born in Harwinton, Con- necticut, December 4, 1777. In 1811 he moved from Schoharie county to Oneida county, New York, making the journey with ox-teams. He built his log cabin on the banks of the Oneida river between the present towns of Oneida and Durhamville, later erecting a large frame farm house on the same site. Soon after arriving at their new home, Roswell Barber and a few oth- ers arranged for religious services which
were maintained steadily until 1815, when a church of twelve members was organ- ized. Their pulpit was supplied by the "Circuit Riders," and to these hardy, self- sacrificing pioneer preachers, who formed such an important factor in the life of a century ago, the home of Roswell Barber was always open. He was a devoted member of the Baptist church, and the bell of the church in Durhamville was his gift. During the War of 1812 Roswell Barber was stationed at Sacketts Harbor to guard supplies. He married Elizabeth (Betsey) Brown, who was born July 22, 1785, and died February 5, 1876. They had six children, of whom the second was Elizabeth Brown, of whom further.
(VII) Elizabeth Brown Barber, daugh- ter of Roswell Barber, was born February 29, 1804, and died about May, 1887. She married (first) Willis Warner Walker; (second) Jethro Shattuck (see Shattuck line).
KEELER, John Everett, Lawyer, Jurist.
In appointing John Everett Keeler, of Stamford, Connecticut, to the bench of the Superior Court of Connecticut, Governor Holcombe selected a man whose natural endowment of mind and personality, broad knowledge of the law, calm judicial temperament, and constant adherence to the highest ethical ideals, eminently fitted him for the exalted position. No appoint- ment to the bench was more acceptable to the legal profession and to the general public. In Fairfield county the name of Keeler is full of significance, both in the records of generations now gone and in the living records of the present day.
In olden days one of the commonest ways of identifying a man was according to his occupation. In this manner the name of Keeler originated. Its source is
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obvious. It refers to the man who laid the keels of vessels and perhaps helped to construct other parts.
(I) Ralph Keeler, the immigrant an- cestor of this family, was in Hartford, Connecticut, as early as 1639, and was a first settler of Norwalk, Connecticut. He was chimney viewer in 1645, and pur- chased lands in September, 1666. He was a carpenter and builder, and was en- gaged in building many of the early houses. His will was dated August 20, 1672. The name of his second wife was Sarah Whelpley, widow of Henry Whelp- ley, of Norwalk.
(II) Samuel Keeler, son of Ralph Keeler, was born in 1656, in Norwalk, died in 1713. He served in the Great Swamp fight, receiving in return a bounty of land in Norwalk. He became one- of the original proprietors of Ridgefield, Connecticut, holding the grant to the lower part of the town. He married, in 1682, Sarah, daughter of Mark and Eliza- beth (Stanley) Sention (St. John), of Norwalk. She died in 1714.
(III) Timothy Keeler, son of Samuel and Sarah (Sention or St. John) Keeler, was born in 1695, in Norwalk, and settled in Ridgefield. His will was dated August 30, 1748, and was proved September 22, 1748. He married (first), in 1720, Abigail Osborne, who died in 1735. He married (second), in 1736, Widow Sarah Couch.
(IV) Jeremiah Keeler, youngest son of Timothy Keeler, succeeded to the property, and in 1750 built the house which until it was razed in 1916 was the residence of his descendants. The farm is still in the possession of Judge Keeler. Jeremiah Keeler married Hannah Say- mour.
(V) Jeremiah (2) Keeler, son of Jere- miah (1) and Hannah (Seymour) Keeler, married Sarah St. John, and they were the parents of Benjamin, of whom further.
(VI) Benjamin Keeler, son of Jere- miah (2) and Sarah (St. John) Keeler, was born March 2, 1792. He became in- terested in the coasting trade, and was also associated with a firm of potters in Huntington, Long Island. He was a captain and sailed during the summer months, and worked at pottery making in the winter time. He also followed farm- ing on the old homestead. In 1819 he married Sarah Slessor, who was born October 13, 1799, and died May 5, 1875, daughter of John Slessor. Benjamin Keeler died August 23, 1864.
(VII) Samuel (2) Keeler, son of Benja- min and Sarah (Slessor) Keeler, was born February 8, 1826, and from the age of four years resided in Stamford, Connecticut. His early education was received in the public schools of Stamford, and on leaving school he learned the trade of saddler and harness maker. This business he followed through the long period when riding and driving were the pastimes of the rich, and the merchant and the manufacturers were dependent on hand-made vehicles and harnesses for their delivery equipment. Mr. Keeler was in business for himself about fifteen years. He married Mary Jane June, a native of Stamford, and they were the parents of the following chil- dren : John Everett, of further mention ; Edith Egeton, born January 22, 1859, died February 27, 1896.
(VIII) John Everett Keeler, the only son of Samuel (2) and Mary Jane (June) Keeler, was born February 26, 1856, in Stamford, Connecticut. He received his preliminary education in the public schools, but later entered Yale Univer- sity. He chose the classical course and was graduated in 1877. He then studied law with the eminent Calvin G. Child, Esq., of Stamford, and in 1879 was ad- mitted to the Fairfield county bar. One year later he was made borough attorney,
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Robert H. Kuler
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
which office he held for two years. From 1883 to 1887 he was judge of the Borough Court. He was engaged in the practice of law the entire time. From 1879 to 1887 he was alone in practice, and in the latter year formed a partnership with Nathaniel R. Hart, the firm name being Hart & Keeler. Mr. Hart died in October, 1906, and from that year until January 1, 1913, he continued alone, then formed a partner- ship under the name of Keeler & Durey, continuing until Judge Keeler went on the bench. He was appointed judge in February, 1917, and took his seat, May 19, 1918, in the Superior Court, in which position he is still serving (1921). In the latter named year he was appointed by Governor Lake a judge of the Supreme Court of Errors, the appointment to take effect August 30, 1922. The Senate by a ballot vote confirmed Governor Lake's appointment.
On October 14, 1885, Judge Keeler mar- ried Harriet Alice Horne, daughter of William and Harriet J. (Dodge) Horne, of Morristown, New Jersey. They are the parents of a son, Ralph Keeler, born De- cember 1, 1887, a graduate of Yale in 1912, subsequently a student in the Biltmore Forest School, graduated in 1914, and in 1917 became first lieutenant of Engineer Corps, Company A, 502d Engineers, and was later promoted captain of this com- pany. The daughter, Margery Keeler, was born September 18, 1896, and gradu- ated from Wellesley College in 1918. Miss Keeler now resides at home.
Judge Keeler is one of those men whose standing in the community places him in a position where the dignity of an upright life and fine character are exemplified be- fore the rising generation. He is one of the substantial citizens of Stamford, whose keen insight and sound judgment have always been at the command of every movement for civic progress and
social uplift. He is a member of the Sub- urban Club, being one of the governors; member of the Stamford Yacht Club; Yale Club of New York ; Graduates' Club of New Haven, and of the University Club of Bridgeport.
KEELER, Robert Wellington, Business Man, Legislator.
In every community there are found some men who are known for their up- right lives, strong common sense and moral worth, and one of the citizens of Wilton, Connecticut, who is thus distin- guished is Robert Wellington Keeler, a descendant of the well known Keeler family.
(III) Samuel (2) Keeler, son of Sam- uel (1) and Sarah (Sention or St. John) Keeler (q. v.), was born in 1682 in Nor- walk, and in 1710 sold his land in Ridge- field to his father for thirty pounds. He married (first), in 1704, Rebecca Benedict, daughter of James Benedict, of Danbury, and after her death, which occurred in 1709, he married (second), in 1712, Sarah Betts, daughter of Thomas Betts. Sam- uel Keeler died in 1763.
(IV) Samuel (3) Keeler, son of Samuel (2) and Rebecca (Benedict) Keeler, was born in 1706, in Norwalk, and became one of the first settlers of Wilton, Connecticut. During the Revolutionary War, he was an active patriot. In 1895 the house he built was still standing and was occupied by F. D. Benedict. Samuel Keeler mar- ried Elizabeth -- , and his will, filed at Norwalk, is dated 1782.
(V) Samuel (4) Keeler, son of Samuel (3) and Elizabeth Keeler, was born in 1741, in Wilton, and there passed his life. He married (first), Tabitha Betts; (sec- ond) Sybil Leavenworth; (third) Widow Dreamer. Samuel Keeler died in 1826, and was survived by his widow until 1842.
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(VI) Isaiah Keeler, son of Samuel (4) Keeler, was born in Wilton, in 1790, and lived all his life on the old homestead. He was a very successful farmer and raised horses and colts. He had an apple orchard of one thousand trees, an im- mense orchard in those days. He made cider in a mill of his own and sold it for seventy-five cents and when he got a dollar for it he thought he was making big money. Isaiah Keeler was a big, strong man; he was strong of voice and limb and was noted for his strength. He could pick up a barrel of cider from the ground and throw it into a wagon. Mr. Keeler was often heard to say that he did not know what it was to be tired until he became afflicted with what was called rheumatism. He married Lucy Watrous, and his death occurred in 1874.
(VII) Le Grand W. Keeler, son of Isaiah and Lucy (Watrous) Keeler, was born in October, 1815, and died in 1892. He grew up on the home farm, and was educated in the district school and at the private academy conducted by Professor Hawley Olmstead. After completing his schooling, Le Grande W. Keeler taught school for a number of years in various places. Part of the time he was instructor in the Union School at Norwalk. That winter was unique in that there were seventeen weeks of sleighing, and he was driven to Norwalk on the first of every week and back home at the end of the week in a sleigh. During this period, he engaged in farming in the summer. Subsequently Mr. Keeler went to New York, where he was employed in a whole- sale grocery store for a time, and then, at his father's solicitation, returned to Norwalk. The health of the latter had begun to fail and he needed the son's help in running the farm. From that time on Le Grande W. Keeler remained on the home farm as long as he lived. He was
a very successful farmer and would have left quite an estate had he not lost heavily through misplaced confidence in endors- ing notes. But notwithstanding this mis- fortune and heavy expense caused by sickness, he was in comfortable circum- stances when he died. Thrifty, prudent and inherently honest, Mr. Keeler pos- sessed force and determination, and he was a true representative of that type of old New Englander that did so much to give American institutions their color and character. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Republican. He was several times honored with public office and served as assessor, selectman, and in other minor offices. He took a very active in- terest in town affairs, although not a politician.
Mr. Keeler married Catherine Lock- wood, daughter of Horace Lockwood, of the neighboring town of Poundridge, New York. They were the parents of eight children, five of whom grew to maturity. They are : Samuel, of Ridgefield ; Edward L., deceased; Robert Wellington, of fur- ther mention; Catherine L., resides in Stamford; William L., of Wallingford. Mr. Keeler and his family were regular attendants of the Congregational church and much interested in all its good works. Mrs. Keeler died in 1895.
(VIII) Robert Wellington Keeler, son of Le Grande W. and Catherine (Lock- wood) Keeler, was born in North Wilton, Connecticut, September 5, 1853. After completing the district school studies Robert W. Keeler attended Professor Olm- stead's Academy, which was at that time conducted by the son of Professor Hawley Olmstead, who had instructed Robert W.'s father. The youth was brought up on the home farm, one of the best in the town and which had been in the Keeler family for generations. Robert W. Keeler remained there until 1870, and in
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the latter year became a clerk in the very store building he now owns and occupies. It was then carried on by the firm of Keeler & Gilbert, the brother of Robert W., Edward L., being the head of the firm. After two or three years the firm dissolved, and Robert W. returned to the farm, where he continued work until 1876. In the meantime another party had taken the store at Wilton, and Mr. Keeler worked for them for a summer. He then went to Hinsdale, Illinois, where he re- mained only a few months as pioneer con- ditions in the West did not appeal to him. He went back to the homestead and re- mained there until 1882. Soon after this time he received an advantageous offer from James Comstock, who then owned a store in North Wilton, and Mr. Keeler went to work for him. When his em- ployer died, about two years later, Mr. Keeler purchased the business from the heirs and continued there with gratifying success for seventeen years, until 1900. He succeeded Mr. Comstock as postmas- ter and had the office all those years. During that time he also kept the town poor on a contract for a period of about twenty years. In 1899 Mr. Keeler sold his business. He then remained on the farm for a year or two, giving his entire attention to its cultivation. In 1903 he opened his present store, and in 1909 pur- chased the property. A line of general merchandise is handled, including agri- cultural implements and building ma- terials. The business of the general mer- chant has changed greatly since Mr. Keeler went into business for himself more than a third of a century ago. Then a large part of the business was trans- acted on a basis of barter for farm pro- duce, and was the principle means by which a merchant made a profit. Now there is very little of that kind of trading,
and the country merchant is not a shipper of produce as in days of yore.
In politics Mr. Keeler is a Republican, and from 1880 to 1900, with the excep- tion of three or four years, served as tax collector. He made a record, never equalled but for one year by any other incumbent of that office, in settling the tax accounts in full every year and never carrying delinquent taxes from one year to the next. In 1900 he was sent to the Legislature to represent the town, and discharged his duties in a manner which brought satisfaction to his constituents. He served on the insurance committee and on the committee having in charge the seating of the members of the House. Of the latter committee, Mr. Keeler was chairman and learned how popular a man is when he has it in his power to bestow favors, for of course every member wanted the best seat on the floor, yet only one man could have it.
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