USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8 > Part 30
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Mr. Springer married (first) Carrie E. Bennett, who died in 1897. She was the mother of Beatrice Springer, a trained nurse, of Hartford, Connecticut ; and Nel- son Frederick Springer, who is associated
with his father in business. Mr. Springer married (second) Caroline E. Finney, in 1898, daughter of Lorenzo and Caroline C. (Jessup) Finney, of North Mianus, and they have one daughter, Carolyn Finney Springer.
The position of Mr. Springer, both as manufacturer and citizen, has been for years that of an acknowledged leader. The testimony of the business world, as well as that of the friends and neighbors of his home community, would show that his leadership has always been a force in the promotion of true progress and en- during prosperity.
GETMAN, Frederick H.,
Noted Scientist and Author.
Frederick H. Getman, a prominent and highly esteemed citizen of Stamford, Con- necticut, an authority on the Solvay the- ory of solution, which he was one of the first to develop, and a chemist and a scientist of international standing, is a member of an old New York State family that has resided in the neighborhood of Stone Arabia, Montgomery county, for many generations. He is descended from John Frederick Getman, who founded the family in that region, and from whom the line of descent runs through his son George Getman, who married Delia Shoe- maker ; George (2) Getman, who married Elizabeth House, a daughter of Peter House, who was killed in the battle of Stone Arabia in 1770; George (3) Get- man, who married Elizabeth Empie; Charles Getman, who married Chloe Hut- ton ; to Charles Henry Getman, father of the Mr. Getman of this sketch.
Charles Henry Getman was born June I, 1840, at Troy, New York, and came, in the year 1888, to Connecticut, where he made his home in the city of Stamford. He will long be remembered in that place
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as an active business man, and as a citizen who held the highest ideals of life and had courage to carry them into the daily rou- tine of his business. Charles Henry Get- man received his early education in the public schools of Troy, New York, and later attended the academies at Lenox, Massachusetts, and Warrenville, New York. He then held a position as clerk for three years in the lumber office of Platt, Getman and Harris, of Troy, of which firm his father was a member. He took a keen interest in this line of busi- ness and devoted himself to it with so much zeal and industry, that he was shortly admitted to the firm as a junior partner, and remained thus associated for a number of years. In 1859 he became a member of the firm of J. W. Freeman, of West Troy, engaged in the same busi- ness, and there remained until 1874. In that year he acquired an interest in the wholesale lumber business of Boyd & Company, of Oswego, New York, the name of the concern being changed to Getman, Boyd & Company, Mr. Getman assuming full control of the business and maintaining it for some time. In 1888 he came to Stamford, where he purchased the interest of Mr. St. John, of the firm of St. John, Hoyt & Company, his asso- ciates being Messrs. Hoyt and Judd. The three gentlemen continued the business under the name of Hoyt, Getman & Judd until 1893, when the death of Mr. Hoyt caused a reorganization of the concern, the name being changed to Getman & Judd. In 1897 Mr. Frank Bogardus was admitted into partnership and the name was again changed to Getman, Judd & Company. At about this time Mr. Get- man's health failed seriously, due to heart trouble. His death occurred on October 12, 1897, at Oswego, New York, where he had gone for a short vacation. At the time of his death, he was a director of the
Stamford Savings Bank, and of both the Massachusetts and Pennsylvania Mutual Fire Insurance companies. He was also a member of the Suburban Club of Stam- ford, the Republican Club of New York City, the Connecticut Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Stamford Board of Trade, of which he had been the president for several years. He was a prominent Free Mason, having joined that order while residing in Troy, and was a member of the lodge, chapter, and council, and the Apollo Comman- dery, Knights Templar. In politics he was a staunch Republican and was promi- nent in the local organization of his party, representing Stamford in the State Leg- islature of 1892 and 1893. During his membership in that body he was respon- sible for the granting of the first city charter to Stamford, and served on the committee of cities and boroughs. He was president of the Connecticut Lumber Dealers' Association and labored inde- fatigably for its welfare. During the Civil War he was placed in charge of the ord- nance stores at the Watervliet Arsenal, and supervised the sending of supplies to General Grant at Chattanooga, Tennes- see, after the battle of Lookout Moun- tain.
Charles Henry Getman married, Janu- ary 10, 1871, Alice Peake, a daughter of Aaron Peake of Broadalbin, New York, and they were the parents of one son, Frederick Hutton Getman, with whose career we are here especially concerned.
Frederick H. Getman, only son of Charles Henry and Alice (Peake) Get- man, was born February 9, 1877, at Os- wego, New York, and removed to Stam- ford, Connecticut, with his parents, in the spring of 1888. As a lad he attended the King School at Stamford, from which he entered the Rensselaer Polytechnic In- stitute, where he remained for three years.
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He then matriculated at the University of Virginia, where he took a general scien- tific course, specializing in the subject of chemistry. He graduated from the chem- ical department of that institution in 1897, after which he returned to the North and for five years taught chemistry in the Stamford High School. In 1901 he en- tered Johns Hopkins University at Balti- more, Maryland, where he took a special course in physical chemistry and where he received the degree of Ph. D. in 1903. In 1902 and 1903 he held a fellowship at Johns Hopkins, and during the year fol- lowing, was appointed Carnegie research assistant in physical chemistry, and fel- low by courtesy. In 1904 he was called by the College of the City of New York to lecture on physical chemistry, and in 1905 became instructor in physical science at the Stamford High School. Dr. Get- man's reputation as a scientist and teacher had been firmly established by this time, and he was called by Columbia Univer- sity in 1906, to take a position as lecturer in physics. A year later he was chosen associate professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College, a post he held until 1914. In that year he resigned from his position at Bryn Mawr, and gave up teaching in order to devote himself to scientific re- search in his private laboratory at Stam- ford. He has continued thus occupied up to the present and is now engaged in research on various problems in physical chemistry. The theory of solution has claimed his attention for nearly twenty years, and he may claim the distinction of being one of the pioneers in the de- velopment of the Solvay theory. Dr. Get- man's thesis for his degree of Ph.' D. dealt with the study of the freezing-points of solutions.
He has written extensively on his chosen subjects, his works including nu- merous articles on the theory of solution,
which have appeared in the "American Chemical Journal" and the "Journal of the American Chemical Society," and he has also published a number of books, notably those entitled "Blow-pipe Analysis," "Laboratory Exercises in Physical Chem- istry" and "Outlines of Theoretical Chem- istry." The laboratory of Dr. Getman, already referred to, was built by him near his residence at Stamford, and is fully equipped with the most modern and ap- proved apparatus for experimental work of the most delicate nature. As one who is carrying on the most advanced research in his line, it is often necessary for Dr. Getman to design and construct new de- vices and apparatus for himself and in this he has displayed an unusual degree of inventive genius. He has never lost his interest in educational matters, al- though he has himself withdrawn from active work in that line, and he is at pres- ent a director of the King School of Stamford, in which he himself was a stu- dent as a lad. He was a Phi Beta Kappa man at his university, and is a member of the American Chemical Society, the American Electro-Chemical Society, the Franklin Institute, the Chemists' Club of New York, and the Societé de Chimie Physique of Paris. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science, and of the London Chemical Society. Dr. Getman, in spite of his preoccupation with science, has always given considerable attention to his large business interests and is connected with several of the companies with which his father was associated before his death. He is vice-president of the Getman & Judd Company, one of the largest firms dealing in timber and lumber in Connecticut, and is a director of the St. John Woodwork- ing Company. Dr. Getman and his wife are members of the Stamford Presby- terian Church, he being an active worker
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
in the congregation, and chairman of its board of trustees.
Frederick H. Getman was united in marriage, November 26, 1906, with Ellen M. Holbrook, a daughter of Eliphalet and Harriet (Rice) Holbrook, old and highly respected residents of Plymouth, Massa- chusetts.
SCOFIELD, Samuel Ferris, Honored Citizen.
There is no name more honored in the history of Stamford, Connecticut, than Scofield. It was first brought to Fairfield county by the immigrant ancestor of the family, Daniel Scofield, and the members of each generation since that time have added to its honor. They have been men who were held high in the regard of their fellow-citizens, and were identified with the upbuilding of their communities. A worthy scion of this distinguished family was the late Samuel Ferris Scofield, of Stamford, one of the useful and upright citizens of his day.
Many surnames were derived from the localities where the individuals resided who adopted them: Slocum, from Sloe Combe, the wild plum pasture; and Welles, which was taken from the springs of water near a home. Scolefield, the original form of Scofield, literally signi- fied a field containing small houses or cottages, similar to those which would be found on the estate of the early titled English families. Through the centuries this changed in form and spelling to the present day usage, Scofield.
The progenitor of the family was Dan- iel Scofield, born in the parish of Roch- dale, Lancashire, England. He was a grandson of Sir Cuthbert Scofield, of Sco- field Manor, the family being of ancient and honorable lineage. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, arms were granted to
Sir Cuthbert Scofield as a younger son of the Scofields of Kent, and who was knighted for services A. D. 1588 in the Spanish Armada.
Arms : Granted 1582.
Arms-Gules, a chevron between three bull's heads, couped (another cabossed) argent.
Crest-A bull's head gules, collared argent. Another Crest-A bull's head or.
There are indications from which a pretty accurate line of descent could be traced one hundred years farther than Sir Cuthbert Scofield. The name has simply been Scofield in the records for more than three hundred years. Schofield, Scovil and Scoville are variations.
(I) Daniel Scofield, immigrant ances- tor, came to America in 1639, in the ship "Susan and Ellen," and after residing for a time in Ipswich, Massachusetts, he lo- cated in Stamford, Connecticut, where his death occurred in 1671. On December 7, 1641, he received two acres consisting of a home lot, and three acres of woodland, as the first company. He was a man of prominence in the Colony, and served as marshal of Stamford in 1658. He mar- ried Mary Youngs, daughter of Rev. John Youngs, and she married (second) Miles Merwin.
(II) John Scofield, son of Daniel and Mary (Youngs) Scofield, was born in 1650, and died March 27, 1699. He mar- ried in Stamford, July 12, 1677, Hannah Mead.
(III) Nathaniel Scofield, son of John and Hannah (Mead) Scofield, was born December 10, 1688, and died 1768. He married, June 13, 1713-14, Elizabeth Pettet.
(IV). John (2) Scofield, son of Nathan- iel and Elizabeth (Pettet) Scofield, was born October 4, 1716. He is said to have been a teamster in the Revolutionary War. He married, in 1743, Hannah Mills.
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(V) John (3) Scofield, son of John (2) and Hannah (Mills) Scofield, was born September 4, 1746. He married (first) February 18, 1768, Susannah Weed, and there were no children by this marriage. On January 14, 1773, he mar- ried (second) Elizabeth Nicholas, a Scotch woman. She was a fearless horse- woman, and during the Revolution was riding near Norwalk one day when she was overtaken by some British officers who boasted that they had burned Nor- walk and would soon burn Stamford. Mrs. Scofield quickly grasping the situa- tion thought of a short cut back to Stam- ford, and with confidence in the speed of her horse she rode back through the woods and warned the men of Stamford of the coming of British, and thereby saved the town. John Scofield and his brave wife are buried in the family lot two miles north of the city of Stamford. They were the parents of seven children.
(VI) Silas Scofield, third child and second son of John (3) and Elizabeth (Nicholas) Scofield, was born April 2, 1776, and died in 1853. He married, Feb- ruary 13, 1803, Rebecca Holmes. The name of Holmes originated in England about A. D. 970, when King Etheldred conferred upon his grandson the title, "Earl of Holmes." The first of this il- lustrious family to come to America were Robert Holmes, who settled in Cam- bridge, Massachusetts, and John, Oba- diah, George and William Holmes, who came to Massachusetts three years later. After three years there, John Holmes set- tled in New Bedford. Silas and Rebecca (Holmes) Scofield were the parents of three sons : Silas, Benjamin and Alfred. When Benjamin and Alfred reached their majority, Silas Scofield bought the land which was then called Westcotts, where Mrs. Scofield now lives, which had been reserved by the Indians for their planting
ground at the time the colonists bought the site of the present town of Stamford. Silas Scofield gave these sons that point of land as a wedding present and the farm has been in the family ever since. He also owned the land and built the stone house on Elm street at the head of which is now Shippan avenue.
(VII) Benjamin Scofield, son of Silas and Rebecca (Holmes) Scofield, was born at Shippan, Stamford, Connecticut, March 2, 1804. He was sergeant of the Train Band, and was a farmer throughout the active years of his life. His death oc- curred January 5, 1884. Benjamin Sco- field married Susan Ferris, daughter of Samuel Ferris.
(VIII) Samuel Ferris Scofield, son of Benjamin and Susan (Ferris) Scofield, was born in the place now occupied by his family, November 11, 1839. He grew to manhood there, and with his brother, Charles A. Scofield, who still survives, he succeeded to the ownership of the home farm, where they engaged in general farming. Samuel Ferris Scofield was very much of a home man; his interests were centered in his family and the care of the homestead. However, he was a good citizen, a man of high principles, and was always willing and anxious to do his share for the welfare of the public.
Mr. Scofield married, September 28, 1871, Frances Elizabeth Hoyt, daughter of Ira Ford Hoyt, of South Norwalk, Con- necticut. The Hoyt genealogy will be found elsewhere in connection with the sketch of Mrs. Scofield's brother, Dudley E. Hoyt. Mrs. Scofield is a member of the Christian Science church, in which she has advanced to the office of reader. She is also a Christian Science practitioner. Mr. and Mrs. Scofield were the parents of four daughters : Mary Wixon, Susan Em- ily ; Ada Irene, married Clarence E. Bor- gardus, a sketch of whom appears else-
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Harry Clearfield
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
where in this work; Frances S., married Harry C. Quintard, and they have one child, Virginia. Mr. Scofield died at the family homestead.
Like leaves on trees, The race of man is found. Now green in youth, Now withering on the ground.
Another race the following spring supplies, They fall successive, and successive rise. So generations in their course decay, So flourish these when those have passed away.
SCOFIELD, Harry Clinton, Lawyer, Public-spirited Citizen.
Eminent in his own right as one of the leading lawyers of Stamford, Connecti- cut, Harry C. Scofield is also a descend- ant of one of the oldest and most promi- nent families of Fairfield county. Mem- bers of the Scofield family have been fore- most in thought and action in their com- munities, and have marked their passing years with worthy achievements. Since 1641, in which year Daniel Scofield (q. v.), the immigrant ancestor of the family set- tled in Fairfield county, there have been men of this name in responsible and hon- ored positions.
Alpheus Scofield, great-great-grand- father of Harry Clinton Scofield, was a settler of Newfield. His name appears on the land records as a grantee as early as 1793, and frequently in land transactions after that date. His will was proved Feb- ruary 6, 1844, and in it he mentions his wife Elizabeth. The Stamford vital rec- ords state that "Mrs. Alpheus Scofield died July 18, 1852, aged seventy-five years."
Hezekiah Scofield, great-grandfather of our subject, and the father of Luther S. Scofield, died March 27, 1879, aged sixty-one years, one month and twenty- five days. Luther S. Scofield served as
selectman, and was a dealer in live stock in partnership with his son, Sylvester L. He married Caroline Crissey, daughter of Abram Crissey, of Darien, and grand- daughter of Abram Crissey, the first school teacher of that town.
Sylvester Luther Scofield, son of Luther S. Scofield, was born in Stamford, in 1845, and was educated in the public schools there and at the Glendenning Academy, a well known school of that period. He was accustomed to assist his father in the cattle business from his boyhood, and after attaining his ma- jority he entered the work with his fa- ther. They purchased cattle and slaugh- tered them and did business on such a large scale at one time that they helped to fix the prices of meat in New York City, which city drew largely on Western Connecticut for its meat supply. About 1894 Mr. Scofield retired from his active business cares to enjoy a well-deserved rest. He was a Republican in politics, and held the offices of justice of the peace and grand juror. He enlisted in Com- pany A, Twenty-eighth Regiment, Con- necticut Volunteer Infantry, for nine months, but served two years. After the war he organized the Regimental Asso- ciation, of which he was president for many years, and then its secretary until the time of his death. He compiled the records of his regiment, now deposited at Hartford. Mr. Scofield was an active member of William T. Miner Post, Grand Army of the Republic, of which he was past commander. He also held office in the State organization of the Grand Army of the Republic.
Sylvester Luther Scofield married Har- riet L. Scofield, daughter of Nathaniel and Polly A. (Ferris) Scofield. Nathan- iel Scofield was a son of Phineas Scofield, who married (first) Mercy Finch, whose
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mother was Rachel Bishop, great-grand- daughter of Rev. John Bishop, the first minister of Stamford. Rev. John Bishop walked from Boston to Stamford with his staff and Bible. He married Susanna Pierson, daughter of Rev. Abraham Pier- son, one of the founders and the first president of Yale College. Nathaniel Scofield married Polly A. Ferris, daughter of Asa Ferris, of Sound Beach. Their daughter, Harriet L. Scofield, became the wife of Sylvester Luther Scofield, as above mentioned. The children of Syl- vester L. and Harriet L. (Scofield) Sco- field were: Carrie L., and Harry Clinton, of whom further.
Harry Clinton Scofield, only son of Sylvester Luther and Harriet L. (Sco- field) Scofield, was born May 7, 1875. He attended the public schools and graduated from the Stamford High School. Subse- quently he went to New York City and for thirteen years he was in the employ of a marine insurance company. In his evenings and spare time from his business he attended the Dwight School of New York and then pursued a course in the New York Law School, graduating in 1907. During the time he was attending the law school he was a law student in the office of Judge James E. Bennett, and was admitted to the New York bar in 1907, and five years later to the Connec- ticut bar. For three years Mr. Scofield practiced in New York and then removed to his native city, where he has since been located. Mr. Scofield is one of the lead- ing men of affairs of Stamford. He takes an active interest in all public and social matters, and his counsel is often sought on many public questions. Mr. Scofield was a delegate to the first convention of the Progressive party in Chicago, and he formulated the Connecticut platform of
that party in collaboration with Herbert Knox Smith, and Dr. Flavel S. Luther. For two years he served as deputy judge of the City Court of Stamford, and is now secretary of the school board.
Mr. Scofield is also a director of sev- eral business and financial corporations ; he is a director of the Young Men's Christian Association, and of the Visiting Nurses' Association. His activities in fraternal organizations are many. While a student at law school, he was a mem- ber of the class committee and president of his class; was a member of the Owls Head Club, and of Nylsens Club, which he served as president. He is a past master of Union Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons ; and is district deputy grand master of the First Masonic Dis- trict of Connecticut; member of Ritten- house Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Washington Council, Royal and Select Masters; Clinton Commandery, Knights Templar; and Lafayette Consistory, of Bridgeport, of which he is junior warden. He also holds membership in Puritan Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows. Other societies of which Mr. Sco- field is a member are: The Stamford His- torical Society ; the Sons of the American Revolution ; and the Sons of Veterans.
Mr. Scofield married Florence Weed Scofield, daughter of George A. Scofield, and they were the parents of a son, Laur- ence Pierson Scofield, named for the an- cestor of the family, Abraham Pierson, above mentioned. Laurence P. Scofield was born October 28, 1900. Mrs. Flor- ence Weed Scofield died in that year. Mr. Scofield is a member of the Congre- gational church of Stamford, and is ac- tive in its good works. He has served as deacon and superintendent of its Sunday school.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
LOWE, Russell Walter,
Physician, World War Veteran.
Dr. Lowe's family is of ancient Eng- lish origin, resident in Derbyshire, where its members bore armns as follows :
Arms-Gules, a hart trippant argent. Crest-A wolf passant argent.
(I) Its American history begins with the coming of Thomas Lowe from his Eng- lish home to the United States about 1847, when he settled in Stockbridge, New York. He married, in England, Martha Ann Thaxter, and they were the parents of: James, born 1838; John; Walter Robert, of whom further; William, Lep- timus, Charles, Sarah.
(II) Walter Robert Lowe, son of Thomas and Martha A. (Thaxter) Lowe, was born in Buxton, England, in 1841. He was an architect and builder, acquiring an enviable reputation and patronage in that line, especially in Madison county, New York, where he was a successful business man. For thirty-two years he was in partnership with Chauncey Quackenbush in Oneida, under the firm name of Quack- enbush & Lowe, retiring in 1916 to private life and taking up his residence in Ridge- field, Connecticut. He held many positions of trust, served for years as collector and assessor of his town, also as alderman. Public-spirited and enterprising, he did all in his power to advance the welfare of the community. In politics he was a Republican. He married, August 9, 1866, Abbie De Etta Ranney, daughter of Oliver Russell and Elizabeth Franklin (Carpenter) Ranney (see Ranney VII). Children: I. Russell Walter, of whom further. 2. Agnes Elizabeth, born May 7, 1872 ; married Henry B. Doxstader, and resides in Oneida, New York. They have three children, Helen Agnes, Hattie Louise, and Delila Abbie.
(III) Russell Walter Lowe, son of Walter Robert and Abbie De Etta (Ran- ney) Lowe, was born in Oneida, Madi- son county, New York, March 19, 1868. After attending the Oneida schools, he entered the medical department of New York University, and was graduated M. D. in 1889. For one year he served in the Bridgeport Hospital as house sur- geon, and subsequently practiced in Georgetown, Connecticut, for three and one-half years. About 1894 he made Ridgefield his home and his place of prac- tice, and has there continued to the pres- ent time. Dr. Lowe has an extensive practice in New York, and his local work covers approximately a seven mile radius from Ridgefield. His office is splendidly appointed, and his clientele is among the representative families of the district. He is a member of the New York Acad- emy of Medicine, the Medical and Sur- gical Association of New York, and local professional bodies.
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