USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8 > Part 41
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sary to engage a priest to assist Mr. Skene in the manifold duties that devolve upon a rector.
Mr. Skene has never narrowed the scope of his work to the strictly religious duties of his office. He believes that it is the duty of every man of wholesome ideas and upright convictions to enter into the public life of the community and spend his strength and wield his influ- ence toward upbuilding of civic righteous- ness. While never a partisan, he has for the greater part of his long career sup- ported the Republican party.
His life has been far too crowded with labor for the moral and spiritual welfare of his parish to admit of his taking such recreation as is afforded by the purely social organization which would find him so congenial a member, but he has always held membership in the Masonic frater- nity. He is a member of the lodge at Gouverneur, New York, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; also the chapter, Royal Arch Masons, there.
In 1879 Rev. Mr. Skene married, in Hoosic Falls, New York, Ellen A. Cal- houn, daughter of John C. and Harriet (Breeze) Calhoun, Mrs. Calhoun being a member of an old Holland family which has been established in Bennington, Ver- mont, for many generations. Rev. and Mrs. Skene are the parents of three chil- dren: I. John Calhoun, who resides in Banning, California, and is engaged in the automobile business; he married , and they have two children. 2. George Matthew, born September 21, 1886, in Vineland, New Jersey ; graduated from Norwalk High School, 1904, at- tended Hopkins Grammar School and University of Michigan; in 1908 he grad- uated from Yale University Law School, and was admitted to the bar the same year ; he married Dorothy Wilson, daugh- ter of John T. Wilson, of Mount Vernon,
New York, and they have one daughter, Dorothy. 3. Malcolm Stanley, born March 25, 1890, in Brooklyn, New York ; he is a graduate of the Norwalk High School, the Hopkins Grammar School and of the Sheffield Scientific School ; on De- cember 20, 19II, he was commissioned second lieutenant, Coast Artillery Corps, United States army, and has done serv- ice in various parts of the United States and Washington; he spent three and a half years in Panama; in the summer of 1918 he was with the American Expedi- tionary Forces in France, and was com- missioned captain in 1917 and major in 1918.
LEE, Mortimer Montgomery, Ex-Mayor, Former Legislator.
When the titles we have just written are appended to the name of a citizen, a formal introduction by the biographer is more than superfluous. It is certainly so in the case of Mr. Lee, whose record of long and distinguished service has given him a State-wide reputation. Over and above his political eminence the name of Mr. Lee is notable as that of a member of the firm of Haughton & Lee, well known importers of New York City. Mr. Lee has been for many years a resident of South Norwalk, Connecticut, the city which has been the scene of his political career.
The name of Lee is spelled also Lea, Leigh, and in various other ways, and signifies a dweller at a meadow or pas- ture. It is likewise an old word for a shelter or a sheltered place. The Lee family is one of the most ancient in Eng- lish history. Its early seat appears to have been in Cheshire, but branches are found in a number of other counties. Members of the family emigrated, at early periods in Colonial history, to Mas-
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Mortinur Mo, Lee
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
sachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia and New York.
John Lee, founder of the Massachusetts branch of the family, was born about 1600, in England, and appears to have been the son of a Londoner, probably a merchant. Records show that in 1634 John Lee was living in Agawam (Ipswich), Massachu- setts. He was a farmer and a soldier, perhaps with some military rank, as the inventory of his estate includes a buff coat, fire-arms, such as pistols and hol- sters, a musket and a sword and belt. That he was not illiterate is shown by the fact that his "bookes" were of sufficient importance to be named and valued in the inventory, and that he was a man of means is evident from the same inventory of his estate amounting to £928 12s. 2d., a handsome sum for the times. The seal he used on his will bore the device of a bird (not a martlet) somewhat similar to the one used on the will of Thomas Leigh, of Ipswich, 1661, and similar to that used by his son, John Lee, with the omission, on the son's seal, of the motto, "Sola."
(I) Daniel Lee, Jr., probably a descend- ant of John Lee, the immigrant, and great- grandfather of Mortimer Montgomery Lee, enlisted in the Revolutionary army from the neighborhood of Worcester, Massachusetts. He afterward lived for many years as a farmer in Oneonta, New York, and for a time served as tax col- lector for the town.
(II) Barnes Lee, son of Daniel Lee, Jr., was born in Milford, New York, where he engaged in mercantile business. He married Azubah Sargent. Mr. Lee was a handsome man, and of such great strength that he never found his equal in a wrestling match, being able to throw any man in the vicinity. His mental abil- ities were not inferior to his physical prowess. His death took place in Mil- ford.
(III) Alonzo Lee, son of Barnes and Azubah (Sargent) Lee, was born in Mil- ford, New York, which was the original part of Oneonta. He was educated in the district school, and even as a boy helped to take care of his widowed mother and three sisters. While still a young man he removed to Farmington, Pennsylvania, where he conducted a store and also dealt in wool. He married Almira A. Wright, born in Greene county, New York, daugh- ter of Ashel Wright, of Farmington, Pennsylvania, and their children were: Minnie, married Daniel Lee; Mortimer Montgomery, mentioned below; and Charles H., of Detroit. Minnie Lee, after her marriage, lived in Knoxville, Penn- sylvania, and both she and her husband are now deceased. For some years before his death, Alonzo Lee, the father of the family, lived in Elmira, New York. His wife was a member of the Christian church.
(IV) Mortimer Montgomery Lee, son of Alonzo and Almira A. (Wright) Lee, was born May 28, 1846, in Farmington, Pennsylvania, where he attended school for a time, afterward passing successively to Troopsburg Academy and Union Acad- emy, Knoxville, Pennsylvania. He was then for some years associated with his father in the latter's business in Farming- ton and also in Elmira. In 1880 Mr. Lee went to New York City, where he formed a partnership with William Atwood Haughton under the firm name of Haugh- ton & Lee. He has since engaged very successfully in the business of importing and handling fine lace and silk goods at wholesale, keeping many salesmen on the road and covering every State in the Union.
Since becoming a resident of South Norwalk, Mr. Lee has identified himself actively with the leading interests of his home community. He is vice-president
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·
of the People's Trust Company, of South Norwalk, and affiliated with Old Well Lodge, No. 108, Ancient Free and Ac- cepted Masons, of the same place. While a resident of Elmira he took the Royal Arch and Commandery degrees in that city.
Always a staunch Republican, Mr. Lee has for many years played a prominent part in the political life of South Nor- walk. In 1892-93-94, he was mayor of the city, retaining the office until 1895, and in 1901-02 was again summoned by his fel- low-citizens to serve them in the highest municipal position of trust and responsi- bility. During both his administrations he introduced several innovations which were accepted by the city not merely as changes, but as real and valuable im- provements and have been retained ever since. They included a book of police rules which all officers are required to carry in their pockets, and he also intro- duced the taxing of property at its full value. This met with much opposition, but his wisdom has since been shown in the result. His action was afterward fol- lowed in other cities all over the State of Connecticut. In 1905 Mr. Lee repre- sented his fellow-citizens in the Legisla- ture, serving on various important committees and accomplishing results of practical use and genuine value to his community and his constituents.
Mr. Lee married, June 24, 1885, Julia Clarissa Adams (see Adams IX) and they are the parents of two sons and a daugh- ter : Guy E., of Norwalk; Marion Mont- gomery, wife of Le Roy Montgomery, of South Norwalk, a biography of whom appears elsewhere in this work ; and Rob- ert M., of South Norwalk.
Truly, a well-rounded career has been that of Mortimer Montgomery Lee. As business man, political leader, mayor and legislator, he has done work that will
endure and has writ his name large in the history of Connecticut.
(The Adams Line).
The home of the Adams family, three centuries ago, was Devonshire, England, but it is thought that they went thither from Wales, and that the patronymic, which signifies "Adam's son," was orig- inally Ap Adam.
(I) Henry Adams, called Henry Ad- ams of Braintree, came in 1632 or 1633 from Devonshire, England, to Boston, Massachusetts. He was granted land in Mount Wollaston, an area which now in- cludes Braintree, Quincy and Randolph, his own land being the present site of Braintree.
(II) Lieutenant Thomas Adams, son of Henry Adams, was born in 1612, in Eng- land, and was a young man when he came with his father to Massachusetts. He re- moved from Braintree to Concord, where he was active in military affairs and held civil offices. He married Mary Black- more. His death occurred in 1688, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
(III) Jonathan Adams, son of Lieuten- ant Thomas and Mary (Blackmore) Ad- ams, was born in 1646, in Concord, and became a farmer in or near Littleton, Massachusetts. He married, in 1681, Leah Gould (Goole?). He died in 1712, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
(IV) David Adams, son of Jonathan and Leah (Gould) Adams, was born in 1699, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. He married, in 1723, in Canterbury, Connecti- cut, Dorcas Paine. David Adams died in Canterbury, in 1759.
(V) Levi Adams, son of David and Dorcas (Paine) Adams, was born in 1728, in Canterbury, Connecticut. He followed the trade of a carpenter. He served, with three of his sons, in the Revolutionary army, afterward removing to Vermont, and thence to Hartwick, Otsego county,
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New York. He married, in 1751, Mar- garet Perkins. The death of Levi Adams occurred in Hartwick, in 1816.
(VI) Sergeant Levi (2) Adams, son of Levi (1) and Margaret (Perkins) Adams, was born in 1754, in Oswego, Oswego county, New York, and was a carpenter by trade. He removed to Otsego county, New York, and Chautauqua county, New York. As a young man he served in the Revolutionary army with his father and two brothers. He married, in 1772, in Canterbury, Hannah Pettingall. Ser- geant Adams was enrolled as a pensioner in May, 1833, and died in December of the same year.
(VII) Oren Adams, son of Sergeant Levi (2) and Hannah (Pettingall) Ad- ams, was born in 1785, in Pawlet, Ver- mont. Like his father and grandfather, he followed the carpenter's trade, remov- ing to Milford, New York. He married (first) Fanny Lee, and (second) Mrs. Susan Cunningham.
(VIII) Oren Lee Adams, son of Oren and Fanny (Lee) Adams, was born in 1819, in Milford, New York, and settled in Redding, Connecticut, where he en- gaged in business as a hatter, afterward removing to South Norwalk. He mar- ried, in 1844, Clarissa Smith, of Wilton, Connecticut. Oren Lee Adams died in South Norwalk, in 1894.
(IX) Julia Clarissa Adams, daughter of Oren Lee and Clarissa (Smith) Adams, was born January 31, 1856, in Redding, Connecticut. On June 24, 1885, she be- came the wife of Mortimer Montgomery Lee (see Lee IV).
CHAPMAN, Edwin N., Physician, Hospital Official.
The surname of Chapman, which sig- nifies merchant, occurs among the earliest of surnames, and the family in many of its
branches was somewhat distinguished at an early period. There were several fam- ilies of Chapmans among the early New England immigrants, many of whom achieved distinction in their locality. The patriotism of the family is shown in the fact that twenty-seven are found on the Connecticut Roll of Honor, who had served in the War of the Revolution.
(I) The ancestor of the family herein under consideration was Robert Chap- man, who is believed to have been born in 1616. He came from Hull, England, to Boston, Massachusetts, in August, 1635, and the following November was in Saybrook, Connecticut. He married Ann Blith or Bliss, April 29, 1642, and she died November 20, 1685. Robert Chapman died October 13, 1687.
(II) Deacon Nathaniel Chapman, son of Robert and Ann (Blith or Bliss) Chap- man, was born February 16, 1653. He was deacon of the Saybrook church for many years. He served as representative to the General Court for twenty-four ses- sions, and was a large landholder, owning fifteen hundred acres in Hebron. Deacon Chapman married (first) June 29, 1681, Mary Collins, of Guilford, Connecticut.
(III) Rev. Daniel Chapman, son of Deacon Nathaniel and Mary (Col- lins Chapman, was born March 14, 1689, and died at Greens Farms, Con- necticut, November 23, 1741. He was graduated from Yale College in 1706, being the first of the name to re- ceive a liberal education in America. He then studied theology and was ordained ; shortly after this time he was installed as pastor of the Congregational church and society of Greens Farms. He married Grissel Dennie, of Fairfield, Connecticut, and she died January 10, 1754, at the age of fifty-seven years.
(IV) Captain Phineas Chapman, son of Rev. Daniel Chapman and his wife, Gris-
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sel (Dennie) Chapman, was born in 1716, and died November 20, 1782, in Greens Farms, Connecticut. He was a captain in the Revolutionary War, and was taken prisoner in his own house while loading up his possessions to flee with his family. The hardships while he was imprisoned impaired his health and he never fully re- covered. He married, September 22, 1742, Sarah Ketchum, and she died No- vember 21, 1811, at the age of eighty-eight years.
(V) Joshua Chapman, son of Captain Phineas and Sarah (Ketchum) Chapman, was born March 4, 1765, and died Feb- ruary 25, 1831. He was a farmer and lived in Redding, Connecticut. He mar- ried, in 1788, Lucy Adams.
(VI) Colonel Phineas (2) Chapman, son of Joshua and Lucy (Adams) Chap- man, was born May 10, 1790. He was a man of considerable means; was a pro- gressive farmer, and a leading citizen. He married, January 23, 1817, Betsy Abbott.
(VII) Dr. Edwin Nesbit Chapman, son of Colonel Phineas (2) and Betsy (Ab- bott) Chapman, was born February 26, 1819. He was graduated from Yale Col- lege in the class of 1842 with the degree of B. A. He then entered Jefferson Medi- cal College and received his M. D. degree there, March 20, 1845. During his life- time he practiced in Brooklyn, New York, and was a member of the faculty of the Long Island College Hospital, where he was Professor of Gynæcology. Dr. Chap- man married, in Brooklyn, November 16, 1865, Maria Barton Davol, born in War- ren, Rhode Island, April 7, 1842, died in Rogers Rock, New York, July 20, 1908, daughter of John and Laura (Barton) Davol. Dr. Chapman and his wife were the parents of four children: 1. Edwin Nesbit, of further mention. 2. John D., a sketch of whom follows. 3. Harold W. 4. Marvin Abbott. Dr. Chapman died in Brooklyn, March 2. 1888.
(The Davol Line).
John Davol, father of Mrs. Chapman, was born in Warren, Rhode Island, April 8, 1811, and died in Brooklyn, New York, June 28, 1878. He married, in Warren, August 31, 1834, Laura Barton, born there May 22, 1812, died in Brooklyn, June 3, 1884.
Deacon Stephen Davol, father of John Davol, was born in Freetown, Massachu- setts, January 29, 1782, and died in War- ren, Rhode Island, October 16, 1848. He married, in Warren, October 20, 1803, Mary Bowen, born in Warren, April 3, 1784, died there July 3, 1823.
Pardon Davol, father of Deacon Ste- phen Davol, was born in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, March 16, 1743, and died in Freetown, Massachusetts, November 22, 1808. He married, April 12, 1768, Priscilla Read, born in Freetown, Novem- ber 21, 1746, died in Freetown, January 13, 1830.
William Davol, grandfather of Pardon Davol, married, May 30, 1708, Sarah Sis- son, and he died in Dartmouth in 1772. Through the Sisson family, "Mayflower" descent is traced.
CHAPMAN, Edwin Nesbit,
Broker, Public Official.
Edwin Nesbit (2) Chapman, son of Dr. Edwin Nesbit (1) and Maria Barton (Davol) Chapman (q. v.), was born April 19, 1872, in Brooklyn, New York. He prepared for college at Hill School, Potts- town, Pennsylvania, and was graduated from Williams College, B. A., in 1894. He was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity and Phi Beta Kappa. His first experience in business was with the Butler Hard Rubber Company, and he remained with them for several years in the capacity of assistant to the secre- tary and treasurer of the company. Sub- sequently, after some minor ventures, Mr.
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Chapman became associated with Patter- son, Teele & Dennis as a certified public accountant, and later was with Haskins & Sells, of New York City, in a similar capacity. Later he left the accounting profession to become auditor of the West- cott Express Company. After the West- cott Express Company was absorbed by the American Express Company, he re- signed his position to become auditor for the David Williams Company, publishers of "Iron Age." In 1906 he resigned to become a partner in the firm of Chisholm & Pouch, brokers. The following year Mr. Pouch withdrew to start his own firm, and at that time the firm name was changed to Chisholm & Chapman, which has been its style since that time. The firm are members of the New York Stock Exchange.
Mr. Chapman is very active in several other directions as well; he makes his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, and takes an active interest in the public mat- ters of that town, being a member of its Board of Estimate and Taxation. He is a member of the directorate of the Put- nam Trust Company; also a director of the Continental Bank of New York City ; a director and treasurer of the Exchange Court Corporation; and a trustee and treasurer of the D. K. E. Society of Wil- liams College. His clubs include in New York City, the University, Racquet and Tennis, Society of Mayflower Descend- ants, Down Town Association, Williams, D. K. E., Society of Colonial Wars, Sons of the Revolution, and the Long Island Historical Society; and in Greenwich the Greenwich Country Club, Field Club, and Indian Harbor Yacht Club.
Mr. Chapman married, in Brooklyn, May 25, 1897, Charlotte Frost Knowlton, daughter of Daniel W. Knowlton. She was born in West Upton, Massachusetts, July II, 1874, and died in Greenwich,
Connecticut, November 28, 1916, leaving the following children: I. Edwin Nesbit, Jr., born November 24, 1901. 2. Daniel Knowlton, born July 31, 1904. 3. Nancy Davol, born August 18, 1912.
CHAPMAN, John Davol,
Banker, Served in Spanish-American War.
John Davol Chapman, son of Dr. Ed- win Nesbit (1) and Maria Barton (Davol) Chapman (q. v.), was born in Brooklyn, New York, March 6, 1874. He attended private schools, the Hill School, Potts- town, Pennsylvania, and the Brown & Nichols School, Cambridge, Massachu- setts. In 1892 he entered Williams Col- lege, and while there became a member of the D. K. E. fraternity. He left col- lege in 1895 to enter business, embarking in various enterprises until 1901, in which year he became a member of the Con- solidated Stock Exchange of New York City, and four years later purchased a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. Chapman always acted independently in his stock transactions, and has been very successful as a banker and business man. When the firm of which his brother was a partner was organized in 1907, Mr. chapman became a special partner. In 1914 he retired from active business to the beautiful residence which he had built in 1909 in Greenwich, Connecticut, where he has since resided. His home is on Round Island.
Mr. Chapman was one of the organizers and is now vice-president of the Putnam Trust Company, of Greenwich. The first business relations the residents of the town had with the outside world no doubt were consummated over the land now the property of Mr. Chapman. That land was the point from which the inhabitants shipped their produce, largely potatoes, to New York City. Before the famous
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Boss Tweed became a resident of Green- wich, some of his lieutenants camped over night on the land on which Mr. Chap- man's house now stands. They made such glowing reports of the attractiveness of the spot that Boss Tweed spent his next summer on Round Island which marked the beginning of his residence in Greenwich.
Mr. Chapman was a member of Troop A, United States Volunteers, in the Span- ish-American War, and served in Porto Rico. During the World War he was manager of the Bureau of Passports, De- partment of Personnel of the American Red Cross of New York City. He is a member of the following New York clubs: The Stock Exchange Luncheon Club, the Williams Club of New York City, the D. K. E. Club of New York, and the Society of Mayflower Descend- ants. His clubs in Greenwich are: The Indian Harbor Yacht Club, the Field Club, the Greenwich Country Club, the Wood- way Country Club, and the Blind Brook Club. Mr. Chapman's principal recrea- tion is golf.
Mr. Chapman married, in 1906, Mary Adelaide Foltz, daughter of William Stewart and May (Scofield) Foltz. John Scofield, father of May (Scofield) Foltz, came from England to America in 1849, attracted by the discovery of gold in Cal- ifornia, and later became a clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church in Cali- fornia. He was a presiding elder in later years, and resided in Erie, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Chapman are the parents of two sons : John Stewart, born October 19, 1907 ; and Richard Davol, born March 23, 19II.
CARMICHAEL, George Edgar, Educator.
The subject of this sketch is a native of New England, and a graduate of a
New England college. For twenty-five years he has been a worker in the field of education. Brunswick School, in Green- wich, established by him in 1902, ranks high among the nation's good schools. As founder of the school and headmaster from its beginning, Mr. Carmichael has been its guiding spirit through the two decades of its existence.
As a citizen of Greenwich our subject has had an interested part in civic affairs. He was a member of the first town school committee of Greenwich, and in this ca- pacity served the public school system of the town for two years. For five years he was secretary and for two years presi- dent of the Boys' Club of Greenwich. At the present time he is a member of the executive committee of the Boys' Club, a director of the Greenwich Young Men's Christian Association, president of the Greenwich Library, and president of the Greenwich Rotary Club.
Mr. Carmichael, in the line of his family name, is a descendant of a Scottish fam- ily of Highland origin, though for some generations resident near Edinboro. His ancestry includes also English, French and Dutch strains. His paternal great- grandfather, Frank Carmichael, came from Scotland in the latter part of the eighteenth century and settled in Nova Scotia. Among Frank's six sons was Thompson Carmichael, born in Pictou, Nova Scotia, in 1802. Thompson Car- michael, after being educated in Halifax, went to St. Margaret's Bay to engage in business. Finding a business life not to his taste, he took up the profession of teaching, and continued in it to the end of his life. When he first went to St. Margaret's Bay, he met and married Bar- bara Hubley, daughter of a Dutchman who had settled there about the time of the American Revolution. He became the father of a large family of sons and
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1
George E Carmichael
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daughters. The six sons who lived formed a unique group. Together they were able to design, build, rig and sail a ship of any ordinary size.
The draftsman and carpenter of this unusual combination was James Thomp- son Carmichael, father of the subject of this sketch. He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 3, 1832, the fourth child of his parents. On December 25, 1861, he married Susan Roberts, of Parrs- boro, Nova Scotia, the second child of Thomas and Elizabeth Emma (Beck) Roberts. In 1873 James T. Carmichael removed with his family to Medway, Massachusetts, where he worked as car- penter and builder. In 1876 he contracted pneumonia and was left an invalid until his death, October 18, 1881. His widow and six children survived him.
The sixth child of James T. and Susan (Roberts) Carmichael was George Edgar Carmichael. He was born in Medway, Massachusetts, August 22, 1875. In 1892 he was graduated from Medway High School. A year later, he entered Bowdoin College, whence he was graduated A. B., in 1897. After graduation Mr. Carmichael taught for two years in the Hamilton School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; a year in the Choate School, Wallingford, Connecticut, and two years in the Green- wich Academy, Greenwich, Connecticut. In 1902, at the advice and request of friends who had boys to be educated, he started Brunswick School. From the be- ginning the school has grown and pros- pered, and for twenty years Mr. Car- michael has found it a satisfying field for labor.
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