USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8 > Part 42
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In college Mr. Carmichael joined the Kappa Sigma fraternity, and at gradua- tion was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He is a member of the Schoolmasters' Asso- ciation of New York (vice-president, 1920), and of the Headmasters' Associa-
tion. In 1910 he compiled and edited "The Songs of Kappa Sigma."
December 25, 1912, Mr. Carmichael married Helen Gertrude Fox, only child of Everett Fremont and Carrie Belle (Ricker) Fox, of Milton Mills, New Hampshire. They have one child, Mar- garet, born February 25, 1914. Mrs. Car- michael is a descendant of many genera- tions of New England pioneer stock. She is a graduate of Nute High School, Mil- ton, New Hampshire, and of Wellesley College.
COE, Walter Ellsworth,
Lawyer, Aided in World War.
Few of the Colonial families can be traced in England to such an ancient date as the Coe family. It appears about 1300 with the spelling le Koo, which later be- came le Coo, and before 1400 A. D. is found Coo. The form of Coe does not appear until about 1575. The English ancestor, John Coo, was born in the reign of King Edward III., and died about 1415. He was a prominent man in his day, and was the father of John (2) Coo, born about 1375, and died about 1425. The latter married Eleanor, and their son, John (3) Coo, was born about 1400, and died after 1448. His son, Thomas Coe, was born about 1430, and died about 1507. His son, John Coe, was born about 1460, and his will was proved in 1520. He was of Gestingthorpe, and married Joane, daughter of Thomas Golding. Their son, John Coe, married Margaret, and was the father of John Coe, born in 1623, died in 1558. He lived in Maplestead and Wis- ton, and married Dorothy. They were the parents of Henry Coe, born about 1565 died in 1631. He lived in Thorpe- Morieux, and married Mary. They were the parents of three sons, of whom Robert Coe, the eldest, was the ancestor of the family in America.
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(I) Robert Coe was born at Thorpe- Morieux, Suffolk county, and baptized there, October 26, 1596, as recorded in the parish register. In 1625 he was living in Boxford, Suffolk county, and on April 30, 1634, he sailed for New England on the ship "Francis," accompanied by his wife and children. He arrived at Boston during the following summer and went first to Watertown, Massachusetts. He was admitted a freeman in the Massa- chusetts Bay Colony, September 3, 1634. In June, 1635, Robert Coe was among those who settled Wethersfield, Connecti- cut, and in 1641, he was among the first settlers of Stamford, Connecticut, where he was granted fourteen acres of land. Robert Coe held many important offices, and was frequently called upon to repre- sent his fellow-citizens at the General Court. He was evidently of a progressive nature, as he was ever foremost in making new settlements. In 1644 he was one of the number who founded Hempstead, Long Island ; in 1656, was a founder of the town of Jamaica, Long Island; and in 1664, settled Middleburg, now Hastings, Long Island. He died about 1689. Rob- ert Coe married (first) in England, about 1623, Mary, and she died October 27, 1628.
(II) Robert (2) Coe, son of Robert (1) and Mary Coe, was born in 1626, and baptized on September 19th of the same year. He was a boy of seven years when brought by his parents to New England. He removed with them to Wethersfield and Stamford, and there remained until his marriage, when he became a resident of Stratford, Connecticut. About 1650 he married Hannah Mitchell, baptized in Halifax, Yorkshire, England, June 26, 1631, daughter of Matthew and Susan (Butterfield) Mitchell, who died in New Haven, April 2, 1702. Robert (2) Coe did not have a very long life, but it was a useful one; he died in Stratford, in the fall of 1659.
(III) Captain John Coe, son of Robert (2) and Hannah (Mitchell) Coe, was born May 10, 1658, and died April 19, 1741. He was a farmer, land speculator, merchant, miller and innkeeper. He lived in New Haven, and in spite of his many duties he often held public office. In 1709 he re- ceived his commission of captain, having long been active in military matters, and served in the French and Indian War. Captain Coe married, December 20, 1682, Mary Hawley, born in Stratford, July 16, 1663, died there, September 9, 1731, daughter of Lieutenant Joseph and Cath- erine (Birdsey ) Hawley.
(IV) Captain Joseph Coe, son of Cap- tain John and Mary (Hawley) Coe, was born February 2, 1686-87, in Stratford, and died July 15, 1754, in Durham, Con- necticut. He was a pioneer settler of Durham, and cultivated a large farm. In 1728 he was representative, and married, at Durham, November 21, 1708, Abigail Robinson, born in Guilford, Connecticut, April 3, 1690, died in Durham, July 6, 1775, daughter of David and Abigail (Kirby) Robinson.
(V) Captain David Coe, son of Cap- tain Joseph and Abigail (Robinson) Coe, was born February 18, 1717, in Durham, and died January 14, 1807. About 1740 he settled in that part of Middletown which is now Middlefield, where he be- came a successful farmer. He was an in- fluential man, and prominent in public affairs. He was commissioned captain in May, 1764, of the 16th company, 6th regiment, Connecticut Militia. Captain Coe married, in 1740, Hannah Camp, born November 15, 1720, died October 16, 1808, daughter of Nathan and Rhoda (Parsons) Camp.
(VI) Seth Coe, son of Captain David and Hannah (Camp) Coe, was born Feb- ruary 20, 1756, at Middlefield, and died there, September 26, 1829. He was a farmer, and married, June 12, 1776, Mary
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Miller, daughter of Deacon Ichabod and Elizabeth (Cornwell) Miller, and she died January 1, 1832.
(VII) Elias C. Coe, son of Seth and Mary (Miller) Coe, was born August 25, 1787, in Middlefield, and died there, May 4, 1878. He was a farmer, and married, April 11, 1811, Hannah Tryon.
(VIII) Ebenezer Jackson Coe, son of Elias C. and Hannah (Tryon) Coe, was born May 3, 1817. He settled at Stony Creek, Branford, where he was for many years the proprietor of the "Three Elms" House, a summer hotel, and there he died, May 11, 1889. Mr. Coe married, April 3, 1839, Phebe Birdsey, daughter of John Birdsey.
(IX) John Walter Birdsey Coe, son of Ebenezer J. and Phebe (Birdsey) Coe, was born November 8, 1841. He was for many years one of the leading citizens of Meriden, Connecticut, and was head of the Merwin Provision Company of that city. Mr. Coe served as trustee of the State School for Boys, and was a bank director and vestryman of the church. He married, December 4, 1865, Sarah A. Williams, a native of Wallingford, daugh- ter of Elijah Williams. They were the parents of the following children: I. Walter Ellsworth, of further mention. 2. John Williams, deceased, formerly a phy- sician of New York City. 3. Mabel Es- telle, wife of Howard Hammitt, residing in Plainfield, New Jersey. 4. Ada Louise, born May 2, 1879, wife of Charles F. Rockwell, of Meriden.
(X) Walter Ellsworth Coe, son of John W. B. and Sarah A. (Williams) Coe, was born August 18, 1870, at Meriden, and was educated in the Meriden schools. He was graduated from Sheffield Scientific School in the class of 1892, with the de- gree of Ph. B., and from Yale Law School in 1902, with the degree of LL. B. The same year Mr. Coe was admitted to the
New York bar, also the Connecticut bar. Mr. Coe has always practiced in New York City, and is a member of the law firms of Mclaughlin, Russell, Coe & Sprague, and Sharretts, Coe & Hillis. He specializes in United Customs practice. Since 1906 he has served as commis- sioner for Connecticut on Uniform State Laws, and from 1902 to 1904 was a mem- ber of the staff of Governor George P. McLean, with the rank of colonel. Dur- ing the World War Mr. Coe was assistant in charge of retail prices and distribution in the Food Administration in Washing- ton. His hobby is farming, and for about fifteen years he has owned a truck farm of about twenty-two acres, employing from eight to ten men to assist in the care of same.
Mr. Coe married, October 3, 1904, Car- lotta Toothe, born June 22, 1874, in East Orange, New Jersey, daughter of William and Emma (Schlager) Toothe, of Mad- ison, New Jersey. Mr. and Mrs. Coe are members of St. John's Episcopal Church of Stamford, and aid in the support of its good works.
DASKAM, Walter Duryee, Banker, Man of Affairs.
In Stamford the name of Daskam means more than merely a name. Not only the family but the city look back- ward with pride to the early records in which this name became distinguished. The origin of the name is Scotch and lit- erally means lowland valley.
(I) The first of the family in this coun- try was John Daskam, who came from near Aberdeen, Scotland, about 1750, and settled in Connecticut. He owned quite a library for that time; it was composed mostly of books on Scottish history. The children of John Daskam were: John,
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William, of whom further; James, and Susan.
(II) Captain William Daskam, the son of John Daskam, was but seventeen years of age when he enlisted in the Revolu- tionary War. His slogan was: "I will give Johnny Bull a pull." His service was under General Lafayette, and in the War of 1812 he answered his country's call and commanded a company, later receiving a pension in return for his services. He married Huldah James, un- doubtedly a daughter of Benjamin and Sarah (Whitney) James.
(III) Benjamin James Daskam, son of Captain William Daskam and his wife, Huldah (James) Daskam, was born Jan- uary 20, 1809, in what is now Darien, Connecticut, and died September 3, 1885. He learned the trade of carpenter, but its appeal was not strong enough to interest him and he went to New York, where he entered mercantile pursuits. In 1836 Mr. Daskam established himself in business in Stamford, Connecticut, his store being located on Main street, east of the Quin- tard block. He filled many public offices ; was representative to the Legislature and discharged his official duties in a manner entirely satisfactory to his constituents. Mr. Daskam was a very ardent Abolu- tionist. He also served as justice of the peace. He married Mary Ingraham.
(IV) Theodore J. Daskam, son of Ben- jamin J. and Mary (Ingraham) Daskam, was born March 3, 1833, in Stamford, Connecticut, and died there February 15, 1883. In his youth he assisted his father in business, and in time was placed in charge of the business. From his first association with men and affairs he was interested in public life. The problems of city and State government were of keenest interest to him, and it soon be- came apparent in political circles that here was a young man whom they needed.
He was at once a young man of practical ideas and incorruptible ideals ; and he had both the personal force to win his way through and the personal magnetism to carry others along with him. From the first he was affiliated with the Republican party. One of the first appointments made by President Lincoln was that of Theodore J. Daskam as postmaster of Stamford, April 14, 1861. His first office in the gift of the local party was that of first assistant engineer of the borough Volunteer Fire Department, being elected May 7, 1859. The following year he was elected chief of the Fire Department, which office he held continuously until 1874. Mr. Daskam was unable to go to the Civil War, owing to a physical dis- ability, and he could hardly resign him- self to staying at home. Meanwhile he was reappointed postmaster by each suc- ceeding president down to the time of President Arthur, holding this office until the day of his death. There have been only three postmasters whose terms of service have exceeded that of Mr. Daskam. He was also for many years United States deputy collector and was assistant as- sessor of internal revenue, holding three Federal offices at the same time. His official record is of the highest, an honor to his constituency as well as to his own name.
In 1864 Mr. Daskam embarked in the insurance business, meeting with marked success. He was a corporator of the Gulf Stream Fire Engine Company, No. 2, of Stamford, and was foreman of the com- pany for years. Mr. Daskam's health became permanently broken while yet in the height of his career. Notwithstanding this handicap, he continued his interest in public affairs and relinquished his ac- tivities only after such a conspicuous struggle with the encroaching disease as made his memory an inspiration to those
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who followed him. Mr. Daskam was a ·member of Union Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; of Rippo- wam Lodge, No. 24, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Daskam married, December 6, 1864, Sarah Remer Stanley, daughter of Edward T. and Sarah (Remer) Stanley, of New Haven, Connecticut, old residents of that city.
The tribute paid to Mr. Daskam's mem- ory on the event of his death, February 15, 1883, by the "Stamford Advocate" should stand in more enduring form.
The news of Theodore J. Daskam's death will fall upon the ears of the great majority of Stam- ford people with common sorrow. Especially will it awake the readiest sympathy and touch the tenderest memories of those whose acquaintance with the man is largest, and who knew him best, of those who shared the struggles of his active young manhood, before disease and physical suf- fering had forced him to become a sort of recluse, but little known to the later accessions of Stam- ford citizenship. These last may inquire the secret of Theodore J. Daskam's unbounded popu- larity, but his host of old friends need not be told why they loved him. He had in a remarkable de- gree the power of winning friendships, and not by any means through an effusive disposition to placate those who chose to assume an unfriendly attitude either in the field of politics or business. But his friends, those who possessed his confi- dence, ever found him a man to tie up to. His word was as good as his bond. What he said he would do, he would do. For over twenty years he was the most active organizer and manager of political campaigns on the Republican side. In politics, he was a fighter, and went in to win, and generally did win. To say that a man could occupy a position like that without making some enemies would be to state something incredible. Yet all through his career he numbered many of the warmest personal friends among the staunch- est of his political opponents, and to-day as his fellow-citizens contemplate the lifeless form once so full of manhood's proudest energies, every feeling of party strife, every recollection of party enmity, will fade into thin air, and not the party chief but the genial, whole-souled kindly friend and fellow-citizen will be longest and best re- membered.
In 1919 the Park Board of Stamford gave the name of Daskam to the park on Glenbrook avenue, in honor of this family which from the time it first became con- nected with the town to the present day has been notable for its public spirit and patriotism.
(V) Walter Duryee Daskam, son of Theodore J. and Sarah Remer (Stanley) Daskam, was born September 18, 1865. He was educated in the King School of Stamford, of which he is at the present time president. On May 16, 1882, he en- tered the Stamford National Bank as mes- senger. His dependability, accuracy, and unremitting attention to his duties won for him promotion to the position of tel- ler, which he held for some years. Dur- ing this time he lost no opportunity to make himself acquainted with the theory and practice of banking. At that time there was no trust company in Stamford, and recognizing the need for such an institu- tion, Mr. Daskam organized The Stam- ford Trust Company, of which he became treasurer. The growth and financial strength of the company as indicated by its present capital and surplus of $450,000, with total resources of $5,094,965. The safe deposit vaults are of the most modern construction. Mr. Daskam was elected vice-president of the company in 1918. He is also a director and secretary of the Stamford Water Company ; a director and treasurer of the Stamford Gas and Elec- tric Company ; vice-president and director of the St. John Woodworking Company ; treasurer and director of the Stamford Hospital; trustee of the Stamford Chil- dren's Home. Mr. Daskam succeeded Edward W. Kneen, of Shelton, as treas- urer of Fairfield county.
In politics, Mr. Daskam is a Republican and served as town treasurer from 1894 to 1903; was chairman of the Republican Town Committee from 1903 to 1906, and
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is now a member of the City Board of Finance. Fraternally, he is a member of Union Lodge, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Puritan Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. In December, 1884, he enlisted in Company C, 4th Con- necticut Infantry, and was discharged January, 1890, as sergeant. In March, 1917, he enlisted in the Connecticut State Guard and holds the rank of captain. Mr. Daskam was in charge of the last four Liberty Loan drives and was untiring in his efforts to make them successful; he was also treasurer of the first drive of the Red Cross. His clubs are the Sub- urban and the Stamford Yacht. Mr. Das- kam was one of the four founders of the former club and its first president.
Mr. Daskam married Harriet Tilley, daughter of George H. and Harriet T. (Brown) Tilley, of Darien, Connecticut, and they are the parents of a daughter, Elizabeth Stanley Daskam. Mr. Daskam and his family are members of St. An- drew's Episcopal Church, of which he is a vestryman.
The greatest benefaction which a man can bestow upon the city of his residence is himself. He may devote the wealth of his mental endowment to the service of his fellowman; he may spread broad- cast the material good he has won from life ; but the greatest gift within his power is human sympathy, the spirit which is attuned to the loyal friendship of the peo- ple and responds in kind. Of these gifts, ability, means, time and labor unstinted, Walter Duryee Daskam gives right roy- ally. He is a man among men, the warmth of his genial personality winning the loyalty and esteem of every one of his associates and acquaintances.
COWLES, Russel Abernethy, Man of Great Enterprise.
From a twenty-two years' association with the Ansonia Brass and Copper Com-
pany, subsequently the American Brass Company, a concern with which two gen- erations of his line before him had been identified, Mr. Cowles entered fields of endeavor intimately connected with the community life and prosperity of Green- wich, his home. A number of enterprises fostered by him and operated under his direction have filled needs long felt in his town, projects that lacked the influence of a man of vision and courage, undertak- ings fraught with commercial danger to the man of little faith and ordinary enter- prise. Mr. Cowles has earned, with a position of business prominence, the last- ing regard and gratitude of his townsmen, whom he has served largely and well.
Russel Abernethy Cowles is a son of Albert Abernethy and Frances (Bailey) Cowles, and grandson of George Preston Cowles, member of a family dating to early Colonial days in New England. George Preston Cowles was a native of Connecticut, and spent the greater part of his life in Ansonia, Connecticut, where he was successively, secretary, treasurer, vice-president, and manager of the An- sonia Brass and Copper Company. His death occurred in October, 1887. He married Charlotte Leaming, daughter of General Russell C. and Orrell (Smith) Abernethy, of Torrington, Connecticut.
Alfred Abernethy Cowles, father of Russel Abernethy Cowles, was born at Torrington (then Wolcottville), Connec- ticut, September 28, 1845. He attended the public schools of Ansonia, subse- quently becoming a student in Chase's Military Academy, at Middletown, Con- necticut, and completing his studies at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France, and Col- lege de France. For two years he was employed in the Ansonia National Bank, and after traveling abroad for a time he entered the counting room of the Ansonia Brass and Copper Company. In 1870 he was placed in charge of the New York
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offices of the company, and soon there- after became an official, proceeding through the posts of treasurer and vice- president to the presidency of the corpor- ation, which he held from 1901 until his death. He was a man of wide business capabilities, a leader in several lines of industry ; he was president of the Ansonia Clock Company, which he organized in 1879 ; president of the Coronet Phosphate Company, which he organized in 1908; president of the Terra Ceia Estates, Inc .; vice-president of the American Brass Company ; and president of the Birming- ham Water Company. In advisory ca- pacity he was associated with a number of other corporations in widely separated fields. Mr. Cowles was a member of the Union League, Larchmont Yacht, Green- wich Country, and Railroad clubs. His residence was at "The Apthorp," New York City, and he maintained his summer home at Belle Haven. Mr. Cowles bore an honorable reputation through a long and active business career, and in the course of his industrial and commercial capacity bound to him a large number of his associates with the ties of firm friend- ship.
Mr. Cowles married, in 1871, Frances Bailey, daughter of Edward Bailey, of Devonshire, England, and Fanny (Ken- yon) Bailey, of Syracuse, New York. They were the parents of: Russel Aber- nethy, of whom further; and Frederick Houghton, who married Maud Sherman.
Russel Abernethy Cowles was born in Syracuse, New York, October 10, 1873. He attended private school in New York City, Stevens Preparatory School, and Stevens Institute of Technology at Ho- boken. At the age of nineteen he became associated with his father in the Ansonia Brass and Copper Company, and re- mained in that service for twenty-two years, until September 1, 1915. In 1900 the American Brass Company succeeded
the Ansonia Brass and Copper Company, and at the time of his resignation Mr. Cowles was a vice-president of the Amer- ican Brass Company. He then became vice-president of the Buffalo Copper and Brass Rolling Mills, and organized the Metals Trading Corporation, of which he is president at this time (1920). Among the more important of Mr. Cowles' busi- ness interests are the presidency of the Ansonia Clock Company, the vice-presi- dency of the Coronet Phosphate Com- pany, and the presidency of the New England Motor Sales Company of Green- wich. This last is one of several enter- prises Mr. Cowles has founded in Greenwich, which have become institu- tions known far beyond the limits of the town. The New England Motor Sales Company operates a thoroughly modern garage on the Boston Post Road, the main artery of traffic between New York and Boston, and a machine shop that is probably the finest in the district. The company has the agency for the Buick, Franklin, and Owen Magnetic automo- biles, and the White automobile truck. This business, first planned on a scale that to the average mind seemed to spell failure, has developed steadily from the time of its establishment, and residents and tourists have found there the auto- mobile service and satisfaction that every motorist craves.
In 1917 Mr. Cowles gave to Greenwich another institution of which the town had long been in need-The Pickwick Inn -recognized as one of the best inns in the New York suburbs. Philip Gibbs, the noted English war correspondent, was so impressed by its attractive furnish- ings and beautiful atmosphere, as well as the superior quality of the food served, that he devoted several pages in an issue of "Harper's Magazine" to a description of the inn, couched in the most compli- mentary terms. Within a few months
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after its opening an addition was found necessary, and since then the inn has been enlarged several times to accommodate the increased numbers of enthusiastic patrons.
In 1919 Mr. Cowles organized The Pickwick Arms, Inc., purchased the Lenox House property at the corner of the Boston Post Road and Greenwich avenue, and constructed The Pickwick Arms, a million dollar hotel, which has given to Greenwich one of the finest hotels in the State. The building, mod- eled after the old English inns, is of fireproof construction, equipped with every convenience and comfort. Mr. Cowles has also entered the business of candy manufacturing and, securing the services of an experienced Parisian candy- maker, placed upon the market "Pickwick Chocolates," which have come into exten- sive demand in New York and suburbs.
It has been the good fortune of Mr. Cowles to have his earnest efforts for his town's betterment appreciated and sup- ported in unusual degree. He has been able to lend practical aid to many friends and acquaintances, and in direct personal manner has been instrumental in the pro- motion of the success and welfare of no small number of those with whom he comes into contact. He is a member of the Union League, the Down Town Club, the India House, the Greenwich Country Club, the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, and the Blind Brook Club.
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