USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8 > Part 46
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MALKIN, Albert Richard, Building Contractor.
The energy, promptness and good judgment which Albert R. Malkin, lead- ing contractor of Norwalk, Connecticut, has manifested in his business career, has gained for him an excellent reputation as a contractor and builder. The surname of Malkin is derived from Mathilde, meaning "might in war." Mr. Malkin's grandfa- ther was Richard Malkin, a native of Mac- clesfield, England. The latter came to America, bringing with him his son, Samuel Malkin, who was born in Mac- clesfield, in 1834. He learned the trade of baker, and after locating in this country became a shoemaker, which vocation he followed in New Canaan the greater part of his life. Mr. Malkin was a member of the Masonic and Independent Order of Odd Fellow lodges in New Canaan. He married Julia Raymond, born May 10, 1839, daughter of Russell G. Raymond, and of their children five grew to matur- ity. They were: Albert Richard, of fur- ther mention; Eliza Jane, wife of Albert Betts, of Norwalk; Nellie N. (deceased), wife of Irving C. Bynington, of Norwalk ; Mary L., wife of E. H. Morehouse; Har- riet, wife of L. O. Fauntleroy, of Hart- ford. The family were members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
The Raymond family, from which Mrs. Malkin is descended, has long been set- tled in Fairfield county. Richard Ray- mond, the ancestor, was among the earli-
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ax mackie Malkin
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est settlers in Norwalk and a leading citizen of his day. By occupation he was a mariner and was engaged in a coast- wise trade with the Dutch and English settlers. His wife's Christian name was Judith, and they were the ancestors of a long line of distinguished and useful citizens. Of these Russell G. Raymond, a lifelong resident of Norwalk, holds a prominent place. He was the father of Julia Raymond, who became the wife of Samuel Malkin, as above stated.
Albert Richard Malkin, son of Samuel and Julia (Raymond) Malkin, was born April 16, 1860, in New Canaan, Connec- ticut. He was educated there in the pub- lic schools and in the schools of Norwalk. In 1880 he entered the drug store of E. P. Weed to learn the profession of phar- macist and was duly licensed. For about ten years Mr. Malkin remained in the drug business, and during the greater part of that time conducted his own store in partnership with Dr. J. P. Gregory. In 1885, Mr. Malkin sold his interests and served his apprenticeship at the carpen- ter's trade with a view to going into busi- ness on his own account as a builder. This he did upon completing his appren- ticeship and formed a partnership with Hart Denton, under the firm name of A. R. Malkin & Company. They began building operations at once, first in a small way, and the business has now de- veloped to such proportions that between seventy-five and one hundred men are employed. Their operations are in West- ern Connecticut and Eastern New York. Mr. Denton was succeeded by R. S. Van Buren as a partner, and about twenty- five years ago the company opened a mill and now get out all their own dressed lumber and interior finish. They do a general building contracting business and have erected many stations and other buildings for the New York, New Haven
& Hartford Railroad Company. Many schools all over the State have been built by this company. A large part of their work is the erection of fine residences, out of an immense number, space permits mention of only a few: A large summer home for the New York Society for Ethi- cal Culture in Mountainville, near New- burgh, New York; the P. W. Brooks residence, the Porter Emerson Brown residence, the Herman Aaron residence and the residence of Judge E. M. Lock- wood, all in Norwalk. In New Canaan, the residence of Dr. P. H. Williams, of Mrs. Bradley, of Payson Merrill, Thomas Hall and of Dr. Bishop.
Mr. Malkin is a Republican in politics, and actively interested in all public mat- ters but does not seek public office. He is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 6, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons ; Washington Chapter, Royal Arch Ma- sons; Clinton Commandery, Knights Templar; Pyramid Temple, Mystic Shrine; the Norwalk Club; the Norwalk Country Club; the Knob Outing Club, and the Westport Country Club. He is a director of the Norwalk Library, Nor- walk Club Company, National Bank of Norwalk, and was vice-president, but is now (1921) president of the Norwalk Savings Society.
Mr. Malkin married Catherine Au- gusta Denton, daughter of Hart Den- ton, of Norwalk, and they are the par- ents of four children: I. Albert Den- ton, married Ida M. Steele, and has one son, Edward Steele, and one daugh- ter, Marjorie; they reside in Norwalk. 2. Kathryn Hoyt, married Gibson Smith, a sketch of whom follows. 3. Allen Ray- mond. 4. Ward Gregory. The family attend and aid in the support of Grace Episcopal Church, of Norwalk, and Mr. Malkin also serves as vestryman of this church.
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SMITH, Gibson,
Building Contractor.
One of the leading business men of South Norwalk, and a foremost citizen of that place, Gibson Smith was born there February 10, 1894, son of William and Jennie (Gibson) Smith, and grandson of Samuel and Anna (Gibbooney) Smith.
Samuel Smith, grandfather of Gibson Smith, was born in Smithtown, Long Island, March 12, 1812, and died in 1892. He became an apprentice at the mason's trade in New York City and worked on Trinity Church. Early in his life he en- tered the contracting business and was in business for himself for about twenty-five years. From New York City he went to Northport, Long Island, and built a hos- pital at St. Johnland, and remained for four years, removing thence to Norwalk, Connecticut. Samuel Smith married Anna Gibbooney.
William Smith, father of Gibson Smith, was born in New York City in June, 1854, and died July 5, 1915. When he was a boy his parents removed to Smith- town, Long Island, and for a time they lived also at Northport. William Smith learned the trade of mason with his father and worked with him for several years. When he was about twenty-four years of age he started in business on his own ac- count as a contractor and builder and so continued as long as he lived. He was brought up in South Norwalk, Connec- ticut, where his parents removed from Long Island. He was the most important mason builder in the Norwalks and among those buildings constructed by him were the Clifford Hotel, the R. & G. Corset factory, Swartz & Corbett build- ing, the Masonic building in Norwalk, the buildings of the Norwalk and South Norwalk clubs, the Franklin school in South Norwalk, the Ashe factory, Martin
& Bates building, Hanford building, and the South Norwalk Public Library. The latter was the last important building erected by Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith was not a politician, but was actively interested in all public matters. He served as street commissioner of South Norwalk. So- cially he was a member of the South Nor- walk Club. He married Jennie, daughter of James Gibson, also a mason builder of Danbury, Connecticut. James Gibson was born in America of Scotch parents, and he was in charge of the construction work on the Danbury Division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- road. The children of William and Jen- nie (Gibson) Smith were: I. Jane, mar- ried Jarvis Williams, Jr., general man- ager of the Union Metallic Cartridge Company of Bridgeport, and the mother of a son, Jarvis, 3d. 2. Gibson, of whom further. The Smith family attended the Congregational church, and Mr. Smith took an active interest in church work.
Gibson Smith was educated in the South Norwalk grammar and high schools and the Packard Commercial Col- lege of New York City. During the in- tervals between school seasons he learned the trade of mason, a calling of his family for three generations. His formal educa- tion was completed with a course in ar- chitectural construction at Pratt Insti- tute, Brooklyn, and as soon as he com- pleted his apprenticeship, he started in business for himself, being one of the youngest mason contractors in the State. Among his work may be mentioned the masonry on La Dentelle Lace Mill in East Norwalk, the additions to the May- hoffe plant in Norwalk, and his latest work is the completion of a new unit of the South Norwalk Electric Works. Mr. Smith has about thirty-five men employed on an average, and makes a specialty of
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Frederick 26 Quetard
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heavy masonry work. He is a member of the South Norwalk Club.
Mr. Smith married Kathryn Hoyt Mal- kin, daughter of Albert R. Malkin, of Norwalk, a sketch of whom precedes this in the work. They are the parents of a daughter, Jane Smith, born April 1, 1918. Mr. and Mrs. Smith attend the Congre- gational church of Norwalk.
QUINTARD, Frederick Homer, Manufacturer.
Through every branch of an extensive and honorable family tree, Frederick H. Quintard, a leading manufacturer of the city of Norwalk, is a descendant from a long line of men prominent in the settle- ment, government and military history of Fairfield county. The Quintard family are of French Huguenot extraction, and the first ancestor on the paternal side was Isaac Quintard, of whom further.
(I) Isaac Quintard was born in Lusig- nan, France. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes forced him to leave his native land where he had been engaged in woolen manufacture. In New York City he became a merchant and owned vessels that plied at least in coastwise trade. He was a man of exceptional business acu- men in his day; was thrifty and indus- trious; and at his death left an estate which inventoried about five thousand pounds, a large fortune in those days. He married, in the Chapel of the Gaunt in Bristol, England, November 26, 1693, Jeanne Fume, also of a French family. Their children were: Marie, born in Bris- tol, in 1695; Isaac, born there, 1696; Abra- ham, born in New York City, 1698; Pierre (or Peter), of whom further. The births of the children show that the father must have crossed the ocean after the birth of Isaac in England in 1696.
(II) Peter or Pierre Quintard, young-
est child of Isaac and Jeanne (Fume) Quintard, was born January 14, 1700, in New York City, was baptized there at the French Church, and was admitted a freeman. He was a goldsmith by occupa- tion. About 1738 he removed to Nor- walk, Connecticut, where he made sev- eral purchases of lands and established his residence in the meadows north of what is now Marshall street, Norwalk. Peter Quintard married Jeanne Baller- eau, born July 3, 1708, in New York City, daughter of Jacques and Jeanne (O'Dart) Ballereau, and she died September 2, 1757.
(III) Peter Quintard, second son of Peter or Pierre and Jeanne (Ballereau) Quintard, was born in New York City, July 22, 1732, and lived in Norwalk, Con- necticut. He was a soldier in the Rev- olutionary War, and served as a sergeant in Captain Seth Seymour's company, Col- onel John Mead's regiment, of Connecti- cut Militia, enlisting December 24, 1776, and served two months. In 1781 he was a member of a Matross Company in Nor- walk. The name of his first wife through whom this line descends has not yet been found. He married for his second wife, May 23, 1774, Ruth Stevens.
(IV) Isaac (2) Quintard, son of Peter Quintard, was born in 1767, and died February 5, 1856, in Norwalk, Connecti- cut. He was engaged in the manufacture of pottery, and also ran a market sloop to New York. On November 13, 1793, he married Elizabeth Pickett, born January 14, 1769, daughter of Ezra and Elizabeth (Benedict) Pickett, of Norwalk. Ezra Pickett was born July 12, 1740, and mar- ried, March 30, 1761, Elizabeth Benedict. He was a son of James Pickett, 2d, and his wife, Deborah (Stuart) Pickett, and grandson of James Pickett, Ist, who set- tled in Norwalk, and married Rebecca Keeler. The last named James Pickett
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was a son of John Pickett, the immigrant, of Salem, Massachusetts, who removed in 1660 to Stratford, Connecticut, and was a member of the General Assembly there in 1673.
(V) Evert Quintard, son of Isaac (2) and Elizabeth (Pickett) Quintard, was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, January 24, 1798, and died May 2, 1891. He was a furniture manufacturer and dealer in Nor- walk for sixty years. He married, No- vember 29, 1819, Elizabeth Whitney, daughter of Timothy and Abigail (Smith- Wood) Whitney, of Norwalk (see Whit- ney VI).
(VI) Francis Edmond Quintard, son of Evert and Elizabeth (Whitney) Quin- tard, was born March 29, 1823, and died October 25, 1907. He was educated in the public schools of Norwalk. He
learned the trade of cabinet making with his father and was associated with him in business, finally succeeding to the own- ership. Mr. Quintard continued to con- duct the business until about 1884, when he sold his interests and retired from ac- tive duties. In his younger days Mr. Quintard was active in military duties, and a sword carried by him is now in possession of his son. Mr. Quintard mar- ried (first) January 1, 1846, Harriet M. Allen, daughter of Increase and Sally (Patchen) Allen, and she died February 25, 1853. He married (second) Novem- ber 24, 1853, Matilda Lounsbury, a sister of the governors of Connecticut, Hon. George E. and Hon. Phineas C. Louns- bury, sketches of whom appear elsewhere in this work and the Lounsbury geneal- ogy therewith. Mr. Quintard married (third) May 5, 1869, Cornelia C. Clark.
(VII) Frederick H. Quintard, son of Francis Edmond and Matilda (Louns- bury) Quintard, was born January 24, 1857, in Norwalk, Connecticut. He was educated in the public schools of that
town. Subsequently he was associated in business with his father for about a year, and for the following eight or nine years was connected with his uncles, the Hon. Phineas C. and George E. Lounsbury in Norwalk. Ill health compelled the sever- ing of this connection and Mr. Quintard spent a year in the West. Upon his re- turn East, he went to Bridgeport, Con- necticut, where he was associated with his uncle, the Hon. George E. Lounsbury, and where he remained for the following ten years. For the ensuing five years Mr. Quintard did not take any active in- terest in business matters; as a matter of fact it was not until 1893, at which time the late C. S. Trowbridge prevailed upon him to enter business in partnership with him, that Mr. Quintard did so. In January, 1907, this business was incor- porated as The C. S. Trowbridge Com- pany, with Mr. Trowbridge as president and Mr. Quintard as secretary and treas- urer. They continued successfully for many years, and upon the death of Mr. Trowbridge, Mr. Quintard succeeded him in the office of president, which office he still holds, as well as retaining the treas- urership. The produce of the business is paper and wooden boxes, and in the manufacture of these employment is given to from seventy-five to one hundred per- sons.
In addition to the many business in- terests which Mr. Quintard has had to occupy his time, he has also taken an ac- tive interest in public matters. He is a Republican in politics, and in 1907-08 was in the Legislature, serving a second term in 1909-10. He served on the committees of cities and boroughs and federal rela- tions. In 1910 he was chairman of the latter committee. He is a member of the board of directors of the Norwalk Hos- pital. Before Norwalk and South Nor- walk were united under one city govern-
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ment, Mr. Quintard served as a member of the Common Council in South Nor- walk, and also at different times served as assessor and tax collector.
Fraternally, Mr. Quintard is a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 6, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons; Washington Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Clinton Commandery, Knights Templar; Pyra- mid Temple, Mystic Shrine, the latter of Bridgeport. He is also a member of the Norwalk Club, which he served for two years as president; of the Norwalk Coun- try Club, which he also served as presi- dent; of the South Norwalk Club; and the Roxbury Club. Mr. Quintard has been president of the latter club for eight- een years. His chief recreations are hunting and fishing. Mr. Quintard's ances- try in several lines entitles him to mem- bership in the Sons of the American Rev- olution, which he holds.
Mr. Quintard married Mary E. Bene- dict, daughter of Goold Benedict, of Nor- walk, and they are members of the Con- gregational church.
(The Whitney Line).
(I) Henry Whitney, the immigrant an- cestor, was born in England about 1620. No record has been found of his arrival in this country, but the Southold, Long Island, records show that on October 8, 1649, he with others purchased land. He was an inhabitant of the town of Hun- tington, Long Island, August 17, 1658. He built a grist mill there for Rev. Wil- liam Leverich. Henry Whitney removed to Jamaica, Long Island, where he bought land of Richard Harker. He served on many important committees there. In July, 1665, he was granted land by the town of Norwalk, Connecticut, for build- ing a corn mill. His will is dated June 5, 1672, and he probably died in Norwalk in 1673, having been admitted a freeman there four years previously.
(II) John Whitney, son of Henry
Whitney, was born previous to the time his father went to Southold, Long Island, and died in 1720. He received a grant of land in Norwalk in 1665 and settled there, succeeding his father in the ownership of the mill and homestead. He built a full- ing mill later, which was willed to Joseph Whitney, his second son. John Whitney married, March 17, 1674, Elizabeth Smith, daughter of Richard Smith.
(III) Joseph Whitney, son of John and Elizabeth (Smith) Whitney, was born March 1, 1678-79, and died in 1720. He was a millwright. He married, in Norwalk, July 6, 1704, Hannah Hoyt, daughter of Zerubbabel Hoyt.
(IV) David Whitney, son of Joseph and Hannah (Hoyt) Whitney, was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, June 24, 1721. He was a master mariner and miller. It is said that when Norwalk was burned in 1779, he ran out into the harbor with his sloop loaded with the families and goods of his neighbors and escaped from the British. David Whitney married, May II, 1741, in Norwalk, Elizabeth Hyatt, daughter of Ebenezer and Elizabeth Hyatt, born June 6, 1718.
(V) Timothy Whitney, son of David and Elizabeth (Hyatt) Whitney, was born July 13-24, 1744, and died June 15, 1825. He was a cooper by occupation. He took part in the Revolutionary War. He married (first) February 25, 1770, Anna Wood, born November 3, 1742, daughter of Alexis Wood; he married (second) April 23, 1786, Abigail (Smith) Wood, widow of a Mr. Wood, born July 25, 1749, daughter of Eliakim Smith, and she died November 2, 1863.
(VI) Elizabeth Whitney, daughter of Timothy and Abigail (Smith-Wood) Whitney, was born January 4, 1796, in Norwalk, Connecticut, where she died November 26, 1851. She was married there, November 29, 1819, to Evert Quin- tard (see Quintard V).
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KIRK, Theodore Howard,
Retired Business Man.
After long activity in the business arena, Mr. Kirk is enjoying life as a pri- vate citizen of Stamford, Connecticut, and yet, not altogether as a private citizen, for his public-spirited zeal, combined with the urgency of his friends and neighbors, has drawn him into the sphere of politics, and he is now serving as one of the as- sessors of his home city.
The name of Kirk was derived from the word "kirke," meaning church. Fam- ilies living near the church assumed this word as a surname and it was known at a very early period, Joan-atte Kirk being recorded in 1217.
Members of the Kirk family were early settled in New York State. In the north- ern part of that State a pond one mile long and one half mile wide, and noted for its excellent fishing, was called Kirk's pond in honor of a family long resident in the neighborhood.
John Kirk, from Derby, England, was one of those who, in 1687, settled in Darby, Pennsylvania. He married, in 1688, Joan, daughter of Peter Ellet, and they were the parents of eleven children. One of these, William Kirk, was living in 1705. There seems to be no doubt that from this family of Kirks, the Kirks of Stamford were descended.
(I) William Kirk, grandfather of The- odore Howard Kirk, was born in Putnam county, New York, where he owned a small farm, spending, however, a large portion of his time in following the trade of a carpenter and builder. He was an excellent workman and, as this was be- fore the day when the architect gave ex- pert attention to other than pretentious structures, William Kirk's taste and in- genuity in contriving convenient and economical plans made him popular as a
designer and builder of homes. Mr. Kirk married Mary, daughter of Abijah Hinck- ley, of Dutchess county, New York, and their children were: James; Julia ; War- ren, mentioned below; Demond ; Horace ; and Laura. The youngest son, Horace, did gallant service for his country in the Civil War, eventually giving his life for the cause of freedom.
(II) Warren Kirk, son of William and Mary (Hinckley) Kirk, was born Septem- ber 17, 1829, in the town of Kent, Putnam county, New York, and received his edu- cation in the public schools of his native town, afterward learning the carpenter's trade under the instruction of his father, with whom he was associated both in business and in agricultural interests. About 1851 he removed to Danbury, Con- necticut, where he engaged in farming, and in 1861 he became a resident of Stam- ford, establishing a fish and vegetable market. Very soon, however, business all over the country felt the disrupting influ- ence of the Civil War, and many loyal cit- izens, forsaking the warehouse, the office and the shop, rallied to the defense of the Federal government. Among these was Warren Kirk, who in the spring of 1862 enlisted in Fairfield, Connecticut, in Com- pany K, Seventeenth Regiment, Connec- ticut Volunteer Infantry. He passed through some of the bloodiest battles of the war and after the battle of Gaines- ville was invalided to a camp at Rock Creek, just outside Washington, District of Columbia, where the National Sol- diers' Home is now situated. During Mr. Kirk's stay there he formed a warm friendship with Dr. Bliss who was then in charge of the camp, and who, long after, became famous as the physician of President Garfield. Dr. Bliss suggested that Mr. Kirk erect the first hospital building on the camp grounds, and with his assistance and that of President Lin-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
coln, Mr. Kirk laid out the first hospital, a wooden structure of three stories. Pres- ident Lincoln was greatly interested in the work, going every day to watch its progress. Mr. Kirk was mustered out in 1865, at Indianapolis, Indiana.
After his return to Stamford, Mr. Kirk formed a partnership with Edwin N. Sco- field, of that city, under the firm name of Kirk & Scofield. They built many im- portant residences in Stamford and its vicinity, becoming one of the leading building firms in that part of Connecticut. After a time the partnership was dis- solved and Mr. Kirk continued the busi- ness alone until his retirement. He as- sisted in organizing Miner Post, Grand Army of the Republic. While never seek- ing political office he fulfilled, in the most satisfactory manner, the public duties which were required of him.
Mr. Kirk married, July 4, 1848, Mary Lake, born December 3, 1827, in Kent, Putnam county, New York, and they be- came the parents of the following chil- dren: I. Theodore Howard, mentioned below. 2. Andrew J., born February 10, 1851 ; now a resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey ; married Bella Unkles, and has one son, John. 3. William Warren, born March 6, 1852, in Patterson, New York; was for years editor and owner of the "New Canaan Messenger," and is now deceased ; married Mary Adelaide Noyes April 8, 1874, and their only son, William E. J. Kirk, is a physician. 4. Laura E., born March 14, 1853; married Julius A. Smith, and they have three children : Caroline A., Jennie Irene, and Marion Julia. 5. Phoebe J., born September 23, 1856, and is now deceased. 6. Charles A., born June 9, 1858; now a resident of Stamford; married Mary Lunney and they had two children, Howard and Harry. 7. Walter, born October 31, 1860. 8. Byron, born April 29, 1862. 9. Frank,
born August 3, 1865. 10. George C., born August 25, 1867, at Stamford; married Julia M. Scofield and had two children, Marjorie and Clinton. The three sons of Mr. and Mrs. Kirk, Walter, Byron, and Frank, are deceased. Mrs. Kirk passed away May 20, 1897.
Cheered by the company of his chil- dren and grandchildren, who were, none of them, far distant, Mr. Kirk spent his declining years in the serene conscious- ness of a useful life, and the comforting thought that the world was better for his having lived in it. On March 12, 1906, he "ceased from earth." The city of Stamford is proud of her institutions, her architectural beauty and her honorable history, but above all, she is proud of her men, the citizens who have made her what she is and have caused her name to be honored among the cities of the com- monwealth. On the roll containing the names of these men, that of Warren Kirk stands very high, and as the years go on the results which he accomplished and the influence which he diffused will be more and more highly appreciated.
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