USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8 > Part 47
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(III) Theodore Howard Kirk, son of Warren and Mary (Lake) Kirk, was born October 17, 1849, in Patterson, New York, where he received his education in the pub- lic schools. His working days began when his father enlisted in the Union army and left for the seat of war. Theodore H., then a boy in his thirteenth year, obtained a position in a grocery store and it soon became evident that he had in him the makings of a successful business man. On March 12, 1884, his employer, C. W. Dearborn, having failed, Mr. Kirk pur- chased the business, forming a partner- ship with A. C. Dixon under the firm name of Kirk & Dixon. At the end of twenty-two years the connection was dis- solved, Mr. Kirk purchasing his partner's interest and for seven years conducting
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the business alone, but under the old name. He then sold out to the Acker, Merrall & Condit Company, of New York, remaining with them as manager for thirteen years. In August, 1915, he re- signed, at the same time retiring from business.
Always an adherent of the Republican party, Mr. Kirk, since his release from the cares of business, has taken an active part in local politics, and in 1918 was elected one of the assessors for a term of six years. He affiliates with Union Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Ma- sons, and Puritan Lodge, No. 43, Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows; also a member of Stamford Chamber of Com- merce since its organization.
Mr. Kirk married, June 22, 1887, C. Frances Bassett, whose ancestral record is appended to this biography, and they are the parents of two sons: I. Bennett Bassett, born July 31, 1889; volunteered in the United States Army Ambulance Corps, Section 563, and served eighteen months, eleven months of that time being spent in action in the Asiago sector on the Italian front; member Union Lodge, No. 5, Ancient Free and Accepted Ma- sons, and Bloomsburg Consistory, Penn- sylvania. 2. Frank Howard, born De- cember 21, 1891 ; volunteered and served in Battery D, Fifty-sixth Regiment, Coast Artillery Corps, eighteen months, nine months on French front; member of Union Lodge, No. 5, Free and Accepted Masons; and Consistory of Connecticut ; married, June 4, 1919, Edna E., daughter of John Higgins, of Stamford. Both sons are members of the Sons of the American Revolution through a collateral claim derived from Jacob Smith. Mrs. Theodore Howard Kirk is a member of the Congregational church, Mr. Kirk be- longing to the First Baptist.
(The Bassett Line).
(I) Joseph Bassett, grandfather of Mrs. Theodore Howard Kirk, was born Janu- ary 26, 1760, and died October 23, 1838. He married Mary -, born October 4, 1758, died October 10, 1837. Among their children was Bennett, mentioned below.
(II) Bennett Bassett, son of Joseph and Mary Bassett, was born August 17, 1799, in Washington, Connecticut, and became a resident of Amenia, New York. He married Mary Smith, of Northfield, Con- necticut, whose ancestral record is ap- pended to this biography.
(III) C. Frances Bassett, daughter of Bennett and Mary (Smith) Bassett, be- came the wife of Theodore Howard Kirk, as stated above.
(The Smith Line).
(I) James Smith, born in England, was a
proprietor of Weymouth, Massachu- setts, in 1639. He married Joanna -
(II) Nathaniel Smith, son of James and Joanna Smith, was born June 8, 1639, in Weymouth, and married Experience
(III) Nathaniel (2) Smith, son of Na- thaniel (1) and Experience Smith, mar- ried, July 3, 1677, Anna Hoskins, and moved to Wethersfield, Connecticut. He was one of the original proprietors of Litchfield, Connecticut, where he died in 1725.
(IV) Jacob Smith, son of Nathaniel (2) and Anna (Hoskins) Smith, lived at Litchfield, Connecticut, and married Eliz- abeth
(V) Jacob (2) Smith, son of Jacob (1) and Elizabeth Smith, was born in 1738, at Northfield, Connecticut, and served with the rank of lieutenant in the patriot army of the Revolution. He married, January 13, 1763, Mary Lewis, daughter of Gershom and Mary (Maltby) Lewis, of Cape Cod.
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Post Wellstood
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY.
(VI) David Smith, son of Jacob (2) and Mary (Lewis) Smith, was born in 1777, and married Amna Bartholomew. Their daughter Mary married Bennett Bassett (q. v.).
WELLSTOOD, Robert, Business Man, Public Official.
The Wellstood family is of that grand contribution of intelligent men which Scotland has made at various times to our citizenship. The earliest known member of the family was John Wellstood, who was born at Stroudwater, Gloucestershire, England. The surname of his wife was Clarke, and they were the parents of Ste- phen, of whom further.
(II) Stephen Wellstood was born at Stroudwater, England, in 1710, and died in 1800. He married Ann Davidson, who was born in the parish of Kirk Michael' Strathdown, Banff, Scotland, died in 1793. Their son was Stephen (2), of whom further.
(III) Stephen (2) Wellstood was born at Leith, Scotland, and died in 1792. He married Christie Forbes, who died in 18II. They were the parents of James, of whom further.
(IV) James Wellstood was born in the parish of Inveran, County of Banff Braes, Glenlivet, June 4, 1766, and died at Elizabethtown, New Jersey, August 19, 1825. He married, in 1786, Euphemia Yorston, who was born at Salton, and died in Newark, New Jersey, November 25, 1838. They were the parents of James (2), of whom further.
(V) James (2) Wellstood was born in Fishurow, Scotland, October 28, 1791, and died at New Haven, Connecticut, January 9, 1838. He married Ann Geikie, born in Dalkeith, Scotland, May 14, 1788, died in New Albany, New York, November 10, 1831, and her remains were removed to
New Haven, Connecticut. She was a daughter of John Geikie, granddaughter of Murdock Geikie, and great-grand- daughter of John Geikie.
(VI) John Geikie Wellstood, son of James (2) and Ann (Geikie) Wellstood, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Janu- ary 18, 1813, and died January 21, 1893. He came to America with his parents in 1829, and learned engraving in New York City. This occupation he followed for a few years, then became one of the in- corporators of the American Bank Note Company. He continued actively at his profession until his death. In 1872 he withdrew from that company and organ- ized the Columbia Bank Note Company, of Washington, D. C. That year he de- signed and engraved the backs of the United States banknotes, all the denomi- nations from one to five hundred dollar notes. The back of the one dollar notes now in use was designed by him. Mr. Wellstood was president of the company, and retired a few years before his death. As a special favor, he engraved the wed- ding invitations for General U. S. Grant's daughter, Nellie, who became Mrs. Sar- toris.
In 1860 Mr. Wellstood built his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, being among the first New Yorkers to recognize the desirability of that town as a place of resi- dence. He was a Democrat, and was the representative of the town in the Con- necticut Legislature; the principal inter- est of Mr. Wellstood was in his business, and he was an artist as well as an ex- ceptionally skilled artisan.
Mr. Wellstood married, July 20, 1835, Mary McQueen, daughter of William and Hester (Porter) McQueen. She was born March 13, 1819, in New York City, and died April 16, 1897, in Greenwich. Her father was born in New York City, Sep- tember 13, 1799, and died May 16, 1830;
Conn-8-22
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her mother, Hester (Porter) McQueen, was born at Ferrisburg, Vermont, April 10, 1800. Robert McQueen, father of William McQueen, was born in Scotland, and married Mary Muir, born April 16, 1779. After coming to America he had a foundry in Duane street, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Wellstood were the parents of the following children: William M .; John G., Jr .; Robert, of whom further; Annie, died young; Mary M., married Russell Hunt, of Ridgefield; James; and Stephen.
(VII) Robert Wellstood, third child of John G. and Mary (McQueen) Well- stood, was born in New York City, Au- gust 16, 1842, and was educated in the old Greenwich avenue school of New York City. As a child he was not robust, and when he was about twelve years old the doctor ordered that he must be put into some active employment. There- fore, he found employment in Batten's Hosiery Store, where he remained for a year or two. After leaving there he went into the insurance business, where he re- mained until becoming associated with his father in the bank note business, where he was employed as a bookkeeper for some years.
In politics, Mr. Wellstood is a Demo- crat, and the town is overwhelmingly Republican, yet since 1903 Mr. Wellstood has been elected to the office of town clerk of Greenwich, which is ample proof of the high esteem in which he is held, as both parties have aided in his election. He has served as a delegate to many party conventions.
Fraternally, Mr. Wellstood is a mem- ber of Acacia Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Greenwich, of which he was secretary for many years. He is its old- est member and was "raised" in the same lodge in 1865, and when he had been fifty-two years a Mason, he was presented
by the lodge with a fine solid gold watch. He is also the oldest member of Ritten- house Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Stamford, and is a charter member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks in Greenwich. Mr. Wellstood has also been secretary of this lodge for a number of years.
Mr. Wellstood married Catherine Brush, daughter of Joseph Brush, of Greenwich, and they were the parents of three children : I. Robert M., born July 16, 1869; in 1890 he became as- sociated with his father in the real estate and insurance business under the name of Robert Wellstood & Son, the son having the active management of the business. 2. Ella B., deceased. 3. Frank Geikie, born July 13, 1874, mar- ried Cora Sutherland. He is the New York Telephone Company's agent for Greenwich and Port Chester. Mr. Wells- stood is senior warden of Christ Episcopal Church, of Greenwich; he was clerk of the church for twenty-three years and has been active in church work as a dele- gate to many conventions. In his younger days he was active in the Sunday school, serving some time as superintendent. Mrs. Catherine (Brush) Wellstood died July 15, 1919, having been married for fifty-four years.
Mr. Wellstood's friends are innumer- able, and every new person who comes under his influence is strongly attracted, and a larger acquaintance brings out the knowledge that he is honest, sincere, and of sterling character.
REED, Herbert Calhoun,
Manufacturing Chemist, Public Official.
The founder of this line of the family of Reed in America was John Reed, born in Cornwall, England, in 1633, who came to America in 1660, settling first in Prov-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
idence, Rhode Island. He had been an officer in the Cromwellian army, and with the collapse of the commonwealth had left England. In 1684 he made his home in Norwalk, Connecticut, and became a man of means and great influence in spiritual and temporal affairs. His death occurred at the age of ninety-seven years. He mar- ried (first) Mrs. Ann Derby, of Provi- dence, Rhode Island, and (second) Mrs. Scofield, of Stamford, Connecticut, his six children all of his first marriage.
(II) The line to Herbert C. Reed, of the present generation of the family, con- tinues through Thomas Reed, born in 1672, died October 9, 1757. He married Mary Olmsted, daughter of Lieutenant John and Mary (Benedict) Olmsted, of Norwalk, Connecticut. Among the nine children of Thomas and Mary (Olmsted) Reed was Thomas (2) Reed, of whom further.
(III) Thomas (2) Reed was born May 7, 1699, died September 4, 1776. He mar- ried, October 2, 1729, Sarah Benham, and they were the parents of six children.
(IV) Jesse Reed, son of Thomas (2) and Sarah (Benham) Reed, was born July 29, 1734, and died March 31, 1822. He enlisted in Captain Bell's company, 9th Regiment of militia, commanded by Lieu- tenant-Colonel John Mead, under General Wooster, 1776 and 1777. After the battle of White Plains, October 26, 1776, the 9th Regiment was ordered to march to the Westchester border and place them- selves under General Wooster's com- mand. Jesse Reed was on the payroll discharged December 25, 1776. He mar- ried (first) Hannah Selleck; (second) Mercy Weed. There was one child of his first marriage, eight of his second.
(V) Ebenezer Reed, son of Jesse and Mercy (Weed) Reed, was born in 1776, and died May 7, 1842. He and his wife, Elizabeth (Seely) Reed, were the parents of seven children.
(VI) John Bowden Reed, son of Ebe- nezer and Elizabeth (Seely) Reed, was born November 6, 1818, died June 1, 1890. He married Almira A. Many, and among their six children was Stephen Ebenezer.
(VII) Stephen Ebenezer Reed, son of John B. and Almira A. (Many) Reed, was born in Stamford, Connecticut, Decem- ber 12, 1845, and died January 9, 1915. He attended the public schools of Stam- ford, entering the employ of the Stamford Manufacturing Company as a young man, and remaining in this connection for forty-five years. His first duties were those of clerk, and he subsequently be- came secretary of the company, an office he held for a period of about twenty-five years, his service terminating with his death. Mr. Reed was also a director of the Stamford National Bank, and was a prominent and faithful member and war- den of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. He married Jennie C. Calhoun, born in New Haven, July 24, 1848, daughter of Frederick J. and Mary A. (Marsh) Cal- houn (see Calhoun line). They were the parents of : Frank C., born July 27, 1872, died August 12th of the same year ; Her- bert C., of whom further; and Clarence M., born May 30, 1876, died May 24, 1902.
(VIII) Herbert Calhoun Reed, son of Stephen E. and Jennie C. (Calhoun) Reed, was born in Stamford, Connecticut, October 16, 1873. He prepared for col- lege at King's School in Stamford, and in 1895 was graduated Ph. B. from Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University. Subsequently he took a short course in the Philadelphia Art and Textile School in textile dyeing, and on January 1, 1896, began a fifteen years' connection with the Stamford Manufacturing Company as a chemist. At the end of this time Mr. Reed established his own laboratory in New York City, at No. 227 Fulton street, and there general analytical chemistry has since claimed his time and attention.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Mr. Reed has been an officer of the American Leather Chemists' Association since 1903, serving as secretary during all of that period with the exception of one year in the presidency. He is one of the founders of this association, and has been importantly instrumental in de- veloping its field of usefulness. Prior to the World War he was president of the American section of the International Association of Leather Chemists, and during the war he was consulting chemist for the British War Mission. Mr. Reed is a member of the American Chemical Society, and the Society of Chemical In- dustry, and has written extensively on technical topics. Among the more im- portant of his papers that are in publica- tion and recorded as authority on the sub- jects with which they treat are the following: Relative Value of Hide and Powder Filter Method and the Shake or Chromed Hide Power Method of Tanning Analysis; Pentoses in Tanning Materials ; Extraction of Tanning Materials; Method for the Total Acidity of Tan Liquors, and many other valuable contributions to the art of tanning.
Mr. Reed is a director of the Citizens' Saving Bank of Stamford, and he and his family are members of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, of which he is a ves- tryman, succeeding his father in official connection with this congregation. He has long been intimately concerned with public affairs in Stamford, and in political preference is a Republican. For many years he was a member of the Republican Town Committee of Stamford, and was elected by his townsmen to a number of public positions. He was a member of the Common Council in 1902, serving on the Police Committee, and subsequently was defeated for the office of mayor by Homer S. Cummings. He was then elected State Senator from his district,
sitting in the session of 1909, and held position on the Military Committee, Fish and Game Commitee, and the Shell Fish- eries Committee. His public service has been marked by thoroughness and faith- fulness, and he has constantly held the regard and respect of his fellow-citizens. His professional standing is of the high- est, and in a field in which America has more than ever come into its own he is known as a learned and efficient represen- tative.
Mr. Reed married, October 6, 1897, Edith E. Crane, daughter of James M. Crane, of Newburgh, New York. Mr. and Mrs. Reed are the parents of : Janet Calhoun, born September 14, 1898; Eliz- abeth Crane, born January 9, 1903; and Esther, born November 14, 1908.
(The Calhoun Line).
The Calhouns of Scotland are the de- scendants of the ancient family of the Conquhouns and Lairds of Luss. The original name, Colquhoun, is still retained by some in Scotland, England, and Ire- land, but it is pronounced "Colhoun." The ancestor of the surname of Conqu- houn was Humphrey Kilpatrick, in whose favor the Earl of Lenox granted a char- ter of the lands of Colquhoun in the reign of Alexander II., about the year I200. The meaning of the term Colqu- houn is "a seacoasting common or point" with which the former situation of these lands will agree. Humphrey K. Calhoun married the daughter of Godfrey, Laird of Luss, in the year 1392. The Colqu- houns and Lairds of Luss were the most wealthy and illustrious clans of Scotland. The home of the clan was about the southern shore of Loch Lomond and all of this neighborhood is full of memories and traditions that preserve the family name.
Among the neighbors of the Calhouns were the wild McGregors of Loch Ka-
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
trine. These two clans had frequent con- flicts, and in 1602 about two hundred of the Colquhouns were slain by the Mc- Gregors, with many acts of savage cru- elty. Sixty of the wives of the slain Colquhouns took each the gory shirt of her husband on a pike and rode to King James at Stirling, demanding vengeance. This was the original flaunting of the "bloody shirt," and secured the outlawry of the McGregors, as told by Scott in a note of his "Lady of the Lake." Many of the Colquhouns fled to Ireland in the seventeenth century to avoid religious persecution, among them the father of the immigrant to America in 1714.
(I) David Calhoun, immigrant ances- tor, was born in Scotland about 1690, and emigrated with his father's family, who were non-conformists, to the North of Ireland, on account of persecution. Here they settled near Londonderry, but the persecution having followed them, David, with two brothers, James and John, emi- grated to America in 1714; they landed in New York, where they separated. James subsequently became mayor of the city of Baltimore, and John was elected to the National Congress. David Calhoun set- tled in Stratford, Connecticut, and later, in 1732, moved to Washington, Connecti- cut, where he lived until his death, in 1769. He married, in Stratford, Mrs. Catherine (Coe) Fairchild. They had six sons and two daughters.
(II) John Calhoun, son of David and Catherine (Coe-Fairchild) Calhoun, was born in 1738, and died in 1788. He was a resident of Washington, a well known and able physician, and a participant in all of the patriotic activity of the Revolu- tionary period. He married Tabitha Clark, December 28, 1768, and they were the parents of : John, Jr .; David; Calvin ; Joseph C .; Penlo; Sarah A., who married William Lewis; and Jedediah, of whom further.
(III) Jedediah Calhoun, son of Dr. John and Tabitha (Clark) Calhoun, was born April 27, 1783, and died January 5, 1862. The "Historical Records of the Town of Cornwall, Litchfield County, Connecticut," collected and established by Theodore S. Gold, speak of "Jedidiah Calhoun," who was chosen deacon of the First Congrega- tional Church in December, 1819, as "al- ways prompt and liberal" in his support of the church, and as one who "kept 'loose ends' well tied up." Jedediah Cal- houn was a farmer throughout his active years. He married Jane Patterson, and they were the parents of: Abby J .; John C., who married Sarah Warner ; Frederick J., of whom further ; Mary L., who mar- ried Charles Ford; and David P., who married Fannie Sanford.
(IV) Frederick J. Calhoun, son of Jedediah and Jane (Patterson) Calhoun, was born in Cornwall, Connecticut, June 22, 1820, and died July 21, 1887. He grew to young manhood on the home farm, as a young man taught school, and after his marriage located in Stamford, where he was employed by the Stamford Manufac- turing Company. For a number of years he remained with this concern, and then became employed by the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, serving in different capacities, and for a time filling the office of superintendent of the New London branch of this road. In 1850 he moved from Stamford to New Haven, and subsequently followed railroading in vari- ous parts of the country. He was a man of quick wit and ready humor, and was endowed with a charming personality. He was a member of the Masonic order, holding the Knight Templar degrees.
Frederick J. Calhoun married, September II, 1844, Mary Ann Marsh, born March 7, 1818, died April 30, 1872, daughter of Daniel and Asenath (Woodruff) Marsh. Daniel Marsh, born May 5, 1774, died May 19, 1856, was a descendant in the
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sixth generation of John Marsh (see Marsh line).
Children of Frederick J. and Mary A. (Marsh) Calhoun: James M., born 1846, died 1847; Jennie C., born July 24, 1848, married Stephen E. Reed (see Reed line) ; John S., born 1851, died 1853; Frederick J., born 1855, died same year ; Frederick S., born 1858, died same year.
(The Marsh Line).
(I) John Marsh was born in County Essex, England, in 1618, and died in 1688. He came to America in 1635, settling first in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but later moved to Hadley. Before 1642 he was at Hartford, Connecticut. He married (first) in Hartford, about 1642, Anne Webster, daughter of Governor John Webster. She died June 9, 1662. He married (second) October 7, 1664, Hep- zibah (Ford) Lyman, a widow, daughter of Thomas Ford, of Hartford. She died April II, 1683. Among the children of John and Anne (Webster) Marsh was John (2).
(II) John (2) Marsh, son of John (1) and Anne (Webster) Marsh, was born in Hartford about 1643, died in 1727. He married (first) November 28, 1666, Sarah Lyman, of Northampton, daughter of Richard and Hepzibah (Ford) Lyman, the latter the second wife of his father. He married (second) January I, 1707-8, Susannah Butler, who died December 24, 1714. Among the children by his first wife was John (3).
(III) Captain John (3) Marsh, son of John (2) and Sarah (Lyman) Marsh, was born in Hadley, or Northampton, Massa- chusetts, in 1668, died October 1, 1774. All of his children settled in Litchfield, Connecticut. He married (first) in 1695, Mabel Pratt; (second) in 1698, Elizabeth Pitkin. Among his children by his sec- ond wife was John (4).
(IV) Captain John (4) Marsh, son of Captain John (3) and Elizabeth (Pitkin) Marsh, was born October 20, 1712. He went to Litchfield with his father in 1721, where he lived the most of his life. He was selectman ten years, 1755-65, and a captain in the Revolution. He married, about 1732-33, Sarah Webster, and among their children was John (5).
(V) John (5) Marsh, son of Captain John (4) and Sarah (Webster) Marsh, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, October 17, 1733-34, and died at Morris, Connecti- cut, December 3, 1806. He married his cousin, Anna Marsh, daughter of Colonel Ebenezer and Deborah (Buell) Marsh, and among their children was Daniel Marsh, father of Mary Ann Marsh, the latter the wife of Frederick J. Calhoun. (See Calhoun line).
GRAVES, William Warner,
Merchant.
The family of Graves is one of the most ancient in England. It went in with the Norman army, and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. The name has been spelled De Grevis, De Greves, Greve, Grave, Greaves, and Graves. There have been many men of honor and distinction represented by the family. The knowl- edge of a noble ancestry awakens a feel- ing of emulation in us, and especially in the New England States is the truth of this statement found. Among the lead- ing business men of a community are often found direct descendants of the early Colonial families. These men are worthy and desirable citizens, maintain- ing a high standard in their public and private life, winning the commendation of their fellow-citizens. In short, they uphold the characteristics of their fore- fathers. William Warner Graves, a scion of one of the oldest families, president of
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Graves & Strang, Inc., of Stamford, was born October 26, 1868, in Springfield, New Jersey, son of Henry Martin and Julia M. (Higgins) Graves.
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