USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8 > Part 52
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Mr. Curtis married Annie E. C. John- ston, daughter of Robert H. Johnston, of Darien.
RULAND, Frederick D., M. D., Head of Westport Sanitarium.
Dr. Ruland is a member of a family that has long been known on Long Island, where settlement was made in the neigh- borhood of Huntington about 1750. The name was originally Rulin in the records of the district, and it appears numerously in the records of Brookhaven and Hunt- ington. The authentic trace of this line begins with Daniel Ruland, a native of
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Brookhaven, who married Charity Haw- kins. He was a contractor and builder, and some of the houses erected by him are still standing in Speonk. Charity Hawkins was a daughter of Joseph Haw- kins, of Setauket, Long Island, son of Alexander Hawkins, son of Eleazar Haw- kins, of Stony Brook, Long Island, son of Zachariah Hawkins, who came to Long Island about 1655, son of Robert Haw- kins, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1635.
Daniel Warren Ruland, son of Daniel Ruland, was born in Speonk, Suffolk county, Long Island, September 4, 1821, and died in February, 1905. He learned the carpenter's trade, and as a young man entered independent building operations, becoming the principal contractor of the village, and erecting most of the struc- tures there built during his contracting career. Later in life he engaged in farm- ing, following this calling until old age compelled him to become less active. He was a Republican in political faith, was postmaster for years, and also held nu- merous other town offices. He married Amelia Tuthill, born in Speonk, Long Island, daughter of Elisha and Harriet (Rogers) Tuthill. The Tuthill family was founded by Henry Tuthill, who came to America from Norfolk, England, in 1635, and who was first of Hingham, Massachusetts, then of Southold, Long Island. The line from him and his wife, Bridget, is through their son, John Tut- hill, and his wife, Deliverance (King) Tuthill; and their son, John (2) Tuthill, born February 14, 1658. He was called "Chalker John," a man of note, of great shrewdness and energy, affable and of sterling honesty ; was a favorite with peo- ple, and held many offices, among them justice of the peace, and one of the com- missioners that laid out "King's High- way." He was a member of the New York Colonial Legislature, 1693-94, and
sheriff in 1695. Through him and his wife, Mehitable (Wells) Tuthill, the line continues to Joshua and Hannah (Reeve) Tuthill; their son, John Tuthill, and his wife, Sarah (Wells) Tuthill (this John a soldier in the Revolutionary army, Suf- folk county militia, under Colonel Josiah Smith ) ; their son, Joshua Tuthill, and his wife, Polly (Benjamin) Tuthill (Polly Benjamin was a daughter of James Ben- jamin, of Southold. This James Benja- min served in the battle of Long Island, and also at White Plains in the Revolu- tionary War, and, according to Mather, was a refugee to Connecticut. There was a James Benjamin, of Connecticut, who served in the Revolutionary forces in 1775-76-78-80-81, but there is no proof that this is the same James, and it seems unlikely, despite the identity of names) ; and their son Elisha Tuthill, married Harriet Rogers, daughter of Jesse and Amelia (Jagger) Rogers, and had a daughter Amelia, wife of Daniel Warren Ruland.
Dr. Frederick D. Ruland, son of Daniel Warren and Amelia (Tuthill) Ruland, was born in Speonk, Suffolk county, Long Island, July 19, 1865. After attending public schools, a private school, and Franklinville Academy, he entered the medical department of Columbia Univer- sity, and was graduated M. D. in the spring of 1889. For the following one and a half years he was an interne in a Long Island sanitarium, in 1891 coming to Westport and organizing the Westport Sanitarium. Dr. Ruland has been presi- dent and chief of the medical staff for more than twenty-five years, and under his direction the sanitarium has come into high rank among institutions spe- cializing in the treatment of nervous and mental diseases. The personnel of the institution, professional and practical, numbers about fifty to sixty. One hun-
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dred and ten acres of land, sixty owned and fifty rented, are under cultivation, and a herd of twenty-five cows supplies dairy products. The sanitarium is widely known, and its reputation for careful, sci- entific treatment of its patients by emi- nent specialists, has brought it patrons from all parts of the country. Dr. Ruland is a member of the medical organizations of the County, State and Nation, the Medical Society of Greater New York, and the American Medico-Psychological Association.
In addition to his practice in his special branch of his profession, Dr. Ruland has taken a public-spirited interest in town affairs. He is a Republican in politics, and serves on the finance board of West- port. He is a director of the Westport Library, and a director of the Westport Bank and Trust Company. In fraternal relations he affiliates with the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and the Knights of Pythias, holding membership, in the first named order, in Temple Lodge, No. 65, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he was master, 1899- 1901; Washington Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, of Norwalk; Clinton Command- ery, No. 3, Knights Templar, of Norwalk ; Lafayette Consistory, of Bridgeport ; and Mecca Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of New York City, of which he has long been a member. Dr. Ruland is held in high re- gard in the community that has so long been his home, and has done much to promote its welfare.
Dr. Ruland married, January 27, 1909, Leo Mabel Shattuck Van Deusen, daugh- ter of Wellington and Sylvia Adelaide (Shattuck) Van Deusen, a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Society of Founders and Patriots. They are the parents of three children : Sylvia, Charity Shattuck, and Daniel Frederick Van Dusen.
Leo Mabel Shattuck (Van Deusen) Ruland was born in Durhamville, Oneida county, New York, June 23, 1876, daugh- ter of Wellington and Sylvia Adelaide (Shattuck) Van Deusen. Wellington Van Deusen, a druggist in occupation, was born in Oneida, New York, June 5, 1845, and died at Bernhards Bay, New York, October 28, 1885. Sylvia Adelaide (Shattuck) Van Deusen was born in Dur- hamville, New York, June 29, 1845, and died in Oneida, New York, December 10, 1907. They were the parents of : Eva Maude, born April 7, 1867, died March I, 1882; Leo Mabel Shattuck, married, Jan- uary 27, 1909, in Oneida, Madison county, New York, Dr. Frederick D. Ruland.
Mrs. Ruland was educated in the pub- lic schools. She is a member of numerous societies, including the Order of the East- ern Star and the Order of the Amaranth, and her patriotic ancestry gives her mem- bership in the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is also a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, Oneida, New York.
(The Shattuck Line).
(I) Mrs. Ruland's Shattuck ancestry traces to William Shattuck, who was born in England in 1621-22, died in Watertown, Massachusetts, August 14, 1672. His name appears in an old list of the propri- etors of Watertown made about 1642, and he became the owner of a large estate. He and his wife, Susanna, were the par- ents of ten children, the third, John, of whom further.
(II) John Shattuck, son of William Shattuck, was born in Watertown, Massa- chusetts, February II, 1647, and, accord- ing to the records of that town, "was drowned as he was passing over Charles- town Ferry, the 14th Sept. 1675." He had lands granted to him in Groton in 1664, but it does not appear that he was an in- habitant of that town for any great length of time, if at all. He was a carpenter, and
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resided principally in the Middle District, the present village of Watertown, where he was employed by the town, in 1669 and subsequently, to keep the town mill. He was a sergeant in Captain Richard Beers' company in King Philip's War, and was one of sixteen of thirty-six who escaped death when their company was attacked from ambush by Indians as they marched to the relief of the town of Squawkeague (now Northfield). Sergeant John Shat- tuck was immediately dispatched as mes- senger to the governor to announce the disastrous result of the expedition, and his accidental death occurred ten days later. He married, June 20, 1664, Ruth Whitney, daughter of John Whitney, and they had four children, among them Wil- liam, of whom further.
(III) William (2) Shattuck, son of John Shattuck, was born in Watertown, Mas- sachusetts, September 11, 1670, and died in Groton in 1744. He lived in Groton with his mother and step-father from 1678 until about the time of his marriage in 1688, when he returned to Watertown. In 1691 he was impressed into the public military service of the Colony, and in 1702 he bought lands in and moved to Groton. He married (first), in Watertown, March 19, 1688, Hannah Underwood; (second), in Groton, March 24, 1719, Deliverance Pease, and the line of descent is through his son, John.
(IV) John (2) Shattuck, son of Wil- liam (2) Shattuck, was born in Watertown in 1696. He was a mason and farmer, and first settled in Shrewsbury, but exchanged places in 1723 with John Bige- low, of Marlborough, and removed to the latter town and occupied the "Farms," where he died about 1759. He admin- istered on his father's estate in Groton, and was a highly intelligent man. He married (first), December 24, 1716, Si- lence Allen, of Marlborough ; (second),
October 23, 1754, Mary Newton, widow, of Southborough. The third child of his first marriage was Thomas, of whom further.
(V) Thomas Shattuck, son of John (2) Shattuck, was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts, March 3, 1724. As early as 1751 he settled in Petersham, then called Nichewang. He often bought and sold real estate in that and the neighbor- ing towns. He married Elizabeth Par- menter, daughter of Joseph Parmenter, of Framingham, born May 17, 1722, and they both died in Petersham. The line continues through their sixth child, Abel.
(VI) Abel Shattuck, son of Thomas Shattuck, was born in Petersham, Massa- chusetts, in 1759. He first settled in his native town, but after the death of his first wife went to New Lebanon, Colum- bia county, New York, and united with the Shakers, with whom he lived ten years, during this time learning the clothier's trade. He afterwards left that group and followed the same occupation in Coleraine, where he died July 1, 1816. He was much employed in the public business of the town, and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War (Massachusetts State Records). He married (first), in Petersham, in 1780, Mary Marble, of that town, who bore him one son, and died a year after their marriage. He married (second), in 1793, Lydia Oak, (see Oak line), and there were fourteen children of this union, the second, Jethro, of whom further.
(VII) Jethro Shattuck, son of Abel Shattuck, was born in Coleraine, Mas- sachusetts, June 14. 1795, and died May 20, 1865. He was a local inspector of the Erie canal, a Whig in political faith, and either a Unitarian or a Universalist in re- ligious belief. He married, 1840-41, Eliz- abeth Brown (Barber) Walker (see Bar- ber line ).
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(The Oak Line).
Oakes, Oak, Oaks, Oke, are variations of the name which originally was Oak, a form found in Colonial records. Oakes and Oaks are the usual present day spellings. Ac or Ack was an Anglo-Saxon word, meaning oak, the oak tree, and it formed part of many local names in Great Brit- ain; Ackley, now Oakley ; Acfield or Ack- field, now Oakfield ; Acden, now Oakden ; Ackam, now Oakman; and Halyac, now Halyook, Holyoake or Holyoke. From residence in an oak forest or near oaks the family came to be called Oak, and all coats-of-arms of the family have borne oaks or acorns. Another theory accounts for the name Oak as derived from the Gaelic act or auct, meaning a field in Somersetshire there is an ancient parish called Oake; in Shropshire live the Oak- leys, who trace back to Philip, Lord of Oakley, in the time of Henry III. Del Oak, or "of the oak," is a surname found in old English records.
(I) Nathaniel Oak was the immigrant ancestor of the branch herein recorded, and a writer of 1826 calls him an English- man. Of his coming to America there is only the following record, doubtless his own statement, handed down to his grand- children and by the son of one of them (John Conant) inscribed in the family Bible: "The grandfather of my mother was a cabin boy on an English vessel bound to Boston. Nine miles from land the vessel foundered. All the ship's crew except the boy, whose name was Oaks, were lost. He, being a good swim- mer, swam ashore. In his distress he solemnly promised the Lord that if He would preserve him to get to land he would never go onto the water again. This promise he sacredly kept. His wife, my great-grandmother, could never persuade him even to cross Charles river in a boat to Boston. He would always go around
upon the neck. Thus he reached his after- home, poor and penniless, and without even clothes to cover; and as was then the custom, having no friends in America, he was bound out to earn his living. His master set him to work in a pitch-pine forest to pick up pine knots. In this employ he was attacked by a catamount, or wild cat, which he slew with a large pine knot. His master gave him the bounty the State paid for the pelt of this furious beast, with which he bought a sheep or two, which he let out to double. These sheep were all the property he began the world with when he became of age." The first record of Nathaniel Oak is of his marriage in 1686. In documents of the time he is named "yeoman," "planter," and sometimes "gentleman." In 1692 he served in a garrison, and in 1707 as one of the Goodnow garrison he took part in a fight with the Indians. He married (first), December 14, 1686, Me- hitable Rediat, daughter of John and Ann Rediat; (second), May 20, 1703, Mary (Holloway) Farrar, daughter of Adam and Hannah (Hayward) Holloway, and widow of Jacob Farrar, who was killed in King Philip's War. There were eight children of his second marriage.
(II) George Oak, son of Nathaniel Oak, was born in Westboro, Massachu- setts, February 15, 1720. He lived in Westboro on the farm that became known as the "Wesson Place," through the own- ership of one of the firearms firm. As early as 1769 he settled in Rutland. He had served in the Colonial wars, being mustered into service, September 25, 1755, for the Crown Point expedition ; enlisting again April 2, 1759, and serving as ensign in 1762 in Captain Jonathan Fay's com- pany. In the Revolution he is named in a company of Rutland minute-men at the Lexington alarm, 1775, and he enlisted August 20, 1777, in the company of Cap-
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tain David Bent, marching to Benning- ton. After 1777 nothing is known of him. He married (first), October 23 or 26, 1744, Lydia Eagar, daughter of Captain James and Tabitha (Howe) Eagar; (second), June 12, or 13, 1765, Mercy Bartlett, (laughter of Ensign Daniel and Martha (Howe) Bartlett. There were six chil- dren of his first marriage, two of his second.
(III) Sylvanus Oak, son of George Oak, was born in Westboro, Massachu- setts, March 30, 1749, died about 1800. In 1771 he bought of Nathaniel Waite for one hundred and sixty pounds a fulling mill and clothier's shop in Princeton, Massachusetts, and lived also in Holden, where some of his children were born. He served twelve days, from April 20, 1775, at the Lexington alarm, in the company of Captain Sargent, marching from Rutland to Cambridge. After the war he sold out his Princeton property, took his pay in Continental money, and lost it all. He lived subsequently in Coleraine, dying, it is said, across the line in Vermont. He married, in Rutland, November 25 (or December 3), 1771, Abigail Ball.
(IV) Lydia Oak, daughter of Sylvanus Oak, was born in Holden, Massachusetts, September 17, 1774, died February 25, 1852. She married, in 1793, Abel Shat- tuck (see Shattuck line).
(The Barber Line).
The origin of the name of Barber is a question upon which there is some differ- ence of opinion. All agree, however, that Normandy was its original European home, and that it came into England at the time of the Norman Conquest in the elev- enth century. The greater number of those who have made a study of family names ascribe its derivation to the trade of hair- cutting and hair-dressing. The fashion of elaborate hair-dressing and of fastidious care of the beard was brought into Eng-
land by the Normans, and so popular did it become at court that skillful hair- dressers were much sought. Among the royalty, nobility, and wealthy gentry, the barber's position was an important one in the household. No less an authority than Dr. Henry Barber (deceased) of London, claimed that the theory of its derivation from the hair-dressing trade was extremely doubtful. He stated that the more probable origin "is from St. Barbe sur Gaillon, a local name in Nor- mandy, where was the celebrated Abbey of St. Barbara, whence comes the name Barber or Barbour, a hamlet in Dunbar- tonshire," and he cites in support of this theory the personal names "Bernard Barb de Barbes, tenant in the Domesday Book, St. Barbe on the Roll of Battle Abbey, William de St. Barbara, Bishop of Dur- ham, A. D. 1143, Le Barbier Court of Husting, London, 1258." Dr. Barber also gives the various French forms of the name as Barbe, Barbier, Barbare, Bar- berie, and Barbry; the German form as Barber.
(I) Thomas Barber, whose name ap- pears in the early Colonial records of Windsor, Connecticut, was born probably in the County of Bedford, England, about 1614. He came to Windsor in 1635 with the party fitted out by Sir Richard Salton- stall, under Francis Stiles, a master car- penter of London. He was then twenty- one years of age, and was the first of the Barber name in New England. Thomas Barber was a soldier with the rank of ser- geant in the Pequot War, and distin- guished himself by his bravery in a number of fights with the Pequots and particularly in the taking of a fort which the Indians considered impregnable. He died September II, 1662. He married, October 7, 1640, and he and his wife, Jane (or Joan), were the parents of six chil- dren.
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Али Е. Краевой.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
(II) Samuel Barber, son of Thomas Barber, was baptized October 1, 1648. He married (first), December 1, 1670, Mary Coggins; (second), January 25, 1677, Ruth Drake, daughter of John and Han- nah (Moore) Drake, descendant of the noted English family of Drake. There were fourteen children of his two mar- riages, three being of the first, Joseph, through whom this line continues, a child of the second.
(III) Joseph Barber, son of Samuel Barber, was born in Windsor, Connecti- cut, in 1681. He married, May 6, 1707-08, Mary, daughter of Nathaniel and Eliza- beth (Moore) Loomis, his second cousin. They had nine children.
(IV) Joseph (2) Barber, son of Joseph (1) Barber, was born January 28, 1708-09. He married, June 18, 1728, Elizabeth Cook, daughter of Nathaniel Cook, who was born in 1707. The line traced through Joseph, the eldest of their five children.
(V) Joseph (3) Barber, son of Joseph (2) Barber, was born May 6, 1729. He and his wife, Zain, lived for a time in Harwinton, Connecticut, but later moved to Bethlehem, New York, where he died in 1795, his wife in February, 1817. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War (Connecticut State Records). They had eleven children, Roswell continuing this branch.
(VI) Roswell Barber, son of Joseph (3) Barber, was born in Harwinton, Con- necticut, December 4, 1777. In 1811 he moved from Schoharie county to Oneida county, New York, making the journey with ox-teams. He built his log cabin on the banks of the Oneida river between the present towns of Oneida and Durhamville, later erecting a large frame farm house on the same site. Soon after arriving at their new home, Roswell Barber and a few oth- ers arranged for religious services which
were maintained steadily until 1815, when a church of twelve members was organ- ized. Their pulpit was supplied by the "Circuit Riders," and to these hardy, self- sacrificing pioneer preachers, who formed such an important factor in the life of a century ago, the home of Roswell Barber was always open. He was a devoted member of the Baptist church, and the bell of the church in Durhamville was his gift. During the War of 1812 Roswell Barber was stationed at Sacketts Harbor to guard supplies. He married Elizabeth (Betsey) Brown, who was born July 22, 1785, and died February 5, 1876. They had six children, of whom the second was Elizabeth Brown, of whom further.
(VII) Elizabeth Brown Barber, daugh- ter of Roswell Barber, was born February 29, 1804, and died about May, 1887. She married (first) Willis Warner Walker; (second) Jethro Shattuck (see Shattuck line ).
KEELER, John Everett,
Lawyer, Jurist.
In appointing John Everett Keeler, of Stamford, Connecticut, to the bench of the Superior Court of Connecticut, Governor Holcombe selected a man whose natural endowment of mind and personality, broad knowledge of the law, calm judicial temperament, and constant adherence to the highest ethical ideals, eminently fitted him for the exalted position. No appoint- ment to the bench was more acceptable to the legal profession and to the general public. In Fairfield county the name of Keeler is full of significance, both in the records of generations now gone and in the living records of the present day.
In olden days one of the commonest ways of identifying a man was according to his occupation. In this manner the name of Keeler originated. Its source is
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obvious. It refers to the man who laid the keels of vessels and perhaps helped to construct other parts.
(I) Ralph Keeler, the immigrant an- cestor of this family, was in Hartford, Connecticut, as early as 1639, and was a first settler of Norwalk, Connecticut. He was chimney viewer in 1645, and pur- chased lands in September, 1666. He was a carpenter and builder, and was en- gaged in building many of the early houses. His will was dated August 20, 1672. The name of his second wife was Sarah Whelpley, widow of Henry Whelp- ley, of Norwalk.
(II) Samuel Keeler, son of Ralph Keeler, was born in 1656, in Norwalk, died in 1713. He served in the Great Swamp fight, receiving in return a bounty of land in Norwalk. He became one of the original proprietors of Ridgefield, Connecticut, holding the grant to the lower part of the town. He married, in 1682, Sarah, daughter of Mark and Eliza- beth (Stanley) Sention (St. John), of Norwalk. She died in 1714.
(III) Timothy Keeler, son of Samuel and Sarah (Sention or St. John) Keeler, was born in 1695, in Norwalk, and settled in Ridgefield. His will was dated August 30, 1748, and was proved September 22, 1748. He married (first), in 1720, Abigail Osborne, who died in 1735. He married (second), in 1736, Widow Sarah Couch.
(IV) Jeremiah Keeler, youngest son of Timothy Keeler, succeeded to the property, and in 1750 built the house which until it was razed in 1916 was the residence of his descendants. The farm is still in the possession of Judge Keeler. Jeremiah Keeler married Hannah Say- mour.
(V) Jeremiah (2) Keeler, son of Jere- miah (1) and Hannah (Seymour) Keeler, married Sarah St. John, and they were the parents of Benjamin, of whom further.
(VI) Benjamin Keeler, son of Jere- miah (2) and Sarah (St. John) Keeler, was born March 2, 1792. He became in- terested in the coasting trade, and was also associated with a firm of potters in Huntington, Long Island. He was a captain and sailed during the summer nonths, and worked at pottery making in the winter time. He also followed farm- ·ng on the old homestead. In 1819 he married Sarah Slessor, who was born October 13, 1799, and died May 5, 1875, daughter of John Slessor. Benjamin Keeler died August 23, 1864.
(VII) Samuel (2) Keeler, son of Benja- min and Sarah (Slessor) Keeler, was born February 8, 1826, and from the age of four years resided in Stamford, Connecticut. His early education was received in the public schools of Stamford, and on leaving school he learned the trade of saddler and harness maker. This business he followed through the long period when riding and driving were the pastimes of the rich, and the merchant and the manufacturers were dependent on hand-made vehicles and harnesses for their delivery equipment. Mr. Keeler was in business for himself about fifteen years. He married Mary Jane June, a native of Stamford, and they were the parents of the following chil- dren: John Everett, of further mention ; Edith Egeton, born January 22, 1859, died February 27, 1896.
(VIII) John Everett Keeler, the only son of Samuel (2) and Mary Jane (June) Keeler, was born February 26, 1856, in Stamford, Connecticut. He received his preliminary education in the public schools, but later entered Yale Univer- sity. He chose the classical course and was graduated in 1877. He then studied law with the eminent Calvin G. Child, Esq., of Stamford, and in 1879 was ad- mitted to the Fairfield county bar. One year later he was made borough attorney,
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