USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 8 > Part 61
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Augustus Mead Brush, son of Amos M. and Sarah P. (Mead) Brush, was born May 13, 1856, in Greenwich, and edu- cated in Prof. Peck's private school. On reaching manhood he entered the iron, steel and plumbing supply business. He resided in New York during the winters, spending his summers in Greenwich. Yachting was his recreation, and he was a member of the Riverside Yacht Club. He and his wife were members of Christ Protestant Episcopal Church.
Mr. Brush married Sarah Hodgman, daughter of Dr. Abbott Hodgman, of New York City. Dr. Abbott Hodgman was educated at Dartmouth College and received his professional training at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New
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York. His death occurred February 26, 1901. Mr. and Mrs. Brush were the par- ents of the following children: Abbott Purdy, of Greenwich ; Ralph Emerson, of further mention ; Gladys Merrill, wife of G. Lawrence Redman, of Greenwich ; and Marjorie E. On June 6, 1904, Mr. Brush passed away at the comparatively early age of forty-two.
Ralph Emerson Brush, son of August- us Mead and Sarah (Hodgman) Brush, was born July 10, 1886, in New York City, and received his earliest education in the private school of Miss Elliott, pass- ing thence, successively, to grammar and high schools. He studied for his profes- sion in the New York Law School, grad- uating on June 18, 1908, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. The same year he was admitted to the New York bar, and the following year became a member of the bar of Connecticut. After practicing in New York four years in association with the firm of Wells & Snedeker, he opened his own office in Greenwich, but still maintains an office in New York City.
The professional progress of Mr. Brush has been both assured and rapid. For two years he filled the office of prosecut- ing attorney in Greenwich, and his private practice has steadily increased, keeping pace with the excellent reputation which he has built up alike with his legal asso- ciates and the general public. He was one of the organizers of the Putnam Trust Company and is now a director and also counsel for the company. He is a director of the Putnam Cemetery As- sociation, and of the Title Insurance and Mortgage Company.
The interest of Mr. Brush in politics is from the standpoint of what is for the best good of the community. In move- ments for good government he takes an active part. He affiliates with Acacia
Lodge, No. 89, Ancient Free and Accep- ted Masons, and belongs to the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, and the Greenwich Country Club. He is a member of Christ Protestant Episcopal Church.
On November 6, 1917, Mr. Brush en- listed in the United States Navy, receiv- ing a commission as ensign in the United States Naval Reserves. In view of the fact that he had been very active in yachting and had made a study of navi- gation, he was assigned to the Merchants' Auxiliary at Pelham Bay, as instructor in navigation. In June, 1918, he was pro- moted to lieutenant, junior grade, and in September was assigned to the United States Troop Transport "America," sail- ing for Brest, France. His duties on shipboard were those involved in the charge of fire control. Returning from France in the latter part of October, he arrived in New York harbor on a Friday, and on the following Monday, at four o'clock in the morning, the ship on which he came sank at her pier in Hoboken. When the armistice was signed Mr. Brush was sent back to Pelham, and was placed on the inactive list, December 31, 1918. In May, 1919, he resumed his law prac- tice in Greenwich and New York City.
Mr. Brush married, April 29, 1916. Electa Harper, daughter of John A. and Flora (Sherbourne) Harper, of Pitts- burgh, and they are the parents of one child : Electa Harper Brush, born July 2, 1918.
Able as he is to look back upon a career of patriotic service, as well as upon a record of professional success, Mr. Brush's life-story has opened under the happiest auspices. Everything indicates that the results which have already crowned his work at the bars of two states will be fol- lowed by others larger and more satisfy- ing as the years go on.
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WALSH, Hon. Robert Jay, Attorney and Statesman.
In all histories of public progress and personal achievement, there are many names which it is the delight of the bi- ographer to record. These names are fraught with significance to the commun- ity, the State, the nation. They repre- sent lives of dignity and beneficence, spirits strong to lead, wise to guide, capa- ble of handling great issues in such a way as to avert disaster. The city of Green- wich, Connecticut, can point to her share of these names, among which the Honor- able Robert Jay Walsh holds a high place. While the fact that the story of his life is now a memorial record, gives it a tinge of sadness, still it gives opportunity to picture with greater freedom the beauty and fineness of the character which made him a true leader among men.
Born August 1, 1854, in Lewisboro, Westchester county, New York, his boy- hood was spent in a section which abounds with historical interest ; and per- haps it was only natural that the early impressions should give him an impulse toward the public service, in which his brilliant mentality was to become such an important factor in later years. He was a son of James F. and Annie E. Walsh, highly respected citizens of the town of Lewisboro. The boy was only ten years old when the family removed to Ridgefield, Connecticut. He was a studious child, and having attended school regularly, was now well advanced in the elementary studies, which he con- tinued in the public schools of the town. When twelve years of age he entered the High Ridge Institute at Ridgefield, a school widely known for its thorough ex- cellence. The learned Prof. William O. Seymour, later railroad commissioner of Connecticut, was then principal of the
institution, and took a personal interest in the lad.
In the life of the school he was a leader, being popular with his companions, and interested in all the activities of the in- stitution. But it was not within the na- ture of the boy to let the social interests of the school outweigh the intellectual. He never neglected his studies, and his work was always characterized by that precision which bespeaks careful and thorough preparation. He was always cordially loyal to the ideals of the insti- tution, and in sport as well as in study stood for right and honesty. He attended this school for two years, during which time he gained a practical knowledge of the higher branches, then became anxious to strike out into the world of men and affairs and make a place for himself which should count towards his future. In all the later life of the man the most idle ob- server could note a strong vein of prac- tical common sense. And now, as a mere boy, it was definitely apparent in his choice of an occupation. Sturdy and well- grown, he delighted in athletic activities and tests of strength, and he realized that skill in some branch of industry was an excellent foundation for a useful career. Possessing a great fondness for animals, he chose the blacksmith's trade, and en- tered an apprenticeship. He by no means dropped his studies, but spent many hours of his spare time in reading and study.
As he grew towards manhood the in- tellectual pursuits held stronger appeal, and when he had mastered his trade, he sought the advice of Dr. William S. Todd, then a prominent Ridgefield physician. He reviewed his English studies with the doctor, and with this preparation and at the age of seventeen taught school for a year. Appreciating to the full the respon- sibilities connected with this vocation, he entered the State Normal School to gain
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more thorough training, but receiving a very flattering offer from a school in Port- chester, New York, did not remain to be graduated. The young man's genial per- sonality and habits of careful study com- bined to make him a beloved as well as a successful teacher, and he was held in warmest regard by parents, children, and friends. During the entire period of his work along this line, he made his influ- ence felt throughout the community in upholding high standards among the children under his care. Still in all his young manhood, he was constantly look- ing forward, seeking from the future some higher, broader field of usefulness. Char- acteristically, while still teaching school, he took up the study of law under the direction of Col. H. W. R. Hoyt, then and for many years thereafter, a promi- nent and successful attorney at Green- wich, Connecticut. Colonel Hoyt saw a brilliant future before the young man, ap- preciating to the full his analytical tem- perament and his capacity for seeing both sides of a question. He frankly en- couraged him to drop the work of teach- ing and devote all his time to preparation for the practice of the law. He gave the young man such assistance as was most practical-remunerative work in his own office, together with help in professional study.
Mr. Walsh was admitted to the Fair- field county bar, and immediately there- after taken into partnership with Colonel Hoyt, the experienced man giving gen- erously of the ripened fruits of his years of practice, in the form of advice. With unflagging zeal the young man threw himself into the work he had chosen, and while he never failed in his loyalty to the man who had smoothed his way, still his native diligence and indomitable cour- age gave him the personal power without which no real success can be achieved.
Notwithstanding his deep appreciation of the assistance of Colonel Hoyt, in 1882, Mr. Walsh desiring absolute freedom of action and purpose, opened his own law offices in the town of Greenwich.
Gifted with an unusually pleasing per- sonality, an outgrowth of a wholesome optimism and a ready sympathy with his kind, he won and held the confidence of the people, and soon came to be regarded as one of the really big men of the town. He was not permitted to confine his public appearance to the court room. His cool judgment and invincible logic were needed in the public service, and it was inevitable that the Republican party, with which he was closely affiliated, should make him a leader. He gave of his talents in this work, as in every branch of activ- ity, without stint of self-consideration, bringing all the force of his nature to bear in the advancement of what he considered the right.
During the presidential campaign of 1880, he took the stump for Garfield and Arthur, and this was the beginning of a long and brilliant public career. In this same year he was elected to the Repub- lican State Central Committee for the Twelfth Senatorial District of Connecti- cut, which honor he held for nine years, until his duties as judge led him to re- sign. He again took the stump during the campaign of 1884, doing eloquent and forceful work in support of Blaine and Logan. The success of the opposing party in the presidential election in no way weakened his allegiance to Repub- lican principles, and before the close of the year he was nominated by the Repub- licans of the twelfth district as their can- didate for the State Senate. There was great enthusiasm among the voters of the district, and he was elected by a very large majority, running far ahead of his ticket. He was made secretary of the
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State Central Committee in 1886, and his senatorial record had so established him in the confidence of his constituency that upon his renomination, they reelected him by twice his first majority.
He had won recognition in the Senate as a man of power, fearless in spirit, keen of wit, relentless and untiring in pursuit of his object, yet always a fair opponent and graceful in relinquishing a point to the mind of the majority. He served as chairman of the committee on incorpora- tions, in 1885, and later, in 1886 and 1887, was chairman of the judiciary committee. In filling these important positions, for which by nature, as well as by training, he was peculiarly fitted, he demonstrated that element of fairmindedness which so largely contributed to the success of his whole career. During the session of 1887 he had the honor of being called to pre- side over the senatorial body as president pro tem, and no one appreciated more than he the significance of the dignity being accorded to so young a man. In 1888 he was nominated by his party for the office of Secretary of State, and his election was included in the success of the ticket. In the spring of 1889 the home county called upon him to fill a position demanding every power and grace with which the man was so generously endowed. He was appointed judge of the Criminal Court of Common Pleas in Fairfield county. Rarely indeed is a man found who fills this responsible and dignified position as well and as conscientiously as did Judge Walsh. Appreciating to the full the psy- chological side of criminology, his fine discernment and unwavering sense of justice made him no easy prey to senti- ment. His thorough training and wide experience gave him a firm grasp on the most complicated legal problems, and his clear-sighted progress through the most
tangled case made him the admiration of all connected with it.
With the arduous duties thus devolving upon him, he made every effort to with- draw from all political connections, and positively refused renomination to the office of Secretary of State, which he had filled with so much honor to his party and satisfaction to his constituency. The Legislature, however, failed to declare the election of his successor, and since it was constitutionally impossible for the office to remain vacant, he filled the office until another election released him from it, and allowed him to give his full time to the county judgeship, where his personality was becoming a power for right and jus- tice. But his party had not released him permanently from the broader service to the State, as time proved.
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy periods of Judge Walsh's public service was in 1885. He had for some time served as corporation counsel for the borough of Greenwich, and his capacity for the wise administratiion of public affairs became so widely recognized that Governor Har- rison, in that year, appointed him a mem- ber of the commission to revise the stat- utes of Connecticut. He was one of the youngest in that body of men, all eminent in the legal profession. His influence upon the deliberations of the commission was apparent from the first. His keen mind and progressive spirit made him a recognized leader among them, and it was cordially conceded that much of the suc- cess of the commission was due to his efforts. There is a particularly charac- teristic touch in the fact that personally he was more proud of having been the counsel for the town of Greenwich for a period of thirty-five years of changing political administrations of the town gov- ernment than of any of the more showy
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and solid honors that came to him from the larger outside world.
The depth, as well as the breadth of the character of the man was apparent in the less conspicuous activities for the public good which always commanded his cor- dial interest and earnest support. While, as one of the most distinguished attorneys of his time, and as an honored judge, the arduous duties of his professional life might have excused him from many pub- lic offices in which his talent was needed, still he served most devotedly wherever he found the opportunity. The financial world of his town and county has reason long to appreciate the prosperity which was founded largely on his sound common sense and sagacious judgment. At the time of the organization of the Greenwich Trust Loan and Deposit Company, he turned his great ability to most practical use in establishing it securely in the con- fidence of the public. For many years he was president of this company, the honor being entirely unsought so far as he was concerned, indeed his election to this office took place while he was absent from home on an extended vacation, one of his rare periods of relaxation, and continued as its president up to the time of his death, a period of twenty-seven years. He was a director of the Greenwich Gas and Elec- tric Light Company, being one of its most enthusiastic promoters, this at a period when few communities of similar size as- pired to the dignity of city conveniences. He was for some time secretary of the Hawthorne Mills Company, manufac- turers of high-grade woolen fabrics, cap- italized in the millions, and located in Greenwich and New York City ; president of Abendroth Brothers Foundry at Port Chester, New York, manufacturers of boilers, coal and gas ranges and soil pipe, a successful concern employing about five hundred men, of which he was president
up to the time of his death. Also presi- dent of the Greenwich Water Company, the water supply for Greenwich, Port Chester and Rye, New York, holding office up to his death. He was also deeply interested in real estate development, and there are many evidences about the vicin- ity of Greenwich of his taste and good judgment in the laying out of residential sections. He was also president of the Putnam Cemetery Association ; director, New York & Stamford railroad ; trustee of Greenwich Y. M. C. A .; trustee of Greenwich Library Association; charter member of Greenwich Country Club ; member of Blind Brook Country Club ; of Indian Harbor Yacht Club; of Repub- lican Club of New York; Acacia Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Greenwich ; Empire Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, of Greenwich.
Perhaps in these varied activities one can measure the man more accurately than in his professional and political ca- reer. In the latter, unquestionably, he reached an enviable position, but in those civic and business interests to which he turned as relaxation, in a way, his world found the human and warmly personal side of the man. He had a genius for the right thing-the kind thing-and his world was not slow to learn to love him as loyally and deeply as it had long ad- mired him.
Still another side of his rich and whole- some nature, but a side known only to his closest friends, as the home life in which he was a devoted husband and father. He married Anna A., daughter of Matthew Merritt, a very prominent resident of Fairfield county. They were the parents of three charming daughters: Lucy M., who is the wife of Walter B. Todd, son of Dr. William S. Todd, makes her home in Greenwich; Edith B., who was the wife of A. W. W. Marshall, vice-presi-
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dent of the Greenwich Trust Company, of Greenwich; she was the mother of a son, Robert Jay Walsh Marshall, born August 20, 1906; she died February 4, 1910; Roberta Jay, who is the wife of Lloyd S. Cooney, now living on Middle- sex road, Noroton, Connecticut, but for- merly of Greenwich. They are leaders in the social life of the county, and earnest workers in every movement for the public welfare, local, State and National.
WILLIAMSON, Charles E., Prosecuting Attorney.
One of the acknowledged leaders of the Fairfield county bar, Charles Ernest Wil- liamson, is also one of the eminently pub- lic-spirited citizens of Connecticut. He is distinguished by his zeal in the public service, and has several times been called upon to represent his fellow-citizens in both the upper and lower house of the Legislature. Since 1913 Mr. Williamson has held the office of prosecuting attorney of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and the man- ner in which he has discharged the duties of this office has been one of satisfaction to the people of that city.
(I) Alanson Williamson, grandfather of Charles E. Williamson, was born in Bed- ford, New York, January 7, 1815, and died at Darien, Connecticut, April 20, 1904. He married, August 14, 1836, Elizabeth Hoyt, born September 11, 1815, at Pound- ridge, New York, and died November 17, 1905, at Darien, Connecticut, daughter of Jesse and Sarah (Norman) Hoyt. She was a direct descendant of the immigrant, Simon Hoyt, one of the first settlers of Stamford, Connecticut, whose ancestry follows in detail.
(II) George Henry Williamson, son of Alanson and Elizabeth (Hoyt) William- son, was born December 29, 1843. He lived at Darien, Connecticut, and mar-
ried, July 22, 1869, Cynthia Drugen Mills- paugh, born September 12, 1846, daughter of Erastus Elmer and Elizabeth Ann (Derrbon) Millspaugh (see Millspaugh line). George Henry and Cynthia Dru- gen (Millspaugh) Williamson were the parents of three sons: I. Frederick H., born October 17, 1876, of Brooklyn, New York. 2. Charles Ernest, of further men- tion. 3. Norman Lester, of Darien, Con- necticut, born there, June 15, 1881.
(III) Charles Ernest Williamson, son of George Henry and Cynthia Drugen (Millspaugh) Williamson, was born March 29, 1879, in Darien, Connecticut. He was educated in the public schools of Darien and at the Stamford High School, graduating from the latter in 1898, after which he spent a year in the Yale Law School. In 1900 he was employed as a clerk in the grocery house of Richard J. Rogers in New York City, where he re- mained for two years. On June 16, 1903, Mr. Williamson was appointed financial clerk at the Fitch Home for Soldiers at Noroton, Connecticut, which office he resigned October 21, 1907. While thus earning his living, he continued his study of law at the New York Law School's evening sessions, and was admitted to the bar in January, 1907. The same year he entered the office of John W. Banks, who is now judge of the Superior Court, and remained with Judge Banks until 1916. In that year Mr. Williamson formed his present association with Spottiswood D. Bowers, under the firm name of Bowers & Williamson, and their practice is a general one.
Mr. Williamson has ever been inter- ested in all matters of public interest from a youth. As early as 1908 he was a can- didate for Representative to the Legisla- ture and received one hundred and sixty out of one hundred and seventy-six votes in the caucus. In the legislative session
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of 1909 he was chairman of the commis- sion on banking, and was again elected in 1910, serving on the same commission. Sufficient warrant of the confidence his constituents had in his ability was shown in 1915 when he was a member of the Legislature and served on the Judiciary Committee. The following year he was elected to the State Senate, and served as chairman of the Committee on Forfeited Rights, and also on the Humane Insti- tutions Committee. In 1918 he was reëlected to the Senate. Since entering politics, Mr. Williamson has been a dele- gate to every State convention except that of 1910. In 1913 he was appointed pros- ecuting attorney of Bridgeport, Connecti- cut, as above noted, and he maintains his residence in Darien.
Mr. Williamson is a member of Puritan Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, of Stamford, and of the Algonquin Club, of Bridgeport.
(The Hoyt Line).
(I) Simon Hoyt was in Salem in 1628 or 1629, and came in either the ship "Abigail," or the "George." He was a pioneer in several places in New England, and at length settled in Stamford, Con- necticut, where he died.
(II) Joshua Hoyt, son of Simon Hoyt, was born about 1641, and died in 1690. The Christian name of his wife was Mary.
(III) Joshua (2) Hoyt, son of Joshua and Mary Hoyt, was born October 4, 1670, and died January 1, 1744. He also lived in Stamford, and married, March 16, 1698, Mary Pickett, who died November 10, 1732.
at Stamford, Connecticut, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Ayers) Lockwood, and granddaughter of the immigrant of this distinguished family, Robert Lock- wood. Mrs. Elizabeth (Lockwood) Hoyt was admitted to the church in New Ca- naan, Connecticut, July 21, 1734.
(V) Jesse Hoyt, son of Job and Eliza- beth (Lockwood) Hoyt, was baptized April 24, 1743, and died between 1829 and 1831. He was a soldier in the French and Indian War, actively engaged along our northern frontier, and was taken prisoner by the British troops in their raid on Poundridge in 1779, but escaped. In 1806 he was a member of the Poundridge church, and during the Revolution was a member of one of the local regiments.
(VI) Jesse (2) Hoyt, son of Jesse Hoyt, was born June 3, 1775, in Pound- ridge, and died at Laceyville, Ohio, Octo- ber 2, 1856. He married (second), April 14, 1804, Sarah Norman, and they were the parents of Elizabeth Hoyt, who be- came the wife of Alanson Williamson, as above noted.
(The Millspaugh Line).
Erastus Elmer Millspaugh was born February 5, 1805, and died September 2, 1886. He married, April 23, 1831, Eliza- beth Ann Derrbon, born June 17, 1814, and died February 3, 1889. Their daugh- ter, Cynthia Drugen Millspaugh, married George H. Williamson, as above noted. Erastus E. Millspaugh was a son of Ed- ward M. Millspaugh, the latter born De- cember 8, 1781, died June 17, 1842. He married, February 23, 1804, Ann Cather- ine Latte, born September 20, 1787, died December 18, 1823. His father, Matthias Millspaugh, was born June 7, 1748, and died April 27, 1796. He married Elsie Kimbach. He was the son of Peter and Susanna (Comfort) Millspaugh, and
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