USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Norwalk > Norwalk, history from 1896 > Part 61
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Ebenezer2nd, son of Ebenezer1st and Abigail Smith, married, June 2, 1729, Elizabeth, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Haynes) Bartlett (see page 206), and had Ephraim,1 born March 24, 1730; Jedediah, born September 5, 1732; Josiah, born October 25, 1734; Prue, baptized April 24, 1737; Jesse, baptized April 29, 1739.
Eliakim1st, son of Ebenezer1st and Abigail Smith, married Abigail, daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth Hoyt, and had :
Martha1st, born June 3, 1728, died young ;
Daniel1st, died in infancy, by accident ;
Daniel211, born September 25, 1731, living in 1811;
Eliakim2nd, born December 25, 1734; Hannah, born February 28, 1737; Noah, born March 7, 1739 (see page 363);
1Ephraim, son of Ebenezer2nd and Elizabeth (Bartlett) Smith, married, October 20, 1756, Mehit- able Parsons and had Hannah (Mrs. Silas Betts), Isaiah, Jesse, David, Samuel and Ephraim. These
children were young when their father died and their mother seems to have married, second, Theophilus Hanford. Her sons Jesse and David Smith settled in Derby, Conn., and Samuel in Saratoga, N. Y.
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Thankful, born May 15, 1745;
Elizabeth, born February 22, 1747 ;
Abigail, born July 25, 1749, Mrs. Alexis Wood, first, and, second, Mrs. Timothy Whitney="";
David, died young ;
Nathan, born November 24, 1752;
Martha2nd, born April 29, 1756, Mrs. Stephen W. Johnson of Albany, N. Y Catharine, born March 12, 1762. Mrs. Jonathan Thompson.1
Ephraim1-1, son of Ebenezer1- and Abigail Smith, married Isabel, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Haynes) Bartlett, and sister to his brother Ebenezer's wife, and had Ephraim, Sarah, Susannah- (Mrs. Isaac Bell, see pages 94, 95, 167), James, Nathan, Thomas, baptized April 3, 1743, Rhuamah and Hannah These children have definite registration. There ap- pears also to have been Moses of St. Johns, N. B., in 1793.
Eliakim2nd, son of Eliakim1st and Abigail (Hoyt) Smith, married first Catharine Han- ford, born December 25, 1737, and had Enoch, born December 29, 1759; Catharine, born March 12. 1762; Eliakim, born February 19, 1765; Josiah, born May 1, 1775.
The first Mrs. Eliakim Smith2" died May 17, 1776. and her husband married, second, May 5, 1777, Lydia Olmstead, born April, 1749, whose first husband was Daniel Middlebrook. The children of Eliakim Smith?" by his second marriage were Nathan, born February 18. 1778; Lewis, born October 30, 1784: Francis, born April 25, 1792.
The Eliakim Smith home was the first house west of the present Corset Factory in
1Mrs. Jonathan Thompson (Catharine Smith), died Friday, November 18, 1791, and is buried in Waterford, N. Y. She left Charles born September 17. 1783, Anson, born October 6, 1785. Catharine, born, October, 3, 1788, and Sarah born "fore part" December, 1790.
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"Susannah, daughter of Ephraim1st and Isabel (Bartlett) Smith was baptized in New Canaan shortly after her father and mother had become members on April 19, 1740, of the Congregatianal church in that town. Between 1740 and 1742 said church seemed to be without a settled pastor. At this time the young Susannah Smith (afterward the second Mrs. Isaac Bell) was baptized in her native town by Rev. Jonathan Ingersoll of Ridgefield. Her sister Sarah had been baptized April 9, 1739, and her brothers James and Nathan on April 27, 1740, just after their parents had united with the church. Her brother Thomas was a subject of the same sacrament April 3, 1743. The children of this family scattered from New Canaan where the family were part owners of what is now the splendid Owenoke avenue. James and Nathan resided in Islip, L. I .; Susannah through her Bell marriage became a prominent ancestress (pages 94, 95, 173) and spent the troublous war days in the provinces where her Norwalk son-in-law, Nehe- miah Rogers 2ml, entertained the father of the Empress
Victoria. The descent from Isaac and Susannah (Smith) Bell is notable. Their great grandson, Gor- don Knox Bell, a New York city attorney (son of Edward R.Bell), was the groom at the Bell-Crafts bridal solemnities in St. John's church, South Salem, Westchester county, N. Y., on May 11, 1899. The mother of the groom, Eliza N. Soutter (Mrs. Edward R. Bell) belonged to the Soutter family of the South, the head of which household was, previous to the last civil war, a well known Metropolitan financier. The groom's father was a brother of Isaac Bell a former Norwalk school lad (pages 95 and 171). The bride of May 11, 1899, was Marian Mason, daughter of Dr. James M. Crafts, president of the Institute of Tech- nology, Boston, Mass., whose summer villa crowns a Salem New York and New England bordering ele- vation of rich aboriginal aud colonial association, and from the summit of which, beneath rare acrial brightness and freshness, an expansive and most beautifully diversified landscape charms the sight and captivates the senses.
The descendants of John and Elizabeth (Haynes) Bartlett (page 206) comprise a conspicuous company and the Bell, Bennett, Biglow, Fitch, Rogers, Satter- ley and Smith relatives and connections of Norwalk's early Bartlett barrister are many. The Bartlett- Belden blood emanates from the Bartlett-Betts union as per page 384.
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South Norwalk. The original house was burnt July 11, 1779. The second house (standing in 1899 on same site) was raised Saturday, April 23, 1788.
OF ELIAKIM SMITH2nd DESCENT.
Lewis, son of Eliakim2ud and Lydia Smith, was born October 30, 1784. His early child- hood was spent in the house still standing (15 Ann Street). The house which his grandfather, Eliakim Smith1« had built upon that site had been burned by the British in 1779 and the present house was erected in 1788. Close by was Rusco Creek, in which, in childhood, he sailed his little boats. When seven years old his father, who owned and commanded a schooner, took him to New York, and thence to Little Egg Harbor. In 1804, having received a nautical education, he made a long voyage, being away from home fourteen months. In 1805 he embarked upon a United States Custom House brig, receiving a commission from Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States, and James Madison, Secretary of State. In 1810 he commanded a ship. The year in which war was declared against Great Britain he entered the service, and during the struggle assisted in capturing ninety cannon and four hundred and one prisoners. He faced the mouth of the enemy's guns while his companions were killed at his side. He also commanded two private armed schooners. He left Nor- walk (to assume charge of these) by stage on the 7th of October, and arrived at New Bedford on the 9th. In December following he was chased for six hours and then captured by the British blockading squadron. He was on Commodore Hardy's ship for seventeen days, where he was well treated. The Commodore took pleasure in conversing with him, and on the morning of his release he breakfasted with the Commodore, who requested him to tell the inhabitants of Stonington that if they molested him with any of their fireships or torpedoes, he would surely knock their town down about their ears. Commodore Hardy offered to give him a license to trade with any of the fleet under his command. The brave Norwalk youth thanked him, but declined the favor. He landed at Stonington. When the inhabitants were informed of Commodore Hardy's intention regarding their conduct in molesting him, it did not appear to alarm them. He was in service at sea when peace was declared. In Jan- uary, 1816, he united with the Congregational Church in Norwalk, of which Rev. Roswell Swan was pastor. He removed to New York in 1820, and in January, 1821, united with the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York, of which he remained a member till the end of his life. He was widely known and his Christian character greatly admired.
Lewis Smith married in May, 1808, Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin and Catharine (Raymond) Weed, and had William Lewis, born February 16, 1811 ; Ann Eliza, born March 5, 1813 (Mrs. Dr. L. D. Gale);1 Clara Augusta (Mrs. William Allen first, and, second, Mrs.
1The children of Dr. Leonard D. and Ann Eliza (Smith) Gale were Clara Augusta (Mrs. William Al- len first, and, second, Mrs. Edward O. Graves). Mrs. William Allen had Clarence Gale Allen, who married Martha McKee of Washington, D. C. The children of Mrs. Edward O. Graves were Jessie, Bertram and Evelyn.
Dr. Leonard D. Gale assisted Prof. Morse in his
electrical work. Himself and Morse w lked from Baltimore to Washington in the work of superinten- dence of putting up wires for the first telegraph line. In their experiments Dr. Gale had thirty miles of wire stretched around his room, and Morse a shorter dis- tance of the metal. The discoveries of both were united. See Century Magazine, 1888. Morse and Gale are closely linked names.
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Edward O. Graves): Lydia Esther, born January 9, 1816 (unmarried); Harriet Augusta,1 born December 3, 1821; Mary, born November 9, 1824 (Mrs. Henry Bushnell Sheldon) ;2 Catharine (unmarried).
The Norwalk Jamaica, L. I., Smith blood emenates from Ebenezer Smith of said Jamaica, and has mention on pages 186, 213, 262 and 263. The earliest names of such of that branch of the Smith household as have Norwalk registry are Robert, John, Abraham, Samuel and Mary (Mrs. John Gregory. Jr., of 1735).
JOSEPH AND EUNICE SMITH LINEAGE.
At least three of the children, Eliphalet, Hezekiah and Gershom B. of the above captioned Smiths established homes in Norwalk and Westport. The first, located in Cran- berry Plains, the second, in Saugatuck, and the last on Norwaik Island. The family is prob- ably of Long Island origin, and constitutes a distinct branch of the name. Eliphalet married Olive Gregory; Hezekiah, Emma Meeker, and Gershom B., first, Sarah Finch, and, second, Temperance Sheffield. The complete Joseph and Eunice Smith8 family roll is Rachel born March 21, 1759. Eliphalet, February 25, 1761, Joseph, May 27, 1763, Sarah (Mrs. Abraham Pulling), September 29, 1765, Eunice, January 23, 1768, Hezekiah, January 18, 1770, Huldah, January 29, 1773, Priscilla (Mrs. John Duncan), September 28, 1775, Belinda, September 14, 1777. Gershom Burr, February 9, 1780, and Walter, January 15, 1784.
The widow Eunice was in 1786 one of the administrators of her late husband's estate and in 1807 both parents were deceased. Their daughter Eunice married John Lockwood (see page 423). Their son Hezekiah has reference on page 223.
Gershom B. Smith was Norwalk Island identified. He sold a portion of the island to the government and for some thirty years he had charge of the light there established about seventy years ago. Norwalk light, remarked one of the New York dailies over a half century ago, is reliable. Mr. Smith's stately fashioned home thereat is a pleasant memory to- day. The original house which survived, for years, Mr. Smith's residence, was in existence, seem- ingly, as long ago as the days of Nathan Reed. In 1793, Noah Smith sold that house with ten acres of surrounding land to Joseph Franklin White, son of Joseph Moss White of Dan- bury. On January 24, 1804, Mr. J. F. White and wife Betsey sold for $6,000 "Little Long Island, or Smith's Island or White's Island" to Robert Sheffield, a ship master of New York.
1 Harriet Augusta, daughter of Lewis and Eliza- beth Smith, married Thomas E. Lee and had Lewis Smith, Harriet Augusta, Florence Pohlman, and Alice. Lewis Smith Lee married Clara Paulison and had Howard Sheldon, born June, 1883, and Paul Paulison, born November, 1885.
A granddaughter of Lewis Smith, Miss Florence Pohlman Lee, takes a most loyal and loving interest in her Norwalk Smith ancestry. She makes periodical visits to the town and tenderly cares for her kindred's resting places in its soil. These kindred rest in Union and Pine Island cemeteries. The latter burial place is Norwalk-ancient.
2 Henry Bushnell and Mary (Smith) Sheldon had
Augusta, Henry Bushnell and Elizabeth. Henry Bushnell Sheldon married Charlotte S. Sutphen.
3Joseph Smith, (Eunice wife) the parent of Ger- shom B. Smith and his brothers Eliphalet, Hezekiah, Joseph and Walter, appears to have been from the Richard, Samuel, Joseph and Thomas Long Island Smith stock. Samuel was the founder of "Smith Ridge," and this section of the large Smith family seem to have established "Smith Hills," near Poplar Plains, and to have settled in near by Weston, which was anciently within the bounds of Fairfield. The Noah and Robert (Hadley and Jamaica) Smith lines are entirely distinct, not alone from each other, but from the Samuel Smith branch.
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SMITH-INTERPAGE.
Lieutenant Samuel Smith, mentioned in paragraph two, page 431, died, it has been ascertained, some four or so years before 1685 (1680-1). His son Kiliab had children other than those indicated in next paragraph, viz : John, born October, 1661 (married Martha Golding); Sarah, born April, 1673 (died young); Hester, born 1674 (Mrs. Nathaniel Ingraham);1 a child who died in infancy ; Elizabeth, born February, 1678 (Mrs. James Smith) : Mary, born 1681 (Mrs. Preserved Smith, first, and, second, Mrs. Peter Mon- tague) ; Kiliab2nd, born August, 1683, (died in infancy); Kiliab&M, born Febru- ary, 1685 (married Mary Golding), and Sarah, born 1688 (Mrs. Jonathan Martin).
Martha, daughter of Eliakim and Abigail Smith, as mentioned on page 431, married Ebenezer Nash. She probably had died in young married life, and before her sister of same name was born in 1756.
Mrs. Jonathan Thompson, named in note one, page 432, had also sons David and George Thompson.
Eliakim and Lydia (Olmsted) Smith (second wife) had beside the three sons named on page 432, Samuel, born May 1, 1780.
Before her marriage to Benjamin Weed, Catherine (mother of Mrs. Lewis Smith, page 433, had been a widow of Peter Smith.
While these lines are being penned (November, 1899), the old " Elia- kim Smith Home on Rusco Creek," South Norwalk, is being demolished in order to make contemplated improvements in the interests of the Corset Company, which company now owns the property. It should never, however, be forgotten that a brave "Old Well" boy (Lewis, son of Eliakim2nd and Lydia Smith, see page 433) was there brought up.
This Norwalk youth grew to become the gallant CAPTAIN LEWIS SMITH, who did splendid service in the war of 1812. He was a capturer of British vessels, and albeit he was once himself captured, still it was against great odds, and when fired upon by the squadron surrounding him. When the heroic Smith saw that he must give up, he threw guns, muskets and powder overboard, and had no apology to render when explanation for such a step was demanded of him by the enemy. He was in command of the "Governor Tompkins" at the time that a son of the Earl of Shrewsbury was his prisoner. Pointing to the ensign at Captain Smith's peak, the Earl's son "thought it a shame that British colors should be compelled to strike to it." The fearless Smith replied "that it was not the first time and he believed it would not be the last."2
The story of the disappearing (1899) Rusco Creek Smith home abounds in instructive passages and the site is of interesting memory.
1 Elizabeth, daughter of Nathaniel Ingraham, married (second wife, see note, page 384) Samuel, son of Daniel Belden1st.
2 " We would like to see Commodore Decatur," said one of the British officers to Captain Smith. "And he would be equally happy to see you," was Smith's reply.
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THE SMITH RIDGE AND RIDGEFIELD SMITHS.
Samuel Smith1, who married Rachel, daughter of Matthew Marvin1", (see pages 150 and 177) had Rachel (Mrs. Thomas Benedict), Lydia (Mrs. James Lockwood). Sarah, Hannah, Samuel2nd and Nehemiah1st Samuel Smith1- was brother of Joseph (page +31).
Samuel Smith2nd married, June 13, 1711, Sarah, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Smith) Whitney and had Samuel3rd, Sarah (Mrs. Nathan Olmsted), Rachel (Mrs. James Northrop). and Patience (Mrs. Benjamin Hoyt), all of Ridgefield.
Nehemiah Smith1st, brother of Samuele", married Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Clapham and had Nehemiah201, (not found excepting that his daughter Mary married Thaddeus Sey- mour), Peter1st, Matthew1-, Daniel1st, Elizabeth1st, (Mrs. Lieutenant Samuel Street), Rachel8ml (Mrs. Ebenezer Street), Rebeccah (Mrs. John Hanford), Lydia Ann (Mrs. Josiah Burr), and Joseph.
Mrs. Nehemiah Smith1st (Elizabeth Clapham), married, second, Thomas Talmadge of Stamford.
The mother of Mrs. Nehemiah Smith1-, was Isabella, daughter of John and Ann Bar- low of Fairfield.
The children of Peter and Isabella Clapham were Elizabeth (Mrs. Nehemiah Smith), Rebeccah (Mrs. Nathan Adams, Jr.), Mary (Mrs. Thomas Marvin).
"Smith Hills" was a district near "Bear Swamp" in Poplar Plains. Bear Swamp is traversed by the Newtown Turnpike.
The descent of Peter1., son of Nehemiah14, is traced on page 178. Matthew Smith1st, son of Nemiah1st, owned the fine old style H. M. Prowitt beautifully kept house and grounds in East Norwalk (1895). He left these to his nephew Matthew (son of his brother Peter Smith1st,) which nephew parted with the property or a portion of it, to Josiah Hanford Fitch, the father of the late Mrs. Samuel Daskam of East Norwalk.
From Samuel Smith14, descended the Smith families of Smith's Ridge and Ridgefield.
SELLECK.
This Stamford-Norwalk family is of ancient pedigree. By tradition it originated in Wales. The name is Cornish-British, which is a dialect of the Celtic, Belgic or Cambrian formerly spoken throughout Cornwall. The etymology of the proper noun Selleck is "in open view," conspicuous, and its mention is found as early as A. D. 1086.
Along the seventeenth century are records of Sellecks in positions of influence. John Selyocke about that period "declined knighthood." In the deed of Galdon Manor Robert Selleck is mentioned as a "trustie and well beloved friend," and John Selioke, father and son, were Mayors of St. Albans 1684 1700, while "Selleck on the Wye" is a beautiful village.
In the roll of early New England settlers occurs in 1640 the name of David Selleck. It is claimed that the first provision for a free school in the western world, by direct tax, was made in Dorchester, Mass., in 1639. David Selleck, before referred to, was one of the sub- scribers to a petition to that effect. David and Susannah Selleck, his wife, were members of the 1644 First Church of Boston, and the births of their children are recorded in that ancient
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town. Among the antiquities of Boston is found the "David Selleck home lot description." Mr. Selleck was engaged in trade between the Colonies and the Barbadoes. He died while on an expedition, in 1654, to Virginia. His two sons, Jonathan and John, came to Stamford in 1660. They there married sisters, daughters of Hon. Richard Law, the first civilian among the Stamford settlers, and one of the "first gentlemen in the Colony." Jonathan Selleck was one of the leading men of the period (see Colonial histories of New York and Connecticut). His son Jonathan2nd shared his father's civil and military renown, and his son John was the first Fairfield county graduate of Harvard College.
John Selleck1st, brother of Jonathan1st, married a daughter of Hon. Richard Law. He became a wealthy ship owner and captain, and was extensively known in early days. He was taken prisoner by the French (on one of his ocean trips), in May, 1689, but his estate, which was large, was not settled until 1708. He left one only son, Nathaniel, who married Sarah, daughter of Gershom and Anne (Millington) Lockwood of Greenwich. From these two has been a descent "which has been largely characterized by the qualities of honor, courage and loyalty ; a God fearing, will making, debt-paying people."
CHILDREN OF DAVIDIst AND SUSANNAH SELLECK.
David2nd, born October 11, 1638, went to the Barbadoes ;
Jonathan1st, born March 20, 1641, came to Stamford ;
John1st, born February 2, 1643, came to Stamford; Nathaniel1st, born July 18, 1645, no Norwalk descent ;
Joanna, born December 11, 1647; Elizabeth, born February 1, 1651 ;
A daughter Susannah, died September 10, 1653.
David Selleck1st died in Virginia in 1654.
Jonathan1st and John14, sons of David and Susannah Selleck, came as young men to Stamford in about 1660. Jonathan1 married Abigail, daughter of Richard Law, and John Selleck1st married Sarah Law, a sister of the wife of his brother Jonathan Selleck1st
Hon. Richard Law, the father of the Mrs. Jonathan1 and John1. Selleck is denominated by one historian a most important Colonial personage. He was the Scribe of the Colony, and because of his legal lore the "Counsellor and Adviser of the community." He married Mar- garet, daughter of Thomas Kilbourne1 of Wethersfield, and removed to Stamford, where their home was one of the most honored of the Colony, and the family furnished names that gave a lustre to the State, whose highest civil and judicial seats its members filled.
1Thomas Kilbourne was born in the parish of Wood Ditton in Cambridge, England, A. D. 1578, where he was baptized May 8 of that year. With his wife Frances, and a portion of his family, he em- barked April 15, 1635, from London for New Eng- land in the ship Increase. He settled at Wethersfield, Conn., and died previous to 1639. His wife's will was made November 3, 1650, and inventoried Decem- ber 3, 1650.
Margaret (Mrs. Richard Law) daughter of Thomas and Frances Kilbourne, was born in Wood
Ditton, England, in A. D. 1607, and baptized Septem- ber 23rd of that year. She was married to Hon. Richard Law soon after the New England arrival of the Law family.
Mrs. Law died before her husband. He made his will March 12, 1687, in which "he divides lands to his daughters, the two Mrs. Sellecks, so that they may have each a half as much as the son; for which, he says, the word of God is clear and good reason for it, and why any Christian man that loveth righteous- ness and equity should be against it he sees not."
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DESCENT FROM THE SELLECK BROTHERS JONATHANIst AND JOHNIN
JONATHAN154.
Jonathan1-t, son of David1st and Susannah Selleck, married, May 11, 1663, Abigail, daughter of Richard and Margaret (Kilbourne) Law, and had :
Jonathan214, born July 11, 1663;
David, born January 27, 1666, probably died young ;
John, died young.
Jonathan2nd, oldest child of Jonathan1st and Abigail (Law) Selleck, married, January 5, 1685, Abigail, daughter of Major Nathan Gold of Fairfield.
Major Nathan Gold1st came from St. Edmondsbury, South Britain, to Fairfield. He was an educated, opulent gentleman and a foremost man in the government of the Connecti- cut Colony. His children were Nathan2nd, Sarah (Mrs. John Thompson), Deborah (Mrs. George Clark), Abigail (Mrs. Jonathan Selleck2nd), Martha (Mrs. John Selleck first, and second, Mrs. Rev. John Davenport). Nathan Gold1st died on Sunday, March 4, 1693-4.
CHILDREN OF JONATHAN2nd AND ABIGAIL (GOLD) SELLECK.
Nathan1st, born September 12, 1686;
Abigail born April 3, 1688;
Jonthan8rd, unmarried ;
Theophila, born February 11, 1694, Mrs. Samuel Pennoyer ;
John Gold, unmarried ;
Abigail, born February 15, 1707, Mrs. Ebenezer Silliman.1
As Nathan1ªt was the only son of Jonathan2nd and Abigail (Gold) Selleck, who married, it follows that the said Nathan became the ancestor of those of Selleck name who descended from Major Jonathan Selleck14, one of the two brothers who came from Boston to Stamford in about 1660.
Nathan Selleck1st married, August 12, 1708, Susannah, only child of Mr. William Hooker of Farmington (see page 327), and had :
Susannah, born September 3, 1709, Mrs. Joseph St. John.
Nathan Selleck1st married, second, December, 1710, Mary, daughter of Captain John
1 Hon. Ebenezer Silliman, baptized September 21, 1707, was a son of Robert and Sarah (Hull) Silliman, of Fairfield, and a grandson of Daniel Silliman, the Fairfield pioneer Silliman who, tradition claims, came from Holland. The marriage of this eminent Colo- nist, Hon. Ebenezer Silliman, to Abigail Selleck, took place October 8. 1728, the fruit of the union being Gold Selleck, born 1732, Ebenezer, Jr., born 1734, Amelia Gold, born 1736, Hezekiah, born 1739, Jona- · than, born 1742, Abigail, born 1748, and Deodate, born 1749. These all overlived their parents several years, being interested, the year Norwalk was burned, in the division of the Lieutenant Jonathan Selleck estate made in Stamford April 3, 1779. Gold Selleck Silliman (General), the oldest son, married, January
21, 1754, Martha, daughter of Deodate and Lydia (Woodward) Davenport of East Haven, and grand- daughter of Madame Davenport, nee Martha Gold. The first Mrs. General Gold Selleck Silliman died August 1, 1774, and the General married, second, May 24, 1775, Mary, daughter of Rev. Joseph and Rebecca (Peabody) Fish of Stonington, and widow of Rev. John Noyes of New Haven. By this union there was Benjamin Silliman, who became the re- nowned "Professor Silliman" of Yale College, who died, after more than a half century's illustrious con- nection with that seat of learning, November 24, 1864, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. (See page 198.) The Sillimans of New Canaan are of the old Fairfield stock.
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