USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Seymour > Seymour, past and present > Part 20
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BIOGRAPHY.
Mr. Swan has always been an earnest supporter of measures conducive to the welfare of the community and he was one of the most efficient advocates of the erection of the present handsome and commodious high school building and has for many years been an active member of the Seymour Board of Education.
He has been a member of Morning Star Lodge, F. & A. M., since 1866, and is a charter member of Nonnawauk Tribe, Improved Order of Red Men.
He has been one of the staunchest supporters of the Seymour Public Library, giving liberally to increase its efficiency, and in the matter of good roads, waterworks, electric lights and other public improvements, he has always been at the front. He aided largely in securing the erection of the present handsome and convenient engine house and in the organization and subsequent development of the fire department, of which for sixteen years he has been the Chief. He is a member of the Congregational church, and was for a number of years superintendent of its Sundayschool.
In 1872 he had the honor of being elected the first Republican representative from Seymour, his high personal qualities, integrity and public spirit helping him to overcome a previously large Dem- ocratic majority.
He was long a member of the board of directors of the Ansonia National Bank and is now a stockholder of the new Valley National Bank of Seymour. He is president of The James Swan Co., and of the H. A. Matthews Manufacturing Co.
Mr: Swan married Miss Agnes Bell in 1857 and has one daugh- ter, Miss M Jessie Swan, and three sons, William B. Swan, super- intendent of the auger and bit works, John Swan, superintendent of the edge tool works, and Albert Swan, bookkeeper for the company.
NORMAN SPERRY, son of Albert and Phebe A. (Tuttle ) Sperry of Cheshire, and grandson of Job Sperry of Bethany, was born in Cheshire Feb. 12, 1842. He was educated in the common schools of Cheshire, in the Cheshire Episcopal Academy, and at the Lewis Academy at Southington. He came to Seymour in 1862 and worked for H. B. Beecher, the Douglass Manufacturing Co., and the Hum- phreysville Manufacturing Co., until March, 1875, when he became the president of the Humphreysville Manufacturing Company, and in 1895 he became the sole proprietor.
He is a member of Trinity Church and a vestryman, and has been identified with the best interests of the community. He is a
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prominent member of the Masonic order and is a Knight Templar. In 1884 he was elected first selectman and served the town most ef- ficiently, especially in the matter of road improvements, and to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. He was twice called to rep- resent the town in the General Assembly, in 1883 and in 1893, and in 1894 was unanimously nominated for state senator in the demo- cratic convention for the seventh district.
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RESIDENCE OF EDMUND DAY.
EDMUND DAY came to Seymour in 1855 from West Springfield, Mass., and engaged, with his brothers, Austin G. and Henry P. Day, in cleaning and preparing East Indian and Central American varieties of india rubber, by a patented process, for use by other manufacturers, also in the manufacture of hard rubber stationery goods and fountain pens.
Mr. Day was one of the most prominent in local endeavor on the side of the Union in the early years of the War of the Rebel- lion, and in the first year of the war, when local sympathizers with the South threatened to burn the property of Union men, he ob- tained a grant of arms from the state, and had them brought here
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so quietly that the first his opponents knew of the move was when the weapons were seen in the hands of men who were patrolling the streets at night. The leader of the pro-slavery party vas notified that if any buildings were burned he would be held personally responsible. The result was as intended and there was no further talk of destroying the property of the upholders of the Union. Mr. Day was for six years a member of the school board, and in 1874 he was elected to represent the town in the legislature. In 1885 and 1886 he was state senator for the seventh district, and was the chairman of the joint committee on manufactures. He married in 1863 Annie E. Melcher, and has a son, William M. Day, of Sey- mour, and two daughters, Mrs. F. G. Hotchkiss of Ansonia, and Miss Edith Day, of Seymour.
THOMAS L. JAMES.
Thomas L. James was born in Birmingham, Conn., May ;. 1846. The family moved to Seymour in 1850. His education was mostly obtained in the public and private schools of his own village, including the Glendenning Academy, in which he was the youngest
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in attendance ; then in Brown's school in West Haven, and after- wards in General Russell's Military Institute in New Haven.
He entered the New Haven Copper Co., his father being the head of the company for many years, and in 1879 he was elected president of the company, which position he has held ever since. In politics he has always been a Republican, and as such he was elected a member of the legislature of 1884, was several times elect- ed one of the selectmen of the town, and was influential in securing various public improvements.
He has for many years been a member of the school board and acting school visitor, and has taken great interest in the schools, in which he is always a most welcome visitor to both teachers and pu- pils. He has also been repeatedly appointed assistant chief of the fire department.
He is a member of the Episcopal church, and has been a ves- tryman for many years. He is also a member of New Haven Com- mandery, Knights Templar, and of other fraternal orders. In 1890 he made an extensive tour over the European continent for the ben- efit of his health.
Mr. James' mother, Mrs. Minerva Rowe James, is a descendant of Elder Brewster of the Mayflower. Mr. James married in July, 1870, Miss Julia A. DuBois, at St. Mary's Hall, Burlington, N. J., where Miss DuBois was then a teacher. They had four children, Ida L., May D. B., Agnes and Julia, of whom only Ida L. and Agnes are now living.
THOMAS S. PERRINS was born in Philadelphia and was educated in the schools of that city, graduating in the high school. He. learned the machinist trade in the Bush Hill iron works and in 1877 came to Ansonia. In 1878 he began a series of experiments in the manufacture of eyelets, with the Schneller, Osborn & Cheeseman Co., and later became a stockholder in the company and one of the directors. In 1897 he came to Seymour and established an eyelet factory in the Humphreys factory, where he carried on business for three years. He became a stockholder in and a director of the Rimmon Manufacturing Company and on the opening of the works in the spring of 1991 he removed his machinery to the new works, of which he is the superintendent. Mr. Perrins is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church and one of the trustees.
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BIOGRAPHY.
WILLIAM R. BRIXEY.
William R. Brixey, son of Richard and Elizabeth Brixey, was born in Southampton, England, in 1851 ; came to America in the year 1879, and located in Seymour, where he married Frances Nan- cy, daughter of Alva G. and Lucy Ann De Wolfe. He is the owner of the Kerite insulated wire and cable works at Seymour. He has three sons, Richard DeWolfe, Reginald Waldo and Austin Day Brixey, his only daughter, Daisy Rosina Brixey, having died in 1890, in her infancy.
He is a member of the following societies and clubs : Chancel- lor Walworth Lodge, No. 271, F. & A. M., New York city ; Triune Chapter, No. 241, R. A. M., New York city : Columbian Command- ery, No. I, K. T., New York city ; Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite 32°, life member, New York city ; Mecca Temple, A. A. O. M. S., New York city ; New York Athletic Club, New York city ; Brooklyn,
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N. Y .; Captain and Inspector Rifle Practice, Old Guard, New York city ; New York Society Electrical Engineers, New York city.
ALBERT B. DUNHAM.
Albert B. Dunham, the present high sheriff of New Haven county, was born in Oxford Sept. 27th, 1839. His father, Henry Dunham, was a native of Southington, but made his home in Ox- ford, where he married Henrietta Tucker, daughter of Daniel and Laura Candee Tucker, of Oxford, and the granddaughter of Capt. Job Candee, of Oxford, who served in the War of the Revolution. Mr. Dunham, after attending the school at Oxford centre, continued his studies at the Waterbury Academy, which was conducted by the late Charles Fabrique. On his return to Oxford he entered the store of S. P. Sanford, and in 1861 was appointed postmaster by President Lincoln. A few years later he came to Seymour and engaged in the livery business. He was appointed deputy sheriff under Charles Scott, and in 1878 was chosen to represent Seymour in the state legislature. In 1883 he was chosen county commis-
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sioner, to which position he was re-elected for fourteen years, and in 1898 he was elected sheriff of New Haven county. Mr. Dunham has always been a consistent Republican, never having voted any other icket. He has been a member of Humphrey Lodge, Knights of Pyth- as, nearly twentyfive years. His manner and dealings have been such that through forty years of the turmoil and strife of a political ife he remains popular with the electors of New Haven county.
CHARLES HENRY LOUNSBURY.
Charles Henry Lounsbury, one of the leading merchants and business men of Seymour, was born in the western part of Bethany, now Beacon Falls, Sept. 18th, 1848, and is the only son of Ransom and Mary Joyce Lounsbury, of Beacon Falls. The other members of their family were two sisters; Eliza Jane, married Herbert Beers bf New Haven, deceased in the spring of 1890, and Ella B., married to Fred Colvin, deceased. His father is a son of Josiah Lounsbury, who married Sally Lines, whose father held a commission from Governor Jonathan Trumbull in the Revolutionary War. Linus Lounsbury, the father of Josiah Lounsbury, and great-grandfather of Charles H. Lounsbury, one of the first settlers in the western part of Bethany, was also a soldier in the Revolution. The Louns-
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bury paternal home is still owned by the family, being one of th oldest improved places in the eastern part of the town of Beaco Falls. When the town of Beacon Falls was organized, in 1871, H was one of the first officers chosen, and in 1877 he was elected t represent the town in the legislature.
He removed to Seymour in 1877 and was at first employed i the store of H. R. Randall. In March, 1881, he began business fo himself at the corner of Maple and Pearl streets, where he has sinc remained. He was first selectman and town agent from Octobe. 1885, until October, 1890, and from 1892 to 1895, and a number ( important public improvements in the town were made under h direction, and have reflected credit upon his judgment and executiv ability. He has since served the town in the capacity of a membe of the board of assessors, a position which he still holds.
He is a trustee of the M. E. church, past patron of Olive Chat ter, O. E. S., a member of the Board of Trade, a member of th Masonic order, of the Odd Fellows, and of the A. O. U. W.
FRANK H. BEECHER, son of Henry B. Beecher, of Seymour succeeded his father as proprietor of the augur and bit works estat lished by the "six partners" in 1847, which he greatly improved Mr. Beecher was foreman of Citizen Engine Company for nin years and was active in raising money by subscription to pay fo the new steam fire engine in 1884. He was secretary and treasure of the building committee for the present engine house and for th high school building,
He is a member of Mechanics Lodge, I. O. O. F., a charte member of Nonnawauk Tribe, I. O. R. M., and a charter membe and Past Chancellor of Humphrey Lodge, K. of P. He is now the superintendent and treasurer of the H. A. Matthews Manufacturing Co., is manager and treasurer of the Seymour Electric Light Com pany, and a director of the Valley National Bank.
He married, March 22, 1876, Nellie A. Thompson, daughter o John M. and Maria A. (Noble) Thompson, of Bridgeport. Mrs Thompson is the granddaughter of an officer of the Revolution.
HENRY P. DAY, born in West Springfield, Mass., came to Sey. mour in 1855, from California, where he had spent three or four years. He has since then been associated in business with his brother, Edmund Day, in the manufacture of fountain pens and other vulcanized hard rubber goods. In 1876 he represented the town of Seymour in the legislature.
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He married in 1865 Fannie Gilbert, daughter of Ezekiel and Sarah Gilbert. They have two sons, Julius G. Day, of Shelton, secretary and treasurer of the Whitlock Printing Press Manufactur- ing Co., and Harry G. Day, attorney, of the law firm of Watrous & Day, New Haven, and instructor in the Yale Law School.
LEWIS A. CAMP.
Lewis A. Camp, son of Phineas W. and Louisa McNeil Camp, was born in Morris, Conn., April 15, 1835, and came to Seymour in 1870, and has been in the mercantile business since that time, though at present only as a member of the Camp & Rugg Company.
He was first selectman of the town of Seymour for five years, from 1873 to 1878, represented the town in the legislature in 1875. and was for many years a justice of the peace and a member of the school board, He is secretary of the New Haven Copper Company, a vestryman of Trinity church, and a member of Morning Star Lodge, F. & A. M., of New Haven Commandery, Knights Templar, and other Masonic orders. He married Elizabeth E. James, daughter of Thomas and Minerva James, Oct. 2, 1877. They have
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two daughters, Minerva J. and Elizabeth L. Camp, and one son Thomas James Camp.
EDWARD A. KLATT.
Edward A. Klatt, son of Frederick and Caroline ( Birlum ) Klatt, was born in Bangor, Maine, in 1860. He lived there until twenty- one years of age and after his school years learned the trade of moulder in the Hinkley & Egery Iron Works, of Bangor. He was for five years at the Knowles Steam Pump Works, at Warren, Mass., and from there came to Brid eport, where for a year het had charge of the Springfield Manufacturing Co.'s foundry. He then became foundry superintendent of the R. E. Parsons Co. works and after six months became one of the stockholders. He remained with this company five years and only resigned his position there to come to Seymour and establish the Seymour Iron Foundry, of which he is sole proprietor.
Mr. Klatt is a member of Quaboag Lodge, F. & A. M., of War- ren, Mass., of the Sam Harris Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Bridgeport, and of Kabosa Encampment, of Norwalk. He is also a member of the Seymour Methodist Episcopal church, and one of the trustees.
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BIOGRAPHY.
ANDREW Y. BEACH.
Andrew Y. Beach, son of S. Y. and Adaline Beach, was born in Humphreysville in 1836, and after attending the schools of his native town was for a few terms a student at the West Rock Sem- inary at New Haven. In 1856 he went to Springfield to take a clerk- ship in the Hartford and New Haven Railroad Company's freight office. In 1858 he resigned his position to become station agent at Naugatuck, on the Naugatuck railroad. He remained there but a short time, however, resigning to accept a place with his father in the papermill. He remained there three years and then accepted the position of station agent at Seymour, where he remained seven years, when he was made general ticket agent of the road, with headquarters at Bridgeport. He held this position five years, after which he resigned, in 1872, and went to Springfield, Mass., to be- come agent of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, having entire charge of the affairs of the company there, except the ticket selling, remaining in that position fourteen years. He was a member of the board of aldermen of Springfield in 1884, 1885 and 1886, and the third year was president of the board.
In 1886 he resigned his position in Springfield and returned to Seymour to go into business for himself. He has been a mem- ber of the board of education, is president of the Humphreysville
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Graveyard Association, and has for many years been a justice of the peace.
CHARLES W. MICHAELS was educated in New York City and spent two years in travelling in the west. He was afterward in mercantile business in Meriden two years and later in Yalesville twentyfive years. He came to Seymour in 1899 and is secretary and treasurer of the Rimmon Manufacturing Company.
He married in 1876 Miss Carrie L. Pickhardt, daughter of Henry and Matilda Pickhardt, formerly of Seymour. They have two daughters, Alice and Lillia Michaels.
Mr. Michaels is a member of Compass Lodge, F. & A. M., and St. Elmo Commandery, Knights Templar, of Meriden, and other Masonic orders.
GEORGE P. SHELTON was born in Southbury and was the son of Roswell and Mary ( Hicock) Shelton. In 1844, when twentyfour years of age he was appointed major general by the legislature. He had served the state in nearly every military rank from sergeant major to brigadier general. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in Litchfield. In 1848 he represented his native town in the legislature, and was appointed adjutant general. He is the author of the present state military system, having drawn the bill and se- cured its passage in 1848. He was senator of the Fifth District in 1849.
General Shelton came to Seymour in 1850 and practiced law here for five years. He then commenced the manufacture of bro- catelle, and held over $30,000 in the leading joint stock companies of Seymour. He built the embankment of the Rimmon Pond and the road on the east side of the pond, and owned one tenth of the stock of the Rimmon Water Company. He surveyed and laid out the road from Third street to the Hoadley bridge, and was its princi- pal advocate. He was one of the incorporators of the Seymour Savings Bank in 1852 and in 1855 he was president of the Eagle Manufacturing Co of Seymour. He began the settlement of Clif- ton, where he has resided for many years.
In 1862 he married Mary Lambert Webster. They had five children, Georgiana, William L., Marietta, Isabel and George H. William L., Isabel and George H. are still living. George H. Shel- ton is a graduate of West Point and captain in the 25th Infantry, U. S. A.
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BIOGRAPHY.
W. W. SMITH.
Capt. W. W. Smith, son of Rev. Sylvester Smith, was born in Westville, his parents moving here while he was in infancy. He went out with the first company raised in Seymour at the beginning of the Civil War, was mustered in as Ist Lieutenant of Co. H, 20th C. V., Aug. 15, 1862; was taken prisoner at the battle of Chancel- lorsville May 3, 1863, and taken to Libby prison, but was soon exchanged and returned to his regiment. He was promoted to
Captain of Co. C, in the same regiment, Jan, 28, 1863, and served until the close of the war, being in all the battles in which his regi- ment was engaged except Bentonville, and was in Sherman's famous march to the sea.
At the close of the war he returned to Seymour and from 1870
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to 1890 was in business as a paper manufacturer. In 1891 he was appointed postmaster under President Harrison and held that office for four years. In 1895 he was elected first selectman and was re-elected to that office in '96, '97 and '98, and in 1899 was reap. pointed postmaster.
EDWIN A. LUM.
Edwin A. Lum, son of Austin Lum, was born in Southbury, Conn., in 1818. In early life he was engaged in the carriage busi- ness in Bridgeport, and later was in business in Brookfield and Newtown, until failing health obliged him to have a change of occupation. He then taught for a few years in the schools of New- town, Oxford, Humphreysville and Birmingham.
In 1847 he accepted the position of bookkeeper for Hotchkiss, Clark & Co. of Birmingham, marrying in the following year Eliza- beth Durand, daughter of Jeremiah Durand of Humphreysville.
Having been offered the secretaryship of the Waterbury Lum- ber and Coal Co. he removed to that city in 1851 and held that
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position for six years. For many years he was secretary of the Waterbury Clock Co., and during his thirty years residence in that city was identified with many of the public enterprises there. When the Second Congregational church of Waterbury was organized he was one of the fifty original members and was actively interested in its growth, holding the office of Deacon there for fourteen years. In 1881 he removed his family to Seymour where they now reside in the Durand homestead where he was married in 1848.
FRANK G. BASSETT.
Frank G. Bassett was born Sept. 28th, 1847, and was educated in the public schools of this town and in the Glendenning Academy at Stamford. He was employed in a store at New Haven for three years, and in 1864 he went into the employ of C. Russell & Co. of Bridgeport, and remained with them until 1870 when he accepted a position with the American Oil Company of New York. In 1872,
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owing to illness of his mother, he returned to Seymour, where h has since resided.
He is a thirtysecond degree mason ; Past Master of Mornin Star Lodge, F. & A. M .; Past M. E. H. P. of Mt. Vernon Chapter R. A. M. of Ansonia ; Past T. I. M. of Union Council, R. & S. M. of Derby ; Past M. P. G. M. of the Grand Council, R. & S. M., c Connecticut ; Past. W. P. of Olive Chapter, O. E. S., Past .G. P of the Grand Chapter. O. E. S. of Connecticut ; Past R. P. of Eliz. A. Macoy Court of the Amaranth, of Ansonia ; Past S. R. P., of th Supreme Council of the Rite of Adoption ; Past N. G. of Mechanics Lodge, I. O. O. F .; Past C. P. of Wildey Encampment, I. O. O F., and Secretary and Historian of the Bassett Family Association and is writing the history of the family. He is also the author o the genealogical portion of this book. His is a work of most carefu and thorough research and one which will increase in value as the years go by.
GEORGE C. LEES, son of John H. and Mary A. Lees, of Nev Haven, was educated in the Giles school, New Haven, was for five years superintendent and manager of the James E. Griffin Co.' works in Shelton, and in 1900 established the horn button works il Seymour, of which his brother, John H Lees, is superintenden and manager.
CHARLES E. FAIRCHILD, born in Oxford in 1831, is a son o Ebenezer, born July 30th, 1803, and grandson of Nathan Fairchild. The children of Nathan Fairchild were: Nathan, Ebenezer anc Hanford. Ebenezer Fairchild was a carriage maker who came tc Seymour about 1851 and carried on business there many years. He was married in 1827 to Sarah, daughter of Captain Job Candee, who was in the Revolutionary War, and a descendant of Zacheus Candee, born in New Haven in 1640. The family were French Huguenots, and fled from France to Scotland early in the sixteenth century. One of the family afterward emigrated to America and settled in Connecticut. The children of Ebenezer and Sarah Fair- child were : Charles E., Mary J., and Henry L. (deceased). Mary J. married Henry Beecher. Charles E. Fairchild has been twice married : in 1861 to Martha Davidson, and to Mrs. Ida Coffin in 1887. He has been bookkeeper for H. P. & E. Day since 1876. He has served as a director of the Seymour Public Library and in other of- fices in the gift of his townsmen.
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REV. EDGAR C. TULLAR.
Rev. Edgar C. Tullar was born in Bolton, Feb. 3, 1864. His father was a soldier in the war for the Union and received perma- nent injuries from the bursting of a shell at the battle of Antietam. Mr. Tullar prepared for college at the Centennial Collegiate Insti- tute, Hackettstown, N. J., and the Vermont Methodist Seminary, at Montpelier. He was licensed to preach at East Glastonbury in August, 1887, and in 1890 joined the New York East Conference. He was pastor of St. Paul's church, Waterbury, in 1890, went from there to Durham, and after a successful ministry of two years in that place decided to enter college and complete his studies.
He studied four years at Albion College, Albion, Mich., and in his second year there began mission work in the city of Jackson.
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Beginning with a few in a hall, the numbers increased and the worl prospered, and a brick church was built with a seating capacity of two thousand and a membership of nearly three hundred. Mr. Tullar was then engaged in evangelistic work until the following spring, in 1898, when he was appointed to the pastorate of the Seymour M. E. church. It was due to his energy and tact that the debt of $8,00c was paid off and the handsome edifice is clear of debt.
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On April 21, 1891, Mr. Tullar married Elizabeth V., daughter of Dixon R. Cornell, of Waterbury. They have a son, Irving Mere- dith, and a daughter, May Varian.
REV. W. A. WOODFORD.
Rev. W. A. Woodford, rector of Trinity church, was born in New Haven, Oct. 22nd, 1868, and took the regular course of study in the grammar and high schools of the city, and then went into business with his father. A few years later he decided to enter
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