Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Silas D. Mead was born January 31, 18 19, at North Greenwich, Conn. In addition to the district schools of his neighborhood, he attended a select school taught by a Mr. Buffett at Stanwich and the academy at North Greenwich. He was reared on the farm and became successful in that occupation. On starting out in life for himself he went into debt for his buildings, but through his industrious habits, good manage- ment and judicious investments he became owner of a large farm. He possessed upward of three hundred acres of land, a part of which had for many years been in the possession of his an- cestors. In 1838 he united with the Congrega- tional Church of North Greenwich, and was throughout his lite one of its best workers and most liberal supporters. For a half century or more he had charge of the singing, and remained at his post of duty until old age. In March, 1879, he was chosen deacon to take the place so long and faithfully filled by his honored father. He was always with the Sunday-school interests of his Church, and was for years a teacher in the same. He was a thorough temperance man, never having used liquor of any kind, or tobacco. In all matters pertaining to educational or re- ligious work he was most liberal, and through a long life was one of the strong pillars of the Congregational Church at North Greenwich. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Repub- lican, joining the latter party on its organiza- tion in 1856. He seldom missed an election, never unless sickness kept him from going to the polls. He served his town as road-commis- sioner once, and was on the district school com- mittee for a long time. In the days of the Abolition party he was one of its strong sup- porters, being one of the "thirteen" in Green- wich. He was a man of intelligence and integ- rity, and at his death, August 9, 1896, there passed from this earth a good man — one whose life was worthy of emulation. On September 22, 1840, Silas D. Mead was married to Emily L. , daughter of Ezekiel and Althea (Palmer) Close, born December 2^ 1820, at Greenwich, Conn. The children born to this union were: Myrtilla (now Mrs. Livingston Dis- brow., of New Rochelle, N. Y.), Silas E. (our subject), Emily C. (of North Greenwich), Sarah C. (who died in infancy), Horatio B. (a lumber dealer, of Douglas county, S. D.), Harriet A. (who died in February, 1895, the wife of Living- ston Mead, of North Greenwich), and Ezekiel C. (a farmer of North Greenwich). The mother of this family is still living, a respected and highly esteemed resident of the town of Greenwich. Silas E. Mead, the subject proper of this sketch, was born March 15, 1844, in what is known as the Clapboard Ridge School District, in the town of Greenwich, Fairfield Co., Conn. He received a common-school education, his first teacher being Miss Julia Hovey. Later he at- tended the North Greenwich Academy under the principalship of Whitman Peck and others, also under a Mr. Foote. He was reared on a farm. On August 14, 1862, he enlisted in the Civil war, casting his fortune with Company I, 10th C. V. I., and serving with honor and credit throughout the war. His first engagement was at Kingston, N. C, thence he saw active duty, participating in all of the battles in which his company was engaged until August, 1864, when he was detailed to the ambulance train, soon be- coming clerk to the commander, in which capac- ity he served until the close of the war. He was discharged June 20, 1865, at Richmond, Va. Returning home, Mr. Mead was married, Sep- tember 12, 1867, to Miss Cornelia M. Wilcox, who was born June 22, 1843, a daughter of Josiah and Celestia (Wilcox) Wilcox. After their marriage our subject and his wife for a time resided in Round Hill, then settled in North Greenwich on a part of the large estate of his father. Here he has since continued to reside. The children born to this couple were: Silas F. (died when not quite four years of age), Mabel W. (died when eleven years old), Louise C. (now COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 21» in attendance at Mt. Holyoke Seminary), and Josiah (died in infancy). Our subject possesses trie faculty of winning friends, and is by the community at large es- teemed as a citizen. He has inherited many of the traits of character possessed by his worthy father and grandfather, and has carried forward commendable work in good lines begun by them. He is a deacon in the North Greenwich Congre- gational Church, to which Church his wife also belongs, and in politics he adheres to the line in which his father and grandfather led, being a stanch Republican. He cast his first Presiden- tial vote for General Grant. He is active in the interests of his party, and has at different times serv.ed the people of his town in a public capaci- ty. His intelligence and worth as a citizen bring him into counsel with those who direct political movements. He is a member of the board of education, and since 1887 has been town assessor. He is a member of Lombard Post No. 24, G. A. R. , at Greenwich, and has tilled nearly all of the offices in the same, being at this writing grand vice. He is one of the substantial citizens of Fairfield county. WALTER NICHOLS is a son of Charles Lewis Nichols, who was born at what was then known as Nichols' Farms, town of Trumbull, Fairfield Co., Conn., but which has since been re-christened "Nichols," by the con- siderate edict of the good townspeople, in honor of the Nichols family, who were its first settlers, they having, about the year 1639, by Colonial grant, acquired all the land embraced within the township, some ten thousand acres. Charles Lewis Nichols was a man of signal business ability. He started out in life as a dis- trict school teacher, which calling he followed for several years, but finding that the role of pedagogue afforded hardly sufficient scope for the development and utilization of those business qualities with which he was inherently endowed, and which distinguished his future career, he re- signed his preceptorship and embarked in the wholesale grocery business, in company with Jar- vis Lyon. The store of the firm was located on Water street, near the foot of State street. The house of Lyon & Nichols, as it was styled, thus entered upon a most successful career, and con- tinued for several years, when Mr. Lyon retired and was succeeded by a gentleman of the name of Birch. The new firm, recognizing the essen- tially limited territorial area of Bridgeport, and its environs for commercial development, decided to remove to New York City, where they soun established an extensive and lucrative business, and in conjunction with the "commercial prince," Moses Taylor, carried on an immense importing trade in molasses and other tropical staple com- modities. Mr. Birch died, and was succeeded by a Mr. Beam, of Goshen, N. Y., who, in addi- tion to possessing great wealth, was endowed with the keenest business acumen and abundant experience; hence the firm lost none of its wonted business prestige by his advent therein. Mr. Beam also died after a few years' connection with the firm, and the business was continued by Mr. Nichols until about the breaking out of the Civil war, when he retired therefrom, having ac- quired a handsome fortune as the rewaR^ of a life of energy and business probity. The mother of Walter Nichols was Jennett Burroughs, a remarkably beautiful and accom- plished woman, daughter of Stephen Burroughs, the third, Bridgeport's foremost merchant and shipowner from about the year 1786 to about 1825. He had succeeded his father, Stephen Burroughs, who was not only the most conspicu- ous figure in mercantile trade in Bridgeport, but was possessed of transcendent intellectual quali- ties which, aside from his active participation in matters of commerce, he devoted to the science of astronomy, becoming the author of what was then recognized as a standard text-book on that interesting and important subject. He was the author of the present system of Federal decimal money, and was also a conspicuous and valuable member of the General Assembly of the State for several consecutive years, numbering among his friends and confreres many of the most distin- guished statesmen of the time. It has been said ijy a clever local historian that Capt. Stephen Burroughs was the "nucleus around which Bridgeport has grown and attained its pre-emi- nently important status in the galaxy of its sister cities of the State." Walter Nichols was born at Jersey City, N. J., October 10, 1847, and received his rudiment- ary educational training at the celebrated Has- brouck Grammar School, located in his native city, the curriculum of this school being as va- ried as that of our leading colleges. It was Mr. Nichols' intention to pursue a full academic course at Princeton, and he matriculated at that College, but at the end of his Freshman year withdrew, having decided to enter mercantile life in New York. He pursued his business ca- reer successfully until the year 1881, when, his health having become somewhat impaired, he came to Bridgeport, seeking rest and recreation, which in due time he realized. Having decided to remain here, he engaged in the real-estate 220 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.