Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

fifth son, born October lO, 1718, who married Khoda, daughter of John Keeler, November 21, 1738. At thirty years of age he removed from Norwalk to Ridgefield, on his farm, which lay in the extreme southern part of the town. He had twelve children. For his second wife he mar- ried Mrs. Mary, widow of Samuel Lynes, of Red- ding, Conn,, May 19, 1780. In this house, where he died June 24, 1801, and which is still standing at this date, was born his son Riah, the great-grandfather of our subject; also Lewis L. , the grandfather, and Hiram O., the father. Riah Nash, born August 3, 1763, at Ridge- field (as above), married Esther, daughter of Samuel and Mary Lynes, August 15, 1782, and spent the greater part of his life on the old farm. When about sixty years of age he was elected to the State Legislature, and afterward, in 1832, removed to Sullivan county, N. Y. , where he died March 17, 1837. Lewis L., the eldest son, born October 24, 1784, married Rachel, daughter of Jaired and Hannah Olmstead, of Ridgefield, February 18, 1809; he was a shoe- maker by trade, and spent his life in the south- ern part of Ridgefield, and the northern part of Wilton, this county. His death occurred at the home of his son Hiram O., November 19, 1856. This worthy couple had seven children: Sally, Hiram O. , Albert, Cornelia, Harry W., Betsey L. , and Lavinia. Hon. Hiram O. Nash, our subject's father, was born March>22, 181 1, in the town of Ridge- field, and in early manhood engaged in farming there in connection with the shoemaker's trade, but later he followed mercantile pursuits. He took an active part in local affairs, serving one term as a member of the State Legislature, and holding different local offices, including that of selectman. He also took an ardent interest in religious work as a member of the Methodist Church in Ridgefield, and for many years he served as trustee, steward or treasurer of that society. On November 3, 1833, he married Miss Sally Roberts, who was born October 24, 18 10, and died May 15, 1886, his own death occurring November 10, 1867. Our subject was born May 25, 1838, at the old homestead in Ridgefield, and as the only child of a busy farmer he was trained to habits of in- dustry. He received a common-school education, and as he wished to enter mercantile life he went to Norwalk in 1856 to take a position as clerk in a book and drug store. There he remained three years, gaining a thorough knowledge of the drug business, and in the spring of 1859 he located at Titicus, where he engaged in general mercantile business with his father under the firm name of H. O. Nash & Son. They purchased an old es- tablished business from S. S. Olmstead, the store being on the site of the present post office in Ti- ticus. After his father's death, Mr. Nash con- tinued the business alone for some time, but on January i, 1875, he formed a partnership with Milan H. Mead, under the firm name of Nash & Mead. This partnership lasted twenty years, the business increasing constantly under their able management; in 1895, however, they sold out, Mr. Nash retiring from active business life. He has been a stanch Republican ever since the organization of the party, and from time to time he has been chosen to office. In 1879-80 he represented his town in the Legislature, that session being the first held in the new capitol building, and he has also held numerous local offices, serving some time as selectman. In 1882 he became postmaster at Titicus, and in 1896 resigned after fourteen years of satisfactory serv- ice. For nine years he was a member of the school board, and at present he is serving his third term on the board of assessors. He and his family are prominent socially, and he is an active worker in the Congregational Church at Ridgefield, serving as a member of the Church committee. On November 28, 1861, Mr. Nash married Miss Sarah J. Holmes, daughter of Abram and Esther (Smith) Holmes, of Ridgefield (a sketch of whom appears elsewhere), and three children have blessed the union: (i) Miss Marion Holmes Nash, born November 15, 1862, graduated from the normal school at New Britain, Conn., and later took an advanced course in German at Michigan University. She resides at home, and is doing efficient work as a private teacher in various branches. (2) Luther Roberts, born Jan- uary 22, 1 87 1, studied in the common schools and spent three years at Williston Seminary, E. Hampton, Mass. He then entered the Boston School of Technology, where he was graduated four years later, and after one year in Harvard College he took a position with Stone & Webster, the noted electricians of Boston. On October 15, 1896, he married Miss Bonnibel Remington, a relative of Remington of typewriter fame, and he now resides in Cambridge, Mass. (3) How- ard Patterson, born February 17, 1877, attended the common schools of Ridgefield, and then spent one year in a boys' school in Stamford, and one at Williston Seminary. In September, 1896, he entered the Lawrence Scientific School of Har- vard University for a four-years' course. To this sketch it may be added that on the land of J. D. Nash, opposite the school house in Titicus, still stands a large flat-top rock, upon 22 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. which tradition says the first white men that ever came to Ridgefield were encamped for the night, they having walked up from Norwalk, a distance of fourteen miles, and on the following day purchased of the old Indian chief (Titicus by name), for a few brass trinkets, a large tract of the surrounding country. rON. RICHARD C. AMBLER (deceased). JfJi The Ambler family originated in England, the name appearing sometimes as Aubler of De- Aubrey. The coat of arms has for a crest two dexter hands conjoined, sustaining a royal crown, while the shield is embossed, according to the symbology of Heraldic science, " sa, on a fesse, or between three pheons; a lion pass, guard. , gre." The first ancestor of whom we have a definite account was Richard Ambler, who was born in Somersetshire, England, in 1611, and came to America in 1639, landing at Weymouth, Mass. He was at Watertown, Mass., in 1639, at Wey- mouth in 1640, and at Boston in 1660, but he removed to Stamford, this county, soon after the settlement of the place, and in 1685 he and his son Abraham were among the men who purchased the town of Bedford from the Indians, the locality being then known as the Hop Grounds. In 1666, he was said to be about fifty-five years old, and his death occurred in 1699. Before remov- ing to Stamford he had, by his first wife Sarah, the following children: Sarah, born December 4, 1639; Abraham (1), September 27, 164 1; and Abraham (2), September 22, 1642. His second wife, Elizabeth, died March 27, 1685. II. Abraham Ambler, youngest child of Richard, was married December 25, 1662, to Mary, daughter of Robert Bates. They had five children: Mary, born January 15, 1663; Abraham, January 5, 1665; John, February i, 1667; Joshua, September 8, 1670; and Sarah, October 6, 1672. III. John Ambler, the ne.xt in the line of de- scent in which we are now interested, married, and had three children; John, born February 15, 1695; Stephen, June 22, 1698; and Martha. March 17, 1700. IV. Stephen Ambler was a prominent citi- zen of Stamford in his day, and held the office of selectman. He married Deborah , and had four children: Joseph (born October 4, 1727), John, Stephen, and David. V. John Ambler was born March 24, 1728, and married Huldah Fairchild, by whom he had eight children: Stephen, Peter, Squire, Weborn, Silas, Gilead, Huldah and John. VI. Squire Ambler passed his boyhood amid the stirring times which preceded the Revolu- tionary war, and at the age of fourteen, instead of learning a trade, he enlisted at Danbury as an artificer in the Continental Army, under Captain Osborne. During the terrible winter at Valley Forge his exceptional fortitude and unswerving fidelity were noted by General Washington, who after several personal interviews promoted him, in the spring of 1778, to a position as one of his special guards. Thus the hardy and patriotic lad served throughout the war under the eye of the commander-in-chief, and he was present at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. The sword which he carried is a heavy blade encased in an iron sheath, forged by N. Starr, of Dan- bury, and is now in the possession of Mrs. R. C. Ambler, of Nichols, this county. At the close of the war Squire Ambler made his home in Dan- bury, and for a time he served as captain in the local militia. On February 5, 1784, he married Elizabeth Pickett, by whom he had two sons: Charles, born January 29, 1791; and Franklin Pickett, next in the line of descent which we are now tracing.