Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Samuel Blackman, our subject's father, being the youngest son, inherited the homestead, a large estate near the "Rackets," where he fol- lowed farming throughout his life. Pie was never inclined to public life, and took little interest in local affairs of a political nature, but for years he was a leading member of the Episcopal Church. He died in 1870. He married Eunice Ann Skidmore, daughter of Abel Skidmore, of Lake George District, and they had the follow- ing children: James, a resident of Newtown, who died in 1894; A. Beers, who resides in Buffalo; Lucy (deceased), who married William Guire, of Bethel, this county; Lacy, who died in Bridge- port, this county; Maryette, wife of Wilson Lyon, of Bethel; Bennett, our subject; Clark, a resi- dent of Taunton District, town of Newtown; and Charlotte, wife of Stephen Burns, of Bridgeport. Our subject was born June 14, 1S20, at the old homestead in the town of Newtown. At an early age he learned the trade of combmaker, and from 1840 to 1848 he followed that business at the "Neck," near Lake George. He then en- gaged in butchering, locating first in Hawleyville in 1850, and in 1862 removing to Newtown, where he continued the business until 1881, when he relinquished it to his son, John H. Blackman. In all his undertakings he was suc- cessful, and notwithstanding the pressure of business cares, he found time to take an active part in the various movements of his day and locality. In 1876 he represented his town in the State Legislature, and he was constable for twenty years, member of the board of relief one year, grand juror for twenty years, and assessor for one term. Mr. Blackman has always shown a ready sympathy with religious work, and is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church at New- town. He has been twice married, first lime in 1840, to Miss Hepsa Sheppard, daughter of Orrin Sheppard, of Newtown. She died November 27, 1856, and in January, i860, Mr. Blackman wedded Elizabeth Piatt, who passed away in August, 1889. By his first wife he had two children: Susan Jane and John Henry; the daughter married (first) Rockwell Smith, of Brookfield, who met a soldier's death in the Civil war, and (second) she wedded Rufus Short, of Bethel, this county. John H. Blackman, the younger child and only son of our subject, is a worthy representa- tive of this highly-respected family. From early manhood he was associated with his father in business, and since the spring of 1881, when he 23£ COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. purchased the meat market, he has successfLilly conducted it on his own account. This is now one of the oldest estabUshments in the town, and is the only one of the kind on the street. He deals chiefly in native beef, and in all ways seeks to deserve the confidence of his customers. In December, 1875, he married Miss Isabell Win- ton, daughter of Oscar Winton, a well-knuwn resident of Grays Plain District, town of New- town; no children have blessed this union. Mr. Blackman and his wife are prominent socially, and he is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church of Newtown, and of various fraternal orders, be- lonf;ing to Hiram Lodge No. 18, F. & A. M., the Knights of Honor, the B. P. O. E., of Bridgeport, of which he is a charter member, and Samaritan Lodge, I. O. O. F. , of Danbury; his father was at one time connected with the last named order. He has also been actively identified with local movements of different kinds, and has been foreman of the Newtown Volunteer Hook and Ladder Company ever since its organ- ization in 1883. Politically, he is a Democrat, and he is one of the best-known managers of the party in his vicinity. Since 1876 he has held the office of constable continuously, except for one year, and in 1879 he served as a member of the State I^egislature; iu 1891, during the memor- able deadlock in the Legislature, he acted as doorkeeper of the Senate. CiHARLES BAH.EY MASON. Public officials _ who will use their positions as vantage ground for securing to the people the greatest possible good are rare, and the good citizens of Danbury have shown their appreciation of the fact in the hearty endorsement which they have given to this able and public-spirited gentleman. At present Mr. Mason is postmaster of that city, but his reputation for ability and faithfulness was estab- lished years ago in other responsible positions. Danbury will not soon forget his services as se- lectman, and many substantial improvements stand as a monument to his zeal and foresight. As Mr. Mason can claim descent in the ma- ternal line from several old New England families, his ancestral record is of more than usual interest, and may suitably introduce his personal history. His father, Charles B. Mason, who was born in New York City, January 20, 1807, died February 2, 1842, nearly five months before our subject was born. The mother, whose maiden name was Caroline Barnum, contracted a second mar- riage, in 1844, with Peter M. Holmes. By her first marriage she had three children: Mary A., who died in infancy; Mary Emeline, who died at the age of eighteen; and Charles B., our subject. There were three children by the second union: John Timmeron, who entered the Union army during the Civil war, was wounded and captured at the battle of Tybee Island, and died in a prison at Charleston, S. C. ; Catherine Ann, who died in infancy; and Granville Orrin, now a resident of Danbury. Our subject's mother was born at Danbury, January 14, 1816, and died April 18, 1889. Through her father, Zoroaster Barnum, she was related to the well-known Connecticut family of that name, and her mother, Betsey Benedict, was a lineal descendant of one William Benedict I, who lived in Nottinghamshire, Eng- land, about the year 1500. He had one son, William H, who also had an only son called William HI. The third William had an only child called Thomas IV, born in i6[7, who was put out as an apprentice to a weaver, and after- ward, in the twenty-first year of his age, came to New England together with his step-sister, Mary Bridgam, whom he married. They settled at Massachusetts Bay, and from there they moved to Southhold, Long Island, where were born to them five sons and four daughters, namely: Thomas, John, Samuel, James, Daniel, Betty, Mary, Sarah and Rebecca. In 1657 he resided at Huntington, Long Island. In 1663 he moved to Norwalk, Conn., and in the ensuing year he was appointed selectman of the town and also town clerk. He held the latter office until 1674, and was selectman until 1688. In 1670 he was re[)re- sentative of Norwalk in the General Assem- bly, and again in 1675. In the patent granted by the General Court in 1686, confirming the title of Norwalk, Thomas Benedict's name is in- serted as a patentee. In May, 1684, the General Court appointed him and three others to plant a town above Norwalk at Paquage, and in the fall of that year and the spring of 1685 Samuel and James, sons of Thomas, and si.x others with their families settled there, the land having been pur- chased from the Indians. They asked that their settlement might be called Swamfield, but in 1687 the General Court denied their request and called it Danbury. Thomas Benedict is identi- fied with the founding of the first Presbyterian Church in America, in Jamaica in 1662. He held the office of commissioner when the Dutch Gov- ernor Stuyvesant, of New York, surrendered New York to the English, and was a delegate from Jamaica to the first Legislative body con- vened in New Yorlv. In the various Indian wars of his time he took an active part, and was appointed, L»y Governor Nichols, of New York, lieutenant of the Foot Company, of Jamaica, his commission «■)■., /^.?^d.-<i.-€rT,^<^ COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 283 being dated at New York April 7, 1665. His will, which was executed February 28, l68y, states he was " weak of body, aged seventy-three years, yet of perfect mind and memory." Sam- uel Benedict V, son of Thomas, was born at Southhold, L. I., in 1641, and continued to re- side with his father until after his removal to Norwalk, Conn. He was married July 7, 167S, to Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Andrews, of Fairfield, Conn., and had five children, namely: Thomas, Nathaniel, Abraham, Rebecca and Esther. He settled at Danbury, in 1684, with his brother James, and his brother-in-law, James Beebe, and thus it will be seen that the majority of the first settlers of Danbury were of Benedict stock and connection. They soon built a little church, 40 .\ 30 feet, and when its frame was raised every person in the town was present and sat together on its sills. Samuel, who had been a deacon of the Church while a resident of Nor- walk, was first deacon of the Church. He was named as the patentee in the Patent of Danbury, granted by the General Assembly, May, 1702. Inventory of his will, dated April 17. 1719, shows a total of ^^185, lis, 5d. Abraham \T, son of Samuel, was born June 21, 1681. He married Sarah Hickok, and had eight children, namely: Abraham, Timothy, Jabez, Israel, Silas, Rebecca, Mary and Elizabeth. His will was pro- bated June 15, 1779. Jabez Vn, son of Abra- ham,married Charity Booth, and resided in Dan- bury, Conn., Cornwall, Conn., and Johns- town, N. Y. , where he died in 1801. He had five children: Eunice, Rachel, Sarah, Jabez, and Ephraim. Ephraim VHI, son of Jabez, was born February 4, 1765, and married September 30, 1784, Betsey, daughter of Samuel and Mary Curtis, of Danbury. She was born June 16, 1765, and died September 9, 1825. He was married again, May 2, 1827, to Widow Anna Barlow, who died in November, 1865, aged ninety-eight years and four months. Ephraim Benedict died at Danbury April 27, 1849. He served three months in the Revolutionary army; his father-in-law, Samuel Curtis, served as en- sign in eight companies in the French and Indian war, and three in the war of the Revolution. Ephraim had seven children, all by his first wife, namely: John Curtis, Sarah, Jabez, Ruth, Bet- sey, Roswell, and Elias Curtis. Betsey IX, daughter of Ephraim, was born April 7, 1796, and in 181 8 she married Zoroaster Barnum, and had two children: Caroline X, our subject's mother, and Eliza; she died at Danbury Oc- tober 19, 1873.