Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Like all of his family, he was public-spirited, and although he never cared for office, he never declined to serve when elected to the various positions when there was good work to be done. Among the offices he held were those of select- man and road commissioner, and his fidelity to duty was shown in the least as well as in great and important undertakings. On May 12, 1843, he was commissioned by the Governor as cap- tain of the Second Company of the Ninth Regi- ment of Connecticut ^Iilitia, his appointment dating from August 2, 1841. In politics he was first a Whig and afterward a Republican, and in religious faith he was a Congregationalist, being a leading member of the Greenwich Church, in which he held the office of deacon for more than twenty years. His sound judgment and integ- rity gave him great influence among all classes in the community, his advice being sought on various questions. Of his eight children, the eldest, Thirza J., born January 14, 1841, died June 13, 1843. Catherine L., born August 20, 1842, died in Greenwich township January 31, 1893, unmarried. Hannah B., born December 21, 1844, in Stamford township, married Jared Finch, and died January 11, 1871; she had one daughter, Jeannette Mead, born May 9, 1868. Elizabeth H., born January 13, 1847, resides in Greenwich, unmarried. E. Belcher was the fifth in order of birth. Stephen W., born July 25, 1853, died April 29, 1855. Abram V. was born June 30, 1857. Elkanah Mead, Jr., born June 23, 1851, was married October 20, 1880, to Miss Esther L. Waterbury, who was born in Stam- ford July II, 1856, the daughter of Aaron T. and Lavina (Searles) Waterbury ; they had three children — E. Belcher, born May 11, 1884, who died July 31, 1885; Catherine, born June 30, ] 886, and Winifred E. , born November 21,1 889. Jane Mead, the wife of Elkanah Mead, was born July 19, 181 7, at Indian Field, in the town of Greenwich, and died April 28, 1872. She was of the seventh generation from John, the pioneer, and was a daughter of Ephraim Mead, who was born March 15, 1778, and died July 16, 1850. He was married November 30, 1808, to Azuba Mead, who was born January 9, 1787, and died January 31, 1861. Ephraim Mead was a son of I3eliverance Mead, who was born May 4, 1728, and died May 3, 1785; he was married in June, 1759, to Abigail Howe, born April 28, 1737, died April 26, 1808. Deliverance Mead was the sixth son of Ebenezer Mead (2), who was born October 25, 1692, and died in May, 1775, and whose wife, Hannah Brown, of Rye,. N. Y., bore him twelve children. The line of descent is traced back through Ebenezer (2), Ebenezer (i) and John (2) to John, the pioneer. E. Belcher Mead was born April 15, 1849, at the homestead in North Cos Cob District, Green- wich, where he attended the common schools for some time, later entering the academy at Green- wich, where he studied under Prof. Frank Shep- herd. For several years he worked as assistant to Daniel S. Mead, Jr., a civil engineer of New York City, and for some time he was himself employed as a civil engineer by the municipality, but he subsequently secured a position with the Standard Oil Company and is now the manager of one of their departments. Mr. Mead is a member of the Congregational Church at Green- wich. In politics he is a Republican, but aside from voting regularly he does not take an active part in the work of the organization. CLARK SEELEY (deceased). The subject of' this memoir was for many years identified with agricultural interests in the town of Bridge- port and Stratford, and his death, which occurred' July 16, 1871, at the comparatively early age of forty-six years, caused sincere grief among a large circle of friends whose esteem had been, won by his sterling qualities of character. Mr. Seeley was hiorn September 12, 1825, at Bridgeport, and was a descendant of an honored' pioneer family of that locality. Monson Seeley, the father of our subject, was also a native of Bridgeport, where he followed farming during his. active life, and his first wife, Fannie Mallett, was a daughter of Lewis Mallett, a well-known resi- dent of Tashua, TrumbulL They, had three; 288 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. children: (i) Mallett, who married Mary Beach, and died leaving two sons^George, now a livery man in Bridgeport, and Henry, a farmer at Rocky Hill; (2) Clark, our subject; and (3) W^illiam, who died in infancy. For his second wife Mr. See- ley married Lucinda M. Summers, sister of Stephen Summers, of Birmingham. The early life of our subject was spent in Bridgeport, and for some years he was engaged in agriculture there, but in 1861 he removed to the present homestead in the town of Stratford. While he was not especially active in politics, he was always interested in public affairs, and throughout his life was a devout adherent of the Democratic party. On September 3, 1848, he married Miss Caroline C. Peck, who survives him with three daughters: (i) Julia C. married Henry •Thompson, of Bridgeport; (2) Cornelia J. mar- ried (first) Domingus O. Mello, of New York City (now deceased), and (second) Charles A. Billings, then of Rhode Island, but now a resi- -dent of New York. (3) Lucinda M. married Bernard T. Burchardi, a business man in Florida. Mrs. Seeley, who still resides at the home- stead, is a devout member of the Episcopal Church, with which her ancestors have been identified for many generations, and she is held in high esteem in the best social circles of Strat- ford. She was born in New York, October 10, 1823, a daughter of Benjamin Williams Peck, and granddaughter of Deacon Daniel Peck, a shoemaker by trade, who married Phoebe Whit- Jock. Benjamin Williams Peck was born in Dan- bury, this county, November 20, 1791, and died October 8, 1823, aged thirty-two years. He was married November 20, 18 10, to Miss Caroline Hawley, who was born in Trumbull, this county, May 23, 1796, a daughter of Thomas Hawley, a native of England. She survived him many years, dying July 14, 1871, at the age of seventy- five years. Mrs. Seeley was the youngest in a family of five children, the others being: Emeline Delia, born December 31, 1812, who married Samuel LaForge, of New York, and died January .8, 1856; Ursula C, born January 4, 1815, who died October 9, same year; Benjamin W., born December 24, 1816, who died in Milford, where he was engaged in the shoemaker's trade; and Daniel S., born F'ebruary 6, 182 i, who died Jan- uary 10, 1822. CHARLES T. LEONARD, prominent in busi- __ ' ness circles and well-known in social life in Norwalk, is a native of Long Island, having been born at Flushing, October 11, 1823, of English extraction. Stephen Leonard, his father, was born in New Jersey, where he learned the carpenter's trade. This he followed for some time in that State, later removing to Flushing, L. I., where he became captain of a steamboat, and followed the sea during the rest of his life. He married Sarah Cornell, a member of an old English fam- ily on Long Island, and four children were born in this family: William, of a Life and Accident In- surance Co., with ofhce in New York; Charles T., our subject; George, deceased; and Elijah, of the firm of S. D. Althouse & Co., New York City. Stephen Leonard was a Democrat in politics. He is interred in the cemetery at Flushing, Long Island. Charles T. Leonard spent his early days on Long Island, and was given superior educational advantages, of which he made exceptionally good use. He first attended school at Flushing, then at Whippany, N. J. (a town where the stage coach was its only means of communication with the outside world), and finally completed his education at Jamaica, Long Island. In 1838 Mr. Leonard came to Fairfield county, and entered the general store of his cousins, T. L. and J. R. Peck, at South Norwalk, where he remained for nine years. Then, in company with his brother William, he started a general merchandise store at Newtown, Long Island, but this lasted for only six months, when Mr. Leonard sold out his interest and returned to Norwalk, there opening a similar store, which he conducted for the space of one year. At the close of his mercantile ventures he engaged in the slooping business, carrying freight between here and New York City. His work prospered, and in a short time he purchased valuable dock property and two boats, later adding a third boat. The business rapidly increased, and for a few years proved quite lucrative, though for some time he contin- ued to conduct the freighting at the Connecticut end of the line. In 1859 he bought his present property, since engaging in the coal, brick and building material business. He deals in all kinds of coal and masons' building materials, and manufactures cement pipe for sewers, etc. He is also an owner or a part owner of a water plant in New York State. Ever since his coming to Norwalk his activity and commanding personality have made themselves felt in business circles, and he has become widely known as a business man far beyond the boundaries of Fairfield county. On January 17, 1847, Charles T. Leonard was married to Emily Street, a daughter of Ed- ward H. Street, of Norwalk. Four children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Leonard. COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 239 Mr. Leonard is a stanch Republican, and Avhile he faithfully exercises his right of franchise he has had but little time to devote to the active work of the party, his private interests fully ab- sorbing his time. He is a member of the F. & A. M., and for some time served that fraternity as junior deacon. The entire family are active members of the Episcopal Church. Though now advanced in years, Mr. Leonard still attends to his own affairs with all the energy and acumen that characterized his early efforts. Genial and •courteous, wide-awake and progressive, he is a bright companion, and socially a very popular man.