Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

of the town of Bethel, and was educated in the I district schools of that locality. He learned the hatter's trade with Joseph Hitchcock, of Plum Trees District, town of Bethel, and later engaged in hat manufacturing in his own district, continuing until 1855, when he turned his atten- tion to farming. In religious work he was active as a member of the Episcopal Church, and his sterling qualities of character won for him the esteem of all who knew him. He died June 25, 1876, in his eighty-fifth year. His wife, Fannie Burr, to whom he was married in Redding on October 2, 1816, was a daughter of David Burr and granddaughter of Moses Burr, both well known residents of Weston, this county. Eight children were born of this union, all of whom lived to ma,turity: (i) Lorenzo, born Novem- ber 29, 181 7, started to California by sea in 1849, and died on the voyage. (2) Maria, born September 2, 1819, was married in 1846 to Josiah H. Hornblower, who died March 29, 1879. She had one daughter, Annie S., who married George B. Benjamin, Jr., of Danbury, and died August 24, 1896. (3) Caroline, born November 18, 1 82 1, married Russell Hoyt, of Danbury, now deceased, and they had five children — Le- Grande, a resident of St. Louis; George, de- ceased; Julia, who married Louis Wakely, of Stepney, this county; Russell, a resident of Brooklyn, N. Y., and Lorenzo, of Bethel. (4) Emeline, born April 18, 1824, is the widow of William K. Banks, of Norwalk, Conn., and has two children — Emma and Edward K. (5) Fannie, born December 28, 1826, married the late Reuben Taylor, and has one son, Reuben R. (6) George, our subject, is mentioned more fully below. (7) Edson, born March 15, 1834, is a resident of Danbury. He married Miss Searls, and has one daughter, Frances. (8) William, born March 4, 1838, resides in Bethel. During his boyhood our subject attended the •district schools near his home, and also learned some branches of the hatter's trade under his fa- ther's direction. Later he went to Danbury to learn the details of silk-hat manufacturing with McKenzie & Roe, and from 1849 to 1861 he gave his attention to that line of work. He then re- moved to New York City and followed his trade for a time. In the spring of 1865 he located at New Britain, Conn., where he clerked in a hotel until 1870. His next employment was as a fore- man in a hat shop in Newark, N. J., and from there he went to Philadelphia. In 1879 he re- turned to Bethel and purchased the farm upon which he was born, having decided to engage in the healthful calling of agriculture, and this he continued until 1891, when he sold the farm and moved to his present home in Bethel. Mr. Mor- gan is a member of the Episcopal Church at Bethel, and his sympathies are always on the side of progress, any movement for the benefit of the community receiving his endorsement. FREDERICK C. TAYLOR, present judge of the Court of Probate for the district of Stamford, Fairfield county, stands foremost among the younger men of this section who have made a mark for themselves. He is a native of Stamford, born November 3, 1866, and is a son of Henry F. Taylor. Henry F. Taylor was born in the town of Westport, Fairfield county, Conn. John W. Taylor, his father, was prominent there in his day, carried on a drug and stationery business, and was town clerk for thirty-two years. Henry F. Taylor, our subject's father, was born in the town of Westport, Fairfield county, and there grew to manhood, receiving a good education. During the principal part of his business life he was engaged on " Scribner's Magazine," and, later on, "The Churchman," holding the posi- tion of advertising editor. In October, 1863, he was married in Stamford to Mary E. Clark, and is now living retired in that town. His family consisted of children, as follows: Emily L. , Fred- erick C, Francis G. and Sarah H. The elder son in this family, Frederick C. Taylor, received his preliminary education in Stamford, attending the common and high schools of that town. In 1883, at the age of eighteen years, he entered the employ of The Continental Insurance Company, in New York City, continu- ing in its service some five years, and in 1888 embarked in the insurance brokerage business in New York, on his own account. Two years later he came to Stamford, and in partnership with R. J. Bishop, under the firm name of Bishop & Tay- lor, engaged in the real-estate business, in which he was interested for several years. Meantime, in 1893, he commenced the study of law, and in 1894 entering the law school of Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1896. His con- nection with the real-estate business was severed after his graduation, and in February of the fol- lowing year he formed a law partnership with James S. Jenkins, the firm name being Taylor & Jenkins. In November of the same year, he was elected on the Republican ticket, to the office of Judge of Probate, for the District of Stamford, Fairfield county. In 1892 Mr. Taylor was married to Miss Elizabeth H. Tilley, daughter of George H. Tilley, who resides in the town of Darien, and is 276 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. secretary and treasurer of the Southern Express Company. Two children have been born to them; Harriet Dorothy, December 4, 1894, and Frederick Heath, September 15, 1896. Judge Taylor has always taken a lively interest in social organizations. He is a member of the Suburban Club of Stamford, the Graduates Club of New Haven, the Phi Delta Phi fraternity, and the Yale Club of New York. While at New Haven he was chairman of the editorial board of the "Yale Law Journal." JAMES \V. GORDON, M. D. The Gordon family has held a prominent place in Scot- ' tish history, and the branch to which this well-known physician belongs has been identiiied with the 'city of Glasgow, Scotland, for many gen- erations. Dr. Alexander Gordon, our subject's grand- father, was a native of that city, and although he served as a surgeon in the English army previ- ous to his marriage, he afterward engaged suc- cessfully in general practice there, and at one time he owned two apothecary shops in the city. A tinge of romance surrounds his marriage, as his wife, Elizabeth Hellen Gordon, was a mem- ber of the Catholic branch of the family while he was a Protestant in religious faith, and the oppo- sition of the lady's brothers, John W., George and Charles, formed for a time a serious obsta- cle to the union. About 1848 he came to America, leaving his wife and children in Glas- gow, and for five years he was not heard from. Hoping to gain some knowledge of him, his wife disposed of their property and followed him to this country, with five of their six children, the eldest son remaining in Madrid, where he was at- tending college at the time. .^ftera short period they located in this county, in \vhat is now known as South Center District, of the town of Newtown, where the wife and mother died in 1853. Of the six children, John, the eldest, our subject's father, is mentioned more fully below. William married Margaret Egan, and made his home at Newtown, Conn. ; James enlisted when eighteen years old in the Union army, and met a soldier's death at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. Georgianna married John Ennis, of Ansonia; Elizabeth married Edward Eagan, of Newtown; and Ina married William Baum, of New Haven, ( oniiecticut. John Gordon, the father of our subject, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1832, and was carefully educated, having the advantage of study in several noted European schools. In 1851 he followed the family to America, but as he did