Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

VII. John Benjamin, whose winters are spent in New York City, resides during the sum- mer season in Stratford, at his beautiful country seat in Elm street. The family holds a high po- sition in social life, its members being welcomed in the most e.xclusive circles of the metropolis, and Mr. Benjamin is related to many promment citizens. A cousin, Col. Samuel NicoU Benja- min, married Miss Julia Fish, a daughter of the late Hon. Hamilton P'ish, of New York and Garrisons-on-Hudson. Hamilton Fish Benja- min, Julian Arnold Benjamin and Willam Mas- sena Benjamin are grandchildren of the late 284 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Hamilton Fish and sons of Col. Samuel NicoU Benjamin and Julia Fish. Mrs. John de Ruyter and Mrs. Moses Taylor Campbell, of New York, and Mrs. Willam Noble («(V I^rooks), of Bridge- port, Conn., are among his relatives, and are direct descendants of Governor Bradford through the marriage of Col. John Benjamin. The handsome Benjamin homestead at Strat- ford, Conn., the residence of Arthur Bedell Ben- jamin, which he inherited from his father, the Hon. Frederick Augustus Benjamin, stands in a park which has been in the possession of the Benjamin family more than one hundred and ninety }'ears, adjoining the celebrated Johnson country seat. Arthur Bedell Benjamin married Miss Jessamine Stagg, of Stratford. Arthur Bedell Benjamin's father, the Hon. Frederick' Augustus Benjamin, a son of Col. Aaron Benja- min and a grandson of Col. John Benjamin, mar- ried Elizabeth Bedell, only daughter of Kev. Doctor Gregory Thurston Bedell, the eminent New York clergyman, and a sister of the I'Jt. Rev. Gregory Thurston Bedell, the Bishop of Ohio. E PHR.AIM MEAD, a prominent resident of Greenwich, is a worthy representative of one of the oldest and most highly esteemed fam- ilies of Fairfield county. While he is of an un- ostentatious disposition, being averse to public display, he ranks among the substantial citizens of his town, and his influence is none the less potent for being quietly e.xercised. Mr. Mead is of the eighth generation in de- scent from John Mead [other authorities say William], who came from England in 1643 [other authorities say 1635], and in 1660 located in Greenwich, where his posterity is now numer- ous. The line of descent was continued through John, son of the pioneer, and the first of the Mead family to acquire land in Greenwich. Ebenezer Mead (1), the ne.xt in order of descent, was the fourth son of John, the son of the pio- neer. Ebenezer Mead (2), son of Ebenezer (i), and the great-great-grandfather of our subject, was born October 25, 1692, and died May 3, 1775. He was married December 12, 1717, to Hannah Brown, of Rye, N. Y., and had twelve children — eleven sons and one daughter. De- liverance Mead, our subject's great-grandfather, was the sixth son of Ebenezer (2), and was born May 4, 1728. He was married in June, 1759, to Miss Abigail Howe, who was born April 28, 1737, and died April 28, 1808; his own death occurred May 3, 1785. Abigail Howe was a daughter of Capt. Isaac Howe, a Revolutionary soldier, who was born January 9, 1710, a son of Isaac (i), and the grandson of Nathaniel Howe, who mar- ried a Miss Bauers, and became one of the pioneers of Greenwich, where he died June 29, 1692. Isaac Howe (i) was born September 20, 1669, and was married June i, 1701, to Eliza- beth Waterbury, his death occurring May 7, 1733. Elizabeth Waterbury was born January 19, 1683, a daughter of Lieut. David Waterbur)', who served in King Philip's war, and a grand- daughter of John Waterbury, who located, in 1646, in Stamford, where he died July 31, 1658. Isaac Howe (2), the Revolutionary hero, was born January 9, 1710, and died October 8, 1779. He was married in 1736 to Keziah Mead, who was born February 10, 1707, and died Novem- ber 19, 180S. By this it will be seen that our subject is connected with several of the leading families of that county. Ephraim Mead, the grandfather of our sub- ject, who bears his name, was the third son and the ninth child of Deliverance ^fead and his wife Abigail (Howe). He was born March 15, 1775, and died July 16, 1850. On November 30, 1808, he married Azuba Mead, who was born January 9, 1787, and died January 21, 1861. She was also a descendant of John Mead and Jonah Mead, the second son and child of Lieut. Caleb Mead, who was the second son of Ebe- nezer Mead (1). Jonah Mead married (first) Mary Mead, (second) Rachel Husted (mother of Azuba) and (third) Hannah Mead. To Ephraim and Azuba Mead eight children were born, viz. : Mary, who married Willis J. Merritt, of Nor- walk; Huldah, wife of Daniel S. Mead; Thurza and Alathea, who died in childhood; Jane, who married Elkanah Mead; Isaac Howe, who is mentioned more fully below; Elizabeth L. , born October 17, 1826, married, March 23, 1859, Au- gustus Mead; she died April 4, 1890; had Nelson B., Augustus I., Oliver Z. (died in infancy), and Samuel C. (died in infancy); and Orphelia, who died in childhood. The late Isaac Howe Mead, our subject's father, was born July 4, 1823, at Indian Field, in the town of Greenwich, and as the only son he inherited the old homestead there. He pos- sessed a fine intellect, and although his educa- tional privileges were of a crude sort he acquired a wide range of information through his own ef- fort. He was an energetic man, carrying through an undertaking successfully, and was of good physique, being about six feet tall and well pro- portioned. He was a member of the Society of the Second Congregational Church of Green- wich, which he attended, and to which he con- tributed of his means. He was respected through- COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 285 out the community for his integrity and upright- ness. On March i, 1855, he married Miss Mary E. Mead, and they made their home in the hand- some brick house built by his father in 1830. His death occurred December 13, 1889, and his wife passed away April 12, 1891, at Greenwich village, the remains of both being interred in the Putnam cemetery. Mrs. Mary E. Mead was a woman of refinement, and her iniluence as a kind mother and a loving wife made the home life an inspiration for good. She was a member of the Episcopal Church, and greatly beloved by her wide circle of friends. She died October 18, 1823, in New York City. She was of the seventh generation in descent from John Mead (i), the line being traced through John (2). Benja- min, fifth son of John (2). Captain Sylvanus (3) (Capt. Sylvanus Mead served as a corporal in the French and Indian war, 1759; ist Lieut, in the 8th Company, 7th Regiment, war of the Revolu- tion; was captured when Fort Washington was taken by the British on the i6th day of Novem- ber, 1776. He was afterward exchanged, and rendered valuable and efficient service in the struggle for liberty as captain of a company of Rangers until near the close of the war, when he was surprised by a party of Tories and shot by them at Greenwich, Conn., probably during the year 1781). Whitman, and Zophar Mead, her father. She was also of the eighth generation in descent from Capt. John Seaman, who, with his six sons, held the original patent, or grant, of Hempstead, Long Island, issued by the English Crown in 1665. Captain Seaman was engaged in various conflicts between the Dutch of New York and the English of Long Island, and in va- rious Indian wars from 1668 to 1676. Zophar Mead married Martha Seaman, who died in New York City May 29, 1869, and he died October 3, 1838. Our subject was the first in a family of seven children, of which six are living, and are now occupying honorable positions in business and social life. Their father gave them the best opportunities that lay within his power, and by precept and example he impressed them with a value of true manly character. The sec- ond son, Elbert, died in infancy; Clarkson S., a graduate of Columbia College and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, of New York, is a physi- cian at Port Chester, N. Y. ; Willard H. settled in Wyoming, where he conducts a ranch; Spencer P. graduated from the New York Law School, and is a member of the Bar of the State of New York; he resides in the metropolis, and is in the employ of the Standard Oil Company; Thomas M. is a farmer in the town of Greenwich, and Amos H. is engaged in business in Greenwich village. Our subject was born September 7, 1856, and was reared in the old homestead, his education being begun in the Cos Cob district schools with Miss Kate yuintard as his first teacher. Later he attended the academy at Greenwich, studying under Profs. Shephard and Webster, and in the intervals of school life he assisted in the work of the farm. At the age of twenty he was employed as a clerk in a grocery store at Greenwich, owned by Mosier & Mead, and after two years in that position he went into business for himself, pur- chasing a crockery store at Greenwich from E. N. Healey. This enterprise he carried on success- fully until 1895, when he sold out, and since that time he has given his attention to various invest- ments. He is interested in local progress, and he and his family are identified with the Second Con- gregational Church at Greenwich. In politics he is a Republican, and at one time he held the office of borough assessor. As an active member of the Amogerone Fire Company he has done much to promote the usefulness of the valued organization, having served as foreman and also as secretary and treasurer. He has also a pleas- ant home in Millbank avenue, Greenwich, built by himself, and he and his wife are prominent in the best social circles of the town. In 1890 he married Miss Katy McKinley, a native of New York, and a daughter of Hugh McKinley, deceased. As both her parents died when she was a child she was reared by her aunt, her girlhood being chiefly spent in Dunellen, N. J. Three children brightened the home of our subject: Mary E., Clarkson H. and Richard O.