Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

On August 3, 1876, Doctor Melbourne married Miss Hannah Westcott, and five children have blessed the union, three of whom are now living, viz. : Harriet, J. Frederick and Bessie M. Mrs. Melbourne is a native of New York City, and her paternal ancestors came from England at an early period. Her grandfather, Zina Westcott, was born on Rhode Island, but late in life settled at Tolland, Conn., and, like many of the earlier generations of the family, he was a carpenter and joiner by trade. Lewis J. Westcott, Mrs. Melbourne's father, was a native of Rhode Island, and became a manufacturer of soft drinks. His wife, Hopee Carpenter, who died in 1884, was a lady of English descent and was born at Stafford Springs, Conn., a daughter of Salmon Carpenter, a veteran of the war of 1812, and a granddaughter of Jonathan Abel Carpenter, who served in the Revolutionary war. The Car- penters have been largely identified with agri- cultural pursuits. Mrs. Melbourne is the young- est in a family of three children, the others be- ing: Charles L., a carpenter of Bridgeport, and Frank, who is engaged in the same business in Stafford Springs. S>AMUEL B. MIDDLEBROOK, a prosperous ,^) farmer of Wilton, Conn., was born in that town February 24, 1828, and was there well educated in the common schools. From early boyhood he was engaged in farming, with the exception of the time he spent in California in the search for gold in 1852, making the journey thither by way of the Isthmus, during which time he had some remarkable experiences. In politics he was originally an Old-line Whig, and upon the organization of the Republican party he be- came identified therewith, and he still adheres thereto. As such he has held several of the local offices of his town, such as selectman, for seven years from 1861 to 1868, and most of the other town offices. During the war of the Rebellion he was active and earnest in the support of the Government, and was instrumental in sending many soldiers to the front. He married Miss Sarah L. Lockwood, daughter of John and Mercy (Weed) Lockwood, of New Canaan, Conn. She was born June 8, 1831, and died October 4, 1878, the mother of the following children: George S. , born January 3, 1857, died December 26, 1864; William L., born May 20, 1858, died December 29, 1 864; John F., mentioned below; Samuel E., born April 22, 1853, died January 6, 1865; Joseph W., men- tioned below; Mercy W., mentioned below; and Miss Sarah L., born March 26, 1874. Mr. Mid- dlebrook is a man of more than ordinary mental qualities, keen and incisive in his grasp of ideas or in the expression of a thought. He must be accounted one of the interesting characters in New England life. John F. Middlebrook, eldest living son of the subject of this sketch, was born December 28, i860, in the town of Wilton and educated there in the common schools, subsequently taking academic work at Prof. Olmstead's school. Afterward he graduated at Columbia Law Col- lege of New York, and he is now practicing his profession in that city, and enjoying a large degree of success. He married Miss Minnie ni ?t3}^'K'!i COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 323 Jones, of Brooklyn, N. Y. , she having been born there in 1862. Two children have graced this union: Mary Ann and George. The mother of these died, and Mr. ^fiddlebrook has not married again. Joseph W. Middlebrook, second eldest living son of the subject of this sketch, was born July 31, 1865, and was educated in the common schools of his native town, subsequently prepar- ing for Yale College at Professor Olmstead's school in Wilton, afterward graduating at Yale College in 1887. Then attending Columbia Law College in New York, he graduated from that institution in 1889. He is now practicing his profession in Tarry town, N. Y., where he was elected a director in the Tarrytown liank. He is also a collector of collateral inheritance tax at Dobbs Ferry, N. Y. He married Miss Emma Bradley, daughter of David Ogden Bradley, of Dobbs Ferry, and they have two children — Bradley and Joseph. Mercy W. Middlebrook, eldest daughter of our subject, was born January 22, 1870, in the town of Wilton, received her early education there, later graduating from St. Margaret's Sem- inary at Waterbury, Conn. She married George Boyd, of the firm of Root & Boyd, insurance agents at Waterbury, Conn. Mr. Boyd is a singer of renown, and leader of the choir in his Church. He and his wife have one child, Mercy. Michael Middlebrook, great-grandfather of ■our subject, was born in the town of Fairfield, Conn., and was there educated, afterward en- gaging extensively in farming. He married Abiah Summers. Summers Middlebrook, son of Michael and Abiah (Summers) Middlebrook, and grandfather of the subject proper of these lines, was born December 25, 1748, in the town of Wilton, and was there educated in the common schools. After leaving school he engaged in farming, and .followed that honorable occupation all his life. He was also accustomed to do his own tanning and blacksmithing. He served his country faith- fully and effectively in the f^evolutionary war, being in Captain Arnold's company, and later in Captain Gilbert's company. He married Susanna Beal, who was born February 11, 1755. She was a most ardent Christian, led a devoted and blameless life, and her influence has descended to the present generation of her descendants. The children born to Summers and Susanna (Beal) Middlebrook were as follows: Matthew, born November 10, 1781, married Betsey Abbott; William, born January 23, 1784,. married ISctsey Denton; Abijah, born September 8, 1786, re- mained single (he opened the first store in Mid- dletown. Orange county, N. Y. ); Anna, born November 21, 1788, married John Jones; George, born September 6, 1792, married Lucretia Sturges; Jonathan, born September 17, 1794, remained single; and Sarah, born April i, 1798, married William I^ester. George Middlebrook, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in the town of Wilton, and there educated in the common schools. After leaving school he adopted the occupation of farming, and during the training days was colonel of a regiment of militia. He was a man of great strength of character, and highly respected as a citizen and as a man. Politically, he was a Whig, was selectman of his town, and while not a member of any Church was yet greatly inter- ested in the cause of religion. He married Miss Lucretia Sturges, daughter of Samuel and Mary (Hurlbutt) Sturges, the former of whom was a farmer of Wilton. She was born there January 24, 1801, and died June 3, 1871. The children born to them were as follows: Mary, born De- cember 29, 18 18, married William Harris; Su- sanna, born October 2, 1820, married Le Grand Comstock; Clarissa, born May 17, 1822, married Ebenezer Be ts; Henrietta, born May 15, 1824, married William D. Gregory; Sarah A., born January 21, 1826, is now the widow of W. D. Gregory, she having been his second wife; Sam- uel B. (our subject), born February 24, 1828; Elizabeth A., born November 21, 1831, married John Hill; I^ucretia, born November 13, 1833, married A. E. Brown; Emily, born November 20, 1835, married John L. Lockwood; Gertrude, born March 4, 1837, married Dr. J. E. Turner; Helen, born June 13, 1839, is still single; Vir- ginia S., born June 2 1, 1842, married a Mr. Wil- kinson; and Georgia, born January 12, 1847, died when about twelve years of age. GEORGE MORGAN, one of the honored and substantial agriculturists of Danbury, was born in that town July 12, 1826, a son of Peter Morgan, and a grandson of Joseph Morgan. The Morgan family were of English stock, and early settled in this country. Joseph Mor- gan followed the occupation of farming in Fair- field county. He married Miss Mary Drew, of Wilton, and the young couple then settled on a farm in New I^airfield, where they reared their family of nine children: Joseph, who carried on farming in New York State; John and Drew, who were also farmers in New York State; Peter, the father of our subject; James, a farmer in the town of Danbury; Stephen, a farmer in western New York; Hannah, married to Cleveland, S24 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. of New Fairfield; Clara, who married Darius Hoyt, of New Fairfield; and Mary, wfio married Elija Sherwood, also of New Fairfield. Peter Morgan was reared on the farm in New Fairfield, and enjoyed the usual educational privileges of farmer boys in that day. Before 1812 he went to work for Isaac Seeley, of Bethel. He married Clarissa Taylor, a sister of Joel Tay- lor, so well known in the manufacturing world of Danbury in the early half of this century. They settled on a farm in Danbury, and reared a family of seven children, as follows: Sally (deceased) married John Johnson, a combmaker of Bethel, now living retired; Mary married Frank Judd, a farmer of Bethel, and both are now deceased; Taylor was a farmer, later a butcher, in Birming- ham, where he died in 1892; Peter was a hatter in Danbury, and died in Brookfield in 18S9; George is our subject; Ursula married Charles D. Leavenworth, a hatter, and both are de- ceased; and Jerome R. lives on the old farm in Bethel. The father of this family died m 1S71, at the age of eighty years; the mother passed away in 1878, aged eighty-one. In politics, Mr. Morgan was a Democrat. George Morgan passed his early days in the unevenlful manner of farmers' boys, working on the farm and attending the district school about three months in the year. When seventeen years old he began to learn the hatter's trade under Russell Benedict, and during the years between 1843 and 1891 he followed that trade, in which latter year he retired from the active cares of business, and is now living quietly on the old homestead, enjoying the reward of his industry and economy. There are seventy-five acres on this farm, devoted to general farming.