Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

During his youth Dr. Mead enjoyed the ad- vantages of a country life, and he was thor- oughly initiated into the mysteries of farm man- agement while working on the homestead under his father's direction. His education was begun in the schools of Cos Cob District, with Miss Quintard as his first teacher, and after com- pleting the course of study offered there he at- tended Greenwich Academy, pursuing the higher branches under Professor Shepherd, in prepara- tion for a collegiate course. In 1878 he entered Columbia College, New York City, and on gradu- ating from the literary department in 1882 he took the medical course offered in that institu- tion, receiving the degree of M, D. in the class of '85. For two years longer he continued his studies in the metropolis, the greater portion of the time being spent in Roosevelt Hospital, where for eighteen months — from December i, 1885, to June I, 1887 — he was on the house staff, and for six months he was house physician In the summer of 1887 he returned to his native town. While looking about for a suitable location for his professional work, he was encouraged by fre- quent calls from the people of Greenwich, and later in the same year he located permanently at Port Chester. He met with success from the start, in the face of competition which would have filled a less competent practitioner with dismay, and he now has a large and lucrative business, with every prospect of further advance. He is and has been for several years one of the attending physicians of the Ladies Hospital of Port Chester. In politics the Doctor is a stanch Republican, and he is a leading member of the S32 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Congregational Church at Port Chester. So far he has not donned the matrimonial yoke, but he is popular socially, and is identified with various fraternal orders, including the Royal Arcanum, the Foresters, and the Improved Order of Red Men, all of Port Chester. CiHARLES D. BURNES. Official honors _ ' come to the few in early life; the majority attain them in their riper years. The lives of Americans who have won lasting fame in states- manship and in professional honors abound in these instances of early recognition, and it is therefore rather in the direction of prophetic pre- monition that similar occurrences point. To Charles D. Burnes, judge of the borough court at Greenwich, has come the honor of being the youngest incumbent of that office Greenwich has ever had. Judge Burnes comes from a sturdy Scotch- Irish ancestry, his great-grandfather having been an emigrant from the North of Ireland. The grandfather, James Burnes, was a successful merchant. The father, Rev. Harvey E. Burnes, is a Methodist Episcopal clergyman, now sta- tioned at Bridgeport, Conn. To Rev. Harvey E. and Grace (Andrew) Burnes were born four children, three of whom are now living. Of these our subject is the eldest; Everett A. is in the ministry; the youngest, Grace E., is at home with her parents. Charles D. Burnes was born at Kensington, Conn., August 4, 1871, and was graduated from the Hackettstown, N. J., Institute in 1888. He then for two years attended Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn. He entered Yale Law School, from which he was graduated in 1893. The young lawyer immediately began the prac- tice of his profession at South Norwalk, Conn., where he remained until July, 1894, when he be- came an associate of Hon. R. Jay Walsh at Greenwich, and later, in July, 1898, opened an office in that place. The same year he came to Greenwich he was elected deputy registrar of voters, and later clerk of the borough court, and in 1897, at the age of twenty-six years, he was elected judge of the borough court. This judicial position he has filled with signal ability, and he has thoroughly demonstrated his unusual legal attainments. In politics Judge Burnes is a Republican, and he is regarded as one of the vital forces of the party at Greenwich. He is an active and inde- fatigable worker in its ranks, and is growing steadily in the esteem of the community. He is a member of Indian Harbor Yacht Club, and of the Amogerone Fire Company at Greenwich. He was married in 1S95 to Miss Elizabeth May Raymond, daughter of Thomas I. Raymond, of South Norwalk, Conn. To Mr. and Mrs. Burnes has come one child, Dudley Raymond, born in November, 1895. In that year Judge Burnes built on Putnam avenue the cozy home which he now occupies. MELSON BUSH MEAD. Among the most attractive dwellings to be found in this re- gion, favored as it is by a class of residents who have added to nature's charms the most pleasing conception of modern architectural skill, is the home of the subject of this sketch, a well-known resident of Belle Haven, in the town of Green- wich. Its location is unsurpassed for beauty, and while the house is modern in construction and convenience it possesses a unique charm be- cause it is built of huge boulders, natural size, which had previously been used for several gen- erations for fencing upon the farm, and had been first taken from their resting places by our sub- ject's ancestors. They have been most ingen- iously placed in the structure, the smaller stones being assigned to the uses for which they were best adapted, and the result is thoroughly satis- factory from an artistic standpoint. Mr. Mead was born March 25, i860, and is of the eighth generation in direct descent from John Mead [other authorities say William], who came from England in 1642 [others authorities say 1635J, and in October, 1660, located at Sound Beach in the town of Green- wich, the first settlement made in that sec- tion. The two sons of the pioneer, John and Joseph, accompanied him to Greenwich, and the former was the progenitor of the various branches now residing there. Ebenezer Mead (i), son of John, son of the pioneer, made his home at Indian Field in the town of Greenwich, and his son Ebenezer (2), the next in the line of descent, waS born there in 1692. Ebenezer (2) had eleven sons and one daughter; the youngest of his large, family was Abraham Mead, who s.erved as a captain in the Revolutionary war, taking part in the battle of White Plains. He had previously been a captain in the Colonial forces, under King George III, and his commis- sion, dating from May, 1774, is now in the pos- session of our subject, who is the eldest living descendant. Capt. Abraham Mead was born December 14, 1742, and for many years was en- gaged in the business as a potter. About 1790 he settled at the present site of Field Point or Belle Haven, where he purchased a large tract COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 333 of land which he divided into two farms for his sons, Isaac and Zophar, the latter of whom mar- ried and had a family, but none of his children left descendants. Of the Captain's daughters only one was married, and she left no descen<l- ants. Captain Mead was a man of influence, be- ing greatly respected wherever he was known. His death occurred December 24, 1827, and his remains now rest in the Congregational cemetery at Greenwich. Isaac Mead, our subject's grandfather, was born December 8, 1770, and died January 31, 1849. He was one of the leading citizens of Greenwich in his day. In build he was smaller than ordinary, but he possessed firmness and ex- ecutive ability, and his farm at Field Point was kejjt in an excellent state of cultivation. He mar- ried Clarinda Mead, a member of the same fam- ily, who was in the fifth generation in descent from John, the pioneer. She died March 20, .1856, and the remains of both were first interred in tlie Congregational cemetery in Greenwich, but ha\e since been removed to New Putnam cemetery. Hon. Augustus Mead, our subject's father, was born January i, 1805, at the present site of Field Point, in a house which is still standinf.;. As the only child of his parents, he inherited the homestead and other property, its management occupying much of his time throughout his life. Although he had but limited opportunities for study in his youth in the district schools of that time, he became a well informed man, and his sound judgment and intelligence gave him marked influence. While he was firm in his convictions, he was not obstinate, being ready to concede a point if found in error. For many years he was a leader in the Democratic party in this county, and while he held various township offices, includ- ing that of treasurer, he was more widely known through his long service as member of the State Assembly. It was mainly through his influence that Greenwich was separated from the Stamford jurisdiction, and he was the first probate judge of the new district. He held that office for many years, and was still serving at the time of his death, which occurred April 22, 1864. He was short in stature but of heavy build, weighing about two hundred pounds, and his death was caused by what is now known as pneumonia, then com- monly called lung fever. He was married Sep- tember 12, 1832, to his first wife, Sarah M. Husted, who died in October, 1857, leaving no children. On March 23, 1859, he married Miss Elizabeth Lyon Mead, who was born October 27, 1826, at Indian Field, Greenwich, daughter of Ephraim and Azubah Mead. She was a dus- cendant of John Mead the pioneer, her father being the son of Deliverance and Abigail fHowe) Mead, and a grandson of Ebenezer (2), who was born October 25, 1692, and died in May, 1775, leaving a family of twelve children — eleven sons and one daughter. Our subject's mother was a woman of ability and force of character, and after the death of her husband she reared her two sur- viving children while managing the homestead in a most successful manner. She was a devout Christian, a member of the Second Congre- gational Church, and she died in that faith April 4, 1890. Our subject was the eldest in a family of four children. Of the others Augustus I. and Oliver Z. (twins) were born November 21, 18G1 (the latter died in infancy, and the former is now a resident of Belle Haven); Samuel C. also died in infancy.