Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

MARK R. LEAVENWORTH (deceased) _ _ was for many years a leading citizen of Bridgeport, and, although his untimely death cut short his career while he was still in his prime, he left an enviable reputation, and his memory will not fade from the minds of those who came within the range of his influence, but will long be cherished by the many who were the recipients at his hands of the large-hearted generosity and kindly advice and sympathy he was ever ready to bestow. His broad and progressive mind made him an efficient worker in any worthy movement, and many a helpful enterprise re- ceived from him the practical aid which brought success at a critical time. Mr. Leavenworth was born January 19, 1846, in Stepney, this county, and was a descendant of an old pioneer family, his ancestors having emi- grated from England during the Colonial period. Russell Leavenworth, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Connecticut, and made his home at Woodbury. Lorenzo W. Leavenworth, our subject's father, was born in Woodbury. Our subject's youth was chiefly spent at New Milford, Conn., where he received a good prac- tical education, and on leaving school he was employed for some time by D. A. Barlow, a stove dealer there. Later he settled in Bridgeport, and engaged in the stove business on his own ac- count, continuing successfully until his death, which occurred November i, 1894. Politically he was a Democrat, while in religious faith he was an Episcopalian, he and his wife having al- ways contributed liberally to the support of the Church. The Historical Society of Bridgeport counted him among its most valued members, while he was also active in the work of the Ma- sonic Fraternity, having attained the thirty- second degree, and held in succession all the highest offices in the Order, being at the time of his death Grand Senior Warden of the State. On January 19, 1872, Mr. Leavenworth married Miss Mary Perry, who survives him; no children blessed the union. Mrs. Leavenworth is much esteemed, and belongs to a prominent family of this section. Her father, the late William H. Perry, was a wealthy retired resident of Bridgeport, and for many years was superin- tendent for the Wheeler & Wilson Manufactur- ing Company, in which he was a large stockholder. Hewasborn May 25, 1820, in Woodstock, Conn., a son of I3aniel Perry, Jr., and grandson of Daniel Perry, Sr. , both well-known citizens of that locality. He died May 9, 1899. His brother, Peter L. Perry, now resides in Bridgeport, and a more complete account of his life appears elsewhere. On January 8, 1845, William H. Perry married Miss Catherine E. Storrs, a native of Chaplin, Conn., and a daughter of Judge Frederick Storrs and his wife, Eliza Chesbrough. The Storrs family is of English origin, and the line of descent is traced to Samuel Storrs, who lived and died in England. His two sons, Thomas and Samuel, came to America in 1663, and remained for a time in Barnstable, Mass., but in 1698 settled in Springfield, Conn. Thomas Storrs had a son, Judah, the great-great-grand- father of Mrs. Leavenworth. Chester Storrs, her great-grandfather, was probably a native of Wales, Mass., and her grandfather. Judge Fred- erick Storrs, was born and reared there; on April 28, 1822, he was married to Eliza Chesbrough, a native of Groton, Conn. He engaged in mer- cantile business in Chaplin, and for twenty years conducted a clock repair shop in connection with his store. He possessed unusual mental powers, which he improved by constant reading and study, and was noted as an inventor, being prob- ably the first to manufacture a sewing machine needle in his section. Politically, he was a Democrat, and for many years he took a leading part in local affairs, serving his town as treas- urer, town clerk and judge of probate. He died at Chaplin, June 2, 1854, and his wife on June 9, 1 84 1. Of their children, (i) Catherine E. (Mrs. Leavenworth's mother), born April 3, 1823, mar- ried William H. Perry, and died July 6, i860. (2) Henry, born August 26, 1825, became a bootmaker by trade, and died July 5, 1850. (3) Lucy E., born August 14, 1829, died in June, 1888, unmarried. (4) FVancis, born October 20, 1831, died in infancy. (5) Frederick Wightman, born October 9, 1834, in Chaplin, was engaged in farming at Middletown, Conn., for a lew years, but since 1864 has resided in Bridgeport. Until 1888 he had charge of the outside work for the Wheeler & Wilson Manu- facturing Company, but at present he manages the extensive interests of his brother-in-law, the <■>)•;: .Q'nv^Odn ii^iiij-K)^-!.; J !:.;; ,j:- li- ,-'■; ic' 'r: ;.)! t!; /Jr; 'lLl».- -iiu.'i'^J -j; .'}--s> f -'' ilia/ i:l. ;■.«■ -■::l! -:''n) (il 1 1 :. '1 /! J \0 .I)i;: .l-J." li^. t:::-// =!rn 1)1;; ,.,,..1 M, •, .,i. 346 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. late William H. Perry. In 1861 he married Miss Martha A. Monson, of Litchfield, Conn., daugh- ter of Barnabas D. and Delia (Canfield) Monson, and a granddaughter of Obadiah Monson, a resi- dent of Watertown, Conn. Her father died in 1846, and her mother in 1882, leaving four chil- dren: Martha A., Cynthia A., Amelia and Walter D. Monson. Frederick W. Storrs is a stanch Republican in politics, and like most of his ancestors is a supporter of the Congregational Church. He has one daughter, Evelyn M., now the wife of Harrington I^. Baker, of Beverly, Mass. (6) Fannie A., born August 26, 1837, married Elijah Blake, of New Britain, Conn. (7) Daniel C, born March 6, 1840, was a soldier in the Union army during the Civil war, and died in the Hampton Hospital on June 4, 1864, his watch now being preserved as a sacred relic by Frederick W. Storrs. (8) Joseph, born in 1841, died in infancy. The Chesbrough family is of good pioneer stock, and in this line Mrs. Leavenworth is a de- scendant of William Chesbrough, the first white settler at Stonington, Conn. The line of descent is traced through Elisha (son of William), Eiihu (i); Elihu (2); Elihu (3), who married Phcebe ; Daniel (Mrs. Leavenworth's great-grand- father); Eliza, who married Judge Frederick Storrs; and Catherine E. (Mrs. Leavenworth's mother). Daniel Chesbrough was born in 1771, and became one of the early settlers of Groton, Conn., where he followed fanning many years. He married Miss Fannie Williams, and had children: Fannie, born in 1793; Daniel, in 1796; Catherine, i798;ElamW., 1800; Eliza (i), 1802; Abbie, 1805; Eliza (2), 1807; Myra, 1809; and Matilda A., 1814. PjHILIP H. WIEGAND (deceased). For half a century our subject was identified with the business interests of Port Chester and locality. As a thrifty and frugal German of good intelli- gence and intentions, he made an excellent citi- zen of his adopted country. Born August 30, 1833, in Homburg, in the regency of Kassel, Hessia, Germany, Mr. Wie- gand was a son of Valentine and Elizabeth (Sie- bert) Wiegand, also natives of Germany, who came with their family to the United States, locating at Port Chester in 1844. Their children were six in number: Valentine is a resident of Port Chester; Herman, a molder by trade, lives at Norwalk; Catharine lives at New Haven, and is the widow of Frederick Koracak; Philip H. is our subject; Katherine married Michael Schupp, and one died before the parents came to this country. The father of these was an iron molder by trade and occupation. On coming here he had a hard struggle, but he was an honest, up- right man. He lived to be seventy-six years of age. The mother died before Philip had reached the age of eight years, whereupon the father emigrated to the United States, leaving Philip in the care of a guardian. Philip Henry Wiegand, our subject, was care- fully educated in Homburg by his guardian, and when fifteen years of age, in the fall of 1848, came to America in the bark "Thomas Kerwin," landing at New York after a voyage of thirty-five days, a remarkably quick passage for those times. Later he moved to Port Chester, and there se- cured employment in the foundry of Abendroth Brothers, but could not follow the occupation owing to poor health. He well remembered East Port Chester as being quite in the woods, and re- called with pleasing memory the good days he enjoyed in the summer season when he and his playmates (and later his fellow-workers in the foundry, which was not far Irom the river banks) were wont to bathe and swim to their heart's content. He was industrious and economical, and from his little savings he in the course of time was enabled to go into business for himself, engaging in the sale of groceries, liquors, ale, etc. He always so conducted himself as to show his honesty of purpose, and soon paid his bills promptly and established a business credit. On December 24, 1854, at Port Chester, Mr. Wiegand was married to Miss Marian O'Toohill, and to this union came children as follows: George V., born in September, 1855, is single and at home; Mary E., born in June, 1857, is now Mrs. Lewis Mertz, of Port Chester, N. Y. ; John H., born in May, 1859, is married, and lives in Port Chester, N. Y, ; Martha E., born in May, 1864, is now Mrs. John Carr, of New Haven, Conn.; Henry P., born in July, 1866, married Mary Johnson, and resides in Port Chester, N. Y. ; Katie E., born in December, 1869, is now Mrs. George Mertz, of Port Chester; Annie F., born in January, 1871; Augusta R., born in May, 1873; Theressa M., born in June, 1876; and two sons who died, one when aged three years, the other when an infant. Of this family Annie F., Augusta R. and Theressa M. are at home. The mother of these is a native of Ireland, born in 1832, in County Tipperary, a daughter of Michael and Ellen (Berry) O'Toohill. She came to the United States alone in 1848, sailing from Liver- pool in the ' ' Gypsy, " which occupied nearly seven weeks in making the voyage, landing at New Y'ork after a very stormy passage. From that city Mrs. Wiegand went to New Rochelle, N. Y'., COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 347