Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Mr. Ritch was married in Greenwich to Miss Sarah Hamilton, a native of Ireland, and five children came to bless their union, namely: George, who died in Brooklyn at the age of thirty-five years; Esta, widow of William Oxer, living with her parents; Willis, who is in the stone business in East Port Chester; Elizabeth, who married P. Moffet, and died in East Port Chester; and Silas, engaged in the stone busi- ness in East Port Chester. The children were all given superior educational advantages. The family live in the beautiful home on Cherry Hill erected by Mr. Ritch, and usually spend the win- ter season at Crescent City, Fla., where he owns a pleasant residence and orange grove. Up to 1862 Mr. Ritch gave his political support to the Democratic party, but he has since been a Re- publican; he has served his township one term as member of the board of relief, and also as as- r'c-;.il-:,.,ii II .-..J Mjvl 1 [:',u 2t:i!i? 0-f riof' u-vrt M ■ (fCJCct^ COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 349 sessor, holding the latter office two or three years. In religious connection he is a devout member of the Presbyterian Church, in which he was trustee for a number of years. E^LMER HAWLEY NORTHROP. To the '/ superficial observer, youth doubtless pre- sents a more attractive aspect than age, but to one who can appreciate the rich inner life of a spirit which has been refined and enlightened by the e.xperience of years, gray hairs suggest deeper harmonies and pleasure than the younger ones can know, especially in this case, when physical and mental vigor are unimpaired, and the wis- dom of years is brought into play in an effective yet quiet and dignified participation in the ac- tivities which constitute the outer bonds of social life. The subject of this sketch is fortunate in this regard, as, although he has come almost to the allotted limit of three-score years and ten, his strength gives promise of prolonged life, in which he may teach — even if unconsciously — the dig- nity, value and charm of old age. Mr. Northrop was born in the town of Brook- field, October 24, 1828, and has never been out- side the limits of that town for a longer period than two weeks. His education was obtained, in part, in the district school, in part at a private school near his home, and on attaining manhood he engaged in agriculture, which pursuit he fol- lowed until his retirement from business a few years ago. He has been very successful in the management of his affairs, and his sound judg- ment has been called into service by his fellow- citizens in various ways, notably as an adminis- trator of estates. He is one of the leading ad- visers of the I^epublican party in his locality, and js at present serving as first selectman of Hrook- field. In religious work he is also prominent as a member of the Congregational Church. On October 23, 1851, he married Miss Laura Jane Dutton, who was born July 3, 1831, and died December 24, 1855. Two children blessed this union: Amelia Irvine, born February 14, 1853, and George Dutton, born November 12, 1855. The latter married Miss Ella Kate Hoyt, on July 26, 1893, and they have one daughter, Laura Dutton, born August 27, 1896. The Northrop family has been identified with Brookfield from a very early date. Our subject's great-great-grandfather, Jeremiah Northrop, died there July 4, 1771, at the age of eighty-two years, and his wife, Hannah (Benedict), died February 19, 1767, aged seventy. They had three sons: Amos died February 3, 1789, aged sixty-one years and four months; Ezra died May 21, 1770, at the age of forty-si.x years; the youngest, Waite, our subject's great-grandfather, died August 3, 1773, aged forty-three )ears. His entire life was spent in Brookfield. His wife, Anna Benedict, died August 7, 1806, at the age of seventy-seven. They had four children: John, Waite, Anna and Andrew. Waite Northrop (2), our subject's grand- father, was born May 12, 1765, and died De- cember 6, 1824. He married Jerusha Baldwin on July 5, 1787. She was born July 26, 1770, and died November 6, 1827. Their children were Elmore Baldwin, our subject's father; Sarah, born March 23, 1800, married January 20, 1824, to Hiram Fairchild, and died September 20, 1830; Anna, born June 27, 1802, married April 10, 1826, to Charles Hawley, and died No- vember 13, 1832; and Baldwin, who died in infancy. Elmore Baldwin Northrop, the father of our subject, was born in the town of Brookfield, August 12, 1794, and became a prominent citi- zen of that locality, engaging in [nercantile busi- ness and in silver-plating, making a specialty of plating harness and carriage fi.xtures. He was an ambitious man, energetic in all his undertak- ings, and was very successful. At various times he held township offices, and he was a prominent member of the Congregational Church of Brook- field. On December 4, 1821, he married Miss Lucy Hawley, who was born June 23, 1801, a daughter of. Daniel Hawley, and died June 8, 1883, after a long widowhood, Mr. Northrop's death having occurred April 30, 1834. They had two children, our subject being the younger; the elder, Mary A., born September 5, 1824, was married September 17, 1844, to George C. Corn- wall, and they have one son, Elmer N. On the maternal side our subject was de- scended from Joseph Hawley, one of the earliest settlers in Connecticut, who was born in Par- wick, Derbyshire, England, in 1603, and crossed the ocean in 1629, landing near Boston, Mass. Later he 6ettled in Connecticut, and died at Stratford in 1690. His son, Samuel, who was born in 1653, had a son Samuel, who reared a family of ten children: Jonathan, Nathaniel, Ephraim, Matthew, Obadiah, Francis, Richard, Nathan, Stephen and Benjamin. Benjamin Hawley, our subject's great-great-grandfather, born in 1694, had four sons, as follows: Iiben- ezer, Benjamin, Abel and William. William Hawley, our subject's great-grandfather, born in 1732, reared a family of four children: William, Anna, Daniel and Joseph. Daniel Hawley, the grandfather of our subject, was born December .850 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 25, 1766, and died February 9, 1826. He was married (first) on August 9, 1787, to Miss Lucy Dibble, who was born in 1766, and died February 25, 1789. On January 14, 1796, he married, for his second wife, Joanna Seelye, who was born February 24, 1773, and died April 5, 1837. By the first marriage there was one son: Eleazar, and by the second there were three children: Lucy, our subject's mother; Charles, born Febru- ary 6, 1804, and Sidney, born April 3, 1807. JfAMES S. SHERWOOD, one of the sub- I stantial agriculturists of the town of West- port, Fairfield county, a veteran of the Civil war, and for twenty or more years a school ■teacher of this locality, is of the fifth generation of the Sherwood family who have been engaged .in farming in Fairfield county. Mr. Sherwood's line of descent is through David, Sr. , David, Ruel, and Charles E. The rfirst three were residents of the town of Fairfield. Ruel Sherwood, who was a native of that town, married Rachel Beers, a native of the town of Westport. After their marriage they settled on •the farm on which Mrs. William Sherwood now lives. Their children were: Charles E. is re- ferred to farther on ; Eliza married Edwin Weed, a millwright ofDarien; Harriet D. married Walter Bradley a farmer of Redding; and William was a farmer in the town of Westport. The mother ■of these was a member of a patriotic family, having seven brothers who served their country in the war of the Revolution. Charles K. Sherwood was born March 29, 1807, on his father's farm in the town of West- iport, and was there reared in a manner not unlike the sons of the general farmer, attending school during the winter season and working on the ■farm in the summers. He married Anna Beam, a native of Paterson, N. J., and of German stock ■on her father's side. After their marriage they located on the farm where their eight children were reared. A brief record of them is as fol- lows: Henry M. is a retired business man residing in Chicago; Charles W., who served as a soldier in the Civil war, was a carpenter by trade, re- ■sided in Westport, and there died; James S., our subject, is referred to farther on; Mary E. mar- ried James Punzelt, and resides in South Nor- walk; Harriet D. married James Smibert, of •Chicago; John B. is engaged in the school furni- ture business in Chicago; Roston died at the age of si.xteen years; and George died in infancy. Both parents are deceased, the father dying March 18, 1897, when nearly ninety years of age, and the mother on February 28, 1870, aged about sixty years. They were members of the Congre- gational Church, good Christian people who bore the esteem and respect of their many acquaint- ances. In politics he was a Democrat, but later became identified with the Republican party. James S. Shersvood was reared on the home- stead, where he remained working on the farm in the summer season, and attending the neigh- boring district schools through the winters until sixteen years of age. He then for a period at- tended the schools at Westport, later taught school during the winter and farmed in summer for some ten years. Ne.xt he taught at Sauga- tuck for about the same length of time. After this he settled on the farm where he now re- sides and has since been occupied in farming. During the Civil war, inspired by that patriotism that led thousands of brave boys to sacrifice home and loved ones to answer their country's call, many never to return, young Sherwood en- tered the Union army, enlisting in August, 1862, as a private in Company C, 28th Conn. V. I., and served one year. His company and regi- ment formed a part of General Banks' division, and he shared the glory of his company, coming home with an honorable war record. He has a nice little farm of some twenty acres where he resides, and about the same number in the north- ern part of the town. In his political views he is an Independent. For four years he was a member of the school board of the town, his long years of teaching making him exceptionally well qualified for the position. Socially, he is a member of the G. A. R.