Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

James Edson I^arnum, our subject's father, was born, April 23, 1S45, in New Milford, and in his youth learned the hatter's trade with E. T. Farnam. For many years he followed that business in connection with farming, but on Sep- tember 9, 1885, he removed to Bethel, where for twelve years past he has been in the employ of the Judd & Dunning Hat Company. Although his early education was limited to the course offered in the district schools of his locality, his native intelligence enabled him to acquire a good fund of practical knowledge on various topics, and he is highly esteemed as a citizen. He is a member of the St. Thomas Episcopal Church at Bethel, and since 1867 has been identified with Eureka Lodge No. 83, F. & A. M. On De- cember 12, 1865, he was married, at Bridge- water, to Miss Laura Erwin, by whom he has had four children, our subject being the eldest. Of the others, Nellie Augusta, born October 11, 1 87 1, died November 6, of the same year; Howard Fenn, born October 17, 1874, died P'ebruary i, 1875, and Miss Edith May, born December ig, 1876, is now at home. The mother of our subject is a member of one of the well-known families of Roxbury, Conn. She was born July 30, 1844, the daughter of Charles and granddaughter of John and Phoebe Erwin, of Roxbury. Charles Erwin, who was born March 17, 1809, spent his early life in Rox- bury, and was married in 1833 to Miss Mary Fenn, daughter of Col. David Fenn, of Revolutionary fame, who was pensioned by the government for his services. After his marriage Mr. Erwin lo- cated at I3ridgewater, where he engaged in farm- ing, and his death occurred there February 15, 1 88 1. His wife passed to the unseen world on December 31, 1874. They had seven children: Sarah A., deceased; Mary J., deceased, formerly wife of Cyrus A. Todd, of New Milford, Conn.; Homer Fenn, who met a soldier's death in the Civil war; Rev. Charles H., a resident of St. Charles, Iowa; Laura (Mrs. Barnum); Darwin, who resides in Orange, N. J.; and Lyman, de- ceased. The subject of our sketch was born August 25, 1867, at the old home in the Plum Trees Dis- trict, and was educated at the common schools of that locality and of Danbury. In 1882 he was apprenticed to G. A. Hickok & Son, hatters, of Bethel, with whom he remained until Decem- ber 9, 1887. He then purchased his present grocery business from M. W. Sherwood, and by his careful and energetic management he has won a decided success, as is shown by his greatly in- creased custom, which has necessitated the en- largement of his store. While the demands of his business are now absorbing, Mr. Barnum keeps well informed upon all the movements of the day, and is in full sympathy with any enter- prise that promises to benefit the community. He is an Episcopalian in religious faith, and be- longs to St. Thomas Church at Bethel. On May 14. 1 891, he married Miss Emma Louise Lyon, a prominent member of the Society of the Daugh- ters of tl e American Revolution — Mary Wooster Chapter of Danbury. Mrs. Barnum, who was born in Danbury, July 18, 1869, traces her ancestry through a long line of descent to the Underbills, a very ancient and honorable family of Huningham, Warwick- shire, England. " During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when the prosperity of the family was at its height, they acquired property in almost every parish within six miles of Eatington, and attained the honors of Knighthood." The arms of the Underbills were " agent a chevron gules between three trefoils slipped vert, "and the crest was a " buck trippant." An old genealogi- cal record of Warwickshire states that "Will- iam Underbill lyved in the yere of our Lord, 1423," and by his wife, daughter of Stanley, of Bromwick, left Nathaniel Underbill, who mar- ried a daughter of ■ — Butt, County of War- wick; their son John had a lease for eighty years of the manor of Eatington, &c., County of War- wick, from Sir Ralph Shirley in 1509; he died in I 5 18. John Underbill, chaplain to Oueen Eliza- beth, and Bishop of Oxford, was also of the War- wickshire family. The Church of Lower Eaten- don, or Eatington, still contains some remains of the brass effigies and inscriptions of the ancient family of the Underbills. Thomas Underbill, eldest son of John of Huningham, married Anne, daughter of Robert \\'inter; their eldest son was Edward, distinguished by the title of " Hot Gos- peller, " because of his active part in the religious \'-,l^Q:rlI V.j.M -r,., ,,. COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 35 persecutions of the time. He exchanged the life of a country gentleman for that of a soldier and courtier. In 1544, King Henry appointed him one of the men-at-arms, who attended upon his Majesty's person. In 1545 he married Joan, daughter of Thomas Perryns, of London. Ed- ward, their second son and heir, was born Feb- ruary 10, 1555, and, like his father, embraced the life of a soldier and courtier. He was asso- ciated with the Earl of Leicester at the time of Queen Elizabeth's visit to Kenilworth, and was afterward bearer of dispatches between theOueen and Leicester when he co nmanded the forces in the Low Countries. After Leicester's death he at- tached himself to the Earl of Esse.x, Leicester's successor in the Queen's favor. He accompan- ied him on his successful attack upon Cadiz, and also his expedition against Tyrme, rebel chief of Ireland. When Essex returned he was killed, and Underbill sought safety in Holland until the accession of King James in 1603, when he applied for pardon and leave to return to England, but without success. When Rev. Mr. Robinson and the separatists fled to Holland he dwelt and com- muned with them. His son, Capt. John Under- bill, whose exploits Whittier has sung, was born about 1600. He served as soldier under the Prince of Orange in the Low Countries. He was strongly urged to go with Governor Carver to the Plymouth settlement in 1620, but declined and Miles Standish came instead. He joined Governor Winthrop, and came as "captain of any militia force that might be employed or instituted, as he had served under the great Dutch Prince in the war of the Netherlands," in 1630; and soon we find him disciplining the Boston militia, where he was held in such high distinction that he was appointed one of the first deputies from Boston to the General Court, and one of the earliest ■officers of Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com- pany. He was sworn freeman. May 18, 1630. His friend. Sir Henry Vane, sent him in 1637 as commander of Colony troops to Saybrook, Conn. The same year he was disfranchised and eventu- ally banished from the Massachusett jurisdiction — his ideas of religious toleration being more liberal than of those around him. In 1638 he returned to England, but was banished again on account of religious opinions. While there he published a book entitled " Newes from America, or a New and Experimental Discoverie of New England," which abounds in quaint passages, and contains an excellent account of the Pequot war, in which he took a conspicuous part. In 1638 he was chosen governor of Dover, New Hampshire. La- ter he assumed command of the Dutch forces in the wars against the Indians. He was represent- ative from Stamford to the General Court in 1633- In 1644 he became a resident of Flushing, Long Island, but removed to Oyster Bay in 1655. In 1665 he was delegate from there to the meeting in Hampstead by order of Governor Nicoll, and by him was made high sheriff of the North Rid- ing of Long Island. In 1667 the Natinecock Indians conveyed to him a large tract of land which he called Kenilworth or Killingworth. He died July 21, 1672, and was buried on his estate at Killingworth, Queens Co., L. 1. His first wife, Helena, came with him from Holland. His second wife, Elizabeth Feke, was the daughter of Robert Feke (whose wife was the widow of Gover- nor Winthrop's son Henryj. By his second wife he had two sons, the eldest being Nathaniel, who married Mary Ferris, daughter of John Ferris, one of the first Patentees of the town of West- chester, N. Y. Nathaniel, their eldest son, mar- ried Mary Honeywell. He filled various public offices — was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Westchester county in 1759; was elected mayor of Borough of Westchester in 1775. He died November 27, 1775. His son, John Under- bill, married Mary Bowne. Of their twelve chil- dren, Benjamin was the second son. He was a pron inent member of the Society of Friends. In 1768 he married Elizabeth Bonnett, a native of France. They resided in Scarsdale, where he died in 1818. They had eight children. Their eldest daughter, Sarah, married Abram Lyon, a native of Mamaroneck, N. Y. For many years, t they lived in Somerstown, N. Y.., where Mr. Lyon carried on an extensive cooperage business. Several children, were born to them. Finally they removed to Southeast, where Mr. Lyon died. He was buried in the old Presbyterian burying-ground at New Kochelle. His wife mar- ried, for her second husband, RobertNiffen^f Somerstown.'l^^o3d/S .IHHHHh MonmoutTT Lyon, son of Abram and Sarah Lyon, was born at Somerstown, December 18, 1795, was married December 29, 1816, to Miss Rebecca Green, who was born in Danbury, Feb- ruary 15, 1798. Her father, Dorastus Green, and her two grandfathers were soldiers in the Revolutionary war. Her maternal grandfather, John Porter, was taken prisoner at the time of the burning of Danbury, and confined in the New York sugar house. Monmouth Lyon, who was prominent in the business life of Danbury, in vented the first power-loom machine for weaving ingrain carpets, and it is said that it completely revolutionized the business of carpet weaving. He and his wife were members of the First Con- gregational Church. Of their eleven children, William Augustus, Mrs. Barnum's father, was 36 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.