Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

C\HARLES R.BROTHWELLfdeceased). The ^^ growth of a modern American city is a won- derful thing, and fortunate is he whose lot is so cast that he can watch and note the successive stages by which the village expands its bounda- ries, enriches its productive resources, and ac- quires the complex and multiform organizations which make up the impulses and energies of ur- ban life. The growth of Bridgeport has been in- teresting, like that of other cities, and among those few who witnessed its rapid progress from small beginnings was the late Mr. Charles R. Brothwell. He could remember when the city had but 3,000 to 4,000 inhabitants, and when all its business was done on Water street. And, while he individually was a spectator of this kind, . it can be said that his ancestors had similarly, and by successive steps, watched the progress of the nation from its earliest infancy, for he came of Revolutionary stock. It is family history that Joseph Brothwell, the great-grandfather of our subject, was one of a party attending a ball in England, in 1750, when a detachment of men surrounded the party and escorted the young men to a British man-of- war, which soon set sail for America, after the voyage anchoring in Long Island Sound. Young . Brothwell, resenting this species of impressment, with a companion, jumped overboard, and suc- ceeded in reaching land. He located at Bridge- port, and later, during the Revolutionary war, joined the American army. He was of Welsh- English extraction. He married Miss Beach, and his son, Benjamin Brothwell, grandfather of our subject, married Anna Fairweather. Their son, Joseph Brothwell, was born at Fairfield, Conn., in 1790, and became a farmer. He mar- ried Anna Keeler, a native of the same town, born in 1800, a daughter of Patrick and Eunice (Hubbell) Keeler. Joseph Brothwell died in 1873, at the age of eighty-three years. They had three children: Emily, who married Charles Plumb, and died in 1866; Charles R., the sub- ject of this sketch; and John M., who married Ann Eliza Middlebrook. Charles R. Brothwell, who, since 1863, was the real-estate agent for P. T. Barnum, was born in Fairfield, Conn., June 21, 1833. He was ed- ucated in the district schools, and at the age of sixteen years began to work steadily on his fa- ther's farm, the property now known as Brook- lawn, the home of Bridgeport's fashionable Country Club. Several years later he learned the carpenter's trade. In 1863-64 he traveled with General Tom Thumb and wife. Commodore Nutt and Minnie Warren, visiting all cities in America. From 1865-68 he had charge of the carpenter work of Barnum's American Museum, on Broadway, New York, and after it was de- stroyed by fire the second time (in 1869), he re- turned to Bridgeport, where he afterward made his permanent home, having charge of Mr. Bar- num's extensive property, and, from the time of i 4^^£Supjt:^^c^ COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 61 the great showman's death, he managed it for the heirs. Mr. Brothwell died July 31, 1898. Our subject was married in 1856 to Jane E. Jennings, of Easton, Conn. They had one child, Wilbur A. Brothwell, who is now treasurer and superintendent of the Russell Jennings Man- ufacturing Company, of Deep River, Conn. He married Lizzie M. Wilson, daughter of Alden- son and Catherine (Knapp) Wilson, and has one son, Charles Ransom. For his second wife Mr. Brothwell married, in 1870, Anna Bell F. Banks, daughter of Col. Horace Banks, of Green- field Hill, Conn. By this marriage he had four children, two of which are living: Nellie S., wife of Attorney Sidney N. Lockwood, son of the late Judge D. B. Lockwood; and Barbara. Mr. I^roth- vvell, as is also his widow, was a member of Christ Episcopal Church. She resides at No. 18 Courtland street, Bridgeport. In politics Mr. Brothwell was a Republican. He was one of the original members of the Board of Public Works at Bridgeport, held the ofifice continuously some twelve years, and de- voted a great part of his time to that branch of the city government, one of his principal inter- ests being the building of the biidges, especially the lower one, which has the distinction of being the first bridge in the country to be operated by electricity. Not only did Mr. Brothwell intro- duce the electric motors for operating draws, but he provided a swinging stop-latch which, with the yielding abutment, makes it possible to oper- ate the draw very quickly. He also provided the swinging gates placed at either end of the bridge for the safety of the public. Many large schemes of the real-estate world of Bridgeport originated with Mr. Brothwell, not least among which was the reclaiming of that tract of land adjoining Sea Side Park, east of Cedar creek, which added eighty acres of taxable property to the city. He was president of the Board of Trade for two years (1891-92), and in various ways was closely identified with the best interests of Bridgeport, of which he was es- teemed as a pioneer and as a valued citizen. BiELDEN BAIN BROWN. As " good Amer- ."> icans, when they die, go to Paris," so the successful New York business man, looking about for a thoroughly satisfactory place in which to spend his years of leisure, naturally turns to this favored region, where picturesque scenery and a refined and cultured social life combine to make an ideal home. The subject of this sketch, who was for some years connected with Wall Street, made choice of Stamford as his permanent resi- dence, and he and his family are prominent in the best social circles of that locality. Mr. Brown is still identified with the business world, the care of his investments occupying much of his time and attention, but he wisely mingles recreation with financial affairs, being especially expert as a wheelman and on the golf links. Mr. Brown comes of an excellent ancestry, and his great-grandfather, Capt. Isaac Brown, who married a Miss Belden, was a well-known sea captain. George Brown, the grandfather of our subject, was born at Stamford, but for some years of his early life was a resident of New York City. Later he returned to Stamford, where he engaged in the hatter's trade, and his death oc- curred there in 1851. He married Miss Mary Benedict, a native of Norwalk, this county, and of their eight children two died in infancy; Ed- ward F. and Elizabeth M. are residents of Stam- ford; and Charles, George L., Samuel D., and Catherine are deceased. The late George Lockwood Brown, our sub- ject's father, was born in New York City March 5, 1817, but was educated chiefly in Stamford. He started in business life as a clerk in a dry- goods store in Providence, R. I., and after leav- ing Providence he came to live in Stamford and had his home there until 1874, when he moved to Brooklyn, and remained there until 1883, when he retired from business and lived in Washington, Conn., until his death in 1891. Durmg his residence in Stamford he was largely interested in many public enterprises, and helped to organize the First National Bank, of which he was a director for many years. He was married (first) to Miss Catherine Bain, of New York City, and (second) to Miss Mary Brinsmade, and of the first union there was one son, Belden Bain. Our subject was born February 17, 1846, in New York City, whence he came to Stamford in childhood, and with the exception of seven years spent in Brooklyn, has lived there ever since. He engaged in a brokerage business in Wall street with his father, continuing until 1883, and since returning to Stamford to reside he has been connected with the Grey Rock Land Company, at that place, as secretary. He and his family are identified with St. John's Episcopal Church, at Stamford, and he is a member of various social organizations, including the Wheelmen's Club and the Wee Burn Golf Club. On Janu- uary 13, 1870, he was married in Stamford to Miss Ida M. Hoyt, and four children have blessed the union: Mary Benedict, Sarah Hawley (deceased), George Lockwood, and Belden Bain, Jr. Mrs. Brown belongs to a wealthy and promi- 62 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. nent family, well-known in this section and in the metropolis. Her father, the late George A. Hoyt, was born August i6, 1811, in Stamford, where he received his education, and in early manhood he engaged in the clothing business in New York City. In 185 1 he removed to Stam- ford, where he purchased a large amount of real estate, and for some years he held the office of president of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. He died there December 3, 1887. He was twice married, and by his first wife, Miss Sarah K. Hawley, he had four children, as follows: Francis S., a resident of Morristown, N. J.; Georgianna, wife of Albert S. Swords, of the same city; Ida M., wife of our subject; and Elizabeth, who married E. A. Day, of Elizabeth, N.- J. Mr. Hoyt's second wife was Jennie P. Smith, daughter of Truman Smith, of Con- necticut. MEV. CHARLES WALTER BOYLSTON, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Riverside, Conn., is a representative of an old Colonial family, and among his ancestors and relatives are many whose names will occupy a lasting place in the history of this country. The first ancestor of whom we have a definite account was Henry Boylston, of Litchfield, Staffordshire, Englan^, who is mentioned in the records of that town.