Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

On July 19, 1864, Mr. Porter was united in marriage with Miss Mary E. Keith, of Enfield, Mass., daughter of Danforth and Betsey (Hart) Keith, and to this worthy couple four children have been born: Herbert W., Mabel Anna, Grace Inez, and Edith May. Mr. Porter has for sev- eral years been identified with the Olivet Con- gregational Church Society, in which for several years (during the time the church edifice, costing from $20,000 to $30,000, was being erected) he was treasurer of the society. Politically he is a stanch Republican, and for a short time served on the Bridgeport school board. He is now a trustee of the Fairfield County Teachers An- nuity Guild, a society for the pensioning of superannuated or disabled teachers; was one of the trustees of the Bridgeport Mutual Insurance Company, and was for several years its vice- president and the auditor of its accounts. As a member of Elias Howe, Jr., Post No. 3, G. A. R. , he joins his old comrades, and with them en- deavors to perpetuate the memory of our soldier dead, and to extend the influence of that noble trio of the G. A. R. — "Fraternity, Charity and Loyalty." Mr. Porter's liberality and benevo- lence have drawn many friends to him, and he is greatly beloved by all who know him. HrON. CHARLES A. WEED. This well- I, known resident of Stamford holds, in an enviable degree, the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens, as is shown in his frequent election to positions of trust and responsibility. While he has served in numerous local offices he has also been chosen three times to represent his town in the State Legislature, and in every posi- tion he has discharged his duties with ability and fidelity. Mr. Weed is a member of one of the old families of Fairfield county, and his grandfather, Abashia Weed, a native of Stamford, a soldier of the Revolutionary war, was a prosperous farm- er of that town throughout his active life, was selectman of the town, and with his wife, whose maiden name was Susannah Hoyt, was highly respected in the community. Ebenezer Weed, our subject's father, was born in North Stamford, and also followed farming as an occupation. He was not especially prominent in political life, but in a quiet way he took much interest in pub- lic questions, his allegiance being given to the Democratic party. He died in the year 1843. He married Miss Maria E. Andrews, a native of New York City, and had the following children: Charles A., Miles H. (deceased), Caroline E., Martin E. (a resident of Stamford) and Cornelia M. Charles A. Weed was born in August, 1831, on the same farm which he now owns and occu- pies with his two sisters. He was educated in North Stamford, attending first the common schools, and later an academy conducted by James Betts. In early manhood he took charge of the home fartn, and his able management of 70 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. the place has won for him an excellent reputa- tion as an agriculturist. Being an ardent Demo- crat, he began at an early age to manifest an in- terest in practical politics, and in 1856 he was elected to the Legislature which met in New Haven in May. In 1878 and 1879 he was again elected, and from 1857 to 1863 he held the office of deputy sheriff, while at various times he has served as assessor, selectman, registrar of voters and member of the board of relief. He was also United States deputy marshal in i860, assisting in taking the census. MISS JULIA M. WAKEMAN. The first ancestor of the Wakeman family, which has long been prominent in this section, came to America in 1631 from England, and settled at Fairfield, Conn. Their descendants are now numerous, and while many are to be found in this county, others have located in different parts of the United States. Some of them have been in Fairfield, Conn., two hundred and fifty years, as recorded by Robert Wakeman, who has been some twenty-five years engaged in collecting the Genealogy of the Wakeman families, and items of interest that have been handed down from generation to generation. Seth Wakeman re- sided in Sherman, Conn., and perhaps elsewhere before settling there. He served in the Revo- lutionary war in 1776, and received a pension from the Government up to his death in 1S35; after his decease the pension was awarded to his widow Mary (or Molly, as she was usually called) until she died in 1845. He married Miss Mary Stratton, of the same town, and had the following children: Joseph, born in 1784, mar- ried Sylvia Arnold; Rebecca, born in 1787, mar- ried Isaac Buckley; Walter, born in 1788, married Almira Winchell; Eunice, born in 1791, married Foster Crosby; Hull, our subject's fa- ther, is mentioned more fully below; Cynthia, born in 1796; Diamond, born in 1798, and Miles, born in 1802, never married; Harriet, born in 1804, mapried Orson Page; William, born in 1808, married Eli^iabeth Croocker; and Laura A., born in 18 10, did not marry. Hull Wakeman, the father of our subject, was born in 1793, in the town of Sherman, where he acquired a good practical education in the common schools of that day. He became a successful agriculturist, and was prominent in lo- cal affairs as a member of the Democratic party, being frequently elected to office in the town- ship. In the war of 1812 he was drafted, but did not serve, hiring a substitute in the person of Aaron Wakeman; son of Gideon Wakeman, who did duty in his stead. Hull \N'akeman's wife, whose maiden name was Rheuamah Banks, was born in 1793, a daughter of Nathan and Drucilla L. Banks, owners of a fine farm in the town of Sherman. Ten children were born of this union, of whom nine lived to mature age: (i) Levi, born in 181 5, was a farmer and speculator in cattle. He married Miss Charlotte Crane, and had four children — Martha C, who married James Palmer; George, who married Miss Callie \'osberge; William A., and Thaddeus. (2) El- vira, born in 1817, married John Caldwell, and has one son, William, who married Mary Hop- kins. (3) Miss Harriet, born in 18 19, was reared and educated in the schools of the town of Sher- man, and has always resided at the old home- stead. (4) Caroline, born in 1822, died in 1887, unmarried. (5) Drucilla, born in 1824, married Stephen Joyce, and has had five sons — William H., who died unmarried, in 1876; John F., who married Miss Ida Way; Allen, who married Miss Emma Warner; Alonzo, who married Miss Frankie Marcy; and Robert, who died unmar- ried, in 1889. (6) Miles H., born in 1826, died in 1852. (7) Linus A., born in 1828, went to the South, and after being employed for some time as a cashier in various banks, located in Savannah, Ga., where he engaged in the bank- ing business. He married Miss Nellie Corkins, and died in 1895, leaving two children, Nellie A. and Charles H. (8) William S., born in 1831, has followed agriculture and mercantile business throughout his life; he resides in Nan- tucket, Mass. He married Miss Mary A. Hallett, and has had two children — F. Merwin, who was in the Civil war on the Union side until his en- listed time expired, when he was mustered out of the service; and Marion E. , who died in 1878, in childhood; (9) Miss Julia M. ; and (10) Miss Josephine R. , born in 1836, died in 1892. Miss Julia M. Wakeman was born in 1834, at the old homestead in the town of Sherman, and was educated in the schools of that locality. She possesses fine mental qualities, and has al- ways taken an interest in the progressive move- ments of the time, her ability and force of char- acter giving her much influence among her ac- quaintances and friends. I^ILLIAM SANFORD BEARDSLEY (de- ceased) was born February 12, 1808, in Redding Ridge, Fairfield Co., Conn., at the old home of his father and grandfather. He was seventh in the lineal descent from William Beard- sley, of Stratford (1639), in whose line the name of William is repeated six times. He was also sixth COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 71 in descent from Samuel Beardsley, oneof the nine founders of the Stratford Ecclestiastical Society in 1694. In 1726 Samuel's son William and his wife Elizabeth were enrolled as Communi- cants of the old Episcopal Society of Stratford under the teachings of Dr. Samuel Johnson, and this line has continued in that faith until the present time. In 1836, during the ministry of Dr. Gurdon S. Coit (for it was at that time the old stone church was built on the corner of Broad and Can- non streets), William S. Beardsley became a member of that Church. He received his educa- tion in the public schools of Redding and New- town, in what was known as the Dodgington District, attending school aud working on his father's farm until sixteen years of age. Though his opportunities for an education were limited to the meager school advantages of his day, as found in the country, yet he laid a foundation upon which he built a superstructure of informa- tion garnered from a keen observation of men and things, and almost a century of ripe experi- ence. He was emphatically a man of sound judgment and discretion. At the age of sixteen, as he says, he went to learn the carpenter's and joiner's trade with Hiram Parmley as journey- man carpenter for one year, and worked in Sau- gatuck (now known as Wesport). At the age of twenty-two he built the ■ first Congregational church at Danbury.