Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

I. Samuel, eldest son of Samuel, of Ded- ham, England, had a son Daniel, who had three sons, Ebenezer, Benoni and Samuel, (i) Eben- £zer had two sons, Ebenezer and Daniel, and the latter was the father of two children, Ebenezer and Philo. (2) Benoni had a son Zadok, who had three sons — Andrew (the father of Roswell, Harry and Charles), Zilotas and Zadok. (3) Samuel had two sons — Justin (the father of Jot- ham and Ezra), and Jotham, who had five sons - — Lewis, Samuel, Rufus, Beers and Cyrus. Of these, Lewis had four sons — Justin, Philo, Syl- vester and Oman. Samuel, our subject's grand- father, is mentioned more fully below. Rufus had three sons — -William, Lewis (father of Philo), and Philo (father of Rufus). Beers had three sons- — Charles, McPherson and Harry. Cyrus had two sons — Jotham and Cyrus Beers. IL Theophilus, second son of Samuel of Dedham, had two children, Mary Crane and Comfort Nicholas. III. Edmond, third son of Samuel, had two sons, Matthew and Bezaleel. ( i ) Matthew had two sons — David and Lemuel, and the former was the father of four sons — David, Seth, Matthew and Lemuel. IV. John, fourth son of Samuel, who was born about 1657, had three sons, Samuel, John and Ichabod. ( i ) Samuel had three sons — Reuben, David and Samuel (father of John and Ichabod); the second son, David, was the father of Matthew, Solomon David ( i ) ( who died in infancy), Solomon David (2), Aaron, Bildad and Eldad (twins), and Gideon. (2) John had two sons, Daniel and Matthew ; Daniel was the father of Daniel, and Taylor (born 17 58, died 1818), who became the grandfather of Gen. William T. Sherman [ See pp. 10 and 11, Vol. I. "Memoir of General Sherman"]. Taylor had three children, of whom the eldest, Charles R. , who died in 1829, had four sons: Charles F., born in 1811, James, born in 1816, William T. , born February 8, 1820, died February i, 1891, and John, born in 1823, now (1897) National Secretary of State. Daniel, second son of Tay- lor, married and had a daughter Betsey, who married Judge Parker, of Mansfield, Ohio. V. David, fifth son of Samuel of Dedham, had eight daughters. VI. Matthew, sixth son of Samuel, had three sons, Jonathan, David and Jabez. VII. Nathaniel, seventh son of Sanmel, had three children, Sarah, Peramiah and Naomi. VIII. Benjamin, eighth and youngest son of Samuel, born March 29, 1662, had seven sons: Job, Nathaniel, Enos, Benjamin, Samuel, Timothy and James, (i) Job had four sons: John ( father of Daniel, John, Ezra, Elijah and Jabe); Joel (father of Abel, George, Job and Timothy); Nathan (father of Truman, Lyman, Philo and Joseph); and Ephraim (father of Amos and Peter). (2) Nathaniel had three sons, Nathaniel ( father of David, Nathaniel, Nathan, Silas and Everett ); Phineas ( father of Philo and Lewis); and Nathan (father of Wheeler and Nathan). (3) Enos had two sons, Josiah and Samuel. (4) Benjamin had two sons, Timothy and James. ( s ) Samuel had three sons, Lemuel, Elijah and Isaac. (6) Timothy left no issue. ( 7 ) James had three sons, Adonijah, W'illiam, and Edmond. Samuel Sherman, our subject's grandfather, was born at Newtown in 1760, and died at Brook- field in 1825. He married Betty Hawley, of Newtown, and soon after their marriage they set- tled upon their present homestead at Brookfield, where he followed agriculture, and waa for many years engaged in manufacturing combs. He ac- T ■.: H!:V' ^.liv' ,v,,a3.',d i:;j h'J.i .-iMiu--< I. .1.- I COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. cumulated a handsome fortune for that day, and did an extensive banking business among his neighbors. In all local affairs he took a prom- inent part, and he was one of the founders of St. Paul's Episcopal Church at Brookfield, in which he served for many years as senior warden. He had eight daughters, and two sons — Hawley, who was born in 1788, and died in 1869, and Abel, our subject's father. Abel Sherman was born at the old homestead in 1798, and made his home there throughout his life, agricultural work occupyiug his attention. He was educated in the district school, also in a private school near his home, and as he was al- ways an attentive reader of the best literature he acquired a wide range of information, which, to- gether with his intelligence and sound judgment made his opinions of great value. He took an active part in religious work, holding the oftice of vestryman of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. On November 26, 1826, he was married in Brook- field to Miss Sarah Bradley, who was born April 19. 1799. a daughter of Ormond Bradley, and died June 27, 1877. He survived her but a few years, passing away in 1881. Of their five chil- dren, Eli;;a B. , who was born September 14, 1826, died in 1890, unmarried. Samuel, our subject, was the second in order of birth. Susan, born June 5, 1830, married Joseph A. Banks, of Bridgeport. Miss Caroline, born in 1836, re- sides at Brookfield, Conn. Sarah Ann, their youngest daughter, died in 1844, when aged four years and five months. HON. DANIEL NASH MORGAN. Fairfield county has been the home of many families whose representatives have had a seat in the councils of the nation, and prominent among these we find the name of Alorgan, honorably represented in this generation by Daniel Nash Morgan, former Treasurer of the United States, who was born in Newtown, Fairfield Co., Conn., August 18, 1844, the son of Ezra and Hannah (Nash) Morgan. Ezra Morgan (the father of our subject), who for forty years or more was a merchant banker and fariqer of the town of Newtown, Fairfield county, descended from one of the old families of Newtown, and one of the oldest in the State. Zedekiah Morgan, his grandfather, was a captain in the war of the Revolution, and an active and determined patriot. During the war cavalry horses were quartered on a portion of the place still known in Newtown as the Morgan farm. Ezra Morgan, who was born in Newtown, died June 9, 1871, aged seventy years, and his wife, Hannah (Nash), passed away April 15, 1883, aged sixty-seven. She was the daughter of Daniel Nash, who lived to the advanced age of ninety-five years. Ezra Morgan was one of the leading and influential citizens of Newtown; was a leading Democrat, and occupied a number of official positions of trust and responsibility. He represented the town in the Legislature in 1842, 1862 and 186S. For a long time he was president of the Hatters Bank of Bethel. Daniel Nash Morgan received his early edu- cation in the common schools of Newtown, and later was a student in the Newtown Academy and Bethel Institute. He early exhibited a lik- ing for mercantile life, and at the age of sixteen entered his father's store, where, under his careful tuition, he mastered the rudiments of practical business. On attaining his majority he stepped before the public as sole proprietor of the store, and carried on the business with success for a year, when he became a partner of the firm of Morgan & Booth, in Newtown Center, for three years. In 1869 Mr. Morgan retired from this co-partnership and removed to Bridgeport, where for ten years or more he was one of the firm of Birdsey & Morgan, dealers in dry goods and car- pets, and also conducting a large dressmaking establishment. After a long and prosperous busi- ness career Mr. Birdsey retired and Mr. Morgan assumed the entire responsibility, carrying on the business for one year alone, until 1880, when he closed out and devoted all his time and energy to banking. During the year 1877 he was also con- nected with Morgan, Hopson & Co., wholesale grocers. Prior to this experience he took an ex- tended tour throughout Great Britain and the continent of Europe. His ability as a man of resource and as a master of finance soon attracted the people of his adopted town, and as they recognized his strong character they called on hiin frequently to fill the high positions within their gift. In politics he is a Democrat. He was elected a member of the common council of Bridgeport in 1873-74; is a member of the board of education now, which position he held in 1877-78; was mayor of the city 1880-84; was a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1883; was State Senator from the Fourteenth district in 1885 and 1886, and again in 1893, when he was elected by 1,755 majority, the largest ever given in the history of the town. For thirteen years he was parish clerk of Trinity Church, afterward junior and senior warden; for years has been president of the Bridgeport Hospital; was vice-president of the Consolidated Rolling Stock Company; was sinking fund commissioner COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. of the city; was president of the Citj' National Bank from 1879 to 1893; and is president of the Mechanics and Farmers Savings Bank, which now has assets of more than two million dollars. When appointed as Treasurer of the United States by President Cleveland, April 1 1, and con- firmed by the United States Senate April 15, 1893 — a- high tribute both to his ability as a financier and to his unswerving Democracy — the best wishes of the entire community followed him to his new home in Washington. This high office was filled in a manner that reticcted great credit on the treasurer, and his fellow townsmen feel in him a pardonable pride.