Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Charles Jones, next younger brother of the subject proper of this sketch, was born at Wil- ton, and after attending the common schools was prepared for college by Prof. Hawley Olmstead, of Wilton. He then attended and graduated from Yale College in 1843. For a number of years, in fact for the rest of his life, he prac- ticed law in New York, and at one time he was representative of Wilton in the Legislature of the State. This was before he took up his resi- dence in New York, where he became a very prominent man in his profession. He was a can- didate for city judge of Brooklyn; was chairman of the State Central Committee that at the con- vention nominated General Grant for President. On April 15, 1852, he married Miss Mary Anna Moore, by whom he had children: (i) Mary, who married Herbert Ogden, and had one son, Charles Jones Ogden, who is studying in college; and (2) Margaret, who married Frederick Mid- dlebrook, by whom she has one son and one daughter; Herbert Ogden and Frederick Mid- dlebrook are both lawyers in New York City. Charles Jones died September 2, 1892. Elizabeth Jones, only sister of our subject, and the youngest member of the family, was educated in Wilton, her native place, and mar- ried Edwin Gilbert, president of the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company, at George- town, Conn. They have no children. William Jones, youngest brother of our sub- ject, was born in the town of Wilton, Conn., and after completing his education followed farm- ing the rest of his life. He married Miss Ann Knapp, a daughter of a prosperous and promi- nent farmer of Ridgefield. To this marriage there was born one son, William, who married and settled in New Haven. The husband and father died January 19, 1850. John Jones, the father of our subject, for his second wife married Mary Thorp, daughter of Samuel ana Sallie Thorp, of Westport, and to this marriage there were born two children: Sophia W., who died in infancy October 7, 1832; and Samuel, who studied law in New York City, became a very prominent man in his profession' and was United States Commissioner, holding several other important offices. For his first wife he married Phebe Lockwood, by whom he had one child, Edward Fairfield (single), who is traveling agent for the Gilbert & Bennett Manu- facturing Company. The mother of this child dying, Mr. Jones married Miss Mary Lockwood, and by her had one child, Florence, unmarried, and living with her mother. Samuel Jones died in I 873, and his widow married Daniel Davenport, a lawyer of Bridgeport, by whom she had one child, Beatrice. John Jones for his third wife married Mrs. Mary Berry Grimes, by whom he had no children. He (John) died February 27, 1886, aged ninety-four years. David Law, grandfather of the wife of the sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Northumberland, England, and was educated there. Removing to Scotland, he there married a Scotch lady, Jacoba Wallace, a descendant of the historic William Wal- lace. David Law and his wife came to the United States, settling in the City of New York, where he established a shoe-manufacturing business, which he followed the rest of his life. The chil- drnn of David and Jacoba Law were Isabella and David, the former of whom remained single. David Law, the younger of the two, and fa- ther of the wife of our subject, was born in Edin- burgh, Scotland, came to the United States with his parents, and was educated in the City of New York. There he learned the shoe-manufacturing business of his father, and removing to New Canaan, Conn., established there a manufactur- ing business of his own. He also established a similar institution at New Orleans, La., and followed the business of manufacturing shoes the rest of his life. He died December 25, 1835. He married Mrs. Mary Adams (iiu- Aldis) daugh- ter of Charles and Widow Barnaby Aldis, of England, the former of whom, a draper and tailor by occupation, and something of a sporting man, lived on the Raydon estate near Yarmouth. Mrs. David Law, by her first husband, Captain Adams (who was lost at sea), had two children, William, who was a silversmith, and president of the board oi aldermen of New York City; and Mary, who married Dennie Sayer, a banker of New York. By her marriage with David Law, she had children as follows: David, who died of yellow fever in New Orleans in 1832; Elizabeth, wife of our subject; and James, Alexander and Henry, mention of whom follows. James Law was born in New York City, was educated there and learned the trade of silver- smith, at which he worked most of his life. He was twice married, first time to Eliza Knapp, of Stamford, by whom he had two children: Mary, who married Wyland Keith, a manufacturer of drugs at Stamford, Conn. ; and James, who is also married. I3y his second wife, James Law had two children, both of whom died young. Ale.xander Law was born in New Canaan, Conn., was there educated in the common schools 76 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. and in New Haven, after which he engaged in mercantile business, having a large cast-iron hol- low ware foundry in Jersey City, and a store in New York City. He married Miss Polly Savory, of Carver, Mass., and by her had one child, Emma W. Law, who married Charles DeMerit, of Bus- ton, Mass., by whom she had two children — Charles and Harold, the former of whom is prac- ticing medicine in Baltimore, Md. Ale-xandcr Law died February 22, 1894. Henry Law was born in New Canaan, Conn., and was educated in the common schools of that place. Having learned the plumber's trade he was engaged in that business most of his life, twenty-two years of which were spent in Cali- fornia. He married Amelia Endros, by whom he has one son, Henry, at present engaged in the furniture business in New York, is married and has two children. Henry Law died in 1886. A MASA A. MARKS, owner of the magnifi- ^ cent villa and grounds known as " Willow- mere," at Sound Beach, is one of the many re- tired business men of New York City who have found the charming region along the shore of Long Island Sound, in Fairfield county, Conn., an ideal place for a life of repose after years of turmoil in the commercial world. He has had his residence here since 1871, and during that time has been one of the most active citizens of the place, prominently identified with its im- provement and progress along various lines, and manifesting a keen interest in the welfare of his adopted town, where his zeal and effective work are thoroughly appreciated. He has been a no less active worker, however, in business circles, and the Marks establishment, located at No. 701 Broadway, in New York City, has been a landmark of the metropolis for years, and ranks high in its line. In the making of artifi- cial limbs Mr. Marks has long been regarded as an authority, and he is widely known as the in- ventor of many important devices and improve- ments now in general use. Mr. Marks is descended from good New Eng- land stock, prominent among his ancestors be- ing the Tuttles, Ives, Coopers and Eatons, all of whom were in their day useful and honored citizens, and many of whom bore an important part in the early history of our country. Abra- ham Marks, the grandfather of the gentleman introduced by this sketch, was a farmer by oc- cupation and lived in Milford, Conn. He mar- ried a Miss Mervvin, whose father was a Rovolu- tionary soldier, and they had a family of live children, as follows: Abraham, John, Levi, Con- tent and Nehemiah. Levi Marks was born in Milford, Conn., re- ceived his education in the public schools of the home neighborhood, and was reared to farming, which he followed, engaging also in teaming be- tween Waterbury and New Haven, Conn., until 1836; he was one of the pioneers in that line in his section. He remained at home until his marriage with Miss Esther T. Tuttle, who was born in Bethany (then Woodbridge), Conn., and was the daughter of Amasa Tuttle, a farmer. This union was blessed with six children, viz. : Mary E., who died at the age of seventy-five at the home of her brother Amasa, unmarried: Minerva C, who married Elias Clark and re- moved to Cuyahoga county, Ohio; David B., who followed the profession of dentist; William, who died at the age of ten; Amasa A.; and Eliza J. Amasa A. Marks was born April 3, 1825, in Waterbury, Conn. He received all his school- ing before he was sixteen, and after he was seven years old he attended only in the winter time, even then going only one full term of three months. His father was engaged in teaming, and our subject became an expert ox-team driver at an early age, for he commenced work when a mere boy and had plenty of opportunity in this line. When sixteen years old he began life on on his own account, obtaining employment as a farm hand, and before he was twenty he was given charge of the Woodruff farm, a large and well-known property near New Haven, receiving at first twelve dollars and later fifteen dollars per month, the latter being then the highest wages paid for this service. Mr. Marks next embarked in the milling business for himself, buying a email mill at a cost of two hundred and fifty dollars, and paying forty dollars from his own savings, going into debt for the remainder. After running the mill three years he sold it, and having now some capital he went to New Haven, where for a short time he carried on a sawmill and turning business, in 185 1 locating in New York City, and commencing work as a journey- man in the same line. It was not long, how- ever, before he started in business on his own ac- count, and in 1853 he and his brother, David, formed a partnership for the manufacture of arti- ficial limbs. Our subject had but one hundred dollars to invest, and that was borrowed, and al- though his brother was the patentee of a limb it was a constant struggle for the first four years, and David withdrew from the partnership within a short time. Mr. Marks had become interested in this branch, his sympathies being aroused by COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. IT