Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

obtained his preliminary education in the schools of his native city. He was fast friends with his father, and after the latter's death, which oc- curred when our subject was but little over nine years of age, he became a student in the acade- my at Greenwich, Conn., then conducted by Mr. Sherwood and Rev. Mr. Clark. Here he at- tended for about three years, until called home by the serious illness of his mother, and, as cir- cumstances shaped themselves, he did not re- turn, completing his schooling in New York City. When about sixteen he entered the dry-goods store of John Lloyd & Co., in Pearl street, ■where he remained four years, in about 1838, coming to Greenwich again. He boarded in Greenwich and in New York City, as business demanded, until 1844, when he and his wife commenced housekeeping on the " Sackett Homestead," living in an old house which stood a short distance east of their present residence, which Mr. Seaman completed in November, 1856, and has since occupied. In addition to this home and the commodious grounds around it he is the owner of twenty acres of valuable residence property in Greenwich, and he has lived retired for a number of years past, engag- ing only in the light labor necessary to keep his grounds in order, and which really is more like exercise than work. From the age of twenty- five Mr. Seaman has been troubled with a slight defect in his hearing, and this has proved no small handicap to him in business life, so that he has led a very quiet existence for the most part. He and his wife share the esteem and ven- eration of all their neighbors and friends in Greenwich, and they are passmg their days in peaceful enjoyment of the ample competence which Mr. Seaman acquired in his earlier years. On August 28, 1840, Mr. Seaman was united in marriage with Miss Mary A. Sackett, who was born May 8, 1820, in Greenwich, daughter of lohn and Mary (Mead) Sackett, and grand- daughter of Justus Sackett, a Revolutionary soldier. John Sackett came of an excellent family of this locality, and was considered one of the most intelligent representative farmers of his day in Greenwich. His first wife, Mary (Mead), died at the age of thirty-five years, and for his second wife he married Miss Cornelia Olmstead, by whom he had several children. He lived to be over seventy years old. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Seaman, namely: (1) Edgar, (2) Mary A., and (3) Ella H. , the latter of whom died March 7, 1863. The son was born September 9, 1841, and made his home with his parents until his death, on De- cemb^ 4, 1895; he was engaged in business in New York, where he was employed during his earlier manhood, later having a partnership in a business house. (2) Mary A. is the widow of Edwin Lyon, and lives in North street; she had two children — Ella H. and Walter S., the last named d)ing February 12, 1894. Mr. Seaman originally supported the Whig party, becoming a Republican on the formation of the new faction, and until recent years he cast his ballot regu- larly, though he never took any active part in politics or aspired to office of any kind. In re- ligious connection he and his wife are Congrega- tionalists. This devoted couple have already seen fifty-eight years of happy wedded life, and it is the wish of all who know them that they may be spared to many more years of health and happiness. MOBERT HUBBARD, M. D. (deceased). In the lives of all men who have attained pre-eminence in honor and success there is a fascination to the general public. Human na- ture is attracted irresistibly to those unusual qualities, or to the unusual development of the more ordinary traits, which separate the man of mark from the generality of his fellowmen. There are lessons to be learned and inspirations to be obtained from the details of these bi- ographies. An insight into the career of the late Dr. Robert Hubbard is certainly helpful to the young man who is ambitiously and hopefully starting out in life's journey. Doctor Hubbard, who in his lifetime was a leading citizen and physician of Bridgeport, late assistant medical director and acting medical director United States Volunteers, and in 1879 president of the Connecticut Medical Society, was born April 27, 1826, in Upper Middletown (now the town of Cromwell), Middlesex Co., Conn. He was a descendant of one of the pioneer and prominent families of Connecticut, the first American Hubbard having emigrated from England to the Connecticut Colony about 1660. Branches of the family are now found in many parts of the Union. Jeremiah Hubbard, the father of our subject, was one of those hardy New England seamen to whom American shipping of a generation ago was indebted for its remarkable vigor and growth. He was a native of Upper Middletown, and for many years sailed a vessel in the West Indies trade. He was equally at home on land, owning in Middlesex county an average farm, from which he wrested a part of his hvelihood. He was a man of simple habits, intelligent, brave, honest, hard-working and God-fearing, a sturdy (/' ^^^-av ^^'^< y COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 89 specimen of the old-time "Yankee salt." He married Elizabeth Roberts, a native of Middle- town, and a daughter of Winkham Roberts, a prosperous farmer, whose lands included, in part, the beautiful site of Connecticut Hospital for the Insane. The familj' of Jeremiah and Elizabeth Hubbard consisted of eight sons and two daughters. Robert Hubbard, the subject of this sketch, was the eldest of this large family, and upon his young shoulders was placed much of the respon- sibility and labor of conducting the farm in his father's absence. His opportunity for an educa- tion was meagre. He attended the district schools with fair regularity until the exacting cares of the farm made greater demands upon his time. It was not from choice that his daily visits to the little school house became fewer each year, for he possessed a genuine thirst for knowledge. Immediate prospects for obtaining a better education svere very shadowy indeed. His father needed his services, and besides he felt it unjust to ask from his father any aid or privilege which could not be extended to his other brothers also. But an opportunity soon presented itself. Mr. (afterward Rev.) Jared O. Knapp, the principal of the academy, offered him his tuition in return for his care of the school- room, and another kind family friend, Mrs. Grid- ley, of Cromwell, offered him board and lodging in compensation for services to be rendered upon her place. The boy's good mother, eager to see his ambition gratified, added her own entreaties to his, and thus secured his freedom from the farm. Emancipation from the monotonous and ill-requited drudgery of the farm was perhaps the first desire of young Hubbard. Aside from his growing taste for study he had no other am- bition than to enter upon a business career. At the academy he found many pupils of both sexes, his juniors in years, and much farther advanced in their studies. By close application he soon placed himself on an equal footing with them. Having finished "Day's Algebra," he acquired some knowledge of chemistry and studied a little Latin; then resolved to obtain a collegiate edu- cation, and the remaining two }ears of his academic course were directed with that end in view. The path to the goal of his ambition was steep and difficult. A season's farm labor yielded him fifty dollars in cash, other occasional em- ployments adding slightly to the means at his command. Hard labor and long hours interfered sadly with study, but in 1846, at the age of twenty, he had finished his preparatory course. In that year he was admitted to Yale College. At the close of his Freshman year he was offered the position of principal at the academy at Dur- ham, Conn. He accepted, expecting to return to Yale and complete his course. But a year later a medical friend. Dr. Benjamin F. Fowler, of Durham, induced him to undertake the study of medicine. His previous training had well fitted him for the task, and he made rapid prog- ress in the preparation for the profession which he had now resolved to adopt as his lifework. When his second year as principal of the academy had expired, he resigned that position and en- tered Dr. Fowler's office as a student. Remain- ing there for a year, he then placed himself un- der the tuition of Dr. Nathan B. Ives, an emi- nent practitioner of New Haven, becoming a member of his family. During the two years spent with Dr. Ives, he .regularly attended the Medical School of Yale College. In 1851 he was graduated at this institution with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and had the additional honor of being valedictorian of his class. In February, 185 1, he removed to Bridge- port, his future home, and with twenty-five dol- lars (borrowed money) in his pocket, and an in- debtedness of two thousand dollars incurred in receiving his education. But the way now seemed clear to the young practitioner, and he entered upon his professional career with acoura- gious heart and high hopes. Modestly opening an office in a drug store on Wall street, and boarding at the "City Hotel," he minimized his expenses and became self-supporting from the start.