Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

twelve children, consisting of five sons and seven daughters. Her father was a wealthy planter, owning 300 acres of land and twenty negroes. He had been educated in two colleges, and prac- ticed law for a time, but abandoned that calling because, as he said, "He had to lie to be suc- cessful." Mr. and Mrs. Palmer have two sons: Frank T., who owns and operates a cider-mill in North Mianus; and Ray L. , who is connected with the Mianus Electric Company. Mr. Palmer uses his right of franchise in the support of the Democracy, and held the offices of assessor and justice of the peace until old age debarred him. He also served on the grand jury, and was prominently identified with the public affairs of his township. He is the oldest male representative of the family, but still pos- sesses a good memory and is well preserved for one of his years. His wife is a member of the Methodist Church, and both are held in high re- gard by the entire community. J'rAMES H. REDMAN, who made his home in j Riverside, Fairfield Co., Conn., from 1892 until his death on November 26, 1898, in his seventieth year, was one of the many citizens living retired in that beautiful place who have helped to make it what it is, one of the most popular residence towns along Long Island Sound. There is probably no place of the same size in this region where refinement and wealth, with all its accompaniments of luxurious and pleasant surroundings and yet nothing of ostentatious dis- play, are so generally evident, and Mr. Redman found a charming home in this ideal spot, where, amid congenial social conditions, he passed his days in the quiet enjoyment of the ample means which he had acquired. The Redman family is of English origin, and their location in America dates back to 1680, in which year our subject's first American ancestor, coming from Yorkshire, England, settled on land now embraced in the city of Philadelphia, in which city and also in Trenton, N. J., many of his descendants are yet living. His son, Thomas Redman, was born in 1684 in Philadelphia, and was married in 1706. From ancient records are gleaned the following: In 1721 the Assembly passed the law regulating party walls in Phila- delphia, which is in force to-day, and Thomas Redman was one of four to be the first regulators. On May i, 1729, the House took into considera- tion the necessity of a house for the Assembly of the Province to meet in; appropriated ^'2,000; on October 15, 1730, purchase of grounds was made; 1732 ground was broken and the work COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 107 divided to the different trades. John Parsons and Thomas Redman were the stone masons and cellar diggers, and some of the bricklaying was done by this firm. This building, at first called the " State House," has been known for years as " Independence Hall." Mr. Redman's father, Charles H. Redman, was born in 1798 in Trenton, N. J., the eldest of the two children of Samuel and Susanna Red- man, viz.: Charles H. and Wolloston. He was reared in Trenton and there received his educa- tion, which was gained in a six-months' attend- ance at the public schools. The success which came to him in his business career would be un- usual for anyone whose sole capital to commence with was only a stock of energy and ambition, but when the lack of schooling is also to be taken into consideration it is nothing short of phenomenal, and the extraordinary business capacity which he displayed in all his transactions as well as the determination to advance in spite of heavy odds against him can scarcely be realized or appre- ciated by this generation. His father dying when he was but thirteen years old the family were left in anything but comfortable circum- stances, and the boy was still in his "teens" when he went to New York City and commenced work as an apprentice in the shop of his uncle, Jesse Redman, who was a cedar cooper by occu- pation and the pioneer in his Ime in that metrop- olis. He picked up the business so rapidly and showed such rare interest in it that it was not many years before the uncle retired and he suc- ceeded him, working hard early and late to keep up with the patronage which had come to him, and keep his affairs on a solid financial basis. During the time he was learning his trade, and even after he entered the business for himself truckmen and drays were not so numerous in New York City as now, and he often carried the finished product from his shop to market on his own shoulders, using the same means of trans- portation to bring the raw material in the shape of large cedar timbers to the shop. At first he was able to fill all his orders himself, but as his trade widened he took other help until he gave employment to a large force of work- men, and his market, from being a merely local one, was extended as far south as the Carolinas. Mr. Redman continued in the manufacturing business until shortly after his wife's death, when, in the spring of 1844, he retired, and hav- ing had little opportunity for seeing much of this country during his active years he spent much of his time in travel. He could not be con- tented, however, with a life of mere leisure, and he continued to attend personally to the numer- ous interests which he had acquired as increas- ing prosperity had enabled him to add to his possessions, looking after every detail connected with his various real-estate holdings, etc. He had many tenants, some of them renting from him for thirty years, and he was kind in his treat- ment of all, settling many an unpaid rent bill by simply cancelling it; an eviction was never known among his tenants. He was a director in the Old Bowery Bank, the Butchers & Drovers Bank, the Pacific Bank, the Broadway Insurance Company and the Park Insurance Company, and he continued to fulfill all the obligations im- posed on him by these interests up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1878. He was- active and well preserved to the last, his death being the result of injuries to his hip, which he sustained by being thrown from a wagon. He left an estate of half a million, acquired by his own industry and good business management, and, what was more valuable to a man of his- disposition and training, an unsullied reputation for integrity and uprightness in his dealings with all, and the record of an honorable self-made man. He was one of the early members of the Mechanics Society of New York City, now called the Mechanics Institute, and served for years on the library committee connected with same. In 1816 Mr. Redman joined the military or- ganization then known as the Eleventh Regiment of Artillery, and for many years his enthusiasm seemed to center in military affairs, few mem- bers of that well-known body having a wider ac- quaintance than he. He retained membership until 1844, when he resigned, having risen to the rank of lieutenant of the Ninth Regiment, as the organization was then known. For many years his name was the only one of that spelling which appeared in the New York directory, and among his acquaintances in the city were numbered some of the best citizens, for although he was quiet and unassuming in his manners and habits he had a large circle of friends, all of whom en- tertained for him the highest respect. He was originally a Whig in political sentiment, and later a stanch Republican up to the time of his death. Mr. Redman was married in New York City to Miss Mary Ann Tappan, who came of an old family of that city, and they reared a family of five children, as follows : James H., whose name introduces this sketch ; William H., who is mentioned elsewhere ; Joseph, who died in New York, leaving a family ; Angeline A., who is the widow of Charles Bell, and lives in New York; and Harriet, who became the wife of Richard E. Stilwell, and died in New York leaving a family 108 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. of seven children. Mrs. Redman passed away in 1843, and the home was broken up shortly afterward, Mr. Redman having no permanent abode until his daughter Harriet married, after which he made his home with her. He was ^reared a Quaker, his parents and immediate an- cestors all belonging to the Society of Friends, but after his marriage he attended the Presby- terian Church, of which his wife was a member, and although he never united with that denomi- nation he was quite active in its interests, serv- ing as trustee of the Church where he worshiped, and taking a prominent part in all its enterprises. James H. Redman was born June 17, 1S29, at No. 185 Hester street. New York City, where all his brothers and sisters were also born, and like them he received the advantages of the pri- vate and select schools of his native city, attend- ing also the select school for boys conducted by Prof. Thomas P. St. John, at Ridgefield, Conn. In 1845 he graduated from Pennington (N. J.) Seminary, and soon after this he commenced learning the business of jewelry manufacturer, in which he began at the bottom of the ladder, working at first at sweeping, "blowing the sweep, "and other menial duties, and rising as he won promotion until he became a partner in the house. For a number of years he was traveling salesman for various jewelry firms, going to large cities only, and continued in this line until his retirement in 1878. He made his home in the Borough of Brooklyn, New York City, until 1892, when he removed to Riverside, taking up his resi- dence in the commodious and pleasant home where he lived, and in the remodeling and beautifying of which he spared neither pains nor expense, the dwelling and grounds giving ample evidence of their owner's taste and inter- est in this direction. Mr. Redman was like his father, quiet and retiring in disposition, avoid- ing publicity in every way, but he was neverthe- less popular and well liked by all his neighbors, and he was looked upon as one of the substan- tial and valuable citizens of the community in which he made his home, and took considerable interest in the social life of the locality. He was a member of the Riverside Yacht Club. While living in Brooklyn he was a member of the Am- phion Musical Society. •