Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

now living in retirement in Norwalk, Fairfield Co., Conn., was for many years prominent in the work of the Episcopal Church in this State. His family became identified with the county at an early date, and his grandfather, Ephriim Nich- ols, who was born in the town of Fairfield, did gallant service as a soldier in the Revolutionary war, taking part in several battles, including that of White Plains. By occupation he was a farmer, and his remains are interred at Green- field Hill. He married Miriam Bradley, and they had one daughter, Ellen, who died young, and four sons, of which our subject's father. Rev. Samuel Nichols, D. D. , was tlm third in order of birth. The eldest, Capt. Charles Nich- lols, was a farmer at Greenfield Hill, where his death occurred. William and Bradley H. were also successful agriculturists in this county, and the former was for many years a justice of the peace. Rev. Samuel Nichols, D. D., was born in the town of Fairfield, and grew to manhood on the old homestead at Greenfield Hill. He com- pleted his education at Yale College, graduating in 181 1, a^d for some time he had charge of an academy at Herkimer, N. Y., where he met and married Miss Susan Warner, daughter of G. J. Warner, and granddaughter_of George Warner, a native of lingland. This family was prominent in Revolutionary times, some of its members be- ing active in the cause of freedom. Soon after his marriage Rev. Samuel Nichols, D. D., re- moved to Bedford, Westchester Co., N. Y. , where he remained twenty-three years as rector of St. Mathew's Episcopal Church, but his last years were spent at the old home at Greenfield Hill. His wife died in New York State. They had nine children, of whom our subject was the eldest ; Effingham H., formerly a lawyer in New York City, is now living in retirement ; William, who is also retired, was a real-estate dealer in New York City ; Samuel and John are engaged in agriculture in Fairfield county ; Alexander R. T., a resident of Greenfield Hill, is a leading politician of this section, and has served as a member of the State Legislature ; Charles is de- ceased ; Maria and Susan are still living, and the latter has gained fame both as an artist and writer. The venerable subject of these lines was born May 12, 1817, in Fairfield, Herkimer Co., N. Y. , and was a child when his parents removed to Bedford. After completing a course in Bed- ford Academy he entered Yale College, where he was graduated in 1835, and he then went to New York City to take a course in the Theo- logical Seminary of the Episcopal Church, on graduation, in 1837, being ordained as a clergy- man. He had charge of various parishes in this State during his active career as a minister, and he retired about twenty years ago, making his permanent home in Norwalk, where he purchased a pleasant residence, calling his home " Walde- grave Cottage," after the Earl of Waldegrave, from whom he is descended. In the course of his life he has made many choice friends, one of the earliest and most intimate being Chief Justice John Jay. He has been married twice, but both wives have passed to the unseen life, leaving no children to brighten his home. A highly cul- tured mind and scholarly habits enable Mr. Nichols to make his leisure pass pleasantly, and his pen has been used to good purpose on differ- ent topics. He has published several volumes: "Letters from Waldegrave Cottage; " a volume entitled "Miscellaneous Sermons" (a valuable addition to literature); "Memories of Childhood," and "Fragments from the Study of a Pastor," all of which have added to the reputation of the V:,'5*i'^Vrt : . >,:^L ! ■ ■•■ 1 ,',5 i^ J- y^^oy^ ^7^.^C<t^i4crz^ COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 113'. author as a writer and scholar. His "Letters from Waldegrave Cottage," many of which were originally published in Frank Leslie's "Sunday Magazine," edited by Dr. Talmage, have at- tracted special attention, and at the time of their appearance in book form were warmly welcomed, especially by those who were familiar with the persons and places described, though the book also won many admirers by its high moral tone and the scholarly touches which give it a per- manent value as a work of literature. Mr. Nichols having had the rare pleasure of being a friend of the first chief justice of the- United States, his reminiscences of him and other noted persons of his acquaintance, delightfully mingled with historical recollections and interesting de- scriptions and full of admirable moral lessons, lends a peculiar charm to the work, which affords much food for thought to the careful reader. From an article in T/ie A't'ii' Var^- ChnrcJi Press March 6, 1886, we excerpt the following: " The aim of the author has been to afford in- terest and to do good. In this he has succeeded remarkably well. His topics are varied and di- versified, blending personal reminiscences with social questions, ecclesiastical relations and the- ological discussions, whilst the style throughout is simple and ornate, at once captivating and in- structive. The writer enunciates sound views and imparts useful information, and his 'Letters from Waldegrave Cottage ' will be prized by those who know Mr. Nichols as a gift of friendship, and by those who read them for their own merit as the outpouring of a scholary mind and a gen- erous soul." The Church Record, published at Southport, Conn., said: " The author's extensive acquain- tance with men and affairs for more than a gen- eration past enables him to weave together facts of the present with reminiscences of the past. Great men in the Church's story, who appear to us of the younger generation to belong to an age long past, are to the writer's mind but a step re- moved from the present. Of them, and of events that now make history, of scenes and customs which in our swiftly changing social life have al- ready become matters of bygone days, he speaks with the power of an eye-witness, and gives an air of reality to his notes and observations. Min- gled with these remarks upon men and events (that belong to the best class of pleasant gossip, which is never improper, and always increases our knowledge of human life) are other letters that deal with deeper and hoher themes of the Christian faith, reverently, and yet in the same friendly and conversational manner. Altho- gether this volume belongs to a class of literature that is too little cultivated to-day, and may be read with pleasure and profit during many a leis- ure hour." CATHARINE STURGES, who departed this _ life April 5, 1897, in Wilton, was a highly esteemed member of one of the well-known fam- ilies of Fairfield county, Conn. She was born November 29, 18 16, and received a good educa- tion, in part at the public schools of her town, in part at Olmstead Academy, in Wilton, under the preceptorship of Hawley Olmstead, L. D. She' attended the services of the Episcopal Church at Wilton, in which town she passed all of her long and useful life. She was possessed of a keen and vigorous mind and sound judgment. Miss Sturges was one of the seventh genera- tion from (I) John Sturges (or Sturge), who mar- ried Deborah Barlow, and died November 24, 1686, aged sixty-two years; they had a son (II) Jonathan, born about 1652, who married Susan- nah Banks, and died November 29, 171 1; they had one son (III) Peter, who married Hannah Jennings, and died May 6, 1757, aged seventy- three years; they had a son (IV') Daniel, baptized February 3, 17 13, who on November 5, 1741, married Mary Beers, and died January 29, 1773;, they had a son (V) Daniel, who was the grand- father of the subject of this memoir. (V) Daniel Sturges, born October 15, 1745,, in the town of Greenfield, Conn., received his education in the public schools of the locality. During most of his lifetime he followed agricul- tural pursuits, and he was remarkable for his great physical strength. In the war of the Rev- olution he was a patriot soldier, and was present at the battle of Valley Forge. He married Miss Naomi Bradley, and their children were as fol- lows: Joseph, who married Amelia Ogden; Sam- uel, who married Mary Hurlbut; (VI) Erastus, father of our subject; and Increase. After the death of his wife, Naomi, he removed to the West, having married a second time, and having children by this marriage also, about whom little is known. (VI) Erastus Sturges, born in 1779, in the town of Greenfield, Conn., attended the public schools of his neighborhood, then living in his boyhood with a Mr. Finch, of Wilton, the an- cestor of Frank and Henry Finch, of Wilton. In 1833 he left a farm on ' ' Dumpling Hill, " near Cannon, having purchased near Wilton Centre what is now known as the Erastus Sturges Home- stead, and there passed the rest of his days, dying January 20, 1846. He was a well-informed man, self-educated and self-made. Politically, 114 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. he was a Whig, and was honored as few men of his day and age were with election to numerous lo- cal offices of trust, such as selectman of his town, justice of the peace, and judge of his county, being well-known in Connecticut at the beginning of or early in the present century. Moreover, he served as a member of the State Legis- lature thirty-three years, being elected consecu- tively for twenty-two years. He was a born leader of men, one of the most influential in his town, and was possessed of undoubted integrity, a trait transmitted to his children. He married Miss Abigail Sturges, who was born February 4, 1788, daughter of Ezekiel and Hannah (^More- house) Sturges, of Wilton, the former of whom was one of the largest landholders in the eastern part of the town. By this union there were children as follows: Henrietta, who was born December 22, 1804, and died January 4, 1824; Isaac Morehouse, born July 6, 1807, and died October 30, 1877, and Aaron Bradley, born in September, 1809, neither of whom married; Mary, born April 16, 1812, married George A. Davenport, and died March 1, 1884; Angeline', born November 29, 1816, and died in 1877; and Catharine, the subject of this sketch.