Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Barlow M. Stevens, father of Doctor Stevens, was born December 23, 181 1, in Brookfield, Conn., was there reared and educated, and be- came a mechanic by occupation. For many years- he was employed in the repair shop of the Housa- tonic railroad. Later he was one of the first contractors in the Howe Sewing Machine factory at Bridgeport, in which city he made his home- while so engaged. He prospered in business, and earned a comfortable competence. He mar- ried Laura A. Fairchild, daughter of Joseph Fair- child, of Taunton, Newtown, and they had three children, all of whom are now deceased: Laura, who died in infancy; John G., our subject, and' Henry W. , a brief sketch of whom follows. The- father died in 1883; the mother is still livmg. He was one of the most ardent Abolitionists of New Milford in slavery days, and later was one of the- first members of the Republican party. Frater- nally he was an Odd Fellow, one of the earliest members of the order in this State; in religious faith he was a Presbyterian, a prominent member and active official of the First Ptesbyterian Church, of Bridgeport. Henry W. Stevens was born January 9, 1843, in New Milford, Conn., but was reared in- Bridgeport, where he passed his entire life, witb the e.xception of the time he was absent at the front during the war of the Rebellion. He be- ,ir.. ' .J ,ir'.-i I '-, '■■■'.: ,1:.. . ■;] :■-,/;!! :.V'v.i. ; .... ■ ■*'-•. /sf; OVM T.;;,^ ^-, • : , ^ '■!, ,.;''] .i ; •■..'. . ■ ■ i 'I'll.j;:: ):;> w ! .. - ,i,l :.-'.•', ,!■!■ m.'i; >."^/l ,"•:■'■ .ill .-tfi'-'i-^'''''', o ■I : . ■■'! i:.'i;.7,- l...r:: ^■-;:k: ,...!<_! . -■.Mr.-);, . ,:-- . .,•;..( ,^ in ,; ■ - ■■ >; :,■> vj ,.- '• :. '.' .!• '/• XA ,-,>;,. - i i.,,^, V ■ V. u.;o ^iO] J" •'. -W < I) h.v 1„ COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 133 came a druggist, and for many years was en- gaged in Booth's drug store in Bridgeport. In 1861 he enlisted in the Fourteenth Conn. V. I., and served three years, during which time he was taken prisoner at Bristoe Station. He was confined m Libby Prison, Belle Isle, Anderson- ville, and at Macon, Ga. , being incarcerated sev- enteen months' in all. _After the war he was with his father for many years, or until the fac- iory burned; then succeeded him as contractor, and so continued until in 1883 he took possession of the Warner Pharmacy at No. 171 East Main street, and carried same on some thirteen years, or until his death, which occurred May 25, 1898. He was a Republican in politics, and at the time of his decease was serving as alderman for the Sixth ward of the city of Bridgeport. Soci- ally, he was a member of the G. A. R., and was ^ past commander of Post No. 3, at Bridgeport. He was in every way a man highly esteemed and much beloved by all who knew him. He mar- ried Mary E. Stevens, daughter of Charles \V. and Mary (Fairchild) Stevens, of Bethel, Conn.; they had no children. John G. Stevens received his early English education in the public schools of Bridgeport, which he attended until he was about sixteen or eighteen years old. After leaving school he en- tered the drug store of Crofoot & Lyon, remain- ing with them and their successors for three or four years, until, in 1858, he bought out a sim- ilar business in State street, in which he had for a partner a Mr. Thayer, the firm name becom- ing Thayer & Stevens. Our subject continued in this enterprise until August, 1862, when he responded to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 men for nine months' service by enlisting in Com- pany I, 23rd Conn. V. I., which went to the front under Colonel Holmes. This regiment was with Banks in the Gulf expedition; the Doctor was captured at Brashear City, La., June 23, 1863, and confined thirteen months in Confeder- ate prison, being released in August, 1 864, and re- turned to the provost marshal's office in Bridge- port, Conn. He held the rank of first lieutenant all through his term of service. On his return to the pursuits of peace he again engaged in busi- ness, carrying on the Old City drug store, in State street, of which he was in reality the founder, its location being the old stand of Thayer & Stevens. The establishment is at present sit- uated in Main street, and is owned and conducted by Fred S. Stevens, to whom the Doctor sold out in 1872. In that year he relinquished busi- ness interests to devote himself to preparation for his profession. In 1882 he matriculated in the medical department of Yale College, grad- uated in 1884, and in the same year settled in Monroe. He was very successful in that vicinity in his profession, gaining a high standing among his patients and brother physicians generally, and was prominent in the public life of the town from the time he made his settlement here. In 1886 he was the choice of the Republican party for representative to the State Legislature, where he served one term, and he was elected to numer- ous local offices, the duties of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity. He was a mem- ber of the school board; member of the board of selectmen (elected on the Republican ticket, al- though the party was in the minority), in which he served one term; justice of the peace for the last ten or twelve years; health officer of the town; and medical examiner. His interest in the progress and advancement of the town was shown in a most practical manner, and called forth admiration and esteem from all who know him. He was equally prominent in fraternal work, and was a charter member of Corinthian Lodge, No. 102, F. & A. M. (in which he was formerly very active); of Jerusalem Chapter, R. A. M., and of the Masonic Council — all in Bridge- port; member of the Grange, in which he was master; and was one of the founders of Elias Howe, Jr., Post, No. 3, G. A. R., of Bridgeport, which is now one of the largest posts in the State of Connecticut. In 1868 the Doctor was married to Miss A. Elma Beardsley, daughter of Samuel B. Beard- sley, of Monroe, and one daughter, Elma, who lives at home, was born to them. Dr. Stevens attended the services of the Congregational Church of Monroe. He died March 28, 1899. after a short illness caused by heart trouble. MADCLIFF HUDSON, who for the past thirty years has lived retired in Stamford, Fairfield Co., Conn., is a native of this State, born September 20, 1 821, in the city of Hartford. His early life, which was spent in his native place, passed without incident; but after reaching man- hood he led an adventurous and active career for a number of years. When a young man he went to Texas, volunteering for six months in one campaign against the Cherokee Indians. In the Sante Fe expedition, 1841, he was elected to the rank of captain, and later he was taken prisoner and confined in Mexico, but he managed to make his escape, and he returned to his native city. The Hudsons were well represented in the Civil war; Col. Henry W. Hudson (who died at Syracuse, N. Y. , in 1887) served with distinction in the Peninsula and Maryland campaigns, in 134 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. command of the Eighty-second N. Y. V. I. ; Capt. Edward McK. Hudson, lieutenant-colonel, U. S. army, and a graduate of West Point, was aide-de-camp to General McClellan at the period of his command of the Army of the Potomac, after which he was sent to his company in the field, and he was severely wounded while leading a charge of his regiment in the Wilderness. He retired, and died at Washington in 1891. On his return to Hartford, as above men- tioned, Mr. Hudson took up the business of paper manufacturing, in which his father and grand- father had also been engaged, and continued same for a number of years. He soon after went to Buenos Ayres, South America, where his brother William H. Hudson was United States consul, remaining some months. While there A he was placed in charge of horses shipped by the English Government to Calcutta, India, this being the time of the Indian mutiny there. Mr. Hudson was twice married, first time September 20, 1849, to Maria Rotch, daughter of Francis Rotch, of New Bedford, and later of the "Grove," Morris, Otsego Co., N. Y. She died in 1854, leaving two children, viz.: (i) Anne Rotch, now the widow of Charles W. Morgan, late of Philadelphia, who had been domiciled in France for over thirty years. (2) Frank Rotch Hudson, born in 1854, lived to be about twelve years old, and died at the residence of his grandfather in Morris. Mr. Hudson re- moved to Stamford in 1868. On April 23, 1S90, he was married, in that place, to Eliza Hamilton Holly, a member of an old and honored Connec- ticut family, with which Mr. Hudson is also con- nected. Socially, he is a member of the Royal Arch Masons, with which he united in Hartford, and in religious connection he is a member of St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church, in Stam- ford. The Holly family was one of the earliest to set- tle at Stamford, Conn., and they trace their an- cestors to (i) John Holly, who was born in 1618 in England. «This gentleman came to America in 1630, and in 1642 settled in Stamford, in which community he was one of the most active and prominent business men. He soon became iden- tified with the public affairs of the settlement, holding various offices of trust and importance, and was a man of opulence and influence among his neighbors and fellow men generally. In 1643 he was made marshal of the court; in 1644, ap- praiser of estates; in 1655 and 1667, a member of the Arbitration committee between England and the Indians; in 1667 member of the committee on the boundary question be- tween Greenwich and Stamford; and he also served on the building committee for the Congre- gational meeting house. His death occurred May 25, 1681. By his wife Mary he had eight children, namely: Samuel (born in 1641), In- crease, Abigail, John, Hannah, Bethia, Elisha and Jonathan.