Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

(2) Increase Holly, born August 20, 1643, was married on April 2, 1678, to Elizabeth New- man, who was born in 1654, daughter of Will- iam Newman. Mrs. Holly passed away in 1713, Mr. Holly surviving until March i, 1726. They had four children: John, Jonathan, Joseph and Nathan. (3) John Holly, born March 29, 1679, died December 20, 1718. On January 6, 1703, he married Susannah Selleck, who was born Sep- tember 5, 1682, daughter of Capt. John Selleck, and died September 20, 1745. They had two children, both named John, the first of whom died in infancy. (4) John Holly, born November 10, 1705, died December 21, 1786. He was quite a prom- inent man in Stamford, in which town he held office, serving as selectman for twenty-four years, from 1750 to 1774, and representing the town as agent at the general court. He was an officer in the French and Indian war. On January 9, 1728, he married Hannah Slauson, who passed away January II, 1776. They were the parents of six children, namely: Hannah, Sarah, Elizabeth, John, Jemima and Kezia. (5) John Holly, born February 2, 1735, was a lieutenant in the Royal navy, and was lost at sea in 1778, while on a cruise. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of William and Deborah King, and she passed away in 1802, at the ripe old age of eighty-eight years. Their family con- sisted of five children: John William, Elizabeth, David, Hannah and Mary. (6) John William Holly, born March 8, 1762, was the maternal grandfather of Radcliff Hud- son. When fourteen years of age he was placed under the protection of the British army, and lived at New York and Lloyd's Neck, L. I., un- til twenty years old, when he returned to Stam- ford. In 1792 he built a dam and flourmills at the "Cove," where he also erected a dwelling house; he was the owner of " Cove Farm." On March 8, 1787, he was united in marriage with Rebecca Welles, daughter of Rev. Noah Welles, and six children were born to them: Maria Theodosia, John Melancthon (1) (who died in in- fancy), John Melancthon (2), William Welles, Abigail Elizabeth and Alfred AppoUos. Mr. and Mrs. Holly died September 23, 1838, and March I3i 1859, respectively. (7) Maria Theodosia Holly was born August COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 135 24, 1788, and December 3, 1807, became the wife of Henry Hudson, who was a prominent citizen of Hartford, Conn. Mr. Hudson was a native of that city, and one of its well-to-do busi- ness men, being engaged in paper manufac- turing. He served at one time as mayor of Hartford. He was twice married, his first wife being Maria Trumbull, daughter of Gov. Jona- than Trumbull. To his uhion with Maria T. Holly came nine children, of whom only two — Radcliff and Elizabeth — are now living; John Holly; Melancthon; Maria; Henry \V. , who served in the Civil war, as colonel of the 82nd N. Y. V. I. ; Radcliff (mentioned above); Hannah; William Holly, who was for many years United States Consul at Buenos Ayres; Edward Mc- Kenny, who served in the United States army during the Civil war, bemg aide to Gen. G. B. *McClellan; and Elizabeth, who is in France. The mother of this family passed away Decem- ber 27, 1870. (6) David Holly, born April 24, 1768, was a large land owner in Stamford, and one of the most progressive, enterprising citizens of his day. He put up the dwelling, flourmills and dock at the Waterside, erected the iron mills on West Main street, owned vessels, and did an extensive business in flour and iron. His name headed the petition for the first borough charter in 1830. "On November 13, 1788, he married Martha Coggeshall, who was born November 11, 1768, daughter of William Coggeshall, of Old Milford, Conn., and a direct descendant of John Cogges- hall, who was one of the first settlers of Rhode Island and its first magistrate. Mrs. Holly died December 3, 1804, and her husband survived her many years, passing away November 2, 1843. They had eight children: David, William C, John Albert, Augustus, Mary Stiles, Elizabeth King, Sidney Augustus and Martha C. (7) David Holly, born September 19, 1789, was married January 19, 1824, by Rev. A. S. Todd, to Sally C. Smith, and died February 28, 1854. He was reared and educated in Stam- ford, and subsequently engaged in the iron works there. He made a number of sea voyages to various foreign ports. Religiously he was a member of St. John's Church, of Stamford, and socially of Union Lodge, F. & A. M. Mrs. Sally C. Holly was born March 8, 1796, in New York City, daughter of Moses Smith and granddaughter of Charles Phillips, of New York. She died April 13, 1881. Their three children were Charles Moses, born November 18, 1826, died December 31, 1887; Eliza Hanwlton, born July 22, 1831, is the wife of Radcliff Hudson; and Margaret Phillips, born December i, 1834, died January 6, 1891. Charles M. Holly was a very popular and well-known man in Stamford, where he was prominent in the ranks of the Democratic ^ party for thirty years, and for many years he ; served as selectman. He was a member of the ' F. & A. M. In all his transactions he was the '■ personification of integrity. A man of the most genial personal qualities, his death was most un- iversally regretted. (7) Sidney Augustus Holly was married by Rev. Dr. Schroeder to Eliza Hamilton, daughter of the famous Alexander Hamilton. ERAINERD W. MAPLES, manager and ed- .' itor of the Norivalk Hour, and president of the Norwalk Printing Company, Norwalk, Fair- field county, whose wide experience and prac- tical knowledge have proved him an invaluable member of "the fourth estate," is a native of Connecticut, born April 25, 1837, at Norwich, New London county. Stephen Maples, his great-grandfather, a far- mer by occupation, and a Revolutionary hero, was born at Montville, Conn. , and was descended from an English family, who, on landing in the New World, first located in Massachusetts, finally removing to Connecticut, where they made a permanent settlement. David Maples, son of Stephen, and grandfather of Brainerd W., was also born at Montville, and was a farmer and stone-mason. David L. Maples, father of our subject, was a farmer at Montville, Conn., the place of his birth, and he there learned carpentry. From Montville he moved, in 1836, to Norwich, New London county, where he was a well-known car- penter and contractor for nearly half a century, dying there in 1883. By his wife, Lucinda (Wells), whom he married just before removing to Norwalk, he had two children: William L., a retired officer of the U. S. navy, and now living in Manassas, Va. ; and Brainerd W. The father was originally a Whig in his political proclivities, later a Republican, but he never held office of any kind, as he was averse to the principle. In religious faith he and his antecedents were Bap- tists. B. W. Maples, whose name appears at the opening of this sketch, attended the local schools of his place of birth, after which he spent three years as an apprentice to the printing business, and when fifteen years old he graduated from " devil " to journeyman. At that time he went to Philadelphia and worked at his trade there about a couple of years, when he returned to Nor- wich and taught a district school one year, once lii;' \^u::i. 136 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. more, at the end of that time, taking up printing. In 1857 he entered the Connecticut State Normal School, where he graduated with the class of '58, after which he taught in various schools in Connecticut — at Preston, Wallingford, Clinton, Cheshire, and finally at Bridgeport. While in ' the latter city the news reached him of the break- ing out of the war of the Rebellion, and he con- sequently left the school, and, proceeding to Norwich, opened a recruiting office. After a time he himself enlisted, but was rejected at New Haven because of his lacking front teeth where- with to bite off the ends of the cartridges, but his brother William unhesitatingly took his place and went to the front. In the fall of 1861 our subject went to New York as assistant teacher in Grammar School No. 40, and remained in that capacity until 1877, in ^which year he became acting principal of the Fourteenth Street School, during all of which time, however, he was connected with the print- ing business more or less, writing extensively for the New YoiV Hcralii, the "Scientific Monthly," and other newspapers and periodicals. All this time he was living in Westport, Conn., taking train to and fro. He had a night school, and as many as 3,300 pupils were enrolled, the largest attendance in one school ever known, whilst at one time he could enumerate over three thousand ^oung men — bookkeepers — who had received in- structions at his school. In May, 1871, Mr. Maples and Judge Whit- ing, of New York, established the Westport Hour, with the office in W'estport; but a year later they moved it and the plant to Norwalk (the name of the paper being changed to Norwalk Hour), at which time our subject resigned his school con- nection atNew York, and has since givenhis entire attention to the paper, of which he is editor and manager; he is also president of the Norwalk Printing Co., a private concern, himself, sons and daughters being proprietors of same. The poli- tics of the Hour are purely independent, and it is a clean, newsy family journal. In 1862 \9t. Maples was united in marriage with Amelia N. Meeker, of Westport, Fairfield county, daughter of William Meeker, who was captain of a merchant ship, and four children were born to them: Clara, William K. , Mary and James W., all at home and unmarried; the sons are employed with their father in the print- ing office. Socially, our subject is a member of the F. & A. M., and is president of the Masonic Benevo- lent Association. He is also ideiUified with the Norwalk Club, a very successful social organiza- tion which he assisted in starting; has been pres-