Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

The Smith brothers, on the retiring of their eldest brother from the Bee, in October, 1892, bought a controlling interest in the paper which had been operated for some years by a company. The paper has since been conducted by these gentlemen, who hold the greater part of the stock of the company. They have inherited the characteristics of their ancestors and elder brother, and through their energy, ability and good man- agement the Bee has been brought to its present excellent position, standing as it does among the foremost country weekly papers in Connecticut. The Bee is wisely edited, and its business man- agement has been of high order. Its circulation is now between three and four thousand — an in- crease in a few years of something like one thou- sand. These young men are Christian gentle- men; Allison P., the editor, is a deacon in the Congregational Church and superintendent of the Sunday-school, while Arthur J., the business manager, also held the office of superintendent of the Sabbath-school, was the Church chorister for five years, and has held other offices in the gift of the Church. B.UDLEY PETTIBONE ELY (deceased). _' This honored resident of South Norwalk, who passed to the unseen life on July 9, 1S05, was a member of an old Colonial family that has been characterized in every generation by sterl- ing qualities of mind and heart. Tradition 148 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. points to a French origin, but the first authentic ancestral record is of one Richard Ely, Sr. , a widower, who came from Lyme, England, with two sons, William and Richard, Jr., and settled in 1660 at Lyme, Conn., where he died Novem- ber 24, 1684, his remains being interred in the "Ely burying ground" at that place. IL Richard Ely, Jr. was born at Lyme, England, but resided during the greater portion of his life at Lyme, Conn., where he built a house in 1715. He married Mary Marvin, and had four children: Samuel, who married Jane Lord; Richard, who is mentioned below; Mary, born in 1689, who married a Mr. Niles, of Hebron, Conn.; and Sarah, born in 1695, who married a Mr. Giliet, of Colchester, Connecicut. ■ in. Deacon Richard Ely, the great-grand- father of our subject, was born at Lyme, Conn., in October, 1697, and died there February 21, 1777, his mortal remains being laid to rest in the family burial ground at what is now North Lyme. He was married January 23, 1724, to Elizabeth Peck, by whom he had four children: Elizabeth, born October 11, 1724, married Col. Samuel Selden; Esther, born May 22, 1726, died at the age of ten years and thirty-one days; Ezra, our subject's grandfather; and Mary, born October 21, 1729. IV. Rev. Ezra Ely was born January 6, 1728, at the old home in Lyme, Conn., and married (first) Sarah Starling, of the same town. On August 21, 1760, he was married there to Ann Starling, by whom he had four children: Daniel Harlin, born October 15, 1761, died March 22, 1786; Ann, born September 15, 1764, married B. E. Chaplin, of East Lyme, Conn., and died February 8, 1842; Benjamin, who is mentioned more fully below; and Israel, born January 12, 1770. Daniel became a colonel in the Revolutionary army, and it is said that he had the French coat of arms belonging to the family engraven upon his sword. ^ V. Benjamin Ely, our subject's father, was born July 18, 1767, at Lyme, and in 1786 grad- uated from Yale College. He made his home at Simsbury, Conn., where he was successfully en- gaged in agriculture. As a citizen he was highly esteemed, and at times he held local office, ser- ving in 1809 as town clerk, and from 18 14 to 1817 as justice of the peace. On April 14, 1796, he was married at Simsbury to Miss Polly Pettibone, of that town, and they had nine chil- dren, our subject being the youngest. The names of the others, with dates of birth and death, are as follows: Ezra Stiles, May 17, 1797 — October 31, 1863; Edwin Dwight, June 30, 1798 — Au- gust 25, 1 831; Mary Ann, November 16, 1800 — November 7, 1875; Henry, October 25, 1802 — • October 17, 1849; Seth, April 20, 1805 — April 28, 1828; Nathan Case, September 13, 1807 — May 30, 1886; Rosetta, November 10, 1809 — October 18, 183 1; and Nancy Humphrey, Octo- ber 6, 1812 — April 19, 1S77. Ezra, Edwin, Mary Ann and Rosetta did not marry. Henry married Caroline St. John, of Simsbury, Conn. ; Nathan married Elizabeth Olmstead, of Hart- ford, Conn. ; and Nancy married Nathan F. Mil- ler, of Bloomfield. On the maternal side Mr. Ely was descended from Bigot Eggleston, who was born in England about 1580, and came to America in 1630. He landed at Dorchester, Mass., where he remained until 1635, and at that date he, with a company of sixty, made the first settlement in Connecticut, at Windsor. The records of that town show that he "died September i, 1674, nere 100 yeres of age." The subject of our memoir was born Novem- ber 16, 1817, at Simsbury, and his education was begun in the common schools of that local- ity. At the age of fourteen he was sent to Hartford, where for two years he attended the school of Mr. Olney, the author of "Olney's Geography." Farming not being to his taste, he on his return home found a position as clerk in a country store. After a year and a half, although only a few months over eighteen years of age, he was engaged by a Mr. Toby to take entire charge of a store in West Hartland, Conn. , where he spent a year. On January 13, 1837, he went to New York City to enter the employ of his brother Nathan C. , as bookkeeper, and four years later he became a partner in the estab- lishment. Up to this time he had received no financial aid whatever in his business, but on his entrance into the firm his father sent him, unso- licited, two hundred and fifty dollars. This gift was fully appreciated and never forgotten, and in the settlement of the father's estate many years afterward, Mr. Ely accounted for the sum. With this exception he was never assisted by any one beyond the usual mercantile credits, and although he passed through many severe panics and financial crises, he invariably met his obliga- tions at maturity. When his brother retired from business Mr. Ely took two Boston gentle- men into the firm, and continued until 1867, when he disposed of his interest. In May, 1861, he removed with his family to South Norwalk, and there his last days were spent. His ability and experience made him a valued counsellor in business, and he became associated" with various enterprises, being at one time president of the First National Bank of a^ COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. Ud South Norwalk, president of the Norwalk Gas Light Company, president of the South Norwalk Savings Bank, treasurer of the Alden Mining Company, and a director in several other cor- porations. He also took much interest in agri- cultural affairs, and for a time was president of the Fairfield County Agricultural Society. He owned more than half of the stock of the First National Bank, and had the largest real-estate holdings of any one in that vicinity, the assessed valuation of his property being two hundred thousand dollars. During the Civil war he lost about fifty thousand dollars, but he was a most enthusiastic supporter of the government in that trying time, as he was one of the original sub- scribers for the first issue of bonds when many others felt fearful of the risk. For some years he was interested in real estate in Brooklyn, N. Y., and his operations there brought him a hand- some profit. As a business man he was prompt and diligent, but his manner was always unas- suming and his disposition genial. He took an active part in local movements, and in the work of the Republican organization. He was the first mayor of South Norwalk, being elected in 1870, and he was re-elected in 1871, '72, '76, and '77. In religious faith he was a Presbyterian, and he was at all times ready with his means and influence to assist in any worthy cause. On November 28, 1844, Mr. Ely was mar- ried at Simsbury, by the Rev. Seth W. Scofield, to Miss Charlotte Wilcox Phelps, who died Octo- ber 3, 1858. She was a daughter of Judge Jeffery O. Phelps, an officer of the war of 181 2, and a leading citizen of his day, who died in 1879, at the age of eighty-eight years. The Phelps family is descended from William Phelps, of Tewkesbury, England, who sailed from Ply- mouth, March 20, 1630, in the ship "Mary and John," under Captain Squeb. and landed at Hull, Mass., on May 30, 1630. He located first at Dorchester, Mass., but later moved to Windsor, Conn., where he died July 14^ 1672. The line of descent is traced through Joseph; Joseph, Jr. ; David; Noah, who was a colonel in the Revolu- tionary army; Noah A., and Judge Jeffery O. Phelps, to our subject's wife. Duringthe first years of their married life Mr. Ely and his wife resided in New York City, but later, as has been said, he located at South Nor- walk, where he purchased the finest residence property in the place. Five children were born of the union (three of whom are living): (1) Harriet Pauline, who married Jonathan Wheel- er, of Westport, died May 2, 1868, at the age oi twenty-two. (2) Charlotte Elizabeth died Feb- ruary 24, 1883. (3) Mary Rosetta married George H. Millard, of Delhi, N. Y. (4) Au- gusta Ayres married Russel Frost, a lawyer in South Norwalk. (5) Dudline Pettibone mar- ried Charles Temtlh Raymond, who was born in Bethel, this county, December 16, 1856, and died January 20, 1897, in Norwalk. He was of the sixth generation in descent from Samuel Raymond, of Norwalk, Conn., the line being traced through Eliakim; Nathaniel, a resident of Norwalk; Charles, also of Norwalk; and Samuel, a resident of the same city, and the father of the late C. T. Raymond. Mr. and Mrs. Raymond had two sons: Dudley E., born April 28, 1887, and Ely, born June 19, 1890. JOSIAH B. FAIRCHILD, M. D. The Fair- child family is of Scottish origin, the name having formerly been Fairbairn, and tradi- tion assigns to some of its metnbers an active part in the Crusades.