Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

The immediate ancestors of our subject, who is now a prominent physician of Winnipauk, were early settlers at Newtown, and Josiah Fair- child, our subject's great-grandfather, was born in that town and passed his life there with the exception of the time spent in the navy during the Revolutionary war. The remains of this worthy old citizen now repose in the cemetery at Newtown. Wheeler Fairchild, the grandfather of our subject, was a native of Newtown, and after his marriage to Miss Millen of the same place he settled upon a farm there. He had five children: Boyle, our subject's father; Josiah B., who did not engage in business, but became a leading poli- ticianof the locality, serving at one time as sheriff of the county; Lucy Ann, who married John Hawley, a farmer m the town of Newtown; Laura, who married Pell Barnum, a hotel keeper at Newtown; and Betsey Ann, wife of Charles Clark, a farmer in the same town. Boyle Fairchild, the father of our subject, was a lifelong resident of Newtown, and for many years was organist in the Episcopal Church, his gifts and accomplishments as a musician giving him a wide reputation. In political faith he was a Democrat, but his tastes did not lead to a pub- lic career. He died in 1845, and his wife, Julia A. (Hatch), survived him many years, her death occurring in 1875. She was born at Oxford, Conn., the daughter of Chauncey M. Hatch, who was also a native of that town. His mother was living in the Wyoming Valley, Pennsylvania, at the time of the massacre by the Indians, and as he was then a mere child, three days old, she carried hinj with her on horseback out of danger. The Hatch 'family is of Scottish blood, but has 150 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. been represented in this country since an early period. Six children were born to our subject's parents, viz.: George (i) who was killed in childhood by a kick from a horse; George (2), who is now dead; David, who is living in retire- ment at Danbury; Josiah B., of this sketch; Elijah, who is in an insane asylum; and Cath- erine, wife of Hart Davis, of Oxford, Connec- ticut. Doctor Fairchild was born November 2, 1835, at the old home in Newtown, where he remained until he reached the age of twelve years, his edu- cation being begun in a select school held in the house of his parents. On leaving home he went to New Haven, and for one year was employed in- the office of the New Haven Register, but the next seven years he spent on the ocean. He cir- cumnavigated the globe twice, and then, having a desire for life on terra finna again, he went to Cincinnati, and later to Kansas. He was at this time about twenty years old, and being inclined to a mercantile career he located at Atchison, Kans., where his brother George was then ma3or, and opened a boot, shoe and hat store. When the war of the Rebellion broke out he and his brother David joined Fremont's body guard at St. Louis, Mo., a company organized for special duty. After receiving an honorable discharge he entered the United States navy, where he served gallantly until the close of the war. He joined this branch of the service on September i, 1862, with the rank of acting master's mate, and at the time of his discharge, on November 3, 1865, was acting ensign. For some time he was engaged in mercantile ■ and other enterprises at various places, and about 1886 he began to practice med- icine as a specialist in the Eclectic School in Winnipauk and Stamford, his success demon- strating the wisdom of his choice of a professional life. Doctor Fairchild's first wife, whose maiden name was Jane M. Wade, was a daughter of George Wade, of Bridgeport, this county, a well- known citizen who at one time held the office of postmaster of that place. They had four chil- dren: William, David, George and Katie. The last three died, and were buried, as well as the mother, at Bridgeport, Conn.; William, who survives, resides at Tracy, near Meriden, being general superintendent of an extensive auger, bit, and chisel establishment at Unionville. After the death of his first wife, the Doctor married Miss Elizabeth Waterbury, a member of a lead- ing family of Darien, this county. Socially the Doctor is highly respected and is an active mem- ber of the G. A. R. In politics he is a stanch Republican. SOLOMON MEAD was at the time of his .^^. death the oldest representative of one of the pioneer families of Fairfield county, a family which has been distinguished in public affairs of the State, and occupied an honorable position in society here for nearly two and one-half cen- turies. The Mead family is an ancient and honorable one. In 1642 [some authorities say 161 5] Will- iam Mead, in company probably with one or two brothers, came to this country. It is not known where the brothers settled, but William, after having tarried a short time in Massachusetts, came to Horse Neck, or rather Stamford, and the Stamford town records contain the following: " Dec. 7, 1 64 1, William Mayd received from the town of Stamford a house lot and five acres of land." This is the first record of any Mead in Fairfield county, and he was unquestionably the ancestor of that family. William had three chil- dren, Joseph, Martha and John, the ancestor of the Stamford (Horse Neck) Meads, and the one who most closely concerns us. In England one of the ancestors had been the friend and physi- cian of the talented Queen Elizabeth. Solomon Mead is of the seventh generation in line of de- scent from John [other authorities say William], who, with his two sons, John and Joseph, after remaining a short time in Massachusetts, moved to Hempstead, L. I., where they remained until October, 1660, when they settled in the town of Greenwich, Fairfield Co., Conn., where many of their descendants still reside. The two sons bought land of Richard Crab and others, which was deeded to John Mead, son of the pioneer. He married Miss Hannah Potter, of Stamford, Conn., and on his death, in 1699, '^ft^. ^s ap- pears by his will, eight sons and three daugh- ters, viz.: John, Joseph, Jonathan, Ebenezer (i), David, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Samuel, Hannah, Abigail and Mary Elizabeth. Among the descendants of these children was Amos Mead, who was surgeon of the Third Con- necticut Regiment in the French and Indian war. He was a prominent man during the Rev- olution, and was many times the representative of his town in the Colonial Legislature. He was a member of the body of men who adopted the Constitution of the United States, and after that event he was a member of the State Legis- lature. Richard Mead, a son of Dr. Amos Mead, figured conspicuously in Greenwich during the Revolutionary war. Other members of the Mead family played important parts in the history of Fairfield county, as will appear to the reader of this record. Nathaniel Mead, the grandfather of our sub- '/ COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 151 ject, was a resident of the town of Greenwich, and lived to an advanced age. He married Pru- dence Wood, and among their children was Joshua Mead. Like their ancestors before them the parents were Christian people, frugal and in- dustrious, and were excellent citizens. They were members of the Congregational Church. Joshua Mead was born May i6, 1751, in Greenwich, Fairfield Co., Conn. He was a farm- er, well versed in his calling, and during the war of the Revolution was a true patriot and good citizen, while not serving in the army, rendering valuable aid to it. He was an upright Christian man, a member of the Congregational Church, and politically was a strong Federalist and Whig. He was twice married. His first wife- — Rachel Knapp, of Round Hill — bore him children as fol- lows: Jonathan, a farmer, moved to Illinois, and died in Hancock county; Joshua, a farmer, re- sided near Round Hill, and died there; David, also a farmer, resided in Greenwich, and there died; Darius was a well-known physician of Greenwich for half a century, dying on Putnam Hill; Prudence married Robert Mead, and died near Cos Cob; Mary married Isaac Mead, and died in Greenwich; and Rachel married Daniel S. Mead. The mother of this family died, and on November 15, 1804, the father married Hannah Mead, daughter of Deliverance Mead, and their only issue was Solomon, our subject. Joshua Mead, the father, died May 30, 1812, and his wife Hannah passed away March 14, 1844. She was a very exemplary woman. Solomon Mead, whose name opens this sketch, was reared on his father's farm, receiving such advantages in an educational line as the time and locality of his boyhood afforded. He attended the Greenwich Academy when that institution was under the direction of Professor Grosvenor. The active part of his long life was almost en- tirely given to agricultural pursuits, and he was eminently successful in the same and in his busi- ness transactions. To read the history of the numerous members of the Mead family whose lives through the nine or more generations have been passed in Fairfield county is to know of lives that have been given to the cause of Christ, and their influence lent to such measures as tended to uplift humanity and elevate society. Our sub- ject in this respect followed in the line of his an- cestors. For nearly three-quarters of a century he was identified with the Congregational Church, becoming a member of the Society in Greenwich in 1828. When he was sixteen years of age — in 1824 — General LaFayette visited Greenwich, and Mr. Mead recalled vividly the incidents connected with that visit and occasion, remembering the