Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

The subject of this sketch was born in Nor- walk August 20, 1819, in the house which he now occupies as a residence. His boyhood was mainly spent in his native place, but for a short time he held a position as clerk in New York City. In the spring of 1851 he became interest- ed in the Lounsbury & Bissell Company, which was incorporated in 1840, with a capital of $200,- 000, for the manufacture of felts of every de- scription. He has been connected with the com- pany ever since, and his shrewd judgment has been a potent factor in the success of the busi- ness. The factory, a large stone building, is lo- cated at Winnipauk, about a mile and a half from Norwalk, the street cars affording a con- venient means of transit. As his business inter- ests have required close attention, Mr. Betts has not taken an active part in political life, but he is a firm upholder of the principles of the Re- publican party. On September 30, 1850, he married Miss Mary E. Bissell, by whom he has had nine children: Thaddeus C, Edward C. , Charles J., William M., Sally S., Mary A., George F., Harry J., and Charlotte F., and all but Thaddeus, Mary, and Harry are still living. The family is prominently identified with the Congregational Church, Mr. and Mrs. Betts both being active members. Mrs. Betts is a native of Norwalk, and a daughter of ex-Governor Clark Bissell, a man whose ability as a lawyer and statesman was an honor to this section. According to tradition the ancestors of the Bissell family were Hugue- nots who tied to England to escape the persecu- tions suffered in France by followers of that faith in the latter part of the sixteenth century. They probably settled in Somersetshire, but there seems to have' been a branch of the family in Worcestershire, where the name was sometimes ' spelled Byssell or Byselle. The coat of arms is described in "Burke's Complete Armory." The first of the name to come to this country was John Bissell, who was born in England in 1591 and landed in Plymouth, Mass., in 1626 or 1628, but removed about ten years later to Windsor, Conn. Clark Bissell, Mrs. Betts' father, was of the eighth generation in direct descent from tl is worthy emigrant, and was born in Lebanon, Conn., September 7, 1782. He was the eldest of three sons, and as his father was a farmer who found it hard to make headway financially, the boy's education would have been limited to the narrow curriculum of the district schools of that early time had he not possessed an unquencha- ble desire for knowledge, and the force of char- acter to secure a collegiate course through his own exertions. In 1806 he graduated from Yale College, and in 1809 was admitted to the Bar, where he speedily won high honors. In 1829 he was elected to the Legislature from Norwalk, and in the same year he was chosen judge of the Su- preme Court of Errors and Superior Court. This position he held until 1839, when he resigned, and in 1842 and '43 he represented the Twelfth dis- trict in the State Senate. In 1847-48 he was governor of the State, and while holding this po- sition he was appointed Kent professor of law at Yale College, a position which was most congenial to him, and which he continued to fill until old age compelled him to abandon active labor. In 1850 he was again a member of the Legislature, there be- ing at that time an important controversy pending which affected the interests of Norwalk. He died September 15, 1857, and his wife, Sally Sherwood, to whom he was married in April, 181 1, died February 27, 1856. She was born in the town of Weston, this county, and was of English descent, tracing her lineage to Thomas Sherwood, who was born in England in 1586, and came to America in 1634 with his wife and four children. They settled in Fairfield, where ten other children were born, and their descend- ants are now numerous. JAMES SINCLAIR JENKINS, junior member of the firm of Taylor & Jenkins, attorneys at law, of Stamford, Fairfield county, was born in that city October 31, 1871, son of George A. Jenkins. He is of Welsh descent, his first ancestor in this country having been James W. Jenkins, a native of Wales, who settled in New York City, where he carried on a hardware busi- ness. His son James was also a hardware dealer in New York City, where he was born in 1755 and died in 18 1 7. His son, also named James, was born in New York City in 1789, engaged in the hard- ware business, and died in 1837. He married a Miss Gordon, of Edinburgh, Scotland, a niece of Sir John Sinclair, the Scottish statistician and agriculturist. George Alston Jenkins, son of the last named James, was born in New York in 1S16, and was reared to manhood in that city. He received a 182 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. good education, attending boarding school at New Canaan, Conn., and, after commencing a business life, followed for a time in tiie footsteps of his immediate ancestors, carrying on the hard- ware business. He was one of the founders of the National Academy of Design, of which he is now a fellow, and engaged quite extensively in importing paintings from Europe. He was also interested in the real-estate business, and in 1865 settled in Stamford, where he bought and improved real estate, doing considerable in that line. Mr. Jenkins was married in Stamford to Emma Clarke, daughter of John Clarke, and two sons, James Sinclair and George Alston, were born to them. James S. Jenkins was a pupil in H. U. King's private school during his early boyhood, later studying at St. Mark's school, in South- borough, Mass. In the fall of 1890 he entered Yale University, from which he was graduated in the classical course in 1894. This he followed with a course in the law school of the same university, graduating with the class of 1896, after which for several months he was in the of- fice of Hart & Keeler, lawyers in Stamford. In February, 1897, the firm of Taylor & Jenkins was established. In social connection Mr. Jen- kins is a member of the Suburban Club 'of Stam- ford, the Stamford Yacht Club, the Wee Burn Golf Club of Norton, the Yale University Club and the Graduates Club of New Haven, and the L'ni- versity Club, and the Yale Club of New York. While at the university he was a member of two Greek letter societies, the SeniorSociety of Wolf's Head, and, during his law course, of the law school society best known as Corbey Court. Tt LEXANDER MEAD. America is emerg- ,/i^ ing rapidly from the conditions that forced upon our forefathers a hard utilitarian view of life, and among all classes of our people a keen artistic sense is being manifested. One of the most noticeable indications is found in the de- mand for floral decorations on every occasion, whether of joy or sorrow, the lovely blossoms seeming to be, appropriate to all moods and times. The first to recognize the demand for a constant supply of choice plants, Mr. Mead, a man of in- telligence and enterprise, and in the spot where his great-great-grandfather cleared off the prime- val forests, has established fine modern green- houses, stocked with delicate plants from all lands and climes. Mr. Mead belongs to one of the best and well known families, of which an extended genealog- ical record is given elsewhere, and he is of *ne seventh generation in direct descent from John Mead (i), who came from England to America about 1642 [other authorities say 1635], and be- came a resident of this county in 1660. This noted pioneer had two sons, John and Joseph, who accompanied him to Greenwich, and the for- mer was the first of the name to acquire land in that section. John Mead, son of the pioneer, married Miss Hannah Potter, of Stamford, and at his death, in 1699, eleven children were living: John, Jo- seph, Jonathan, Ebenezer (i), David, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Samuel, Hannah, Abigail and Mary Elizabeth. Samuel Mead, our subject's great- great-grandfather, made his home at the farm; now occupied by our subject. He had three sons who lived to adult age, married and left de- scendants: Peter (i), Zaccheus and Samuel. Peter Mead (i), the great-grandfather of our subject, was born at the present homestead, and always resided there. He had two sons who grew to maturity: Peter (2) and Zaccheus, both of whom married and reared families. Peter Mead (2), our subject's grandfather, was born January 14, 1755, at the old homestead, and became one of the leading farmers of that locality in his day. Like all of his family, he took the patriotic side during the Revolutionary war, and at one time he was pursued by some British soldiers who sought to take his life. He was married November 9, 1777, to Miss Hannah Close, who was born March 14, 1756, and died November 5, 1824, and his death occurred De- cember 26, 1832, the remains of both being in- terred in a private cemetery on the farm. They had a large family of children, of whom, one son, Sanford, our subject's father, was the youngest. Mary, born August 17, 1778, was married March 29, 1797, *^o Joshua Mead; Peter, Jr., born De- cember 25, 1780, was married November 15, 1803, to an Ohio lady (married twice, both wives being from Ohio), and removed to Huron county, Ohio; Cyrus (i), born January 2, 1784, died at the age of eight months; Deborah, born April 28, 1785, died July 5, 181 1, unmarried; Anna, born August 17, 1787, was married Sep- tember II, 18 16, to Jonas Howe; Cyrus (2), born August II, 1789, was married in Greenwich, this county, November 22, 1814, to Miss Eliza Close, and afterward settled in Greenwich, Huron coun- ty, Ohio, where his death occurred; Luckner, born May 17, 1793, was married February 14, 18 14, to Miss Sophia Fletcher, and became the father of Benjamin Mead, of New Canaan, and grandfather of James R. Mead, now clerk, of Greenwich township. Sanford Mead, our subject's father, was born COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 183