History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Governor of ^Massachusetts. AVilliam ."^belton lived at Long Hill ; he died .Tan. 27, l.Si2, aged seventy- three. He had two daughters and six sons. IMiilo and Thomas die<l without issue. William, >Tr., grad- uated at Yale in 17.SS, was a jdiysician, and lived in Huntington. Two of his sons were physicians, — Dr. William Shelton, of Stratford, and Dr. .lames Shel- ton, of Huntington. Selah, son of William Slielton, had eight daughters and two sons. (Jcfirge livccl in Ohio and Missouri, and Alfred in Huntington, where his di.'sceiidants now live. George, son of William Shelton, had two sons, — Charles, who was for eight years medical mi.ssiinuiry in India, and George Wellington, who lives in liir- iningham, Conn. .losejdi, elilest son of William Shelton, lioru -Vug. 27, 17()"), niarric<l, Nov. 24, 17'.)l, Charity, daughter of Steidien Lewis, of Stratford, Conn, .lo.-^eph .Shelton lived .at Long Hill ; lie died Sept. 1. 1S48, aged eighty- two; he had three daughters and five sons. Tli(! youngest son, Edward Nelsi.)ii .Shelton, was liorn Sept. 4, 1S12; he received Ids education at the ]]ublic school in Huntington and the academy in Derby, at Partridge's then celebrated academy in Middletown, the last year of its existence, and from scientiftc lectures at Yale during one winter. He is a man of i)rudence and generosity, of keen business foresight and great public spirit, having lieen always a leader in whatever was for the welfare of the town or the churidi of which he is a member, a man of honor and strict integrity, a wise coun.selor, and a true friend. 3Ir. .Shelton's business career has been one of marked success. He has been identilied with manu- facturing, mining, banking, and various other enter- |>rises. He commenced maiiufaeturing tacks, nails, etc., iu l.SSfi, at Birmingham, and has continued the same successfully to the present time, besides a.ssuin- ing responsibilities as chief executive ofiicer of many other corporations. He has held the ofBce of presi- dent of the Birmingham National liank — formerly the Jlanufacturers' Bank — since its organization in 1848, and that of president of the Ousatoiiic Water Com]>any since it vv.as organized in 1861). Nothing that Mr. .Shelton has been connected with has so well shown to the public liis energy, perseverance, and business abilitj- as this. The project of building a dam aero.ss the Ousatonic River had long been con- sidered, and to Mr. Shelton's eilbrts the fullillment of it is principally due. The labor in connection with it was very varied and arduous; four distinct etlbrt.s were required : first, the securing the land, then the charter from the Legislature, then the necessary cap- ital, and then the supervision of the work in all its details until the result was obtained in tlie clevelop- nient of one of the finest water-powers in the country, and the establishment of the thriving and growing village which, in his honor, is called Shelton. 418 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTY, CONNECTICUT. G. A. SHELTON, M.D. Gould Abijiih Shelton, the subject of tliis sketch, is the fourtli son of Judsou Curtiss :iiul Hannali Lewis Shelton, and was born in Huntington, Aug. 19, 1841. He received his early education at the common schools of his town, but at eighteen years of age, desirous of pursuing a more extended course of study, he entered Staples Academy at Kaston, Conn., where he remained three years under the popular instructor H. W. Sig- lar, thus making thorough preparation for a collegiate course at Yale, in which institution he matriculated in 18(52. During his junior year, he left his class to engage in the work of teaching. Late in 1864 he ac- cei)ted the position of instructor in the languages and uiatheniatics in Mountain View Seminary, at Fish- kill-on-the-IIudson ; the year following he was elected principal of the public school at Port Washington, Long Island, N. Y. Filling his engagements here with credit to himself and satisfaction to his ])atrou3, he decided to follow' the bent of a long-felt inclina- tion, and at once entered the medical school at Yale College, from which institution, after three years of arduous application, — in the class of 1869, — he received the degree of JI.D., immediately afterwards locating in the new village of Shelton, in his native town, and offering his professional services to tlie iniblic. It is not a little remarkable that Huntington should have enjoyed a succession of as capable men, of the same profession and family name, extending over so long a period. William Shelton, Jr., M.D., received his degree from Yale in 1788 ; he was a native of Huntington, and until his death, .Vug. 29, 1819, en- joyed a highly successful practice. He was succeeded by his son. Dr. James Hovey Shelton, who, through- out life, w.as held in the highest esteem, both as a man and as a physician. His labors closed with his death, which occurred on May 10, 1868. The professional mantle fell upon the nephew of this latter representa- tive, and to-day Dr. < J. X. Shelton not only enjoys the advantages of the i)restigc of a century, but for his own worth and ability, through his own energy and succe-ss, he has attained an enviable place in his pro- fession and the society in which he moves. For nine years he has been an active member of the board of school visitors, always taking a lively interest in every- thing that elevates the educational standing of the schools of his town. For three years ho has been register of vital statistics, and is a member of the Fair- field County, Connecticut State, and American Med- ical Associations. Dr. Slielton was united in marriage, June Ifi, 1874, to Emily Plumb Capel, niece of Hon. D. AV. Plumb, of Shelton. Jliss Capel was born in Uridgeport, Conn., Aug. 12, 1847. GENEALOGY. G. A. Shelton is the son of Judson C, who was the son of Samuel Fredariek, who was the son of Daniel, wlio was the son of Samuel, who was the son of Dan- iel, the first settler of the name iu Connecticut. DAVID SHEI.TOX. Daniel Shelton, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, with his brother Richard, emigrated to this country from Yorkshire, England, in the year 1690. Daniel settled in the town of Stratford, Fair- field Co., Conn., Richard going to Virginia. Daniel married Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Wells, of AVetlicrsfield, Conn., who bore him nine children, — Elizabeth, Sarah, Josepli, Daniel, Thaddeus, Samuel, James, John, and Josiah. Samuel, the fourth son, married Abigail, daughter of Philo and Mahitaba Nichol, by whom he had four- , teen children, — -Mary, Daniel, Samuel, Elizabeth, Da- vid, Abigail, Josei)l), .\ndrew, Sarah, Ann, Josiah, Philo, Isaac Wells, and -Vgur. Agur, tlie fourteenth child, wiis born .Vug. 11, 1758, marrying Abigail Newton, daughter of Rev. Christo- pher Newton, who bore him six children, — Polly Amelia, Charles, .-Vvis, Abigail, Christopher Newton, and David. David Shelton was born Sept. 17, 1799, and was united in marriage to Jane Perry, June 4, 1830, dying June 2, 1872. Jane Perry was born March 18, 1811, and was the daughter of A. Ilawley Perry, who came to Hunting- ton at the age of twenty-one year.' and lived there until his death, Nov. 21, 1826. Mr. Perry was the son of Yelverton Perry and Patience Tomlinstm, of Oxford. He married Polly Leavenworth, March 6, 1809. Polly Leavenworth was the daughter of Ed- mund Leavenworth, the youngest son of Capt. Ed- mund Leavenworth, who was the son of Dr. Thomas Leavenworth, the first settler of that name in Fair- field (^)unty. David and .Tane Shelton had but one child, Mary Jane, born Feb. 8, 1833, and who was united in mar- riage to Edwin Wooster, Maj' 23, 1860. Being the only child, great pains were taken in her education and training, which were amply repaid in the develop- ment of a character of rare sweetness and vivacity. In disposition combining amiability and liveliness, she was the idol of her parents and the acknowledged favorite of a large circle of friends. Her early death, which occurred June 4, 1864, no doubt did much to shorten her father's life and was the first real sorrow of her mother's life, preparing her, as it were, for au- other Jieavicr sorrow in the death of her husband. Mr. Wooster continued to reside with Mr. and Mrs. Shelton, to whom he was gre^itly attached, after the death of his wife, until his own unfortunate death, April 20, 1876. On the night of .Vpril 20, 1876, he was piloting the " Dunderburg" down the river above the dam. The niglit wiis dark, and, deceived by the light or shadows, in some way he missed the canal lock and the boat went over the dam. His two com- panions were saved, but Mr. Wooster was drowned. He was a man of more than ordinary business ability, and by his energy and sagacity did much towards the successful completion of the dam. DAVID SH ELTON. <:^7-Z^;^0^ HUNTINGTON. 419 Mr. Shelton was from a line of farmers, ami as a business man was careful rather than ]nislnnL'. In- lieritinir comfortalile prii|i<'rty from his fither ami ai-- quirinir a moderate jiroperty l)v hi-; wife, he was inile- Iiendent of trade and tralfie, and prefern-d to quietly preserve and enjoy that which he had rather tlian to strive to aeeumulato. His aeeounts were always straijrht and accurate, and he never went into debt. In j)o]ities he was a Democrat, as was his father be- fore him. Quiet and unostentatious in his mode of life, domestic in his tastes, his amiable and modest bearinjr endeared him to alarsre circle of friends, whom it was his deliarht to entertain. Affectionate in disposition, his marital relations were most fortunate. In his wife he found a true woman, a irenuine friend, — a warm second in the exercise of that genuine though modest hospitality that made his house a iiivored resort. Few couples perhaps enjoyed so smooth and pleasant a life as they. Mrs. Shelton still lives at the old Shelton homestead, preserving her intellect and activity to a remarkable degree.