History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

Daniel ^Vhiteheail Kissam, son of Samuel and Eli/- alietli Addonis Kissam, was born in New York I'itv. .Ian. l>. ls:!i;. At nine year> of age ln' removed willi his father's family to I'lymouth, X. ( '.. when' he re- mained about ,>i\ years, when he was sent to ^Vesl liloomticlil, now known as Jlontclari'. N. .1., and eidend lli.' |ire|iaratory seliocd then known as " .\sh- lam! Hall." He eontinucil in this s(■llo(^l. pinsning his stuilies with diligence and attention, until se\cn- teen years of age. when he entered the eiii|p|oy of the late H. N. ('onklin, a lumber-dealer in the cit\- of Brooklyn, as clerk, tin- remuneration being his biiard and shoes. .Vlthough the eonipensation was small and the labor irksome, he attended strictly to his business, and three years later was rewarded with the position of book-keeiier in the large steam-engine and iron- works establislunenl owned by Mr. Conklin. In February, isr>'.), with a Mr. Wilinot. he started in business for himself, manufacturing metallic fasten- ings used in the manufacture of huop-skirts, under the 1 firm-name of Wilmot i*i Kissam. In the following \ ear the business was organized into a sto(d< company, with a capital of thirty tlnnrsand dollars, iindir the name of the Wilmot iV Kissam Maniifaitiiring ('om- pany, .Mr. Kissam taking one-quarter of the stock. I'he business was continued until isi;."!, whin it was removed to Bridgeport, and reorgani/.ed as the I'lridgeport Brass Company, with a capit.al of one hiindred and fifty thousand dollars, manufacturing rolled brass, brass wire, tubing, and various other goods. Upon the organization of thi^ company Mr. Kissam was made secretary, and has been secretary and manager of the business since, and is the largest sfoekhidder in the concern. At the beginning the annual sales amounled to about tucnty-jive thousand or thirl\ lhon-,aiid dollars per year, and. as an illus- tration of the rapid development of the business, the annual sales now aguregafe four linndred thousand dollars, and two linndred and lliirtv persons are em- ployed. 'I'lic factory is a three-story brick >triictiire, one hnndreil and sixteen by one hundred and thirty feet, with various additions and i\lcnsions. located on the corner of Crescent Amiiiic and Willard Street, East llridgeport. Tile [lowcr for t liis establishment is fur- nished by three steam-engines, with an aggregate of two hundred horse-|iowcr, and has a capacity of one million two hundred and lifty thousand pounds of metal per annum. This is a representative institution of this manufacturing city, and great creilit is due Mr. Kissam and those throngh whose energy and enter- prise it has been placed in the front ranks of manufac- turing establishments in New England. The present ollieers III' the company are E. \. ,Ma~oii, I'loident ; 1). \V. Kissam, Secretary : and S.imiiel 1 1 olines. Treas- urer. I'olitiially 3Ir. Kissam is a Kepnbliean, and is a vestryman in St. .lohn's ('liiirch. He has given nearly his undivided attintion to his business, and during his whole career as .a maniifactnrer li.as not been abr-cut from his jiost ol duty two conscentive weeks. <)ct. -I'l, l.Sll.H, he united in marriage with Mary J. Nostrand, of Brooklyn, and their family consists of two daughters, — Jeannie and Elizabeth. .Mr. Kissam has ever manifested a lively interest in the welfare of his adopted city; is a member of the I'.oard of Trade, eorjiorator and director in the reoplc's Savings Bank. etc. He is descended f'loiii old I'uritan stock on his father's side from the " Mayllower." tliroiigh .(ohn Allien, and collaterally from Bishop Seabiiry. His nuiternal grandfather served as captain in the Kevo- liitionary war and fought at the battle of Monmouth, and was one of the original members of the ('incin- iiati Society, and his father served in the war of 1X12 ; and Col. Abeel, an ancestor of Mrs. Kissam, was also in the Revolution, serving as deinity quarter- master under Gen. (xrecne. Mr. Kissam is essentially a self-made man. Early in life he learned that the way to success was ivo royal road, but was ojien to stont hands and willing hearts. Energy and integrity coupled with an in- domitable will have rendered his career a success, and the boy who worked for his board and shoes when seventeen years of age is now one of the substantial maniifacturcrs of New Eimland. Ii\.\Ii:i. \. .MiiRiiAN. The ancient town of .Newtown has been the home of various men who subseqnenlly occaipicd conspicn- oii> positions in the councils of the Stale and nation, and of many old and sterling families who have left the impress of the .New laiglaiid ehaiaeler upon their po.sferily. I'i'omineiit among these families and inti- mately associated with the welfare of the town and county stands the name of IMorgan. EiZra Morgan, the fallierof Daniel N., was for more than forty years a farmer and merchant in this towu 144 IIIS'I'OUV OF FAiniMKIJ) COrXTY, CONNECTICUT. and one of its leading and influential citizens. He was a leading Democrat, and occupied many oflicial I)o.-iition.s of trust and responsibility. He wa.s also president of the First National Hank of Bethel. Daniel M. Morgan, son of Ezra and Hannah Nash Morgan, wa.s born in Newtown, Aug. IS, 1844. He received the rudiments of his education at the com- mon schools of his native town, and subseijuently attended the Newtown Academy and Bethel Insti- tute, where he acquired an education which well fitted him for his sul)sci[ueiit successful business career. At the age of sixteen he entered his fatlier's store as a clerk. He .soon e.xliibited a remarkable capacity for mercantile transactions, and at the age of twenty- one years steppcfl out into the broad area of active business life on his own account, and for one year con- ducted the mercantile business at Newtown Centre as sole proprietor, when he took a partner and continued for three years longer. Desiring a wider range and better facilities for doing business, where his ability might have ample scope, Jlr. Morgan removed to Bridgeport and became a member of the firm of liird- sey & Morgan, dealers in dry goods and cari)ets. Mr. Birdsey subsequently retired, and the large and prosperous busine.ss was continued by Jlr. Morgan until January, 1880, when, in consequence of im- paired health, caused by too close attcn^tion to busi- ncs-s, he wjts compelled to relin(iuish it, and in the mean time took an extensive tour tor liis lualtli to Great Britain and Continental Europe. His .strength of character and financial ability Wiis soon recognized by the citizens of his adopted city, and he has been called to many positions of trust and responsibility. He was elected to the City Council in 1873, and re-elected in 1874. He was also a member of the Board of Education in 1877. In .laiuuiry, l.S7!l, he wius chosen president of the City National JSardc, and is the i>re.sent incumbent of that office. In the same year he was elected a trustee of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Savings Bank. True to the instincts of his early training, he is a Democrat in politics and an able advucale of the prin- ciples of that ])arty. He is active in |)olitical circles, and in 1880 accepted the nomination for mayor from the Democratic party, and was elected by a handsome majority, running one hundred ahead of his ticket, — suHieieut commentary upon his popularity and worth as a citizen. He is also Miuster of Corinthian Lodge, No. 104, F. and A. M. Mayor Morgan also manifests a decided interest in religious nnitters, is a consistent churchman, is the present clerk of Trinity Parish, and has been many years. He comes of a long-lived ancestry, his grand- jiarents living to the advanced age of eighty, eighty- four, ninety, and ninety-si.\ respectively. The latter, Daniel Nash, who lived to the advanced age of ninety-six years, ami from whom Mr. Morgan received his name, when seventy-four years of age walked from New York to Westport in one day, a distance of forty-four miles. June 10, 18()8, Mr. Morgan united in marriage with Medora II., daughter of C'apt. William A. Judson, a native of Huntington. Capt. Judson is a prominent and infiuential man, and has officiated in various ca- pacities within the gift of liLs fellow-citizens. He has been senator and representative, and has served as justice of the peace nearly forty years. The ancestors of both Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were sterling patriots during the Revolution. Agur Jud- son, great-grandfather of Jlrs. Morgan, was a colonel in the war of the Revolution, and served from the be- ginning to the close of that arduous struggle. Zedekiah Morgan, great-grandfather of Daniel N., was a captain in the Revolution and an active and determined [)atriot. During the war he ke]>t a iiumj- ber of cavalry horses on a jHirtion of the place still known in Newtown a.s the Muriran farm. SIIEUMAN U.MITWELL. I'he subject of this sketch was born in the town of Washington, Litchfield Co., Conn., Dec. 2, 17!)ii. Through his grandmother on the father's side lie was j connected with the Sherman family of Dcdham, England. Several representativesof this family came to New England in 1()34, and settled in Watcrtowii, Mass., now Cand)ridge. Mr. Hartwell's particular ! line is through Oqit. John Sherman, as distinguished from that of Pastor .John of the same town, ami of Samuel, brother of the latter, who removed and be- came a resident of Stratford, Conn. The grandmother of Mr. Hartwell was Rebecca Sherman, sister of the celebrated Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the ' Declaration of Inde])endence, and the family line may be traced as follows: 1. Capt. John Sherman, born 11)13, in Dedham, England; 2. Joseph, born ItJ.lO, in Watertown, Mass. ; 3. W^illiam, born l()it2, nnirried Rebecca Cutler (4. Roger, born 1721, married Eliza- beth Hartwell); 4. Rebecca, married Joseph Hart- well; ">. Isaac Hartwell, born 17t)8, married .Mary I'itcher; (i. Sherman Hartwell, born I7!HI, married Sophia Todd, daughter of Eli Todd, of New Milford. Roger Sheruwn spent his early life in New Jlilford.