Norwalk

Nathaniel Hatch, born January 23, 1809; William, born August 20, 181 1 ; Henry, born April 9, 1813 ; Abigail Hatch, born June 19, 1817 ;. Mary Cass, born May 30, 1819 ; Lucy Swift, born March 25, 1822. Lewis, M. D., son of Azor2"1 and Hannah (Smith) Belden, married, first, Rachel, daughter of Ebenezer and Huldah (Sherwood) Banks, and had : Maria Louise, born November 8, 1818, unmarried ; Ebenezer Banks, born August 17, 1820, unmarried; Eunice Banks, born February 12, 1826. Lewis Belden, M. D„ married, second, Anna Maria, daughter of Rev. John Freling- huysen and Hannah (Horn) Jackson, and had : Anna Jackson, born January 31, 1831, who married, November n, 1856, James Wells *Rev. William Belden, eldest son of Capt. Azor and Hannah C. (Smith) Belden, was graduated at Yale College in 1803 and, after being ordained to the ministry, settled in Greenfield, Conn., where he filled the pulpit of the village church and also established a boarding school. In this school many eminent men were fitted for college, among them President Wool- sey and John C. Calhoun being probably the most distinguished. He removed to New York and was the originator of the "Public School Society," which afterwards became the "Board of Education." He was "the Principal of one of the Public Schools for nearly forty years, and during that period examined most of the applicants for the position of teacher. The Normal School, which has since become the Nor- mal College, was also a product of his creation. His interest in the development of the school system which New York now enjoys was absorbing, and in order to devote himself to it he declined the Presi- dency of two Colleges. He was a man of great in- tellectual power and most extensive learning. He married Miss Abigail Frances Hatch of Kent, Conn., who bore him three sons and three daughters. His line is an extended one. 396 XORWALK. Randall, and had John Frelinghuysen Jackson Randal], born November 22, 1858, died July 14. 1865. Daniel, son of Azor2'"' and Hannah (Smith) Belden, married Sarah I., daughter of Frederick Curtis, and had : Charles Azor. born January 15, KS28 ; Frederick Curtis, born 1831 ; Joseph J., born April 1, 1833 ; Sarah Frances, born September. 1835; Louisa A., born October 27. 1840. George Fitch, son of Azor2ua and Hannah (Fitch) Belden, married, October 28, 1823. Nancy (born March 3, 1802) Hanford of Wilton, and had: Henry H., born November 9, 1825 ; Charlotte, born August 24, 1827; George Fitch. Piatt, son of Azor2"1 and Hannah (Fitch) Belden, married, September 4, 1829, Mary, sister of Rev. Horace Bushnell, D. D., and had: Charlotte Elizabeth, born February 12, 1832 ; Frederick, born 1834; William, born April 1. 1837 ; Horace, born October 4, r840. David Hull, son of Rev. David and Martha Belden, married, first, 1824, Cornelia Johnson of Newtown, and had: Jane, born December 21, 1823. Mrs. Rev. Joshua D. Berry. David Hull Belden married, second, Susan Johnson of Newtown and had : Cornelia J., born December 29, 1829: Clarissa, born 1830, unmarried; David, born August 14. 1832 : John, born 1834. David Hull Belden married, third, November, tS+i, Ann, daughter of Samuel and Abby (Raymond) ( lark, and had: Mary Elizabeth, born February, 1S45 ; Frederick ; Howard Raymond ; Reuben Booth, born September 28, 1849. David Hull Belden married, fourth, Sarah Peck ot Canaan, Conn. No children. John Arms son of Rev. David and Martha (Hull) Belden, married, November iz, .625, Betsey Carobne, daughter of Nathan and Moih (Burr) Marvin, and had : NORWALK. Nathan Marvin1, born August 17, 1826; Samuel Burr, born April 3, 1828 ; John Arms, born June 25, 1830; Charles, born June 16, 1833; Frances Adelaide, born November 12, 1835, Mrs. Benjamin F. Bulkley ; 1Kathan Marvin Belth-;n. Nathan Marvin Belden, son of John A. and Bet- sey C- Belden, was born in Wilton, Conn., August 17, 1H2<). He was the grandson paternally of the Rev. David Belden, and maternally of Nathan Marvin, of Wilton. He passed his boyhood in Wilton, and was noted among his companions for his physical activity as well as for his quick wit. After preparing in his native town he entered Trinity College at Hartford in 1H4-4- and graduated in 184-8 with high honors, being the Latin Salutatorian and second in his class, the late Bishop Paddock, of Massachusetts, being first. In is 50 he was called to the position of (ireek tutor in Trinity College, which position he heldfortwo years, and afterward engaged in teaching in South- port, Conn., and Orange, N. J. In July, 1850, he married Sarah Jane, daughter of Screnius S. Stock- ing, then residing in Orange with her uncle, the Rev. Sabura S. Stocking, with whom he was associated in St. Mark's Hall. In the fall of that year he became the first principal of the Free Academy at Andovcr, Mass., and in 1 S57 removed to White Plains, N. V., where in company with his brother, Samuel B., he opened a select boarding school for boys, which was maintained for four years, with great success. Among the patrons of this school were numbered some of the most prominent families of the country. In 1862, owing to poor health, he temporarily relinquished his work as a teacher, and both he and his brother went back to their native town, where they purchased farms and engaged in agricultural pursuits for a number of years. To the end of his life Mr. Belden lived upon his farm, even when engaged in other pur- suits. In 1867, his health being restored, he resumed teaching, and was for two years principal of one of the public schools of Ansonia, C01 in. From 18 1 '2 to 1874- he was in charge of the classical department in the Military Institute in Weston, Conn., and in 1875 and 1S76 conducted the Trinity School in Southport, Conn. Returning to Wilton, he maintained for some years a private school in his own home, giving par- ticular attention to the education of Spanish stu- dents, of whose language he was an accomplished master. His reputation as a linguist extended far be- yond his native town. There was probably no man in the state whose mastery of languages, both an- cient and modern, was more thorough or extensive. His favorite tongues, in which he was most thorough- ly at home, were Greek, Latin, Spanish and French. Mr. Belden, however, w as a man whose rare clever- ness was not confined to one department of knowl- edge. His mathematical abilities seemed to be equally signal, and for many years he exercised them in the profession of surveyor and civil engineer. He held the position of County Surveyor, and during the last twenty years of his life his services were in frequent demand. The painstaking accuracy which characterized his work in every other department was noticeable also in this. In public affairs he took a warm interest, and his conscientiousness, honesty and good judgment were so fully recognized that he was chosen again and again to oifices of public trust. For many years he held the office of First Selectman of Wilton, for six years he represented that town in the Legislature and for rive years he was County Commissioner. He held many other positions of responsibility, and his integrity, combined with his intelligence and general familiarity with the law, made his services in con- stant demand in the settlement of estates and other trusts of a semi-legal character. In everything he performed his duties with a strict fidelity that ex- tended to the minutest detail. In religious matters he was no less prominent and faithful. ( )f Churchly descent-line, he was brought up in the Episcopal Church, and was always a devout, earnest, loyal member of that com- munion. For over thirty years he represented St. Matthew's Church, Wilton, in the Diocesan Conven- tion, serving also as Senior Warden and Treasurer for twenty- three years, and acting as lay reader in thevacaueics of rectorships and at othertimes. While his I..t»vultv was given to his own Church, he was free from bigotry, and probably no man in the county- was more deeply loved and respected by all classes. Tiie widow and the fatherless found in him a sympa- thetic adviser and helper, and his parish the strongest lay pillar it ever had. Personally, though naturally somewhat re- served, "He was genial and sociable among his friends, and a rare conversationalist. He always had some apt quotation from the classics, some appropri- ate anecdote, or some close comparison to make his meaning clear, or to clinch an argument." His un- usual mental gifts appeared all the more attractive In- virtue of the unobtrusive modesty which charac- terized his entire career. The retired life which he chose to lead so many years upon the Wilton farm could not hide his engaging personality or his singu- lar gifts of mind and character from the community at large, and at his funeral the tributes of respect 398 Cecelia Augusta, born December 30, 1839, died ycmttg ; Martha Jane, born March 29. 1N43, Mrs. Dr. Levi Warren.1 Here ends the male line of the third generation of William and Margaret (Arms) Belden. The town of Wilton is a rewardful field for Belden Genealogia, and the author has collected much data iu this direction. The matter, however, of investigation in the William and Margaret Belden line mere properly belongs to Wilton, and every effort put forth for ,ts accomplishment is deserving of support. In recognition of an important Norwalk and Stamford Webb constituency the story- thread of the early non home-lot proprietors is here briefly broken m order to text-introduce, in connection with the Webb family note which closed on page 389 and in consonance-tenor with the lineage preface, page 81, the submitted collected and contributed WEBB GENEALOGY. Gen. I. Sir Henry and Grace (Ardeu) Webb, 1533. Gen. II. Alexander and Margaret (Arden) Webb. Gen. III. Alexander Webb, Jr. Gen. IV Richard Webb1- of Norwalk, 1650. (See page 149.) In miscellaneous Genealogia et Ileraldica, by Joseph Jackson Howard, LL. D., F. S. A., Vol. II., Third Series, page 156, is found thus: