SAMUEL ORCUTT
Son of James and Celine (Crosby) Orcutt was born in Berne, Albany county, N. Y.  His grandfather, Samuel Orcutt, a native of Connecticut, was a musician in Washington's army in the Revolution most of the time the war continued, and was killed by the falling of a tree when his twin sons, James and Ezra, were only five years of age.  Samuel, the author of this book, and whose portrait is the second in the book, attended the district school winters until nineteen years of age, and he turned teacher instead of pupil.  When he was about fourteen, that great institution, the district library, was established in the school district, and his father being the librarian, he made diligent improvement of the nearly 200 volumes secured, making many of them a regular study instead of simply reading books.  While teaching he mastered the "Elements of Algebra" and Chemistry without a teacher.  He then took a two years' course of classical studies at Cazenovia (N. Y.) Seminary, and Owego Academy.  Being licensed to preach, he supplied the pulpits of four churches in central New York while taking a course of four years' theological and historical studies under private but regular and thorough recitation.  He then took one year's course of study in Hebrew and Greek under Prof. James Strong of Flushing, L. I.  After this he preached at Greenport and Patchogue, L. I., (in the Congregational churches) four yeas; then four years at William's Bridge, Westchester county, N. Y.  Following this he preached with much success at Riverhead, L. I., fifteen months, and in the spring of 1872 removed to Wolcott, Conn., where he supplied the pulpit nearly two years and wrote the history of that town, which was published in 1874.  While preaching at Torrington, Conn., in 1874 and 5, he collected largely the material for a history of that town, which was published early in 1878.
     While preaching several months at New Preston, Conn., in 1876, he collected considerable material for another work (not local history) not yet published.  He began as a licensed preacher in 1848, when twenty-four years of age; was ordained in 1851, and was regularly employed in his profession, with the exception of a year and a half, until in 1875, a series of twenty-seen years; and is now a member of the New Haven West Association.
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 678

THOMAS J. O'SULIVAN, M. D.
Was born at Preston, Conn., Mar. 1, 1852, his early education being secured at Norwich Free Academy, Conn., and Nicholet College, Canada, from which institution he graduated.  Entering the University of Vermont at  Burlington, he took one course of lectures and then went to Bellevue Medical College, New York, where he received the degree of M. D. and entered upon the practice of his profession at Worcester, Mass., where he is engaged in a good practice.
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 629

MRS. CATHARINE (JENNINGS) PARSONS,
Daughter of Isaac Jennings, M.D., was graduated at Oberlin College and became the wife of the Rev. Justin W. Parsons.  They went as missionaries of the A. B. C. F. M., first to Salonica in European Turkey, thence to Smyrna, thence where they are now, at the head of the missionary work, including a prosperous boarding and a day school for girls, in the Nicomedia mission field, having their residence in Batchejuk, Turkey of Asia.  One of her daughters, Miss Sella C. Parsons, is assistant missionary teacher.  Another daughter, Mrs. Louisa S. Whiting, is a missionary of the Presbyterian Board, near Shanghai in China.
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 604

ELEAZER PECK, son of Benjamin C. Peck, of Woodbury, a descendant of Joseph Peck of Stratford, in the seventh generation, was born in Woodbury, Conn., in 1808.  Removed to Derby in 1829; was associated with David Bassett in the manufacture of augers until 1845.  About 1849 he left manufacturing to engage in mercantile business in the new village of Ansonia, and built the first store in that place.  He continued to be a successful merchant until 1870, when on account of declining health he retired fro business.  He was twice married; first to Nancy Mansfield; second, to Louise Martentrough, both granddaughters of the Rev. Richard Mansfield, D. D.  He had one child by his first wife, a son, who died at six years, and five children by his second wife, who all died in childhood, except one daughter, Eliza, who married A. W. Webster, Esq., and lives at present at the family residence in Ansonia.  Mr. Peck died July, 1878.
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 629

GEORGE HOBART PECK, fourth son of Ephraim Birdseye Peck of Woodbury, removed to Birmingham in 1863, and succeeded Mr. G. H. Corlies in the drug business, which he conducted along until 1873, when he entered into a partnership with Charles H. Coe, and the business is still conducted under the style of G. H. Peck and Co.  In 1866 Mr. Peck became a stockholder in the Star Pin Company, a new interest in organizing for the manufacture of pins, and was elected president of the company, which office he held until 1875, when, by the purchase of stock, he became more largely interested in the business; and upon the resignation of Mr. J. Tomlinson, former secretary and treasurer of the company, he was elected secretary and treasurer and assumed the management of the business of the company, which he still continues.
     He was elected Judge of Probate, District of Derby, in 1869, 70, 71; was elected to Legislature in 1873; and has been warden in the Church since 1866.
     He was married in 1856 in Tecumseh, Mich., to Maria P. Stillson, a daughter of David Stillson formerly of Woodbury.  Has three children: Ina Gertrude, Irving Hobart and Howard Birdseye.
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 629

ANSON GREEN PHELPS, whose name occurs so frequently in these pages, was born in Simsbury, Conn., in March, 1781.  His father died when he was an infant, and his mother before he was eleven years of age.  He was placed under the care of Rev. Mr. Utley, with whom he remained several years, learning a trade.  Mr. Phelps's father was among the first who left Simsbury to join the army of the Revolution, and served much of the time through the war as an officer under Gen. Green, and in memory of whom he named his son.  His wife, mother of Anson Green, a very excellent woman, was reduced to indigent circumstances, and struggled hard to obtain a living during the war.  When her husband returned, only to die, nothing was left her but worthless Continental money.
     At an early age Anson G. spent several winters in Charleston, S. C., where he established a branch of business.   In 1815 he removed to New York city, where he became largely identified with commercial interests.  His business, which was dealing in copper, tin, brass, iron and lumber, became very extensive throughout the country, resulting in the establishment of a branch firm in Liverpool,  England.  He was among the most prominent and successful business men in the country.  Having accumulated a fortune, he seemed to take delight in starting new enterprises, and building manufacturing villages, and the people of Derby owe him more than a debt of gratitude that he was induced by Sheldon Smith to turn a portion of his energies towards the waste places of the town. After Mr. Smith sold his interests in Birmingham, Mr. Phelps was the chief pillar of support in sustaining the early growth and prosperity of the place.
     Ansonia, which bears its derivative name from him, owes its existence to his persevering efforts.  He interested himself apparently with no selfish ambition; was a promoter of the public good, and encourage progress in all directions.  Those who recollect his operations in Derby, which were only a small part of his business life, can appreciate his career, in which, being incessantly employed in a great variety of undertakings, he signalized his business talent by success in nearly everything he attempted.  Armed with an invincible self-reliance, he took counsel chiefly of himself, and often saw success where most other men predicted defeat.  He had an iron will, a comprehensive judgment and power of combination, a physical constitution capable of immense endurance, and by these he worked out extraordinary success.  He gave liberally of his ample means to all benevolent objects, without regard to class or sect.  He took no active part in politics, although a farm friend of the slave, and for many years was president of the American Colonization Society, to which he contributed largely.  He enjoyed the personal esteem of many eminent statesmen, such as Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and others, who were often guests at his house.
     In his daily walk Mr. Phelps was a model Christian.  No business relations, however important, were permitted to interfere with his devotions or his duties to his church (Congregational) through his long and useful career.  This was the crowning fact of his life, that, unlike most men in large business enterprises, he carried his religion into almost every line and department of work, and to his principle, he attributed his success.  His Sunday contributions were often more in amount than that of all the congregation.  He kept a diary of his religious and business expenses for fifty years.  Long will the citizens of Derby hold him in grateful remembrance.  He died at New York in November, 1853, in teh 74th year of his age.
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 630

ALBERT W. PHILLIPS, M. D., was born at Marcellus, N. Y., July 26, 1838, his early education being secured in the common schools of his native town.  He graduated from the Hannemann Homoepathic College, Chicago, Ill., in 1861.
     At the commencement of the Rebellion he enlisted as a private in the 12th Regiment, New York State Volunteers, but was afterward appointed hospital steward of the same regiment, and later received the appointment of assistant surgeon of the 149th Regiment of New York Volunteers, and served until the close of the war, when he removed to Birmingham.  He has held the office of registrar of vital statistics, and has also been an influential member of the board of burgesses for several years.  He has been the only follower of the school "similia similbibus curantur" in the town, and has a large and lucrative practice.
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 632

Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 633

DAVID W. PLUMB was born in Trumbull, Conn., Oct. 13, 1808.  His father, Noah Plumb, was a dealer in cattle, and possessed a large farm on which his son worked while a boy.  His early education was obtained at the common school and afterwards a short time at an academy.  Upon the father removing to Bridgeport, the son David went into a store as clerk, and his employer failing in business, Mr. Plumb bought the goods and removed them to Birmingham in the spring of 1836, and built the stone factory on Main street.  Here he carried on the manufacture of woolen goods, such as flannels, beavers and cassimeres, with Benjamin B. Beach, for about ten years.  Dissolving this partnership he removed to Ansonia in 1848, and after building a large factory continued the same business until he sold to Wm. R. Slade in 1865.  His business in Ansonia was very successful during the war.
     In 1868 Mr. Plumb removed to Shelton and became much interested in the building and success of the Ousatonic dam, investing largely of his fortune in the enterprise.  He was for some time president of the Ansonia Bank, also treasurer and secretary of the Ansonia Savings Bank.  He represented Derby in the lower House in 1838, 1852, 1862 and 1853, and was senator from the fifth district in 1841.  Being a good debater he was a useful and an influential member of the Legislature and has always been a firm opponent of the democracy.  He is the only man who has represented Derby five times in the Connecticut Legislature, which shows the estimation in which he has been held by the community.
     For his first wife he married, in 1841, Clarissa Allen of Derby, and for his second he married, in December, 1875, Louisa Wakelee of Huntington.
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 636

REV. AMASA PORTER.
Was born in 1774, was graduated at Yale college in 1793, and settled in Derby in 1797.  The records show an unusual anxiety on the part of the church to obtain him, and he was not induced to accept the invitation until this desire was well manifested, His first call was presented with a peculiarly graduated scale of salary: £130 the first year, £125 the second, £120 the third, and so down to £100, where it was to remain.  The committee were directed to present this proposal to him, and if he was not suited, to see what would be agreeable.  Mr. Porter asked for time to consider and consult the neighboring clergy.  After this the salary was fixed at £115 per annum, and the call renewed, he being asked to supply in the meantime.  The call was finally declined.
     The next step was to raise a fund of £500, the interest of which was to be applied to the support of the gospel, if Mr. Porter would come and preach.  On this basis the call was renewed and accepted.  The agreement was kept and the fund raised, which was probably the basis of the present fund of the church.  He was ordained the 20th of June, 1797, and proved to be an excellent man for the place, and there is no evidence that the people were disappointed in him.
     In the year 1804, Mr. Porter being in too feeble health to supply the pulpit, the society passed a resolution asking that, as they were unable to pay his salary in full and supply the pulpit, he should relinquish one half of his salary, and they would furnish the supply.  To this Mr. Porter seems to have agreed cordially, but, for some reason not given, after a lapse of six months, a committee was appointed to carry out a repeatedly expressed wish of his that he should be dismissed.  This was effected Mar. 20, 1805.  After his dismissal he removed to New Haven, where he died in the year 1856, at the age of eighty-two.
     The late  Rev. Charles Nichols writes of this devoted good man as follows:

     " knew him well in my early boyhood, and though after his dismissal he removed to New Haven, I knew him and visited in his family while pursuing my studies in the theological seminary.  He was I should say a little taller than the average man; well formed, possessed of a countenance gentle and mild, and distinguished excellence of character.  I have no recollection of having heard him preach.  My full impression is that he relinquished the ministry because of bodily weakness or chronic disease.
     "His wife was a Miss Bliss of Columbia in Tolland county, Conn.  They had two sons and two daughters, and both the sons were graduates of Yale college.
     "Mr. Porter was beloved by the people of Derby, and long after he removed was spoken of by good people in terms of respect.  Probably no person now living in the town remembers him more pleasantly, or with a more affectionate interest, than the writer of this article."
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 637

LIEUT. JABEZ PRITCHARD
Who enlisted in July, 1777, under Captain Carris, in the regiment of Colonel Enos, was in command of Major Humphreys near Fort Independence.  In the conflict at that place he, with others, was taken prisoner and confined first at King's bridge, then in New York, and afterward on a prison ship on the North River.  His commission was taken from him by his inhuman captors and he was so illy treated that, like most of the other prisoners on that infamous ship, he survived but a short time.
     His generous and honorable character may be inferred from the fact that he might have escaped being taken prisoner but that he would not abandon a wounded comrade; and that he afterward divided his funds with a fellow prisoner, to which act of liberality Bradford Steele ascribed his own recovery, by means of the provisions and comforts he was thus enabled to procure.24
---------------
     24. History of Seymour.
Source:   History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642 - 1880 with Biographies and Genealogies by Samuel Orcutt & Ambrose Beardsley, M. D. - Publ. Press of Springfield Printing Company, Springfield, Mass.  1880 - Page 638