Dudley Ely

Dudley Pettibone Ely
1st and 3rd Mayor of South Norwalk, Connecticut
In office
1870–1872
Preceded by Office established
Succeeded by Walter C. Quintard
In office
1876–1877
Preceded by Walter C. Quintard
Succeeded by Winfield S. Hanford
Personal details
Born (1817-11-16)November 16, 1817
Simsbury, Connecticut
Died July 9, 1895(1895-07-09) (aged 77)
Resting place Simsburg, Hartford, Connecticut
Spouse(s) Charlotte W. Phelps (m. November 28, 1844)
Children Harriette Pauline, Charlotte E., Augusta A., Dudline P.
Residence South Norwalk
Occupation Banker
Military service
Unit Colored Light Artillery[1]

Dudley Pettibone Ely (November 16, 1817 – July 9, 1895) was the first mayor of South Norwalk, Connecticut, beginning in 1870, when the city was first incorporated. He served from 1870 to 1872 and from 1876 to 1877.[2][3][4][5]

Early life and family

He was born in Simsbury, Connecticut, the youngest child of Benjamin Ely, a graduate of Yale College in 1786. As a youth, he worked in a store in Simsbury, and by the age of eighteen, was a manager of a store in West Hartland, Connecticut. After a year, he went to New York, to work with his brother as a bookkeeper, subsequently becoming his partner. He succeeded in business, and moved to South Norwalk in 1861.[3][4]

Business pursuits

Upon moving to South Norwalk, he became a banker, invested in real estate, becoming the largest landholder in the city. On the largest business block in the city, he built the Hotel Mahackemo. He was president of the Norwalk Gas Light Company for over twenty years. He was president of the South Norwalk Savings Bank for more than ten years. He was the first president of the Norwalk Iron Works Company and the first president of the South Norwalk Printing Company. He served as a director of the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad Company, the Norwalk Horse Railroad Company, the Fairfield County Fire Insurance Company, the Norwalk Fire Insurance Company, the Relief Fire Insurance Company of New York and the Peter Cooper Fire Insurance Company of New York.[3][4]

He took a recreational interest in agriculture, and served as president of the Fairfield County Agricultural Society. At a farm he carried on in the suburbs, he raised chickens and pigeons.[3][4]

He was a large donor to the Children's Aid Society, and a member of the Congregational church of South Norwalk.[3][4]

He was the plaintiff in the case of Town of Andes v Ely in 1895.[6]

References

  1. "United States, Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NH4W-C2N : accessed 11 Mar 2013), Dudley Ely, 1891.
  2. John Augustus Spalding (1891). Illustrated Popular Biography of Connecticut. Lockwood & Brainard Company. pp. 114–115.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Google Books
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Genealogy Finds
  5. Norwalk Museum
  6. 158 U.S. 312 / 15 S.Ct. 954 / 39 L.Ed. 996 TOWN OF ANDES v. ELY. No. 295. May 20, 1895
Preceded by
City incorporated
Mayor of South Norwalk, Connecticut
1870–1872
Succeeded by
Walter C. Quintard
Preceded by
Walter C. Quintard
Mayor of South Norwalk, Connecticut
1876–1877
Succeeded by
Winfield S. Hanford
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