Edward Deacon

DEACON, STODDARD, REYNOLDS, BARNUM

Posted By: S. Ferrall - IAGenWeb volunteer
Date: 2/4/2010 at 22:18:21

DEACON, Edward, secretary, was born in Liverpool, England, Dec. 19, 1839, being a descendant of an old Bedfordshire family. After completing his education at Liverpool college he came to America with other members of the family, settling in Howard county, la. Leaving the farm he entered mercantile life in 1864 in the service of Capt. "Diamond Jo" Reynolds, the notable Mississippi steamboat captain, in the grain and pork business at McGregor, la., and soon proved himself so capable that large financial interests were entrusted to his care. In 1866 and 1867 he was paymaster for the contractors who were engaged in building the Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad. In 1868 he started for himself in the wholesale agricultural implement business at McGregor, establishing agencies for the sale of his goods all over southern Minnesota, northern Iowa and western Wisconsin. In 1873 he removed to Detroit, Mich., and after a brief engagement with the First national bank he became connected with the great seed house of D. M. Ferry & Co., in which he became a stockholder, and remained with them until 1884, when he was solicited to take charge of some private car companies located there, with the result that in 1886, upon the organization of the Consolidated rolling stock company of Bridgeport, Conn., he became its secretary and removed to that city. Mr. Deacon acts as superintendent and purchasing agent for this company, whose capital is $4,000,000, and who own many thousand freight cars which are leased to various railroads for service in the great through freight lines of the country ; three machine and repair shops are located at western points for the maintenance of Hie property. Mr. Deacon is officially connected with many other business enterprises, where his ability is recognized and his counsel appreciated. He married June 10, 1871, Eliza, daughter of Rodman Stoddard. Mr. Deacon, having a taste for science and literature, is an interested and active member of the Fairfield county historical society, which has elected him its treasurer and honorary curator for several years; he is also an officer of the Bridgeport scientific society. When the late P. T. Barnum presented these societies with the magnificent building, costing upwards of $100,000, in which they are now located, Mr. Deacon was chosen an agent to receive the building from the estate, and the legal transfer took place in his office. In 1891 Mr. Deacon published a historical pamphlet, entitled "John Meres and Some Early English Newspapers," and in 1893 a genealogical work, "The Ancestors of Rodman Stoddard," which has received very favorable notice from the genealogical press of New York and Boston.

~The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography; Vol 5; New York: James T. White & Co., 1897; pg 413-414

Clayton Biographies maintained by Sharyl Ferrall.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen