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BIOGRAPHY
S.R. Durand, cross-referenced to [UL::UL]History of Berlin, Connecticut[UL::UL] by North, 1916, pg. 250:
Samuel Durand, Jr. bought the farm that formerly belonged to his mother's father in Cheshire. In 1823, he moved to Berlin, Connecticut where he and his wife joined the Worthington Church. He was a
farmer.
From S.R. Durand's own biographical sketches:
Samuel Durand, Jr. was born September 22, 1790 in Cheshire, Connecticut, and was baptized December 19 of that year in the Congregational Church there. He grew up on his father's farm in Cheshire, and was married on March 18, 1813 to Eloisa, a daughter of Clear and Sarah (Hull) Lewis of Stonington, Connecticut. Subsequent to his marriage, he purchased a farm that had belonged to his mother's father in Cheshire.
In 1823, after the birth of one daughter and four sons, the family moved to Berlin, Connecticut, where Samuel Durand Jr. established a large farm. He and his wife joined the Worthington Church in Berlin. He remained on this farm until the end of his life. As a young boy on a motor trip with my family, I visited the old homestead. The large colonial white house was set on a hill and the farmland sloped down to a river, where the children had a swimming hole. [One of Samuel Durand Jr.'s daughters,] my great-aunt Jane, used to tell me of diving from overhanging tree branches into this swimming hole.
Samuel Durand Jr. lost his first wife on February 7, 1832, at a time when he had seven children, the oldest being 18 and the youngest 4 years old. On May 1, 1834 he married again, to Rebecca, a daughter of Asahel and Hannah (Goodrich) Root of Berlin, CT. She had been born October 21, 1801, and so was 32 years old at the time. Samuel and Rebecca (Root) Durand went on to have six more children, all of whom lived later in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and are buried in Forest Home Cemetery there.
In later years of his life, Samuel Durand Jr. had a difficult time raising and selling wheat on his once very profitable New England farm. Beginning at that time, larger crops of wheat could be raised in the Midwest and shipped to the East to be sold at a lower price than New England wheat. My grandfather, Loyal Root Durand, although only in his twenties and starting out in business, had sent his youngest sister Hannah to a girls' finishing school in Massachusetts, and made substantial contributions to help his father support the family. After Samuel Durand Jr.'s death in 1870, his farm was sold to Huber Bushnell and my grandfather brought his mother and sisters to Milwaukee, where he provided a home and care for them.
When my great-grandfather's estate was settled after his death, one piece of the property which happened to be in another county was overlooked - a high hill called Mount Lamentation. My great-aunt Jane used to tell me that it was a family tradition on the 4th of July each year to have a picnic at the top of this hill. Eighty years later, a company in Hartford wished to purchase the hill, probably to erect a radio broadcasting tower on it. In order to pay back taxes and clear title to it, had to have an attorney trace the descendants of Samuel Durand Jr. Since he had willed his entire estate to his wife, the only living descendants of his second marriage were my brother and my two sisters and I. However, since the company and the attorney were worried that the University of Rcohester would make a claim since they had been willed the estate of my great aunt Hannah, they insisted upon giving most of the money after taxes to the University, and only about $100 to each of us.
Facts about this person:
Alt. Born September 22, 1790
Cheshire, New Haven Co., Connecticut
Source: Crutcher.FTW
Medium: Other
Date of Import: Jan 5, 2000
Alt. Died December 04, 1870
Berlin, Hartford Co., Connecticut
Source: Crutcher.FTW
Medium: Other
Date of Import: Jan 5, 2000
Record Change June 18, 1999
