History of Bridgeport, (Fairfield County) Connecticut United States of America

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Local History Notes:

BRIDGEPORT, a city and seaport of Fairfield county, Connecticut, is situated on an arm of Long Island sound, at the mouth of Pequannook river. By railroad it is 18 miles W. S. W. from New Haven; 58 miles N. E. from New York; 54 miles S. W. from Hartford; 178 miles S. W. from Boston. Lat. 41? 10? 30?? N.; lon. 73? 11? 46?? W. The city, which is handsomely laid out and beautifully adorned with shade-trees, is built chiefly on a plain elevated some 10 or 12 feet above high-water mark. About half or three-quarters of a mile N. W. of the harbor, there is a sudden ascent of nearly 50 feet, forming a terrace or small table-land about half a mile square. This height, which affords a splendid view of the city and sound, is occupied by a number of elegant private mansions. Iranistan, the residence of P. T. Barnum, Esq., is about 1 1/2 mile W. of this place. It is modelled after an Eastern palace, having skylight domes and minarets, and is surrounded with spacious grounds, beautifully adorned with flower-gardens, fountains, statuary, graded walks, and shrubbery.

Biographies:

George Musalas Colvocoresses, naval officer, was born on the island of Scio, in the Grecian archipelago, Oct. 22, 1816; son of Constantine and Franks (Grimaldi) Colvocoresses. After the massacre of a large part of the Greek population of the island of Scio in 1822, he was sent to the United States and was educated at Norwich university, Vt. In 1832 he joined the U.S. navy as a midshipman, and in 1836-37 was attached to the United States of the Mediterranean squadron. He was commissioned passed midshipman in 1838 and served on the Wilkes exploring expedition, and in 1841 on the overland expedition from Vancouver's island to San Francisco, Cal. In 1843 he was commissioned lieutenant and served in the Pacific squadron, 1844-46; in the Mediterranean, 1847-49; on the African coast, 1851-52; at New York, 1853-55; in the Indian ocean, 1855-58; and at Portsmouth navy yard, 1858-60. He was executive officer of the Levant at the capture of the Barrier forts in Canton river. He was made commander in 1861, and was attached to the Atlantic coast service during the Civil war till 1865, when he was ordered to the Pacific squadron. He received his commission as captain in 1867 and was thereupon retired. He published Four Years in a Government Exploring Expedition (1855). He was murdered by an unknown person in Bridgeport, Conn., June 3, 1872.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Roland Post Falkneir, statistician, was born in Bridgeport, Conn., April 14, 1866; son of the Rev. Dr. John Blake and Helen Moore (Butler) Falkner. He was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Ph.B., in 1885, and then studied at the universities of Berlin, Leipzig and Halle, receiving from the last the degree of Ph.D. in 1888. He was instructor in accounting and statistics at the University of Pennsylvania, 1888-91, and in the latter year became associate professor of statistics. In the same year he was appointed statistician to a sub-committee of the United States senate committee on finance to investigate the effect of the McKinley tariff on wages and the cost of living, and analyzed the material contained in the Aldrich Reports on Prices and Wages (7 vols., Washington, 1892 and 1893). In 1892 he accompanied the American delegation to the International monetary conference in Brussels as secretary of the delegation and was appointed a secretary of the conference itself. In 1896-97 he was a vice-president of the American economic association. He was elected to membership in the American statistical association, and in the American academy of political and social science. He became associate editor of the Annals of the latter organization in 1890 and editor in 1896. He translated Meitzen's History, Theory and Technique of Statistics (1891) and published in the Publications of the American statistical association articles on statistics of prisoners (1889), private corporations (1889) and prices (1892) in the Annals above mentioned, articles on Crime and the Census (1897) and the Development of the Census (1898).

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Edward Gay Mason, historian, was born in Bridgeport, Conn., Aug. 23, 1839; son of Roswell B. and Harriet L. Mason. Roswell B. Mason removed from Connecticut to Chicago, Ill., when that place was a village; was a civil engineer, mayor of the city, and was influential in encouraging business enterprises. Edward Gay Mason was prepared for college in Chicago and was graduated at Yale in 1860. He was admitted to the bar in 1863 and in March, 1865, formed a law partnership under the firm name of Mattocks & Mason. He subsequently practised in partnership with his brothers Alfred and Henry, under the firm name of Mason Brothers. He was married, Dec. 25, 1867, to Julia M. Starkweather of Chicago, Ill. He was president of the Chicago Bar association, the Chicago Literary club, the University Club of Chicago, and the Chicago Historical society, 1887-98, and was a member of various historical societies; a fellow of Yale, 1891-98, and was named as a probable successor to President Timothy Dwight of Yale in 1898. He contributed historical articles to magazines and is the author of numerous papers on the early history of Illinois collected and published as Chapters from Illinois History (1901). He died in Chicago, Ill., Dec. 18, 1898.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor