CARLOS C. REDFIELD

CARLOS C. REDFIELD, of Harlan, is a native of Connecticut, born in Saybrook, April 3, 1887. He is a son of William and Dency (Chittenden) Redfield, natives of Connecticut, and of English ancestry. William Redfield, the father of C. C. Redfield, was the fifth child of Orrin Redfield, who was born at Chestnut Hill, Connecticut, May 31, 1807, and followed farming in his native State. He was married November 26, 1835, to Miss Dency Chittenden, a daughter of Joseph and Dency Chittenden, who was born in North Madison, Connecticut, October 30,1812; she was of English ancestry. They were the parents of two children: Carlos C., and Ellen Maria, wife of Giles A. Bushnell, of Saybrook,Connecticut. William Redfield departed this life July 5, 1876; his widow still survives and resides with her daughter.

Orrin Redfield, the grandfather of Carlos C., was born at Killingworth, Connecticut, on the homestead, Chestnut Hill, June 25, 1779, and was the second and youngest son of Josiah Redfield. He was married in March, 1796, to Miss Rachel Grave, of Killingworth, Connecticut, who was born February 24, 1769. He died December 31, 1861; his wife died April 21, 1850. They were the parents of ten children, six of whom lived to maturity. Josiah Redfleld, the great-grand-father of Carlos C., was born at Chestnut Hill, Killingworth, Connecticut, September 6, 1700, and was the seventh son of Theophilus Redfield. He was married December 8, 1757, to Miss Sarah Parmelee, a daughter of Lemuel and Sarah Parmelee, who was born August 19, 1734. He died August 6, 1802, and his wife died August 25, 1808. By this union there were four children. Theophilus Redfield, the oldest son of James Redfield, was born in 1682, probably at Saybrook, Connecticut. He was a joiner by trade, and probably settled in Killingworth soon after coming of age. About 1717 or 1718 he purchased 120 acres of land on Chestnut Hill, North Killingworth, and there established the Redfield homestead. December 24,1706, he was married to Priscilla Greenel (or Grinnell), the daughter of Daniel and Lydia Greenel. They were the parents of thirteen children, all of whom lived to be married and have families. He died February 14, 1795, and his wife died January 12, 1770. James Redfield (or Redfin), the only son of William Redfield, was born in 1646. The place of his birth is not known. He was bound to the tanner's trade for five years. He resided in various places, and finally settled in Saybrook, Connecticut, in May, 1669. He was married in New Haven, Connecticut, to Miss Elizabeth How, a daughter of Jeremy How, by whom he had three children. She died, and he was again married, to Deborah Sturgis, by whom two children were born. William Redfield (or Redfin) was probably one of the early emigrants from England to the colony of Massachusetts during the decade of years following 1630. He had two children.

Carlos C. Redfield was reared on a farm, and received an academic education. He remained with his parents until his majority, after which he engaged in steamboating for three years between Hartford and Sag harbor. At the breaking out of the late civil war the vessel on which he was employed was chartered by the government. This boat carried the mail three times per week, from Fortress Monroe to Cherry Stone Creek, for two years, and exchanged prisoners. Out of a crew of thirty Mr. Redfield and two others were all that came back with the boat. He left the service at Philadelphia, and for a year was unable to do anything on account of disease contracted while in the service; he did not recover from the effects of this for over twenty years.

Mr. Redfield engaged with William C. Rough & Co., as bookkeeper in the cotton mill at Rockville, Connecticut. At the expiration of one year he was appointed superintendent, which position he filled for three years. In 1870 he came to Iowa, and settled in Shelby County. He purchased an unimproved farm in Harlan Township, a portion of the land also lay in Lincoln Township, which he immediately began to put in a state of cultivation. In connection with his farming pursuits he engaged in various avocations, among others was the running of an express line between Harlan and Avoca before the railroad was built. Mr. Redfield served as clerk of Harlan Township for ten years. He has been appointed deputy sheriff three terms, and for two terms he filled the office of sheriff - appointed by the board of supervisors. He was first appointed justice of the peace in 1884, and that fall was elected to the office. He was re-elected in 1886 as an independent. He served as secretary of the agricultural association for four or five years. He was appointed assistant commissioner by Commissioner Herbert S. Fairall, to the World's Fair at New Orleans, in 1884. He took great interest in this work, making two trips to Yew Orleans. In 1880 he took the census of Harlan and Harlan Township.

Mr. Redfield was married to Miss Dora King, at Rockville, Connecticut. By this union one son was born-Clarence. Mrs. Redfield died in 1865. In 1866 Mr. Redfield was again married, to Miss Sarah Backland, a native of Windsor, Connecticut. By this union one child was born - Elbert B. Mrs. Redfield is a member of the Congregational church. In politics Mr. Redfield is independent.

Source: 1889 Biographical History of Shelby County, Iowa, pp. 302-303. Transcribed by Marthann Kohl-Fuhs.