A One-Name Study for the BARNUM/BARNHAM Surname
The Barnum property spread over most of what is now the Plumtrees district. A cave on the hillside of the ridge know as Shelter Rock was used as a shelter by the people of the town when the British marched through Bethel to burn the military stores in Danbury [1778]. When word came that the British were approaching, Capt. Ephraim Barnum set out on horseback with his wife behind him and their child behind her to seek shelter in this cave. After traveling some distance it was discovered the child had fallen off. They went back and found him unharmed. This baby was Noah Starr Barnum, great-grandfather of Miss Grace Barnum, a retired teacher who lives on Chestnut Street.
On a passport application in June 1912 she gave her birth year as 1875; on another, in July 1920, she stated that she was born in 1871.
From The Bridgeport Post, Bridgeport, Connecticut, October 22, 1959: Bethel, Conn.--October 22—Miss Grace Eunice Barnum, 91, of 99 Greenwood Avenue, descendant of Colonial founders of Fairfield County and active participant in civic and patriotic programs here, died yesterday in Danbury Hospital. She was the aunt of Theodore H. Beard, vice chairman of the executive committee, Dictaphone Corporation,Bridgeport. Services will take place Saturday. Burial will be in Center Cemetery.
Born February 27, 1868 in Bethel, a daughter of Romaine (sic) and Maria Durant Barnum, she was a direct descendant of Thomas Barnum, Jr. a founder of Danbury.Miss Barnum was a lifelong resident of the Barnum homestead which she occupied with her sister, Mrs. George E. Baird (sic, Beard), until Mrs. Beard’s death and a niece, Mrs. Bertha B. Sturtevant.
A graduate of Mount Holyoke College and of the Sargent School, Boston, Miss Barnum was physical education teacher in Morris High School, New York City, until retiring in 1920. Miss Barnum was many years an active member of the Appalachian Mountain Club. She was a daughter of the Society of Colonial Dames, Mary Wooster Chapter;Daughters of the American Revolution, Bethel Women’s Club and Bethel Congregational Church.
Also surviving are a brother,Dr. Allan R. Barnum, DDS of Norwalk and several other nephews and nieces.
A Research Guide to the Genealogy of the Barnum/Barnam/Barnham Family Worldwide
AncientFaces - Family History Photos
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