June 30, 1830. His home was near the Seymour-Oxford town line, and he was active socially in Seymour. He owned vast tracts of land and engaged in the timber and wood business. He married Sarah M. Whiting and had two sons.
    Lewis was a warden in Trinity Episcopal Church in Seymour. The other son, Stephen Betts Church established the S.B. Church Company. He became known for his work in suburban water works, the sale of gasoline engines and agricultural equipment. He kept offices locally and in Boston. The business became so large that agents throughout New England were employed. S.B. Church never married.
    At the time of his death, he left his fortune in a trust fund to support some relatives of his, with the provision that upon the death of these individuals the fund would be assigned to several specific purposes.
    The fortune increased greatly while it was administered by the Seymour Trust Company, and when it was assigned there was nearly one million dollars each for the Trinity Episcopal Church of Seymour, the Griffin Hospital and the Town of Oxford to construct the new town hall.

WILLIAM L. WARD

    William L. Ward was born in Naugatuck in October, 1858. His father, a carpenter, died when he was a young man. William received his education in Naugatuck. He began work with the G.I.R. Glove Company and stayed there twelve years. For nine years he worked for F.Q. Tolles, a furniture dealer and undertaker in Naugatuck.
    On August 1, 1898, he came to Seymour and bought out E. F. Bassett, who had been in the furniture and undertaking business there for forty-two years. After a time, his business was so successful that he had to expand his store.
    Ward was a major influence in the establishment of the Valley National Bank of Seymour, which was instituted in 1900. He served as its president and was also town treasurer. In 1901 he purchased a home on the corner of Church and West Street, which was first occupied by Dr. Stoddard.
    Ward descended from an old English family who settled early in Connecticut. He was a descendant of Culpepper Hoadley, a soldier of the American Revolution. William Ward married Lulu Tolles and had two sons, William and Elmer.