Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

able and laborious ministers never reap much
earthly reward, or see the fruits of their planting.
To such the hymn says
Men heed thee, love thee, praise thee not
what are men ?
The Master praises :
:
Your rector had his share of honors such as the
Church can bestow upon those who achieve
visible success in the sacred ministry. Trinity
College gave him the degree of Doctor of Divinity.
The Church in Middlesex County made him Arch-
;
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
deacon, which office he filled for twenty years
five successive terms. The Diocese elected him
deputy to the General Convention four times. He
was an examining chaplain, appointed by the bishop
to test the fitness of candidates for Holy Orders.
The Episcopal Academy at Cheshire made him a
trustee. The Church Scholarship Society was glad
to have him serve as one of its directors in the
work of granting loans to divinity students
Doctor Raftery's executive ability found ample
exercise as Archdeacon of Middlesex, with oversight
of its various missions. His learning was
useful in examining divinity students. His knowl-
edge of history and his sound judgment came in
play when taking part in the legislative functions
of the General Convention I think a Divine
blessing rests upon a parish and a rector who complete
thirty-three years together in harmony and
united efforts for the Kingdom of Christ. Happy
is he who is permitted to round out such a period
—a third of a century ; happy is he who dies in the
harness as he did Happy is the parish that
can look back over thirty-three years of harmony
under one respected and beloved pastor, during
which the Church was indeed "edified" or built up
by mutual activity and conscientious service to
God and man. And all that time the domestic life
at the rectory has been a model of mutual affection
and a sustaining power to the rector himself.
In 1881 Mr. Raftery married Mary E.
Clark, daughter of Dr. William N. Clark
of Augusta, Georgia. She died without
issue. He married (second), in 1891,
Adelaide Emery Brainard, of Portland,
daughter of the late Benjamin F. and
Amelia Ann (Davis) Brainard of that
town, descended from Daniel Brainard,
one of the founders of the town of Haddam,
Connecticut, elsewhere mentioned
at length. One child of this marriage died
—
in infancy, and two survive: i. Harold
Brainard, a graduate of Salisbury School
and of Trinity College, served in the
United States navy during the recent
World War. 2. Elizabeth Brainard Raf-
tery, a graduate of Westover School in
Middlebury, Connecticut, and Wellesley
College.
SANFORD, Charles G.
Ancestral History
The Sanford family of which Mr. San-
ford is a descendant, date their ancestry
back to Thomas Sanford, a descendant of
Thomas de Sanford, a follower of William,
Duke of Normandy, mentioned on the
Role of Battle Abbey, October 14, 1076.
A descendant, Thomas Sanford, came to
Boston in 1631, settled in Milford, Connecticut,
in 1639, died there in 1681, and
from him the Connecticut Sanfords trace
their ancestry. Glover Sanford, grand-
father of Charles G. Sanford, was the
third son of LiflFe and Huldah Blackman
143
Sanford, and was born in that part of the
town of New Milford now known as
Bridgewater, March 3, 1797. His father,
Liffe Sanford, served seven years in the
Revolutionary War, and was present at
the execution of Major Andre. He died
December 3, 1815. After the death of his
father. Glover Sanford apprenticed him-
self to his brother, John B., in the adjoin-
ing town of Brookfield to learn the trade
of hatter, being then eighteen years of
age, and in 1820 began business in the
town of Salisbury. In 1823 he returned
to his native town where for a period of
forty-seven years was engaged in the
manufacture of hats, having associated
with him his four sons, Charles H., Homer
B., Frederick S., and Edwin G., which
composed the well known firm of Glover
Sanford and Sons. In 1870, for want of