Richard Taylor Kelsey is now living retired at Guilford, in New Haven county, but for many years was actively connected with agricultural pursuits. He is an honored veteran of the Civil war and has always been as true and loyal to his country in days of peace as when he followed the stars and stripes on southern battlefields. He was born in Guilford, October 2, 1841, a son of Alva and Almira (Higgins) Kelsey. The father was a native of Killingworth, Middlesex county, Connecticut, where he spent his boyhood days in the home of an uncle, his parents having died when he was yet a young child. In early manhood he went to Haddam, Connecticut, and subsequently became a resident of Guilford, where he followed the occupation of farming until his life’s labors were ended in death. He was married in Haddam, where his wife was born, and her demise also occurred in Guilford.

     Richard T. Kelsey acquired his education in the district schools of Guilford and was reared in the usual manner of farm lads, early becoming familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. For forty-eight years he continued to cultivate the farm upon which he now resides, bringing his fields under a high state of cultivation and adding many modern improvements which converted the place into one of the productive and valuable farms of this section.

     On the 18th of October, 1869, Mr. Kelsey was united in marriage to Miss Antoinette Baldwin, the wedding being celebrated at her home, where they now reside. Mrs. Kelsey was born at Carmel, in Putnam county, New York, and was a little maiden of twelve years when brought by her parents to Guilford, since which time she has occupied the same residence. She is a daughter of Arvah and Harriet (Carpenter) Baldwin. Her father was born in Putnam county, New York, and was a member of the old Baldwin family of that section of the country. He followed the occupation of farming in Putnam county until 1851, when he removed with his family to Guilford and purchased the old Colonel Fowler farm, which he continued to improve and cultivate until 1869. His wife was born in the Scrub Oak Plains district of Yorktown, Westchester county, New York, and spent her last days in Guilford. To Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey were born four children. Gustave Baldwin, a carpenter of Wallingford, Connecticut, married Lina Whiteman, of Branford, and has two children, George Richard and Emma Baldwin. Ernest Russell took his medical degree in Baltimore, Maryland, and is now a physician and surgeon of Winsted, Connecticut. He married Elizabeth Phillips, of New Hampshire. He served with the Naval Reserves during the Spanish-American war. Agnes Fayette is the wife of Dr. H. Walter Muirless, of Guilford, Connecticut. Richard Percy, a farmer of Shore Beach, Connecticut, wedded Marion Killam Murphy, of Branford.

     Mr. Kelsey proudly wears the little bronze button that proclaims him a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and he is now identified with Parmelee Post at Guilford. He enlisted on the 10th of August, 1862, at Branford, as a member of Company B, Twenty-seventh Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, and did active duty through the remainder of the Civil war, participating in various hotly contested engagements, including the battle of Chancellorsville, where he was captured on the field. He endured all the hardships and privations of the war but never faltered in the performance of his duty nor in his loyalty to the cause. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party, which was the defense of the Union at the time of the Civil war. He has served as a member of the board of tax assessors but has not been a politician in the sense of office seeking. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church. The home of Mr.
and Mrs. Kelsey is one of the oldest farm houses in this section, having been built in the eighteenth century. When La Fayette visited Connecticut in 1824, returning to this country fifty years after he had aided in winning independence, he was entertained at the home of Colonel Fowler, then the owner of the Kelsey place. Upon the table as a decoration was a small boxwood tree and after the dinner this tree was planted in the front yard of the home and it is still full of life. It is certainly one of the most interesting landmarks of this section of the country. Mr. and Mrs. Kelsey are hospitable people whose good cheer is greatly enjoyed by their many friends. Mr. Kelsey was long identified with the agricultural development of his section but is now living retired, enjoying a rest which he has truly earned and richly merits.