The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-11-26

collector OF the Port Here-A Colonel
on Governor JesyelI's staf-An Officer
of the Horse Guard.
Colonel Amos ]. Beers, one Of New
Haven's most prominent citizens, died
at his home, No. 63 Olive street, early
yesterday morning.
For the past two weeks Colonel
Beers had been a sufferer from ma
, larial fever, but apparently had been
holding his own up to Monday night.
I Early in the evening he suffered in
tense pain and was stricken with
apoplexy, death resulting soon after.
| During his illness he had borne his
sufferings with great fortitude and pa
thence.
colonel Beers was a native of New
town. Conn.,, having been born in that
town on November 20, 1927. He was
the only son of the late Ezekiel Beers,
! and Nancy Johnson, both of New
town. He was educated in the public
school of his native place and in 1S48,
when he was twenty-one years old, he
came to this city, where he ventured
into the fruit business. Making a sue
cess of this he started another estab-
lIshment next to where the old e. E.
Hall store was in the block where the
Yale National Bank building now
stands. For some time the firm was A.
]. Beers & Co., his partner being Mr..
Jones of this city. In 1856 Colonel
Beers married Miss Susan Peck of
Pennington and Colonel and Mrs.
Beers came to this city, where he re-
sumed his fruit business. He was for
some time chairman of the New Haven
republican town committee. He held
the office of police commissioner and on
May 6, 1884, President Garfield, who
was then in Office, appointed him COL
lector of the port of New Haven, which
position he held until 1885. He again
resumed the fruit business, in which he
was interested at the time of his death,
having had store on State street. Mr.
| Beers was appointed colonel on Cover
! nor George JEWELS staff and for a
number of terms was alderman from
the Sixth ward and for some time he
| was vestryman of the st. Paurs
church. Colonel Beers, besides being
survived by a widow, leaves a brother,
by his fathers second wife, Mrs. Julius
Beers of Newtown, and half-sister,
Mrs. Edwin Fairchild, widow of the
late Edwin Fairchild of this city. The
funeral will take place at his late resi-
dence at o'clock on Friday afternoon
and will be conducted by Rev. DIR.
Lines. In the loss of Colonel Beers
New Haven loses one of it's most high
ly esteemed citizens.
Up to the time that Colonel Beers
left the office Of collector of customs he
was one Of the best known republic
cans in the state. He was a power
in the councils of the party and there
was no more influential member of the
state central committee than the de-
ceased. He was contemporaneous with
Selden of Norwich, who was collector
of internal revenue for the district in
Guiding Rhode Island and Connecticut
at the same time that Colonel Beers
was collector of customs in New Ha-
ven.
He was very close friend of the
late Mayor William Fitch of this city,
and in fact had an intimate acquaint-
publicans Of the state for many years.
Colonel Beers was succeeded as COL
lector of customs by John C. Byxbee
of Meriden who was appointed by
President Cleveland. Most of the men
he gave positions in the custom house
were we'll known here John Lane,
who afterWard ran restaurant on
State street, was one of his appointees.
The late Colonel A. H. Kellam, who
later became collector, was a deputy
under him. Theodore Knipping, a bar
Der on State street, was employed as
messenger in the custom house in
those days
The deceased was charter member
of the Republican league, or the I'm
ion league as it is now called. For
many years he was prominently iden-
titled with the organization. After re-
firing from the office of collector Of
customs he dropped out of public life
and gave all his attention to his whole
sale fruit business.
Colonel Beers and the late B. HI.
Douglass and William H. Sanborn
were great workers in what was known
as the Fourth ward years ago. The
Fifth and Sixth wards now occupy the
same section formerly covered by the
Fourth. The voting place was at tbs
corner of Court and Artizan streets
1t was the scene Of many a hard battle
between republicans and democrats.
Tho dacaasad ran for representative