USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, Vol. II > Part 51
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On the 11th of November, 1909, in New Haven, Mr. O'Meara was married to Miss Helen A. Sheehan, a native of Easthampton, Massachusetts, and a daughter of William J. and Elizabeth (O'Donell) Sheehan. The Sheehan family was established in Massachusetts in early colonial days. Her parents are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. O'Meara have beeome the parents of two sons and a daughter: Edward Sheehan, born September 19, 1910; Mary Elizabeth, May 17, 1913; and William J., July 24, 1915. All were born in New Haven.
Mr. and Mrs. O'Meara are communicants of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church and Mr. O'Meara is a trustee of the St. Francis Catholic Orphan Asylum and a director of the St. Lawrence and St. Bernard Cemetery Association. He has always been deeply inter- ested in public affairs and has been a cooperant factor in furthering various interests concerning the general welfare. In polities he is a democrat and is chairman of the New Haven democratic town committee. He served as a member of the common council in 1899 and 1900 and for two years was a director of the free public library of New Haven, beginning in 1899. In the same year he was made a member of the board of finance of New Haven and served for two years. On the 1st of July, 1905, he was reappointed to that office by Judge J. P. Studley, who was then mayor of New Haven, and served for a three years term. In 1908 he became assistant corporation counsel of New Haven, filling the office for two years, and from 1913 until 1915 he was judge of the city court. He holds 1
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membership in the Chamber of Commerce and is interested in all of its well organized plans and projects for advancing the public good. Ile is identified with various social organizations, including the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Knights of Columbus, the Knights of St. Patrick Club, the Emmet Club, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Union League, the Racebrook Country Club and the Yale Law Alumni Association. In a word his inter- ests are broad and varied. He was one of the first to enlist in the Sanitary Home Guard in 1917. He keeps in touch with the trend of modern events and modern thought, and he stands loyally for those interests which he believes to be matters of publie concern and public welfare, and his activities have, in large measure, been productive of far-reaching and valuable results.
ROY W. FOOTE.
There is constant demand for the services of Roy W. Foote, one of the young architeets of New Haven, so that his business has now reached substantial proportions and he is well known as a designer of modern homes and office buildings, many of the attractive structures of the city having been erected under his supervision. He was born in Huntington, Con- necticut, May 14, 1879, and is a son of Henry II. Foote. His mother died when he was but two years of age, after which he was reared by people who were her friends and who gave him every possible advantage that their means would afford. He was sent to school in New Ifaven and between times worked as opportunity offered. He early manifested unfaltering industry and determination and as his business vision broadened he determined to take up the study and practice of architecture. In the hours which other boys devoted to play he pursued a correspondence course in architecture while in the employ of one of New Haven's leading architects, L. B. Robinson. He worked in Mr. Robinson's office for ten years and during that time learned many points of value along professional lines. At length he deter- mined to engage in business on his own account and entered the ranks as a competitor for public patronage. He started for himself in 1912 and in the intervening period of five years has erected a number of the prominent buildings of the city and county, including the new buikling of the United Illuminating Company, the Washington school at West Haven, the parochial school at Wallingford, the William Schollhorn factory building, the J. J. Newman corset factory, the Majestic Laundry building, the D. M. Welch building, and many of the fine residences of the city and county, among them being the residences of J. J. Newman. Adolph Mendel, J. C. Johnson, and A. V. Van Keuren.
Mr. Foote bears the reputation of being a most reliable man in his line, absolutely trustworthy and dependable, conscientious and painstaking. Moreover, he is appreciative of all that is beautiful in architecture and has learned to combine utility and convenience with those lines which add so much to the attractive appearance of the city. He has been as well the architect of his own fortunes, for he started out empty-handed in his youth, and early recognized the tact that he must depend upon his own labors for advancement. He has never been afraid of hard work or close application and his record is indicative of what may be accomplished when there is the will to dare and to do.
JOIN P. DALGLIESII.
John P. Dalgliesh is the president of the contracting firm of Sperry & Treat and in this connection is at the head of a profitable and extensive business. For a long period before being called to the presidency he was superintendent for the company and has thus been prominently and actively identified with building operations for an extended period. Mr. Dalgliesh is a native of Scotland, his birth having occurred in Selkirkshire, May 26, 1855. lle attended the public schools in his native county and received additional training in Edinburgh, being graduated there upon the completion of a college course. He remained in the land of hills and heather throughout the period of his boyhood and youth and in faet was married ere he came to the new world. It was on the 25th of June, 1880, in Selkirk,
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that he was joined in wedlock to Miss Margaret G. Cunningham, who was also born in Selkirkshire. They now reside at 110 Avon street in New Haven and are widely and favor- ahly known in this city, having a circle of friends that is almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance. It was in 1890 that Mr. Dalgliesh was called to the office of super- intendent of the Sperry & Treat Company, in which position he remained for twenty-four years, when he was elected to the presidency and has since been the head of this large con- cern, their general offices being at No. 39 Church street. They are extensively engaged in contracting and building and their work is of an important character. Mr. Dalgliesh is familiar with every phase of the building trade and has practical and intimate knowledge of the work, so that he is able to direct wisely and well the labors of those who serve him. The company employs a large force and their business is a very substantial and growing one. They enjoy an enviable reputation because of their fidelity to the terms of a contract and their efforts are characterized by the most progressive methods, thus bringing substantial and gratifying results.
Mr. and Mrs. Dalgliesh are members of the Presbyterian church and he belongs also to the Caledonian Society, to the Racebrook Country Club and to the Union League Club of New Haven. He has attained very high rank in Masonry and is a prominent representa- tive of the craft. He was made a Mason in Hiram Lodge. No. 1, F. & A. M .; took the capitular degrees in Franklin Chapter, No. 2, R. A. M .; and the cryptic degrees in Harmony Conncil, No. 8, R. & S. M. He was initiated into chivalrie Masonry as a member of the New Haven Commandery. No. 2, K. T., and he took the degrees of the Scottish Rite bodies in New Haven as a member of Lafayette Sovereign Consistory of Bridgeport. He was received into the nobility of Pyramid Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., in the class of 1911, his membership card bearing the number 2344. Hle is a member of the Knights Templar Cinb of New Haven and he is interested in all that pertains to Masonry and its advancement, being in hearty sympathy with the purposes of the craft, which is based on a recognition of man's obligations to his fellows. Mr. Dalgliesh has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to the new world, for he here found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has made steady progress. He enjoys an enviable reputation as a reliable and progressive business man, as a loyal citizen, as a faithful friend and as a most exemplary representative of the Masonie fraternity.
JULIU'S LEDERER.
Various important business enterprises profit by the administrative direction and the financial support of Julius Lederer, who is the secretary of the Bauman Rubber Company, president of the Federal Realty Company, president of the Dusto Company, owner of the Lederer Company, which is not incorporated, and a director of the Howe-Bauman Balloon Company. He has been a resident of New Haven since 1887, but is a native of New York city, his birth having occurred on the sixth floor of one of the big tenement houses in Columbia street on the 22d of February, 1858. His parents were Samuel and Marie (Ables) Lederer, natives of Bohemia, whose family numbered twelve children. Samuel Lederer came to this country in 1850 and settled in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he resided a short time hut later located in New York city, where he was married in 1852, his wife having come to the United States in 1849. In 1861 the father took his family to Englishtown, New Jersey, and in 1865 a removal was made to the nearby town of New Brunswick, New Jersey. In the former place the father had a tannery and he had a contract to furnish leather knap- sack straps to the government during the Civil war. He was a very prominent Mason of high rank and it was he who made the first Masonic apron. He died when in his ninety- third year, surviving his wife a few years. They celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1902, at which time there were forty-two of their descendants present.
A public school pupil in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Julius Lederer afterward worked in a drug store, and for three years he was employed in a confectionery store, subsequent to which time he assisted his father in the tannery. He came to New Haven in 1887 and here bought out the fertilizer plant of W. H. Beecher & Company, of which he remained the owner until 1903, when he sold his business to the trust. Gradually he has acquired holdings in
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various other business enterprises until he owns stock in a number of important commercial and manufacturing concerns, to the success of which he contributes through his keen sagacity, sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise. The Bauman Rubber Company, of which he is secretary, the Federal Realty Company and the Dusto Company, of both of which he is president, the Lederer Company of which he is owner, and the Howe-Bauman Balloon Company, of which he is a director, all acknowledge the worth of his cooperation and have profited by his administrative direction.
In 1885, in New York city, Mr. Lederer was married to Miss Martha Posner, a native of that city, and they now have four sons. David A., the eldest, is an expert salesman with the Baumann Rubber Company and is a member of the Governor's Foot Guard. He wedded Rose Berman and they have two children, Dorothy and Julius. Milton F. married Stella McGill, and they have one ebild, Bertha. Harold S., who is a graduate of Yale University and has pursued post graduate work, winning the Civil Engineer's degree, gave up a lucrative posi- tion in Chester, Pennsylvania, in 1917 to enter the United States service and is now connected with the Coast Artillery. Charles A. is the youngest and is the only son who was born and has reached his majority in the old homestead. Like the others he was educated in New Haven and he is now manager of Lederer & Company and also a member of the Governor's Foot Guard. The family is one of which the parents have every reason to be proud.
Mr. Lederer attends the Orange street synagogue and is an independent voter. He is interested, however, in the questions of the day and gives his support to all movements which he deems of vital worth to the community. He has made for himself a creditable posi- tion in business circles, and along the lines of his orderly progression has reached his present place, being now well known in real estate and manufacturing circles.
WILDA EDWIN BUTLER, M. D.
Dr. Wilda Edwin Butler, surgeon, brought to the starting point of his professional career comprehensive knowledge gained in thorough professional training in the Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia, and this he supplemented by broad and valuable hospital training and experience. Since 1898 he has continuously practiced in New Haven, where he has done most important hospital work and has also been accorded a liberal private practice.
A native of Maryland, Dr. Butler was born in Caroline county, December 19, 1870, a son of William E. and Sarah Ann (Blades) Butler, who were also natives of that state and were there reared and married. In early life the father took up the business of con- tracting and building. to which he devoted his remaining days. With the outbreak of the Civil war he became a private in the First Maryland Volunteer Infantry Regiment and continued in the service until the close of hostilities, participating in many important en- gagements. He was in two of the biggest battles of the war, Antietam and Gettysburg, and was never wounded. He now resides in Talbot county, Maryland, at the age of seventy- four years, while his wife is seventy-one years of age. In their family were six children : Mrs. Eunice Edgell, residing in Easton, Maryland; Mrs. Emma Horsey, also of Easton; Wilda Edwin; Mrs. Mary Morganthal, of Waynesboro, Pennsylvania; Mrs. Lois Todd, also of Waynesboro; and Charles J., a prominent lawyer of Easton, Maryland, who is now state's attorney of that state.
Dr. Butler pursued his education in Preston Academy, Washington College and in the academie department of the Western Maryland College. With broad literary learning to serve as a foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of professional knowledge, he then entered Hahnemann Medical College of Philadelphia and was graduated on the 12th of May, 1897. His high standing is indicated in the fact that he was appointed interne in the Cumberland Street Hospital of Brooklyn, New York, after which he was called to Grace Hospital, New Haven, as interne. He afterward became assistant surgeon and later attending surgeon in that hospital, which position he still fills, and he is today recognized as one of the most eminent and able surgeons of the city and he is noted especially as an operator for goiter. He also engages in private practice and has been recognized as a prominent representative of professional interests in New Haven since 1898. He does
DR. W. EDWIN BUTLER
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everything in his power to advance his knowledge and promote his efficiency, having taken post-graduate work in Berlin, Paris and London, while through association with the New Haven County and the Connecticut State Medical Societies, the American Medical Asso- ciation, and the State and National Homeopathic Societies he keeps in touch with the latest discoveries and scientific research of the profession.
In 1901 was celebrated the marriage of Dr. Butler and Miss Josephine Bellosa, a daughter of Dr. Frederick Bellosa, of New Haven, and they now have two children: Fred- erick William, who was born in 1903; and Edwin Ormond, born in 1908. Both are attending school, the former being now a high school pupil.
Dr. and Mrs. Butler are well known socially in New Haven, where they have a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of their acquaintance. The Doctor, how- ever, never allows anything to interfere with the careful performance of his professional duties, to which he gives most conscientious attention, realizing fully the obligations and responsibilities that devolve upon him.
. HERBERT E. FRANCIS.
Herbert E. Francis, a well known electric contractor of New Haven, was born in that city on the 30th of June. 1882, and is a son of George Francis, also a native of New Haven. His paternal grandfather, Franeis Francis, was born in England and was the founder of this branch of the family in the United States. On coming to America he located in New Haven, where he followed the tailor's trade. George Francis became a decorator and followed that occupation during the greater part of his life. In religious faith he was an Episcopalian and in politics was a republican. In early life he married Miss Rosa V. Hunt, a native of Virginia and a daughter of John and Sarah Hunt. After the death of her first husband Mrs. Francis married George H. Simmons, who is also deceased, but she is still living and makes her home in Waterbury. Connecticut. She has two children: Herbert E. Francis, of this review; and Jennie, the wife of Thomas S. Pratt, of Syracuse, New York.
During his boyhood and youth Herbert E. Francis attended the public and high schools of New Haven and at the age of nineteen years started out to earn his own livelihood. being in the employ of his stepfather, George H. Simmons, for four years, during which time he became thoroughly familiar with electrical construction. On the death of Mr. Simmons he took over the business, which was originally established during the '80s, the former pro- prietor being the pioneer electric contractor in the city. Mr. Francis has built up the busi- ness since it came into his possession and it is now one of the leading enterprises of the kind in New Haven.
Here he was married on the 17th of June, 1908, to Miss Mildred Agnes Morse, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, and a daughter of Caleb A. and Anna (Stoddard) Morse, who were old settlers of Litchfield county. Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Francis has voted the republican ticket, and fraternally he is affiliated with the Masonic order. He is also a member of the Governor's Foot Guard and makes fishing his chief source of recreation. In business affairs he is energetic, prompt and thoroughly reliable and he well merits the high esteem in which he is uniformly held.
CÓWLES TOLMAN.
The success of Cowles Tolman in automobile circles is due to his close study of every feature of the business. He is able to back his arguments by practical tests and the Franklin car, of which he is the distributor in New Haven, could have no better representa- tive. He was born in Brookfield, Vermont, February 10, 1873, a son of George B. and Sarah E. (Cowles) Tolman, who were natives of Vermont and of New Haven respectively. The father became a well known minister of the Congregational church. He was a graduate of Yale University and for long periods was connected with the ministry at Brookfield, Ver- Vol. II-19
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mont, and at Santa Barbara, California. He passed away in the latter state in 1883, while his widow, surviving for many years, died in Washington, D. C., in December, 1915.
The second of their four children, three sons and a daughter, was Cowles Tolman, whose youthful days were spent as a school boy of Santa Barbara, California, after which he secured employment with the hardware firm of C. Cowles & Company, with whom he remained for thirteen years, during which period he rose to a position of responsibility. He then resigned and in partnership with Harry Holcomb and Henry Manson organized the Holcomb Company of New Haven in 1903 for the handling of all makes of motor cars. That association was maintained for eight years, at the end of which time Mr. Tolman withdrew and went into business for himself, handling the Franklin car. He now sells this car exclusively and is considered one of the best informed automobile experts in New Haven and, in fact, in the state. He has made a close and discriminating study of motor cars and has demonstrated to his own satisfaction the worth of the car which he handles. He can prove, therefore, his statements concerning its high efficiency, the low friction of its driving mechanism, the light weight of the car and its flexibility. He has always contended that one of its most admirable features, is its economical use of fuel, a claim that he fully established on July 13, 1917, when in company with Professor E. H. Lockwood of Yale University and E. H. Burgess, he drove a Franklin, series 9, touring car, stock model, the remarkable distance of eighty-two and eight-tenths (82.8) miles, with a fuel consumption of one (1) gallon of gasoline, thus achieving a world's record with a stock Franklin tour- ing car.
In June, 1894, Mr. Tolman was married to Miss Mary F. Wallace, of New Haven, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Wallace. They have seven children: Newton, Ruel, Ruth, Wallace, Stanley, Helen and Mary Elizabeth, all born in New Haven. Mr. Tolman is a popular member of the Automobile Club. He is a most alert, energetic man, his life work being an expression of modern-day enterprise that reaches its climax in successful achievement.
GEORGE M. ECKLE.
George M. Eckle is the secretary and treasurer of the F. E. Spencer Company of New Haven, distributors of paints and oils. This is one of the oldest enterprises of the kind in Connecticut and its success at the present time is attributable largely to the enterprising efforts of Mr. Eckle, who has proven a man of sound judgment and keen sagacity, readily discriminating in all that he does between the essential and the non-essential.
He was born in New Haven, December 9, 1859, and attended the Trinity parish school and a publie night school. His initial step in business was made in March, 1873, as errand boy in the employ of F. E. Spencer & Company, and since that date he has worked his way steadily upward through various departments until he is now a large stockholder, the managing director and the secretary and treasurer of the company. They are among the oldest dealers in paints and oils in Connecticut, the business having been founded by F. E. Spencer, now deceased, in the early '60s. His widow, Mrs. Sarah E. Spencer, is the presi- dent of the corporation at this time. Mr. Eekle's connection therewith covers forty-five years. No higher testimonial of capability or fidelity could be given than the fact that he was retained in the employ of the company without interruption and ultimately admitted to a partnership. He is thoroughly acquainted with the business in principle and detail, and knows every phase of the work. The house is condueting a large business and its snecess is based in very substantial measure upon the efforts, the enterprise and the sagacity of Mr. Eckle.
Mr. Eckle was married to Wilhelmina Hugendubel, and they have four children. George A., now his father's assistant in business, was edueated in the New Haven public schools and married Catherine Gorman, by whom he has two children, Catherine and Reta. Carl W., who completed a course at Yale in 1908, married Grace Spreyer, and has three children, Grace, Carl and Helen. John N., who attended the New Haven schools and was graduated from Sheffield School of Yale with the class of 1910, is now a first lieutenant in Company F, One Hundred and Second Regiment, United States Infantry, and is on active duty with
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his regiment. Nina is the wife of H. G. Wells, of East Orange, New Jersey, and they have one child, Harold.
The family attend Trinity Episcopal church and Mr. Eckle belongs to Humboldt Lodge, No. 191, I. O. O. F., while his Masonic connections are with Anawan Lodge, No. 115, F. & A. M .; Joseph Andrews Chapter, R. A. M .; and Crawford Council, R. & S. M. He votes independently, not caring to be bound by party ties. lle is a self-made man in the truest and best sense of the term, and his advancement is attributable in a large measure to the fact that he has never dissipated his energies over a broad field but has concentrated his efforts along the line in which he embarked as a young tradesman. Thorough mastery of each day's task has brought power and inspiration for the labors of the succeeding day, and every forward step which he has made has brought him a wider outlook and broader opportunities.
THOMAS H. SAVARD.
Starting out in life on his own responsibility at an early age and working his way upward step by step, Thomas H. Savard has become one of New Haven's best known and most highly respected business men. He is the junior member of the firm of Davis & Savard, engaged in the clothing and men's furnishing goods business at No. 43 Church street, New Haven. They have there one of the largest and finest stores of the kind in the city, and Mr. Savard is now bending every effort to the further development of a substan- tial business.
Hle was born at Crown Point, New York, July 23, 1874, and is a son of John B. and llarriet Savard, both of whom were of Canadian birth and of French ancestry, their respective families having been founded in Canada at a very early day. In early life John B. Savard engaged in the ship building trade, which he followed not only in Canada but also after coming to the United States. Later in life he purchased a farm and continued to carry on general agricultural pursuits in New York to the time of his death, which occurred in 1892. His widow survived him for a considerable period and passed away in New York in 1908. In their family were nine children.
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