USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Meriden > An historic record and pictorial description of the town of Meriden, Connecticut and men who have made it > Part 80
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Photo by Akers & Pigeon. ALFRED B. AUBREY.
He is a prominent member of Al- fred H. Hall Council, Royal Arcanum, having filled all the offices within the gift of that council and is now past regent and representative to the Grand Council of Connecticut. He is also a member of Meridian Lodge, 77, A. F. & A. M., and Keystone Chapter, 27,
R. A. M., and is a charter member of the Arcanum Club, now the Colonial Club.
He is also prominent in local mili- tary circles, being commissioned a sec- ond lieutenant of Company L, Second Infantry, C. N. G., of which company he was one of the organizers. He is a member of and the attorney for the Meriden Business Men's Association, and stands well as a member of the New Haven county bar. He is pop- ular among the citizens of the town, the best interests of which he never tires in promoting.
JAMES T. KAY.
James Thomas Kay was born in Princeton, N. J., June 21, 1848, and is of Scotch descent. His father was a prominent sea captain, the owner of several coasting vessels and also ex- tensively engaged in the lumber bus- iness and a builder who removed with his family to Charles City county, near Richmond, Va., in the early '50s. His son accompanied him frequently on his coasting vessels and inherited a love for the water which has clung to him to the present time.
James T. Kay learned the trade of a plumber in 1866, in New York City where he worked as a journeyman un- til 1871. Coming to Meriden at the latter date, he went to work for Alex- ander Duncan, Meriden's pioneer plumber, but the following year he engaged in business for himself, in a small way, with gradually increasing
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BIOGRAPHIES.
success. At the present day he is possessed of one of the larger plumb- ing establishments of the state and employs a large number of men, and, having been established for thirty- four years, now does business on a large scale. His store on State street is 100 feet deep and in the rear is a well equipped workshop containing every labor-saving device.
Photo by Akers & Pigeon. JAMES T. KAY.
Mr. Kay is well and favorably known in business circles and is active in fraternal life. He is also a valued member and treasurer of the Main Street Baptist church; one of the two remaining charter members of Pilgrims' Harbor Council, Royal Arcanum ; was the first named in the 37
charter of the original Columbia Council, O. U. A. M., in which he passed through the various chairs; a member of Meridian Lodge, 77, A. F. & A. M., and the other Masonic bodies of Meriden, including St. Elmo Commandery, K. T. ; he is also a mem- ber of Pacific Lodge, I. O. O. F .; Home Club; the Meriden Busi- ness Men's Association ; served five years in Company I, C. N. G., from which he retired a corporal in 1878; a member of the New England Order of Protection and one of the directors of the Meriden Permanent B. & L. Association. He is also a member of the Middletown Yacht Club, has a summer cottage at Branford and sails a comfortable and speedy ·naphtha launch.
He was married in 1876 to Mary A. Goodrich, of Southport, Conn., widow of the late George W. Good- rich, who served in the Civil war, to which union have been born Eva, who married Phineas T. Ives, of Meriden, and Frank E., associated with his father in business. Other members of his household have been, George A. Goodrich, stepson, who died in Feb- ruary, 1903, and his widow and chil- dren, Ralph S. and Helen E. Good- rich, who continue to reside in the home of Mr. Kay.
I. B. HYATT.
Isaac Beach Hyatt, chief of the Meriden Fire Department, who has served almost continuously in that
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capacity since 1879, is a native of Norwalk. He is a son of Roswell and Elizabeth (Curtis) Hyatt. He comes of good old New England stock through both lines of descent and was born February 2, 1848. He was educated in the public schools of his native town, and enlisted for service in the Civil War, in Co. A, 17th Conn. Vols. Infantry, in Jan-
Photo by Akers & Pigeon.
I. B. HYATT.
uary, 1864, and after seeing active service, was honorably discharged when peace was declared, July, 1865.
He came to Meriden in 1867 and began business life by learning the trade of a britannia worker at the factory of Parker & Casper, now oc- cupied by Manning, Bowman & Co. He became a member of the firm of
Little, Somers & Hyatt in 1883, which concern became incorporated in January, 1904, and of which he has since been secretary and treas- urer.
Mr. Hyatt's record at the head of the local fire department is most creditable and his service has been conducive to the best interests of the town. His long experience as a fire fighter has made him well known throughout the state. He also holds an honorable position in the Connecticut State Firemen's Association of which he has served as president two terms. He is also a member of the Connecticut Fire Chiefs' club. His knowledge of the buildings of Meriden, especially those where the greatest danger of fire exists, is most comprehensive. The precautions against fire as urged by him to citizens and the mem- bers of the department, which he has so well organized, have done much to lower Meriden's loss from fire. During the many years that he has been chief, much new ap- paratus has been purchased and the department has been brought to a high standard of efficiency, the pro- tection against fire being as secure in Meriden as in any other city in the state.
Socially Mr. Hyatt is widely pop- ular, especially in the Grand Army where he has been frequently hon- ored with high offices, from com- mander of Merriam Post of Meriden to. department commander of the
WALTER BOOTH
S. W. BALDWIN
LOW
REV. JOHN PARKER.
HENRY C. BUTLER
ELI BUTLER
SEY. G .W. PERKINS
JULIUS PRATT,
RUSBEEL GLADWIN.
JAMES S. BROOKS,
DR. G. H. WILSON
JOHN YALE.
DENNIS C. WILCOX.
GROUP OF FORMER RESIDENTS OF MERIDEN.
WILLIAM' H. MILLER
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state. As a business man and pub- lic-spirited resident he stands high in the community, a position he has achieved by an honorable business career, interest in local affairs, and good fellowship. He has for many years been a member and has also served as president of the Meriden Business Men's Association. He is affiliated with Meridian Lodge, 77, A. F. & A. M., the Home Club and the Colonial Club. He has bee twice married,first to Annie E. Chalmer, died Nov. 15, 1874, and to that union two children were born, who died in infancy; second to Jennie M. Bishop, of Meriden, daughter of Charles E., and Emily Bishop, July 5, 1877, and to that union six children have been born as follows: Blanche May, Roswell Bishop, Willard Curtis, Helen Elizabeth, Isaac Robert and Allen Rufus.
WILLIAM H. MILLER.
Mill Creek, Pa., in Nipps Armory and made muskets for the government, lat- er going to Cincinnati to make tools and start up the rifle factory of John Griffith who had a contract with the government to make 5,000 rifles ; and in 1845 he went to Chicopee, Mass., to work on pin machinery. The follow- ing fall he entered the Springfield Ar- mory to work on tools for a new car- bine, in the summer of 1846 being en- gaged by Col. Samuel Colt, at Whitneyville, this county, later going with him to Hartford, Conn., as a con- tractor of lock works for pistols. With Joshua Stevens he made an im- provement in revolving pistols which they had patented; and in 1849 they formed the Massachusetts Arms Co., at Chicopee Falls, Mass., and engaged in the manufacture of these pistols in which Mr. Miller continued until 1862 when he was engaged to become su- perintendent of the gun factory in Meriden of Parker, Snow, Brooks & Co. In 1864 and 1865 he made sev- eral inventions and improvements in firearms, including that of the cele- brated Parker shotgun and afterwads with his brother, George W. Miller, present first selectman of Meriden, in- vented a cartridge extractor after- wards used in the Springfield musket.
William H. Miller, postmaster of Meriden from 1886 to 1890, was born at Rumapoy Works, Rockland Co., N. Y., April 29, 1822 and died at Meri- den, October 16, 1904. He attended private school until he was sixteen years old when he entered the works In 1868, in company with his broth- er, he engaged in the manufacture of pocket cutlery which in 1870 became the Miller Bros. Cutlery Co., in which he continued until 1885. of the Colt's Patent Firearms Co., Paterson, N. J., to learn the trade of a gunmaker and continued until 1841 when he became employed by the Ames Mfg. Co., in the manufacture He was married in February, 1850, of the Jencks breech loading car- to Jane A. Havens, of Hartford, bine. Two years later he went to . Conn., and to that marriage the fol-
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lowing children were born: Ida Louise and Arthur Howard.
He is survived by both widow and children, all residents of Meriden.
F. D. RAPELYE.
Frederick Dewey Rapelye, Meriden agent of the Adams Express Co., was born in New Britain, May 6, 1858.
Photo by Akers & Pigeon
F. D. RAPELYE.
He is the son of Andrew and Antoi- nette Rapelye and his parents are still living in New Britain. He is of French descent on his father's side, but his mother is of the old Hart family of Connecticut. He was educated in the public schools of New Britain and concluded his schooling at Prof. Camp's private seminary.
- He entered the employ of the com- pany, in which he now holds a most important position, in 1879, after hav- ing worked a short time in a well- known factory of New Britain. By careful attention to his duties as a driver at the company's office in New Britain, in 1892 he received the ap- pointment as messenger with head- quarters at the company's office at Hartford, afterwards filling various important positions until 1891, when he was transferred to the Meriden of- fice to succeed I. E. Beach as way bill clerk. His conscientious work in this capacity won him promotion to the po- sition of cashier in which he succeeded William H. Morgan, who retired from the office on account of ill health. Upon the death of Charles N. Wins- low, whose decease is recorded else- where in this book, Mr. Rapelye was appointed agent, January 2, 1905.
Mr. Rapelye is a thorough business man whose long experience in the ex- press service has been of benefit to the numerous patrons of the large corpo- ration whose local interests he super- intends. He is a member of Center Lodge, 97, A. F. & A. M .; Key- stone Chapter, 27, R. A. M., and was married November 5, 1891, to Lucy Fellows, of Rhinebeck, N. Y. He at- tends the Main Street Baptist church and is a valued adopted citizen of Mer- iden.
H. C. BIBEAU.
Henry C. Bibeau, commissioner of public works and one of the more en-
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
terprising merchants of Meriden, has resided in this town nearly all his life. His parents moved here when he was but three years of age; and he was educated in the local public schools, graduating from the Center school in 1881. Mr. Bibeau, like most young men, first tried other callings than that which he was most fitted to carry on before he struck his sphere in life.
After leaving school he began bus- iness as an apprentice at Parker Bros. gun shop, but his inclination for the activity of mercantile life prompted him, in 1882, to enter the exceedingly well patronized grocery store at 17 Colony street, known as the Boston Grocery and then conducted under the name of C. N. Dutton & Co., but which was first established in 1832. Some years later he accepted the position offered him as traveling salesman by the Chapman Mfg. Co., who conducted a busy factory in the manufacture of saddlery hardware. Mr. Bibeau was a decided success as a traveling man and his services were highly appre- ciated by that concern.
At the end of three years he bought a half interest in the store where he had formerly worked as a clerk, and in 1902 bought out the remaining in- terests and became the sole proprietor. During the past few years and under his guidance the business of the estab- lishment has largely increased. At first but one-half of the store was opened to customers, the balance be- ing used for storage purposes, but . since Mr. Bibeau secured his present storehouse in the rear of the branch
store at the corner of Cook avenue and Hanover street, the entire floor of the Colony street store has been util- ized for attending to the wants of cus- tomers.
Other important additions to the business have been that of a baking department and a kitchen for which purposes two stores on Railroad ave- nue were added to the quarters occu- pied. At the present day Mr. Bibeau has a large trade among the leading families of Meriden in groceries. On his attractive counters are also found delectable bakings, cooked meats, pud- dings, etc., while a well ordered lunch counter is also supplied from cooking done on the premises. He also does a large catering business in which he enjoys an enviable reputation.
In 1902 he established a branch store at the corner of Cook avenue and Han- over street, which he still carries on successfully. Mr. Bibeau has shown a special ability as a business man and stands well in the community, where he is known as an enterprising and public spirited resident.
He is a member of Pilgrims' Harbor Council, Royal Arcanum ; one of the directors of the Meriden Board of Trade, and a member of the Meriden Business Men's Association, Meriden Butchers & Grocers' Association and also the Colonial Club. In February, 1906, he was appointed by Mayor Thos. L. Reilly, a member of the Board of Public Works for four years, and is one of the commissioners of the city. He has shown not only compe- tency, but a heartfelt interest in city
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Photo by Akers & Pigeon
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affairs of which he now assists in the management.
JULIUS AUGUR.
Julius Augur, a reputable mer- chant and one of the fire commis- sioners of Meriden, was born in Southington, February 26, 1846. He
Photo by Akers & Pigeon JULIUS AUGUR.
is a son of Julius Smith Augur, born in New Haven, February 7, 1813, and Lavinia D., daughter of Noah and Fannie (Bishop) Merriam, who was born in Meriden November 8, 1815, where she died in 1894. His maternal grandfather was Noah Merriam, a descendant of one of the earliest settlers in this locality, and
who lived in what in later years became known as the Goodwill homestead, which stood on the site of the present edifice of St. Joseph's Church.
When quite young Julius Augur was brought to Meriden by his par- ents, but his family afterwards re- moved to Durham where he resided for seventeen years. At the age of sixteen, and on August 8, 1862, he enlisted for the Civil War in Com- pany A, 15th Conn. Vols. While guarding commissary stores at Long Bridge, Arlington Heights, he was taken sick and sent to the hospital and after his recovery discharged from service, February, 1863. He re- enlisted in Company C, 7th Regi- ment, Conn. Vols., then at St. Hel- ena, serving until the close of the war, July 20, 1865, and after his re- turn from that service he served five years in the state militia, as a mem- ber of the Wadsworth Guards of Durham in which he held the office of sergeant.
He came to Meriden in 1867 and became a clerk in the meat market of S. C. Paddock, seven years later engaging in the provision business on his own account as a member of the firm of Augur & Gardner, and for many years conducted a success- ful business on Main street. This partnership was dissolved in 1896 when Mr. Augur received an ap- pointment as street commissioner, the duties of which he dispatched for two years thereafter. In 1898
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BIOGRAPHIES.
he again engaged in the grocery and provision business at 23 and 25 Lewis avenue, which well patronized store he has ever since conducted with increasing success.
Mr. Augur has a somewhat exten- sive public career. He was elected a member of the board of aldermen in 1893, and as such served four years. In 1896 he was appointed street commissioner for two years, as stated previously, and during the administration of Mayor Seeley, was appointed a member of the board of fire commissioners for four years, as a member of which board he now serves. Mr. Augur has been a member of Merriam Post, 8, G. A. R., since 1871, and in this he has served as junior vice and senior vice commander and also commander. He has also served the post as quarter- master for fifteen years.
He was married Jan. 22, 1873 to Nettie Eliza Smith, born at North- field, March 31, 1850, and daughter of David Smith and Fidelia A. Par- ker. To that marriage three chil- dren were born as follows: Julius Smith, February 2, 1881, now pre- paring at seminary for Y. M. C. A. work; Agnes Fidelia, born May 2, 1882; and Frank Miller Augur, born December 2, 1883, and who is asso- ciated in business with his father.
F. M. KIBBE.
Frank Marvin Kibbe, druggist of Meriden, and one of the energetic
and responsible citizens of the town was born in Hampden, Mass., then South Wilbraham, April 28, 1866. He is a direct lineal descendant of John or Edward Kibbe, one of the first English settlers in Connecti- cut, and one or the other was the first white child born in the town of Enfield, and which town after-
Photo by Akers & Pigeon
FRANK M. KIBBE.
wards became largely populated by the different branches of the Kibbe family. When the subject of this sketch was six years old his father moved to Enfield, where he ob- tained his early education at the Kibbe School, also at Suffield and East Windsor.
After acquiring a good education
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A CENTURY OF MERIDEN.
Mr. Kibbe entered the drug busi- ness, in May, 1884, at first as an apprentice in the drug store of Wessells & Gates at Litchfield. He later, having finished his appren- ticeship at Shannon's drug store, passed his examination at
the capitol, Hartford, December 6, 1887, as a registered pharmacist. He began his creditable career as a li- censed druggist as a clerk in the store of A. W. Sawtelle & Co., at Hartford, afterwards becoming as- sociated with the drug store of George A. McCorkle, leaving the latter firm to engage in business for himself in Meriden, which he accomplished by purchasing the drug store of F. W. Smith Drug Co., at 40 West Main street, and of which business he became the pro- prietor November 7, 1891. There he remained and conducted a steadily increasing business, gaining the justly merited confidence of the public and medical profession, until May 28, 1898, when he was enabled to remove to the present drug store which he conducts under the name of F. M. Kibbe & Co., at 85 West Main street. The store is one of the finest of its line in Meriden or vicinity, and a large business is there transacted, not only in drugs and medicines but in photographic supplies and souvenir postal cards. Owing to the increase in business, Mr. Kibbe found it necessary in 1906 to enlarge the floor space of the store, which had just been
completed. Mr. Kibbe is known as one of the most trustworthy busi- ness men of the town, and stands high in the business life of Meriden. While he confines himself closely to business he is a member of sev- eral fraternal organizations. In the Masonic fraternity, he is connected with Center Lodge, 97, A. F. & A. M. He is a member of Connecticut Lodge 93, I. O. O. F., of Hartford ; Columbia Council 5, O. U. A. M .; Meriden Camp 77, Modern Wood- men of America ; and Alpha Lodge, 434I, Knights of Honor.
He married, Oct. 2, 1895, Annie E. Webb of Meriden.
WILBUR H. SQUIRE.
The analysis of American character is, of course, more difficult than that of English, although Matthew Arnold finds it hard enough to distinguish be- tween the Saxon and Norman ele- ments in the blood of his countrymen. Once in a while, however, it is possi- ble to discover even in America, dis- tinct traces of Teutonic or Roman or Celtic ancestry. The subject of this sketch, for instance, shows a remarka- ble inheritance from the Norman; which should include, according to Ar- nold, a broadness of intellect and power of organization, mingled with a certain love of the unusual. Such a type serves as a leaven for the great mass of our more slow-blooded, plod- ding, Saxon component.
Wilbur Henry Squire is the oldest
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BIOGRAPHIES.
son of the late William L. Squire, for many years treasurer of the N. Y., N. H. & H. Railroad Company ; he spent his earliest years in Hartford, and graduated from the high school there in the class of 1876. Immediately af- terward he came to Meriden and en- tered the insurance agency of H. C. Butler & Co. After Mr. Butler's death he assumed charge of the busi-
W. H. SQUIRE.
ness, which has since been conducted under the names of W. H. Squire & Co. and The W. H. Squire Company. At present it embraces a money-order, brokerage and steamship agency, in addition to the original fire under- writing.
Mr. Squire's wide interests and en- terprise will perhaps best be shown by
a brief enumeration of the organiza- tions of which he is an active, and in many cases a charter, member. He has been treasurer, and is now chair- man of the pew rental committee of the First Congregational church. He is a director of the Meriden Business Men's Association, vice-president of the Colonial Club, a charter member of the Home Club, a trustee of the Y. M. C. A., a director of the First Meriden Building and Loan Association, audi- tor of the City Mission, a member of the Meriden Golf club, a charter mem- ber of A. H. Hall Council and the Grand Council, Royal Arcanum, a member of the Maccabees, the Wood- men, and other fraternal orders, and has been water tax collector, and city tax collector for periods of two years. He also has many business and social connections outside the city limits. Among other things he is vice-presi- dent of the Fire Insurance Agents' As- sociation of Connecticut, a veteran member of the L. A. W., a member of the Veteran Corps, Co. K, First Regiment, C. N. G. He was among the original backers of the Meriden public library movement, and of the New Haven cycle path extension. And finally, he is one of the three lead- ing citizens of the West Peak "colony" -a position of importance which none can appreciate who have not spent a night with him there.
JOHN. F. BUTLER.
A man whose service to the town was ever exerted in the interest of
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good government and citizenship was John F. Butler. He resided in Meriden from early boyhood and at the time of his death, Dec. 29, 1905, was one of the valued residents and best known merchants and property owners. He was born in Kilkenny, Ireland in 1841 and, coming to this country when he was quite young, went to live in the family of the
Photo by Akers & Pigeon JOHN F. BUTLER.
late W. W. Lyman, his education being secured in the local public schools. On the breaking out of the Civil War he enlisted in the navy and during his long and creditable service, kept a diary which contains an interesting story, well told, of his experience on board battleships
in action. After the close of the war he engaged with Bela Carter in the painting and decorating busi- ness and with him he remained for several years, gaining a thorough knowledge of the business. Later he formed the partnership of Butler & Larkin, their place of business being in the Hicks building on Col- ony street. After Mr. Larkin's death he moved into the Wilcox block where he continued his business and in 1892 organized a joint stock com- pany taking a number of his em- ployes into the corporation, which through his able management has become one of the largest in its line in this section of the state. With a progressive spirit always char- acteristic of him, Mr. Butler in con- nection with the Meriden Furniture Co., in 1894, built the handsome block on Colony street which the John F. Butler Company now oc- cupy. A man of high aims, his suc- cess in business was the result of untiring efforts and honorable busi- ness methods. Besides the large decorating business of which he was the head he became possessed of much real estate.
When St. Joseph's parish was set apart from St. Rose's Parish he was a prominent member. He took ac- tive interest in the new parish and served upon the building commit- tee. While he never sought public office, his good citizenship prompted him in early life to join the volun- teer fire department and in later
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years he was honored by being made chief of the Meriden fire depart- ment.
He was one of the organizers of the Amaranth and Catholic clubs and also instrumental in forming Washington Council, K. of C., hav- ing been the first G. K. He was pos- sessed of a kind heart, charitable disposition and the faculty of mak- ing and holding a large circle of friends. He was married to Cath- erine M. Neary of Naugatuck in 1885, who died in 1891. His second wife was Mary F. Conlon of Berlin and their two children, Wil- liam Ormonde, and Faith Marion, survive him. His funeral, held at St. Joseph's Church, Jan. 1, 1906, was largely attended by men promi- nent in public and business life and also by many whose lives Mr. Butler had made brighter by acts of kind- ness and wisely distributed charity.
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