USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Commemorative biographical record of New Haven county, Connecticut, containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families, V. I, Pt 2 > Part 87
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On Jan. 13, 1849, Miss Betsey Atwater was united in marriage with Charles G. Atwater, who
died April 4, 1874. Soon after their marriage they located upon the farm in Hamden where she now resides, and where he was successfully engaged in the occupation of farming throughout the remainder of his life. He also operated a stone quarry, and in all his undertakings prospered. He was an industrious, energetic and progressive man, was of a kindly, generous disposition, and was an active member of what was then Chapel Street Congrega- tional Church of New Haven. He died at the age of fifty-two years, honored and respected by all who knew him. Mrs. Atwater was again married, in 1881, her second union being with Samuel A. Baldwin, a native of New York State and a car- penter by trade, who died in November, 1893. For many years Mrs. Baldwin has been a devout mem- ber of the Congregational Church, and is a most estimable lady, who has a large circle of friends and acquaintances who appreciate her sterling worth.
DOOLITTLE. The branch of this family now at Meriden, of which Hon. Edgar J. Doolittle, for nearly forty years a leading citizen and prominent business man and manufacturer of that city, is now the head, and whose father, Rev. Edgar J. Doolittle, identified through a long and useful life with the religious and social life of this community, was a most striking character, has descended from an an- cestry older in this locality than the city and county of New Haven.
Abraham Doolittle, understood to be the emi- grant ancestor of all the Doolittles in this part of the world, came from England about the year 1640. In 1644 he took the oath of fidelity to the Colony and acted as an executive officer at New Haven, and had to do with the first organization of the town of Wallingford. In that region the Doolittle name for several generations was not an uncommon one.
The late Rev. Edgar J. Doolittle, before men- tioned, was a descendant of Abraham Doolittle, and was born Oct. 19, 1810, in New Haven, son of Jared and Anna (Jones) Doolittle. Liberally edu- cated, he was a graduate of Yale, in the class of 1836, and became a clergyman of the Congregational Church, where his scholarly abilities, his rare spirit- ual fervor and devotion, and his transparent char- acter, gave him large influence over the lives and hearts of the faithful of that communion, entitling him also to a leading position in the community where he dwelt. From May 18, 1842, to Dec. 14, 1852, he was the settled pastor of the First Church in Hebron. From Hebron he was installed over the church in Chester, where as stated supply and settled pastor he served thirteen years. The clos- ing years of his life were passed at Wallingford, where his kindly disposition, old-fashioned courtesy and high character commanded the respect and love of.a large circle of friends and acquaintances.
Mr. Doolittle was married in 1842 to Jane E. Sage, a daughter of Isaac and Harriet (Sage) Sage,
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of Middletown. The Sage family is an old one in New England, and descends from David Sage, who was born in Wales in 1639, and came to Middle- town in 1652. He was twice married, and became the father of eight children. Many of his de- ascendants in the intervening generations occupied prominent positions in the community, and were peo- ple of marked ability. Capt. William Sage was a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and fought in the battle of Bunker Hill. To this family belongs Russell Sage, the noted financier of New York City. To Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle were born the fol- lowing family: (1) Edgar Sage, born July II, 1843, died May 10, 1844; (2) Edgar J., Jr., was born Jan. 29, 1845; (3) Isaac Sage, born Jan. 26, 1847, died when a young man ; (4) Henry Nathan- iel was born Jan. 11, 1849; (5) Annis Merrill, born March 12, 1851, died Nov. 23, 1872; (6) Harriet Anna, born April 1, 1856, died May 8, 1857; (7) Jane Elizabeth was born Dec. 1, 1859; (8) Orrin Sage was born Dec. 29, 1863.
EDGAR J. DOOLITTLE, of Meriden, was born in the town of Hebron, Conn., and received a good education in the common schools and in the Guil- ford Institute, then in charge of Prof. Eli Mack, from which he was graduated in 1861. Mr. Doo- lutle began his business career. in which he has risen to eminence in the commercial world, as a manu- facturer of boxes. Meriden is known the world over for the excellence of its manufactured goods, and the output of Mr. Doolittle's establishment is of the very highest grade. The Doolittle box factory is finely located on Camp Street, and has a railroad frontage of three hundred feet. It has the latest machinery, and its capacity is equal to any demand that may be made upon it. The best of workmen are employed, and every variety of paper boxes pro- «luced, from the cheapest patterns, to hold the rough- est goods, to the finest boxes. lined with silk, satin and plush, and used in the packing of silver and bronze art goods. Large quantities of gold, silver and embossed paper are used, and the range of selection is so wide that universal satisfaction is given the trading public. Mr. Doolittle is one of the most prominent business men of the city, and holds many notable and responsible positions. includ- ing those of director and vice-president of the Home National Bank, director of the Meriden Gas Light Co., secretary of the Meriden Hospital, and trustee in the Meriden Savings Bank. He is largely in- terested in many of the local industries. Mr. Doo- little is a man universally trusted and admired, and has many times received honors political and social at the hands of his fellow townsmen, and in the several positions to which he has been called he has proven himself-by his fidelity, ability and public spirit-richly worthy of the honor. Five times chosen mayor of Meriden, he was unanimously nom- inated for a sixth term. but declined to accept it. His fifth term as mayor closed Jan. 3. 1887, in which year he was elected to the State Senate,
where he served with distinction and ability. Mr. Doolittle is a prominent Mason, a Knight Templar, and has risen to the thirty-second degree, being a Mystic Shriner ..
The paternal grandfather of Mr. Doolittle hav- ing been a soldier in the Revolution, that gentleman has taken advantage of his right and belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution. This privilege also comes to him from his maternal. grandfather, Capt. Sage, who is noted above as taking part in the battle of Bunker Hill.
Mr. Doolittle was married, Nov. 13, 1867, to Martha W., daughter of George and Mary ( Warn- er ) Couch, of Meriden, and they have one daughter, Dorothy.
CONRAD WEISS, one of the progressive, en- terprising and successful business men of New Hav- en, who, since 1899, has been the popular and use- ful alderman of the Sixth ward, is of German birth and ancestry.
The birth of Mr. Weiss occurred in Bavaria, Germany, in the town of Nuremberg, March 21, 1864. His parents were George and Mary (Kop- mann ) Weiss, neither of whom ever came to Amer- ica; the former was a merchant in the historic old city of his birth. The five children born to George Weiss and wife were: Conrad, John, Frederick, William and Francis, of whom, John is a baker in Bavaria; two of the sons are with their father in his business; and two others are serving in the German army, Conrad being the only one who has established himself in the United States.
Until he was seventeen years old, Conrad Weiss remained with his father as a clerk in the store, but he was an ambitious youth and longed for wider opportunities, this resulting in his arrival in Amer- ica in 1882. His first location was at Milltown, N. J., where he found work in a rubber factory for some two years, and then remained for the follow- ing two years in a town in Long Island, engaged in the same kind of work, coming to New Haven in 1886. Here he entered the Candee Rubber factory, remaining two years, and then for the following three years clerked for Otto Dietter.
This was all a preparation for a business career for himself, and on Jan. 1, 1891, he opened up a stock of groceries and meats, at No. 485 Chapel street, where ever since he has done a flourishing business, the excellence of his goods securing the best trade in the city in his vicinity.
On June 26, 1891, Mr. Weiss was married to Miss Anna Kapitzke, who was born in New Haven, a daughter of August Kapitzke, a native of Berlin, Germany, and two children have been born of this union : George M. and Florence M. They reside in their home at No. 501 Chapel Street.
As a Democratic politician, Mr. Weiss has been very active, and in 1899 was elected alderman of the Sixth ward, which he is faithfully serving. One of his measures which he has strongly advocated in
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the city council is the wharfage law, by which the city shall own all city wharfage rights, and which has the support of the business men, irrespective of party. Fraternally, Mr. Weiss is a member of Hum- boldt Lodge, No. 91, I. O. O. F .; Aurora Encamp- ment ; and is also a member of the Retail Butchers and Grocers Association ; the United Order of Good Fellows; and with insurance companies, he has policies in New York Life, Washington, Berkshire, and the Mutual of New Jersey. The religious con- nection of the family is with the German Lutheran Church. As an honest, progressive and industrious citizen, Mr. Weiss has a clean record, and in public affairs he is looked upon as one of the rising men of the city.
REV. JAMES O'REILLY SHERIDEN is pastor of St. Francis Catholic Church, in Nauga- tuck, and one of the most esteemed citizens of that town.
Father Sheriden was born in County Longford, Ireland, Feb. 10, 1855. His father and grandfa- ther, both of whom were christened Thomas, were farmers in the same county. His grandmother's maiden name was DIargaret Martin, and she and her husband had five children, of whom Thomas, the father of Father Sheriden, was the youngest. The others in order of birth were named John, James, Philip and Margaret. Thomas only re- mained in the old home and followed in the steps of his father and grandfather, cultivating the farm on which he first saw the light of day. James and Philip crossed the ocean and settled in Philadel- phia, in which city they engaged in business, and where they both died. Margaret also came to America, but not until after the death of her hus- band, John O'Farrell. Of her children, one, Rev. John O'Farrell, died in Hartford, thirty-five years ago; another, Thomas, became a physician, and died some years ago at New Britain; and Alice, one of her daughters, became a Sister of Charity.
Thomas Sheriden, Jr., added to his agricultural pursuits the business of linen and grain merchant. He came to this country while a young man. but after a short time returned to his native country, where he remained until his death, in 1890. He married Catherine O'Reilly, who, like himself, was born in County Longford, as were her parents, Thomas and Catherine ( Sheriden) O'Reilly. Mrs. Sheriden came of a distinguished family, whose scions have attained prominence in both the old and the new world, in orders, at the Bar, and as physi- cians, as well as in commercial life. She was the youngest of a family of three daughters and six sons, all of whom are deceased: Catherine, Alice, Margaret. Bernard, William, Thomas, James, Michael and John. Of the sons, two received a vocation to the priesthood, Bernard and William. The first named became the second bishop of the Diocese of Hartford, while William, who died at Newport, R. I., was his vicar general. Thomas
was a celebrated physician in Ireland, and James and Michael were farmers and merchants in the old country. John emigrated to the United States and settled in Texas, where he died after accumu- lating a large fortune through judicious invest- ments in real estate. Mrs. Sheriden died in 1857, the mother of a large family, nine of whom reached mature years: Annie, Thomas, Bernard, Cath- erine, Margaret, John, William, James O'Reilly and Francis. In this generation three sons re- ceived holy orders : Bernard, permanent rector of St. John's Catholic Church, at Middletown; Will- iam, who, after filling a pastorate at several points in Connecticut, died in 1892; and the reverend gentleman whose devoted, useful life forms the subject of this brief biographical sketch. The ca- reers of the other children may be briefly out- lined. Annie, the widow of Dennis Gray, lives in Ireland. Thomas studied medicine, and died while engaged in the practice of his profession, in Texas. Catherine, the widow of Patrick Mulligan, resides at Aughnacliff, where she is postmistress and gen- eral storekeeper. Margaret died at home, shortly after being married. John is a farmer on the old homestead. Francis lives with his sister, Mrs. Mulligan, whose business he assists in conducting.
Father Sheriden himself is in the prime of life. It is but little more than five years since he began his pastorate in Naugatuck, yet under the divine blessing he has been able already to accomplish a great work. He came to America in boyhood, and received his academic education at the Col- lege of the Holy Cross, graduating therefrom in 1875. A course of three years study at the Grand Seminary at Montreal followed, and in 1878 he was ordained a priest. His first assignment was to the assistant pastorate of the Church of the Im- maculate Conception, at Waterbury, where he re- mained six years. In June, 1884, he was placed in charge of the parish at Windsor Locks. There he displayed a power of mental concentration. a capacity to plan and an ability to execute. During the twelve years of his rectorate there he put new life in the flock committed to his care. The sacred edifice was improved by the installation of a steam- heating plant, the substitution of new stone steps for the old wooden ones, and the remodeling of the interior. The parochial residence, too, was put in repair, new curbing, coping and concrete laid down and every obligation incurred therefor discharged in full. He also purchased a site for a school and convent, and erected a substantial school house, which he cleared of debt in three years. He also erected the Church of the Sacred Heart in Sui- field, which was ready for dedication on Thanks- giving Day, 1886, and St. Joseph's Church. in Poquonnock, which was dedicated Jan. 30, 1887. To erect churches and school houses on credit is comparatively easy, when the builder can command sufficient confidence. Such was not, however, Fa- ther Sheriden's policy. Within five years of the
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erection of the church at Suffield the eleven acres of land occupied, costing $12,000, were paid for in full.
In was on Jan. 9, 1896, that Father Sheriden became pastor at Naugatuck. Within that con- paratively short period he has not only endeared himself to his parishioners, but by his prudent and blameless life has acquired and held the sincere, undisguised respect of the entire town, Protestant and Catholic alike. The church building suffered severe damage during a flood within a month after his arrival, but he grappled with the situation without hesitation and without apprehension, feel- ing confident of the support of a higher power than ' his own. A new system of drainage with sewers was established, a lawn laid out, a granite wall erected, a handsome concrete walk laid, and the basement remodeled and refurnished. The cost was $10,000. An electric lighting apparatus was put in and various parishioners contributed liberally for the adornment of the House of God, among the ornaments being costly chandeliers and handsome statues. Father Sheriden has also greatly improved the cemetery, building a house and barn thereon, sinking an artesian well and cutting away the un- derbrush. His predecessor in the pastorate, Fa- ther Lenehan, had purchased a building for a con- vent, and here, in February, 1897, Father Sheri- den installed four Sisters of Mercy, who there conducted a select day academy for three years. He has now ( 1901) completed, at a cost of $60,000, a splendid parochial school, being thoroughly in accord in the matter of carly training with that eminent educator, Rev. Francis L. Patton, D. D .. president of Princeton University, who holds that "whether or no education be regarded as an end or means to an end, it is incomplete and unsatis- factory unless it has a religious side." This new school building Father Sheriden is justly proud of, and he has reason to be, for it is without question the handsomest and best equipped school in the State. It contains twelve handsome school rooms, has a large and handsome hall, and four fine rooms, for societies of the parish to meet in. It is indeed a model school building, and is justly looked upon as the pride of the borough of Naugatuck.
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As a man Father Sheriden is scholarly, genial and courteous; as a citizen, loyal and public-spir- ited ; as a priest, self-sacrificing and devoted, char- itable toward human imperfections, yet always ready to point the way toward a higher, truer and nobler life.
JOHN C. MILROY, son and successor of the late Samuel Milroy, was born in Meriden Aug. 20, 1850. He attended the district school of his native town, and at an early age began work for the Charles Parker Co., in the screw shop. where he spent but a short time, accepting a position under his father in the shipping department of the Meriden Britannia Co. Here he began at the bottom round,
working up through merit, and when his father re- signed, in 1879, he was appointed to succeed him. For the past twenty-two years he has filled the posi- tion with ability and given general satisfaction, proving a worthy successor of his father.
Mr. Milroy was married April 29, 1875, to Julia Sadler, who was born in England, a daughter of William and Julia Sadler, both of whom were natives of Coventry, England. The former died here, in 1898, and the latter in 1899, and both are buried in Walnut Grove cemetery. Mrs. Milroy is a model housewife and a devoted wife and mother. Three children have blessed this union : (1) John Will- iam, born in Meriden, and educated in the public schools and Morse's Business College, of Hartford, is assistant to his father in the shipping department of the Meriden Britannia Co. He is a young man of ability, and is a fine pianist, having studied under George Marble, of Meriden. (2) Jessie Julia, aged fourteen, is a pupil in the West End Institute, where she is fitting for the high school. She is a pianist of no mean ability and is under the instruction of Prof. George Marble. She accompanies her brother, Carl, and they have frequent calls to play at entertain- ments. (3) Carl is a student in the public schools, and although but ten years old (1901) is a cele- brated violinist, having as a master the well-known violinist, Prof. William Kerr. Mr. Milroy is a member of the N. E. O. P. Politically he is an in- dependent Republican. The family attend the Con- gregational Church, and are highly respected by those who know them best.
WALLACE. For three-quarters of a century this name has stood as a tower of strength in and about Wallingford, where have lived the late Robert Wallace and his sons, Robert B., George M., Frank A. and Henry L., the sons being actively connected with the leading industry of the town, the two last named as president and secretary, respectively, of the Wallace Manufacturing Co., while George M. represents the business at Chicago, and Robert B. in Brooklyn.
The late Robert Wallace, manufacturer of Wall- ingford, belonged to and was contemporaneous with that galaxy of men whose genius, ability, pluck and determination from the humblest beginnings built fortunes for themselves and others, and made the towns of Wallingford and Meriden famous indus- trial centers, especially for Britannia metal ware, throughout the civilized world. That group of eminent New Englanders was made up of Horace C. Wilcox, Isaac C. Lewis, George R. Curtis, Lem- uel J. Curtis, Samuel Simpson, Robert Wallace and others, now all gone to their reward.
Robert Wallace was born Nov. 13. 1815, in Pros- pect, New Haven Co., Conn., son of James and Urania ( Williams) Wallace. The father, a small farmer of that town, came of Scottish and English origin. The son received only a limited education, such as was offered to the sons of the farmers of
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that period. At the age of eighteen he began the manufacture of spoons on his own account, in an "old gristmill shop in Chesire, and was destined soon ·to link his name with an event that was to mark a new epoch in the manufacture of metal goods in the United States. He had only been at work a short time in the old mill when he was shown a spoon made of a metal new to him, called German silver. A chemist, Dr. Louis Feuchtwanger, was known to have brought a small bar of the metal from Germany. This bar Mr. Wallace purchased, and had it rolled into spoons. Later he found a gentleman who had brought the recipe for making the metal, and who sold it to him for twenty-five dollars. Here in his factory Mr. Wallace compounded the first German silver made in America, and to him is due the honor of being the pioneer in this new industry. At this time he removed his simple machinery from Cheshire to a point on the Quinnipiac below Wallingford, and began the manufacture of spoons and flat ware on :a more extended scale. In the old mill at Cheshire the output was three dozen spoons a day. Here it was nine dozen. The industry gradually assumed large proportions. New machinery was devised by Mr. Wallace, and in 1855 the business represented an investment of $12,000, which very soon became $14,000. In 1865 it became $100,000, and the style of the corporation was Wallace, Simpson & Co. The manufacturing capacity was more than correspond- ingly increased. In 1871 Mr. Wallace bought out Mr. Simpson, and with two of his sons formed the R. Wallace & Sons Manufacturing Co. The fac- tory now had added to its list of goods already made ·a large number of new and desirable articles. sterling goods, high-grade nickle-silver plated ware, both flat and hollow. Still later, by experiment, Mr. Wallace devised a new process of manufacture from steel, by which a less bulky, firmer and lighter basis for silver plating was secured. A new company was formed (the old being still continued), con- sisting of himself, his sons and sons-in-law, under the style of Wallace Brothers, and this factory and business have since grown to be the largest in the world devoted to the manufacture of flat table ware. About three tons of steel are in daily demand, and one-half that amount of nickle silver. The com- pany has selling houses in New York and Chicago, and never lacks orders. The present officers of the company are: Frank A. Wallace, president ; Henry L. Wallace, secretary; and W. J. Leavenworth, a son-in-law of the late Robert Wallace, treasurer. The senior member of the firm passed away June I, 1892, since which time the sons and son-in-law have continued the business.
Robert Wallace belonged to the old school of 'men, plain and unassuming to a marked degree. His tastes were simple, and he seemed happiest when at the bench in the factory, away from the office and its complicated interests. Here he was seen until within a short time before his last illness, always affable and courteous. The great ambition of his
life secmed to be to excel as a manufacturer. Ac- cumulating wealth, and widely known, he could have had any position in the gift of his townsmen, had he desired such honors, but all these he uni- formly declined when proffered him. Notoriety he dreaded, and his life is a fine illustration of steady and lifelong devotion to one calling.
On March 23, 1839, Mr. Wallace married Har- riet Louise Moulthrop, of North Haven, Conn., and their union was blessed with the following children : A son who died in infancy; William J., who died at the age of thirty; Adeline, Mrs. Morris, of Wallingford ; Nettie A., wife of W. J. Leavenworth, of Wallingford; Robert E., of Brooklyn, N. Y .; Hattie E. and Henry L., residents of Wallingford Adela C., Mrs. Sisson, of New York; George W., in Chicago; and Frank A., in Wallingford.
JOSHUA G. GLADWIN, one of the public of- ficials of New Haven, and a very prominent Repub- lican, was born in Clinton, March 14 1856.
The ancestry of the family is traced back to the grandfather Joshua G., who married Phoebe Daw- son Alanwarren, died at an advanced age. The father, William R. Gladwin, was born in Clinton, and was a farmer, but also engaged in teaming and hauling timber, and died at. the age of sixty-six. In politics he was a Republican, and served very ac- ceptably as road master for many years. His wife, Harriet M. Crocker, was born in Niantic, daughter of Charles Crocker, a farmer of that locality, who later removed to Killingworth. Of the family of seven children born to her parents Mrs. William R. Gladwin is the eldest now living, the others be- ing: Fanny, residing in Waterford, Conn .; Henry, in Guilford; Benjamin, in New Haven. The parents of our subject had the following family: Mrs. Niles Sherwood, of New Haven; Joshua G .; and Mrs. Joseph Kegelmeyer. Mrs. Gladwin resides at the old home in Clinton, Conn. She attends the Methodist Church, as did her husband.
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