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 4 > Part 44
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88
Mr. Trowbridge was connected with the New Haven Colony Historical Society for thirty years as a director, secretary and president, and rendered important service to the Society in contributing and securing additions to its collections. He also com- piled a number of papers which he read before the Society, being ever at preat pains to investigate the facts connected with the subjects upon which he Mr. Cables was born in Thomaston, Conn., Dec. 10, 1849, and his father, David F. Cables, was born in Oxford, Conn., about 1808. From Oxford he moved to Thomaston, and died in 1895. A car- penter by trade, for years he had a contract in the American Knife Co.'s plant at Thomaston. Lorinda Holt, his wife, was a native of Harwinton, Conn., and her father was a grandson of one of three brothers who came from England and pur- chased land from the Indians. Mrs. Lorinda Cables died in March, 1899. at Thomaston, Conn., and four of her children lived to maturity. Cornelius H. is the subject of this sketch, and Hartley is a manufacturer in Rochester. David F. Cables was wrote, and in consequence his papers are regarded as trustworthy records of early New Haven history. These papers contained many valuable references to the business, commercial and social life of the Colony and city. Mr. Trowbridge was an author- ity on Connecticut shipping interests and was familiar with their history from the earliest records to the present time. His writings are preserved in the published "Collections" of the Society, those on the "Ancient Houses of New Haven" and the "Ancient Maritime Interests of New Haven" being the most important. Among his other papers were "A Sketch of the History of th. New Haven Colony Historical Society," written for the opening of the , a Whig in early life, and then became an Aboli- present building in 1892, and the "Action between | tionist, and is recorded as one of two men who
the Chesapeake and the Shannon." He also con- tributed articles for several histories and historical publications.
In 1864 Mr. Trowbridge was married to Kather- ine, only child of Gen. Francis and Elizabeth Shel- don ( Dutcher ) Bacon, of Litchfield, who survived him with a son, Francis Bacon Trowbridge ; an only daughter, Edith Champion Trowbridge, died a few years ago.
"Mr. Trowbridge had a noble personality. He was a whole-souled man. His heart and hand were as open as the day. He was of a generous, manly nature, but did good modestly. Many a young man was aided along in life by him, many a poor widow's heart was made to sing with joy by his timely benefactions. He was quick in his sym- pathies with the joy and sorrows of others.
"He was the type of a good citizen, awake to every popular interest, not seeking his own ad- vancement nor jealous of the advancement of others, but working on the lines of sound sense and honest politics, whether of a local or national character. He was a man who disliked controversy, and while ready to defend his own opinions with spirit was willing to give others the same chance and thus he avoided hitter strife. There was something sweet hearted about him which prevented him from hav- ing enemies."
CORNELIUS H. CABLES, a business man of Waterbury, of wide acquaintance, and of an envi- able reputation for honor and integrity, deserves special mention for the work he has done in build- ing up high-grade suburban additions to this ani- bitious and thrifty city. He is the promoter and owner of Highland Park, Cottage Park, Colum- bian Heights, important additions to the city along the electric line of the Waterbury and Waterville road. They are the loftiest regions in the neigh- borhood, and overlook the Naugatuck river, wind- ing two hundred feet below in the valley. Splendid modern houses, possessing all the most recent features of home building, are rapidly rising, and this entire tract will undoubtedly become the most aristocratic quarter of the city.
-
6.50 Caliber
1361
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
voted the first Abolition ticket in Thomaston, Later in life he became a Republican.
Cornelius H. Cables spent his boyhood and youth, until twenty years of age, attending the pub- lic school and making broad and deep his prepara- tion for practical life. When he became a young man ready for the work of the world he went to Toledo, Ohio, and secured a place in the banking house of Raymond Segraves, where he spent two years. At the expiration of this period he returned to his old home, and for twenty years was engaged in farming near Thomaston. In February, 1892, Mr. Cables came to Waterbury, and entered the real-estate field, revolutionizing the methods that had prevailed in that line. A tract of unimproved land consisting of 148 acres came into his posses- sion, and this he put into fine condition, secured the passing of the trolley cars, platted the tract, and placed it on the market. It has met popular favor, and a number of houses, costing about $12,000, are already completed and occupied. Build- ing restrictions and choice of customers are mak- ing this the high-grade part of the city. Mr. Cables has built water works, beautiful drives and boulevards, and the city has erected an expensive school house near this property. It is a broad and comprehensive scheme, and has met with large success. Mr. Cables has also desirable property in other parts of the city. He has finished an office building near the post office, 72x68 feet, and five ·stories high ; it is built of brick, has a marble front, and is pronounced by many the finest building in the city. Mr. Cables has another building in the same street, 45x72 feet, and four stories high. He came to Waterbury a poor man, leaving a farm where he had been raising vegetables and berries. The wonderful accomplishments that have crowned his career of eight years in the city have opened the eyes of the people as to his business character. A strict temperance man, he votes the Prohibition ticket, and holds no issue so important as the moral issue. Mr. Cables is an honest and upright man, deals squarely with the world ; he is especially fine in his relations to the many men who work for him, and they have good wages, are fairly treated, with the natural result that their labor is well worth all it costs.
In 1875 Mr. Cables was united in marriage with Miss Martha Corner, a native of Canada, where her father, Charles P. Corner. was also born. The Cor- ners are of English ancestry. To Mr. and Mrs. Cables have been born five children: Edith, Bes- sie, Frances, Cornelius, Jr., and Van Norn. Mr. Cables' career as a farmer is one of his minor vanities. There were but twenty-three acres in his tract, yet from it he secured a good living, and taught the people of Waterbury to know that what- ever came from his hands was genuine and straight. The finest berries were on the bottom, and not on the top, and this same spirit has animated him through life, and in the real-estate transactions in 86
which he has been so successfully engaged for a number of years every thing is open and above- board.
THE NEW HAVEN COPPER COMPANY, engaged in manufacturing braziers' and sheathing. copper, etc., is one of the old reliable manufacturing concerns in the State. It was founded in 1848, and the business has increased under wise management to such proportions that it is regarded as holding a high position in the industries of the world. Their polished copper is finished by a process peculiar to the establishment, and is the invention of the presi- dent of the Company, Thomas L. James, whose patent was recorded Sept. 12, 1876. This polish remains bright instead of the very temporary effect by the old method. The buildings of the company are extensive, and the employes, who are all skilled workmen, number from 100 to 125 men.
The long experience of the Company, and their intelligent use of the knowledge gained by that ex- perience, has caused such a steady improvement, and the thorough reliability of their goods has won for them an enviable reputation. Through their prosperity, the town of Seymour has prospered, and their liberality has done much toward increas- ing the natural beauty of the place.
MAX ADLER, merchant and manufacturer, of New Haven, after a life of nearly sixty years which has been characterized by great industry, energy and useful citizenship, is ranked among the leading citizens and prominent manufacturers, as well as the substantial men of New Haven. Although a native of Bavaria, born Oct. 14, 1840, at Berkun- stadt, Mr. Adler is solely a product of New Haven, as he was brought by his parents, Sigismund and Babetta Adler, to this city, in 1843.
Sigismund Adler was a proprietor of a woolen- establishment and a manufacturer of bed-ticking, at Berkunstadt, but having met with reverses there, he came to the United States, in 1841, with the hope of bettering his condition. After a residence of two years in New York City, he came to New Haven, where he established an umbrella factory, and he was engaged in the making of that article- until his death in 1871.
Young Max attended the Washington street public school, where his mornings were given to the study of English branches, and the afternoons to. German and Hebrew. Later he was sent to the famous Lancasterian school of John E. Lovell. While thus engaged in the cultivation of his mental powers, the practical preparation for the obligations. of life was not neglected, for beginning when a mere boy of ten years, his spare hours out of school, for a period of three years, were given to running errands for the late Samuel Merwin, the tailor, and at thirteen he was cash boy in the fancy goods store of Julius Waterman. In this store, he gradually rose to the position of cashier, and later to that
1362
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
of bookkeeper, and still later, he became manager of Mr. Waterman's New Haven store, remaining in charge until the business was closed out in 1858. Following this experience, the next two years, 1858 to 1860, were passed by Mr. Adler in New York City, where he was in charge of the retail dry goods house of William Freedman, which business, in 1860, was removed to the corner of Church and Chapel streets, New Haven, Mr. Adler retaining his position. Here, under the latter's careful and judicious management, the business was soon so increased, that in 1861 it necessitated a removal to larger quarters, and the building on Chapel street, later the site of the Wallace B. Fenn store, was rented, the front altered and changed, and the business removed to that point. In 1862, Mr. Ad- ler severed his connection with Mr. Freedman to accept the management of a similar store for Isaac Strouse, on Chapel street, in this city. Subsequent- ly, Mr. Strouse purchased the corset business, then located on the corner of State and Chapel streets, of J. H. Smith & Co., which had been established in 1861, with the purpose of enlarging the business, and in this new firm of I. Strouse & Co., Mr. Adler became a member.
From this period dates an important step in Mr. Adler's career, and in the history of the corset business, in New Haven. The old factory was re- moved to the railroad block on Union street and the business there carried on until 1867, when a new factory was erected, on the corner of Oak and West streets, and the business removed to it. In 1871 the firm became Jacobs, Strouse & Co., Mr. Adler, A. Strouse, S. L. Jacobs and R. Maver, of New York, purchasing the business. Mr. Jacobs retired from the firm in 1877, and it became Mayer, Strouse & Co., and the business was removed to the old Winchester Shirt factory, on Court street, where it is still conducted, now under the name of Strouse, Adler & Co., and it is one among the largest in- dustries in New Haven. These gentlemen have large, commodious . buildings, modernly equipped with the best labor-saving machinery, and give en- ployment to from 1,000 to 2.000 hands. They manufacture corsets, corset clasps and paper boxes, and are also dealers in all kinds of corset materials. Their place of business is known as No. 60 Court street, New Haven, and their warehouse is at No. 412 Broadway, New York. Their goods are mar- keted all over the world.
.
For many years, Mr. Adler has given special at- tention to the study of corsets and to the manu- facturing branch of the business, until he is re- garded the world over as an authority in this line of manufacture, and is known here, in New England, as the founder of the corset business. His name has become known all over Europe, and he is frequently consulted for advice in this line of manu- facture. The corset manufacturers of the country at large owe much of the legislation favorable to their business to Mr. Adler, who has given his best
thought, energies and effort to the business, and has intelligently worked and influenced legislation to- ward the good of the general business. Frequently has he appeared before Congressional committees in Washington in this matter. In 1887, he was secretary of the Corset Makers Association of the United States.
Aside from this business, Mr. Adler has been engaged in and identified with other enterprises, and has given considerable of his time to the per- formance of the duties of citizenship. He is a director in the First National Bank, the New Haven Water Co., the Southern New England Telephone Co., the New Haven Trust Co., and the Mercantile Trust Co., and he is a trustee in the National Sav- ings Bank, and ex-president of the Chamber of Commerce of New Haven, and has also served as vice-president of that body. In 1895 he was, by appointment, a member of the State Commission to the Atlanta Exposition. He has served as a men- ber of the board of education of New Haven, and for many years was a member of the board of visitors of the Connecticut Hospital, of the board of Associated Charities, and was secretary of the He- brew Benevolent Society. At present he is chair- man of the finance committee of the New Haven Dispensary and the organized Charities Association, and is a member of various advisory committees. His political affiliations are with the Republican party. Socially, Mr. Adler is genial and popular and is connected with several clubs, president of the Harmonie Club, and otherwise connected with the Quinnipiac, the Union League, and the New Haven Yacht Clubs.
On Oct. 21, 1866, Mr. Adler was married to Esther Mayer, and their home has been blessed with three children: F. M., a graduate of Yale, who married Sophia Greenspecht, of New York, and has a daughter, Esther ; Flora, a graduate of Miss Cady's school, married Col. J. M. Ullman, and has one child, Marion B .; and Miriam, also a graduate of Miss Cady's school, married Alfred W. Weil, an attorney of Denver, Colo., and has one daughter, Gladys. Mr. Adler and family belong to the Con- gregation Mishkan Israel. The handsome family residence is on Wooster Square, in New Haven, which is the winter home of the family, while their delightful summer cottage is located at Savin Rock; on Long Island Sound.
DENNIS B. MEGIN. One of the impressive and instructive lessons taught by biography is the reward which comes to patient and intelligent in- dustry. Life is filled with opportunities for him who has faith, perseverance and well directed ef- fort. Mr. Megin exemplifies in the history of Bethany these sterling and honored virtues. He has ever been known as a hard working and in- dustrious man, attributes which are kingly and mas- terful in the field of human effort, and as a result he has met with adequate reward, and ranks high
---
1363
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
among the substantial and highly respected citizens of Bethany.
Mr. Megin was born on a farm in the town of Hamden, New Haven county, March 9, 1847, and his boyhood and youth were passed amidst the toil and the many arduous duties of agricultural life in Connecticut almost a half century ago. He re- ceived a common school education, and at the age of fifteen years he began working by the month on a farm for Augustus Lewis in the town of South- ington, remaining. there for three years, part of the time in a factory. He then went to Naugatuck and worked on a farm for Dyer Warner until he at- tained his majority.
Mr. Megin was married Jan. 16, 1869, to Miss Sarah Tuttle, of Bethany, and soon after his mar- riage he settled on the farm of forty-seven acres where he now lives. Beginning housekeeping here in a small way, he by his earnest and effective ef- forts rose steadily in the avocation of farming, im- proving his property and from time to time adding to its extent. He now owns five different lots, all in the town of Bethany, and aggregating about 130 acres. Mr. Megin carries on general farming and dairying. He built a number of his own buildings.
To Mr. and Mrs. Megin have been born two children: Lillah, the wife of Frank Warner, has three children, two sons and one daughter; and Charles S., a farmer of Bethany, who married Jen- nie Hogan, of Hamden, has one child, Eva J. In politics Mr. Megin is a Republican, and in re- ligious faith he is an active and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in which he is trustee.
HENRY TROWBRIDGE, for many years one of New Haven's substantial men and prominent citizens, died suddenly of apoplexy, on June 29, 1900, at "The Greylock," Williamstown, Mass., where he had gone to pass the summer.
Born Aug. 14, 1836, in New Haven, Mr. Trow- bridge was the representative of a family of wealth and extensive influence in the city from the very dawn of the town's settlement, 260 and more years ago. He was a son of the late Thomas Rutherford and Caroline ( Hoadley) Trowbridge, and a de- scendant in. the eighth generation from Thomas Trowbridge, who came from Taunton, Somerset- shire, England, as early as 1636, in which year he united with the church in Dorchester, Mass. He removed to New Haven as early as 1639, and con- tinued making voyages between the Barbadoes and England. He returned to England about 1644, and there remained. There he left his three sons, who on obtaining their majority became men of influence and acquired large estates. Henry Trowbridge's lineage from Thomas, the American ancestor, is through Thomas ( 2), Thomas (3), Daniel, Ruther- ford, Henry and Thomas R. Trowbridge.
(II) Thomas Trowbridge (2), born in 1632, in
Taunton, England, married (first) June 24, 1657, Sarah, daughter of Henry and Sarah Rutherford; she died in 1687, aged forty-six, and he married (second) Widow Hannah Ball, daughter of Major John Nash. Mr. Trowbridge was a successful West India merchant and a man of note. He died Aug. 22, 1702, leaving a large estate. His wife, Han- nah, died Feb. 3, 1708.
(III) Thomas Trowbridge (3), born Feb. 14, 1664, married Oct. 16, 1685, Mary, daughter of John Winslow ; she died Sept. 16, 1742, aged seven- ty-five, and Mr. Trowbridge died Sept. 15, 1704. He, too, left a large estate.
(IV) Daniel Trowbridge, born Oct. 25, 1703, married in 1731 Methitabel, daughter of Francis Brown. Mr. Trowbridge was graduated from Yale College in 1725. He died Aug. 4, 1752, and his widow passed away Oct. 10, 1797.
(V) Rutherford Trowbridge, born Feb. 3, 1744, married July 4. 1767, Dorcas, daughter of Amos Hitchcock; she died Feb. 12, 1783, and he married (second) Jan. 1, 1793, Widow Thankful Mix, daughter of John Alling, and resided on Water and Columbus streets, in New Haven, where he died April 6, 1825 ; his wife Thankful died Aug. 8, 1831, aged sixty-six. Mr. Trowbridge had the first bounty for making saltpetre during the war of the Revo- lution.
(VI) Henry Trowbridge, born July 30, 1781. married Jan. 1, 1806, Harriet, daughter of Ezekiel and Mary ( Hemingway) Hayes, and to them came thirteen children. Mr. Trowbridge died Oct. 7, 1849, and Mrs. Trowbridge died Nov. 21, 1851, aged sixty-two. Henry Trowbridge in early life en- gaged in the West India trade, and founded in the early part of the nineteenth century the house of H. Trowbridge & Son, later H. Trowbridge Sons & Dwight, and afterward H. Trowbridge & Sons, and at the death of the senior Trowbridge his sons, in memory of their father, continued the business under the name of Henry Trowbridge's Sons. This business was continued almost through the century by the several generations of the family and was the largest concern in the State engaged in the West India trade. The senior member of the firm was a prudent and sagacious merchant, and by means of his talent and wealth exercised a great in- fluence in New Haven, and the same may be said of several of his sons and grandsons. His sons were: Thomas R., Henry, Ezekiel H. and Winston J.
(VII) Thomas R. Trowbridge, born July 17, 1810, married Sept. 17, 1834, Caroline Hoadley, born April 30, 1818, daughter of Capt. Simeon and Polly ( Harrison) Hoadley. Mr. Trowbridge was the eldest of the sons of Henry Trowbridge, and through life was identified with the business above referred to. He was a member and liberal sup- porter of the First Congregational Church at New Haven and a most useful and honored citizen. His children were: Henry, Thomas R., William R., Caroline H., Rutherford, Emily E. and Frank.
-
1364
COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
(VIII) Henry Trowbridge, whose name intro- duces this article, was married Nov. 2, 1858, to Lucy | Elizabeth Parker, born June 12, 1836, daughter of Joseph and Caroline ( Mulford) Parker. Mr. Trowbridge while yet in his 'teens entered the busi- ness house of the Trowbridges, and after several years of service in the West India branch became a member of the firmn. Returning to New Haven, he became a most energetic business man, and his untiring attention to the affairs of their extensive house was of the greatest benefit to it. He remained actively connected with the business until the dis- solution of the partnership, less than a decade ago, at which time he retired from active business. He was identified with other enterprises and interests in and about New Haven, and through life com- manded the esteem and respect of his fellow citi- zens. He was a well-read man, and had the happy faculty of remembering what he read. This gave him a fund of information and anecdotes, and made him a most interesting companion. He was sur- vived by a widow, two sons and a daughter. His children were: Henry, Joseph Parker, Thomas R. and a daughter.
THOMAS MORAN, the efficient superintend- ent of the town poor farm of Waterbury, New Haven county, and one of the highly respected citi- zens of the community, was born in County Queens, Ireland, June 3, 1848.
Michael Moran, his father, was also a native of County Queens, and there grew to manhood. For some years he worked as a day laborer in his native land and then moved to Lincolnshire, Eng- land, where he was similarly employed until 1862- the year of his emigration to the United States. At Liverpool he and his family took passage on the "Richard 'S. Eli," a sailing vessel, which landed them safely in New York in August of that year, after eight weeks spent upon the water. Going to Newark, N. J., the father worked as a day laborer there for a time, and then came to Water- bury, Conn., where he spent the remainder of his life as an employe in the shops. Here he died and his remains were interred in St. Joseph's cemetery, Waterbury. He was a Democrat in politics, and a consistent member of the Catholic Church. In his native county in Ireland he married Ann Bennett, who was born there, and who also died in Water- bury and was buried in St. Joseph's cemetery. She, too, was a devout member of the Catholic Church. Their children were John and Robert, of Waterbury ; Michael, who died in 1901 ; Catharine, who married ( first ) Edward Fitzpatrick, and ( sec- ond) Michael Ryan, and died in November, 1898; Thomas; and Elizabeth.
Thomas Moran was only a year old when he left his birthplace and went to Lincolnshire, England, where he obtained a limited education in the na- tional schools. In 1862 he came to the New World with his parents, and the first Fourth of July cele-
bration he ever saw took place in mid-ocean. After coming to Waterbury. Conn., with the family, he commenced work in the factory of Roger Brothers as a polisher at ten dollars per month, and re- mained with that firm for over thirty years, being a contractor in the polishing department for eight- een years of that time. His services gave entire satisfaction to the company, and he had the con- fidence and respect of his employers as well as the men working under him. In 1891 he succeeded John C. Thompson as superintendent of the town poor farmi and alms house, being appointed by the board of selectmen, composed of Messrs. Penney, Boughton and Carmady. He has now filled that responsible position for nine years with credit to himself, and to the entire satisfaction of the gen- eral public and town officials. He has under his charge over one hundred paupers, and has the man- agement of the farm of 120 acres, upon which he has made some valuable improvements, especially in the work shops, barns and ice house. Neatness and order prevail everywhere, and it is doubtful if one could find throughout the whole State a better kept institution of the kind than the one pre- sided over by Mr. and Mrs. Moran. They give their entire time and attention to the care of the inmates and supervision of the property, and have met with the most excellent success in this under- taking.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.