USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 4 > Part 33
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tion with many different enterprises, but in none more typically than in their own business, which has attained its present large proportions due to these facts and gives promise of a still more brilliant future.
An excellent example of the kind of work which has been accomplished by Mr. Trumbull may be found in a record of Frederick Lodge. No. 14. Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. He became a member in December. 1002. and was elected master in December. 1004. which office he held for two terms. Shortly after he became a member it was re- established on a firm foundation. and is now one of the most prosperous lodges of its size in the country. He holds mem- bership in the various Masonic bodies in his section of the country, and has at- tained the thirty-second degree in the order He also holds membership in the Congregational church of Plainville.
M: Trumbull married. October 21. 1903. Nettie Northrup. of Bridgeport. Connecticut. a daughter of George W. and Julia A. Northrup. old and highly respected residents of that city. They are the parents of one child. Esther.
It needs no great prophecy to predict for M: Trumbull. now in the prime of his artive life. with powers and faculties at the highest point of efficiency. a long future of high achievement and notable public service.
TRUMBULL. Frank Samuels,
Manufacturer.
The name of Trumbull has come to be very well known in more than one impor- tar: community in the southern part of Connecticut during the past decade or so. owing to its connection with a number of unasually successful commercial estab- lishmen's in several cities and with the
public affairs of the same communities This is due to the activities of seven brothers whose enterprising ventures have had no little to do with the recent business development in the several com- munitie- where they are situated. They are the sons ni one Hugh H Trumbull. af Scotch-Irish descent. and himself a native of Uster. Ireland. Mr. Trumbull. St embodies in his own personality the strong traits of character for which this stock is famous and which are derived from a Wing line of worthy forebears who. on the paternal side had their origin in Scotland in early da: s. He Was married in young manhood to Miss Mary Ann Harper, like himself a bative of Ulster. and in the year isto came with her to the United States. where he settled in the town of Windsor, Connecticut, and made his home there inr a number of year- He and his wife were the parents of seven children. all of them sons. one of whom. Frank Samuels Trumbull, is the subject of this brief sketch
Born November 30. 1876, at Vernon Connecticut. Frank Samuels Trumbull was One of the younger of the brothers ani was still in school when the Erst suc- cessful enterprise of the older boys was growing into prominence. For a ame he attended the public schools of Windsor. but his parents removing to Plainville. Connecticut, while he was yet a little lad he completed his studies in the similar Institutions of the latter place Uicom graduation from these he turned hos at- tention to the sendes business of ears- ing his own livelihood and with the ex- amnie wi his Brothers before him, selected clerical work as his career in life I: has Been che babin of the Trumbull brother- for the elder omes to give a helping hand to the tonger, when these Erst attempt- ed to make them start in business, and the youth found no difficulty in securing a
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position with his brother John H., who at that time was engaged in the business of wiring buildings for the electric current. Here he remained for some time, and was offered a position as a traveling agent by the Trumbull Electric Company, a con- cern operated by two brothers, John H. and Henry, in Plainville. This he ac- cepted, and for a time saw much of the country, going as far west as California, and proving himself a most capable sales- man. During his travels he became high- ly impressed with the situation in San Francisco, and made up his mind to settle there. This he did, and engaged in elec- tric street railroad business. For some time he continued in the western city, and was then offered a partnership in the Trumbull Motor Car Company of Bridge- port, an establishment conducted by his brothers, Alexander H. and Isaac. Ac- cordingly he sold out his interests in San Francisco and returned to the east. Be- sides the Trumbull Motor Car Company, the same brothers were the owners of the Connecticut Electric Company of Bridge- port, and it is with the latter concern that Mr. Trumbull is now connected. It is a corporation, and he holds an official position in it, while his specialty is the manufacture of small tools, a department of which he is the head. He is himself an expert in this craft, and it is in no small degree due to his efforts that this branch of the business has increased to its present great proportions. Mr. Trum- bull shares the business genius of his family, and is regarded most highly in commercial circles throughout Bridge- port, where he has won an enviable repu- tation for integrity and capability.
Besides his business interests, Mr. Trumbull takes a prominent part in the general life of Bridgeport, and is connected with many movements undertaken for the welfare of the community at large. He is an especially conspicuous figure in the him. He was already married to Mary
social and club circles of the city, and a member of many important organizations there. Among these should be mentioned Pacific Lodge, No. 136, Free and Accept- ed Masons, San Francisco, California, and the Algonquin Club of Bridgeport. He is a Congregationalist in his religious affiliations, and is very active in the work of the church of that denomination in Bridgeport, which he attends, and gives liberally to its undertakings, especially those connected with benevolent and philanthropic purposes.
Mr. Trumbull was united in marriage on the third day of October, 1909, to Miss Esther Cramer, of Plainville, a daughter of Henry and Francis (Ryder) Cramer, of that place.
TRUMBULL, Alexander Hugh, Manufacturer.
Seldom it is that any one family has contributed so many energetic men of business and affairs in the course of but one generation as has the Trumbull fam- ily to several cities of Southern Connecti- cut. Seven sons there are in the present generation, all of them men of talent, who have done an incalculable service in the cause of business development in the various localities they have chosen for their homes. The father of these seven sons, Hugh H. Trumbull, is a native of Ulster, Ireland, and possesses all of the sturdy characteristics that we associate with the men of that region. His ances- tors were originally Scotch, but had come to Ulster on account of religious persecu- tion in their own country, and there set- tled for over fifty years. Hugh H. Trum- bull shared in the enterprising and cour- ageous spirit of his forebears, and while still a young man had emigrated from Ireland to the United States, where he be- lieved a far wider opportunity awaited
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Ann Harper at the time of his migration, and brought his wife with him to the "New World."
The particular member of this notable family with which this brief article is con- cerned is Alexander Hugh Trumbull, the fourth son of Hugh H. and Mary Ann (Harper) Trumbull, whose business career is being followed in Bridgeport, whither he went from the family home at Plainville, Connecticut, and where he has built up for himself so large a success. Born at West Hartford, Alexander Hugh Trumbull did not remain long enough in his native town to gain any associations, his childhood having been first spent at Windsor, Connecticut, where his father first made his home after coming to this country. It was at Windsor also that he began his schooling, although this was completed at Plainville, whither he re- moved with the rest of the family when a lad of seven years old. His birth oc- curred October 12, 1878, and he was one of the younger of the seven brothers, but like them he was obliged to abandon his studies at an early age and seek some employment. The elder brothers had all followed the trade of electricians and the younger brothers followed suit, feeling that a great opening lay in the direction of this kind of work. Nor were their prognostications mistaken, at least as far as such bright, intelligent young men as they were concerned, for each and every one of them has made a great success of his enterprise. As all his brothers did, so did the Mr. Trumbull of this sketch, and $0011 after he had left school secured a position with the concern which his elder brothers had established, and which was engaged in the wiring of build- ings for the electric current. He worked there for a time, but his enterprising nature made him desire a business of his own, which he might have the pleasure of developing. Consequently, in the year
1906, he went to Bantam, Connecticut, and there entered into a partnership with his brother, Isaac, and established an elec- trical business which was known as the Connecticut Electric Company. The suc- cess of the two young men was immediate and great, and they soon came to feel that a larger place would enable them to gain a still larger trade. Accordingly, they moved to Bridgeport in the year 1912, carrying on the same business under the old name. In 1906 this concern was incorporated, and Mr. Trumbull became its president. It is now one of the larg- est concerns of its kind, not only in Bridgeport, but in all that region, a suc- cess that it owes entirely to the infallible business sense and good judgment of the two brothers who have brought it to its present splendid condition. At the basis of the whole thing there has been un- doubtedly the confidence of the public in them, which they won in the only way in which it is to be won, by living strictly up to the terms of every contract, in its spirit as well as its letter, and fulfilling every obligation with the most scrupu- lous care. This is the basis, but in addi- tion to it there has been the knowledge that in entrusting any work to these two young men, it was being given to men who were masters of their craft, who understood the conditions thoroughly and would never bungle any detail. He is already one of the most prominent figures in the commercial circles of Bridgeport, and regarded as one of the most brilliant of the rising young busi- ness men.
Alexander Hugh Trumbull was united in marriage on the sixth day of December, 1906, at Litchfield, Connecticut, with Miss Mary Smith, of Litchfield, Connecti- cut, a daughter of Andrew and (Kilbourne) Smith, of that place. To Mr. and Mrs. Trumbull have been born two children-Marion and Donald Smith.
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A.Wheeler
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WHEELER, Frank Taylor, Man of Affairs.
When Moses Wheeler sailed from Lon- don, England, in 1638, and later settled in the New Haven colony, it is supposed that he came from Kent, where the Wheelers had been seated for four cen- turies. In the New World he found his wife, Miriam Hawley, and through his affection for her, tradition says, he brought upon himself the wrath of the authorities and was expelled from the New Haven colony. After an absence of several weeks he returned to his home, arriving on the Sabbath day, and in the joy at seeing his wife and children seri- ously transgressed the law by kissing them all. For this he was expelled from the society of the Godly people of New Haven, if tradition be true, and soon afterward he purchased land from the In- dians at the then little settlement at Stratford, near what is now known as Sandy Hollow. Later he bought a large tract of land extending from, the river in- land and established a ferry, building his own boats, as he was a ship carpenter. Later the General Court granted him legal right to conduct the ferry he had already established. Seventeen years later, in 1670, the town leased him the ferry with about forty acres adjoining it, for a term of twenty-one years, the town agreeing to pay for any improvement he had made if he should leave it at the ex- piration of the lease. His son's will, proved January 23, 1724-25, shows that he received the ferry from his father Moses, and left it to his son, Elnathan Wheeler, so the ferry must have remained in the family for at least one hundred years. Moses Wheeler was a strong, powerful man, of whom the Indians are said to have stood in mortal terror. He returned to England in 1665, but was soon again in Stratford, where he died
and was buried in the old Congregational churchyard there. A rough stone marks his grave with the inscription: "Moses Wheeler, aged 100, dyed January 15th, 1698."
Moses and Miriam (Hawley) Wheeler were the parents of two sons-Samuel, and Moses (2). Samuel, the elder, left no children, the family being perpetuated through Moses (2) Wheeler, who married Sarah Nicholls, October 20, 1674, daugh- ter of Caleb Nicholls, and granddaugh- ter of Sergeant Francis Nicholls, who came from England in 1635 and in 1639 was among the early settlers of Stratford. Moses (2) and Sarah (Nicholls) Wheeler were the parents of sons: Moses (3), Caleb, Nathan, Samuel, James and Rob- ert. From these sons came all the numer- ous Wheeler branches tracing descent from Moses (1) Wheeler, the centena- rian of Stratford. A descendant, James Frank Wheeler, of the seventh American generation, located in the village of Plantsville, Hartford county, and there was engaged as a furniture dealer and undertaker. He married Sarah Taylor, and had one son and one daughter- Sadie Lillian, and Frank Taylor Wheeler, of further mention. All through the gen- erations, Wheelers have been men of char- acter and substance in their communities, and potent forces in their upbuilding.
Frank Taylor Wheeler, son of James Frank and Sarah (Taylor) Wheeler, was born in Marion, town of Southington, Hartford county, Connecticut, July 23, 1874. He was educated in the grade and high schools, but did not complete the high school course, leaving after two years to begin learning the machinist's trade. He completed his apprenticeship, became an expert worker in metals, and was promoted to the post of foreman of a department. He rose rapidly in the business world, and in 1899, at the age of twenty-five, was elected president of the
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Trumbull Electric Manufacturing Com- pany of Plainville, Connecticut. He was the capable executive head of that com- pany until 1910, when he retired, but ac- cepted the position of vice-president, which he now holds; also assistant treas- urer of the Plainville Trust Company, and is also connected with several other corporations as director and is one of the strong men of the business community.
He is a Republican in politics, and has taken an active part in the affairs of his party. He takes a deep interest in Plain- ville public affairs, serving as chairman of the board of sewer district commis- sioners, and as assessor. He was bap- tized in the Plantsville Baptist church, and is partial to that denomination. He is an ex-president of the Plainville Busi- ness and Improvement Society ; is a di- rector of the Connecticut Automobile As- sociation ; and a member of the New Britain and Farmington Country clubs. In the Masonic order he has attained high degree, belonging to and a past master of Frederick Lodge, No. 14, Free and Ac- cepted Masons; Pequabuck Chapter, Royal Arch Masons; Washington Com- mandery, No. 1. Knights Templar ; Sphinx Temple, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine; and in Scottish Rite Masonry holds all degrees up to and including the thirty-second. He is a past noble grand of Eureka Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Mr. Wheeler married, June 17, 1903. at Southington, Connecticut, Bertha Mun- son, daughter of Burton Tracy and Juliet J. (Munson) Buell. Mrs. Wheeler is a member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Southington.
MCCARTHY, Frederick Michael, Lawyer, Public Official.
Mr. McCarthy, after completing his course in law and obtaining his degree, returned to his birthplace and began practice. Twelve years have since elapsed and his success as a practitioner again disproves the old saying that "a prophet is not without honor save in his own country." He has held many civic honors during those years, and as judge of the City Court and as corporation counsel, his present position, he has rendered his city efficient legal service.
Mr. McCarthy is a son of William Jo- seph and Mary Ann (Kelly) McCarthy, his father born at White Plains, New York, but coming when young to An- sonia, where he has since resided. He married Mary Ann Kelly, born in Sey- mour, Connecticut, who is the mother of his ten children, all of whom are living except Mary, who died at the age of twenty-four years; William, of Presque Isle, Maine; Mary, deceased; Frederick MI., of further mention : Christopher, of Grand Rapids, Michigan ; Sarah, married John Carroll, of Ansonia ; Lillian, mar- ried James Sullivan, of Ansonia ; Albert, of Muskegon, Michigan ; John, of An- sonia; Agnes, residing at Ansonia with her parents; and Rebecca, who entered the Order of the Sisters of St. Joseph as Sister Mary Constance.
Frederick M. McCarthy was born in Ansonia, Connecticut, August 12, 1878, and prepared for college in the public schools, finishing at the high school. He then became a student at Niagara Univer- sity, later entering Yale Law School, whence he was graduated Bachelor of Laws, class of 1905. He at once opened a law office at No. 212 Main street, An- sonia, an office which he still occupies for the transaction of his large law business. In 1905, at the beginning of his career. he was appointed secretary to Alton Far- rel, mayor of Ansonia, and was collector
Born in the city of Ansonia and pre- pared for college in the public schools, of taxes and assessments for four years.
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Judicial n. M. Carehy
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
but soon his law business reached such proportions that it demanded his closest attention and entire time.
A Democrat in politics, he early made his influence felt in the city, and in 1913 was elected State Senator, serving a full term. During the years 1913-14-15 he served as judge of the City Court, and in 1915 was appointed corporation counsel, a responsible position he now fills. He is a lawyer of high standing, learned and re- sourceful, a strict observer of professional ethics, and highly regarded as lawyer, citizen and neighbor. He is a member of the American, State and County Bar Asso- ciations; the Knights of Columbus; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks ; the Union League of New Haven; and the Race Brook Country Club. In re- ligious faith he is a Roman Catholic, be- longing to the Church of the Assump- tion.
Mr. McCarthy married, at Ansonia, June 6, 1909, Alcine J. Burns, born in Springfield, Vermont, daughter of Michael and Ellen Burns.
BAVIN, Charles Augustus, Business Man, Public Official.
But few departments of business activ- ity present in their records a greater num- ber of names held in general reverence and esteem than the great mercantile in- terests, and especially is this true in New England, where, among those connected with the development of this so essential activity, we find so many splendid men who have stood for progress and advance in all that has meant their community's welfare. A fine example of the modern man of business who has entirely lived up to the splendid standards set in the past of New England, is Charles Augus- tus Bavin, of Waterbury, Connecticut, whose whole life has been spent in this
city where he has become most closely identified with the community's life in every department of its affairs. Though born in this country and in every way a typical American, Mr. Bavin is by de- scent a member of a race which we could wish might be represented by a larger element in our citizenship. For although France has contributed a smaller number of immigrants to this country than most of the other European countries, such as have come here have contributed a most valuable addition and grafted upon the growth of our people the splendid virtues and abilities of the French character.
Charles Augustus Bavin was born Sep- tember 22, 1876, at Waterbury, Connecti- cut, a son of Maguire G. and Catherine (MacDonald) Bavin. His paternal grand- father was a native of France and came to America as a young man, settling at first in Vermont, where he engaged in raising stock and in the maple sugar business, and met with considerable success in both. He had a summer home at Lake St. Lawrence, and lived at various times at St. Johns, Quebec, and in the city of Quebec itself. He and his wife were the parents of several children and two of these are still living, a son Samuel in Quebec, and a daughter in Boston. Their son, Maguire G. Bavin, was born in the year 1850, while they were living in Que- bec, and died March 8, 1888, at Oakville, Connecticut, where he had resided a short time. He was only thirty-eight years of age at the time of his death, but his life had been an active one, and he was well known in circles where he moved. Most of his brief life was spent in the city of Waterbury, Connecticut, whither he had come in his youth and where his children were all born. He was married to Miss Catherine MacDonald, a native of Phila- delphia, where she was born in the year 1852, and a daughter of James and Han-
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nah (Geery) MacDonald. Mr. MacDon- ald was a native of London, who came to the United States when young, and he and his wife were the parents of ten chil- dren, three of whom are still living- Belle, now the wife of John Bailey, of Kansas; Catherine, the mother of the Mr. Bavin, of this sketch; and Susan, who resides in the town of Oakville, Connecti- cut. The marriage of Mr. Bavin, Sr., and Miss MacDonald took place when they were both very young, and they there- after made their home in Waterbury, where seven children were born to them. These were: 1. George, who died in in- fancy. 2. Robert M., now a resident of Oakville, Connecticut, where he owns a machine shop and does a prosperous busi- ness. 3. Charles Augustus, with whose career this sketch is concerned. 4. Wil- liam Stanley, who holds the position of foreman in the great mills of the Ameri- can Pin Company, of Waterville, Connec- ticut. 5. Minnie, who died at the age of four years. 6. Edward, who holds a posi- tion of salesman in Waterbury. 7. Lena, who died at the age of eighteen years.
The education of Charles Augustus Bavin was obtained at the excellent pub- lic schools of his native Waterbury, which he attended throughout his boy- hood and early youth, graduating from the Waterbury High School in the year 1893, at the age of seventeen. He then secured a position with the Waterbury Machine Company and there learned the machinist's trade. He was an apt scholar and grasped the detail of any matter that he attempted to learn, and it was not long before he had become an expert at his craft and rendered himself very valuable to his employer. It was not, however, his inten- tion to remain in any employ, however much or mutual the satisfaction might be, for it was his strong ambition to engage in some business enterprise on his own
account, where he would be independent and at liberty to work out his own the- ories of business management. This am- bition he was able to realize after a num- ber of years, when by dint of hard and industrious application to his work and the practice of strict economy he was able to purchase the business now known as the Waterbury Steam Laundry. He took over this concern on the first of May, 1902, and since that time the business has rapidly grown. The result of his venture has more than justified his hopes and ex- pectations, and he is now one of the im- portant figures in the Waterbury world. Some idea of the development of the busi- ness in the past few years may be gathered from the fact that the payroll alone amounts now to more than the whole income of the business at the time Mr. Bavin took it over, and it would seem as though the future promised an even greater success for its enterprising owner.
But it has not been only in this direc- tion that Mr. Bavin has identified himself with city affairs. He has always been in- terested in questions of public polity and economy, and his reputation for absolute integrity was such that his fellow-citizens were only too willing to entrust their in- terests in his hands. His business talent was duly recognized by former Mayor Reeves, when that gentleman was in office and he was appointed a member of the finance committee in the city govern- ment. With the close of Mayor Reeves's administration his tenure of this office came to an end, but under the present mayor he has been appointed to the board of health, and still holds that office. Mr. Bavin is a member of the Connecticut National Guard and has served one term of enlistment. He is very active in social and club circles in Waterbury, and is a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Country Club of
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