USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v. 4 > Part 9
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Louis Mordechyi Raffel was born in a little country town in the province of Wolin, Russia, a son of Mordechyi and Anna Raffel, who lived and died in that neighborhood. He was one of seven chil- dren, all but two of whom, Morris and Sarah, are now living. One remains in Russia, Rosa, now the wife of Yontel Kri- venos, a prominent rabbi of Tshudnow. Besides the Mr. Raffel of this sketch, there are three of these children in Amer- ica: Abraham, who lives in Boston ; Til- lie, now Mrs. Mayers, and Nathan M., both of whom reside in Waterbury.
Louis M. Raffel came to the United States as a mere youth in company with his sister Tillie, mentioned above as Mrs. Mayers, and after staying some six months in New Jersey settled in Waterbury, Con- necticut, which has since been his home and the scene of all his busy activities. How humble were the beginnings of this young man may be seen from the fact that upon his arrival in Waterbury his first occupation was selling newspapers in the streets. But with the unflinching deter- mination of his race, the indefatigable en- ergy and industry, the unconquerable ambition, he gradually worked his way upwards, working without intermission and saving every possible penny until he
found himself in a position to enlarge the scale of his operations and change their character. He is possessed of a remark- able business talent, and his insight into the quality of investments is almost spon- taneous and certain. One of the first things that the young man perceived, as he grew from mere boyhood into youth and his thoughts became engaged with the various business opportunities open to him, was the fact that one of the best investments in the world for those that were able to take advantage of it was offered by the steadily increasing property values in such a community as that of Waterbury. In this prosperous city they were especially rapid and striking and Mr. Raffel determined to engage in that line of business as soon as it was possible. In a surprisingly short time it was pos- sible, and Mr. Raffel became a real estate dealer and did a highly successful busi- ness for some time. His present business in mortgages was established in 1904 and for the past twelve years he has worked up a constantly increasing business, until he now bears the reputation of being one of the most capable men in the city as well as one of the most strictly scrupu- lous and honorable in all his dealings. He has at various times owned and controlled a great deal of Waterbury property and at one time had seventy-six tenants in the city. He is also engaged in the manu- facture of lumber in the southern timber lands and has office, dock and yard at Hart- ford, Connecticut, incorporated under the name of The Great Northern Tide Water Lumber Company, of which he is the largest stock owner and holds the office of secretary and treasurer.
It has not been only in the world of business that Mr. Raffel has forced his way to the front. This remarkable young man has accomplished in the few years at his disposal what many a native born
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American would be proud to have done in the alloted three score years and ten. When only twenty-two years of age he was elected a selectman of Waterbury and served in that capacity to the utmost satisfaction of his fellow citizens, display- ing a public spirit and capacity as notable as it is worthy. He is also a conspicuous figure in social and fraternal circles, and is a member of the local lodge of Odd Fellows and the Gladstone Lodge of Brith Abraham. He attends the Sharis Israel Temple and is a strict adherent to the Jewish faith in which he was brought up.
On November 1, 1898, Mr. Raffel was united in marriage with Tillie Albert, like himself a native of Russia. They were very young at the time of their marriage, Mr. Raffel being but twenty years of age. Mrs. Raffel was a daughter of Hyman and Sarah (Glassman) Albert, both natives of Russia, who came to this country with their daughter when she was sixteen years old. To Mr. and Mrs. Raffel five children have been born as follows: Minnie Fran- ces, soon to graduate from the Waterbury High School, when she proposes to enter Wellesley College ; Rose Viola, a student in the high school; Milton Ellis and Wil- liam Arthur, both students in the gram- mar school; and Ruth Pearl, still in her babyhood.
The achievement of Mr. Raffel, con- sidering the circumstances, is nothing short of remarkable. He is still a young man with powers and faculties that may be counted upon to develop and increase in power for a number of years. Having accomplished what he has already done at his age marks him as a man for whom a brilliant future is a safe prediction, and there is very little doubt that he will reach still greater heights of fortune and be- come even more widely and favorably known, while still at an age when the keenest enjoyment of his success is pos- sible.
HOGAN, Francis Joseph,
Lawyer, Leader in Public Affairs.
The family of which Francis Joseph Hogan, a prominent lawyer of Water- bury, is a worthy representative, is one well and favorably known in County Clare, Ireland, that beautiful region that forms a roughly triangular peninsula jut- ting out into the Atlantic ocean between the wide mouth of the Shannon river and Galway bay, and including some of the most picturesque scenery to be found in that picturesque land.
In this region Michael Hogan, grand- father of Francis J. Hogan, was born in the year 1837 and lived during the early years of his life. His wife. also a native of Ireland, bore him five children. After the death of his wife, Michael Hogan, ac- companied by his children, emigrated to the United States and settled in Water- bury, Connecticut, where they are resid- ing at the present time (1916) with the exception of one child, the only daughter. Bridget, who became the wife of John Jay, of Waterbury. Michael Hogan secured employment in a number of the great industrial concerns about Water- bury and is still, at the age of seventy- nine years, working for the Waterville Pin Company of that city. His four sons, all of whom continue to reside in Water- bury, are: Patrick, John, Cornelius, and Michael, Jr.
Patrick Hogan, eldest son of Michael Hogan and father of Francis J. Hogan, was a lad of fifteen years when he accom- panied his father to the United States, and has resided in Waterbury, Connecticut, since that time. He is possessed of con- siderable enterprise and it was not long before he was at the head of a grocery business at No. 115 South street, Water- bury, which he is successfully conducting at the present time. He married Kather- ine Whitney, a native of County Long-
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Frederick 7 Schaffen
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ford, Ireland, who came to this country with her sisters while still a mere child. To Mr. and Mrs. Hogan were born seven children, two of whom are deceased, Mary, who died in infancy, and Arthur, who lost his life in an accident at the age of seven years. The five that are now living are as follows: Francis Joseph, of whom further ; Frederick J., born April 12, 1891, a resident of Somerville, New Jer- sey, where he is the manager of the F. W. Woolworth store; Gertrude and Genevieve, twins, born November 20, 1896; and Grace, born April 30, 1900.
Francis Joseph Hogan was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, December 23, 1889, and has made that city his home up to the present time with the exception of a short period when he was a student at college. From early childhood he dis- played a growing ambition and was un- usually apt as a student, gaining the same amount of information as most of his fel- lows with the expenditure of considerably less effort. The first portion of his educa- tion was gained in the public schools in Waterbury and he graduated from the high school in 1907. He had, in the mean- time, definitely decided upon a profes- sional career and also that the profes- sion should be the law, which seemed to him to lead more directly than any other to the kind of public life that was interesting to him. Accordingly he ma- triculated at the famous Law School at Yale University, where he studied his subject and prepared himself for its prac- tice, his career through the institution be- ing one of distinction. He was graduated with the class of 1911. In the same year he was admitted to practice at the Con- necticut bar, opened an office at No. 95 Bank street, Waterbury, and was soon actively at work. He quickly showed himself to be possesed of the necessary qualification for success in the law, and
already is regarded as one of the most promising of the younger members of the bar in the county and has a rapidly grow- ing practice and clientele. To such litiga- tion as is entrusted to him he gives the best that is in him and has already made a reputation as a learned and capable at- torney, not merely among his fellow citi- zens generally, but among his fellows of the bar.
While it is perhaps too early to proph- ecy convincingly, there seems to be reason to suppose that the most brilliant part of Mr. Hogan's career will be elsewhere than in the mere practice of the law, however. He is and always has been keenly inter- ested in the question of public affairs, especially in their local aspects, and he has allied himself conspicuously with the city organization of the Republican party. Al- ready he is regarded as a leader in its councils, and in the year 1914 was its candidate for State Senator for the Fifth Senatorial District. Mr. Hogan attends the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Waterbury, and is very active in the work of the parish. He is also a conspicu- ous figure in the social world, and a promi- nent member of the local branch of the Knights of Columbus.
Mr. Hogan married, March 7, 1916, Helen G. Curran, a native of Holyoke, Massachusetts, daughter of Patrick and Mary (Cavanaugh) Curran, old and high- ly respected residents of that city, both now deceased, he a native of Ireland and she of the United States.
SCHAFFER, Frederick Ferdinand,
Manufacturer.
For forty years a successful rubber manufacturer of Naugatuck, Connecticut, Mr. Schaffer is rated with the old resi- dents of the city, but he was a man in years and in business experience before
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finally making Naugatuck the scene of his activity. From boyhood he has been con- nected with the rubber manufacture in- dustry, serving a long term of apprentice- ship to the business in New Brunswick, New Jersey, prior to coming to Nauga- tuck as manager of the rubber foot-wear department of the Goodyear India Rubber Glove Manufacturing Company, of which he is now the honored and efficient presi- dent and treasurer, beginning as a boy of thirteen in lowly capacity in a rubber fac- tory, working upward year by year, mas- tering every detail of manufacture and management, until invested with the highest .executive authority. There has been nothing meteoric in his rise, but with the thoroughness peculiar to his race he has mastered every problem as it pre- sented itself, and gone forward with the passing years, his efficiency in each posi- tion making as the logical candidate for further advancement.
Mr. Schaffer is of German birth and parentage, son of William Ernest Schaf- fer, born in Germany, in 1826, died in Naugatuck, Connecticut, in 1879. In 1854 William E. Schaffer came to the United States with his first wife, and son Fred- erick F., settled in Milltown, New Jersey, and there remained until 1862 when he removed to New Burnswick, New Jersey. there working in the rubber factory until his removal to Naugatuck late in life. His first wife died in 1867, and some years afterward he remarried. He was the father of eight children, four of whom are yet living : Frederick Ferdinand, of fur- ther mention ; Josephine, residing in Nau- gatuck; Herman; Dorothy, widow of George Fairbanks, all residing in Nauga- tuck.
Frederick Ferdinand Schaffer was born in Germany. June 12, 1853, and one year later was brought to the United States by his parents. He was four years of age when his mother died, and nine when his
father moved to New Brunswick, New Jersey, from Milltown. He attended school until he was thirteen years of age, then began working in a New Brunswick rubber factory. continuing for three years. In 1869 he began working with a rival rubber manufacturing company, remain- ing in that employ until 1876. He had in the ten years which passed since first en- tering the rubber factory become an ex- pert in rubber manufacturing and factory methods, his reputation being so high that in 1876 he was engaged as manager of the foot-wear department of the Good- year India Rubber Glove Manufacturing Company, and assigned to the Naugatuck plant. Since 1876 he has been connected with that company in official capacity and is now its president and treasurer. The company manufactures rubber boots and shoes, druggist rubber sundries and a variety of press goods; their offices and factories all located in Naugatuck. They are large manufacturers of the articles enumerated, and the "Glove Brand" goods is known favorably to rubber goods dealers everywhere. Mr. Schaffer is not only a practical expert in the manufacture of rubber, but is an executive of highest ability, and under his capable manage- ment the company over whose destinies he presides thrives and prospers. For several years he was trustee of the Nau- gatuck Savings Bank, but now devotes his entire energy to the affairs of his own company. In political faith Mr. Schaffer is a Republican, was selectman for three terms, and warden of the borough five times, serving with the same interest and efficiency which marks the conduct of his private business affairs. He is a member of the Masonic order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Protestant Episcopal church, zealous in his support of their interests and most highly esteemed by his brethren.
Mr. Schaffer married (first) in Nauga-
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tuck, in 1877, Minnie M. Perkins, who died in 1888. Their children: Frederick W., now superintendent of the factories of the Goodyear India Rubber Glove Manufacturing Company, married Fran- ces Murphy, and has four children, Fran- cis, Frederick, Norman and George; Win- nebel May, residing at home; Hazel J., wife of Marshall Benson and the mother of Phillis, Frederick, Winnebel and Bessie Benson. Mr. Schaffer married (second) i11 1889, Millicent Nichols, who died in 1914, leaving a daughter, Dorothea A. Mr. Schaffer married (third) March, 1915, Leda Spaulding, of Maine birth and par- entage.
LYNCH, James Michael,
Attorney-at-Law.
James Michael Lynch, a prominent at- torney of Waterbury, Connecticut, has that quality of idealism that belongs to the members of the Irish race, among which he is numbered, united to the equally typical racial character of keen sighted practicability, not so often grant- ed them in the opinion of the world.
Mr. Lynch is a native of Ireland, though he remained but four years of his life in the Green Island, so that his most youthful associations are with England, whither his family removed when he was of that tender age. His forebears were all Irish, however, and he inherits the national character and is rightfully proud of it. His paternal grandfather was Peter Lynch, a prosperous freeman of Cavan county, Ireland, who lived and died there, his wife reaching the most venerable age of more than one hundred years. Mr. Lynch's father, James Lynch, who is now residing in Waterbury, Connecticut, was a man of large enterprise in his youth, and with his wife, who was Miss Eliza- beth Kiernan before her marriage, went
to Darlington, England, while they were still young, and remained in that country until 1886, when they removed to the United States and settled in Waterbury, which has ever since been the headquar- ters of the family. Mrs. Lynch died in Waterbury, September 12, 1911. Mr. Lynch was the second of the twelve chil- dren of this worthy couple.
Born November 23, 1868, at Shercock, County Cavan, Ireland, the ancestral home of his family, James Michael Lynch accompanied his parents to Darlington, England, in the early part of 1873, when he was but four years old. The follow- ing year he was sent to the local schools and studied for the better part of thirteen years, proving himself an apt and ambi- tious student. As he grew into young manhood, he showed many of the quali- ties of enterprise already displayed by his father and came to have a strong desire to make his way to the New World, where he rightfully judged greater and more nu- merous opportunities awaited the young man of parts. Accordingly, upon com- pleting his studies in the schools of Dar- lington, in 1886, he being then eighteen years of age, he set sail upon his venture. He was the pioneer of his family in this country, but he was not left a great while alone. Inspired by his reports of the new land, his father, already of half a mind to try the venture himself, made up his mind wholly and it was but a short time before the family were reunited in their new home in Waterbury, Connecticut. Upon first coming to the Connecticut city Mr. Lynch had no idea of engaging in the practice of the law, but sought about for the first position he could get, which hap- pened to be with the Smith & Griggs Manufacturing Company in a humble capacity in their works. He was forever shrewdly on the outlook, however, and sixteen months later found an opportun-
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ity to better himself and learn the print- ing trade, which he quickly took advan- tage of, and for five years continued there- in gaining further mastery of the craft, when he was given charge of the large printing establishment known as the Jack- son Print Shop. For five years longer he held this position, and then took charge of the mechanical department of the "Waterbury Evening Democrat," one of the most progressive and powerful papers in the district. During the whole of his career up to that time, Mr. Lynch had displayed the greatest industry and a most creditable ambition, but it was only then that he came into an atmosphere where such traits of character were fully appreciated and there was the warmest disposition to assist him in life. He re- mained altogether ten years in the em- ploy of the newspaper, but he was not wholly employed with his task there. He had met Judge Patrick J. McMahon, and under the influence of this admirable man gained a deep interest in the law as a subject of study. With a good position in his possession and every reason to look forward to advancement, there are many who would not have ventured upon un- tried waters, but Mr. Lynch is not a man to forego what his ambition urges him to because of a little danger, and he de- cided to make the law his profession though he would certainly have to enter its practice at a greater age than was customary. The event has amply justi- fied his decision. He began to study even- ings under the direction of his new friend, Judge McMahon, who, seeing the worth and spirit of the young man, was only too willing to assist him, and in 1903 he passed his bar examinations and was ad- mitted to the Connecticut bar. But Mr. Lynch, by dint of an attractive personal- ity and a democratic attitude in life, had already made himself well known to the
community, and it was in the autumn of the very year that he began practice that the Democratic party nominated him for its candidate for mayor of Waterbury. He was defeated for the office and retired to private practice, continuing for a number of years, but the event illustrated his capa- bility and brought him before the public notice more conspicuously than ever be- fore. For the next few years he pursued his practice without allowing himself to be interrupted and had soon attained a reputation as a lawyer of unusual ability and a leader of the county bar. The next time Mr. Lynch came before the public was in 1912, when he was the successful Democratic candidate to the State Legis- lature. He served with distinction dur- ing the following term, and in April, 1913, was appointed prosecuting attorney for the city. In this capacity Mr. Lynch served the city for two years and then re- tired once more from public life to private practice of the law. Since that time he has carried on his successful business, and is at present associated with Judge Rob- ert A. Lowe in his practice. Many of the most important cases before the courts of that region have been entrusted to him.
But it is not alone in the practice of his profession that Mr. Lynch is prominent in the affairs of the city, nor in the per- formance of his functions as a public offi- cer, but in many other aspects of the com- munity's life is he active and wherever he is active he is to some extent a leader. He is a member of many important clubs and organizations, not the least of which is the local Bar Association. Besides this he is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Columbus, the Ancient Order of Hiber- nians, the Patrick Garfield Club, the Mac- cabees and the Foresters of America.
On November 9, 1898, was the occasion of the marriage of Mr. Lynch to Eliza-
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beth M. Sullivan, of Waterbury, by the Rev. Joseph M. Gleason. Mrs. Lynch is the daughter of Timothy Sullivan, of Waterbury, deceased, and Margaret (Crimmins) Sullivan, his wife. Mrs. Sul- livan still resides in Waterbury. To Mr. and Mrs. Lynch three children have been born as follows : J. Gregory, July 13, 1901, now a student in the Waterbury High School ; Walter, August 8, 1904, attending Washington School, and Marjorie Grace, March 5. 1909, now attending the Notre Dame Convent School in Waterbury.
FREEMAN, Sanford Grover, Lawyer.
In 1863 Solon Ignatz Freeman, then aged eighteen years, came to the city of Hartford, Connecticut, from his native Alsace-Lorraine, then a province of France. He was born in 1845 and had passed most of his eighteen years in the city of Strassburg, where at one time he was one of the assistant keepers of the wonderful clock in the famous Cathedral. He brought some capital with him and soon after his arrival in Hartford opened a small clothing store, his business de- veloping and increasing until he was rated among the leading retail clothing merchants of the city, his store located on Asylum street. In 1902 he admitted his son-in-law, H. E. Church, as a part- ner, the firm, then becoming The Free- man-Church Company. He was very popular both as business man and citizen, it requiring at one time the fullest exer- cise of his strict determination not to accept office, to prevent his friends from naming him for nomination to the mayor's office. He was interested in the welfare of the city of his adoption, and as a pri- vate citizen exercised his influence in be- half of all worthy movements. He was a member of St. John's Lodge, No. 4, An-
cient Free and Accepted Masons, and of Charter Oak Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He died in Hartford, honored and respected, July 8, 1904, aged fifty-nine years.
Mr. Freeman married Jennie Louise Shippey, born in Ashford, Connecticut, a lady of education, a teacher prior to her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman were the parents of eight children, five of whom reached mature years : Minnie J. ; Louise, married Henry E. Church; Sanford Grover, of further mention; Florence, married Jean E. Robichaud ; Harry.
Sanford Grover Freeman, son of Solon I. and Jennie Louise (Shippey) Freeman, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, June 27, 1876. He obtained his preparatory education in the public school, graduat- ing from high school. He then completed a course in business college, for a time was a student at New York College of Pharmacy, later matriculating at Prince- ton University. He did not enter Prince- ton, however, but decided instead to study law under the direction of Salvatore D'Esopo, a member of the Hartford bar. He continued legal study for three years, then entered the law department of Mer- cer University, Macon, Georgia, whence he was graduated Bachelor of Laws. He was then admitted to practice at the Georgia bar, which included practice in the Supreme Court of the State, located in Macon, and there pursued his profes- sional career for three years. In 1909 he returned to Hartford, was admitted to the Connecticut bar and has continued in successful practice until the present. He is a man of pleasing personality, keen per- ception and ready speech, a natural stu- dent and devoted to his profession. For two years he was special prosecuting at- torney in Hartford, and his powers of ora- tory have been of service to his party as a campaign speaker. He is a Republican
Conn-4-5
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in politics; member of Lincoln Lodge, Knights of Pythias; Middletown Yacht Club, Hartford Yacht Club and Wethers- field Cove Yacht Club, aquatics being his favorite recreation.
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