USA > Connecticut > Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial; representative citizens, v.2 > Part 13
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Upon completing his education, Albert Johnson Blakesley began his business life as a clerk in the Waterbury National Bank, where his father was already the cashier, and soon proved himself to be gifted with a talent for business above the ordinary. It was in 1874 that he first en- tered the employ of the bank and it was only five years later, in 1879, that he be- came head bookkeeper there. Gradually more and more responsibility devolved upon his shoulders and in 1905 he was elected a director of the concern, an office that he still holds to-day. In the year 1907 he was made cashier of the bank to succeed his father, and in this office also he serves at the present time. Mr. Blakes- ley has always been a leader in the affairs of the community of which he is a mem- ber, not alone in the financial and business world, where his influence is exceedingly strong, but in many other aspects of its
life. He is a member of the Home Club, the Waterbury Club and the Country Club, all of Waterbury. He is also promi- nent in the religious life of the city, is a member of the Second Congregational Church, and very active in the work of the congregation. Since the year 1908 he has held the position of treasurer of the Ecclesiastical Society of the church and of the Waterbury Hospital.
Perhaps the connection in which Mr. Blakesley is best known in the city, how- ever, is that of his activity in music. He is a man of strong and definite tastes in all things and this is perhaps his strongest taste. He is largely self-educated in this matter and learned quite by himself to play the pipe organ, one of the most diffi- cult of instruments, as any musician knows, mastering it to such an extent that he is now a most capable church organist, as well as being one of the best all-round musicians in the city. For two years, between 1872 and 1874, he was organist in the Congregational church at Naugatuck, Connecticut, and from 1874 to 1909 was organist in the Second Con- gregational Church of Waterbury. He is passionately fond of his art and devotes such time as a busy man may to its culti- vation.
Mr. Blakesley's citizenship is of a kind that may well serve as a model for the youth of the community. He is possessed of those sterling virtues that have been considered typical of the New England character, a simple, straightforward sort of democracy and a union of idealism with a practical grasp of affairs, which marks the most effective and successful men. His place in the business world is an envi- able one, and he enjoys a universal repu- tation for the most undeviating integrity and the soundest judgment. As a man he is not one jot less admired than as a banker and financier. Indeed, the regard
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for him in his private relations, as a friend, and as a good neighbor, is perhaps even higher than as a successful man of busi- ness. He is a social man, delighting in the intercourse of his fellows, especially when it is of an informal, spontaneous nature, although for the more formal kind of social function he has no great fond- ness. His chief happiness is found in the life of his home, where his own individual- ity finds its readiest and most typical ex- pression, at once in his beloved music and in the moulding of the external features of the home to fit his tastes and fancies. It is for this reason that his home possesses a charm that many more pretentious abodes lack entirely, because it is a real expression of its cultured and enlightened inmates.
Mr. Blakesley married (first) in 1879. Fannie F. Atwood, of Waterbury, who died in 1884. Two children were born to them, both of whom died in infancy. Mr. Blakesley married (second) in 1888, Marie D. Mitchell, a native of New York State, born at Gloversville.
HEMINWAY, Harry Hinman, Manufacturer.
Harry Hinman Heminway was born at Watertown, Connecticut, November 5, 1869. His grandfather was the founder of the important firm of M. Heminway & Sons, manufacturers of silk at Water- town, and the father retired from this con- cern in order to organize the Watertown Trust Company in 1911, a most important financial institution of which he is still the president. Merritt Heminway was born at Watertown, August 9, 1842, and was married to Edla R. Hinman, of Watertown, a daughter of Charles R. and Eliza A. (Loveland) Hinman, of that place. Their son has made his home in his native town of Watertown to the pres- ent time, but his business interests have
been transferred to the neighboring city of Waterbury. The preliminary part of his education was obtained in the public schools of Watertown, which he attended up to the age of twelve years, and he was then sent away from home to the Ches- shire Academy, a boarding school, where he remained three years. From there he went to the Mohegan Lake School at Mo- hegan Lake, New York, and graduated from the last named institution with the class of 1887. He entered the silk busi- ness founded by his grandfather, and there remained until 1901. He then re- tired from the silk business, and pur- chased the business of the A. C. Northrop Company, manufacturers of paper boxes at Waterbury. Upon gaining possession of this establishment, Mr. Heminway in- corporated it under the name of the Waterbury Paper Box Company. In 1914 he became associated with the Metal Spe- cialty Manufacturing Company of Water- bury. He is also a director of the Water- bury Trust Company and of the Water- town Trust Company, the latter institu- tion being that of which his father is the president. He is an Episcopalian in his religious belief and a member of the Epis- copal church in Watertown and has been a vestryman for some years.
Harry Hinman Heminway was married at Watertown, on October 18, 1892, to Charlotte Bishop Lewis, a native of Watertown. Mrs. Heminway is the daughter of Robert B. and Jane (Warren) Lewis, the former now living in retire- ment from business at New Rochelle, New York, and the latter deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Heminway two children have been born as follows: Merritt, second, born September 10, 1896, now a student at Yale University in the class of 1918; and Bartow Lewis, born November 25, 1899, and now a pupil at the well known Taft's School at Watertown in the class of 1917.
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BRETT, Hon. Frank P.,
Lawyer, Legislator.
Hon. Frank P. Brett, member of the legal fraternity, practicing in Waterbury, is a descendant of an Irish ancestry, in- heriting in marked degree the characteris- tics of that race of people.
Patrick Brett, father of Frank P. Brett, was born in County Sligo, Ireland, about 1830, died in Waterbury, Connecticut, in April, 1871. His father served in the ca- pacity of county surveyor of County Sligo, being proprietor of considerable land in that section, and he and his wife were the parents of several children, one of whom was a fleet surgeon, another a county sur- veyor, and another a Queen's counsel. Patrick Brett was reared and educated in his native land, and in 1850, when about twenty years of age, emigrated to this country and located in Newark, New Jer- sey, where he secured employment as a bookkeeper and he served as such for a number of years, resigning in order to en- ter the employ of the Waterbury Buckle Company, Waterbury, Connecticut, which was tendered him. He was an expert ac- countant, assumed entire charge of their accounts and also straightened out many sets of books in the city. Shortly after his connection with the company he was elected to the higher office of secretary and treasurer, in which capacity he was serving at the time of his decease, and he was also a stockholder in the company. He married (first) Elizabeth Henry, who bore him several children. He married (second) Elizabeth Slater, of Massachusetts, a na- tive of Vermont, who prior to hier mar- riage taught school in Newark, New Jer- sey, and in Worcester, Massachusetts, and who was universally recognized as a woman of unusual accomplishments and rare intelligence. Her death occurred May 8, 1895. She was a daughter of John
Slater, a native of County Sligo, Ireland, where he resided until about the year 1832, when he removed to Quebec, Canada, where he was employed as supervisor of public works, retaining the position for only a short period of time, removing to the United States to escape the epidemic of cholera then raging in Canada. His first residence in this country was in the State of Vermont, from whence he re- moved to Western Massachusetts, where he devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, and was one of the pioneer Cath- olics of that section, and upon his removal to Amherst he became a leader among the Catholics for a radius of fifty miles, gather- ing the people of that faith together and securing the services of a priest to min- ister to them. Mr. Slater was the father of six daughters and one son ; the daugh- ters all followed the same vocation, that of school teacher, five of them coming to Waterbury, Connecticut, and teaching in the first parochial school under public school management in that State, continu- ing for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Brett were the parents of two children: William H., whose death occurred April 6, 1894, and Frank P., of whom further.
Frank P. Brett was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, December 13, 1869. He was educated in the public schools of his na- tive city, graduating from the high school in 1888. He then placed himself under the preceptorship of Charles A. Colley, a suc- cessful lawyer, with whom he studied for a period of two years, and supplemented the knowledge acquired under his tuition by a course of study in Yale Law School, from which he was graduated with the class of 1892. After passing the required examinations he was admitted to the Con- necticut bar in June, 1892, and located for the active practice of his profession in Waterbury, and during the intervening years, almost a quarter of a century, he
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has built up an extensive clientele and gained a reputation of which any man might well be proud, being the result of honest, earnest labor, and his standing at the bar is a merited tribute to his ability. He has also become well known in politi- cal circles, having been chosen by his fel- low citizens to fill various public offices, being a candidate on the Democratic ticket, both he and his father being staunch adherents of the principles of Democracy. He was a member of the board of school visitors for six year ; a representative in the State Legislature in 1899; and clerk of the town of Waterbury, elected in the fall of 1899 and serving until 1910. He has been prominent and influential in for- warding all movements for the welfare of his party and of the citizens of Water- bury, and is highly esteemed by all with whom he is brought in contact. He is faithful to the religion of his forefathers, a consistent member of St. Margaret's Church, Waterbury, and a generous con- tributor to its maintenance. He holds membership in the Knights of Columbus; the Foresters of America; the Ancient Order of Hibernians; the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; the Veteran Association of the Connecticut National Guard, having served sixteen years as an active member thereof; the American- Irish Historical Society ; associate mem- ber of the Grand Army of the Republic and several other societies having local interests in his native city.
PILLING, John William, Business Man.
As president of the Pilling Brass Com- pany of Waterbury, Connecticut, Mr. Pill- ing has won prominence in the manufac- turing circle in which he moves and has added to the commercial importance of his city. The Pillings are of ancient English
lineage, John W. Pilling being of the first American born generation. On his mother's side he is of Scotch descent, she being born in Edinburgh. He is a son of William Pilling, and a grandson of John and Mary (Dobson) Pilling, both of whom died at advanced ages in England. leaving children: William, of further mention : Elizabeth and Isaac, all de- ceased.
William Pilling was born at Hudders- field, England, in 1834, died at Westerly, Rhode Island, in October, 1865. He came to the United States in 1857, resided for a time at Franklin, New Jersey, removing thence to Stonington, Connecticut, and later to Westerly, where he was in charge of the operation of a woolen mill. He died at the age of thirty-one years, just fairly entering upon a life work of promise. He married Isabella Fleming, born in Edin- burgh, Scotland, daughter of John and Mary (Black) Fleming. She survived her husband and died in Waterbury, Connec- ticut, aged seventy-nine years. Her only brother, James Fleming, died in Provi- dence, Rhode Island. William and Isa- bella (Fleming) Pilling were the parents of four children: Mary, a resident of Waterbury; Elizabeth, widow of Na- thaniel Gault, residing in Waterbury; John W., of further mention ; and James H., secretary of the Pilling Brass Com- pany, a sketch of whom follows in this work.
John W. Pilling was born at Franklin, near Newark, New Jersey, July 17, 1861, his parents moving to Westerly, Rhode Island, the following year. There he at- tended public schools until he was sixteen years of age. He then accompanied his widowed mother to Waterbury, Connecti- cut, which city has since been his home. He learned the carpenter's trade thor- oughly and as apprentice and journeyman worked at that trade for ten years. He
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then became a worker in the brass works of the Scoville Manufacturing Company, remaining two years, then for sixteen years was in a responsible position with Benedict & Burnham .. In 1907 he organ- ized the Pilling Brass Company of which he is president and treasurer, his brother, James H. Pilling, secretary. The firm are manufacturers of phosphor bronze, brass, German silver, and copper stock of varied width and thickness, and are highly re- garded in the trade. Mr. Pilling is a Re- publican in politics. He is an earnest, capable business man, thoroughly devoted and honorable, and interested in those movements which promote the material growth and moral welfare of his city. For thirty years he has been a member of the Second Congregational Church, an active promoter of its interests and a generous supporter.
Mr. Pilling married, in Waterbury, Jan- uary 26, 1887, Rose Emily Boden, born in New York, daughter of Benjamin and Rebecca (Smith) Boden, both living at Oakville, Connecticut, her father a retired mechanic at the age of eighty-five, her mother aged seventy-five. Mr. and Mrs. Pilling have four children: Norman Bo- den, born January 23, 1893 ; Marian ; Mar- garet ; and John William, Jr., born in 1903.
PILLING, James Henry,
Business Man, Public Official.
At the age of fifteen Mr. Pilling moved with his widowed mother and her family to Waterbury, Connecticut, and from that time has resided in that city, one of its pushing, energetic boys, reputable busi- ness men and honored public officials. He has filled many public positions and as councilman, alderman, town treasurer, commissioner of charities and postmaster, has served the city with fidelity and zeal.
As an employe of the Scoville Manufac- turing Company for twenty years he proved his business quality, and as secre- tary of the Pilling Brass Company, he has contributed to the upbuilding of another strong manufacturing enterprise to add to his city's material prosperity.
James Henry Pilling was born May 12, 1863, at Stonington, Connecticut, his par- ents living there for a time prior to taking up their residence in Westerly, Rhode Island. He was but a child of less than three years when his father died, but his stout-hearted mother kept the children with her and gave them the advantages of the public schools. He attended school until he was thirteen, then worked as clerk in a dry goods store until the re- moval of the family to Waterbury in 1878. For two years after coming to Waterbury he was employed in the brass works of the Scoville Manufacturing Company, then entered the government service as clerk in the Waterbury post office. He continued in that position for seven years, then resigned and re-entered the employ of the Scoville Manufacturing Company, remaining with that corporation in re- sponsible position for twenty years. In 1907 he joined his brother, John William Pilling, in the organization of the Pilling Brass Company, of which he is secretary, John W. Pilling president and treasurer. The company is a successful one and under the capable management of the brothers promises to so continue.
James Henry Pilling from the time he became a voter has taken an interest in political affairs. He is a Republican in his political faith and since 1892 has been one of the leaders of the party in Water- bury. He was first elected a member of the Council in 1892, serving through re- election for three terms. In 1896 he was elected alderman, serving during 1896 and 1897. During the same period he
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النصر
Geo M Beach
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
was commissioner of charities and during 1898 and 1899 was town treasurer. In 1902 he was again elected alderman, serv- ing continuously until 1907. During 1904 and 1905 he was again commissioner of charities, and on March 30, 1907, he was appointed postmaster of Waterbury by President Roosevelt. He was reappointed by President Taft four years later, hold- ing the office until the expiration of his second term, March 30, 1915. This rec- ord of continuous public service, ex- tending over a period of nearly a quar- ter of a century, indicates Mr. Pill- ing's popularity and the value placed by his fellow-men upon his efforts to serve the public honorably and efficiently. There is no stain upon his record and he can review his public career with satis- faction. For twenty-five years he has been a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and very popular in both orders. In re- ligious affiliation he is connected with the Second Congregational Church. He is unmarried.
BEACH, George Milo, Public Official.
A descendant of Connecticut Revolu- tionary sires, son and grandson of Con- necticut farmers, George M. Beach has proved a worthy twentieth century de- scendant of a family which for over two and a half centuries has been one of the strong families of Connecticut, both as a colony and a commonwealth. His early life was spent on the farm in much the same manner as former generations of his family had spent theirs, but after attain- ing legal age he left the farm and has since been a city resident, engaged in factory life and an important factor in city government. He descends from the
Goshen branch of the family founded by Thomas Beach.
John Beach left Wallingford in 1728 and became one of the founders of the town of Goshen, Connecticut, where in 1739 he built one of the largest houses in the town and in one of the most popular residence sections, now East Goshen, and there he died May 9, 1775. When half a century later the Revolutionary War was being waged fourteen men by the name of Beach fought in the Continental army from the town of Goshen.
There are three immigrants named Beach found in the records of New Haven Colony for 1639, Richard, John and Thomas, and the evidence that they were brothers appears conclusive. Richard Beach came from London in 1635 in the ship "Elizabeth and Ann" and settled in New Haven as early as 1639. John Beach was concerned with Richard Beach in 1647 in the settlement of an estate, and before 1660 located in Stamford, Connec- ticut. Both John and Richard Beach bought lands in Wallingford. Thomas Beach, the third brother, took the oath of fidelity in New Haven, March 7, 1647, and had been there prior to that date. Later he moved to Milford, then to Walling- ford, where he resided for a time, dying in Milford in 1662. All the brothers mar- ried, had issue, and from them are all of the name in Connecticut traced, whose an- cestors were in the State prior to 1650. The name is one of the best known in the State and has been honorably borne in every generation by men of eminence in the professions and the various occupa- tions in which men of worth engage. George Milo Beach, of Waterbury, de- scends from Thomas Beach, of New Haven, 1647, through John Beach, born 1655, Samuel Beach, born 1696, Zophar Beach, born 1723, Abner Beach, born 1748, Heman Beach, a native of Goshen,
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Connecticut, born 1775, and Milo Beach, born 1803.
Heman Beach, son of Abner and Beu- lah (Abernethy) Beach, was born in Goshen, Connecticut, in the year 1775, there passed his entire life and died in 1840. He was a wealthy landowner, pos- sessing several farms, but his own farm was mainly devoted to the breeding of cattle. He dealt heavily in cattle in addi- tion to his own herds, and in that day was known as a "drover" from the fact that cattle were sent to market in droves on foot, a practice extinct since the introduc- tion of railroads. His wife, Clarissa (Kil- burn) Beach, bore him five children, three surviving to mature years: Marcia, Milo, of further mention, and Heman (2) ; James and Clarissa dying in infancy.
Milo Beach, son of Heman Beach, was born in Goshen, Connecticut, June 9, 1803, and died in Litchfield, Connecticut, in 1888. He grew to manhood on the home farm, and from childhood until death was engaged in agriculture in its varied forms. He owned a good farm at Litchfield, and was a man of thrift, in- dustry and integrity. He married. No- vember II, 1856, Lucretia Hall, of Litch- field, Connecticut, born February 5, 1827, who died when her son, George Milo Beach, was sixteen months old. She also left a daughter, Mary Lucretia, born Jan- uary 1, 1859, now the widow of Frank Barton, of Watertown, Connecticut. By a second wife, Milo Beach had a son, Milo, Jr., now residing in Litchfield, a but- ter dealer.
George Milo Beach, son of Milo Beach and his first wife, Lucretia (Hall) Beach, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, Sep- tember 10, 1857. He was educated in the public schools and spent the first eighteen years of his life at the home farm. His boyhood was spent after the fashion of the average country boy, plenty of hard
work, but with the usual compensation in healthful surroundings and a well de- veloped body. On coming of age, he taught school for a time. In 1880 he went to Thomaston, Connecticut, where for five years he was employed in a clock manu- factory. In 1885, at the age of twenty- eight, he moved to Waterbury, where he was employed in the clock department of the Waterbury Watch Factory for the ensuing twenty years, ranking with the most highly regarded employees in the company's service. During those twenty- five years spent in clock manufacture, Mr. Beach held various positions, his experi- ence covering every phase of clock manu- facture.
In 1905 he resigned his position to ac- cept the position of superintendent of police, an office he has most satisfactorily filled until the present time (1916). When appointed superintendent of police of Waterbury, Mr. Beach resigned the office of alderman, which he had held continu- ously for four years, having been first elected in 1902. He was vice-president of the Board of Aldermen, 1904-05, and from 1902 to 1905, inclusive, was also a member of the committee of public safety or police commissioner. His services as alderman were valuable to the city and in a measure prepared him for the respon- sible duties of guardian of the public peace. His administration of the super- intendent's office has been most devoted. Under him the force has gained in effi- ciency, and in no city of its size has the police service been of a higher order.
In 1875, having reached the age of eighteen years as required by law, Mr. Beach enlisted in the State National Guard, and for seven years continued in the militia service of the State. He is a prominent member of the leading fra- ternal orders of the city, belonging to Continental Lodge, Free and Accepted £
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Masons; Waterbury Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Nosa- hogan Lodge, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and he belongs to the Water- bury Country Club.
Mr. Beach married, June 21, 1879, at Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut, Sarah Isa- bel Sawyer, born there February 12, 1860, daughter of William and Nancy (Bird- sell) Sawyer, of Cornwall Bridge, both deceased, her father a farmer, leaving children, Lewis, Louisa, Wallace, Mary and Sarah Isabel. Mr. and Mrs. Beach have two sons, Arthur George and George Lewis, their second child, William, dying in childhood.
ALLEN, George B., Representative Citizen.
There is always something instructive in the records of such men as George B. Allen, the public-spirited and successful citizen of Unionville, Connecticut, be- cause in them we see typified the earnest and unwearied effort that inevitably spells success; because the achievements that we discover there are not the result of a brilliant tour de force, but of the quiet, conscientious application of the talents and abilities with which nature has endowed them to the circumstances at hand ; be- cause the position and fortune which they have gained seem almost to be no more than an incident to, a by-product of, the consistent performance of duty which forms its own end and objective. This is instinctively realized by those who come in contact with Mr. Allen, who is not so much thought of by the community in the character of a man of wealth and posi- tion, as in that of a wise, philanthropic citizen and a disinterested neighbor whose best advice and counsel in all emergencies may always be had for the asking. On both sides of the house Mr. Allen is a
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