USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > History of Bridgeport and vicinity > Part 22
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On the 14th of July, 1914, Mr. Goldstein was united in marriage to Miss Florence Theresa Loewith, her father being Sigmund Loewith, a prominent citizen of Bridgeport who is mentioned at greater length on another page of this work. Mr. and Mrs. Goldstein have a daughter, Barbara Shirley, who was born July 21, 1915. Mr. Goldstein is a member and at present its secretary of Congregation B'Nai Israel, which is the oldest Jewish religious organization of the city. He is also a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 711, 1. O. B. B .; also of Park City Lodge, No. 59, K. P .; Bridgeport Lodge, No. 36, B. P. O. E .; and Corinthian Lodge, No. 104, A. F. & A. M. In politics he is a democrat but has never sought nor held office other than that of justice of the peace. He is fond of baseball and motoring and turns to these for rest and recreation, recognizing the fact that to maintain an even balance one must alternate hours of play with hours of work. In his profession he has made steady progress, his ability bringing him to the front.
G. L. FUNNELL.
G. L. Funnell, manager of the record manufacturing department of the Amerlean Graphophone Company of Bridgeport, is a native son of Great Bend, Pennsylvania, and in the acquirement of his education he attended Union University at Albany, New York, from which he was graduated in 1884. Later he entered upon the study of medicine but did not complete his course in that science. Instead he turned his attention to the retail drug business and to chemical research work in New York. He was also engaged in similar lines at Stamford, Connecticut, to which place he removed in 1890. Eight years afterward he came to Bridgeport as a representative of the American Graphophone Company in the experimental department, working on records. The master record then had to be made for every twenty-six or thirty duplicate records. Trouble was experienced in the variation of the wax composition in the records. The company developed a method of molding a master record from which millions of records can be made. This was done by putting a metal copper plate on the wax and then gold plating it, and the invention brought about a revolution in the record making business. This method was used on the old cylinder record. Not content with what had already been achieved, remarkable as it was, Mr. Funnell then lielped to develop the dise record, the American Graphophone Company being pioneers in that field. He has fitted up a very fine laboratory for extensive research work and experiment, and the results of his labors have been notable in the extreme. In 1905 he was sent to London to organize the factories of the company in England and he had charge of the business there until the outbreak of the present international war, when he returned to America and in the spring of 1915 took over the factory management at Bridgeport. He resigned that position, however, in the following December and returned to England, but came again to the United States in February, 1916, and took up special investigation and efficiency work for the company. In August, 1916, he was made manager of the record manufacturing department and he yet continues his efforts in the experimentation department, which is one of the big factors of the business. He has had much to do with the development of the record to its
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present state of perfection, when it seems almost impossible to distinguish the reproduction from the original voice.
On the 8th of November, 1915, Mr. Funnell was married to Mrs. Fred Parrott, of Bridge- port. They oeenpy a prominent position in the social circles of the city and Mr. Funnell is numbered with those who have made valuable contribution to the world's work. Bringing every phase of his inventive genius and scientific power to the development of a new industry, his labors have been fraught with notable success that ranks him high with the inventors of the age.
SAMUEL KATZ.
Samuel Katz, a furniture dealer of Bridgeport, was born in Russia in 1877, a son of Jacob and Molly Katz, both now deceased. The mother passed away in 1878, while the father survived until five years ago.
Samuel Katz spent the days of his boyhood and youth in his native land and in 1889 crossed the Atlantic, arriving at New York city, after which he attended school there for three years. In 1892 he came to Bridgeport, where he was variously employed for a time, and in 1894 he established his present business, remaining at the same location for twenty- three years. He carries a complete line of furniture and for twenty years has been agent for the Oakland ranges, during which time he has sold five thousand of these stoves. He conducts his business both on the cash and credit basis and now has fifteen hundred customers on his books.
In Bridgeport Mr. Katz was united in marriage to Miss Lena Foderman, who came from Russia in 1892. Their children are four in number, namely: Matthew and Elsie, who are sixteen and fourteen years of age respectively and attend high school; Dorothy, who is eight years old and a public school student; and Mary, a little maiden of four summers. Mr. Katz belongs to Adath Israel Synagogue, also to Abraham Lodge, No. 89, I. O. B. B., and to the Hebrew Sick Benefit Association. He likewise has membership with the Moose and with Adelphia Lodge, 1. O. O. F., of Bridgeport. He has lived to see remarkable changes in Bridgeport. In his youthful days he played ball where the Union Metallic Cartridge Company plant now stands, giving employment to twenty-four thousand people. He is a self-made man. He has earned every dollar which he possesses and, moreover, he does not owe a dollar. Gradually he has worked his way upward, his industry and economy enabling him at length to engage in business for himself, and since that time careful management, keen business discrimination and unfaltering enterprise have led to the upbuilding of his fortune.
THOMAS FRANCIS BURNS.
Thomas Francis Burns, second assistant chief of the Bridgeport Fire Department, was born February 12, 1874, in the city where he resides, his parents being John and Bridget (Donahue) Burns, who were natives of Ireland, where both were reared, educated and married. They settled in Bridgeport in the early '60s and Mr. Burns became an employe of the Win- chester Arms Company, while later he engaged in the stevedore business on the water front, where he was a familiar figure for years. He died in Bridgeport in 1885, while his wife passed away in 1890.
Thomas F. Burns obtained his education in the city schools of Bridgeport and served a five years' apprenticeship at the stone mason's trade, after which he worked at his trade for
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a time, but on the 21st of June, 1895, was appointed call man of the fire department, and on February 10, 1896, was made a permanent member. On the 16th of April, 1908, he was made captain of Engine Company No. 4, and on the 17th of May, 1916, he was advanced to the position of second assistant chief of the department and assigned to East Bridgeport, where he is now located. He has a splendid record as a fire fighter and has done much to hold the department up to its present high standard of efficiency. He is popular with his men, who recognize his ability, and he is always watchful of the interests and welfare of those who serve under him.
On the 28th of November, 1907, Mr. Burns was married to Miss Mary I. Madden, who was born at Bridgeport and after pursuing her education here taught in the public schools to the time of her marriage. She is a daughter of John D. and Katherine (MeGlynn) Madden, who were natives of Connecticut and early residents of Bridgeport. Mr. and Mrs. Burns have two children, Rita Elizabeth and Miriam, both born in Bridgeport.
The parents are members of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Burns holds member- ship with Park City Council of the Knights of Columbus. He is also identified with the Maccabees and he belongs to the International Association of Fire Engineers and to the Bridgeport and the Connecticut Fire Department Sick & Relief Associations. His political endorsement is given to the democratic party and he Is never afraid to uphold his honest convictions.
KONRAD CLEMENS, M. D.
One of the well known members of the medical profession in Bridgeport whose profes- sional work in that city extends through a period of more than thirty-six years, is Dr. Konrad Clemens. A native of Austria, Dr. Clemens was born in Vienna, November 19, 1843, and comes from a family of physicians, for both his father and grandfather were medical men.
Dr. Clemens was educated in the schools of his native country and then took up the study of medicine. For five years he engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery both in Austria and Germany, at the end of which period he volunteered for service in the German army and, qualifying after that examination, received the rank of lieutenant surgeon. While in that capacity he was ordered on a botanical expedition to the Balkan country, entering at Belgrade. The journey was made on horseback through Servia, Bulgaria, and portions of Roumania. During his army service Dr. Clemens spent considerable time in Galicia, being located at Lemberg, and later was surgeon of a hospital at Zalosce, near the Russian border, the general headquarters being at Tarnople. Leaving the cavalry branch of the army with the rank of first lieutenant, Dr. Clemens soon afterward decided to come to the United States, fully determined to make his home here. It was about 1879 when he took passage for New York, where shortly afterward he took out his first papers to become a citizen of the United States. Among Dr. Clemens' first acquaintances after going to New York was Dr. James Little, the noted surgeon, who was then professor of surgery in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. Dr. Little induced Dr. Clemens to go with him to the University of Vermont, where Dr. Little taught surgery. Entering this institution, Dr. Clemens was graduated therefrom in July, 1881, and in the month following located in Bridgeport for the practice of his profession. He first opened an office on the west side of Main street, south of State street, and rapidly built up an excellent practice. In 1886, owing to the death of a relative, he returned to Germany, where he spent several months. While there he received the degrees of Doctor of Medicine and Surgery and Master of Obstetrics from the University of Jena, in recognition of a thesis on obstetrics. He also took a course in general surgery in Vienna, his native city, under Professor Dr. Theodore Billroth.
DR. KONRAD CLEMENS
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Returning to America, Dr. Clemens resumed practice in Bridgeport, where he has since remained. In 1899 he took post graduate work at the New York Polyclinic in operative surgery of the eye, while in 1902 he took a course at the Chicago College of Ophthalmology and Otology and still later took a course at the Electro-Therapeutic College of that city, the pioneer X-ray college in America. Dr. Clemens served as medical examiner for the dis- triet of Easton under Coroner Holt and was twice president of the German Medical Associa- tion of Connecticut. During the earlier years of his practice in Bridgeport he performed a great deal of surgical work. His entire time and attention have been devoted to his pro- fessional interests and reading and study have kept him in touch with the trend of modern progress in medicine and surgery.
About twenty years ago Dr. Clemens was married to Miss Jennie Dickinson, of Haddam, Connecticut, a daughter of Captain Silas Dickinson, a sea captain.
DAVID S. DAY.
David S. Day, a member of the law firm of Marsh, Stoddard & Day, general practitioners at the Bridgeport bar, was born in Colchester, Connecticut, in 1880, a son of Hon. Erastus S. and Catherine (Olmstead) Day. The father was a well known attorney at Colchester for many years but is now living retired. He served as a member of the state legislature for two terms and for several years was chairman of the republican state central committee. After acquiring his early education in the public schools of his native town David S. Day continued his studies in the famous Colchester Academy of that place. He determined upon the practice of law as a life work and with that end in view entered the academic department at Yale, while in 1902 he entered the Law School of Yale and was graduated with the class of 1904. The same year he was admitted to the bar at New London, Connecticut, and in October, 1905, he opened an office in Bridgeport for the independent practice of his profession -a calling that has had much to do with the prosperity and stable conditions of every community and which has ever been looked upon as the conservator of the rights and privileges of the individual. Holding to high professional standards, he has steadily worked his way upward by reason of his elose application, his thorough study and his native ability. In 1906 he entered into partnership with Morris Seymour, a relation that was continued until 1910, when he joined the firm of Marsh, Stoddard & Stoddard, leading to the adoption of the firm style of Marsh, Stoddard & Day. They have continued in the general practice of law and Mr. Day is well known as one who prepares his cases with great thoroughness and skill. He is strong in argument and logical in his deductions and within a comparatively brief period he has won rank among the leading lawyers of Bridgeport.
Mr. Day belongs to both the Connecticut State and American Bar Associations and fraternally he is connected with the Masons. He also belongs to the University Club, the Brooklawn Country Club and the Algonquin Club and in his adopted city has a circle of friends almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintances. In 1913 he was married to Natalie Cornwall, daughter of Jesse B. Cornwall, of Bridgeport.
JAMES F. JOHNSON.
James F. Johnson, managing director of the State Trade School at Bridgeport, was born in Oswego, New York, August 19, 1882, a son of W. H. and Beatrice Johnson, who were early residents there. In the family were seven children: James F., Thomas, William, Henry, Anna, Agnes and Mary, all of whom are yet living.
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James F. Johnson is a graduate of the high school of Oswego, New York, of the class of 1900. He started out in the business world as general helper in a match factory and pre- pared for colleged by working hard, it being necessary to earn the money that would enable him to meet the expenses of a college course. He completed a classical course in the State Normal School at Oswego in the class of 1904. He was employed for a time in Ballard, afterward in Seattle, Washington, and in 1906 went to Rochester, New York, where he became a draftsman. It was subsequent to that time that he matriculated in the Massa- chusetts School of Technology in Boston, from which he was graduated in 1909 with the degree of Mechanical Engineer. He was afterward employed in engineering work in Rochester, New York, until he met with an injury which permanently disabled one of his arms, this occurring in 1912. The same year he was appointed draftsman in the State Trade School in Bridgeport and in 1913 was advanced to the position of managing director. The State Trade School is full to its capacity, at all times having two hundred and ninety day students and two hundred and sixty-three night students. There are sixteen employes at the school through the day and ten at night. Mr. Johnson takes great interest in his work and gives personal attention to all the students. He interests himself in getting for them positions and keeps supervision over them for a year and a half after leaving school. He has made valuable contribution to literature bearing upon his life work. He is the author of two volumes, one called "Practical Shop Mathematics and Mechanics" and the other "Practical Vocational Arithmetic." He has in preparation a volume entitled "Hand Book for Mechanics" for use by apprentices and journeymen.
In 1913, at Leominster, Massachusetts, Mr. Johnson was married to Miss Winifred Tansey, representative of a pioneer family there, and they have two children, James F. and Mary C. Their religious faith is that of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Johnson has membership with the Knights of Columbus and also the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks.
WILLIS F. HOBBS.
A student of economic conditions has said that almost ninety per cent of the men are business failures and those who attain to positions of leadership are indeed comparatively few. They must cultivate in large measure the qualities of determination and persistency of purpose, combined with indefatigable energy and the ability to readily discriminate between the essential and the non-essential. Possessing all of these requirements. Willis F. Hobbs now stands as one of the leaders in the business circles of Bridgeport. As presi- dent of the Bridgeport Hardware Manufacturing Corporation he has under his direction two hundred employes, operating a plant devoted to the manufacture of hardware spe- cialties. This business has been in existence since 1895 and through the years of his con- nection therewith Mr. Hobbs has been an important element in directing the policy and shaping the operations of the business.
He was horn in North Hampton, New Hampshire, in 1854, and attended the public school in North Hampton and high school of Exeter, after which he entered the Phillips Academy, thus pursuing his education while spending his boyhood days in the home of his parents, Jonathan and Mary H. (French) Hobbs. The latter was a daughter of Rev. Jonathan French, who for a half century was a Congregational minister of North Hamp- ton, and both were representatives of early New England families, each of which was rep- resented in the Revolutionary war. Among the direct ancestors was also John Alden. Jonathan Hobbs was a farmer by occupation. Two of his sons, James F. and Francis Drake, elder brothers of Willis F. Hobbs, were soldiers of the Civil war and hoth were incar- cerated in Libby prison. The latter is now deceased, while the former resides in New Hampshire.
WILLIS F. HOBBS
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The eleventh in a family of twelve children, Willis F. Hobbs early began to provide for his own support and the position which he occupies in the business circles of Bridge- port is entirely the result of his own efforts, as he received no financial help from anyone. In young manhood he turned bis attention to the drug business, which he followed for a few years, and in 1880 he removed to Bridgeport, where he became connected with Samuel R. Wilmot, who had established the American Belt Tin & Tube Company. They formed a partnership under the firm style of Wilmot, Hobbs & Company, which later became the Wilmot & Hobbs Manufacturing Company. The business proved a profitable one and after some years' connection therewith Mr. Hobbs sold out and entered into relations with E. N. Sperry. At length he purchased the interest of his partner and formed the present company, which for a time operated under the name of the Bridgeport Hardware Manu- facturing Company, as successors to the Bridgeport Manufacturing Company, which was organized in 1895. In 1902 a reorganization was effected under the name of the Bridge- port Hardware Manufacturing Corporation. The first location was on Knowlton street and in 1900 a removal was made to No. 461 Iranistan avenue, where they built a saw-tooth factory which was destroyed by fire in 1902. This necessitated the rental of space on Housatonic avenue for a year but in 1904 the plant was rebuilt at the former location. At that time the factory was about one hundred by one hundred and fifty feet, two stories in height with basement and of semi-mill construction. In 1915 an addition was built sixty by two hundred and ten feet, two stories and basement, and this is a brick building of mill construction, the entire plant being equipped with the sprinkler system. The office was built in 1910. The plant is equipped with both steam and electric power and individual motors are used. Two hundred people are employed, of whom twenty-five per cent are skilled workmen. They manufacture hardware specialties, nail pullers, box openers, wire stretchers and in fact a large variety of products, including the "Perfect slid- ing door." Their output is sold all over the world to jobbers only, and the business is enjoying a steady and substantial growth. The officers of the company are: Willis F. Hobbs, president; Harry B. Curtis, treasurer; and Arthur I. Platt, secretary. In addition to his other interests Mr. Hobbs is a director of the Connecticut Bank and a trustee of the Bridgeport Bank, of which he was one of the incorporators.
In 1881 Mr. Hobbs was married to Miss Florence E. Wilmot, a daughter of Samuel R. and Sarah M. (Gurnsey) Wilmot. They have one son, Clifford R., who is engaged in the railway business and who is a graduate of the high school and of the Peck University School.
Mr. Hobbs holds membership in the United Congregational church, also in the Seaside Club and his political support is given to the republican party. Of the Seaside Club he served as president for one term. He is a very prominent member of the Manufacturers Association, of which he served as the treasurer for five years and as president for two years. He was also the organizer of the Manufacturers Chorus, a social feature of the Manufacturers Association. It is characteristic of him that what he attempts he accom- plishes. His plans are always well defined and carefully and promptly executed, with the result that his powers have developed and in the utilization of his opportunities he has reached a position of distinction in the business circles of Bridgeport.
REV. THOMAS J. SYNNOTT.
Rev. Thomas J. Synnott began his labors at St. Augustine's church in Bridgeport in August, 1852, entering upon a pastorate that covered over thirty-two years. In this field be gave evidence of the possession of a high degree of tact, patience and courage, combined with unconquerable confidence and faith in his work and unusual financial capacity. It was
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a time when authority had to be exercised firmly, yet withal in a spirit of fatherly kindness. He was equal to every demand made upon him and his conduct of affairs elicited the praise of those above him in the church.
Rev. Synnott was a native of Ireland and was ordained to the priesthood April 11, 1851. In the first years of his ministry he enlarged St. James' church, built St. Mary's church, then at the corner of Crescent avenue and Church street, and also was instrumental in building St. Thomas' church at Fairfield. With splendid foresight and judgment he purchased the fine lot at the corner of Washington avenue and Pequonnock street, in Bridgeport, and thereon erected St. Augustine's church, which stands as a monument to his zeal and devotion to the Catholic faith. The cornerstone was laid August 25, 1865, and the church was opened for public worship March 17, 1869, being dedicated under the title of St. Augustine in June, 1868, by Bishop MePharland. The erection of St. Agnes' convent next claimed his attention, although he did not live to see it completed.
When his last illness came upon him he was engaged in improving forty acres of land in the north part of the city. Among his last acts of a temporal character was the purchase of the Billings property, now used as a parochial residence. He died April 30, 1884, at the age of sixty-six years, in the old parochial residence on Pequonnock street. The Rev. Augustine Hewitt, C. S. P., pronounced the funeral service, saying: "As a citizen he was upright, honest and sincere, as a priest he was a firm upholder of the doctrines of the church and always solicitous of the spiritual welfare of his flock. The cause of education found in him an earnest champion. He was a member of the board of education for several years and during that time not only maintained kindly relations with his colleagues but endeared himself alike to teachers and pupils."
STANLEY T. KELLOGG.
Stanley T. Kellogg, conducting both a wholesale and retail business in motorcycles in Bridgeport, was born in Fairfield, Connecticut, December 30, 1884. His father, Charles D. H. Kellogg, has now passed away, but his mother, who bore the maiden name of Annie Sophia Terrill, is still living. The first fourteen years of his life Stanley T. Kellogg spent upon the home farm, with the educational opportunities offered in the rural schools. In 1898 he came to Bridgeport, where he attended school for one year and then, when a lad of fifteen, he began earning his own living, working for a time as a messenger boy. He was also employed for a period in a dry goods store and by the Bridgeport Brass Company, and in 1906 he became an employe of the Hendee Manufacturing Company, the makers of the Indian motorcycle. On the 24th of December, 1909, he became connected with the Excelsior Motor Manufacturing & Supply Company, with which he has since been associated, and he now sells the excelsior motorcycle in Rhode Island, Connecticut and eastern New York and also handles the Henderson motorcycle in Connecticut. He was formerly a famous track rider, beginning in 1902, and he held all the motorcycle records and championships from 1906 until 1908 inclusive in amateur work, never becoming a professional. Through his expert riding, however, he won eighteen cups and sixty medals. He has always been interested in all phases of outdoor life and sports and he is now greatly interested in aviation and has been associated with Glenn Curtis, Lincoln Beachey and other famous flyers. In the sale of the Excelsior and Henderson motorcycles he conducts both a wholesale and retail business and his trade has now reached very large and gratifying proportions.
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