USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > History of Bridgeport and vicinity > Part 36
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76
He is a republican in politics and in 1912 was appointed to fill out an unexpired term as alderman and was elected to that office in 1913 and again in 1915. He is now chairman of the lamp committee and it was due to his efforts that the powerful new electric lights were installed on the main business street of Bridgeport. He also worked out a plan whereby the cost of erecting and maintaining the lights on the streets has been very materially reduced. He is now also a member of the rules and miscellaneous committees and was formerly for one year a member of the finance committee. He is a communicant of St. John's Protestant Episcopal church and is a prominent Mason, belonging to St. John's Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Jerusalem Chapter, R. A. M .; Hamilton Commandery, No. 5, K. T .; Pyramid Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., in which he is a member of the Patrol; and to the various Scottish Rite bodies up to and including the Consistory. He also belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution and to the Sons of Veterans, and the patriotism which characterized his ancestors is also one of his most dominant qualities. He is a member of the Seaside Club and the Brooklawn Country Club. He represents the Hawley Hardware Company in the Bridgeport Chamber of Commerce and the Bridgeport Business Men's Association, the two organizations which have been most active in the advancement of the commercial and industrial interests of the city. It is such men as he who are are real city builders-men of constructive ability, directed by a strong sense of civic responsibility. He owns his beautiful residence at No. 151 West avenue and its doors are always open to his many friends.
WILLIAM A. LAMOND.
William A. Lamond, harbor master of Bridgeport, was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1886 and is a representative of a family that has been connected with marine interests for many years. His grandfather, Neil Lamond, was a sea captain and for many years com- manded his own vessel, the Arizeambo. In the early days he often made the port of Bridge- port and his son, Alexander Lamond, father of our subject and a native of Eastport, Maine, sailed for a number of years on schooners engaged in the coastwise trade. The latter married Margaret King, whose parents were of French extraction and were residents of Nova Scotia. Both Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Lamond are still living.
William A. Lamond attended school in Massachusetts and in Bridgeport, the family having moved here in 1900. He completed the work of the ninth grade in the Wheeler school and then carried out his wishes by going to work. He learned the barber's trade and worked for a time in a Main street shop, after which he was employed in the shop of the Atlantic Hotel, which his father owned. Subsequently he shipped on board the Maggie Todd, a freighter owned by Captain Britt, and made fifty or more trips on this vessel to Boston, Calais, Eastport and other coast cities. He remained on that boat for about five years and then returned to Bridgeport. For a time he was in the employ of the Batcheler Corset Company and for six years had charge of the Batcheler yacht, the Sea Bird. In 1915 he was
380
BRIDGEPORT AND VICINITY
appointed harbor master of Bridgeport and has since served in that capacity. He finds the work much to his liking and has proved exceptionally competent in the discharge of his duties.
Mr. Lamond is a republican in his political belief but has never taken an active part in public affairs. He holds membership in the St. Augustine Roman Catholic church and is a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His strict integrity, industry and determination have been factors in his success and have also won him a high place in the esteem of those who have been closely associated with him.
FRED E. HOFFMAN.
Fred E. Hoffman, a sheet steel and metal ceilings and walls contractor doing business at No. 491 Main street in Bridgeport, was born in West Hoboken, New Jersey, April 16, 1884, a son of Albert F. and Christine Hoffman, who are now residents of Jersey City, New Jersey. At the usual age Fred E. Hoffman entered the public schools of his native city and there pursued his studies until he reached the age of sixteen years. He afterward worked along the line of his trade for three years and at the end of that period hegan contracting on his own account. In 1910 he removed to Bridgeport, where he has since done contract work in the building of sheet steel and metal ceilings and walls, and there is now evidence of his skill and handiwork in many of the fine structures of Bridgeport, including the Odd Fellows hall, the building of the Nagle Clothing Company, the Junior high school, the Black Rock police and fire station, the Palace theatre and others. He is thoroughly acquainted with every phase of his work and is thus able to direct the labors of those in his employ.
Mr. Hoffman was married April 18, 1908, in New York city to Miss Caroline D. Pfankuchen, of that city. Mr. Hoffman attends the Presbyterian church and he holds mem- bership in the Masonic lodge and with the Junior American Mechanics. He is actuated in all that he does by a laudable ambition to attain success and is building his prosperity upon the sure foundation of unfaltering industry, determination and straightforward dealing
HARRY D. GATES.
Harry D. Gates, president and treasurer of the Fairfield Automobile Company of Bridge- port, where he is well known as a representative business man and citizen, was here born in 1885, a son of H. D. and C. A. Gates. The father came to Bridgeport in the late '50s and engaged in the carriage manufacturing husiness, being one of the earliest to enter that field in the city. His factory stood where his son's place of business is now found. His biography will be found on another page of this volume.
Harry D. Gates attended the University school and in 1904 became connected with the automobile business in California, where he remained for a short time. He then returned to Bridgeport and in 1906 the Fairfield Automobile Company was organized by W. P. Hall and J. L. Carpenter. On the dissolution of that firm the business was taken over by Mr. Hall and in 1908 was incorporated with W. P. Hall as president, H. D. Gates as vice president and E. R. Hampton as secretary and treasurer. Six months later Mr. Hall sold his interest to Mr. Gates, who became president and treasurer, with Mrs. H. D. Gates as vice president, while Mr. Hampton continues as secretary. They are agents for the Hup, Chalmers and the Hal motor cars and in addition to selling these machines they conduct a supply and repair business, being well equipped for work of that character. Their patronage has steadily grown in the intervening period of nine years and theirs is today one of the important motor car enterprises of Bridgeport.
FRED E. HOFFMAN
383
BRIDGEPORT AND VICINITY
In 1906 Mr. Gates was married to Miss Elizabeth Rubey, of Bridgeport, and they have two children, H. D. and Newman V. He is well known in social circles and is a prominent club man, having membership in the Seaside, Racebrook and Pequonnock Yacht Clubs, the Weatogue Country Club and the Park City Gun Club.
DUANE E. BREWER.
A well equipped printing establishment is that owned and controlled by The Brewer- Colgan Company of Bridgeport, of which Duane E. Brewer is the president, and his activities in this direction contribute to the industrial enterprise and consequent prosperity of the city. He was born in Granby, Connecticut, October 6, 1849, and is a son of Edwin and Abigail Eliza (Smith) Brewer, the former a native of West Springfield, Massachusetts, and the latter of Agawam, that state. The ancestry in the paternal line is traced back to Daniel Brewer, who came from England on the 16th of September, 1632, and located at Roxbury, Massa- chusetts, bringing with him his family of seven and two servants. He had been a resident of Somersetshire, England, and he embarked at London on the ship Lion. Daniel Brewer, the progenitor of the family in the new world, was the grandfather of Daniel Brewer III, who became the pastor of the First Congregational church at Springfield, Massachusetts. The line from him is traced down through Nathaniel, Solomon and Erastus Brewer to Edwin Brewer, who became a mechanic and removed from his native town of West Springfield to Westfield, Massachusetts, where he became a prominent manufacturer, and in 1848 he established his home at Granby, Connecticut. In 1851, attracted by the gold discoveries in California, he made his way to the Pacific coast, where he remained for two years. He afterward returned to New England and was engaged in the foundry business in Springfield. Subsequently he was employed by the firm of Bemis & Call, engine builders of Springfield, and eventually, in 1857, he became master of motive power in the Isle Royal copper mine of Houghton, Michi- gan, there remaining until 1863, when he returned to Springfield. The following year he purchased a farm at East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, but afterward resumed connection with machine shop work, becoming an employe of the George Dwight Manufacturing Company of Springfield, which made the Earle Steam Pump. The farm was sold in the spring ot 1867, the family returning to Springfield. In November, 1867, he removed with the company to South Norwalk and about 1875 returned to Springfield and later went to Chicopee, Massa- chusetts where he passed away on the 31st of March, 1881, his remains being interred in Westfield, where eight of the family now lie buried. One of his sons, Charles E. Brewer, was a member of Company A, First Michigan Cavalry, during the Civil war and was killed in action at the second battle of Bull Run on the 29th of August, 1862.
Duane E. Brewer went with the family to Michigan in 1859 when a little lad of ten years and there attended the public schools. He afterward learned the printer's trade while working on the Houghton Mining Gazette. Following the return of the family to Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1863 he became a pupil in the schools there and he also attended school at East Longmeadow during three winters, and afterward continued his education in a business college in Springfield. In the winter of 1867 he attended the South Norwalk public schools. On the 20th of April, 1868, he arrived in Bridgeport and for nearly twenty-three years was employed in the Standard job printing office. In 1890 he engaged in business with Frank S. Buckingham and organized the business of which he is now the president. The firm of Buck- ingham & Brewer established their plant at the corner of Water and Wall streets in 1890 and later became Buckingham, Brewer & Platt, which firm in 1910 was succeeded by The Brewer-Colgan Company, Ine. About 1892 a removal was made to the Read Carpet Company building on Middle street and about 1896 to the Post building on Cannon street. In 1900 the business was removed to its present location at No. 181 State street, in the Barnum-Thomp-
384
BRIDGEPORT AND VICINITY
son building, where the company occupies six thousand square feet of floor space. They do a full line of commercial printing and book binding and are the printers of the Metal Record and Electroplater and other high class publications. The officers of the company are: Duane E. Brewer, president; J. F. Cox, vice president; W. E. Phillips, treasurer; and J. E. Colgan, secretary and business manager, with E. E. Brewer a director in addition to the officers. They employ about fifteen people and do excellent work, representing the highest degree of efficiency in the printing art. It was this company that was chosen to print the city plan commission report of 1916.
On the 23d of May, 1877, Mr. Brewer was married at Ellington, Connecticut, to Miss Alice Josephine Ingraham, of Agawam, Massachusetts, a daughter of Charles Nathan and Mary (Fox) Ingraham, of Bolton, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer have had four chil- dren: Edwin Elmer, who was born August 15, 1879, and is in business with his father; Louis Ellsworth, who was born July 27, 1884, and died at the age of five years; Herbert Nelson, who was born June 5, 1890, and died at the age of seven years; and Ethel Ingraham, who was born December 31, 1992, and married Andrew J. Seamann and resides at Newark, New Jersey. They have two children, Doris Ethel and Andrew Brewer.
The family are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church, of which Mr. Brewer has been an officer since 1877. Fraternally he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Order of United American Mechanics and the 49 Club of Bridgeport, of which he is president, while his political faith is that of the republican party. His has been a well spent life, its activities hringing him to a prominent position in business circles, wherein his name has become a synonym not only of efficiency in his line but also of integrity and honor in all business transactions.
REV. HENRY MARTYN SHERMAN.
Rev. Henry Martyn Sherman is a direct descendant of the Hon. Samnel Sherman, who was one of the founders of the Stratford colony and also a leader of the company who went from Stratford to settle in the Pomperaug valley at what is now the town of Woodbury, and who was later an Assistant Governor of Connecticut in colonial days. In the same line of descent are Roger Sherman, signer of the Declaration of Independence, Roger Minot Sherman, a justice of the supreme court of Connecticut, the Hon. John Sherman, and his brother. General William T. Sherman of Civil war fame.
The subject of this sketch was born on the 26th day of June, 1838. In his boyhood his parents moved to Westport, where he attended the Westport Academy under the famous principal, Nehemiah Adams. Later he was a student in and graduate of Berkeley Divinity School He was ordained Deacon by Bishop John Williams of Connecticut in 1864 and Priest in 1865. His entire ministry has been spent in the Diocese of Connecticut. He became Missionary and then Rector of Calvary Church, Colchester, where he built a church. He was also chaplain in the famous Oramel Whittlesey Music Vale Seminary, near that place. In 1870 he became rector of Trinity Church, Tariffville, where he built a handsome brownstone church. He became Rector of Trinity Church, Torrington, in 1876, in which place he became Archdeacon of Litchfield, holding that office until 1890, when he entered upon the rectorship of St. Paul's Church, Bridgeport, and later was Archdeacon of Fairfield. He represented the Diocese of Connecticut in the General Convention of 1886. He was a member of the Standing Committee of the Diocese from 1892 to 1898, and its secretary for the larger portion of that time. He was also, for many years. an Examining Chaplain of the Diocese. During his ministry he was twice elected General Missionary of the Diocese of Massachusetts, but each time declined that important office.
In Masonry he has attained the Knight Templar degree, and several times was Grand
REV. HENRY M. SHERMAN
387
BRIDGEPORT AND VICINITY
Chaplain of different branches of the order. He was also an active member of several fraternal orders. Owing to ill health he resigned St. Paul's parish in 1903, and retired from the active work of the ministry at that time. He was instrumental in building other churches and rectories in parishes and missions with which he was connected.
In 1868 he was married to Maria Louisa, daughter of John D. Baker, who died in 1892. There were two daughters of this marriage, Margaret Lydia, and Mary Benson wife of Joseph V. Meeks. There are three grandchildren, Carroll Louis, Sherman Joseph, and Louisa Benson Meeks. In 1899 he was married to Mary Eliza, daughter of William H. Perry. Her death occurred in 1913.
JAMES DOUGLAS GOLD, M. D.
Dr. James Douglas Gold, engaged in the practice of medicine in Bridgeport, was born at Cornwall, Connecticut, November 5, 1866, a son of Theodore Sedgewick and Mrs. Emma Tracy Baldwin Gold. In the paternal line the ancestry is traced back to England. The name Gould, so common in the United States, was originally spelled Gold and the Goulds and Golds have descended from a common ancestry, Jay Gould being distantly related to Dr. Gold's father. Theodore S. Gold was the author of a history of Cornwall, which was published in book form in 1877, a volume of about five hundred pages. In this work is the following concerning his ancestry. "Little is known of the characteristics of the family in early times. They were active, patriotic men, God-fearing and law-abiding, but not so peaceable as to shirk duty at the call of their country. At the time of the British raid at Danbury, Connecticut, in 1777, beside Lieutenant Colonel Abraham Gold, who was killed at Ridgefield, we find eight of the name of Gold in a military company of about one hundred at Fairfield. Major Nathan Gold rendered valued military as well as diplomatic service in settling the boundary claims with the Dutch and with the Indians. His life was one of continual activity and he enjoyed general confidence and esteem, proved by his long tenure of office." This Major Nathan Gold was the founder of the family in America. He came from Bury St. Edmunds, about twenty-five miles east of Cambridge, England, and became a land- holder at Milford, Connecticut, in 1647 and at Fairfield in 1649. He took a prominent part in military affairs of his day and was called captain and later major. He died March 4, 1693 or 1694. The Gold family has a coat of arms. The Rev. Hezekiah Gold, the great-great-great- grandfather of Dr. Gold, was a Congregational minister who resided at Stratford, Connecticut and was pastor of the Congregational church there. His remains lie interred at Stratford. Samuel Wadsworth Gold, grandfather of Dr. James Douglas Gold, was also a physician and practiced at Madison, New York, at Cornwall, Connecticut, and finally at Goshen, Connecticut, where he remained for more than thirty years. His son, Hon. Theodore Sedgewick Gold, was born at Madison, New York, in 1818 and was graduated from Yale with the class of 1838, after which he devoted his attention to the occupation of farming. Mr. Gold was for thirty- four years secretary of the Connecticut State Board of Agriculture and took a very deep and active interest in all matters relating thereto and furthering the agricultural interests of the state. He was for a number of years a trustee of Storrs School, now the Connecticut Agri- cultural College, and a member of the board of control of the State Experiment Station from its organization until his death. He died in March, 1906. He married Caroline E. Lockwood, of Bridgeport, and after her death he wedded Mrs. Emma (Tracy) Baldwin. Of the second marriage four children were born, of whom Dr. James Douglas Gold, of Bridgeport, is the youngest. The father is now deceased but the mother still survives. She, too, is descended from a family represented in the Revolutionary war.
Dr. Gold of this review was graduated from the Yale Scientific School in 1888 with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy and in 1891 he received his M. D. degree from the College
.
388
BRIDGEPORT AND VICINITY
of Physicians and Surgeons of New York. He afterward spent two years in the Rhode Island General Hospital at Providence and in March, 1894, he located in Bridgeport, where he has since been actively and successfully engaged in practice, specializing in dermatology. He is on the staff of the Bridgeport and the St. Vincent Hospitals and he is a member of the Bridgeport, the Fairfield County and the Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. Of the first two he has served as president and his professional brethren accord him high rank.
Dr. Gold finds great pleasure in motoring and he belongs to the Seaside Club, while the rules which govern him in all life's relations are indicated in his membership in the United Congregational church. He is also a member of the Order of Patriots & Founders. He was married on the 17th of October, 1894, to Miss Gertrude House, a daughter of the late James A. House, who was a well known and highly respected resident of this city. Dr. Gold is recognized as a man of sterling worth, whose life has been actuated by high and honorable purposes and has become the expression of straightforward principles both in professional connections and otherwise.
JAMES E. COLGAN.
James E. Colgan, the secretary and business manager of a printing house of Bridgeport conducted under the name of The Brewer-Colgan Company, was born June 22, 1876, in the city in which he makes his home, his parents being Morris and Catherine (Kelley) Colgan, who in early life became residents of Bridgeport. The father entered into active connection with the business interests of the city and for many years was with the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company. He died in June, 1897, having for two years survived his wife, who passed away in 1895.
James E. Colgan attended the public and high schools in the acquirement of his education and chose the printing business as a life work, becoming actively connected therewith as a representative of the interests of Buckingham & Brewer in 1890. Gradually he worked his way upward and has become financially interested in the business as well as an active factor in its management and control. In 1892 a removal was made from the original location at Water and Wall streets to the Read Carpet Company building on Middle street and about 1896 the plant was established in the Post building on Cannon street. The next removal, about 1900, took it to its present location at No. 181 State street, where the company occupies six thousand square feet of floor space. They do all kinds of book and commercial printing, and book binding. The present officers are: Duane E. Brewer, president; J. F. Cox, vice president; W. E. Phillips, treasurer; and James E. Colgan, secretary and business manager.
Mr. Colgan is a Catholic in religious faith and holds membership with the Knights of Columbus and the Foresters. In polities he maintains an independent course.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM BROWN HOWES.
Captain William Brown Howes, who for years was a well known and successful dealer in coal and lumber at Black Rock, in the city of Bridgeport, was a native of Long Island. He was born at Southampton, September 22, 1817, a son of Sears and Harriet (Havens) Howes. After his textbooks were put aside he took up a seafaring life, in which he was interested from early boyhood, and for many years he engaged in the whaling trade. He sailed from New Bedford and was successful in his undertakings. He engaged in whaling
389
BRIDGEPORT AND VICINITY
in both the Atlantic and Pacifie waters and was part owner of the ships which he com- manded, one of these being the Nimrod, which was wrecked. He continued as a whaling master until 1853, when, at the request of his wife, he gave up the sea. Coming to Con- necticut, be located at Black Rock, in Bridgeport, where he established a coal and lumber business. At length he discontinued the lumber business but remained active as a dealer in coal during the remainder of his active life. Two years before his death he gave up the business on account of his failing health and went to Newtown, Connecticut where he hoped to improve his health, but while there he passed away very suddenly in 1868 at the age of fifty-one years and his remains were brought back to Bridgeport for interment in Mountain Grove cemetery. Widely known, he was also highly respected. He took a deep interest in his adopted town, its institutions and its welfare. The cause of education found in him a stalwart champion and he served for some time as a member of the school com- mittee, doing everything in his power to advance the interests of public education. He was also a man of domestic tastes and was greatly devoted to his home and family.
Captain Howes was married twice. He first wedded Harriet Thorpe, a native of Stam- ford, Connecticut, who died June 6, 1848, leaving a son, William T., who was born at Sag Harbor, Long Island, and who married Ida Hinkley. They had four children: Harriet, the wife of Dr. D. C. De Wolf; Ada Florence; William Ezekiel, who was a member of the firm of Wheeler & Howes, well known coal merchants of Bridgeport, and passed away July 1, 1914; and Josephine, who died in infancy. On the 15th of May, 1853, Captain Howes was again married, his second union being with Almira A. Mills, who was born in New York, July 9, 1829, a daughter of George and Nancy (Thorpe) Mills. The former was a well known hatter of Canal street, New York city, and the latter was a daughter of Sturgess Perry and Theodosia (Hurt) Thorpe. Mrs. Howes died June 17, 1894, and was laid to rest opposite her husband in Mountain Grove cemetery. She was a devoted wife and mother and a consistent Christian and she left behind her the memory of a beautiful character. Sbe held membership in the Congregational church and was a woman of refined and cultured tastes. By the second marriage there were eight children: Harriet Havens, who died in childhood; Sarah Frances, residing at 65 Brooklawn Place; Agnes, who died when four years old; Charles Samuel, who died when two years old; James Edward, who wedded Mary Packer, of New York, and died leaving one child, Mary Louise; Susan Augusta, who resides at Brooklawn Place; Abraham Lincoln, who died in young manhood; and Almira, who became the wife of George Torrey and lives in New Rochelle, New York. The Misses Howes reside at No. 65 Brooklawn Płace, in Bridgeport, where they built their home in 1908, and they are well known through- out the city, being much interested in all good work. They are members of the United Congregational church and are members of the Wednesday Working Day Club of the church. They are also identified with the Red Cross Society and with the children's ward of the Bridgeport Hospital. Miss Sarah Frances Howes is a strong supporter of the woman's suffrage movement. Miss Susan Augusta Howes is a member of the Mary Silliman Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Bridgeport, having had three ancestors who participated in the struggle for independence.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.