USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > History of Bridgeport and vicinity > Part 44
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Mr. Dewhirst belongs to the Bridgeport Club and his sterling qualities of character have made him highly respected both within and without that organization. A representative on both the paternal and maternal sides of families which have for generations been connected with Bridgeport, he is thoroughly informed concerning the early history of the city and is devoted to its interests, being ready at all times to further movements seeking the public welfare.
FREDERICK A. HART.
Frederick A. Hart, secretary of the Bridgeport Produce Company, of which business he was one of the organizers in 1909, was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, August 17, 1879, his parents being Peter and Fozine (La France) Hart, natives of Canada. They became resi- dents of Massachusetts and in 1885 removed from Holyoke to Bridgeport, Connecticut. The father engaged in business for many years as a mason but is now living retired.
Frederick A. Hart acquired a public school education supplemented by a course of study in Brown's Business College. He afterward learned the butcher's trade and later became a salesman for the well known packing firm of Swift & Company. He severed that connec- tion, however, to enter upon his present business relations, becoming one of the organizers of the Bridgeport Produce Company in April, 1909, in which undertaking he was associated with F. M. Smith, who is the president of the company, and with Mark Wedge, who was its treasurer, while Mr. Hart continues as secretary. Mr. Wedge, however has resigned and the stock which he owned is now in possession of A. E. Wedge. They are wholesale dealers in prodnee and live poultry and they conduet a very extensive business. They have a cold storage plant and are splendidly equipped to care for the line which they handle. They
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make large shipments annually and their business has long since become a profitable investment.
On the 2d of August. 1905, Mr. Hart was married to Miss Mary Frances Sullivan, a daughter of E. L. Sullivan, of Bridgeport, and they have two children, Dorothy and Irene. Mr. Hart is connected with the Improved Order of Red Men, but he does not announce him- self as a supporter of any political party, voting according to the exigencies of the case. He stands for that which is progressive in citizenship, however, and his aid and support are given on the side of those projects and interest which are of most value to the community.
WILLIAM PAUL KIRK.
William Paul Kirk, president of the W. P. Kirk Company of Bridgeport, one of the leading plumbing and heating firms in this section of New England, is an excellent type of a self-made man, for he has worked his way upward solely through his own efforts from a most modest beginning to his present important position. A native of Bridge- port, he was born November 14. 1874, of the marriage of William and Teresa (Turner) Kirk, the father being a native of Connecticut, while the mother was born in Canada. The paternal grandfather was born in Ireland, where the family was well known. On his mother's side Mr. Kirk is a representative of a distinguished English-Irish family whose ancestry has been traced back in an uninterrupted line for centuries, or until the first Crusade. The first member of the Turner family to come to America was an officer in the English army, who after the American revolution was sent to Canada. He was in command of Fort Niagara, near the United States border. Later members of the family settled in the United States, marrying representatives of stanch old American families.
William P. Kirk attended the public schools until he was thirteen years old, when he went to work, securing a job in the Buckle shop, which has since gone out of existence. After remaining there for two years he was connected with the Crane Company for one year and later was employed in various ways. In 1890 he began learning the plumber's trade nnder the instruction of L. H. Mills, and through application together with his natural mechanical skill Mr. Kirk was able to complete his apprenticeship in the short space of three years. He worked several years as a journeyman, during which he was employed in various sections of the country, and while on a trip through the west not only worked at his trade but spent considerable time in hunting big game and prospecting in Colorado and Montana. At that time a young man just past his majority, Mr. Kirk was at Cripple Creek, Colorado, during the early and most exciting days of that great gold camp. He was employed in Butte, Montana, during the period before that wonderful mining town had passed from the wide open frontier style of doing things and when the cele- brated feuds of the big mining interests were at their height. Returning east, Mr. Kirk again took up his trade in Bridgeport and for several years was in the employ of the E. A. Creevy Company, of which he became superintendent. When Mr. Creevy joined the United States consular service Mr. Kirk purchased the business and changed the firm name to the W. P. Kirk Company. Later, or about 1901, it was incorporated under that name, with William P. Kirk as president, Charles Schroeder, vice president, and William J. Dougherty, secretary. Under the able and efficient management of those who are not only practical men but excellent business men, the firm has had a wonderful growth and taken a foremost position among houses in its line. Among the many important contracts which it has filled may be mentioned the Huntington Road, the Newfield Avenue, the Waterville street, the Ashland Avenue and Black Rock schools, two schools on Boston avenue, the Union Metallic Cartridge factory of the Remington Arms Company, the store building occupied by the D. M. Read Company, the Bridgeport Almshouse, the Bridge-
WILLIAM P. KIRK
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port Hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital, the plants of the Locomobile Company and the Ash- croft Company and the following out of town contracts: the Fiat automobile factory at Poughkeepsie, New York; the Providence Retreat Hospital at Buffalo, New York; the Simplex factory at New Brunswick, New Jersey; the Ross Rifle factory at Quebec, Can- ada; the city hall at Stamford, Connecticut; the city hall at Greenwich, Connecticut; the Bridgeport city hall; the Slates residence at Westport, Connecticut; the Lapham residence at New Canaan, Connecticut; and the Scoville mansion in the Berkshires. This record of work done is in itself unquestionable proof of the high standing and prosperity of the company. Moreover, Mr. Kirk was at one time president of the Connecticut Association of Master Plumbers and was one of the organizers, a charter member and first president of the Journeyman Plumbers Union of Bridgeport. He has business interests in addition to the W. P. Kirk Company and is 'now a director in the Morris Plan Company and in the new West Side Bank.
Mr. Kirk was married in 1903 to Miss Susan Reynolds and they have become the parents of two children: William Jr., who died in 1913 at the age of nine years; and Gerard P., born February 19, 1907, in Bridgeport. Mr. Kirk is a communicant of St. Augustine's Roman Catholic church and it is an interesting fact that the first house of worship of that organization was built by his uncle. His fraternal connections are with the Knights of Columbus, the Elks, the Royal Arcanum, and the Moose and in club circles he is well known as a member of the Bridgeport Club, the Algonquin Club and the Weatogue Country Club. He was a member of the commission government committee and his interest in public affairs is further indicated by the fact that he was a member of the board of appointment and chairman of the board of contract and supply. Since thirteen years of age he has depended absolutely upon himself and through the exercise of sound judgment, initiative and keen insight into business conditions he has gained a highly gratifying measure of success.
GEORGE W. FAIRCHILD.
George W. Fairchild, although still the president of George W. Fairchild & Sons, is leaving the active management of the concern largely to his sons and is enjoying a period of leisure to which he is well entitled. His life has been a long and active one and he has had a part in the upbuilding of the commercial interests of his city as the head of an important retail jewelry house.
His birth occurred at Old Mill, Connecticut, in 1836, and he acquired his education in the old Sedgewick Academy at Stratford, Connecticut. On the 14th of November, 1865, he established himself in the jewelry business on Main street with one watchmaker and an errand boy. Some years later he removed to another location on Main street, where he remained for twenty years. In 1905 removal was made to the present quarters at No. 997 Main street and the extent of the business is indicated in the fact that employment is now given to thirty men, of whom twelve to fifteen are in the manufacturing department. Auto trucks are used in the delivery of their product and the firm of George W. Fairchild & Sons is recognized as a leader in the trade. As before stated, our subject is still the president of the concern, although since 1911 he has lived practically retired, confining his participation in the business to advice concerning its management. The other officers are his sons, George Allen Fairchild, who is vice president, and Harry LeRoy Fairchild, who is secretary. The firm belongs to the American National Association of Retail Jewelers and its policy has always been up-to-date and progressive. It has recognized the great power of advertising and during its entire history has been a liberal patron of mediums of publicity. The firm
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has in its possession a copy of the Bridgeport Farmer, issued on the 15th of November, 1865, in which appears its first advertisement.
George W. Fairchild was married in 1864 to Miss Helen H. Parrott, who is still living at the age of seventy-eight years. To them have been born four children, namely: William, who died when ten years old; Helen Louise, now Mrs. E. W. Peck, of Stratford; and George Allen and Harry LeRoy, both of whom are associated with their father in business.
The birth of George Allen Fairehild occurred on the 7th of May, 1872, in Stratford, and lie received a thorough high school education. In 1889 he became connected with his father's business and upon its incorporation in 1907 he was made vice president. He has learned the business from the bottom up and is thoroughly qualified to direet its affairs. He completed a course in the Spencer Optieal College of New York city and established the optical department of the business, which has now reached large proportions. The firm now not only does its own grinding but also does a great deal of prescription work. George 'A. Fairchild has a sixteen year old son, LeRoy, the namesake of Harry LeRoy Fairchild and now a student in a preparatory school. The fraternal connections of George A. Fairchild are with the Masonie order, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Improved Order of Red Men, and his religious faith is that of the Methodist church. He also belongs to the Cupheag Social Club, the Weatogue Country Club and the Pootatuck Yacht Club, which associations indicate the nature of his recreation.
Harry LeRoy Fairehild was born on the 16th of October, 1876, and after attending the publie and high schools was a student in the Bridgeport University School, where he pre- pared for college, but owing to the fact that his father had sustained a heavy loss by burglary in 1887 he was unable to take a university course. In 1893 he entered his father's business and is now secretary of George W. Fairchild & Sons. He is a man of exemplary business judgment and also of enterprise and has proven highly efficient in the discharge of his responsible duties. He is connected with the Masons, Odd Fellows and the Red Men. He was married in 1905 to Miss Mabel Mills, and they have one son, Howard Wilson, who is eleven years old and is attending the Stratford schools.
George W. Fairchild gives his political allegiance to the republican party but has never been an office seeker. He was secretary of the board of education many years in Stratford.' He has always manifested the keenest interest in the public welfare and for thirty years served as president of the Library Association. He is a member of the Seaside Club and of the Masonic lodge and also belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, whose work he has always furthered in every way possible. He has reached the advanced age of eighty- one years but in vigor and interests seems many years younger. He has a wide acquaintance throughout the city and so well has he ordered his life that all who have come in contact with him hold him in high esteem.
ROBERT H. HAWKINS.
Robert H. Hawkins, conducting a successful business as a florist of Bridgeport. was born May 27, 1878, a son of George F. and Helen (Fitzpatrick) Hawkins, natives of England and of Pennsylvania respectively. The father came to Bridgeport in 1859 and for a long period was engaged in the transfer business here but is now living retired. He married Helen Fitzpatrick. a graduate of the old Fairfield Academy.
After acquiring a public school education Robert H. Hawkins turned his attention to the florist business in 1893, spending one year as an employe of John Reek & Son. He was afterward associated with the firm of James Horn & Son for many years, in which con- nection he worked his way upward until for some years he occupied the position of man- ager. It was his desire, however, to engage in business on his own account and he improved
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every opportunity contributing to that end. On the 5th of September, 1909, he opened a florist shop at No. 1223 Main street and in the intervening years has conducted a con- stantly increasing and successful business. He has a storage plant in the east end of Bridgeport and he now employs five people and uses three automobiles for delivery.
On the 12th of June, 1901, Mr. Hawkins was married to Miss Eva M. Horan, of Bridge- port, a daughter of James Horan, and they have one son, Robert H., now attending high school. The parents are members of St. Augustine Catholic church and Mr. Hawkins belongs also to the Algonquin Club and to various fraternal orgamzations, including the Knights of Columbus, the Elks, the Eagles, the Moose, the Woodmen of the World and the Foresters. Politically he maintains an independent course, casting his ballot according to the dictates of his judgment. He has worked steadily upward since starting out to earn his own living, and the success which he has achieved and enjoyed has been the merited reward of his fidelity and capability.
JACOB W. GERBER, M. D.
Dr. Jacob W. Gerber, a representative of the medical profession in Bridgeport, where he has practiced for twelve years, is one of the substantial citizens that Russia has furnished to this state. He was born February 7, 1880, in that land which has so recently taken on a republican form of government, and in 1888 he was brought to the United States by his parents. His father, Isaac Gerber, is a cigar manufacturer of Bridgeport and he and his wife reside at No. 433 Williman street. Dr. Gerber is their only son, but he has four sisters, two older and two younger than himself, all living in Bridgeport.
Dr. Gerber spent his boyhood in New York city, where the family resided from 1888 until 1905. There he obtained his early education in the public schools, while his more specifically literary course was pursued in the College of the City of New York and at Yale, where he devoted some time to academic studies. He then went to Baltimore, Maryland, where he prepared for medical practice as a student in the University of Maryland, which conferred upon him his professional degree in May, 1904. He afterward spent six months as externe of Mount Sinai Hospital of New York and since 1905 he has practiced in Bridge- port, giving particuler attention to genito-urinary and skin diseases. He is now on the staff's of both Mount Sinai and the New York Post Graduate Hospitals and he is enrolled among the members of the Bridgeport, the Fairfield County and the Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association.
On the 19th of March, 1905, Dr. Gerber was married to Miss Estelle Tobey, of New York city, and they have three children, Jeannette, Ethel and Edward L. Dr. and Mrs. Gerber are identified with the Park Avenue Jewish Temple and Dr. Gerber is a member of the Harmony Club. He is now widely known in Bridgeport, where he has won a liberal practice and a large circle of warm friends.
ARTHUR L. CLARK.
The growth of the automobile industry in its various branches has been so rapid as to seem almost marvelous. Active in that field in Bridgeport is Arthur L. Clark, now presi- dent of the A. L. Clark Company, Incorporated, a company which owns and controls a large motor car station. He was born in Meriden, Connecticut, on the 31st of January, 1878, and is a son of Lemuel C. and Laura J. (Brockett) Clark, the former a farmer by occupation. Mr. Clark was a pupil in the public schools, after which he learned the machinist's trade and
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mechanical engineering. He was with the Draper Loom Works at Milford, Massachusetts, for a number of years and came to Bridgeport with the American British Company in 1905, representing that corporation in experimental work. He was desirons, however, of engaging in business on his own account and in 1908 established the Bulls Head Garage. This included a repair and storage business up to 1910, when he became agent for the Crawford Auto- mobile. Later in that year he secured the Franklin agency and in 1911 took on the Buick agency. The growth of the business necessitated larger quarters and on the 1st of January, 1914, he organized the A. L. Clark Company, Incorporated, which succeeded to the business of the Bulls Head Auto Station and of which Mr. Clark has continuously been the directing head. The business was first conducted at No. 1671 Main street and in 1914 was removed to 1710 Main street, where the company erected a new building containing twenty-one thousand square feet of floor space. This is a three-story structure with one hundred and thirty-five feet frontage on Main street and one hundred and thirty feet on North Wash- ington avenne. It is a triangle building, one hundred feet at the widest point. There is maintained a complete service station for the Franklin, Marmon, White and Buick motor cars. They have a well equipped repair shop and carry a full line of parts and accessories used on all of those cars. Mr. Clark has remained the head and directing spirit of the busi- ness and under his control it has become a profitable undertaking.
Mr. Clark is well known in Masonic circles, having attained the Knight Templar degree of the York Rite and the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite, and he is also a member of the Mystic Shrine. He likewise holds membership in the Royal Arcanum. He belongs to the Bridgeport Club and the Algonquin Club and is appreciative of the social amenities of life, while in every relation he is found a courteous, genial gentleman, at once obliging and reliable.
ROBERT B. KEANE, M. D.
Dr. Robert B. Keane, a physician and surgeon at No. 90 North Washington avenue, was born in Bridgeport at a point only four blocks from his present residence and office, his natal day being April 21, 1876. His father, Michael G. Keane, was born in County Clare, Ireland, and when a youth of sixteen years came to the new world with his parents, the family settling in Newtown, Fairfield county, where the grandparents of Dr. Keane spent their remaining days. Michael G. Keane has resided in Bridgeport for more than a half century and is a dealer in granite and marble, in which business he has engaged for more than forty years He married Johanna Kelly, who was also horn in County Clare, Ireland, and she, too, came to the new world with her parents. Michael and Mary Kelly, being at that time a young girl.
Dr. Keane is the fifth in order of birth in a family of thirteen children, five sons and eight daughters, of whom seven are yet living, three sons and four danghters, all of whom are residents of Bridgeport. Dr. Keane has spent his entire life in Bridgeport, where at the usual age he entered the public schools and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1896. He afterward devoted two years to the study of chemistry and biology in the New York University and in 1898 he entered the Yale Medical College, in which he spent three years. He afterward completed his studies in the New York Uni- versity and in the Bellevne Hospital Medical College and after spending a year in the latter institution won his professional degree in 1903. He next became an interne in the Williamsburg Hospital of Brooklyn, New York, in which he spent a year, and in 1904 he entered upon active practice in Bridgeport, where he has since successfully conducted his interests. He now has an extensive practice calling him into many of the best homes of the city and he is also serving on the medical staff of St. Vincent's Hospital.
DR. ROBERT B. KEANE
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On the 6th of November, 1906, Dr. Keane was married to Miss Gertrude Driscoll, of Bridgeport, a native of this city and a daughter of John Driscoll, who at one time was well known in Bridgeport, where he engaged in business as a wholesale and retail liquor dealer. Dr. and Mrs. Keane have four children, namely, Helen R., Robert and Gertrude, twins, and Mary.
The family attend St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church and the Doctor also has membership with the Knights of Columbus and with the Foresters of America. He is fond of golf and plays the game well, and he also enjoys baseball and football. All these, . however, are regarded as but side lines, being made subservient to his professional respon- sibilities and duties, for which he is continually further qualifying as a member of the Fairfield County and the Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association, whereby he keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and research.
GEORGE S. TROXELL.
Among the representative young business men of Bridgeport is numbered George S. Troxell, who was born on the 5th of September, 1885, in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, a son of Dr. E. R. and Maria A. (Nugent) Troxell. His father is one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Pittston, in which city the parents still reside.
George S. Troxell began his education in the public schools of Pittston and later attended St. Luke's Academy at Wayne, Pennsylvania, after which he entered Yale College, becoming a member of the class of 1908. After his graduation he engaged in civil engineering in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, until 1914. when he came to Bridgeport, Connecticut, as vice president and general manager for Ed F. Von Wettberg, Inc., and as vice president and general manager of the American Hardware Stores Company, with which he is still con- nected. He is an enterprising, energetic young business man and usually carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.
Mr. Troxell is a member of the University Club of Bridgeport, the Brooklawn Country Club and the Seaside Club, as well as the Berzelim Society, which is a college organization. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and belongs to Corinthian Lodge, A. F. & A. M .; Jeru- salem Chapter, R. A. M .; Jerusalem Council, R. & S. M .; and Hamilton Commandery, K. T. In religions faith he is an Episcopalian and in politics is a republican. During his residence in Bridgeport he has made a host of warm friends and wherever known is held in the highest regard.
HOWARD S. CHALLENGER.
Varied and manifold are the business interests which go to make up a city. These must meet every demand of our complex present day life. Actively connected with the commercial interests of Bridgeport is Howard S. Challenger, who has been engaged in busi- ness here sinee 1891, or for more than a quarter of a century. He is now conducting a store at No. 9 Crescent street, where he deals in stationery, newspapers and sporting goods, having built up a large trade. He was but two years of age when his parents removed from Derby. Connecticut, to Bridgeport. His father, William Challenger, was a veneer finisher, working on pianos with the James Frey Company, but he died a few years later. He was a native of London, England, as was his wife, who bore the maiden name of Caroline S. Groom.
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Howard S. Challenger was reared in Bridgeport and his educational opportunities were those afforded by the public schools. Throughout his active business career he has been engaged in the line which still claims his attention and in this connection he has built up a trade of large and gratifying proportions. His is a well appointed store, tasteful in its arrangement and attractive in the line of goods carried, while his business methods con- stitute another proof of the old adage that honesty is the best policy.
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