USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Bridgeport > History of Bridgeport and vicinity > Part 50
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Frederlek B. Curtis was but a young boy when the family home was removed from Bridgeport to New Milford, where he attended publie and private schools. Entering the academie department of Yale, he was graduated in 1897 and in 1899 his alma mater eon- ferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. He prepared for the bar at the New York Law School, from which he was graduated in 1901, and was admitted to practice in New York, where he actively followed his profession for three or four years. He then returned
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to Bridgeport to look after the business and other interests of his father at this point and he has since controlled important realty investments and to some extent has con- tinued in the practice of law.
Mr. Curtis was married in Brooklyn, New York, in 1904, to Miss Emma V. V. Keeler. He is a member of the Brooklawn Country Club and of the University Club, both of Bridgeport.
CLAUDIUS VIRGIL CALVIN, M. D.
It has been said that the tide of emigration steadily flows westward, yet New England numbers among her progressive citizens many who have come to this section from the middle west. Among the number is Dr. Claudius Virgil Calvin, who was born in Fresno, Coshocton county, Ohio, December 5, 1885, a son of Dr. Robert A. Calvin, who was also a physician and was called to his final rest in 1905. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Incy L. Hamilton, departed this life in 1909. Dr. Robert A. Calvin was a native of Penn- sylvania, born in 1847, and be was graduated from the old Wooster Medical College of Cleveland, Ohio, in 1879. He afterward practiced in Pennsylvania and in Ohio until his life's labors were ended in death. He was married in 1879, and Dr. C. Virgil Calvin is an only child.
Determining to follow in the professional footsteps of his father, Dr. C. V. Calvin was graduated from Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, with the Bachelor of Science degree in 1913 and thus laid the foundation upon which to rear the superstructure of pro- fessional learning. He gained his M. D. degree at Harvard in 1916 and afterward spent several months in the Boston Dispensary Hospital for Children, thereby gaining valuable practical experience. On the 1st of January, 1917, he located in Bridgeport and opened an office. Here he has already gained a good practice in a short time, particularly in treatment of diseases of children.
On the 15th of July, 1915, Dr. Calvin was married to Miss Mollie Arnett Bassett, daughter of Francis H. Bassett, of Bridgeport, and they have a daughter, Mary Hamilton, born August 19, 1916. Dr. Calvin holds membership in the Olivet Congregational church, his life being guided according to its teachings. He belongs also to the Delta Tau Delta, a college fraternity, and is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
HARRY G. PENFIELD.
Harry G. Penfield, secretary and factory manager of the Atlas Shear Company, has played an important part in the building up of the business of that company, which now extends to all countries in the world. He was born in Bridgeport, May 21, 1871, of the marriage of Samuel and Elizabeth Penfield, both representatives of old American families and both natives of this city. He received his education in the local schools and when seventeen years old went to work in the shipping department of the Watson Iron Works. After a short time he entered the employ of the Price & Lee Company, where he remained for a year. For two years he was with the Cornwall-Patterson Company and for four years with the Bridgeport Copper Company. He then went to New York city, where he remained for about thirteen years, during which time he was associated with the Waite & Bartlett Manufacturing Company and later with the Van Houten & Ten Broeck Manufacturing Company in the manufacture of X-ray machinery, being superintendent of the former com- pany's factory. On the 13th of March, 1906. he was made secretary of the Atlas Shear
HARRY G. PENFIELD
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Company, located at No. 230 North avenue, Bridgeport, and has since held that office. The concern was established in 1900 in small quarters near the corner of Water and Union streets. In less than a year the business had grown so that the present plant was erected and one hundred men are now employed on an average, although sometimes as many as one hundred and twenty-five are employed. The company rewards the loyalty and efficiency of its men by a profit-sharing system whereby five per cent of the net profits are given to the employes twice a year. Casper Lesko has been in the employ of the company for seventeen years and James Sedenski and Stephen Hornock have been in its employ for sixteen years each, while a number of other men have been connected with the company for a long period. Their product is of a high quality and their market is the entire world, there being no country to which their output has not been shipped.
Mr. Penfield married Miss Elsie M. Canfield, a daughter of Frank M. Canfield. Mr. Penfield supports the republican party at the polls but has never been otherwise active in public affairs, his important business interests requiring his undivided time and attention. He is a member of the Elks lodge and of the Park City Yacht Club and also belongs to the Congregational church. His keen insight into business conditions, his resourcefulness and his forceful personality have made themselves felt in industrial circles in Bridgeport and his integrity and uprightness have always been above question.
DAVID MUNSON TRECARTIN, M. D.
Dr. David Munson Trecartin, a medical and surgical practitioner of Bridgeport, with office at No. 525 State street and residence in Brooklawn Park, was born in New Bruns- wick, May 29, 1867. His father, David Trecartin, was born at St. John, New Brunswick, has devoted his life to merchandising and now lives retired at Woburn, Massachusetts, at the age of eighty years. He married Hannah E. Davis in Hartland, New Brunswick, and she has now reached the age of seventy seven years. In the family were two daughters: Mrs. Marietta Adams, living in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and Mrs. Jennie Fox, of Woburn. Dr. Trecartin, however, is the only son. The family comes of English and Dutch ancestry. His grandmother in the paternal line was Mary Van Wart before her marriage to Munson Trecartin. Both were natives of New Brunswick, the paternal ancestors living for several generations in New Brunswick and in Maine. Before leaving England the Trecartins were residents of West Cornwall. The mother of Dr. Trecartin was a daughter of William and Jane (Mallory) Davis, who were born, reared and married in the north of Ireland and were of Scotch-Irish stock.
Dr. Trecartin was brought by his parents to the United States during his early boy- hood and was reared in Boston, where he acquired a public school education. In early life he took up the study of civil engineering, but abandoned that profession in 1890 and began the study of medicine. His course was pursued at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, where he won his M. D. degree in 1894, after which he spent six months in the Boston City Hospital and one year in the Massachusetts State Hospital in Tewksbury. Since May, 1896, he has been in active practice in Bridgeport, and while he continues in the general practice, he pays particular attention to surgery, which now claims a large part of his time and attention. His ability has won him rank with the city's leading physicians and surgeons, and in addition to a large private practice he is serving on the surgical staff of the Bridgeport Hospital. He is keenly interested in everything that tends to promote the knowledge and skill of the profession and to this end he bolds membership with the Bridgeport, the Fairfield County and the Connecticut State Medical Societies and the Amer- ican Medical Association.
On the 6th of May, 1903, Dr. Trecartin was united in marriage to Miss Florence Pierce, Vol. 11-21
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of Bridgeport, a native of Waterbury and a daughter of the late George E. Pierce, of this city. They have three children: Florence, born April 29, 1910; Mary Jane, born August 21, 1911; and David Munson, born February 21, 1914.
Dr. and Mrs. Trecartin hold membership in St. John's Episcopal church. Dr. Trecartin largely turns to golf for recreation and he also enjoys the pleasant companionship that has come to him as a member of the University and the Brooklawn Country Clubs. He is an Elk and is a prominent representative of Masonic circles, being a Knight Templar and a thirty-second degree Mason and a Noble of the Mystic Shrine. He has served as emi- nent commander of Hamilton Commandery, No. 5, K. T., of Bridgeport, and as potentate of Pyramid Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. At all times he has been loyal to the teachings of the craft and his life has been characterized by his devotion to the interests, causes and activities which he espouses, all of which have been inspired by the spirit of progressiveness.
WENZEL G. STIEGLER.
Wenzel G. Stiegler, deputy sheriff of Fairfield county, residing in Bridgeport, wa- born in Austria, September 26, 1866, his parents being Wenzel and Anna (Bittermichael) Stiegler. The son came to the United States with his parents in 1881 and after spending three weeks in New York city the family established their home in Bridgeport, where Wenzel Stiegler, Sr., engaged in business for many years as a locksmith, He died in 1898, while his wife survived until 1902.
Wenzel G. Stiegler of this review has resided continuously in Bridgeport since 1881 and for more than thirty years worked at the machinist's trade, his faithfulness and loyalty in that connection recommending him for positions of public trust. In 1915 he was appointed deputy by Sheriff Simeon Pease of Fairfield county and is now acting in that capacity, making a creditable record through the prompt and faithful discharge of his duties. He has also held a number of public offices, having been first elected a member of the board of alder- men in 1911. Two years later he was reelected and in 1915 he was again called to that position by an increased majority, a fact which indicates the entire satisfaction felt by his constituents concerning his official service.
On the 18th of October, 1893, Mr. Stiegler was married to Miss Daisy Viola Baker and they have one son, LeRoy W., born January 13, 1897. Mr. Stiegler is a member of the Roman Catholic church. He also has membership with the Knights of the Maccabees and has been presiding officer of Bridgeport Tent, No. 4, for two different terms. On June 12, 1889, he enlisted in Company K, Fourth Regiment, Connecticut National Guard, at Stratford, and 1890 was transferred to Company B, serving five years and receiving his honorable discharge. Thirty-six years have come and gone since he arrived in Bridgeport and he is well known here, having ever been efficient and faithful in business and loyal in matters of citizenship. .
UPTON S. REICH, M. D.
Dr. Upton S. Reich, physician and surgeon of Bridgeport, was born in Frederick City, Maryland, November 23, 1887. a son of Isaac Reich, who was born in Frederick City, Mary- land, and represented one of the old families of that state resident there from colonial days. He died in 1889, when his son Upton was less than two years of age. The mother, who bore the maiden name of Annie Zimmerman, was also born in Frederick City, Maryland, where she yet makes her home. She traces her ancestry back to a Revolutionary war soldier and
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is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. While Dr. Reich comes of German ancestry in both the paternal and maternal lines, the Zimmermans coming from Alsace-Lorraine, both families have been represented in America for more than two centuries and through generation after generation have been thoroughly American in spirit and interests.
Dr. Reich was reared in his native city and was graduated from its high school with the class of 1905. He next entered the medical department of the University of Virginia in the fall of that year and on the completion of the regularly prescribed course of four years won his M. D. degree. In June, 1909. he entered the New Haven Hospital of New Haven, Connecti- eut, where he was interne for sixteen months, and in the fall of 1910 he went to Berlin, Germany, where he took a post graduate course of six months in the University of Berlin, thus acquainting himself with the methods of some of the most eminent physicians and surgeons of the old world. Upon his return to the United States he entered upon active practice in Bridgeport, where he has now been located since April, 1911, and in the inter- vening period he has built up a large and gratifying practice. He is assistant attending physician to the Bridgeport Hospital and his professional duties make constant demand upon his time, leaving him few leisure hours.
On the 30th of September, 1911, Dr. Reich was married to Miss Lillian Hazel Kerner, of Waterbury, Connecticut, and they have a son. Elliot Kerner, born February 8, 1914. The parents are members of the Olivet Congregational church. Dr. Reich enjoys baseball and football and when leisure permits spends a pleasant hour in a game. His attention, however, is chiefly concentrated upon his professional duties and he keeps abreast with the trend of modern professional thought and scientific investigation through his membership in the Fairfield County and Connecticut Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. He likewise belongs to the Bridgeport Medical Society and acts as its secretary.
ELMER A. HOOPER.
Elmer A. Hooper, president and treasurer of the McCathron Boiler Works and thus a representative of industrial interests in Bridgeport, was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, April 30, 1880, but when only two years old was taken to Cleveland, Ohio, by his parents, Richard and Frances E. Hooper. The father was general superintendent of the Dick & Church Iron Works at Meadville, Pennsylvania.
After acquiring a public school education Elmer A. Hooper learned the boiler making trade at Meadville, Pennsylvania, in the iron works of Dick & Church and as his efficiency increased he was advanced until he became assistant foreman under his father. In 1902 he removed to Bridgeport to accept the position of foreman of the Bridgeport Boiler Works and in 1907 he went to Hartford as foreman of the H. P. Beach Boiler Works. Each change in his business career was marked a forward step, bringing him broader opportunities and wider outlook. In 1909 he returned to Bridgeport to become superintendent of the MeCathron Boiler Works and in 1914 was elected to the presidency. Their plant is located at No. 76 Knowlton street, where they have property with one hundred and forty-eight feet frontage and a depth of one hundred feet. They do a general line of tank, structural and sheet iron work and employ about thirty people, most of whom are skilled mechanics. Their plant is equipped with electric power and the value and worth of their product insures them a liberal patronage.
In 1903 Mr. Hooper was married to Miss Grace Rebecca Braggins, of Erie, Pennsylvania, and they have two children, Richard William and Grace Lythithia. The parents are members of St. Paul's Episcopal church and guide their lives by its teachings. Politically Mr. Hooper maintains an independent course, voting according to the capability of the candidate. He
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is well known in fraternal circles as a thirty-second degree Mason and a Knight of Pythias. He has held all of the chairs in Meadville Lodge, No. 156, of the latter organization and is high priest of Jerusalem Chapter, No. 13, R. A. M., and an officer in Hamilton Commandery, No. 5, K. T., and in' Pyramid Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He is in thorough sympathy with the teachings and purposes of the craft and in his life has exemplified its beneficent spirit.
ARTHUR BREWER.
Arthur Brewer, plant superintendent of the Bridgeport Brass Company, has been iden- tified with that corporation for eighteen years and has gradually advanced to his present position of trust and responsibility. He was born in New Haven, November 19, 1875, a son of William H. and Georgiana (Robinson) Brewer, the former a native of Poughkeepsie, New York, and the latter of Exeter, New Hampshire. The father was a professor at Yale for many years and liberal educational opportunities were accorded Arthur Brewer, who following his graduation from the New Haven high school entered Yale and was graduated from the mechanical engineering department with the class of 1897. Later he pursued post graduate work, and thus splendidly equipped for the activities and responsibilities which have since come to him, he entered the employ of the Bridgeport Brass Company in the spring of 1899, accepting clerical work in the wire mill. His ability won recognition and he was made foreman of the tube mill, while his next promotion brought him to the super- intendeney of the plant, in which position he has since continued, making a splendid record in this connection, his broad college training and his wide experience well qualifying him for the important duties that now devolve upon him.
On the 19th of September, 1907, Mr. Brewer was united in marriage to Miss Katherine Bowditch Owen, of Hartford, Connecticut, by whom he has three children, Esther Dixwell, Georgiana and Katherine. Politically Mr. Brewer maintains an independent course, for while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day, he believes that best results are attained in supporting capable men rather than those of strong partisan bias. He holds membership in the University Club and he is interested in scientific attainments, which leads him to hold membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and also in the American Academy for the Advancement of Science.
WILLIAM C. BOWERS, M. D.
Thirty-seven years have been added to the cycle of the centuries since Dr. William C. Bowers became an active representative of the medical profession in Bridgeport and for thirty-six years of that time he has been located at No. 336 State street. His ability has long been recognized in an extensive general practice and throughout the intervening period he has kept in touch with the trend of modern scientific investigation and discovery. He was horn in Springfield, Massachusetts, March 17, 1851, a son of C. B. Bowers, a native of Middletown, Connecticut. The family is descended from Benjamin Bowers, who came from England in 1650 and settled on a grant of land in the southeastern part of Massachusetts given him by King George. He had three sons, one of whom went to Ohio, the second to Connecticut, while the third remained in Massachusetts. The Bowers family was repre- sented in the Revolutionary war on the side of the Colonial troops. The family is closely connected with the Dwight family, the published history of the Dwights containing mention of many of the Bowers name. President Dwight, of Yale University, belonged to this family and the name Dwight Bowers is not an infrequent one among the relatives of Dr.
DR. WILLIAM C. BOWERS
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Bowers. His mother, who bore the maiden name of Fannie Cutler, was of English and Scotch descent.
Dr. Bowers spent his youthful days in Hartford and in New Haven and was graduated from the New Haven grammar school with the class of 1870. He won the Bachelor of Arts degree upon the completion of the classical course in Yale in 1874 and obtained his profes- sional degree upon graduation from the Columbia University Medical College with the class of 1877. He was afterward interne for two years in the New York City Hospital and in 1880 he began practice in Bridgeport, where he has now remained uninterruptedly for thirty- seven years, while his office at No. 336 State street is one of the professional landmarks of the city. He is serving on the consulting staff of the Bridgeport Hospital and for many years was on its active medical staff. He belongs to the Bridgeport, Fairfield County and Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. He is now a man in the prime of life but looks many years younger and has the vigor and energy of a man of forty.
On the 1st of June, 1881, Dr. Bowers was married to Katharine Sloate Suffren, of New York, who died April 30, 1913. Her daughter, Mrs. Katharine Sloate Shepard, is a graduate of the National Cathedral School at Washington, D. C., also of the Yale Art School and for a year studied in the Art Students' League of New York city. She has three children, William Bowers, Katharine Sloate and Frances Isabel, and is now residing at Berlin, Con- necticut. Her sister, Mary Dwight Bowers, passed away at the age of twenty years.
Dr. Bowers is fond of all outdoor sports, ineluding boating and swimming, and he belongs to the Seaside Club and the Seaside Outing Club. He is an attendant of the People's Presbyterian church, in which he is serving as a trustee. His genuine personal worth, his social nature, his scholarly attainments and his professional ability, all combine to make him one of the prominent and representative citizens of Bridgeport.
JAMES McKEE.
James McKee, who is president of the O. K. Laundry Company at No. 140 Waterman street, one of the important concerns of its kind in the city, was born in Ireland, Novem- ber 26, 1872, of the marriage of Moses and Mary McKee. The parents came to the United States a year after the emigration of our subject to this country and the father has passed away but the mother is still a resident of Allentown, Pennsylvania.
James McKee received bis education in Ireland and in 1889, when seventeen years old, came to the United States, locating at New York city. He completed his education by taking a two-term course in the International Missionary Training School there and in 1891 was sent to the Congo Free State, now the Independent State of Congo, Africa, by the International Missionary Board. After remaining in that field for two years, he contracted African fever and was invalided back to New York city. As soon as he had recovered his health he took up the study of mechanics and for a short time was connected with the Ingersol-Seargant Roek Drill Company at Easton, Pennsylvania. Later he went to Phil- lipsburg. New Jersey, where he remained for eight years, during which time he learned the tool making trade. In 1903, as an expert journeyman toolmaker, he came to Bridge- port and entered the employ of the American-British Company, gunmakers. After two years he went abroad for a year, visiting his old home in Ireland. In September, 1910, although at that time still working in the employ of others, he established the O. K. Laundry Company, Inc., of which he has since been president and treasurer, while Miss Eliza Lavery has served as secretary. She was born in Scotland and is a graduate nurse, having completed the required course at the Bridgeport Hospital. Five years after the organization of the company new automatie machinery of the most improved type was
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installed in the plant and in May, 1917, the company occupied a well designed and up-to-date building which they erected on Bishop avenue and which gives them fifty per cent more capacity. This removal was made imperative by the rapid growth of their business, and the careful and skilled work which they turn out, together with their reasonable prices, insures them of continued prosperity.
In 1900 Mr. McKee was married at Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Miss Margaret Ann Cavanaugh, a daughter of James and Rachel Cavanaugh, residents of Ireland. Two chil- dren have been born of this marriage, namely: Mary Rachel, who is a junior in high school; and Jonathan Harding, who is attending the graded schools.
Mr. McKee is a republican in his political belief but has never taken an active part in public affairs beyond the exercise of his right of franchise. He gives his entire atten- tion to his business and to his home and the success which he has gained is due solely to his own industry and good management.
LEONARD M. ALLEN.
Leonard MI. Allen, chief accountant and credit manager of the Bridgeport Brass Com- pany and thus identified with one of the largest industrial enterprises not only of Bridge- port but of New England, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, October 28, 1869, a son of Edgar and Jane (Sutherland) Allen, who were natives of England but of Scotch descent. In the year 1850 the father crossed the Atlantic to Boston and became connected with the shoe findings business.
Reared in his native city, Leonard MI. Allen pursued a public school course until gradu- ated from the high school, after which he took up clerical work. He was connected for a time with the Pope Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut, working his way upward to the position of claim adjuster and correspondent. He remained with that company for ten years and in September, 1900, entered the employ of the Bridgeport Brass Company, being placed in charge of the accounting department. In recognition of his ability he was also made credit manager and now fills the dual position, the efficiency of his work contributing to the success of this mammoth industrial institution.
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