USA > Connecticut > History of Connecticut, Volume III > Part 23
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A co-founder of the Connecticut Conference of Junior and Com- munity Colleges, Dr. Wilson served as president of that group in 1945-1946. From 1945 to 1951 he was a member of the board of edu- cation at Glastonbury, where he makes his home. He was the first president of the Connecticut Chapter of the Society for the Advance- ment of Management and one of the founders of the Connecticut Council on Higher Education on whose Executive Committee he served a term. He holds membership in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Institute of Physics, As- sociation for Higher Education, the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, and the New England Junior College Council. He served as president of the latter organization during 1949-1950. He is an Overseer of Old Sturbridge Village and a member of the Corporation of Hartford Hospital.
Dr. Wilson is an author and well-known public speaker on many subjects. He has traveled widely both in North America and Europe.
Dr. Wilson was one of the prime movers and founders of the University of Hartford and served as the first Chairman of its Admi- nistrative Council; he was the University's first administrative head from April, 1957 to January 1. 1959.
Dr. Wilson's fraternity is Phi Kappa Tau, and he is a member of
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the Hartford Civitan Club. He is a Congregationalist, and votes the Independent-Republican ticket.
CLINTON LINWOOD ALLEN
Ilartford's uncontested pre-eminence as the nucleus of the in- surance industry has brought to the city such executive leaders as Clinton Linwood Allen, who for several years past has headed the AEtna Insurance Company and all of its subsidiary organizations. He is likewise an official of a number of other business concerns and of insurance men's groups, and he has found time for an active role in civic and social organizations.
Born in the Borough of Brooklyn, New York, on October 3, 1893, he is a son of Frank J. and Nellie (Fowler) Allen. The family moved to Hartford when he was a child, and he attended the public schools of the city, graduating from Hartford High School. He was immediately attracted to the insurance field, and in 1913, in his twen- tieth year, joined the staff of the Orient Insurance Company.
He left this firm in 1916 to enter military service, and went to the Mexican border with Troop B of the Connecticut Cavalry. Fol- lowing this country's entrance into World War I, in 1917, he went to France with the 26th Division. The division went through the war with the American Expeditionary Forces, and Mr. Allen served as a second lieutenant in the IOIst Machine Gun Battalion. Following his honorable discharge, he returned to the Orient Insurance Company in 1919.
In 1921 he began his connection with the AEtna Insurance Com- pany as special agent in the state of Michigan. He became state agent there in 1924. While in Michigan he was active in insurance associa- tion work, and was elected president of the Michigan Fire Under- writers Association in 1927. The following year he was transferred to Hartford as AEtna's state agent for Connecticut and western Mas- sachusetts. He filled this responsible position for the next decade, and in the course of that time was president of the Connecticut Field Club, and a member of the executive committee of the New England Insurance Exchange in 1933-1934. He was also active in founding the Hartford College of Insurance, and was a member of the executive committee and a trustee of that college.
Mr. Allen was appointed general agent at the home office of the AEtna Insurance Company at Hartford in 1938, and the following year was elected assistant secretary of all affiliated fire companies. He became secretary of all of these fire companies in 1943. In 1946,
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elected to a vice presidency, he was transferred to Chicago as manager of the Western Department. There, in 1948, he was elected vice presi- dent of Western Underwriters Association, serving in that office the better part of two years.
Elected executive vice president of all companies of the AEtna Insurance Group in 1949, he returned to the home office at Hartford on April II of that year. The city has been his home as well as the center of his business activities since that time. On October 25, 1949, he became a director of the Phoenix State Bank and Trust Company, which is now the Connecticut Bank and Trust Company. In 1950, Mr. Allen was elected a director of AEtna Insurance Company and subsidiary companies, becoming a member of the boards on February 13 of that year. On June 13, 1950, he was elected a trustee of the Society for Savings. He was elected president of the AEtna Insurance Company and of all subsidiary companies on September II, 1950, and has filled these offices since.
As a leader in the insurance field, he has held a number of offices in its various organizations. A director of the General Adjustment Bureau, Inc., of New York, he was elected president of the Bureau in May, 1957. He is also a director of the Underwriters Salvage Company of New York and of the National Board of Fire Under- writers Building Corporation of New York. He is a trustee of the American Foreign Insurance Association of New York, and also a trustee of Underwriters' Laboratories, Inc., of Chicago, as well as a member of its investment and banking committee. He is a member of the executive committee and of the committee on finance of the National Board of Fire Underwriters; is vice chairman of the execu- tive committee of the Factory Insurance Association; and is a member of the executive committee of the Eastern Underwriters Association.
In his own city of Hartford, Mr. Allen continues to serve as a director and a member of the executive committee of The Connecticut Bank and Trust Company, and as a trustee of the Society for Savings of Hartford. He is a director of the Hartford Citizens Committee for Redevelopment, Inc., and a member of its operating council; and he is also a member of the national affairs committee of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Allen is likewise active in the United States Chamber of Commerce. From 1951 to 1957 he was director for insurance of this national body; and he is currently a member of its insurance com- mittee and of its membership committee.
He belongs to the Hartford Club, Hartford Golf Club, The Coun-
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try Club of Farmington, The Links Club of New York, New York Yacht Club and Off Sounding's Club.
Twice married, Clinton L. Allen chose as his first wife Miss Anna M. Perkins of Norwich. They were married on October 5, 1917, and she died in 1944. To this marriage one child was born, Clinton L., Jr., on May 13, 1920. He graduated from Lawrenceville Academy and Brown University, and is now with March and McLennon in New York City. In Chicago, Illinois, on April 27, 1946, Mr. Allen was married the second time to Beatrice Goodrich of Hartford, Connec- ticut. Mrs. Allen has a daughter by her first marriage, Gail Goodrich, born on January 2, 1936. She graduated from Oxford School, Colby College and Katharine Gibbs School.
LESTER EMERSON SHIPPEE
Lester Emerson Shippee plays a prominent role in the Hartford banking community as chairman and chief executive officer of the Connecticut Bank and Trust Company. He also serves on the boards of a number of other corporations, and has taken a full part in his city's civic life and its welfare programs.
Born at Killingly, on July 1, 1894, he is a son of Albert H. and Emeline (Place) Shippee. His entire formal education was received in the public schools of Connecticut. He began his career in banking as assistant cashier of the Windham County National Bank at Daniel- son, in 1916, and in 1919 went to New York City, where he was on the staff of the Columbia Trust Company through 1920. Later in 1920 he joined the Connecticut State Banking Department and was made chief examiner in 1921 and deputy bank commissioner in 1922. He was promoted to bank commissioner in 1927, serving until 1931.
Concluding his service with the state, he joined the executive staff of The Hartford-Connecticut Trust Company in 1931, as vice president. He was promoted to executive vice president in 1936, and to the presidency in 1952. Mr. Shippee has been chief executive officer, director, and chairman of the Connecticut Bank and Trust Company since 1954.
Mr. Shippee is a director of Connecticut Fire Insurance Com- pany, Edward Balf Company, G. F. Heublein and Brother, Inc., Phoenix Fire Insurance Company, Silent Glow Oil Burner Corpora- tion, Landers, Frary and Clark, of New Britain and Hartford Gas Company. Mr. Shippee is also a director of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company of Hartford, and of the Montgomery Company of Windsor Locks.
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Interested in the cause of higher education, Mr. Shippee serves as chairman of the board of trustees of the University of Connecticut. He is a member of the Connecticut State Chamber of Commerce, and serves on the board of directors of the Governmental Research Intitute. In his home city of Hartford, he is currently, and has been for a number of years, treasurer and director of the Greater Hartford Com- munity Chest, Inc., and a trustee of the Young Men's Christian As- sociation.
Mr. Shippee's memberships include The Hartford Club, Hartford Golf Club (both of his home city), Twentieth Century Club of Hart- ford, and Clove Valley Rod and Gun Club (New York), and Meta- betchouan Club of Quebec, Canada. His favorite recreational activities are hunting and fishing.
Mr. Shippee makes his home at 180 Fern Street, West Hartford.
LUCIUS FRANKLIN ROBINSON, JR.
As an attorney, Lucius Franklin Robinson, Jr., has been practicing in his native city of Hartford for over three decades. He is a partner in the firm of Robinson, Robinson and Cole, serves on a number of boards of directors, and has been active in the affairs of his community and of Yale University and other educational institutions.
Born on October 3, 1895, he is a son of Lucius F. and Elinor (Cooke) Robinson. After completing his secondary studies, he entered Yale University, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1918. From 1917 to 1919 he served as lieutenant in the 30Ist Field Artillery at Camp Devens and in the A. E. F. For his professional studies he went to Harvard Law School, and graduated there in 1921 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He was admitted to the Con- necticut bar in 1922, and became a member of the firm of Robinson, Robinson and Cole in 1925. This firm, which has its offices at 750 Main Street, is a large organization engaged in a general practice. In addition to Mr. Robinson, who is senior partner, it has twelve full members, and several associates. Mr. Robinson was president of the Hartford County Bar Association from 1943 to 1945, and president of the Connecticut State Bar Association from 1956 to 1957. He is a member of the American Bar Association and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
He is a trustee of The Hanover Bank, a director of Hartford National Bank and Trust Company, Connecticut General Life In- surance Company, Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company, Mutual Insurance Company of Hartford, Southern New
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England Telephone Company, Emhart Manufacturing Company, Plax Corporation, Veeder-Root Incorporated, and Holo-Krome Screw Corporation.
He is president of the board of trustees of Miss Porter's School, a trustee of The Loomis School, The Watkinson Library, and the Institute of Living. Interested in public and municipal affairs, he has served on various state and city commissions.
From 1948 to 1951 Mr. Robinson was president of the Yale Uni- versity Council. He was awarded the Mory's Cup in 1951, the Yale Medal in 1952, and the Nathan Hale Award in 1957. He is a Fellow of the Corporation of Yale University. His clubs include the Century and the Yale Club in New York, the Graduates Club in New Haven, the Maidstone Club in Long Island, and the Hartford Club.
On April 29, 1922 he married Augusta James McLane, of Bal- timore. They have four children: Elinor Cooke (Mrs. George S. Greene, Jr.), Augusta McLane (Mrs. John deK. Alsop), Amy James (Mrs. G. David Campbell-Harris), and Anne Trumbull (Mrs. Alden Y. Warner, Jr.). There are eleven grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Ro- binson live in Farmington.
WALTER LIVINGSTONE VOOS
Since his return from Air Corps service in World War II, Wal- ter L. Voos has achieved a place of importance in the industrial life of Mount Carmel, as president of The George W. Fleming Company, and vice president and secretary of The Voos Company. Both firms are producers of cutlery, and their influence has been considerable in the industry, and in the economic prosperity of the city in which their plants are located.
Born February 2, 1924, Mr. Voos is a native of New Haven. His father, Walter Henry Voos was also born in that city, in 1895. The elder man received his education there, and has been active in the cutlery industry ever since. He is now president and treasurer of The Voos Company, and chairman of the board of The Geo. W. Fleming Company. He is active in the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, and in Dixwell community and civic organizations. He married Mildred Kirby Jennings, who was born in New Haven in 1900. For eight centuries the name Voos has been identified with fine cut- lery. During the twelfth century the Voos family, a branch of the Royal House of Orange, migrated from The Netherlands and settled in Solingen, Germany. Solingen has long been famous as the cutlery center of Europe. In 1487 members of the Voos family were recorded
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as prominent in the medieval sword makers' guild. They have re- tained their place of eminence in the field of cutlery manufacture down to the present day. Ernest Voos was the first of the family to establish their business in America. He settled in New Haven in 1879, and opened a small plant where high grade shears, straight razors, butcher knives and surgical instruments were manufactured. The Voos Com- pany has continued to produce fine quality merchandise throughout the years, adding such items as carving sets, flatware, knives for the jewelry trade and kitchen tools, among others. The younger genera- tion continues in the family tradition.
Attending local public schools, Walter L. Voos was a student at Hamden High School for three years, then transferred to Taft School. For one summer he took courses at Cheshire Academy, then entered Brown University, which he left to enter wartime service in Febru- ary, 1943. He enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, served in the European Theater of Operations, and received his honorable discharge in February, 1946.
Immediately on his return to civilian life, Mr. Voos joined his father in The Voos Company, a New Haven firm producing stain- less steel cutlery. Since that time he has been vice president and secre- tary of the corporation. In 1957, with his father, he purchased The Geo. W. Fleming Company of Mount Carmel. This organization ioo produces stainless cutlery, and Walter L. Voos has been president and manager since he and his father took over its direction. Mr. Voos is also active in several other business enterprises. Recently the Royal Brand Cutlery Company of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was merged with The George W. Fleming Company, the merged companies being known as The George W. Fleming Company but all merchandise in the Royal Brand line is to continue using the Royal Brand name.
In his home city he is a member of the Rotary Club and the High Lane Club, and his fraternity is Delta Kappa Epsilon, which he joined at Brown University. He is a communicant of the Congrega- tional Church, and is a Republican in politics.
While he was serving in England with the Army Air Corps, Walter Livingstone Voos was married, on August 23, 1945, to Pearl Hilda Edwards. She is a native of that country, born in Warrington, Lancashire, on August 16, 1926. She received her education in pri- vate schools in England. Mrs. Voos is now active in the Parent- Teacher Association. The couple are the parents of two children: I. John Forrest, who was born at Waterbury on June 20, 1947. 2. Gayle Marie, born in New Haven on September 29, 1956 .
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ANTHONY WAYNE O'CONNELL
For over two decades, Anthony Wayne O'Connell has headed his own real estate and insurance agency in Norwich. He also has to his credit an exceptional record in public office. A lawyer by training, he has served as state representative, state senator, judge of the city court, and mayor of his city.
He is a native of Norwich, and was born on August 4, 1907, son of Thomas F. and Isabelle M. (Gelino) O'Connell. His father was a woolen spinner. His great-grandfather, Timothy O'Connell, served with the Union forces during the Civil War, out of Colchester, Connecticut, and was killed in the Battle of Antietam. Graduating from Greenville Grammar School in 1924 and from Norwich Free Academy in 1928, Anthony W. O'Connell studied law with the firm of Shields and Shields from 1928 to 1932. In 1938 he attended the University of Connecticut and took special courses in appraising.
He served as state representative (1933) and as state senator (1935). From 1935 to 1937, he was judge of the Norwich city court; and he held office as mayor of the city from 1938 to 1940, giving his fellow citizens an honest and efficient administration. Anthony W. O'Connell had also held office as probation officer of the Norwich city court ( 1933-1935) and as senior alderman of the Norwich city council (1937-1938). Judge O'Connell has the distinction of being the youngest judge to serve on the Norwich City Court, and also the youngest mayor in the history of the city of Norwich.
Since July 1, 1937, he has been owner of the Anthony Wayne O'Connell Agency, Realtors, Appraisers and General Insurance Agents, with offices at 40 Main Street. The firm specializes in the appraisal of all types of real estate. They are approved appraisers for the Veterans Administration, the Federal Housing Administration, the Connecticut State Highway, and redevelopment projects, having qualified in probate courts, common pleas courts, superior courts in the state of Connecticut, and federal courts of the United States.
A charter member of the Norwich Real Estate Board, Mr. O'Connell formerly served as its president; and he is also former president of the Connecticut Association of Real Estate Boards. As chairman of the legislative committee for the Connecticut Association of Real Estate Boards, he led the fight for the licensing of real estate brokers in Connecticut. In 1958 Judge O'Connell was elected president of the Norwich Free Academy Alumni Association. He is a member of the faculty of the educational committee for the National Associa- tion of Real Estate Boards, and is a former director of this association.
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He is a member of Omega Tau Rho, a fraternity made up of persons who have made outstanding contributions to the elevation of standards of the real estate profession. A member of the Knights of Columbus, Mr. O'Connell holds the Third and Fourth degrees in that great national Catholic fraternity. He is a communicant of St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church at Norwich.
At Willimantic, on October 7, 1937, Anthony Wayne O' Conneil married Alice A. Jolie, daughter of William and Mary (Rousseau) Jolie. The couple make their home at 340 Harland Road, Norwich, and they are the parents of two children: I. Anthony Wayne, Jr., who was born on February 12, 1939. He is a graduate of Norwich Technical School, and is now associated with his father. 2. Daniel M., born on February 5, 1943; a student at Norwich Free Academy.
ROBERT DWIGHT SOMERS
One of the founders of the Waterbury Rolling Mills, Inc., Robert D. Somers has been called "a pioneer of the U. S. brass mill industry." He was for many years the president of his company, and at the time of his recent retirement was chairman of its board.
Born in 1870, Robert Dwight Somers attended Waterbury schools, but his experience in industry began when he was fifteen years old. It was in 1885 that he took a position in the covered wire department of Benedict and Burnham. This was the second oldest brass manufac- turing firm in Waterbury, and in 1900 it became a part of the Amer- ican Brass Company. Mr. Somers worked for Benedict and Burnham for three years, filling various positions and learning every phase of casting, rolling and metalworking. In 1888 he left the company to resume his education, attending Wilbraliam Academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts. Following two years of study, which included a busi- ness course, he returned to Benedict and Burnham. Charles Dickinson, then president of the firm, once remarked that Robert Somers, then eighteen years old, "had more responsibility than anyone else his age."
From a review of Mr. Somers' career in a recent issue of "Amer- ican Metal Market" we quote the foliowing account of life in the industry in the early days :
These were the days when water wheels were still used for power, sup- plemented by steam engines. Open pit fires were used for the melting of metal and casting was a trade which enjoyed almost a professional status in the in- dustrial society. A caster was, in fact, virtually in business for himself even though he worked within and produced metal for the company he was associated with. Mr. Somers recalls that, during the time when he was a caster for Benedict and Burnham, he hired his own helpers and they were paid out of the amount he received per 100 lbs. of metal he produced. Each caster had his own secret
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flux mixture which was used to bring impurities to the top of the heat. Sucii unwritten secrets of the trade were often passed down from father to son as one generation succeeded the other in the trade.
It was Robert D. Somers who, as an employee of Benedict and Burnham, cast what is believed to be the first phosphorus bronze to come out of Waterbury. This was about 1894. His firm, and later American Brass Company, continued to produce it thereafter, and it became one of the products in which Waterbury Rolling Mills spe- cialized.
Mr. Somers soon determined to seek a connection in which his experience and qualities of leadership would assure him a larger future in the industry. Early in 1906 he became associated with A. H. Wells, Fred B. Beardsley, and Frank P. Welton in founding the Waterbury Rolling Mills. A brief history of this organization is to be found in the industrial and institutional section of this history. Mr. Somers himself served as vice president of the firm, as it began operations in April, 1907, and he was later elected to the presidency and held office as chairman of the board upon his retirement in 1958. The article in American Metal Market, coinciding with that event, con- cluded with these words:
Under Mr. Somers' leadership ... the company has expanded and progressed through the wars, depressions and recessions of the past 52 years. The policy of progress which he followed is in force today as Waterbury Rolling Mills moves forward in the second half century of its existence.
Making his home in Waterbury, Mr. Somers married Mary Wel ton. The couple's son, Gordon W. Somers, now president and director of Waterbury Rolling Mills, is the subject of the following sketch.
GORDON W. SOMERS
President and a director of Waterbury Rolling Mills, Incor- porated, of Waterbury, Connecticut, since 1954, and associated with the company since 1920, Mr. Somers is a director of the Somers Brass Company. He is active in civic organizations, served five years as fire commissioner of Waterbury and is at present a park commissioner.
He was born in Waterbury on August 8, 1900, the son of Robert Dwight Somers and of Mary (Welton ) Somers. A biography of his father precedes this record. Mr. Somers attended the Waterbury pub- lic schools and graduated from Crosby High School in 1920. He then became associated with Waterbury Rolling Mills, Incorporated. He served as secretary of the corporation from 1950 to 1954, and is now president and a director of the corporation. A record of this company appears in the industrial and institutional section of this history.
Gordon W. Somers
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A member of Liberty Masonic Lodge No. 123 and of the Con- sistory, Mr. Somers holds membership in Sphinx Shrine in Hartford. Eureka Chapter No. 22, and Clark Consistory No. 7 of the Knights Templar. A member of the Rotary Club and a Republican in politics, his social connections include membership in Oneida, New York, Eiks Lodge, the Waterbury Club and the Waterbury Country Club. Goif and a home workshop are his favorite hobbies.
Mr. Somers was married on September 26, 1931, to Marguerite Tooker, the daughter of Henry S. Tooker and of Alice (Wells) Tooker of Waterbury. Mr. and Mrs. Somers have one daughter, Marguerite Lois, now Mrs. David E. Lyons of Wilmette, Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Lyons have three children: Catherine, Robert and Christopher.
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