USA > Connecticut > History of Connecticut, Volume III > Part 31
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Mr. Brink attended the Manchester grammar schools, and 1:e then took night school courses and correspondence courses. An ap- prentice mechanic with Eddy Electric in Windsor, until 1902, he held various employments until 1914 when he became an equipment en- gineer with the Remington Arms Company in Bridgeport. He went into business for himself in 1920, and it was in 1925 that he founded
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the firm of Brink and Cotton with John Cotton, manufacturers of tools which are shipped throughout the United States and Canada and to foreign countries. Mr. Brink holds the post of president and treasurer.
He is active in professional organizations and is a member of the Connecticut State Salesmen and Purchasing Agents Club and of the National Salesmen and Purchasing Agents Club. A Mason, he also enjoys social connections as a member of the Algonquin Club of Bridgeport, and he is an independent in politics. He attends religious worship as a member of the Congregational Church.
He was married in New Britain, on May 6, 1922, to Evelyn Haigis, born in New Britain on May 6, 1895, the daughter of Louis Haigis who married Miss Hyde. Her father was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts, in 1866, was a mechanic for many years and is now living in New Britain. Mrs. Brink's mother was born in Hartford, and she is now deceased. Mrs. Brink is a graduate of business college and she is active in the Stratford Garden Club.
Mr. and Mrs. Brink have two children: I. Frederick, Jr., born in Bridgeport on August 18, 1924, graduated from Stratford High School and then from Admiral Ballard Academy in 1943. He obtained the degree of Bachelor of Science at the University of Connecticut in 1950. He served in the Army Air Corps during World War II from 1943 to 1945 and was stationed in the European Theater of Operations. He is sales manager of the Brink and Cotton Manu- facturing Company of Bridgeport, and he is active in Masonry. 2. Caroline, born in Bridgeport on June II, 1926, graduated from Stratford High School in 1945 and obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Tufts College. She is married to William Hughes, owner of a hardware store in Newton, and they have four children: David, Cynthia, William and Gail.
ARTHUR LEFTINGWELL SHIPMAN, JR.
An attorney practicing in Hartford since the beginning of his career, Arthur L. Shipman, Jr., has a creditable record of service in public office as judge of the city court and assistant corporation counsel. He serves on a number of boards of directors, and is interested in educational and welfare causes.
He is a native of Hartford, and was born on July 3. 1906, son : of Arthur Leftingwell, Sr., and Melvina (Vankleeck) Shipman. After completing his primary and secondary education in local schools, he entered Yale University, where he took his degree of Bachelor of Arts
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in 1928. He continued with his professional training at Yale Law School, where in 1931 he took his degree of Bachelor of Laws.
Admitted to the bar of the state of Connecticut in that year, he joined the firm of Shipman and Goodwin, of which he has since been a member. The partnership, which has its offices at 15 Lewis Street, engages in a general practice, including corporation, probate, real es- tate, insurance and tax law and labor law. Among the nationally known corporations which it represents are AEtna Insurance Com- pany, Century Indemnity Company, and Standard Insurance Company of New York, and it is also counsel for Connecticut Bank and Trust Company, Wiremold Company, Hart Manufacturing Company, Peter Paul, Inc., Connecticut Milk Producers Association, Connecticut Prin- ters, Inc., and the Hartford Hospital. It is a large organization, with ten full partners and two associates.
Mr. Shipman assumed his duties as judge of the city court of Hartford in 1947 and served through 1949. He was assistant corpo- ration counsel of the city of Hartford from 1950 to 1954. He is a veteran of World War II, having served actively in the United States Naval Reserve from 1943 to 1946, with a commission as lieutenant commander.
He serves on the boards of directors of Travelers Insurance Com- pany, the Society for Savings, the Collins Company, and Libby and Blinn. Interested in the cause of culture and the promotion of educa- tional facilities, he has served as president of the Wadsworth Athe- neum and of Kingswood School. He is a trustee of Hartford Hospital. His memberships include The Hartford Club and Hartford Golf Club.
On February 8, 1941, Arthur Leftingwell Shipman, Jr., married Mary P. Dana, daughter of the late Richard H. Dana and Ethel (Smith) Dana. The couple are the parents of two children: I. Henry Longfellow, born on February 20, 1948, a student at Kingswood. 2. Anne, born on February 24, 1950, a student at Renbrook School. The family lives at 120 Seanborough Street, Hartford.
J. DOYLE DEWITT
J. Doyle DeWitt has served as president and a director of The Travelers Insurance Company, The Travelers Indemnity Company and The Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company since 1952. He joined The Travelers as claim investigator at the Des Moines office in 1925, was transferred to the life, accident and group claim department of the home office in 1927 and appointed claim examiner, home office, in 1929. He became assistant manager of the life, accident and group
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claim department in 1933; supervising adjuster in charge of all life, accident and group claims in the New York metropolitan area in 1937; assistant manager of the home office life, accident and group claim department in 1939; secretary in charge of all claim departments of The Travelers Companies, 1943; assistant to the president, 1945; vice president and assistant to the president, 1950; president, 1952.
Mr. DeWitt was born in Sully, Iowa, on June 25, 1902, and is a son of Henry and Lola Belle (Forsyth) DeWitt. He was educated at Colfax High School and Drake University. The university con- ferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws in 1955.
Widely known in insurance circles, Mr. DeWitt was president of the Eastern Life Claim Conference in 1939 and 1940, and chair- man of the executive committee of the International Claim Association in 1942 and 1943, the period during which the War Claims Liaison Committee was established. In 1943 and 1944, he was president of the association.
Mr. DeWitt has achieved wide renown as a collector of Amer- icana, particularly that pertaining to American presidential campaigns. He is active in the American Numismatic Association, and a member of the American Numismatic Society and the Hartford Numismatic Society. He is the author of numerous articles on numismatics, with special emphasis on American coinage. In 1950 he was the recipient of a Freedoms Foundation Honor Medal Award for a story extolling private enterprise, and in 1951 a Certificate of Merit from the Hart- ford Chamber of Commerce. He is a founder of the University of Hartford, a member of the Advisory Committee of Rensselaer Poly- technic Institute's Hartford Graduate Center, and in 1958 was given a citation as "Man of the Year" by the Boston Board of Fire Under- writers.
Mr. DeWitt is a director of the three Travelers Companies, The Travelers Broadcasting Service Corporation, Hartford National Bank and Trust Company, Veeder-Root, Inc., Holo-Krome Screw Corpora- tion, Greater Hartford Community Chest, Hartford Better Business Bureau, Hartford Hospital Association, Hartford Chapter of the American Red Cross, Charter Oak Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Inc., The Chase Manhattan Bank, The Southern New Eng- land Telephone Company, Chase Manhattan Realty Corporation, Hart- ford Hospital, Hartford Electric Light Company, and United Aircraft Corporation. He is a trustee of the Mechanics Savings Bank, Con- necticut Public Expenditure Council, Inc., Herbert Hoover Founda- tion, YMCA of Greater Hartford, and the National Safety Council.
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Mr. DeWitt is a member of the Hartford Club, Hartford Golf Club, Ekwanok Country Club, The Links, Augusta National Golf Club of Augusta, Georgia, Accident and Health Club of New York, American Legion, Twentieth Century Club, Economic Club of New York, Newcomen Society in North America, Advisory Board of The Connecticut Circle Magazine, and the Steering Committee of The Committee for Hartford.
RAYMOND C. DIMON
Raymond C. Dimon, vice president of The Travelers Insurance Company, has headed the life department of the company since 1948. He joined The Travelers in 1921 as a claim examiner in the life, acci- dent and health claim department and later became supervisor of the change division of the life department. He was promoted to assistant secretary of the life department in 1926. In 1946 he was appointed secretary of the department and two years later was named vice presi- dent. In 1955 he assumed responsibility for both the life and accident departments. Prior to his association with The Travelers, Mr. Dimon began his business career with the Heminway Silk Company of Putnam.
Born in Hartford on January 10, 1895, he is a son of John Jay and Henrietta (Barrett) Dimon. He was graduated from Yale Uni- versity in 1917 and is an alumnus of the Hartford College of Law. He served with the 302nd Field Artillery in World War I and was released with the rank of first lieutenant.
Mr. Dimon has been active in insurance men's organizations, having been a director of the Life Office Management Association from 1949 to 1952. From 1946 to 1949, and again from 1954 to 1956, he served as a member of the council of the Home Office Life Under- writers Association. He is a member of the executive committee of the Canadian Life Officers Association, a member of the Institute of Life Insurance, the Life Insurance Association and the American Life Convention.
Apart from his professional connections, Mr. Dimon is a member of the Yale Alumni Association of Hartford, the Wadsworth Ath- eneum, the Hartford Club, University Club and Twentieth Century Club, all of Hartford. He is affiliated with the Free and Accepted Masons and attends the Congregational Church.
Mr. Dimon is married to the former Eleather Marcella Mowry
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of North Smithfield, Rhode Island. The couple have one daughter, Joanne, who is married to Russell B. Lowe, Jr., of Hartford. Mr. and Mrs. Dimon reside at 129 Elizabeth Street, Hartford.
MILLARD BARTELS
Millard Bartels has served as chairman of the insurance executive committee of The Travelers Insurance Companies since 1955. He joined the compensation and liability department of The Travelers in 1929 and was named attorney in the law department in 1933. He was appointed general counsel in 1945, vice president and general counsel in 1948, and was elected to the board of directors in 1952.
Mr. Bartels was born in Syracuse, New York, on February 24, 1905, the son of Herman and Jane Agnes ( Millard) Bartels. He was graduated from Cornell University in 1927, from Cornell Law School in 1929, and was admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1930. He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar associations.
As an insurance executive, he has been active in the program of the American Life Convention and served as chairman of its legal section in 1952 and 1953. He was elected president of the Association of Life Insurance Counsel in 1957 and is a member of the committee on laws of the National Board of Fire Underwriters.
He has been active in public service and was elected to the town council of West Hartford in 1939, 1941 and 1943 and served as pres- ident from 1943 to 1945. From 1953 to 1955, he served as a director of the Connecticut State Prison and a member of the state's parole board.
Mr. Bartels is a director of The Travelers Insurance Company, The Travelers Indemnity Company, The Charter Oak Fire Insurance Company, The Travelers Broadcasting Service Corporation, The Con- necticut Bank and Trust Company, Connecticut Chamber of Com- merce, Health Insurance Association of America and Institute of Living. He is a trustee of the Society for Savings, Kingswood Aca- demy, Wadsworth Atheneum, Bushnell Memorial Hall Corporation, Bishop's Fund, Diocese of Connecticut, a regent of the University of Hartford, and a member of the Hartford Club (president, 1956- 57), the Hartford Golf Club and the Tunxis Club.
He is married to the former Eulalia Stevens and the couple have three children, Millard S., Chester B. and Jane Lee. Mr. and Mrs. Bartels reside at 29 Westwood Road, West Hartford.
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HAROLD A. MCKAY
Harold A. Mckay has been a vice president of The Travelers Insurance Company since 1949 and as head of the casualty, fidelity and surety agency department is in charge of the production of these lines by representatives of The Travelers throughout the United States and Canada.
He became associated with the insurance firm as a field under- writer of casualty lines in 1919 and attended the home office training school. He served as field underwriter and assistant manager at The Travelers branch office in Minneapolis and in 1924 was named man- ager, casualty, fidelity and surety lines, at St. Paul. Later he served as manager at Montreal, Rochester and New York City. Between periods of field service, he was stationed in the home office as an agency assistant and assistant superintendent of agencies. He was ap- pointed superintendent of agencies in 1940 and placed in charge of the New York metropolitan area. He returned to the home office staff in 1945.
Born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, Mr. Mckay served in World War I in the Field Artillery. In 1918 he was graduated from Brown University, where he played on the varsity baseball team. He is a member of the Hartford Club, the Hartford Golf Club and the Brown Club of Hartford.
Mr. McKay is married to the former Prudence Vergote of Marsh- all, Minnesota, and the couple have two children, Mrs. Theodore D. Taubeneck and Paul H. Mckay. The Mckays reside at II Newport Avenue, West Hartford.
PERRY TRUE CARTER
Vice president Perry T. Carter heads the life, accident and health agency department of The Travelers Insurance Companies. He joined the sales organization of The Travelers in 1925 as a field supervisor of life, accident and group insurance lines in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was promoted to assistant manager of these lines the following year. In 1928 he was transferred to the Chicago branch office as as- sistant manager in charge of the group sales division. Three years later he became district group supervisor of the Chicago office and in 1936 was promoted to regional group supervisor in charge of group sales for the entire area. In 1938 he was transferred to The Travelers New York City branch office as regional group supervisor for the Conipanies' most important sales area. As a result of his outstanding work in the field, Mr. Carter was brought to the home office in Hart-
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ford as assistant superintendent of agencies in 1946. The following year he was promoted to superintendent of agencies and assumed re- sponsibility for the group sales division. He was promoted to vice president in 1949.
A native of Chester, South Carolina, he attended Wofford Pre- paratory School and Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He served in the Coast Artillery in World War I and was released with the rank of lieutenant. Before he joined The Travelers, Mr. Car- ter was an agent for the Life Insurance Company of Virginia.
Mr. Carter is a member of the Hartford Club and the Hartford Golf Club and is active in insurance men's organizations. He has served as chairman of the agency section of the American Life Con- vention and the human relations committee of the Life Insurance Agency Management Association, and is a member of the Associa- tion's executive committee of the Research Advisory Committee, its Life Underwriter Training Council and a former member of its Agen- cy Officers Round Table Committee. He is also a member of the official board of the First Methodist Church of Hartford.
Mr. Carter is married to the former Sara Kirkpatrick of Chester, South Carolina. The couple have one daughter, Carol, and reside at 43 Cliffmore Road, West Hartford.
MILLARD T. WILSON
Millard T. Wilson has served as vice president of The Travelers Insurance Company and The Travelers Indemnity Company since 1954 and as vice president of The Charter Oak Fire Insurance Com- pany since 1950. He started his insurance career as a fire protection engineer with the Southeastern Underwriters Association in 1925. In 1929 he joined The Travelers in the same capacity at the Charlotte, North Carolina, branch office. He subsequently served as special agent and in 1935 was made manager of fire and marine insurance lines for the Carolinas territory, with headquarters in the Charlotte office.
He came to The Travelers home office in Hartford in 1940 as superintendent of agencies, and was named secretary of the southern department in 1943. He was appointed secretary of The Travelers Fire and The Charter Oak Fire Insurance companies in 1947 and three years later was promoted to vice president of those companies. He was made vice president of all Travelers Companies in 1954.
A native of Marion, North Carolina, he was born on March 9, 1902 and is a son of Thomas W. and Gertrude (Tate) Wilson. He was graduated from North Carolina State College.
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Mr. Wilson is a director of the Greater Hartford Young Men's Christian Association and is a member of the Hartford Club and the Hartford Golf Club. He is an active member of St. John's Church in West Hartford and is treasurer of the Episcopal Diocese of Con- necticut.
Mr. Wilson is married to the former Catharine Tucker of Char- lotte, North Carolina, and the couple have two children, Millard T., Jr., and John H. T. Wilson. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson reside at 27 Nor- wood Road, West Hartford.
WILLIAM OSBORNE KEENE
An attorney practicing law in Norwalk for the past decade and a half, William Osborne Keene has rendered distinguished service on the bench as judge of the district probate court. He is a veteran of military service in World War II, and active in veterans' and civic groups.
Born at East Norwalk on July 9, 1915, he is a son of Charles Waters and Mary Agnes (Bloomquist) Keene. Both of his parents were natives of Norwalk. His father, born April 3, 1886, lived in the city all of his life, and he was for many years superintendent of the County Court House at Bridgeport. A Republican, he served for a time as chairman of his party in the Town of Norwalk. He died September 13, 1957. Mrs. Keene survives him and makes her home in Norwalk, where she was born on August II, 1889.
In the public schools of that city, William O. Keene received his public school education, and graduated from Norwalk High School in 1932. He later entered New York University, where he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1940, and the Bachelor of Laws degree in 1942. Admitted to the bar of his state in that year, he began his practice in Norwalk. A short time afterwards, he entered active serv- ice in the army. In the European Theater of Operations, he participa- ted in the military action against the Nazi forces, and he received his honorable discharge at the end of hostilities.
Resuming his law practice in Norwalk after the war, he is now a partner of John Lyons in the firm of Keene and Lyons. Offices are at 50 North Street, South Norwalk. Mr. Keene is a member of the Norwalk-Westport-Wilton Bar Association and the Connecticut Bar Association.
William O. Keene became judge of the district probate court in 1947 and served on the bench until 1954. He is a Republican. As
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a veteran of World War II, he is a member of the posts of the Ameri- can Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and he belongs to the Rotary Club and the lodge of Free and Accepted Masons. He is a communicant of the East Avenue Methodist Church of Norwalk.
In that city, on June 21, 1941, William O. Keene married Susan Virgulak, daughter of John and Susan (Thomas) Virgulak. Both of her parents were born in Hungary, her father in 1887 and her mother in 1895. Her father, who arrived on these shores in 1905, was a hatter by trade. He immediately settled in Norwalk, where he made his home until his death in 1951. Mrs. Virgulak survives him and makes her home there. Mrs. Keene's birth date was October 15, 1914. She graduated from Norwalk High School in 1932. The couple make their home on Pine Hill Road, East Norwalk, and they are the parents of two children : I. Stewart, born on July 20, 1948. He is at- tending Marvin School. 2. Priscilla, born August 12, 1952. She is also attending Marvin School. Both children were born in Norwalk.
LOUIS ANGELO SIDOLI
More than a decade ago, Louis Angelo Sidoli founded the Sterl- ing Beverage Company at New Haven. Its plant is now located at Mount Carmel, and Mr. Sidoli is its general manager, and president of the corporation. He also heads the Atlas Beverage Company at New London, is an executive of the Valentine Realty Company, and has rendered valuable service in welfare causes.
A native of New York City, he was born on September 30, 1909, son of Bartholomew and Erniinia (Conti) Sidoli. Both of his parents came from northern Italy. His father, born there in 1877, worked on steamships from 1890 to 1898, and in the latter year settled per- manently in the United States. For many years he was in the hotel and restaurant business. He died in 1956. His wife, the former Er- minia Conti, was born in 1883. She survives her husband, and makes, her home with her son.
Following World War I. Louis A. Sidoli went to his parents' native region of northern Italy to attend the Seminary of Bedonia, in the Province of Parma. Following his graduation there in 1925, he returned to the United States, and spent a year and a half in fur- ther studies in New York City. He then commenced his business career in the wholesaling of groceries and provisions, and in 1928 en- tered this field in his own name at Hamden, as owner of the Standard Provision Company. On May 7, 1933, after the repeal of Prohibition had once again established the legality of beer, he became a distribu-
homes 9. Sidol
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tor, opening a wholesale distributorship under the name of Imperial Beverage Company. On December 5, 1933, he began stocking and delivering wines as well.
In 1938, Mr. Sidoli sold the Imperial Beverage Company to the Hull Brewery of New Haven, and became associated with the latter firm, with which he continued his connection until 1945. At that time he founded the Sterling Beverage Company, opening a plant on Com- merce Street in New Haven. He moved the company to a location on Dixwell Avenue in Hamden in 1948, occupying a building which he had erected in 1933. In 1950 he purchased a branch of the Trommer Brewery in Mount Carmel, and moved to that place. He has been president as well as general manager of Sterling Beverage Company since it was founded. He is also president and treasurer of the Atlas Beverage Company of New London, and vice president and treasurer of the Valentine Realty Company of New Haven.
Participating fully in the programs of trade organizations, Mr. Sidoli is currently a member of the advisory board of the National Wholesale Beer Association. He has taken a constructive interest in municipal affairs, and serves on the finance board of the Town of Hamden. In his politics he is a Republican. He is a member of the advisory boards of Blessed Martin's Center and of St. Anthony Or- phans' Asylum, both of New Haven, and also of Sacred Heart Aca- demy. One of his major civic interests is Italian-American affairs. In 1951, he started an orphan asylum and home for the underprivileged children at Bedonia, Italy, where he attended seminary. He was re- cently honored by the Italian government, receiving the Star of Solidarity. In 1955 he was knighted by Pope Pius XII, receiving the insignia of Knight Commander of San Silvester. He is state chairman of the American Committee on Italian Migration, and also a member of that organization's board of directors. He was a charter member of the New Haven Chapter of Serra International, and be- longs to several other Italian-American organizations.
In his home city of Hamden, Mr. Sidoli is active in the Chamber of Commerce. He is currently president of the Columbus Club. A charter member of Carmel Council No. 3605 of the Knights of Colum- bus, he, formerly served as trustee and was treasurer, and is now Grand Knight He received the Charles Carroll of Carrollton Award from the members of the Fourth Degree, John Barry Assembly Feb- ruary 22, 1959. He has been honored by the council for his outstand- ing work in the past years. He holds the Fourth Degree in the Knights of Columbus. A Roman Catholic and a parishioner of Our
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Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Hamden, he is a member of its Holy Name Society.
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