USA > Connecticut > History of Connecticut, Volume IV > Part 33
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1892. In the years which followed, he retained interest in his alma mater. He was reunion chairman of his class from its tenth reunion in 1902 through the sixtieth in 1952. For a number of years he served as class secretary.
Following his graduation, Mr. Barnes remained in New Haven, where he worked for ten years. From the beginning he was interested in the printing trade, and his first connection was with Tuttle, More- house and Taylor, a printing firm in which he became a partner in 1895. In 1901 he worked for Yale University for a time, as business manager of the Athletic Association, and in various capacities for the Alumni Board.
In March, 1902, Mr. Barnes moved from New Haven to Bristol to assume duties as general manager of the weekly newspaper and job printing plant of The Bristol Press Publishing Company. At that time, the city had a population of about seventeen thousand, which was considered too small to support a daily paper. Nonetheless, Mr. Barnes set his sights on such a goal. He inaugurated a semi-weekly newspaper in 1910; and The Bristol Press became a daily in 1916. It started out with a circulation of two thousand, and its circulation figure today stands at thirteen thousand. Until 1907, the paper was published on Riverside Avenue, in a wooden building at the rear of what is now the Bristol Savings Bank. In that year, it moved to its present loca- tion on Main Street, where additions were made to the original struc- ture in 1916, 1928, and 1955.
Mr. Barnes was completely devoted to his calling, and strongly felt the obligation to render a high standard of service in journalism. He spoke of his personal motivations, and his business principles, in a statement prepared for a Yale class record in the mid-1920S :
I enjoy the smell of printers' ink and since I first entered the printing business have never been able to get away from the delight of the printed page. We try to publish a clean, daily newspaper. We believe that there is more good than bad in the world, and, therefore, we never play up crime or scandal. We value the editorial page of our paper and try to have worthwhile ideas on local and general subjects and to discuss public questions in an unbiased manner. Per- sonally, I like my job.
Each week, Mr. Barnes contributed a column to his paper, "By the Fireside," and his own writings revealed his interest in poetry, literature and philosophy. He felt close personally to those who worked with him on the staff of The Press. In an editorial column appearing at the time of his death, his qualities as a publisher and employer were well expressed :
Mr. Barnes was not a demanding employer in the usual sense of the expres-
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sion, but he did insist that the news be presented to his readers as fairly and accurately as possible, this being a rule he applied not only to his employees but also to himself. He steadfastly declined to permit undue emphasis on news concerning crime, scandal or other situations where a publisher might be tempted to employ "sensationalism" tactics in order to sell more papers. To do so would have been entirely inconsistent with his nature. . . Other than the members of his own family, those closest to Arthur Barnes were his friends and associates at The Press. His interest in their personal affairs was always genuinely sincere. When they were ill he worried about them until they were restored to health. . . It might have seemed incongruous to some to hear Arthur Barnes refer to a 60-year-old employe as "my boy" but those who knew him well realized that he actually had such a fatherly regard for his "folks" at The Press. And today throughout the plant there is general grief because all of us know we have lost an old and trusted friend, a grand old man who was never too busy to stop for a moment's chat or to extend a friendly and encouraging pat on the shoulder when it was most needed.
Mr. Barnes' humane spirit was revealed in his community ac- tivities as well. From 1905 to 1925, he served on the library board at Bristol; and he was a member of the board of education from 1925 to 1947. For many years he was school board representative in the supervision of the Bristol Evening School, and annually awarded di- plomas at graduation exercises. He represented Bristol in the Con- necticut State Legislature for two terms, beginning in the years 1925 and 1927. A director of the West Cemetery Association, he was its active manager and president for a number of years. During the years of World War I and World War II, he gave his fullest per- sonal support, as well as the support of his paper, to back the Red Cross and defense bond sales campaigns. He was also a leader in the drive for funds for construction of the Bristol Hospital, in the early 1920S.
Mr. Barnes was a member of The Associated Press, the New England Daily Publishers Association, Connecticut Daily Newspapers Association, and the American Newspaper Publishers Association. He was an honorary life member of the Connecticut Editorial As- sociation. Many years ago, before The Press became a daily, he served as secretary and president of the Connecticut Editorial Association. Apart from his professional affiliations, he was a fifty-year member of Franklin Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons, a charter mem- ber of Bristol Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a charter member of the Graduates Club of Yale, in New Haven. One of the oldest communicants of Prospect Methodist Church, he had served on its official board, and in his younger days had conducted a Sunday school class.
The publisher also had a military record to his credit. While in New Haven, he had served as a private in Company F of the New
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Haven Grays, from 1895 through the period of the Spanish-American War. He was a member of the State Guard unit at Bristol in 1918- 1919.
In Macon, Michigan, on October 16, 1902, Arthur S. Barnes married Anna May Bailey. She died on October 2, 1950. The couple were the parents of the following children: I. Clarkson, who was born on October 28, 1903, and is now president of the Bristol Press Publishing Company. He has a biographical sketch in this work. 2. E. Bartlett, born August 1, 1907. He is now vice president and treasurer of the corporation, and general manager of the plant, and his record too will be found elsewhere in these pages. 3. A daughter, Mrs. Mar- tin E. Alvord, who lives in Manchester.
Mr. Barnes' distinguished career in newspaper publishing came to a close in his eighty-sixth year, on Christmas night of 1956.
CLARKSON BARNES
President of the Bristol Press Publishing Company of Bristol, since 1957 and associated with the Bristol Press since 1928, Mr. Barnes is active in the community and is a member of the City of Bristol Parking Authority.
He was born on October 28, 1903, the son of Arthur Seth Barnes and of Anna May (Bailey) Barnes. His father became general manager of the Bristol Press in 1902, serving fifty-four years with the paper until his death in 1956. The last twenty-five years he was publisher and owner. He served two terms in the Connecticut State Legislature, in 1925 and 1927, and was a member of the Home Guard during World War I. The Barnes family originally settled near Cornwall. The elder Mr. Barnes's mother was born in Germany in 1849 and died in Bristol in 1890.
Clarkson Barnes graduated from Bristol High School in 1921 and received the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Yale University in 1926. He was a reporter on the Boston Globe from 1926 to 1928, and then became associated with the Bristol Press. Employed in the busi- ness department for nine years, he served as city editor for ten years, and covered the whole operation from the news department. He be- came managing editor in 1953; a post which he still holds.
A Mason and a past master of Franklin Lodge No. 56, Mr. Barnes is a member also of the Knights Templar of Hartford. A member of the Town Club of Bristol, he is fond of outdoor sports, principally swimming and skiing, and attends religious services as a member of the Prospect Methodist Church.
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He was married in New Brunswick, Canada, on September 16, 1935, to Pauline Bird Hagerman, born in Keswick, New Brunswick, the daughter of William David Hagerman and of Katherine (Bird) Hagerman. Her father was born in Bear Island, New Brunswick, Canada; and her mother in Upper Keswick, New Brunswick.
Mr. and Mrs. Barnes have three children, all born in Bristol: I. William Seth, born on July 4, 1936, graduated from Bristol High School and obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Wesleyan Col- lege in 1958. He is a student at Yale Divinity School in preparation for the ministry. 2. James Clarkson, born on February 25, 1938, graduated from Bristol High School in 1956 and is now a student at Middlebury College. 3. Katherine Hope, born on September 24, 1946.
E. BARTLETT BARNES
For the past two decades, E. Bartlett Barnes has devoted his at- tention to executive duties with The Bristol Press, and is now its general manager, and vice president and treasurer of the corporation. In a very real sense, the paper is a family enterprise, for Mr. Barnes' father, the late Arthur S. Barnes, built it up from a small weekly into a daily paper, which he edited and published for many years. His other son, Clarkson Barnes, is now president of the publishing com- pany. Both have biographical records in this work. In addition to his duties in connection with the paper, E. Bartlett Barnes has found time for banking and community interests.
Born at Bristol on August 1, 1907, he is a son of Arthur Seth and Anna May (Bailey) Barnes. Mrs. Barnes died on October 2, 1950, and Mr. Barnes survived her until Christmas day of 1956, continuing his duties as publisher of the paper as long as he lived. Attending Federal Hill School, E. Bartlett Barnes graduated from Bristol High School in 1924, and in 1929 he took his degree of Bache- lor of Arts at Yale University. He immediately chose the newspaper publishing field for his career, first joining the staff of the Stamford Advocate. He spent eight years with that paper, working first in its news department and later in its advertising department.
With this valuable experience behind him, he began his connection with The Bristol Press in 1937. He has been with the paper continu- ously since, holding executive posts of increasing responsibility. He is now general manager, vice president and treasurer of the corpora- tion.
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Mr. Barnes is also a trustee of the Bristol Savings Bank. He is active in lodge affairs, being a member of Lodge No. 1010 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and Franklin Lodge of the Free and Accepted Masons (in which his father held a fifty- year membership). He is also a member of the local commandery of the Knights Templar, as well as of Sphinx Temple, Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, in Hartford. He is also a Ro- tarian. A communicant of the First Congregational Church, he was formerly a deacon, a position he capably filled for four years. In politics, Mr. Barnes is independent of party ties.
At Glenbrook, on August 26, 1933, E. Bartlett Barnes married Alice B. Cook of that town, daughter of James W. and Mina (Pease) Cook. The couple are the parents of four children : I. E. Bartlett, Jr., who was born on November 3, 1937. 2. Sally, born on January 10, 1940. 3. Barbara, born November 8, 1942. 4. Nancy, born October 21, 1946. Mr. Barnes' hobby interests are family-centered, and he enjoys outdoor pastimes in all seasons.
ROBERT FREDERICK MURPHY
Assistant treasurer of the Bristol Savings Bank of Bristol, Con- necticut, since 1955, and active in the banking profession since 1938, Mr. Murphy attended the Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. He has also taken a special course at Hillyer College in Hartford.
Mr. Murphy was born in New Britain, on July 23, 1918, the son of Frederick A. Murphy and of Catherine Josephine ( Burkarth) Murphy. His father was born on November 16, 1890, and his mother on May 25, 1888. Mr. Murphy graduated from New Britain High School in 1936, and during World War II, served from August, 1941 to October, 1945. He entered the Army as a private, was as- signed to Finance, served three years overseas, and received his honorable discharge with the rank of master sergeant.
Mr. Murphy was employed in the Stanley Works for one year, and it was in 1938 that he became associated with the New Britain Trust Company. He became assistant bookkeeper on his return from military service in 1945, and he joined the Bristol Savings Bank as teller in 1946. Made mortgage officer in 1951, he became a branch manager in 1954, and then was made assistant treasurer in 1955.
Past president of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Murphy holds membership in the Kiwanis Club and the American Legion and is a
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Fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He is also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Lodge No. IO10 of Bristol. He is a communicant of the Roman Catholic Church.
He was married in Norfolk, Virginia, on April 28, 1945, to Louise Carpenter, born in Rouses Point, New York, on April 14, 1918, the daughter of David D. Carpenter and of Edith (Couture) Carpenter. Mr. and Mrs. Murphy have two children: I. Pamela Ann, born on December 31, 1955. 2. John David, born January 5. 1959 at the Hartford Hospital.
REV. GERALD T. CORRIGAN
In 1956 the Rev. Father Gerald T. Corrigan came to Plainville to serve as pastor of Our Lady of Mercy Roman Catholic Church. Father Corrigan has spent most of his life in the state, and had served other churches there before his appointment to his present pastorate.
Born at Waterbury on September 1, 1906, he is a son of Thomas A. and Elizabeth M. (Moore) Corrigan. In his childhood, his family moved to Bristol, where he attended grammar school at St. Joseph's Parochial School and he began his seminary training at St. Thomas Preparatory Seminary in Hartford in 1920 and was graduated in 1926. He then attended St. Mary's Major Seminary in Baltimore, Mary- land, and returned to St. Thomas as a prefect of discipline for the year before ordination. He was ordained by Bishop McAuliffe at St. Joseph's Cathedral in Hartford on May 5, 1932.
He began his service to the Church as curate at St. Augustine's in Bridgeport, and later served the churches of Our Lady of Mercy in Plainville, St. Bernard's in Sharon, and the Assumption in An- sonia, before returning to Sharon as pastor of St. Bernard's Church in 1952. There he remained until he came to Our Lady of Mercy Church in Plainville, on June 1, 1956.
His record there can best be expressed by one well acquainted with him in his parish duties :
Dynamic and untiring in carrying out his priestly work, Father Corrigan has endeared himself to the members of the parish by his kindness and quick sympathy for human frailty. His sincere smile and friendly interest have cap- tivated Plainville Catholics, and have exerted a deeply beneficial influence on the community as a whole.
The parish of Our Lady of Mercy, which has been in existence since 1881, had been engaged in an earnest and hard-working cam- paign to finance and erect a new church and rectory after Father Corrigan's arrival. In this mission, Father Corrigan has proved hin-
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self a capable administrator as well as an inspiring spiritual leader. The new rectory was ready for occupancy in August, 1957, and the church was dedicated on December 8, 1957. The former rectory was moved to a new location on 50 Bank Street where five Sisters of the Daughters of the Holy Ghost took up residence in September 1957.
Father Corrigan has a brother who is also serving the Church as a priest. He is the Rev. Franklin J. Corrigan, pastor of St. Joseph's Church, South Norwalk, Connecticut.
THOMAS FRANCIS MAHER, JR.
President and a director of Atlantic Saw Manufacturing, In- corporated, of New Haven, Connecticut, which was organized by the Maher family in 1922, Mr. Maher has been associated with the com- pany since 1937. He was born in New Haven, on September 24, 1915, the son of Thomas Francis Maher and of Florence (Farley) Maher. His father was born on October 2, 1883, and his mother on Decem- ber 10, 1892, both in Milford.
Mr. Maher graduated from Milford Senior High School in 1933 and obtained the degree of Bachelor of Science from Yale University in 1937. He then became associated with the family firm, Atlantic Saw Manufacturing, Incorporated, as secretary general, and he has been president and a director of the company since 1945. A member of Chi Phi fraternity of Yale University, he enjoys social connections as a member of the Union League Club, the Yale Club and the Milford Yacht Club. He attends religious worship at Saint Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Woodmont, Connecticut.
He was married at Milford, Connecticut, on October 20, 1948, to Esther Putnam, the daughter of Dr. George Wheeler Putnam and of Evelyn Mae (Watrous) Putnam. Her father was born in West Haven, Connecticut, and her mother in Wallingford, Connecticut. Mr. and Mrs. Maher have two children; both of whom were born in New Haven: I. Thomas Francis, IV, born on March II, 1951. 2. Constance Evelyn, born on March 17, 1954. They reside at 30 Little Pond Road, Morningside, Woodmont, Connecticut.
WILLIAM LOUIS DE SENTI
In the course of his career as a New Haven industrialist, Wil- liam L. De Senti has become executive head of three manufacturing organizations-the William L. De Senti Company, Mettler Machine Company, and the F. B. Shuster Machine Company. In both New
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Haven and Orange, he has served effectively in community posts, and has done much to promote cultural facilities.
He was born in New Haven on October 1, 1916, and is a son of Louis William and Martha (Klein) De Senti. His father too is a native of New Haven, born on January 28, 1895. His mother came to this country from Prussia. After completing his public school edu- cation locally, and graduating from New Haven Senior High School in 1935, William L. De Senti began his industrial career with the State Machinery Company. By 1938, he had won promotion to the vice presidency of that firm, and was also its sales manager.
The following year he founded the William L. De Senti Company, which distributes new machinery and has its headquarters and plant at 865 Congress Avenue. Mr. De Senti has remained president and director of this firm since that time, and in the meantime has assumed executive direction of two other New Haven industrial corporations. He became president of the Mettler Machine Company in 1945, and since that time has absorbed the F. B. Shuster Machine Company, which however he continues to operate under its original name. He is its president as well.
Mr. De Senti served on the board of the New Haven Building Lines Commission from 1950 to 1953. He is a member of the Republi- can Committee at Orange; a member of the Committee on American- Italian Immigration; and a member of the advisory board of Sacred Heart Academy at Hamden. He was a co-founder of the Orange Public Library. Vitally interested in work with youth, he is a mem- ber of the advisory board of the Boys' Club of Milford, and he also serves on the advisory board of a Boys' Town at Naples, Italy.
He is a member and past president of the Lions Club at Orange, and a member of the Amity Club and the Union League, both New Haven organizations. He is an associate member of the Orange volun- teer fire department. A communicant of Holy Infant Roman Catholic Church, he is a member of its Men's Club.
In New Haven, on June 2, 1941, William De Senti married Mil- dred Marcel, daughter of James and Mary (Vendetti) Marcel. Her father was born in New Haven on July 16, 1893, and her mother at Naples, Italy, on January 29, 1896. Mr. and Mrs. De Senti have two children: 1. Meri-Anne, born August 18, 1945. 2. Joyce Martha, born on May 26, 1951.
FRANK W. MERKEL
After varied industrial experience in his own state and the Mid-
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west Frank W. Merkel joined the Mettler Machine Tool Company in recent years as sales manager. Making his home at Orange, he has proved himself a true friend of his town, deeply interested in the pro- motion of its cultural life. A founder of the Orange Public Library, he is serving as its president.
Mr. Merkel is a native of Norway, born in the town of Kristian- sund on August 13, 1917. His father, Arnold Bendix Merkel, came from Denmark, while his mother, the former Berit Waage, was born in Kristiansund. The family came to this country in 1928, and settled in New Haven. Frank W. Merkel attended the public schools there, and in 1936 graduated from New Haven Commercial High School. This was the extent of his formal education, and in that year he went to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he joined the staff of the State High- way Department as supervisor of records. In 1938 he entered private industry, joining Waldorf Paper Products Company in the same city in the capacity of pressroom supervisor. He remained there until 1944.
When Mr. Merkel first came to Orange, Connecticut, in that year, he joined the publishing firm of Wilson H. Lee Company. He came with the Mettler Machine Tool Company as sales manager in 1957. This firm is engaged in the production of wire machinery.
In 1955, Frank W. Merkel took a leading part in founding the Orange Public Library, Inc., and since that time he has been president of The Library Corporation. He is a member of the volunteer fire company in Orange, and of the Lions Club in Orange. His church is the Congregational Church of Orange.
While he was in St. Paul, Minnesota, Frank W. Merkel was married, on November 5. 1937, to Marjorie Swanson, daughter of John and Hannah (Swanson) Swanson. Mr. and Mrs. Merkel have the following children: I. Arnold Robert, who was born in St. Paul on February 20, 1939. 2. Richard Paul, born on March 19, 1941. 3. Ronald Ellert, born on November 14, 1953. 4. Karen Ann, born on November 27, 1957. The younger children were all born in New Haven.
FREDERICK HOLME WIGGEN
Active in the practice of law in New Haven for nearly fifty years and a partner in the law firm of Wiggin and Dana since 1934, Mr. Wiggin served one term as alderman-at-large in New Haven and he is a past president of the New Haven Hospital and of the New Haven Community Chest.
Conn. IV-27
Edmund J. Daly,I
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He was born in Litchfield, on March 16, 1882, the son of Freder- ick Holme Wiggin and of Abby F. ( Merriam) Wiggin. He graduated from Phillips Andover Academy, received the degree of Bachelor of Arts from Yale University in 1904, and the degree of Bachelor of Laws from Yale University Law School in 1909. During World War I, Mr. Wiggin served as a captain in the Army Field Artillery Re- serve in 1918.
A clerk in the office of Bristol, Stoddard, Beach and Fisher in the summer of 1907, Mr. Wiggin was admitted to the Connecticut Bar in 1909, and he continued with this law firm until consolidation in 1913. An associate and partner in the firm of Bristol and White from 1913 until its dissolution in 1934, he then became a partner in the firm of Wiggin and Dana. He is a former director of the First New Haven National Bank, of Sargent and Company, and of the A. C. Gilbert Company.
Mr. Wiggin has been active in professional organizations and is a member of the American Bar Association, the New Haven Bar Association and the Connecticut State Bar Association. His social connections include membership in the Hollenbeck Club of Lakeville, the Litchfield Country Club, and the Quinnipiack Club of New Haven. He attends religious services at Saint Michael's Church in Litchfield.
Mr. Wiggin was married in Middletown, on September 16, 1911, to Ruth Parker Jackson. Mr. and Mrs. Wiggin have two children: I. Mary Holme, now Mrs. Lincoln Bertaccini. 2. Paul Holme.
EDMUND JOSEPH DALY, III
President of M. J. Daly and Sons, Incorporated, of Waterbury, Connecticut, since 1958, and associated with the company since 1946, Mr. Daly is also a director of the company, which was founded by his great-grandfather, M. J. Daly, in 1882. The firm deals in heating and plumbing contracting, metal fabrication and wholesaling.
Mr. Daly was born in Waterbury, on September 27, 1921, the son of Edmund J. Daly, Jr., and of Margaret (Bowes) Daly. His father was born in Waterbury, and is now chairman of the board of M. J. Daly and Sons, Inc. Mr. Daly's mother is now deceased. E. J. Daly, III graduated from Crosby High School in Waterbury in 1938, and obtained the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Holy Cross in 1942. During World War II, he served in the United States Navy from 1942 to 1946 with the rank of lieutenant s/g. He was stationed over-
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seas and saw action in the European, Mediterranean and Pacific theaters with the amphibious forces.
He began working with the firm of M. J. Daly and Sons, In- corporated, in the estimating department in 1946, holding various positions and then becoming assistant secretary. He has been president of the firm since 1958. Since 1959 he has also held the office of treas- urer. Other officers of the company are Jan A. Dembinski, vice presi- dent and secretary; and M. J. Daly, III, assistant secretary. Mr. Daly has several outside interests and he is a director of the Waterbury Trust Company branch of the Connecticut National Bank, and the Connecticut Railway and Lighting Company, and he is vice president and a director of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce. A member of the Knights of Columbus, Mr. Daly enjoys his favorite sport of golf as a member of the Waterbury Country Club and the Water- bury Club, and he attends religious worship at Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church in Waterbury.
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