USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > History of Fairfield County, Connecticut, 1639-1928 > Part 14
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necticut, with offices in New Haven. In November, 1907, he formed a partnership with George E. Hill in Bridgeport and they engaged in practice under the style of Hill & Boardman until Mr. Hill's death on September 30, 1916, building up a large clientele. Mr. Boardman was then alone for a few years and since January, 1921, has been head of the firm of Boardman & Grout, one of the strongest and most successful legal combina- tions in Bridgeport. In July, 1921, he became judge of the city court through appointment of Governor Lake and served until May, 1923.
Judge Boardman was married February 22, 1901, to Miss Alice Burr Hall and their son, Bradford, has received the degrees of A. B. and LL. B. from Yale University. He was admitted to the bar in 1927 and is now connected with the firm of Boardman & Grout.
Judge Boardman is an active member of Park Street Congre- gational church and gives his political allegiance to the republi- can party. From 1912 until 1916 he was a member of the Bridge- port board of education, of which he was secretary during the greater part of that time, and for several years has served on the board of the public library. He was president of the Bridgeport Bar Association for a year, the executive head of the Connecticut Bar Association for two years, and since 1913 has been secretary of the bar examining committee of the state. He is also a mem- ber of the American Bar Association, the Corbey Court Law School Society, Zeta Psi, the Bridgeport Country Club, the Uni- versity Club and the Black Rock Yacht Club. Judge Boardman has not permitted his professional interests to monopolize his time, and his activity in those movements having to do with Bridgeport's development and progress have been of dis- tinct value.
JOHN BERNARDINE DILLON
John Bernardine Dillon, an attorney of Shelton who has devoted much of his life to public service, in which he has shown marked devotion to the general good, was born in Shelton, March 21, 1882, a son of David and Margaret (Keane) Dillon, both of
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whom were natives of Ireland. The father came to the United States in 1865 and passed away in 1918, having for eleven years survived his wife, whose death occurred in 1907. They were the parents of nine children : Andrew; James, who entered the Fran- ciscan order and is known as Father Bernardine; Mary; David and Paul, both deceased; Rev. William J., who is located at Pine- hurst, North Carolina; Anna; Joseph and John Bernardine.
The last named was a pupil in the grade schools and in the high school of Shelton and in 1902 entered St. John's College at Brooklyn, New York, where he remained a student for two years. He then took up the study of law at Yale, completing his course by graduation in 1907. In June of that year he was admitted to the bar and opened an office in Shelton, where he remained in active practice until 1917, when he entered professional ranks in Bridgeport, but returned to Shelton in 1924. Throughout the years he has enjoyed a large practice that has constantly grown in volume and importance. Before finishing his law course he was appointed assistant prosecutor and throughout the years of his active professional career he has been called upon for various kinds of public service. He was formerly town counsel of Hunt- ington and he served on the board of education, of which he was the president for three years. He has filled the office of borough tax collector and personal tax collector. In 1912 he became judge of the city court of Shelton, serving until 1920. In 1915 and 1917 he was chosen to represent his town in the state legislature. In 1919 he was elected state senator from the twenty-fifth district, was made chairman of the claims committee and chairman of the special committee that was formed to investigate all of the trolley companies of Connecticut, in which connection he performed a very important service. He filled the office of corporation coun- sel in 1923 and 1924 and thus again and again his fellow towns- men have displayed their faith in his capability and loyalty-a faith that has never been abused in the slightest degree.
On the 10th of July, 1910, Judge Dillon was married at West Haven, Connecticut, to Miss Gladys Leonard, a daughter of Wilbur A. and Catherine Leonard.
Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Columbus at Shelton and was former grand knight. His has been a life of great activity and usefulness in which he has ever felt a keen
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sense of responsibility in office, recognizing his duties and his obligations to his fellowmen and giving to them a service that has been far-reaching and beneficial. Judge Dillon is the author of a work entitled "Law, Lawyers and Honesty," which was pub- lished in 1922 and has been widely read.
EBEN FISKE-APPLETON PUTNAM
Eben Fiske-Appleton Putnam, prominent in the publicity field in Fairfield county, is the president, general manager and director of the Greenwich Water & Gas Company and a number of other important public utility corporations of the east. He was born April 23, 1891, at Danvers, Massachusetts, and is a son of Major Eben and Florence M. (Tucker) Putnam, also natives of the Bay state, the former born in Salem, October 10, 1868, and the latter in Roxbury, November 30, 1873. The family is of old Yankee stock. The first of the name in America was John Put- nam, who settled in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1641, emigrating from Aston Abbotts, Buckinghamshire, England, a locality in which the family had lived since 1100, holding prominent place in the counties of Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. They derived their descent from Roger, who at the time of the great Domesday survey in 1066 held Puttenham, which place gave name to one branch of his family. The Putnam family of Essex county, Massachusetts, has supplied many noted men. The line of descent of Eben F. Putnam from John is as follows: John, Captain John, Lieutenant James, James, Dr. Eben, Eben, Eben, Professor Fred- eric W., Major Eben, Eben Fiske-Appleton. The Putnam ancestry includes such families as Appleton, Fiske, Ward, Waldron, Gibbs, Sheafe, Webb, Mooars, Hardy, Thurston, Sparhawk, Adams, Tufts, Hathorne, Porter, Phippen, Purrington and Libby-fami- lies settled from Portland, Maine, to Hartford, Connecticut, and chiefly centering in Suffolk, Essex and Middlesex counties. Fred- eric Ward Putnam, the distinguished anthropologist, was the paternal grandfather of Mr. Putnam of this review. He was con- nected with Harvard University from 1855, when he first studied under Louis Agassiz, until his death in 1915, having been director of the Peabody Museum since 1876. He was also head of the
EBEN F. PUTNAM
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anthropological departments of the American Museum in New York and of the University of California. Major Eben Putnam, the father of Eben F. Putnam, is the official historian of Massa- chusetts on the World war and has held the position of national historian of the American Legion since 1919. He served with the American Expeditionary Forces. His wife, Mrs. Florence M. (Tucker) Putnam, is descended from Morris Tucker, who emi- grated from southern England to Salisbury, Massachusetts, about 1660. One of her forbears was Lieutenant Ezra Tucker, who participated in the battle of White Plains in 1776.
In the acquirement of an education Eben F. Putnam attended the Wellesley high school in Massachusetts and subsequently entered the Staunton (Va.) Military Academy, from which he was graduated in 1909. In the succeeding fall he continued his studies in Norwich University at Northfield, Vermont, leaving this institution at the close of the first year to transfer to Har- vard University for a special engineering course. In 1912 he put aside his textbooks to enter the commercial engineering depart- ment of the General Electric Company at Harrison, New Jersey, and in April, 1913, he obtained employment with The Connecticut Light & Power Company at Greenwich, Connecticut, as commer- cial agent doing new business work. He was transferred to the Norwalk office of The Connecticut Light & Power Company in 1914 and there remained until the spring of 1915, when he was made assistant superintendent of the Naugatuck district of the company, which included Naugatuck and Seymour. In 1916 he was made commercial agent at Waterbury in charge of new busi- ness activities in Waterbury, Naugatuck, Seymour and surround- ing towns. In February, 1917, he was appointed district super- intendent of The Connecticut Light & Power Company at Green- wich, Connecticut, remaining in charge of the company's opera- tions there until October, 1919, when he was promoted to the position of district manager of the same company at Norwalk. He continued in charge of the gas and electric operations and property in the Norwalk district, including New Canaan, Wilton and surrounding territory, until April, 1925, when he was trans- ferred to New Britain as district manager of the New Britain district of The Connecticut Light & Power Company, which includes the surrounding towns of Berlin, Newington, Plainville
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and Southington. Mr. Putnam left this position on February 1, 1926, to become president of the Greenwich Water & Gas Com- pany, and its various operating subsidiaries with headquarters at Greenwich. He is at the present time president and general manager of the Greenwich Water & Gas Company and subsi- diaries, which include seven gas properties and four water prop- erties in New York and New England states. He was also recently made vice president of the New Rochelle Water Com- pany, supplying a large territory in Westchester county, including New Rochelle, Pelham Manor, North Pelham, Bronxville, Tucka- hoe, Eastchester, Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry and Hastings. He organ- ized the Greenwich Gas Company in 1925 and directed the instal- lation of gas mains throughout the town of Greenwich, which up to this time had never had gas service. In a period of two and one-half years he built this company up to its present successful status with over thirty-one hundred customers and a substantial business. The installation of gas in Greenwich filled a long-felt need and did a great deal to accelerate the growth and develop- ment of the town. Mr. Putnam assisted in the negotiations and purchase of the Greenwich Water Company and Port Chester Water Works, putting all three of these companies into a new holding company which was formed and called the Greenwich Water & Gas Company. Subsequently other gas properties were added. St. Johnsbury, Barre, Springfield and St. Albans, Ver- mont, were acquired and the Vermont Lighting Corporation be- came one of the subsidiaries of the Greenwich Water & Gas Com- pany. Bristol and Warren Water Works was also acquired by this company and the North Attleboro and Ware gas properties in Massachusetts are managed from Greenwich. Mr. Putnam, as head of the Greenwich Water & Gas Company, is engaged in the coordination of water supply activities in Westchester county and Greenwich, which are now under the same control. He has made extensive improvements in the public water supply of Greenwich, including the building of the new filtration plant at Putnam Lake in 1927-1928. At this time he is president, general manager and director of the Greenwich Water & Gas Company, the Greenwich Gas Company and the Greenwich Water Company of Connecticut, the Port Chester Water Works of New York, the Vermont Light- ing Corporation and the St. Johnsbury Gas Company of Ver-
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mont, the North Attleboro Gas Light Company and the Ware Gas Company of Massachusetts and the Southern Connecticut Real Estate Company and Glenville Power & Water Company of Connecticut. He is also vice president of the Bristol and Warren Water Works of Rhode Island and the New Rochelle Water Com- pany of New York, is a director of the Independence Water Works of Independence, Missouri, and a director of F. L. Putnam & Company, Inc., investment bankers of Boston, Hartford, Provi- dence and New York. He has coordinated unrelated and seem- ingly diverse interests into a unified and harmonious whole and in the conduct of his numerous enterprises has contributed in ma- terial measure to the development and progress of various com- munities.
On the 30th of October, 1915, in Naugatuck, Connecticut, Mr. Putnam was united in marriage to Frenelia Lillian Uhle, daugh- ter of Dr. Frederick L. and Ottilie Emma (Schmidt) Uhle. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Putnam was a prosperous manu- facturer who left Germany in 1870 because of dissatisfaction with the government and after a short residence in England came to Connecticut to spend his declining years. In the paternal line Mrs. Putnam traces her ancestry back to John Henrich Uhle, who emigrated to America from the Palatinate about 1708 and took up his abode in Dutchess county, New York. His descend- ant, Captain Frederick Uhle, who served in the American Revo- lution, was the great-grandfather of Mrs. Putnam. The ances- tors of Mrs. Putnam in the paternal line were chiefly among the early settlers from old Plymouth colony, Rhode Island and along the Sound to the Hudson valley and include the Lines, Streight, Mowle, Knap, Tobey, Knott and other families. Mr. and Mrs. Putnam have a daughter, Muriel Adelaide, who was born Novem- ber 7, 1921, at Norwalk, Connecticut, and resides with her par- ents at West Brother drive, Milbrook, Greenwich, Conneticut.
Mr. Putnam maintained an independent attitude in politics during his early life but of late years has been affiliated with the republican party. His military record shows him a former mem- ber of the Vermont National Guard and sergeant of the Green- wich military police in 1918. He was disqualified for active service during the World war on account of a broken leg and ankle but aided the government as local industrial chairman of
.
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various war drives and was inspector for the United States Fuel Administration and a member of the citizens' committee of Greenwich which supervised the war activities of the community. He made a splendid record as president of the Greenwich Cham- ber of Commerce in 1927-1928, during which period the member- ship was increased to a total of five hundred and thirty-two, the largest in the history of the organization.
Fraternally he is affiliated with the following organizations: St. John's Lodge, No. 6, F. & A. M., of Norwalk; Monker Grotto, M. O. V. P. E. R .; Our Brothers Lodge, I. O. O. F., of Norwalk, Kabaosa Encamp- ment of Norwalk; and the Knights of Pythias of Greenwich. His religious faith is indicated by his attendance at the Second Con- gregational church. His appreciation for the social amenities of life is manifest in his numerous club connections. He was presi- dent of the Norwalk Country Club in 1925 and upon leaving Nor- walk in that year was made one of three honorary life members of the Norwalk Club, the oldest business men's club in that city. His name is on the membership rolls of the Indian Harbor Yacht Club, the Milbrook Country Club, the Masonic Club of Greenwich, the Fly Fishers Club of Brooklyn, the Rotary Club of Greenwich, of which he is a director, the University Club of Boston, the Nor- wich Club of New York, the American Gas Association, the New England Gas Association, the Connecticut Society of Civil En- gineers, the New England Water Works Association, the Ameri- can Water Works Association, and the American Historical Association. He is, moreover, a freeman of the Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England.
REV. RICHARD J. CARROLL
Rev. Richard J. Carroll, who has served for the past eight years as pastor of the important parish of the Assumption, at Westport, has done a quality of work here that has gained for him the uniform respect of the people of the community, regard- less of creed or profession. He was born in Winsted, Connecti- cut, in 1862 and is a son of Patrick C. and Ellen (Mallay) Carroll, who were natives of Ireland and are deceased. A very pleasant coincidence was the celebration by these parents of their fiftieth
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wedding anniversary in the same church in Winsted, Connecticut, in which they were married, and at which time their son, Rev. Richard J. Carroll, said the mass.
Father Carroll received his early education in private schools in Winsted and then prepared for the priesthood, pursuing his philosophical and theological studies in St. Bonaventura Semin- ary at Allegany, New York. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1886 by Bishop Stephen V. Ryan, and his first appointment was to St. Peter's parish in Hartford, Connecticut, where he remained two years. He was transferred to St. John's church at Stamford, where he also served for three years, after which he was appointed assistant of St. Mary's church, in Bridgeport, Con- necticut, where he served eight years. After that he was pastor of St. Mary's church at South Covington, this state, and then went to Tarfield and Bloomfield, Connecticut. After two years there he returned to Hartford as pastor of St. Lawrence O'Toole's parish, to which he ministered for eight years. Following that he went to St. Joseph's parish in South Norwalk, where he remained nearly eleven years, during which period he built the school and convent. From there Father Carroll came to the church of the Assumption at Westport, where he is rendering able and efficient service, stimulating all departments of the church work, besides which he has made many beautiful interior improvements on the church edifice and enhanced the appearance of the property.
The town of Westport was incorporated in 1835. On Novem- ber 21, 1852, the holy sacrifice of the mass was offered for the first time in Westport, the celebrant being the Rev. John Brady, of Norwalk, and the chapel for the occasion was the Universalist church on Main street. The priests of Norwalk continued to serve the Catholics of Westport until a short time previous to its formation into a separate parish. In 1860 the church was built by the Rev. Dr. Mulligan and was dedicated August 15th of that year. When Rev. M. P. Lawlor began his pastorate at Fairfield, in January, 1876, he took charge also of Westport, but his pastorate was of short duration and at the end of it Westport was made an independent parish. The Rev. Patrick Keating was appointed the first resident pastor and in January, 1877, he purchased the pastoral residence, while among other material
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works effected was the decoration of the church. Father Keating ministered to the Catholics of Westport until May 10, 1885, when the Rev. John H. Carroll was appointed his successor. Father Carroll's thirteen years of service were productive of very grati- fying results, both materially and spiritually. For many years he served on the board of education, during at least a part of which time he was chairman of the board. He preached his fare- well sermon October 9, 1898, going from here to the church of the Holy Trinity at Wallingford. He was succeded by Rev. James P. Ryle, who came here from Montville, and after him came Rev. Thomas Shanley, then Rev. J. Duggan, who was transferred to Blessed Sacrament parish, Bridgeport, in January, 1921, since which time Father Richard J. Carroll has ministered to the parish.
BENNETT NICHOLS BEARD
Throughout his entire life Bennett Nichols Beard has devoted his attention to contracting and to the building trades and is now president of the B. N. Beard Company, operating extensively in Shelton and other sections of Fairfield county. He was born in Shelton, August 2, 1871, and is a representative of one of the old families of the state. Early records mention Martha Beard, who came from England with her husband and five children and took up her abode in Milford, Connecticut, being one of the first settlers of that town. Tradition says that her husband's name was James and this is probably correct, as her eldest son was called James. The husband died on the ship Martin while on the voyage from England to America. Mrs. Beard was admitted to the First Congregational church of Milford, November 1, 1640. Through successive generations representatives of the Beard family have proven useful and loyal citizens of the state. Oliver Gould Beard, father of B. N. Beard, was a candidate for governor of Connecticut upon the prohibition ticket in 1890. He wedded Nancy M. Nichols and they became the parents of Bennett N. Beard, who in the acquirement of his education attended the local grade schools. When his textbooks were put aside he began learning the contracting and building business and has continued
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in that field of labor to the present time, finding it congenial and also a substantial source of revenue. After working for others for a number of years, until he had gained a thorough and com- prehensive knowledge of the business in its various phases, he began operating on his own account and in 1907 incorporated his interests under the name of the B. N. Beard Company, of which he has continuously been the president. The thoroughness of his work, his reliability and his enterprise have brought to him a liberal patronage.
In Shelton, Mr. Beard was united in marriage to Miss Abbie Jane Hubbell and they are parents of three children: Oliver Wells, Daniel Nichols and Edith Louise.
Mr. Beard gives his political endorsement to the democratic . party and is keenly interested in public welfare and progress. He was first called to public office when he was made third select- man and in 1911 he was chosen for the office of first selectman. The same year he was made a representative to the state legis- lature and in the general assembly gave thoughtful and earnest consideration to all the vital questions which came up for settle- ment. In 1923 he was elected mayor of Shelton, serving one term, and his administration was characterized by marked devotion to the general good. His has been an active, busy and useful life and his worth as a business man and citizen is attested by all with whom he has been associated.
3/9/19 JONATHAN GROUT
Jonathan Grout, of the firm of Boardman & Grout, one of the leading law firms of Bridgeport, was born in Brooklyn, New York, March 17, 1892, and is a son of Edward M. and Ida L. (Loeschigk) Grout, also natives of that state. In the paternal line he traces his ancestry to the Revolutionary period in Amer- ican history and is a direct descendant of Colonel Jonathan Grout, of Vermont, who was a member of the first United States con- gress. Edward M. Grout was president of the borough of Brook- lyn and served for two terms as city comptroller of New York. He is a prominent lawyer of New York city and resides at Greens Farms.
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Jonathan Grout was a pupil in the Morristown school of New Jersey, and the Hotchkiss school of Connecticut. He next entered Colgate University, from which he was graduated in 1913 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and afterward was a student at the New York Law School for two years. In 1916 he was admitted to the New York bar and in the fall of the same year came to Bridgeport. He was licensed to practice in Connecticut in 1917 and since 1921 has been associated with Judge William B. Boardman. From 1921 to 1925 Mr. Grout was judge of the town court of Fairfield and is now counsel for the town of Fairfield and also a director of the Fairfield Trust Company, both of which have benefited by his legal advice and acumen.
Judge Grout was married January 2, 1917, in Bridgeport to Miss Alice B. Pierce, by whom he has three sons: Jonathan De Witt, Phillip D. and Thomas D. The family reside in Fairfield and Judge Grout's office is at No. 955 Main street in Bridgeport. He is a member of the State Bar Association, the University Club of Bridgeport, the Brooklawn Country Club and the Black Rock Yacht Club. He is a republican in politics and exerts his efforts in behalf of the party. In his profession he has made steady progress, his ability bringing him to the front.
CHARLES L. DENNIS
Strong, purposeful and self-reliant, Charles L. Dennis has fought life's battles alone and unaided and is now a successful mortician and prominent business man of Bridgeport. He is also furthering the city's progress along moral and spiritual lines and has aided in framing the laws of the state, demonstrating his pub- lic spirit by effective service for the general good.
A native of Ashley, Pennsylvania, he was born October 15, 1873, and is a son of Horace Smith and Eliza (Johnson) Dennis. The father was born in Foster, New York, in 1843. At the out- break of the Civil war he joined the One Hundred and Forty- third Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry and served until the close of that conflict, being wounded in action. Subse- quently he worked for a railroad and for some time was foreman in the shops at Ashley, Pennsylvania. After the death of his
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