USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > History of Fairfield County, Connecticut, 1639-1928 > Part 44
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Heights Golf Club. She is also a member of the Business & Pro- fessional Women's Club of Stamford; the Woman's and Schubert Clubs of this city; the Connecticut and National Federations of Music Clubs; Stamford Chapter, D. A. R., and likewise belongs to the society of Daughters of 1812. During the World war she was active in Red Cross work and devoted much time to patriotic service. Mrs. Cook is an artist of high standing and one of the brightest stars in Connecticut's constellation of women.
George W. Rosevelt joined the New York National Guard and served throughout the Civil war as a quartermaster. While a resident of New York city he became a Mason and was also a member of the Stamford Yacht Club. In religious faith he was an Episcopalian and his political allegiance was given to the re- publican party. He possessed that keen sense of honor which is the vital essence of the gentleman and by nature was charitable and unselfish. His success was rated not alone by material gain but also by the high regard which he won, and although many years have elapsed since his death, his memory is still fresh in the hearts of those who were privileged to know him.
WILLIAM HENRY BRETTMAN
Among the officers who are responsible for the success and prestige of the Putnam Trust Company, none is better known or enjoys a higher reputation than William Henry Brettman, its treasurer, who has devoted his life to financial affairs, owing his progress to proven worth and ability. He was born in New York city on the 8th of September, 1888, and is a son of Frederick John Brettman, a native of the same city. The father was long identi- fied with municipal affairs and at the time of his retirement in 1911 was auditor of accounts for the borough of Manhattan. The mother, Minnie Eudora (Larke) Brettman, was also born in the Empire state and passed away in 1916.
William H. Brettman received his public school education in his native city and attended the American Institute of Banking. He also took other special courses, including those branches of the law that have a bearing on his work. In 1903, when a youth of fifteen, he became a clerk in the Fourth National Bank of New
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York city and during the eleven years of his connection therewith he filled various positions, including that of transit manager. In 1913 the Fourth National Bank was purchased by the Metals National Bank, with which Mr. Brettman continued for a time, and in June, 1914, he came to Greenwich as a teller in the bank of the Putnam Trust Company. A year later he was elected treas- urer and has since filled that office. His knowledge of financial matters is comprehensive and exact and through efficient, sys- tematic work he has effectively broadened the scope of the insti- tution, whose executives have always adhered to the highest standards of banking practice, thereby inspiring public trust and confidence.
Mr. Brettman was married October 15, 1912, to Miss Annette Ackerman, a daughter of Julian and Cora (Hollister) Ackerman, of New York city. To them has been born one child, Marjorie Annette, who is twelve years of age. The parents are affiliated with Christ Episcopal church and closely follow its teachings. Mr. Brettman belongs to the Rotary Club and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He is an exemplary representative of the order and a useful and influential citizen, at his best in solving the intricate problems of modern finance.
FRANK K. WATSON
Standing in the front rank of the able and successful edu- cators of Fairfield county, Frank K. Watson has for the past eight years rendered effective and appreciated service as super- intendent of the schools of Danbury and has won an enviable place in public esteem. He was born in Yorktown, New Jersey, on the 22nd of September, 1875, and is a son of J. S. and Elizabeth (Keeley) Watson, the former of whom was born in Alloway, New Jersey, and the latter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the public schools of his native town and prepared for college at Bridgetown Academy, Bridgetown, New Jersey. He entered Princeton University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1898, receiving also his Mas- ter's degree from his alma mater in 1899. He then went abroad and studied at the University fo Goettingen, in Germany, during
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1899 and 1900, and on his return home became connected with Jenner's Preparatory School for Boys in Syracuse, New York, where he remained as a teacher until 1903. He then accepted the position of principal of the high school at Plattsburg, New York, serving two years, when he was made superintendent of the schools of that city, in which capacity he served for fifteen years. In July, 1920, he came to Danbury as superintendent of the pub- lic schools, and the type of service which he has rendered here has stamped him as a man of broad vision, definite views and splendid executive ability. A strong advocate of better schools, he took an active interest in the building of the new high school at Plattsburg and was influential in securing the erection of the new high school building in Danbury.
On June 30, 1909, Mr. Watson was united in marriage to Miss Ida May Holmes, also of New Jersey, and a daughter of L. D. and Ada (Seaver) Holmes. To this union have been born two sons, Robert K., born in Plattsburg, New York, March 22, 1913, was graduated from the Danbury high school and is now a student in Princeton University John Holmes was born in Platts- burg in 1917.
Mr. Watson is a charter member of the Ridgewood Country Club of Danbury, and belongs to the Rotary Club. His religious membership is with St. James Protestant Episcopal church, of which he is a vestryman. A well educated symmetrically devel- oped man, of scholarly tastes and studious habits, he keeps abreast of the times in advanced educational methods, and his accomplish- ments have earned for him a deservedly conspicuous place among those who are promoting the welfare of the youth of Fairfield county. Kindly and genial in manner and maintaining a sym- pathetic interest in the student body, he is extremely popular and has a host of warm and loyal friends throughout this community.
FLORENCE LOUISE HAMILTON
In a class by itself would be an apt descriptive phrase in re- ferring to Hamilton's Gift Shop, at 49 Wall street, Norwalk, which is owned and managed by Miss Florence Louise Hamilton. In several respects this shop is distinctive and has become one of
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Norwalk's most popular stores. Miss Hamilton has exercised such unusual judgment in its arrangement and furnishing, has been so diligent and discriminating as a buyer and has rendered such prompt, courteous and efficient service that she makes busi- ness friends of all who enter her place.
Miss Hamilton was born in South Norwalk, Connecticut, in January, 1887, and is a daughter of James and Rose (Walsh) Hamilton. The father was engaged in the restaurant business but is now deceased. The mother is a sister of the late Judge John J. Walsh. Miss Hamilton received her early education in the public schools of her home city and had two years' work in Columbia University. She then entered the law office of Walsh & Hubbell in the Gazette building, the senior partner being her uncle, Judge Walsh, and she remained with the firm until its dissolution, in 1917. Soon afterward she was appointed chief clerk of the third district draft board in Bridgeport, the duties of which position she discharged with the same energy and ac- curacy which had made her so valuable an assistant in the law office. In the course of her connection with the draft board, Miss Hamilton made an exhaustive study of the many knotty problems presented by the selective draft law and soon came to be recog- nized as an authority on the subject by manufacturers and others who employed large numbers of men affected by the draft, as well as by the majority of attorneys in the various cities within the jurisdiction of the board. This district board handled twenty thousand exemptions in sixty-six weeks of service and Miss Ham- ilton, as chief clerk, served faithfully and without intermission from July, 1917, to May, 1919, by her knowledge, quick compre- hension and sound judgment saving employers and lawyers much time and trouble.
On the completion of this work, Miss Hamilton returned to South Norwalk and bought the William P. Beers stationery and book store, of which she took possession May 12, 1919. She im- mediately made a thorough renovation of the store, which is ad- vantageously located next door to the railroad station, and she also made interior changes. Success attended her efforts from the start and by 1921, due to the rapid growth of the business, she was occupying the entire building. She put in a new and artistic stairway leading from the store proper to the second floor,
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and the entire building is now a model of neatness and acces- sibility.
On June 11, 1920, Miss Hamilton broadened her field of opera- tions by opening a fine new Victor department, at which time she established in the service department three sound-proof booths, handsomely fitted up with wicker chairs and benches, and with racks bearing many of the latest records and lists of all records. Another forward step was taken January 26, 1925, with the installation of a radio department in connection with the Victor department. She was the pioneer in this city in estab- lishing a Victor agency and in many ways she has given evi- dence of her progressive spirit. A noteworthy event, March 30, 1927, was a Beethoven concert at the Hamilton Gift Shop, which was greatly enjoyed by over seventy-five lovers of good music, who were accommodated in the store. A large orthophonic was placed on the stairway platform and a number of Beethoven's most famous compositions were played on the Victrola in memory of the centenary of the death of the great composer, who was born in Bonn, Germany, December 16, 1770, and died March 26, 1827. Miss Hamilton added to the interest of the occasion by giving a brief description of each composition as the record was placed in the machine.
On March 11, 1926, Miss Bessie R. Hamilton, sister of Miss Florence Hamilton and who for many years had served as assist- ant bookkeeper in the office of the R. & G. Corset Company, re- signed to accept a position in the Hamilton Gift Shop. She is giving her attention chiefly to the activities of the first floor, particularly in the Victrola and stationery departments. She has also written many of the verses for gift cards-Easter, Christ- mas, birthday and congratulatory cards. The Hamilton Gift Shop is today one of the most complete stationery, gift and music establishments in the state.
Miss Florence Hamilton is one of the few women in the state of Connecticut to be elected to the office of justice of the peace. While a nomination to that office is equivalent to an election, those who know and appreciate her unusual qualifications for the position made assurance doubly sure through the votes of many republican friends, so that she ran far ahead of her ticket in every ward, beating some of her democratic colleagues, five of whom were lawyers, by nearly one hundred votes and polled the third
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highest vote on the democratic ticket. In addition to her mental qualifications and natural alertness and discernment, she had received valuable legal training, first as stenographer for the law firm of Walsh & Hubbell, later as private secretary to Judge Walsh after his elevation to the bench, and as court stenographer in many important cases. The Hamilton Gift Shop is on the site of the old Selleck book store, the first of its kind to be established in Norwalk and conducted by the late Andrew Selleck, who as a justice of the peace, a half century ago, decided many local cases in the little office at the rear of the store where Miss Hamilton also had her justice's desk.
Miss Hamilton attributes much of her success to the helpful influence of her uncle, the late popular and beloved Judge John J. Walsh, who passed away in November, 1926. The Judge was born in New Canaan, Connecticut, October 5, 1857, and moved with his family to Norwalk at an early date. He attended the public schools there and later began to learn the trade of a mason. All through his apprenticeship he was studying law with Joseph Barber, who had his office in the old Fairfield County National Bank building. On June 30, 1880, when twenty-two years of age, he was admitted to the bar, and at once entered upon the practice of his profession. He practiced alone for several years and on January 1, 1903, formed a partnership with Judge James T. Hubbell, an association which continued until July 1, 1917. In 1912 Edward J. Quinlan, one of the youngest lawyers of the state, became associated with Walsh & Hubbell. Judge Walsh served his city for several terms, though not consecutively, as corporation counsel and prosecuting attorney. He also served as counsel for the bridge construction committee during its several years of laborious work in building the Washington street bridge over Norwalk harbor. He lent his efforts and influence to pro- cure from the state the appropriation of fifty thousand dollars in aid of that project, that being the first time under the law that a Connecticut town received monetary assistance from the state in erecting a bridge. Judge Walsh also served Norwalk as an active working member of the building committee of the handsome new Norwalk Hospital, and he delivered a notable address at the lay- ing of the cornerstone of that building.
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Judge Walsh was very active in political affairs, both in his home town and state. He was for some time chairman of the democratic state central committee and was a delegate to many democratic conventions, city, town, county, district, state and national. On nomination by Governor Simeon E. Baldwin and election by the state legislature, Judge Walsh took his place on the bench of the Fairfield county criminal common pleas court July 1, 1913, for a four-year term, and he was renominated by Governor Holcomb and reelected for a second term. In June, 1917, he was selected for the chairmanship on the third district board of appeals. Judge Walsh was a lover of nature and always had a fondness for Long Island sound boating and fishing. He was a member of Norwalk Lodge, No. 709, B. P. O. E .; the Norwalk Club and the Catholic Club and was a director of the Norwalk Hospital Association.
CHARLES SCHNEIDER COLE
Charles Schneider Cole, a well known representative of edu- cational interests in Newtown, where he is conducting the New- town Academy, an institution that has figured largely in the training of the young for important positions in life, was born in Paterson, New Jersey, February 17, 1886, a son of William T. and Susan M. (Winters) Cole. The father is president of the Fabric Fire Hose Company and one of the leading citizens of Newtown.
Charles S. Cole attended the private schools of Brooklyn, New York, also the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, Pratt Institute of that city, and Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey. Following the completion of his studies he became con- nected with the New York Edison Company. He was later asso- ciated with the New York Edison Company for two years and subsequently was engaged as the manufacturer of storage bat- teries in Newtown, purchasing an interest in the Premier Manu- facturing Company. This business liquidated in 1925, after which Mr. Cole went to Boston as manager of the Boston branch of the Elliott-Fisher Company, continuing there for a year. On the expiration of that period he returned to Newtown and be- came business manager of the Newtown Academy.
On the 22d of March, 1907, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mr.
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Cole was married to Miss Lois S. Hewitt and they have had four children: Dorothy, now deceased; William; Catherine; and Susie. Mr. Cole belongs to Hiram Lodge, No. 18, F. & A. M .; and Hiram Chapter, No. 1, R. A. M., and is a faithful follower of the teachings of Masonry. His activities and interests have been of varied character, bringing him wide experiences and fit- ting him for thorough understanding of the demands of the busi- ness world, so that he is able to conduct the Newtown Academy in a manner to meet these demands. He finds in his present busi- ness connection a congenial field of labor and one which is bring- ing to him a gratifying measure of success.
WILLIAM HOMER HUBBELL
William Homer Hubbell, who was long actively and promi- nently associated with commercial and financial interests in New- town, was born June 5, 1841, and died in 1912. In tracing the Hubbell ancestral history it is learned that Richard Hubbell, who was born in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, in 1626, crossed the Atlantic between 1645 and 1647, just as he was approaching manhood. On the 7th of March of the latter year he took the oath of fidelity to the government of the New Haven colony and on the 25th of February, 1654, he was admitted as a planter into the settlement at Guilford, Connecticut. In 1664 he removed to Fairfield, where he became an extensive land owner. He died . October 23, 1699. In 1650 he had married Elizabeth Meigs, a granddaughter of Vincent Meigs, who was born in Dorsetshire, England, and was one of the early settlers of Weymouth, Massa- chusetts. Their family numbered four children, the line of de- scent coming down through their son Samuel, who was born at Guilford, Connecticut, November 6, 1657, and died September 18, 1713. He was married April 4, 1687, to Elizabeth Wilson, who died January 4, 1688, leaving one son, Benoni. On the 17th of April, 1688, Samuel Hubbell married Temperance Preston and their family numbered ten children. Stephen Hubbell, son of Samuel, was born in 1695 and passed most of his life in Stratford, where he died April 20, 1792. He was married January 10, 1720, to Abigail Squire, by whom he had three sons. Of these Nehe- miah Hubbell was born in 1722, living most of his life in the town
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of Weston, Fairfield county. His wife was Hannah Treadwell and their family numbered eleven children, including Billy Hub- bell, who was born in 1759 and died in 1848. He married Mary Booth and had three children. Jeremiah Hubbell, who was born in 1787 and died in 1852, married Marcia Toucey of Newtown, Connecticut.
Hon. William Hubbell, one of the six children of Jeremiah and Marcia (Toucey) Hubbell, was born July 30, 1814, at Stepney, Connecticut, and ere he attained his majority learned the black- smith's trade. For some years he traveled in North Carolina and Virginia, where he engaged in selling "Yankee notions," but because of the financial panic of 1857, which caused a great slump in his patronage, he sold out there and resumed work as a black- smith, continuing in that business throughout his remaining days. Politically he was a democrat and was called upon to represent his town in the state legislature, where he made a creditable rec- ord for fidelity and loyalty to the best interests of community and commonwealth. He died May 25, 1869. His first wife, Jane Eliza Winton, was a daughter of Mercena Winton. They were mar- ried August 20, 1840, and she died January 30, 1861. Three years later, on January 31, 1864, William Hubbell married Maria Williams.
William Homer Hubbell was the eldest of four children born of his father's first marriage. He attended the local schools and afterward engaged in teaching, conducting a school for one year at Afton, Chenango county, New York. He then returned home, where he continued for a short time, but a little later removed to Brooklyn, New York, where he secured employment in the hat factory of James H. Prentice, occupying the position of foreman for three years. Ill health caused him to discontinue this work and he became connected with F. W. Beers & Company as a map maker, representing that firm in the oil regions of Pennsylvania and in other districts. He first acted as a canvasser and later as collector, thus continuing from 1865 until 1875. In the latter year he located in Newtown, Connecticut, where he and his brother-in-law, Cornelius B. Taylor, purchased the coal and feed business of Jabez Botsford. This proved a successful venture and was continued by them until 1910. Mr. Hubbell was a member of the board of trustees of the Newtown Savings Bank.
In 1865 Mr. Hubbell was married to Miss Sarah J. Brisco, daughter of Harvey Brisco, of Newtown. She died February 21,
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1892, and on the 2d of April, 1895, Mr. Hubbell was united in marriage to Miss Ida M. Taylor. The children of his first mar- riage were four in number: Frederick Brisco, of Westport, Con- necticut; Mary Josephine, deceased; Nellie Caroline, deceased ; and Herbert Carlton, of Newtown, Connecticut.
Mr. Hubbell was always keenly interested in matters of gen- eral moment and he gave his political allegiance to the democratic party. He served as a member of the state legislature in 1885 and 1886 and in 1896 was elected first selectman on a citizens' ticket and served one year, declining renomination. He dis- charged his public duties with the same thoroughness and care which marked the conduct of his private business interests and he ever placed the public good before personal aggrandize- ment. He was identified with the Masonic fraternity, being at the time of his death the oldest member of Fortitude Lodge, No. 19, F. & A. M. of Brooklyn, New York.
GEORGE MERWIN STUART
George Merwin Stuart, owner of the Leonard Insurance Agency and teller in the Newtown Savings Bank, was born in Newtown, March 6, 1898, a son of George W. and Amelia (Thorn- hill) Stuart. The father played a prominent part in the building of Newtown and its substantial development and here passed away in 1923, at the age of eighty-one years. His wife died at the age of fifty-seven and they were laid to rest on the same day.
George M. Stuart completed his education at the Newtown high school and in 1917 entered the Newtown Savings Bank in the position of teller. He has since been identified with this institu- tion, this being one phase of his business activity. In April, 1919, he purchased the Leonard Insurance Agency, which he conducts in conjunction with his duties in the bank. He is also the secre- tary of the Plastic Moulding Corporation and treasurer of the Newtown Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Stuart is always alert to every opportunity for progress and business expansion and is reaching out along constantly broadening lines whereby he con- tributes to community progress and development as well as to the upbuilding of his own fortunes.
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On the 18th of June, 1921, at Greenwich, Connecticut, Mr. Stuart was married to Miss Florence Elizabeth Sutphin, a daugh- ter of John and Rose Sutphin. Mr. Stuart is a member of Hiram Lodge, No. 18, A. F. & A. M .; the Newtown Country Club; and also is a member of Trinity Episcopal church, of which he is a vestryman.
4/25/99 WILLIAM H. CABLE
For thirty years William H. Cable has successfully engaged in the practice of law in Danbury, filling important offices in the line of his profession and in other connections and thus rendering effective public service. He was born in this city on the 9th of April, 1876, a son of Elmer O. and Sarah (Theall) Cable, the former a native of Danbury and the latter of Croton Falls, New York. After his graduation from the Danbury high school he attended the Yale Law School and was admitted to the bar in Danbury, January 25, 1898. Since that date Mr. Cable has con- tinuously followed his profession in this city, and has an office at No. 248 Main street. He has won a large and remunerative clien- tele, and his advancement at the bar has resulted from close ob- servance, correct application of legal principles and ability to pre- sent his contention in the strongest possible light. From 1900 to 1905 he was assistant prosecuting attorney, afterward becoming United States commissioner for the district of which Danbury is the center, and is still the incumbent of that office, for which he possesses exceptional qualifications.
Mr. Cable was married, September 19, 1912, in Danbury, to Miss Arline D. Dunaway and they now have two children : Wil- liam H., Jr., a youth of sixteen and a pupil in the Danbury high school; and Constance Theall, aged five years. Mr. Cable is affiliated with the First Congregational church and endeavors to exemplify its teachings in his daily life. In Connecticut poli- tics he has long exerted a strong and beneficial influence and is a member of the state central committee of the democratic party. Since 1905 he has served on the town board of finance and has been a member of the town school committee for fifteen years, discharging his duties in a manner that has won for him the
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