USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > History of Fairfield County, Connecticut, 1639-1928 > Part 6
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FRANK P. MUNICH
Broad experience has thoroughly qualified Frank P. Munich for the important position of assistant clerk of the superior court of Fairfield county and he has also established an enviable reputa- tion as an attorney. He was born in Bridgeport, May 7, 1890. and is a son of Charles and Emma (Matthews) Munich, natives respectively of Connecticut and New York. His early instruction was obtained in the Barnum grammar school of Bridgeport and
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in 1908 he was graduated from high school. He was next a stu- dent in Yale University, where he completed his studies in 1911 with the degree of LL. B., and in the same year was admitted to the bar. Mr. Munich began the practice of law in Bridgeport, and soon demonstrated his ability to handle litigated interests of importance. On April 1, 1915, he was called to public office, becoming clerk of the probate court under Judge Paul Miller, and acted in that capacity until the spring of 1918. In April of that year he was appointed assistant clerk of the superior court of Fairfield county and has occupied the office for ten years, dis- charging his duties with marked efficiency.
Mr. Munich was married October 14, 1915, to Miss Mae F. Mehan of Danbury, Connecticut, and they have become the par- ents of two sons, Charles David and Frank P. Jr. During the World war Mr. Munich served in the Connecticut State Guard and was sergeant of his company. He belongs to the order of Sons of Veterans and his fraternal affiliations are with the Masons and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. Earnest, diligent and purposeful, he has steadily progressed, and his abil- ity, public spirit and fidelity to duty are well known to his fellow citizens, who entertain for him high regard.
HENRY FRANKLIN SWEET
Henry Franklin Sweet has been prominently identified with the Young Men's Christian Association movement for sixteen years, constantly broadening his field of usefulness, and is ideally fitted for his work as general secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association of Stamford. He was born in Andover, Ohio, August 28, 1890, and is a son of Hubert L. and Hattie D. (Osborn) Sweet. The grandfather, Hiram Sweet, was a tanner and resided near Leon, Ohio. During the Civil war he enlisted in the Union army and was assigned to duty in the quartermast- er's department. He was an adherent of the republican party and was a loyal, patriotic citizen. Hubert L. Sweet was born in Pennsylvania, August 15, 1856, and for many years was in the employ of the New York Central Railroad Company. He resides in Ashtabula, Ohio, and is active in the work of the Presbyterian
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church, although not a member, while his political support is given to the republican party. His wife was born in Youngs- town, Ohio, February 20, 1861, and has reached the sixty-seventh milestone on life's journey, while he is seventy-two years of age.
Reared in his native state, Henry F. Sweet pursued his studies in its public schools and in 1909 was graduated from the Ashtabula high school. For two years he attended Denison Uni- versity at Granville, Ohio, and then went to Texas, where he spent a year, devoting his time to the planting of orange groves. On October 12, 1912, he was made assistant physical director of the Young Men's Christian Association at Ashtabula, Ohio, and a year later accepted a similar post in Camden, New Jersey. At the end of seven months he was promoted to the position of physi- cal director and remained in Camden until December, 1917, when he was sent to Camp Meade, Maryland, and was made recrea- tional director of the fifty thousand soldiers there stationed, also . becoming chairman of the athletic board. Mr. Sweet's assign- ment at Camp Meade terminated January 1, 1919, and in the following month he went to New Haven, Connecticut, as city physical director of the Young Men's Christian Association. While there he organized the recreational department of the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and later was chosen executive secretary of the Young Men's Christian Association, established by that corporation for its employes. Since January 1, 1921, he has been general secretary of the Stamford Young Men's Christian Association, which has made notable progress under his expert guidance. In the discharge of his important duties he brings to bear the poise, knowledge and wisdom which result from broad practical experience, while he also has the requisite executive force, and his efforts have been manifestly resultant.
Mr. Sweet was married December 29, 1914, in Ashtabula, Ohio, to Miss Elizabeth Cameron Prine, who was born September 4, 1890. She was graduated from the Ashtabula high school with the class of 1908 and attended Denison University for a year. Her father, J. Warren Prine, was a native of Ohio and served for many years as postmaster of Ashtabula, of which he was the first city manager, meeting every requirement of those offices. He attended the Presbyterian church and was a republican in his political convictions. His widow, Marion Ross, is living in Ashta-
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bula and has always resided in the Buckeye state. Mr. and Mrs. Sweet have become the parents of a daughter, Marion Ross, who was born January 19, 1916.
Mr. Sweet is an elder in the Presbyterian church and super- intendent of the intermediate department of the Sunday school. Mrs. Sweet adheres to the same faith. She is well known in musical circles of this part of the state and is a soloist in the Con- gregational church of New Canaan, Connecticut. She also takes an active part in the affairs of the various women's organizations with which she is affiliated. Mr. Sweet is a republican and lends the weight of his support to all worthy public projects. The Stamford Chamber of Commerce numbers him among its ener- getic members and along fraternal lines he is identified with Wooster Lodge, No. 79, of the Masonic order, which he joined in New Haven, Connecticut. He is also a member and director of the Kiwanis Club of Stamford, and belongs to the Hubbard Heights Golf Club and the Stamford Fish & Game League. His leisure hours are devoted to outdoor sports and thus he maintains the physical vigor without which the highest mental attainment is impossible. Impelled by high ideals, Mr. Sweet has been a serviceable factor in the cause of human progress and his life, much as it holds of accomplishment, is still rich in promise.
JOSEPH WEBER
Energetic, conscientious and persevering, Joseph Weber stead- ily advanced, prompted by a laudable ambition and is now num- bered among Danbury's leading manufacturers, controlling a business which is closely allied with the hat industry. A native of Austria, he was born in 1873 and was a child of five when his parents, George and Jane (Fox) Weber, left that country. They settled in Danbury and his father became well known as a mer- chant tailor, having a shop at No. 187 Main street.
Joseph Weber attended the public schools of this city and obtained his start in life in the fur shop of Pete Robinson, for whom he worked for three years. For a similar length of time he was with the firm of Young & Hunt, furriers, and next accepted a position with the T. & B. Tool Company of Danbury,
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remaining with them for four years. After the Spanish-Ameri- can war he went to Akron, Ohio, and spent two years in that city, working for a firm which had a contract to supply the United States government with shells. On returning to Danbury he became connected with the Boesch Manufacturing Company, makers of machinery, and worked for three years in their River street plant. On the expiration of that period he entered the employ of the New Machine Company and faithfully served the corporation for fifteen years. In 1919 he purchased the business from the owner, Sterling H. Fenton, and has since conducted the industry under the name of Joseph Weber. He has a modern, well equipped plant at No. 20 Crosby street and specializes in the manufacture of machinery used by hatters and fur cutters. His employes are skilled mechanics and in the operation of the fac- tory he has secured a high degree of efficiency. Broad experience enables him to readily solve the difficult problems which confront the executive and under his expert guidance the business has made notable strides.
In 1905 Mr. Weber was married in Danbury to Miss Mary Smith, a daughter of William Smith, a well known hatter of this city, and they have become the parents of three children : Anna, who has charge of her father's office; George, who assists in the conduct of the business; and Joseph Jr., a public school pupil. Mr. Weber is connected with the Foresters but has few interests outside of his business. He has demonstrated what may be accom- plished by concentrated effort, when guided by intelligence and sound judgment, and stands deservedly high in the esteem of his fellowmen, for he has never deviated from the course dictated by conscience and honor.
JOHN COLEMAN DUREY
John C. Durey was born in Saybrook, Ohio, October 12, 1880, a son of Thomas H. and Mary Julissa (Jenks) Durey. His paternal grandfather was Thomas H. Durey, Sr., who died in 1842. He was a native and lifelong resident of England whose ancestors had lived in County Kent from the time of the settle- ment there of John Durey, who died in 1615. Thomas H. Durey,
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Jr., was born in Kent, November 21, 1838, and when a boy came to the United States with his mother and settled at Saybrook, Ohio, where other members of the family had located. He was educated in the public schools of that locality, after which he engaged in the mercantile business and farming until his death in 1887. He was a member of the Protestant Episcopal church. His wife was born in Saybrook, Ohio, and died August 10, 1900. She was a daughter of William H. and Jane (Sheldon) Jenks.
John C. Durey attended the public schools of Saybrook, Ohio, and was graduated from the Geneva Institute. He then entered the law school of Yale University, from which he was graduated cum laude, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1906. During his law course he was an editor of the Yale Law Journal for two years and was a member of Phi Delta Phi and Chi Tau Kappa fraternities. He was admitted to the bar of Connecticut in Janu- ary, 1907, and began his professional career in Stamford, becom- ing associated with the late John E. Keeler, with whom he later entered into partnership under the firm name of Keeler & Durey. This relationship existed from January 1, 1913, to May, 1918, when Judge Keeler was appointed to the bench of the superior court, later, in 1921, being appointed a justice of the supreme court of errors of Connecticut. After May, 1918, Mr. Durey continued the practice of law with Norris E. Pierson, Robert H. Fruin and Ernest M. Lofgren as associates until January, 1922, when he formed a partnership with Norris E. Pierson, and on January 1, 1923, they consolidated with Judge Frederick C. Taylor, under the firm name of Taylor, Durey & Pierson, which is generally recognized as one of the important law firms of the state. They have offices in the First-Stamford National Bank building and command an extensive clientele.
Mr. Durey is a director of the First-Stamford National Bank and a member of its executive committee, a director of The West- ern Connecticut Title and Mortgage Company, and is an incor- porator of the Citizens' Savings Bank. He is a member of the character committee of the Fairfield County Bar Association, and belongs to the Connecticut Bar Association and the American Bar Association. He is a director of the Stamford Hospital, a director of The Stamford Boys' Club and a trustee of The Stam- ford Day Nursery. He is a member of The Woodway Country
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Club, the Wee Burn Golf Club, is a director of the Stamford Yacht Club, a member of the board of governors of the Suburban Club and belongs to The Yale Club of New York city. He is a republican in his political views.
On October 20, 1921, at Noroton, Connecticut, Mr. Durey was united in marriage to Miss Kathryn Talbot St. John, who was born at Mamaroneck, New York, and is a daughter of the late Talbot Munroe and Marie (Forbes) St. John. Mrs. Durey is a graduate of the Low-Heywood School for girls, is a member of the Junior League and a member of the boards of The Stam- ford Children's Home and the Visiting Nurse Association. Mr. and Mrs. Durey attend St. John's Protestant Episcopal church, of Stamford, of which he is a vestryman.
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ROBERT MILLER SPERRY
Gifted by nature with varied talents, Robert Miller Sperry achieved distinction as a playwright and has been equally suc- cessful in the field of journalism, becoming well known in news- paper circles of New England as the founder, editor and publisher of the Bridgeport Life, one of the best weeklies in this part of the country. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1878, a son of Charles R. and Eunice D. (Hubbell) Sperry, and repre- sents a distinguished colonial family of that city. His great- great-grandfather, Colonel Richard Sperry, served in the Revolu- tionary war and aided in winning American independence. An- other notable member of the family was the Hon. Nehemiah D. Sperry, a congressman from the second district of Connecticut and secretary of state for some time, while for twenty-eight years he served as postmaster of New Haven. His identification with the Masonic fraternity covered more than a half century and owing to his services in behalf of the order he received the honor- ary thirty-third degree. Charles R. Sperry was a pioneer car- riage manufacturer of New Haven and one of its leading business men.
Robert M. Sperry obtained his public school education in his native city and was next a student in Emerson College, class of 1896. In the same year he became the first advertising manager
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of the Bridgeport Morning Telegram, and in 1897, when Edward C. Smith opened the Smith Theater, Mr. Sperry took charge of the program and publicity work. This department he managed successfully throughout the period of Mr. Smith's ownership of. the house and during that time wrote more than a dozen good plays, which were produced in the Smith Theater. Among the well known actors and actresses who appeared in these dramas were Lowell Sherman, Franklin Ritchie, Ralph Kellard, Margaret Mckinney and Seymour Felix. Before disbanding, the entire cast of all the plays was engaged in making a moving picture of eight reels, which was shown for two weeks at the Lyric Theater and attracted much favorable attention.
Having achieved distinction in the theatrical world, Mr. Sperry directed his energies into another channel and in 1915 began his career as a journalist, founding the Bridgeport Life on April 3 of that year. The paper was started in a small wooden building on Brothwell street and there were only three people on the payroll. In the first issue there were ninety-seven adver- tisers. The entire first mailing was tied with a cotton string in one bundle. There were more than fifty moving picture theaters in the city at that time and copies of Bridgeport Life were on sale in all of them. In one week the Lyric Theater sold over a thousand copies and it was at these theaters the paper began to accumulate a circulation. Bridgeport Life announced at the out- set that it was and ever would be nonpartisan, nonsectarian, clean, fearless, independent and progressive. At its mast head was this motto: "To treat the city, fairly; the readers, intelli- gently ; and the advertisers, honestly."
Many difficulties were encountered during the first year but the paper progressed and the Easter issue in 1916 was thirty-six pages. With the aid of the largest printing plant in Bridgeport and one of the largest plants in New Haven, a Christmas number of one hundred pages was produced in 1917, and this was the largest issued in the city. By 1918 Bridgeport Life was calling upon the entire facilities of the largest plant in the city and another plant in New Haven to keep pace with the advertising and circulation. The business was incorporated and work was begun on a modern structure, which was ready for occupancy in May, 1919, when the paper was established in its new home. The
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installation of machinery and equipment was completed in June, 1919, and the third issue of that month came from the plant of the Bridgeport Life. At that time there was one linotype machine, one press and just enough equipment to issue the paper. There were four men in the mechanical department and two men and two women in the offices.
In 1920 the price per copy was advanced from five to ten cents in order that the entire load should not be shouldered by the advertiser, and the corporation is now receiving eight cents a copy from yearly subscribers, thus showing a one hundred per cent profit on circulation. This was a step in the right direction toward giving the readers a truthful paper, making Mr. Sperry immune from advertisers' penalties for daring to be fearless. In 1920 he issued a Kiwanis number of sixty-four pages that brought his paper to the front as a civic booster.
In 1921 the entire equipment was doubled in order to keep pace with the growth of the paper. Experienced men were obtained from Stamford, Manchester and Waterbury. A circula- tion crew was brought from Oakland, California, and in one month turned in over three thousand dollars in new subscriptions. In 1922 Bridgeport Life opened up a new avenue of revenue in order that the independence of the paper might not rest entirely upon the patronage of Bridgeport's best advertisers. This was the beginning of a commercial printing department and at that time a number of new machines were purchased for both the printing and bindery departments.
The greatest compliment ever paid a local publication was dur- ing 1923, when all of the manufacturers in the city combined, tak- ing two pages in each issue of Bridgeport Life for one year. This was the greatest piece of industrial advertising ever done in Bridgeport. In 1924 the mechanical equipment was again doubled to keep pace with the growth of the business. The circulation, advertising and printing departments were now running a race for first place. The year 1925 called for added equipment which took up every inch of available space in the building. Two folding machines with an hourly capacity of seven thousand copies were installed. By 1926 the plant was running night and day and the force of employes was increased. Offices were opened in New York and Chicago and another circulation campaign was effected
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by the same Oakland people. The year 1927 showed a great increase in all departments, especially the printing of several cata- logues in the Spanish language that were shipped to South America.
By April 3, 1928, its thirteenth birthday, Bridgeport Life had increased its employes from three to thirty-two and had twenty electric motors in operation. The birthday number was issued as a letter of thanks to those who had assisted Mr. Sperry and his associates in their efforts to serve Bridgeport and its citizens. The business has enjoyed a continuous growth and since its incorpora -. tion each stockholder of the Bridgeport Life Publishing Company has uninterruptedly received seven per cent per annum on his investment. The plant is a model of efficiency and turns out work of the highest grade. The commercial printing department is supplied with Miehle vertical, Miller automatic, Chandler and Price presses, a Siebold cutter, Cleveland folder with automatic feeder, Boston wire stitchers, Portland punchers, Rosback per- forators and complete equipment for quality printing. Each of the four typesetting machines in the linotype department is equipped with Cutler-Hammer electric pots, Margach self-feeders, Mohr saws and special tabulating devices. Bridgeport Life has every reason to be proud of its press room equipment. A big Miehle, one of the four presses, is the last word in printing presses for quality work. The Omaha folder, attached directly to the Miehle delivery, automatically folds, trims and delivers Bridge- port Life complete, ready for the mailing department. The Miehle is also equipped with the Johnson automatic gas drier and several special attachments which were designed and made for the paper by the Bryant Electric Company of Bridgeport. This was the first machine of the kind to be installed in the state of Connecticut. The lay-out and make-up department is supplied with Monotype equipment which manufactures leads, slugs and rules by the mile, and borders, ornaments and type by the ton. All steel equipment makes this the last syllable in type furnishing equipment. The composing room is the most modern in the city. Its steel storage cabinets contain over twenty-five tons of display type, every pound of which was manufactured in the Bridgeport Life building. Every detail of this extensive business has been carefully planned by Mr. Sperry, whose establishment is self-acting, each depart-
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ment operating independently and in complete harmony with the whole. He is a forceful executive and an editorial writer of excep- tional breadth and power.
In 1902 Mr. Sperry was married in Bridgeport to Miss Hattie L. Steinbach, a daughter of Adam and Hedwig (Heyse) Stein- bach, of Bridgeport, Connecticut. The father was a native of Germany and when a youth of fourteen made the voyage across the Atlantic. He located in Bridgeport and progressed with the city, eventually becoming a successful manufacturer of boots and shoes. Mr. Sperry is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, the Chamber of Commerce, the Greenfield Hill Country Club, the Algonquin Club, the Reciprocity Club and the Kiwanis Club. As a true editor he has always in mind the dignity and worth of his profession and its responsibility to the public. Strong in his honor and his good name, strong in his ability to plan and to perform, Mr. Sperry has constantly broadened his field of usefulness, becoming a potent factor in promoting projects for the city's advancement along material, intellectual, political, social and moral lines.
REV. PETER HUGH McCLEAN, S. T. L.
Rev. Peter Hugh McClean, one of the distinguished clergymen of Bridgeport, is permanent rector of St. Augustine's church and widely known owing to his activities in behalf of Catholicism, also achieving prominence in the field of public service. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut, November 29, 1862, a son of Hugh and Julia (Ryle) McClean, who were natives of Ireland. The father left the Emerald isle about the year 1850, yielding to the lure of the new world, and was married in St. John's church in Stamford. There he engaged in contracting for more than fifty years, con- tributing materially toward the city's upbuilding and improve- ment, and also operated a large dairy. He was a business man of exceptional ability and high standing and a valuable citizen. At his death in 1897 he left an estate valued at about a half million dollars and his wife passed away in 1909. They were the parents of ten children, seven of whom survive: Nellie A .; Peter Hugh; James F. and Minnie L., twins, the latter now the widow of
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Thomas Stark; Margaret L., who is Mrs. Phineas Taylor Vize; Mrs. Julia Ryan; and Hugh V. McClean, of Portland, Oregon.
Rev. Peter H. McClean completed a course in the Stamford high school in 1878 and for two years was a teacher in the public schools of that city. Afterward he went to Baltimore, Maryland, and on September 3, 1883, matriculated in St. Charles' College, from which he was graduated in 1888 with high honors. In September, 1888, he enrolled as a student in St. John's Seminary at Brighton, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, and in September, 1893, matriculated in the Catholic University at Washington, D. C., which institution conferred upon him the degrees of S. T. B. and S. T. L. On December 22, 1893, he was ordained to the priest- hood in Boston by Archbishop Williams and subsequently was assistant pastor of St. Patrick's church in Norwich, St. Mary's church in Greenwich, St. Andrew's church in Colchester and St. Joseph's cathedral in Hartford, Connecticut. In October, 1898, Bishop Tierney formed the Connecticut apostolate to conduct Catholic missions and lecture in the diocese of Hartford, and appointed Father McClean to the office of superior. Milford, Con- necticut, was selected as the home of this apostolate, of which Father McClean was superior for twenty-six and a half years, and during that time he conducted missions in almost every part of the United States, having six priests as his assistants. The bishop had many times offered him a larger parish but he declined owing to his love for missionary work. During his stay in Milford he served for about twenty years on the board of education and as chairman of the building and supply committee had charge of the erection of most of the public schools in that place, manifesting a deep and helpful interest in civic affairs. As a result of his efforts five churches were built in Milford and St. Mary's was renovated and enlarged. He erected St. Agnes' church at Woodmont; St. Gabriel's, located at Walnut Beach and later destroyed by fire; St. Gabriel's at Walnut Beach, a beautiful edifice conforming to the Spanish type of architecture, and St. Ann's church at Devon. Rev. McClean also purchased the beautiful Laurenton Hall estate, in Milford, the home of the late Henry A. Taylor, and there opened the Academy of Our Lady of Mercy. Under the direction of the Sisters of Mercy this institution has rapidly developed and is now one of the most noted schools in Connecticut. He likewise pur- chased the fine rectory on Broad street in Milford and materially
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