USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 14
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
Edwin R. Kelsey of this review attended the Morgan School of Clinton prior to entering Yale University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1897. Having de- termined upon a professional career, he continued his studies in the Yale Law School, which in 1899 conferred upon him the de- gree of LL. B. For a time he engaged in active practice as a member of the firm of Harriman & Kelsey, well known attor- neys of New Haven. In 1901 he was appointed deputy judge of the town court of Branford, which position he filled for eight years. He was appointed judge of the town court in 1909 and has remained on the bench throughout the intervening period of more than two decades, his rulings being ever characterized by the ut- most fairness and impartiality. In the fall of 1911 he was elected judge of the probate court of the town of Branford to fill out an unexpired term, taking the office in January, 1912. In that year he was chosen for a two years' term and he has been the successful candidate at each recurring biennial election so that he is still the incumbent in the office. No higher testimonial of the satifactoriness of his judicial service could be given than the fact that he has been so long retained on the bench. Judge Kel- sey was also elected state senator in 1912 and during the ensuing session was connected with much important constructive legisla- tion, serving as a member of the committees on fish and game, public health and safety, on claims and on senate appointments. In 1928 he was elected one of the representatives of the town of Branford in the state legislature, serving as a member of the ju- diciary committee, and once more he fully justified the faith and support of his constituents.
190
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
On the 26th of September, 1899, Judge Kelsey was united in marriage to Miss Frances Elizabeth Watrous, a native of Madi- son, New Haven county, and a daughter of Andrew Stone and Jennie (Dudley) Watrous. Andrew S. Watrous is a retired stone mason residing at East River, in the town of Madison, but his wife has passed away. Mrs. Kelsey died May 24, 1924, leav- ing two daughters and two sons, namely: Frances Watrous, Grace Gavina, Edwin Ruthven (III) and Roger Allen.
Judge Kelsey is a stalwart champion of the republican party. He became his father's successor as president and treasurer of the board of trustees of the Short Beach Union Chapel and has thus served to the present time, while fraternally he is affiliated with Widows Son Lodge, No. 66, F. & A. M., of Branford, of which he is a past master. He supports those interests which make for the uplift of the individual and the benefit of the com- munity.
HAROLD J. BOWEN
Yale University is the alma mater of many of New Haven's successful attorneys and among the number is Harold J. Bowen, who has practiced here from the time of his admission to the Connecticut bar, covering a period of sixteen years. Born in this city on the 20th of January, 1892, he is a son of Andrew J. and Margaret (Houlihan) Bowen, natives of New Haven county. Members of the Bowen family have resided within its borders since pioneer times, bearing their share in the work of develop- ment and improvement. Entering the service of the United States government, Andrew J. Bowen was connected with the New Haven post office for more than thirty years as a letter car- rier and is now retired.
On the completion of his high school course in 1911, Harold J. Bowen enrolled as a student in Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1914, and in the same year was admitted to the bar. He has since engaged in general practice in New Haven, becoming recognized as an able advocate and a wise coun- selor. He was assistant clerk of the city court from 1917 until 1923, was reappointed by Judge Whittaker and Judge Farley in 1925, and held office until 1929, practicing law at the same time.
191
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
To the solution of intricate legal problems he brings to bear an analytical mind, sound judgment and a thorough knowledge of the basic principles of the law, and satisfactory results have at- tended his efforts in the field of professional service.
Mr. Bowen was married September 7, 1925, to Miss Celia Dixon, of New Haven, and they reside at 121 Pendleton street, while Mr. Bowen maintains his offices at 205 Church street. He belongs to the Governor's Foot Guard and during the World war was a member of the United States Naval Reserve Force. His name appears on the membership roll of the New Haven County Bar Association, and his professional colleagues and the general public unite in bearing testimony to his ability and worth.
NORMAN S. BUCKINGHAM
Norman S. Buckingham was born in Milford, Connecticut, April 30, 1881, a son of John W. and Alice M. (Baldwin) Buck- ingham, who were also natives of that town. The family was established here by Thomas Buckingham, an Englishman, who came to Milford in 1639 and was one of its earliest settlers. Among the paternal ancestors of Norman S. Buckingham were Contin- ental soldiers who fought under General Washington in the strug- gle for American independence. The father, John W. Bucking- ham, enlisted in the Union Army and served as a lieutenant in Company I of the Twenty-third Regiment of Connecticut Volun- teers during the Civil war. He was elected a selectman of Mil- ford and held other local offices, as did his father before him.
Reared in his native town, Norman S. Buckingham attended its public schools until graduated from high school with the class of 1897. In 1898 he entered the employ of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad in its legal department, with which he has been continuously connected for thirty-two years. He read law and was admitted to the bar in 1911. Through the steps of an orderly progression he has risen to the position of assistant general counsel.
Mr. Buckingham was married October 11, 1913, to Miss Anna E. Munson, of Milford, and they have three children : Norman S., Philip M. and Athala. A Congregationalist in religious faith, Mr. Buckingham is a trustee of the Church of Christ, and his
192
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
political allegiance is given to the republican party. He is a Rotarian and also has membership in the Milford Wheel Club and the Wepawaug Country Club. He is a member of the New Haven County Bar Association, the Connecticut State Bar Association and the American Bar Association, and is a director of the Mil- ford Savings Bank and the Milford Cemetery Association.
HARRY J. CARROLL
From the time he entered the commercial world mercantile pursuits have claimed the attention of Harry J. Carroll, whose activities have been centered in Waterbury for a quarter of a cen- tury, and during that period he established an enviable reputation as a coal dealer. He was born in Branchport, Yates county, New York, June 14, 1876, a son of John and Katherine (Croak) Car- roll, the former deceased. His early life was spent on his father's farm, and his educational advantages were those afforded by the public schools of Branchport. Hoping to find greater opportuni- ties for advancement in a metropolitan center, he went to New York city and was there engaged in the grocery business for ten years. During that period he joined the Seventy-first Regiment of the New York National Guard, of which he was a member for six years.
Coming to Waterbury in 1900, Mr. Carroll entered upon his career as a coal dealer and has since continued in that line of merchandising. His business is systematically and efficiently con- ducted and has grown steadily year by year in spite of the in- roads of oil on the coal industry. He has a modern storage yard at 680 East Main street, and the extent of his trade is indicated in the fact that he operates five trucks in making deliveries. He handles coal of high grade, and his well known reliability has con- stituted one of the chief factors in his growing success.
On the 25th of June, 1914, Mr. Carroll was married to Miss Margaret Agnes McGrath, a sister of Dr. John H. McGrath and a daughter of Patrick J. and Nora McGrath, of Waterbury, and they have two children, Katherine and Norine.
Mr. and Mrs. Carroll are communicants of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, and Mrs. Carroll is a member of the Notre Dame Alumnae Association. Mr. Carroll is identified with
193
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Benevolent Protective Or- der of Elks. For many years his interests have been closely al- lied with those of Waterbury, and in the development of his busi- ness he has manifested that spirit of enterprise which makes for public progress as well as for individual success.
RODERICK J. PERRAULT
Among the men of energy, ability and foresight who are responsible for the growth and success of Waterbury's industrial enterprises is numbered Roderick J. Perrault, who entered the business world in a humble capacity and is now serving as treas- urer of the Simonsville Manufacturing Company, of which he was one of the organizers. He was born in St. Pie, in the province of Quebec, Canada, June 17, 1881, and is a son of Joseph Renault and Pauline (Chartier) Perrault, both of French lineage. In 1883 they crossed the border, settling in Ansonia, Connecticut, where they still reside.
The educational advantages enjoyed by Roderick J. Perrault were afforded by the public schools of Ansonia, and at the age of seventeen years he made his initial step in the business world as an apprentice in the tool room of the plant of the American Brass Company. There he spent seven years, becoming a skilled me- chanic, and was next a tool maker with the Benedict & Burnham Company, a connection that was maintained for three years. Hav- ing a desire to see the country, he traveled from place to place and returned to Connecticut in 1911 after an absence of three years. He was a machinist and tool maker in the employ of the Waterbury Brass Corporation for three years and during the en- suing period of two years was identified with the Waterbury Clock Company and The Scovill Company, working for each a year. In 1916, in association with George A. Carney and Charles W. Roller, he began the manufacture of tools, punches and dies under the style of the Simonsville Manufacturing Company, and after America entered the World war they began the production of steel, cooper and bronze stampings in connection with stationary supplies. They developed the Diamond paper fastener as well as other types of paper clips and fasteners, and they make eighteen sizes of paper clips and fasteners and five sizes of thumb tacks.
194
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
In addition to these lines they are manufacturing some building hardware, and in order to meet the demands of the trade they are now doubling the size of the plant by adding a new brick build- ing to the factory, which is located at the end of Baldwin avenue, where they own several acres of land. The automatic machines required by the company for manufacturing are designed and built by themselves. Mr. Perrault looks after the production end of the business, while Mr. Carney travels for the firm, enabling it to keep in close contact with jobbers. Year by year the busi- ness has grown until it now covers the United States, and the output of the factory is also shipped to Canada and South Amer- ica. His broad experience as a mechanic has been of great bene- fit to Mr. Perrault in the development of this large industry, while he also has the requisite executive ability, and in the operation of the plant he has secured maximum efficiency at a minimum expenditure of time, labor and material.
On the 15th of November, 1915, Mr. Perrault was married to Miss Mary Boland of Derby, Connecticut, and they have one child, Pauline, who is a student in the normal school at Danbury, Con- necticut. Mr. Perrault adheres to the Catholic faith, and his fraternal affiliations are with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Hunting and fishing con- stitute his chief sources of recreation. Deeply engrossed in his work, he has neither sought nor held public office, but his career has nevertheless been useful and serviceable, for his business ac- tivities have been of direct benefit to Waterbury as well as a source of individual prosperity.
PASQUALE GIORGIO NICOLARI
Obtaining his education through strenuous effort and unfal- tering purpose, Pasquale Giorgio Nicolari has continued through- out life an earnest, conscientious worker, overcoming many ob- stacles and difficulties in his struggle for advancement. As an interpreter he has long been connected with the work of the courts, and he also has business and financial interests of importance in New Haven. He was born in Faicchio, in the province of Bene- vento, Italy, May 30, 1870, a son of Diego and Maria (Franco) Nicolari, who were natives of the same city. The father sailed
195
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
for America in 1881, arriving in New Haven in the fall of that year, and was joined by his wife and family in 1884. He had been carefully trained in music and became well known as the leader of the Roma Band of New Haven.
Pasquale G. Nicolari acquired his elementary education in his native land, which he left in 1882, making the voyage across the Atlantic in the company of friends, and reached New Haven on the 22d of April. On the following day he went to work for A. B. Hendryx & Company, becoming a wage earner when a lad of twelve, and he continued with the firm for two years. In 1884 he removed with the family to Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he attended the public schools, acting as a clerk in a candy store after school hours. In 1886 he returned to New Haven, reenter- ing the service of A. B. Hendryx & Company and joining a night class of the Hillhouse school, while later he was tutored in Italian by a retired Catholic priest. For a number of years he remained with A. B. Hendryx & Company, eventually advancing to the position of foreman of the department in which he worked, but he was obliged to resign owing to failing health, and on the advice of his physician, Dr. L. S. De Forest, he turned to outdoor work. For two years he was a conductor for the Fairhaven & Westville Street Car Company and then sought a more congenial occupation, learning the barber's trade under John Erbsen, whose shop was then located in the old Yale Bank building at the corner of State and Chapel streets. Mr. Nicolari followed that trade for about ten years and in 1898 became a partner in the Harris Hart Ice Cream Company, continuing active in its management until 1915, when he sold his holdings in that business. In the fall of 1900 he had become identified with the states attorney's office and was first an interpreter under Judge William H. Williams, now de- ceased. For thirty years Mr. Nicolari has been closely associated with the proceedings of the local courts as an interpreter and confidential agent, his long retention in the position proving con- clusively his exceptional qualifications for such service. In addi- tion to the faithful discharge of his duties in this connection he has efficiently managed his business affairs and is vice president and a director of the Beneficial Loan Society of New Haven, while of the Italian-American Finance Corporation, the Citizens Bank & Trust Company and the New Haven Macaroni Company he is one of the directors. His insight is keen, and his associates have
196
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
learned to rely upon his judgment in business and financial mat- ters.
Mr. Nicolari was married to Miss Georgia V. Allen, of New Haven, and both are prominent in social circles of the city. Mr. Nicolari finds his recreation largely in music and travel and plays both the violin and cornet with skill. He has made one trip to South America, three to the West Indies and has twice been to Europe. He closely studied social and economic conditions in the countries which he visited and nothing is foreign to him that touches the world's progress and improvement. He takes a keen interest in the organization known as the Friends of Italian Cul- ture and is one of its directors. He is identified with several fraternal orders, including New Haven Aerie, F. O. E .; New Haven Lodge, No. 25, B. P. O. E .; America Lodge, No. 52, K. P .; City Lodge, No. 36, I. O. O. F .; Sassacus Encampment, No. 1, I. O. O. F .; and Wooster Lodge, No. 79, F. & A. M., of which he has been a member for twenty-eight years. That Mr. Nicolari is a versatile man of marked ability and unusual force of character is shown in what he has accomplished, and his record should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, indicating what may be achieved by the individual with the will to dare and to do.
NATHAN GILLETTE POND
Nathan Gillette Pond was born in New York city, May 31, 1832, and died at Milford, Connecticut, July 29, 1894. One who would attempt to measure the work and influence of that life by its sixty-two years would fall far short of a just appreciation of either. Indeed, one writing a sketch of Mr. Pond, who contented himself with the facts of the present century without taking into consideration the influence of the last, and indeed of the one pre- ceding that would lose much that is needed for an accurate and just delineation of his character. Mr. Pond during the latter years of his life was an antiquarian, historian and genealogist by profession, but he was such by inheritance as well. He was himself a part of that past, in which he delighted to dwell, and of which he took so much pleasure in studying, discussing and writ-
NATHAN GILLETTE POND
199
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
ing. With what keen interest did he search the records of the past and seize as a priceless jewel every historic fact.
A man would be lacking indeed in veneration and respect, who could sit in his library and see hung over an open-mouthed, generous old-fashioned fireplace, flint-locks, muskets, pistols and swords used by his ancestors in defending themselves and their families against the attacks of the Indians, and through every war waged by his country from that of Queen Anne down to the Mexican war; guns that had answered back with a stern defiance alike the war whoop of the savage and the attack of the oppressor.
Seventh in descent from Theophilus Eaton, the first governor of the colony of New Haven; seventh in descent from Samuel Pond, who arrived at Salem, Massachusetts, with John Winthrop and his great fleet, and who afterward removed to Connecticut, and was one of the original settlers of Windsor; sixth in descent from Charles Hobby, colonel of the Massachusetts troops in the expedition against Port Royal, and who in 1710 was knighted for his meritorious conduct in this country; sixth in descent from William Jones, deputy governor of the colony of Connecticut, and who came to this country with the regicides, Whalley and Goff, in 1660; sixth in descent from Captain John Miles, a soldier who distinguished himself in the Indian wars under Major Robert Treat; third in descent from Charles Pond, a captain in the Fourth Connecticut Regiment in the Continental Army and one of the original members in and originators of the Society of the Cincinnati for the state of Connecticut.
Born in the city of New York, Nathan Gillette Pond received his early education chiefly in the common schools of Milford, and there spent his early as well as his latter years. At the age of fifteen, Mr. Pond went into the shipping business in New York city, largely in the China trade, in which he was for many years exceedingly successful. The breaking out of the Rebellion in 1861 swept away our commerce from the seas, and so far broke up his business that he deemed it best to wind it up and retire from its active pursuits to his family home in Milford, where he ever afterward resided.
Some few years after, Mr. Pond met with other financial losses, which further stripped him of his fortunes but left him still with enough to satisfy his well regulated needs, and if ever he felt the lack of abundant means he never let anyone know that
200
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
he felt their loss, except it was that he might gratify a desire to help some fellowman or preserve some valuable record fast falling into decay, or to erect a fitting monument to preserve the memory of some noble man or deed that excited his admiration and respect.
His life in Milford was spent in part as a farmer, he being one of the first in this country to import and breed Jersey cattle, and never was he happier than when the pursuit took him into the open fields and pastures, there to watch the coming of spring, the bursting of the buds, to hear the song of the thrush and the lowing of the herds, at one with nature, and through nature, looking up to nature's God.
His was the inspiration that caused the town of Milford to erect that unique but beautiful and appropriate Memorial Bridge that spans the Wepowaug where it falls into the sea, in memory of the first settlers of that ancient town. It gave him especial satis- faction that it should stand where General Washington himself once stood, who when passing through Connecticut, in 1789, while resting an hour in Milford, so admired the beauties of that spot that he particularly mentions it in the account of his journey.
To Mr. Pond the community also, in great measure, owes the beautiful Taylor Library with its appropriate building, and could he have lived to see its shelves filled with the books he loved and longed to place therein, no more complete or perfect library of its size would have existed in the country. He wrote and pub- lished a work called the "Tombstones of Milford," in which he transferred from the crumbling marble and granite to the eternal keeping of paper and print the names, dates and epitaphs of those lying buried in the old Milford graveyard. At the time of his decease he was engaged in an extensive work on "The History of the First Settlers of Milford," nearly all the material for which was collected and some of which was fully transcribed. He was for a short time one of the editors of the Magazine of American History, and was at the time of his death one of the associate editors of the American Historical Registry.
He was treasurer of the Connecticut Society of the Cincin- nati, and with the aid of his indefatigable industry and zeal this constitutent part of an ancient and honorable institution, the pre- decessor of all historical and hereditary societies of our day, was revived and restored. He was one of the original projectors and
201
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
charter members of the General Society of Colonial Wars, one of the Council of the New York State Society, and, at the time of his death the secretary of the Connecticut Society.
How well and faithfully he performed the duties of treasurer of the Connecticut Society of the Cincinnati is known to all. There is no need here to describe his personal character; just, honest, truthful, generous, he commended himself alike to all men with whom he came in contact; once his friend, always his friend. He was vice president of the Society of the Sons of the Revolution of this state and one of its most active members. He was a re- ligious man and a Christian, though averse to connecting him- self with any religious denomination. Some of his most cherished friends were ministers and religious teachers.
On the 11th of November, 1856, Mr. Pond was united in mar- riage to Miss Sophia Mathilde Mooney and to them were born eight children, namely : Sophia, Isabelle Hepburn, Charles Hobby, Nicholas M., Natalie, Richard Griswold Sill, Sarah Lawrence and Harold. Gillette.
THE LAWRENCE FAMILY
Joseph Lawrence, the founder of the oldest and wealthiest shipping firm in New London, if not in the state, sailed from his home in the famed city of Venice when a mere boy, with the in- tention of following the sea. Of his seafaring life but little is known. In the year 1814 young Lawrence landed in the city of Savannah, Georgia, and there embarked in the wholesale grocery business and thrived.
Though travel in those days, especially in the south, was ex- ceedingly laborious, Mr. Lawrence made frequent trips to New York city, and it was while on one of these purchasing trips that fate of fancy led him to New London. The natural advantages of this city so appealed to the young adventurer that he im- mediately settled here and began his career as a whole grocer and ship chandler on John street. He had prospered in his other undertakings, and the late embarkment proved no exception. He landed here with a substantial capital.
At this time he was young-thirty years of age-and unmar- ried, though the latter state was very soon changed, for Mr. Law-
202
HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN COUNTY
rence married, the first year of his settlement here, taking for his wife Miss Nancy Woodward Brown, daughter of Jeremiah Brown, of the famous Goshen farm down on Great Neck. The young couple took up a home in New London, and from that time on Mr. Lawrence devoted his talents to money making and in- creasing his business interests. He soon outgrew his first quarters and, purchasing the corner of State and Bank streets, moved his business there. It was while pursuing the grocery and ship chand- ler business at this location that he became interested in the ship- ping business that he later entered. Somewhere in the latter part of 1830 Mr. Lawrence bought the property known as the Theodore Barry wharf property. At that time it was a mere bridge wharf about a quarter of its present size, and was rebuilt and enlarged to its proportions of today. The little frame building that stood at the head of the wharf was raised up, and the heavy stone foundation that still stands was masoned under it, it being his purpose to some day replace the frame with a brick structure. Mr. Lawrence established an office in the basement of the build- ing and it has remained there ever since. He was born January 12, 1788, and died April 3, 1872.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.