USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 23
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On the 3d of May, 1920, Mr. Clark was married to Miss Kath- erine Moriarty, of Waterbury, and they have one child, Katherine Anne, aged eight years. The parents adhere to the Roman Catho- lic faith, in which they were reared, and are communicants of St. Margaret's Church. Mr. Clark finds recreation in garden-
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ing and also enjoys hunting trips when leisure permits. He has few outside interests, concentrating his attention upon his work, which is performed with the thoroughness and fidelity that have characterized his activities throughout life. He enjoys an envi- able reputation as a public accountant and fills an important place in the business life of his city.
RAY JOHN REIGELUTH
Ray John Reigeluth is vice president of C. W. Blakeslee & Sons, Inc., and an official in several other contracting and building and allied enterprises. He was born in Waverly, New York, October 8, 1884, his parents being John Jacob and Ida (Ellison) Reigeluth, who are also natives of the Empire state, the former born in Hancock in 1860 and the latter in Corning in 1862. John J. Reigeluth is a retired merchant.
Ray J. Reigeluth completed a high school course at Carbon- dale, Pennsylvania, with the class of 1902 and continued his studies in the School of Lackawanna at Scranton, Pennsylvania, from which he was graduated in 1904. Thereafter he matricu- lated in Yale University, which conferred upon him the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1908 and that of Master of Arts the following year. Subsequently he became associated with his father in the mercantile business, as manager of the store in Middletown, New York. In 1916 he became general manager of his father's chain of stores, with main office in Poughkeepsie, New York. Three years later he disposed of his mercantile interests and in 1920 identified himself with C. W. Blakeslee & Sons, general contract- ors at New Haven. He developed the system of concreting roads which modified former methods radically. This system has been adopted by the state of Connecticut and incorporated in its specifi- cations. Mr. Reigeluth has filled the official position of vice presi- dent of C. W. Blakeslee & Sons since the enterprise was incorpo- rated in 1929 and now has charge of the execution of its contracts for water work and deep foundations. He is also treasurer of the Connecticut Quarries Company, Inc., treasurer of the Dwight Building Company and president of the Certified Sand Company, all of New Haven. He is also assistant treasurer of the Blakeslee Rollins Corporation of Boston, which concern built the two piers
RAY J. REIGELUTH
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for the Mid-Hudson Bridge at Poughkeepsie in the years 1928 and 1929. These two piers are the largest river piers that have ever been built to such depths.
On the 15th of October, 1913, Mr. Reigeluth was united in marriage to Miss Julia Seelye Blakeslee, daughter of Clarence and Julia Blakeslee. Mr. and Mrs. Reigeluth are the parents of two sons : John Blakeslee, born April 22, 1915; and Robert Seelye, born December 28, 1916.
Mr. Reigeluth is a trustee of the Hopkins Grammar School of New Haven, vice president of the New Haven Chamber of Commerce and a past president of the Rotary Club, and he has long enjoyed high standing as a most progressive and public- spirited resident of his adopted city. He is a member of the Quin- nipiack Club, the Graduate Club Association, the New Haven Country Club and the New Haven Lawn Club, also belongs to the Connecticut Society of Civil Engineers and fraternally is affiliated with the Masonic order. His personal qualities are such as inspire confidence, esteem and friendship.
DAVID CULLEN GRIGGS
David Cullen Griggs is identified in an official capacity with one of the most important industrial enterprises of New Haven county as president of the Waterbury Farrel Foundry & Machine Company, with which he has been continuously connected since 1893. A native son of Waterbury, he was born June 30, 1871, his parents being Henry Charles and Mary Bassett (Foote) Griggs. The Griggs family is one of the oldest in New England and was founded in this country by one Thomas Griggs, who was born in England, either in the latter part of the sixteenth or the early part of the seventeenth century, sailed to the American colonies and settled at Roxbury, Massachusetts, as early as 1639. He brought with him his wife and their two children, John and Joseph. He seems to have been a man of considerable promi- nence in the colony and owned a tract of land at Muddy River which was then the name of what is now Brookline. He lived but a few years after his arrival in this country, his death occurring June 23, 1646. His second son, Joseph, the ancestor of that branch of the Griggs family which we are considering, died in Roxbury,
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Massachusetts, February 10, 1714. From this Joseph the line runs through Ichabod (I), Ichabod (II), Joshua, Roswell, Charles and Henry Charles, who was the father of David Cullen Griggs, who is thus of the ninth generation from the emigrant ancestor. Ichabod Griggs (II) established the Tolland branch of the family in 1744 and became a prominent factor in public interests of that place. He served as a deacon in the church, represented the town in the general assembly from 1773 until 1788 and was chosen moderator of the "first town meeting touching the difficulties be- tween the colonies and England," held on the 5th of September, 1774. He had two sons who aided in winning liberty for Amer- ica in the Revolutionary war. Charles Griggs, the grandfather of David Cullen Griggs, was a son of Roswell and Sarah (Dun- ham) Griggs and was born April 14, 1799, at Tolland, Connecti- cut. As a young man he made his home in the village of South Windsor, Connecticut, and in 1845 removed to Waterbury. He was married, in 1830, to Frances Catherine Drake, and Henry Charles Griggs was the third of the five children born to them. In the maternal line Henry Charles Griggs traced his ancestry back to Henry Wolcott, who in 1630 removed from Tolland, Eng- land, to Dorchester, Massachusetts, and in 1636 became a resident of Windsor, where he was chosen magistrate in 1643, filling the office until his death in 1655. Another ancestor was Governor Roger Wolcott, who participated in the capture of Louisburg in 1745, at which time he commanded forces with the rank of major general. He served as colonial governor of Connecticut from 1750 until 1754.
Henry Charles Griggs, the father of David Cullen Griggs, was one of the prominent figures of the Connecticut financial and industrial world during the middle portion of the nineteenth cen- tury. He was born at Windsor, Connecticut, December 18, 1834, and went with his father to Waterbury at the age of eleven years. He attended school in both of these places and completed his studies when a youth of fourteen, entering upon his business career as a clerk in the store of Elisha Turner. Next he became a clerk in the employ of the Waterbury Hook & Eye Company. He rapidly advanced in rank and in 1861 was offered the man- agement of the Waterbury Button Company, which he accepted. In 1864 he formed a partnership with John E. Smith for the manufacture of brass goods at Hopeville. Some time later Mr.
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Griggs became associated with the firm of Holmes, Griggs & Smith, and the two concerns united their forces, and thereafter their business was conducted under the latter name. This new firm became the owner of a brass mill in New York and continued that and the brass business already at Hopeville, Connecticut. This association did not last, however, for a great length of time and the firm was dissolved in 1869, two companies being then formed, the Holmes & Griggs Manufacturing Company of New York and the Smith & Griggs Manufacturing Company of Water- bury. The latter company, which was incorporated June 5, 1869, had a capital stock of forty thousand dollars, held by John E. Smith, Henry Charles Griggs, Elizur D. Griggs and Charles E. L. Smith. John E. Smith was the president of the concern, and Mr. Griggs its secretary and treasurer. The latter resigned in 1875 and established a button factory on Division street in Water- bury. It was not only in the industrial world, however, in which Mr. Griggs figured prominently in the Waterbury region. He invested very extensively in real estate in this city ; was also assoc- iated with a number of important financial institutions and was president of the Dime Savings Bank and a director of the Water- bury National Bank of this city. Moreover, he was a trustee of the Riverside Cemetery Association and one of the incorporators of the Waterbury Hospital. He was also prominent in Masonic circles and as a public officer, serving as road commissioner, water commissioner and alderman. In 1882 he was elected to the gen- eral assembly and again in 1886. He was held in the highest regard, having those personal qualities which endeared him to all, while at the same time he measured up to the highest stand- ards of business integrity and of progressive citizenship. He passed away on the 17th of April, 1886, just after the completion of his legislative duties.
On the 9th of October, 1862, Henry Charles Griggs was united in marriage to Mary Bassett Foote, a daughter of Jared Foote, of Hamden, and they became parents of eight children, named below. Henry Foote, born November 17, 1863, died in infancy. Charles Jared, born November 28, 1864, died May 24, 1905. Wil- fred Elizur, born May 2, 1866, departed this life July 24, 1918. Robert Foote, who was born February 22, 1868, passed away December 18, 1927. Mary Rebecca, born May 16, 1870, died January 12, 1878. David Cullen, the next in order of birth, is the
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immediate subject of this review. Grace and Catherine, twins, born August 1, 1873, both died in infancy.
David C. Griggs attended Miss Prichard's private school, the public schools of Waterbury and the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1892. After his graduation he entered the employ of the Berlin Iron & Bridge Company of East Berlin, Connecticut, as draughtsman. In Febru- ary, 1893, he secured a similar position with the Waterbury Far- rel Foundry & Machine Company. He was employed for a time in the engineering department, then in the commercial depart- ment, and in 1899 was elected a director of the concern, while in 1902 he was made its secretary, in 1922 became vice president and secretary, in 1929 was elected vice president and general manager and in 1930 was chosen for the presidency, in which executive capacity he is now serving. He was also elected presi- dent of the Smith & Griggs Manufacturing Company in 1930, is a director of the American Mills Company, the Waterbury Buckle Company and the Colonial Trust Company and is vice president of the Dime Savings Bank. He is likewise a director of the Water- bury Hospital and a trustee of the Riverside Cemetery Associa- tion.
On the 6th of June, 1904, Mr. Griggs was married to Miss Helen Trowbridge Williams, a native of Waterbury, born May 6, 1875, and a daughter of Samuel Parmelee and Ella S. (Rice) Williams. Samuel P. Williams was a native of Litchfield, Con- necticut, and was active in the real estate, loan and insurance business. Mr. and Mrs. Griggs are the parents of a son and a daughter. Henry Charles Griggs (II), born January 27, 1907, pursued his education in Miss Strong's private school, the Mc- Ternan School for Boys in Waterbury, Loomis Institute in Wind- sor, Connecticut, from which he was graduated in 1925, and the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1929. Eleanor Rice Griggs, born August 3, 1911, has attended Miss Strong's school; was graduated from St. Margaret's School of Waterbury, in 1928 and Dana Hall of Wellesley in 1929, and attended The Spence School in New York city and Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.
Mr. Griggs gives his political allegiance to the republican party and has withheld his aid and influence from no movement or
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measure looking toward community advancement. He made a creditable record during two terms' service on the board of educa- tion and he is a corporator of the Boys Club and vice president of Waterbury Council of Boy Scouts. He is also a member of the council of the Mattatuck Historical Society and a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, while fraternally he is affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. With his family he attends the services of St. John's Protestant Episcopal Church of Waterbury. His name is likewise on the membership rolls of the Country Club of Waterbury, the Waterbury Club, the Graduate Club of New Haven and York Hall of New Haven.
HAROLD W. TURNBLOM
From the time he entered high school Harold W. Turnblom has been an earnest, conscientious worker, alert to every opport- unity for advancement, and although young in years he has al- ready won an enviable position in business circles of Waterbury as a public accountant. He was born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, December 9, 1901, a son of Andrew and Gerda (Johnson) Turn- blom, who were natives of Sweden. The father has passed away.
Reared in his native city, Harold W. Turnblom attended its public schools and obtained his higher education in New York University, from which he was graduated in 1923 with the degree of B. C. S. While a high school pupil he worked afternoons in a shoe factory, filling the position of factory clerk, and after the completion of his high school course he spent one year in the plan- ning department of the factory. He next entered a Brooklyn bank, of which he was a teller for two years, and during that period was preparing for his chosen line of endeavor in New York University by attending night classes. Following his graduation he accepted a position in the accounting department of the Western Electric Company, working in their office in New York city for a year. He then became connected with Scoville, Wellington & Company, well known accountants of New York city, and remained with them for two years. In 1928 he located in Waterbury, where he formed a partnership with John R. Clark, and they have since been asso- ciated under the style of Clark & Turnblom. Their well known efficiency and reliability have brought them rapidly to the fore as
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public accountants, and they number among their clients many of the leading business firms of the city. Mr. Turnblom gives his undivided attention to his work and has selected a congenial and profitable field of activity. He is a consistent member of the Swedish Lutheran Church and a young man of enterprising spirit, pronounced ability and genuine worth.
FRANCIS THEODORE PHILLIPS
From the age of twenty-three years Francis T. Phillips has been identified with The R. F. Griggs Company, advancing through the various departments as he proved his ability and worth, and as treasurer of this well known corporation he is an outstanding figure in investment banking circles of Waterbury. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, June 4, 1892, a son of Lewis Rowley Phillips, of New York city, who passed away Febru- ary 7, 1928. The mother, Elizabeth Frances (Smith) Phillips, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a member of an old family of Connecticut and takes justifiable pride in her descent from Revolutionary stock, her great-grandfather having served as a captain on the staff of General Washington during the struggle for American independence.
Reared in his native city, Francis T. Phillips attended the Adelphi Academy and the Boys' high school in Brooklyn. His higher education was acquired in Princeton University, from which he was graduated in 1913 with the degree of Bachelor of Science. From October 1, 1913, until January, 1916, he was with F. S. Smithers & Company, members of the New York Stock Exchange, gaining practical experience in the line of work in which he has since been engaged, and then became connected with The R. F. Griggs Company of Waterbury. He was a member of the sales force of the corporation until 1917, when he enlisted for service in the World war, and after intensive training was commissioned a captain in the field artillery, being assigned to the reserve division. He was stationed at Camp Taylor, Ken- tucky, with the Third Regiment and during much of the time was acting lieutenant colonel, devoting practically all of his time to the duties devolving upon him as instructor in artillery at this camp. When mustered out of the service he returned to The R. F.
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Griggs Company, closely applying himself to his work, and stead- ily progressed, becoming assistant secretary in 1924. His next position was that of assistant treasurer and he is now a director of the company and also vice president, treasurer and secretary. He is one of its most capable executives and like his brother, Row- ley W. Phillips, chairman and general manager, has been a potent factor in the development and continued growth and success of this large investment banking house. It has been in existence for nearly twenty-seven years and ranks with the foremost organiza- tions of the kind in New England.
Mr. Phillips was married December 1, 1917, to Miss Ruth Johnston, of Brooklyn, New York, and they have become the par- ents of three children: Francis T., Jr., who was born in 1919; Charles R., born in 1921; and Ruth Elizabeth, born in 1923. They are Episcopalians in religious faith and Mrs. Phillips is a mem- ber of the Junior League. In politics Mr. Phillips is a republican, while fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Liberty Lodge, F. & A. M. He finds his recreation largely in golf and in sailing. A well known clubman, he is a member of the Country Club of Waterbury, the Waterbury Club, the University Club, the New Haven Yacht Club, the Princeton Club of New York, the Nas- sau Club of Princeton, New Jersey, and the Dial Club of Prince- ton, in which organization he has many friends. The strength that he manifests in business affairs has its root in those qualities which constitute the basis of all honorable and desirable pros- perity.
GEORGE A. BERGEN
With building activities in Waterbury, George A. Bergen is closely and prominently associated as head of the firm of Edward Bergen's Sons, Incorporated, contractors of high standing. He was born in this city, May 13, 1886, a son of Edward and Katha- rine (Downey) Bergen, and completed his studies in the Crosby high school, graduating with the class of 1902. While working for the firm of Tracy Brothers he mastered the trade of a carpen- ter, and under his father he was thoroughly trained in the work of a brick mason. For a number of years he assisted his father in the filling of contracts, gaining the knowledge and experience
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which have constituted the basis of his success in administering the affairs of the firm of Edward Bergen's Sons, Incorporated.
On the 6th of June, 1917, Mr. Bergen was married to Miss Mary P. McConnell, of Waterbury, and they have a wide circle of friends in the city in which they have always resided. Mr. Bergen is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and when the opportunity offers he indulges in the sports of fish- ing and hunting.
WILLIAM C. HAYES
Alert, enterprising and forceful, William C. Hayes typifies the spirit of progress in New Haven, where he is widely known as a distributor of Packard automobiles. He was born in Water- bury, Connecticut, June 22, 1879, a son of Patrick T. and Cath- erine (Carroll) Hayes, the latter a lineal descendant of Charles Carroll, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Patrick T. Hayes was born in Limerick, Ireland, in 1843 and in his youth sought the opportunities of the United States. Settling in the east, he became a prominent horseman and a member of Troop A of New York city.
William C. Hayes supplemented his high school education by attendance at Holy Cross College but did not complete his course by graduation. Entering the business world, he became con- nected with a large importing house of New York, with which he remained for a considerable period, representing it as a travel- ing salesman for fourteen years. He has been identified with business interests of New Haven since 1915, winning a gratify- ing measure of success as a dealer in automobiles. For five years he was the distributor of the Larrabie trucks in this territory but for the past four years has been agent for the Packard cars, handling that line exclusively. Recently he moved to his new and commodious quarters at 350 George street, where he has spacious and attractive showrooms for the display of all models of Packard cars, and in connection with the establishment there is a complete service and parts department for expert car main- tenance in his territory, which includes all of New Haven county except the cities of Waterbury and Meriden. He is president and general manager of the business and with the aid of a well
WILLIAM C. HAYES
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trained corps of assistants has created one of the largest and most efficient organizations of the kind in this part of the state. His broad experience as a salesman has been invaluable to him in the upbuilding of the enterprise, and at all times he keeps in close touch with the latest developments in the automobile indus- try, of which he has made a close study.
In 1900 Mr. Hayes was married in Bridgeport to Miss Greta Sanford, and they have two sons: Reginald, a young man of twenty-six and a graduate of the Hopkins Grammar School and the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University ; and Montague, who is twenty-three years of age and has also completed a course in the Hopkins Grammar School. Mrs. Hayes belongs to a num- ber of clubs, and the family is well known in social circles of New Haven.
Mr. Hayes is identified with the Union League Club, the New Haven Yacht Club and the Race Brook and Woodmont Country Clubs. He is a lieutenant in the Second Company of the Gov- ernor's Foot Guard, a historic military organization of Connecti- cut, and has conscientiously discharged the duties and obligations of citizenship, serving for five years as a burgess of the borough of Woodmont. He has membership in St. Aiden's Church of Westville, and its teachings are exemplified in his daily life.
EDWARD PATRICK O'MEARA
In the field of legal practice Edward Patrick O'Meara has gained distinction and success. Endowed by nature with a keen intellect, he has wisely used his time and talents, and his course has been one of steady progress, bringing him from a humble posi- tion in legal circles to a place of prominence and distinction. He was born in New Haven, January 6, 1875, and in the paternal line is of Irish lineage. His father, Edward O'Meara, was born on the Emerald isle and came to the United States in 1861, at which time he took up his abode in New Haven, where for many years he figured prominently in business circles. He was associated for a considerable period with the Edward Malley Company and for thirty-five years was silk buyer for the Gamble Desmond Com- pany. In that connection he rendered to the company the services of an expert, continuing active in business until March, 1917. His
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wife, who bore the maiden name of Mary Camilus Healey, was born in New Haven, a daughter of Dennis and Honora Healey, and her death occurred in this city on the 20th of February, 1913, when she was sixty-nine years of age. Their family numbered four children, of whom Edward Patrick, May J. and Catherine are still living.
Edward P. O'Meara completed his preparation for a legal career by graduation from the Yale Law School in 1899. Previ- ously, however, he had been employed by the Gamble Desmond Dry Goods Company, but a professional career had for him a stronger attraction and accordingly he took up the study of law. For three years after completing his course at Yale he was in the office of Charles S. Hamilton and since that time he has practiced independently. A contemporary biographer has said of him: "His ability brought him prominently before the public. It is a recognized fact that advancement at the bar is proverbially slow and yet Mr. O'Meara has made substantial progress in his chosen field, having early demonstrated his ability to cope with involved and complex legal problems. He enjoys the warm regard of his fellow practitioners of New Haven because in practice he has always been careful to conform to a high standard of professional ethics. He belongs to the New Haven County, Connecticut State and American Bar Associations." He also has business interests outside the strict path of his profession, being vice president and a director of the Sheehan Realty Company, Incorporated and also secretary of the S. H. Moore Company of New Haven.
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