USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 26
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On the 28th of February, 1889, Mr. Chase was married to Elizabeth Hosmer Kellogg, daughter of Stephen W. Kellogg, one
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of Connecticut's most distinguished jurists and legislators and an outstanding member of congress from 1869 until 1875. The children of this union are: Marjorie Starkweather, born October 8, 1892, now Mrs. James Rhodes Sheldon, Jr., of New York city; Eleanor Kellogg, born January 30, 1894, now Mrs. Charles P. Taft (II), of Cincinnati, Ohio; Lucie Hosmer, born March 24, 1897, now Mrs. Thomas Ewing, Jr., of New York city; Elizabeth Irving, born June 12, 1905; and Dorothy Mather, born December 9, 1907. The family residence is at 63 Prospect street in Water- bury, while their summer home is at Narragansett Pier.
Mr. Chase has always given his political support to the re- publican party and was chosen to represent the fifteenth district in the Connecticut state senate in 1907 and 1908 and again in 1909 and 1910. He was a delegate to the republican national con- ventions of 1912 and 1916, was a member of the park commission of the city of Waterbury from 1921 to 1929 and served as presi- dent of that body in 1926 and 1927. During the period of the World war he rendered effective service as fuel commissioner of the city of Waterbury. He is a consistent member of the Second Congregational Church of Waterbury and also belongs to the Waterbury Club, the Country Club of Waterbury and the Grad- uate Club of New Haven. Though past the seventy-second mile- stone on life's journey, he is still an active factor in the world's work and his record is one of which Waterbury may well be proud.
CLARENCE G. WILLARD
Clarence G. Willard was born in New Haven, October 8, 1896, and is a son of Frank K. and Ellen M. Willard, the former a na- tive of New Haven, and the latter a native of London, England. Mr. Willard's father held an executive position in the plant de- partment of the Southern New England Telephone Company. His grandfather, Joseph Willard, was for some time American consul at Santa Cruz.
Reared in New Haven, Clarence G. Willard attended its public schools and was graduated from New Haven high school in 1913. He entered newspaper work, undertaking to learn all branches of this profession until he acquired a detailed knowledge of the busi- ness. He began an independent career as a publicity writer in
CLARENCE G. WILLARD
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1918 and now heads an office in New Haven, with representation in New York which conducts a substantial publicity business. His work is to a large extent concerned with public utility corpora- tions, but many commercial enterprises have also had his aid.
Prominent in state republican politics, Mr. Willard has been identified with the republican state central committee since 1918, and for some time past has been secretary of that committee. He is one of the leaders of the republican city organization in New Haven.
Mr. Willard was married June 20, 1923 to Miss Margaret J. Higgins, and they have one daughter, Clare T., born January 5, 1928. Mr. Willard is a member of the Union League Club, Race Brook Country Club, the New Haven Yacht Club and the New Haven Colony Historical Society.
ORPHEUS JOSEPH BIZZOZERO, M. D.
Since entering the field of surgery Dr. Orpheus Joseph Biz- zozero has demonstrated his ability for service of this character and is coming rapidly to the fore in professional circles of Water- bury. He was born in Barre, Vermont, January 28, 1903, and is a son of Angelo and Frances (Olgiati) Bizzozero, both of whom were born in Milan, in the province of Como, Italy.
The public school system of his native town afforded Dr. Biz- zozero his early educational advantages and following his grad- uation from the Spaulding high school of Barre he attended Columbia University for two years, afterward matriculating in the University of Vermont, from which he won his M. D. degree in 1927. During 1926-27 he was an interne in the Fannie Allen Hospital at Burlington, Vermont, and was similarly connected with the Waterbury Hospital in 1927 and 1928. For two years he has been associated with Dr. Edward H. Kirschbaum, one of Waterbury's leading surgeons, and is assistant attending physi- cian on obstetrics at Waterbury Hospital, and has charge of that department at the Chase Dispensary. He is thoroughly familiar with the scientific principles of his profession, and his work as a surgeon is marked by sureness, precision and skill.
On the 19th of September, 1928, Dr. Bizzozero was married to Miss Sadie Alfred, of Burlington, Vermont, and they have
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gained many friends in Waterbury during the period of their residence here. The Doctor is a communicant of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church, and his political support is given to the republican party. Tennis affords him recreation, and he also enjoys bowling. His scholastic fraternities are the Nu Sigma Nu and the Cap & Skull Society of the University of Ver- mont. He has membership in the Reserve Officers Training Corps, in the Waterbury, New Haven County and Connecticut State Medical Societies, and is a junior fellow of the American College of Surgery. While he stands practically upon the threshold of his career, Dr. Bizzozero has already made substantial progress, and through constant reading and close study of the cases entrusted to his care he is continually broadening his knowledge and augment- ing his ability.
STARBUCK SPRAGUE
Starbuck Sprague is engaged in business at 39 Spring street, Waterbury, under the style of the Sprague Electrical Supply Company, of which he is president and treasurer. He was born in Newton, Massachusetts, July 17, 1884, a son of Charles H. and Jennie (Starbuck) Sprague, the latter a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. The father, a prominent attorney of New Britain, Con- necticut, is now deceased. He was a son of Homer B. Sprague, who served as colonel of the Thirteenth Regiment of Connecticut Infantry during the Civil war. Afterward he achieved distinc- tion as a writer and educator and for a number of years was presi- dent of the University of North Dakota. His wife was a Miss Pardee, hers being one of the oldest names in the history of Con- necticut. William Winchester, an uncle of Charles H. Sprague, was a business man of high standing, nationally known as presi- dent of the Winchester Arms Company. His wife, also a member of the Pardee family, was a sister of Mrs. Homer B. Sprague. Calvin Starbuck, the maternal grandfather of Starbuck Sprague, was the owner and editor of the Cincinnati Times Star, which he later sold to Charles Taft, a brother of the late Chief Justice William H. Taft.
Reared in his native state, Starbuck Sprague attended the public schools and prepared for college in the Stone School of
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Boston. For three years he was a student in Harvard University and then spent a year in the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology, pursuing a course in electrical engineering. On complet- ing his education he became connected with the supply depart- ment of the General Electric Company of Schenectady, New York, and later was made manager of the fan motor department, filling the position for ten years. On the expiration of that period he came to Waterbury as sales manager for the New England Engi- neering Company, continuing in that capacity for seven years, and in 1924 embarked in the wholesale electrical jobbing busi- ness under the name of the Sprague Electrical Supply Company. Within a period of six years he has established a large enterprise and now has seven traveling salesmen and dealers all over Con- necticut. Among the well known firms which he represents are the Anaconda Wire Cable Company, Thomas A. Edison, Incor- porated, the Landers, Frary & Clarke Company, the Colt Patent Fire Arms Company, the Appleton Electric Company of Chicago, the Central Tube Company of Pittsburgh and the E. F. Cunning- ham Company of New York city. In the conduct of the business he brings to bear initiative, foresight and good judgment as well as technical knowledge and skill and gratifying results have at- tended his labors. He is a director of the Waterbury Building & Loan Association.
Mr. Sprague was married August 22. 1907, in Portland, Maine, to Miss Angie Danforth, a native of New Hampshire, and their attractive home is a center of the social life of Waterbury. Mrs. Sprague has membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution and is active in church and charitable work.
During the World war Mr. Sprague aided his country through his service in connection with the bureau of investigation of the department of justice, being commissioned captain. In religious faith he is an Episcopalian and for a number of years has been one of the vestrymen of All Souls Church. He is identified with both the York and Scottish Rite bodies of Masonry. with Sphinx Temple of the Mystic Shrine. and is president of the Sphinx Kahaabans. a shrine club of Waterbury. His name also appears on the membership rolls of the Union League Club, Waterbury Country Club. the Rotary Club. the Waterbury Chamber of Com- merce. the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. the Illum- inating Engineering Society, and the Electrical Supply Jobbers
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Association. An enthusiastic sportsman, he devotes three weeks of each year to trout fishing either in northern Maine or New Bruns- wick, Canada, and also finds recreation in trap shooting. Mr. Sprague enjoys life but never neglects his business interests, which are extensive and important, making him a forceful factor not only in commercial circles of Waterbury but in other cities of New England as well. He has back of him an ancestry honorable and distinguished, and his lines of life have been cast in harmony therewith.
MORTON ELBERT PIERPONT
Morton Elbert Pierpont, owner of the Maple Hill Dairy on Pierpont road near Waterbury, is at the head of a business which has been conducted by members of the family for fifty-four years. He is known throughout Connecticut and is widely recognized as one of the foremost agriculturists of the state. He was born on the homestead at East Farms, near Waterbury, March 19, 1884, a son of Austin B. and Lucy Adeline (Welton) Pierpont, and traces his lineage back to the colonial epoch in American his- tory. The father was a worthy scion of an old and honored family of Connecticut and his life record appears elsewhere in this work.
The early education of Morton E. Pierpont was acquired in his home locality and in preparation for his chosen life work he at- tended the Connecticut Agricultural School at Storrs, graduating with the class of 1903. His elder brother, Arthur Joseph Pier- pont, who had previously taken a course in the same institution, supervised all of the work on the Maple Hill Farm, while Morton E. Pierpont sold the milk from the dairy. He was thus engaged until the death of his brother in 1912, when he assumed the man- agement of the homestead and the dairy, and is now sole owner of the property, to which he has added many improvements, making this one of the finest farms in the valley. The dairy is a model of its kind and has been in operation since 1876, when the family began the sale of milk in Waterbury. Throughout the intervening period of more than a half century this delivery service has been continued without interruption save for one day about forty years ago when there was an exceptionally heavy fall of snow and it required a day and a night to clear a path into town. Mr. Pier-
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pont raises some Holsteins but specializes in Guernsey cattle and for two years his eldest son, Lawrence A., has been in charge of the herd, which now ranks with the largest and best in the state. Within the last two years Mr. Pierpont has completely remodeled the old home on his farm and erected new buildings for handling the milk from his dairy, in which he has installed electric refriger- ation and other improved appliances. All of the equipment is new and the plant is thoroughly modern and sanitary. He makes a fine grade of butter and the ice cream which he manufactures for the retail trade is unexcelled. Scientific knowledge and mature judgment direct all of his operations and every department of the work is well organized and conducted with businesslike effi- ciency. In recognition of his ability and experience in general agricultural pursuits Mr. Pierpont was elected treasurer and a director of the Holstein Breeders Association of Connecticut, which he still represents in those capacities, and is also a director of the Connecticut Guernsey Breeders Association. For twelve years he has been treasurer of the Connecticut Dairymen's Asso- ciation and is likewise serving as secretary and treasurer of the Wolcott Agricultural Society Fair.
On the 27th of September, 1905, Mr. Pierpont was married to Miss Jessie Adella Garrigus, who was born September 28, 1883, and is the youngest of the nine children of J. Henry and Sophronia Elizabeth (Upson) Garrigus, the latter a native of Wolcott and a daughter of Lucian and Lois A. (Johnson) Upson. The father of Mrs. Pierpont was born in Morristown, New Jersey, March 25, 1838, a son of Isaac and Sarah (Sheppard) Garrigus, and was descended from a Huguenot family that was established in this country by David Garrigus, who settled in the city of Phila- delphia, where he adopted the Quaker faith. His son, Jacob Gar- rigus, who engaged in farming in Hanover township, Morris county, New Jersey, was the father of nine children, four of whom, David, Isaac, Jacob and John, were soldiers in the Con- tinental Army and aided in winning American independence. John Garrigus married Elizabeth Shipman and Isaac, their sec- ond son, became a smelter and charcoal burner. He was a life- long resident of Hanover township and had a family of fourteen children.
His son, Jacob Henry Garrigus, attended the Providence Con- ference Seminary, intending to enter the ministry, but his plans
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were changed when the country became engaged in civil strife. For a time he worked in a sash and blind factory in Waterbury, where he enlisted September 25, 1861, becoming a member of Company E, of the Eighth Connecticut Volunteeer Infantry, and in July, 1862, was made a corporal, while later he was sergeant of his company. In February, 1864, he veteranized and served until December, 1865. After the surrender of General Lee, Mr. Garrigus was placed in charge of the post office at Lynchburg and later taught in the freedman military school for colored chil- dren. Following his return to the north he was married and established his home in the town of Wolcott. For a time he de- voted his attention to the cultivation of his farm and then engaged in business as a carpenter and contractor, in which connection he was closely and prominently identified with construction work in Waterbury until his retirement from business. In local poli- tics he was active as register of voters and on the republican ticket was elected to the state legislature. For a quarter of a cen- tury he served as health officer and at one time was a justice of the peace. Through his membership in Wadhams Post of the Grand Army of the Republic he maintained his associations with the "boys in blue" and the patriotic spirit which prompted his gallant service in behalf of the Union was manifested throughout his life, which was an exemplary one in all respects.
Mr. and Mrs. Pierpont have two sons, Lawrence A., born July 14, 1906, attended the grammar and high schools of Waterbury, continuing his studies in the Connecticut Agricultural College, from which he was graduated in 1927, and is now cultivating land adjoining his father's farm and caring for his fine herd of Guern- sey cattle. Ralph Beecher, the younger son, was born May 20, 1910, and on the completion of his high school course entered the Connecticut Agricultural College, in which he is now a student.
Mr. Pierpont has a cottage on the seashore, where the family reside during the summer months. Like his great-great-great- grandfather, the Rev. James Pierpont, one of the founders of Yale University, he has done all in his power to further the cause of education and since 1915 has been a school committeeman of his district. He is a trustee of the Pine Grove Cemetery Association and one of the enterprising members of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce. Along fraternal lines he is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in politics he is a repub-
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lican. Deeply interested in religious matters and movements for spiritual and intellectual development and moral uplift, Mr. Pier- pont has become chairman of the building committee of the Mill Plain Union Church and is also chairman of its official board. Appreciative of the duties and responsibilities as well as the privi- leges of citizenship, he is constantly reaching out along lines of helpfulness and usefulness and is admired for his ability, his breadth of mind and his progressive spirit and respected for his sincerity, his unselfishness and integrity.
JOHN A. COONEY
Entering upon his career as an attorney in New Haven when a young men of twenty-two, John A. Cooney has made substantial progress in his profession and also has demonstrated his ability to successfully manage important business interests. He was born in this city on the 19th of March, 1897, a son of John T. and Catherine (Hussey) Cooney, the former a native of Massachu- setts, while the latter was born in Connecticut. For a number of years the father was engaged in real estate operations in New Haven, building up a large business in that connection. His demise occurred in 1923 and the mother passed away in the same year.
John A. Cooney was a pupil in the grammar and high schools of New Haven and next attended the Cheshire Preparatory School, completing his course in 1915. He then matriculated in the Georgetown Law School at Washington, D. C., where he won his degree of LL. B. in 1918, and in June of the following year was admitted to the Connecticut bar. Opening an office in New Haven, he has since practiced alone and his constantly expanding powers have brought him to the front in legal circles of the city. In his presentation of a case he is always well fortified by a clear understanding of the legal principles applicable thereto and his arguments are forceful, logical and convincing. He is interested in the real estate holdings of the family and these include several apartment houses, which he manages in association with his brother, Edward M. Cooney.
On the 24th of November, 1926, was solemnized the marriage of John A. Cooney and Florence Irene Le Grand, of West Haven.
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They reside at 32 High street, New Haven, and Mr. Cooney main- tains his offices at 129 Church street. He is a member of the New Haven County and Connecticut State Bar Associations and con- forms his practice to the highest ethical standards of the profes- sion.
WARREN FOX KAYNOR
Warren Fox Kaynor, who came to New England from the west, guides the destiny of the Waterbury Button Company, a pioneer organization with a record of one hundred nineteen years of continuous operation. Born in Sanborn, Iowa, November 22, 1883, he is a son of William Akin and Anna (Winter) Kaynor, also natives of Iowa. In the paternal line he is related to the Akin family who were the founders of Quaker Hill, near Pawling, New York.
Mr. Kaynor prepared for college in the Hotchkiss School and then matriculated in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale Uni- versity, from which he received the degree of Ph. B. in 1911. A brother, William Kirk Kaynor, also attended Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1912. On the republican ticket he was elected congressman from the second district of Mass- achusetts and met death in an airplane accident in 1929, while en route from Washington, D. C., to his home in Massachusetts for the Christmas and New Year holidays.
When his studies were completed Warren F. Kaynor joined the engineering staff of the Beacon Falls Rubber Company, with which he spent three years, and then embarked in the leather busi- ness in Boston. He was thus engaged for two years and following the entrance of his country into the World war he enlisted in the air service, winning a captaincy. For two years he was a member of the Aviation Corps of the United States Army but was not called upon for overseas duty, spending most of his time at Lang- ley and Kelly Fields. He is still identified with military affairs as a member of the Army Ordnance Association.
After the war Mr. Kaynor entered the employ of the Water- bury Button Company. He was elected secretary of the com- pany, of which he became president on the death of R. H. Smith, a brother of J. Richard Smith, the former president, The com-
C BACHRACH
Prague
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pany was founded in 1812 by Aaron Benedict, who at that time manufactured pewter buttons for the United States Army and Navy during the War of 1812. A few years later he admitted Gordon W. Burnham to a partnership in the concern and the name of Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company was then adopted. In 1849 they consolidated their interests with those of a competitor, F. Hayden & Son, forming the Waterbury Button Company, which was incorporated at that time. The names of Benedict and Burnham are familiar to all acquainted with Water- bury's history.
The Waterbury Button Company continued under different management, although Mr. Benedict and Mr. Burnham retained places on the board of directors for a number of years, thus serv- ing until Augustus S. Chase was elected president. He had acted as president for a time while J. Richard Smith was the general manager, until he in turn became president. J. Richard Smith occupied the presidency from 1876 until 1921, when Ralph H. Smith was called to that office, which he filled until his death in 1930, when Warren F. Kaynor was chosen as his successor.
Although the organization has retained the name of the Waterbury Button Company, nevertheless buttons are but a frac- tion of its manufacture. Today quantities of metal novelties of different types are made having to do with toys, pocketbooks, cos- metics and novelties, and at the same time the company manu- factures on a sizeable scale bakelite and other moulded materials for use in the electrical goods and similar industries. The com- pany has sales offices in Boston, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco and at Toronto, Canada, and conducts a business of extensive proportions, ranking with the foremost corporations of the kind in the country. In addition to the capable discharge of his duties as president of the company, Mr. Kaynor is serving as a director of the Waterbury National Bank and the Waterbury Air Port, Incorporated, Waterbury Buckle Company, and Beardsley & Wolcott Manufacturing Company.
On the 6th of April, 1918, Mr. Kaynor was married to Miss Margaret Lane Smith, a daughter of J. Richard and Helen Mar- tha (Lane) Smith, the former now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Kaynor have three sons: Richard Smith, William Akin and San- ford Bull. The parents are Congregationalists in religious faith, and Mrs. Kaynor belongs to the Junior League. Mr. Kaynor is a
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member of the Liberty Lodge of Masons; Theta Xi, a Yale frater- nity ; the Yale Club of New York; the Knickerbocker Whist Club; the Waterbury Club, and the Waterbury Country Club.
AUSTIN B. PIERPONT
The sterling traits of his New England ancestors were mani- fest in the career of Austin B. Pierpont, who was a lifelong resi- dent of Waterbury, a substantial business man and a citizen of real worth. He was born February 11, 1849, on the homestead which was also the birthplace of his father, Charles J. Pierpont, and the mother was Mary Ann (Warner) Pierpont. His fore- bears in the paternal line settled in Connecticut in colonial times and his great-grandfather, Ezra Pierpont, served under General Washington in the Revolutionary war. In days of peace he was equally loyal and public-spirited, serving for a long period as selectman, and also making a creditable record in other local offices. He had a large family and all of his sons were agricul- turists whose farms were located in the East Farms district. Two sons, Luther and Austin Pierpont, were soldiers in the War of 1812 and the latter owned the farm on which his son Charles and grandson, Austin B. Pierpont, were born. Austin Pierpont mar- ried Sally Beecher, of Waterbury, and of their children seven reached adult age. They were: Enos A., who engaged in farming and also in the meat business in Waterbury, where he passed away; Ezra A., who was a dealer in oysters and also owned a farm in the East Farms district; Minerva, who was married to Amos Moss, a farmer and carpenter of Cheshire; Jennette, the wife of Amos J. Beers, a wholesale fruit dealer of New Haven; William S., who was a resident of Waterbury and a carpenter by occupation; Ellen, who became the wife of Lorenzo Peck, a merchant of New Haven; and Charles J. Pierpont.
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