USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > History of New Haven County, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 36
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The last named attended the Taft School for Boys at Water- town, Connecticut, and continued his studies in the Sheffield Sci- entific School of Yale University, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1910. While at Yale he played tackle on the Yale University football teams of 1908 and 1909. Later he spent about a year as a salesman in the service of the Newhall-Henderson Company, importers and
THEODORE LILLEY
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exporters of Havana, Cuba, and in February, 1912, obtained employment in the Chase Rolling Mills of Waterbury, Connecti- cut, in which he worked as a caster for three years. On the expiration of that period he became a salesman with the R. F. Griggs Company, investment bankers and stock brokers of Water- bury, thus representing the firm for a year, while subsequently he was identified for a similar period with the Waterbury Morris Plan Bank in the dual official capacity of secretary and treas- urer. In the summer of 1917 he entered the second officers train- ing camp at Plattsburg, New York, and on the 23d of August following was commissioned captain of field artillery and as- signed to the Three Hundred and Fiftieth Field Artillery at Camp Dix but almost immediately was sent to the School of Fire at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for further special training. He rejoined the Three Hundred and Fiftieth Field Artillery at Camp Dix in March, 1918, and sailed for France in June following. He received additional short-period training on the artillery range at La Courtine, France, and afterward served in the Marbache sector on the Lorraine front until the armistice was signed. He returned to the United States in March, 1919, and after being mustered out of service came back to Waterbury, where he pur- chased an interest in the Citizens Coal Company, of which he became the controlling stockholder in 1922 and of which he has since been president. He conducts both a wholesale and retail coal business and in this connection has developed an enterprise of extensive and profitable proportions, being accorded a liberal patronage. Mr. Lilley is also treasurer and a director of the George L. Lilley Company, a real estate and investment con- cern, and is likewise a director of the Waterbury Morris Plan Bank.
Mr. Lilley has been twice married and has three daughters by his first wife: Elaine, a graduate of the Greenwood School at Ruxton, Maryland; Evelyn and Joan, both of whom attend the St. Margaret's School of Waterbury. On the 6th of October, 1923, in Milford, Connecticut, Mr. Lilley was again married, his second union being with the Countess Sylvia Page Brusati of New York city. They reside in Watertown, Connecticut, and have three children, Rutherford Page, Theodore, Jr., and George Grinnell.
At the polls Mr. Lilley supports the men and measures of
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the republican party, believing its principles most conducive to good government. His religious faith is indicated by his mem- bership in the Episcopal Church, while fraternally he is identi- fied with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and with the Masonic order, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite and has crossed the sands of the desert with the Nobles of Sphinx Temple, of Hartford. Hunting and fishing constitute his favorite forms of recreation and that he is appreciative of the social amenities of life is manifest in his membership connection with the Waterbury Club, the Watertown Golf Club, the Watertown Lawn Club, the Watertown Riding & Hunt Club, the Shuttle Meadow Country Club of New Britain, Connecticut, the Tunxis Hunting & Fishing Club of Tolland, Massachusetts, the Yale Club of New York city and the St. Anthony Club of New York city. He possesses much personal magnetism and enjoys an extensive acquaintance as one of the most popular and substantial citizens of New Haven county.
JULIUS HOBART BRONSON
The history of Waterbury's growth and development is insep- arably associated with the record of the Bronson family and among its most prominent representatives was Julius Hobart Bronson, who was long an outstanding figure in commercial and financial circles of this part of New Haven county, serving as president of the Citizens National Bank and as treasurer and business manager of the Oakville Company.
Stephen I. Bronson, the great-grandfather of Julius H. Bron- son, was one of the earliest settlers in this locality and became a deacon of the First Church in Waterbury and a strong force for material, intellectual and moral progress. He was the father of Judge Bennet Bronson, who was born in Waterbury, November 14, 1775, and attended the first school of higher grade established here by David Hale, a brother of Nathan Hale of Revolutionary war fame. In preparation for college he studied under Messrs. Badger and Kingsbury, also receiving instruction from the Rev. John Foot, of Cheshire, and then entered Yale, graduating with the class of 1797. A year later he became a lieutenant in the provisional army of the United States, known as the Adams
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Army, and served for about two years. He read law under the supervision of the Hon. Noah B. Benedict, of Woodbury, and fol- lowing his admission to the bar in 1802 entered upon his career as a lawyer in Waterbury. His attention was given to his prac- tice until 1812, when he was chosen as one of the assistant judges of the county seat, and served for two years. In 1824 he was elected presiding judge for a term of six years and in May, 1829, became a member of the state legislature. The course which he followed as a public official won for him strong commendation, and in his law practice he ranked high as a counselor and con- veyancer. It was said of Judge Bronson: "He was a man of excellent judgment in business matters, a large land holder, and made farming profitable. He also invested successfully in manu- facturing. He inherited a fair estate from his father and soon became one of the leading capitalists of the town. He served as the first president of the Waterbury Bank and so continued until his death. On the 10th of June, 1838, he was elected a deacon of the First Church." In Woodbury he was married May 11, 1801, to Anna, daughter of Richard Smith, and for many years they journeyed together through life. Judge Bronson attained the age of seventy-five years, passing away December 11, 1850.
His son, Thomas Bronson, also a native of Waterbury, was born June 4, 1808, and profited by his father's instruction. After taking a preparatory course in Farmington, Connecticut, he en- rolled as a student in Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1829, and then entered the educational field, teaching at East Windsor until forced to discontinue the work because of illness. In the spring of 1830 he began reading law in Litchfield, Con- necticut, under the direction of Truman Smith and afterward attended the New Haven Law School but before the completion of his course became deeply interested in theology, which he studied in New Haven and Andover. He was never ordained but preached in several places in New York and Connecticut. In 1843 he resumed his educational work, teaching for a time at Smithfield, Virginia, whence he went to Quincy, Illinois, and took charge of a school which he conducted until after the death of his father. In 1851 he returned to Waterbury and here his death occurred a few weeks later. On the 13th of February, 1839, he had married Cynthia E. Bartlett, a daughter of Cyrus M. Bart- lett, of Hartford, and they were the parents of three children:
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Harriet Anna, who became the wife of the Rev. P. V. Finch; and Julius Hobart Bronson and Dr. Edward Bennet Bronson.
The elder son was born at Sandy Hill, New York, April 30, 1843, and when but eighteen months old came to Waterbury to live with his grandfather, Judge Bennet Bronson. After attend- ing a boarding school at Ellington, Connecticut, he took a pre- paratory course in Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, but was prevented from entering college owing to the state of his health. Early in his business career he was associated with B. P. Chatfield in the construction of buildings in Waterbury and Bridgeport and in addition to his activities as a contractor was a dealer in building materials. Because of failing health he re- tired from business, remaining inactive for three years, and during that period regained his strength. In 1875 he was made manager of the Oakville Company, which had been organized March 15, 1852, for the purpose of sticking pins on paper by means of machinery invented by Chauncey O. Crosby. At the time of its formation Green Kendrick was elected president of the company and Elisha Leavenworth became secretary. The industry was started with a capital of fifty-three thousand dol- lars, which later was increased to seventy-five thousand dollars. In 1860 the duties of president and business manager were as- sumed by Joseph C. Welton, who continued in those capacities until his death on the 26th of March, 1874. Mr. Leavenworth succeeded him in the presidency, and Nathaniel H. Perry, who had served for some years as secretary, was made the active man- ager of the business. At his death on the 21st of March, 1877, J. Hobart Bronson became business manager and secretary, and later was elected treasurer of the company. The water power was greatly improved in 1869, and it was in that year that the present factory was erected. Afterward additions were made in order to meet the growing demands of the business, which has assumed extensive proportions. The company is engaged in the manufacture of safety pins and other wire articles and employs one thousand operatives in its factory. Mr. Bronson was long the directing head of this institution, becoming recognized as one of the industrial leaders of New England, and was equally successful in his administration of the affairs of the Citizens National Bank of Waterbury. A man of energy and determina- tion, quick to perceive and act, he combined a capacity for detail
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with the ability to think in large terms and never stopped short of the attainment of his objective, utilizing methods which neither sought nor required disguise.
Mr. Bronson was married in Hartford, Connecticut, Novem- ber 16, 1886, to Miss Edith Terry, a daughter of Roderick Terry, and they were the parents of a son, Bennet, who is now vice presi- dent of the Scovill Manufacturing Company. Mrs. Bronson sur- vives her husband and still resides in Waterbury, making her home at 56 Church street.
In religious faith Mr. Bronson was a Congregationalist, and his political allegiance was given to the democratic party. Along social lines he was connected with the Waterbury Club and the Country Club of Waterbury. He was upright, sincere and kind- hearted, ever considerate of the rights and privileges of others, and his life in its various phases stood the test of intimate knowledge and close association.
NATHAN W. HENDRYX
Nathan W. Hendryx, president of The Andrew B. Hendryx Company, died July 3, 1929. He was born in New Haven, Con- necticut, February 14, 1880, and remained a resident of that city until his death. At the usual age he entered the public schools and afterward attended the New York Military Academy, St. Paul's School at Concord, New Hampshire, and Yale Univer- sity, being a member of the class of 1901 of the Sheffield Scien- tific School. He left college before completing the full course, commencing work at the factory of The Andrew B. Hendryx Company, where he gained his initial business training under the direction of his father, Andrew B. Hendryx.
At the time of his death he was a member of the board of civil service commission for the city of New Haven. He was a promi- nent citizen although not active politically, but popular and re- spected by his many friends and associates. He was a member of the Quinnipiack Club, The Union League, The New Haven Country Club, Race Brook Country Club, and New Haven Yacht Club. During the World war he was a member of the Machine Gun Company of the local Home Guard and subsequently enlisted for service with the American Red Cross.
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The Andrew B. Hendryx Company, of which Mr. Hendryx was the head, manufactures bird cages and accessories. For- merly wire picture cord, moulding hooks, wire and flat metal chain and fishing tackle were also made. The enterprise was begun in Ansonia, Connecticut, in 1869 by Andrew B. Hendryx, then employed by the Ansonia Brass & Copper Company, work- ing at his new business after hours and before going to his regu- lar employment in the morning. His business grew into the partnership of Hendryx & Bartholomew, which continued until 1877, when Nathan S. Johnson and Lockwood Hotchkiss of An- sonia purchased Bartholomew's interest. In 1879 the business was moved to New Haven and established on the present loca- tion, and subsequently, in 1903, the premises were enlarged by purchase of the buildings of the New Haven Chair Company adjoining. The ownership developed into a partnership of An- drew B. Hendryx & Company, with Andrew B. Hendryx and Nathan S. Johnson, partners. On December 1, 1885, Andrew B. Hendryx purchased Johnson's interest and continued the business under the same name.
On September 13, 1889, Charles E. Bristol, Edward N. Peck, Harry E. Hendryx, Zachariah Spencer and Alexander Schmoll became associated with Andrew B. Hendryx in the formation of a corporation, The Andrew B. Hendryx Company. All of these excepting Mr. Bristol had been for some time in the employ of Mr. Hendryx. The officers of the new corporation became: An- drew B. Hendryx, president; Charles E. Bristol, treasurer; and Edward N. Peck, secretary. The incorporators were Andrew B. Hendryx, Harry E. Hendryx, Edward N. Peck, Alexander Schmoll, Charles E. Bristol, A. H. Bartholomew and Dr. William C. Welch, and of these Andrew B. Hendryx, Edward N. Peck, Charles E. Bristol and A. H. Bartholomew were the directors.
The articles of incorporation state the purpose as "The manu- facturing, buying and selling of metal goods." Andrew B. Hen- dryx died in 1907 and was succeeded as president by Nathan W. Hendryx, his son. About 1897 Thomas B. Oliver entered the employ of the company and later became treasurer, then secre- tary and treasurer, and vice president and treasurer until his death in 1919. Mr. Peck, who died in 1911, was succeeded as secretary by Arthur B. Alling, and Mr. Alling by George S. Wat- rous. All of these men and many others who were not identified
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as officials of the company, among them George Hoeffler with fifty years, Frank Pretello with forty-three years, George Little with thirty-eight years and John Boland with thirty-six years of loyal service, have been responsible for the growth of this business.
CLARK A. LEWIS
Among the capable executives of the W. L. Hall Distributing Company of Waterbury is numbered Clark A. Lewis, its treas- urer, whose life record is the story of unfaltering purpose and earnest endeavor, which have enabled him to rise superior to the difficulties and obstacles in his path and press steadily onward toward the goal of success. He was born in Southbury, Connecti- cut, November 25, 1878, a son of Arthur J. and Emily (Davis) Lewis, both natives of that town and the former now deceased.
Clark A. Lewis attended the public schools of Southbury until he attained the age of fourteen, when he became a wage earner, obtaining work in a local paper mill. He was ambitious and self- reliant and when a youth of sixteen purchased a stage route, which he controlled for four years, operating between Southford and Seymour and doing most of the driving himself. In 1895 death claimed his father and when but seventeen years of age he assumed the burden of providing for the family. When a young man of nineteen he entered the employ of the Scovill Manufac- turing Company. He was with that company for two years and then became the proprietor of an employment agency, also open- ing a real estate office. These two enterprises he conducted for two years or until he contracted typhoid fever and upon recuper- ating was advised by his physician to take up work that would keep him out of doors. Accordingly he sought and obtained em- ployment with Warren L. Hall, a produce merchant, and started at the bottom, doing odd jobs around the warehouse and unload- ing platform. His industry and ability were rewarded by pro- motion to the position of salesman, and a few years later he was made a director of the company. In 1925, in association with Lamont A. Hall, son of the founder, Louis and E. Vincent Randall, and Lyman Lewis purchased the business, of which he has since been the treasurer and purchasing agent. With the passing years
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this has become one of the foremost wholesale produce houses of the Naugatuck valley and is now operated under the style of the W. L. Hall Distributing Company, a name synonymous with commercial enterprise and integrity in mercantile circles of this part of the state.
On the 1st of May, 1901, Mr. Lewis was married to Miss Clara Gray, of Southbury, Connecticut, and they became the parents of three children : Gray, who died at the age of seven years; Holden, who is a graduate of the Bunker Hill grammar school, the Crosby high school and Deerfield Academy, and is now a junior at Dart- mouth College and a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity; and Leona, aged thirteen years, who is a graduate of Bunker Hill grammar school, and now attending Crosby high school.
Mr. Lewis and his family are members and ardent supporters of the Bunker Hill Community Church, of which he was a trustee for three years, but has no club or fraternal affiliations. His leisure hours are spent in his home, which is one of the beautiful residences of Waterbury. Of dauntless spirit and tireless energy, he has made his own way in the world and has to his credit an enviable record of accomplishment.
THOMAS R. FITZSIMMONS
Entering upon the active work of his profession when a young man of twenty-five years, Thomas R. FitzSimmons has practiced for a decade in New Haven, his native city, and is recognized as one of its able attorneys. He was born June 6, 1895, and is a son of Thomas F. and Sarah (McKenna) FitzSimmons, the former a native of New Haven and the latter of Branford, Connecticut. The FitzSimmons family is of Irish origin and was established in New Haven at an early period in its settlement. The grand- father, James FitzSimmons, enlisted in the Union Army and while in the service was twice wounded. His son, Thomas F. FitzSimmons, was widely known in New Haven as the proprietor of the FitzSimmons Restaurant, which he conducted success- fully for about thirty-five years, maintaining a high-class estab- lishment.
After the completion of his high school course in 1912, Thomas R. FitzSimmons matriculated in Holy Cross College at Wor-
THOMAS R. FITZSIMMONS
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cester, Massachusetts, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1916. He then became a student in Yale University, which he attended until June, 1918, when he enlisted in the United States Navy, and was sent overseas, remaining abroad for eleven months. Two months of that period were spent on the sea, and during the remainder of the time he was on land duty in France and England. In July, 1919, he was mustered out of the service and then resumed his law studies in Yale University, from which he was graduated in 1920. Since his admission to the bar he has practiced in New Haven and also has an office in Branford. He has successfully handled many difficult cases, and his clientele is constantly increasing in volume as well as in im- portance.
Mr. FitzSimmons was married October 10, 1921, to Miss Estelle McGrail, of New Haven, and their children are Mary and Thomas F. The family spend the winter months in their resi- dence in New Haven, while their summer home is in Branford. An ardent member of the Governor's Foot Guard, Mr. FitzSim- mons is serving with the rank of sergeant major and also belongs to the Union League Club and the Knights of Columbus, while his professional affiliations are with the New Haven County and Connecticut State Bar Associations. He has chosen a vocation well suited to his talents, and his industry, his sound judgment and comprehensive knowledge of legal principles insure his con- tinued progress as an attorney.
HOLLIS D. IMMICK
Hollis D. Immick has won well merited success in the general contracting business as president and general manager of The Immick Company, Inc., of Meriden, which was founded by his father as a trucking concern in the early '80s. He is a native son of Meriden, Connecticut, born May 2, 1884, his parents being Henry L. and Adelaide L. (Douglass) Immick, the former men- tioned at length in another part of this publication. In pursuit of an education he attended the grade and high schools of his native city, while his more advanced intellectual training was received in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Philosophy degree
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in 1906. Then he obtained a position with the Pennsylvania Rail- road in its maintenance of way department at Buffalo, after which he was employed on tunnel and terminal yard work in Long Island, spending two years altogether with the railroad company. He was afterward an instructor in the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University for a year and next was connected for a similar period with the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company, and with the engineering department of Kansas City, Missouri, in the sewer division. During the two succeeding years he pursued a civil engineering course at the Sheffield Scientific School, re- ceiving the C. E. degree in 1912. Thereafter he was associated with Lewis A. Miller, a building contractor, until 1916, when he entered the Bridgeport, Connecticut, office of The Austin Com- pany in the capacity of estimator, in a short time becoming chief estimator. In 1917 he became connected with the Sperry Engi- neering Company as purchasing engineer, by whom he was later placed in charge of cantonment work at New London, Connecti- cut, on Forts Wright, Terry and Michie. Mr. Immick was assistant manager of the general construction department for Levering & Garrigues, structural steel builders and general con- tractors, of New York city, during the year 1918 and then in 1919 began the development of his father's trucking business into a general contracting concern. In this purpose he has been very successful. The Immick Company, incorporated in 1916, is now in a position and owns the equipment to build bridges, roads and streets and do general building construction work. The corpora- tion owns several gasoline shovels, cranes, paving mixers, rollers and other equipment essential to a general contracting business and has from four to six jobs under way at one time. Mr. Immick is the president of the company and is also a director of the Foster-Merriam Company of Meriden and of the Employers Asso- ciation of Meriden and is treasurer of the Open Shop Conference of Connecticut.
On the 17th of October, 1914, Mr. Immick was married to Irene Elizabeth Shepard, of Kansas City, Missouri, who was chosen the first president of the Meriden League of Women Vot- ers. Mr. Immick is a member of the First Baptist Church, of Meriden, and Mrs. Immick of the First Methodist Church of Meriden. The former also belongs to the Highland Country Club, the Home Club and the Rotary Club. Moreover, Mr. Immick is
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an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He has made work his hobby but finds keen pleasure in golf and bridge and frequently turns for recreation to a game on the links.
THOMAS HOOKER
Thomas Hooker, prominent in the social and business life of New Haven, was born in Macon, Georgia, September 3, 1849, and died in New Haven, October 28, 1924. He was a direct de- scendant of the Rev. Thomas Hooker, who came to America from England in 1633, was settled as pastor in Newtown, Massachu- setts, and in 1636 led his congregation into the wilderness and founded the Connecticut colony, now the city of Hartford. Among other ancestors were the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, first president of Princeton College, and the Rev. Timothy Dwight, first presi- dent of Yale College of that name. Mr. Hooker's father was the Rev. Richard Hooker, a Presbyterian minister, who was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, filled a pastorate in Macon, Georgia, and later lived in New Haven. His mother, Aurelia Dwight, was a sister of the Rev. Timothy Dwight, the second president of Yale College of that name. Thomas Hooker pre- pared for college at the Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven and was graduated from Yale in 1869. He remained at Yale as a graduate student from 1869 to 1871 and was on the faculty as a tutor in classic languages from 1871 to 1874, when he went abroad to continue his studies. After a few years' residence abroad he was obliged to give up his studies because of ill health and return home.
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