USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 11
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ROBERT HAZEN, M. D.
Dr. Robert Ilazen is a prominent figure in professional circles in Thomaston and that he enjoys the high regard and confidence of his professional colleagues and contemporaries is indicated in the fact that he has been chosen to serve as president of the County Medical Society. He was born in Jericho Center, Vermont, December 2, 1872, a son of the Rev. Austin and Mary (Carletou) Hazen. The father was descended from Thomas Hazen, who migrated from Washington, Connecticut, to Hartford, Vermont, in early colonial days. The
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Rev. Austin Hazen devoted his life to the work of the ministry of the Congregational church and he was not denied the full harvest of his labors nor the aftermath. Both he and his wife have now passed away.
Dr. Hazen supplemented his public school training by study in the Mount Hermon school of Massachusetts and afterward pursued his more specifically literary course in the University of Vermont, from which he was graduated in 1896 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. Thus with a broad and liberal foundation upon which to build the superstructure of professional learning he entered the medical department of the University of Vermont for preparation for the medical profession and won his M. D. degree in 1898. He afterward served as interne in the Boston City Hospital for two years and thus added to his theoretical training the broad knowledge and experience which hospital service brings. He was afterward assistant resident physician for the hospital for two years. In the fall of 1902 he came to Thomaston, where he entered upon general practice, in which he has since engaged, and during the intervening years he has been accorded a liberal patronage, for the public recognizes the ability with which he readily and correctly solves the intricate problems which continually confront the physician. He is a member of the local, the county, the state and the American Medical Associations and in their proceedings has taken an active interest, serving at one time as president of the County Medical Society. He is also consulting physician of the Waterbury Hospital and is surgeon for the Plume & Atwood Company at Thomaston.
On the 6th of September, 1904, Dr. Hazen was married to Miss Helen Gates, of Thomas- ton, a daughter of the Rev. L. S. and Fannie (Hazen) Gates, who are missionaries in India. To Dr. and Mrs. Hazen have been born two children: Edward Gates, eleven years of age; and Donald Robert, a lad of ten.
Dr. Hazen holds membership in Franklin Lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. He is of the Congregational faith and is an active and helpful member of the church, contributing generously to its support. His political endorsement is given to the republican party, and while not a politician in the sense of office seeking, he is interested in the success of his party because of his firm belief in its principles. He has served as chairman of the board of education and he figures in financial circles of the city as one of the directors of the Thomaston Savings Bank, to which office he was elected on the 25th of July, 1917. His interests are thus broad and varied, connecting him with many of the activities of his adopted city, while his high standards of professional service give him rank with the leading physicians and surgeons of Thomaston.
GILMAN C. HILL.
Gilman C. Hill of Waterbury, now living retired on Hillside avenue, has been identified with many manufacturing and financial interests. Well defined plans and carefully directed interests have brought him a measure of success that is most gratifying. A native son of Connecticut, he was born in Bethlehem, June 13, 1843, a son of Gilman Elbridge and Nancy (Crane) Hill. He was educated in the common schools of this vicinity and through- out his active business life was connected with manufacturing interests. He has lived in Middlebury and Naugatuck, in New York city, and also as far west as Minnesota. In 1862 he established his home in Waterbury, where he has since remained. He has figured in the development of its manufacturing enterprises and his sound judgment and energy have constituted important features in the growth of the city along this line.
In 1871 Mr. Hill became secretary of the American Flask & Cap Company and con- tinued in that position until 1876, when the American Flask & Cap Company was absorbed by the Waterbury Brass Company. He continued as secretary of that company until it was consolidated with the American Brass Company and he then became manager of the Waterbury Brass branch, continuing in that position until January 1, 1915, when he retired, having completed a total service of over fifty-two years. His various interests, wisely directed, have brought to him success. His investments have been judiciously placed and aside from his stock in manufacturing concerns he is one of the directors of the Dime Savings Bank and is one of the incorporators of the Waterbury Savings Bank and a di- rector of the Waterbury National Bank.
On the 30th of May, 1878, Mr. Hill was united in marriage to Miss Charlotte Buckingham Benedict, who died June 4, 1914. She was a daughter of the late Charles Benedict, men- tioned elsewhere in this work. One child, Katherine, was born to them, who on the 4th of April, 1904, became the wife of Dr. Nelson A, Pomeroy.
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In matters of citizenship Mr. Hill has always manifested a most public-spirited devotion to the general good, and at the time of the Civil war he was secretary of Company A of the Second Regiment of Connectieut Militia. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and while he has never been an office seeker, he has stood loyally for those activities and interests which he has deemed of the greatest worth to the community and the commonwealth. He holds membership in the Second Congregational church of Waterbury and a well spent life has won him the honor and esteem of all with whom he has been brought in contact. He has conducted important business affairs without allowing personal interests or ambi- tions to dwarf his public spirit or activities. His is the record of a strenuous life-the record of a strong individuality, sure of itself, stable in purpose, quick in perception. swift in decision, energetic and persistent in action.
EUGENE BROWN.
Eugene Brown, one of the managers of Iladleys, has recently become connected with the commercial interests of Waterbury in this connection, having here opened a large furni- ture store in which within a year an extensive business has been developed. Mr. Brown is a native of Georgia but in boyhood the family removed to Toledo, Ohio, where he was reared and educated. He there made his initial step in connection with the furniture trade, becoming an employe of the Home Furniture Company, a branch of the Hadley Furniture & Carpet Company, in 1911. He steadily worked his way upward, displaying marked ability and that quality which for want of a better term has been called commercial sense. Suc- cessive promotions made him manager of the Home Furniture Company in 1914. In 1916 he came to Waterbury to assist in opening Hadleys in this city. He is associated in the undertaking with Harry R. Walsh, who is buyer for the house, with Mr. Brown as floor manager, and they now carry an extensive line of goods, occupying five floors and basement in the new Demoerat building. A very large and complete line of goods is carried and the business poliey of the managers commends them to the patronage of the publie. They have ever recognized the fact that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement and, striving earnestly to please, their business has steadily grown.
Mr. Brown's mother and sister have removed to Waterbury with him and he has become an enthusiastic champion of the city, recognizing its opportunities and possibilities, while the place he has won in the confidence and regard of business colleagues and con- temporaries is enviable.
MAJOR JOHN N. BROOKS.
Major John N. Brooks, president of the Brooks Bank & Trust Company of Torrington, was born in Goshen, August 24, 1870, a son of John W. and Maranna (Norton) Brooks. The family home was established in Torrington in 1874, although two years before the father had beeome identified with the business interests of the town as a partner in the banking firm of Brooks Brothers.
Major Brooks accordingly acquired his early education in the public schools of Torrington and the Bowen School for Boys in Hartford. He was a youth of sixteen years when he entered the Brooks Brothers Bank in a minor capacity. In 1890 and 1891 he was in the employ of the Southern New England Telephone Company of New Haven and late in the latter year he resigned that position and reentered banking as a clerk. His identifieation with that institution has sinee been continuous and he has filled every position in the bank from that of office boy to president, being at different times clerk, bookkeeper, teller, assist- ant cashier, cashier, vice president and president. He was ealled to the last named position in 1916, following the demise of his uncle, Isaac W. Brooks, who had long served in that capacity, and he is now directing the affairs of the institution as its chief executive head, maintaining the same broad spirit that characterized the institution at its founding. Torrington's development without the Brooks Bank would be like the play of Hamlet with the central figure omitted.
In September, 1892, Major Brooks was married to Miss Alice E. Atkins, of Torrington. and they became the parents of two daughters and a son, Mrs. Laura M. Lawton, Mrs. Elizabeth Austin and John H., born in 1900, all of whom are yet residents of Torrington.
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The spirit of patriotism has ever been a dominant quality in the Brooks family. Major Brooks belongs to the Sons of the American Revolution and his wife to the Daughters of the American Revolution. He won his title by service as aide-de-camp on the staff of Gov- ernor Holcomb, with the rank of major. He was elected to the general assembly in 1915 and as a member of the house was assigned to duty on the banking committee. He was later elected to the senate and in 1917 was made chairman of the banking committee of the upper house and of the very important committee on military affairs, thus being at the head of two of the most vital committees of the senate. His political allegiance has always been given to the republican party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise and he has filled various loeal as well as state offices. For a year he was a member of the Torrington board of relief. He became a member of the board of burgesses and was sealer of weights and measures. He is treasurer of the Torrington Library, treasurer of the Hillside Cemetery Association and a director of the Torrington Water Company and in various other relations has rendered able service to his community and to his common- wealth. He holds membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and is a past exalted ruler of the Torrington Lodge. He belongs to the Torrington Club, the Torrington Wheel Club, the Hartford Club, the Waterbury Country Club. The Litchfield County Auto- mobile Club, the Automobile Clubs of both Cleveland and Buffalo, and is secretary of the American Automobile Association. There is no phase of public life which has to do with the welfare and progress of community, of commonwealthi or of country that does not elicit his attention and to a large extent receive his earnest cooperation when his judgment sanctions a movement as of value and thus he maintains the record of the family in matters of citizenship, a record which has figured most creditably on the pages of Connecticut's history for many generations.
HON. GEORGE E. TERRY.
Hon. George E. Terry, lawyer, legislator and banker of Waterbury, has for many years been prominently identified with public affairs in the city, shaping its interests and molding its destiny. He is now an octogenarian, being is his eighty-first year, but is yet active and enjoying good health. Old age does not necessarily suggest idleness nor want of occupation. In spirit and interests Mr. Terry seems yet in his prime and would pass for a man of much younger years. He is continually giving out of the rich stores of his knowledge and experience for the benefit of others and his life of activity at the age of eighty-one years should serve as a source of inspiration to others.
Mr. Terry was born September 15, 1836, in Bristol, Connecticut, and is the only child of Edward and Ann (Lewis) Terry. The father was a clock maker who came of Revolu- tionary stock. He was born at East Windsor, Connecticut, March 4, 1812, and passed away at Southington, Connecticut, August 22, 1866. It was in January, 1833, that he wedded Ann Lewis, who was born at Wolcott, Connecticut, January 22, 1812, and died at the home of her son George in Waterbury in 1868.
George E Terry was reared partly in Bristol, Connecticut, and partly in Ansonia and lie attended the public schools of those cities, while later he continued his education in a seminary of Albany, New York. He also attended boarding schools in his boyhood. His uncle, Franklin L. Terry, his father's youngest brother, was a lawyer of Albany and in his office George E. Terry began the study of law, while later he continued his reading in the office and under the direction of Samuel P. Newell, of Bristol, Connecticut, for two years. He next entered the Yale Law School and afterward was a law student in the office of John Hooker, of Hartford. He was admitted to the bar in Hartford in March, 1858, almost sixty years ago, and is today one of the oldest of the active members of the legal profession in the state. Entering upon general practice, he made substantial and rapid advancement in his profession.
Mr. Terry served as a member of the Connecticut general assembly from Farmington during 1860 and in 1862 he responded to the country's call for further aid to crush out the rebellion in the south and joined Company K of the Twenty-fifth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, thus taking part in the Civil war until he was wounded at Port Hudson and was afterward honorably discharged in August, 1863. He then came to Waterbury, where he entered upon the practice of law, and for eighteen years was a member of the firm of Kellogg & Terry, which figured very prominently in professional eircles of the eity. He is now the president of the Waterbury Savings Bank and is thus a prominent figure in the financial cireles of his city.
GEO, E. Berry
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On the 20th of September, 1862, Mr. Terry was united in marriage to Miss Emma Pollard, who passed away in September, 1868, leaving a son, Fred L., who was born July 31, 1863, in Southington and now lives in Long Lake, New York. On the 10th of Mareh, 1869, Mr. Terry married Miss Fannie E. Williams, who was born at Bristol, Connecticut, December 1, 1843, and was a high school teacher at Waterbury previous to her marriage. To this union was born a daughter, Fannie Williams, who died in child- hood. In politics he is a republican and has always been deeply interested in the questions and issues of the day because of his concern over matters of general moment and his desire that high civic standards should be maintained. His work has made his life one of worth to the community and his an honored name in the annals of Waterbury.
WALTER LEWIS BARBER, M. D.
Dr. Walter Lewis Barber, active for more than a third of a century in the field of medical and surgical practice in Waterbury, was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, June 26, 1851, a son of Benham and Mary (Wilson) Barber. He was educated at the Wolcottville, now Torrington Academy and studied medieine with Dr. William H. Welch of Norfolk as his preceptor in 1870-71. He then entered the Bellevue Hospital Medical College of New York, from which he was graduated in March, 1873. Following the completion of his course there he served for a year as ambulance surgeon in the Ninety-ninth Street Hospital, a branch of the Bellevue Hospital. Later he practiced medicine with his former preceptor, Dr. Welch, in Norfolk until October, 1876, when he located at Tariffville, Connecticut. In 1877, finding an opportunity for greater activity and growth in his profession, he came to Waterbury and has since resided here.
On the 24th of October, 1878, Dr. Barber married Miss Fannie M. G. Hart, of Norfolk, who passed away in January, 1881, leaving twin children, Frances and Dr. W. L. Barber, Jr., who are living with their father at his residence at No. 87 North Main street. In his political belief Dr. Barber is a republican. llis religious faith is that of the Congregational church and he also has a membership in the Waterbury Club.
Dr. Barber has filled many positions. He served the city as registrar of vital statistics from 1883 until 1886. He was appointed on the visiting staff of the Waterbury Hospital at its opening in 1892 and still holds that position in active work at the present writing, being the only active member of the original staff and the oldest on the board. Since April, 1912, he has aeted as medieal director of the Waterbury Hospital. In 1899 he was appointed a member of the committee on medical examination and medical education and acted as state medical examiner for fifteen years or until 1914. For four years he has been one of the commissioners of the board of health, appointed by the mayor. He is a fellow of the American, state, county and city medieal societies. He has published many articles of merit concerning matters relative to his profession, the last of these being "Diagnosis and Treatment of Poliomyelitis," published in the Medical Record in July, 1916.
WALTER L. BARBER, JR., M. D.
Dr. Walter L. Barber, Jr., the only son of Dr. Walter L. Barber. Sr., was born in Waterbury, January 21, 1881. In the family were but two children, the sister Fannie being his twin. The mother died when these children were but nine days old.
At the usual age Walter L. Barber, Ir., became a public school pupil and was graduated from the Waterbury high school with the class of 1899. While a student there he was captain of the football team and also of the baseball team during his senior year. His college training was received at Yale, where he won his Bachelor of Arts degree on the completion of the academic course in 1903. His preparation for the profession was made in the Johns Hopkins University at Baltimore, Maryland, which he entered in the fall of 1903. He spent three years as a student there and then pursued his last year's work in the New York University, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1907. Subsequently he filled the position of interne for various periods in the New York Lying-In Hospital, in the New York Hospital. the Mount Sinai Hospital and the Roosevelt Hospital, all of New York city, and afterward was for eighteen monthis house surgeon in the New York City Hospital, thus gaining that broad and valuable experience which only hospital service can bring. In 1909 he entered actively upon the private practice of medicine and
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surgery in Waterbury, occupying the same suite of rooms with his father at Ne~ ~~ and 89 North Main street. Sinee 1911 he has been attending surgeon on the staff of tl Hospital. His ability is widely recognized and he is accorded a liberal practice.
Dr. Barber belongs to the Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut State ean Medieal Associations. He is not merely a physician, however, confining h exelusively to his profession, for he has the wider interests of the public-spir and is a member of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce, of the First Co: .. church, of the Waterbury Club and the Waterbury Country Club-associations which It.waw the breadth of his interests and his activities.
GEORGE NELSON GRISWOLD.
George Nelson Griswold is secretary and treasurer of the Watertown Trust Company, of which he was one of the organizers, becoming identified in 1911 with the movement which resulted in the establishment of the bank May 23, 1912, at which time he was chosen to the position which he now fills. He has therefore continuously been one of its executive officers and has aided in the upbuilding of a substantial institution which bears a well earned reputation in banking circles of this section of the state. Mr. Griswold is a native son of Watertown, born April 26, 1865. his parents being Captain Edmond and Minerva (Scott) Griswold. In the paternal line the ancestry is traced down from William Griswold through Garwood to Edmond, who was a plasterer and mason and who was also identified with agricultural interests. He died in 1889, at the age of seventy-four years. His wife, a native of Waterbury, was a daughter of Linas Scott and a descendant of Jonathan Scott, who was one of the first settlers near Water- town, living here through the period of Indian hostility. He participated in some of the engagements with the Indians and had his tongue pulled out by the savage red men. The Griswold family was represented in the Revolutionary war by Harvey Griswold.
George Nelson Griswold acquired a public school education and afterward pursued a business college course. He had long experience with the J. B. Woolson Company, with which he was connected for thirty years and in association with two others had charge of the business during the latter part of that period. In 1910 he went to the Pacific coast. The following year, however, he returned to Connecticut and became one of the organizers of the Watertown Trust Company, which entered upon a profitable existence, developing its business according to the highest standards of banking in the conduct of a general banking business, based upon the purpose of making the institution one of unquestioned strength and stability. This bank is capitalized for twenty-five thousand dollars, has surplus and undivided profits of about eight thousand dollars and deposits amounting to three hundred and seventy-eight thousand dollars, showing an increase of more than one hundred thousand dollars in deposits between May, 1916, and May, 1917, while the surplus and undivided profits have more than doubled.
On the 11th of September, 1889, Mr. Griswold was united in marriage to Miss Emily Steel Mack, who passed away October 23, 1895. On the 7th of May, 1899, he wedded Mae Frances Wilder, a daughter of the Rev. Nathan Willis Wilder. Mr. Griswold is identified with several fraternal and social organizations, belonging to the Woodmen, the Golden Cross and the Grange. He has membership in the Congregational church and exercises his right of franchise in support of the men and measures of the republican party. Widely known to Watertown's citizens, he is everywhere spoken of in terms of high regard as a thoroughly reliable and progressive banker and citizen.
WILLIAM M. GILLETTE.
William M. Gillette, superintendent for the state of Connecticut of the Free Employ- ment Bureau at Waterbury and formerly actively connected with the courts as clerk, was born February 19, 1869, in the city in which he still makes his home, his parents being Charles William and Katherine E. (Vaughan) Gillette. The father was born April 2, 1831, in that part of Oxford which is now known as Beacon Falls, his parents being William and Amy ( Johnson) Gillette. The ancestral line is traced back through several generations to William Gillette, who came to Connectient in 1638, settling at Milford,
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and whose name figures in connection with an early real estate transfer there. After the schools of Seymour and in the academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts, xillette removed to Waterbury in 1856 and entered the law office of J. W. " directed his studies until his admission to the bar in 1859. He entered upon rice and remained a well known and prominent representative of the legal on this city until his death, which occurred in June, 1906. He was promi- enfied with the city and its welfare in many ways. He assisted in drawing up was ist charter of Waterbury and for two terms he served as postmaster of the city, being called the office under appointment of President Lincoln. He had previously ai elerk in 1858 and again in 1862 and in May, 1863, he became postmaster. ty attorney for several years, became the first clerk of the city court was judge of the city court from 1866 until 1871 and a member of the state legislature in 1882. In 1871 he was elected probate judge and several times was reelected to that office. His official career was one which gained for him the respect of all. His devotion to public interests was one of his marked characteristics and in the discharge of his duties he ever displayed efficiency and ability. In addition to the other offices which he filled he served as a member of the common council at Water- bury. He also figured in financial circles as a director of the Dime Savings Bank, to which position he was called upon its incorporation. On retiring from office he resumed the practice of law, in which he continued during the last ten years of his life.
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