USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 14
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Ambitious to engage in business on his own account, he removed to Waterbury in 1869 and opened a meat market. Ile afterwards erected a building on South Main street, which is now occupied by the Manufacturers' Bank, and in which he condneted business successfully for almost two decades. In 1888 he sold out his retail establishment and entered the wholesale mneat business under the name of the Valentine Bohl Company, his establishment being located on Willow street. This undertaking also proved profitable and for a quarter of a century he remained active in business there, retiring in 1914. For nearly forty-five years he had enjoyed a prosperous business in the meat tade in Waterbury. He conducted his interests along the most honorable and progressive lines, recognizing ever that satisfied patrons are the best advertisement.
In 1873 Mr. Bohl was united in marriage to Miss Emma Draher, a daughter of John Draher, of Waterbury, and they became the parents of five children, but four died in infancy. The surviving daughter, Amelia, became the wife of Dr. F. J. Erbe, of Water- bury, in 1901 and has two children, Edwin Valentine and Alice Barber. Mrs. Bohl passed away in 1882, leaving behind her many warm friends.
In his fraternal relations Mr. Bohl is an Odd Fellow and in politics he maintains an independent course. He is a well read and well informed man, having educated himself
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through reading and observation. He possesses an observing eye and a retentive memory and he has made himself particularly familiar with the history of all countries. Two granduncles were with Napoleon in his retreat from Moscow and his grandfather was in Napoleon's army in Spain. He had two uncles in the Mexican war and eight cousins in the Civil war on the Union side and the record of the family is thus a notable one for loyalty and bravery. The home of Mr. Boll at No. 568 Watertown Road is an ideal place of twenty-five acres, many great beautiful forest trees surrounding the residence. This is the visible evidence of his life of well directed energy and laudable ambition. He deserves all the praise implied in the term self-made man, for he has so utilized his chances and his opportunities that difficulties have vanished before him as mist before the morning sun and steadily he has progressed along lines leading to well earned prosperity.
ALEXANDER J. THOMSON.
Alexander J. Thomson is among the more recent additions to the business circles of Waterbury, where he took up his abode in 1908. Through the intervening period, covering a decade, he has been identified with commercial interests and since 1911 has been the secretary of the Waterbury Lumber & Coal Company. A native of New York, he was born in Schneetady on the 31st of December, 1881, and is a son of Alexander J. and Mary Helen (Livingston) Thomson, the former a lawyer by profession.
Liberal educational opportunities were accorded Alexander J. Thomson, who was graduated from Union College of New York with the class of 1905 and afterward entered the Albany Law School, in which he completed his course in 1907, and was then admitted to practice at the New York bar. He did not enter upon the active work of the profession, however, having become convinced that he would prefer a commercial career. In that year, therefore, he entered into business connections with the New Britain Lumber & Coal Company, with which he continued for a short time, but in 1908 removed to Waterbury and has since been identified with the Waterbury Lumber & Coal Company, having for the past six years served as its secretary. Concentration of purpose is one of his marked characteristics and it has been his close application and indefatigable energy that have brought him to his present creditable position in business circles.
On the 18th of April, 1912, Mr. Thomson was united in marriage to Miss Lucia B. Wood- ward, of Waterbury, a daughter of Joseph H. Woodward, and they have two children, Alexander and Woodward. In his political views Mr. Thomson is a republican and he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day so that he is able to uphold his position by intelligent argument, yet he does not seek nor desire office. He belongs to Chi Psi, a college fraternity, and has membership in the Waterbury Country Club. His aid and influence are always on the side of improvement and progress and his well defined purposes and energy have been utilized not only for individual benefit but also for the public good.
EUGENE KERNER.
Eugene Kerner is manager of the Associated Charities of Waterbury, in which connection he is doing splendid work in rendering assistance where it is needed-assistance that has back of it a thorough understanding not only of immediate conditions, but of those great psychological and sociological problems which bear upon work among the poor. Mr. Kerner is a native of Newark, New Jersey, born November 2, 1879, and is a son of John and Pauline Kerner. He acquired a publie school education but was only twelve years of age when his parents died and he was thus thrown upon his own resources. In young manhood he was employed in a sanitarium and later he established an advertising novelty business in Chicago, in which he continued until 1907. In that year he began work for the Chicago Bureau of Charities and was thus employed for a year. He also attended the Chicago School of Civies and Philanthropy and in 1909 he went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as district superintendent of the Associated Charities, there continuing for about a year. On the expiration of that period he removed to Louisville, Kentucky, to become executive secretary of the Kentucky Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis. In this connection he carried on a statewide campaign, traveling in a private car with exhibits
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all over Kentucky and delivering lectures which were of educational valuc, instructing the people as to the prevalence, the prevention and the cure of the disease. His work in that connection terminated in the passage of most progressive legislation and in the creation of the Kentucky Tuberculosis Commission. After three months' rest Mr. Kerner became manager of the Associated Charities of Waterbury in July, 1912, and has here since carried on his labors. He studies this question from a business standpoint. He opposes that indiscriminate giving which fosters vagrancy and idleness, but no one is quicker to extend a helping hand where assistance is needed and his tact and understanding have been of the greatest value in his work.
In politics Mr. Kerner is a republican where national issues are involved but he main- tains an independent attitude at local elections, voting for the man rather than the party. He is a member of the First Congregational church and he is active in all the national and state conferences which have to do with his line of work. The department in Waterbury is most broad in its scope, practical in its methods and resultant in its achievements.
HON. WALTER HOLCOMB.
Hon. Walter Holcomb, attorney at law, now filling the position of states attorney for Litchfield county, with residence and office in Torrington, was born in New Hartford, Connecticut, October 13, 1853, and is the youngest of the children of Carlos and Adah L. (Bushnell) Holcomb, both of whom were natives of Connecticut and have now passed away. The father was a farmer and business man and his political allegiance was given to the democratic party, being a prominent worker in its local ranks. He was elected in the republican town of New Hartford to the office of first selectman and served in that position for many years, support at the polls being given him in recognition of his loyalty and progressiveness in citizenship. In the family were four sons: Hiram B., a farmer, residing at New Hartford; Carlos O., living at New Britain, Connecticut; Hon. Marcus H. Holcomb of Southington, who is the present governor of Connecticut; and Walter, of this review. The only daughter is Adaline A. Weaver, of Southington.
Walter Holcomb attended the public schools of New Hartford, also the Lewis Academy of Southington and the Sheffield Scientific School of New Haven and was graduated from the last named with a Ph. B. degree in 1877. He then took up the profession of teaching and spent four years as principal of the graded school at Southington. In the Sheffield Scientific School he had studied civil engineering and was employed as a civil engineer by the Frisco Railway in Arkansas. While teaching in Southington he had devoted all of his leisure hours to reading law in the office of his brother, Marcus, and in August, 1881, was admitted to the bar. In June, 1884, he went to St. Paul, Minnesota, as engineer on the St. Paul waterworks, then under construction, and in December of that year he entered the law office of O'Brien & O'Brien. In the spring of 1885 he opened a law office and prac- ticed until May 6, 1896, when, like many other lawyers he left St. Paul and returned east. In the following June he located in Torrington, Connecticut, where he has since been engaged in professional work. His ability is pronounced. He seems almost intuitively to grasp the strong points in his case, and he accurately applies the principles of juris- prudence. He is seldom, if ever, at fault in the application of these principles and his clear reasoning and logical deductions constitute the strong points in his success.
Mr. Holcomb and all of his brothers are republicans, notwithstanding the fact that they were reared in the democratic faith, the father having been a stalwart supporter of the democratic party. In 1899 Mr. Holcomb was elected town clerk and thus served twelve years. In 1903 he was appointed judge of the borough court which position he filled from July 1, 1903, until June 1, 1917, having been reappointed by the state legislature at every biennial period for thirteen years. His record on the bench was in harmony with his record as a man and as a lawyer, being characterized by the utmost fidelity to duty and distinguished by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution. He finally resigned his office June 1, 1917, to accept the position of states attorney of Litchfield county, to which he was appointed by the judges of the supreme and superior courts.
On the 18th of October, 1888, Mr. Holcomb was married to Miss Edith Aedelia Sanford of Torrington, who was born in Prospect, Connecticut, and they have two children. Carlos Sanford, the elder was born August 14, 1889, and was graduated from Trinity College in 1912, with the Bachelor of Science degree. He studied law in Boston and was admitted to the Connecticut bar June 19, 1917. He is now practicing in partnership with his father
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as a member of the firm of Holcomb & Holcomb. He was married June 20, 1917, to Miss Maybelle Day, of Boston. The daughter, Adah Caroline, is a graduate of the Bradford Academy in Massachusetts, and is now a sophomore in Radcliffe College of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Mr. Holcomb is a Royal Arch Mason and a Knight Templar Mason and he has membership with the Elks and the Knights of Pythias. He is color sergeant in the Tor- rington Home Guard with the rank of sergeant. He belongs to the Litchfield County Bar Association and he is a member of the Center Congregational church. These various associa- tions indicate the nature of his interests and the course which governs his conduct. The welfare of his community, his commonwealth and his country is of concern to him and he cooperates in all plans and movements to further the public welfare.
DEACON AARON BENEDICT.
No adequate history of the Benedict family can be written until the enterprise with which the family name has been so long associated shall have reached its full fruition as a factor in the manufacturing interests of Waterbury. Deacon Aaron Benedict was the founder of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, taking the initial step in the development of an enterprise whose worth to the city cannot be overestimated. His vision was broad and with ready recognition of opportunities he put forth efforts along lines which hitherto were untouched in this city. He was born in that part of Waterbury which is now a part of the town of Middlebury. Connecticut. Angust 9, 1789. in a house that is still standing. and he traced his ancestry back through five generations to Thomas Benedict, who was born in Nottinghamshire, England. in 1617 and in 1638 came to America in company with his stepmother and her daughter, Mary Bridgman, whom he afterward wedded. For a time they resided about Massachusetts bay and later became residents of Southold, Long Island. They also lived at other points on Long Island and subse- quently removed to Norwalk, Connecticut, where in 1665 Thomas Benedict was chosen town clerk. He held other positions of public trust and was a prominent and influential resident of the community.
His son, Lieutenant Daniel Benedict. following the removal of the family to Norwalk, Connecticut, wedded Mary Marvin, a daughter of Matthew and Mary Marvin, of Norwalk, Comecticut. When the white men had to protect themselves against the hostility of the Indians, Daniel Benedict joined the troops and was on duty in the Direful Swamp fight in 1675. From Norwalk he removed to Danbury. Connecticut, where the records show that he sold property on the 25th of March, 1690.
Daniel Benedict, the son of Daniel Benedict, Sr., married Rebecca Taylor, a daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Ketcham) Taylor, and became one of the original settlers of Danbury, Connecticut, where he made his will on the 26th of March, 1762. He passed away a few years later, for his will was proved on the 5th of August. 1776.
His son, Captain Daniel Benedict, was born in 1705 and in 1728 married Sarah, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Bronson) Hickok. His tombstone bears the inscription: "He was for many years deacon of this town (Danbury) and by an exemplary life and conversation endorsed the sincerity of his Christian profession. 'The memory of the righteous is blessed.'" Death called him November 9. 1777. He was the grandfather of Deacon Aaron Benedict, whose father, Lieutenant Aaron Benedict, was born in 1745 and in 1769 married Esther Trowbridge, a daughter of John and Mary (Comstock) Trowbridge. Removing to Waterbury, Lieutenant Aaron Benedict "settled in the eastern part of what is now the town of Middlebury. He probably served in the French and Indian war and he won the rank of lieutenant in the Revolutionary war. He was on duty before Quebec and afterward became a pensioner. In public affairs he took an active and helpful interest and in 1809 and 1810 represented his district in the state legislature of Connecticut. In 1818 he was made a delegate to the constitutional convention of the state for Middlebury and he aided in framing the organic law of Connecticut, leaving the impress of his individu- ality for good upon the public interests in many ways. He died December 16. 1841.
Public opinion is undivided concerning the important part which Deacon Aaron Benedict, son of Lieutenant Benedict, played in the upbuilding and development of Waterbury. After attending the public schools he became a student at Yale but ill health caused him to abandon the course while he was still in his sophomore year. When a youth of nineteen he started out in the business world, entering into partnership with Joseph Burton as a merchant of Waterbury. In 1812 he turned his attention to the manufacture of buttons,
Anon Binedit
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which he made from bone and ivory. The business was begun on a small scale but was destined to develop into one of the most prominent and important manufacturing interests of the state. For several years little profit accrued from the undertaking and Mr. Benedict therefore turned his attention to the manufacture of gilt buttons, which he made under the name of A. Benedict, while as partners in the undertaking he had Bennet Bronson, of Waterbury, and Nathan Smith, William Bristol and David C. De Forest, of New Haven. He was the general partner, however. and had exclusive management of the business, which was established with a capital of sixty-five hundred dollars. In his history of Waterbury, Dr. Henry Bronson said: "The prosperity of Waterbury as a manufacturing town may be said to date from the formation of this company." Mr. Benedict bent every energy toward the development of the business and its establishment npon a profitable basis. To this end he sent to England for skilled artisans, so that the factory was able to turn out buttons of the highest grade. The new undertaking prospered from the beginning. as is indicated by the fact that in 1824 the sales of the factory amounted to five thousand dollars. Not long after the establishment of the undertaking Benjamin De Forest, of Watertown, and Alfred Platt were admitted to the firm and Mr. De Forest, who purchased the interest of his brother, proved to be a most capable salesman and in that way materially increased the volume of trade. On the 2d of February. 1829, the firm name was changed to Benedict & Coe and the capital stock was increased to twenty thousand dollars. At that time Mr. Benedict's associates in the business were Israel Coe, Bennet Bronson, Benjamin De Forest, Alfred Platt and James Croft. With the development of the business the plant was enlarged and a rolling mill added. In February, 1834, the name was changed to Benedict & Burnham and the capital was increased to forty thousand dollars. At this time the partners were Aaron Benedict, Gordon W. Burnham. Bennet Bronson. Alfred Platt, Henry Bronson, Samuel S. De Forest and John De Forest. The first two were general partners and agents of the business, which on the 14th of Jannary, 1843, was incorporated under the name of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company. This was the first joint stock corporation in Waterbury and was capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars. This was increased later to twice that amount and in 1856 the capital stock became four hundred thousand dollars. From time to time the plant was enlarged and now the buildings cover several aeres.
As the business increased the Benedict & Burnham Company at intervals founded new corporations for the conduct of branches of the trade. This led in 1846 to the estab- lishment of the American Pin Company and in 1849 of the Waterbury Button Company. while in 1852 the Benedict & Scovill Company was organized to conduct a mercantile business. In 1880 the Waterbury Watch Company was formed. largely by the owners of the parent corporation. Through all these years Aaron Benedict was one of the chief directing heads of the business, constantly alert and ever watchful of opportunities pointing to the possibility of the extension of the trade relations or of the scope of the undertaking. His keen insight and business capacity, combined with his indefatigable energy, brought splendid results and he continued at the head of the institution until 1873, when he was succeeded by his son, Charles Benedict, after a service of thirty years as president of the company. He was also its treasurer from 1843 until 1854 and there was no phase of the business with which he not familiar and his sound judgment constituted the most important element in its successful control. Death called him on the 9th of February, 1873. and thus was terminated a most useful career. He had continued as an active business man up to the time of his demise. Aside from his manufacturing interests he was a director of the Waterbury Bank from its organization until his death.
Mr. Benedict also exerted a widely felt influence over public affairs. His fellow towns- men recognized his marked devotion to the general good and felt that he was a citizen in whom the utmost confidence could be reposed. He was therefore called upon to represent Waterbury in the state legislature from 1826 until 1841 and he was made a member of the state senate for the years 1858 and 1859. He was an active member of the Congregational church and in 1823 he was chosen deacon, which position he continued to fill for a half century. He was most charitable and benevolent and was constantly extending a helping hand where aid was needed. He was one of the principal benefactors of the State Industrial School for Girls and gave ten thousand dollars toward the fund for Divinity Hall in New Haven and a like amount to endow the Benedict professorship of Latin in Iowa College. To the building fund of the First Congregational church he gave thirty thousand dollars. He was always unostentatious in his giving and gave not merely from a sense of duty but from a deep interest in the cause. Ile found. as a modern philosopher has expressed it, that happiness is a by-product of helpfulness. His good works indeed lived after him in the material, the intellectual and the moral progress
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of the city. When he passed away one who knew him well, wrote: "Mr. Benedict's death will be keenly felt not only in the church where he has worshiped so long and served faith- fully, but throughout the community and state. In his death another of the ties is broken with which the Waterbury of today is connected with the Waterbury of fifty years ago. The transformation of the insignificant village which some of us remember, into the busy and prosperous city which now fills the valley and overspreads the hillside is due to Aaron Benedict more perhaps than to any other man. It fulfilled our conception of the fitness of things that he was permitted to see and enjoy the fruits which sprang from his labors and to stay amongst us for so many years as a representative of what is past and at the same time a beauty lover of the present."
Mr. Benedict was married September 17, 1808, to Miss Charlotte A. Porter, who was. born in Middletown, Connecticut, October 29, 1789, a daughter of Abel and Hannah (Eliot) Porter. Mrs. Benedict passed away May 9, 1870, and was laid to rest in Riverside cemetery. They had traveled life's journey together for more than sixty-two years, sharing with cach other the joys and sorrows, the adversity and prosperity which checker the careers of all. They had become the parents of the following children: Charlotte Ann, who was born Mareh 27, 1810, was married May 18, 1838, to Scoville M. Buckingham, of Water- bury; Frances Jeannette, born November, 22, 1812, died February, 13, 1830; George William was born November 26, 1814. Charles was born September 29, 1817. Mary Lyman was born September 24, 1819, and on the 6th of July, 1836, became the wife of John S. Mitchell.
GEORGE WILLIAM BENEDICT.
George William Benedict, son of Aaron and Charlotte A. (Porter) Benedict, was born at Waterbury, November 26, 1814. He spent his youthful days in his native city and received his business training under the direction of his father, who for many years was a most prominent figure in the manufacturing interests of Waterbury. As the years passed on he more and more largely became connected with the management not only of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company but of its kindred interests-companies that had been founded by the parent concern. He, too, displayed marked executive ability and administrative power. He closely studied every detail of the business and watched every opportunity pointing to success. He enlarged and developed his interests in harmony with the progress of the town and, like his father, won a most honored place in manufacturing circles.
On the 7th of February, 1838, George William Benedict was married to Miss Caroline R. Steele, a daughter of Austin and Polly (Beecher) Steele, of Waterbury. Her birth occurred on the 13th of March, 1820, and she was called to the home beyond on the 11th of Deeember, 1860, while Mr. Benedict survived until April 12, 1862. Their children were: Mary C., who became the wife of Louis D. Griggs, of Waterbury; Frances J., the wife of Edward L. Rice; George H., who served in the Civil war as a member of Company A of the Twenty-third Connecticut Volunteer Infantry; Aaron A .; and Clara L.
George W. Benedict gave his early political allegiance to the whig party and upon its dissolution joined the ranks of the new republican party, doing everything in his power to further its principles and insure their adoption. He was prominent in community affairs, serving as warden of the borough from 1843 until 1846, while in 1851 he became a selectman and thus served until 1859. He was also mayor of Waterbury from June 1855, until June 1856, and was a member of the city council in 1859 and 1860. In 1857 he took his seat in the Connectieut legislature and carefully considered the problems of state government. He was a man of action rather than words and his entire life was char- acterized by integrity and honor, by determination and progressivencss.
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