USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 19
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"And now it remains for me to speak of Mr. Woolson as a churchman. While a Vol. II-7
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student at Wilbraham he heard the voice of God calling him to remember his Creator in the days of his youth. He obeyed the call. He accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Friend and entered upon his life work a Christian. On the 5th of March, 1865, he united in fellowship with the Methodist Episcopal church of Watertown. The society was small, but it had a mission, and he entered heartily into its work. He became superintendent of the Sunday school and continued in this capacity a long term, having the satisfaction of seeing the school grow steadily in numbers and efficiency. Upon his retirement as superintendent he was made honorary superintendent, and remained in this relation until his death, constantly manifesting the liveliest interest in everything affecting the welfare of the school. He was for many years a member of the board of trustees, and gave to the affairs of the church the same careful attention he gave to his own business. It is largely due to the faithful labors of Mr. Woolson that the church has made steady advancement in things temporal and spiritual, until now it has a handsome property free from debt, a membership of more than three hundred, and is recognized as one of the greatest forces for righteousness in the community. But he was of more than local value. His influence extended throughout the New Haven district. Presiding elders and others who were endeavoring to carry forward important enterprises under the direction of the church sought his counsel and cooperation. There are few laymen in the state of Connecticut who have done so much in the way of bringing Methodism to the forefront and making it an aggressive force. But while he loved the doctrine and polity of his own church, and while he was proud of the traditions and genius of Methodism, he was far from being a bigot. In his sympathies he was catholic. With the saintly Bishop Simpson he could say: 'We live to make our own church a power in the land, while we live to love every other church that exalts our Christ.' There are not a few churches in this community, both of the Protestant and the Roman Catholic faith, that have occasion to remember with gratitude his kindly interest and help. While his immediate affiliation was with the Methodist Episcopal denomination, he was truly a member of the Universal Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"As his pastor, I may be permitted to speak of his personal religious life. He believed that man is by nature a sinner, that Christ is a Saviour, and that the two can come together in blessed fellowship only as the former repents of his sin and believes in Jesus Christ. He endeavored to bring men under the influences of the Gospel. Nothing gave him keener delight than to see the young forsake a life of sin, yield themselves unto the Saviour, and unite with the church. No one who came into contact with him could feel for a moment that his religion was simply an emotion that was constantly fluctuating; rather he would feel that it was a deep-seated, all-pervasive principle that directed and controlled all his acts and all his words. He lived in constant communion with the Son of God, and in that communion he received strength for the performance of life's duties. While he was busy in the factory, and on the street, and in the home, and in the church, his soul was being fed with the bread of heaven. Standing beside this casket today, it is a great joy to me as a Christian minister to be able to say what you all know to be true, that this man has demonstrated that it is possible for one to be deeply immersed in business matters, to discharge his full duties as a citizen, and at the same time be devoted to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and live a life unspotted before the world. No individual can be found, no matter how little regard he may have for the church and the institutions of religion, who would consent to utter the first syllable in disparagement of the religious profession of A. N. Woolson. He died as he had lived, full of courage, full of faith, and in the hope of a blessed immortality."
G. MORTON REYNOLDS.
G. Morton Reynolds, who is treasurer and general manager of the Reynolds News Com- pany of Torrington, was born in Coventry, Rhode Island, December 12, 1878, a son of William Henry and Mary Elizabeth (Tucker) Reynolds, who were natives of Rhode Island and of Kentucky respectively. They met and were married, however, in Oakland, California, in 1862. Returning eastward in 1876, they established their home in Rhode Island, where the father passed away in 1888. The mother is now a resident of Putnam, Connecticut. The Reynolds family is an ancient and numerous one in New England and holds an annual reunion under the auspices of the Reynolds Family Association. The ancestry was originally English. G. Morton Reynolds has two sisters and three brothers who are residents of Connecticut, but he is the only one of the family living in Torrington. One of his brothers is Samuel
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Reynolds, of Putnam, the president of the Reynolds News Company, while the wife of G. Morton Reynolds is the secretary of the company.
G. Morton Reynolds accompanied his mother and her family to Winsted, Connecticut, in 1888 and there he attended school to the age of seventeen years, when he began his busi- ness career as an operator in a telephone office in 1896. The following year he went to work in the office of the Torrington and Winchester Street Railroad Company, at Burrville, being employed as bookkeeper there for six years. In 1903 he removed to Waterbury and spent two years in the office of the Benedict & Burnham Company. In 1905 he came to Torrington and established his present business at No. 29 Water street. In 1906 it was organized under the name of the Reynolds News Company, of which Mr. Reynolds has since been the treasurer and manager. This is now one of the well established business concerns of Torrington, con- ducting a general book and stationery store and also maintaining a news agency for papers and periodicals. They likewise handle all kinds of office supplies and sell talking machines and records. The business has grown to substantial proportions and the trade is annually increasing.
On the 25th of June, 1907, Mr. Reynolds was married to Miss Mary Verity Fall, who was born and reared in Torrington, her natal day being September 27. 1881. Her parents, John R. and Hannah Whitfield (Verity) Fall, are natives of England and now residents of Torrington. John R. Fall came to the United States in 1868 and Hannah Whitfield Verity crossed the Atlantic with her parents in 1843. In religious faith Mr. Reynolds is a Baptist, while his wife holds membership in the Methodist church. He is a council degree Mason and he is interested in various outdoor sports, being particularly fond of baseball. He stands for all those interests which feature as factors in the material, social and moral progress of his community. his influence always being on the side of right.
HON. JOHN F. MCDONOUGH.
Hon. John F. MeDonough, attorney at law, now serving as clerk of the distriet court of Waterbury, maintains offices in both Waterbury and Naugatuck, having his residence, however, in the latter city. He was born at South Lee, Massachusetts, April 11, 1878. His father, Martin McDonough, a railroad man, was born in County Galway, Ireland, and came with an uncle to the United States in 1857, when but nine years of age. His youth and early manhood were passed in Massachusetts and in that state he was married to Sarah Thomas, a lady of English descent, who was born, however, in Ireland, She came to the United States with her mother in early girlhood. In 1888 Mr. and Mrs. Martin MeDonough removed to Naugatuck and there the father passed away m 1910, while the mother still makes her home there. In the family were nine children, six sons and three daughters, of whom John F. was the seventh in order of birth. Four of the sons and two of the daughters are yet living. In order of birth the nine were as follows: Stephen T., Michael G., Sarah, Martin J., Mary A., Mark, Jolm F., Rose and James H. Of these, Michael, Martin and Mary have passed away. All of the survivors reside in Connecticut with the exception of James H .. who is living at Massena, New York.
John F. McDonough was a lad of ten years when the family home was established at Naugatuck, where he has since remained. He completed a course in the high school with the class of 1897. At his graduation he shared equal honors in scholarship with a elassmate, Miss Susan Wheeler, whose grade in deportment was the higher and who therefore won the gold prize. In the other grades his standing was slightly better than hers. In 1899 Mr. MeDonough entered the law department of the University of Michigan at Aim Arbor and was there graduated in 1902 with the LL. B. degree. The following year he was admitted to the Connecticut bar and at once entered upon the active practice of his profession in Naugatuck, where he has since maintained a law office, while for the past three years he has also had an office in Waterbury. Ile is now accorded a good clientage that has connected him with considerable important litigation. At the present time he is giving his attention to his duties as clerk of the district court.
In politics Mr. MeDonough is a democrat. He was elected judge of probate of the district of Naugatuck in 1906. was reelected in 1908 and again in 1910. thus serving for six years. He declined a fourth election to the office in 1912 in order to accept the nomination for state senator from the fourteenth senatorial district of Connecticut. He was elected and served. for one term in the upper house, where he made a creditable record. He introduced and secured the passage of the Connecticut workman's compensation act and has since been called the father of that act. He also had the honor of introducing the resolution and aiding in the
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passage of the resolution which ratified the amendment to the constitution of the United States providing for the popular election of United States senators. The ratification of this amendment by the state of Connecticut was sufficient to make the law valid, as Connecticut made the necessary three-fourthis vote of the states in support thereof.
On the 8th of June, 1908, Mr. MeDonough was married to Miss Josephine A. Brennan, of Naugatuck, and they have four children: Estella M., John F., Helen J. and Edward J. The religious faith of the family is that of the Catholic church and Mr. McDonough holds membership with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, being a past exalted ruler of the latter. He belongs to the local and state bar associations, also the American Bar Association and believes in fully upholding the highest professional standards. His chief diversion is motoring, to which he turns when onerous professional duties allow him leisure.
LOREN RUSSELL CARTER.
Loren Russell Carter, senior member of the real estate and insurance firm of Carter & Jenks. has won a prominent place in the business circles of Waterbury. He was born in Warren, Connecticut, October 16, 1854, and comes of English ancestry, the line being traced back through several generations to the Rev. Thomas Carter, who emigrated from England in 1635 and established his home at Woburn, Massachusetts. His son Thomas was born in Woburn in 1684 and was the father of Samuel Carter, a native of Hebron, Connecticut. He and his two brothers, Thomas and Joseph Carter, served in the Revolutionary war. On the 4th of May, 1759, Samuel Carter wedded Martha Buel, who was born in Hebron, Con- necticut, July 24, 1736, and they took up their abode upon a farm at Warren, where they reared their family of eleven children. In community affairs Samuel Carter took a deep interest and represented Warren in the state legislature in 1788 and again in 1797.
Buel Carter, the grandfather of Loren R. Carter, was born in Warren, Connecticut, May 25, 1766. He was reared on the old homestead farm at Warren and there passed away. He married Eunice Peck and to them were born three children: Martha, the deceased wife of Burton Gilbert, a prominent merchant; Loraine, the wife of George Starr, a son of the Rev. Peter Starr, who for fifty years was pastor of the Congregational church in Warren; and Russell Carter.
The birth of Russell Carter occurred at Warren, November 2, 1792. His life record covered the intervening period to the 21st of February, 1870, when he passed away in Water- bury. He was married in New Milford, Connecticut, January 29, 1823, to Rebecca Stone, who was born August 11, 1797. and passed away in Warren, January 17, 1844. She was a daughter of Benjamin Stone and a half-sister of Maria Stone, who became the wife of Burton Gilbert. After losing his first wife Russell Carter was married in Kent, Connecticut, March 16, 1845, to Laura Lenora Hills, who was born in Glastonbury, Connecticut, January 11, 1824, and died October 17, 1915. She was a daughter of John and Esther (Hale) Hills. Russell Carter was a man of considerable prominence in local and state affairs. He held various town offices during his residence in Warren and in Waterbury and represented Warren in the state legislature in 1837-8. He was also a member of the state militia, serving with the rank of sergeant, ensign, lieutenant and captain. The children of his first marriage were: Buel, who was born November 25, 1827; and Harriet Maria, who was born August 31, 1833, and died in South Britain, Connecticut, October 27, 1862, at the age of twenty-nine years. She was married September 5, 1859, to Charles Vale Moulthrop, a son of Louman Moulthrop. The children of Russell and Laura L. Carter were: Rebecca J., who was born September 23, 1846, and died November 15, 1862; Loren Russell, born October 16, 1854; and Eleanor Elizabeth, who was born August 10, 1857, and passed away November 10, 1862.
Loren R. Carter was only about a year and a half old when his parents removed from Warren to Waterbury and at the usual age he became a public school pupil there. He afterward attended the Wesleyan Academy and Eastman's Business College. He started out in the business world as an employe of F. L. Allen, a hardware merchant of Waterbury, with whom he remained for some time, gaining broad experience along mercantile lines. He began operations in the real estate field by building houses in the western part of the city and in 1892 entered actively into the fire insurance, real estate and loan business. Watching his opportunity for judicious investment, he has become the owner of considerable improved real estate in the town and city of Waterbury and is now conducting a growing and profitable business as senior partner in the firm of Carter & Jenks. He is thoroughly familiar with the real estate market, a correct valuator of property and has negotiated many important
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real estate transfers. In 1905 he, together with F. W. French, organized the French Manufac- turing Company of Waterbury, manufacturers of seamless brass and copper tubing, and has been and is its treasurer since its organization.
On the 20th of September, 1879, Mr. Carter was united in marriage to Miss Irene Ethelinda Hendrick, of Waterbury, who was born in New York, March 2, 1858, a daughter of Joseph Hendrick, while her maternal grandfather was a native of England. Mr. and Mrs. Carter have become the parents of two sons and a daughter. Loren Russell, who was born July 9, 1880, was graduated from Yale in 1903, from Harvard Law School in 1906 with the LL. B. degree and since 1909 has practiced at Waterbury. The second son, Earl Buel, born October 20, 1885, completed a course at Yale in 1907 and studied medicine at Johns Hopkins University, from which he was graduated in 1908. He is now a practicing physician and surgeon of Hartford, Connecticut. He married Ethel Merrick, of Cold Spring, New York, and they have a daughter, Eleanor Lorene, now three years of age. The daughter, Ethel Lorene, born February 21, 1889, was educated at the Emma Willard School of Troy, New York, and is a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
The religious faith of Mr. and Mrs. Carter is that of the Baptist church and Mr. Carter has been chairman of the board of trustees since 1910 and is also chairman of the building committee, which is now erecting the new edifice at the corner of Central avenue and Grove street. In political belief he is a republican. Fraternally he is connected with Townsend Lodge, No. 89, I. O. O. F. He is eligible to membership with the Sons of the American Revolution and is a member of the Founders and Patriots Society. He comes of an ancestry honorable and distinguished and his lines of life have been cast in harmony therewith. He not only ranks with the representative business men of Waterbury but also stands with its progressive and public-spirited citizens who are working for progress and improvement along many lines.
GEORGE A. DIVINE.
George A. Divine, who is the first selectman of Seymour and is well known in musical circles, having been the leader of various bands, was born September 6, 1850, in Seymour, his parents being George W. and Martha G. (Bassett) Divine. The mother was born in Seymour and was a daughter of Abel Bassett. Her father was born in Seymour and served in the War of 1812. George W. Divine was born in Orange county, New York, and traced his ancestry back through William to James Divine, who lived in New York during the Revolutionary war period. George W. Divine was a member of the United States army in early manhood. He located in Seymour when twenty-five years of age and engaged in busi- ness as an auger and bit maker, working for several manufacturing companies. Both he and his wife are now deceased.
George A. Divine attended public and private schools and entered upon his business career as clerk in a store at Seymour. On attaining his majority he bought out a market, which he conducted for a brief period, and later he worked in the shops for a few years. He afterward traveled with the Van & De Long show, which later became the Van & Whitonna Company. He played all kinds of musical instruments and became musical director for the Hoyt family. He remained upon the road in that way for seven or eight years and altogether spent twenty years in the show music business. He traveled with Barnum & Bailey as librarian and composer and after twenty years spent upon the road returned to Seymour, where he organized the Tingue Band, which played all over this section of the country. Mr. Divine was also leader of the Seymour Band for many years and other musical organiza- tions. He also taught musie for a considerable period.
In community affairs Mr. Divine is also actively interested. In 1898 he was a candidate for second selectman and was elected. In 1899 he became acting selectman upon W. W. Smith becoming postmaster and Mr. Divine has since served in that position. He is also the town agent and he discharges his official duties with promptness and fidelity.
On the 3d of January, 1872, Mr. Divine was united in marriage to Miss Jennie E. Short, who was born in Derby, Connecticut, and died in 1909. In March, 1913, he wedded Clara E. Rule, of Woodbridge, Connecticut, and they have one child, Martha Amelia, born in 1914.
Mr. Divine belongs to the Masonic fraternity, to Eagle Star Chapter, R. A. M., and is a charter member of the Improved Order of Red Men of Seymour. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias and has been its treasurer for the past fifteen years. He is likewise a member of the Pythian Sisters and of the Eastern Star. In musical matters he has always manifested the keenest interest and is a life member of the Concordia Singing Society and also
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a member of the Seymour Band. He belongs to the New Haven Masonic Club and gives his political allegiance to the republican party, upon whose ticket he was elected to the office in which he is now so creditably and satisfactorily serving.
HON. ARTHUR F. ELLS.
Hon. Arthur F. Ells, attorney at law and at one time judge of the probate court of the district of Waterbury, was born in Norwalk, Connecticut, December 17, 1879. His father, George N. Ells, who was a leading merchant of Waterbury, where he conducted a book store for a quarter of a century, died March 12, 1906. His mother who bore the maiden name of Lucy Ann Fairbanks, is now living in Waterbury. Judge Ells, who was their only child, comes of Revolutionary ancestry on both sides, both families having been represented by various members in the war for independence. In the maternal line he is related to the Hon. Charles Warren Fairbanks, former vice president.
Judge Ells was but three years of age when brought by his parents to Waterbury, where he completed a high school course with the class of 1897. The following year he was graduated from the Worcester Academy and in 1902 he graduated from Amherst College. He next took up the study of law at Harvard, where he completed his course in 1906, and since that time he has actively practiced in Waterbury, covering a period of eleven years. He became associated with Judge Frederick M. Peasley and continued in practice with him until 1912. He then entered into partnership with Walter D. Makepeace, with whom he continued until the 1st of March, 1917, when he formed a partnership with Hon. William E. Thoms under the present firm style of Thoms & Ells.
On the 14th of June, 1906, Mr. Ells was married to Miss Dorothea Gross, who was graduated from Smith College in 1904. They have two children, Jonathan Fairbanks and Eleanor Bradley, nine and seven years of age, respectively. In politics Judge Ells is a stalwart republican and in 1910-11 served as tax collector. In 1915 he became probate judge and filled that position for two years. He belongs to the Waterbury and to the Connecticut State Bar Associations. He is well known in Odd Fellow circles and is a past grand of his lodge. He belongs also to the First Congregational church of Waterbury and his aid and influence are always given on the side of progress, reform and improvement. Endowed by nature with keen mentality, his powers developed by thorough college training, he entered upon a carcer in which he has made steady progress, being now a member of one of the strong law firms of the city.
GEORGE L. JENKS.
George L. Jenks, of the well known real estate firm of Carter & Jenks, having a large clientage in Waterbury and handling important realty interests, was born in Chicopee, Massa- chusetts, August 7, 1855, a son of Liberty and Louisa (Morse) Jenks, both of whom have passed away. In the family were two sons and two daughters, of whom Albert J. was called to his final rest April 23, 1917, dying at his home in Chicopee. The daughters are: Mrs. Florence Walker, widow of William B. Walker, of Springfield, Massachusetts; and Mrs. Ida M. Watson, also of Springfield.
George L. Jenks is indebted to the public school system of Massachusetts for his early educational privileges. After attending the high school of Belchertown, Massachusetts, he became a student in the Wesleyan Academy of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and put aside his textbooks at the age of sixteen years to accept a position as clerk in a store in Chicopee, thus gaining his preliminary business experience. On attaining his majority he embarked in merchandising on his own account in his native city, there conducting a men's furnishing goods' store, in which he carried a line of boots and shoes, hats and caps. After selling that business about 1881 he spent a year as manager of a store in Worcester, Massachusetts, and later was for several years proprietor of a clothing store in Monson, Massachusetts. He next became owner of a clothing store in Manchester, New Hampshire, conducting both establish- ments for a time, but eventually selling both.
Mr. Jenks came to Connecticut in 1890 and established his home at Waterville, where, in connection with thirec others, he bought out the cutlery manufacturing business of Sprague & Boyden, which was then incorporated under the name of the Waterville Cutlery Company, with Mr. Jenks as secretary and general manager. He devoted six years of his life to this
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industry but in the meantime was becoming more and more interested in real estate, making purchase of property from time to time in Waterville that promised to be a profitable invest- ment. In 1896 he disposed of his interest in the cutlery company to concentrate his attention upon the real estate business and purchased three different tracts of land in Waterville, which he platted and developed. He built on those tracts twenty-seven honses for sale and for rental and was one of the pioneers in the expansion of the present borough of Waterville. About 1900 he became a partner in the organization of the present firm of Carter & Jenks, ranking with the leading firms in real estate circles of Waterbury. Both Mr. Carter and Mr. Jenks own individually large tracts of land in Waterbury and vicinity and still other tracts are owned by them jointly. They have conducted extensive and profitable operations in the real estate field since the organization of the partnership and in 1906 they were active in the organization of the French Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, of which Mr. Jenks was a director for several years, or until he finally sold his interest to Mr. Carter. The French Manufacturing Company owns an important industrial plant of Waterbury, engaged in making copper and brass tubing and now employing over one hundred workmen. The realty interests of Mr. Jenks and his investments along other lines have reached to New London, Connecticut, and New York city. He has been financially interested in many business ven- tures both in Waterbury and elsewhere and he now has interests on Long Island, including a moving picture theater at Jamaica.
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