USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 21
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JOHN W. PILLING.
Among the interests which have made Waterbury an American center of brass manufac- turing is the Pilling Brass Company, of which the subject of this review is the president and treasurer. He has been thus officially connected with the business since its inception in 1907 and its success is largely attributable to his thorough understanding of the trade, his care- fully devised plans and his systematic management of his interests. Born in Franklin, New Jersey, on the 17th of July, 1861, Mr. Pilling is a son of William and Isabella (Fleming) Pilling. The Pillings are of an old English family and the father came to America in 1850. He died in 1865, when John W. Pilling was but four years of age. The mother, however, sur- vived until 1912 and passed away in Waterbury.
The youth of John W. Pilling was largely spent in Westerly, Rhode Island, where he acquired a public school education. In 1875, when a youth of seventeen years, he came to Waterbury, where he learned the carpenter's trade, which he followed for a decade. He was afterward with the Scovill Manufacturing Company for two years and next became associated with the Aluminum Brass & Bronze Company of Bridgeport, with which he continued for about a year. Later he was with the firm of Benedict & Burnham and in that connection gradually worked his way upward during the sixteen years in which he was a representative of the house, ultimately being given charge of the rolling mill. In 1907, ambitious to engage in business on his own account and believing that he then saw a favorable opportunity, he organized the Pilling Brass Company, the stockholders being John W. and James H. Pilling, Truman Lewis and Jacob Sweiger. The first named became president and treasurer, with
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Mr. Sweiger as the secretary. The business was successfully established, but about 1909 Mr. Lewis and Mr. Sweiger both sold out. John W. Pilling has continuously remained as presi- dent and treasurer, while James H. Pilling is now the secretary. The plant was first located on Lafayette street, in Brooklyn district, in Waterbury, occupying a part of the old Burritt foundry. There the business was carried on for six years and in 1913 removal was made to the present building at No. 482 Watertown avenue. The plant, a one story and basement structure of mill construction, is one hundred and eighty by one hundred and seventy feet. It is equipped with sprinkler system and electric power from the central station, while indi- vidual motors are in use. The company handles brass rolling mill products, sheet brass, etc., and has a capacity for handling seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds of brass per annum. Their output is sold to other manufacturers all over the United States and they employ one hundred and sixty people, ten per cent of whom are skilled workmen.
In 1887 Mr. Pilling was united in marriage to Miss Rose Emily Boden, who was born at Arden, New York. They have four children: Norman, who is a graduate of Yale of the elass of 1915 and is with the Westinghouse Manufacturing Company as metallographist; Marion, who is a nurse in the Massachusetts General Hospital; Margaret, attending St. Mar- garet's School; and John, who is a student in Andover Academy of Massachusetts.
Fraternally Mr. Pilling is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and his social nature finds expression in his membership in the Waterbury Country Club. The moral principles of his life have their counterpart in the teachings of the Second Congregational church, of which he is a member. His political belief is that of the republican party.
GEORGE ELBERT MANCHESTER.
George Elbert Manchester, of the flour and feed firm of E. Manchester & Sons of Win- sted, was born July 12, 1862, in the city where he yet resides, and is the second of the sons of the late Edward Manchester, mentioned at length elsewhere in this work. He was graduated at Wilbraham Academy of Massachusetts with the class of 1885 and in 1889 completed a course in the Wesleyan University of Middletown, Connecticut, where he won the Pl. B. degree. President Woodrow Wilson was then an instructor in that school and Mr. Manchester was in two of his classes.
After the completion of his education Mr. Manchester became a member of the large grain, flour, feed and dairy firm of E. Manchester & Sons, the partners in the enter- prise being the father, Edward Manchester, who died in 1911, and the two sons, Harry G. and George Elbert. The firm name has never been changed since the father's death, Their interests also include a large ice cream plant, modern in every respect. George E. Manchester has charge of this branch of the business, having developed this feature and given to it his personal attention, while Harry G. Manchester supervises the large grain, flour and feed storc, which is a mammoth industry-the largest of its kind in Winsted. The ice cream factory is the only one in Winsted and its capacity is about one thousand gallons per week. Watchful of every detail of his business pointing to success, Mr. Man- chester has readily and quickly utilized the opportunities which have come to hand and his enterprise and persistency of purpose have brought splendid results.
On the 21st of October, 1890, occurred the marriage of George E. Manchester and Miss Cassie Haley Haigh, of New York city, and they have become the parents of six children: Ruth Coc, Dudley Haley, Seward Haigh, Dorothy, Edward Wilbur and Elbert G. The eldest daughter, Ruth C. Manchester, is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College of the class of 1913 and is now a teacher of Latin in the Hartford high school. Dudley Haley, the eldest son, was a sophomore in the Wesleyan University at the time of the declaration of war with Germany. He volunteered for service, first entering the Plattsburg training camp, on the 12th of May, 1917. Later he made application for admission to the naval aviation branch of the service, passed a successful examination and was stationed for a time at the aviation school at Mincola, Long Island. On October 26, 1917, he was commissioned first lieutenant of the Foreign Detachment Aviation Corps. Seward H. is a student in the Connecticut Agricultural College at Storrs, Connecticut. Dorothy is a senior in the Gilbert school.
Mr. and Mrs. Manchester hold membership in the Methodist church, in which he is serving as a steward. He is also one of the trustees of the Wilbraham Academy. These associations indicate the nature of his interests and the rules which govern his conduct. In politics he is a prohibitionist. He belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and
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is also a member of the Chamber of Commerce. His aid and cooperation are given to all movements which he deems of value in citizenship and his support of progressive measures has done much to further intellectual and moral progress in his community. His life, honorable in it purposes and straightforward in every relation, has placed him on a high plane in the regard of his fellowmen.
GEORGE LEE WOODING.
George Lee Wooding, well known to the automobile trade in Waterbury, is a native of Bethany, Connecticut, a son of Lambert and Cecelia A. (Royce) Wooding. who were natives of Bethany and of Middlebury, Connecticut, respectively. In the maternal line he is descended from one of the oldest families of Vermont and the old homestead is there occupied by his brother, whose children are of the fifth generation upon that farm. The house upon the place has now stood for one hundred and thirty-seven years. Members of the family were active participants in the Revolutionary war and Mr. Wooding has in his possession one of the old Continental bills of the money in circulation at the time of the struggle for independence. His maternal grandfather, George Royce, removed to Waterbury in an early day and owned an acre of land on what is now Cook and North Main streets. He was a cabinetmaker and had one of the first shops of that kind in the city.
After acquiring a public school education in Bethany George L. Wooding came to Waterbury at the age of seventeen years and started in the business world as an errand boy with Holmes. Booth & Hayden. There he learned the machinist's trade, which he followed in connection with that firm and other leading houses of the city. He also became steam engineer and his broad and liberal knowledge along mechanical lines is of the utmost valne to him in his present connection. In 1911 he established an automobile business, becoming agent for the Metz cars in Waterbury, and he also handles the Hupp car. In 1913 he opened an office at No. 445 Meadow street and he also has a service station on Spring street and a Metz service station on Walnut street. His business has steadily grown and developed and brings to him a gratifying annual income. His was the first automobile shop on Meadow street.
In 1905 Mr. Wooding was married to Miss Elizabeth Asher, of Buffalo, New York. He is identified with no lodges or elubs and in politics votes for men and measures rather than party. His interests center in his business and his close application and indefatigable energy, combined with his thorough mechanical skill and ingenuity, are strong factors in his growing success.
REV. ARTHUR O'KEEFE.
Rev. Arthur O'Keefe, pastor of St. Francis Roman Catholic church of Torrington, was born in Rockville, Connecticut, December 16, 1859, a son of Patrick and Margaret (McDonnell) O'Keefe, the former a native of County Cork, Ireland, and the latter of Hartford, Connecticut. The father was born in 1834 and about 1850, when sixteen years of age, came to America with his parents, Arthur and Ellen (Sweeney) O'Keefe, the family settling at Cherry Valley, near Worcester, Massachusetts. Later a removal was made to Rockville, Connecticut, where the grandparents both spent their remaining days, as did also Patrick O'Keefe, who passed away in 1909, at the age of seventy-four years. He was employed as a boss carder in a woolen mill for an extended period. His wife died at Rockville in 1914, at the age of seventy- eight years. She was born in Hartford in 1836 and was a daughter of Thomas and Catherine (Mulligan) McDonnell, who were natives of Ireland, where they were married. Patrick and Margaret O'Keefe became the parents of sixteen children, of whom eight reached years of maturity, while seven are now living and are residents of Connecticut.
Father O'Keefe obtained his early education in the public schools of Roekville and in 1874, at the age of fifteen years, entered Joliette College at Joliette, in the province of Quebec, Canada. There he pursued his academic studies for two years and later spent two years in St. Michael's College of Toronto. He completed his academic course in the Boston College, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in June, 1880. In the fall of that year he entered the Montreal Theological Seminary, where he spent three and
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one-half years as a student, being graduated in December, 1883. He was ordained to the priesthood in Montreal, December 22, 1883, and was made assistant priest at Norwich, Con- necticut. A few months later he became assistant priest of St. James church at Danielson, Connecticut, where he remained for five years. His first regular pastorate was at Sacred Heart church at Wauregan, Connecticut, and there he continued from 1889 until 1903 or for a period of fifteen yars. During that time he built a rectory. From 1903 until 1911 he was pastor of Sacred Heart church at Taftsville, Connecticut, where he was instrumental in building both a school and a convent. Since 1911 he has been pastor of St. Francis Roman Catholic church at Torrington. In his twenty-eight years of pastoral work he has served but three churches-a most excellent record, indicating his efficient service and the high regard in which he is held by his parishioners. He is doing splendid work for the Catholic eause and his influence is continually broadening.
JAMES PLATT SWEENEY.
James Platt Sweeney is a resident of Naugatuck but maintains law offices in both Naugatuck and Waterbury. He was born in the former place October 23, 1888, and is the eldest son of James E. and Frank (Platt) Sweeney, who are still residents of Naugatuck, where they have spent their entire lives. The former was a son of Edward and Ann (Mckeon) Sweeney, who came from Ireland. The maternal grandparents were Samuel and Eliza Jane (Smith) Platt. The Platt family has been represented in Connecticut since early colonial times and made contribution to the enlistments for service in the war for independence.
James P. Sweeney was graduated from the Naugatuck high school with the class of 1904 and from the Hopkins grammar school of New Haven in 1905. He completed a course in the academic department of Yale University in 1909, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree, and in 1911 he completed preparation for his professional career as a graduate of the Yale Law School, winning the LL.B. degree magna cum laude. He was admitted to the bar in June. 1911, and thus well equipped for his profession entered upon active practice, opening offices in Naugatuck and in Waterbury, at the former place in 1911 and at the latter in 1912. No dreary novitiate awaited him. Almost from the beginning he has enjoyed a lucrative practice and his clientage has steadily grown. He is the present corporation counsel of the borough of Naugatuck, which position he has filled since 1912, and he belongs to the Waterbury Bar Association.
On the 5th of October, 1915, Mr. Sweeney was married to Miss Loretta M. Smith, of Naugatuck. They have one child, Mary, born July 8, 1917. Mr. and Mrs. Sweeney are members of the Catholic church.
WILLIAM A. ARMOUR.
William A. Armour, advancing step by step through various departments, has reached the responsible position of general superintendent of the Seth Thomas Clock Company and is a most valued and respected resident of Thomaston. He was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts, September 19, 1863, a son of William E. and Ann (Whitaker) Armour. The father was engaged in the manufacturing business for many years but is now deceased. The son acquired a public school education, which was his preparation for life's practical and responsible duties. He then learned the tool making trade with a view to devoting his life to activities along that line. For a third of a century he has been a resident of Thomaston, where he took up his abode July 29, 1884. It was at that time that he secured a position in the tool making department of the Seth Thomas Clock Company. Through the intermediate years he has worked his way upward through the various departments, gaining thorough knowledge of the business in each position which he has filled, and thus his growing efficiency and ability has eventually brought him to the position of general superintendent. He was named for that office in 1898 and has since served in that capacity, covering a period of about twenty years. He thus directs most important and extensive interests and his efforts are a very essential factor in the successful conduct of the business.
On the 22d of October, 1891, Mr. Armour was united in marriage to Miss Martha J. Baldwin, of Thomaston, and they have one child, Charlotte, who is the wife of F. W.
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Lake. of Waterbury. Fraternally Mr. Armour is connected with the Masons and with the Elks and exemplifies in his life the beneficent spirit which underlies these organizations. He is equally loyal to his membership in the Episcopal church. His political allegiance is given to the republican party, and while he does not seek or desire office, he recognizes fully the duties and obligations as well as the privileges of citizenship and stands for those progressive measures which have most to do with the upbuilding of community welfare. There is nothing spectacular in his career, but his course has been marked by the utmost fidelity to the interests entrusted to his care and his indefatigable industry has been the basis of his substantial advancement.
JAMES H. PILLING.
James H. Pilling, secretary of the Pilling Brass Company and at one time postmaster of Waterbury, has been almost continuously connected with manufacturing interests of the city since 1878. He was born in Stonington, Connecticut, May 12, 1863, and is a brother of John W. Pilling, of whom mention is made elsewhere in this work. Although he was but an infant when his father died he received fair educational privileges, being reared under the care and direction of his mother, and after leaving high school he started out in the business world by entering a dry goods store as a clerk. Two years were devoted to that business and in 1878 he came back to Waterbury, where he has since made his home. He first entered the employ of the Scovill Manufacturing Company, but after a short time accepted a position as clerk in the postoffice, where he remained for six years. He then again became connected with the Scovill Manufacturing Company and remained in that employ for twenty years, acting as paymaster during the last fifteen years of that period. In 1907 he was called by presidential appointment to the position of postmaster and being reappointed, continued in the office for two terms, or until 1915. He joined his brother, John W. Pilling, as secretary of the Pilling Brass Company in December, 1909, and has since occupied that position. He is now bending his energies to the conduct of the business, which is being substantially and rapidly developed along the lines of progressive brass manufacturing.
Fraternally Mr. Pilling is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His religious belief is indicated by his member- ship in the Second Congregational church. In politics he is a republican and has been an active party worker in local ranks, while his ability has led to his selection for public honors and office again and again. He served as councilman from the first ward in 1895 and 1896, was alderman during the two succeeding years and in 1898 and 1899 was town treasurer. He was again made alderman in 1902 and occupied that position until 1908. During the Elton administration and the previous mayoralty he was a member of the committee on charities. He acted as president of the board of aldermen during his last two years in office and his course was at all times characterized by the utmost devotion to the public good. He placed the general welfare before partisanship and the interests of the majority before personal aggrandizement and thus over his official record there falls no shadow of wrong nor suspicion of evil.
REV. STEPHEN J. PANIK.
Rev. Stephen J. Panik, pastor of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church of Torrington, which is a Slovak church, was born in Austria-Hungary, July 5, 1893. He is therefore twenty-four years of age and is now serving his first church as a regular pastor. His parents, Matthew and Mary Panik, still live in Austria-Hungary, where the father is engaegd in business.
Rev. Panik was reared in his native country and acquired his academic and philosophical education there. He came to the United States in 1912, and in January, 1913. entered St. Mary's Seminary of Baltimore, where for three years he pursued a course in theology. He finished his theological studies in St. Thomas Seminary of Hartford, Connecticut, and in that city was ordained to the priesthood by the Rt. Rev. John J. Nilan, D.D., in St. Joseph's Cathedral, November 18, 1915. He celebrated his first high mass on the 21st of November in the Sacred Heart church of Torrington. the same church of which he is now pastor. At that time his cousin, Rev. Gaspar J. Panik, was its pastor, and Rev. Stephen J. Panik then
Just Paling
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hecame assistant priest at St. John Nepomucen church at Bridgeport, where he continued for six months. On the 8th of May, 1916, he succeeded his cousin as pastor of the Sacred Heart church, Rev. Gaspar J. Panik having been transferred to the St. Cyril and Methodius Slovak church of Bridgeport, where he still remains. He was the organizer of the Sacred Heart parish of Torrington and was its first pastor, while Rev. Stephen J. Panik is its second.
The former founded the parish in 1910, the first services being held in the chapel of St. Francis church. In 1911 the present Sacred Heart church and rectory were erected on Grove street. Both are handsome buildings of frame construction, but the exterior of the church is stucco. The corner stone was laid May 30, 1911, the dedicatory services being held July 4, 1912. The church property is valued at about seventy-five thousand dollars. The church was organized September 28, 1910, and now has about twelve hundred members. On October 1, 1917, Father Stephen Panik, purchased for the parish, land with four hundred and ninety feet front for the site of the parish school and commons, which school will be erected in the near future.
ARTHUR A. PAGE.
Arthur A. Page, secretary and manager of the Taxi Service Company, is a native son of Rhode Island, his birth having occurred in Providence, September 25, 1870. He acquired a public school education supplemented by a business course in the Christian Brothers College in his native city. He then became actively connected with the drug trade, to which he devoted thirteen years, owning and conducting a store in Providence. In 1900, however, he turned his attention to the automobile business there and organized the Page Motor Vehicle Company, building cars and taking out several patents on inventions which have come into wide use, including a speed ehanging mechanism which is used on trucks. This invention he sold. He came to Waterbury in 1912 to sell his patent and here he entered the garage business, organizing the Taxi Service Company, which was incorporated in that year with C. B. Schoenmehl as president, who is also president and treasurer of the Waterbury Bottling Company, M. J. Norton, treasurer, and A. A. Page secretary and manager. After a short time, however, Mr. Norton sold out. The business was established on Scovill street and in 1915 a removal was made to No. 229 West Main street, where they have a garage sixty hy one hundred and fifty feet and two stories in height. They conduet a general garage business with storage for one hundred and twenty-five cars and operate fifteen taxicabs. They have a thoroughly equipped repair department and they were the pioneers in the taxi business in Waterbury, starting out with great opposition from the cab business. They popularized their business through advertising, secured the telephone number 400 and adopted as their slogan: "Get the habit." Their original and catehy methods of advertising have been a salient feature in their growing success.
On the 1st of June, 1912, Mr. Page was married to Miss Emma Frances Smith, of Provi- dence, a daughter of John Smith. Mr. Page belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of ยท Elks and in politics maintains an independent course, voting according to the dictates of his judgment without regard to party ties. He concentrates his efforts and attention upon his business and in the five years of his identification with the taxi service of Waterbury has made substantial and creditable progress.
FREDERICK N. MCKENZIE.
Frederick N. Mckenzie, secretary of the Hendey Machine Company of Torrington, was born in the suburban town of Daytonville, May 30, 1874, the younger of the two sons of James Standish and Helen (Fuessenieh) Mckenzie, both of whom have passed away. The father, who was a needle pointer by trade, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and when the Civil war broke out responded to the country's call for aid, serving at the front as a Union soldier. Soon after the close of hostilities he removed to Torrington, where he followed his chosen occupation. His wife was born in Prussia and came to America with her parents. She was a sister of F. F. Fuessenich, mentioned elsewhere in this work, and she passed away when her son Frederick was an infant. She left two children: Arthur Irving Mckenzie, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, who is a talented musician, devoting his life to the art: and Frederick N.
Vol. II-8
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The boyhood and youth of Frederick N. Mckenzie were passed in Torrington. Con- necticut, in Springfield, Massachusetts, and in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He lived in the last named place between the ages of seven and fifteen years and his education, which was begun in the schools of Springfield, Massachusetts, was continued at Elizabeth until he reached the age of twelve, when he secured employment in a store there at a wage of a dollar and a half per week. When he was fifteen years of age he and his elder brother, Arthur, returned to Torrington and entered the shops of the Hendey Machine Company, with which Frederick N. Mckenzie has continuously remained, or from March, 1889, covering a period of twenty-eight years. Beginning as an apprentice, he completed the regular four years' term of indenture as a machinist, and when his trade was finished he was employed as a machinist and for a time served as foreman. In the fall of 1894 he secured leave of absence from the company just long enough to go to New York city and complete a stenographic course in the Packard Commercial School there. Upon his return he entered the office and for some years did stenographie work. Later he spent about two years as traveling representative for the company and in 1907 he was advanced to his present position-that of secretary.
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