USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 34
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Dailey in 1899. The latter died in August, 1905, at which time Rev. J. H. Walsh was assigned to the pastorate of St. Thomas Catholic church. He completed the building of the new church and purchased the present parish house. He has thoroughly organized the work of the church in the various departments and has extended its influence in marked manner. His liberal education and subsequent broad reading and study have made him a well informed man not only on matters ecclesiastical but on all subjects of general interest, and be is a most able adviser of his people on things spiritual and otherwise.
ROLLA SABINE, D. D. S.
Dr. Rolla Sabine is actively engaged in the practice of dentistry in Torrington. He was born in Utica, New York, a son of Alfred Sabine, who was killed in the Civil war at the battle of Fort Fisher. Both of his parents were natives of England and in that country were reared and married.
Dr. Sabine pursued his eduaction in the schools of his native city and in due time was graduated from the high school. Determining upon the practice of dentistry as a life work, he then entered the Buffalo, (N. Y.) Dental College, from which in due course of time he was also graduated. He then located for practice in Torrington, where he has remained for twenty years. The fact of his long connection with the profession here is an indication of his success. He has found little difficulty in coping with the complex and intricate problems which often confront the dentist and he displays marked skill and ingenuity in performing the operative surgery of the profession. He is a member of the Connecticut State and of the National Dental Societies and at all times he has kept in touch with the trend of modern progress and improvement in the field of dental practice.
Dr. Sabine was married to Miss Clara Warnes and they have become parents of two daughters: Mrs. John D. Post, of Ansonia; and Mrs. E. M. Pendleton, of Torrington. Dr. Sabine holds membership with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He resides in a beautiful home at No. 127 Migeon avenue in Torrington, which is one of the finest residence districts of the city.
WILLIAM J. SCHLEGEL.
William J. Schlegel was for many years a representative business man and citizen of Waterbury and when death called him the news of his demise was received with a feeling of deep regret by his many friends. He was born in Waterbury, December 28, 1853, a son of Balthus and Rosina Schlegel The publie schools afforded him his educational privileges and when his textbooks were put aside he started upon his business career in his native city. He turned his attention to the real estate business, in which field he was a pioneer in Waterbury, and was very successful, continuing active in that line up to the time when his life's labors were ended.
On the 6th of February, 1879, Mr. Schlegel was united in marriage to Miss Mary S. Lewis, who was also born in Waterbury, a daughter of the late Edward C. Lewis. They became the parents of three children: Lucy Edwina; Wilfred B .; and Harriet Hattie, who gave her hand in marriage to Ernest Arthur Anderson. The death of the husband and father occurred on the 10th of May, 1906, and he was laid to rest in Riverside cemetery. He was a member of Townsend Lodge, I. O. O. F., and also held membership in the Second Congre- gational church, to which his family yet belong. He was unassuming in manner, always courteous and kindly, and he had a host of warm friends. His business affairs were wisely and earefully conducted and he enjoyed the respect, confidence and goodwill of all who knew him. His life was ever honorable and upright and his many sterling qualities brought to him a circle of friends that was almost coextensive with the circle of his acquaintance. He was a devoted husband and father and found his greatest happiness in promoting the comfort and welfare of his wife and children. His family still reside in Waterbury, oeeupy- ing a beautiful home on Clowes terrace and Randolph avenue which was erected in 1917.
The son, Wilfred B. Sehlegel, engaged in the real estate and mortgage loan business, has come to his present position through the steps of gradual development and increasing power until he is now controlling important interests in his line, his clientage having reached very satisfactory proportions. He was born in Waterbury, December 13, 1885. He was graduated from the high school with the class of 1905 and while a student there played
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on the high school basket ball team and assisted in organizing the first track team of the school, of which he became the manager. With the intention of becoming a member of the bar, he entered the Yale Law School and was a student there at the time of his father's death in 1906, which event caused him to alter his plans, necessitating his return home to take charge of the real estate business, which he at once did. He was then only twenty years of age but he made good in his new position with its added responsibilities and the business has prospered and expanded under his management and ownership until he is now recognized as one of the leading real estate and mortgage loan men of Waterbury. He became the owner of the business in 1908 and with persistent energy has devoted his attention to its further development. Not only does he handle realty but also does an extensive business relating to the eare and management of estates in the capacity of exe- cutor and he also has a large clientage in stock and bond investments.
Mr. Schlegel is well known in fraternal and club circles. He is a Knight Templar and Consistory Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. In faet he has taken all the degrees in Masonry save the honorary thirty-third and in the order is prominent and widely known. He belongs to the Waterbury Country Club and the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce and is interested in every plan and project promoted by the latter for the upbuilding of the city. While in the Yale Law School he was a member of the Kent Debating Club and of a univer- sity fraternity known as the Book & Bond. He was likewise a member of the Graduate Council of the latter. He belongs to the Naugatuck Valley Vale Alumni Association and to the Yale Club of New York city. In religious faith he is a Christian Scientist, holding mem- bership in the First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston. Enterprise and resourcefulness in business have brought him to his present ereditable position in the financial circles of the city, while genuine personal worth has established him high in the regard of friends and acquaintances.
CALVIN L. MARTIN.
Calvin L. Martin, secretary and manager of the Princess Theatre at Waterbury, was born in Union City, Connecticut, December 12, 1873, a son of Daniel and Isabelle (Crooke) Martin. The father was born in Ireland, while the mother, a native of England, is of the Sir William Crooke family. They were married in Walden, New York, and the father, who in early life learned the trade of knife making, became the inventor of automatic machinery for making knives. He was also an expert in hardening and tempering steel tools. In 1868 he removed to Union City, Connecticut, and the last twelve years of his life were spent in Waterbury, where he passed away in 1908, survived by his widow, who is yet living.
Calvin L. Martin was the third in a family of seven children. He began his education in the public schools of Union City and continued his studies in the various places where his parents lived. He started in the business world as clerk in a general store and post office at Woodbury when a lad of but thirteen, although he later again attended school. His youthi was largely passed in clerkships and in 1896 he came to Waterbury, where he entered the employ of the Benedict & Burnham Company. Later he was with the Holmes, Booth & Haydens and afterward went upon the road as a traveling salesman. Subsequently he became associated with the Scovill Manufacturing Company and eventually entered the real estate business in Waterbury. On the 1st of May, 1913, he formed a partnership with A. B. Cobb and established the Princess Theatre. Wishing to erect a theatre on the present site, lie secured the removal of a store there located and on the 14th of June had the new theatre ready for the presentation of picture plays, with a seating capacity of five hundred. This was the first ten and fifteen eent house in Waterbury and Mr. Martin put on the first runs here. He was also the first to make a daily change in program, but during the past year and a half he has introduced the masterpieces, changing three times a week. He has specialized in good music, with an orchestra of four pieees or more, and has the finest equip- ment of any moving picture house in the eity, the Princess being the first to use two machines at a time. In 1913 Mr. Martin purchased the interest of his partner and organized the Princess Theatre Company. Ile still conducts a real estate business, renting his own property, and he has extensive holdings including many residences from which he derives a substantial annual income.
In politics Mr. Martin is a republican but not an office secker, concentrating his efforts and attention upon his business affairs. In him are embraced the characteristics of an unbending integrity, unabating energy and industry that never flags and few men are more
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widely known in the enterprising city of Waterbury. His investments have been most judiciously made and tireless energy and keen perception, guided by resistless will power, have characterized him at all times.
EDWARD T. ROOT.
Edward T. Root, who for many years was actively engaged in the insurance business in Waterbury, commanded the respect of all who knew him by reason of an upright life and many sterling traits of character. He was born in Waterbury on the 12th of February, 1840, his parents being George and Temperance (Bronson) Root. The family is of English lineage and Reuben Root, the grandfather of Edward T. Root, was born in Southington, Connecticut. During the Revolutionary war he was employed as a ship carpenter in New York and in that city he passed away. His wife bore the maiden name of Hannah George and they became the parents of two sons, George T. and Amos. The former was born in New York city in 1796 and his life record compassed ninety years, during which he lived to witness remarkable development in connection with American history. He spent the first twenty-one years of his life in New York city, where he attended the public schools and afterward learned the cabinet making trade. When a boy he helped to make the coffin of Robert Fulton, the inventor of the steamboat. Removing from New York to Waterbury, he there continued in ship carpentering throughout the remainder of his active life. He married Temperance Bronson, a native of Waterbury and a daughter of Samuel Bronson, who served with the American army in the war for independence. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. George Root were a daughter and two sons: Jane, who became the wife of Samuel Pemberton, of Newark, New Jersey; Edward T .; and Henry B. The father gave his political allegiance to the whig party until its dissolution, when he joined the ranks of the new republican party, and he held to the faith of the Congregational church, with which his family had been identified through many generations.
Edward T. Root obtained a public school education in Waterbury and put aside his textbooks in 1856 to provide for his own support, securing a clerkship in the postoffice under Elisha Leavenworth. There he remained for a year. He also had some business training in his father's store and made his initial step in connection with the insurance business in 1859, when he entered the employ of the insurance firm of Hall & Smith. He was thus engaged until August, 1862, when he put aside all business and personal consid- erations to respond to the country's call for aid and joined the Union army as a private of Company A, Twenty-third Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, under General Banks. After being mustered out he returned to his old position and such was his ability and trustworthi- ness that in 1878 he was admitted to a partnership by J. W. Smith, who had carried on the business under his own name following the retirement of Mr. Hall in 1863. The firm style of Smith & Root was assumed on the establishment of partnership relations and was so maintained until 1891, when Mr. Smith withdrew, although the old firm name was retained until June 15, 1895, when Mr. Root admitted George E. Boyd to a partnership and the firm became Root & Boyd. The business was thus carried on until the death of Mr. Root, the firm writing all kinds of insurance and enjoying a very liberal and well merited patronage.
On the 3d of June, 1868, Mr. Root was united in marriage to Miss Julia M. Rogers, of Chester, Vermont, a daughter of Isaac Rogers. She passed away in 1886, leaving an only son, Frederick H., who departed this life January 29, 1895. On the 10th of May, 1888, Mr. Root was united in marriage to Miss Caroline M. Blake, who survives him. She is a daughter of Dr. Amos Shepard Blake, of Waterbury, who was the first resident dentist of Waterbury and who long occupied a creditable position among the leading manufacturers and citizens of the borough. He was born in Brookfield, Vermont, January 18, 1812, his parents being Joseph and Prudence (Shepard) Blake. After attending Southmayd Academy he continued his education in Scott's Military School at Montpelier, Vermont, and then took up the study of dentistry under the direction of Dr. E. W. Blake. He practiced successively at Alstead, New Hampshire, and Montpelier and Chelsea, Vermont, before removing to Connecticut. For a time he resided in Watertown and in 1844 became the first resident dentist of Waterbury, where for a long period he enjoyed an extensive practice. In 1852 he went west to Eagle Har- bor, Michigan, and for three years was there superintendent of mines, after which he returned to Waterbury, where he remained continuously until his death. About the time of the out- break of the Civil war he discontinued active dental practice to enter manufacturing fields, possessing inventive genius and marked mechanical skill and ingenuity. In the winter of 1830-31 he built the first locomotive ever seen in New England and it was designed to illus-
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trate the practicability of travel by railroad and was large enough to carry two passengers at a time around a hall on a circular track. Dr. Blake's inventions numbered nineteen, on which he secured patents. During the Civil war he was superintendent of the American Flask & Cap Company, which in a year delivered one hundred tons of percussion caps to the national government. In 1865 he organized the firm of Blake, Lamb & Company for the manufacture of articles which he had patented. The business was incorporated in 1867 and capitalized for nine thousand dollars, with Dr. Blake as the first president, and he continued in that position until he sold- his interest in the business in 1883. While in Vermont he served for a number of years as one of the judges of jail delivery, the state having for many years a law authorizing imprisonment for debt. Following his removal to Waterbury he became a selectman and he served as county commissioner while in Michigan. Following his return to Waterbury he filled a number of local offices and in 1869 and again in 1874 and 1875 he represented his district in the state legislature. He was one of the promoters of the River- side cemetery and he was active in naming Waterbury's streets. Dr. Blake was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Cordelia Woodward, of Chelsea, Vermont, who passed away February 25, 1895, just seven days after the death of her husband, Dr. Blake, their remains being interred side by side in Riverside cemetery. They were the parents of two children, the elder being Ellen Cordelia, who became the wife of John A. Hitchcock, of Liverpool, England. She is now a widow and visiting with her sister, Mrs. Root, on Tower road in Waterbury. She has one daughter, Helen, who became the wife of Ernst Hannay and resides in London, England. The family circle in the Root houschold was broken by the hand of death when Mr. Root passed away October 6, 1910, when seventy years of age.
Mr. Root became widely known as a lifelong resident of Waterbury, where he made for himself a most creditable place in business circles and also in public life. His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth, called him to several positions of honor and trust. He was assessor for a time, was for two terms a member of the common council and in January, 1887, was elected to the state legislature on the republican ticket, giving thoughtful and earnest consideration to all the vital questions which came up for settlement in the general assembly. He was very prominent in Masonry, in which he attained the thirty-second degree, and he was also a valued representative of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and served as a member of the Odd Fellows Building Association and also as a member of the Masonic building fund committee. His religious faith was that of the Episcopal church and for many years he acted as a clerk of Trinity parish. He was a member of the board of governors of the Waterbury Club and he had a very wide acquaintance in the social circles of the city. For a long period he resided at the corner of Hall and Grand streets but at length his house was removed to make way for the Library Park, after which he lived on Tower road. It is said that he was an unusual combination of cordiality and reserve, yet withal he possessed friendly ways and an even disposition and nearly all who knew him liked him and trusted him. One of the local papers said: "He disappears from Waterbury's life, where he has filled for many years a substantial position, while yet he was a power and influence for good citizenship in many forms." He was laid to rest in Riverside cemetery and the deep regret of Waterbury's leading citizens showed how important a place he had held in public regard. Mrs. Root resides at her home on Tower road. She attends the Trinity Episcopal church and is a member of the Woman's Club of Waterbury.
GEORGE SMITH.
Honored and respected by all. George Smith occupied a prominent position in the ranks of the business men of Seymour, where he established a drug store in 1872. He continued active in that line until his death, which occurred on the 24th of February, 1914. His life record covered the intervening years from 1842. when he was born in Watertown, Con- necticut, his parents being Garry and Julia A. (French) Smith. He acquired a public school education and started in life as an employe of the Seth Thomas Clock Company. He was afterward in the employ of Starr. Clarke & Company of Watertown, proprietors of a general store, working in the drug department, where he learned the drug business.
In 1870 Mr. Smith removed to Seymour and established a drug business on his own account in 1872 in the Davis building on Main street. From the beginning the new enter- prise prospered and in the course of years he built np a business of extensive and gratifying proportions. In 1904 he removed his store to the Canfield block, opposite the depot, and in the same year admitted his son Clarence to a partnership. Theirs was one of the oldest and best drug stores in Connecticut. The business methods of Mr. Smith were such as Vol. II-12
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would bear the closest investigation and scrutiny. He carried a large and well selected line of drugs and druggists' sundries, was ever courteous to his patrons, was reasonable in his prices and honorable in his dealings. He served at one time as registrar of vital statistics. He belonged to the Connecticut Pharmaceutical Association and was deeply interested in everything that pertained to the business in which he engaged.
Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Julia A. Weller, who was born in Watertown, Connecticut, and to them was born a son, Clarence G. Mr. Smith was prominently known in Masonic circles. He held membership in Federal Lodge, No. 17, F. & A. M., and was a member of the Masonie Veterans Association. He became a charter member of Humphrey Lodge, K. P., and was also a charter member of Nonnawauk Tribe, I. O. R. M., which he organized May 23, 1887. He was active in that lodge and was known as the "Father of the Tribe." He served for many years as its treasurer and did everything in his power to promote its interests. He assisted in organizing the fire department of Seymour and remained for a long period one of its active members. He became a member of the Seymour Business Men's Association, which was succeeded by the Chamber of Com- merce, in which he also held membership. He had many admirable social qualities which made him loved by all and when he passed away in 1914 his death was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for he had made for himself a most creditable position in the business circles of his city and he enjoyed the high regard of all with whom he came in contact.
CLARENCE GEORGE SMITH.
Clarence George Smith, a well known merchant of Seymour, is manager of the drug business that was established by his father, George Smith, which is one of the oldest commercial houses of the city. He was born in Seymour in 1875 and acquired a public school education there. His initial business experience was received under the direction of his father, whose drug store he entered at an early age, and he continues as manager of the business, having been admitted to a partnership by his father in 1904. He is conducting one of the well appointed stores of Seymour, equipped with everything found in a first class drug establishment.
In 1902 Mr. Smith was married to Miss Lillian M. Rugg, of Seymour, a daughter of Fred A. Rugg, and they have one son, Roy Rugg, who is fourteen years of age. Like his father, Mr. Smith is prominent in the Improved Order of Red Men, and he also belongs to Humphrey Lodge, K. P., and to Morning Star Lodge, No. 47, F. & A. M., of which he has twice been master, and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit of the fraternity. He served as master during the eentennial year of the lodge. He has also advanced in Masonic circles, belonging now to Evening Star Chapter, R. A. M., to New Haven Com- mandery, K. T., and to Pyramid Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Bridgeport. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and while he does not seek nor desire public office, he is always found loyal in his duties of citizenship and works earnestly for the best interests of the community. He is now serving on the library board and his aid and eooperation can be counted upon to further any movement which tends to upbuild the best interests of Seymour.
FRANK J. BUCHANAN, D. D. S.
The concensus of public opinion places Dr. Frank J. Buchanan in the front ranks of the representatives of the dental profession in Waterbury and thus his life record stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, for Dr. Buchanan is a native of Waterbury and has here spent his entire life. He was born on the 3d of June, 1878, of the marriage of John J. and Adella (Potter) Buchanan, the latter a representative of a family that sent forth some of its members for active service in the Revolutionary war. The maternal grandfather, the Rev. Samuel Potter, was a minister of the Baptist church. John J. Buchanan, who died in Mareh, 1917, was for nearly fifty years active as a representative of the Waterbury Buckle Company, holding various important positions. He was born in Scotland and in his child- hood came with his parents to the United States. the family home being established in Waterbury, where his remaining days were passed.
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Dr. Buchanan became a student in the Crosby high school, from which he was graduated with the elass of 1896, and he was honored with election to the presidency of his class. Starting out in the business world, he spent six years with the Waterbury Buckle Com- pany and then, determining upon a professional career, he entered the Philadelphia Dental College, from which he was graduated in 1904. Since then he has practiced continuously in Waterbury and marked ability in this line has bronght him prominently to the front. Something of his skill and proficiency and his broad scientific knowledge is indicated in the fact that his colleagues in the profession have honored him with office, electing him to the presideney of the Waterbury Dental Society, of which he is still a member. He has also been chosen to serve on, the board of censors of the State Dental Society and he has membership with the National Dental Society.
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