USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 4
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This, however, was but one phase of Mr. Turner's activity-an activity which placed him among the most prominent and successful of the business men in New England. He became the vice president of the Coe Brass Manufacturing Company, which position he occupied for more than a quarter of a century and of the company he was one of the original stockholders. He was also one of the organizers of the Excelsior Needle Com- pany. became a director and so continued until that business was taken over by the Torrington Company. He continued as the president of the Turner & Seymour Company and as its largest stockholder to the time of his death and he was one of the directors of the Eagle Bicycle Company, the Torrington Manufacturing Company, the Miller Manu- facturing Company and one of the organizers and a director of the Torrington Water Company and a director of the Brooks National Bank of Torrington. IIe likewise aided Vol. II-2
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in organizing the Torrington Savings Bank and was a trustee from the beginning until his death, while for seven years prior to his demise he served as its president. Every business organization with which he became connected benefited by his cooperation, his sound judgment and keen discrimination. He seemed almost intuitively to grasp the possi- bilities and to recognize the difficulties of every situation and thus bent his energies toward obviating the latter and utilizing the former to the fullest extent.
While a most active business man, Mr. Turner at all times found opportunity to cooperate in work of public benefit. He was particularly interested in the Torrington library, which he aided in organizing under the name of the Wolcottville Library Associa- tion. When the name of the borough was changed, the name of the Torrington Library Association was assumed and at the time of his death Mr. Turner was building a hand- some home for the library at his own expense, his total gift to the association being one hundred and thirty thousand dollars. He also left a bequest of twenty-five hundred dollars to the New London County Historical Society, of which for many years he had been a life member. He also made bequests to nearly every church in Torrington and a number of charitable institutions received benefactions by his will. He also belonged to the Con- necticut Historical Society, to the Sons of the American Revolution, to the Society of Colonial Wars and to the American Geographical Society and the Union League Club of New York-associations which indicated much of the nature of his interests. In 1868 he represented Torrington in the state legislature and at all times he was deeply interested in everything that pertained to the progress and welfare not only of his borough but of the state and of the country at large. For more than a half century he made his home with Hon. Lyman W. Coe, first in Waterbury and from 1868 in Torrington. The story of his life is the story of New England thrift and business sagacity. It is true he did not have the humble origin or experience the early privations of some men who have achieved success, but on the other hand not one in a thousand who have enjoyed his modest advantages have turned them to such excellent account. His breadth of view not only saw possibilities for his own advancement but also for the development of his city and state, and his lofty patriotism prompted him to utilize the latter as quickly and effectively as the former. He mastered the lessons of life day by day until his post- graduate work in the school of experience placed him with the men of eminent learning and ability who for years have figured prominently in the upbuilding of Connecticut.
CORNELIUS TRACY.
Cornelius Tracy is the treasurer of the Tracy Brothers Company, which for many years has been a dominant factor in the improvement of the city through its building operations, which are most extensive and of a very important character. Mr. Tracy was born in Litchfield, now Morris, Connecticut, April 21, 1853, and is a son of Abel C. Caroline (Bown) Tracy, the latter a native of Torrington, Connecticut. The father, who was born in Wash- ington, this state, was a son of Silas Tracy, also a native of Washington, as was his father, who likewise bore the name of Silas. The ancestral line is traced back to Lieutenant Thomas Tracy, of Norwich, Connecticut, who came from England. The family was represented in the American army during the Revolutionary war. Lieutenant Thomas Tracy was born in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, in 1610, in early manhood became a resident of the Massachusetts Bay colony and in February, 1637, removed from Salem to Wethersfield, Connecticut. In 1652 he went to Saybrook, where he remained two years. In 1666 he became one of the proprietors of Norwich and was there appointed ensign. He represented Norwich in the colonial legislature most of the time from 1667 to 1678 and represented Pres- ton in 1682, 1683, and 1685. He was a member of the colonial assembly for more than twenty sessions and died at Norwich in 1685. His son, Jonathan Tracy, born at Saybrook in 1646, was married in 1672 to Mary Griswold and following her death in 1711 he wedded Mary Richards. His death occurred about 1711. His son, David Tracy, born in 1687, was married in 1709 to Sarah Parish. Their son, David Tracy II, was born at Preston, Connecticut, in 1721, and in 1744 married Eunice Elliott. Captain Silas Tracy was born March 27, 1745, and became a hotel proprietor at New Preston, Connecticut, where he died about 1825. He was the great-grandfather of Cornelius Tracy. Both the grandfather and the father of Cornelius Tracy devoted their lives to agricultural pursuits. The latter had a family of seven children, of whom one died in infancy. In addition to Cornelius Tracy the others are: Morton, who was with the American Brass Company and died in 1916; George, who is presi- dent of the Tracy Brothers Company; Cornelia, the widow of Andrew Palmer and a resident
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of Waterbury; Frances, the widow of William H. Johnson, also of Waterbury; and Edward, who died in 1860, when ten years of age.
Cornelius Tracy had the usual experiences of the farm bred boy who divides his time between the work of the fields and the duties of the schoolroom. At the age of seventeen years he secured employment in a carpenter shop and there learned the trade, gaining expert knowledge of that line of work. At twenty-two years of age he started in business for himself in Waterbury, but soon afterward went to Thomaston, where he remained in business until 1882. In the latter year he returned to Waterbury, where he entered the lumber business, and in 1883 he joined his brother George as a contractor. The present firm of Tracy Brothers is the outgrowth of a business which was founded in 1870 by George Tracy and B. H. Eldredge, under the firm style of Tracy & Eldredge. In 1875 the junior partner sold out, after which George Tracy continued alone in business until 1883, when he was joined by his brother Cornelius and the firm of Tracy Brothers was formed. In 1894 they incorporated their business under the name of the Tracy Brothers Company, with George Tracy as the president, E. E. Wilson as vice president, Cornelius Tracy as treasurer and J. L. Sweiger as secretary. The last named continued in office until 1908, when George E. Tracy took over the duties of secretary. Business has been carried on at No. 52 Benedict street since about 1872. They at first began doing contract work in carpentering, but the scope of their business was extended to include masonry and they employ about one hundred and fifty workmen. A few years ago they specialized in factory contract work but their business today covers all branches and is one of the oldest and largest in Connecticut. It has been continuously carried on for over forty years and Cornelius Tracy has been an active associate therewith for more than a third of a century.
In 1875 Cornelius Tracy was united in marriage to Miss Lucy B. Doolittle, who passed away in 1884, leaving two daughters: Clara L., who was born in 1876 and is the wife of E. S. Bronson, a photographer of Waterbury; and Nellie M., who was born in 1878 and resides in Waterbury. In February, 1887, Mr. Tracy was again married, his second union being with Edith M. Bronson, of Wolcott, Connecticut. They became parents of four children: Fred, who was born in April, 1888, and passed away in March, 1897; Raymond, who was born in 1890, and died in March, 1897; Howard F., who was born in 1894, and is a graduate of the Gunnery School of Washington, Connecticut, and of the Waterbury Business College; and Edward Bronson, who was born in 1898, and is now attending the Gunnery School at Washington, after which he expects to enter the Pratt Institute at Brooklyn, New York.
Mr. Tracy belongs to the Waterbury Club and is interested in many public movements and activities. His political support is given the republican party and in 1902 and 1903 he served as a member of the state senate, while during the two succeeding years he was a member of the republican state eentral committee. He was also a member of the state reformatory commission and it was the firm of Traey Brothers who built the State Reforma- tory. For the past twenty years he has been president of the Boys Club of Waterbury, and during that entire period has taken a very active and helpful part in the work of that organization. He believes in prevention rather than cure and his activity in behalf of the boys is put forth that they may be surrounded by helpful influences and that their environ- ment may assist in developing manly character. His work in this connection has been indeed beneficial, many a youth acknowledging the value of his influence, his advice and his ready assistance. Fraternally Mr. Tracy is connected with the Masons and his religious belief is indicated in the fact that he attends the Second Congregational church. It was through the efforts of Mr. Tracy in 1894 that Waterbury came into possession of the carefully selected and valuable collection of minerals and fossils now to be seen in the Bronson Library, and he and his brother were instrumental in transporting the Connecticut building from the grounds of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago to this state and reerecting it for public uses on the shore of the Sound at a point between Savin Rock and Woodmont. His interests have always been broad, varied and beneficial and his name, associated with many good works, adds new luster to his ancestral records.
1140690
JUDGE JOHN PRESCOTT KELLOGG.
Judge John Prescott Kellogg, lawyer, jurist and one of the prominent political leaders of Connecticut, has wielded a wide influence in public affairs in the state. actnated by a marked devotion to the general good. His ability in his profession has gained him mueh more than local distinction and he is now making an excellent record as judge of the
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superior court of Connecticut. He was born March 31, 1860, of the marriage of Stephen Wright and Lucia Hosmer (Andrews) Kellogg. His more specifically literary education was obtained at Yale, where he won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1882. He then matricu- lated in the Yale Law School and the degree of LL. B. was conferred upon him in 1884. The same year he was admitted to the bar and entered upon the active practice of his profession as the junior partner of the firm of Kellogg, Burpee & Kellogg, an association that was maintained until 1893. He then practiced with his father under the firm style of Kellogg & Kellogg until 1904 and for the past thirteen years has practiced alone. While advancement at the bar is proverbially slow, no dreary novitiate awaited him. He won almost immediate prominence and has continually demonstrated his worth in a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit.
Whatever else may be said of the legal fraternity it cannot be denied that members of the bar have been more prominent actors in public affairs than any other class of the community. This is but the natural result of causes which are manifest and require no explanation. The ability and training which qualify one to practice law also qualify him in many respects for duties which lie outside the strict path of his profession and which touch the general interests of society. In recognition of his fitness for positions of publie trust, Judge Kellogg was elected councilman of Waterbury in 1887 and served as presi- dent of the board from 1889 until 1891. Through the two succeeding years he was attorney of the city court and from 1891 until 1895 he was town attorney of the town of Water- bury. In 1893 he was made prosecuting attorney of the district court of Waterbury and served for four years, while from 1896 until 1909 he was city attorney of Waterbury and on the 1st of July, 1911, was recalled to that office, serving until January 1, 1912. He was states attorney of Waterbury from 1897 to 1917 and in 1917 was appointed by Governor Holcomb judge of the superior court, so that he is now serving upon the bench, where his record is in harmony with that which he has made as a man and a lawyer, distinguished by marked fidelity to duty and by a masterful grasp of every problem presented for solution. He has always given his political allegiance to the republican party and was chairman of the republican town committee of Waterbury from 1895 until 1906. In 1898 he became a member of the state central committee and so served for two years.
On the 1st of June, 1892, Judge Kellogg was united in marriage to Miss Clara Mason, of Bridgeport. They hold membership in the Episcopal church and he is identified with various clubs and fraternal organizations, belonging to the University Club of New York, the Graduates Club of New Haven, the Waterbury Club, the Scroll and Key and the Delta Kappa Epsilon of Yale. He also has membership with the Sons of the American Revolution and in the Society of Colonial Wars, while along strictly professional lines he has connection with the Connecticut State Bar Association and the American Bar Associa- tion. The breadth of his interests is further indicated in the fact that he is acting as a trustee of St. Margaret's School and agent for the Bronson Library of Waterbury. He has won honor and publie recognition and at the same time his course has reflected credit upon the people who have honored him.
HENRY J. RICHARDS.
Henry J. Richards, the secretary and treasurer of the New Haven Copper Company. doing business at Seymour, was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1869. a son of Philip and Hannah (Davies) Richards. The father was an employe of C. G. Hussey & Company of Pittsburgh and in 1875 removed to Seymour, where he was employed by the New Haven Copper Company until his death. which occurred in 1899. His widow survived him for some years, passing away in 1912.
Henry J. Richards acquired a high school education in Seymour, and. starting out in the business world. entered the employ of the New Haven Copper Company in 1885. He began working in the mills and has been through every department, so that he has most intimate and comprehensive knowledge of the business in principle and detail. This is one of the old established enterprises of Seymour. The company was formed in 1842 and erected its first buildings in that year. The business has increased with each suc- ceeding year and is now capitalized for two hundred thousand dollars, with Thomas L. James as the president and H. J. Richards as the secretary and treasurer. They have always maintained the highest standards in their output, which includes braziers' sheets, cornice and roofing cooper sheets for bath tubs, polished cooper. special sheets for fire
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extinguishers, tank and pressure house boilers, oval copper bottoms and circles, rolled anodes, spinning copper and dimension sheets. The buildings of the company are extensive. The main rolling mill is one hundred by two hundred feet and contains eight sets of rolls. The power for this building is supplied by a steam engine of two hundred and fifty horse power, augmented by three turbine water wheels aggregating two hundred and fifty horse power, so that it has altogether five hundred horse power in the rolling mill. The stamping and tinning departments cover an area of fifty by ninety feet and the two buildings, each seventy-five by seventy-five feet, contain two refining furnaces. The West Side rolling mill, which was equipped in 1885, is fifty by one hundred feet and has three sets of rolls. The company is also engaged quite extensively in the manufacture of cast steel augers and bits, turning out a very superior line of goods. The plant for this branch of their business is sixty by one hundred and twenty-five feet and derives its power from a turbine water wheel of seventy-five horse power and a Herreshoff engine of seventy-five horse power. The various departments are lighted with electricity and are splendidly equipped with the most modern machinery. Employment is furnished to from one hundred to one hundred and twenty-five skilled workmen and the company has always maintained the highest reputation for the standard of its goods. After working up through various depart- ments in the mill and thus gaining a comprehensive knowledge of every branch of the business, Mr. Richards in 1906 was made secretary of the company and in 1909 the duties of treasurer were added, since which time he has been both secretary and treasurer. He has also been the active manager for the past two years.
Mr. Richards is also well known in fraternal circles. He belongs to Morning Star Lodge, No. 47, F. & A. M., to Evening Star Chapter, No. 47, R. A. M., to Union Council, R. & S. M., to New Haven Commandery, K. T, and Pyramid Temple A. A. O. N. M. S. He is likewise connected with the Red Men and he belongs to the Knight Templar Club of New Haven. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and while he keeps well informed on the questions and issues of the day he never seeks nor desires office. preferring to concentrate his undivided thought and attention upon his growing and important business interests. He is today active in the management of one of the chief industrial concerns of Seymour and has justly won his place among the representative business men of the city.
PROFESSOR BERLIN WRIGHT TINKER.
Occupying a prominent position among the public educators of Connecticut is Professor Berlin Wright Tinker, who for twenty years has been superintendent of the public schools of Waterbury, the continuation of his services being indisputable proof of the high efficiency of his work and the satisfaction which his efforts have given. He was born in the village of Jerusalem, Yates county, New York, February 7, 1867, and is the eldest son of Rev. Ezra Tinker, D. D., a Methodist clergyman, whose ministerial career covered a period of forty-five years, in which he was actively engaged in preaching the Gospel in several different states. He was born in Norwich, New York, and pursued his education in Colgate University and in the Drew Theological Seminary, of which he was a graduate. Honorary degrees were conferred upon him by various colleges and universities, including Yale. His career was concluded in Marine City, Michigan, where he passed away a few years ago at the age of sixty-seven. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Sarah Janet Wright, was born in Dundee, New York, and died in Lyons, that state, about ten years ago, when sixty-three years of age. Professor Tinker is of ancient colonial descent on the paternal side, the ancestor of the family in America being Thomas Tinker, who came from England on the Mayflower in 1620. Representatives of the family have fought in all of the American wars from that time to the present and his father, Rev. Ezra Tinker, was a veteran of the Civil war. The Wright family is of Scotch lineage.
Professor Tinker is the only survivor of a family of five children, having had two brothers and two sisters who have now passed away. His early life was spent at various places owing to the fact that the itinerant custom of the Methodist ministry caused the removal of the family from time to time. From the age of twelve years he has largely been a resident of New England. He prepared for college in the Norwich (Conn.) Free Academy, from which he was graduated with the class of 1884. and later he completed a course in Bates College at Lewiston, Maine, where he won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1888, while the following year the Master of Arts degree was conferred upon him. He spent one year in post graduate work at the Boston University but in the meantime had taken up
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the vocation of teaching, having taught his first term in the state of Maine in 1884. In that way he earned the money to take him through Bates College and his complete record in the capacity of teacher, high school principal and high school superintendent is as follows. He taught at Stow, Maine, for a third of a year in 1884 and a half year at Dundee, New Hampshire, in 1885. He was a teacher at Swanville, Maine, for a third of a year in 1886, at Mount Vernon, Maine, for a third of a year in 1887 and was principal of the high school at Chelmsford, Massachusetts, in 1889-1890. He next became principal of the high school at Southboro, Massachusetts, where he remained for a year, and was principal of the high school at Marblehead in 1891-92. He was principal of the high school at Marlboro, Massachusetts, from 1892 until 1894 and superintendent there from 1894 until 1897. In the latter year he was called to the superintendency of the schools of Waterbury, where he has since continued, and the splendidly organized and developed system of the public schools of this city bears testimony to his worth and his progressiveness. He keeps in touch with the most advanced thought of the profession, being a member of the National Education Association, the New England Association of School Superintendents and the Connecticut State Teachers' Association beside various others of similar character and purport.
On the 17th of August, 1889. Professor Tinker was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth French Wyer, of Portland, Maine. They are consistent members of the First Congregational church of Waterbury and in the social circles of the city occupy an enviable position. Professor Tinker belongs also to the Sons of Veterans and he finds his chief diversion in summer in gardening and in fishing. His ideas are in accord with Kant's statement that: "The object of education is to train each individual to reach the highest perfection possible for him." and his labors have ever been directed toward that end.
EDWARD LAURENS FRISBIE.
Edward Laurens Frisbie, who was one of Waterbury's grand old meu, honored and respected by all with whom he came in contact, was born August 22, 1824, in the city where his death occurred, his parents being Laurens and Artemisia (Welton) Frisbie, descendants of old Connecticut families. Reared on the homestead farm. Edward L. Frisbie acquired a public school education and remained under the parental roof until he reached the age of twenty-three years, when he accepted employment with the Waterbury Brass Com- pany, in the kettle department. There he continued until the summer of 1848. In the spring of 1849 he entered the employ of Brown & Elton and was engaged in casting brass and German silver at the factory of that firm, with which he remained until the new firm of Brown Brothers was formed. He continued with the new organization and was made foreman of the casting department. His service with that firm covered a period of thirty years, extending to 1883. He was admitted to a partnership in the business in 1854 and through the intervening years filled positions of trust and responsibility. After retiring from active business he continued to make his home in Waterbury until his death. As a representative of its manufacturing interests he sustained an unassailable reputation for enterprise, for initiative and for thorough reliability. In addition to his connection with manufacturing interests Mr. Frisbie became well known in financial circles. He was a trustee of the Waterbury Savings Bank and he became president. He was also one of the founders of the Dime Savings Bank, of which he was a trustee, and he also became a director of the Manufacturers National Bank and was its president at the time of his death, thus being closely associated with the moneyed interests of the city.
Moreover. Mr. Frisbie took a most active and helpful interest in public affairs of moment and was a well known and valued citizen of Waterbury. In 1854 he was called upon to represent his district in the state legislature and was again chosen to that position in 1872. He also served as a member of the board of selectmen when Waterbury was a town and when it was organized under a city form of government he again served as a member of the city council and at other times did duty on various boards and committees. He like- wise served as a member of the board of assessors and as justice of the peace. He was a Jefferson democrat, stanch and true. a good citizen and progressive in all his relations with the public welfare. An Episcopalian in religious faith, when the parish of St. John's ivas divided and Trinity parish formed he became a vestryman in the newly established church and later was one of its wardens. He was devoted to his home and family and held friendship inviolable. No cause which he espoused ever had reason to complain of his negligence. He stanelily supported every movement with which he became allied and his
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