USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 47
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Mr. Stoughton belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and is treasurer of Franklin Lodge, which position he has occupied for twenty-two years, showing how highly he is esteemed and honored by the fraternity. He belongs to the Congregational church, in the work of which he has taken a very active and helpful part, doing all in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. His political endorsement is given to the republican party, for he has been a stalwart advocate of its principles since attaining adult age. His fellow townsmen, appreciative of his worth and ability, have elected him to repre- sent his district in the state legislature, of which he is now an active member. Honored and respected by all, there is no man who occupies a more enviable position in business or financial circles in Thomaston than Edward C. Stoughton, not alone by reason of the success he has achieved, but also on acuont of the straightforward business policy which he has ever followed.
JAMES E. MALLETTE.
James E. Mallette, engaged in the real estate, fire insurance and loan business in Torrington, was born on Staten Island, New York, July 7, 1864, a son of Daniel A. and Char- lotte A. (Ennis) Mallette, both of whom were of English lineage. The father was a mer- chant miller, in which line of business his father, Daniel A. Mallette, Sr., also engaged. Daniel A. Mallette, Sr., was born in Woodbridge, England, and in England wedded Mary Procter. On coming to the United States he settled on Staten Island, where both he and his son gave their attention to the milling business, the old mill which they owned and conducted being still in existence.
James E. Mallette was a lad of nine years when his parents removed from Staten island to Campville, Connecticut, where the father entered the milling business, but soon turned the grist mill into a mill used to grind up silica, plentiful in that section, to be used later in the manufacture of pottery products, chinaware, etc. This business proved very profitable but the dust of the mill impaired his health, bringing about his death at the early age of forty-one years.
James E. Mallette worked to some extent in the mill but not so extensively as his father, so that he was not harmed thereby. He was but twelve years of age at the time of his father's death and he had to leave school and assist in the support of his mother and the family of eight children. His mother passed away a year and a half later, so that he was left an orphan when only fourteen years old. When it became necessary that he earn his own living he answered an advertisement for a stable boy and scoured the position at a salary of six dollars and a quarter per month and his board with the privilege of sleep- ing in the barn. His employer was Dr. T. S. Hanchett, with whom he remained for a year, and at the end of that time he secured a situation at the plant of the Excelsior Needle Com- pany. Such was the ability and fidelity that he displayed that within a year he was advanced to the position of foreman. He remained with that company for nineteen years and was at the head of several departments when he resigned to engage in the real estate business on the 13th of January. 1899.
At this period the Torrington Cooperative Company. which had been organized to
JAMES E. MALLETTE
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conduct a grocery store, was in sore need of a manager. Its indebtedness was six thousand dollars and its stock was greatly depleted. Mr. Mallette took charge of the business, being made president and treasurer of the company, and such was his progressiveness and enter- prise that the indebtedness was soon paid off and the business closed out and a dividend of forty per cent was paid to all of the stockholders. The company's activities were then turned to the real estate business. Since then several large buildings have been erected, including the three story block on Main street known as the Chamber of Commerce building. Under Mr. Mallette's judicious management the Torrington Cooperative Company now has real estate holdings in Torrington valued at approximately one hundred thousand dollars, and their stock is quoted on the market today at one hundred and twenty-five dollars. Ile is also the treasurer of The Conley Inn Corporation. About fifteen years ago he purchased from the Turner estate the Bissell farm, consisting of about one hundred acres, which he occupied as a home. The house on this land was built over one hundred and fifty years ago by a member of the well known Eno family. It has been remodeled into a very modern, commodious and attractive residence by Mr. Mallette, who has retained forty acres of the original purchase "for a dooryard."
Mr. Mallette was united in marriage to Miss Ella Gaines, of New Hartford, in 1893. She died less than a year later, and on August 14, 1897, he wedded Miss Emma Birney, a daughter of Robert and Mary Birney and a native of New Hartford. They have a son and daughter: Ennis B., formerly a student in Phillips-Exeter Acamedy; and Geraldine II., who is a student at The Castle, Tarrytown-on-the-Hudson, New York.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Mallette are members of the Center Congregational church and Mr. Mallette is a director in the Torrington Young Men's Christian Association. He is also identified with Torrington Lodge, No. 72, B. P. O. E. In politics he is a republi- can and was made a member of the special committee of three for the revaluation of property in 1912. In public affairs he is keenly interested and is an active member of the Torrington Chamber of Commerce, of which he is now the president and was one of the organizers. Mr. Mallette is one of the largest individual real estate holders in Torrington. He has the distinction of paying the record price for downtown property in this city and the unique part of the transaction is that as a boy he shoveled snow from the sidewalk in front of this same property. He has closely studied the questions affecting the welfare of the city in its various trade connections, and his views combine the practical with the ideal. Moreover, he is a man of purpose who accomplishes what he undertakes. An analysis of his character shows the most laudable ambition. Step by step he has advanced through individual effort and merit and today is accounted one of the foremost business men and citizens of Torrington.
THOMAS W. AHERN.
Thomas W. Ahern, business manager of the Nangatuck Daily News, was born in Glaston- bury, Connecticut, October 1. 1863, a son of William and Mary (Leahy) Ahern, both of whom were natives of County Cork, Ireland, and came to the United States about 1859. They landed in New York city and afterward became residents of Glastonbury, Connectient, where both passed away.
Thomas W. Ahern acquired a high school education and afterward entered into the insurance business in Hartford, representing both life and fire insurance, when but seven- teen years of age. On the 14th of May, 1882, he came to Naugatuck and entered the employ of the Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company, with which he continued until the 15th of August, 1885. He then became treasurer of the Union City Coal Company, with which he continued until June 1, 1894, when he was appointed postmaster of Naugatuck. On the expiration of his four years, term in that position he became connected with the Naugatuek Daily News. with which he has since been associated. The paper was established in October, 1895, by the Naugatuck News Company, with W. T. Rodenbach as president, J. W. Long as secretary and A. C. Tuttle, treasurer. Mr. Long resigned his position in January, 1915, and was succeeded by Edward J. Ahern. Mr. Tuttle served as treasurer until 1897, when he was succeeded by Thomas W. Ahern, who became treasurer as well as business manager. In 1897 Charles J. Baxter became editor of the paper, which was started as a daily six colmun, eight page journal. It is now a seven column. eight page paper, all home print, and has a circulation of about two thousand. Its first home was on Church street in a small frame building, whence a removal was made to the rear of Meadow street about 1901, where larger quarters were secured. In June, 1906, the plant
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father had been engaged in that line of business and he naturally turned his attention in that direction. Working his way steadily upward by reason of his faithfulness and capability, he became assistant foreman of the train room of the watch department and later he was made foreman. His'next position brought him to the superintendency of the marine depart- ment in July, 1909, and here he has since remained. In 1911 he assumed control of the Thomaston Knife Company and in association with several others he managed the business for about a year, at the end of which time a controlling interest was sold to Edwin Frost who is now president. Mr. Kaiser, however, is still a stockholder and director.
In 1893 Mr. Kaiser was united in marriage to Miss Carrie Edna Saul, of Thomaston, a daughter of Herman D. and Mary K. Saul. The children of this marriage are Kenneth Saul and Margaret Elizabeth. Mr. Kaiser belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and also to the Trinity Episcopal church, in which he has been a member of the choir for over thirty years. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has served as second selectman for six years, while for two years he filled the position of first selectman and is at present a member of the Board of Education. He is also much interested in all things of a musical nature and has taken active interest in developing singing societies, light operas, etc., in Thomaston. He is the vice president of the Business Men's Association and a most active factor in promoting the business interests of the city, studying closely all that has to do with its trade relations and working toward advanced ends for the benefit of the community at large.
R. E. HILLER.
R. E. Hiller is manager of the branch office of Dutee W. Flint at No. 196 Grand street, Waterbury, an automobile agency. He was born in Meriden, Connecticut, a son of L. C. Hiller, a designer for a silverware company. He acquired a public school education and when his textbooks were put aside he entered the manufacturing field in connection with the International Silver Company. Seven years later he turned his attention to the automobile business as an employe of D. W. Flint, becoming a salesman in the Meriden office, and eight months later he was made manager of the Waterbury agency, which was established in 1914 at No. 196 Grand street. He is in this connection agent for the Ford cars with a territory covering Thomaston, Woodbury, Southbury, Middlebury, Waterville, Oakville, Watertown, Naugatuck, Union City, Wolcott and parts of Cheshire. He also handles a full line of Ford parts, has a service station on Cottage Place and employs from fifteen to twenty people. The business occupies a new three story building about forty by seventy-five feet and there is carried a complete stock of Ford goods. Mr. Hiller is an enterprising, alert and energetic young business man and is making good in what he has undertaken. He is a Mason.
ARTHUR O. SHEPARDSON.
For two decades Arthur O. Shepardson held the important position of treasurer of the New England Engineering Company, wholesale and retail jobbers in electrical supplies, with home offices in Waterbury, and in that connection he was an important factor in busi- ness circles in the state. In 1910 he retired and has since enjoyed the leisure to which his many years of active life entitle him.
Mr. Shepardson was born in Waterbury, December 29, 1847, and in both the paternal and maternal lines is descended from families long established in New England. The progenitor of the American branch of the Shepardson family was Daniel Shepardson, who landed at Salem, Massachusetts, in 1628. On his mother's side he is descended from the Hon. John Pierpont, whose birth occurred in London in 1619 and who became a resident of Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1640. The Rev. James Pierpont, the second son of John Pierpont, completed a course at Harvard with the class of 1861 and four years later was ordained to the ministery in New Haven. He married Maria Hooker in 1698, and their fifth son, Joseph Pierpont, established the family in North Haven, Connecticut. He had a son, Joseph Pierpont II, who was the father of Ezra Pierpont. The last named had a son, Seabury Pierpont, who was married in 1813 to Miss Chlorana Hall, by whom he had five children. Their daughter, Lucy Sabrina, became the wife of Otis Shepardson, a native of Wrentham, Massachusetts, and a machinist by trade.
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father had been engaged in that line of business and he naturally turned his attention in that direction. Working his way steadily upward by reason of his faithfulness and capability, he became assistant foreman of the train room of the watch department and later he was made foreman. His 'next position brought him to the superintendency of the marine depart- ment in July, 1909, and here he has since remained. In 1911 he assumed control of the Thomaston Knife Company and in association with several others he managed the business for about a year, at the end of which time a controlling interest was sold to Edwin Frost who is now president. Mr. Kaiser, however, is still a stockholder and director.
In 1893 Mr. Kaiser was umted in marriage to Miss Carrie Edna Saul, of Thomaston, a daughter of Herman D. and Mary K. Saul. The children of this marriage are Kenneth Saul and Margaret Elizabeth. Mr. Kaiser belongs to the Knights of Pythias fraternity and also to the Trinity Episcopal church, in which he has been a member of the choir for over thirty years. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and he has served as second selectman for six years. while for two years he filled the position. of first selectman and is at present a member of the Board of Education. He is also much interested in all things of a musical nature and has taken active interest in developing singing societies, light operas, etc., in Themaston. He is the vice president of the Business Men's Association and a most active factor in promoting the business interests of the city, studying closely all that has to do with its trade relations and working toward advanced ends for the benefit of the community at large.
R. E. HILLER.
R. E Hiller is manager of the branch office of Dutee W. Flint at No. 196 Grand street, Waterbury, an automobile agency. He was born in Meriden. Connecticut, a son of L. C. Hiller, a designer for a silverware company. He acquired a public school education and when his textbooks were put aside he entered the manufacturing field in connection with the International Silver Company. Seven years later he turned his attention to the. automobile business as an employe of D. W. Flint, becoming a salesman in the Meriden office, and eight months later he was made manager of the Waterbury agency, which was established in 1913 at No. 196 Grand street. He is in this connection agent for the Ford cars with : Numery covering Thomaston, Woodbury. Smhbury, Middlebury, Waterville, Notrein. Naugatuck, Union City, Wolcott and parts of Cheshire. He also wedle a full line of Ford parts, has a service station on toitage Place and employs from Atter to twenty people. The business occupi = " yew three story building about forty by seventy-five feet and there is carried a complet stock of Ford goods. Mr. Hiller is an enterprising alert and energetic young business want and is making good in what he has undertaken. He is a Masop.
ARTHUR O. SHEPARDSON
For two decades Arthur O. Shepardson held the important position of treasurer of the New England Engineering Company, wholesale and retail jobbers in electrical supplies, with home offices in Waterbury, and in that connection he was an important factor in busi- ness circles in the state. In 1910 he retired and has since enjoyed the leisure to which his many years of active life entitle him.
Mr. Shepardson was born in Waterbury, December 29. 1847. and in both the paternal and Jornal imes is descended from families long established in New England. The progenitor of :1. American branch of the Shepardson family was Daniel Shepardson, who landed at Salem. Massachusetts, in 1628. On his mother's side he is descended from the Hon. John Pierpont, whose birth occurred in London in 1619 and who brame a resident of Roxbury, Massachusetts. in 1610. The Rev. James Pierpont, the second son of John Pierpont, completed a course at Harvard with the class of 1861 and four years later was ordained to the ministery in New Haven. He married Maria Hak.' in 1698. and their fifth son, Joseph Pierpont. established the family in North Hren. Connecticut. He had a son, Joseph Pierpont JI, who was the father of Ezra Biopaint. The last named had a son, Seabury Pierpont, who was married in 1813 to Mis: (lorana Hall, by whom he had five children. Their daughter, Lucy Sabrina. became tin wife of Otis Shepardson, a native of Wrentham. Massachusetts, and a machinist by trek.
A. P. Diehardion
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Their son, Arthur O. Shepardson, the subject of this review, attended the Waterbury high school and a private school conducted by H. F. Bassett. His first business connection was with the Dime Savings Bank, with which instiution he remained from 1871 until 1884. In the latter year he entered the field of activity which subsequently claimed his time and attention until his retirement, becoming identified with the Connecticut Electric Company. Some time later this concern was merged into the Waterbury Traction Company, of which he was general manager until 1895. He also held the position of treasurer of the Branford Light & Water Company, in which capacity he served for ten years. He had other important business connections, as he was secretary of the Catskill Illuminating & Power Company from 1893 to 1905. Ifis identification with the New England Engineering Com- pany dated from 1890, when he became treasurer of that concern. He held that position continuously until 1910, when he resigned and retired from active life. The company main- tains its home offices in Waterbury and has branches in eight other Connecticut cities, being one of the largest jobbing houses in the state dealing in electrical supplies. Mr. Shepardson's selection as a high official in the various important electrical and public utility concerns with which he was identified establishes beyond doubt his familiarity with the problems pertaining to such companies. He has also been a factor in the financial develop- ment of Waterbury as a director of the Dime Savings Bank.
Mr. Shepardson was married on the 25th of April, 1889, to Mrs. Sarah A. (Fuller) Dermnot, of Springfield. They have one son, Paul Arthur, whose birth occurred November 17, 1894. In addition to their attractive residence in Waterbury the family had for many years a summer home at Pine Orchard, Connecticut, which, however, they have sold.
Mr. Shepardson has always taken a keen interest in all matters affecting the civic advancement of Waterbury and in 1876 and 1878 was elected to the common council, of which he served as clerk for both terms. In politics he is independent and has never been strictly partisan. His fraternal connections are with the Masons and with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has held the offices of noble grand and chief patriarch. The extent of his interests and the principles which have governed his life are still further indicated in the fact that he holds membership in the Trinity Protestant Episcopal church. He is widely known in Waterbury and has many friends and acquaintances.
JOHN MERRIAM PAGE.
A monument to the business enterprise and capability of John Merriam Page is found in the hardware and plumbing establishment now conducted under the name of the J. M. Page Company in Naugatuck. He was a splendid type of American manhood and citizenship. He stood for all that is progressive and for all that is worth while to the individual and to the community at large. He was born February 14, 1838, in North Branford, Connecticut, and was of English lineage. His grandfather, Benjamin Page, however, was also born in North Branford, where he followed the occupation of farming. His family consisted of four children, including Benjamin Page, Jr., who was born in North Branford and was united in marriage to Sarah E. Merriam, of Meriden, Connecticut. They had a family of five children: John Merriam, of this review Charles, who became a Congregational minister of North Branford; Benjamin, one of the prominent and influential citizens of Meriden, where he conducts an insurance business and where he was called upon to serve as mayor and as member of the legislature: Martha. the wife of T. A. Smith, a merchant and farmer of Northford: and Robert, who occupied the old homestead. The father of this family inherited the old homestead property and devoted his life to general agricultural pursuits. His course was over manly and sincere and his freedom from ostentation and display, combined with his sterling worth, commanded for him the respect of all. His political allegiance was given the democratic party and he held various offices, the duties of which he discharged with promptness and fidelity.
John M. Page was a youth of seventeen when he entered upon an apprenticeship to the tinner's trade in Northford. He thoroughly acquainted himself with the business and afterward was employed as a journeyman in Northford and Clinton and in Newark, New Jersey. He became a resident of Naugatuck in 1874, at which time he purchased a general hardware and tinware business. To this he devoted his energies throughout his remaining days, building up a trade of large and gratifying proportions and leaving to his heirs an establishment that ranks among the leading concerns of the kind in the Naugatuck valley.
John M. Page was united in marriage to Miss Carrie C. Cook, a daughter of Leverett Cook. of Wallingford. The only child of that marriage died in infancy and the wife and
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mother afterward passed away. Mr. Cook later wedded Rebecca Williams, a daughter of Henry Williams, also of Wallingford, and to them were born four danghters: Carrie C., who became the wife of Horace E. Baldwin, of Naugatuck, who is now connected with the J. M. Page Company; Nellie M., who became the wife of W. P. Clark, of Naugatuck; Leafie B., the wife of W. H. Miner, of Naugatuck; and Mattie R., the wife of Frank R. Squires, of Naugatuck. After losing his second wife Mr. Page wedded Miss Sarah C. Williams, a daughter of Henry Williams and a great-great-granddaughter of Colonel William Douglass, who was born in Plainfield, Connecticut, January 27, 1742. He was very active in the Revolutionary war, raising a regiment, of which he was given command. He sacrificed his life and fortune for his country.
Mr. Page was a very prominent and honored member of the Masonic fraternity. He belonged to Corinthian Lodge, No. 103, F. & A. M., Allerton Chapter, No. 39, R. A. M., Water- bury Council, No. 21, R. & S. M., Clark Commandery, No. 7, K. T., Doric Lodge of Perfection, No. 14, A. & A. S. R., Ionic Council, No. 16, of the Princes of Jerusalem, and Lafayette Con- sistory, in which he attained the thirty-second degree of the Scottish Rite. He was also a member of Pyramid Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., and of Evergreen Chapter, No. 22, O. E. S. His political allegiance was given to the democratic party and he was again and again called upon to serve in positions of public honor and trust. He was town treasurer for more than a decade and in 1898 was elected to the state legislature to which he was reelected in 1900. He proved an able member of the general assembly, carefully considering the vital questions which came up for settlement and adding the weight of his influence wherever he believed the best interests of the commonwealth would be conserved. For nearly twenty years he was senior warden in St. Michael's Episcopal parish and when he passed away August 21, 1912, he left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name and his memory is enshrined in the hearts of all who knew him.
JOHN WORKMAN.
John Workman is one of the most valued and honored residents of Torrington, where he has spent his entire life. Born on the 10th of January, 1838, he is now in his eightieth year, yet be is still active and vigorous and is the oldest living male member of the Work- man family residing in Torrington, where the family has long been represented. He is, moreover, one of the three oldest of Torrington's native citizens. His father, Samuel Workman. was born in England and on coming to the United States in 1836 at once took up his abode in Torrington, where he passed away in 1879, at the age of three score years and ten. his birth having occurred in 1809. Throughout his active career he was identified with the Warrenton Woolen Company and from 1859 until his death was one of its directors. He married Caroline Franklin, also a native of England, in which country their wedding was celebrated, and their two eldest children were born on the Merrie Isle before the family emigrated to the new world. These two are Anna, who is still a resident of Torrington, and George D. Workman, who died in June. 1909. He became identified with the Warrenton Woolen Company in 1865 and was long the executive head of the business, filling the office of president. He ranked with the leading business men of his town, being president of the Torrington Electric Light Company up to the time of his death, while of the Torrington National Bank he was the first president. He was also a director of the Turner & Seymour Manufacturing Company and in community affairs he took a deep and helpful interest, serving for many years on the board of burgesses, to which office he was called when Torrington became a borough. A complete record of George Workman appears elsewhere in this work.
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