USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume II > Part 5
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EL Frisbie
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influence was a potent element in its advancement. Death called him on the 13th day of April, 1909, bringing sorrow not only to his immediate household but to the many friends in Waterbury who still revere and honor his memory and who frequently pause with kindly thought at his grave in Riverside cemetery.
It was on the 11th of February, 1850. that Mr. Frisbie was married to Miss Hannah A. Welton, a daughter of Hershel Welton, of Wolcott. They became the parents of four children, of whom two died in infancy, the surviving daughter and son being: Mary A .. the wife of Ellis Phelan; and Edward Laurens, a resident of Waterbury. The mother passed away July 10. 1857, and later Mr. Frisbie wedded Josephine Deming, a danghter of Abner Deming, of Derby. She died October 14, 1872, leaving one child, Josephine D., and on the 2d of October, 1884, Mr. Frisbie married Emily J. Welton, a danghter of George W. Welton. The Welton family, of whom Mrs. Frisbie is a representative, was one of the first families of Waterbury. It was here that John Welton, the founder of the family in Con- nectient, first settled, and his son Richard was the first male child born in Waterbury. George Wales Welton, father of Mrs. Frisbie, was born August 26, 1809, in Waterbury, and was a son of Richard Fenton and Anna (Porter) Welton. The home of the family was on East Main street and it was there that George Wales Welton grew to manhood and attended the Bucks Hill school and also Waterbury Academy. In early manhood he engaged in farm- ing. which he followed until 1842, when, with others. he organized the Waterbury Brass Com- pany and became superintendent of the plant, so serving until 1857, or for a period of twelve years. He then resigned and accepted a similar position with Holmes, Booth & Haydens, occupying that place of trust and responsibility for thirteen years. Ile next became one of the organizers of the manufacturing firm of Plume & Atwood, with which he remained during the residue of his active life, being one of the directors of the company at the time of his death. He was also interested in the Oakville Pin Company. He passed away at his home in Waterbury, January 16, 1886, and was laid to rest in Bucks Hill cemetery. He was a publie-spirited man, well known and respected, and he took a deep interest in the growth and prosperity of Waterbury. He was always active in every movement that was for the benefit of the city and its people. On the 11th of September. 1837. in Waterbury, he wedded
Harriet Minor, who was born December 18, 1811, and died May 26, 1839. She was a daughter of Archibald Minor, of Wolcott, and became the mother of a daughter, Harriet Minor Welton. who married Leverett D. Kenea, of Thomaston, Connecticut. On the 22d of December. 1840, Mr. Welton wedded Mary Graham. Of their children Mary Elizabeth became the wife of George E. Bissell, the noted sculptor, and they have five children: George Welton, who is dean of the Michigan State College at Lansing: Isabella Graham, at home; Harry Johnson: Joseph Welton, who died in childhood; and Percy R., who is at this writing in the officers' training camp at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Emily J., the second member of the Welton family. became the wife of Edward L. Frisbie, Sr .. of Waterbury. Ellen Caroline married James E. Coer and resides in Waterbury. George Richard, now deceased. married Nellie C. Webster. of Thomaston. Connecticut, and they have one daughter, Gertrude Webster, who is a graduate of St. Margaret's School, of Wellesley College and the medical department of the I'miversity of Michigan and is now a well known physician of New York city, having charge of the X-ray department at the Polyclinic Hospital of New York. The fifth child of the Welton family died in infancy.
Mrs. Frisbie may well be proud of being a representative of Waterbury's oldest family. She is a member of Melicent Porter Chapter, D. A. R .. and has been honored with election to life membership in the same. She is also a member of the Woman's Club, in which she filled the office of president -- being the third woman in that office. She belongs to the Trinity Episcopal church and her entire career has been characterized by her Christian faith, marked by devotion to duty in every relation and by earnest effort to uphold and further moral progress.
HON. ISAAC WATTS BROOKS.
Among the men who have left their impress indelibly upon the history of Connecticut is Hon. Isaae Watts Brooks, for many years one of the most prominent, distinguished and honored citizens not only of Torrington but of the state. The place which he occupied in the public regard was the result of merit. The world instinctively pays deference to the man whose success is honorably achieved and who at all times recognizes his obligations to his fellows. Such was the career of Isaac W. Brooks, whose birth occurred at the old Brooks homestead in the south part of Goshen on the 8th of November. 1838. He belonged to one of
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postoffice he lived for several years in New Haven. He enlisted in the Nineteenth Conneeti- cut Regiment, afterward the Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery, and was wounded in the battle of Cold Harbor, after which he did not return to active service. He was in the employ of the government either in the pension office or in the postoffice department until a short time before his death, which occurred in 1895. Martha and Charlotte Camp are still living in the family home in Medford, Massachusetts. Charlotte was a very able and successful teacher for more than fifty years, forty of which were spent as master's assist- ant in the Frothingham school in the city of Boston. Mary became the wife of Edward W. Belcher, and has for many years resided in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Joseph E. and Burton H. died in infancy.
Wallace Henry Camp came to Waterbury in 1870 and entered the employ of the Scovill Manufacturing Company, where he remained until 1899. Since then he has had the care and oversight of considerable property in or near the center of Waterbury.
On the 17th of October 1878, Wallace H. Camp was married to Helen I. W. Platt, a daughter of William S. and Caroline (Orton) Platt. Mr. and Mrs. Camp are the parents of four children: Roland Heaton, a graduate of Yale College and the Harvard Law School; Edith Caroline and Hilda Mary, graduates of Smith College; and Orton Platt, a graduate of Yale College and of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mr. Camp and his family are members of the Second Congregational church, and in the work thereof take an active interest. He was Sunday school superintendent for four- teen years, retiring from that position in 1894. His political endorsement is given to the republican party, but he has never been active in club or fraternal circles.
JOHN C. BOOTH.
John C. Booth ranked for many years as one of the foremost citizens and business men of Waterbury. Not seeking honor but simply endeavoring to do his duty, honors were multiplied unto him and prosperity followed all his undertakings. He was born in New- town, June 13, 1808, his parents being Philo and Aurelia Booth. His education was acquired in the schools of his native town and in Danbury, where he also engaged in teach- ing for a number of years. He turned from professional to commercial life in 1832, when he became a resident of Meriden and accepted the agency of several manufacturing eom- panies. His efforts at once 'became an effective force in his new field and he rapidly ad- vanced, so that at the end of three years he was not only representing Benedict & Burn- ham as a traveling salesman but had also entered into association with the firm of Bald- win, Burnham & Company of New York to develop its trade. He then removed to the west, where he spent four years, but feeling that the opportunities of the east were fully equivalent to those to be found in the west, he returned to Waterbury and became a part- ner in the business of Benedict & Burnham, taking charge of the store. In 1843, when the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company was organized with a directorate of five members, he was chosen one of the first members of the board and continued to act in that capacity for nine years. In 1853 he took an important part in organizing and establishing a new enterprise, becoming associated in the undertaking with Israel Holmes under the style of Holmes, Booth & Haydens. He bent his energies to the successful control and administration of the business until 1869, when he became associated with Israel Holmes, L. J. Atwood and D. S. Plume in organizing the Plume & Atwood Manu- facturing Company, of which he was elected the first secretary. On the death of Mr. Holmes he was chosen to the presidency and so continued until 1873, when he withdrew from active management of the business but still remained as president and director of the Plume & Atwood Company. He had ever been watchful of opportunities pointing to suc- cess and his sound judgment enabled him to recognize readily all chances for progress and advancement in manufacturing fields.
On the 19th of February, 1840, Mr. Booth was united in marriage to Miss Eunice Tucker, of Oxford, and they became the parents of two daughters, Sarah Henrietta and Mary Eunice, the latter the wife of Edward M. Burrall. The elder daughter was born April 22, 1846, and died in New York city, November 16, 1873. She was a young lady of marked musical talent, of most generous and kindly disposition and of pleasing per- sonality. Indeed her nature was one of fineness personified and her memory is yet en- shrined in the hearts of those who knew her.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Booth were consistent members and active workers in St. John's Episcopal church and for many years he served as one of its vestrymen. He was also
John & Booth
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a most generous supporter of Trinity church and of St. Margaret's school. He was called upon to serve as a trustee of the Riverside Cemetery Association and occupied other positions of trust and confidence. In fact he stood as a stanch advocate of all plans and measures for the general good and his endorsement of a measure was sure to win to it further support of those who recognized the soundness of his judgment. In public affairs he brought to bear the same spirit of progressiveness which characterized his business career. At all times he was quiet and unostentatious in manner and the simplicity and beauty of his daily life was manifest in his home and family relations, which constituted an even balance to his splendid business capacity and powers. Death called him July 29, 1886, and his widow survived only until August 20, 1894.
At the funeral services held for John Camp Booth, the Rev. Dr. Rowland said: "He will be long remembered in the community for his ability as a man of business, for his perseverance and enterprise, as well as for his genial and kindly nature. But those who knew him best will remember him for his domestic virtues, for his fidelity and affectionate. ness in the home circle, for his devotion to wife and children. It is such characters that fill the homes of earth with the spirit of Him who came not to be ministered unto, but to minister. In his relations to the church and his intercourse with the world he has shown himself obedient to the precept which bids us 'bear one another's burdens.'"
There was in the life of Mr. Booth much that can with profit be set down for future generations. He was a man who it may be said truthfully never lost the common touch. Great success and accumulated power had not dulled his perceptions of what was right, nor had they dimmed his vision of the true perspective from his position as compared with that of men of more humble mien. His handclasp was as warm for the friend in a threadbare coat as for the prosperous business friend of his later years. He appre- ciated difficulties, having had his own hard knocks. He sympathized with those whose lot was not as fortunate as his, and yet he could not condone the shirker nor have patience with the shiftless, because his life had been organized along lines that called for a full dole of labor within each turn of the wheel. No little of his sustained power was due to the moral and social characteristics of this many-sided man. In social intercourse he was genial, kindly and humanly sympathetic; in business he was the personification of its highest ethics and the most rigid integrity.
H. P. & E. DAY, INCORPORATED.
The business conducted under the name of H. P. & E. Day, Incorporated, was established in 1852, for the manufacture of hard rubber sundries of all kinds. They began the manu- facture of fountain pens-among the first to undertake that industry-and made pens for various inventors. During the middle '80s they started to make pens for L. E. Waterman and have been so engaged to the present time. For several years the plant has been devoted exclusively to the manufacture of the rubber part of the Waterman fountain pen. This is the only factory so engaged in the United States and the pens are assembled in New York. Their plant consists of three main factories, a power house and an office. The factories are all of reinforced concrete and are splendidly equipped with the latest improved machinery for carrying on work of that character. They employ three hundred and eighty-five people, all skilled labor, mostly men. They have developed a splendid organization, officered by men of well known business ability and executive force. Theirs is the largest rubber turning plant in the United States. The officers at the present time are: Edmond Day, president ; Julius G. Day, treasurer; Walter Randall, secretary and general manager. The importance of the business to Seymour is readily recognized, for it employs a large force of workmen and greatly promotes trade conditions in many ways. The city may well feel proud that it has in its midst the leading establishment of this kind in the United States.
WALTER RANDALL.
Walter Randall, who is the secretary and general manager of the H. P. & E. Day Company, was born in Seymour, December 9, 1868, a son of Hiram Randall, one of the old- time merchants of Seymour. He was twenty years of age when he started out in business on his own account in factory work, securing a position with the Silver Plate Cutlery Company of Shelton, Connecticut. Ile was afterward with the Whitlock Printing Press Manufacturing
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Company and in 1903 he entered the employ of the Day Company, since which time he has been the manager and the seeretary.
Mr. Randall was united in marriage to Miss Olive Whitlock, of Shelton, Connecticut, and they have one daughter, Olive.
EDWARD MILTON BURRALL.
Edward Milton Burrall, deceased, who was one of Waterbury's foremost manufacturers and progressive citizens, was a native of the town of Plymouth, Litehfield county, where his birth occurred May 24, 1848. He was descended from one of the oldest historie families of the state. Colonel Charles Burrall, who commanded the Connecticut troops in the battle of Ticonderoga during the Revolutionary war and who received his commission from Gov- ernor Trumbull, was the great-great-grandfather of Edward Milton Burrall. His grand- parents were Charles and Luey (Beach) Burrall, who made their home in Canaan. Con- neeticut. His father John Milton Burrall, was born January 18, 1817, in Canaan, Con- nectieut, was reared upon the old home farm and acquired his early education in the local schools of Canaan, while subsequently he became a student in an academy at Hartford, Connecticut. After his school days were over he entered upon an apprenticeship to the cabinet making trade and spent four years in that connection. He afterward went to Plymouth, Litchfield county, where he followed cabinet making for a period of ten years, and in 1849 he entered into partnership with George Root, of Waterbury, where they estab- lished a furniture business under the firm style of Burrall & Root. Their store was located on East Main street and Mr. Burrall was identified with that business up to the time of his death. In 1852 the firm erected a new buikling at 60 Bank street and removed their business to that location, there remaining in the conduct of a successful enterprise for over a half century. In 1875 Edward Milton Burrall beeame a partner and the firm name was changed to J. M. Burrall & Son. After two years the junior member of the firm with- drew and the firm style of J. M. Burrall & Company was assumed. John Milton Burrall gave his entire time and attention to the business and made of it one of the most suceessful commercial interests of Waterbury. He carried a large stoek and the integrity and enter- prise of his business methods continually won for him a growing patronage. The death of John M. Burrall occurred in Waterbury, February 12, 1908, when he had reached the ripe old age of ninety-one years, and his remains were interred in Riverside cemetery. He was one of Waterbury's grand old men, noted for his sterling qualities, his honorable dealings and his honesty of purpose. He stood high in the business circles of Waterbury and contributed much to the material development of the city. He also took a deep interest in its public institutions and in the general welfare. He served as a director of the Water- bury National Bank and was a trustee of the Waterbury Savings Bank. He served for a number of years as a member of the common council of Waterbury and was also a member of the board of relief. He held membership in the Second Congregational church, which he joined in 1852, and thereafter his life was guided by its teachings and its principles. He had previously been a member of the Congregational church while a resident of Plymouth and in that faith he passed away.
On the 8th of July, 1841, John M. Burrall was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Coley, of Plymouth, who departed this life January 29, 1889, and was laid to rest in Riverside cemetery. They were the parents of four children: Charles Homer, who died in infancy; Lucy Marian, who passed away March 9, 1866; Edward Milton. of this review ; and Charles W., who resides in Fairfield county, Connectieut. For his second wife Mr. Burrall chose Mary J. Bunnell.
Edward Milton Burrall was still quite young when his parents removed to Waterbury and there he attended the public and high schools. IIe was a youth of but seventeen years when he accepted a position as a elerk in a dry goods store in Waterbury, there spending nine years. At length he gave up that position and in 1875 joined his father, who was engaged in the furniture business, at which time the firm became J. M. Burrall & Son. With this he continued until 1887, when he withdrew from the firm and beeame associated with the American Ring Company. In 1888 he was elected to the office of president which position he filled until the time of his death. He was also connected with the Plume & Atwood corporation, of which he was a direetor, and from 1887 until his demise he was associated with the American Pin Company, being also a representative of its directorate. He was a trustee of the Dime Savings Bank and its vice president. His business enter- prise constituted a valuable factor in the development of the manufacturing and eom-
Om Buwall
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mercial interests in Waterbury. At all times his record measured up to the highest standards of commercial integrity and reliability and his career proved that success and an honored name may be won simultaneously.
Edward M. Burrall was married in Waterbury, May 17. 1877, to Miss Mary Ennice Booth, who is a native of Waterbury and a daughter of John C. Booth, a prominent citizen of Waterbury, who was descended from an old and honorable family of Connecticut. To Mr. and Mrs. Burrall were born two children: John Booth; and Eunice Booth, who is the wife of Thomas D. Thacher.
Mrs. Burrall resides on Church street and is prominent socially in Waterbury. Sho belongs to the Episcopal church and Mr. Burrall was also a member of St. John's church. Death called him November 4, 1901. He passed away while at the Waldorf Astoria in New York and his remains were brought back to Waterbury for interment in Riverside ceme- tery. He was a valued member of the Waterbury Club and the Hardware Club of New York. A man widely known, he enjoyed the highest respect of all with whom he was associated. Ilis enterprise and his progressiveness made him respected and honored and his devotion to high ideals of citizenship was one of his marked characteristics. The innate worth of his character was recognized by all who came in contact with him and those who met him instinctively paid deference to him by reason of his many substantial qualities and his high ideals.
JOHN BOOTH BURRALL.
John Booth Burrall, president of the Plime & Atwood Manufacturing Company and president and treasurer of the American Ring Company, as well as an officer in many other corporations, has in his business career maintained a reputation which has made the family name an honored one in manufacturing circles in Connecticut for a century. He possesses the qualities which have characterized his ancestors, but utilizing them in a broader field and a different environment, he has demonstrated his individual worth, adaptability and initiative.
Mr. Burrall was born in Waterbury in 1879, a son of Edward Milton Burrall and a grandson of John M. Burrall. He was graduated from the Taft school at Watertown and completed the academie course at Yale with the class of 1902. He has since been associated with the American Ring Company. In the meantime, however, he had become a prominent. figure in connection with the Plume & Atwood Company and about 1910 was made its treas- urer, in which position he continued until elected to the presidency of this extensive corpora- tion. He is also identified with various other business concerns, being now a trustee of the Dime Savings Bank, a director of the Colonial Trust Company and a member of its executive committee, a director of the American Pin Company, of the Waterbury Castings Company, of the Waterbury Hotel Corporation and of the H. D. Bronson Company of Beacon Falls. In these connections he is bending his efforts to administrative direction and executive ability in the control of five hundred employes engaged in the manufacture of furniture trimmings and bathroom accessories, the business having become one of the leading productive industries of Waterbury.
On the 20th of May, 1916, Mr. Burrall was united in marriage to Mrs. Margaret Fallon Barber. of New York city. Mr. Burrall's political endorsement is given to the republican party. He figures very prominently in club circles, holding membership in the Waterbury, the Waterbury Country and the Home Clubs, the University and the Yale Clubs of New York and the Country Club at Farmington, Connectient. Alert and enterprising, he stands as a typical representative of American manhood and citizenship in the twentieth century.
PATRICK J. DWYER, M. D.
Waterbury has a long list of capable physicians and surgeons, among whom Dr. Patrick J. Dwyer is numbered. He was born in Ansonia. Connectient, July 16. 1873, and is a son of Michael and Mary (Splan) Dwyer, the former now deceased. In the acquirement of his education he passed through the varions grades in the Ansonia schools and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1891. While a student there he was much interested in athletics and was a member of the football team. His college work was done at Fordham University of New York, where he won the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1894. He next entered the University of New York, from which he was graduated with the class of 1897.
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He began practice at Ansonia and on the Ist of January, 1899, opened an office in Waterbury, where he has now remained for eighteen years, sucessfully following his chosen profession. In 1914 he took post graduate work in the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Baltimore and broad reading has kept him in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and methods of practice. He is visiting physician at St. Mary's Hospital and he belongs to the Waterbury, New Haven County and Connecticut State Medical Societies and to the American Medical Association.
On the 16th of February, 1915, Dr. Dwyer was married to Miss Lucy Sherlock, of Water- bury, and they have a son, Francis Xavier, born November 22, 1915. Dr. Dwyer and his wife hold membership in the Catholic church and he belongs to the Knights of Columbus, which draws its membership from people of that religious faith. He is also an Elk and a member of the Waterbury Country Club and he finds his chief recreation in motoring, thereby gain- ing rest and relaxation from arduous professional cares.
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