USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 29
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Joseph D. Welton, after acquiring his education in the public schools of Waterville and the high school of Waterbury, worked at the cutlery business in connection with his father in the shop of Sprague & Boyden. He was afterward employed in various ways and at length became shipping clerk for Berbecker & Rowland, which position he filled for eleven years. On the expiration of that period he took up house painting and has followed the painting business continuously since, although during the past four years he has specialized in automobile painting, to which he now gives his entire time and attention and has built up a successful business in this connection, his shop adjoining his home.
Mr. Welton was united in marriage to Miss Martha L. Leapeau, a daughter of Warren and Esther Leapeau, and they have become parents of three children. Clifford Joseph, the eldest, was born in Waterville, acquired a high school education and married Gladys Cora Pond, by whom he has one child, Richard Joseph. Edith J., who attended the public schools and the high school of Waterbury, was graduated as a nurse from the Metro- politan Hospital of New York in 1917. Helen L. is pursuing a course in a business college of Waterbury.
Mr. Welton is a charter member of Goodwill Lodge, No. 54, K. P., of Waterville, and he has membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. His political endorsement is given to the republican party but he has never sought nor desired office. He is a man of quiet habits and of domestic tastes, preferring outside of business hours to give his time to his home and enjoy the companionship of his family.
CLARK H. W. NEWTON.
Clark H. W. Newton, assistant treasurer of the Apothecaries Hall Company of Water. bury, was born near Aurora, Ontario, Canada, a son of Samuel and Katherine Newton, the former a lumberman of Canada, and had the benefit of a thorough education in Toronto University, from which he was graduated with the class of 1899. He completed the work of the scientific department and holds the degrees of Ph. M. B., Ph. G. and B. S. In the year of his graduation he came to Waterbury on a visit and accepted a position with C. H. Dougal, a druggist of Torrington, but on the 1st of January. 1903, entered the employ of the Apothecaries Hall Company at Waterbury. He was made manager in July, 1903, was
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advanced to the position of assistant treasurer and became a director of the company in February, 1911, retaining his position as manager of the retail department.
Mr. Newton was united in marriage to Miss Hattie May Brown, a daughter of John S. Brown, of Paris, Ontario, and they have three children: Donald, a druggist, attending the Greenwood school; Paul Sanford; and Katherine May. The parents of Mr. and Mrs. Newton were natives of England and came to the United States in early life, after which they removed to Canada. Mr. Brown was a publisher and wholesale stationer. He is now deceased.
Mr. Newton is prominent in Masonic circles and is now master of Harmony Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M. He belongs also to Eureka Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M .; to Waterbury Council, No. 21, R. & S. M .; and to Clark Commandery, No. 7, K. T. He has likewise taken the degrees of the Scottish Rite, being a member of Doric Lodge of Perfection and the Rose Croix. He is a high priest in Ionic Council of the Princes of Jerusalem, belongs to Lafayette Consistory, S. P. R. S., of Bridgeport, and to Sphinx Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Hartford. He is a member and one of the officials of the Methodist church of Waterbury. Politically he is independent of any party. His chief interest outside of business lies in Masonry and his life is an expression of its beneficent purposes.
WILFORD E. PIERPONT.
Wilford E. Pierpont, who for twelve years has been engaged in the retail jewelry busi- ness in Waterbury at 106 South Main street, was born in North Haven, Connecticut, in 1863, a son of Jason and Martha (Crowell) Pierpont, who were also natives of North Haven but have now passed away. The father devoted his life to the occupation of farming and during the boyhood of Wilford E. Pierpont he removed with his family to Waterbury.
The son acquired a public school education in Waterbury and throughout practically his entire business career has been connected with some phase or other of the watch making and jewelry trade. He made his initial step as an employe in a watch factory, mastering the trade under the direction of Charles Taylor. He afterward went to Waltham, Massachusetts, where for three years he was employed by the Waltham Watch Company, and about 1887 he returned to Waterbury, where he opened a retail jewelry store on South Main street. After conducting business there for a few years he went west to Detroit, Michigan, where he engaged in teaching music but in 1905 returned to Waterbury, where he again opened a retail jewelry store, being located throughout the intervening period at No. 106 South Main street. Here he conducts a general jewelry and repairing business, carrying an attractive line of goods, and he is also a registered optometrist, having a large patronage in that department.
In 1883 Mr. Pierpont was married to Miss Sarah E. Slater, of Wolcott, Connecticut, and their children are four in number: Evelyn, a graduate of the high school of New York and Waterbury; Mabel, who is a graduate of the Naugatuck high school and is now the wife of R. Burton Jones, of Waterbury; Wilford, who attended high school and was with the Marlin Arms Corporation of New Haven until he enlisted for service in the present international war with the New Haven cavalry; and Grace, a high school pupil.
Mr. Pierpont was formerly a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and he is still connected with the Royal Arcanum. He belongs to St. Paul's Episcopal church and its teachings constitute the guiding spirit in his life. Politically he is independent, nor has he ever been an aspirant for public office.
DR. SAMUEL TILDEN CLIFTON.
Dr. Samuel Tilden Clifton, pastor of the Second Congregational church of Winsted, was born in Easton, Pennsylvania, April 20, 1874, a son of Charles Edward Clifton, who is a teacher by profession now living retired, making his home at Easton, Pennsylvania, where he has resided for about two-thirds of a century. He taught in the Easton public schools for forty-seven years, retiring about two years ago. He began teaching there when eighteen and the development of the schools is largely attributable to his earnest efforts and marked ability in that field of labor. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Anna Marie Stout, is also living. They were married early in the year 1873 and have therefore traveled life's journey together for forty-four years. Dr. Clifton is the eldest of their
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family of five children, three sons and two daughters, but only two of the number are living, the sister being Matilda Alice Clifton, who is in charge of the social service department of the Presbyterian Hospital at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Clifton was reared in Easton, Pennsylvania, and was graduated from the high school with the class of 1890, at which time he was sixteen years of age, being the youngest member of a class of fifty-four. He afterward entered Lafayette College of Easton, Penn- sylvania, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1894, and in 1897 his alma mater conferred upon him the Master of Arts degree, while in 1900 he received the Bachelor of Philosophy degree from Columbia University. Following his graduation from college he took up the profession of teaching in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, becoming connected with the Boys' Academy of that place. He spent a year there and in the fall of 1895 went to New York city, where he entered the Union Theological Seminary, in which he pursued theological studies for three years, being graduated with the class of 1898. At the same time he performed post graduate work in Columbia University of New York. He was ordained to the ministry on the 21st of July, 1898, and became pastor of the Dutch Reformed church at Wurtsboro, New York, where he remained until 1900. In January of the latter year he accepted the pastorate of the Dutch Reformed church at Coxsackie, New York, twenty-two miles south of Albany, on the Hudson river, and continued there until April 1, 1917, when he was called to the pastorate of the Second Congregational church of Winsted. Here he has been located for less than a year, yet as he has the happy faculty of readily becoming acquainted and making friends his popularity is continually growing. He had been here only two days when he joined the Winsted Home Guard, with which he has since met and drilled, doing service as a private. He is putting forth most earnest efforts for the upbuilding of his church and the extension of its influence, and already his good work is manifest in the results that have been achieved. He is an eloquent pulpit orator and his democratic, unassuming ways make him very popular with the people at large, both within and without the church.
Dr. Clifton has been married twice. On the 20th of November, 1898, he wedded Miss Harriet Fulton, who died in 1906, leaving a daughter, Marion, who was born September 20, 1899. Dr. Clifton was again married March 2, 1910, Miss Elizabeth L. Powell becoming his wife. She is a graduate of Vassar College, a lady of liberal education and native refine- ment, who is proving of great assistance to her husband in his work.
Dr. Clifton is a Mason of high rank. He has taken the degrees of lodge, chapter and commandery, is a past master of the lodge, past high priest of the chapter and past eminent commander of the commandery. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias. In 1909 he visited Europe, and travel and study have made him a man of most broad and liberal education. He studies not alone along ecclesiastical lines but keeps in touch with the trend of modern thought through the best literature of the day. Life to him is earnest and purposeful and he is reaching out a helping hand to those who want to grasp it, his sympathy enabling him to understand those with whom he comes in contact and his ready tact, to speak the fitting word.
VERY REV. ANDREW W. SLATTERY, O. F. M.
The Very Rev. Andrew W. Slattery, O. F. M., pastor of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church in Winsted, was born in Dubuque, Iowa, April 19, 1863, a son of John and Ann (Dwyer) Slattery, who were natives of County Clare, Ireland, where they were reared and married. They came to the United States in 1847 and after a residence of eight years in Lowell, Massachusetts, removed to Dubuque, Iowa, where they spent their remaining days. They were parents of nine children, two of whom have passed away, while two sons and five daughters are yet living in the United States,
Rev. Andrew W. Slattery was reared in his native city, where he acquired a grammar school education in the parochial schools, and at the age of twenty years he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed for eleven years. During all this time he was studying and preparing himself for the priesthood. He taught for four years in St. John's high school in St. Louis and for one year in Jefferson College of Louisiana. He also spent six years as a teacher in St. Bonaventure College of Allegany, New York, and his leisure hours were devoted to study and research until, having qualified for ecclesiastical orders, he was ordained to the priesthood on the 21st of June, 1893, at St. Bonaventure Seminary in Allegany. From 1893 until 1895 he was curate of St. Joseph's church in Winsted and afterward was curate of St. Anthony's church in New York city for four years. He then
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returned to St. Joseph's church in Winsted, where he again served as curate for two years, while later he was curate for four years in St. Patrick's church in Buffalo, New York. In 1906 he again became connected with St. Joseph's church of Winsted as its pastor and for eleven years has now occupied that position. He has done splendid work throughout the entire period. He has built an addition to St. Anthony's school which was erected at a cost of thirteen thousand five hundred dollars. This school is in St. Joseph's parisb. He also built the present new St. Joseph's church in Winsted, a property which was completed at a cost of one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars and is the finest church property in Litchfield county and one of the finest in the state.
St. Joseph's church celebrated its golden jubilee in October, 1903. The first mass in Winsted was celebrated in 1851. The first Catholics to actually settle in Winsted were those who were driven from famine-devastated Ireland. In 1852 Rev. Thomas Quinn entered upon his duties as the first resident pastor in Winsted and soon afterward began the erection of the church. He was succeeded by Rev. Philip Gillick, who completed the erection of the church. Rev. Thomas Henricken came in 1854 and was succeeded by Rev. Richard O'Gorman in 1855. Then came Rev. John Lynch, who was succeeded by Rev. Lawrence Mangan, and in 1860 Rev. Daniel Mullen was appointed pastor, while Rev. Philip Sheridan became his successor. He was succeeded by Rev. Father Leo, O. F. M., the first of the Franciscan order to preside in Winsted.
With the growth of the town St. Joseph's church outgrew the edifice in which it worshipped. For a long time plans were in preparation for a new church and on the 11th of May, 1914, ground was broken. On the 16th of July, 1916, the new church was dedicated with impressive and imposing ceremonies, thus completing a work that Father Slattery had successfully carried through. The various branches of the church work are well organized and the growth of the parish has been very substantial.
It is interesting in this connection to know that St. Joseph's parish has produced several well known priests, among them being the Rt. Rev. Mgr. William Slocum, Rev. Thomas Shelley, Rev. Thomas Finn, LL. D., Rev. Richard Carroll, Rev. Timothy Bannon, Rev. William Reidy, Rev. Jeremiah McAuliffe, Rev. Joseph Kenney, Rev. Francis Kilderry and Rev. Thomas Gloster.
REV. HUGH TREANOR.
Rev. Hugh Treanor, pastor of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church at Water- bury, was born in Providence, Rhode Island, March 16, 1849. He obtained a public school education in that city and in the fall of 1867 entered St. Charles College at Ellicott City, Maryland, there remaining as a student for a year. He afterward spent three years in Montreal College at Montreal, Canada, after which he returned to St. Charles College and remained a student there for two years more, being graduated with the class of 1873. He next attended St. Mary's Seminary at Baltimore, where he studied philosophy and theology, and on the 20th of December, 1878, he was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Gibbons, archbishop of Baltimore. He was assistant priest at St. Mary's church at Norwalk, Connecticut, for over six years, or from January 1, 1879, until February 15, 1885, when he was appointed pastor of the parish of the Sacred Heart at Waterbury by Rt. Rev. Bishop McMahon. This parish had just been established and Father Treanor became its first pastor. He continued to serve there from February 15, 1885, until November 25, 1897. He was then assigned to duty at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic church in Norwich, Connecticut, where he continued until October, 1912. The parish there has one of the handsomest Catholic churches in the United States. It is built of stone, in the Gothic style of architecture, and has a seating capacity for more than two thousand. He also brought about a complete reno- vation of both the exterior and the interior of the church, which was consecrated during his pastorate. While the building had been erccted before he assumed his work there, there was a large indebtedness on the church and this he cleared away during his fifteen years' pas- torate. His work in Norwich was productive of splendid results and he has every reason to be proud of his efforts in connection with the church there. He also bought the land and built the convent while connected with the Norwich church and his labors were altogether of far-reaching result and benefit.
In October, 1912, Father Treanor was again installed as priest of the Church of the Sacred Heart at Waterbury, where he has since done efficient work for his cause. When the parish was organized and he became its first pastor in 1885 there was no church edifice, but as the result of his efforts and the cooperation of his people the splendid church and rectory
REV. HUGH TREANOR
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on Wolcott street, near East Main street, were erected and when he left Waterbury to go to Norwich in 1897 there was a debt of only sixteen thousand dollars upon the property. During his absence the indebtedness of the church had not diminished but instead had increased to the sum of forty-two thousand dollars. Since assuming charge in 1912 he has . added a new vestry to the church and has established here what is known as the Sacred Heart Hall in the Sacred Heart school building adjoining the church and rectory. Father Treanor has traveled quite extensively, going abroad in 1897, during which year he visited Italy, Turkey, Greece and other parts of Europe and also went to Palestine.
DAVID STRONG.
David Strong, deceased, was connected with many manufacturing interests of Winsted and the Naugatuck valley, but his name is perhaps best known through the Strong Manu- facturing Company, of which he was the founder and promoter, serving as its president for many years. Honest and honorable in all his dealings and actuated by a most pro- gressive spirit, there was in his vocabulary no such word as fail. What he undertook he accomplished, brooking no obstacles that could be overcome by determined and straight- forward effort. The story of his life is the story of earnest endeavor and the record of orderly progression.
A native of Connecticut, Mr. Strong was born in East Hampton, in Middlesex county, on the 17th of August, 1825, a son of John C. A. and Deborah L. (Clark) Strong, and a descendant of some of the best known families of the state. He was reared upon a farm in his native town and there attended school. While his opportunities were limited to such as the common schools afforded, he managed by travel and study to obtain a fair education and in the school of experience he was continually learning valuable lessons. He had so developed his mental powers that at the age of eighteen he was qualified for teaching and taught in the district school during the winter season, while in the summer months he worked at farm labor. He spent six years in that way and then gave up teaching to accept a position in a bell factory. He also engaged in selling books and spent his time in that way until 1856, when he entered into partnership with A. H. Markham and took up the business of silver plating bells for the bell factory of his native town. They later extended the scope of their interests to include undertakers' supplies and casket hardware and by devoting their time and energies unceasingly to the business they built up a trade of large and gratifying proportions.
At the outbreak of the Civil war, however, David Strong and his brother, Clark Strong, enlisted for active service at the front, becoming members of Company C, Twenty- fourth Regiment of Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. The brother was made an adjutant of the regiment. David Strong was commissioned first lieutenant and served for thirteen months, having command of his company most of that time. He took part in General Banks' expedition in the Gulf Department and in all the forced marches from New Orleans to Port Hudson. He was in command of his company during the siege of Port Hudson, where his brother, Adjutant Strong, was wounded in the early stage of the siege, incapaci- tating him for further field service.
David Strong returned to the north and took charge of A. H. Markham & Company's business, superintending the activities of the factory. He was not long in opening up trade with the undertakers and in January, 1866, he removed the business to Winsted, where a joint stock company was formed which bought up the old business. In 1871 Mr. Strong was elected the president of what was organized as the Strong Manufacturing Company and filled that position of growing responsibility during his active life. By reason of his marked enterprise, initiative and executive power, he developed one of the most successful manufacturing enterprises of the Naugatuck valley. The substantial qualities which he displayed in that connection led to his cooperation being sought along many other lines and in the course of years he became a most prominent figure in manufacturing interests. He was made the president of the Winsted Hosiery Company and was a member of the firm of H. M. Tanner & Company. He was also the president of the First National Bank of Winsted and a director of the New England Knitting Company. All of these different concerns profited by his keen insight, his sound judgment and his indefatigable enterprise, and his labors contributed much toward making the Naugatuck valley the great manufacturing center which it is today, with its ramifying trade interests reaching out not only to all sections of this country but to all parts of the world.
Mr. Strong was married three times. In 1852 he wedded Frances Augusta Daniels,
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who died in 1856, and in 1857 he married Chloe Maria Colt, whose death occurred in 1865, while their only child died in infancy. In 1866 Miss Emerette L. Colt, a daughter of Henry Colt and a sister of his former wife, became his wife. She is a lady of liberal culture, . occupying an attractive home in Winsted. She holds membership in the Congregational church and its teachings have been the guiding influence in her life. She is a devoted mother, her interests centering always in her home. The children of this marriage are: Frederick Clark, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work; Herbert Gillette, who is con- nected with the Strong Manufacturing Company and who married Sarah Beach Hunt, of Winsted; Homer D., who is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology of the class of 1903 and is now with the New Britain (Conn.) Gas Light Company as a chemist.
Mr. Strong was a great lover of nature and enjoyed every phase of outdoor life. He was a lover of horses and fond of driving and the out-of-doors largely constituted the source of his recreation. His religious faith was that of the Congregational church, of which he was a most consistent member, and he served as its deacon for more than a third of a century. He made generous contribution to its support and in all branches of the church work took an active and helpful interest. His political endorsement was given to the republican party, of which he was a most stalwart champion. He served the town of Winchester as a member of the state legislature in 1872 and again in 1886 and most earnestly labored for the interests of his constituents and the welfare of the state at large. He served on a number of the most important committees and was connected with valuable legislation enacted during those sessions. He was also warden of the town of Winsted for several terms, was selectman for one term and in other positions of public trust proved his loyalty to the welfare and upbuilding of city and state. The cause of temperance found in him a stalwart champion. Moreover, he was a friend of education and did valuable service as president of the William L. Gilbert school, of which he was the promoter and president during his life. Patriotism was one of his resplendent virtues. It was strongly manifest by his service under the stars and stripes on southern battlefields, it was equally evident in his discharge of his public duties, and in every private relation, too, he never lost sight of his obligations to his city and his state. He held friendship inviolable, was a devoted husband and father and reserved the best traits of his character for his own fireside. Mr. Strong frequently advised friends to "Use your name cautiously on accommodation papers outside your own business; cultivate private honesty and clean habits; do as you would be done by and success will be a satisfaction." He died at his home in Winsted on the 30th of April, 1914, and his remains were interred in Forest View cemetery.
D. E. CARROLL.
D. E. Carroll is the president and treasurer of the firm of Carroll & Company, Inc., of Waterbury. His business interests have always been based upon well defined plans carefully executed and he carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes. He was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, in 1865, a son of Patrick and Mary Carroll, both of whom were natives of County Limerick, Ireland. They crossed the Atlantic prior to the Civil war, however, and established their home in Woodbury, Connecticut, where the father followed the occupation of farming.
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