USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 32
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Rev. Robert V. K. Harris was educated in Trinity school and in Columbia College of New York city, winning the Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation from the latter in. stitution with the class of 1889. He was afterward graduated with the Bachelor of Divinity degree from the theological seminary in 1892 and was ordained a priest of the Episcopal church on the 20th of June, 1892, by Bishop Henry C. Potter. Immediately after-
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ward he went to Montana, where he spent five years. He there first served missions at Helena for a year and from 1893 until 1895 he was rector of St. Mark's church in Anaconda. Montana. In the latter year he became rector of Emmanuel church at Miles City, Mon- tana, where he remained until 1897, after which he spent two years in the pastorate of Zion church at Manchester Center, Vermont. From 1899 until 1912 he was rector of Christ church at Red Hook, New York, and for three years served St. Paul's church at Bantam, Connecticut. Since 1915 he has been rector of St. James church in Winsted and he is now the secretary of the Episcopal Arch Deaconry of Litchfield county.
On the 5th of June, 1894, Rev. Harris was married to Miss Anna C. Van Doren, of New York city, who comes of Holland Dutch ancestry, being a daughter of the late Charles A. Van Doren, who is a prominent attorney of New York. Rev. and Mrs. Harris have become parents of three children: Robert Van Kleeck, now a lieutenant of Company F, One Hundred and Second United States Volunteer Infantry. now in service in France; Laurence Van Doren, a cadet in the United States Military Academy at West Point; and Margaret Anna, who is a student in the Gilbert school of Winsted. Mrs. Harris is also of Revolutionary war descent and belongs to the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Fraternally Rev. Harris is a Master Mason and an Odd Fellow and both he and his wife have membership with the Order of the Eastern Star. He is a clear thinker and a logical reasoner, and while not departing in the least from the tenets of the church, he is in thorough sympathy with the modern movement that believes in the utilization of every possible agency for bettering sociological and economic conditions. He endeavors to study man's problems from the standpoint of the ordinary man, with sympathy for his frailties and weaknesses, with belief in his possibilities, and his labors have been resultant factors in calling forth the best in many individuals.
HON. DWIGHT B. TIFFANY.
The keen discernment and spirit of unfaltering enterprise which Dwight B. Tiffany has displayed in the management of important business interests have led his cooperation to be sought along various lines and his efforts have constituted an important element in the material upbuilding and commercial and financial progress of Winsted. He is now widely known as the president and treasurer of the Tiffany & Pickett Company, dealers in coai, lumber and building material.
Mr. Tiffany was born in the town of Barkhamsted, Litchfield county, Connecticut, March 21, 1861, a son of William and Elizabeth M. (Cornish) Tiffany. The father owned a farm and was also owner of a grist mill and sawmill, which he operated. He, too, was born in Barkhamsted and his life record covered eighty-one years, while his wife passed away at the age of seventy-two.
Dwight B. Tiffany was reared upon his father's farm and worked in the fields and in the saw and grist mill. He acquired a common school education in the near-by dis- trict school, but his educational opportunities were somewhat limited, as his services were needed in connection with his father's interests. While in the mill he learned the use of machinery and he also became acquainted with the sawmilling industry and with various features of the lumber business. Upon attaining his majority he took up sawmill work ou his own account and began the operation of portable sawmills in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York. In fact since reaching adult age his attention has chiefly been directed along this line of activity and he is still in the business, operating five portable sawmills at the present time in Connecticut and Massachusetts. In addition to the manufacture of lumber in this way he has engaged in the wholesale and retail lumber trade and has given more than thirty years to this line of business. He has also had other important business con- nections in Winsted which have contributed not only to his personal success but also to the public prosperity. In the year 1905 he entered into partnership with Frederick B. Pickett and purchased the lumberyards in East Winsted that had been established some years before by the Bronson brothers. After five or six years A. R. Plumley became a partner in the undertaking, which was then incorporated with Mr. Tiffany as the presi- dent and treasurer. Mr. Pickett remained in connection with the business until his death and later Mr. Plumley withdrew. Mr. Tiffany is still president and treasurer and his only son, Ralph V. Tiffany, is secretary. The stock is all owned by these two officers and Mr. Tiffany's daughter, Elizabethi, except for a small block of stock that is yet owned by the widow of Mr. Pickett. When the business was purchased by the company on its organization, they not only took over a large lumber plant but also extended the scope
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of their activities to include the sale of coal. They are manufacturers of and dealers in pine box boards, box shooks, baled shavings and native lumber, and they handle masons' supplies, lumber, coal and wood and do mill work and house trimming. Dwight B. Tiffany is also a partner in the Canaan Lumber Company of Canaan, Connecticut, and is a di- rector of the First National Bank and of the Winsted Savings Bank.
On the 21st of March, 1888, Mr. Tiffany was united in marriage to Miss Emeline Vosburgh, of Barkhamsted, and they have two children, Elizabeth Adelia and Ralph V.
In his political views Mr. Tiffany is a republican and for two terms was called upon to represent his district in the state legislature, his reelection coming to him in recogni- tion of the able service which he had rendered during his first term. He studied closely the vital problems and issues that came up for settlement and left the impress of his individuality for good upon the legislation enacted during that period. He is now a trustee of the Gilbert School and of the Gilbert Children's Home and he is a director of the Winsted Chamber of Commerce. His cooperation can always be counted upon to further any plan or movement for the general good, as he stands at all times for individual benefit and community betterment. He is a member of the Winsted Club and also sup- ports the Second Congregational church.
J. C. W. BAKER.
J. C. W. Baker, master mechanic with the Rubber Regenerating Company, was born in New Jersey in 1865. He obtained his education in the public schools and afterward learned the machinist's trade, which he followed in Philadelphia in connection with the manufacture of frogs and switches. He came to Naugatuck in 1894 and secured his present position as master mechanic with the Rubber Regenerating Company, then carrying on business under the name of the United States Rubber Company, the Naugatuck depart- ment being known as the reclaiming plant. This business had been established in 1894 by the Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company. In 1895 the name was changed to the Reclaiming Plant of the United States Rubber Company and in 1898 the plant was destroyed by fire but was rebuilt the same year. In 1913 the business passed into possession of the Rubber Regenerating Company, which reclaims scrap rubber and sells its products to manufacturers all over the world. Something of the vol- ume of the business is indicated in the fact that there are six hundred employes The company also has a factory at Manchester, England; Montreal, Canada; Derby, Con- necticut; and at Mishawaka, Indiana. This is the largest business of the kind in the world and the Naugatuck plant equals in size that of any other in the United States. The company buys used rubber from all over the world and again makes it a commercial product. Its plant covers eight acres and includes three main manufacturing buildings of two stories and basement, of mill construction, and supplied with sprinkler system. The plant is equipped with three thousand horse power, furnishing both electric and steam power. The officers of the company are: R. B. Price, president and treasurer; E. A. Ander- sen, vice president and general manager; J. D. Carberry, of New York, secretary; G. H. Bennett, assistant secretary; C. M. Van Kleeck, assistant treasurer; with Mr. Baker as master meclianic.
Mr. Baker votes with the republican party but is not active in politics, preferring to concentrate his entire time and attention upon his business affairs. He is most thorough in what he does, is systematic, energetic and with a persistency of purpose that achieves desired results.
COLONEL HENRY SKINNER.
Colonel Henry Skinner, president of the Winsted Gas Company, deserves more than passing notice in a record of this character. Few men of his years, for he is now seventy- four years of age, remain as active factors in the business world. In fact, there are many younger men who, grown weary of the struggles and trials of business life, would relegate to others the burdens that they should bear and the tasks which they should perform. Mr. Skinner is most diligent and active and is personally supervising the important interests controlled by the Winsted Gas Company. Moreover, he is an honored veteran of the Civil war, having rendered active aid in preserving the Union. He was born in Winsted,
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February 27, 1844, his parents being John and Catherine (Collins) Skinner, both of whom were natives of England. They were married in Torrington and the father engaged in business as a sythe maker in order to provide for his family, which numbered nine chil- dren, five sons and four daughters, of whom Colonel Skinner was the fourth in order of birth. Three of the sons did active duty in the Union army, namely, Jeffrey, Henry and Edward, and all lived to return from the war. Jeffrey Skinner, who was a scythe manu- facturer of Winsted, died October 19, 1915, while Edward Skinner is still living in Winsted. Five members of the family still survive: Nellie, the widow of Henry Scott, of Water- town, Connecticut; Henry; Fannie, the wife of William Gaston, of Torrington; Charles, of Winsted; and Edward, also a resident of Winsted.
Colonel Skinner has spent his entire life in Winsted and was a youth of eighteen years when in response to the country's call for aid he joined the boys in blue in 1862 and served until 1865 with the Union army, going to the front as a private of Company E, Nineteenth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry. He won several promotions, becoming ser- geant in Company E, later second lieutenant in Company G, then first lieutenant in Com- pany L and finally captain of Company B. All these companies were of the Nineteenth Connecticut Regiment, but the command afterward became the Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery. Colonel Skinner was a brave and loyal soldier and an efficient officer who inspired the men under him with much of his own courage and zeal. He remained at the front until the country no longer needed his aid, when he received an honorable dis- charge and returned to Winsted. Like his father and brothers, he is a scythe maker by trade and after the war was employed along that line until 1888, when he was elected secretary, treasurer and general manager of the Winsted Gas Company. He has been general manager since that time and three years ago was elected president of the company, of which he is also a director. Since the Civil war he has had much military experience. In 1872 he assisted in organizing Company I of the Fourth Connecticut National Guard, was made its captain and was later promoted to the rank of major, of lieutenant colonel and finally to that of colonel, in which position he continued to serve for several years until he resigned. He did much to promote the efficiency of the Connecticut National Guard.
On the 4th of July, 1867, Colonel Skinner was married to Miss Fannie E. Ryals, who died February 22, 1912, leaving but one living child, Miss Bessie Skinner, of Winsted. The Colonel is fond of bird hunting, which is his chief recreation, but he seldom leaves his post as president and general manager of the gas company. For thirty years his energies have been concentrated npon the business under his control and his capable management of the undertaking is due to his enterprise and progressiveness. He holds himself ready to respond to any call day or night for the benefit of this public utility. He is strong and vigorous and his appearance enables him to pass for a man many years younger. In politics he is a republican and has never been a candidate for office. In matters of citizen- ship he has always stood for that which is progressive and which recognizes the needs and possibilities of community, commonwealth and country. In fact he is as true and loyal to the nation as when he followed its starry banner upon the battlefields of the south.
JOHN J. GAILEY, M. D.
Dr. John J. Gailey, a physician and surgeon of Waterbury, where he began active practice on the 1st of January, 1899, was born near Belfast, Ireland, August 26, 1863, and is descended from Highland Scotch Presbyterian ancestry. He was reared to the age of seventeen in the land of his birth and between the ages of fifteen and seventeen was an assistant teacher in the same public school which he had attended in his carlier boy- hood. He came to the United States in 1881 and spent the succeeding fourteen years in Watertown, Connecticut, during which period he was identified with the silk industry, with which he became familiar in all of its phases.
While at Watertown he became the intimate friend of Dr. Arthur D. Variell, then a leading physician of Watertown but now a citizen of Waterbury, where he is interested in manufacturing business. It was Dr. Variell who persuaded Mr. Gailey to turn his atten- tion to the study of medicine, allowing him to use his office and medical library. For a year Dr. Gailey pursued his reading under the preceptorship of Dr. Variell and in 1895 entered Bowdoin College at Brunswick, Maine, from which he was graduated in 1898 with the M. D. degree. On the 1st of January of the following year he entered upon active practice in Waterbury, and while he has since devoted his attention to general professional
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DR. JOHN J. GAILEY
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duties and interests, he has also specialized in obstetrics and is now obstetrician at the Waterbury Hospital. He has always kept in touch with the trend of modern professional thought, research and investigation and is acquainted with the latest discoveries that have promoted the value of medical and surgical service.
In Watertown, in 1883, Dr. Gailey was married to Miss Catherine R. Maxwell, who died July 31, 1911, leaving five children, two sons and three daughters, namely: Mabel; Lucy, who is a graduate of St. Margaret's school and now the wife of Frederick Comber, of Waterbury; William; Henrietta; and John.
Dr. Gailey takes great delight in motoring and he also finds pleasure in his fraternal associations. He is a Knight Templar and Consistory Mason and also a Noble of the Mystic Shrine, and he is a past master of Federal Lodge, No. 17. of Watertown, Connecticut, and a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M., and a past high priest of Eureka Chapter, R. A. M. He was made a Mason in Federal Lodge, No. 17, of Watertown. He belongs to both the subordinate lodge and encampment of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, is a past grand chancellor of the Knights of Pythias of the state of Connecticut and is also identified with the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. Dr. Gailey along pro- fessional lines is connected with the Waterbury Medical Society, the New Haven County Med- ical Society and the Connecticut State Medical Society and he is regarded as one of the most substantial and capable physicians of his adopted city. He resides at No. 8 Euclid avenue, where he has one of the most beautiful homes in the boulevard district, and his success is indicated in the fact that he is now one of the large taxpayers of the city, and is a director in the Waterbury Lumber Company, Inc. He does not measure his success, how- ever, by his accumulations but by what he has done for his fellowmen. It is this which is the underlying spirit of his professional activity and reminds one of the words of a modern philosopher who has said: "Not the good that comes to us, but the good that comes to the world through us, is the measure of our success."
Previous to 1912 Dr. Gailey supported the democratic party but for the past five years has been a progressive. He served on the city board of health for one term under Mayor William B. Hotchkiss and was a candidate for state senator on the progressive ticket in 1912, receiving a very flattering vote.
WILLIAM J. NEARY.
William J. Neary was born June 12, 1868, a son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Buggy) Neary, both of whom were natives of Ireland. The father came to America when a young man and was married in this country. For a considerable period he engaged in the whole- sale and retail liquor business. His death occurred October 12, 1905, while his wife had passed away many years before, being called to her final rest on the 25th of January, 1883 They were parents of seven children.
William J. Neary pursued his education in the public schools of Naugatuck and afterward attended Holy Cross College at Worcester, Massachusetts, from which he was graduated in 1890 with the Bachelor of Arts degree. He afterward entered Yale Univer- sity and was graduated in 1892 with the LL. B. degree. He then located for the prac- tice of law in Naugatuck, where he remained an active member of the profession until 1906, and since that time he has concentrated his attention upon his investments and other business interests. In that year he began the erection of the Neary building which has a frontage of one hundred and fifty-eight feet on Church street and a depth of seventy- five feet. It is three stories in the front and four stories in the rear and is the finest business block of the borough. It is used for offices and stores and is splendidly finished and equipped. In addition to his other interests Mr. Neary is a director of the Risden Tool Company. In business affairs he has been successful.
On the 30th of October, 1894, Mr. Neary was united in marriage to Miss Marie V. J. Ryan of Meriden, a daughter of Daniel B. Ryan. The children of this marriage arc: Vivian M., who is a student in Trinity College of Washington, D. C .; William J., Jr .; Daniel R., attending high school; Thomas; and Mary.
The family are members of St. Francis Catholic church and Mr. Neary also belongs to the Knights of Columbus. He is likewise connected with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, of which he is a trustee. In politics he is a democrat and in 1897 he represented his district in the state legislature. He has also been borough clerk for several terms and for two terms. beginning in 1911, he was warden of Naugatuck, exercising his official prerogatives in support of many progressive measures and instituting several plans which have been of great benefit to the city. It was during his administration that the Whitte-
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more bridge and permanent pavements were started and all-night lights became a factor of city service. He brought to the conduct of public affairs the same spirit that has charac- terized the conduct of his individual business interests and his administration was one of reform and progress, He practiced municipal economy but did not allow useless retrench- ment to interfere with the advancement of civic interests.
WILLIAM C. KEMP.
William C. Kemp, an energetic business man, who now occupies the responsible posi- tion of foreman of the box department of the Strong Manufacturing Company, was born in New York city, April 16, 1874, and is the only child of Rufus C. and Margaret (Camp- bell) Kemp, botlı of whom have now passed away. Rufus C. Kemp enlisted in Company D. One Hundred Sixty-fifth New York Volunteers (Zouaves), during the Civil war and served from 1861 to 1865. He was wounded at Port Hudson.
William C. Kemp spent the first ten years of his life in New York and afterward re- moved to Trenton, New Jersey, while later he became a resident of Brooklyn, New York. In 1887 he removed to Winsted with his parents and for a quarter of a century has been connected with the Strong Manufacturing Company. Working his way steadily upward since entering the employ of this corporation, he has been foreman of the box depart- ment for twenty years and his long experience, mechanical skill and ingenuity and execu- tive power enable him to carefully control the interests of this department and produce substantial results.
On the 11th of October, 1900, Mr. Kemp was united in marriage to Miss Susie Elizabeth Smith, of Winsted, who, like her husband, is an only child.
In politics Mr. Kemp is a republican and is a stalwart champion of party principles. serving now on the republican town committee, but he has never been a candidate for office and in fact has on several occasions refused to allow his name to be used on the ticket. He is not remiss in the duties of citizenship, however, but cooperates in many well defined plans and measures for the public good and is doing active work in behalf of general welfare as the secretary of the Winsted Chamber of Commerce. He is a promi- nent member of the Royal Arcamim and is a past grand regent of the state of Connecticut, while at the present time he is orator of Winchester Council, No. 755, and is a past regent of the local organization. His religious faith is indicated by his membership in the First Congregational church. Those who know him, and he has a wide acquaintance, esteem him highly as a man of genuine worth whose devotion to duty has made him a valued factor in promoting material, political, social and moral progress.
WALTER D. AUSTIN.
Walter D. Austin, president and treasurer of the A. F. Taylor Company, handling wall paper, shades, awnings and interior decorations of all kinds, is now active in control of a business which has been in existence for thirty-seven years, his association therewith dating from 1889. He was at that time a young man of twenty-six years, his birth having occurred in Columbia county, New York, October 2, 1863. His parents were John W. and Josephine Amelia (Decker) Austin, the former a farmer by occupation. The son, after putting aside his textbooks, in which he had mastered the branches that constitute the public school curriculum, started out in the business world by learning the furniture finishing trade and, advancing along that line, became a Pullman car finisher. He was afterward associated with the Green & Waterman Company, decorators, of Troy, New York, and subsequently removed to Newburgh, New York, where he was with the D. M. Selley Camp & Folding Chair Company, in charge of the finishing department. He next went to Hudson, New York, where he was in charge of the finishing department of R. Gray & Sons.
Mr. Austin came to Waterbury in 1889 to enter into active relations with the A. F. Taylor Company, with which he continued for three years. He then established business under the name of the Austin & Woodruff Company, but eventually sold out and purchased the long established business of the A. F. Taylor Company. This company was organized in 1880 and was incorporated in 1901 by A. F., Foster B. and Charles I. Taylor. The Taylors sold their interests about 1909 to George Reed, who had formerly been with the Scovill Manufacturing Company. He remained at the head of the business until 1908, when
WALTER D. AUSTIN
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he sold out to W. D. Austin and C. W. Lyons, and in 1914 Mr. Austin purchased the interest of Mr. Lyons. The business was first located on Grand street and thence removed to No. 43 Center street, where the company occupies a building, which has a frontage of twenty- three feet and a depth of one hundred and ten feet. They handle a full line of wall paper, window shades and awnings and in addition do interior decorating in all its branches, taking large contracts for work of this character and employing fifty people in the busy season. The business has reached extensive proportions and has become one of the profit- able industries of the city.
In 1890 Mr. Austin was united in marriage to Miss Esther Louise Miller, a native of Churchtown, New York, and a daughter of Obadiah Miller. Mr. Austin is independent in poli- tics and in fraternal relations is a Mason. He has attained high rank in the order, is now a past master of his lodge, is a Knight Templar and thirty-second degree Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He and his wife hold membership in the Second Congregational church and warm regard is entertained for them in the social circles in which they move.
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