History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III, Part 35

Author: Pape, William Jamieson, 1873- ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, New York The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 742

USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 35

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On the 8th of June, 1907, Mr. Palmer was united in marriage to Miss Louise Potter, of Winsted, by whom he has two children, Florence Breckenridge and Cornelia Alice. Mr. Palmer is a consistent member of the First Congregational church. He also belongs to the Winsted Club and takes interest in its aims. Both he and his wife are well known socially and never hesitate to join a movement conducive to the welfare of the city and its further development. While there is nothing spectacular in the career of Mr. Palmer, it is none the less essential and none the less valuable because it has been confined to the ordinary yet vital interests of a business life.

JOHN E. LUNDIN.

John E. Lundin is manager and owner of an extensive grocery and market in Nauga- tuck and is one of the successful merchants of the city. He was born in Lilla Hestra, Sweden, May 17, 1859, his parents being Peter and Gustava (Magnuson) Lundin, who were also natives of Sweden, where the father conducted business as a contractor and builder and also followed farming. He and his wife spent their entire lives in that land. They had a family of seven children, of whom John E. is the eldest.

In his boyhood days John E. Lundin was a pupil in the public schools of Sweden and after his textbooks were put aside worked with his father at the carpenter's trade, but the favorable reports which he heard concerning the opportunities of the new world at- tracted him and in 1880 he determined to try his fortune in America. Accordingly he

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sailed for the United States, where he arrived on the 23d day of April, 1880, and soon after- ward established his home in Portland, Connecticut, where he was employed in a shipyard for one season, and was afterward in a clock shop at Thomaston, Connecticut, for one winter. He afterward again worked for the same shipyard at Portland for two months and in 1881 he came to Naugatuck, entering the employ of W. H. K. Godfrey, a manu- facturer of novelties. A few months later he secured a position with the Naugatuck Malleable Iron Foundry, where he learned the molder's trade, and there he remained for fourteen years. On the organization of the Naugatuck Cooperative Company he became manager and treasurer and so continued until 1907, when he bought out the business, which he has since conducted as an independent venture. He has a well appointed grocery store and meat market, handling a large and attractive line of goods, and the convenient arrangement of his store, as well as his reasonable prices and honorable dealings have secured for him a liberal patronage.

On the 24th of December, 1881, Mr. Lundin was united in marriage to Miss Ida C. Johnson, a native of Sweden, who came to the United States in 1880. Their children are: Alice, now the wife of Andrew Richardson, of Naugatuck; Ernest A., who is with his father in business; and Henry L., who was a twin brother of Ernest and died in infancy.

Mr. and Mrs. Lundin are members of the Swedish Lutheran church, and he also holds membership with the Lutheran League and with the Concordia Society. In politics he is a republican where national questions and issues are involved but at local elections . he casts an independent ballot. His chief activity outside of business has been in behalf of the church. He was one of the organizers of the Swedish Lutheran church and was or- ganist for ten years. He was also the first superintendent of the Sunday school and in the work took a most active and helpful part, doing everything in his power to promote its growth and extend its influence. His entire life has been actuated by high and honor- able principles and his industry and enterprise in business have made him one of the successful merchants of his adopted city.

EDWARD H. KIRSCHBAUM, M. D.

Dr. Edward H. Kirschbaum, a physician and surgeon of Waterbury with office at No. 20 Grove street, was born in the house at No. 20 Grove street where he and his parents still reside. This home has been the only one that he has ever known. The date of his birth was September 28, 1888, and he is one of six sons and three daughters whose parents were John and Hannah (Brown) Kirschbaum, both of whom are still living, the father being a retired manufacturer. He was born in the little village of Dettingen, Ger- many, April 21, 1844, and in July, 1866, reached the United States. After a brief residence in New York city and in Naugatuck, Connecticut, he came to Waterbury in 1869 and has since here made his home with the exception of a few months in the year 1870 which he spent in Newark, New Jersey. In 1872, with three other business men, he founded the Novelty Manufacturing Company, which still conducts one of the profitable factories of Waterbury. Mr. Kirschbaum was vice president and head mechanic for many years but in July, 1913, retired from active business and is now spending his days in the enjoyment of a well earned rest. He was married September 22, 1886, to Miss Hannah Brown, who was born in Waterbury, June 5, 1866. She is his second wife. By his first wife, who bore the maiden name of Elizabeth Brickel, he had a family of seven children. Her death occurred in October, 1885. There were two children of the second marriage, Anna Blake and Edward H., both still at home with their parents. The seven living children of the first marriage are: Mrs. Elizabeth Huber, John, Jr., William S., Mrs. Lillian B. Grieve, Carl M., Joseph G. and Louis F. All are residents of Waterbury with the exception of William.

Edward H. Kirschbaum was graduated from the Crosby high school with the class of 1907. In the fall of 1908 he entered Yale Medical College and there won his M. D. degree in 1912. He was secretary of his class and was popular among his college companions. Before his graduation he spent a few months in the New Haven Hospital and from July, 1912, until January 1, 1914, he was an interne in the Fordham Hospital of New York city, a branch of the Bellevue Allied hospitals. He also did post graduate work in the Manhattan Maternity Hospital in 1912. Since 1914 he has practiced medicine and surgery in Waterbury with much success and he is assistant surgeon to the Waterbury Hospital. He keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and research through his membership in the Waterbury, New Haven County and Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association.

DR. EDWARD H. KIRSCHBAUM

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While in college Dr. Kirschbaum became a member of Alpha Kappa Kappa, a medical fraternity. He is a Royal Arch Mason, a Knight of Pythias and an Odd Fellow and is also a member of St. John's Episcopal church. He is also fond of motoring and fishing and turns to these for needed rest and recreation. He is now a first lieutenant in the medical officers' reserve corps, having enlisted in Hospital Unit H, U. S. A.

ELLIS F. PHELAN.

Ellis F. Phelan, assistant secretary of the American Metal Hose Company of Water- bury, his native city, was born May 1, 1891, a son of Judge Ellis and Mary (Frisbie) Phelan, the former a native of Birmingham, Alabama, while the latter was born in Water- bury. The father was a representative of an old southern family, studied for the bar and engaged in the practice of law in Alabama for some time. He also became a prominent factor in shaping the political history of his state, serving for two terms as secretary of state in Alabama. It was in the '80s that he arrived in Waterbury and again he camne into prominence, serving for two terms as judge of the probate court. He left the impress of his ability and his individuality for good upon the public life of the community and did not a little to shape public thought and action. He passed away in 1897, while his widow still survives.

Ellis F. Phelan of this review acquired his education in the Taft school and started out in the business world as an employe with the Benedict & Burnham Brass Company, with which he continued until the spring of 1910, when the American Metal Hose Company was organized and he became associated with the new undertaking. He worked his way upward through the manufacturing department and also acquainted himself with other lines of the business. In 1912 he spent six months in Germany for the company, studying manufacturing conditions. In 1914 he was made assistant secretary of the company and following his return from Germany he had charge of the manufacturing end of the business for two years. Since the fall of 1914, however, he has been in the sales and advertising department and in this connection is contributing much to the success of one of the growing industries of Waterbury.

On the 27th of April, 1915, Mr. Phelan was married to Miss Edith Charles Hutcheson, a daughter of Robert and Henrietta Hutcheson, of New York. They are members of Trinity Episcopal church and contribute generously to its support. Politically Mr. Phelan is a republican but without ambition for office. He resides at the corner of Cook and Grove streets in Waterbury, in the old Cook homestead, which dates back to 1741 and is one of the historic landmarks of the city, being today the oldest residence in Waterbury.

ARTHUR D. VARIELL, M. D.

Dr. Arthur D. Variell, prominent among the physicians and surgeons of Waterbury who have enjoyed not only thorough training in this land but also extensive study abroad, was born in Gardiner, Maine, August 26, 1868, and is the only living child of John Smith and Julia (Hammond) Variell. The father, who was a manufacturer, spent his entire life in Maine, and both he and his wife have now passed away. They were representatives of old families of the Pine Tree state, of English descent, their ancestral lines being traced back to East Sussex, England. The father was descended from Joseph Smith Verrill, who came from England in 1676. In succeeding generations the orthography of the name was changed, appearing at various times as Verrill, Verill, Verril, Varell and Variell, all coming, however from the same parent stock. The family is still a numerous one in England, particularly in East Sussex, where the name is spelled Verrill, and today there are many branches of the family in America.

Dr. Variell passed his boyhood in Gardiner, Maine, where he attended the public schools and spent four years as a high school pupil. In 1890 he entered the Maine Wesleyan College at Kent Hill, Maine, in which he pursued a special course, and in 1894 he was graduated from the medical department of the University of Maine with the M. D. degree. For nearly a year thereafter he was interne in the Portland (Me.) City Hospital, thus gaining broad and practical experience, well qualifying him for later practice. He began the practice of medicine in Watertown, Connecticut, in 1895 and there remained until 1908, since which time he has practiced and made his home in Waterbury. He has taken

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post graduate work in New York eity, in London and in Paris, spending a year in study abroad prior to coming to Waterbury. He spent the greater part of the year 1914 in travel in Europe and was in Switzerland at the outbreak of the present war. He is serving on the medical staff of the Waterbury Hospital and is a member of the Water- bury Medical Society, the New Haven County, the Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. While his interest chiefly centers in his profession, he is also a director and half owner of the Metal Specialty Manufacturing Company of Waterbury and is a director of the Morris Plan Bank of Waterbury.

Dr. Variell has been married twice. In 1897 he wedded Miss Julia Curtiss, of Wood- bury, Connecticut, who died in 1910, leaving two children, Doris and Curtiss, but the latter passed away at the age of thirteen years. The daughter is now an art student in New York and in 1916 was graduated from St. Margaret's school of Waterbury. In 1913 Dr. Variell was married to Miss Katharine Beckwith Schley, of New York city, a daughter of Dr. Montfort J. Schley and a second cousin of Admiral Schley of the United States navy. There is one son of the second marriage, Montfort J., born in 1915. Dr. Variell is a Master Mason and he belongs also to the Waterbury Club, while his chief recreation is in travel.

REV. JOHN GAYLORD DAVENPORT.

Rev. John Gaylord Davenport, pastor of the Second Congregational church of Water- bury for thirty years and pastor emeritus since 1911, was born in Wilton, Connecticut, November 24, 1840, a son of Charles Augustus and Sarah Maria (Gaylord) Davenport, the former born in North Stamford, Connecticut, Angust 26, 1812, while the latter was born in Wilton on the 24th of September, 1812. The father was born on lands given to his great-great-great-grandfather, the Rev. John Davenport, pastor in Stamford for nearly forty years. The mother was born on lands given as a "settlement" to her grandfather, Rev. William Gaylord, who was pastor in Wilton from 1733 to 1767. In the paternal line Rev. John G. Davenport is descended from Rev. John Davenport, the first pastor in New Haven, who located there on coming from England in 1638. The line of descent comes down through John, of Boston; Rev. John, of Stamford; John, of North Stamford; Deodate, of North Stamford; Deodate, Jr., of North Stamford; Samuel; and Charles Augustus to John Gaylord Davenport of this review, who in the maternal line traces his ancestry back to Deacon William Gaylord, of Windsor, Connecticut (1633). The line comes down through William, of Windsor; William, Jr., of Windsor; William, also of Windsor; William (IV) ; Rev. William, of Wilton; Deodate and Sarah Maria Gaylord, who became the wife of Charles Augustus Davenport.

In the public schools of Wilton, John Gaylord Davenport began his education and afterward attended successively the Wilton Academy, Williams College and the Union Theological Seminary of New York. He won the Bachelor of Arts degree at Williams in 1863 and in 1866 the Master of Arts degree was there conferred upon him, while in 1893 he received the Doctor of Divinity degree from his alma mater. His initial step in professional circles was made as a public school teacher. He afterward engaged in clerking in a store and then became a pupil in the Wilton Classical Academy. He was tutor in Latin in Williams College from 1865 until 1867 and in 1868 accepted the pas- torate of the Park Street Congregational church in Bridgeport, where he remained con- tinuously until 1881. In that year he became pastor of the Second Congregational church of Waterbury, a position which he occupied for thirty years. In 1911 he retired from the active work of the pastorate and was made pastor emeritus, thus continuing his con- nection with his parishioners, by whom he is greatly beloved. He had been their spiritual adviser for three decades and had been of great assistance to them in many other ways, constantly reaching out a helping hand or speaking a word of counsel or advice when- ever he believed that his guidance might be of benefit.

On the 29th of November, 1866, in the Wilton Congregational church, Rev. Davenport was united in marriage to Miss Alice Westcott, a daughter of George W. and Arethusa L. Westcott. She was born June 29, 1841, and passed away November 6, 1911. Her family were among the earliest settlers of Wilton and her grandfather and great-grandfather were Revolutionary war heroes. Rev. and Mrs. Davenport became the parents of three children. Their only son, Clarence Gaylord, born in Wilton, April 21, 1868, became a member of the First Regiment of Engineers at the time of the Spanish-American war and while engaged in active duty under General Miles died in Ponce, Porto Rico, on the 26th of October, 1898. Lilian Louisa, born in Bridgeport, June 23, 1874, was married

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June 24, 1914, to William A. Jones. Mary Lindley, born in Bridgeport, March 12, 1877, was married October 15, 1902, to Herbert J. Wilcox, of Hebron, Connecticut, and has one child, John Davenport Wilcox, born in Waterbury, April 7, 1910.

Rev. Davenport has extended his activity into many fields which touch the general interests of society, which work for the uplift of the individual and the betterment of the commonwealth. He was school visitor in Bridgeport in 1878 and in 1874 lie was grand worthy patriarch of the Connecticut Sons of Temperance. He has been identified witlı many public benevolent, reformatory and patriotic enterprises. In politics he has voted with the republican party on national questions since casting his first ballot for Abra- ham Lincoln in 1864. He was a strong abolitionist and has ever stood on the side of reformn and progress. In casting local ballots he has supported the best man as far as he has been able to judge. Since 1896 he has been a member of the Founders and Patriots of America and he has been chaplain and governor of the Connecticut Society and deputy governor general, in which position he was connected with Admiral Dewey. He belongs also to the National Flag Association and to the Connecticut Historical Society and is a member of the American Hygiene Association and the Civil Service Reform Association of Connecticut. He is likewise connected with the Mattatuck Historical Society and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa. He belongs to the Naugatuck Valley Association of Congregational Churches and Ministers. In 1900 he published "The Fulfilment;" in 1914 "Something Beyond and other Poems;" in 1917 an autobiographical volume entitled "Ex- periences and Observations by the Way;" and at various times many commemorative and anniversary poems and addresses, among them a Life of Rev. Moses Stuart. The life work of Rev. John G. Davenport, far-reaching and resultant, touching the general inter- ests of society along the lines of economic, political and sociological reform, as well as in the more strict path of church activity, has reflected further credit and honor upon a name that through almost three centuries has been an untarnished one on the pages of Connecticut's history.

WALTER GRIFFITH.

Walter Griffith, manager of Poli's Theater of Waterbury, has in its development shown marked business ability, making this a very profitable house. A native of North Carolina, he was born in 1882, a son of Dr. J. W. and Jennie Griffith. He acquired a public school education but at the age of sixteen years ran away from home and spent three years with the Harris Nickel Plate Circus, becoming boss lithographer in that connection. He after- ward went to New York, where he was employed by Gus Hill as assistant to the general agent, Mr. Allan, and later he went upon the road with a play entitled, "McFadden's Row of Flats," in which connection he traveled throughout the entire United States, having charge of the publicity end of the business as general agent. On severing that connection he went south in 1903 and organized a chain of fourteen theaters, being the first man south of the Mason and Dixon line to establish the "split-week" program, and in this undertaking he met with substantial success for two years.

In 1905 Mr. Griffith established what was known as the Griffith Shows, a big "vaude- ville under tent," which he conducted for one season, making large profits. He sold out in 1906 and spent six months at home, after which he acted as agent for the Williams Comedy Company, and when the leading man left the company at Rome, Georgia, Mr. Griffith took his place in the company and became owner and manager of the show.

In 1907 Mr. Griffith married his soubrette, Miss Ethel Ruby, of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and featured her as leading lady for two seasons, closing out the show in Corinth, Mississippi, after a successful run. He and his wife then went to Memphis Tennessee, where Mr. Griffith organized a stock company, playing twenty weeks at the Palace Theater in Memphis, where he also put on vaudeville and pictures. Mr. and Mrs. Griffith afterward joined the Wonderland Boat Show (Cooley & Thoms) on the Mississippi river and were thus engaged for a year and a half, playing within ninety-three miles of St. Paul and forty-five miles below New Orleans, making trips up and down on the rivers that flow into the Mississippi. The company numbered fifty-five people. Later Mr. and Mrs. Griffith werc connected with a vaudeville circuit for some time and subsequently they located at Bridge- port, where he entered into the automobile business. While there he met Mr. Renton, the Poli manager, to whom he sold a car and who became interested in Mr. Griffith, making him assistant manager of Poli's Theater at Springfield, Massachusetts. He was rapidly promoted and was given charge of the Sunday shows on the entire circuit. Since being

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post graduate work in New York city, in London and in Paris, spending a year in study abroad prior to coming to Waterbury. He spent the greater part of the year 1914 in travel in Europe and was in Switzerland at the outbreak of the present war. He is serving on the medical staff of the Waterbury Hospital and is a member of the Water- bury Medical Society, the New Haven County, the Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. While his interest chiefly centers in his profession, he is also a director and half owner of the Metal Specialty Manufacturing Company of Waterbury and is a director of the Morris Plan Bank of Waterbury.

Dr. Variell has been married twice. In 1897 he wedded Miss Julia Curtiss, of Wood- bury, Connecticut, who died in 1910, leaving two children, Doris and Curtiss, but the latter passed away at the age of thirteen years. The daughter is now an art student in New York and in 1916 was graduated from St. Margaret's school of Waterbury, In 1913 Dr. Variell was married to Miss Katharine Beckwith Schley, of New York city, a daughter ot Dr. Montfort J. Schley and a second cousin of Admiral Schley of the United States navy. There is one son of the second marriage, Montfort J., born in 1915. Dr. Variell is a Master Mason and he belongs also to the Waterbury Club, while his chief recreation is in travel.

REV. JOHN GAYLORD DAVENPORT.

Rev. John Gaylord Davenport, pastor of the Second Congregational church of Water- bury for thirty years and pastor emeritus since 1911, was born in Wilton, Connecticut, November 24, 1840, a son of Charles Augustus and Sarah Maria (Gaylord) Davenport, the former born in North Stamford, Connecticut, August 26, 1812, while the latter was born in Wilton on the 24th of September, 1812. The father was born on lands given to his great-great-great-grandfather, the Rev. John Davenport, pastor in Stamford for nearly forty years. The mother was born on lands given as a "settlement" to her grandfather, Rev. William Gaylord, who was pastor in Wilton from 1733 to 1767. In the paternal line Rev. John G. Davenport is descended from Rev. John Davenport, the first pastor in New Haven, who located there on coming from England in 1638. The line of descent comes down through John, of Boston; Rev. John, of Stamford; John, of North Stamford; Deodate, of North Stamford; Deodate, Jr., of North Stamford; Samuel; and Charles Augustus to John Gaylord Davenport of this review, who in the maternal line traces his ancestry back to Deacon William Gaylord, of Windsor, Connecticut (1633). The line comes down through William, of Windsor; William, Jr., of Windsor; William, also of Windsor; William (IV); Rev. William, of Wilton; Deodate and Sarah Maria Gaylord, who became the wife of Charles Augustus Davenport.

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History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III, Part 35

Author: Pape, William Jamieson, 1873- ed Publication date: 1918 Publisher: Chicago, New York The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company Number of Pages: 742

Author: Pape, William Jamieson, 1873- ed
Publication date: 1918
Publisher: Chicago, New York The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 742