USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 40
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Mr. Shipley was at different times in the employ of the City Manufacturing Company, the Waterbury Brass Company and the Scovill Manufacturing Company, being en- gaged in making automatic machinery for the last named concern during the last few years of his life. Although of a retiring disposition his position on any question in- volving right or wrong was never an equivocal one and he expressed a strong opposition to human slavery many years before the question assumed an important place in politics. From its organization he was a stanch supporter of the republican party and he was heart and soul with the Union cause. His religious faith was indicated in his member- ship in the First Baptist church of Waterbury and he was generally recognized as a man of sterling character. He took a deep interest in community affairs and was a member of the Waterbury Fire Department in 1844.
Mr. Shipley was married March 11, 1839, to Sarah (James) Stanley, the widow of William Stanley. She was born in Birmingham, England, February 17, 1808, and died in Waterbury, August 8, 1882, her remains being interred in Riverside cemetery. To Mr. and Mrs. Shipley were born two children, Alfred John and Ralph J. The latter was born in Waterbury, May 4, 1845, and spent most of his life in this city as a skilled mechanic, being employed by the Scovill Manufacturing Company and by the Holmes, Booth & Haydens Company. He now resides in Milford, Connecticut. He was married June 26, 1869, to Miss Emma J. Sperry, who was born August 29, 1848, a daughter of Samuel Sperry, of Town Plat. They became the parents of three children, Minnie, Jennie and Maud. The first named married Thomas Walker, of Waterbury, while Jennie became the wife of William Paine, of Stony Creek, Connecticut, and Maud is now Mrs. Clark, of Mil- ford, Connecticut. Mrs. Shipley died in Milford, Connecticut, and was laid to rest in Riverside cemetery at Waterbury, where the remains of Joseph Shipley were also interred.
RALPH J. SHIPLEY.
Ralph J. Shipley was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, May 4, 1845. of the marriage of Joseph and Sarah (James) Shipley. He was educated in the public schools of the town and with the exception of several years' residence in New Jersey and New York has spent most of his life in Waterbury. Mr. Shipley was married June 26, 1869, to Emma J. Sperry, a daughter of Samuel Sperry, of Waterbury. Mrs. Shipley was born August 29, 1848, and died March 5, 1908, her remains being interred in Riverside cemetery. Their children were as follows: Minnie, who was born August 22, 1870, and on the 12th of December, 1888, married Thomas J. Walker; Jennie L., who was born January 28, 1873, and became the wife of William Paine, of Stony Creek, Connecticut; Maud A., who was born August 15, 1875, and on the 29th of November, 1898, gave her hand in marriage to Hubert S. Clark, of Milford, Connecticut.
Mr. Shipley was employed by the American Cap & Flask Company, now the Water- bury Brass Company, in 1865, and also worked as button tool maker with the Scovill Manufacturing Company from 1865 until 1877. In that year he went to New York and secured employment with the New York City Button Company, making cloth button tools. Returning to Waterbury in 1881, he worked for the Scovill Manufacturing Company as a button tool maker until 1884 and was subsequently employed by Mr. McGill in making paper fasteners for the Holmes, Booth & Haydens Company. In 1896 he removed to Mil- ford. Connectient, and was employed by the National Electric Company in building wire
JOSEPH SHIPLEY
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and electric machinery. Being of an inventive mind, his usefulness in building automatic machinery was soon discovered by his employers and he always received the full approval and confidence of those whom he served.
While living in Milford he has been active in the interests of the town, especially at Fort Trumbull Beach, where his home has been, having organized the Fort Trumbull Beach Fire Company No. 2 and acting as its first foreman from 1909 until 1912. He established the fire alarm of twelve boxes on the beach with over three miles of wire and has been appointed electrician of the Milford fire department. He is now endeavoring by subscrip- tion of taxpayers and the help of the town to place a chemical fire engine on the beach and expects soon to succeed in doing so.
Mr. Shipley also has a creditable military record. In 1863, during the uneasiness throughout the northern states caused by the draft riots in New York at the time of the Civil war, Governor Buckingham of Connecticut having called for volunteers, Mr. Ship- ley enlisted in a company of one hundred men raised by the late S. W. Kellogg and called the Chatfield Guard. Mr. Shipley was one of the detail appointed to fire the salute at the grave of Colonel Chatfield when he was brought home and buried in Riverside cemetery, August 13, 1863. On the 30th of April, 1866, Mr. Shipley joined Company D, organized and known as Sherman Guard, with James F. Simpson as captain, with which he served for three years or until discharged. He was a member of the Waterbury fire department, belonging to Phoenix Fire Engine Company for fifteen years or from 1863 until 1878. Mr. Shipley with his wife joined the First Baptist church in Waterbury many years ago and he is still a member. The death of his wife was a severe blow to him and when his daughter Jennie died it left him very lonely indeed, he having lived with her after his wife's demise. He is connected with the Masonic fraternity, being a member of Harmony Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M., of Waterbury; Eureka Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M .; and Waterbury Coun- cil, No. 21. R. & S. M. For a number of years he was connected with the Order of United American Mechanics. Mr. Shipley has always been and is now interested in and seeking the welfare, pleasure and comfort of others. Having retired from active labor, he is enjoying the well earned reward of a well spent life.
JULIUS HOBART BRONSON.
Julius Hobart Bronson, president of the Citizens National Bank and treasurer and business manager of the Oakville Company, is thus prominently identified with the financial and commercial interests of Waterbury, a city with whose history the name of Bronson has been connected in all the phases of its material, intellectual and moral progress through many generations. With the founding of the first school in which other than the common school branches were taught, and with the official management of the first church of Water- bury, the name is associated. Stephen I. Bronson. the great-grandfather of Julius Hobart Bronson, was a deacon of the First church of Waterbury and was actively interested in all those forces which made for the upbuilding of the city in the period that compassed, preceded and followed the Revolutionary war. His son, Judge Bennet Bronson, was born in Waterbury, November 14, 1775, and became a pupil in the first school of higher grade in Waterbury, which was conducted by David Hale, a brother of Nathan Hale of Revolutionary war fame. He prepared for college in the school conducted by Messrs. Badger and Kingsbury and also pursued his studies under the direction of the Rev. Jolin Foot of Cheshire. He then entered Yale and was numbered among its alumni of 1797. The following year he was appointed a lieutenant in the provisional army of the United States, known as the Adams army, and served for about two years. He studied law with the Hon. Noah B. Benedict of Woodbury, was admitted to the bar in 1802 and began practice in Waterbury. Ten years later he became one of the assistant judges of the county court and served for two years. In 1824 he entered upon a six years' terin as presiding judge and in May, 1829, was chosen to represent his district in the legislature. In his law practice he ranked particularly high as a counselor and conveyancer. Of him a contemporary writer has said: "He was a man of excellent judgment in business matters, a large land holder, and made farming profitable. He also invested successfully in manufacturing. He inherited a fair estate from his father and soon became one of the leading capitalists of the town. He served as the first president of the Waterbury Bank and so continued until his death. On the 10th of June, 1838, he was elected a deacon of the First church." In Woodbury he married Anna, daughter of Richard Smith, on the 11th of May, 1801. His death occurred December 11, 1850.
His son. Thomas Bronson, born in Waterbury, June 4, 1808, studied under the direction
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of his father and also in Farmington in preparation for college and then entered Yale, from which he was graduated in 1829. He took up the profession of teaching at East Windsor but illness soon obliged him to discontinue the work. In the spring of 1830 he became a law student under Truman Smith of Litchfield and afterward studied in the New Haven Law School, but ere completing the course he began the study of theology, which he followed in New Haven and Andover. He was never ordained but preached in several places in Connecticut and New York. In 1843 he went south and resumed teaching at Smithfield, Virginia. Later he conducted a school in Quincy, Illinois, until after the death of his father, returning to Waterbury in 1851. Here he passed away a few weeks later. On the 13th of February, 1839, he had married Cynthia E. Bartlett, a daughter of Cyrus M. Bartlett, of Hartford, and they became the parents of a daughter and two sons. Harriet Anna, the wife of Rev. P. V. Fineh; Julius Hobart; and Dr. Edward Bennet Bronson.
The elder son was born at Sandy Hill, New York, on the 30th of April, 1843, but when a year and a half old came to Waterbury to live with his grandfather, Judge Bennet Bron- son. He was a pupil in a boarding school at Ellington for some time and pursued his preparatory course in Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts, but delicate health prevented him from becoming a college student. In the early period of his business career. he became connected with B. P. Chatfield in the erection of buildings in Waterbury and Bridgeport and was not only active as a contractor but also dealt in building materials. At length impaired health forced him to retire from business and for three years he remained inactive. In 1875, however, he became the manager of the Oakville Company, which was organized on the 15th of March. 1852. for the manufacture of sticking pins on paper, which was the invention of Chauncey O. Crosby. This company was organized with Green Kend- rick as president and Elisha Leavenworth as secretary, and the business was capitalized for fifty-three thousand dollars, while later the capital stock was increased to seventy-five thousand dollars. In 1860 Joseph C. Welton became the president of the company and its business manager and continued in that position until his death, which oceurred March 26, 1874. He was succeeded in the presidency by Mr. Leavenworth, while Nathaniel H. Perry, who for some years had been secretary, became the active manager of the business. Upon his death on the 21st of March. 1877, J. Hobart Bronson became business manager and also treasurer of the company. The water power was greatly improved in 1869, in which year the present factory was erected. Since then additions have been made to meet the growing demand of the business, for the company is today conducting a mammoth enterprise, being extensively engaged in the manufacture of safety pins and other wire articles, in connection with which they employ one thousand factory operatives. Mr. Bronson has long been the directing head of this enterprise, which establishes his position as one of the foremost business men of New England. He has also other important interests and is now president of the Citizens National Bank of Waterbury.
On the 16th of November, 1886, Mr. Bronson was united in marriage to Miss Edith Terry, of Hartford, a daughter of Roderick Terry, and they now have one son, Bennet, who is assistant treasurer of the Oakville Company.
Mr. Bronson is a democrat in his political views. He attends thie Congregational church and has membership in the Waterbury and Waterbury Country Clubs. The mingled hereditary gifts and talents of his ancestors have descended to him in full measure and amid other conditions he is continuing for Waterbury in its upbuilding and development what his ancestors instituted during the era of its primitive growth.
HON. WALTER E. MONAGAN.
Hon. Walter E. Monagan, an attorney practicing iu Waterbury as a member of the firm of Carmody, Monagan & Larkin, was born at Bristol, Connecticut, January 10, 1882, and is the youngest son of John S. and Ann (Nolan) Monagan, who are now residents of Waterbury. The father was born at Andover, Massachusetts, November 4, 1846, while the mother's birth occurred in Bangor, New York. They were married in Franklin county, New York. soon after the close of the Civil war, and in 1873 removed to Connecticut, settling at Bristol. In 1891 the family came to Waterbury. Mr. and Mrs. John S. Monagan had a family of seven children who are yet living, as follows: Mary; Charles A .; Katherine, who is the wife of George Gregg; William H .; Helen, who gave her hand in marriage to Frederick Marks; Walter E., of this review: and Bernice, the wife of Arthur Nelson.
Walter E. Monagan was a little lad of nine years at the time of the removal to Waterbury and at once continued his education in its public schools, being graduated with
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honor from the high school with the class of 1899. Continuing his education, he was graduated from the Holy Cross College at Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1902 and was again an honor graduate. He then studied law at Yale and in his second year there won the fifty-dollar prize. In 1904 he was admitted to the bar and since that time has been in active practice in Waterbury. He now follows his profession as a member of the firm of Carmody, Monagan & Larkin, which ranks among the most prominent and successful of the law firms of the city. He has ever been careful and painstaking in the preparation of his cases, clear in his reasoning, strong in his argument and logical in his conclusions.
On the 6th of April, 1910, Mr. Monagan was married to Miss Mary E. Butler, of Water- bury, and they have three sons: Walter E., William Henry and Charles Andrew. The family are communicants of the Roman Catholic church and Mr. Monagan belongs to the Knights of Columbus. He is also identified with the Elks. In politics he is a democrat and for two terms or four years he has served as commissioner of education, while in 1911 he was a member of the Connecticut general assembly. He is identified with the local and state bar associations and his colleagues recognize in him a lawyer of wide learning and ability, while his devotion to his clients' interests has become proverbial.
GEORGE BODEN.
George Boden, who since 1911 has been secretary of the Oakville Company, was born in what was then Greenwood but is now Arden. New York, in the year 1867. His early youth was devoted to the acquirement of a public school education while spending his boyhood days in the home of his parents, Benjamin and Rebecca (Smith) Boden, who re- moved from the Empire state to Connecticut in 1877. when their son George was but ten years of age. The family home was established in Waterbury, where he has since remained.
After putting aside his textbooks Mr. Boden learned the tool maker's trade and was a young man of twenty-three years when in 1890 he entered the employ of the Oakville Company, one of the old established manufacturing concerns of the city. having been or- ganized on the 15th of March, 1852. He brought with him to his new connection experience as a tool maker and knowledge of other mechanical lines. He brought, moreover, ambition and determination, having resolved to work his way upward. His fidelity and ability gained recognition and he was advanced through various departments until he was called upon for administrative direction of the affairs of the company, having been elected its secretary in 1911. Thus he has come into prominence in connection with one of the substantial wire goods manufacturing enterprises of the city and has been active in its further and successful development in recent years.
JOHN T. MONZANI.
John T. Monzani, attorney at law successfully practicing in Waterbury, where he was born on the 3d of September, 1883, is a son of the late Charles F. Monzani, who died in the year 1908. The mother, whose maiden name was Jane Hogg, is still a resident of Waterbury. Charles F. Monzani was foreman with the Scovill Manufacturing Company for about thirty years, being one of the most trusted representatives of that corporation. He was born in Orange, New Jersey, while his wife was a native of Yorkshire, England, and came to the United States with her father, John Hogg, who settled with his family in Waterbury. At the time of the Civil war he enlisted with a Connecticut regiment for service at the front in defense of the Union. The Monzani family came originally of Italian ancestry, although the paternal grandfather, whose name was Teobaldo P. Monzani, was a resident of London. England, before coming to the new world.
There is a strain of Italian, Welsh and English blood in the veins of John T. Monzani, who, however, is thoroughly a representative American in spirit and interests. He has spent his entire life in Waterbury and was educated in its public schools, being graduated from the high school in 1901, from the Taft School in 1902 and from Yale University in 1906, having completed the academic course. Determining to devote his attention to pro- fessional pursuits, he studied law in the office of Charles W. Banby, of Waterbury, and was admitted to practice in the courts of this state in June, 1912. He was at that time employed in the traffic department of the Southern New England Telephone Company, with which he continued until May. 1915. He then entered upon the active practice of his pro-
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fession in Waterbury and has already gained a good clientage, which is constantly growing in volume and in importance.
On the 28th of June, 1916, Mr. Monzani was married to Miss Helen E. Hayward, of Waterbury. who was born at Taunton, Massachusetts, and is a daughter of George M. Hay- ward, of the International Silver Company, who is well known in local musical circles.
Mr. and Mrs. Monzani hold membership in St. John's Episcopal church and he is a Master Mason. In politics he is an earnest republican. He has served on the republican town committee from the first ward and is secretary of the first ward republican committee. He was appointed deputy coroner of New Haven county, October 7. 1916, and was appointed coroner June 4, 1917, and in that capacity he is now efficiently serving. He ever stands loyally for those interests which he believes to be right and his influence is ever on the side of progress and improvement. He has many admirable qualities and his friends and associates speak of him in terms of high regard.
GEORGE F. DRAKE.
No citizen of Winsted has in recent years taken a more active or helpful part in developing its interests, promoting its upbuilding and upholding its civic standards than George F. Drake, who for the past two years has been president of the Winsted Chamber of Commerce. As a business man he is prominent and widely known. For a quarter of a century he has been connected with the New England Pin Company, of which he is now the treasurer and general manager.
Mr. Drake was born in Winsted, May 12, 1864. a son of Dr. Henry Hungerford Drake, who was born at Millbrook, near Winsted, in the year of 1833 and who was graduated from the Cincinnati (Ohio) Medical College. Soon afterward he married Miss Miriam Roberts, a daughter of Hiram Roberts, of North Colebrook, Connecticut, where her birth occurred. For many years Dr. Drake practiced most successfully in Winsted and was one of its most prominent and influential citizens. He was actively identified with the building of the Hartford & Connecticut Western Railroad, doing much to promote its success. He superintended the raising of the level of High Lake, and also the building of the Rugg Brook reservoir and the building of the tunnels through the mountains. He was also the chief promoter of the Wakefield boulevard, a modern thoroughfare extending seven miles around Highland Lake. Dr. Drake had more to do with the publication and distribution of "Boyd's Annals of Winchester," a local historical work of much value, than any other person beside the author, John Boyd. He was a Mason of high rank and for over twenty-five years served as treasurer of St. Andrews Lodge, F. & A. M. In politics he was a stanch democrat of the old school and served as postmaster of West Winsted during President Cleveland's first term. He also served as school commissioner and as water commissioner; was a selectman; and for twenty years was clerk and treas- urer of Winsted borough. The public record of few citizens of Winsted has extended over a longer period and none has been more faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation. The death of Dr. Drake occurred in March, 1903, and was the occasion of deep and widespread regret, for he was honored wherever known and most of all where he was best known. To him and his wife were born two children, the younger being Mrs. Anna C. Eaton, a resident of Winsted.
The elder, George F. Drake of this review, has spent his entire life in Winsted and in the publie schools acquired his early education, his textbooks being put aside when he was seventeen years of age. At that time he became a clerk in a hardware store, where he remained for five years, and later he went upon the road as a traveling salesman, representing the Winsted Edge Tool Company. He traveled for five years and during that time, such was his business ability that his sales constituted a most important factor in the growth and success of the undertaking which he represented. For about twenty-five years he has been connected with the New England Pin Company and for fifteen years has been one of its officers, while during the past five years he has occupied his present position-that of treasurer and general manager. He was formerly secretary of the company for several years before becoming a director and the treasurer. He is likewise the secretary of the Citizens Printing Company and a director of the Winsted Hardware & Manufacturing Company, and thus he is well known in the business circles of Winsted.
Mr. Drake was married in January, 1896, to Miss Ella Josephine Bailey, of Graniteville, South Carolina, who was born in that state but is a representative of one of the old New
GEORGE F. DRAKE
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England families. Among her ancestors were those who served in the Revolutionary war and she holds membership with the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Mr. Drake has figured very prominently in social and club circles as well as in busi- ness affairs and in the public life of the community. He was formerly secretary and treas- urer of the Greenwoods Country Club and was very active in its organization. At the present time he holds membership in the Winsted Club and in the Litchfield County Auto- mobile Club, and is a member of the Masonic fraternity. His chief recreation is motoring. He attends and supports the Second Congregational church. In politics he is a republi- can but has never been a candidate for public office, although he has declined many times to allow his name to be used in that connection. He has been president of the Winsted Chamber of Commerce for the past two years and as its head has done much for the development and upbuilding of the city in many ways, giving liberally of his time, money and effort for the advancement of its interests. He has been active recently in the Liberty Loan and Red Cross campaigns. As president of the Chamber of Commerce he took the initiative in the Community Gardens project, which was promoted in Winsted in 1917 and resulted in the planting of twenty acres of Irish potatoes, yielding a crop of about five thousand bushels. He closely studies the questions and issues of the day and also modern-day conditions and keeps abreast with the best thinking men of the age. He is actuated by a spirit of progress in all that he undertakes and it is characteristic of him that whatever he undertakes he accomplishes.
THE NAUGATUCK CHEMICAL COMPANY.
The Naugatuck Chemical Company, ranking with the leading manufacturing interests of the Naugatuck valley, was organized in 1904, with E. C. Benedict as the president, in which position he continued until 1914. H. Stuart Hotchkiss, of New Haven, became the treasurer and subsequently was both president and treasurer, with W. T. Rodenbach as vice president, Matthew Adgate eventually becoming vice president. John T. Carberry, of New York, was elected as secretary and George P. Hasbrouck became assistant treasurer. The plant, which is located on Elm street and the railroad, covers twenty or more acres and comprises forty-three different buildings. The company manufactures sulphuric acid, nitric acid, muriatic acid, hydrofluoric acid, acetic acid, nitro benzol, aniline oil and antimony sulphides. This is one of the large concerns of Naugatuck, employing one hundred and sixty people. The business has long since reached very extensive and gratifying proportions and constitutes an important element in the substantial growth and prosperity of the borough.
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