USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 41
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MATTHEW ADGATE.
Matthew Adgate. the vice president and general manager of the Naugatuck Chemical Company, was born in Keeseville, New York, in 1871, his parents being George and Mary Cornelia (Learned) Adgate. He acquired a public school education in the Empire state and afterward continued his education in the University of Vermont, from which he was graduated in 1893 on the completion of a course in chemistry. Thus qualified for a pro- fessional career. he became associated with the Fairfield Chemical Works, with which he continued from 1893 until 1900. He was afterward with the General Chemical Company until 1904 and later with the Naugatuck Chemical Company, with which he remains to the present time. He originally occupied the position of superintendent and is now vice presi- dent and general manager. His comprehensive and accurate knowledge of the science of chemistry combined with executive ability and administrative force make him one of the most efficient men in this connection.
Mr. Adgate has been married twice. He first wedded Elise Falconer Pond, of Bridge- port, who passed away in 1912. In 1914 he wedded Mabel Follette, of Naugatuck. By the first marriage there was a daughter, Evelyn, and by the second marriage a daughter, Mary Cornelia. The family resides at Waterbury and Mrs. Adgate is a member of the Episcopal church.
Mr. Adgate belongs to the American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Society of Chemical Industry, the National Geographic Society, the Chemists Club of New York and similar organizations. He is likewise identified with the Naugatuck Golf Club. His plans and purposes have ever been well defined. He has always
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been actuated by a singleness of purpose that has led to the thorough concentration of his efforts along a given line. His study has been broad, his research deep and, delving into the mystery of chemical science, he has gleaned many valuable truths which have been made to figure as assets in the conduct of the business in which he has long been engaged. He is today one of the prominent chemical manufacturers not only of Naugatuck but of New England, his position of leadership being accorded by colleagues and contemporaries.
GEORGE C. WALKER.
For thirteen years George C. Walker has been superintendent of city parks in Water- bury and has faithfully performed his duties in this connection. His work has steadily grown with the expansion of the city, but he has at all times proven adequate to the demands made upon him and the present park system has practically been developed through his labors. He was born in Waterbury, October 31. 1860, a son of George and Julia (Dempster) Walker, both of whom were natives of Scotland. They were married in Thompsonville, Connecticut, however, and in the early '50s became residents of Waterbury, where the father was one of the pioneer pin makers of the city. He died about 1891, having for a decade or more survived his wife, who passed away about 1880.
George C. Walker was reared and educated in Waterbury and was graduated from high school. In early manhood he traveled extensively and, as he expresses it, "has done all kinds of work except railroading and coal mining." His experiences were indeed broad and varied as he passed from place to place through the period of early manhood, picking up much valuable knowledge concerning men and methods. In 1904, however, he was appointed superintendent of the city parks of Waterbury and at each biennial period since that time has been reappointed, making a most splendid official. He is striving constantly to improve and extend the park system and promote its beauty and make it as well a playground for the youth, recognizing the need of both young and old for outdoor life and exercise. He has taken a forward step in this direction, being largely the promoter of the present playground system of Waterbury. He looks at this question from a very broad standpoint, knowing that crime lessens with the opportunity of the boy for healthful play and that stalwart citizenship has in large measure its basis upon well developed physical manhood that permits of an unstinted mental and moral growth. That his work is highly satisfactory to the general public is indicated by his reappointments at the hands of a board of public works that is constantly changing in its personnel.
On the 5th of March, 1909, Mr. Walker was married to Miss Gertrude Ursula Bradley, of Waterbury, who was born in Wolcott, Connecticut. They attend and aid generously in the support of the Second Congregational church and Mr. Walker holds membership with the Grange and with the Woodmen of the World. He is widely known among Waterbury's valued and substantial citizens and all with whom he has come in contact entertain for him warm regard.
FRANK B. MUNN.
Frank B. Munn, a practicing attorney of Winsted whose ability has won for him a liberal clientage, is also a recognized leader in republican circles in Connecticut and is now a member of the republican state central committee. He was born in West Stock- bridge, Massachusetts, November 16, 1860, and is a son of James B. and Eliza (Boughton) Munn. The father is deceased but the mother survives and is living in Pittsfield, Massa- chusetts. The paternal grandfather was Captain Israel Munn, a soldier of the War of 1812.
Frank B. Munn acquired a public school education in his native town and afterward entered Dartmouth College, from which he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science, being among the alumni of 1887. Determining upon the practice of law as his life work, he began preparation for the bar as a student in the office which he now occupies, his preceptor being the late Colonel Wellington B. Smith. He was admitted to the bar in 1892 after thorough preliminary reading and was at once admitted to a part- nership by Mr. Smith under the firm style of Smith & Munn. This association was con- tinued until the death of the senior partner in 1915, a fact which is indicative of the substantial qualities on the part of both Mr. Smith and Mr. Munn. They had long been associated as preceptor and pupil and as partners, each working for the interests of the
FRANK B. MUNN
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firm, which long occupied a very prominent position in legal circles in this part of the state. Since the death of Mr. Smith, Mr. Munn has practiced alone and a most liberal clientage is accorded him. He prepares his cases with great thoroughness and care, is clear in his reasoning and sound in his arguments.
In 1892 Mr. Munn was united in marriage to Miss Marie W. Widmer, of New Hart- ford, and they reside six and one-half miles from Winsted, Mr. Munn having occupied his present residence since 1888. He is a member of the Methodist church and is well known in fraternal circles. He has taken the degrees of lodge, chapter and council in Masonry and is also identified with the Knights of Pythias. He likewise belongs to the Winsted Club. Outside of professional circles he is perhaps best known as a republican, being recognized as one of the leaders in the party in Connecticut. He is a member of the Connecticut republican state central committee, on which he has served for five years, representing the thirtieth senatorial district. He has a masterful grasp of the problems and political questions of the day and has shown keen foresight in assisting in molding the policy of the party. Along strictly professional lines he is connected with the Con- necticut State Bar Association and enjoys the full confidence and regard of his colleagues and contemporaries in the practice of law.
JOHN F. HACKETT.
John F. Hackett, superintendent of the Seymour Manufacturing Company of Seymour, was born in Waterbury, May 4, 1880, a son of Daniel T. and Josephine (Fitzmaurice) Hackett. The father was foreman with the Plume & Atwood Company for many years, thus occupy- ing an important position in industrial circles. Both he and his wife have now passed away.
Their son, John F. Hackett, spending his boyhood days in Waterbury, there passed through consecutive grades until he acquired a high school education. He made his initial step in the business world as shipping clerk with the Randolph-Clowes Manufacturing Company, with which he remained for nine years, steadily working his way upward through different positions. His increasing ability won him appointment to the position of foreman of various departments and in fact he went through the entire factory. His identification with the Seymour Manufacturing Company dates from 1913, when he became superintendent of the rolling mill, and the following year he was appointed to his present position, acting as general superintendent since 1914. He thus has control of extensive interests, directing the labors of many men, and his long experience in this line well qualifies him for the duties and responsibilities which now devolve upon him.
On the 31st of October, 1911, Mr. Hackett was united in marriage to Miss Claire V. Sutton, of Waterbury, a daughter of James Sutton. Their children are John Vincent, who was born September 18, 1912; and two who have passed away. Mr. Hackett is identified with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, his membership being in the lodge at Water- bury. He has been quite prominent in the order and was esteemed leading knight for one term. He belongs to the Catholic church and he gives his political allegiance to the democratic party. He has taken quite an active and prominent part in local politics and lie served as treasurer of the democratic town committee of Waterbury for three terms. He also served for two terms on the board of relief in Waterbury. In 1914 he removed to Seymour, where he now makes his home, and he is deeply interested in the welfare and progress of the eity, giving active support to all measures which he believes of public benefit.
GEORGE GILBERT MULLINGS.
George Gilbert Mullings, who is district manager of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company of Hartford, with offices in the Lilley building, was born in Waterbury, September 10, 1877, and is the only son of the late John B. Mullings, who was a prominent and well known citizen of Waterbury, where he passed away March 23, 1917. He was a son of John Mullings, who came from England in 1839 and was a leading and influential resident of Waterbury in his day.
Reared in his native eity, George Gilbert Mullings was graduated from the Waterbury grammar school with the class of 1894 and afterward became a student in the Phillips Andover Academy, a preparatory school, from which he was graduated in 1898. He then
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entered the clothing store of his father in the Mullings block on Bank street, which property then belonged to his father and is still a part of the estate. The elothing store was then conducted under the father's name and when in 1902 G. G. Mullings was admitted to a partnership the firm style of J. B. Mullings & Son was assumed. That relation was main- tained until 1909, when the junior partner withdrew and turned his attenion to the life insurance business, first becoming agent of the Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Company of Hartford. In this connection he has made steady progress and in 1910 he was chosen district manager for the company at Waterbury and has since occupied this position. He is today well known in insurance circles and his ability in this field has been fully demons- trated.
On the 1st of June, 1905, Mr. Mullings was united in marriage to Miss Hattie Florine Snow of Waterbury, by whom he has a son, George Gilbert, Jr., born May 2, 1914. Mr. Mullings finds his chief recreation in golf and is a member of the Waterbury Country Club. He has attained high rank in Masonry, having become a Knight Templar and Consistory Mason and a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is both a past master of his lodge and a past eminent commander of the Knights Templar. Those who know him, and he has a wide acquaintance, entertain for him the warm regard which is the legitimate result of a well spent, active and honorable life. He is a worthy representative of a family that has long been prominently connected with Waterbury.
HERMAN KOESTER.
Herman Koester, general superintendent of The Bristol Company, became identified with this business in 1906. The following year he was advanced to his present position. having proven his ability to manage the operations of this plant, where are manufactured all kinds of recording instruments. Each day with him marks off a full-faithed attempt to know more and to grow more in connection with this business. He is yet a comparatively young man but has made for himself a creditable place in manufacturing circles in Water- bury.
Mr. Koester was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, March 14, 1882, a son of Charles F. and Martha (Juker) Koester, the former a merchant. He obtained a private school educa- tion as a student in the Hoboken Academy, after which he spent two years as a high school pupil there and later entered Stevens Institute, from which he was graduated with the degree of Mechanical Engineer in the class of 1904. He made his initial step in the business world following his graduation with the E. W. Bliss Company of Brooklyn, New York, as designer and later had charge of the testing in the torpedo department. In 1906 he was called to New York city to accept a position with W. H. Bristol, manufacturer of electric pyrometers, being given charge of manufacturing, and in 1907 he was transferred to The Bristol Company as superintendent, while in September, 1916, he was advanced to the position of general superintendent and now has supervision over the entire operations of the plant.
On the 6th of January, 1912, Mr. Koester was married to Ada Elizabeth Adams Evans, who was born in Michigan and lived for a time in New York. The children of this marriage are Herman and Celine. In politics Mr. Koester maintains an independent position, voting for men and measures rather than party. He is an exemplary representative of Masonic teachings, holding membership in Harmony Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M. He belongs to the alumni association of Stevens Institute and to the Tau Beta Pi, a college fraternity. He is also a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and of the National Geographic Society and he has deep interest in scientific investigation and research, especially upon those lines which bear upon his chosen profession.
STEPHEN B. CHURCH.
Stephen B. Church, engaged in engineering and contracting for suburban water supply and fire protection, with pneumatic, electric and special pumping machinery, artesian wells, windmills, engines, tanks, towers and all appurtenances, has developed one of the largest and most important business enterprises of this character in New England. His home office is at Seymour, Connecticut, in addition to which he has an extensive establishment at 64 and 66 Pearl street. Boston, Massachusetts. He was born in Oxford. Connecticut, near
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Stephan Church
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Seymour, August 15, 1866, a son of John and Sarah .M. (Whiting) Church. The former was a son of Sheldon Church and he in turn of John Church, and all were born in the vicinity of Seymour, the family being established here in colonial days. The father and grandfather of Stephen B. Church were engaged in farming and the timber business. The great-grand- father was a civil engineer, following his profession in New York city. He dug out Canal street there many years ago and was identified with many important engineering projects of that early day.
It is the old family homestead upon, which Stephen B. Church of this review still resides. He acquired a public school education and, starting out in the business world, turned his attention to the agricultural machinery business. He studied engineering, became deeply interested along that line, and in 1886 began taking contracts for engineering work. He opened his Boston office in 1900. He engineers and contracts for complete water systems for country estates, institutions and manufacturing establishments. He has had some of the most important engineering projects in his line in the country. Mr. Church engineered and contracted for the water supply for the Hamilton Hotel in Bermuda island and he has received contracts from some of the most eminent men of the country. His business, how- ever, is principally confined to New England, New York and New Jersey. He maintains a competent force of salesmen, engineers and expert mechanics, some of whom have been in his employ for over a quarter of a century. He makes a specialty of deep well pumping machinery of his own design and manufacture. For a long period his brother Lewis W. Church was associated with him in the business, until his death, which occurred in 1916.
Mr. Church is a trustee of the Seymour Trust Company. He is a member of the Episcopal church, in which he is serving as vestryman, and he belongs to the Machinery Club of New York. His acquaintance is very wide and includes some of the most prominent men of the country.
LESTER CLARK STRONG.
Lester Clark Strong, vice president of The Strong Manufacturing Company of Winsted, was born in Fulton, Missouri, October 2, 1860. His father was Clark Strong of Easthamp- ton, Connecticut, and his mother Juliette Asenath Lewis of Palmer, Massachusetts, both of whom were educated in Monson Academy, Monson, Massachusetts. Of this union two children survive, Lester Clark and Gertrude Helen, wife of Robinson L. Vaill of Philadelphia, Penn- sylvania.
At the outbreak of the Civil war Clark Strong was professor of English literature in Westminster College at Fulton, Missouri. He resigned this position and returned to the east, enlisting in the Twenty-fourth Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, October 20, 1862, with which he served as adjutant. He was wounded at the siege of Port Hudson, May 27, 1863, and was honorably discharged by War Governor Buckingham, September 30, 1863. After the close of the war he became one of the founders of The Strong Manufacturing Company of Winsted, of which he was active manager for several years, his death occurring in 1878 at the age of forty-nine. His widow survived him for several years, her death occurring in 1902.
Lester Clark Strong acquired a common school education, supplemented by courses in high school and business college. He then accepted a position with The Strong Manufactur- ing Company, of which he is now vice president, also assistant secretary and treasurer. He has been a director in the company for a number of years, as also of the New England Knitting Company.
On the 31st of May, 1882, Mr. Strong married Antoinette Smith Loomis, daughter of the late George W. Loomis of Winsted. They have one son Harold Clark, born February 6, 1885, who married Selina Kinney. daughter of the Rev. H. N. Kinney, formerly pastor of the First Congregational church of Winsted. Mr. and Mrs. Harold C. Strong have two children : Selina, born December 27, 1915; and Harold Clark Strong, born November 19, 1917.
In his political views Lester C. Strong has always been a republican. He served for one term in the general assembly of Connecticut, of which he was a member in 1897. In the year 1898 he served as warden of the borough of Winsted. He is a trustee of the William L. Gilbert School and of the William L. Gilbert Home. He is on the board of directors of the Litchfield County Hospital, serving as secretary of the board. He is a member and cx-president of the Winsted Club and is also a member of the Litchfield County Automobile Club.
Mr. Strong has been identified with most every movement of a publie character directed
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toward improvement along civic and moral lines. His worth in every respect is widely acknowledged and as a business man he has made for himself a creditable name and place in manufacturing circles.
THE PLATT BROTHERS & COMPANY.
Among the long established manufacturing enterprises of Waterbury is that of The Platt Brothers & Company, which was incorporated in 1876 but was founded on the 1st of April, 1847. Even before that date the business had its inception, having been established by Alfred Platt, grandfather of Lewis A. Platt, who is now president of the concern. He severed his connections with the firm of Benedict & Burnham to enter into the manufacture of buttons on his own account, at which time he employed his two sons, W. S. and C. M. Platt, in his factory. When the boys were well trained he admitted them to a partnership on the 1st of April, 1847, under the firm style of A. Platt & Company. This was almost a half century after their ancestor had purchased property on the 20th of November, 1797, and had started a grist mill, also a nail mill and the first wire drawing mill in Waterbury. His place became known as Platts Mills and was situated about three miles from what is now the heart of the city of Waterbury. Since that time the property has remained in possession of the family and thus for more than a century the name has been associated with the manufacturing interests of the Naugatuck valley.
During the Civil war the company made zinc parts for a special bullet used by the army. They continued the manufacture of buttons until 1910, when that branch of the business was taken over by a newly organized company under the name of the Patent Button Company, of which Lewis A. Platt, however, remains as the treasurer. The firm of A. Platt & Company was afterward reorganized under the name of A. Platt & Sons and upon the death of the founder of the business it was incorporated in 1876 under the name of The Platt Brothers & Company. Today this company manufactures all kinds of light metal articles, including eyelets, and sells direct to manufacturers. They employ about one hundred operatives in the factory, fifty per cent being skilled labor.
After the incorporation of the company W. S. Platt was chosen president, with his brother, Clark M. Platt, as secretary and treasurer. The latter succeeded to the presidency on the death of W. S. Platt in 1886, while Lewis A. Platt, son of Clark M. Platt, became secretary. He continued in that office until chosen to the presidency, which position he still fills. The factory was destroyed by fire in 1893 but was rebuilt in 1896 and 1897 and contains about twenty thousand square feet. They use both water and electric power and the factory is equipped with both individual and group motors. There are five turbine water wheels, furnishing four hundred horse power from the river. Clark M. Platt continned as president to the time of his demise in 1900, when Lewis A. Platt became president, with J. H. Hart as treasurer and Wallace H. Camp as secretary.
IRVING EDWARD MANCHESTER.
Irving Edward Manchester, a journalist of Winsted whose activities have reached far beyond the publication of the "Citizen," to inelude active work for the city's better- ment and moral progress, was born July 18, 1870, in Winsted, a son of Edward and Mary Jennie (Grant) Manchester, who are mentioned elsewhere in this work. He was reared on his father's farm and attended the grammar and high schools of his native town, after which he became a student in Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham, Massachusetts, in the elass of 1892. He then entered Wesleyan University at Middletown, Connecticut, and was graduated with the class of 1896, earning the degree of Bachelor of Science. During his college days he was president of the Citizenship Club and was class orator. It was there that he gained his first newspaper experience as correspondent for the Middeltown Penny Press. He was also manager of the Wesleyan Argus and the Olla Podrida, the class yearbook. In the year following his graduation, after representing the National Life Insurance Company for a time, he became editor of the Winsted Evening Citizen and continued in that work until 1904, when he was made district manager and later editor-in-chief of the Commercial Bulletin, a building trades' paper published in Hartford, Connecticut. In December, 1905, having returned to Winsted, he was elected president and treasurer of the Citizen Printing Company and became managing editor of
J. C. Manchester
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the Winsted Evening Citizen, which offices he still holds. Since his management of the Citizen he has installed a model printing plant, erecting as a home for his newspaper a large business block with stores and offices for rental. Under his editorship the circula- tion of the Citizen and the weekly issues, the Litchfield County Leader and the Winsted Herald, have increased to over thirty-seven hundred, the largest edition enjoyed by any newspaper in the county.
On the 25th of November, 1896, Mr. Manchester was married to Miss Emily Gallup Haigh, a daughter of Joseph Lloyd and Eliza Voorhis (Haley) Haigh. She was born in New York city, April 2, 1875. Her grandfather, Dudley Haley, was one of the founders and for over fifty years a member of the Fulton Fish Market and was also prominent in the public life of New York city, where he served as alderman. Mrs. Manchester is also a descendant of Colonel Benadam Gallup, one of the heroes of the American Revolution, and, like her husband, is a direct descendant of John and Priscilla Alden, her line coming down through David Alden and his through Betty Alden. Mrs. Manchester is a sister of Mrs. George Manchester; of Miss Eliza V. Haigh, a well known artist; of Robert Dudley Haigh of the New York Fire Department; and of Albert W. Haigh, president of the West- chester Lawyers' Title Guarantee & Trust Company. Mr. and Mrs. Irving E. Manchester have six children. Russell Coe, born September 23, 1897, is a volunteer in the New York University Unit of the United States Army Ambulance Corps. He was one of the first in the United States Ambulance service to go to France and so far as is known was the first volunteer from his town in the United States army in service abroad. The others are Lloyd Grant, born April 26. 1901: Catharine Eliza, born June 26, 1903, a fresh- man in the Gilbert School; Randall Stuart, born January 27, 1909; Priscilla Voorhis, born January 16, 1911; and Barbara Osmun, born August 16, 1912.
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