USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 45
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In 1855, in old St. Peter's church on East Main street, Mr. Roper was united in marriage to Mary Elizabeth Hogan and purchased land on Dublin street, where he erected a residence more than forty years ago. There were four acres in his home place and he had fifteen acres at the foot of Prospect Mountain. He turned from his factory work to the tilling of the soil as a source of rest and recreation and was perfectly happy when he was in the open. He ever possessed a vigorous constitution, was strong and athletic and was able to keep ahead of most
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of the men in the development of his land. His fitness for office led to his selection for public service and he filled the position of city councilman and was also assessor.
To Mr. and Mrs. Roper were born three son's and a daughter: John H., mentioned else- where in this work; Dr. Joseph C. Roper, of New York city; Julia, of Waterbury, and Charles, who passed away in Waterbury. The death of Mr. Roper occurred August 6, 1913, while his widow survived until 1915. In his passing his family lost a devoted husband and father, the Scovill Company a most efficient and faithful employe, and Waterbury a sub- stantial and progressive citizen.
JOSEPH TELFORD.
Joseph Telford, sole proprietor of the Troy Steam Laundry of Waterbury, was born in south Wales, June 27, 1868, and was therefore twenty-two years of age when in 1890 he came to the United States and settled in Westerly, Rhode Island. He is a machinist by trade and in early life he followed the sea, continuing in that work after coming to the United States. In 1899, however, he turned his attention to the laundry business in Westerly, Rhode Island, where he opened the Troy Laundry, which he successfully con- ducted for a few years. In 1904 he removed to Waterbury, where he established the Troy Steam Laundry, beginning business on a small scale. Gradually his patronage has grown until he is now conducting a large laundry which furnishes employment to from fourteen to sixteen people. The plant is equipped with modern machinery and he was the first to use automobile delivery here. He specializes in handling hotel and restaurant laundry, cooks' aprons and barbers' supplies, and he has practically all of the hotel and restaurant business in Waterbury. His is the only laundry in Waterbury which can furnish coats, aprons, towels, etc. Having purchased the Rushton place on South Main street, he expects to ereet thereon a large new laundry which will more than double his present capacity. The building will be of fireproof brick and with increased facilities there is no doubt that his list of customers will steadily grow. He owns the building which he now occupies, using the two first floors for his business and renting the two top floors.
In 1889 Mr. Telford was married to Miss Susanna Ellen Lovell, who was born in south Wales in 1868, and they have two children. Evelyn Rose, the wife of William Sinclair Brakenridge, who is connected with the Waterbury Savings Bank; and Gladys Mabel, the wife of F. J. Thompson, of New York.
Mr. Telford is a well known Mason, belonging to Harmony Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M .; Eureka Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M .; Waterbury Council, No. 12, R. & S. M .; Clark Com- mandery, No. 7, K. T .; and Bridgeport Consistory of the Scottish Rite, in which he has attained the thirty-second degrec. He has taken a prominent part in the work of all the different Masonic bodies and belongs also to Sphinx Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Hartford. He was formerly a member of the Knights of Pythias and was also identified with the Foresters and the Elks, but now concentrates his attention on Masonry. Religiously he is connected with the Baptist church, while politically his faith is that of the republican party. He has worked persistently for the success which is now his, basing his advance- ment upon no false standards, but utilizing persistent, earnest effort as rungs of the ladder, on which he has climbed to success.
SAMUEL P. WILLIAMS, JR.
Samuel P. Williams, Jr., well known in the field of insurance as a member of the firm of Williams & Brown, was born in Waterbury, October 3, 1879. In the public schools of Waterbury he acquired his early education and continued his studies in the Taft school of Watertown and in the Sheffield Scientific School, where he was a member of the Delta Psi fraternity, thus completing his training at Yale. During nine years of his early manhood he was in the employ of the American Pin Company of Waterville and for three years was its purchasing agent. Later he spent three years as assistant secretary of the Williams Scaling Corporation of Waterbury, but since January, 1914, has devoted his attention to the insurance business. In January, 1914, he became one of the organizers of Williams & Brown, Ine., an insurance agency, which is one of the strongest and largest in Waterbury. Of this he was secretary and treasurer until his father's death, since which time he has been president and treasurer, with Hayden W. Brown as vice president and Leonie B. Williams as secretary.
JOSEPH TELFORD
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On the 7th of October, 1911, Mr. Williams married Miss Leonie Migeon Brown, the only daughter of Frederick J. Brown, a prominent Waterbury citizen, and they now have three children: Samuel P. (III), James Brown and Leonie Migeon.
Like his father, Mr. Williams is an enthusiastic golfer. He belongs to the Waterbury Club and the Country Club of Waterbury, and of the latter is secretary and chairman of the tennis committee. He is also a member of the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce. In politics he is a republican.
EVAN H. JONES.
Evan H. Jones is numbered with those who constitute the official personnel of the Apothecaries Hall Company, being now assistant secretary. He was born in Yantic, Connecti- cut, March 28, 1881, and is a son of Edward and Elizabeth (Hamer) Jones, who were natives of Wales, where they remained until after their marriage and then left the little rock-ribbed country to become residents of the United States in 1866. They established their home in Yantic, Connecticut, where the father was for many years engaged in the woolen business, but is now living retired, enjoying the fruits of his former toil.
Evan H. Jones, after attending high school and a business college, came to Waterbury in September, 1898, and through the intervening period, covering nineteen years, has been continuously connected with the Apothecaries Hall Company. He started in the humble capacity of errand boy and, owing to his fidelity and industry, was made assistant book- keeper, and on the 18th of February, 1911, was advanced to the position of assistant secretary.
On the 11th of March, 1908, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Sophia Reid, of Waterbury, and they now have a son, Edward, eight years of age. Mr. Jones belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is a loyal supporter of the craft. Politically he maintains an independent attitude, voting for men and measures rather than party. His entire time and attention are concentrated upon business and substantial results accrue therefrom.
LAWRENCE L. GAILLARD.
Modern business enterprise finds effective expression in the life work of Lawrence L. Gaillard, who is the vice president and general manager of the New England Engineering Company of Waterbury. His advancement to his present position of responsibility has been through the steps of an orderly progression, characterized by a mastery of cach duty that has devolved upon him. Mr. Gaillard is southern born. His birth occurred at Charleston, South Carolina, December 28, 1869, his parents being William D. and Elizabeth (Lee) Gaillard. The father died in 1881 and in 1895 the family removed to New York city. In the mean- time Lawrence L. Gaillard had spent several years as a student in the South Carolina Military Academy and was graduated from the civil engineering department with the class of 1890. He was afterward with the United States war department in the river and harbor improve- ment work as assistant engineer until 1894, when feeling the need of further technical training he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he pursued a course in the electrical engineering department and was graduated in 1897.
Mr. Gaillard afterward spent a year with the New York & New Jersey Telephone Com- pany at Brooklyn and for a year was connected with the General Electric Works at Schenec- tady, New York. Later he became identified with the electrical engineering department of the Manhattan Elevated Railway Company of New York city, at which time the corporation was just entering upon the work of electrifying its entire system. He remained in connection therewith until the completion of the electrification of both the elevated and subway lines and his marked ability led to his promotion from time to time until at the close of the work he was electrical superintendent of the subway and elevated systems. He afterward became electrical engineer at New Haven for the Connecticut Company, occupying that position for five years, during which he had charge of the engineering and construction work in connection with a trolley system of twenty-three hundred miles, with the supervision of fifty-three power houses and sixty sub-stations. On severing his connection with the New Haven com- pany he became general manager and vice president of the New England Engineering Com- pany in August, 1909, and so continues to the present time.
The New England Engineering Company was organized in 1890 and incorporated in 1893. The business was instituted by Alden M. Young, who died in December, 1911. He was one
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of the pioneer electrical engineers of the United States. The company was formed to conduet a general electrical, engineering and contracting business and jobbing in electrical supplies of all kinds. The principal office is at No. 27 West Main street in Waterbury, but branches are maintained at New Haven, New London, Stamford and Greenwich, Connecticut. They sell electrical machinery and supplies to both the wholesale and retail trades, install isolated plants for industrial works and do wiring and motoring installations. The company has a membership in the National Electrical Contractors Association and in the Electrical Con- tractors Association of Connecticut. They employ from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five men, sixty per cent being skilled labor. The company has made a specialty of steam and electric power plants and has installed complete power plants for many of the factories of the Naugatuck valley. For many years the company had an office in New York city and built many large power plants, including the Wheeling Electric Company of Wheeling, West Virginia, the Licking Light & Power Company of Newark, Ohio, the Fulton Light, Heat & Power Company of Fulton, New York, also made large additions to the two power plants of the Dayton Power & Light Company of Dayton, Ohio, built an addition to the power plant of New London, Connecticut, and to the plant of the Rockwell Willimantic Lighting Company. They also had the contract for the complete power plant, sub-station and trans- mission system of the Fairmount-Clarksburg Railway Company at Fairmount, Pennsylvania, and for the new power station for the Scranton (Pa.) Electric Company. They also had the contract for several heating systems for the Scovill Manufacturing Company at Waterbury and extended the plant of the New Haven Hospital. In fact, they have done important work all over the east and central states, but recently have abandoned the large construction work and are confining their attention to the Naugatuck valley of Connecticut. The officers of the company are: M. J. Warner, president; L. L. Gaillard, vice president and general manager; John E. Gill, treasurer; and W. G. Morse, secretary.
On the 2d of April, 1902. Mr. Gaillard was married to Miss Hallie Harry Gammell, of Savannah, Georgia, a daughter of William A. Gammell, a merchant of that city. They now have one child, Lawrence E.
Mr. and Mrs. Gaillard are members of All Souls Temple Episcopal church and in politics he is independent. Mr. Gaillard is a member of the Alpha Tan Omega, a college fraternity, and belongs to the Waterbury Club, the Waterbury Country Club, to the National Geographic Society, to the American Institute of Electrical Engineers and to the Electrical Contractors Association of Connecticut, of which he is the president. He was one of the organizers of the Community Club, which was formed at his home in February, 1917, by a number of the residents of the Hill section of Waterbury, its purpose being the fostering of an increasing acquaintance and good fellowship, also to work as a unit to bring about various desirable local conditions and to further municipal progress. Over sixty-five representative men of the rity have already become members. Its officers are M. F. Kloppenburg, president; Starbuck Sprague, vice president; Irving Harrison, treasurer; and Gardner Talcott, secretary. It has its monthly meetings at All Souls church chapel in the parish house, but is absolutely non- sectarian and non-partisan. Mr. Gaillard at all times stands for public progress and im- provement and his activities are of far-reaching effect and benefit.
ERNEST K. LOVELAND, M. D.
Dr. Ernest K. Loveland, actively engaged in medical practice in Watertown, was born in Morris, Litchfield county, Connecticut, January 27, 1871, a son of Clark S. and Mary Catherine (Kilbourn) Loveland. The father was a farmer and also a school teacher and for many years acceptably filled the position of principal of the schools of Litchfield. Connecticut. He also carried on agricultural pursuits throughout his entire life. He passed away in 1895 and was survived by his widow, who died in 1913. The Loveland family has long been represented on this side the Atlantic, the ancestry being traced back to Thomas Loveland, a native of England, who became a resident of Glastonbury, Con- necticut, in 1635. The line comes down through Thomas II, Joseph I and II, Clark I, Nathaniel and Clark S. to Dr. Ernest K. Loveland, who is of the eighth generation. The family has reason to be proud of its record in connection with the Revolutionary war. In the maternal line Dr. Loveland is descended from David Kilbourn, who arrived in Con- necticut in 1638.
After mastering the branches of learning taught in the public schools of Litchfield, Dr. Loveland entered the New York College of Pharmacy, from which he was graduated with the class of 1894. He later attended the Yale Medical College, where he won his
DR. ERNEST K. LOVELAND
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degree in 1897. He had the benefit of two years' active experience in the New York Hospital, spending a year and a half there as head chemist before entering Yale and six months after he had completed his medical course, being a member of the medical staff during the latter period. On the 15th of October, 1897, he opened an office in Watertown, where he has since practiced. He is a member of the Association of Physicians & Sur- geons of Litchfield County and of the Connecticut State and Waterbury Medical Societies, and thus keeps in touch with the trend of modern scientific investigation. He is post surgeon for his section of Litchfield county, is consulting surgeon for the Waterbury Hospital, for St. Mary's Hospital at Waterbury, and the Litchfield County Hospital at Winsted, and he also engages in general practice, being accorded a liberal patronage.
On the 21st of April, 1898, Dr. Loveland was married to Miss Katie E. Randall, of Morris, Connecticut, who had been his schoolmate in childhood days. She is a daughter of Darwin B. and Katie (Peck) Randall and by her marriage has become the mother of one son, Ernest Randall, who in 1917 received a five year scholarship at the Taft School. Such a scholarship is offered each year to the boys of Watertown, the competition being open to all, and in this year it was won by E. Randall Loveland.
In his political views Dr. Loveland is a republican. He belongs to the Episcopal church and to the Masonic lodge of Watertown. He holds to a high standard of professional ethics and his ability has brought him prominently to the front in professional connections.
MICHAEL T. HAYES.
Michael T. Hayes, representing the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Winsted and prominently known in insurance circles, was born in the part of the town of Colebrook, Litchfield county, known as the Colebrook River District, November 14, 1873, a son of Michael and Winifred (Callaghan) Hayes, both of whom were natives of Ireland. They were married, however, in Torrington, Connecticut, about the time of the close of the Civil war and both have now passed away. The father was a farmer by occupation and devoted his entire life to that pursuit in order to provide for the support of his family. Michael T. Hayes is one of five living children, the others being Mrs. Mary A. Lewis, Mrs. Katherine Doyle, Miss Jane R. Hayes and Patrick J.
Michael T. Hayes was reared on a farm in the town of Colebrook with the usual experiences of the farm bred boy, his time being divided between the duties of the school- room, the pleasures of the playground and the work of the fields. He remained with his father until he reached the age of twenty-three years and supplemented his district school education by training in a business college at Hartford. In April, 1886. his father pur- chased the Nathan E. Slocum farm of three hundred and ten acres in Hampden county, Massachusetts, and at once removed his family to that place, there remaining for eleven years. In 1897 he sold the farm to a club known as the Tolland Fish and Game Associa- tion and the place is now known as the Tolland Fish and Game Farm. It was thus that Michael T. Hayes spent eleven years of his youth in Massachusetts. In 1897 he came to Winsted and entered the employ of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, of which he was agent until July, 1899. He was then made assistant superintendent of the Winsted office and acted as deputy from 1899 until 1913, and during one year of this period had charge of both the Winsted and Torrington offices. Since the latter date he has been an unattached agent. He has been very successful in this field of labor and is today in very comfortable circumstances as the result of the liberal patronage which he has secured in insurance lines. He owns an attractive home at No. 78 Wheeler street and has many of the comforts and luxuries of life. He purchased his residence in 1911 but many years before he had assisted in getting out the timber that was used in building this house and also the large barn on the premises, little dreaming that at some future date the property would be his
On the 27th of November, 1901, Mr. Hayes was united in marriage to Miss Bridget McAuliffe, one of the seven daughters of Cornelius McAuliffe. They have become the parents of three children: Vincent J., born September 11, 1902; Helen W., born June 25, 1904; and William A., who was born March 25, 1907.
The family are communicants of St. Joseph's Roman Catholic church and Mr. Hayes is identified with the Knights of Columbus and with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He is now secretary of the house committee of the Elks lodge of Winsted. In polities he maintains an independent course, not caring to subject himself to party ties but voting according to the dictates of his judgment and for the candidates whom he Vol. III-15
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regards as best qualified for the offices which they seek. His own career has been a creditable one, marked by steady progress, and he enjoys the confidence, goodwill and high regard of many with whom he has been brought in contact.
CLARENCE E. GATES, D. D. S.
Dr. Clarence E. Gates, dean of the dental profession in Waterbury, having from the outset of his career maintained the highest standards of professional ethics, began prac- tice in 1872 and draws his patronage from Waterbury's best people. He was born in Chicopee, Massachusetts, September 11, 1856, and is a son of Henry and Almira (Abby) Gates, both representatives of old Massachusetts families of Revolutionary stock.
In his youthful days Dr. Clarence E. Gates became a dental student under the direc- tion of Dr. J. Searle Hurlburt, a prominent dentist of Springfield, Massachusetts, who directed his reading and his work for four years. At length he entered the Philadelphia Dental College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1880. The same year he located for practice in Waterbury and has since followed his profession here, covering a period of thirty-seven years. He has, however, been in practice since 1872. He now has the most select practice in Waterbury and he has ever kept in a position of leadership as regards active professional work. He has a splendidly equipped office supplied with all the latest appliances known to dental science, and for thitry-seven years he has occupied his present suite of rooms at No. 1111/2 Bank street.
On the 9th of November, 1879, Dr. Gates was married and he has one daughter, who is now Mrs. Almira Smith, the wife of James G. Smith, a business man of New York city, their home being at Bayside, Long Island. Dr. Gates has a very wide acquaintance in Water- bury and his social prominence equals his professional position.
THE JOHN M. RUSSELL MANUFACTURING COMPANY.
The John M. Russell Manufacturing Company is one of those concerns which have made the Naugatuck valley a great brass and steel manufacturing center with ramifying trade interests reaching out to all parts of the world. This company was incorporated in 1908 and succeeded to the business of John M. Russell, which had been established in 1903 by the man whose name it bears. Mr. Russell was a resident of Woodbury, Connecticut, and in 1905 removed to Naugatuck, settling in the Millville district. With the incorporation of the business he became its president, with George T. Wigmore as the treasurer and C. S. Russell, secretary. The company manufactures brass castings, brass and iron chain, buckles and sheet metal specialties. They employ thirty people, mostly skilled workmen, and the product is sold to other manufacturers and to plumbing supply and hardware jobbers all over the United States and Canada.
JOHN M. RUSSELL.
John M. Russell, who was the promoter and is the president of the John M. Russell Manufacturing Company of Naugatuck, was born in Woodbury, Connecticut, November 1, 1870, a son of John B. and Annie M. (Moore) Russell. The father belonged to an old Woodbury family that was established in this section of Connecticut in the eighteenth century. He was a farmer by occupation and devoted his entire life to general agricultural pursuits.
John M. Russell attended the Parker Academy and also the Cheshire Military School, thus being liberally educated and well qualified for life's practical and responsible duties. He started out in the business world as a salesman for the Smith & Egge Manufacturing Company of Bridgeport, with which he remained for tweve years, but he was desirous to engage in business on his own account and carefully directed his labors with that end in view. Gradually through industry and diligence he acquired a sufficient competence to enable him to start out independently and in 1903 he organized the business of which he is still the head. This he conducted independently for five years and then organized
Clavance & Crates
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the company which he incorporated under the name of the John M. Russell Manufacturing Company. The business has since been successfully conducted and Mr. Russell displays sound judgment and keen discrimination in carrying on his interests. He is thoroughly acquainted with all phases of brass work and what he has accomplished represents the fit utilization of the innate powers and talents which are his.
Mr. Russell was united in marriage to Miss Winnie A. Barnum, a daughter of Samuel Barnum, of Bridgeport. To them have been born two children, John Curtis and Theodore. The religious faith of the family is that of the Episcopal church. Mr. Russell belongs to the Masonic fraternity and is a stalwart champion of its principles and its activities. In politics he is a republican and keeps thoroughly informed on the questions and issues of the day, so that he is able to support his position by intelligent argument, yet he does not seek nor desire office as a reward for party fealty. He prefers a business carcer to political activity and by his concentration of purpose and intelligently directed effort he is making steady progress in the business world.
CHARLES HUBBELL ALVORD.
Charles Hubbell Alvord is the vice president and the general manager of the Hendey Machine Company of Torrington and thus actively identified with the management of one of the important industrial interests of the Naugatuck valley. He was born at Bolton, Connecticut, November 23, 1861, and is descended from Alexander Alvord, whose birth occurred in Bridport, County of Dorset, England, October 15, 1627, and who came to America in 1630. He subsequently located in Windsor, Connecticut, and his descendants have played a highly creditable part in the history of New England. The line of descent is traced down to Charles Hubbell Alvord through Thomas, John, Saul, Saul (II), Saul (III) and Henry Alvord.
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