USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 50
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Thomas F. Jackson, the oldest of the surviving members of the family, acquired his education in the schools of Waterbury and his business training was received under the direction of his father, of whom he became the active assistant in the stone cutting business. being eventually admitted to a partnership. The firm of Charles Jackson & Son was or- ganized in 1887 and after 1901 the business was carried on under the name of Thomas F. Jackson until 1912, when the Thomas F. Jackson Company was incorporated. While the business had been established for monument building, the scope of the enterprise had been broadened to include the cutting of stone for buildings and later interior marble and tile work was taken up. Today the company employs from forty to one hundred and ten people according to the season. The firm has done nearly all of the important work in the leading buildings of Waterbury and the western part of Connecticut, including the city hall, and secures contracts from all parts of the state. The present officers are: Thomas F. Jackson, president and treasurer; Charles B. Jackson, vice president and assistant treas- nrer; and Andrew Jackson, secretary. Mr. Jackson's associate officers are his sons.
Thomas F. Jackson was married in 1885 to Miss Mary Elizabeth Balfe, and to their children they gave liberal educational opportunities. The son Charles was graduated from the academic department of Yale University with the class of 1907. The daughter Katharine
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is a graduate of Trinity College of the class of 1915 and is at home. Cecelia is attending Trinity College, in which she will complete the course with the class of 1918. Wilfred is preparing for college and Agnes is attending the Convent of Notre Dame. Andrew was a student in the Sheffield Scientific School but did not graduate. The wife and mother passed away in 1909.
Mr. Jackson has led a busy and useful life and has served on the board of public works during the administration of Mayor John P. Elton and on the board of finance for eight years, under the administrations of mayors Hotchkiss, Reeves and Scully. He is now a director of the Citizens National Bank and of the West Side Savings Bank and has been on the board of directors of St. Mary's Hospital since its establishment. He is now serving as secretary of the local board for Division No. 2, in connection with the draft during the present war.
HORACE G. HOADLEY.
Horace G. Hoadley is the president and treasurer of the Waterbury Tool Company, an industry which has rapidly come into prominence in Waterbury in recent years, the business having been organized under its present form in 1898. He was born in New Haven, September 23, 1861, a son of Horace P. and Amelia O. (Hubbard) Hoadley. He prepared for college at the Hopkins grammar school and then entered Yale, where he completed his academic course with the class of 1883. He devoted a year to business and then matriculated in the Yale Divinity School, in which he completed his course in 1887. On the 3d of April, 1888, he was ordained pastor of the Congregational church in East Canaan and while there residing took a most active and helpful part in developing the "home department" of the Sunday school. He continued as minister of the East Canaan church for three and one-half years, after which he entered upon a special course in Sociology in the Johns Hopkins University. On the 1st of May, 1891, he was called to the position of superintendent of Christian Visitation and Charity in Waterbury and served in that connection until the 1st of December, 1893, when the charity work of that organization was taken over by the Relief Bureau, of which Mr. Hoadley became the manager.
In 1894 and, 1895 he pursued a special course in mechanical engineering at Cornell University and while there formed the acquaintance of Professor Harvey D. Williams of Cornell, the inventor of some of the mechanical devices which Mr. Hoadley is now mann- facturing. In July, 1895, he entered the employ of the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company of Providence, Rhode Island, and subsequently was with the Baird Machinery Company, then of Oakville. He then began the manufacture of the ratchet drill, ultimately leading to the organization of the Waterbury Tool Company in 1898, the company taking over the business which he had formerly conducted under his own name. He began making the universal ratchet drill invented by Professor Williams. With the passing years the business has developed until he is now extensively engaged in the manufacture of hydraulic machines for transmitting power at variable speeds and in either direction without steps or abrupt gradations. The hydraulic speed gear was invented by Professor William's and perfected by Reynold Janney, who added to it inventions of his own. Mr. Janney has been the vice president and chief engineer of the company since 1904. The machines are used for turret turning, gun elevating, shell and powder hoists, rammers, main steering gear, boat cranes and submarine diving rudders. These are the final word in such machinery. The plant, a model of its kind, has been written up in detail in such trade publications as The Iron Age and others. The equipment of the plant is thoroughly modern in every particular. Not only has the business been developed along the most scientific lines of manufacture combined with the spirit of modern-day enterprise and progress, but there also features in the success the fact that the company has provided for its employes by the erection of nine one-family frame houses on the part of its ten-acre shop site most distant from the present machine shop. These houses border a forty-foot street and are of five dissimilar types, so that the group does not have the appearance of factory houses. They contain five and six rooms, on lots fifty by one hundred and twenty feet, and are equipped with city water, bathrooms, warm-air heating furnaces, electric light and arrange- ments for sewage disposal by means of septic tanks. The company has also built for rental to foremen, on lots sixty by one hundred and forty feet, within fifteen minutes' walk of the shop, two twin houses with modern improvements. In a word, Mr. Hoadley's study of sociological conditions and of all the problems bearing upon economic life at the present day has led him to regard employes not as machines but as human individuals and he does everything in his power to promote their welfare and comfort.
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HORACE G. HOADLEY
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On the 22d of September, 1887, Mr. Hoadley was married to Miss Helen L. Anderson, of Cleveland. He was a candidate for congress on the progressive ticket in 1912 and is now giving his allegiance to the republican party. He belongs to the First Congregational church, in which he is serving as deacon. While he has made for himself a most creditable place in business circles, the attainment of wealth has never been the end and aim of his existence. He has always sought to further public progress and improvement by a close and discriminating study of the political, sociological and economic questions of the age and along these lines he keeps abreast with the best thinking men.
LEWIS J. HART.
Lewis J. Hart. superintendent of The Patent Button Company, has throughout the en- tire period of his connection with business interests been identified with the corporation which he now represents in that capacity and as secretary. This is one of the important interests of its kind in Waterbury and has been developed along most progressive lines, its success being attributable in no small measure to the efforts of Mr. Hart. A native of Waterbury, he was born August 21, 1878, a son of Jay H. and Bertha (Platt) Hart. The father was born in Hartsville, Massachusetts, and was descended from Stephen Hart, the ancestry being thus traced back to colonial days. It was about 1870 that Jay H. Hart removed to Waterbury, where he was employed as traveling agent for the Adams Express Company. He afterward became shipping clerk for the Plume & Atwood Company and subsequently became connected with the Platt Brothers Company and The Patent Button Company, serving as secretary of the latter until 1915, when he was made president. He has now retired from active business, although he still maintains his financial and official connection with The Patent Button Company.
After leaving the public schools Lewis J. Hart entered the employ of The Patent But- ton Company and resolutely set himself to the task of mastering the business in principle and detail. In this way he gradually worked upward as his capability increased and in 1907 was made superintendent. In that position he has since continued and in 1915 he suc- ceeded his father as secretary. The business today employs about two hundred people in the manufacture of metal buttons. The company has developed machines for attaching and making the buttons, their interests representing the gradual evolution in processes and re- sults of manufacture. Their product is sold all over the United States and Canada and to some extent is exported, their customers numbering more than one thousand, most of whom are clothing manufacturers. The plant is splendidly equipped and constant changes are being made to improve the output. The business is carefully systematized and has been upbuilt on the basis that success depends upon the wise and economical use of time, labor and material.
In 1906 Mr. Hart was united in marriage to Miss Mary Holmes Steele, a daughter of Charles A. Steele, of Geneva, New York, and they have three children: Lewis Steele, David Steele and Samuel Steele. Mr. and Mrs. Hart are members of St. John's Episcopal church and his political faith is that of the republican party. That he is appreciative of the social amenities of life is indicated by his membership in the Waterbury and in the Waterbury Country Clubs. The qualities which he has displayed in business and in social relations and in citizenship are such as have commended him to the confidence, high regard and warm friendship of those with whom he has been brought in contact.
CHARLES H. SWENSON.
Charles H. Swenson. whose identification with the General Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, dating from 1911, has led him through successive steps of progression to the position of secretary, was born in 1875, a son of Olaf and Fredericka Swenson. The year 1880 witnessed the arrival of the family at Thomaston, Connecticut, and about 1890 a removal was made to Waterbury. Both the father and mother are now deceased.
Entering the public schools of this city, Charles H. Swenson was graduated from the high school with the class of 1893 and started out to provide for his own support as an office employe of the Waterbury Horse Railway Company. He was afterward with the Waterbury Traction Company and for a time was connected with the Booth & Haydens Company. In 1911 he became one of the directors and the vice president of the General
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Manufacturing Company and in 1915 was elected to the office of secretary. This company engaged in making rivets, studs and machine screws, special upset and threaded products, steel burnishing balls for tumbling and Lipscomb disk screw boot-calks. The company was organized in 1909 with John Draher as the president, Max Kiessling as treasurer and Charles F. Probst, secretary. Their establishment was located at No. 66 North Elm street, where they started in a small wooden building forty by twenty-five feet. In 1911 they erected a two-story building forty by twenty-five feet and in 1913 built a two-story and basement brick building seventy-five by thirty feet. They employ twenty-five hands, use automatic machinery and electric power, their product being sold to manufacturers only.
On the 24th of September, 1903, Mr. Swenson was married to Miss Annie Anderson, of Waterbury. Fraternally he is connected with the Masons as member of lodge, chapter and council. Mr. Swenson belongs to the Swedish Lutheran church. His political allegiance is given to the republican party and for six years prior to 1915 he filled the office of alderman from the second ward. He also served on the board of charities in 1912 and 1913 under appointment of Mayor Reeves and he is now a member of the Bronson library board. His interests are thus varied and have to do with those things which bear upon the public welfare. He stands for progress and improvement in all things and individual effort has brought him to the creditable position which he occupies in business circles.
WILLIAM E. FIELDING.
Among those who at a comparatively recent date have been enrolled with the business men of Waterbury is William E. Fielding, whose notable enterprise, keen sagacity and executive ability have brought him to the front in connection with the manufacturing interests which have made the business achievements of the city within the last three decades seem most marvelous. He is today secretary and general manager of the Matta- tuck Manufacturing Company, which employs five hundred people and which came into existence in 1896.
Mr. Fielding was born in New Britain, Connecticut, September 15, 1880, and is a son of W. I. and Nan B. (Stone) Fielding, the former a native of New York and the latter . of Waterbury. The father, who was a manufacturer, has now passed away. The mother was a descendant of Ellery Stone, one of the early settlers here.
After completing a high school course at New Britain, William E. Fielding made his initial step in the business world there as an employe of the Russell & Irwin Manufacturing Company, with which he continued for four years in the factory and on the road as traveling representative. He came to Waterbury in 1903 to enter the employ of the National Wire Mattress Company and was thus connected until the business was sold. In 1906 he became secretary of the Mattatuck Manufacturing Company and in 1912 the duties of general manager were added to those which he was already performing in his official position. This company had been organized October 15, 1896, with Henry L. Wade as president, George E. Judd as treasurer, and George Tucker as secretary. Since the death of Mr. Wade Mr. Judd has been president and treasurer, with Mr. Fielding now in the position of secretary and general manager. The plant is located at No. 1987 East Main street, where the factory ha's a frontage of two hundred feet. The company owns several acres of land there and its property includes eight houses for employes. The factory is an L-shaped building four stories in height, of mill construction and supplied with sprinkler system. There are two buildings each one hundred and fifty by forty-four feet. The company is now breaking ground for a four-story concrete building, sixty by two hundred feet to run parallel with Southmayd road, and on the north end there will be a wing two stories high, forty by sixty feet, for new offices. This addition will practically double the floor space of the plant. The company manufactures brass and wire goods, furniture nails, upholstering nails, spring bed fabrics, screw machine products, wire forms and shapes and various novelties. Their employes number five hundred, of which fifteen per cent are girls and sixty per cent skilled labor. The product is sold to manufacturers, jobbers and retailers all over the United States and to some extent is shipped abroad.
In 1908 Mr. Fielding was married to Miss Lou Gretter, of Waterbury, and they now have a daughter, Elizabeth. The parents are members of the Congregational church and Mr. Fielding also is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Waterbury Club and of the Waterbury Country Club. In politics he is an independent republican. Through the steps of an orderly progression he has advanced in business life since starting out on his own account and his success places him with the self-made men who have been both the
WILLIAM E. FIELDING
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architects and builders of their own fortunes. His career is an illustration of the power of effort and laudable ambition and should serve as a source of inspiration and encourage- ment to others
MILLER P. DAYTON.
Miller P. Dayton, vice president of the General Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, has throughout the entire period of his connection with business interests been identified with the industrial interests of this city and his thorough training and constantly broaden- ing experience have brought him to liis present important connections. A native son of Waterbury, he was born on the 25th of August, 1879. His parents, Anson and Susie (Potter) Dayton, are also natives of this city and the latter is a daughter of Miller Potter, who was born in Waterbury and was a descendant of the Bokes family, long established in this section. Anson Dayton was a die sinker by trade and after long association with the in- dustrial activities of Waterbury is now living retired.
Miller P. Dayton acquired a public school education and in his youthful days learned the tool making trade. For sixteen years he was with the Scovill Manufacturing Company, a fact indicative of capable service and loyalty. Through that period he gradually worked his way upward, each forward step bringing to him larger responsibilities until his business training and experience were sufficient to enable him to embark in business on his own account. Moreover, his savings had supplied the necessary capital and about 1913 he be- came connected with the General Manufacturing Company as vice president. Here his practical experience is put to the test, for he has charge of the manufacturing. The company makes rivets, studs and machine screws, special upset and threaded products, steel bur- nishing balls for tumbling, and Lipscomb disk screw boot-calks. Mr. Dayton is constantly studying to improve methods and to economize time, labor and material, which is the basis of all business success.
On the 12th of April, 1905, Mr. Dayton was married to Miss Sadie Wheeler, a daughter of Egbert and Iantha Wheeler, of New York. Their children are four in number: Edith, Harold, George and Marjorie. Fraternally Mr. Dayton is connected with the Knights of Pythias, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and the Woodmen of the World, while his religious faith is manifest in his membership in the Baptist church. In politics he is an independent republican but has neither time nor inclination to seek office. The nature of his recreation is indicated in the fact that he is a member of the Rod and Gun Club. His career has been marked by steady progress not only in business but along those broadening lines which make one recognize the duties of citizenship and the obligations of the individual to his fellowmen.
ERNEST ARTHUR ANDERSON.
Ernest Arthur Anderson, assistant treasurer of the American Metal Hose Company, was called to his present official position in 1914, having, however, served the company in the production department for some years before, so that he is thoroughly familiar with every branch of the business. He was born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, October 9, 1884, and is a son of Niles and Josephine (Anderson) Anderson, who are natives of Sweden but in early life came to the United States and were married in this country. The father was for a long period engaged in the iron business but is now living retired, making his home in Naugatuck.
Ernest A. Anderson acquired a public and high school education before entering Yale, from which he was graduated on the completion of a course in the academic department with the class of 1906. The same year he started out in the business world in connection with the - American Brass Company as an employe at the Benedict & Burnham branch of that corpora- tion. When the American Metal Hose Company was organized he entered the service of the new company in the production department and there remained until he was made assistant treasurer in 1914. He still has oversight over the production end of the business and his long and practical experience well qualifies him for the responsibility that de- volves upon him in this connection. The product of the company, which includes the manufacture of metal hose for gasoline, oil and other products, is of the highest grade. It is produced after the most scientific methods of metal manufacture and the process of
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making the hose meets a long-felt want in the production of conveyors for products thus handled.
On the 20th of June, 1908, Mr. Anderson was married to Miss Harriet Lewis Schlegel, of Waterbury, a daughter of W. J. and Mary S. (Lewis) Schlegel, and they have one son, Ernest Arthur, who was born August 20, 1910. The parents are members of the Second Congregational church, in the work of which they are actively and helpfully interested, and Mr. Anderson is also a director of the Young Men's Christian Association. His political endorsement is given to the republican party and his military service covers experience as orderly with the City Guard. He is a Mason of high rank, having taken the Knight Templar degree in the York Rite and the thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite, while with the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine he has crossed the sands of the desert. In club circles, too, he is well known, being a member of the Waterbury Country and the Waterbury Clubs, the Rotary Club of Waterbury and the Yale Club of New York. He is appreciative of the social amenities of life and it may well be said of him that he is never too busy to be courteous or too courteous to be busy.
THOMAS E. PARKER, M. D.
The attractiveness of Waterbury as a place of residence and as a business center offering opportunity in every field is indicated in the fact that many of her native sons have remained here to enjoy the chances presented. Of this number Dr. Thomas E. Parker is a representative. He was born June 13, 1881, a son of the late Thomas Parker, who for many years was connected with the American Brass Company. The latter was born in County Kerry, Ireland, and in young manhood came to the United States, establishing his home in Waterbury. He wedded Frances Casey, also a native of County Kerry, and both have now passed away. Their five surviving children are: Mrs. Frank Ende, of Hartford; John and Robert, of Waterbury; George, of Bridgeport; and Thomas E.
The last named was graduated from the Waterbury high school with the class of 1900 and while pursuing his studies there was a member of its football team. The same year he entered the Yale Medical School, where he completed the regular four years' course, winning his professional degree in 1904. He afterward spent twenty-two months in the Kings County Hospital of Brooklyn, gaining knowledge and experience in his practice there. He also spent a period in the Kingston Contagious Hospital at Brooklyn and upon his return to Water- bury entered upon general practice in 1906. He has continued in this field for eleven years with good success, his ability being widely acknowledged by his professional colleagues and by the general public in a growing practice.
Dr. Parker turns to tennis for recreation. He is a member of the Benevolent Protec- tive Order of Elks and his religious faith is that of the Catholic church. He keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and research as a member of the Water- bury, New Haven County and Connecticut State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association and is deeply interested in everything that tends to render his efforts more effective in meeting the intricate problems which continually confront the physician.
JAMES L. SMITH.
James L. Smith, assistant treasurer of the Waterbury Brass Goods Corporation, with which he has been identified since January, 1905, was born in London, England, April 2, 1878, a son of Samuel J. and Elizabeth (Davies) Smith. The father, who was superintendent of a wood-working plant, is deceased.
In the acquirement of a public and high school education in New York, James L. Smith spent his youthful days and started in the business world as an office boy. He was a youth of nineteen when he came to Waterbury, where he entered the employ of Randolph & Clowes, with whom he remained for three years. He was later with the La Palme-Hoff- mann Company for three years and in January, 1905, entered the service of the Waterbury Brass Goods Corporation in the capacity of bookkeeper. In January, 1906, he took charge of accounts and on the 12th of October, 1911; was made assistant treasurer and one of the directors of the company. He has also since been the head of the accounting depart- ment and thus has important duties and responsibilities in connection with the management and successful control of the business.
On the 17th of October, 1900, Mr. Smith was united in marriage to Miss Edith M.
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