USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 53
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JULIUS L. KIPP.
Waterbury with its pulsing industrial activity is continually drawing to it new enter- prises which find here a profitable field with conditions favorable for development. Among the more recently established manufacturing interests of the city is that conducted under the name of the Waterbury Iron Works, which was organized in February, 1914, with Julius L. Kipp, as the president and treasurer. A native of Germany, he was born on the 28thi of August, 1870, and came to the United States when a youth of seventeen years, having now
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lived on this side the Atlantic for three decades. Becoming a resident of Meriden, Con- nectieut, he was for nine years employed by the firm of Bradley & Hubbard. He gradually worked his way upward as his ability developed and as industry called forth his inherent business talents. Later he was foreman with the firm of Edward Miller & Company, of Meriden, having charge of the artistic metal department, and subsequently he spent five years as superintendent of the Meriden Iron & Brass Company. He was ambitious, how- ever, to engage in business on his own account and carefully saved his earnings until in 1912 he realized the fulfillment of his hope in the organization of the firm of Riley & Kipp at Meriden. In 1914 he removed to Waterbury and established the Waterbury Iron Works in February of that year with Valentine Brehm as the secretary. Since 1915, however, Anna S. Kipp has been the secretary, while Julius L. Kipp remains as president and treasurer and Arthur A. Tanner is a director. The shop is located on Porter street in a one-story building seventy-five by sixty-five feet. They manufacture ornamental, artistic and structural iron and employ twenty skilled workmen. The plant has thus far doubled its output every six months. In January, 1917, an addition of mill construction was built. The equipment is most modern and the plant is well laid out for the conduct of a growing business.
In 1893 Mr. Kipp was united in marriage to Miss Louisa Heinrich, of Meriden, and they have a daughter, Anna S., who was born in 1896 and is a graduate of the Meriden high school, while in the Waterbury high school she pursued post graduate work. She is now secretary of the company.
Mr. Kipp belongs to Center Lodge, No. 97, A. F. & A. M., of Meriden, also to Meriden Lodge, No. 35, B. P. O. E., and Meriden Lodge, No. 276, D. O. H. He is also an honorary member of the Hartford Maennerchor. He is numbered among the self-made men of Water- bury. Starting out in life empty handed, he has worked his way steadily upward, thor- oughly acquainting himself with the trade to which he directed his energies. His developing powers qualify him for larger responsibilities and step by step he has advanced until he is now conducting a profitable business as one of Waterbury's manufacturers.
EDWARD LAURENS FRISBIE, JR.
Edward Laurens Frisbie, Jr., has taken an important part in shaping the later history of Waterbury in promoting the further growth of its mammoth industrial interests. He is today vice president of the American Brass Company and there is no feature of the trade with which he is not thoroughly familiar. He was born in Waterbury, November 22, 1854, and is a son of Edward Laurens and Hannah A. (Welton) Frisbie. The father was born in Waterbury, August 22, 1824, and comes of Welsh ancestry, being a direct descendant of Edward Frisbie, who in the early part of the seventeenth century left the little rock-ribbed country of Wales and joined the Hartford colony of Connecticut, which had recently been established. In 1644 he was one of those who purchased Totoket, now Branford, and organ- ized a town government there. One of his descendants, Elijah Frisbie, in 1750 removed to Waterbury and thus founded the branch of the family of which Edward L. Frisbie is a representative.
In 1847 Edward L. Frisbie, Sr., abandoned farming to become an employe in the kettle department of the Waterbury Brass Company. In the spring of 1849 he engaged in casting brass and German silver at the factory of Brown & Elton and when the firm of Brown & Brothers was organized he was offered and accepted the management of the casting depart- ment and remained with that house for thirty years, or until January, 1883, having been one of its stockholders from 1854. He was among the pioneers in the development of the brass industry of Waterbury and New England and played an important part in writing this chapter of the city's history. He also became an influential factor in financial circles as president of the Waterbury Savings Bank, a trustce of the Dime Savings Bank from its organization and a director of the Manufacturers' National Bank and also its president. He held various local offices and in 1854 and again in 1872 was called to represent his district in the state legislature. He became one of the first directors of the Waterbury Hospital and was long an active member and vestryman or warden of the Trinity Episcopal church. On the 11th of January. 1850, he wedded Hannah A. Welton, a daughter of Hershel Welton, of Wolcott. She passed away July 10, 1857, and Mr. Frisbie died April 13, 1909. After the death of his first wife he married Josephine Deming, of Derby, whose death occurred October 14, 1872, and on the 2d of October, 1884, he married Emily J. Welton, daughter of George W. Welton.
Edward L. Frisbie. Jr., the son of the first marriage, after attending the public schools of
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Waterbury continued his education in the Williston Seminary at Easthampton, Massa- chusetts. He made his initial start in business as an office employe with Brown & Brothers, occupying a responsible position with that house for twelve years. In 1884 he entered the employ of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, brass manufacturers, and in 1885, on the death of G. W. Burnham, was elected secretary of the company and on the death of E. L. Bronson suceeeded to the position of treasurer on the 28th day of July, 1890. He was made president in 1896 and so continued until 1912, when the Benediet & Burnham Company, the stock of which had long been owned by the American Brass, at that time ceased to exist as a corporation. He remained in charge of the Benedict & Burnham branch of the business at Waterbury, where twenty-five hundred people are employed, until De- cember, 1917, when he withdrew from that branch to devote his time to the general interests of the American Brass Company. The product of the Benedict & Burnham branch is sheet metal, brass and German silver, seamless brass and copper tubing, brazed tubing and copper wire, both bare and insulated. The sheet metal is sold to other manufacturers. With other interests Mr. Frisbie has also been identified, and from 1891 until 1892 he was secretary, president, treasurer, etc .! of the Watch Company of Waterbury.
On the 5th of December, 1878. Mr. Frisbie was united in marriage to Miss Nellie Lynde Dickinson, a daughter of Charles Dickinson, and they have a daughter, Helen. The family attend St. John's Episcopal church, and in politics Mr. Frisbie maintains an independent course. He served on the board of finance under Mayor Elton and has acted in that position during the administration of Mayor Scully from 1914 to 1918. He is president of the American Metal Hose Company and a director of the Colonial Trust Company.
He belongs to the Waterbury and the Waterbury Country Clubs, also to the Union League Club of New York. Mr. Frisbie possesses the qualities of leadership and without any spectacular phases in his career has advanced along the line of steady progression to his present position as senior vice president of the American Brass Company.
CORNELIUS H. CABLES.
Cornelius H. Cables, acting upon principle, has founded and conducted the Kingsbury Hotel, enjoying an excellent reputation as one of the best hostleries in Connecticut. It is. a temperance house-the expression of Mr. Cables' belief that hotel-keeping eould be profit- ably conducted without the sale of liquors-and the Kingsbury has beeome an establish- ment of which Waterbury has reason to be proud.
Mr. Cables was born in Thomaston, Connecticut, December 10, 1850, a son of David and Miranda (Holt) Cables. the former born near Danbury and the latter at Harwinton, Connecticut. The grandfather of the latter was one of three who came from England early in the seventeenth century and purchased land from the Indians. David Cables was a car- penter by trade and afterward engaged in the manufacture of knives at Thomaston, Con- necticut. His father was proprietor of a flour mill at Saugatuck which was burned by the English during the Revolutionary war and during the War of 1812 he built a mill near Woodbury, Connecticut.
Cornelius H. Cables acquired a public school education in Thomaston, Connecticut, and afterward went to Toledo, Ohio, where he was employed in a real estate office and banking house in 1869, remaining there for a year and a half. He then returned to his native city and took up his abode upon his father's farm of twenty-two and a half acres, which he condueted along scientific lines, employing six men and deriving an income of between five and six thousand dollars annually. At the age of forty-two he came to Waterbury to enter the real estate business and began buying land from Frederick Kingsbury. He put upon the market Highland Park, a seventeen-acre tract of land on the west side of Waterbury. He was the pioneer in promoting the idea of having people move to the outskirts and live in one-family houses and in this undertaking was very successful. He purchased the remainder" of the Kingsbury land-a tract of thirty-two acres-and also added to his holdings by other purchases until he became the owner of one hundred and forty-eight acres. This he improved, subdivided and built thereon, not only developing Highland Park but also Columbia Heights. covering one hundred and twelve acres, and Cottage Park of seventeen acres. He became Waterbury's largest real estate operator and his efforts presented not only the phase of money making in the conduct of a legitimate and well managed business, but also furthered the purpose of providing comfortable homes at moderate prices among livable surroundings. He has also built seventeen stores on North Main street with tenements above, accomplish- ing this in two years, and he was the builder of The Cables on Prospect street and of the
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Hotel Kingsbury. He opened this hotel on the 20th of September, 1908, a hotel of one hundred and eighty-two rooms, ninety-two with bath. It is a five-story building, four stories being utilized for hotel purposes. The building was erected as a business block. With the idea of demonstrating to the public that a temperance hotel could be profitably operated, Mr. Cables opened the Kingsbury and has proven the fact that successful hotel management is possible without the sale of liquors.
On the 10th of May, 1875, Mr. Cables was married to Miss Martha Corner, of New York, a daughter of the Rev. C. P. Corner, a Methodist minister. Their children are: Edith, who is now the wife of Thomas Hart, of Danbury, and has a son and a daughter; Bessie and Frances Willard, both at home; Cornelius H., who is superintendent, general manager and secretary of Hotel Kingsbury; and Van Norman, who is clerk of Hotel Kingsbury.
Mr. Cables has always been active in temperance work and his efforts along that line have been practical and splendidly resultant. Moreover, he has been a close student of many economie and sociological questions and his business activities have found an even balance in his efforts to improve conditions which have to do with individual and public welfare.
HIRAM WASHINGTON HAYDEN.
During the early years of manufacturing development in Waterbury, leading to the notable place which the city occupies as an important American manufacturing center, with its ramifying trade interests reaching out to all parts of the world, Hiram Washington Hayden figured prominently. His contribution to the world's work was of great value, because of his inventive genius having resulted in improved processes of metal manufacture, and in relation to improved processes of art development. He was continually venturing be- yond the point which others had reached, and thus became a leader in many fields of activity which constitute the basis of present-day methods. Mr. Hayden was born in Hay- denville, in the town of Williamsburg, Massachusetts, February 10, 1820, and was a repre- sentative in the eighth generation of the descendants of John Haiden, who was the founder of the Braintree branch of the family. His parents were Joseph Shepard and Ruhamah (Guilford) Hayden, the former a well known inventor who produced a machine for the making of button-eyes, and built the first engine-lathe in Waterbury. He was a skilled - mechanic and invented the first machine used for covering buttons with cloth and, in 1830, in company with his father he began the manufacture of cloth buttons by machinery.
During his childhood the family home was established in Waterbury, and here he attended the old Waterbury Academy. Later he entered the employ of J. M. L. & W. H. Scovill and began the work of engraving metal buttons, an art which at that time was in its infancy. Because of the close confinement, necessitated by the nature of the work, he abandoned this occupation afterwards resuming it; and thus it was that he made the first chased buttons manufactured by the Scovills, and among the first produced in the country. In 1838 he removed to Wolcottville, now Torrington, and for three years was in the employ of the firm of Wadhams & Company, button manufacturers. In 1841 he resumed his resi- dence in Waterbury and again became connected with the Scovill company, for which he made all the best dies for buttons and medals. His inventive genius took form in the production of a process for the manufacture of copper and brass kettles. In manufac- turing of that character there had been a tendency to make the metal thinner at the angle formed by the bottom and sides of the kettle, where the strength should be the greatest. In Mr. Hayden's process the metal at this point is the thickest. He obtained a patent upon his invention December 16, 1851, and subsequently sold it to the Waterbury Brass Company. His invention revolutionized the manufacture of brass and copper kettles, and the method is still in use.
In 1853 Mr. Hayden became associated with Israel Holmes, John C. Booth and Henry H. Hayden, in the organization of the firm of Holmes, Booth & Haydens, manufacturers of brass and copper articles; and Hiram W. Hayden, by reason of his mechanical skill and ingenuity, assumed the management of the factory, and had voice in shaping the policy of the company; and was never absent from the stockholders' annual meeting. He took out a large number of patents in the United States as well as in Europe, a number of these being assigned to the firm. These resulted in improved processes of brass and copper manufacture and of other goods. This company was the first to make planished copper- silver plates for daguerreotyping and other purposes, having induced August Brassart, who made the first plate used by Daguerre, of Paris, to come from France to America to engage
H.W. Hayden
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in the manufacture of these plates. When kerosene oil was first used for lighting purposes this company began the manufacture of lamps and burners especially adapted to the using of oil, and from that time concentrated largely upon lamp manufacture until their position in that connection was one of leadership in America. Mr. Hayden secured numerous patents relating to the burning of kerosene oil, many of which were a source of large profit to the concern. With the introduction of electric lighting the company established large plants for the production of brass and insulated copper-wire fitted for carrying the electric current. They enlarged their plant to include the manufacture of seamless tubing in brass and copper. Thus their manufactures have introduced improved machinery and appliances to facilitate the work until their plant became one of the largest producers of brass, German silver and copper in sheets, wire, etc., in the country. Mr. Hayden's inventions included a breech- loading rifle, a magazine rifle and a breech-loading cannon, together with a machine for making solid metal-tubing, which was sold to a Pittsburgh company.
It was Mr. Hayden's love of art that led him into the development of the daguerreo- type; and his interest in that work eventually brought to him the idea of taking pictures on paper. A scientific article on this subject, written by him in 1851 but never published, entitles him to the honor of being an independent discoverer of the photographic process. The Waterbury American of February 14, 1851, commented upon his discovery as follows: "Mr. Hiram W. Hayden, ingenius artist of this village, has shown us three landscape views taken by the usual daguerrean apparatus upon a white paper surface, all at one operation. This is the first successful attempt to produce a positive picture by this extraordinary medium. The pictures exhibit the effect of light and shade, similar to a fine engraving. bringing out the most delicate minutiae with the fidelity of the ordinary daguerreotype. For many purposes this improvement will be of great importance, as it will enable the oper- ator to produce views and portraits of any size that may be required and at a cheap rate. We understand that Mr. Hayden has made application to secure a patent upon a mode of preparing the paper previous to its use." He never ceased to have the deepest interest in photography, and was continually studying processes for its improvement; and he served for a long period as president of the Waterbury Photographic Society. He was a lover of art for art's sake; and during his leisure hours he devoted his attention to various branches of the fine arts, including portrait medallions in bronze; etching on copper ; modelling in plaster; also charcoal and pencil sketching; of which many evidences of his artistic ability are preserved in the homes of his children. He was a man of scholarly attain- ments, keeping abreast with the trend of modern thought and progress; and his contribu- tion to the world's work along the line of manufacturing processes continue to be of great value.
At Litchfield, Connecticut, on the 31st of July, 1844, Mr. Hayden marricd Pauline Migeon, the eldest daughter of Henri Migeon, a native of France, who was known as an inventor and manufacturer of Torrington, Connecticut. Mrs. Hayden died on April 20, 1873, and Mr. Hayden survived until July 18, 1904. One of the local papers said of Mrs .. Hayden: "To the public she was known as a quiet and retiring person, but with a select circle of friends she was the object not simply of respect but of admiring affection. Those who knew her best found her most attractive and charming, and felt that in her death the society of Waterbury had lost one who could ill be spared." Mrs. Hayden's children are a son, Edward Simeon; and two daughters, Lena Migeon, who married Frederick J. Brown, of Waterbury; and Florentine Harriet.
EDWARD SIMEON HAYDEN.
Edward Simeon Hayden, son of Hiram Washington and Pauline (Migeon) Hayden, was born in Waterbury, October 20, 1851, and was educated in the private schools of the town, and in the Riverview Military Academy of Poughkeepsie, New York. After leaving school he entered the Waterbury National Bank in 1869 as bookkeeper and there continued until 1879. In February of the latter year he was elected secretary and treasurer of the firm of Holmes, Booth & Haydens and, having made a study of the metallurgy of copper, in 1886 he became connected with the Bridgeport Copper Company. He was one of the pro- moters of the Baltimore Electric Refining Company, which was organized in March, 1891, for the purpose of using his process of electrolyzing metals. This invention has been patented in the United States and foreign countries. The extensive plant in Baltimore, Maryland, was built from his plans and under his supervision, and he has been a valuable contributor
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to the work of material development along the lines of manufacture in this country; and his discriminating judgment and undaunted persistence resulted in the establishment of busi- ness enterprises of great worth to the communities in which they were located. His esthetie faculty was marked from boyhood, and amid the occupations of manhood he found opportunity for delight in the higher forms of art.
Mr. Hayden was appointed first lieutenant and paymaster of the Connecticut National Guard on the 30th of September, 1878. He was made major and brigade commissary Jan- uary 23, 1883; and major and brigade quartermaster April 23, 1884. He resigned his military offices in April, 1890. He held membership in the Sewanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club; in the Racquet and Tennis Club of New York city, and the Country Club of Farmington, Conneeti- out : the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Connecticut Society of Colonial Wars.
On the 8th of October, 1877. Mr. Hayden married Elizabeth Gilder Kellogg, of New York city, a daughter of Norman Gilbert and Rebecca T. (Hinekley) Kellogg. Their three children tre Pauline Migeon, who married William R. Pitkin of New Haven; Rose Hinckley, who married William Shirley Fulton of Waterbury: and Margery Kellogg. The death of Mr. Hayden occurred on February 14, 1899.
CHARLES P. HAIGHT.
Charles P. Haight is the secretary of the Waterbury Tool Company, with which he has been associated since December 31, 1910. He, however, has figured for a much longer period in the manufacturing circles of the eity and in fact has been identified with the productive industries of Waterbury since his school days were over. He was born in Oakville, Connecticut, July 10, 1864, and is a son of Charles H. and Annie (Killeen) Haight. He was graduated from the Waterbury high school and then sought employment in the factories of the city, where he had broad experience and valuable training. He was with the Benediet & Burnham Company for over twenty years, beginning in a clerical capacity but working his way upward until he became secretary and assistant treasurer. He came to the Waterbury Tool Company in the same connection, entering the firm on the 31st of December, 1910, and he has since been active in the development of the business, which now employs seventy-five skilled workmen in the manufacture of hydraulic speed gear. They make machines for turret turning, gun elevating, shell and powder hoists, rammers and main steering gear and the business has now been placed upon a most substantial basis because of the thorough training of its officers, who have most carefully systematized and coordinated their interests, having now one of the best equipped plants of the kind in New England.
On the 14th of December, 1892, Mr. Haight was married to Miss Sarah I. Slocum, of Waterbury. He belongs to Continental Lodge; No. 76, A. F. & A. M., and to the Independent . Order of Odd Fellows. He is also a member of the First Baptist church, while in politics he is an independent republican.
JUDGE DENNIS JOSEPH SLAVIN.
Judge Dennis Joseph Slavin, learned in the law, his legal career recognized by continuous progress, has made an excellent record in the courts and as a jurist. He was born March 10, 1872, in Waterbury, being a representative of the family, in the third generation residents of this eity. The Slavins are of Irish lineage. The grandfather and the father of Judge Slavin, both of whom bore the name of James, were born in Ireland. The latter came to the new world in 1853 and was followed by his parents in 1855. James Slavin, Sr., was at that time a man of fifty-seven years, his birth having occurred in Queens county, Ireland, in 1798, and throughout his remaining days, covering a decade and a half, lived retired, enjoying a well earned rest. He was a devout Catholic, faithful to all the duties of the church, and in that faith passed away at the age of seventy-two years. He had many attractive qualities, including a genial disposition and kindly manner, and in his new home he made friends of all with whom he came in contact. He wedded Mary Brennan, who was also born in Queens county, Ireland, and was seventy years of age when she passed away in Waterbury in 1871. Their children were, Sarah, John, William, James, Mary, Margaret, Joseph and Dennis, all of whom have departed this life.
Of this family James Slavin, Jr., was born at Balnakill, Queens eounty, Ireland, in 1832, and while still a youth became imbued with the desire to come to the new world. As
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