USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 55
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On the 14th of June, 1903, Mr. Jones was married to Miss Julia Mayer, of Waterbury, a daughter of Charles E. Mayer, of Meriden, and they have two children, Marion Ruth and Irving Benton. Mr. Jones is a republican, his interest in politics being that of a public-spirited citizen. He belongs to Trinity Episcopal church and has extended his mem- bership into fraternal circles, becoming identified with the Masons, the Odd Fellows and the Knights of Pythias. Progressive and energetic, he accomplishes what he undertakes and his strong purpose and laudable ambition have brought him to a ereditable position in commercial circles.
HON. JAMES A. PEASLEY.
Hon. James A. Peasley has been prominently connected with the public interests of Waterbury and his district and has in recent years been active in molding public thought and opinion as one of the leaders of the republican party. He early displayed the elemental strength of his character by providing the funds for his education and after college training pursued the study of law, thus qualifying for his admission to the bar. He has practiced continuously in Waterbury since 1902.
Mr. Peasley was born in Columbus, Ohio, January 3, 1875, and is the youngest son of Jacob A. and Jennie A. (Paul) Peasley and a brother of Judge Frederick M. Peasley, who is mentioned elsewhere in this work. His youthful days were spent upon the home farm in Delaware county, Ohio, where the family home was a log cabin, the sleeping quarters of himself and his brother, the future judge, being in the garret of that pioneer home. When their heads were on the pillows they could look through the holes of the roof at the stars above, and not infrequently in winter they would have to shake the snow off the counter-
HON. JAMES A. PEASLEY
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pane of their bed in the morning. James A. Peasley began his education as a pupil in a little country school near his father's farm but afterward had the benefit of more thorough instruction in the public and high schools of Worthington, Ohio. He next became a student in the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, and in 1897 he came east to Waterbury, which was the girlhood home of his mother.
For three years Mr. Peasley occupied a position as foreman at the plant of the Scovill Manufacturing Company, but he had determined to make the practice of law liis life work and devoted his spare time to study. In September, 1900, he entered the Yale Law School and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1903, receiving the LL. B. degree. In the meantime, however, he had been admitted to the bar in 1902 and had entered upon the practice of law in Waterbury. He earned the money that enabled him to pay his way through both the Ohio Wesleyan University and through Yale. He continued steadily in the private practice of law in Waterbury until 1909, when he was appointed clerk of the city court and held that position for four years and four months. He was then elected to the state senate, representing the fifteenth district of Connecticut, on the 3d of November, 1914, and remained a member of the upper house through that term. In May, 1915, he was appointed prosecuting attorney for the city of Waterbury and is now serving his second term in that position, making a most excellent record. He belongs to both the Waterbury and Connecticut State Bar Associations.
On the 12th of October, 1905, James A. Peasley was married to Miss Idella Morrison Smith, of Waterbury, a daughter of the late Dwight L. Smith, who was a well known citizen here. Mr. and Mrs. Peasley have three children, namely: Curtiss Marsh, born June 30, 1908; Helen Morrison, whose birth occurred June 8, 1911; and Paul Anderson, whose natal day was August 16, 1913.
Mr. and Mrs. Peasley are members of the Second Congregational church and they have a large circle of warm friends in Waterbury, where the hospitality of their home is greatly enjoyed. Mr. Peasley is well known in the various Masonie bodies of Waterbury, being a Knight Templar and thirty-second degree Mason and a Noble of the Mystie Shrine. His life record is an indication of the fact that it is under the pressure of adversity and the stimulus of opposition that the strongest and best in men is brought out and developed. His laudable ambition was the spur to his activity which "pricked the side of his intent." Utilizing every opportunity for mental progress, he developed the studious habits which are today his and which result in the most careful and thorough preparation of his cases, bringing the success which has made his name well known at the Waterbury bar.
D. J. LEARY.
D. J. Leary, general manager of the Eagle Brewing Company, was born in Waterbury February 27, 1892, a son of Andrew and Ellen (Cunningham) Leary, who were natives of Ireland and in 1887 became residents of Waterbury, where the father conducted business as a florist. The son acquired his education in attendance at the publie schools and the night high school. In 1908 he was a student in the Waterbury Business College. For a year he was employed by the Reid & Hughes Dry Goods Company and on the 1st of Jan- uary, 1911, became bookkeeper for the Eagle Brewing Company, which had been estab- lished in 1903. The plant at Eagle and Brewery streets has two hundred feet on Eagle street and a depth of one hundred and eighty feet on both sides of Railroad street. The brewery is four stories in height, with a two-story addition, and is equipped with the latest machinery. It has a storage capacity of twenty-five thousand barrels, glass enameled steel tanks being used. A large bottling plant has just been completed and the plant has a capacity of sixty thousand barrels annually. It is considered one of the most modern plants in the United States. They manufacture the "Ebco Ale, Lager and Porter," which is their registered trademark, and they employ thirty-five people. The malt is shipped from Buffalo, Chicago and Milwaukee and they utilize sixty thousand barrels annually. The product is sold all over Connecticut and they have their own auto delivery for city trade, and a number of teams. They also have a side track into the plant, facilitating their shipments. Their ice plant has a capacity of one hundred tons daily. The malt after it is used is sold to farmers at fifteen cents per bushel as poultry feed and the hops, after being used, are sold for fertilizer. After five years' connection with the business as book- keeper, Mr. Leary was made general manager in June, 1916. He has made a very careful study of the system and practices of brewing and the plant . is conducted on the most thorough business basis.
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On the 12th of October, 1915, Mr. Leary was married to Miss Sadie V. Dougherty, who was assistant secretary in the department of education following her graduation from the Waterbury high school. She is a daughter of Joseph E. Dougherty. Mr. and Mrs. Leary hold membership in St. Francis Catholic church and he belongs to the Eagles, the Elks and the N. E. O. P. He is well known as a thoroughgoing business man, systematic and energetic in all that he does, and his close application and well devised plans have con- stituted a force in the successful conduct of the business in which he is engaged.
CHARLES M. UPSON.
Charles M. Upson, who figured prominently in commercial circles of Waterbury for a long period, being at the head of Upson-Singleton & Company for a number of years and one of the founders of the business, was born in Waterbury, June 15, 1850, his parents being Thomas Clark and Harriett (Morris) Upson. He made notable advance in his business career and throughout almost the entire period was connected with the clothing trade. From 1870 until 1877 he was in partnership in New Britain with F. W. Giddings under the firm style of Giddings & Upson, clothing merchants. In 1878 he joined John V. Singleton in organizing Upson-Singleton & Company, which was conducted as a partnership concern for ten years and was then incorporated in 1888. Mr. Upson became secretary and treasurer, with Mr. Singleton as president, the latter continuing in that office until 1901. Mr. Upson then became the president and secretary, with Samuel R. Kelsey as treasurer, and remained at the head of the business, bending his energies to administrative direction and executive control, up to the time of his death. He enjoyed an unassailable reputation in eommereial circles and ranked with the foremost merchants of Waterbury.
On the 15th of September, 1880, Mr. Upson was married to Miss Jennie Alice Baldwin and they had one daughter, Una, who was born December 12, 1883, and passed away Febru- ary 29, 1898. Mr. Upson was a member of the board of trade of Waterbury and became its first president. He belonged to the First Congregational church, was a republican in politics and was deeply interested in everything that pertained to general progress and improvement. His cooperation could be counted upon at all times to further measures for the public good and in his business career he left an example well worthy of emulation.
MARTIN L. CAINE.
Martin L. Caine, attorney at law, who since 1909 has been engaged in active practice in Waterbury, while in July, 1911, he opened an office in Naugatuck, where he makes his home, was born in England on the 17th of November, 1881, a son of Michael and Frances Caine, who were also natives of England and in 1890 became residents of Naugatuck, where the father entered into active connection with rubber manufacturing interests.
Martin L. Caine after attending the public schools of Naugatuck spent one year as a student in the Williston Seminary at Easthampton, Massachusetts, and then entered the Villanova College of Pennsylvania, in which he won his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1904 on the completion of a classical course. With a broad and liberal foundation for professional learning, he then entered the Yale Law School and gained his LL. B. degree in 1908. Having thus thoroughly qualified for the practice of his profession, he opened an office in Waterbury, where he has since remained, and in July, 1911, he also opened an office in Naugatuck, where he established his home. He is careful in the preparation of his cases and his reasoning is sound, his deductions logical and his arguments convincing. He has gained for himself a creditable position among the able lawyers of the Naugatuck valley. In June, 1912, Mr. Caine was married to Miss Mary T. Freeman, of Naugatuck. and they have become parents of two children, Martin L. and Madeline. Mr. and Mrs. Caine are communicants of St. Mary's Catholic church and he is identified with the Knights of Columbus and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. His political allegiance is given to the democratic party and in club circles he is well known as a member of the Robert Emmet Club. He has made for himself a creditable position in legal circles and is be- coming widely known in this connection. He has also gained a wide acquaintance througli his activity in political and in athletic circles. Three times he has been called upon to represent his district in the state legislature, being elected to the house in 1913, 1915 and 1917, while in 1914 he was a candidate for the senate. From 1911 until 1915 he was
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the liquor prosecuting agent for New Haven county. Mr. Caine deserves muchi credit for the position to which he has attained in legal circles. He provided for his own education and thus displayed the elemental strength of his character. He became a notable figure in athletic circles as a football player and won the record for the one hundred yard dash in ten seconds. He gained several prizes at the state meets and was also a contestant in championship meets in many other places in the United States and in Canada. In 1903, at Montreal, Canada, he represented the Irish-American Athletic Club of New York and won the two hundred and twenty yard dash championship. In 1904 at the National Intercollegiate meet held in Philadelphia he won second honors in the four hundred and forty yard dash. In 1903 at New Haven at the New England Interscholastic meet he won second place in the four hundred and forty yard dash. He is a lover of clean sport and recognizes the fact that it is as essential to play well as to work well if one would main- tain that even balance which is the foundation of all progress and advancement.
M. J. NIERENBURG.
M. J. Nierenburg, a manufacturing jeweler of Waterbury, illustrates in his life the opportunities which America affords to her adopted sons-men of foreign birth who seek in this country the chances for business advancement. Mr. Nierenburg was born in Russia, March 15, 1876, and there spent his youthful days, learning the jewelry trade while still in that country. He came to the United States on the 10th of October, 1904, when twenty- eight years of age, and made his way at once to Waterbury. For a time he was employed by J. Dash at 95 Bank street and in 1908 he opened an establishment of his own at 42 Bank street, since which time he has conducted business as a manufacturing jeweler, making goods for the trade. He employs three skilled mechanics and an added number during holiday seasons, and already he is at the head of a substantial business which is constantly growing.
In 1903 Mr. Nierenburg was united in marriage to Miss Lena Weinstein, a native of Russia, and they are parents of eight children, namely: Jacob, Ross, Isadore, Rutlı, Sarah, Sally, Fannie and Hannie. The family adhere to the Jewish faith and attend Beth Israel synagogue. Laudable ambition brought Mr. Nierenburg to the new world and he has never had occasion to regret his determination to come to this country, for here he found the opportunities which he sought and in their utilization has steadily worked his way upward.
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WALTER W. HOLMES.
Walter W. Holmes, of the banking firm of Holmes & Bull, was born in Waterloo, England, October 13, 1866, a son of Israel and Cornelia (Coe) Holmes. With, the return of his parents to America he pursued his education in the English and classical and high schools of Waterbury. In 1884 he entered upon an apprenticeship to the machinist's trade, to which he devoted three years. He then entered the banking business with his brother under the firm name of C. L. Holmes & Company in 1887 and since has made steady prog- ress in financial circles until he is now senior partner of the firm of Holmes & Bull. The business was established by his brother and following his mastery of the principles of the banking business, Walter W. Holmes was admitted to a partnership in May, 1901, their interests being conducted under the firm style of C. L. Holmes & Company until October, 1905, when C. Sanford Bull succeeded C. L. Holmes and the partnership of Holmes & Bull was formed. They established business on North Main street in a build- ing now occupied by R. F. Griggs & Company and purchased their present property from the New England Engineering Company at No. 136 Grand street, the Holmes building being erected thereon about 1904. The building is a three story structure with sixty foot frontage on Grand street, the upper stories being used for offices, while a part of the lower story is occupied by the Waterbury Trust Company. The firm of Holmes & Bull conducts a general brokerage business, handling investment securities, and they have an extensive clientage.
On the 5th of May, 1892. Mr. Holmes was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Tor- rance, a daughter of Chief Justice David Torrance, of Derby, Connecticut. They are mem- bers of the Congregational church and in political faith Mr. Holmes is a republican,
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upholding the policies of that party. He is connected with the Sons of the American Rev- olution. His interests are broad and varied and his public-spirited citizenship finds expres- sion in all of his connections with the affairs of municipality or commonwealth.
GEORGE A. WILLIAMS.
There is a most interesting and picturesque past in the history of Waterbury-the period of early colonization, with Indian neighbors, sometimes hostile, when the people fought for American rights and liberties. With the attainment of independence life took on a different form. Gradually agriculture was supplanted by commerce and manufacturing was intro- duced, and within the last few decades the history of Waterbury has been that of manufac- turing development. Actively connected with this movement during the past decade is George A. Williams, one of the founders and promoters of The Williams Sealing Corpora- tion, of which he is the treasurer and general manager. He was born in Everett, Pennsyl- vania, August 20, 1876, and is a son of Jacob B. and Martha (Johnson) Williams, who spent their entire lives in the Keystone state. The former was a descendant of Nancy Ball, a cousin of George Washington. His father was Samuel Williams and his grandfather John Williams, one of the early pioneers of Pennsylvania. The mother of George A. Williams was descended from Governor Johnson, who was the first governor of Maryland and who nominated George Washington for commander-in-chief of the Continental army.
George A. Williams acquired a public school education in Everett, Pennsylvania, and in Hancock, Maryland, prepared for college at Centenary Collegiate Institute, Hackettstown, New Jersey, and afterward attended the Wesleyan University at Middletown, Connecticut, where he studied electrical engineering. He later followed his profession in general contract work with headquarters in New York and Jersey City and subsequently engaged in the build- ing of electric light and railway plants throughout the middle west, the south and the east. His invention of the Kork-N-Seal was really a pastime. While boating on the Hudson he tried to open a bottle of ginger ale and cut his hand. He there made up his mind to produce a cap that would be better, which could be opened without a tool and would re-seal. The idea orig- inated with him in 1901. He thought about and studied the question and eventually his idea took tangible form and won government recognition in the issuance of a patent in 1906. In 1908 Mr. Williams came to Waterbury to have machinery built with which to manufacture his invention. The Williams Sealing Corporation was organized October 19, 1909. The com- pany now has two buildings, three stories in each, covering one hundred and sixty by one hundred and twenty feet at 37 Benedict street, Waterbury, and also a large fireproof modern factory at Decatur, Illinois. The first finished product was marketed in 1911. It is sold to manufacturers of food products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, mineral water, wines, liquors, patent medicines, fruit juices and any other liquid that is used gradually. Experts said that automatic machinery could not be made for making one of the wire parts of the Kork-N-Seal cap, but Mr. Williams felt that this could be accomplished and it was accom- plished. The first automatic machine which he brought forth made twenty caps per minute. This was improved and the output became forty per minute. Today these auto- matic machines are producing one hundred parts per minute. In addition to manufacturing Kork-N-Seal bottle caps the company makes automatic machinery for applying these caps to the bottles, although they can be applied without the use of a machine. The output of the company's factories is sold to large manufacturers of bottled products and is adopted by such firms as Parke-Davis & Company of Detroit, Standard Oil Company, Scott & Bowne, manufacturers of Scott's Emulsion, and R. L. Watkins Company of Cleveland. Today the employes of the company number one hundred and twenty-five and the caps are shipped by the car load. Mr. Williams has secured a full line of patents on all the articles and on all the machines used in the manufacture.
On the 29th of April, 1915, Mr. Williams was married to Miss Elizabeth Taylor, of Watertown, Connecticut, a daughter of John H. and Alice (Smith) Taylor, and they have two daughters, Pleasant Johnson and Elizabeth Taylor. They hold membership in the Methodist church and Mr. Williams is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also of the Psi Upsilon fraternity and of the Psi Upsilon Club of New York. He has membership with the Transportation Club of New York, with the Watertown Golf Club, of Watertown, Connecticut, the Mattatuck Historical Society, of Waterbury, and also the Decatur Country Club, the City Club and the Decatur Club, all of Decatur, Illinois, where the company's western factory is located. He belongs to the United States Chamber of Commerce and to the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce. Alert and enterprising, he accomplishes what he undertakes. He
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had liberal educational training, has always been a student and at the same time a practical man of affairs. He has made valuable contribution to the world's inventions, for the bottle cap which he produced does away with many sealing troubles of the consumers and manufac- turers and conserves resources as it eliminates the bottle breakage occasioned by the com- pression of air when corks are forced into bottles and by later expansion of this air through change of temperature. What was begun as the work of a leisure hour and as the result of a trivial accident has come to be an important manufacturing industry of continuous growth.
DUDLEY B. DEMING, M. D.
Dr. Dudley B. Deming, physician and surgeon who with liberal college training and hospital experience to serve as the foundation of success, entered upon private practice in Waterbury in 1905, has through the intervening period become well established as one of the leading representatives of the profession in the city. He was born in Litchfield, Con- necticut, October 8, 1874, and is the only living son of Frederick and Emma Louise (Jones) Deming, who are still residents of Litchfield and are enjoying good health at the ages of eighty-five and sixty-eight years respectively. The father is a native of Litchfield but his business career has been largely spent in New York city. He is now living retired. His wife was born at East Haddam, Connecticut, and both are representatives of old families of this state. In the paternal line Dr. Deming is of Revolutionary descent and is therefore eligible to membership with the Sons of the American Revolution and also of the Society of the Cincinnati, being a descendant of Frederick Deming, the eldest son of Julius Deming, who was an officer in the commissary department during the Revolutionary war.
Dr. Deming was prepared for college at the Taft School in Watertown, from which he was graduated with the class of 1894. He then entered the Sheffield Scientific School and won the Ph. B. degree in 1897. In the fall of that year he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York city, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1901. He afterward spent six months in the Roosevelt Hospital of New York and a year and a half in the Brooklyn German Hospital, and he had broad experience in connection with the New York clinics, thus gaining the comprehensive knowledge that can never be as quickly acquired in any other way as in hospital and clinical work. In 1905 he entered upon practice in Waterbury, where he has since followed his profession and in the interim has been accorded a liberal practice. He is now a member of the medical and obstetrical staff of the Waterbury Hospital and he belongs to the Waterbury, New Haven County, Connecticut State and American Medical Associations.
On the 29th of March, 1910, Dr. Deming was married to Miss Alletta Langdon Bedford, who was then a practicing physician of Waterbury, having graduated from the academic and medical departments of Cornell. They now have three daughters: Clarissa, Alletta Langdon and Margery.
The religious faith of Dr. Deming and the family is that of the Congregational church. He belongs to the Waterbury and Home Clubs and he is a major of the medical corps of the Connecticut National Guard. Dr. Deming finds his chief recreation in hunting and fishing but the major part of his time and attention is given to his professional duties, which he discharges with a marked sense of conscientious obligation. He is ever most care- ful and painstaking in the diagnosis of his cases and his judgment is seldom, if ever, at fault.
HENRY W. MINOR.
· The members of the legal profession of Connecticut have always been capable of crossing swords in forensic combat with the distinguished leaders of the bar of any state. Every town and city numbers those whose records reflect credit upon the legal history of the commonwealth. Actively and successfully practicing in Waterbury is Henry W. Minor, one of the native sons of the city, born May 20, 1875. He comes of Revolutionary ancestry, his great-great-grandfather, Joseph Minor, having aided in the struggle for in- dependence. He traces his descent back to Thomas Minor, who came from Somerset county, England, on the ship Arabella in 1630 and landed at Salem, Massachusetts, on the 14th of June of that year. In England the family were possessors of a coat of arms.
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