USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > History of Waterbury and the Naugatuck Valley, Connecticut, Volume III > Part 56
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66
522
WATERBURY AND THE NAUGATUCK VALLEY
The name Minor originated at the time of the War of the Roses. One of the followers of the successful king was knighted in recognition of the valor and loyalty which he had displayed upon the field of battle and was given the name of Minor. On coming to the new world Thomas Minor settled in Stonington, Connecticut, and his descendants have since been prominent and representative citizens of this state. Theron Minor, father of Henry W. Minor, was a well known banker of Waterbury who passed away in 1912, when he was abont seventy-two years of age, his birth having occurred in Wolcott, Connecticut, August 5, 1840. He came to Waterbury in early manhood and here spent his remaining days. For many years he was superintendent of the Brown Brothers brass factory and afterward gave his attention to the banking business, being identified with the Dime Savings Bank. He was married in Wolcott on Christmas day of 1861, just before coming to Waterbury, to Sarah Jane Warner, who is still a resident of this city. She was born in Plymonth, Connecticut, April 28, 1844, and now resides with her daughter, Myrtie D. Minor.
Heury W. Minor, the only son of the family, was graduated from the Waterbury high school in 1894 and while a student there took active part in athletics and was captain of the football and the baseball teams during much of the time. He also won scholarship honors, being salutatorian of his graduating class. He next entered the Yale Law School, from which he was graduated in 1897 with the LL. B. degree. In June of that year he was admitted to practice at the Connecticut bar and has since followed his profession in Waterbury, where he is now accorded a good clientage that has connected him with much of the important litigation heard in the courts of the district. Aside from his law prac- tice he is a director of several important local corporations.
On the 22d of May, 1915, Mr. Minor was married to Miss Elizabeth Hackett, of Nanga- inck, Connecticut, and they have one daughter, Vivian Marjorie, born August 2, 1916. In polities Mr. Minor is a democrat and for eight years served on the town committee, while for four years he was on the board of public safety. He belongs to the New Haven County, Connectient State and American Bar Associations. He still continues his interest in foot- ball and baseball and is an enthusiastic fan, seldom missing a local game of importance, and annually attends the Yale-Harvard game at New Haven. His interest, however, centers chiefly in his professional duties and his devotion to his clients is proverbial, while the ability which he displays in the trial of his cases is manifest in the many favorable ver- diets which he has won.
EDMUND JANES ABBOTT, D. D. S
While Dr. Edmund Janes Abbott prepared by thorough training for the practice of dentistry and followed the profession for a time, he is now ocenpying a place in the foremost ranks of Waterbury's merchants as president of the firm of Hampson, Mintie & Abbott, Inc., leading furniture dealers who are conducting business at No. 99 West Main street. He was born in Middlebury, Connectient, Angust 24, 1872, the eldest son of Heman Bangs and Alice Tuttle Abbott. He also has a brother, Arthur Jay, located in Bridgeport, and a sister, Edith Vernon, deceased. His father is a native of Waterbury and a son of Rev. Ira Abbott, one of the first Methodist ministers in Waterbury, afterward engaged in preaching in Rhode Island, Connecticut and Long Island. The Rev. Ira Abbott and his wife, Lydia Wooden Abbott, where the parents of three sons, Levings, Bennett Tyler and Heman Bangs. Bennett Tyler, the second son, also adopted the Methodist ministry as a profession. The yomigest son, Heman Bangs, father of Dr. Edmind Janes Abbott, took up the occupation of farming. which he followed for many years, but is now living retired.
Dr. Abbott, pursued his early education in the public schools of Middlebury, Connecticut, and subsequently sindied in the Parker Academy at Woodbury and in the Waterbury Business College. He then entered the employ of the Abbott Hardware Company of Derby, Connecticut, and later spent five years as a member of the office force of the Plume & Atwood Manufacturing Company at Waterbury. Desiring, however, a professional career, he then entered the Philadelphia Deutal College, where after spending the required three years he graduated with the class of 1899, taking the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery. Having in view the idea of entering upon the practice of dentistry in Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Abbott took the examination before the Ohio state board, for which he received the required certificate. Afterward "home ties," coupled with having a wide circle of friends and acquaintances in Waterbury, made it seem more advisable that he should return to his native town, where he opened an office in the Odd Fellows building in April, 1899, continuing actively in the
DR. EDMUND J. ABBOTT
525
WATERBURY AND THE NAUGATUCK VALLEY
practice of dentistry for about fifteen years. He had offices in the Lilley building for the last five years of his practice or until the 1st of January, 1914, becoming widely and prominently known in that connection.
Early in his professional career Dr. Abbott became identified with the Waterbury Dental Society, the Connecticut State Dental, the Northeastern Dental, and the National Dental Associations, and has held all of the offices in the first two. During the three years of his college career he was elected to membership in the Garretsonian Society and the Gamma Chapter of the Xi Psi Phi dental fraternity, and in his senior year was elected as editor in chief of the Class Book.
Early in the year of 1910 Dr. Abbott, Robert William Hampson and James Leroy Mintie, all of Waterbury incorporated themselves under the name of The Hampson, Mintie Furniture Company, and elected the following officers: Edmund Janes Abbott, president; James Leroy Mintie, secretary; and Robert William Hampson, treasurer, Dr. Abbott acting only in an advisory capacity but still continuing his practice of dentistry. The business developed so rapidly that it seemed advisable that he should enter into more active relations with the company and he decided to abandon dentistry and on January 1, 1914, he became an active member of the firm. The firm name was then changed to Hampson, Mintie & Abbott, Inc., the officering remaining as before. They own one of the largest furniture houses in Connecticut, carrying a large and attractive line of furniture and enjoying a most liberal patronage. Their store is well appointed and tastefully arranged, and the business methods of the house commend them to the continued support of the public.
On the 22d of July, 1907, Dr. Abbott was married to Miss Lucia Amelia Wilmot, of Waterbury, a daughter of Lucius Clark and Mary Potter Wihnot. They have two children: Edmund Janes, Jr., born November 1, 1909; and Wilmot Tuttle, whose birth occurred January 19, 1913.
Fraternally Dr. Abbott is connected with Harmony Lodge, No. 42, F. & A. M .; Eureka Chapter, No. 22, R. A. M .; Clark Commandery, No. 7, K. T .; Nosahogan Lodge, No. 21, I. O. O. F .; and is also identified with the Rotary Club. He attends the First Congregational church and in politics is an independent republican. He still retains his membership in the Waterbury, Connecticut State and National Dental Associations, the old members and friendships being ever dear to him although he does not practice at all at the present time but concentrates his efforts and attention upon the growing and important commercial interests now under his direction. His life has ever been actuated by well defined purpose and indefatigable energy, resulting in the fulfillment of his plans. He is regarded in the business world as he was in the professional world and in all public rela- tions, as one whose principles are above reproach and whose strict ideals of honor and justice are applied to every detail of his conduct.
GEORGE E. MATTHIES.
George E. Matthies, prominent as a directing force in manufacturing, industrial and financial circles of Seymour, has advanced through his own efforts to the field of large undertakings, wherein he not only profits personally by his labors but also contributes to the general progress and prosperity. He was born in Brewster, New York, July 9, 1863, a son of Martin and Eva Matthies. His father was a contractor. He attended the public schools there until twelve years of age and then removed to Danbury, Connecticut, where he continued his education until he reached the age of sixteen, when, in 1879, he entered the employ of the American Shear Company at Hotchkissville, Connecticut. He occupied the position of bookkeeper there for eighteen months and then resigned to enter the em- ploy of the Hall-Elton Company at Wallingford, Connecticut, remaining with that busi- ness until it was sold. He next entered the employ of G. I. Mix & Company of Yalesville, Connecticut, as bookkeeper and one year later became an employe of the Seymour Manu- facturing Company of Seymour, Connecticut, with which he has since been identified. He is now treasurer and general manager of this company, which employs fifteen hundred men and which in 1916 turned out a tonnage of over sixty million pounds of metal. He has not in recent years, however, concentrated his efforts along a single line. His co- operation has been sought in connection with the development of many important busi- ness enterprises and he is now the president of the H. A. Matthews Manufacturing Com- pany of Seymour and is the organizer and largest stockholder of the Seymour Metal Goods Company. He organized and is president of the Seymour Trust Company, with assets of over two million dollars; organized and was the president of the Rimmon Manufacturing
526
WATERBURY AND THE NAUGATUCK VALLEY
Company of Seymour until the business was sold, and became associated with W. H. H. and L. T. Wooster in purchasing the business of the Seymour Electrie Light Company, which was afterward sold to the United Electric Light & Power Company of Waterbury. Mr. Matthies also assisted in organizing the Seymour Water Company and many other important corporations and he reorganized the Hopkins & Allen Arms Company, which was later sold out to a company of the same name in Massachusetts. He is the treasurer of The E. Day Company of Oak Hill and Rockledge, Florida, which company shipped forty thousand boxes of citrous fruit in the season of 1916 and 1917. Mr. Matthies is a director of the Seymour Land & Timber Company, owning large tracts of land in Vancouver; is vice president and a director of the N. Z. Graves, Incorporated, of Philadelphia; is vice president and a director of the Real Estate Company of Cape May, New Jersey; vice presi- dent and a director of the Wildwood Harbor Company of New Jersey; vice president and a director of the Cape May Hotel Company of New Jersey, and a director of the Ticopa Mining Company of California. He has extensive interests in Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Vancouver and South America and he is a member of the New York Stock Exchange. A very busy man, he has won success in everything that he has undertaken. Through long hours and indefatigable enterprise he has accomplished an enormous amount of work and his life record is an illustration of the fact that ability and power grow through the exer- cise of effort.
In November, 1890, Mr. Matthies was united in marriage to Miss Annie T. Wooster, a daughter of the late State Senator W. H. H. Wooster, of Seymour. They have two children, namely: Bernard H., who was born in 1892 and is now in the employ of the Seymour Manufacturing Company; and Katherine, born in 1903.
Mr. Matthies is a member of Morning Star Lodge, No. 47, F. & A. M., and the prin- ciples which further govern his life are indicated in his connection with the Congrega- tional church. His political allegiance is given to the republican party. He is fond of outdoor life and annually takes a trip to Canada or to Maine, where he engages in hunt- ing and fishing. He is a fly fisherman of wide reputation and he belongs to various hunting and fishing clubs. He has membership in the Triton Fish & Game Club of Quebec, in which he holds the record of having taken on a fly the largest trout (fontinalis), it weighing ten and one-quarter pounds. He also belongs to the Laurentian Club of Quebec, the Megantic Fish & Game Corporation of Canada and Maine and to the Racebrook Country Club of New Haven. He is vice president and director of the Greater Cape May, Incorporated, and also belongs to the Seymour Outing Club, the American Geographical Society and the Travelers Club of America. He spends some time each winter in Cuba and Florida. His activity in behalf of the city has been one of the dominant factors in its upbuilding, and, keenly alive to the situation imposed by the present world crisis, he is doing splendid work in organizing interests that uphold the government plans. He is chairman of the Liberty Loan committee and succeeded in getting subscriptions to the three and one-half per cent loan which amounted to eighty-five dollars per capita in Seymour. He is also chair- man of the local Home Defense and is interested in Red Cross work. He established a record in that connection of five dollars per capita for Seymour, promising ten thousand dollars as a gift to the work if the committee raised twenty thousand dollars more, which they did. He is a power for good everywhere, never stopping short of successful accom- plishment in anything that he undertakes, takes a broad view of affairs, and his efforts have always been of a character that have contributed to public progress and prosperity as well as to individual interests and success.
EDWARD J. FINN, JR.
Edward J. Finn, Jr., was born at Waterbury, Connecticut, April 24, 1887. His parents, Edward J. Finn, Sr., and Rose Frances (McGivney) Finn were both born in Waterbury and were members of well known Waterbury families. Edward J. Finn, Jr., is the fifth in a family of thirteen ehildren, of whom nine are living, seven sons and two daughters, His earliest edueation was obtained at St. Mary's School in Waterbury and later he attended the Crosby grammar school, from which he was graduated in 1900. He completed the college preparatory course at the Crosby high school and was graduated in 1904. In the fall of 1904 he matriculated at Holy Cross College, from which he was graduated in the year 1908 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. During the last two years of his college course he was president of his class.
In the fall of 1908 Mr. Finn was appointed to the faculty of the Crosby high school in
1.4
T
529
WATERBURY AND THE NAUGATUCK VALLEY
Waterbury and for six years he taught the students of that institution. While a member of the faculty he gave amply of his time and efforts to the interests and activities of the students outside of the classroom, acting as coach of the school football team and moderator of the Sophomore Debating Society.
In February, 1909, Mr. Finn entered upon the study of law under the preceptorship of attorney Frank P. McEvoy of Waterbury, and at the completion of his tutelage in June, 1912, he passed the bar examination of the state of Connecticut and was admitted to practice before the Connecticut bar. While pursuing his legal studies he found time to teach in the Waterbury evening schools for one year and to take up and complete advanced classical studies, so that in June, 1913, Holy Cross College conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts. In April, 1913, Mr. Finn commenced the active practice of law as associate of Judge M. J. Byrne, with whom he is now connected. In June, 1914, he resigned from the faculty of Crosby high school, and since that time has devoted his entire time to his law practice as a member of the Waterbury bar.
In June, 1917, Mr. Finn was married to Miss Christine Heleu Kenney of Waterbury. Mrs. Finn is a daughter of Francis M. and Mary C. Kenney, residents of Waterbury for the past thirty years. She is a graduate of the New Haven Normal School and prior to her marriage taught in the public schools of Waterbury.
In politics Mr. Finn is a democrat but has not yet taken an active part in political affairs. He is a member of the Roman Catholic church. For the past decade he has been prominently identified with the activities of Sheridan Council, Knights of Columbus, of which he is a member.
ARTHUR M. DICKINSON.
Arthur M. Dickinson, vice president of th : Benedict & Burnham branch of the American Brass Company, is thus prominently associated with the conduct of an important business interest with which the name of Dickinson has long been associated. He is a grandson of Samuel and Lucy Dickinson and a son of Charles and Sarah Jane (Lynde) Dickinson. His father was born in Saybrook, Connecticut, September 7, 1827, and after spending his early life there went to New York city, whence he came to Waterbury in December, 1852. From that time until his death he was closely associated with the commercial and manufacturing interests of this city. For four years he was the secretary of the Waterbury Jewelry Company and in 1856 became a salesman for the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company. His ability in that connection led to promotions and he was called to official service with the company on the 1st of January, 1866, being elected secretary. Fifteen years later, or in 1881, following the death of Charles Benedict, he was made treasurer and occupied that position until the demise of G. W. Burnham on the 27th of March, 1885. Mr. Dickinson then succeeded to the presidency of the company and remained as its executive head until his death, which occurred suddenly at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, April 15, 1888. His ability for judicious management, his keen sagacity and his enterprise had led to his cooperation being sought in other lines of business and at the time of his demise he was president of the Waterbury Watch Company and of Hall, Elton & Company, manufacturers of plated ware at Wallingford, and was a director of several other large manufacturing interests. He was likewise president of the Meriden & Waterbury Railroad Company and his efforts were an effective force in the organization of that company. He served for several years as alderman of Waterbury and at one time as police commissioner but preferred to concentrate his efforts and attention upon business rather than upon politics. His wife passed away September 30, 1887. There were four children in the family: Nellie Lynde, the wife of E. L. Frisbie, Jr .; Arthur Mortimer; Edith Maria, who died August 30, 1863; and Amelia Benedict.
Arthur M. Dickinson, born. reared and educated in Waterbury, has always resided here and has been well known socially and through his important business connections. Entering the employ of the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, he was ultimately elected to the position of secretary and member of the board of directors. Since the business was merged into the American Brass Company he has been manager and vice president of the Benedict & Burnham branch and is thus active in the control of the operation of one of the most extensive and important productive industries of Waterbury.
Mr. Dickinson's official connection with the Connecticut National Guard covered twelve years. On the 23rd of July. 1889, he was appointed captain and adjutant of the Second
530
WATERBURY AND THE NAUGATUCK VALLEY
Infantry and on the 26th of June, 1893, became major. On the 5th of December, 1899, he was appointed colonel of the regiment, serving until July 27, 1900, when he resigned, retiring from the service on the 18th of April, 1901. Colonel Dickinson is a member of the Waterbury Club and of the Waterbury Country Club. He is also identified with the Manhattan, the Army and Navy and the Yale Clubs of New York and with the New Haven Country Club and the Quinnipiac Club of New Haven.
ALMON CLINTON JUDD.
Almon Clinton Judd has been engaged in the hotel business since a youth, in which connection he has become widely known throughout New England, and today he is a prominent figure in hotel circles as the lessee and proprietor of The Elton Hotel of Waterbury, his native city, where he was born September 7, 1860. For two hundred years the Judd family has figured prominently in connection with the history of the development of New England. The ancestral line is traced back to Thomas Judd, who came from England in 1634, settling in Cambridge, Massachusetts, whence he removed to Hartford, Connecticut, about 1636. About 1644 he became a resident of Farmington. Thomas Judd, ancestor of the family in the second generation, was one of the original proprietors of Mattatuck, or Waterbury, and was the first deputy sent from here in May, 1689. He figured very prominently in connection with public affairs and since that time his descendants have lived in this vicinity and for more than two decades have figured most actively and prominently in the life of the community.
Edwin A. Judd, father of Almon C. Judd, was born in Bethany, became a builder by trade and in young manhood took up his abode in Waterbury, where he learned his trade under the direction of Benjamin P. Chatfield, for whom he afterward worked as a foreman. He continued in active connection with building operations in Waterbury until 1865, when he removed to Bridgeport, where he resided until 1873. He then became a resident of Augusta, Georgia, where he resided for several years, and then removed to Rome, Georgia, where he died in 1897. His wife bore the maiden name of Sally A. Clinton and was born in Gibson, Pennsylvania, but her ancestors came from Connecticut. Mrs. Judd died in 1875 at Augusta, Georgia. By her marriage she had become the mother of two children, the younger being Mrs. Arthur H. Fenn, formerly of Waterbury.
Almon C. Judd was educated in the public schools of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and went south with his parents when thirteen years of age, where he continued his studies in private schools. He entered upon his business career in connection with his uncle, Benjamin P. Chatfield, formerly of Waterbury, at the Highland Park Hotel in Aiken, South Carolina, where he served in a minor capacity. He received successive promotions, however, until he became manager of his uncle's hotel, having been advanced to that position by the time that he reached the age of twenty-one years. There he continued until 1888, when he took charge of the Mountain Park Hotel at Hot Springs, North Carolina, remaining in that location until 1890. He then engaged in other business for two years and in 1892 became a factor in hotel life in New England.
It was at that period that he became associated with Hiram Ricker & Sons of the Poland Spring House at South Poland, Maine, and in 1893 and 1894 he was with the Waumbek Hotel at Jefferson, New Hampshire, being connected with that hostehy through the smnmer months and with the Laurel House at Lakewood, New Jersey. in the winter, in the capacity of manager, associated with Horace Porter. In 1895 he resumed business connections with the firm of Hiram Ricker & Sons at the Poland Spring House in Maine, there continuing until 1902, when the firm took over the Samoset Hotel at Rockland, Maine, and Mr. Judd became manager at that point, there continuing until the fall of 1903. At that date he was made assistant manager of the old Astor House in New York city, where he continued until May, 1905, when The Elton Hotel of Waterbury was opened and Mr. Judd was called upon to assume the position of manager. He continued in that capacity until 1909, when he leased the property from the Waterbury Hotel Corporation and has since been lessee and proprietor. This is one of the line hostelries of New England, conducted in accordance with the most advanced and progressive ideas concerning hotel management.
Mr. Judd is also president of the Elton Garage, Inc., and devotes his entire time to the conduct of these business interests, holding to the highest standards in making The Elton one of the finest and most complete hotels in New England.
In 1882 Mr. Judd was united in marriage to Miss Annie M. Webster, of Orono, Maine, who
Almondfuld
533
WATERBURY AND THE NAUGATUCK VALLEY
passed away in 1899, leaving a son, Eben Webster, who is now associated with his father in business. He was born in 1885. Mr. Judd married again in 1903, his second wife being Pearl A. Taft, who was born in Stonington, Connecticut.
Mr. Judd is now a member and was formerly president of the New England Hotel Men's Association. He is also president of the Connecticut Hotel Men's Association and is a member of the Hotel Association of New York. He has always taken an active interest in those organizations which tend to advance the standards of hotel service and management. Fraternally he is connected with Harmony Lodge, F. & A. M .; Eureka Chapter, R. A. M .; Clark Commandery, K. T .; and Lafayette Consistory, S. P. R. S. He has been secretary of the local Scottish Rite bodies for many years and he also belongs to Kora Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. of Lewiston, Maine. He attends St. John's Episcopal church and gives his political allegiance to the republican party but takes only a citizen's interest in politics, never seeking office, and is well known as a member of the Waterbury Club and of the Waterbury Country Club. His marked characteristics are those which make for personal popularity, and the salient features of his business career are those which contribute to sub- stantial success. From the initial step in his business life he has been identified with hotel interests save two years. Otherwise he lias confined his attention to hotel interests and management and has become very widely known in this connection, being regarded as one of the representative hotel inen not only of New England but of the country.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.