USA > Connecticut > Fairfield County > Leading business men of Fairfield County : and a historical review of the principal cities > Part 5
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When one considers that at present, large houses are engaged in all the above lines, and in a majority of the many such houses an approximate idea may be formed of the great variety and wealth of prospective growth the manufacturing in- terests of Bridgeport have now attained.
As must necessarily be the case from the large amount of freight business, the facilities therefor are not excelled by any city in New England. The New York, New Haven & Hartford offers the best provisions which can be desired for reaching all parts of the country, while the Housatonic and Naugatuck command a large and important section of the State. The despatch of freight by water is also of the most convenient and rapid order. The Bridgeport Steamboat Company and the People's Steamboat Line with their fine fleets of passenger and freight steamers, offer the finest opportunities for reaching all parts of the country through New York city.
The mercantile trade has increased proportionally with the advance in population and spirit of the city itself. At the present time, there are a large number of large trading houses in the city which for magnitude and enterprise are hardly to be ex- celled by any in New England, while they compete successfully with the largest mercantile houses throughout the country. As an example of the enterprise of her merchants it might be well to cite the large grain elevator of Crane & Hurd, which, at the time of its erection in 1871, was the only one between New York and Boston.
Much of the business prosperity of Bridgeport has been due to the wise foresight and action of the Bridgeport Board of Trade. Organized 1875 to meet an imperative need, it has exercised a most telling influence over the growing industries of the city. Its original officers were: President, Robert T. Clarke; vice-presidents, Nathaniel Wheeler, P. T. Barnum, Jarratt Morford, E. V. Hawes, and J. D. Alvord; secretary, T. R. Cruttenden; treasurer, Thomas L. Watson; directors, Robert T. Clarke, Nathaniel Wheeler, N. Buckingham, R. B. Lacey, E. V. Hawes, J. Morford, P. T. Barnum, B. Soules, James Staples, D. W. Sherwood, J. D. Alvord, Frederick Hurd, A. C. Hobbs, M. W. Seymour, Hanford Lyon, George Mallory, S. C. King- man, D. M. Read, C. B. Hotchkiss, General W. H. Noble, E. G. Westcott, E. L. Gaylord, N. G. Miller, R. Kost, Charles Hough, E. Parmly, G. W. Bacon, S. W. Baldwin, W. H. Wessels, S. C. Nickerson, E. S. Burnham, and Zalmon Goodsell. Though frequently changing, the directors of the Bridgeport Board of Trade have continued to represent the leading business men of the city. At the present time, D. M. Read is serving as President of the Board for the eleventh time, and R. B. Lacey for the tenth time as Secretary.
From the rare union of prudent conservatism and enthusiastic progress, which have marked the past years of Bridgeport's commercial history, we may rest assured that not only has the foundation been firmly laid, but the materials also have already been prepared with which her business men are constructing a superstructure of the highest beauty and value.
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BRIDGEPORT, PAST AND PRESENT.
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CHAPTER VI. EDUCATIONAL, LITERARY AND SOCIAL.
No higher praise could be given to the educational system of Bridgeport than that it is worthy of the city. Upon the solid ground-work which can be traced back to the old Puritan days, progressive ideas have been developing a higher and more liberal school-culture as the city itself has been pushing forward. About the time of the formation of the Stratfield Ecclesiastical Society, in 1690, a school was organized, of which the Rev. Charles Chauncey was the first teacher, and since that time the church and the school have continued to work alongside of each other in forming noble character. Among the other noted pedagogues of that day in Strat- field were William Rogers and John Wheeler, the latter receiving £63 for teaching a summer school in 1736. In 1738, a second school building was erected, and in 1766, Stratfield was divided into three school districts.
It has been found a most interesting branch of antiquarian study, though time forbids an exhaustive reference here, to look up the text books used in those days, with their excessively quaint illustrations and the queer phraseology, such as "Adam, he ate of the tree." It would perhaps be well, however, not to be too critical, when we remember that this was the intellectual food which nourished the heroes of the Revolution.
An important step forward in the educational line was made in 1796, when a school society was organized here, in accordance with a recent State law, to superintend the administration of the schools. About this time considerable money was given to schools by the State, the interest of the sum obtained by the sale of the "Western Reserve Lands " being distributed for this purpose by the legislature.
The "School Society " continued in existence until 1856, when the system of to- day with a few changes was adopted. The spirit of the town is admirably shown by the action it took in 1858, to abolish the required tuition money and establish a free school system, ten years previous to the time when the State made such action compulsory and universal.
In 1875, after considerable discussion, in which Henry T. Shelton through the Standard took a leading part, it was voted to unite all the eleven school districts in Bridgeport under one government, and a Board of Education was organized. Its original officers were: President, James C. Loomis; Vice-president, Daniel H. Ster- ling; Secretary, Henry T. Shelton; Superintendent, Henry M. Harrington.
Since that time the growth of the schools has been continuous and marked. In 1877, a commodious brick building was erected on the site of the old Island Brook school-house, which had been destroyed by fire. A training school for teachers was opened in 1879. The large and beautiful High School building was completed in
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1882. The new plan which was adopted for heating and ventilating it has attracted attention and approval all over the country. The excellent discipline and the unusually broad range of study offered have justly rendered the Bridgeport High School one of the most famous in the State. Two extensive school-houses, of a most attractive architectural style and approved internal arrangement, were erected in 1884. A worthy precedent was established in 1885 by the donation by Hon. P. T. Barnum of $1,000 for the awarding each year of two gold medals to the two schol- ars in the High School "who shall write and publicly pronounce the best two English orations."
One interesting fact recently brought out is the discovery by statistics, that the cost per scholar of maintaining the schools in Bridgeport is the lowest of any city in the State, being $15.43 for each scholar a year. This demonstrates, in connection with the unexcelled advantages offered, a most excellent wisdom in the application of funds and an enviable simplicity of machinery in the management of the educational interests. One of the most successful teachers Bridgeport ever had, as well as one of those who have done most to perfect the school system, is Miss Lydia R. Ward. In private schools, Bridgeport has always been highly favored, and in particular the Golden Hill Seminary and the Hillside Seminary are two of the best known young ladies' boarding schools in this part of the country, drawing a large patronage from the best families of New York and other cities.
Bridgeport has always felt a most decided interest in literary, scientific and social affairs. The old "Philomathean Society" bears ample evidence to the strength of their regard for the former. . This society was organized in 1855, and contained many of the most cultured men of the city, some of whom have since won high honors in professional life. It continued its debates and literary work up to 1866. Of late years, several successful reunions have revived the recollection of how popular it was and how much good it did.
The Bridgeport Scientific Society, organized in 1877, has had a prosperous and progressive existence. Among its early officers were President H. N. Powers, D. D .; Vice-President, Clarence Sterling; Secretary, Geo. C. Waldo; Treasurer, T. E. Peck; Librarian, Leonard Sterling; Historian, Annie Sterling. Much valuable scientific research and experimentation has been done, particularly in the line of botany. A large herbarium, in addition to an extensive museum and library have been collected within its rooms in the Wales Building on Main Street.
Bridgeport has possessed a large number of able papers since it first emerged into some faint resemblance to a town. The date of their commencement has been as follows: The Bridgeport Farmer, originally started as the Republican Farmer in 1790, ran successfully until the time of the Civil War, when it aroused much open hostility for its disloyal sentiments. Since that time it has continued to grow and to prosper, until it has come to occupy a leading position among the great journals of the State. The American Telegraph was started in 1795, by Lazarus Beach but did not survive many years. The Bridgeport Herald, started in 1805; the Bridgeport Advertiser, 1806; the Connecticut Courier, 1810; the Connecticut Patriot, 1826; the Spirit of the Times, 1831; the Bridgeport Chronicle, 1848; the first Bridgeport Leader, 1854; all these had a comparatively brief and unimportant existence.
The initial number of the Republican Standard was published by A. A. Petten- gill, editor and proprietor, in 1839. Mr. Pettengill about the same time purchased
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the Bridgeport Republican, originally started in 1830, and in 1848 he took Julius S. Hanover as a partner into the management of the Standard. A daily issue was begun in 1854. The management of the paper passed from the hands of Pettengill and Hanover into the control of John D. Candee, in 1863. The chief editorial work has since been done by Mr. Candee. The Standard Association, with a capital stock of $30,000, and Mr. Candee as president, was organized in 1867. Mr. Geo. C. Waldo was associated with Mr. Candee as assistant editor in 1867, and at the present time the business management is under the charge of Mr. A. Wheeler. The Standard has always been thoughtful and active in promoting the best interests of the city.
The Bridgeport Sun, a leading weekly, was first published in 1867, by William H. May, who has continued as editor ever since, as the Budget. Captain May gained editorial celebrity during the war by publishing the only successful paper-The Old Flag-issued by prisoners in the hands of the enemy. The pungent style and inde- pendent spirit of the Sun have made it at once respected and liked.
The Morning News was originally published by Major Henry M. Hoyt, L. C. Prindle and John Beardsley in 1874, and after a discontinuance of several years was again started by Major Hoyt, with the assistance of A. W. French and T. W. Wood, in 1879. Rufus A. Lyon and L. C. Prindle took control of the paper in February, 1885, and in December of the same year the sole interest of editorial and business management was vested in Mr. Prindle. For six or seven years the News has been one of the most popular mediums of accurate and early reports of events in all parts of the world.
One of the most successful newspaper ventures of recent years is the Evening Post, first issued by George W. Hills, in 1883, as a four-column sheet, about the size a "handkerchief," as a contemporary remarked. Within three months it had in- creased to five columns; six months saw it a six-column paper, and in a little over a year after its inception, it had become a seven-column daily, the exact size and make up of the New York Sun. George W. Hills assumed a partnership with his brother Henry M. Hills, in January, 1885, forming the firm of Hills Brothers. The Post has met with great success, its circulation and advertising patronage steadily increasing and placing it in the front rank among the leading papers of this part of the State. Like the Morning News and Sun it is " independent in all things."
The Bridgeport Public Library and Reading Room has played an important part in the literary culture of the people. It was started about 1830, and continued a free library until 1857, when the Bridgeport Library Association was formed and for more than twenty years it was carried on as a subscription library, a fee being charged for membership. In 1881, as the result of a movement in which Judge D. B. Lockwood, Clarence Sterling and John D. Candee took a prominent part, a "free public library " was established, which received the volumes of the old association and as- sumed all of its debts. The original officers were : President, W. D. Bishop; Vice- President, John D. Candee; Secretary, Charles Sherwood; Treasurer, William B. Hincks; Directors: Frederick Hurd, W. J. Hills, S. S. Blake and Bernard Winghofer. The library has since met with unvarying success, receiving the support of the best citizens of the city. Among the more important donations which it has received are the following : The gift of one hundred dollars from Mrs. James C. Loomis; the donation of one thousand dollars worth of new books from the Hon. P. T. Barnum,
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and the bequeath by Mrs. Catherine A. Pettengill in January 1883, of the valuable and beautiful structure called the "Burroughs Building," to be converted into a permanent home for the library. The number of volumes now in the library is in the neighborhood of the seventeen thousand, and the present membership is about seven thousand.
The Rev. Horatio Nelson Powers, D.D., was a resident of Bridgeport and Rector of Christ Church of this city from 1875 until 1885. He exercised a powerful influ- ence for higher education and culture during his residence here. He was one of the founders and first President of the Bridgeport Scientific Society. Valuable literary contributions were made by him to such periodicals as Harper's Magazine, Century, Lippincott's, International Review, Critic, Independent, and he was the American contributor to the prominent French journal, L'Art. He wrote the following works: "Through the Year," "Early and Late," a volume of poems, and "A Brief Biog- raphy of William Cullen Bryant." Among his celebrated literary friends were Bay- ard Taylor, Bryant, and Philip Gilbert Hamerton of England. The influence of such gifted men as Dr. Powers has been like seed sown on good ground.
The Rev. Charles Ray Palmer was born in New Haven, May 2, 1834. He grad- nated at Yale University in the Class of '55, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1859. After a pastorate of twelve years at the Tabernacle Church in Salem, Mass., he came to Bridgeport to take charge of the First Congregational Church in whose service he devoted his untiring energies until the close of his life. The beau- tiful serenity of his character and the powerful, though unconscious expression of his loving humanity were as strong aids to noble thinking and loving in others as the outward influence which he exerted through his sermons and poems. It is as a writer of sacred hymns that "Ray Palmer " will be chiefly remembered as a brilliant member of our list of American poets. There is no question that he was the greatest composer of sacred hymnology this country has ever had, and some of his best poems, as " My faith looks up to Thee," will remain as master-pieces of the English language. His recent death has caused universal sorrow in the hearts of those whom he had cheered and strengthened by his beautiful poems.
The Rev. John Lyon is another of the literary men to whom Bridgeport owes much of its high culture. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, in December, 1844, he studied at Glasgow University, and came to this country in 1867. He accepted the call of the Bridgeport First Universalist Church in 1876, and since that time has labored assiduously here for the advancement of morality and the right. He has contrib- nted many powerful articles to the great journals and periodicals, and at the present time is about to publish a novel entitled "Vergilia, a Tale of the Primitive Church." . He received the honorary degree of A.M. from Tufts College in 1886.
During the dark days of the Revolution, the Rev. Robert Ross, the pastor of the Congregational Church in Stratfield at that time, composed several stirring patriotic poems, and at a later date some school text-books of value. Of recent years the can- didate for Holy Orders from Christ Church parish, C. W. de L. Nichols has attained favorable criticisms for articles on historical, literary and philosophical subjects.
Bridgeport has always had an abundance of warm social feeling which is charac- teristic of New England, as, among other things the number and prosperity of her societies will testify. The third lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in Connecticut was chartered at Stratfield, February 12, 1762, as the "St. John's Lodge." The
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lodge continued to meet in Stratfield for sometime, but was removed to Fairfield December, 1762, where it remained until it was moved to Bridgeport again in 1789. Since the beginning of the century, the lodge has grown steadily in numbers and influence, despite the adverse criticism temporarily excited in 1831 and 1832 by the troubles in New York State, and at the present time it numbers about five hundred. Other Masonic organizations have been formed in Bridgeport in the following chron- ological order : Jerusalem Chapter, No. 13, R. A. M., 1813; Jerusalem Council, No. 16, R. and S. M., 1827; The Hamilton Commandery, No. 5, Knights Templar, with sixteen charter members, in May, 1858; De Witt Clinton Lodge of Perfection, in May, 1858; Pequonnock Chapter, R. C., June 1, 1858; Washington Council, P. of J., June 1, 1858; Lafayette Consistory, S. P. of R. S., June 1, 1858; Corinthian Lodge, No. 104, F. and A. M., was founded in 1868, and at the present time it numbers about one hundred members.
Pequonnock Lodge, No. 4, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was the fourth organized in the State, receiving its charter in 1841. The society prospered for a number of years until the approach of the war drew away attention temporarily from social matters, so that the Pequonnock Lodge had to be abandoned in 1860. The charter of Pequonnock Lodge was renewed in 1869, and the society has since met with unalloyed prosperity. Its present handsome rooms in the Burroughs building were first occupied in 1873. Steuben Lodge, No. 83, was chartered in April 1867, being chiefly composed of Germans, and has continued to increase stead- ily in numbers and wealth. The lodge formerly met in a hall on Water street, but since 1879 it has occupied the beautifully arranged and adorned rooms in Stanton Block. Lessing Lodge, No. 94, was established in 1874, as an offshoot of Steuben Lodge, and Arcanum Lodge was chartered in 1875.
In 1876, the first lodge was established in East Bridgeport under the name of the Harris, No. 99, and its success has been exceptional since the beginning. In addi- tion to these lodges of the I. O. O. F., two Encampments have been established; the Stratfield, No. 23, in 1869, with a present membership of one hundred, and the Bridgeport, No. 22, established in 1870, numbering at the present time about ninety members. About four hundred of the Bridgeport Odd Fellows belong to the Mutual Aid Association of that Order while several of the lodges give extra aid, in addition to the regular benefits given by the Order to members during sickness. The whole amount which has accrued to Bridgeport members of the I. O. O. F. from benefit funds since 1867 is in the neighborhood of $18,000; the whole number of members who have joined the organization since that time is estimated to be about twelve hundred.
There are besides these organizations in Bridgeport, some fifty other social bodies of which fifteen are temperance societies. Among these latter are the follow- ing: Pequonnock Lodge, No. 30, Good Templars, organized March 22, 1866; Non- pareil Lodge, No. 187, Good Templars; Living Spring Division, No. 22, Sons of Temperance; Bridgeport Division, No. 24, Sons of Temperance; St. Mary T. A. B. Society, organized in May, 1868; Father Matthew Young Men's T. A. B. Society, organized in October, 1868; St. Patrick's T. A. B. Society, organized in October, 1868; Crystal Fount Temple of Honor and Temperance; The Women's Christian Temperance Union.
Among the other organizations are a Bible Society, a Medical Association, a
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Dramatic Society, the Knights of Pythias, the Knights of Honor, the Firemen's Benevolent Association, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the St. George, Caledonian and Emmett Clubs, and the Ladies' Charitable Society.
SEASIDE!
INSTITUTE
SALARI
SEASIDE INSTITUTE, COR. ATLANTIC AND LAFAYETTE AVENUES.
This building is being erected by Warner Brothers for the use of their em- ployes, and will be completed about September 1, 1887. It will comprise a Restau- rant, Free Reading-Room, Library, Bath-Rooms, a large Public Hall, and rooms for Evening Classes. It is a very substantial and elegant building, and will cost, when complete, about $60,000.
The Young Men's Christian Association was first organized in Bridgeport in 1868 and achieved valuable results in religious and social work during the next four years, after which it was discontinued for a time. The association was reorganized in June, 1883, and was incorporated in February, 1884. Mr. W. E. Colby, the General- Secretary of the Salem, Mass., Association, was secured for the new Bridgeport As- sociation, and gave valuable assistance in the inauguration of successful work. He has continued to serve the Association up to the present time, uniting in his manage- ment of the affairs of the Association an unusual executive ability with that broad acquaintance with men and methods so essential in this department of Christian work. The beautiful building now occupied by the Association was first made its home in
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November, 1883. As the Association has been increasing rapidly, it has gradually outgrown the limits of its present home and is spreading out its work in every direc- tion. Sunday afternoon services are held every week in the Association Hall at four o'clock. Religious meetings are also held during the week. One of the most effec- tive of its departments is the educational, where instruction is given in vocal music, penmanship, book-keeping and other practical studies. Special attention is given to the subject of physical culture, and arrangements made so that its members can develop their bodily powers to their highest efficiency. Social work is made the recipient of much care and effort, while departments are maintained for employment, boarding-houses, and boys. The present officers of the Association are: President, Dr. I. De Ver Warner, vice-presidents, Daniel W. Kissam, Daniel E. Marsh, Marshall E. Morris; treasurer, Francis W. Marsh; recording secretary, Dr. W. H. Donaldson; general secretary, W. E. Colby; auditor, Geo. Munger. The zeal with which this important work is carried on and the valuable results obtained seem in characteris- tic keeping with the city itself.
Bridgeport has never lost the interest in the church for which the early fathers were so noted. At the present time there are twenty-two large and active churches in the city, consisting of five Episcopal, five Methodist, four Congregational, four Catholic, two Baptist, one Presbyterian and one German Reformed, besides a large number of smaller Christian organizations and Mission Chapels. Bridgeport may well be called, as is Brooklyn, N. Y., the "city of churches." The whole atmosphere of the city seems to partake of that busy, genial spirit which enlivens its inhabitants, and the stranger can not long remain within its boundaries without feeling not only that he has come to a thoroughly awakened modern city, but also that he is in the midst of a people who have for generations been noted for the high culture and genial courtesy which help to constitute the noblest manhood.
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CHAPTER VII.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
As a result of the valuable and scholarly researches of the Rev. Samuel Orcutt, whose exhaustive History of Bridgeport it has been our privilege to consult, the biography of modern Bridgeport is unusually full and interesting, and we accord- ingly desire to give a few of the more important facts in regard to the life and work of such of our prominent citizens as have not already been mentioned, disclaim- ing all attempts at a complete record, which would be impossible within our space, and referring all desiring fuller and more detailed information in this department to , the great historical work of Mr. Samuel Orcutt. The leading facts will be grouped under the individual names of our principal citizens.
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