USA > Connecticut > Representative citizens of Connecticut, biographical memorial > Part 5
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Kingsbury Family
chosen president. This was in 1853, and he held the post until his death, his capable and just management contributing in a large measure to the success of the institution. Mr. Kingsbury's position in the financial and business circles grew rapidly to one of importance, and in the year 1858 he was elected to the directorate of the Scovill Manufacturing Company. He took such interest in the affairs of the company and gave so much of his attention thereto, that in 1862 his fellow directors determined to put him on the active official staff and elected him secretary. Two years later he was made treas- urer, and in 1868 he succeeded S. W. Hall as president. For thirty-two years he held that office and at length in 1900 refused reelection, taking instead the office of vice-president, which enabled him to relax somewhat his active management of affairs. Nor was this the only important business concern, with which he was officially connected. As time went on he became one of the most prominent figures in the business world thereabouts, and was asso- ciated with railroad and steamboat companies and other concerns.
It has already been stated that Mr. Kingsbury served his fellow towns- men as representative in the State Legislature. This he did on a number of occasions. The first was in 1850, at the time his attention was directed to banking. Later in 1858, and in 1865 he was again a member of that body and was appointed chairman of the banking committee, a position for which his experience amply qualified him. During the latter session he was also a member of the committee on the revision of the statutes of Connecticut. At one time Mr. Kingsbury was urged by the Republican party organization in the State to accept the candidacy for Governor of Connecticut, an offer which his prominence in many directions and his personal popularity ren- dered most appropriate. He was, however, unable to accept it owing to the many interests for which responsibility was already resting upon him, and which he could not shift and would not neglect. He allowed his name to be used as candidate for Lieutenant-Governor, however. The Republican ticket was that year defeated so that it was unnecessary for Mr. Kingsbury to change any of his private obligations for public ones. In political belief Mr. Kingsbury was a staunch supporter of the principles and the policies of the Republican party, but was far too independent in thought and action to allow partisan considerations to affect his conduct, either as a voter or a legislator.
The list of Mr. Kingsbury's achievements is by no means exhausted in recounting those in the business and political worlds. His success in the realm of scholarship was quite as conspicuous, and perhaps even dearer to his heart, in view of his strong mental tendency in that direction. Mr. Kingsbury's work as a business man, as a man of affairs was fine, but he may be said to have pursued his literary work con amore. His intellectual attain- ments were exceptional and marked by the greatest versatility. He was an enthusiast in the cause of general education, and worked hard for its spread in many ways. He was treasurer of the Bronson Library Fund from its foundation for over thirty years and by careful investments he greatly increased the original bequest ; was chairman of the book committee and a member of the board of agents. In 1881 he was elected a member of the corporation of Yale College, and served on that most honorable body until CONN-3
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Kingsbury Family
1899. In 1893 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Wil- liams College, and six years later the same degree from Yale. He was appointed in 1876, to represent the State of Connecticut in the national committee at the centennial exposition in Philadelphia. He was a member of many literary and scientific clubs and associations, among which were the American Antiquarian Society, the American Historical Association, the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, the New Haven County His- torical Society, the Society of Colonial Wars and the University and Cen- tury Clubs. He was also a member of the American Social Science Associa- tion, a department of knowledge in which he specialized to a considerable extent during the latter years of his life. He was president of this associa- tion for a number of years. History and genealogy were subjects which exercised a strong fascination for him, and he was regarded as an authority in all matters pertaining to the records of his home locality. He was the author of an excellent history of Waterbury, and with the collaboration of Mary Kingsbury Talcott compiled the "Kingsbury Genealogy." Mr. Kings- bury was a devoted member of the Episcopal church.
Mr. Kingsbury was married, April 29, 1851, to Alathea Ruth Scovill, of Waterbury, Connecticut, a daughter of William Henry and Eunice Ruth (Davies) Scovill, of that place. To Mr. and Mrs. Kingsbury five children were born, as follows: I. William Charles, born in July, 1853, died March 2, 1864. 2. Mary Eunice, born June 9, 1856, married Dr. Charles Steadman Bull, of New York City, and became the mother of three children: Fred- erick Kingsbury, Ludlow Seguino and Dorothy. 3. Alice Eliza, born May 4, 1858. 4. Edith Davies, born February 6, 1860. 5. Frederick John, Jr., born July 7, 1863, married Adele Townsend, of Oyster Bay, Long Island, by whom he has had two children: Ruth, who married Richard Collier Sargent and has one son, Richard Collier, Jr., and Frederick John; he is now the president of the Bridgeport Brass Company, of Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The death of Mr. Kingsbury was a loss, not merely to his immediate family and the large circle of personal friends, but to the community at large, which had, as a whole, benefited by his manifold accomplishments and activities. He was an unusual man, an unusual personality, and the story of his life has been woven, as it were into the history of the community of which it is so essential a part. If one would express briefly the course of action which guided him to the unique position which he held among his fellow townsmen, he could not do better than quote his own words of advice to young men, in which it would seem he summed up his own philosophy of conduct. He said :
"Be honest in your purpose. Practice truthfulness, courtesy, and the cultivation of a kindly feeling toward all men. Be industrious and perse- vering. Neither court nor shun responsibility, but discharge all obligations to the best of your ability. Do the most honorable thing that offers and keep at it until something comes. Beware of procrastination."
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John h. Williamson
I T IS THE progressive, wide-awake men of affairs who make the real history of a community, State or Nation, and their influence as a potential factor of the body politic is difficult to estimate. The examples men furnish of patient purpose and steadfast integrity strongly illustrate what is in the power of each to accomplish, and there is always a full measure of satisfaction in adverting, even in a casual manner, to their achievements in advancing the interests of their fellowmen and in giving strength and solidity to the institutions which tell so much for the prosperity of the community. John H. Williamson, late of Bethel, Con- necticut, was a man of this caliber. A public-spirited citizen, he was ready at all times to use his means and influence for the promotion of such public improvements as were conducive to the comfort and happiness of his fellow- men, and there was probably not another man in the community so long honored by his residence who was held in higher esteem, regardless of sects, politics or professions. He was one of the most unostentatious of men, open- hearted and candid in manner, always retaining in his demeanor the simplicity and candor of the oldtime gentleman, and his record stands as an enduring monument.
John H. Williamson was born in Carnmonie, a town in the northern part of Ireland, December 27, 1851, son of James and Agnes Williamson, members of a Scotch colony which had settled there. He received his early education in a private school in Belfast. He came to the United States as a boy and completed his education at Cooper Institute, New York, where he received the degree of mechanical engineer. Shortly after his graduation and at the age of nineteen years he entered business as a contractor and builder, with offices at the corner of Forty-third street and Broadway, and he continued in the same line of business for seventeen years and during that long period of time carried out many private and public contracts, one of which was the erection of a riding academy on the present site of Pabst Grand Circle, and the Majestic Theatre at Columbus Circle, New York, which was notable as containing the longest span wood truss ever built in the United States. Mr. Williamson was its sole designer as well as builder. Another of his buildings of interest to his fellow townsmen was the Presby- terian church in Brewster, and he also constructed several gas plants about the country, the largest being at Watson, Illinois, and he built several private yachts, the most notable of which was that of Commodore Brown, of the New York Yacht Club. While in charge of tearing down a building in con- nection with a contract for the widening of a street in downtown New York, the mistake of a foreman resulted in the collapse of the structure, burying him for twenty hours with the splintered end of a joist through his left cheek. After discontinuing this business in 1887 he entered the boiler busi- ness as consulting engineer with the Hazleton Boiler Company, of New York, and his business interests in connection with this extended to all parts of
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John D. Calilliamson
the country. While connected with this firm his inventive genius demon- strated itself, and the five patents taken out by him resulted, on the death of the firm's president in 1903, in his gaining the ownership and control of the business, which he conducted until the time of his death under the name of the Connecticut Construction Supply Company. He was an expert in this line and as such was called before the Massachusetts Legislature in March, 1908, and his advice was influential in the making of their revised laws regulating the construction of steam boilers.
The residence of Mr. Williamson in Bethel covered a period of twenty- eight years and during that time he was active in the interests of the town, yet his benefactions were conducted in such an unostentatious manner that his name was not brought forth prominently in connection therewith. He was a man of honest and upright character, lofty ideals and aspirations, thus his advice and opinions were sought and respected, and his political influence was widely felt. Although brought up in the Presbyterian church he was at the time of his death a member of the Protestant Episcopal church of Bethel. He was a staunch Republican in politics, and always took an active interest in State and local affairs, numbering among his friends the most influential men in the State. He stood for progress and the advancement of the people and for what was honest and right. He served as a member of the Board of Trade, as justice of the peace and as grand juror. His fraternal affiliation was with Eureka Lodge, No. 83, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he had been a member for many years.
Mr. Williamson married, January 27, 1880, Julia Reid, daughter of Hugh and Mary (Parsons) Reid, the ceremony being performed in Bethel. Children: Agnes Belle, a graduate of the New Haven Normal School; John Kennedy, a mining engineer, graduate of Cornell University, class of 1906, now superintendent for the Turner Building Company. of New York; Elizabeth, a graduate of the Danbury Normal School, wife of Harry Brown- low, of Danbury, Connecticut; Harry Hugh, graduate of Cornell Univer- sity, class of 1911; Julia Edna and James Reid, pupils in the Bethel public schools.
Mr. Williamson passed away at his home in Bethel, September 23, 1908. He lived to good purpose and achieved a degree of success commensurate with his efforts. By a straightforward and commendable course he made his way to a prominent position in the business world, winning the admiration of the people of his town and earning a reputation as an enterprising, pro- gressive man of affairs and a broad-minded, charitable and upright citizen, which the public was not slow to recognize. His was a life of honor and trust, and no higher eulogy can be passed upon him than to say the simple truth-that his name had never been coupled with anything disreputable and that there was never a shadow of a stain upon his reputation for integrity and unwavering honesty. He was a consistent man in all he under- took, and his career in all the relations of life was utterly without pretense.
John D. Mcardle, D. D. S.
T 'HE CITY OF Westport, Connecticut, lost one of its leading citizens and prominent professional men in the death there . on May 24, 1915, of Dr. John H. McArdle. Dr. McArdle was not a native of Westport, nor, for that matter, of Connec- ticut at all, but he had lived in that State since early child- hood so that he was intimately identified with the life there and had scarcely any association with any other section, even the region of his birth, save indirectly. He was born in the city of Brooklyn, New York, September 2, 1873, so that he was still a young inan at the time of his death with his career but beginning to bear the fruit of his youthful promise.
He lived in the place of his birth until he had reached the age of eight years. He then came to Westport to live with his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Clear, of that city, who acted as guardians to him during the remainder of his childhood and early youth. He received his early and general education at the excellent public schools of Westport and afterwards returned temporarily to New York to take a course in dental surgery at the New York College of Dentistry. Upon graduation from that institution, he returned at once to Westport, where he shortly established himself in the practice of his profession. He was successful from the outset and very soon had built up a large practice which continued to grow steadily until the time of his retirement. He became, indeed, one of the leading dentists in that part of the State. It was not alone in his profession, however, that Dr. McArdle was prominent in the city's affairs, for although a great deal of his time and attention was taken up with professional work, yet he always interested himself in every important movement undertaken for the city's welfare and was identified with not a few of them in a very intimate manner. He was particularly interested in the question of education and served as secretary of the school board of Westport for a number of years. Religion was a matter that played a very important part in the life of Dr. McArdle, and few men give up so much time and thought or exert so much energy in its cause as did he. He was a Roman Catholic in faith and a most devout member of that ancient church. He was directly affiliated with the Church of the Assumption in Westport during practically the entire term of his life, and was associated with most of the societies and clubs connected there- with, as well as materially supporting the various charities of the parish. He was one of those connected with the founding of the Holy Name Society in that parish and a charter member as well as serving as its president for many years. It was from this church that Dr. McArdle's funeral was finally held, a ceremony of much pomp and impressiveness, with a high mass of requiem and many representative bodies gathered in the church, while all the schools in the city were closed for the day. He was a member of the State Dental Association and extremely active in working for the interests of his profession.
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John D. mcardle
On January 20, 1904, Dr. McArdle was united in marriage with Mar- garet Welch, a daughter of Antoine and Mary Welch. To Dr. and Mrs. McArdle three children were born during the life of Dr. McArdle and a fourth shortly after his death. The names of three of the children are: Helen, Margaret, and Kathryn. This brief sketch cannot be more appro- priately closed than with the following extract from the local press which admirably illustrates how important a place was filled by Dr. McArdle.
As a token of respect to the memory of Dr. John H. McArdle, whose funeral was held this morning, all public schools of town were closed all day, to-day. The services this morning at 10.30 o'clock were the most impressive seen in Westport for years. The Church of the Assumption was packed to the doors with the great throng of friends and relatives who had come to pay their last respects to the man who had lived amongst them since early childhood. The Rev. J. J. Mitty, a professor of theology at Dunwoodie Seminary, New York State, was the celebrant at a solemn high mass of requiem, assisted by the Rev. John Carroll, a former pastor of the church, acting as deacon ; and the Rev. James C. O'Brien, of Stamford, as sub-deacon. * * * Acting as master of cere- monies was the Rev. Father C. J. McCann, of Manchester. who, previous to his ordination in the priesthood as a young man, had been a companion of the late Dr. McArdle. Seated in the sanctuary were the Rev. Father J. J. Duggan, pastor of the church; Rev. T. J. Finn, Norwalk; Rev. Father Doyle, of New York, and the Rev. Father Riley, a Holy Ghost Father of Norwalk. At the close of the mass the Rev. Father Duggan preached a funeral oration that reached the hearts of the scores of friends seated in the church.
Augustus Sabin Chase
A UGUSTUS SABIN CHASE, who for nearly half a century was closely and potently associated in active life with the industrial and civic development of Waterbury, was born in Pomfret, Connecticut, August 15, 1828. He was one of three children of Captain Seth and Eliza Hempstead (Dodge) Chase, and their only son. He was descended from the earliest Puritan settlers of New England, and in him survived many of their sterling qualities.
Mr. Chase's boyhood was spent on his father's farm, which had also belonged to his grandfather, and is still owned by the family. At sixteen he was a student at Woodstock Academy, and two years later he took charge of a country school in Brooklyn, Connecticut. Next he moved to Killingly, and went to work as a clerk in a store belonging to the Danielson Manufacturing Company. When Mr. Chase was twenty-two, an old Windham county resi- dent, Dyer Ames, Jr., cashier of the Waterbury National Bank, and a former resident of Brooklyn, made inquiries in Windham county for a young man to take a position in the Waterbury Bank. His selection fell upon Mr. Chase, who in 1850 took a subordinate position in the bank. In the follow- ing year he became assistant cashier ; in 1852, cashier ; and in 1864 at the age of thirty-six, its president, a position which he held for more than thirty years, or until the time of his death. Not very long after settling in Water- bury, Mr. Chase became interested in manufacturing, an interest that con- tinued during the remainder of his life. He was a stockholder and officer in many of Waterbury's successful companies, and of some of the most promi- nent he was president. At the time of his death he was president of the Waterbury Manufacturing Company, of the Benedict and Burnham Com- pany, of the Waterbury Watch Company, and of the Waterbury Buckle Company. Of these, the Waterbury Manufacturing Company, which he established in association with his eldest son, Henry S. Chase, was exclu- sively a family enterprise. It has grown from small beginnings to be one of the largest brass manufacturing plants in the Naugatuck valley, and in asso- ciation with the Chase Rolling Mill Company and the Chase Metal Works, Incorporated, both of which were established by the family after Mr. Chase's death in 1896, constitutes as a whole one of the important factors in the brass business of the country.
Mr. Chase had always taken an active interest in newspapers, having largely for his model a provincial paper of the character of the "Springfield Republican." He was one of the original stockholders of the American Printing Company, which was organized in 1868 to continue the publication of the "Waterbury American" (founded in 1844), and with a small group controlled its policy and promoted its development. From 1877 until his death he was president of the American Printing Company and its impres- sive building and well equipped plant on Grand street were constructed by Mr. Chase and his son to give to a journal in which he felt keen pride a home
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Augustus Sabin Chase
suitable to its reputation. While in no sense a club man, he believed in the club principle rightly expressed, and was one of the founders of the Water- bury Club, and its first president. His interest in education was represented by the active service he gave to St. Margaret's School, of which he was a trustee, and of whose board he was treasurer from its establishment. He was one of the original members of the Second Congregational Society, and was an active member of the Waterbury Hospital Corporation. For the hospital he obtained, through his friendship with the late Erastus de Forest, the beautiful site from which it has recently moved to its present location. He was the first treasurer of the city of Waterbury, and served the city on the school and water boards, and as a member of the board of agents of the Bronson Library. In his earlier years he also served the town for one term in the Connecticut house of representatives.
Mr. Chase's success in business was due to qualities not uncommon in themselves, but rare in combination. His judgment was cool and deliberate; but, his judgment satisfied, he brought to the execution of his plans opti- mism and courage as radical in their way as the preliminary planning was conservative. He had faith in those with whom he was associated, many of them being of his own selection. And there grew up around him a group of young men who looked to him for the hopeful stimulus that springs from buoyant faith. A self-reliant man, he relied on others to do their part, and made them feel his confidence and appreciation. At once just and sympa- thetic, he interested himself in all those whose concerns touched him. He was never so busy as to lack time to listen and to advise.
Mr. Chase also enjoyed, what many business men of his great responsi- bilities lack, a taste for literature and art. A home-keeping man, he gave much of his time to his library, and was a steady and discriminating reader of the best books. He loved beauty in form and color, and when at Madrid just before his untimely death, at Paris, June 7, 1896, he by instinct chose without guidance the first masterpieces of the Prado. He was no less a lover of nature. Few men have brought into their maturer years so keen and affectionate a memory of the country life of their boyhood. It was the great pleasure of his hours of relaxation to cultivate and beautify the Rose Hill estate where he lived with his family during his later years. As a citizen Mr. Chase was public-spirited, interested in all matters of local concern, helpful and generous, accepting the responsibilities of his position, sensitive for the reputation and welfare of the community, and responsive to the claims of society upon his duty, charity and neighborly kindness.
On September 7, 1854, Mr. Chase married Martha Clark Starkweather, daughter of Dr. Rodney Starkweather, of Chesterfield, Massachusetts. Six children were born to them, three sons and three daughters. Mrs. Chase survived her husband for ten years, dying December 1, 1906. The six chil- dren are still living, and there are now in the family twenty-two grandchil- dren, of whom seven are boys and fifteen are girls.
The sons, all of whom are graduates of the academic department of Yale, have followed most successfully in the business career of their father. Henry Sabin Chase, the eldest, and Frederick Starkweather Chase, the youngest of the three sons, are associated closely in the control and man-
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Augustus Sabin Chase
agement of the Chase Metal Works and its two allied plants. The other son, Irving Hall Chase, began his business career upon leaving college in 1880, with the Waterbury Clock Company, of which he is now the president and treasurer, and in whose ownership his father was largely interested, and on whose directorate he served for more than twenty years. Of the daughters, Helen E. Chase is the eldest. Mary Eliza Chase, the second daughter, is the wife of Arthur Reed Kimball, a resident of Waterbury, and the business manager of the "Waterbury American," in which Mr. Chase was so largely interested. The third daughter, Alice M. Chase, married Dr. Edward C. Streeter, and they are residents of Boston.
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