USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > Waterbury > The town and city of Waterbury, Connecticut, from the aboriginal period to the year eighteen hundred and ninety-five. Volume II > Part 19
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During a portion of the following year Mr. Curtiss taught school, but in 1852 became a clerk in the Waterbury post-office, under David S. Law. He became teller in the Citizens' bank in 1853, assistant cashier in 1864, and cashier in 1868, which position he still holds.
Mr. Curtiss was one of the founders of the Waterbury club, and its treasurer for eleven years. He is a member of the Episcopal church, and the treasurer of St. John's parish, also the president of the Matthews & Willard Manufacturing company.
On September 28, 1858, Mr. Curtiss married Mary Louise, daugh- ter of Richard and Jerusha Hine. Their children are Henry, Howard, and Edith Louise.
ASAPH HODGES.
Asaph Hodges, son of Edward Hodges, Mus. Doc., and Margaret (Robertson) Hodges, was born in Bristol, England, August 30, 1835. While he was but a child, his father came to America to serve as organist in Trinity church, New York-a position which he filled for twenty-five years. In 1845, the son joined his father in this country, and was educated in the Columbia college grammar school. He was connected with S. Williston & Co., in New York for a year, then spent two years in Seymour, where he held a position with John P. Humaston & Co. After this he was a telegraph operator in New Haven under Elisha Wilson, until 1855, when he came to Waterbury to fill a similar position in the telegraph office here. In the following year he became book-keeper in the Citizens' bank, which position he still holds.
Mr. Hodges married Sarah Maria Prindle of Newtown, in 1861. They have seven children.
INSURANCE IN WATERBURY.
In John W. Smith's private office in Masonic Temple may be seen, framed and hung, the original of what was probably the first
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fire insurance policy written by a local Waterbury agent .* It is a policy of the Ætna Insurance company of Hartford, and is "No. I" of the Waterbury agency of William R. Hitchcock. It was issued March 27, 1841, to George Warner, administrator of the estate of John G. Duryea, deceased, insuring (for a premium of three dollars, for six months) the sum of $200 on a "wood building and fixtures belonging to said estate, situate near Messrs. Scovill's manufactory in Waterbury, occupied by Mr. Austin Steele for the manufacture of aqua fortis and other acids."
After Mr. Hitchcock's death Lucius P. Bryan succeeded him as agent of the Ætna company. He had held the position but a short time when the company withdrew from Waterbury, and gave the agency to Curtis L. North of Meriden, who for some time did the bulk of the Waterbury business. In 1853, Samuel W. Hall and John W. Smith, under the name of Hall & Smith, were appointed agents for the Ætna and many other companies. Mr. Hall retired from the firm on January 1, 1863, and the business was continued by J. W. Smith until January 1, 1878, when he associated with him Edward T. Root, who had been in his employ since January, 1859, under the firm name of Smith & Root, which firm continue to be the leading fire insurance agency of Waterbury.
As early as 1844, Nelson Hall was local agent for the Protection company of Hartford and the Mutual Security company of New Haven. Wales B. Lounsbury was an active insurance agent as early as 1852. Hall & Smith succeeded him in fire insurance, and Nelson J. Welton in life insurance. Mr. Welton began in 1852, and has continued to give attention to insurance amidst his other mani- fold duties from 1853 to the present time. His brother, Franklin L. Welton, was associated with him in fire insurance from 1873 until his death in 1886. He was agent also of the Equitable Life Assur- ance society during this period. Anson F. Abbott took up fire insurance as incidental to his other business in 1856, and is still an agent. He was agent of the Mutual Life Insurance company from 1857 to 1866, when he was succeeded by H. F. Bassett. From 1873 to 1881 his brother Charles S. Abbott was associated with him, and the business was conducted under the name of C. S. Abbott & Co. From 1886 to 1891, Frederick C. Abbott being a partner, the firm name was A. F. Abbott & Son,-insurance being incidental to their real estate business.
* This statement must, however, be limited to policies signed in blank, and placed in the agent's hands to be filled. Austin Steele was for many years local agent for the Ætna company before this time, and I have before me an application in the handwriting of John Kingsbury, presumably acting as local agent, for insurance on the property of the Waterbury Woolen company in 1812 .- F. J. K.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
In 1874-twenty years ago-the only fire insurance agents in Waterbury were those already referred to: J. W. Smith, the Messrs. Welton, and C. S. Abbott & Co. In 1876 W. C. Atwater of Derby opened a fire insurance office here, and Guernsey S. Parsons becoming interested with him in the business, the firm of G. S. Parsons & Co. was established. In February, 1873, John G. Jones opened an agency for life insurance, and other kinds were soon added. George E. Judd turned his attention to fire insurance in 1880, and C. H. Bronson opened an office for all kinds in 1884.
At that time there were twelve insurance agencies. In April, 1894, the whole number, including sub-agencies, was twenty-nine, eleven of which were devoted exclusively to fire insurance, ten exclusively to life insurance, and the others to the several different kinds. Besides the agencies referred to, there are individual agents who represent life insurance companies, and do a considerable busi- ness in their behalf; while on the other hand, a number of the agents included among those above-mentioned are largely engaged in other kinds of business and make insurance incidental thereto. It is an interesting fact that J. W. Smith, N. J. Welton and A. F. Abbott, who may be regarded as the pioneer insurance agents of Waterbury, are still writing policies, and with as steady a pen as ever, after the lapse of forty years.
THE CONNECTICUT INDEMNITY ASSOCIATION.
As we have seen, there are a dozen or more life insurance companies represented in the city whose headquarters are outside of the city and the state. There is one company, however, which belongs to Waterbury in a special manner, having originated here, and having been always under the control of Waterbury men. It accordingly calls for special recognition in our history.
The Connecticut Indemnity association was organized October 30, 1883, as "a voluntary life, health and accident association," by Victory L. Sawyer, Frederick M. Cannon, M. D., John S. Purdy and John H. Guernsey. In the by-laws it was provided that the organ- ization should have its principal office in Waterbury, and that the management should be under the direction of from five to ten trus- tees who should be members of the company. In the original scheme, no policy was to be issued which would guarantee more than $200 in the event of death, or more than $20 a week in case of sick- ness or accident.
The first executive committee consisted of V. L. Sawyer, presi- dent, J. S. Purdy, secretary, and J. H. Guernsey. The first quar-
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terly statement, made on February 4, 1884, showed that the whole number of applications thus far written was thirty-one, that the amount of cash received from all sources was $185.98, and that the disbursements were $180.89, leaving a balance of $5.09. Over against this may be placed the statement for the quarter ending August 1, 1894 :
Receipts,
60,182.08
Disbursements,
23,342.94
Balance of cash on hand, 70,571.16
Total assets,
274,358.23
Net surplus,
261,608.23
On June 6, 1884, the association increased the number of its trus- tees and began to issue policies whose maximum amount was $2000. On November 3, the first annual meeting was held, and the follow- ing officers were elected :
President, V. L. Sawyer,
Vice-president, Eneas Smith.
Secretary, E. A. Wright.
Treasurer, J. H. Guernsey.
Medical director, F. M. Cannon, M. D.
Superintendent of agencies, J. H. Guernsey.
Executive Committee, Irving H. Coe, C. H. Bronson, William Shannon (in addition to the president and secretary).
Up to this time the funds for carrying on the business had been provided by contributions from the managers, and the association had acted independently of the Insurance department. But on May 4, 1885, action was taken looking toward organizing the associ- ation as a joint-stock company. In January, 1877, application was made to the legislature for a charter; the charter was granted, and was accepted by the association on April 14. It provided for a maximum capital of $250,000, one-fifth of which was required to be paid in (to be held intact for the exclusive benefit of policy holders) before the company could commence business. The asso- ciation had little difficulty in securing the required capital, and from this time onward its growth and prosperity became marked. Four years later (December, 1890), having meantime taken its place among life insurance companies as a progressive and popu- lar institution, it applied to the legislature for permission to increase its capital stock to $500,000. The application met with vigorous opposition before the legislative committee, but was granted by a vote almost unanimous in both houses of the legis- lature.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
At the annual meeting of the stockholders on January 16, 1894, the following officers and directors were elected, all of whom had previously been in some way identified with the company:
President, Lewis A. Platt.
Vice-presidents, Henry L. Wade, J. H. Guernsey.
Secretary, Colonel J. B. Doherty.
General Treasurer, H. W. Lake.
Treasurer of reserve funds, A. M. Blakesley.
Medical director, T. L. Axtelle, M. D.
Board of Directors, L. A. Platt, H. L. Wade, J. B. Doherty, V. L. Sawyer, H. W. Lake, E. A. Judd, A. M. Blakesley, D. E. Sprague, F. B. Rice.
In April, Messrs. Sawyer and Guernsey made a contract with the company as general managers of its agency department.
The first office of the Connecticut Indemnity association was at No. 4 Irving block, from which it removed, in July, 1884, to rooms 4 and 5 in Commer- cial block. In 1893 its headquarters became established in a suite of rooms on the sec- ond floor of the Platt block on East Main street.
· ASSOCIATION ..
+INDEMNITY It combines the reliable CONNECTICUT factors of the legal-reserve system of the "old line " LA GUERNSEY companies and the assess- ment system of the co-ope- rative companies, avoiding excessive accumulation of assets on the one hand and the uncertainties of volun- tary contributions on the other. All assets of the company, including its capital stock, are by the THE PLATT BLOCK. OFFICE OF THE CONNECTICUT INDEMNITY ASSOCIATION. terms of its charter, made liable to its policy holders for the payment of its policy contracts. Premiums are based on the experience of the legal reserve companies, with a reasonable loading for accumulation-the accumulations belonging to policy holders and being returned to them equitably,
The organization occupies a field that is in some respects dis- tinctive.
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BANKING AND INSURANCE.
in case of their withdrawal, in cash or paid-up insurance. The association thus offers the advantages of both the mutual and the stock companies-mutuality being guaranteed by a division of the profits among the policy holders, and security by the amplitude of the capital stock.
The association has a membership (1894) of about 5000 policy holders, with insurance in force of more than six million dollars. It has identified with it as stockholders some of the strong finan- cial men of Waterbury.
STEAM BOILER INSURANCE.
In 1885 the users of steam in Waterbury, believing that the cost of insurance on steam boilers was too high, took measures for establishing a local company for boiler insurance on a "mutual " basis. The men who were active in the movement from the first were Joseph B. Spencer and Frederick H. La Forge. Articles of association were drawn up in June, 1886, establishing the Connecti- cut Mutual Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance company, and were signed by twenty-seven persons, all but six of whom were Waterbury men, and the others residents in the Naugatuck valley. The company was organized as a self-perpetuating body-no annual meeting to be legal unless a majority of the signers, or of their duly · appointed successors, were present. The object of the company was expressed in the "articles" as follows: "For the purpose of insuring against all loss and damage to property arising from explosions in the use of steam boilers, including injury to persons thereby."
The first officers-elected June 12, 1886-were as follows:
President, David S. Plume.
Vice-president, Henry L. Wade.
Treasurer, J. Richard Smith.
Secretary, Joseph B. Spencer.
Chief inspector, Frederick H. La Forge.
Business was begun on September 7, following; a charter was granted by the General Assembly on March 31, 1887. The clerical work was done by Mr. Spencer; the inspection of boilers by Mr. La Forge.
On the death of Mr. Spencer, in 1889, Cassimir H. Bronson was appointed to succeed him. Mr. Bronson introduced the rule that not less than five per cent of the gross premium receipts should be placed to surplus account as an emergency fund. By July 1, 1894, this fund had amounted to $3000. At that date the company had insurance on 254 boilers, and was doing business in most of the
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
cities and towns of the state. In the meantime the cost of insur ance had been reduced from $100 on ten thousand to $25.50. The company being organized upon a mutual basis, all the stockholders share the profits and losses equally. But up to July, 1894, no losses had been met with.
The following officers were elected July 1, 1894:
President, Henry L. Wade.
Vice-president, Arthur C. Northrop.
Treasurer, J. Richard Smith.
Secretary, Cassimir H. Bronson.
Chief inspector, Frederick H. La Forge.
The list of presidents is as follows:
D. S. Plume, H. L. Wade, July, 1887 to June, 1891 July, 1891 to June, 1894
June, 1886 to June, 1887
D. B. Hamilton,
H. L. Wade, since July, 1894
Mr. Spencer was secretary from the organization of the company until his death. Mr. Bronson has been secretary since June 17, 1889. Mr. J. Richard Smith has been treasurer and Mr. La Forge chief inspector from the beginning. Mr. La Forge at the time of . the organization of the company had been a state inspector of steam boilers for sixteen years, and still holds that office.
BOARD OF FIRE UNDERWRITERS.
A Board of Fire Underwriters of the town of Waterbury was organized September 1, 1869. After a few years it was discon- tinued, and a new board was organized October 8, 1883. It con- sisted of the "insurance companies and agents of insurance com- panies in Waterbury and its vicinity," associated under the juris- diction of the New England Insurance exchange. Meetings are held monthly. The function of the board is to pass upon rates of insurance, and report to the exchange at Boston. The officers elected in 1883 were as follows:
President, J. W. Smith. Vice-president, J. G. Jones. Secretary, F. L. Welton. Treasurer, G. E. Judd.
Mr. Smith is still president, and Mr. Judd treasurer. N. J. Welton is vice-president and E. T. Root secretary. At the present time (1894), there are fourteen agencies connected with the board.
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BANKING AND INSURANCE.
J. W. SMITH.
John Woodbridge Smith, son of John and Sophia (Dickinson) Smith, was born in Hatfield, Mass., June 29, 1826. The family to which he belongs has been noted in Massachusetts for its contribu- tions to charitable enterprises. Mr. Smith's great uncle, Oliver, founded the famous "Smith Charities," a fund from which loans were made, in the earlier days, to persons who were "bound out." Millions of dollars have been dispensed in this way. Sophia Smith, a niece of Oliver, and a cousin of Mr. Smith's father, was the founder of Smith College.
He entered Williston Seminary, Easthampton, Mass., on the day it was opened, and pursued his studies there, although no regular course of instruction had yet been established. In 1845 he came to Waterbury, and became a clerk in the establishment of J. M. L. & W. H. Scovill. In 1853 S. W. Hall, who had been the manager at the Scovill's store, opened a Fire Insurance agency and invited Mr. Smith to form a partnership with him, under the firm-name of Hall & Smith. In 1863 Mr. Hall retired from the business, and Mr. Smith conducted it alone until 1878, when the firm became Smith & Root. Since 1853, Mr. Smith and his partners have paid losses by fire amounting to $2,000,000.
On April 23, 1849, Mr. Smith married Sarah M. Hickok, daughter of Alanson and Amelia Hickok, of Waterbury. She died January 27, 1877, leaving one son, Charles Howard (of whom further notice may be found in the chapter on music). On May 11, 1878, he mar- ried Matilda, daughter of Azel D. and Matilda Matthews, of Brook- lyn, N. Y.
Mr. Smith was connected with St. John's church, and was the clerk of the parish until the establishment of Trinity parish. He has been a warden of Trinity since its organization, and has been senior warden since 1888. He has filled gratuitously the position of first bass in the choir of St. John's and afterwards in that of Trinity during forty years.
He is a prominent member of the Order of Odd Fellows, and has filled the various chairs in Nosahogan lodge and in Ansantawae encampment. In 1872 he withdrew from Nosahogan to assist in organizing the Townsend lodge. He has been Master of the Grand lodge of Connecticut, and Grand Patriarch of the Grand encamp- ment, also for ten years past Grand Treasurer of both the Grand lodge and the Grand encampment of Connecticut, which offices he still holds. In 1878 he was Grand Marshal of the Grand lodge of the United States.
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
F. L. WELTON.
Franklin Lyman Welton was born in Waterbury December 1I, 1827. He was a brother of Nelson J. Welton, and for some years was employed in his office. He afterward turned his attention to the insurance business, and continued in it until his death. He was at one time town clerk and at another first selectman. He was prominent in the Masonic order, being a member of Harmony lodge, No. 42, and was also a member of Nosahogan lodge of Odd Fellows. He belonged to the Episcopal church and was connected with the choir at St. John's for over forty years.
Mr. Welton died November 2, 1886. He was twice married, and left two sons, Frank R., the son of his first wife, and George L., the son of his second wife, who survives him.
EDWARD T. ROOT.
Edward Taylor Root, son of George and Temperance Root, was born in Waterbury, February 12, 1840. He was educated at the Waterbury High school. In 1856, while Elisha Leavenworth was postmaster, he became a clerk in the post office. In 1859 he entered the insurance office of Hall & Smith, and has continued with J. W. Smith until the present time.
In August, 1862, he enlisted in the Twenty-third Connecticut Volunteers (Company A), and served for one year in Louisiana, under General Banks. During his absence his place in Mr. Smith's office was filled by Elbridge G. Snow, now a vice-president of the Home Insurance company of New York.
Mr. Root has been town assessor and has served in the Common Council for two terms. In January, 1887, he was elected to the legislature by the Republican party.
On June 3, 1868, he married Julia M. Rogers. She died April 6, 1886, leaving one son, Frederick H., who was born August 9, 1869. On May 12, 1888, Mr. Root married Caroline M., daughter of Amos S. Blake.
CHAPTER XIII.
WATERBURY WHILE STILL AGRICULTURAL-DOMESTIC SERVICE - HARD WORK, LONG HOURS-THE FOOD SUPPLY - THE MEAT WAGON OF THE OLD-TIME BUTCHER -CEREALS AND FRUITS - APPLE SAUCE AND CIDER-ICE HOUSES AND OVENS-CLOTHING AND TAILORS- SHOEMAKERS AND HATTERS-PRIMITIVE HAIR-CUTTING AND THE FIRST BARBER-CARPET MAKING, CABINET MAKING, CARRIAGE MAKING -EDUCATION AND SOCIAL STANDING-REPRESENTATIVE MEN.
W HILE certain general needs of the community have been supplied, for some years past, by corporate organizations brought into being for that purpose (either within the municipal government or outside of it), others of equal importance have continued to be met, as formerly, in an unorganized way. The food and drink supply and the various other necessaries of life are furnished not by corporations but by independent manu- facturers and dealers. These miscellaneous industries involved in meeting the perpetual needs of the town and city have also their history, but for obvious reasons it is almost impossible to trace it. All that we can do is to give a picture, or rather a random sketch in outline, of the condition of things at an early date in the period before us, and to fill it in at one point and another with such details as we are able to recall or to discover.
Down to the end of the first quarter of the present century, or thereabout, Waterbury, like the rest of Connecticut, was substan- tially an agricultural community. Manufactures, although they had made some progress, employed little capital, and were on the whole of trivial consequence. The war of 1812, with the embargo and non-intercourse acts, had given a temporary stimulus to many branches of manufacture, and the educational value of these was very great; but the declaration of peace ruined most of them as economic undertakings, and the rallying was a slow and tedious process. The present Waterbury was not on the whole a good agri- cultural tract. Watertown, Plymouth and Middlebury were supe- rior to the old town, and Wolcott, Naugatuck, Prospect and Oxford were fully equal to it.
Few Waterbury families had more than one female servant, and in most cases the mistress, the maid and the daughter of the house labored together at whatever was to be done, all of them working
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HISTORY OF WATERBURY.
equally hard. There were social differences, strongly marked and well recognized, but the line was a sinuous one, and frequently the servant was of the same social station as the other members of the family. Usually all ate together, and in the kitchen. There were in every place a few women who were always called on for heavy and "extra" work, such as that connected with butchering and soap-making. They were experts; they received special wages, and by long experience learned to turn off a great deal of work. Soon after immigration from Ireland and Germany set in, Amer- ican families began to depend upon "the foreign element" for house servants. But there was no "intelligence office " in Water- bury until 1870 or 1871. During the period under consideration there were no boarding houses, properly so-called, yet many fami- lies had individuals boarding with them. This is true of families which afterward became prominent in the community.
The "colored man," after emancipation as well as before, played a not unimportant part in the domestic life of the people. Some of us remember Cæsar Rose, whose wife had the exceptionally fra- grant name of Violet Rose, and who was supposed by many to be the last of the freedmen of Waterbury. He died in the poor- house, at a good old age, and was buried, with some exceptional ceremonies, in the Grand street cemetery. Another negro, Philip Sampson, was noted for his size and strength. He weighed about 300 pounds, and the measure of his lifting power was said to be 1600 weight. He occasionally shouldered a barrel of flour and car- ried it home without assistance. He was general whitewasher for the community. Sampson came to Waterbury from Cheshire, in 1832 or in 1837, with a family which afterward became prominent in town. He had perhaps been a slave in Cheshire. He used to say of his master: "The boss and I married out of the same fam- ily. If I ever saw Rufus come to want"-referring to the son of the house-"I should take him right into my own home!" An emancipated slave who was the involuntary cause of much trouble in the village in 1824, was the negro woman who came here with the Rev. Daniel Crane, and became a servant in the family of John Clark. Misunderstandings in reference to this woman's services not only alienated the Clark family from the First church and its pastor, but resulted in Mr. Crane's dismissal.
Alike in summer and in winter the days for labor were long. In the winter the cattle at the barns were foddered long before day by the light of a lantern. The fires were kindled and the breakfast cooked by artificial light, so that with the first appearance of day- light the men could be off with the teams to their work in the
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woods or elsewhere. There they worked as long as they could see, bringing home their last loads after nightfall; and they put up and fed the stock before getting their own supper. Under such circum- stances, of course early bed-time was the rule. In the summer they were in the fields in many cases with the first light (from three to four o'clock), mowing the grass while it was yet damp. They came in for breakfast after an hour or two, and returned to open the hay- cocks of the previous day when the dew had dried off. Usually, however, it was only in haying and harvest that these very early hours prevailed, a five o'clock breakfast, when the sun set at half past seven, giving a fair amount of time for ordinary work. These very long days were broken by four or five meals, a light early breakfast being sometimes taken, a ten o'clock lunch being com- mon, and sometimes also another at five.
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