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TERCENTENARY
PICTORIAL AND HISTORY
of the LOWER NAUGATUCK VALLEY
Compiled by Leo T. Molloy
On the Occasion of the 300th Anniversary of the Settlement of Connecticut
Containing a History of Derby, Ansonia, Shelton and Seymour
A Chronicle of the Progress and Achievement of the Several Cities and Towns
PRESS OF THE EMERSON BROS., INC.
ANSONIA, CONNECTICUT
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Frank H. Gates
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Leo T. Molloy
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Henry M. Bradley, Jr.
Historian
A Brief History of Derby
By Henry M. Bradley, Jr.
FOR many years before the advent of the white man, a tribe of Indians said by Dr. Anderson to constitute a branch of the Algonquin family lived along the banks of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. On the east side were the Paugassetts (or Paugasucks as they called themselves) and on the western banks of the Housatonic were the Pootatucks, with a large Indian village located on the side of the present City of Shelton. By these Indians, the lower Housatonic was called the Pootatuck or "River of the Great Falls," and the Naugatuck was known as the Paugasuck, but an Indian village located in the present town of Seymour was called Nawcatock ("One Tree") and the name later became applied to the river. Probably the Indian occupation continued for a longer period than has that of the white men, but how few perma- nent memorials are left of the aboriginal settlers. Sometimes farmers plowing in the spring or chil- dren running through the woods will pick up flint or stone arrowheads, and there are two or three old stone mortars remaining with their hollowed basins, showing where the Indian women pounded their corn. But three localities in old Derby retain their original Indian names, Squantuck and Skokorat, in Seymour and Towantic in Oxford.
The great chief of these Indians when Con- necticut history begins was Ansantawae, "whose birch bark cabin beyond the Wepawaug received the homage of all the tribes around." His son, Towtanimow, was sachem of the Paugassetts, and another son, Okenuck, of the Pootatucks. Ansan- tawae, whose name appears on many of the early deeds, died at the Turkey Hill settlement about 1676. Members of the tribe lived at Turkey Hill until Civil War days and a final distribution of tribal funds was made to the Phillips or Moses heirs in 1910.
First White Men.
The first white men who penetrated the wil- derness seem to have been fur traders from New Haven, settled in 1638. As early as 1642, a trading post was established by Captain John Wakeman at Paugassett and, continued by Messrs. Good- year and Gilbert. Its existence caused a heated
exchange of letters between Governor Theophilus Eaton of the New Haven Colony, and the pep- pery William Kieft, governor of New Nether- lands, who claimed the territory for the Dutch and referred to the river as the "Mauritius."
Orcutt's "History of Derby," says that the first permanent settlers came in 1654. While hesitating to disagree with such an eminent au- thority, a careful study of the New Haven records leads to the opinion that 1651 is the correct date. Certainly, Thomas Langdon was a resident of Paugassett in February, 1652, when the incident of Parson Prudden's pigs occurred. He speaks of his "brother, Edward Wooster" (probably his brother-in-law). Wooster had applied to Milford for hopgrowing land in 1651 and had doubtless found it in the wilderness to the north.
Settlement.
By 1655, Edward Riggs had built a house on the top of Derby Hill surrounded by a palisade to protect it from the Indians. In this house, Goffe and Whalley, the regicides, sought refuge for a short time in 1661. Thomas Wheeler of Stratford had settled at the Point in 1657, and Francis French erected his house on the hill in 1661. Wooster had built to the northeast of the Colonial Cemetery and Langdon a little further up on the hill. These were the only houses between New Haven and the Massachusetts line.
Richard Baldwin of Milford, heading a com- pany from that town, began the purchase of land from the Indians in 1655. The Indians were very accommodating in this respect, selling the land for little or nothing as when Thomas Wheeler bought an island in the Pootatuck, lying south of his house on the Point for "two yards of cloth and two pairs of breeches." "Horse Hill" was purchased by Abel Gunn for "one blanket." Unfortunately, the Indians did not hesitate to sell the same property to a second or third pur- chaser, and as a result of these duplicate deeds, much confusion ensued, and in some cases, the [ndians were required to give bonds not to molest the possessors, their ideas of property rights being extremely hazy. Baldwin applied to the General Court in 1655 to have Paugassett made a separate plantation, but vigorous opposition
10
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
from Pastor Prudderi and other Milfordites, and from certain New Haven magistrates, who were evidently prejudiced against Langdon, caused the failure of the petition.
Edward Wooster.
In 1659, Wooster asked the General Court where he should look for bounty money for seven wolves he had killed, whether to New Haven or Milford. The court failed to answer the query, but advised his removal and that of all other families living in Paugassett, to a settled village. With the union of the Connecticut and New Haven colonies in 1664, more encourage- ment was given to the little community. Edward Wooster became its first official, being appointed constable by the General Court in 1669. In the meantime Abel Gunn had come to Derby and started its book of land records in January, 1666, while Langdon and Wheeler had departed, their lands being purchased by Alexander Bryan, the great Milford merchant, who also bought the rights of Richard Baldwin, the Milford promoter of Paugassett.
The lot of the early settlers was not an easy one. Living in the wilderness, ten miles from a settled habitation, surrounded by vast forests, and with the none too friendly Indians as neigh- bors, their position was very insecure. The woods were full of wolves, foxes, bears, wildcats, deer and wild turkey and other game while the brooks
I III. FIRS'I .1EETING-HOUSE IN DERBY, ERECTED IN J 68 2.
and rivers abounded with fish. On the Sabbath the settlers attended church in Milford. The Sunday laws of the Colony were so strict that they practically prohibited any mode of travel- ing on the Sabbath, except walking, and the twenty mile "hike" to Milford, through Indian trails or paths, was strenuous even for the hardy pioneers.
1675 — A Plantation.
In 1671 they called a minister, Rev. John Bowers. Through Mr. Bowers, Derby has a link with Plymouth Rock, for he spent his boyhood days in the famous town of the Pilgrims and after his graduation from Harvard in 1649 returned as town schoolmaster, removing to New Haven in 1652. The town built Mr. Bowers a parsonage in 1673, and on May 13, 1675, legal requirements having been met, the inhabitants, through Joseph Hawkins and John Hulls, petitioned Governor Winthrop and the General Court at Hartford for the privileges of a plantation. The request was granted and Paugassett, with boundaries stretching from Milford and New Haven on. the south to Woodbury and the "new town going up at Mattituck (Waterbury)," on the north, and comprising all of the present towns of Derby, Ansonia and Seymour, the greater part of Oxford and Beacon Falls, was admitted as a separate township under the name of Derby. It is said that part of the inhabitants came from Derby- shire in England. Twelve families were in Derby, and eleven more were preparing to settle here.
The Old First Church.
The pioneers were all of the Puritan faith, and in 1677 a church was formally organized, followed five years later by the erection of the first church edifice at Squabble Hole. This or- ganization has existed for more than two centuries and a half — the old First Congregational Church of Derby.
Scarcely had the accept- ance of the town taken place when in 1675 King Phillip's War broke out
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
11
and Mr. Bowers and others of the pioneers spent the winter in Milford, with two from Der- by, Ebenezer Johnson and Dr. John Hulls, tak- ing an active part in the struggle with the Indi- ans. This war delayed the formal organization of town and church. The first "townsmen" or se- lectmen were Samuel Riggs, son of the settler ; Ebenezer Johnson and John Hulls, chosen in 1677, while Jeremiah Johnson was constable. Abel Gunn, who had kept the Paugassett records for a decade or more, now became "sworn towne clarke" according to his own peculiar spelling. Two Derby men, Philip Denman and Daniel Collins, crossed the river in 1677 or 1678 and tried to settle in Shelton, but were unceremoni- ously ejected by the indignant Stratfordites. Probably as consolation Derby granted them estates in Rimmon (Seymour).
The Colonial Cemetery.
Derby was exempt from taxes for ten years and, as a result, her first representatives to the General Court were not selected until 1685. They
other ministers of the First Congregational Church, the combined terms of the four aggre- gating one hundred and twenty years, are buried in this ancient city of the dead, whose official name is the "Old Derby Uptown Burying Ground," but commonly and appropriately known as the Colonial Cemetery. Between the dates on the earliest and latest stones is a stretch of two hundred forty-one years, and beneath its soil lie representatives of many famous fami- lies : pioneers and founders of the town ; traders and sea captains of the romantic era when Derby ships sailed to all parts of the globe, as well as veterans of the Indian insurrections, the French and Indian Wars, the Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War of 1861.
Derby's first regular physician, John Durand, came to town about 1690 and remained until his death nearly forty years later, living in Edward Wooster's house for a while and then in Brownie Castle on Derby Hill. This house, built in 1686, by Samuel Bowers, the minister's son, is probably the oldest in town.
The French and Indian War of 1689 saw
BROWNIE CASTLE
were Ebenezer Johnson, who had been elected captain of Derby's first militia company and its first justice of the peace, and Abel Gunn. John- son was elected to the legislature no less than forty-six times. One of the town's early acts was to provide for a community cemetery, which still stands today, the best preserved memorial of the pioneers. The oldest stone remaining is that of Rev. John Bowers. The former Plymouth schoolmaster died on June 14, 1687, two years before Edward Wooster, the "Wolfkiller." Three
Derby represented. Captain Johnson, who possessed the greatest influence of any man in Connecticut with the Indian tribes, raised a company from New Haven and Fairfield counties of forty whites and sixty Indians. A few years later the captain received heavy grants of land from both the state and town, and was enabled to give his sons large estates in Seymour, Oxford and Beacon Falls. Toby, a Pequot Indian, and a freed slave of Johnson, also willed his large properties to Johnson's sons.
12
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
1701.
The year 1701 saw Derby rapidly increasing in population and appointing its first town treasurer, John Fringle, who was directed to receive wheat, rye, Indian corn and flax at vary- ing rates upon the pound, everything being figured upon a cereal basis. ' Captain Johnson was colonel of the Connecti- cut Regiment that went to the Canadian coast provinces in 1710-1712, and when a new church was erected in 1720, "the most worshipful Colonel Johnson/' as he was termed in the town records, had built for him a special seat by the side of the pulpit where he sat alone in solitary splendor while most of the congregation were seated in the pews according to their standing in the town tax list. Colonel Johnson lived in Sodom Lane and, one historian says, "conducted nearly all of the town business for nearly forty years." He died in 1726 and his grave may still be seen in the Colonial Cemetery. The last descendant of his Indian proteges, residing in Derby, was Elizabeth Moses (or Philips) who died early in the present century.
Derby received from the 1704 and 1720 Gen- eral Court, a special patent, giving it the position of a chartered town.
Episcopal Church.
Congregational parsonage. To this new parish came a young rector named Richard Mansfield, who for a period of seventy-two years, from 1748 to 1720, remained the shepherd of the Episco- palian flock, the longest pastorate of any denom- ination in Connecticut.
David Wooster.
The Commons at Meeting House Hall, uptown, had become the center of the town with churches and graveyards nearby, and here in 1728 the first school building was erected. The French and Indian Wars continued with brief intervals of rest until 1763. Derby furnished many soldiers for these campaigns and some found their last resting place on the battlefields of Canada. One Derby boy, born in Shelton, attained much distinction. This was David Wooster, a grandson of the "Wolfkiller." David was graduated from Yale, married Mary Clapp, the president's daughter, entered the king's service in 1738, was sent in charge of prisoners to England, was received by the king and made by him a captain for life in the regular army, became colonel of the Connecticut regiment, and commanded a brigade in the final conflict. With the menace of the frontiers removed, the Colo- nials began to complain of the taxes and exactions
After the death of the illustrious Colonal Johnson, Captain Joseph Hull, Sr., John Riggs, father of Lady Humphreys, and Samuel Bassett of Great Hill were for many years the most in- fluential citizens in town, but another vigorous leader was Captain John Hol- brook, son of the old Puri- ton deacon, Abel Holbrook, last survivor of the pio- neers. Captain Holbrook was instrumental in the first religious division in the town when an Episco- pal (Church of England) congregation was organized in 1737, giving land for both the church and the new graveyard on Elm Street, directly opposite the
Mill. SECOND MEETING-HOUSE IN DERBY, ERE<
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
13
imposed by the British government and the result was the American Revolution.
When the first gun was fired at Lexington in 1775, a large majority of Derby's citizens sided with the patriots and a company headed by Captain Nathaniel Johnson hastened to their relief. Several took part in the battle of Bunker Hill as did Jabez Thompson, major of the First Connecticut Regiment, which contained another company of Derby men. David Wooster was made a brigadier-general by Congress in 1775, and as a major-general of Connecticut troops, fell mortally wounded in the defense of Danbury two years later. A large quantity of stores and provisions stored in the old custom house on the Point attracted the attention of Tory spies in the spring of 1777, but the British expedition to seize them failed because of the historic ride from New Haven of bluff old Captain John Tomlinson, one of the "Wolfkiller's" numerous descendants, and the resulting removal of the supplies to a place of safety in Pork Hollow by the families of the patriots.
The third anniversary of the Declaration of Independence saw a British force descend by sea upon New Haven while bonfires were lighted on the hills and messengers were dispatchd to sum- mon the patriots to the rescue. The fourth "watch and alarm" company of the Second Regi- ment was stationed at Derby. Daniel Holbrook, Jr., a deacon of the First Church, was captain, and Joseph Riggs, lieutenant. Another company, headed by Nathan Pierson, seems also to have hastened to the scene of conflict ; and, doubtless, many others went on their own account, boys of twelve and old men of 75 being included in the motley array that faced the invaders. One of the Derbyites, a seventeen year old boy named Enos Bradley, fell in the skirmish at Allingtown.
French Army Comes.
On June 27, 1781, a French army of six hundred men under the Due de Lauzun left New Haven and encamped for the night on Sentinel Hill, some of the officers being entertained in Brownie Castle by Squire Beard. The next day they came down from the hills, and passing through the town, crossed the river to Ripton to take part a few months later in the final conflict at Yorktown.
The end of the war precipitated considerable changes in Derby. Rector Mansfield and many
of his congregation had been loyal to the king, and they found themselves in a most unpleasant position at first ; but time soon healed the scars and Dr. Mansfield was the first Episcopal min- ister to receive the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Yale College.
For over a hundred years the town and the First Congregational Church (despite the organi- zation of the Episcopal church and the new par- ishes in Oxford and Great Hill), had been one the Rev. Daniel Humphreys and all his con- gregation vigorously supporting the cause of the Colonies ; but at last town and church were separated.
Even before the Revolution, Derby had become a port of importance, and great captains and traders, Gracey, Clark, the Whitneys, Barthelme, Gorham, the Hulls and others had gone from Derby to the West Indies and all over the world. After the Revolution, her trade equalled that of New Haven and Derby Landing was known as "New Boston."
Gen. David Humphreys.
The Rev. Daniel Humphreys, pastor of the First Congregational Church for fifty years, and his distinguished wife, Sarah Riggs Humphreys, died within a few days of each other in 1787. One of (heir sons, Major Elijah Humphreys, married Anna, the daughter of Rector Mansfield, a most remarkable romance in those days. The youngest son, David Humphreys, was probably the most distinguished man born in Derby. His
14
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
birthplace, the home of Sarah Riggs Humphreys, still stands on Elm Street. Ansonia, opposite the Episcopal Cemetery. David was graduated from Yale just before the Revolution and espoused with ardor the patriotic cause, serving with the leading generals. As he says in one of his poems: "Death-daring Putnam, then immortal Greene, then the great Washington, my youth approved." Col. Humphreys served on Wash- ington's staff in the decisive conflict at York- town; was designated to receive the colors of the conquered English and German troops and to convey the official returns and the captured colors to the Continental Congress at Philadel- phia, bearing with him a letter from Washington, warmly commending him to the consideration of the government. He was commissioned a lieu- tenant-colonel and voted "an elegant sword in the name of the United States in Congress, assembled." This was publicly presented by Gen. Knox. Humphreys returned with Washington to Mount Vernon as the general's secretary and in 1784 accompanied Jefferson to Paris as secre- tary of legation. In 1786 he returned to Derby, was elected to the legislature and, at Hartford, became one of the famous group known as the "Hartford wits." Recalled by Washington to Mount Vernon, he remained with the first Presi- dent until after his inauguration, becoming, in 1791, our first minister to Portugal. Transferred in 1797 to be minister to Spain, he returned to Derby in 1802 and introduced the first merino
sheep into America. One hundred of these sheep were shipped from Spain and ninety-one with three shepherds landed at the Derby docks and were placed in an enclosure at Squabble Hole. Thousands of people flocked from all over the countryside to see them. Col. Humphreys tried to dispose of the flock judicially but a ruinous speculation soon commenced among the farmers, prices running into the thousands, and attracting countrywide attention. It was at this time the famous doggerel, "The Darby Ram," was written, composed, it is said, by a would-be wit in the then rival town of New Haven, and now incor- porated in many editions of "Mother Goose," and running as follows :
"As I was going to Darby, all on a market's day, I saw the biggest ram, sir, that ever fed on hay. That ram was fat behind, sir, that ram was fat before, That ram was ten yards round, sir, indeed it was no more ? The horns upon its head, sir, they were so very high, As I've been plainly told sir, they reached up to the sky. The tail upon its back, sir, was two rods and an ell, And it was sent to Darby to toll the market bell."
Up to a hundred years ago or less, Derby was almost invariably pronounced "Darby." Even the illustrious Washington, in his diary, spells it "Darby."
HUMPHREYSVILLE.
Soon after the introduction of the sheep, Colonel Humphreys purchased the fulling mills at Seymour and commenced the manufacture of broadcloth, President Jefferson wearing a suit
HULL-WHEELER HOUSE
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
15
made from these goods at his New Year's recep- tion in 1809. The colonel took much interest in the welfare of his employees and the village which had been successively Nawcatock, Rimmon and Chusetown (in honor of Joseph Chuse, Indian chieftain and Revolutionary scout) now became Humphreysville and remained so until 1850 when it became a separate town and received the name of Governor Seymour.
GEN. WILLIAM HULL
Oxford, a parish within the town from 1741 onwards, had separated from Derby in 1798 taking with her Beacon Falls territory ; and the turnpike to New Haven in 1797 and the rise of Stratfield (Bridgeport) about 1801, deflected much of the business and commerce from Derby. In 1807, the Derby Fishing Company, from which many imagined vast fortunes would result, was organized, and in 1809, the first Derby Bank came into existence occupying the red brick build- ing that stands on Bank street, facing Jennings' Lane. The War of 1812 brought disaster to these enterprises and ended Derby's dream of commer- cial supremacy. Although the bank reopened in 1824, it finally collapsed the following year, leaving much disaster in its wake.
War of 1812.
Upon the outbreak of the second war with England, Colonel Humphreys' patriotic ardor again bore fruit. He addressed with fervid oratory a gathering of Derby's citizens in the old Congregational Church on Academy Hill and a company was organized for active service with Robert Gates, later a colonel, as captain, and Attorney John L. Tomlinson, son of the hero of Pork Hollow, as first lieutenant. Col. Humphreys
again was sent to the legislature and appointed captain-general of the Connecticut troops.
Two other Derby men were quickly promi- nent, William Hull, born in Derby in 1750, had been a distinguished soldier in the Revolution and, after the war, was major-general of the Massachusetts militia. In 1805, President Jeffer- son had made him governor of Michigan. He was serving in that capacity when war was declared and he was appointed a brigadier-gen- eral. An ill-fated attack upon Canada was fol- lowed by Hull's surrender of Detroit. Great indignation was aroused ; Hull was tried by court- martial and sentenced to be shot but was par- doned by President Madison. Before Hull's death in 1825, he was able to vindicate himself, proving that he had been the victim of unwise orders from Washington.
Com. Isaac Hull.
Three days after Hull's surrender, his nephew, the great Commodore Isaac Hull, brought glory to the Hull name and undying fame to himself, when, in command of the famous ship "Constitu- tion" ("Old Ironsides"), he won from the "Guer- riere" the first of a series of naval victories thai characterized the second war with Great Britain. Isaac Hull was born in East Derby, May 9, 1773, and baptized by Rev. Humphreys on June r> of the same year. He moved with his parents to Ripton (Shell on) when eleven years of age; was a sailor with his father at 14; captain of his own ship at 21 ; one of the first lieutenants of the new
16
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
navy in 1 79S ; served on the Constitution in the French War of 1799 and against the Barbary pirates and Tripoli from 1S02 until 1806. His service in the War of 1S12 brought him the thanks of the nation and until his death at Phila- delphia in 1S43 he was a distinguished figure in naval affairs.
Shipbuilding.
One industry that still flourished even after the close of this disastrous conflict, was ship- building. The first shipbuilder in Derby was Thomas Wheeler, about 1660, and many followed in his footsteps. The last and most distinguished were the Hallock brothers, Zephaniah and Israel. After building a number of ships on the Hunt- ington shore and at Sugar street, they purchased, in 1824, Reuben Baldwin's peach and cider brandy distillery at Derby Landing. Being strong temperance men, they discontinued the distillery and for the next forty-four years engaged in shipbuilding, a total of fifty-two ships in all being launched at the Landing. The launchings were gala days for Derby and attended by thousands of people from miles around. The place is still known as the shipyard and, although more than half a century has passed since the last launching, not many years ago a little group of old men could sometimes be seen discussing bygone glories, and making the spectator recall the poem "The Old Shipyard" :
"In the days when the sea was old;
And the builders lithe and young, From timbers that gleamed like gold, This carpet of chips was flung.
"Here nestled the noble ships,
Frame, keel and towering spar, And where the horizon dips,
They sailed and vanished afar.
"The ships are ghosts of gray,
Or scattered on sea or shore, The old wharf wastes away,
And the axes ring no more.
"But the old men gather still
And talk in the shipyard tongue Of the past forever real
And the sea, forever young."
The last survivor of the shipyard workmen was Captain Austin P. Kirkham, who died a few years ago.
East Derby.
It is hard for the present generation to realize that for nearly two hundred years, East Derby was the center of all the town's activities.
North End, (the southern part of the present Ansonia), Uptown, the Narrows, the Landing, and the Hill — these were the important residential and business sections. King Hiram Lodge of
THE U. S. FRIGATE CONSTITUTION ("Old Ironsides")
Masons was organized in 1783 and met for years in Captain Gracey's house on the Landing, still standing. The first post office, April 1, 1798, was established at the Narrows, with Joel Atwater as postmaster ; the first fire company was organized in 1830 at Kinney's Tavern, with Robert Wilder Gates as captain, in front of which was the town's whipping post. Opposite was the famous Hull's Tavern, built in 1783 and kept for years by members of the Wheeler and Hull families.
Josiah Holbrook conducted the first known agricultural college on the Hill and planned the first lyceum, which in a few years, became a national institution. The wharves and docks extended almost without a break from Burtville to above the Naugatuck bridge. Town business was transacted on Meeting House Hill, where the church and, later, the first academy, were located. The first railroad station and the first telegraph office were also on the East Side.
Birmingham.
But a change was soon to take place. A young man named Sheldon Smith had gone from the Narrows to Newark, N. J., and made a fortune. He desired to do something for his native town, and believed the west side to be the ideal spot for a manufacturing center. On September 1, 1833, he commenced his great enterprise and shortly afterwards his brother, Fitch Smith, John Lewis, and the New York capitalist, Anson G. Phelps, became associated with him in the project.
The Naugatuck River was dammed and a new reservoir built above the town as well as a wharf
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
17
and a canal. Main Street, then called Second Street, was constructed and shops and residences planned. The new village was first called Smithville, but in 1836, the name was changed to Birmingham, as more dignified and appropri- ate. Smith and Lewis became involved in litiga-
SHELDON SMITH
tion and withdrew, but Phelps continued the work. In a little while, manufacturing interests conducted by young and energetic business men were attracted to the new village. In 1836, Colburn Brothers opened a shop which became the nucleus of the present Birmingham iron Foundry. The same year the Shelton Tack Com- pany, the Iron and Steel Works and Phelps' Copper Mill, later removed to Ansonia, began operations. Stores and business places sprang up like magic. The first Main Street stores were built in a sand bank and the first houses, on the present Caroline street, in an open field.
On December 24, 1846, Thomas M. Newsom commenced the publication of a newspaper called the "Derby Journal," which under different editors and various names including "Valley Messenger," "Weekly News," "Derby Tran- script," and "Daily News," continued for over half a century until 1902.
The first Methodist churel) was built in 1837 and to it was affixed the town (lock. St. James' parish deserted its old home on the river bank in Uptown, where it had been since 1797, and (in-
structed the present stone edifice in 1841. The Second Congregational Church followed in 1845. Earlier in the same year the first St. Mary's Church was erected. There had been Catholics, Captain Barthelme and Rev. Calvin White for example, in Derby for many years before but they now constituted a large proportion of the population. They formed a missionary congre- gation until 1851 when the Rev. James Lynch became the first pastor.
The Banks.
The Masons and Odd Fellows, the fire com- pany and various other organizations, joined the exodus from the East Side to the West Side. The year 1846 saw the organization of the Sav- ings Bank in the basement of St. James' Church, with Dr. John I. Howe, inventor and manufac- turer, as president. Three generations of Birdseyes have conducted this prosperous and popular institution. The Birmingham National Bank was organized in Crofut's Hotel in 1848, being at first known as the Manufacturers' Bank. This bank has had but four presidents in its history. Edward N. Shelton held the position for forty-six years and Charles H. Nettleton for thirty-three years, Henry F. Wanning and James B. Atwater following them more recently in that office. After Joseph Arnold, Charles E. and Frank M. Clark, father and son, served as cashier. The Naugatuck Railroad was completed in 1849, but because of the terrible freshets in the Housatonic, ran on the Derby side rather than to Birmingham. The New Haven-Derby Road did not come through until 1871, after the completion of the Housatonic dam. The railroad opened many new possibilities but was a crushing blow to ship traffic.
Ansonia.
Failure of Mr. Phelps to obtain needed land to extend Birmingham caused him, in 1843, to commence a new village on the East Side. This was named Ansonia, from the promoter's Chris- tian name, and many of the new manufacturing enterprises were attracted to the community. Birmingham became a borough in 1851, with the elder Thomas Wallace as its fust Warden. Ansonia, under I). \Y. Plumb, followed suit in 1864. Mr. Plumb attained greal prominence during his career, first in Birmingham, then in Ansonia and, finally, in Shelton. The Derby res- ervoir was hnill in 1859 on Sentinel Hill.
18
l'i Krr\ ri \ \r\ Tutorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
Col. Wm, B. Wooster.
The Civil War saw 542 of Derby's citizens in the Union Army, eighty-two of those in the First and Second Connecticut Regiments within three weeks after the first gun had been fired at Fort Sumter. Six rose to be colonels — Philo B. Buckingham. John L. Chatfield, Charles L. -Russell, who fell leading his regiment at Roanoke Island. February S, 1862; Ledyard Colburn, whose sword was returned to Connecticut from Louisiana during the last few years ; Elisha S. Kellogg, who was killed while leading the Second Heavy Artillery at Cold Harbor in 1864; and William B. Wooster. The last named, a descend- ant of the first settler, was on the Military Affairs Committee of the legislature at the opening of the war. He became colonel of the Twentieth Connec- ticut Infantry in 1862, was captured at Chancel- lorsville and confined in Libby Prison but was exchanged in time to lead his regiment at Gettys- burg. In 1864 he became colonel of the Twenty- Xinth Colored Regiment, and was made judge of the City of Richmond after its capture. In 1866 he was paymaster-general on the staff of Gov- ernor Hawley. Col. Wooster was, for over half a century, Derby's leading lawyer. He brought with him from the war, Lieut. Col. David Torrance, a native of Scotland, who became his law partner, was elected secretary of state in 1879, and eventually became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Connecticut in 1901, his death occurring in 1908, while he held that office. The Wooster office attained high judicial honors and the colonel exulted over the suc- cess of his "boys," as he always called them. Edwin B. Gager be- came a justice of the Supreme Court ; William H. Williams, after a long and eminent service as State's Attorney, became a judge of |Ki •*.«
the Superior Court and, finally, Alfred C. Baldwin was some years ago elevated to the Superior Court bench.
After the war the Ousatonic Wa- ter Company was organized with Edward X. Shelton as president and a third of a million capital. The Ousatonic dam was completed on October 10, 1870, with great re- joicing. Its immediate result was
the founding of a new manufacturing village on the Huntington side, known soon afterwards as Shelton, in honor of the man who had been the principal factor in the building of the great dam. In 1871 the Derby Gas Company, chartered in 1859, commenced operations. For over half a cen- tury Charles H. Nettleton was the moving spirit in this progressive concern, as well as in many other local enterprises. He also became the first warden of the Borough of Shelton upon its in- corporation in 1882. The Gas Company took up electric lighting as far back as 1885. The year 1886 saw the opening of the Derby Driving Park upon the Meadows, under the guiding hand of Robert O. Gates. In 1887 Col. H. Bolton Wood came to Derby and, after experimenting with boats to New York, constructed, to replace the old horse cars, the first electric railroad in New England which was completed in 1888 un- der the direction of James D. Kennedy. Col. Wood became the first president of the Board of Trade in 1889, and the first chairman of the city's Board of Education in 1894. After his re- moval from Derby, he and his wife gave to the community our present beautiful library build- ing in memory of their son, Harcourt Wood, who had died in Derby.
The Sterling Opera House, erected by the Borough of Birmingham as a combined borough building and theater, saw its first performance in April, 1889. The first play bore a prophetic title, "Drifting Apart," for within a month, Ansonia, long dissatisfied, secured a separation from Derby by act of the legislature.
FIRST TROLLEY CAR
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
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Diplomats.
It must not be forgotten, that in addition to General Humphreys, two other Derbyites have represented this country abroad. One, Henry S. Sanford, who entered the diplomatic service in 1846, was charge d'affaires at Paris, and was appointed by President Lincoln in 1861 as min- ister to Belgium, where he served for many years with great distinction. After his return to this country he became interested in Florida real estate and citrus fruit culture and the city of Sanford was named for him. The other was Ebenezer D. Bassett, a colored man, who received from President Grant the position of minister to Haiti for eight years. William Whitney, a Derby jeweler, also served as consul at Bermuda while Clara Louise Kellogg, the famous prima donna, and other people of note have been at one time or another residents of the town.
The City.
The legislature of 1893 made both Derby and Ansonia cities and in January, 1893, Dr. Thomas J. O'Sullivan, also the last warden of the old borough, became Derby's first mayor. This was not accomplished without violent protest from the East Side, which had not been under the borough government, and considered that it was brought in to help pay the borough debts. Soon after the consolidation, Birmingham began to be referred to as Derby; and the East Side, which had held the name Derby for 219 years, being known as "Easl Derby," felt much indignation,
particularly among the other residents of that section.
General Wheeler.
Upon the beginning of the Spanish War, a volunteer company was organized in Derby with Albert K. Kennedy, editor of the "Transcript," as captain. This company was not accepted by the state, although a number from Derby finally entered the service. No man gained greater dis- tinction in this war than Major General Joseph Wheeler, whose parents were from two of Derby's oldest families, the Wheelers and Hulls, and de- scendants of the Johnsons and Riggses. General Wheeler was born in Georgia, came to Derby when two or three years old, spent practically all his boyhood days at the old Hull house, still standing on Commerce Street, obtained his schooling at the old school on Gilbert Street and later at Post's Academy in East Derby and by a peculiar turn of fate, became the senior com- mander of the Confederate cavalry in the Civil War with the rank of lieutenant-general. After long service from an Alabama district in the United States Congress, he took command of the American cavalry divisions in the Santiago cam- paign. He had a prominent part in the suppres- sion of the Philippine insurrection. He died in Brooklyn in L906.
The events of the past quarter century are familial' to mosl of US. The erection of the Griffin Hospital, whose inception followed the generous gift of George Griffin, of Xewlown, and
I'l RCENTENARY PICTORIAL AND HlSTORY OF THE LOWER NaUGATUCK VALLEY
the departing of over half a thou- sand oi Derby's suns to the great World War. where many paid the supreme sacrifice, stand out most prominently in the record oi these later years.
After Dr. O'Sullivan, William C. Atwater. whose father, Henry Atwater, had been an early war- den of the Borough of Birming- ham : Charles S. Chaffee; Ed- ward J. Condon ; Dr. Albert W. Phillips, noted homoeopathic phy- sician ; George P. Sullivan, for six terms in all ; Benjamin Hubbell: Alfred F. Howe, a prominent newspa- perman; James B. Atwater, son of the second mayor ; James A. Miles ; Frank J. Conway, and William J. Riordan, served in the mayor's chair. Mayor Sullivan, the present chief executive, began his first term in 1903. Sidney E. Gesner, whom the Republicans nominated for first mayor of Derby, back in 1893, is still living.
Congressmen.
Derby has furnished three members of Con- gress: Samuel G. Andrews, John Wheeler and Patrick Brett O'Sullivan. Andrews was born here in 1790, removed to New York in 1816, held many offices, including that of mayor of Roches- ter, and served in Congress from 1857 to 1859, as a Republican. WAheeler, born in Derby in 1823, became a merchant in New York City, and was in Washington from 1853 to 1857 as a Democrat. O'Sullivan, son of Derby's first mayor, born in Derby, but now a resident of Orange, represented the fifth district from 1923 to 1925 and is at present a judge of the Superior Court. Julius Hotchkiss, once a resident of Derby, and cap- tain of the Hotchkiss Hose Company, was in Congress in 1863. Robert O. Gates was high sheriff of New Haven County from 1883 to 1891. Sir Albert Stanley, member of Lloyd George's cabinet, lived in Derby as a boy.
Other Notables.
Mention has been made of Clara Louise Kellogg, the prima donna. Another of note in the mu.-.ical world was Herbert Witherspoon, noted baritone, (and at the time of his demise manager of the Metropolitan Opera House), who also spent his childhood days in Derby, his father, Rev. Orlando Witherspoon, having been rector
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of St. James' Church. Joseph Webster, who wrote the "Sweet Bye and Bye," was a singing master and choir director in the town. Of literary characters there were: Miss Jane DeForest Shelton, who wrote the "Salt Box House," a noted story of Colonial Connecticut ; her sister, Miss Ada S. Shelton, who published a volume of poems ; as did John W. Storrs, poet, editor and photographer. Albert F. Sherwood wrote "Memories of Old Derby," while Dr. Ambrose Beardsley, beloved physician, collab- orated with Samuel Orcutt in the latter's "History of Derby." Edwin Hallock and John W. Osborne published various articles on the town's older days. Dr. Isaac Jennings, for whom Jennings' Lane was named, wrote a number of Medical books that had wide circulation because of their radical ideas. Rev. Hollis Read, one of the First Church pastors, was the author of several books on historical curiosities and on India. William A. Crofutt, a school teacher on the East Side, and editor of the "Valley Messen- ger," in his youth, was later noted as an author as well as director of the U. S. Geological Survey. The standard "History of Connecticut During the Civil War" is from his pen ; likewise "The Vanderbilts," "A Midsummer Lark," and many others. His "The Prophecy," was used as the opening ode at the Chicago World's Fair and Mark Twain once said his four-line poem on Henry Ward Beecher was the wittiest ever penned. Reverend N. H. Chamberlain, rector of St. James', wrote "The Autobiography of a New England Farmhouse," and "The Sphinx of Aubrey Parish," the scene of the latter being laid entirely in Derby and Shelton, with Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Clapham the hero and heroine. William Thompson Bacon, editor of "The Transcript,"
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
21
was a poet of distinction, while Francis Curtis, a native Derbyite, was editor of the "American Economist" and historian of the Republican Party. William Howe Downes, another native son, has won fame as an art critic and biogra- pher. Still another noted literary man who spent much of his youth in Derby was Richard Grant White, son of Richard Mansfield White and grandson of the Rev. Calvin White. He was America's leading Shakespearean scholar, editor of the "New York World," and incidentally fath- er of Stanford White, the great architect.
Dr. George Thatcher, a resident of Derby, in the forties, became president of the State Uni- versity of Iowa from 1871 to 1877. Alfred Holbrook, a native of Derby, was for a long period of years president of the National Normal School at Lebanon, Ohio. Among physicians, Dr. Durand, said to have been the introducer of the lilac into America ; Dr. Silas Baldwin, who served in French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars ; Dr. Josiah Canfield ; Dr. Edward Crafts, pioneer in vaccination ; Dr. Pearl Crafts ; Dr. Liberty Kimberley ; Dr. Ambrose Beardsley and his nephew, Dr. George L. Beardsley, the latter for many years school visitor ; Dr. Jennings, Dr. Martin Bull Bassett, Dr. George G. Shelton, who became a homoeopathic leader in New York ; Dr. Warren Beach, Dr. Thomas J. O'Sullivan, Dr. Thomas Albert Jefferson Bonaparte Dutton, Dr. Charles H. Pinney, long a leader in his profes- sion and father of Dr. Royal W. Pinney ; Dr. Albert W. Phillips, Dr. Robert J. Barry, first city health officer ; Dr. Louis D. LaBonte, Dr. Edward O'R. Maguire, Dr. Elmer T. Sharpe and Dr. Stephen F. Donovan are deserving of men- tion. Dr. Ralph B. Steele conducted a watercure establishment in East Derby from 1845 to 1847.
Lawyers.
Among lawyers, in addition to those previ- ously mentioned, James Beard, Ira L. Gufford, Col. John L. Tomlinson, head of the Old Derby Bank ; William E. Downes, long president of the Derby Savings Bank ; Daniel E. McMahon, Town Clerk, Corporation Counsel, Judge of Probate, delegate to the Constitutional Convention ; and Seabury B. Piatt, Samuel M. Gardner, Howard B. Peck, William Sidney Downs, William D. O'Connell, Edward A. Harriman, are still re- membered. William B. Hurd, born in Birming- ham, became a leader of the New York bar and county judge in Brooklyn. Hubert Bruce Fuller,
a Derbyite by birth, has long been a leader of the Cleveland (Ohio) bar, and Everett Smith, of Seattle, became a dry leader and judge of the Superior Court in the State of Washington.
Business Men.
Among the Derby business men, Charles Atwood was in the front rank of manufacturers and inventors, his hook and eye machine, pin making machine, steel pen and German silver devices brought him fame and fortune. John W. Osborne and his brother-in-law, George W. Cheeseman, were associated in many business enterprises, and also in the Methodist Church. The former's son, Wilbur F. Osborne, served with distinction as an officer in the Civil War and later founded the Union Fabric Company. Canfield Gillett, president of the Derby Fishing Company, and Leman Stone, who built the "Old Mill," were great merchants, engaged in the West Indian trade. Captain John Morris erected, just below the Derby docks, on the banks of the Housatonic, a stone factory for the preparing of pressed meats to be used in this trade. Captain Lewis Remer at Uptown had a shoe factory em- ploying fifty hands. Amos H. and Charles B. Ailing in the latter half of the last century, mov- ing from Orange to Derby, built up an enormous textile business. Charles Sterling, Rufus W. Blake and James R. Mason made the Sterling Piano business one of the most prominent of its kind in America. Henry Atwater and Abraham and William Hawkins conducted the Iron and Steel Works — a very large concern — while following the Colburns, Shelton Bassett and his sons, Royal M. and Theodore S. Bassett, and in later years, the Wannings, father and son, Henry F. and Francis D. Wanning, raised the Birmingham Iron Foundry to a commanding place in the metal world. David Bassett's business as car- ried on by his son, Robert N. Bassett, and more recently by Friend A. Russ, gave the R. N. Bassett Company a splendid position among metal specialty manufacturers. Thomas Elmes, Donald Judson, Dickerman M. Bassett and James R. Brinsmade were also rated among the prominent Connecticut manufacturers. The late Fergus Kelly, the Driggs-Seabury Company, manufacturers of nuns during the Spanish War, and J. Newtown Williams and Jerome B. Secor, typewriter inventors and manufacturers, all had their shops along the Housatonic, as did Joseph Willman and others in recent years.
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Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
The Sie-rlrai Pisrio Faciory, Derby, Coaa,
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East Derby Industry.
In East Derby, David Bradley and his son, Frederick N. Bradley; Agur Gilbert and his sons, William and Alfred ; DeWitt Lockwood and General Joseph Wheeler's father, all conducted their factories on Turkey Hill Brook. William C. Burlock and Clark N. Rogers, near Derby Landing where Peter Phelps, agent for his distin- guished uncle, had previously resided, built up a splendid business in the Derby Building and Lumber Company, known as the "steam mill." David Burt, who owned the land now known as Burtville, turned out axe helves and hoe handles on Xew Haven avenue. There were thirteen hoopskirt factories in Derby in 1865, including one in the present home of William Saunders. Major Thomas S. Gilbert, a Civil War veteran, engaged in this business, later turning to the manufacture of corsets, in the same line, with several competitors, including the Brewsters and Lyman L. Loomer. Valency A. Page was a comb manufacturer. Robert Wilder Gates was agent for various steamboat lines running from Derby. Herman Metzger established the brewery on Derby Avenue.
Among the merchants were Joseph Hawkins ; George Blakeman, who lived to be over a hun- dred, as did Hermann Hertz, a merchant of the seventies : Xathan C. Sanford, Col. Robert Gates, Sidney Downs, Henry Downes, Sheldon Canfield. the Birmingham pioneer; Grove Camp, Franklin Hallock, Hamilton Curtiss, George C. Allis, in active business over 70 years : Patrick McEner- ney, George H. Peck, who also conducted the Star Pin Company : Samuel Halper, Terence S.
Allis, James X. Wise, X. T. More, Morris R. Shield, Frank- lin D. Jackson, Henry Somers, Barney McDermott, Edwin Woo- ster, Simon Xovitzky, Merritt Clark and his son, Judge George B. Clark; Edward Lewis, John- son D. Dayton, Thomas Healey, Alexander Horbal, Michael S. Cuneo, Charles H. Coe, Patrick Gorman and his brother, Timo- thy; William B. Bristol, George H. Harding, John Peterson, Wil- liam S. Denslow, Andrew J. Haire, Michael Flaherty, Joseph Packard Swift, Geo. M. Spring, E. W. Peck, D. H. Kelly, Sam- uel H. Brush, J. H. Brewster, Wm. Rowan and many others are worthy of mention, including the late Charles R. Howard, who. with George E. Barber, present president of the Derby Savings Bank, established the firm of Howard & Barber. Benjamin Hodge, John Davis, David K. Crofutt and Oliver B. Sherwood were seed growers for large Xew York concerns : Henry M. Bradley was Derby's pioneer florist : and S. W. Wilcoxson, its original telegraph operator, while Walter X. Sperry was the telephone pioneer. Xicholas L. Biever and John Lombardi were the first to engage in the automobile business locally. George H. Scranton and E. J. Keeler conducted a bicycle shop in the eighties. Dr. Henry A. Xettleton and Dr. Benjamin F. Leach were among the early dentists. Stephen Whitney, a native of Derby, became one of Xew York"s merchant princes with ships, railroads and banks under his control. Derby has also produced an artist of note — William Oliver Stone. In other lines. Summers and Lewis, Colwell and Reilly and George C. Bedient, combined the undertaking with the furniture business, while Charles X. Downs in the Home Trust Company was interested in many local enterprises.
Racial Arrivals.
Of the more recent racial arrivals, the Par- latos. then the Madornos. Ferraros and Vaccaros were the first Italian families to come to Derby, over half a century ago. Today a very large proportion of Derby's population is of Italian birth or ancestry, and among them are many business and professional men. The same
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Xaugatuck Valley
23
is true of the Polish-Americans who built, in 1906, St. Michael's Church in East Derby. The Bauts were the pioneer Polish family. Denmark, Hungary, Rus- sia, Ukrainia, Sweden, Germany, Czechoslovakia, French Canada, Lithuania and Switzerland are all represented.
There have always been some Negroes in Derby, Quash Free- man and his son, Roswell, being numbered among the "black governors" of the Negroes of Connecticut. After the Civil War their number increased and they erected the Clinton A. M. E. Church on Derby Avenue, now a tenement.
Churches.
The Unitarian Church, at the junction of Seymour and Atwater Avenues, built in 1897, is now the Veterans' Memorial Home, while the Burtville Union Chapel, erected in 1878 at the junction of New Haven Avenue and Chapel Street, was removed upon the coming of the New Haven-Derby trolley in 1902 and became a dwelling house.
Hostelries.
As early as 1675, Ebenezer Johnson was licensed to keep a tavern on Sodom Lane. Abel Holbrook in 1704 and John Pringle in 1716 followed him. The "Mansion House" was erected in 1783 by the elder Joseph Wheeler and called Wheeler's Tavern." Later his widow married Com. Hull's father, Joseph, and in 1807 the building became "Hull's Tavern." The basement was added in 1871. William H. Johnson, Martin Bristol, Emory Hotchkiss and Herman and Frank Speh were among its later proprietors. Kinney's Tavern, kept by Capt. Ithiel Kin- ney, largely for sailors, was built about 1800. The year 1845 saw Preston P. Warner keeping "Warner's Tavern," near the covered bridge, and D. K. Crofut kept "Crofut's Hotel," now the Loomer Building on Main Street. The Globe Inn or Birmingham Hotel, the Bassett House, once the home of Sheldon Bassett ; the Union Hotel or Old Homestead on the East Side and the Hoffman House followed. The burning of the
THE OLD BASSETT HOUSE (The day after its destruction by Are)
Bassett House, which had been successfully con- ducted by William G. White, Wm. Kellogg and Wm. S. Crofutt, caused the erection of the Hotel Clark, named for Charles E. Clark, which for a number of years was managed by the late Chris- topher D. O'Brien. Also among the hostelries of former years was Mueller's Hotel on the East Side ; Holian's Inn, conducted by John T. Holian ; the Taylor House, and Denny's Inn (recently razed on Elizabeth Street), for a number of years conducted by Jerry Denny, famous ball player and manager of Denny's "Angels" or "White Wings," as they were called, the baseball team representing Derby in the Connecticut State League.
Edward J. Nally, telegraph and telephone pioneer and later director of the Radio Corpora- tion of America, lived in Derby as a boy; while two sons of Hamilton Curtiss, both born in Derby, attained great distinction. David Ray- mond Curtiss became professor of mathematics in Northwestern University and author of many textbooks, while his brother, Ralph Hamilton Curtiss, was professor of astronomy in the Uni- versity of Michigan and director of the Detroit Observatory. One survivor of Derby's sea cap- tains, Capt. Nathaniel A. Hull, still lives in New Haven.
Prominent Citizens.
Among the prominent citizens of Derby in other days should be mentioned Samuel S. Mar- shall; Isaac J. Gilbert, the tanner; Gould Cur-
24
l'l RCENTENARY PlCTORIAL AND HlSTORY OF THE LOWER NAUGATUCK VALLEY
nHHH
THOMAS J. O'SULLIVAN, M. D. (First Mayor of Derby)
tiss, Capt. Lyman Osborne and Capt. Truman Gilbert, veterans of 1812; Capt. Joseph Hull, grandfather of the commodore ; Levi Hull, the commodore's brother , Col. David Jackson, George T. Bushnell, Horace Casterline, Nathan C. Treat, Samuel Proctor, David DeForest, lead- er in Revolutionary days ; Charles French, Town Clerk for forty years ; Noah Durand, David L. Durand, Luzon Rowell, Henry Warren, Capt. Jabez Weaver, Capt. Chauncey H. Bailey and his son, Newell J. ; Matthew Donnelly, James Hanley, Dr. Pliny A. Jewett and his son, Dr. Thomas B. Jewett, Aquila Knapp, David W. Boyd, Cyrus Chamberlain, Grandison Glover, Willis and Lewis Hotchkiss, the builders ; David and Isaac Nathans, brothers, who erected Na- thans' Hall, the present Gould Armory ; Orville C. Morse, John Whitlock, antiquarian ; John Carrington and Alva Bunnell, coopers, who made casks for the West India trade on Sugar Street ; Noyes D. Baldwin, Ichabod E. Ailing, Benjamin Hubbell and John J. Flynn, liverymen ; William Barry, William W. Blakeman, M. S. Burgess, John T. Grady and E. E. Dunbar, East Side residents ; Henry S. Sawyer, who conducted the "feed store" and had the finest mansion in Derby on Bank Street ; William S. Browne, for 70 years with the National Bank ; John C. Reilley, Wyllys Hotchkiss, the stuttering cooper ; John Coe, Derby's first Methodist, and George Well- ington, Shelton merchant and manufacturer.
Thus, Old Derby, comprising the valley towns and cities, as it did originally, is rich in historic memories and memorials of former days. Some- times in the hurried, crowded life of the present day, it is well to turn our thoughts to the past and remember those who laid the foundations for the prosperity and comfort of Derby and her children — the busy towns of the Naugatuck Valley.
"Oh, do not wrong the generations past,
By scorn or bitter prating of dead hands. It is not chance that their achievements last,
Nor whim of fortune that their building stands?
"It was for us they strove; we are the heirs Of all their sweat and agony and tears, And willing or ungrateful each one shares In the vast legacy of toilsome years."
OFFICERS OF THE TOWN OF DERBY FIFTY YEARS AGO (1885).
Selectmen, Robert 0. Gates, Henry J. Smith, Patrick McManus.
Town Clerk, Reuben H. Tucker.
Treasurer, Charles E. Clark.
Registrar of Vital Statistics, Dr. Thomas J. 0 'Sullivan.
Assessors, George S. Arnold, Frederick E. Col- burn, Henry Whipple.
Board of Relief, Henry Somers, Charles L. Hill, Robert May.
Collector, Jonah C. Piatt.
Justices of the Peace, Verrenice Munger, John B. Gardner, Dr. George L. Beardsley, John D. Ballou, John W. Storrs, Seabury B. Piatt, William H. Williams, Daniel E. McMahon, Al- bert F. Sherwood, Dr. Henry A. Nettleton, Wil- liam B. Wooster, Reuben H. Tucker, W. S. Downs, Charles Reed, Egbert Bartlett, Julius A. Bristol, Edwin B. Gager, Adam Leninger.
Grand Jurors, Charles L. Case, J. Frank Terew, George W. Tuttle, Samuel H. Proctor, John J. McLarney, Burwell A. Bradley.
Constables, F. Dwight Woodruff, Alvin S. Hoffman, Luke Martin, James W. Fenwick, Thomas S. Ellis, Alfred Munn, David J. Stillson.
Board of Education, Rev. Hugh T. Brady, John Lindley, Rev. Walter C. Roberts, Rev. Or- lando Witherspoon, J. Mead Whitlock, Hial S. Grannis, Clark N. Rogers, Dr. George L. Beardsley, Rev. Peter M. Kennedy.
Registrars of Voters, Franklin D. Jackson, Theodore D. L. Manville, John L. Lindley, John C. Reilly.
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
25
History of the City of Derby
By Henry M. Bradley, Jr.
THE present City of Derby contains but 3,293 acres and is the smallest of the 169 townships in Connecticut. Even when combined with Ansonia it was smaller than any other town in Western Connecticut with the exception of Beacon Falls. The Derby of two centuries and a half ago contained ten times the area of the present town, or close to thirty- five thousand acres. Its area is 3,293 acres.
First City Officials.
The City of Derby came into existence in January, 1894, the first election having been held in December. The original officers were : Mayor, Dr. Thomas J. O'Sullivan ; town clerk, Daniel E. McMahon; city clerk, William D. O'Brien; treasurer, Charles E. Clark ; aldermen, Charles S. Chaffee, president ; Charles F. Grant, Cyrus J. Safford, S. B. Piatt, John OHara, Edward T. Waters, James R. Mason, John Dockery, John Peterson ; board of education, Col. H. Holton Wood, president ; Attorney Robert L. Gilbert, secretary; Dr. George L. Beardsley, school vis- itor ; John C. Reilly, James C. Dermody, John J. McEnerney ; registrars of voters, Benjamin F. Leonard, Dr. Charles B. Nettleton ; city sheriffs, John W. Nolan, Adelbert F. Bradley, George N. Kennedy, George W. Tuttle, Robert L. Lodge, T. B. Whitney; auditors, George M. Johnson, James C. Dermody ; street commissioner, James J. Sweeney ; tax collector, James McEnerney ; assessors, John Larkin, John J. Fitzgerald ; super- intendent of poor, Patrick McManus ; selectmen, Charles B. Reeves, George B. Clark; police com- missioner, Benjamin W. Porter ; chief of police, John W. Nolan ; fire commissioner, W. D. Houli- han ; chief of the fire department, Frank Reilly ; superintendent of the fire alarm system, Wil- liam T. Lenihan ; health officer, Dr. Robert J. Barry; corporation counsel, Daniel E. Mc- Mahon; judge city court, Edwin B. Gager ; dep- uty judge, Frank E. Patchen ; prosecuting attor- ney, Christopher C. Smith; assistant, Andrew J. Ewen, clerk, William 1). O'Brien; justices of the peace, William Sidney Downs, Andrew J. Ewen, Edwin B. Gager, Daniel E. McMahon, Seabury B. Piatt, William H. Williams, William B. Wooster, Albert F. Sherwood ; medical examiner,
Dr. George L. Beardsley ; deputy sheriff, George M. Johnson; postmaster, Charles N. Downs; assistant, Lee R. Stuart ; six of the above, forty years later, are still living.
City Offices.
Several of these offices have experienced but few changes in the years that followed the incep- tion of the city government. Judge McMahon has had but two successors as town clerk since his retirement in 1907, they being Edward R. Bergin, who served for 24 years, and the incum- bent, Vincent J. Nolan. City Clerk James S. Donahue has served very efficiently in that capacity since his appointment in 1907, his prede- cessors following Mr. O'Brien being John P. Wall, Attorney Andrew J. Ewen, Attorney John W. Larkin and Attorney Michael J. Flaherty.
There have been but three city treasurers — Charles E. Clark, who served until his death in 1913; his son, Frank M. Clark, from 1913 to 1935, and Henry T. Waters, present incumbent. Succeeding Chief Nolan were Charles H. Arnold, Daniel T. O'Dell, Antonio Urbano (acting), and Thomas VanEtten. In the city court after Judge Gager, followed Seabury B. Piatt, George B. Clark, William S. Downs, William D. O'Connell, Howard B. Peck, Alfred C. Baldwin, Ralph H. Clark and John J. O'Connell. The deputy judges have been Frank E. Patchen, George B. Clark, Merritt E. Treat, Frederick W. Benham, Alfred H. Kelty and the incumbent, Archibald Duffield.
Post Office.
The Derby post office was established April 1, 1798. Its first officer was Joel Atwater. Following him came Samuel S. Andrews, Russell Hitchcock, Thos. Durham, Col. Robert Gates, Henry Whitney, Robert W. Gates, Henry Atwa- ter, Thomas Shelton, Thaddeus G. Birdseye, Robert C. Narramore, Ezra Sprague (Birming- ham), William J. (lark, Albert F. Sherwood (Derby only), Theodore S. Bassett, Charles N. Downs, Dr. Thomas J. O'Sullivan, John P. W;dl (acting), ('apt. Sanford K. Chaffee, (who, like Colonel Gates, served sixteen years) ; Patrick L. Shea, Walter H. DeForest and Joseph G. Ken- nedy, present acting postmaster.
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TiKri xri nary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
Apportionment Board.
The first board of apportionment came into existence at a meeting held December 29, 1899, with Mayor Edward J. Condon as chairman and the following members: Charles E. Clark, Pat- rick Gorman, D. M. Bassett, Merritt E. Treat, M. E. Johnson. Fergus Kelly, Samuel Halper, John Larkin. Sr.. George E. Barber and Martin Fennelly. The latter resigned and was succeeded by Thomas F. Molloy.
William Davis served as an alderman from the second ward, being the only Socialist ever elected to an elective office in Derby.
Mayors of Derby.
Thomas J. 0*Sullivan, M. D 1894-1894
William C. Atwater 1895-1896
Charles E. Chaffee 1897-1898
Edward J. Condon 1899-1900
Albert M. Phillips, M. D 1901-1902
George P. Sullivan 1903-1904
Benjamin F. Hubbell 1905-1906
Alfred F. Howe 1907-1908
James B. Atwater 1909-1910
James A. Miles 1911-1912
George P. Sullivan 1913-1920
James B. Atwater 1921-1922
Frank J. Conway 1923-1928
William J. Riordan 1929-1934
George P. Sullivan 1935
In addition to City Clerk Donahue's long service, Henry M. Bradley, Jr., has served on the board of education continuously since his first election in 1904 and Charles Marvin on the board of apportionment and taxation since 1908 and John M. Ring on the board of education since 1913. Two others with long service on the board of education were Dr. George L. Beardsley and John Dunne.
The Derby Schools.
From an educational standpoint, Derby was early in the field as Rev. Joseph Webb seems to have been the first teacher, in the far-distant year of 1688. Rev. John James was hired by the town to teach reading and writing in 1701 at a -alary of a few shillings.
The first school in the town was built in 1711 ; the second on Meeting House hill in 1726; the first academy on Academy Hill in 1786; the
Birmingham Academy in 1838 and the Irving School, which succeeded it, in 1869. The present Franklin School was built in 1902, following two earlier schools on Gilbert Street. The High School was transferred from the top floor of the Irving School to the Cheeseman homestead on Minerva street in 1906, while the present High School building was started in 1913, but not completed in its present form until 1925. The school districts, of which there were nine at one time, were consolidated upon the establish- ment of the city in 1894 with John W. Peck the first superintendent. The office has since been filled by Edward FitzGerald, John F. Pickett, John Lund, Leon R. McKusick, Frank M. Buck- ley and Richard T. Tobin, while Frank C. Phil- lips, Albert J. O'Neill and Edward J. Costello were, at various times, acting superintendents.
Of those who served in earlier years. Charles Whittlesey, Dr. Pearl Crafts, Sheldon Curtis, Josiah Holbrook, Truman Coe and John D. Smith were teachers at the old academy on Academy hill, while George H. Stevens was long remem- bered as principal of the Birmingham Academy. In 1885, Eldon W. Parmelee was principal at Academy Hill; Samuel D. Sherwood was mas- ter on Gilbert street, where Henry Warren, Or- ville C. Morse, William A. Croffut, Frederick Durand, Benjamin, F. Culver, William C. Sharpe, Luther H. Fuller, Robert B. Fuller, Miss Julia Simmons, A. B. Fifield and G. W. Wilbur had preceded him; F. D. Beach and Miss Nellie Bradley had the one room schools in the Neck district, and John W. Peck, with Miss Sarah Gilbert and Miss Henrietta Hall as assistants, was principal in Birmingham following the Fuller brothers and Moses E. Banks. Charles T. Gilbert became principal at Uptown, succeeding Mr. Parmelee who was transferred to the second dis- trict (Gilbert street). Upon Mr. Parmelee's death in 1892, he was followed by his wife, Mary Cotter Parmelee. At her resignation in 1910, Miss Miriam L. Austin became head of the Franklin school, which position she retained un- til her death. Miss Helen Bradley was long prin- cipal of the Irving school, until succeeded by Harry E. Neville.
Charles Harvey Canfield, of Academy Hill, who will be 91 in November, is the oldest native- born resident of Derby still living here.
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
27
Officials
of the
City of Derby
Elective Officers.
Mayor —
George P. Sullivan
Treasurer —
Henry T. Waters Town Clerk —
Vincent J. Nolan Registrar of Voters —
William Clark
James T. Relihan City Sheriffs —
Wesley Coan
Joseph Armstrong
Selectmen — James R. Ralph J. J. McCarthy
Auditors —
Mrs. Mabel Seeley Powe
Walter D. Murphy Chairman of Board of Edu- cation—
Thomas F. Plunkett, M. D.
Board of Apportionment.
sterling theater and city hall
(Prom an Old Print)
Charles Marvin, president ; George H. Gam- ble, Louis H. Bradley, Dean A. Emerson, Roger Bradley, John Maciog, Oscar Roehder, John J. Higgins, Michael A .Parlato, M. D. ; Richard L. Stapleton.
Board of Aldermen.
Alton S. Degnan, Albert Emma, James P. Kiernan, Andrew P. Anderson, Harry Gow, Jo- seph W. Draus.
Appointive Officials.
Corporation Counsel, William F. Healey ; Street Commissioner, Robert F. Clark ; Fire Com- missioner, Charles Stankye ; Police Commission- ers, Frank M. Clark, Dominick Nardi ; Health Officer, Thomas F. Plunkett, M. D. ; Superin-
tendent of Charities, Frank J. Buckley ; Tax Collector, Frank J. Buckley ; City Clerk, James S. Donahue ; Assistant City Clerk, Mrs. Char- lotte Devlin; Assistant Tax Collector, Miss Irene Coss; Tree Warden, Robert F. Clark; Dog Warden, Robert Parker ; Plumbing Inspector, Gould Collins ; Assistant Plumbing Inspector, Patrick McMahon ; Building Inspector, Joseph Oliwa ; Sealer of Weights and Measures, William F. McLaughlin; City Engineer, Vincent B. Clarke ; Sinking Fund Commissioners, Daniel F. Kerwin, L. Raymond Darling; Assessors, Charles Marvin, Sr., William P. Hession.
Directors, Derby Public Library.
James B. Atwater, president ; E. Sheppard Gordy, secretary; Frank M. (lark, treasurer; Onin G. Wood, Richard T. Tobin, James S. Don- ahue, [rving II. Peck, Robert S. Gardner, Dr.
Michael A. Parlato.
28 Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
GEORGE P. SULLIVAN
GEORGE P. Sullivan, present mayor of the City of Derby, has had a colorful political career. A deep student of municipal affairs, combined with natural abilities, make him a capable executive.
GEORGE P. SULLIVAN
Born in Derby, March 17, 1874, the future mayor was the son of the late Timothy 0. and Ann Holden Sullivan. He attended the public
school and later St. Mary's parochial school. Leaving school at the age of fourteen, he went to work, learning the plumbers' trade. For the past number of years he has been foreman of the maintenance gas service department of the Derby Gas and Electric Company.
On February 8, 1899, Mr. Sullivan married Miss Barbara Ann Beaton of Shelton and they make their home at 249 Hawthorne avenue. Their children are: Alice, Mrs. J. Howard Ryan, Loretta, Margaret, George P. jr., and Mary.
Mayor Sullivan began his political career as a member of the Derby board of aldermen, serv- ing in 1901 and 1902. He was street commis- sioner in 1908 and 1909. In 1902, he was elected the city's youngest mayor and served a two year term. Again in 1912 he was elected mayor and served until 1920 inclusive. Again in 1935, he became mayor for another two year term which will comprise six terms in all during which he has been the city's chief executive.
Mayor Sullivan is active fraternally, being a member of Derby Lodge of Elks, Paugassett Council, Knights of Columbus, the Foresters of America, the St. Mary's Catholic Men's Club, and the Sons of Union Veterans. He is a past supreme chief ranger of the Foresters of America, a fraternal organization of 300,000 men.
Veterans' Memorial Home.
As a tribute to its former ex- service men and women, the Vet- erans' Memorial Home, located at Seymour and Atwater avenues, an attractive stone structure for- merly the Unitarian Church, was acquired in 1925 by the united efforts of the ex-service men's organizations of the City of Derby. The board of governors consists of: The mayor, George P. Sullivan, and Frank H. Gates, vice president, and James B. At- water, civilian members, and the commanders of the various ex- service men's organizations.
VETERANS' MEMORIAL HOME
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugattjck Valley
29
History of the Churches of Derby
First Congregational Church
1751-1935 By Henry M. Bradley. Jr.
THE First Congregational Church of Derby is the oldest organization of any kind in the Xaugatuck Valley. and its history and that of the town, for over a hundred years, are inseparable. Before a town could be organized in the early colonial days, church services had to be provided. Therefore, in 1671, the people of Paugassett called as their spir- itual head. Rev. John Bowers, who had been acting pastor at Branford. and pre- vious to that schoolmaster at Plymouth, Mass.. and Xew Haven. He was a grad- uate of the class of 1649. at Harvard, and had married Bridget Thompson of Xew Haven, who survived him for a quarter of a century.
Church Organized.
A parsonage was erected by the town in 1673 for the use of the minister, and in 1675 the town was recognized and named Derby. On February 25. 1677, the town voted: "The Lord having by His Providence called a company of His Poor servants into this corner of the wilderness, calls upon us first to seek the Kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof, which hath put several persons upon the inquiry of the town by their free will and consent, to gather a church in Derby and to walk in a church way and set up the ordinances of God according to Gospel rules as near as we can attain according to our best light." This un- doubtedly is some of Rev. Bowers' phraseology.
First Edifice.
Meetings were held in the parsonage in all probability until a very plain church edifice was erected at Squabble Hole in 1682. Mr. Bowers died June 14, 1687, and the rudely carved -lab that marked his grave can still be seen in the Colonial cemetery.
THE OLD FIRST CHURCH
As the parsonage belonged to the minister, as was the custom in those days, and his widow continued to occupy it. the town voted in 1690 to erect a new one. which was not completed until 1695. It still stands on Elm street. An- sonia. and was occupied successively by Revs. John James Joseph Moss and Daniel Humphreys until 1787.
Xi w Church 1 720.
The first building failing to provide for the increasing population, an addition was made in 1706 but a new church had to be erected in 1720. This was built on the edge of the Commons at Uptown on whai is now Academy Hill, which
30
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
\
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REV. ZEPHANIAH SWIFT Pastor When the Present Edifice Was Built
for many years owing to this large barn-like structure, was known as Meeting House Hill.
The Church of England adherents broke away in 1737, the first religious rift in the com- munity. Four years later, Oxford seceded, be- coming a separate parish. Mr. Humphreys' pas- torate of 54 years was the longest in the history of the church. His baptisms, including Gen. Wil- liam Hull, Commodore Isaac Hull and his own famous son, General David Humphreys, ran into the thousands. Twenty-six members withdrew in 1789 to form the church in Seymour.
An endowment fund was started as early as 1793. The revival of 1808 brought large numbers into a pastorless church.
Present Edifice.
After a hundred years on Meeting House Hill, it was decided to build a new church at the Narrows, and the present edifice, a fine ex- ample of colonial architecture, was erected by Williams and Barnum of Brookfield in 1820. at a cost of $525. This was the only one of the three church buildings not built by the town, with whom relations had been severed after the
Revolution but its construction had to receive the approval of the county court. Fifty-nine members withdrew in 1846 to organize the Birm- ingham church, now the Second Congregational Church. Another contingent took letters in 1850 to form the Ansonia Congregational Church, the fifth daughter of the old First. Changes were made in the building at double the original cost ($1,070) in 1847; a lecture room was added in 1874 under Mr. Staats, and the chapel in 1905 under Rev. Hugh MacCallum. St. John's Danish Lutheran congregation, which had been meeting in the building, united in a body with the church in 1907 during the pastorate of Dr. Houghton.
Societies.
The church boasts of one of the oldest Sun- day Schools in New England, organized by Prof. Josiah Holbrook, noted educator, in 1817; one of the oldest Christian Endeavor societies in con- tinuous existence, organized by Rev. J. B. Thrall in 1883 ; a Ladies' Aid Society that dates back to at least 1820, but possibly many years before; and a Men's Club, the Biblos, organized in 1907, which has had 46 presidents, 44 of whom are living.
The oldest surviving pastors are Rev. J. B. Thrall and Rev. Dorrall Lee, both octogenarians. Mrs. Inez Gilbert, who joined the church in 1869, and is now a resident of New Haven, is the oldest living member.
MRS. E. W. PARMELEE Founder of Derby C. E. Union
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
31
Present Pastor.
Rev. Worthy F. Maylott, for many years pastor of the First Congregational Church, lives at the parsonage, 152 Derby avenue. His son, Prof. Carleton Maylott, is connected with Clark- son College, Potsdam, N. Y., and his daughter is Mrs. Melvin Terrill of Watertown, Conn. Mr. Maylott graduated from the International Y. M. C. A. College at Springfield, Mass., later receiv- ing its highest honor degree, master of humanics. He served the Y. M. C. A. in Thompsonville, Millbury, Mass., Keene, N. H., Owensboro, Ky., Winsted, this state, and Cobalt, Ontario, Canada, and was pastor in East Canaan before coming to Derby. Mr. Maylott has held all honor posi-
HiL
REV. WORTHY F. MAYLOTT Present Pastor
tions in the Naugatuck Valley Association of Churches and Ministers and is state chaplain of the Masonic Veterans' Association ; a past presi- dent of the New Haven Congregational Club ; and for seven years was adult superintendent of the State Religious Educational Society. He is also a member of the Sons of St. George. He is a director and member of the State Missionary Society, Hartford, and has been on its executive committee for 12 years. Mr. Maylott took promi- nent part in the Miller Tabernacle Revival of a few years ago when a Tabernacle was built in Ansonia which later became the community campaign center from which were inaugurated the various drives that marked the community's cooperative efforts during the World War.
The C. E. Society. On April 18, 1883, the Young People's Society of the Christian Endeavor was organized by the then pastor, Rev. J. Brainerd Thrall, who after a long career devoted to young people and the Scout movement, died September 28, 1935, at Asheville, N. C. The pastor was assisted in organizing the society by the Sunday School su- perintendent, William S. Browne, when the C. E. movement was still in its infancy. The society began with twenty-four charter members. The society, throughout the fifty-two years of its ex- istence, has exerted profound influence upon the younger members of the church and at the pres- ent time conducts evening services each Sunday. Mrs. E. W. Parmelee, first superintendent of the church's primary department, is the founder of the Derby C. E. Union.
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IMPORTANT DATES OF FIRST CHURCH.
^>
Organized 1671.
1761 — First Pastor, Rev. John Bowers.
1682— First Church Built.
1720— Second Edifice Built.
1820 — Present Edifice Constructed.
PASTORS OF THE OLD FIRST CHURCH.
Rev. John Bowers 1671-1687
Rev. Joseph Webb 1688-1692
Rev. John James 1694-1706
Rev. Joseph Moss 1706-1731
Rev. Daniel Humphreys 1733-1787
Rev. Martin Tuller 1787-1795
Rev. Amasa Porter 1797-1805
Rev. Thomas Ruggles 1809-1812
Rev. Zephaniah Swift 1813-1848
Rev. Louis D. Howell 1836-1838
Rev. Hollis Read 1838-1843
Rev. George Thacher, D. D 1843-1848
Rev. Jesse Guernsey 1849-1853
Rev. Robert P. Stanton 1853-1856
Rev. Leonard Woolsey Bacon, acting. ... 1856-1857
Rev. Charles C. Tiffany, D. D 1857-1864
Rev. Wm. E. Brooks 1865-1867
Rev. Thomas M. Gray 1867-1871
Rev. Joel Stone Ives, acting 1871-1872
Rev. Cyrus B. Whitcomb 1872-1873
Rev. Henry T. Staats 1873-1874
Rev. J. Howe Vorce 1875-1879
Rev. J. Brainard Thrall 1880-1884
Rev. Oscar G. Mclntire 1885-1886
Rev. Peter Roberts, acting 1886-
Rcv. Don-all Lee 1886-1893
Rev. Henry Davies, Ph. D 1894-1895
Rev. Sanford S. Martyn 1896-18')')
Rev. Hugh MacCallum 1900-1906
Rev. Roy M. Houghton, D. D 1906-1909
Rev. Elmer E. Burtner 1909-1910
Rev. Clarence R. Williams, acting 1911-
Rev. Charles W. Coulter, Ph. D 1911-1914
Rev. Reinhold Neibuhr, acting 1915-
Rcv. Worthy F. Maylott, M. II 1915-1935
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32
l'i kci \ n nary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
St. James' Episcopal Parish
1737-1935
THE establishment of an Episcopal congre- gation in Derby, in the year 1737, laid the foundation for the present St. James' Epis- copal parish, the second formal religious organi- zation in the then widespread township. While it is true that it marked the first religious divi- sion in the town, it is not to be implied that up to this time all the inhabitants were members of the long-established Congregational Church, which was predominate in religious and town affairs.
The early Episcopal parish was founded by loyal adherents to the Episcopal religion, men and women who were baptized Episcopalians and who desired to practice the religion of their forbears according to the rites of the Church of England. Thus, it was that they were inspired by religious motives alone, by their loyalty to the Episcopal faith and the manner of its worship.
According to Orcutt's "His- tory of Derby," it was a small band of Episcopalians in 1737, composed of Captain John Hol- brook and seven others who commenced "to fell the trees and hew the timbers" preparatory to erecting a humble house of wor- ship in Derby. The frame struc- ture was completed the follow- ing year and became the first Episcopal Church in Derby. It was called Christ Church and the name was retained until the second church was built and consecrated by Bishop Jarvis in 1799, when it became St. James' Church. The parish records date from 1737.
The leader in the organization of the parish, Captain John Holbrook, was an influential citi- zen and son of Abel Holbrook, last survivor of the pioneers of Old Derby. Captain Holbrook gave the land both for the first church and the Episcopal graveyard on Elm street, Ansonia.
The first disciple of Episcopacy in Derby, according to the same authority, was the Rev.
ST. JAMES' EPISCOPAL CHURCH (From an Old Print)
George Whitefield who, while on a visit to this country, visited here and preached in a private house. First services were conducted by Rev. Jonathan Arnold, itinerant missionary preacher of the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." He was succeeded by Rev. Theophilus Morris, who remained three years and who, in turn, was succeeded by the third mis- sionary, Rev. James Lyons, soon after whose ar- rival the first church was erected.
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
33
Dr. Richard Mansfield.
The fourth missionary to be sent by the so- ciety to Derby was the Rev. Richard Mansfield, D. D., who became the first resident pastor, an epochal event in the parish for Dr. Mansfield was to remain as active rector for seventy-two consecutive years. Dr. Mansfield's life is treated in another article in this publication. During his long rectorship, or more properly in the closing years, when age had laid a heavy hand on his physical powers but not his spirit and deter- mination, Dr. Mansfield had two assistants. The first was the Rev. Edward Blakeslee who came here in 1790 and who died July 17, 1797. The second assistant to Dr. Mansfield was the Rev. Calvin White, who was assistant rector of St. James from 1804 to 1819. Rev. Mr. White died March 21, 1853, aged 90.
First Bishop.
On March 25, 1783, at the Seabury Memorial House, formerly the rectory at Woodbury, Conn., and in the lower left-hand room, the Rev. Sam- uel Seabury was elected first Episcopal Bishop of Connecticut and in the United States. Ten clergymen took part in the proceedings and in the election, one of whom was Dr. Mansfield. Bishop Seabury was born at Groton, Conn., No- vember 30, 1729, graduated from Yale College in 1748; was ordained deacon in London by the Bishop of Lincoln, December 21, 1753, and priest by the Bishop of Carlisle, December 23, 1753. He was consecrated at Aberdeen, Scotland, November 14, 1784, ^ffm-,
and was senior bishop in the ^jfe ::=.:-
United States from 1784 to 1796. ijipii-p :.
He died at New London, Febru- ary 25, 1796.
In 1747, at Derby, now in An- sonia, a "glebe" — the house with certain lands — was bought for the use of a rector and it became the home of the Rev. Dr. Mans- field during his long life in Derby.
The First Church.
In the original Episcopal Church, on October 10, 1751, the Rev. Dr. Mansfield and Miss Anna Hull were married by the Rev. Dr. Johnson of Stratford. On September 21, 1876, a con-
vocation of clergy of Connecticut was held, at which time Bishop Seabury admitted four can- didates to the deaconate and also delivered his second and last charge to the clergy of Connec- ticut and set forth his Communion Office, which is substantially the Office now used in the Book of Common Prayer. On June 7, 1797, the annual convention of the clergy of Connecticut was held in Derby at which time Rev. Abraham Jarvis was elected second bishop of the diocese.
Second Church Edifice.
The second church edifice of St. James' par- ish was erected on a plot of land situated on the then "Town Green" now marked by a tab- let at Clark street and Academy hill. The cor- nerstone was laid by the Rev. Dr. Mansfield, June 7, 1797, and on November 20, 1799, the edifice was consecrated as St. James' Church by Bishop Jarvis. At this time a Convocation of the Clergy was held at which the Office of Institu- tion was set forth, and it was presently used for the first time in this church.
The Rectors.
In the long history of St. James' parish, to- talling 198 years, there have been but fifteen resident rectors. When the long rectorship of the Rev. Dr. Mansfield culminated with his death, April 12, 1820, he was succeeded by the Rev. Stephen Jewett who became rector in 1821 and served until 1833. He died August 24, 1865.
FIRST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
34
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
The third rector of St. James' was the Rev. William Bradley, who remained here only from 1S33 to 1834. His death occurred March 8, 1865. Rev. Mr. Bradley was succeeded by the Rev. Joseph Scott, who was rector from 1834 to 1842. He died August 17, 1S59.
The Present Church.
It was during the next rectorship, that of the Rev. William Bliss Ashley, from 1842 to 1848, that the present church edifice was built and consecrated.
Up to this time, the church had been located in East Derby which was then the center of the town's business and residential district. The growth of the village of Birmingham, however, had marked effect upon the church and congre- gation and it was a momentous decision when it was decided to build the new church in Birm- ingham. The site, on what is now Minerva street, east of the Green, was particularly adapted for a church edifice and here in May, 1842, the cornerstone of the present stone church was laid by the Rev. Stephen Jewett, a former rector.
From the parish records of the Rev. William Bliss Ashley, rector, is found this entry as of April 11, 1843: "The new church edifice in the village of Birmingham was this day consecrated by the Rt. Rev. T. C. Brownell by the name of St. James' Church. The consecration sermon was preached by the Rev. Joseph Scott, a former rector. The Rev. Wm. G. French was ordained deacon on the same occasion." Rev. Mr. Ashley died March 26, 1892.
Tower Built.
The new and handsome stone edifice provided a spacious place of worship for the growing par- ish which was enlarged and the tower built in 1853. Meantime the Rev. Thomas Tompkins Guion, D. D., had become rector and was in charge of the parish from 1848 to 1854. He died October 21, 1862.
The Rev. Samuel Hanson Coxe, who was rector from 1853 to 1854, and who died January 16, 1895, was in charge of the parish when the additions and alterations were made and the tower built. On May 28, 1853, Rev. Mr. Coxe laid the cornerstone for the enlargement of the church and the tower was built at this time. On
January 29, 1854, the church was formally re- opened by the Rt. Rev. John Williams, D. D., LL. D., fourth Bishop of Connecticut.
Following Rev. Dr. Coxe in the rectorship was the Rev. Jared Bradley Flagg, D. D., who served in 1855. The Rev. John Brainard, S. T. D., next became rector and served from 1856 to 1864. He was succeeded by the Rev. Nathan Henry Chamberlain, who was rector from 1864 to 1868. Rev. Simon Greenleaf Fuller was rector from 1868 to 1870. He died November 21, 1872. Rev. Leonidas Bradley Baldwin served as rector from 1870 to 1879. He was succeeded by the Rev. Orlando Witherspoon, who began in 1880 a rectorship which closed with his death April 14, 1886. The present rectory was built in 1853.
Rev. George H. Buck.
The second longest rectorship in the history of St. James' began in 1887 when the Rev. George Hickman Buck assumed charge of the
REV. GEORGE H. BUCK Former Rector
parish. Rev. Mr. Buck served the parish faithful- ly and well for forty-one years, terminating his rectorship by resigning April 1, 1928. The com- bined rectorships of the Rev. Dr. Mansfield and Rev. Mr. Buck totaled 113 years of the 198 years of parish existence.
Rev. Charles W. Hubon.
The fifteenth and present rector of St. James' is the Rev. Charles W. Hubon, the son of par- ents of old Salem, Mass., who was born during a visit of his parents at Conception, Chili, South
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
35
America. The family returned to Salem and he grew up there and graduated from the Salem High School. Mr. Hubon graduated from Tufts College and the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge. He was ordained deacon at Em- manuel Church, West Roxbury, Mass., June 17,
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REV. CHARLES W. HUBON Present Rector
1923, by Bishop William Lawrence and was or- dained a priest at St. John's Church, Stamford, February 22, 1924, by Bishop Chauncey B. Brew- ster. Before coming to Derby and from 1923 to 1928, he was vicar of St. John's parish, Stamford.
^>
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MISSIONARIES.
Rev. Jonathan Arnold. Rev. Theophilus Morris. Rev. James Lyons.
RECTORS OF ST. JAMES' CHURCH.
Residents.
Rev. Richard Mansfield, D. D 1748-1820
Rev. Stephen Jewett 1821-1833
Rev. Charles Wm. Bradley 1833-1834
Rev. Joseph Scott 1834-1842
Rev. William Bliss Ashley 1842-1848
Rev. Thomas Tompkins Guion, D. D 1848-1853
Rev. Samuel Hanson Coxe, D. D 1853-1854
Rev. Jared Bradlev Flagg, D. D 1855-1856
Rev. John Brainard, S. T. D 1856-1864
Rev. Nathan Henry Chamberlain 1864-1868
Rev. Simon Greenleaf Fuller 1868-1870
Rev. Leonidas Bradley Baldwin 1870-1879
Rev. Orlando Witherspoon 1880-1886
Rev. George Hickman Buck 1887-1928
Rev. Charles W. Hubon 1928-
ASSISTANTS.
Rev. Edward Blakeslee 1790-1797
Rev. Calvin White 1804-1819
IMPORTANT DATES IN ST. JAMES' HISTORY.
1738— First Church Edifice Built.
June 7, 1797 — Cornerstone of Second Church Laid.
Nov. 20, 1799 — Consecrated as St. James' Church.
May, 1842 — Cornerstone of Present Church Laid.
April 11, 1843 — Present Church Consecrated.
May 28, 1853— Church Enlarged and Tower Built.
January 29, 1854 — Church Formally Opened by
Bishop Williams. 1853 — Present Rectory Built.
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REV. GEORGE H. BUCK
FOR forty-one years the Rev. George Hick- man Buck was the faithful and beloved rec- tor of St. James' Episcopal Church. He has the distinction of having served the second longest rectorship of this mother church of the Episcopal faith in this vicinity, alone superseded by that of the remarkable Rev. Dr. Richard Mansfield.
Rev. Mr. Buck's quiet dignity, his affability, his devotion to his church and its people en- deared him not only to his parishioners but to the community as well regardless of religious convictions. Everyone held him in that high es- teem that is alone reserved for one of his holy calling.
Born in 1852 in Baltimore, Md., Rev. Mr. Buck received his early education in the schools
of that city. In 1879, he was graduated from the General Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in New York City. His first call was to become assistant to the rector at Emmanuel Church, Boston, where he continued for one year. Then he assumed charge of Grace Episcopal Church, Boston, where he remained from 1880 to 1887. He resigned this charge to become rector of St. James' and began his long rectorship in February, 1887.
The foundation of the parish had long since been laid and its great stone temple had been reared as a monument to the faith and zeal of those who had gone before, when Rev. Mr. Buck took charge of St. James' parish. His was the work of guiding the parish to continued growth
36
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
and achievement and in this he was eminently successful. The parish continued to prosper, its activities gradually extending into those modern phases of social life so essential to present-day parish work and supplementing religious instruc- tion and worship. Many improvements to the church property were made during Rev. Mr. Buck's rectorship. For many years, he was Arch- deacon of the Episcopal Church of Connecticut in Xew Haven County.
Rev. Mr. Buck concluded his long and not-
able rectorship with his resignation, effective April 1, 1928. Shortly, thereafter, he departed from the field of his life-time labors, and re- turned to his native city where he died Decem- ber 7, 1933. He was laid to rest beside his faith- ful wife, who had predeceased him by several years, in Greenlawn cemetery, Everett, Mass.
A bronze plaque erected to his memory, gives the date of his long rectorship and a terse, but beautiful tribute to the beloved priest : "He came not to be ministered unto but to minister."
THE LONG RECTORSHIP OF DR. MANSFIELD
For Seventy-Two Consecutive Years He Was Pastor of St. James' Church, Derby
FEW parochial tenures equal or exceed that of the Rev. Richard Mansfield, D. D., who was the active rector of St. James' Episcopal Church, Derby, continuously for seventy-two years.
REV. DR. RICHARD MANSFIELD
Dr. Mansfield's extraordinary vicarate began in 1748 and terminated with his death in 1820, at the age of ninety-six. It coursed his entire priestly life — St. James' being his one and only charge. It was a rectorship that had its begin- ning in the colonial period, extended through the Revolutionary period and ended in the in- fant years of the New Republic.
The holder of this unusual pastorate came of old English stock, the family first migrating
to Boston and then settling in New Haven in 1643. There he was born in October, 1724. He was prepared for Yale at thirteen but was not allowed to enter until fourteen. He was gradu- ated with first honors in his class of 1741 being "greatly respected by his instructors as a remark- ably steady and studious young man."
Brilliant Scholar
As "a scholar of the house," as it was termed, young Mansfield received a premium founded by Bishop Berkeley for the best examination in Greek which gave him an additional year's study at Yale. He read attentively the works donated to the college by Bishop Berkeley and, although a Congregationalist, became favorably inclined toward the Episcopal faith and eventual- ly united with that communion.
After a few years spent as head of a pre- paratory school in New Haven, he went to Eng- land and was ordained a priest by Thomas Herring, Archbishop of Canterbury. Returning to America in the year 1748, he was assigned to the Derby parish which then embraced all the territory between Waterbury and New Haven, an area of thirty miles. It was a mission parish supported by the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. After 1775, missions being established in vari- ous parts of his extensive charge, Dr. Mansfield's labors were confined to his own parish in Derby,
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
37
Oxford and Seymour. His were the hardships of a pioneer. He covered his parish limits on horse- back, teaching from house to house and being diligent in attending to the needs of the people.
A Loyalist
During the Revolutionary period, troubles beset the scholarly vicar. He was a loyalist, de- voted to the English cause, never forgetting his vows of ordination and fealty to the crown which he had repeated after Archbishop Herring. His sermons, if they did not favor England, were distorted and caused much feeling against him. One Sunday morning, he was obliged to flee from his pulpit when a guard of American soldiers marched into the church. He fled to Long Island but returned shortly and resumed his parochial work but a guard was always present to see that he did not preach against the cause of the Colonists.
After the war, one historian states, Dr. Mans- field's "opposition to the American cause was forgotten in the piety and zeal he manifested toward his church, his devotion to his people and the meek but dignified deportment he ex- hibited toward all who entertained different re- ligious views from himself."
In his later years, Yale honored him with a degree of Doctor of Divinity. His register of baptisms numbers 2,191 and there is reason to believe his marriages and burials were equally proportionate.
Dr. Mansfield consummated his long vicarate on April 12, 1820, when he died "full of years and wisdom." He lies in the Elm Street ceme- tery, Ansonia, in a spot which marks the origi- nal site of his parish church and where the altar was located.
Dr. Mansfield married Miss Anna Hull, Oc- tober 10, 1751. Their children were: Richard 1752, Elizabeth 1754, Anna 1756, Sarah 1758, Henrietta 1760, Joseph 1762, William 1764, Stephen 1765, Jonathan 1768, Jonathan (second) 1769, Lucretia 1772, Mary Louisa 1774, Grace 1776.
Dr. Mansfield's nearly three-quarters of a century as rector of St. James' might have con- stituted the longest American pastorate but for one exception, the long pastorate of Rev. Laban Ainsworth, born in Woodstock, Conn., and or- dained in the Congregational Church at Jaffrey, New Hampshire, of which church he was con- tinuously pastor for 76 years, from 1782 to 1858. Rev. Ainsworth died at the age of 101.
;
Sa^Srw ■■:
MANSFIELD HOUSE, JEWETT STREET, ANSONIA.
A "glebe" — the house with certain lands was bought for Keel or Mans field in 1747. It was the home of Dr. Mansfield during his long life in Derby.
38
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
The Derby Methodist Episcopal Church
1793-1935 By Henry M. Bradley, Jr.
UXDER the tall trees of the "Commons" at Uptown, and almost beneath the shadow of the old Congregation- al church. Rev. Jesse Lee preach- ed the first Methodist sermon ever heard in Derby. This was on June 22, 1879. Among his auditors were Mr. and Mrs. John Coe. who, impressed by the ex- hortation of the fervent mission- ary, invited him to preach at their house on Soe Lane at his next appearance. This he did on July 6, the same year, return- ing on August 17. On March 19, 1790, Lee again conducted services, hiring the town bell- man to ring the bell that hung in the old academy and staying overnight with Captain Baldwin.
The result of these early labors seems to have been the conversion of three — -John and Ruth Coe and Philo Hinman, who were added to the society, already organized in Oxford. It is noteworthy that later John Allyn Coe and Jesse Lee Hinman were baptized, the former named for Lee's eloquent associate, who died in 1793, and the latter for the missionary himself — doubtless in grateful remembrance.
Organized 1793.
i-The M. E. Society in Derby was organized in the year of our Lord, 1793, by the Rev. Jesse Lee, the pioneer of Methodism in New England. His colleague was the Rev. John Allyn."
So reads the record, the three members above-named forming the nucleus of a church. The class met weekly at Joe Coe's, and he was appointed the class leader. That same year, the venerable Bishop Asbury visited the new society and preached in Derby.
In Derby Xeck.
In 1800, one of the itinerant preachers spoke at Mrs, Pope's in Derby Xeck, and an invitation was extended to the Methodists to use the old
DERBY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
red schoolhouse there which they continued to do for almost thirty years. In 1808 and 1809, through the efforts of Moses Osborne, of South- bury, and Rev. Oliver Sykes, there was a great revival. Seventy persons were converted, but most of them united with the First Congrega- tional Church. Eight joined the Methodist so- ciety, including Sheldon Smith of Derby Neck, who became a local preacher. Rev. Nathan Bangs, later president of Wesleyan College, was one of the preachers in the circuit which became the Humphreysville and Hamden circuit in 1828, and the Derby circuit in 1829, with Rev. Reuben Harris and Nathaniel Kellogg, the preachers, the latter living at Derby Neck.
In 1818, the Methodist Church became a rec- ognized denomination in Connecticut and its ministers were given the right to perform mar- riages and to call themselves clergymen, which they had not been permitted to do previously. After this, the growth of the denomination was rapid.
First Church Built.
Obtaining a good foothold in the Narrows, where Isaac J. Gilbert, the tanner, and others
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
39
had joined, services were later transferred to the old Masonic hall in 1830. This building, occu- pied by Anthony Monaco, still stands on Gilbert street. The following year in the grove across the river, long called Camp Meeting Grove, a great camp meeting was held at which thou- sands of persons assembled and many were con- verted.
The first board of trustees was chosen in 1835, and in that same year Samuel Durand, David Durand, Sheldon Smith, Isaac J. Gilbert and Agur Curtiss, who with Stephen Booth, Al- bert Hotchkiss and John E. Brush, formed the board of trustees, were appointed to build a church which was completed two years later and dedicated August 17, 1837, by Rev. Prof. Holdich of Wesleyan. This church was the first in the new village of Birmingham and cost in all $2,939.60. The town clock was placed on the steeple. Rev. Orlando Starr was appointed resi- dent pastor in the following year and the Sab- bath School and Ladies' Aid Society were or- ganized.
Parsonage Bought.
Present Edifice.
Rev. L. W. Munhall conducted a tent revival in the churchyard in 1891. Following this, con- tributions were taken up for a new church build- ing. John W. Osborne and William Wilkinson leading the list. This church, the present edifice, was completed in 1894, services during that year after February 18, being held in the Second Con- gregational church. A. H. Ailing, S. A. Abbott, Charles H. Coe, David L. Durand and Samuel H. Lessey comprised the building committee. Hard- ly had the new building been completed when John W. Osborne, its leading pillar, passed away, March 6, 1895. He was one of the subscribers to the original building and superintendent of the Sunday School. Amos H. Ailing followed him on February 6, 1898, leaving a large bequest for the maintenance of the church he loved and served. There were many changes in the years that followed and others have imitated Mr. Alling's generous example, including Mrs. David L. Durand and Mrs. Ella Lewis Peck. One liv- ing member donated $5,000 in Liberty bonds in 1919.
The church was enlarged and remodelled un- der Rev. John M. Reid in 1849 at a cost of $3,600. Mr. Reid's successor, Rev. T. G. Osborne, saw the completion of the work in 1851 and a revival was held during which 130 were con- verted. The parsonage was purchased at a cost of $1,500 under Rev. Francis Bottome, who was pastor from 1857 to 1858. His wife was Mrs. Margaret Bottome, writer and philanthropist, who founded the organization known as the "King's Daughters."
The Derby Methodists contributed under Rev. I. Simmons in 1866, the sum of $750 toward the building of the Ansonia Church and the fol- lowing year $1,600 for an organ. Under the pas- torate of Rev. John L. Peck, father of the late John Wesley Peck, former superintendent of Derby schools, 403 members were recorded for 1880.
The pastor reported the passing of four of the oldest members in 1890 and 1891 : "Mrs. E. S. Smith, Miss Lois Crofut, George \Y. Cheese- man, superintendent of the Sunday School, and Mrs. Lucy B. Ailing — four representative names, who have done great good in the long years they have been connected with the church."
Rev. Arthur B. Dewberry, M R. E.
Rev. Arthur l>. Dewberry came lo the Derby Methodisl Fpiscopal Church as pastor in May 1935, after completing a six year pastorate in the Nichols Methodisl Kpisropal Church.
He was born in Mull, Yorkshire, England, and after serving his apprenticeship in cabinel making, entered Cliff College in preparation for
40
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
the ministry. While in attendance here he ac- cepted a call to enter the Canadian Methodist Church, Nova Scotia Conference. After two years as pastor he entered the University of Mt. Allison, Sackville, N. B., and while there joined the Officers' Training Corps shortly after the be- ginning of the Great War. Receiving his commis- sion as a Lieutenant in 1915 he sailed for Eng- land in 1916 and was there transferred to the Artillery and the same year found him serving in France. Later he was again transferred, this time to the Royal Air Force, serving in France with this unit until the Armistice.
After the war Mr. Dewberry served in sev- eral branches of business before coming to the United States in 1922 and entering the School of Religious Education of the Hartford Semi- nary Foundation. He graduated in 1924 and in 1931 received his Master's degree from the same institution. Meanwhile he became Director of Religious Education of the Stamford Methodist Episcopal Church and two years later accepted a similar post in Morristown, N. J. Subsequently Mr. Dewberry was appointed Director of Re- ligious Education at First Methodist Episcopal Church, Waterbury, Conn., transferring to the Nichols church as pastor in 1929. He is married and has one ward.
Church Organizations.
The church is fortunate in having a number of very active societies which take important part in the work of the parish. The Ladies' Aid Society has long been one of the outstanding of parish organizations. Organized many years ago, its members have given their time and efforts un- sparingly in behalf of the church. At the present time Mrs. William M. Curtiss is president and under her the society has been most active in recent years.
The Young Woman's Guild represents an- other very active parish organization. It com- prises the young women of the parish and pro- motes social and religious work with a zeal and enthusiasm. Each year the Guild combines with the Ladies' Aid Society in presenting a festival, the proceeds of which are devoted to church work.
The Epworth league represents another im- portant organized group of young people who, each Sunday night during the year, with the ex-
ception of summer months, conducts an evening service of inspiration.
The Boy Scout movement is represented in the parish by a very active troop and by an active group of Cub Scouts.
Various junior organizations are sponsored in the parish and these, with the adult groups, make it a parish of much activity. Services are well attended and the church has been fortunate in the pastors who have been assigned to its charge.
During the pastorate of the Rev. Urban H. Layton and under his direction a Men's Club was organized. Under Mrs. Layton's efforts a summer school was conducted, which was very successful.
Officers of the church include: Trustees, Mrs. Louise M. Beardsley; William M. Curtiss, Lewis S. Browne, Thomas Kneen, Dr. George H. Kneen, W. H. Anderson, Airs. Frances E. Kel- logg; Superintendent of Sunday School, Edmund Strang; President of Woman's Guild, Mrs. Ed- ward W. Broadbent ; President of Ladies' Aid, Mrs. William M. Curtiss ; President of Epworth League, Miss Alta Wooster.
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IMPORTANT DATES IN DERBY METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
1789 — Rev. Jesse Lee Preached First Methodist Ser- mon in Derby. 1793 — Church Formally Organized. 1800 — Used Derby Neck Schoolhouse for Meetings. August 17, 1837 — First Church Edifice Dedicated. 1894 — Present Church Edifice Completed.
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THE MORE RECENT PASTORS HAVE BEEN:
Rev. John L. Peck 1879-1880
Rev. Harvey E. Burnes 1881-1882
Rev. George L. Thompson 1883
Rev. A. C. Eggleston 1884-1886
Rev. J. H. Lightbourne 1887-1888
Rev. William A. Richard 1889-1894
Rev. W. H. Barton 1894-1896
Rev. Robert T. MacNicholl 1896-1897
Rev. Oliver J. Cowles, D. D 1897-1898
(Died August 23)
Rev. George M. Brown, D. D 1898-1904
Rev. Isaac A. Marsland 1904-1908
Rev. James A. MacMillan 1908-1911
Rev. Charles E. Benedict 1911-1915
Rev. F. H. L. Hammond 1915-1922
Rev. Martin O. Olson 1922-1925
Rev. Alpheus M. Morgan 1925-1927
Rev. Stanley B. Crosland 1927-1928
Rev. Edwin A. Hartney 1928-1934
Rev. Urban H. Layton 1934-1935
Rev. Arthur B. Dewberry 1935
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Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
41
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
1845-1935
ST. MARY'S Roman Catholic Church of Derby is the mother of Catholicism in the Lower Naugatuck Valley. Today it is a stately Gothic edifice, beautifully proportioned and decorated within and without, the nucleus of a finely equipped parish, comprising a splendid school building, a rectory, a convent, and a parish center, the Catholic Community House, formerly the Fitch Smith residence, on Seymour iVvenue, one of the most recent additions to the parish holdings. The parish also owns a thirty-eight acre farm on Sentinel Hill, the former Stokesbury farm, which was acquired about a year ago for future parish use. These buildings and land holdings, together with the cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the parish, are a large and splen- did monument, not only to the faith both of the pioneer Catholics and those of the present day, but also to the labor and zeal of the many pastors of the parish over a period of ninety years.
The present pastor of St. Mary's Parish is the Reverend Andrew J. Plunkett, Ph. D., who came to Derby from Shelton in 1Q32, succeeding Dr. Robert F. Fitzgerald, former pastor of St. Mary's for twenty-five years. During his short pastorate Dr. Plunkett has already increased the parish holdings, created the new parish community cen- ter, and brought about a decided improvement in Mount St. Peter's Cemetery, as well as in the new St. Mary's and in the original St. Mary's cemeteries. A true leader of his people, infusing them with his own enthusiasm, Father Plunkett has already accomplished considerable in paro- chial achievement, and his pastorate bids fair to be an epoch-making one in parish history.
The First Catiiqlics of Derby.
The first Roman Catholic in Derby was Claudius Barthelme, who came here in 1760. Born in France in 1737, the son of a merchant, Barthelme joined the regiment of the Royal Roli- son in 1757, and shortly after was sent to America with General Montcalm. Soon after coming to Derby, he married Susanna, daughter of Samuel Plumb, and built a house across from the "Jewell House" in uptown Derby. After settling here Barthelme engaged in quite extensive trade with the West Indies, and was, during I luce different periods of his life, a large ship owner. He and
his son, Jerrod, were sea captains, and, as a result of Bonaparte's celebrated "Milan decree" in 1808, lost three merchantmen through confisca- tion by the French government. In his religious views Claudius Barthelme was a devout Roman Catholic, and, for a number of years, according to his biographer, the only one of that faith in Derby. His wife, Susanna, died in 1818, and Barthelme himself on October 10, 1824, at the age of eighty-seven.
18A5 flHST CVfHOUt CBVRfH.
On the occasion of the observance of the golden jubilee of St. Mary's church, December 8, 1895, a number of the descendants of Claudius Barthelme occupied reserved seats at the church celebration, among whom were the following: Mrs. Canfield, a great-great-granddaughter of Barthelme; Harvey Canfield; Mrs. Jonah C. Piatt; the late Charles E. Clark, cashier of the Birmingham National Hank; the late Judge George l>. Clark; the late Postmaster William
Clark; Mrs. Edson L. Bryant; and Mrs. Theo- dore Wells liassett.
The second Roman Catholic in Derby, so far as is known, was the Reverend Cabin While, a convert lo the faith, who had been assistant to
Dr. Richard Mansfield, rector of St. James' Epis- copal Church. Mr. White was graduated from Vale in 1786 and became a Catholic about the year 1820.
*2
Tfrckntenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
The First Irish Immigrants.
The following quotation concerning St. Mary's Church appears in "The History of Derby," com- piled in the year 1S80 by the Reverend Samuel Orcutt and Dr. Ambrose Beardsley:
"St. Mary's Church was erected in 1845, the spacious lot being donated by Anson G. Thelps for the Catholic people of Birming- ham. It was consecrated by Bishop O'Reilly, and since the first edifice was erected large additions have been made, a tower built and furnished with the heaviest tone bell in town.
"With this parish in and out of town are connected twTo thousand two hundred per- sons. Looking through the past history of this people we call to mind the Irish pio- neers of Birmingham, John Phelan, William Foley, John O'Conners, and Matthew Kel- lady, who on September 10, 1833, were landed at Derby dock from on board the old sloop, the Guide.
"A son of Erin at that time was rather a curiosity for the denizens of the town. Michael Stokes, Patrick Quinn, John Regan, Farrel Reilly, and others, soon followed the first until their numbers were legion."
The first Holy Mass celebrated in Derby was said in 1833 by Father McDermott in the "Old Point" House, which was situated near the site of the Birmingham National Bank on Main Street.
As stated in the preceding quotation, the first Catholic church in Derby, or Birmingham, as the town was then called, was erected in 1845, the year in which Anson G. Phelps of New York City deeded to the Right Reverend William Tyler, D. D., then bishop of the Hartford diocese, a plot of land, one hundred feet by seventy-five feet, on the westerly side of Elizabeth Street. As soon as this land was available the Catholics of the town contributed most generously, finan- cially and otherwise, to the fund for the erection of the church, many of them assisting in the work of digging the cellar, building the stone foundations, and erecting the building itself. Devout Catholics, they asked nothing for their services but the blessing of God. Some of the early records of the parish cannot be found, but among the earliest now on file is a petition which in the year 1845 was circulated among the Prot- estant business men of the town by Patrick Quinn and John Coss, two of the early Irish settlers of Derby. This petition shows that these gentle- men contributed very generously to the funds for the building of St. Mary's Church. The building,
fifty feet by thirty-three, was soon completed, under the direction of the Reverend James Smyth. It was subsequently enlarged twice, first by the Reverend James Lynch and later by the Reverend John Lynch. It was solemly dedicated to the Blessed Virgin by Bishop O'Reilly on May 2, 1852.
Prior to the erection of the church, the priests who came here occasionally from New Haven celebrated Mass in the homes of the more prom- inent Catholic families, where people congregated from miles around whenever it was possible to be present at the Holy Sacrifice.
The First Cemetery.
On August 27, 1847, Farrel Reilly purchased from Joseph P. Smith a lot at "Bare Plains." This was the first piece of property purchased in the town of Derby by an Irishman. This lot, deeded in trust by its owner to Bishop O'Reilly, on September 4, 1851, is now the old St. Mary's cemetery on Wakelee Avenue, in Ansonia. Before the purchase of this property the Catholics of the vicinity had buried their dead in the Catholic cemetery in New Haven.
The first burial in St. Mary's cemetery was a child of Thomas Maher in December, 1847.
The second St. Mary's cemetery was bought by Rev. John Lynch on August 9, 1861, and was consecrated on January 12, 1864, by Bishop Mc- Farland.
Steadily the Catholic population of the com- munity increased, and, as has been said before, the church had to be enlarged. Then there came a time when the Catholics of Ansonia felt that they should have their own church. Father Sheridan, pastor of St. Mary's at the time, thought that if the church acquired property midway between Ansonia and Birmingham, a large new church might be erected which would suffice for both towns, and he accordingly pur- chased a tract of land on Atwater Avenue. The Ansonia Catholics, however, decided that they wanted their own church, independent of Bir- mingham, and they so petitioned the Bishop of Hartford, with the result that they were given permission to form a separate parish. The prop- erty purchased by Father Sheridan, on which he proposed building a church, was afterwards sold. Upon this property now stands the homes of the late Henry Casey, Judge William H. Williams, Chief Justice David Torrance of the supreme
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
43
RECTORY, CHURCH, SCHOOL, AND CONVENT, ST. MARY'S PARISH
Court of Connecticut, and the present home of William D. Haggerty.
In the year 1853, Reverend James Lynch, pastor of St. Mary's at that time, purchased from Anson G. Phelps the land in the rear of the property originally donated by Mr. Phelps, this purchase extending the church property to Olivia Street. Also in 1853 the church purchased from John Coss the land south of the original lot. On this property now stands the rectory of the church.
The cornerstone of the present church build- ing was laid Sunday, June 25, 1882, by the late Bishop McMahon. The church was formally opened November 21, 1883. Additional land adjoining the church property on the north was purchased and the large brick school building and convent were later erected thereon.
The First Clergymen.
The first clergyman to attend to the spiritual walfare of the Catholics of Derby was the Rev- erend James McDermott, who was located in New Haven, to which city he had come in the year 1832. He first visited Derby in 1834. Father McDermott was succeeded by the Rev- erend James Smyth, who was in charge of the
Derby parish until 1848, when he was appointed to the pastorate of the church at Windsor Locks, where he spent the remaining years of his life.
In 1848 the Derby parish, which was then composed of Derby, Ansonia, Huntington and Seymour, was made part of the Waterbury parish, being trans- ferred from the parish of New Haven. In that year, the Rev- erend Michael ONiele was ap- pointed first resident pastor in Waterbury and from 1848 to 1851, a period of three years dur- ing which Derby was attached to the Waterbury parish, Father ONiele drove here on certain Sundays to celebrate the holy sacrifice of the Mass.
The First Pastor.
In the year 1851, the Rever- end James Lynch was appointed first resident pastor of Derby. The church, built in 1845, was remodeled shortly after Father Lynch's appointment, and on Sun- day, May 8, 1852, Bishop Bernard O'Reilly came to Derby from Providence to dedicate the church. It was a great day for the Catholics of this vicinity, and they came from miles around to be present at the auspicious occasion. The large number attending the ceremony and their evident appreciation of the efforts of Father Lynch on their behalf were the subject of great commendation from Bishop O'Reilly. Incident- ally the bishop was unfortunately drowned at sea a few years later.
In the year 1857 the Reverend James Lynch was transferred to Middletown, and later he became vicar-general of the Hartford diocese, the Reverend John Lynch being appointed to succeed him as pastor of St. Mary's. Father John Lynch remained here until the year 1862, when he was appointed pastor of Si. Peter's Church in Hartford, after which appointment, the Reverend John Sheridan was assigned to Derby. Father Sheridan died here in 1868, and his remains lie in St. Mary's cemetery.
After Father Sheridan's death, the Reverend
P. J. O'Dwyer was sent here, and he remained in charge of St. Mary's Parish until the division
44
IYrci n unary Fictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
of the parish in 1870, when Ansonia was set off
from St. Mary's and became the Parish of the Assumption oi the Blessed Virgin Mary. Father O'Dwyer was assigned to Ansonia in 1870, and Father John Lynch returned to Derby and remained until his death in 1878. Father O'Dwyer, while pastor here, was a member of the Public School Committee, under whose direc- tion the public school building, now the Irving School, was erected on Fifth Street. Others on that committee were Joseph Arnold and Royal M. Basset t.
With the passing of Father Lynch came the Reverend Peter M. Kennedy as pastor of St. Mary's. To Father Kennedy belongs the honor of having erected the present church building. The chancel furnishings in the new church were the gift of the Hon. Robert O. Gates. Father Kennedy also built the handsome brick rectory which supplanted the old white house which had formerly been used for this purpose. That house, incidentally, was moved to the corner of Olivia and Cottage Streets and later became the home of the Kennedy family. When the new church building and the rectory were finished Father Kennedy purchased the Nelson property on Sey- mour Avenue, and arranged for the coming of the Sisters of Mercy, who were established here in the year 1885. He then established a parochial school in the basement of the church. It was also during Father Kennedy's pastorate that title was acquired to the property at Turkey Hill, part of which was blessed on Sunday, May 8, 1887, by the late Bishop Lawrence S. McMahon and there- upon became consecrated ground and was named Mount St. Peter's. It was afterward laid out as a cemetery. Father Kennedy remained as pastor of St. Mary's, having charge also of Milford as a mission, until 1892, when he was assigned to the pastorate in Norwich, being succeeded by the Reverend Charles J. McElroy.
Father Kennedy was a churchman of tire- less energy. What the pioneer priests had gath- ered together from the farms and villages, he organized into a strong compact parish. Looking into the future he visioned a Catholic communi- ty vigorous, loyal and complete in all its units. This vision he saw realized in fact before he was laid to rest in Mt. Saint Peter's cemetery, which he had founded in 1887.
Father McElroy, who had served as pastor of New Milford and its scattered missions for
several years, began where Father Kennedy left off. He erected the present school building and also the convent for the Sisters of Mercy, which were considered models of school architecture and equipment at that time. For several years he conducted a High School, which rated very high in this section of the state. He was instru- mental in reducing the debt of the parish and remained in Derby until 1906, when he was as- signed as permanent rector of St. Augustine's Church in Bridgeport, where he died.
During his fourteen years of service Father McElroy perfected the organization of the parish and advanced the well being of his parishioners and the community.
The Reverend Robert F. Fitzgerald, D. D., successor of Father McElroy, was a native of Bridgeport, and at the time of his appointment to St. Mary's was vice-principal of St. Thomas' Seminary in Hartford.
The appointment of Doctor Fitzgerald to St. Mary's was his first and only assignment to pas- toral work. Fresh from the cloistered halls of learning and teaching, he found himself in the midst of a bustling parish that required a va- riety of gifts in the pastor. With the zeal of youth he entered the sanctuary of St. Mary's and polished off the efforts of his predecessors. He redecorated the church, and enriched it by erecting therein chaste statues and two side al- tars of white marble, and beautiful stained glass windows, the gifts of generous parishioners.
Dr. Fitzgerald improved the parish prop- erty, added to its land holdings for ceme- tery purposes, and liquidated the parish debt. He has the distinction of having served as pastor of St. Mary's for a longer period than any of his predecessors, having been pastor twenty-five years when he died suddenly Decem- ber 29, 1931. He was succeeded by the Reverend Andrew J. Plunkett, Ph. D., present and ninth resident pastor of St. Mary's.
Reverend Andrew J. Plunkett, PH. D.
The Reverend Andrew J. Plunkett, Ph.D., present pastor of St. Mary's Church, is a native of Stamford. He was educated in the Augustin- ian College at Villanova, Pennsylvania, and was ordained to the holy priesthood in St. Joseph's Cathedral, Hartford, on July 7, 1900, by the late Most Reverend Michael Tierney, Bishop of the Hartford Diocese.
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
45
Doctor Plunkett taught in St. Thomas' Semi- nary in Hartford, being among the original corps of instructors in that institution of learning when it was established by the diocese. His first parish work was as curate at Southington, where he remained from 1901 to 1904, during which period he organized a very active Young Men's Club. In 1904 Father Plunkett went to St. James' Church, South Manchester, where he remained until 1908.
REV. DR. ANDREW J. PLUNKETT Present Pastor
From 1908 to 1912 he was located in Windsor Locks, where he took a prominent part in the liquidation of the Windsor Locks Savings Bank, which had become insolvent. It was mainly through his efforts, as chairman of the Depositors' Committee, that the latter received almost full payment of their accounts. While in Windsor Locks Father Plunkett had charge of the mission at Suffield, where he repaired the church building and beautified the grounds, leaving the property entirely free from debt at his departure.
Dr. Plunkett's first pastorate came in Augusl , 1912, when he was assigned to St. Bernard's Church in Sharon. There he spent nearly seven fruitful years, during which he revived parish spirit, not only in Sharon, but also in its mis- sions at Kent, the Cornwalls, and Warren, his pastoral duties extending over an area of some three hundred square miles. In Sharon Father Plunkett built a beautiful church, which he an- nounced, on the day of its dedication, was free from debt, thereby setting a precedent in the diocese.
Father Plunkett was appointed pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Shelton on December 15, 1918, by the Most Reverend John J. Nilan, Bishop of Hartford. He succeeded the first pastor, the Reverend Daniel A. Bailey, who had died. During his pastorate in Shelton, the parish advanced in a most satisfying manner, both spir- itually and materially, all indebtedness being liquidated, and the number of parishioners sub- stantially increased. The former home of Julius G. Day, adjoining the church property, was acquired for a rectory, the former rectory, in which Father Plunkett built a beautiful chapel, being converted into a convent for the Sisters of St. Joseph, who came in April, 1926, for the instruction of children. Soon after coming to Shelton, Father Plunkett laid plans for the con- struction of a parochial school, which was soon built, and dedicated May 13, 1928, a very modern school building with recreation rooms, clubrooms for men and women, playrooms for children, as well as school rooms and auditorium.
During the insolvency of the Shelton Bank and Trust Company, Father Plunkett was again chairman of the Depositors' Committee, and highly instrumental in bringing about results satisfactory to both the depositors and the stock- holders.
Dr. Plunkett was appointed pastor of St. Mary's Church, Derby, on January 21, 1932 ; and his general enthusiasm, energy, and zeal imme- diately became evident in his new field. He assumed charge of and made elaborate improve- ments in all the Catholic cemeteries, the two St. Mary's cemeteries in Ansonia, and Mount St. Peter's cemetery in Derby, the latter, inci- dentally, being the burial place for most of the dead of seven neighboring parishes. All the cemeteries were greatly beautified, and in Mount St. Peter's a system of permanent roads was laid and additional land purchased in order to provide an exit to Chapel Street. New rules and regula- tions were formulated relative to the general care and upkeep of all the cemeteries.
In .March, 1932, Father Plunkett purchased for the parish the Fitch Smith properly on Seymour Avenue, a rambling dwelling with a large plol of Kind. After genera] repairing and
remodelling, this property was converted into a Catholic Community Mouse, a social center for
the parish, lie established a new school fund, and acquired, in October, 1934, the Stokesbury
farm on Sentinel Hill, ;i tract of thirty-eight
46
Tiki r\ unary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
acres for future parish use. He organized and is honorary president of the St. Mary's Catholic Men's Club, a parish organization having a membership of 400 men. meeting monthly, spon- soring sports and general social activities.
Assistants. At the present time the two assistant priests in St. Mary's Church are Rev. John Barney, who was born in Milford, Conn., and ordained to the priesthood May 26, 1927; and Rev. Francis Heavren. who was born in New Haven and or- dained December 21, 1929. Both Fathers Barney
REV. JOHN J. BARNEY
and Heavren have served in Derby since their ordination. They have labored faithfully and fruitfully under their pastors, Rev. Dr. Fitzgerald and Rev. Dr. Plunkett, and have been a potent influence for good in the parish and community.
Other Assistants.
The first assistant to serve in St. Mary's Parish was the Reverend F. Brown, who came here in 1863, followed by the Reverend C. Duggett in 1864 and 1865. The later assistants are as follows: The Reverends Philip Grace, P. G. McKenna, William F. O'Brien, M. J. Mc- Cauley, James Gleason, Michael Keane, E. P. McGee, James Xihill, Thomas Shelley, J. H. Dolan, M. W. Barry, Thomas J. Finn, John Fogarty, Henry Quinn, William Fox, Thomas P. Mulcahy, Alexander Mitchell, Charles H. Kane, Joseph Otto, Thomas Griffin, Vincent Finn, J. Warren Roach, J. Wendell Hotz, John J. Barney, and Francis P. Heavren.
Priests from the Parish.
The members of St. Mary's parish who have entered the holy priesthood are the following: The Reverends John Kennedy, John Stapleton, Joseph Barry, William Kennedy, Edwin Flynn, John Shea, Thomas Boland, Thomas O'Connell, John Dillon, O. P., and John P. Byrne.
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REV. FRANCIS P. HEAVREN
IMPORTANT EVENTS IN ST. MARY'S PARISH.
1833 — Arrival of First Irish Immigrants in Derby.
1845 — Donation of Land for Catholic Church by Anson G. Phelps.
1 845— Erection of First St. Mary's Church.
1847 — Founding of Old St. Mary's Cemetery.
1870 — Establishment of Ansonia Parish.
1883— Erection of Present St. Mary's Church.
1885 — Arrival of Sisters of Mercy.
1885 — Establishment of St. Mary's School in Base- ment of Church.
1887 — Founding of Mount St. Peter's Cemetery.
1898— Erection of St. Mary's School.
1904 — Erection of Convent.
1935 — Opening of Catholic Community House.
1861 — St. Mary's Cemetery Consecrated.
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PASTORS OF ST. MARY'S
Mission Pastors.
Rev. James McDermott 1833
Rev. James Smyth 1848
Rev. Henry O'Niele 1848-1851
Resident Pastors.
Rev. James Lynch . 1851-1857
Rev. John Lynch 1857-1862
Rev. John Sheridan 1862-1866
Rev. P. J. O'Dwyer 1866-1870
Rev. John Lynch 1870-1878
Rev. Peter M. Kennedy 1878-1892
Rev. Charles J. McElroy 1892-1906
Rev. Robert F. Fitzgerald, D. D 1906-1931
Rev. Andrew J. Plunkett, Ph. D 1932
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Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
47
REV. ROBERT F. FITZGERALD
REV. Robert F. Fitzgerald, D. D., served a long and faithful pastorate of St. Mary's Church, Derby, totalling twenty-six years. He was beloved by his parishioners and held in the highest esteem by others not of his faith.
SS$0wm
REV. ROBERT P. FITZGERALD
Dr. Fitzgerald was born in Bridgeport, the son of the late Mr. and Mrs. John Fitzgerald, both deceased. He attended the public schools in Bridgeport, graduating from the high school in 1885. His college course was made at Holy Cross, Worcester, Mass., where he distinguished himself both in his studies and in student ac- tivities.
After his graduation from Holy Cross, he decided to study for the priesthood and was ac- cepted as a student by the diocese. His >eholastic excellence led to his being sent to the American College in Rome, where he took his courses in philosophy and theology. Distinction came to him there also by way of a degree of Doctor ol Divinity, which he received after long study and
a brilliant defense of many theses before the authorities of the Church.
Dr. Fitzgerald was ordained to the priesthood on July 23, 1893, at the great church of St. John Lateran in Rome by His Eminence Cardinal Parocchi. Returning to America, he was ap- pointed to the post of assistant in St. Patrick's Church, Norwich, on September 8, 1893.
After four years of parish work, his scholastic attainments led to his selection by diocesan au- thorities in making him professor and vice- president of the newly-instituted St. Thomas' Seminary, which was then located in Hartford. There he served ably for nearly ten years until in April, 1906, when he was appointed to the pas- torate of St. Mary's, Derby.
In Derby, Dr. Fitzgerald's work was largely administrative but he showed his ability by pay- ing off the church debt in two years after as- suming the pastorate. In spite of the fact that two additional parishes were set off from St. Mary's, St. Michael's Polish parish in Derby and St. Joseph's in Shelton, the mother parish prospered spiritually and materially due largely to his wise and careful direction. Dr. Fitzgerald was known in Derby as a learned, prudent and well-beloved pastor. He died very suddenly Tuesday, December 29, 1931, in the vestry of St. Brendan's Church, New Haven, where he was attending a funeral. He rests in a place of his own selection in beautiful Mt. St. Peter's ceme- tery.
Rev. Charles J. McElroy.
Rev. Charles J. McElroy was born in New York City, but spent his younger years in Bridge- port. He made his classical studies at St. Charles' Collegej Maryland, and his philosophical and the- ological studies at Troy Seminary, New York, where he was ordained in 1N7(J. He was assistant at St. Peter's Church, Hartford, until 1887, when lie was appointed pastor of New Mil find and surrounding missions. He succeeded the Rev.
Peter M. Kennedy as pastor of St. Mary's, Derby,
in February, 1892, and continued as pastor until 1906.
48
li rim mi \.\rv Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
The Second Congregational Church
1845-1935 By Helen I. Bradley.
OX July 30. 1848, a meeting was held at the house of Ephraim Birdseye in Birming- ham, for the purpose of organiz- ing an Ecclesiastical Society. This was known as the Birming- ham Congregational Society. Those present at this meeting were: David Bassett, Asa Bas- sett. Garrett Smith, Ephraim Birdseye, David Nathan, George W. Shelton, Floyd T. Frost, Ed- ward Kirby, Samuel J. Tomlin- son. Ephraim Birdseye was ap- pointed secretary and David Bas- sett, moderator.
Xo mention is made in rec- ords of the Society about the construction of the church edi- fice, but the town records speak of its construction at a cost of 86,000.
On December 26, 1845, the So- ciety met to arrange for the ded- ication of the church, the Rev. Joel Parker, D. D., of Philadel- phia, being invited to preach the dedication sermon. The dedica- tion took place on Wednesday, January 28, 1846.
The Birmingham Congrega- tional Church, daughter of the First Congregational Church of Derby, was organized February 25, 1846. It is now known as the Second Congregational Church. On March 4, 1846, a meeting was held to make provision for the supply of the desk. It was voted that the Society's committee be instructed to hire the Rev. Mr. Cook for six months and that the remuneration for the same be the sum of S325.
First Pastor.
On August 11, 1846, a meet- ing was held to consider inviting the Rev. Charles Dickinson to
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SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
49
become pastor. He accepted and was installed September 16, 1846. He remained until his death in 1854.
The deacons were Josiah Smith and David Bassett. The membership that came from the First Congregational Church was fifty-nine, and during the first year the membership numbered seventy-four. By the end of 1847, the total mem- bership was one hundred and eight. The Con- fession of Faith of those days is not lengthy and in terms that are not used in our day. It has every mark of orthodoxy and it was evidently the work of a theologian.
On January 23, 1855, the church voted to call the Rev. Zachary Eddy to be pastor. He re- fused and on September 4, 1855, the call was renewed and he was installed before the close of the year. On September 29, 1855, the first or- gan was proposed.
The Rev. Mr. Eddy was dismissed February 11, 1858. He was succeeded by the Rev. Charles Wiley, D. D., who served eight months. He wa:: followed by the Rev. Gordon Williams, who was pastor for one year.
Church Extended.
On June 6, 1859, it was voted to extend the church seventeen feet and also repair the front at an expense not to exceed $4,000.
On January 7, 1861, the Rev. C. C. Carpenter was invited to be pastor. He was dismissed June 22, 1865. January 15, 1866, it was voted to build a parsonage and this was done at a cost of $6,000. April 9, 1866, the Rev. Stephen L. Mershon was called to the pastorate. He was dismissed March 17, 1869. The Rev. John Willard became pastor November 3, 1869, and remained until April 1, 1873.
The Rev. Charles F. Bradley was installed August 1, 1873, and resigned September 6, 1884, and afterwards was dismissed at a council held in Naugatuck June 25, 1885. Considerable contro- versy brought about the revision of the Creed, April 9, 1883.
Addition to Church.
The Rev. Charles W. Park was called as pas- tor May 2, 1885, and was dismissed December 1, 1894. During his pastorate, the present organ was purchased, December 18, 1889. In order to accommodate the organ, an addition was made to the rear of the church, the committee in charge
consisting of D. M. Bassett, L. W. Booth, J. D. Dayton, Rev. C. W. Park, David Torrance, George C. Allis and S. W. Rockwell.
On April 16, 1894, the Rev. C. W. Park sug- gested that the church adopt the free pew sys- tem but it was not thought advisable.
Rev. E. C. Fellowes became pastor on Febru- ary 1, 1895, and continued until January 1, 1905.
It was voted on May 6, 1895, to make neces- sary alterations to the church. A committee was appointed for this purpose, consisting of George
E. Barber, W. S. Downs, J. D. Dayton, D. S. Brinsmade, T. S. Allis, Rev. Charles W. Shelton, Rev. E. C. Fellowes, Mrs. David Torrance, Mrs.
F. G. Perry and Mrs. H. F. Wanning. The work was completed November 4, 1895, the total cost of alterations, including the removal of the gal- leries and the laying of new carpets and plac- ing of new pews, amounting to $5,723. Subscrip- tions amounting to $5,220 for church repairs and indebtedness were raised, while the Ladies' Aid Society gave $1,000 additional.
Debt Cleared.
The memorial windows were placed in posi- tion during this time of renovation. This date marks the rebirth of the church. The old debt was cleared off through the energetic efforts of the committee and the Ladies' Aid Society. The Ecclesiastical Society and church have not been handicapped by debt and the church has been able to do work of increasing usefulness both for itself and the community.
Other Pastors.
Succeeding ministers have been : Rev. W. H. Alexander, called April 1, 1905, resigning No- vember 1, 1913; Rev. Vernon W. Cooke, who was ordained to the ministry of this church on December 28, 1914, and called to the pastorate February 20, 1914, remaining as pastor until June 1, 1916. During Mr. Cooke's pastorate the church was again renovated and has remained to this day <'t delight to the eye.
The present minister, the Rev. Alfred W. Budd, was called to the pastorate on December 23rd, 1910, and commenced his work on March 1st, 1917. In L918 the old pew rental system was replaced by tree will offerings through the every-member canvass.
Tn 1929, the church was thoroughly renovated ,ii a COSl of 822,957, all of which was raised by
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Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
subscription. The renovation was in charge of the building committee consisting of: Edwin L. Hull. Nelson D. Booth. Miss Helen Barber, Mrs. William G. Shaw and Edwin B. Gager, Jr., and the finance committee consisting of George E. Barber, Robert S. Gardner, Francis D. Wanning, L. Raymond Darling and Herbert L. Whitney.
At that time a new heating plant was estab- lished, the basement of the church made over entirely, steel girders replacing the pillars, hard- wood floors put in, a splendid stage setting and the kitchen extended and refinished and the church auditorium was redecorated, while the entire building received a coat of paint.
During its long history, the church has had fifty-two deacons.
From this church has gone the Rev. Charles W. Shelton, D. D., secretary of the National Congregational Home Missionary Society. He was ordained to the ministry in this church by a council called for the purpose on March 11, 1881.
The Ladies' Aid Society has been in exist- ence from the founding of the church and has been a valuable part of the church organization. In 1930 it was merged into the Women's Aux- iliary. The ladies have always had charge of the parsonage and, judging from the records and from experience, the present minister feels that the society has always been a comfort to the ministry that has served the church and parish.
The Sunday School has also had 89 years of useful service. The Young Woman's Club organ- ized March 27, 1919, has its own particular sphere of service adding much to the social life of the young people.
The Young People's Society of the Christian Endeavor wTas organized in 1924 under the pres- ent pastorate with the object of interesting young people in Christian work and it has become one of the most active and successful organizations in the church, conducting a service each Sunday evening and various social events during the year.
Under the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Budd, a Boy Scout unit was organized in the church known as Troop 3, which has become a credit to Housatonic Council and the church. Mr. Budd has been its Scoutmaster since the troop was or- ganized.
Following is the amended creed adopted by the church on June 12, 1882:
"This Church is a body of believers in Jesus Christ, associated for the purpose of mutual edi- fication in truth and righteousness and for the promotion of Christ's kingdom in the World.
"We believe that the principles which con- stitute practical discipleship in Christ are the two Commandments, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and mind and soul and strength,' and 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'
"We believe therefore, that any one who ac- cepts these commandments as binding on con- science and life and who seeks to guide his con- duct with God's help by them, avowing his faith in Christ as the Head of the Church, is a dis- ciple of Christ, fully entitled to the rights and duties of Christian fellowship."
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REV. ALFRED W. BUDD
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MINISTERS OF SECOND CHURCH.
Rev. Mr. Cook 1846-1846
Rev. Charles Dickinson 1846-1854
Rev. Zachary Eddy 1855-1858
Rev. Charles Wiley, D. D 1858-1858
Rev. Gordon Williams 1858-1859
Rev. C. C. Carpenter 1861-1865
Rev. Stephen L. Mershon 1866-1869
Rev. John Willard 1869-1873
Rev. Charles S. Bradley 1873-1884
Rev. Charles W. Park 1885-1894
Rev. E. C. Fellowes 1895-1905
Rev. W. H. Alexander 1905-1913
Rev. Vernon W. Cooke 1914-1916
Rev. Alfred W. Budd 1917-
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Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
51
Rev. A. W. Budd.
Throughout the present pastorate, Rev. Al- fred Walter Budd, minister, has continually brought helpful and inspiring messages. He re- sides at the parsonage at 136 Elizabeth Street. He was born in Guilford, Surrey, England, the son of Walter and Rose Budd. He graduated from the Wardsville High School in 1898 in On- tario, Canada, Albert College of Belleville, On- tario, in 1901, McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, in 1906, and Yale Divinity School in 1909. His degrees are S. T. L., and B.D. Rev. Mr. Budd was pastor at Grenville, Quebec, from 1906 to 1908; at Barrington, R. I., from 1909 to 1911; at North Brookfield, Mass., from 1911 to 1917. His local pastorate began March 1, 1917.
Rev. Mr. Budd is chaplain of King Hiram Lodge, F. and A. M.
He was twice married, first to Margaret Ag- nes Biscombe of Belleville, Ontario, Canada, and then on July 11, 1925 to Leta Evadel Mosher of Antwerp, N. Y. The children are: Alfred Gren- ville, Cecil Eliott, Marion Alfreda, Marvin Har- wood and Helen Evadel Budd.
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IMPORTANT DATES IN HISTORY OF SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
February 25, 1846 — Birmingham Congregational
Church Organized. July 30, 1845 — Ecclesiastical Society Organized. January 28, 1846 — Church Dedicated. January 15, 1866 — Parsonage Built.
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St. Michael's Polish R. C. Parish
1905-1935
AN enduring memorial to the faith and zeal of the early Polish settlers of this vicinity as well as to its parishioners today stands in the well-equipped, valuable property of St. Michael's parish in East Derby. It is a memorial to their faith and their loyalty not only to Church but to Country. In Derby, the history of the
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH
Polish people is one that reflects credit upon themselves and their devotion, farsightedness and integrity. Thirty years of parish history shows great progress together with careful ad- ministration on the part of their pastors.
Parish Organized
The movement for a Polish parish in Derby was started in 1902. The Polish people felt that they wanted a church of their own, with pastor who could talk to them in their own language. At that time they were connected with St. Mary's church, and at intervals Rev. Charles J. McEl- roy, pastor of St. Mary's, secured a Polish priest to come here and conduct services for them. But so earnest were some of the Poles for a church, that they bought a piece of land in East Derby, on which were three houses, and presented this to the bishop for church purposes. The bishop, finding that the Polish people of Derby were ready to go thus far in the interest of a parish, consented to send a priest here, and shortly after the land was bought he designated Rev. George Glogowski, C. M., to see if a parish could be formed. The priest found the field a fertile one and on July 16, 1905, the parish was organized. The parish originally comprised the Polish peo- ple of Derby, Ansonia, Shelton and Seymour.
In the beginning services were held in the chapel of Si. Mary's church, hut in September of thai year the hall in the old Whitlock .Ma- chine Shop was hired and filled up for worship. Here services were held until Christmas. In \<>
vember L906, Rev. George Glogowski was suc- ceeded by Rev. Stanislaus Konieczny, who re- mained here (inly a shorl time, being succeeded by Rev. Paul W'aszko, C. M.
l'i kci \ rrxARY Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
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rev. stanislaus konieczny
Rev. Paul Waszko
Under Father Waszko the work was pushed ceaselessly. Not only did he strengthen the par- ish, but he eagerly entered into the building of the church. On looking over the ground he saw that the lot adjoining that which had been bought and presented to the bishop was the best place for the church because it was already graded and free from buildings, the buildings having been destroyed by fire. This he purchased and then shortly afterwards had plans prepared for the erection of the church.
The work on the foundation was begun early in the spring of 1906 and by September 23 they were ready for the laying of the cornerstone, which rite was performed by the Right Rev. Michael Tierney, Bishop of Hartford, in the presence of a great crowd of people.
After that the work on the building went ahead rapidly, and by Christmas the basement of the church was completed and made ready for occupancy, the first mass being celebrated in the basement on Christmas day. From then on services were held in the basement, and work on the other part of the church proceeded. The dedication of the new church took place July 4, 1907. The dedicatory services were performed by the Rt. Rev. Mgr. John Synnott, vicar general of the flioce.se of Hartford. The square formed just in front of the church by the intersection of Derby avenue and .Main street, was so packed with the Polish people it seemed that every man, woman and child in the parish was present to
ST. MICHAEL'S SCHOOL
witness these ceremonies to which they had looked forward for so long and for which they had worked so hard.
An Achievement The church that cost $40,000 was an impor- tant step in the rapid advancement of St. Mi- chael's parish. When it is considered that the parish was not yet two years old, the fact that a church has been built, shows that the pastor and the people were imbued with a spirit and an energy rarely found in parishes of any de- nomination. When it is further considered that the people of this parish were not wealthy but that the great majority of them earned not more than $1.50 a day, the sacrifice that was neces- sary to raise the funds needed to build the church appears very great indeed. But it did not appear too great to the people of the parish, for they illustrated what can be done through united ef- fort. There were no large donations to help out the church work, but everyone gave willingly according to his means, and as a result the church was built within two years from the time of the organization of the parish.
One of the interesting things about the pews in the church was that they were put in by mem- bers of the parish, who volunteered to set them, in order to save the parish the expense of hav- ing this work done by carpenters. This illus- trates one of the many ways in which members of the parish have worked to make the church possible and to realize the hopes they entertained of having a church of their own.
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
S3
The New School
The proof how the people of St. Michael's parish are generous for public deeds is the erec- tion of a school and convent for the Sisters, which were finished in 1914. The school is a three story brick building with ten rooms and a spacious auditorium. It is conducted by the Sis- ters of Holy Family of Nazareth. The Catholic Church carries the great burden of its educa- tional system by which boys and girls are taught the principles of religion and respect for au- thority, not only because it is necessary to the Church itself, but also because it believes it is necessary for the preservation of American ideals, which are founded in Christianity. The Catholic Church knows that the only way to insure fu- ture citizenship is to inculcate in the young the principles of religion. That is the reason why Catholics, who like other citizens, pay their taxes and contribute to the upkeep of public institu- tions at the same time bear the tremendous burden of their own educational system.
Societies
The social activity is carried on by different organizations to which the people of the parish belong. There are: Young Men's Association for boys, Sodality of Mary for girls, St. Michael's, John Sobieski the King's, benefit societies for men ; the Union of Polish Women, benefit so- ciety for women ; St. Thaddeus, a group of Pol- ish National Alliance ; Casimir Pulaski, a group of Polish National Alliance in Shelton, and St. Joseph's Society, a group of the Roman Catholic Polish Union. Various athletics are emphasized in the development of the youth of the parish. There are basketball teams, football teams and baseball teams.
When Rev. Paul Waszko, C. M., was trans- ferred to Brooklyn, N. Y., he was succeeded by Rev. Joseph Studzinski, C. M., who conducted the parish from July, 1924, to January, 1929. The present pastor is Rev. Stanislaus Konieczny, C. M., and his worthy assistant is Rev. Julian Pustelnik, C. M.
Last year (1934) the church was renovated and beautifully decorated. The short history of St. Michael's parish shows that it is an active, vigorous and progressive congregation.
Rev. Stanislaus Konikczny
Rev. Stanislaus Konieczny, twice and present pastor of St. Michael's church, is a native of
Cracow, Poland. He pursued his studies for the priesthood at the University of Cracow and was there ordained in 1899. He spent eight years as president of St. John Kanty College, Erie, Pa., and for two years was a member of Mission Band in Brooklyn. In 1906 he served a brief pastorate at St. Michael's and was returned here in 1929 and is still pastor of the church. Father Konieczny is a member of the Vincentian Fathers and attended the provincial convention of that order in Paris in 1933.
Rev. Julian Pustelnik Rev. Julian Pustelnik, assistant pastor of St. Michael's church, is a native of Silesia. He studied for the priesthood at the University of Cracow, Poland, and was ordained there in 1924. He spent two years as an instructor at St. John Kanty College, Erie, Pa., and came to St. Mi- chael's as assistant pastor in 1928. He is a mem- ber of the Vincentian Order.
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IMPORTANT DATKS IX ST. M1CI lAKl.'S CHURCH
1902 — Movement started for Polish Parish in Derby, July 16, 1905— St. Michael's Parish orRanized. September 23, 1906 — Cornerstone of Church laid. July 4, 1907— St. Michael's Church dedicated. 1914— Erection of School and Convent.
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PASTORS OF ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH
Rev. George Glogowski, ('. M 1905-1906
Rev. Stanislaus Konieczny, C. M 1906-1906
Rev. Paul Waszko, C. M 1(X)6-1924
Rev. Joseph Studzinski, C. M 1924-1929
Rev. Stanislaus Konieczny, C. M 1929
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54
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
Congregation Sons of Israel
1905-1935
THE Congregation of the Sons of Israel, spiritual organization of Hebrew residents of Derby and Shelton, with a handsome temple on Anson street, Derby, was organized in 1905. Up to that time, Hebrew residents had worship- ped in synagogues in nearby cities but they de- sired their own temple and spiritual leader. It was a number of years before their hopes were realized. The first officers were: President, Charles Ringel ; vice president, Herman Blank- feld ; secretary, Henry Spero ; treasurer, Meyer Cohen.
First services were held in Knights of Pythias Hall on Main street, now known as Fraternal Hall.
In 1916, the congregation formally undertook its plans for a building for future worship. The building was completed in 1918 and formally dedicated in 1918. Rabbi Solomon Sigel, who had come from Palestine, was the first spiritual lead- er and remained here until 1934, when he re- signed to go to Springfield. New officers were elected with the dedication of the temple, these
being: President, x^lbert H. Yudkin, who served in that capacity until 1931 ; vice president, Her- man Blankfeld ; secretary, Henry Spero ; treas- urer, Louis Kreiger.
Rabbi Mann.
Rabbi Herman H. Mann is at present the spiritual leader of the Congregation of the Sons of Israel. He is a graduate of the Rabbinical College and was teacher in the Rabbinical Semi- nary in Jerusalem. He served for seven years as spiritual leader and principal of the Hebrew In- stitute in Bridgeport before coming to Derby, August 24, 1935.
Present Officers.
Present officers of the synagogue are: Presi- dent, Meyer Cohen ; vice president, David Schpero ; secretary, Meyer Chazen ; assistant secretary, Henry Spero ; treasurer, Louis Kreiger ; board of trustees, Arthur Goldstein, Dr. Bernard A. Shield, Morris Schlacter and Sol Emple.
The Burtville Union Chapel
By Henry M. Bradley, Jr.
BURTVILLE, strange as it may seem, at one time had a church of its own. The communi- ty takes its name from David Burt, who owned the land where the village now stands. He was quite a "character" in his day, and when he rode into town dressed in clothes of the thirties, sometimes surmounted by a white beaver and huge rimmed glasses, and seated on his old pony "Pomp," he used to create quite a sensation. Mr. Burt was brother-in-law to Rev. Stephen Jewett, rector of St. James'. As a few houses sprang up on his land, "Daddy" Burt, as he was called, remarked to a neighbor, "Waal, I clar to goodness, I never thought I'd live to die in the smoke of a city!" By 1877, there were about 2 5 dwellings in the village, and Mrs. D. M. Church organized a Sunday school class, which grew into a mission, for which George Water-
man donated a suite of rooms in the present Reagan house in December of the same year. The following March the school organized with Mrs. Church, superintendent ; Deacon David Bradley, assistant ; Miss Serena Bailey, secretary, and Almon Ticknor, treasurer. After Mrs. Church's removal, Dr. B. F. Leach suc- ceeded her as head of the mission. Shortly afterwards, Mrs. Martha Ticknor, adopted daughter and heir of the Burts, donated a site for a chapel, adjoining the Burt home, and Lewis Young, David Bradley and Almon Tick- nor were named as building committee. The work was completed on July 6, 1879, at a cost of $500. The "steam-mill" contributed lumber. Lewis S. Young, a carpenter, superintended the construction of the building, and D. K. Crof- fut the hauling of materials, Charles H. French
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley 55
succeeded Dr. Leach as superintendent in 1883. Mrs. Charles French was organist, and Lorenzo
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BURTVILLE CHAPEL
D. Rockwell, sexton. There were seventy scholars registered at that time, representing the Baptist, Methodist, Congregational and Episcopal de-
nominations. Lewis S. Young, James Dawson, Eliot Bronson, Sylvester D. Bronson, Joseph Hal- stead and James W. Moshier were later superin- tendents. The Derby-New Haven trolley bought the property when it secured rights of way in 1902, the proceeds being divided among the evan- gelical churches of Derby and Shelton. The build- ing was sold to James McDermott, who moved it to the open fields near Mt. St. Peter's cemetery and changed it to a tenement. A grass fire in April, 1920, gutted the house, rendering it unfit for occupancy. The only reminder of the former Burtville chapel is that "Chapel street" still ex- ists. Among the teachers who served in the chapel, besides those mentioned, were: Mrs. Lorenzo D. Rockwell, Mrs. Samuel M- Smith, Mrs. Lewis Young, Mrs. Theodore Baldwin, Miss Carrie Baldwin, Miss Agnes Painter, Mrs. H. M. Bradley, Miss Alice Baldwin, Miss Minnie Bron- son, Mrs. Adeline Burroughs, Mrs. Ella Rowell Peck, Miss May Wetherby, Miss Louise Goebel, Mrs. Ida Mizzen, Miss Alice Murphy, Mrs. William F. Holcombe, Miss Mamie Bronson, Miss Edith Goebel, Mrs. Charles W. Schofield, Miss Jennie Robinson, Miss Annie Robinson, David R. French, Miss Lena Yocher, Mrs. George Smith and B. Wheeler.
DERBY-SHELTON GIRL SCOUTS
ALTHOUGH Girl Scout troops had been or- ganized at various times previous to 1926, the first troop which marked the beginning of the present Derby-Shelton Girl Scout Council was registered in December of that year at the Community Club. A program for the teen-age girl had been sponsored by this organization for some time, but the board of directors felt that a definite program was needed, and after care- ful consideration of the various national organi- zations, applied to Girl Scouts, Inc., for a char- ter which was granted in February, 1927.
Since that time, the Scout way of life, with best use of leisure time, has been offered to the girlhood of Derby and Shelton. At present there are twelve troops with a membership of 250, seven Brownie packs (girls 7-9 years of age) numbering 135, and an adult membership of lead- ers, council members, and troop committee mem- bers of 100.
The Girl Scouts of today, while they have no new lands to explore, can be useful in the
new ways of life that our changing civilization has brought us. They find that there can be as much joy in learning the best ways of doing things in our new era, as there was in our new and undiscovered country. Our early history is replete with stories of brave, handy girls, who were certainly Girl Scouts, though they never belonged to a patrol, nor recited the Girl Scout laws. But they lived the laws, those strong, young pioneers, and we can stretch out our hands to them across the years, when we read of them.
Girl Scout adventures, like the adventures of covered wagon days, develop skill, resourceful- ness, backbone, good fellowship, and self-reliant, sturdy character.
The officers of the Derby-Shelton Girl Scout Council and Community Club are: Commission- er, Mrs. John B. Russ; Deputy Commissioner, Mrs. Frederick W. Stolzenberg; Secretary, Miss Beatrice deF. Allien; Treasurer, Miss llattie Lineburg; Local Director, Miss Marion II. An- derson.
56
I'lKiixii \ \u\ Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
Prominent Derby Families
The Gates Family
THE Gates family, its progenitors among the earliest settlers of the State of Connecticut, has been prominent and influential in the history of the state, county and community down through the years of succeeding generations.
Hon. Robert Owen Gates, father of the Gates family of our time, died in 1919, after a long and successful life, in which he distinguished himself in industrial leadership and auspicious public service. His living survivors are two sons, Frank Hegeman Gates and Ross Fletcher Gates.
Frank H. Gates.
Frank H. Gates, eldest son of this prominent family, is a native of Derby and maintains his home in the Gates' family residence on Derby Avenue, Derby. For nearly ISO years the Gates family has occupied the same site on Derby Avenue. Air. Gates' influence upon the commu- nity has been in keeping with the traditions of this public-spirited family. His sphere of activi- ties and interests knows no limit of community endeavor and his activities and interests state- wise are as equally well known as his generous deeds in the associated cities and towns.
Air. Gates' life has been intimately connected with Derby. He first attended a private school, then located on Fourth Street, and later the public school on Gilbert Street. With his brother, Ross F. Gates, he was graduated from Hillhouse High School, New Haven, with honors, and then went west where he remained for a year on a cattle ranch. Returning to Derby, he secured employment as an office boy in the Ansonia Brass and Copper Company, located in Ansonia. Six months later and for the ensuing seven years, he was in charge of the freight transportation of that concern and its five subsidiaries, a posi- tion of trust and responsibility. Then, Air. Gates retired from the concern and went to New York for a year, after which he returned home to look after family affairs.
Honorary Policeman.
Honors have come to Air. Gates, one after another, in his native city as well as in the sur-
rounding cities and in the state. He has the distinction of being the only honorary member of the Derby Police Department. This honor came to him with the unanimous approval of the board of aldermen and a gold badge, which he prizes highly, is the symbol of that singular expression of good will of his fellow citizens. Only lately he received an additional honor from another police organization, this being the Con- necticut State Police Chiefs' Association, which made him an honorary member.
Honored by Elks.
Mr. Gates is also an honorary life member of Derby Lodge of Elks and on May 18, 1935, was tendered a testimonial banquet by that organization. Several hundred local and visiting Elks were in attendance and during the festivities Mr. Gates was presented with his honorary life membership card, an honor seldom conferred by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. On that occasion Air. Gates was paid high tribute for his benevolences and among those who praised his worth and work was Judge Patrick B. O'Sulli- van of the Superior Court of Connecticut, another native son of Derby and lifelong friend of Mr. Gates. Mr. Gates also has been frequently hon- ored by the Ansonia Lodge of Elks.
Likewise, Mr. Gates is an honorary life mem- ber of the Storm Engine Company and the Paugassett Hook and Ladder Company of Derby. He is a life member of the Highland Golf Club of Shelton and at the present time is president of that organization, a position in which he has been called upon on several occasions to serve. It was mainly through his efforts that the Highland Golf Club has become the popular valley organization that it is with a spacious clubhouse, charming surroundings, a picturesque view of the valley cities and a nine hole golf course equal to the finest in the state.
Honored by Veterans.
Mr. Gates is also an honorary chief of Wepa- waug Tribe of Red Men and holds honorary life membership in the Veterans of Foreign Wars and
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
57
the Purple Heart Association of the United States. It was through his efforts and support that the latter organization came into existence. Originally, the Badge of the Military Order of the Purple Heart, a medal, suitably inscribed, was established by President Washington to honor Revolutionary War patriots who were wounded. The award was revived a few years ago and the first meeting of those World War veterans, who received the medal, was held in Ansonia. Mr. Gates encouraged the veterans to organize and from the small organization of 24, consisting of Purple Heart Veterans of Derby, Ansonia, Shelton and Seymour, a national organization has materialized with some 30 chapters distrib- uted in various states from Maine to California. The first national convention of the Purple Heart Association was held in Derby in 1933, and Mr. Gates, for his efforts and interest on behalf of the veterans, was one of four honored by honorary life membership in the national organization.
Mr. Gates' other activities include member- ship of an active nature in the Derby and Shelton Board of Trade, the Quinnipiac Club of New Haven, the New Haven Country Club, Pine Orchard Club and the Connecticut Society of Founders and Patriots. He also enjoys life mem- bership in the Lake Placid Club of Lake Placid, New York.
Besides all these activities which indicate his widespread interests, Mr. Gates is president of the Derby Uptown Burying Ground Association, and a director of the American Automobile Association and vice president of the Connecticut Motor Club. He is also honorary president and member of the council, camp and finance com- mittees of Housatonic Council, Boy Scouts of America ; a trustee and incorporator of the Griffin Hospital ; a member of the Red Cross council board and a member of the Humphreys House Council. He served as first lieutenant of Company F, Connecticut State Guards, now in reserve. For several years Mr. Gates served as a member of the sinking fund commission of the City of Derby, a position which he resigned a year ago because of pressure of other interests.
Mr. Gates has ever been alert and active in advancing the interests of the associated towns and cities. Some years ago he was successful, only after persistent and painstaking effort, in interesting the Yale University rowing authori- ties in Lake Housatonic as a possible home rowing course for Yale crews. Eventually, the
possibilities of that remarkable body of water, above the Derby-Shelton dam, appealed to the university athletic authorities and to the late Payne Whitney, who was influential among the Yale rowing authorities, with the result that it was selected as Yale's home rowing course. The university erected a spacious boathouse on the Derby shore of the river and since then, almost annually, the Housatonic is the scene of an inter- collegiate rowing spectacle which attracts from 30,000 to 50,000 visitors to Derby and Shelton.
Although never consenting to accept public office of an elective nature, Mr. Gates has con- tinually manifested a public spirit and devotion to public interests that has created a place for him in the esteem of his fellow men that is peculiarly his own. Doubtless no one in the valley cities is more favorably known and more widely honored and esteemed than Mr. Gates for his splendid personality, vast activities and public and private benefactions.
V
Hon. Robert O. Gates.
The Gates family has lived in Derby nearly a century and a half, taking at all times foremost and prominent part in its progress and develop- ment. Some of the earlier generations of the family in America ranked with the most promi- nent as well as the earliest settlers of New Fngland.
lion. Robert Owen Gates, father of Frank II. Gates, ami son of Roberl Wilder Gates, was horn
November 23, 1838, in Derby and received his education in the public schools. After he left
58
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
school he assisted his father for a period in the carriage business. While a boy he was clerk in the Springfield office of the Hartford and New Haven Railroad. After a few years he returned to his native city and entered the manufacturing plant of Robert X. Bassett, who, in the later fifties, began the manufacture of hoopskirt wires and metal corset material. Young Mr. Gates showed much ability and rapidly advanced in the concern to positions of trust and responsibility. For a number of years he was superintendent of the factory.
County Sheriff.
Mr. Gates later retired from business to devote himself to family interests and public offices. His public service to the Town of Derby extended over a period of years and was marked by ability and fidelity to his trust. He was selectman of the town from 1881 to 1887 and in the last four years of that period served as town agent. During his administration he reduced the public debt by over $60,000. His careful, judi- cious handling of town funds won him the esteem of all citizens without regard to party and, there- fore, in 1883, when he was induced to become the candidate of his party for county sheriff in Xew Haven county, he was elected by a large majority. His victory constituted unprecedented political history because he was successful in winning in a stronghold in which the opposing party had long been dominant. Likewise, the victory attested his own high calibre, the esteem in which he was held by all people alike and his reputation for honest public service.
Sheriff Gates' administration at the jail has been frequently pointed out for its efficiency and the introduction of many modern methods not up to that time associated with those who came under the ban of the law. When, therefore, in 1886, Mr. Gates was renominated he received the praise of the newspapers for the manner in which he had conducted the affairs of the Shrievalty. His reelection ensued from the admiration and respect which his administration had won for him. it was the last public office Mr. Gates would consent to hold, however. He refused renomination for the third time and likewise refrained from heeding the persuasions of his party that he allow his name to be used for the nomination for congress from this district or for nomination for state comptroller. Mr. Gates was
content, with the splendid record of public serv- ice, to return to his own interests once again.
During his regime, Sheriff Gates had the honor of representing New Haven County at Yale commencement exercises, his official ca- pacity, during his entire term of office, making him escort to the president of the university in the commencement procession and during the commencement exercises. This custom of the sheriff escorting the president was abandoned after Sheriff Gates retired from office.
For twenty years Mr. Gates was president and a trustee of the Birmingham Burying Ground Association, now Oak Cliff Cemetery, and it was largely through his efforts that it became the beautiful place of final rest that it is today.
Mr. Gates was a prominent Freemason, a member of New Haven Commandery, Knights Templar. He was also one of the organizers of, and until his death a member of, the Derby and Shelton Board of Trade. At one time he was a director of the Star Pin Company.
On December 9, 1868, Mr. Gates was married to Letitia Fletcher Hegeman, of New York. Mrs. Gates was a descendant of Adrian Hegeman, who came from Amsterdam, Holland, to New Amsterdam in 1650 or 1651. Their union was blessed with four children : Frank Hegeman Gates, Ross Fletcher Gates, Georgia Waldron Gates, deceased ; and Laura Hegeman Gates Bradley, deceased ; Mr. Gates' long and useful life closed in December, 1919, while Mrs. Gates died in 1922.
s//W///////ZOy/'/M
ROBERT WILDER GATES
H
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
59
Robert Wilder Gates.
Robert Wilder Gates, father of Hon. Robert 0. Gates, and the son of Col. Robert Gates, was born in Derby, July 6, 1812. On June 21, 1833, he was married to Ann Maria Townsend Hotch- kiss of New York City, who was born in Surrey, Maine. They were married by Bishop Onder- douk at Old Trinity, New York. He was a life- long and prominent resident of Derby and dis- played the same traits of business success that his father, Col. Robert Gates, had shown. Mr. Gates served as postmaster of Derby in 1853 and also as a member of the General Assembly. He served, too, as assessor and deputy sheriff. He had the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens. Mr. Gates died in 1882 and his wife in 1891. He was captain of the first fire company, 1838, now the Hotchkiss Hose Company.
Col. Robert Gates.
Col. Robert Gates was born in 1780. In early life he removed from East Haddam to Derby and thereafter made his home here. He engaged in merchandising, keeping one of the principal stores in the Naugatuck Valley, from which many of the settlers in this region obtained their sup- plies. He also owned vessels which plied with freight between Derby and New York. He became a prominent and influential resident. Col. Gates was postmaster of Derby from 1833 to 1849 and served in the legislature in 1838.
He also served in the Connecticut Militia in the War of 1812 and on four occasions was com- missioned by the government of the State of Connecticut. These commissions were: In 1807, when he was appointed captain by Governor Trumbull; in 1813, when he became captain of the Third Company of Artillery; in 1816, when he became major; and in 1818, when Governor Wolcott promoted him to the rank of lieutenant-
colonel. These commissions are hanging in the Gates home on Derby Avenue.
In September, 1813, Col. Gates and his com- pany were ordered to New London where he spent forty-five days. He furnished and equipped his company for this expedition. His wife, Rebecca Howe, on her mother's side was a direct descendant of Lieut. John Hollister, Richard Treat, John Talcott, Hon. Elizur Holyoke, John Robbins, Gov. Thomas Welles, the Gaylords, Mott, Pynchon and Butler families, all prominent in the early Colonial history of New England. Col. Gates died May 12, 1865, and his wife, July 6, 1856.
Captain George Gates.
Captain George Gates, progenitor of the Derby branch of the Gates family, was born about 1634 in England and came to this country when seventeen years old. He settled in Hart- ford and in 1662 was an original proprietor of East Haddam, the home of his descendants for generations. Captain Gates was captain of the First Military Company of Haddam and served in that capacity until October, 1697. He married Sarah, eldest daughter of Captain Nicholas Olmstead, one of the original proprietors of Hartford, who came from Boston in 1632. Nicholas Olmstead was one of the foremost resi- dents of Hartford. He served in the Pequot War, also in King Phillip's War, and was appointed captain and sent to New London in 1675. He married Sarah, (laughter of Joseph Loomis of Windsor, Conn. Captain George Gates lived to be about ninety years of age, dying in 1724 and his wife died in 1704. From this Captain Gates and his wife, the Hon. Robert Owen Gates of Derby was a descendant in the eighth generation, his immediate forbears having been Col. Robert Gates and Robert Wilder Gates.
The Bradley Family
Henry M. Bradley, Jr.
HENRY M. Bradley, Jr., is a native and resi- dent of Derby, and has long been active in municipal affairs, particularly as a member of the Board of Education, to which he was elected al the age of twenty-one. He has been actively in- terested in social welfare work, since his selec- tion as a probation officer of the Superior Court
by Judge James 11. Webb in 1922. Three years later he was appointed probation officer of the
City and Juvenile Courts of Derby by Judge
Ralph II. Clark, and has recently been reap- pointed by Judge J. J. O'Connell.
Senator Bradley is the author of the histori- cal articles dealing with Derby, Ansonia, Shellon and Seymour in this publication.
Tiki i xtinary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
Mr. Bradley has also participated to some extent in political affairs. He was chairman of the Progressive Town Committee in 1912, and two years later, vice-chairman of the Republi- can Town Committee, having served on that committee in some capacity ever since that time. At the present time he is treasurer. He was the candidate of his party for Representative to the Legislature in the campaigns of 1914 and 1920, and although defeated, ran well ahead of the ticket. In 1932 Mr. Bradley received the unani- mous nomination of the Republican party for Senator from the Seventeenth District, and in the ensuing campaign was elected by a ma- jority of eight hundred twenty-five votes over Senator John T. Walsh, who was at that time the incumbent of the office. He was assigned to the committees on Education and on Humane Institutions. The Republican Convention of 1934 renominated Senator Bradley by acclamation, and he was reelected by a majority of eight hun- dred sixty-five votes over Arthur S. Baese, the candidate of the Democratic party. Upon the opening of the Legislature, Senator Bradley was made chairman of the important Committee on Education, and a member of the following com- mittees: Cities and Boroughs, Humane Institu- tions, State Library, Manufactures, and Elec- tion of State Officers.
Fraternity Affiliations.
Fraternally Senator Bradley is a leading Odd Fellow, at the present time Grand Patriarch of the Grand Encampment of Connecticut ; trustee of the Boyd estate for the Grand Lodge; Past Chief Patriarch and Treasurer since 1913 of Ex- celsior Encampment, No. 18; Past Grand and Trustee of Ousatonic Lodge, No. 6 ; incorporator of the Odd Fellows' Home at Groton ; charter member and past officer of Canton Shelton, No. 5, P. M. ; member of the Connecticut Veteran Odd Fellows' Association, Ells-Wood Rebekah Lodge, No. 9, of Ansonia, and of the Connecti- cut Rebekah Assembly. He has served as Dis- trict Deputy of District No. 7, and as Connecti- cut representative to the Grand Encampments of New Hampshire and Canada.
He is a Past Exalted Ruler of Derby Lodge, NTo. 571, B. P. O. E. ; chairman of its Committee on Social and Community Welfare; member of the Advisory Board : chaplain of the Connecticut Elks' State Association ; and an active member
of the Connecticut Past Exalted Rulers' Associa- tion.
Senator Bradley is the Senior Past Master of Shelton Grange, No. 186, P. of H., of which he was a charter member ; a member of the Legislative Committee of Fairfield County Po- mona Grange, and of the State and National Grange, having taken the latter degree in Wash- ington in 1916. He is Past President of the Der- by-Shelton Rotary Club, and at the present time is chairman of its committees on Boys' Work and on International Relations, and also a mem- ber of the Program Committee. He is president of the Derby-Shelton Memorial Day Associa- tion ; first vice-president of the Derby-Shelton Board of Trade ; secretary and trustee of the Colonial cemetery ; clerk and trustee of the First Congregational Church ; secretary and treasurer of the Humphreys Home Association ; a life member of the American Philatelic Society ; and a member of forty other organizations, fraternal, social, business, political, and historical.
A Traveler.
Senator Bradley has traveled extensively, visiting all the continents and half a hundred foreign countries, returning usually to give il- lustrated talks on the far-away lands he has ob- served. His chief hobby has been Connecticut history, about which he has lectured before the Yale Summer School, and civic, historical, and patriotic organizations in all parts of the state. He has talked to residents of over fifty towns in Connecticut on their local history, and writ- ten many historical articles. He takes great pride in the fact that he was the author of the law passed in 1933, adding state and local history to the list of required subjects to be studied in the schools of Connecticut, and also of the 1935 law, which makes American history a compul- sory study in all the high schools of the state.
Henry M. Bradley.
Henry M. Bradley was born in Orange, Con- necticut, on November 24, 1846, the son of Lewis and Charlotte (Smith) Bradley, and a descendant of Thomas Hooker, the founder of Hartford, and Anne Hutchison. Educated in the Orange Academy and Wilbraham Seminary, he entered upon a business career, first with his father in Orange, then in New Haven, and final- ly in Derby, where in 1882 he built the first of
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
61
his greenhouses, becoming one of the most suc- cessful and best known florists in Connecticut. His sons were associated with him for a number
HENRY M. BRADLEY
of years before his death, which occurred on November 22, 1922. Mr. Bradley was married on December 31, 1868, to Margaretta, daughter of David K. and Harriet (Treat) Croffut, of Derby, who passed away on December 23, 1933, survived by three of their eight children.
Louis H. Bradley.
Louis Harrison Bradley, youngest son of Henry M. and Margaretta Bradley, was born in Derby on April 11, 1889. After graduating from the Derby High School in 1908, he en- tered into the florists' business with his father and brother, and has continued to be identified actively with it for more than a quarter of a cen- tury. He has been president of the Connecticut State Florists' Association since its organization and also of the Valley Florists' Association, and conducts the Bradley business, formerly both retail and wholesale, but now entirely a whole- sale concern. Mr. Bradley is a past president of the Derby-Shelton Board of Trade, and an in- corporator of the Derby Savings Bank, a pasl district deputy of the Odd Fellows, a deacon of the First Congregational Church, and a member
of the Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, Con- necticut Automobile Association, Connecticut Wholesale Credit Association, Derby Business Men's Association, Ansonia Lions Club and Der- by Elks. He saw service in the World War, is a past commander of John H. Collins Post, Ameri- can Legion, is a member of Chateau Thierry Post, V. F. W., and was chairman of the citi- zens' committee that purchased the Veterans' Memorial Home. For fifteen years, Mr. Bradley was director of the Shammah Boys' Club. He was tree warden of Derby from 1909-1911; a candidate for the legislature in 1912, and has served on the board of apportionment and taxa- tion since November, 1922. Mr. Bradley also served on the Derby Relief Commission of 1931- 1933, and upon the recent Tercentenary com- mittee. He married Laura Hegeman, daughter of Robert 0. and Letitia F. (Hotchkiss) Gates of Derby in 1914. Of their children, Louis H, Jr., is a student at Dartmouth University, and Laura Hegeman at Northfield. Mrs. Bradley died in 1920, and in 1923 Mr. Bradley married Kath- erine, daughter of Attorney Frederick S. and Helen (Sawyer) Marlyn of Brooklyn, N. Y. By
LOUIS II. BRADLEY
I his marriage there arc four children: Henry M. 3rd, Robert Treat, Helen Elizabeth and Fred- erick .Morion.
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Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
D. K. CROFFUT
DAVID Knapp Croffut was born on April 6, 1811, in the so-called "Wild Cat" district of Bethel. Connecticut; but when a boy, moved with his family to Redding Ridge, his fath- er. Eri Crofut. keeping the general store at that place. Of Welsh and English descent, Da- vid's grandfather, Samuel Crofut, and his great- grandfather. Lieut. James Seelye, served in the Revolutionary War. His mother, Betsey Davern, was the daughter of John Davern, a native of County Mayo, Ireland, and the first Irish Catho- lic to reside in Redding. About the year 1845, for business reasons, Mr. Crofut added an extra "i" to his name, and since that time others of his kindred have followed his example.
g|
D. K. CROFFUT
Mr. Croffut learned the trade of a combmak- er, and in 1832, with his brother Benedict, took up his residence in the province of Quebec, Canada, to manage a comb factory owned by an uncle. When he returned to the United States in 1840, he became the proprietor of the "Fair- field County House" in New York City. Al- though he had come from an old Democratic family, he took an active part in the anti-Tam- many struggle of the forties, becoming a friend of Horace Greeley and other reform leaders. In 1841 Mr. Croffut invented the first movable ice- box, all previous refrigerators having been built into the houses.
In 1843 he purchased from Fitch Smith the grist mill on Water street, Derby, and a gro- cery store, placing his brother-in-law, Grandi- son Glover, in charge ; while he himself in 1845 became the proprietor of Croffut's Hotel on Main street. Moving with his family from New York to Derby in 1847, he sold the hotel to L. L. Loonier in 1853, and became the pur- chasing agent for the Birmingham Iron Foun- dry. As his route took him, an ardent anti-slavery man, to Canada, he acted as an agent of the "Underground Railway," helping many fugitive slaves to escape across the border to liberty. In 1855 he purchased the old Whitney-Gracey-Mor- ris place on New Haven avenue, owned at one time by Commodore Hull, where he lived the remainder of his life. Besides being busi- ness manager of the "Valley Messenger," of which his nephew, William A. Croffut, was edi- tor, he was also superintendent of the Derby Docks. Later he engaged for many years in seed growing and dairying activities, also developing a number of agricultural inventions.
Mr. Croffut was a man of strong convictions and independent ideas, which he invariably stood ready to defend. He served for a number of years as school committeeman for the Second, or Der- by Narrows, District, but always declined to accept political office. He became, late in life, a communicant of St. James' Episcopal Church; was a member of Ousatonic Lodge, No. 6, I. 0. O. F., and an active worker in the Con- necticut Farmers' Club of New Haven, occa- sionally writing articles for the "Cultivator" and other agricultural papers.
Mr. Croffut was married on September 29, 1841, to Harriet M. Treat, of Orange, a direct descendant of Governor Robert Treat and of the Reverend Samuel Andrew, second president of Yale College. Mrs. Croffut died in 1896. The couple had three children: Aquila Knapp, who died in New York from smallpox inoculation; Louise M., who married Elbee J. Treat of Orange ; and Margaretta F., who married Henry M. Bradley. Mr. Croffut died in Derby on Janu- ary 17, 1899, in his eighty-eighth year, retaining his strong body and vigorous mind to the very last. A tall man, with flowing white hair and beard, he was a well-known figure in the town, and one of the best authorities on its varied his- tory.
Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
63
The Osborne Family
THE name of Osborne stands out preeminently in the industrial development of the lower Naugatuck Valley. Both Ansonia and Derby owe to men of that name no little part in their growth and progress during the years that have passed. Today, a member of that notable fam- ily carries on in the person of Mrs. Frances E. Osborne Kellogg, upholding a family tradition for industrial leadership, herself a distinguished citizen, a leader in civic affairs, devoted patron of the arts and executive and director of a number of corporate and financial institutions.
Mrs. Kellogg is a descendant of an old Con- necticut family. It was in 1817 that Captain Stephen Osborne of New Haven, and his wife Apama Gorman, granddaughter of Captain George Gorham, came to live in Derby. Both Captain Osborne and Captain Gorham saw active service in the War of the Revolution. Captain Gorham built many vessels at Hallock's ship- yards and was a noted sea captain.
Mrs. Frances E. Osborne Kellogg
Mrs. Kellogg is a native of Derby, having been born in the house in which she still lives al 500 Hawthorne avenue. As a young woman she was interested in music and was considered an excellent performer on the violin, which she studied first under Max Fonaroff and Frans Milcke of New Haven and later with Max Bendix and Franz Kneisel of New York. She also stud- ied musical theory with Percy Goetsius at the
Institute of Musical Art, now known as the Juilliard Foundation of New York City. Mrs. Kellogg was always proud of her excellent pupils, several of whom became notable violinists.
Together with a group of interested musicians, she organized, in 1901, the Derby Choral Club, which began as a small chorus of women, but developed into a mixed chorus of approximately two hundred and fifty active members who came from Ansonia, Derby, Shelton and Seymour. This Choral Society gave concerts for sixteen consecu- tive years or until the death of its greatly loved conductor, Dr. Horatio W. Parker — the cele- brated composer of "Hora Novissima" and other well known works. The concerts given by the Choral Club were always greatly appreciated by the people of the associated communities, who gave them their enthusiastic support. At least one major choral work was given each season with the aid of a full orchestra and important soloists and during each season several recitals by distinguished musicians were held for the members and associate members of the Club.
After Major W. F. Osborne died, his daughter carried on the various business enterprises with which he had been connected and became presi- dent and assistant treasurer of the Union Fabric Co., treasurer of the F. Kelly Co., and vice presi- dent of the Connecticut Clasp Co., of Bridgeport. With her associates in the Union Fabric Co., to- gether with Faire Bros. Ltd., of Leicester, she was instrumental in founding Steels & Busks, Ltd., of Leicester, England, and became one of its perma- nent directors. She is also a director of The Bir- mingham National Bank, a trustee of the Griffin Hospital, assistant treasurer of the District Nurse Association, vice president of the Connecticut Poorest and Park Association and an enthusiastic member of many other societies.
In 1919 she married Waldo Stewart Kellogg, of New York, a well known architect who had been associated for a number of years with the notable firms of Mckim, Mead & White and Carrere & Hastings. After coming to Derby, Mr. Kellogg became much interested in slock raising and agriculture and made the Osborndale Farm into one of the best known Molstein breeding
establishments in the easl the high quality of whose products is well known throughout New England.
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After Mr. Kellogg's death in 1929, Mrs. Kellogg carried on the Osborndale Farm, care- fully keeping up its high standards of excellence and is now president of the New England States Holstein-Friesian Association and the Holstein- Friesian Association of Connecticut. She is also a director of the Connecticut Jersey Cattle Club, the New Haven County Farm Bureau and the National Dairy Show of St. Louis.
Wilbur Fisk Osborne.
It falls to the lot of few men to leave behind them such a worthy record of good citizen- ship as that left by Wilbur Fisk Osborne in the associated communities of Derby and Ansonia. The best monument is the memory of his fellow townsmen, but for the coming generations there will be an abiding cenotaph in the Derby Neck Library which he established and with which his name must always be connected in veneration and gratitude. Early in life Air. Osborne became prominent in the industrial and municipal af- fairs of the allied towns, and he was recognized as a potent influence in the advancement of their material prosperity. But it is as a permanent benefactor of their culture and their spiritual and intellectual development that posterity shall know him.
Wilbur Fisk Osborne was born in Derby, January 14, 1841, and was the son of John W. and Susan fDurandj Osborne. His father was one of the pioneers of the brass industry in this country, and a founder and president of the Os- borne & Cheeseman Company.
As Derby was Mr. Osborne's boyhood home, he received his early education in the public schools of that town. He subsequently entered Wesleyan University, where he graduated in 1861, as valedictorian of his class, immediately enlisting in the service of the Union in the Civil War. He served nearly four years and was pro- moted to sergeant, second and first lieutenant, and captain of artillery, being in Companies C and G of the First Connecticut Artillery. He was also military instructor of the Second Connecti- cut Artillery, inspector-general of the defenses at Washington, and south of the Potomac, ordnance office, acting quartermaster, and the incumbent of other responsible military offices and commis- sions. After the war he became an active mem- ber of Kellogg Post, Grand Army of the Republic.
As soon as he was released from active mili- tary service by the close of the war, Wilbur F. Osborne returned to Derby and became identi- fied with his father's industry, the Osborne & Cheeseman Company. From early boyhood he had taken a keen interest in the progress and success of the corporation, and was eager to be- come a factor in the development of the busi- ness. Through his thorough mastery of the de- tails of the industry and his complete knowledge of it, he was entirely fitted to take his place at the head of the company on his father's retire- ment. In 1882 a branch company was incor- porated, known as the Schneller, Osborne & Cheeseman Company. Not long after the Union Fabric Company was organized, with Mr. Os- borne as its president, where he remained until his death. He was also president of the Schneller Stay Works of Ansonia, and the Connecticut Clasp Company of Bridgeport, and held these offices up to the time of his death. He was one of the incorporators of the Derby Silver Com- pany, now consolidated with the International Silver Company. In all these responsible posi- tions in the industrial world he was not only a thorough, progressive and capable captain of in- dustry, and an honorable, dependable business man, but a considerate, kindly and just employer, who devoted much time and thought to having his mill and factories sanitary, convenient and comfortable for his employees, whose health and general welfare and the rights he deemed most important and interesting.
Mr. Osborne was always actively interested in any scheme for civic betterment, but in the latter years of his life the foundation of a public
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library, one of the best of its size in this country, for that section of the community in which he lived and worked, became his favorite project. The library took its incipiency in a donation of books, chiefly fiction, which he made to a mis- sion school in Derby Neck. The immediate ap- preciation and popularity of the idea encouraged him to make it a circulating library of impor- tance, and it was definitely organized in 1897. Mr. Osborne was a liberal contributor and he used his widespread influence and acquaintance to enlarge the collection by special gifts. In re- cent years he perceived that the library had as- sumed the importance of a municipal institu- tion and he succeeded in getting Mr. Andrew Carnegie to assist the association to erect a suit- able building for a permanent home. As a result a handsome and appropriate edifice, one of the artistic and decorative features of the allied cities, remains to stimulate the memory of the founder of the Derby Neck Library, and to foster the culture of the community. Mr. Osborne did not live to see the completion and consummation of his cherished plans, but they were reverently carried out under the direction of his daughter, Miss Frances E. Osborne, now Mrs. Waldo S. Kellogg, and the building was formally dedicated and opened several years ago.
Mr. Osborne had high ideals of good citizen- ship, and his efforts were sane and practical, not those of a Utopian dreamer, but of a man whose mind had the most thorough scientific training and whose judgment was formed by unremitting study. The honesty of purpose and the sincerity of his humanitarianism conspired to make his relations with the working-class singularly fe- licitous. Although he was a man of distinguished scholarship and erudition, especially in respect to English literature and American history, he was always approachable, and his man- ner was simple, kindly and cordial, and al- though he declined public honors and had neither time nor taste for a political career, he was in- fluential in forming high-minded public opinion in the stand for right conditions in the labor world.
Mr. Osborne has been well described as an "ideal citizen." In business relations he was level-headed, honorable, energetic and just. He was sagacious in his judgment of men and mo- tives, wise and generous in advising others, con- scientious and firm in maintaining his own splen-
did ideals. Socially he was genial, whole-souled, democratic and sincere. He made friends uni- versally and their loyalty was composed of ad- miration as deep as their affection. Mr. Osborne's career was a happy instance of high living and right thinking, and his influence is perpetuated in a noble philanthropy.
Captain Stephen Osborne.
Captain Stephen Osborne who served in the War of the Revolution — having been commis- sioned lieutenant July 26, 1777, and promoted to captain May 1, 1778 — enlisted from Wallingford and came, in the early part of the century, to Derby with his family where John W. Osborne was born on June 26, 1810.
Captain Osborne left a sizable estate at his death but his trustees invested the money in the old Derby Bank which failed and as the family was left without funds, John was given a home by a farmer of White Hills where he attended school and helped with the farming. When he finished his studies he became a school teacher and at one time taught in the Little Red School House at Derby Neck, where he met his future wife, Susan Durand, daughter of Samuel Du- rand, descendant in the fifth generation from Dr. John Durand, French Hugenot, who was the first physician to settle in Derby. After some years of school teaching, Mr. Osborne was employed by George W. Blakeman then a grocer and dry- goods merchant in East Derby, where he re- mained until at Mr. Blakeman's suggestion, he opened a store on the west side of the river which was then called Birmingham, the exact location being at the corner of Main and Water Streets. In 1845 he formed a partnership with George W. Cheeseman, his brother-in-law, and they moved into the "stone store" which had been built by Daniel Judson in 1836. There they transacted an extensive business and until 1859 conducted a second store in Waterbury. In 1858 the firm also engaged in the manufacture of hoop-skirts and the following year removed (o Ansonia, still retaining for a time the Birming- ham store. The formation of this business firm was the beginning of a corporation which for many years was an important factor in the man- ufacturing interests of the community. In 1866 the Osborne-Cheeseman Co. was organized as a joint stock company with a capital of $120,000. Before the new corporation was formed, how-
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Tercentenary Pictorial and History of the Lower Naugatuck Valley
ever, and under the original partnership, a fac- tory had been built on the site of the burned Ansonia Clock Works of Ansonia. Subsequently, the building was enlarged and the line of manu- facture increased to include web goods, sus- penders and wire woven tape for skirts. A shop for metallic goods also was established. The of- ficers of the corporation were : John W. Os- borne, president ; Charles Durand, secretary, and George W. Cheeseman, treasurer. Mr. Osborne remained executive head of the company until he retired from active business in the early seventies.
As a young man Mr. Osborne was a mem- ber of St. James' Episcopal Church, but later on became interested in the Methodist Church in which he was an enthusiastic worker, holding the office of trustee and other positions of trust until his death in 1895. He was a fine musician and even in his old age was able to sing in an excellent tenor voice the songs he had loved as a young man.
He led a busy, active and useful life — as well as one of immense importance to the community in which he lived — and was greatly loved and respected by his fellow townsmen.
CHARLES H. NETTLETON
A FOREMOST resident of Derby and one whose business life, his connection with utilities and finance corporations made him known and highly esteemed throughout the state was the late Charles H. Nettleton, whose busy and successful life was brought to a close in Oc- tober, 1925. To Mr. Nettleton, perhaps, more
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CHARLES H. NETTLETON
than to anyone else in the last generation, have the sister cities of Derby and Shelton depended for their development and upbuilding. Fortu- nately, he lived and served in an