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Benjamin
Webster (m. Calam)
Benjamin
documents
275
Maple Street, Bridgeport
Letters
to William
California
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reference
The
collaboration
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Contact Beth Northrop
ejnorth123 AT juno.com
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from Geneaological and Family
History of the State of Connecticut , Lewis Historical Publishing
Company, 1911 Vol. 1, p. 376-377. The edges of the copy were cut
off so some of the information is a guess until I can find the volume.
"Benjamin Webster descendant of an old English family
lived at Bradford, England and followed the trade of butcher. Among
the children was Benjamin, mentioned below. (II) Benjamin (2) ,
son of Benjamin Webster was born at Bradford, England in 1820, died
at Leeds, England. September 1896. He was educated in the schools
of his native town, and engaged in the railroad business. He became
a station master at Leeds. He married Eliza Parker, who was born
at Bradford, died at the age of seventy-two in Leeds, England. Children;
Benjamin mentioned below; William lives in California; Clara married
and lives in England; Samuel came to Bridgeport, Connecticut and
died there, was a die sinker; Ha?? lives in England; Isaac; Edwin
lives in England; George died in Philadelphia.
(III) Benjamin (3) son of Benjamin Webster, was born at Bradford,
England, died December 11, 1908 at Bridgeport, Connecticut. He was
educated at the schools of his native town. He began to work at
Leeds, England in 1868 (my note - about age 25, but this seems off).
He came to New York City (perhaps around 1857?) where he was in
the employ of The Shelton Company (this may actually have been in
CT), manufacturers of carpet tacks. Thence he came to Bridgeport,
for sixteen years was with the Glover Sanford Company (CT), hat
manufacturers. He was then chief engineer of the Bridgeport
Brass Company for twelve years and retired from active
business about 1885. (handwritten note added "age 50 Born 1835?")
He took an active interest and had a potent influence in the affairs
of the city, though he never aspired to public office. He was a
Republican and a stout supporter of the candidates and principles
of his party. He became a large taxpayer as he invested in real
estate and l??(leased??) a number of houses in the city. He built
engines, heaters and lubricators, patented a number of them. He
was a member of no secret order and had few interests outside his
business and his home to which he was devotedly attached. He was
a member of St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church and assisted
in raising the fund for the building. He was studious and read history
chie?? being able to read and readily translate Greek history. Few
men of his age had acquired more general knowledge from reading
and study and few indeed had covered so thoroughly the range of
history. His death was mourned by a host of friends and was a distinct
loss.
He married, July 19,1865 at Leeds,England, in St. Luke's Church
(by Rev. Brackenburgh), Margaret Calam, born Eastrington, Yorkshire,
Daughter, William and Sarah (Longhorn) Calam. Her (father) ????er
was born in 1812, died at Howden, England, July 14, 1840. Children
of William Calam; George; Robert resides in England; ????r, died
young; William, deceased, was a (blacksmith) ?????smith at Bridgeport;
Margaret, mentioned above; Mary resides in London, England married
Peter Stephenson; Elizabeth, (deceased) ????ased. Isaac Calam, father
of William Calam, was a chemist. Children of Isaac Calem: Isaac,
Thomas, Peter, Hannah, Mary, Elizabeth and William. Children of
Benjamin and Margaret (Calem) Webster: 1. Edward Parker, born October
23, 1867, at Leeds; Assistant Superintendent at Smith & Egge
Company; married Bertha Miller: children; Edward Parker, Edgar Ferdinand
and Lillian Margaret. 2. Mary Florence Webster, born November 1869;
married Benjamin Webster of California, a draughtsman; child Benjamin
Chester 3. Harry Calam, born January 22, 1871, Bridgeport; foreman
in Smith & Egge Company; married Mary Lehman; children Ethel
Elizabeth and Margaret Anna. 4. Ross, born November 28,1878; an
engineer in the Smith & Egge Company; married Carrie Ballard." |
Identification of terms/entities:
"Glover Stanford commenced making
hats in Bridgewater, in 1823, by making a few hats a week for retail
in the community, many of them being made to order of heavy wool,
and some napped hats, afterwards he made wool hats exclusively.
He continued the hat business, changing from one building to another.
In 1870, the firm removed their business to Bridgeport, in order
to secure larger and more advantageous facilities. At the time they
began to arrange to remove they were employing about 125 hands in
their shops, and were producing about $300,000 worth of goods a
year. Glover Sanford died May 30, 1878, at the age of eighty-one
years. As of 1882, Charles H. Sanford, Homer S. Stanford and Edwin
G. Sanford continued the hat business in Bridgeport, which was then
exclusively manufacturing wool hats."
HISTORY OF THE TOWNS OF NEW MILFORD AND BRIDGEWATER,
CONNECTICUT, 1703-1882
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"The formation of the Smith and
Egge Company came about in 1873 when William Smith, a former
postmaster at Bridgeport, Connecticut and Frederick Egge got together
to try to win a United States Post Office Department contract to
supply a new lock for post boxes.
In the perfect partnership, Smith invented the lock and Egge
the key. The design was a winner and the company was born. It
was set up in Bridgeport Connecticut, close to the mighty Wheeler
and Wilson factory which dominated the town.
The company developed as a as a specialist manufacturer of
locks for sewing machine cabinets but soon expanded into making
other sewing machine hardware .
Other lines included chains for sash windows and it was to
promote this side of the business that Smith arrived in England
in 1891. He sep up the Automatic Chain Company in Birmingham and
soon had contracts in Mexico, Haiti, Chile and San Diomingo.
No sewing machines were produced in England and the last recorded
Tue, Nov 16, 1993 for the company in Birmingham is 1900 although
a history of Bridgeport written in 1937 suggests that the company
was still operating in England.
It is possible that it was also responsible for producing some
of the special tooling used in Wheeler and Wilson factory.
During the last decade of the 19th Century the company began
producing a miniature sewing machine for the giant John Wannamaker
store. This carried the Wannamaker name but later Smith and Egge
used its own name and sold in bulk to other retailers simply adding
what ever name was required to the base casting.
All Wannamaker and Smith and Egge machines were sold as "adult"
models and all advertisements and other literature stresses this.
In fact we could write off any suggestion of the machine ever
being sold as a toy were it not for those few examples bearing the
Schwarz label.
For Schwarz was New York's leading toy retailer in the early
years of this century. It's reasonable to conjecture that after
sales of the "adult" version ran down, surplus stocks
were sold off to Schwarz to retail; as toys.
Another possibility is that the same thing happened on the
introduction of the later, improved modeled to the general adult
market."
from http://www.ismacs.net/toy/articles/smithegge.html
International Sewing Machine Collector's Society |
Courtesy Jan eBay member. Thanks!
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Courtesy Sheryl eBay member. Thanks! |
"a brief historical profile of The
Bridgeport Brass Company
The Bridgeport Brass Company was incorporated in Bridgeport, Connecticut,
on November 2, 1865 by Brooklyn manufacturers Daniel W. Kissam,
John Davol, and Samuel R. Wilmot.
The company was originally formed to make clock movements. Over
the years the company continued to grow and produced a wide variety
of brass items including fasteners, lamps, lamp burners and trimmings,
electric lamp sockets, and countless other products. In 1875 the
company sold it's clock making machinery to the Ansonia Brass and
Copper Company and focused their efforts on the manufacture of lamps.
"Their business has grown from year to year, so that it is
safe to say that it is one of the largest manufacturing concerns
in the world that produces articles in brass and copper." The
manufacturing plant was located on the corner of Willard Street
and Crescent Avenue and occupied a space of two hundred thousand
square feet. The plant was state of the art, "complete in every
part as money and ingenuity can make it." At this time, they
employed over eight hundred workers. In addition to the offices
and factory in Bridgeport, they maintained a large sales room at
No. 19 Murray Street, New York City, and agencies in Boston, Philadelphia,
Chicago, and San Francisco. "In no country on the globe, where
oil for illumination is used, is this vast concern unknown."4
ca. 1896.
In addition to lamps and general lamp trimmings, the company
also produced a line of bicycle lamps, among them the very popular
SEARCH LIGHT. Bicycle lamps were a key item when cycling became
the rage in the 1890's. They also made German-silver, wire goods
and manufactured rolled copper and brass. In 1884 the first long
distance phone line that ran from New York to Boston was strung
by the Southern New England Telephone Company for the American Bell
Telephone Company using Bridgeport Brass copper wire."
http://www.thelampworks.com/lw_companies_bbc.htm
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Grampy mentioned spending time during the summer at
Bridlington and Flambrough |
bcw
Born in San Francisco across from the US Mint. Birth records destroyed
in eathquake. Mother and other married in SF moved to England as
a boy finished HS level about age 16 in Leeds?
Went to Germany (around 1894) for a short time in training in engineering
then went back to England for degrees in mechanical and electrical
engineering University of Leeds.
when he returned to the US he lived (on the lower end of E. Main
Street) lived with his Aunt Annie (widowed) east
Bridgeport manufacturing area and spend a lot of time with his Aunt
and Uncle. (Nana's mother and father) Visited his older brother
William in SF, CA stayed for a few months ( worked as a mechanical
??sink to BC) Did development work on his own and did some work
in Shelton (Holmes relatives in Shelton) Worked for a small factory
in Long Hill almost into Monroe.
Married Mary Florence Webster (SF?) Benjamin Chester Webster, Jr.
was born Oct 8, 1906. The family moved to the San Francisco- Berkely
area in the spring of 1909. Margaret Gwendolyn Webster was born
in Berkeley. Family returned to Bridgeport area May 29, 1912. they
lived at 333 Unquowa Road, Fairfield, CT and then bought and moved
to 2495 (Boston ) Post Road, Southport, CT ( a part of Fairfield).
The Road was also known as Spring Street and Mill River Switch.
Worked for Bryant Electric Company then worked for Harvey Hubbell
(his worked with the eledest Harvey Hubbell in designing the pull
chain socket and the Hubbell twist lock among many others)
He was working at Columbia Graphophone in Bridgeport when they
closed (??after the war?) when they closed he recovered lots of
brick and the oak paneling which was used in the large side porch
at 2495 Post Road, Southport.
Worked for Westinghouse
Worked for GE
Years later went back to Westinghouse
picture on Champs Farm which was on the banks of Ash Creek between
Bridgeport and Fairfield. |
grampy had one or 2 half sisters
from the east one was highly placed in the girl scout organization
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House in Berkeley was in the center
of town not far from the water |
Ellen O'Leary worked for a schoolbook
publisher she's the daughter of mabel or minnie |
Eddington disappeared around the
state of Washington when mom was in her late tees or early 20s.(1930-1934
May have been book publisher also?? |
Grampy mentioned that when he
was young there were wagons that sold plain baked potatoes in the
streets |
When BCW was little in SF he had
long golden curls and, as was the custom for the day, was kept in
dresses. When a famous fighter /boxer came to town and was surrounded
by well-wishers, he mistook ben for a girl and picked him up to put
on the car. |
.One of the uncles (perhaps Benjamin)
played a trick on BCW, Jr. when a boy -- he had never seen the unpaved
streets being watered and told him he should go up to the driver of
the wagon/truck to tell him there was a leak. "Hey mister, you're
loosing all your water." the Driver replied with a scolding for
taking up his time. |
(Aunt Lucy address book) Uncle Ben address 118 Spring
Street, Sing Sing, NY
1901 Mr. Benj Webster, 1117 Kousuth St, Est Bridgeport
Bennie Webster, 157 East Pittsburgh, Penn
Benie WEbster
1122 North Avenue
Wilkinsburgh, Pennsylvania
Willie Webster
378 Jackson Boulevard, Chicago
wm webster 330 Third Avenue
Richmond, San Francisco, ca
Lucy Brother William W. Walker to Australia Learmouth |
Lucy Walker nov 11 1826< parents Benjamin Walker
b. 1793 d. sept 20th 1870
William H. Holmes sept 28, 1828 married feby 6, 1851 10 children<
parents David Holmes Elizabeth Holmes?
children Joshua Holmes 1851
Mary Ann June 17, 1853 died 12/25/1872
Walter Jan 10th 1855 died ap 7th 1872
Lucy June 1 1857
William sept 6, 1858 mar 11, 1893
Lillie |
Jan 28, 1860
Emma died Jan 12 1872 |
Jan 29, 1861
Florence N. Oct 3 1862
Royal Feby 12, 1864
Josephine June 25, 1865 |
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Margaret Gwendolyn Webster "Molly"
Parents Benjamin Chester and Mary Florence
Born in Berkeley
returned to CT when she was around 4
Lived in house across from bird Sanctuary believe the main house
was home of Mr. Hill Newspaper publisher?
Then purchased home at 2495 Post Road, Southport. Home was in a
area that had many people raising chickens and later her mother
"Nana" to me, kept chickens. BC "Grampy" to
me, had many fruit trees berries, grapes and large vegetable gardens
(althought it was not a huge property). (I wonder where he developed
such a keen interest in growing things -- perhaps the Holmes connection
-- one was a florist/gardener at one point)
Molly "Mom" to me, was sent to a Montesorri nursery school
when she was 3 and was advanced enough that she started kindergarten
at 4 rather than the ususal 5 yrs. She was sent to a very exclusive
private school in Bridgeport called Miss Fannie's until High School.
On her own, she decided that she wanted to go to public HS and enrolled
herself at Fairfield High School. After HS with the changes in fortune
brought by the depression, she was unable to go to college, but
went to the Butler Business School in Bridgeport and later taught
some classes. She spent some time with Hooper at the very beginnings
of Radio Ratings. Later she worked for Remington Arms (part of Dupont)
through most of the war. (She was there when there was that necessitated
the evacuation of the plant) After the war broke out she spent some
time at the Ordnance plant in Denver. On her way she saw the troops
transported up by Hartford. Ther was trouble at the Frankfort Ordnance
plant with a financial scandal -- this may have been why they wanted
some of the staff out in Denver) While in Denver she stayed at Mrs.
Douglas' boarding house a huge house that had been an elegant home
at one time. Towards the end of the was she moved on to Sikorsky
as the first woman technical writer there. She wrote the text for
repair manuals and her hands were in some of the photographs that
accompanied the text. She stayed at Sikorsky through the war. Just
after the war she went to work for GE as a consumer representative
answering customer inquiries. She married in 1948 and soon after
left GE.
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