NEW BRITAIN BIOGRAPHIES
Why not try to become better acquainted with some of the leaders of New Britain on your own? The following men were all industrialists whose place in New Britain was very important and whose lives are most interesting and fairly easy to find out about.
Seth North
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Joseph Shipman early industry
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Frederick T. Stanley
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The Pattersons William and Edward
The Corbins Frank, George, Waldo, Andrew, and later Philip
William Hart
Lorin Judd
The Landers Charles and George
Justus Traut
Try to answer these questions:
1. What generally was his contribution to the industrial world? How did his company or work interact with others in the city?
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2. How did he organize the rest of his life? Was he one of New Britain’s multi-interest citizens who worked in politics or the church or in education?
3. What was his background? Was he trained in the field where he made his fortune?
Besides the books available to you in the school, Kalarson’s
A Walk Around Walnut Hill
, the
New Britain Centennial
, Lillian Hart Tryon’s
New Britain
, try the local History Room for clippings, folders or biographies. Also, if you can find important dates in his life, look in the
Herald
Office library. You might also want to check the Town Clerk’s records for deeds, Grand lists when available, citizenship papers, etc.
Equally valuable would be research on workers in the factories , particularly before World War II. Their remembrances are not usually recorded and history students need to know about their lives. Be sure to know something about the factory before you talk to the worker. What size was the factory? What were its products? What were its markets? This information is generally available in the local History Room.
What you want to discover from your interview is:
The nature of his job: What machines did he use? How difficult was it? What were the working conditions? Did he change jobs in the company?
The nature of employment: What was the pay and benefits? Was it unionized? How were problems handled?
The nature of his life style: Where did workers generally live? What was the transportation? Was education available for adults? Etc.
A little gentlemanly prodding on your part and some genuine interest should take you a long way.
Oral history tapes and training tips are available from Friends of the Library, High Street.