Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Connecticut
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James angell
editI live and work in ct and recently discovered yales eugenics past. James angell its former president was strongly involved with it yet no mentions on his page. 73.142.197.180 (talk) 18:32, 18 February 2024 (UTC)
...you might want to help me out in my long-overdue efforts to develop Wikipedia's article on Silas Bronson (1788-1867), Middlebury philanthropist and the namesake of the Brass City's library (I used to live there). The Bronson page has been on my to-do list for years, and has recently been up for grabs as my next AFC project. During yesterday's research, this next reference came up--but as it's from a publisher of already dubious notoriety, I doubt this will amount to anything worthwhile. (To say this may be the best-looking modern one outside the library's official site, which already counts as PRIMARY, might as well be an understatement.)
- Sullivan, Raymond E. (October 2010). Breakneck: The Early Settlement of Middlebury, Connecticut: From 1657 to Its Incorporation as a Town. iUniverse. p. 38. ISBN 978-1-4502-5632-2. Retrieved 2024-04-29 – via Google Books.
As I'm preparing this post--lo and behold!--a more promising alternative has caught our eye via Open Library.
- Anderson, Joseph (1896). "History of Waterbury: Libraries, Book-stores, Literary Societies -- Silas Bronson". The Town and City of Waterbury, Connecticut. New Haven: The Price & Lee Company. pp. 1013–1015. Retrieved 2024-04-29 – via Archive.org.
Beyond that, more viable sources are needed; once again, calling on the S.S. Cunard (talk · contribs) and this WikiProject for help. I'll update if I find more in the meantime. (From what I can tell, our sources have more hits on the library than the man himself; even the vast majority of Newspapers.com clippings from his lifespan only amount to passing mentions at best. Perhaps we may try to refocus our mission on coverage of the library in due course?)
Take care, and if all goes well, see you back at the draftyard.
XPosted from WP:Teahouse (with a slight edit for clarity), at the advice of 57.140.16.48 (talk). Previous correspondence at WP:Teahouse/Questions/Archive 1222#Another season, another bio to consider.
Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL
--Slgrandson (How's my egg-throwing coleslaw?) 21:18, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
- From here, this is where additional potential sources go. Once enough are gathered, then the page will be considered for AFC; otherwise, the library becomes the focus.
Additional sources
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Honorable mention to...
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Hi Slgrandson (talk · contribs). Thank you for working on this article about a philanthropist. Here are some sources about the subject:
- "The Good Fortune of Waterbury". Hartford Courant. 1867-12-03. Archived from the original on 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-04-30 – via Newspapers.com.
The article was published in 1867, so the article is in the public domain. The article notes:
Our announcement on Saturday that Mr. Silas Bronson, a native of that part of Waterbury which is now the town of Middlebury and who died on the 24th ult. at the St. Nicholas in New York, had given by his will $200,000 to the city of Waterbury for a free public library gave the citizens of that enterprising and hospitable place a very great and delightful surprise. We have received some almost incredulous inquiries concerning our statements, but we have the satisfaction of reaffirming them. We omitted to add that Mr. Bronson gave $25,000 to the New York City Hospital, which completes the disposition made of his property.
Mr. Bronson's father was Elijah Bronson, his mother, Lois daughter of Stephen Bunnell of Wallingford. They were married March 10th 1778. Silas, the second child, was born February 15, 1788. The History of Waterbury, which gives his portrait, says:
His father (a Middlebury farmer) having a large family, it became necessary for the children, at an early age, to look out for their own support. Silas had only a limited common school education, and for four years followed the trade of a carpenter and joiner. Not satisfied with his future prospects, he resolved to try his fortune in the state of Georgia, where he followed the mercantile business for fifteen years. In the year 1830, he removed to the city of New York, commencing the business of an importing and jobbing dry goods merchant. In 1835 he suffered severely from the memorable fire of that year. But by great energy and perseverance he soon overcame his losses. As his business increased, his health becoming somewhat impaired, he gave up his dry goods business, and has for the last few years devoted himself to a commission business.
While he was a minor, Mr. Bronson was for a time a clerk in the store of J. and L. Hurlbut, in Winchester. He was not far from twenty-one years old when he went to Augusta, Georgia, and engaged in mercantile business as the History affirms, and he must have been there more than fifteen years. He was never married, and he lived somewhat estranged from his relatives and did but little for them, and, in fact, we suppose, knew but little about them during much the greater part of his life. There is some doubt as to whether he has ever been in Connecticut since he first went south. The fact that he left more than three-fourths of his large property to those relatives will be another agreeable surprise to some persons. Mr. Bronson was a very intelligent man, and always bore the reputation of being a very honest and honorable merchant, as we are informed.
The bequest to Waterbury was made very recently in a codicil.
- "Know Your Waterbury: Its History, Facts and General Information". The Waterbury Democrat. 1934-02-01. Archived from the original on 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-04-30 – via Newspapers.com.
The article notes: "Silas Bronson, for whom the public library in Waterbury is named, was born in Waterbury, West Farms (now Middlebury), February 15, 1788. By his will he left the city $200,000 to found a library. He died in New York city, November 24, 1867."
- "Tennesseans in Luck: Several $15,000 Legacies for Somebody". Pulaski Citizen. 1867-12-27. Archived from the original on 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-04-30 – via Newspapers.com.
The article was published in 1867, so the article is in the public domain. The article notes:
If our old friend Abdalah or his boys boys, Newt. and Bob, should prove to be heirs to this estate, we shall claim at least one fifteenth for publishing this notice."Silas Bronson, a millionaire, died at the St. Nicholas Hotel, New York city, several weeks since. He was a native of Waterbury, Connecticut, and according to the authenticated statement of the American of that place, has left a munificent bequest of $200,000 to the authorities of that city for the purpose of founding a public library. Under his will, there is also bequeathed to some twenty-five nephews and nieces dispersed over the country, the sum of $15,000 each.
He was a bachelor, and was born in Connecticut in 1788. His fortune was commenced in Georgia in mercantile pursuits, but was chiefly amassed in New York city, to which place he removed in 1830. The family history given in this paper, from which we quote, contains the following facts, which, under the $15,000 legacy clause of his will, may prove interesting to parties in this State.
Elijah Bronson, a brother, was born in 1794, and did reside in Tennessee, and was the father of five sons and two daughters; Amos, another brother, was born in 1795, and also resides, if alive in Tennessee, and was the father of one son and one daughter.
If any of these parties, or their descendants, are now alive, it will be worth their while, perhaps, to look after this matter, as to most people in this region, $15,000 would be very welcome. The statement from which this praragraph is compiled, has every appearance of credit and reliability.—Union and Dispatch
- "A Magnificent Library: Silas Bronson's Grand Gift to Waterbury, Conn. An Everlasting Benefaction. Sufficiently Endowed, It Contains Thousands of Volumes Free to the Poor in Perpetuity". The New York Times. 1895-01-06. Archived from the original on 2024-04-30. Retrieved 2024-04-30.
The article was published in 1895, so the article is in the public domain. The article notes:
WATERBURY, Conn., Jan. 5.—It was left for a generous citizen of the City of New-York, whose ancestors were Connecticut born and bred, and who himself breathed the free air of the Naugatuck Valley in his youth, to give to the City of Waterbury its most prominent institution of culture, intelligence, education, and general information. It was in 1868 that Silas Bronson's bequest of $200,000 was received.
For a quarter of a century the citizens of the Brass City have been broadened and strengthened in mind by the fruits of the distinguished munificence of her son, but it had been reserved for the close of 1894 to witness the culmination of Mr. Bronson's idea of what Waterbury should cherish as its chief possession. In fact, last week witnessed the placing of the final touches to the artistic finish of the finest free public building in the State of Connecticut.
Its site has been well chosen on a tract of land centrally located on what has already become generally known as Library Park. A broad field with a sloping lawn, intended to be highly cultivated, falling gently to the street, is a fit setting. Then again, by the construction of the building on the site of Waterbury's earliest cemetery, it becomes in a measure a memorial to those who have long gone before. It virtually rests on the bones of the fathers and mothers, of Waterbury, for, although an effort was made to transfer all remains to other cemeteries, bodies were uncovered to the last, and the final shovelful of earth displaced crumbling bones.
The noble structure, which is marked by dignity and grace, was designed by and constructed under the supervision of New-York architects. Its style is that of the Italian Renaissance, and the materials of which it is built are brick, terra-cotta, and tile. The effect is broad and the masterly conception impresses all beholders with its strength. The felicitous treatment and the historical accuracy in the materials used please the scholar as well as the unlearned. The light and shade effect of its rich colors is most charming. Its tiled roof has a low pitch; it has a great overhanging main cornice, and its large windows are gracefully and effectively put in. Its washed brick walls, with their pitted surfaces and the horizontal banding of its courses, are elements of strength at once discernible.
The structure is really two buildings, one for the use of the public and the administrative departments of the library, and the other a repository capable of holding 220,000 volumes, although there are at present only about 70,000 therein. It can readily be seen that the building was practically built for all time. This second structure is accessible to employees only.
The main building has a handsome porch of gigantic proportions, and combining a porte-cochere. The two buildings together preserve a harmonious whole.
The entire structure is 150 feet long, and the main building 68 feet deep. The book stack is 40 feet deep, and four stories high, each 7% feet in the clear. The main building has three 15-feet stories. The entire cost of the building was $80,000, within all appropriations, a cost of 12 cents for each cubic foot of contents, which is generally considered to be a very economical construction.
The public gain entrance to their own through the porch already alluded to, which is on the side of the building, All enter into a generous hallway or main room, at the end of which are situated the counters from which are issued, without charge to the citizens of Waterbury, the books which one man has generously given to entertain and instruct thousands. Near by gracefully arise the main stairways. To the left are rooms for the Board of Agents, and a reading room 18x20 feet in size, for women. On the right and running nearly across the front of the building, with a mammoth bay window and many other means for light, is the main reading room. where the papers and periodicals are filed at all times. A fine view of the lawns and street can be obtained from this room, while from the hallway, which has just been left, one can look off to the rear, obtaining a broad sweep across the hills for miles, for from this direction the building occupies a considerable eminence on one side of a broad valley. Opening from the hall is the librarians' study, from which is also visible the pretty landscape just spoken of., Here Librarian Homer F. Bas- sett, a veteran student, deep thinker, and broad scholar, performs the executive duties of his office. He has speaking tubes to all parts of his domain.
On the second floor are many places of interest for the student and researcher. Here, in large and separate rooms, are libraries for the purpose of reference, patent library, a law library, and a cataloguer's room.
The top floor, lighted from both sides and roof, is not yet occupied, but it is designed for a museum of natural history and fine arts, at such a time as Waterbury in its growing cultures shall arrive at an estate that shall warrant the expenditure money along these lines. The building is heated throughout with low-pressure steam bollers and lighted with electricity. Handsome drop brackets and chandeliers are on every side. The interior walls are decorated in handsome tints of solid colors.
Among the recent pieces of work and the chief interior decorations are the handsome mantels and fireplaces in the two principal rooms. Waterbury has no decorations that approach these works of art. In highly-polished marble, in broad slabs and noble borders of polished quartered oak, they are a crowning glory of the magnificent temple. The mantel and fireplace in the hallway is about ten feet high and fully as broad. The back and the floor are of Sienna marble, a yellowish shaded product with black seams. There is a heavy border of oak, with graceful pillars either side. Above the silver bronzed iron fireplace is a bronze tablet bearing the following inscription:
Silas Bronson was born in Waterbury, West Farms, February XV., MDCCLXXXVIII., died in the City of New York, November XX V., : MDCCCLXVII. An enterprising merchant in busy centres of trade, he was not forgetful of his native town, but bequeathed to it the fruit of his industry for the establishment of a free public library, seeking thereby "to encourage and sustain good order and sound morals." Let all who read these books and find help and comfort in them cherish his memory.
Built into the south wall of the reading room on the front is a larger but somewhat simpler mantel and fireplace, but none the less graceful in design and conception. It covers a space about 9 feet high and 11 feet broad. The whole is a flat surface of lovely Nubian marble, and on the hearth is the same polished, yellowish body, with its broad, shadowy red veins. Over the fireplace, cut in the marble, is the following inspiring inscription:
"Cease not to learn until thou cease to live,
Think that day lost wherein thou,
Nor 'gainst no lesson that new grace may give,
To make thyself learneder, wiser, better.
--Pibrac.
On each side are deep settees of oak, upholstered in black leather, cozy nooks for tired patrons.
In 1868, Silas Bronson left to the City of Waterbury $200,000, conditioned as follows:<p"For the promotion of the education and intelligence and general information of the inhabitants of the City of Waterbury, in the County of New-Haven and State of Connecticut, in whose well-being and prosperity I feel a warm interest, and to encourage and sustain in said city good order and sound morals, which I deem largely dependent upon intellectual and moral culture, I do hereby bequeath to said City of Waterbury, in its corporate character, and by whatever name it may be designated in the act or acts of its incorporation, the sum of $200,000; the same to be employed and expended in the establishment of a library for the common use of all the inhabitants of said elty, who shall at all reasonable and proper times have access to and use of the books and periodicals composing such library. And in order to secure the proper care and maintenance of such library and the preservation thereof, just and proper access thereto, and the suitable use thereof by such inhabitants, I authorize such corporation and the legally constituted authorities thereof, to make due regulations therefor, provide a suitable location and appoint the necessary officers and agents, and provide for their just compensation."
The trust has been well cared for, and a board of agents has so judiciously invested the funds, and so economically administered its affairs that the City of Waterbury has never been called upon for a single cent for support, and its sole gift to the library has been the site upon which the new building now stands.
The present Board of Agents, elected by the Court of Common Council, is as follows: President, John O'Neill; Secretary, Lewis A. Platt; Treasurer, Frederick J. Kingsbury; S. W. Kellogg, J. W. Webster, B. H. Fitzpatrick, A. S. Case, James Horigan, Emmet Riordan, D. F. Webster, Joseph Weis and D. F. Maltby.
- He is also discussed here and here.
Subway restaurant article
editTo editors on WikiProject Connecticut,
I have an outstanding conflict of interest request on the talk page the Subway company article regarding the products section. I saw on the article's Talk Page that the Subway page is of "high importance" to this project. Because of that, I thought it would be appropriate to alert editors here to the request. The purpose of my request is to bring the article up to date based on changes made to Subway's menu in the past several years, all supported by reliable sources. Thank you for your review. PHSubway (talk) 20:23, 30 July 2024 (UTC)
Good article reassessment for George W. Bush
editGeorge W. Bush has been nominated for a good article reassessment. If you are interested in the discussion, please participate by adding your comments to the reassessment page. If concerns are not addressed during the review period, the good article status may be removed from the article. Z1720 (talk) 18:06, 25 September 2024 (UTC)
Storrs, Connecticut has an RfC
edit
Storrs, Connecticut has an RfC for possible consensus. A discussion is taking place. If you would like to participate in the discussion, you are invited to add your comments on the discussion page. Thank you.
As you may know, the main campus is of the University of Connecticut is located in the town of Mansfield, in Tolland County. The unincorporated village which UConn calls home is referred to as both "Storrs-Mansfield" and "Storrs" - both in substantial official and community-based sources.
Respectful and evidence-supported comments would be appreciated to achieve an accurate and supportable consensus regarding references to this community, keeping in mind that "Storrs-Mansfield" and "Storrs" are both valid names. Wikipedia policy is not clear on its preference between census-designated place boundaries and postal town boundaries, as the two differ and common usage tends to favor the larger postal town boundary.
It is not appropriate to immediately dismiss the need for a new consensus, either due to erroneous or historical inaccurate usage or because of personal opinion. Thank you, Jonathanhusky (talk) 22:27, 8 October 2024 (UTC)