Draft:Silas Bronson
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Last edited by Slgrandson (talk | contribs) 15 days ago. (Update) |
Silas Bronson | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 15, 1788 West Farms, Waterbury, Connecticut (now part of Middlebury) |
| Died | November 24, 1867 |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant Philanthropist |
Silas Bronson (February 15, 1788 – November 24, 1867) was a Connecticut-born merchant and philanthropist based in New York City. He bequeathed US$200,000 to found the public library in Waterbury that now bears his name.
Life and career[edit]
Silas Bronson was born on February 15, 1788 in the West Farms area of Waterbury, Connecticut (now part of Middlebury);[1] he was the second of eight children of Elijah Bronson (a farmer) and Lois Bunnell.[2][3] He was born in the same "Old Bronson Place" as his cousin Titus Bronson, the founder of Kalamazoo in Michigan.[4]
Since Elijah Bronson's income was modest, his children were encouraged to support themselves at a young age.[3] While still in Connecticut, his son Silas had a limited common school education, and took up carpentry for four years;[2] he also worked as a farmer and store clerk in his youth.[2][5] Around the age of 21, Silas Bronson moved to the Augusta, Georgia area and eventually spent at least 15 years as a merchant there. Upon moving to New York City in 1830, he specialized in selling dry goods and later moved on to commissioning.[2][3] Although he ran an increasingly successful business[2] and became a millionaire,[6] his health later began to deteriorate, causing him to end his ventures and retire.[2][3] His plans to open a boys' school in the vein of Vassar College were also canceled amid his ill health.[3]
Bronson never married, nor did he often visit Connecticut or his relatives there.[3] He died on November 24, 1867 at New York's St. Nicholas Hotel.[2] In his will, he left:
- $15,000 to each of his nieces and nephews (numbering at least 25);[6]
- another $25,000 to the New York City Hospital;[2]
- and $200,000 towards the funding of a public library in his former hometown of Waterbury,[7] a gift allegedly prompted under the imploration of an old associate.[3]
A year after his death, the Waterbury authorities used the latter funds to establish the Silas Bronson Library,[7] whose service remains in operation today.[8] In 1890, the library commissioned a portrait of its namesake founder by Horace Johnson.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ "Know Your Waterbury: Its History, Facts and General Information". The Waterbury Democrat. February 1, 1934. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "The Good Fortune of Waterbury". Hartford Courant. December 3, 1867. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: 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 April 30, 2024 – via Archive.org.
- ^ Kekic, Nick (1984). "Chapter Three: The Puritan Roots of Titus Bronson". A Fine Place for a City: Titus Bronson and the founding of Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo: Oak Opening press. p. 44. ISBN 0-9613850-0-6. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via Archive.org.
- ^ This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Pidgeon, Daniel (1885). "An Industrial Pioneer". Old-World Questions and New-World Answers. Harper & Brothers. p. 60. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via Archive.org.
- ^ a b This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "Tennesseans in Luck: Several $15,000 Legacies for Somebody". Pulaski Citizen. December 27, 1867. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: "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. January 6, 1895. Archived from the original on April 30, 2024. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
- ^ "Public Libraries in Connecticut". The New York Times Online. March 11, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "News of the State: Personals". Hartford Courant. January 1, 1890. p. 4. Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
Further reading[edit]
- Mitchell, M. W. (1966). An Historical Study of the Silas Bronson Library of Waterbury, Connecticut (Master's thesis). Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). Retrieved April 30, 2024 – via ProQuest.
External links[edit]
- Biography page at the Silas Bronson Library site