Morning journal and courier., 1881-04-05
Alvin Bronson.
Noted Descendant of the BTiddlebury
 

Noted Descendant of the BTfddlebury
 BronsOns.
 Alvin Bronson died at his residence in Oswego, N. Y, Saturday last. He was born in Waterbury (now Middlebury), May 19, 17ss and was nearly 98 years of age. In Bronson's History of Waterbury" pub lished in 1858, is fine portrait of the de- ceased, and also a biographical memoir" written by himself. He was a cousin of Silas Bronson, to whom Waterbury is indebted for the munifcent gift of $200, GOO to establish what is now known and enjoyed as the Bronson library. He was also distantly con- nected with Deacon Edward L. Bronson of this city, and others of that name here abouts. In his early youth he worked on the farm in the summer and attended the district school in the winter. Capt. Isaac Bronson, in whose family he spent twelve months as 8 shop and errand boy in @ small country store, is spoken of in his memoir very highly i; it was in this family that Alvin became in- terested in juvenile library and contracted a fondness for books. For two or three years he was employed in the store of Mir. Terrell, of Salem, (now Nauga- tuck. After this he attended term of the select school of Esquire Morris, of Ltch- field South Farms), and completed his edu- cation by spending year with Rev. Ira Hart, the clergyman at Middlebury. This was be- fore he was seventeen years old, and he taught district school for three months in Woodbridge while he was but sixteen. Soon after this he went to New Haven, where he remained about eighteen months as clerk in the store of Reuben Rice. Then he was in kos1O I,,,civ ,v,HT Wharf for three or four years, being quite prosperous. Afterwards he was engaged successfully in the West India trade, making one or more trips personally as super-car Gle was at this time connected with the for mer prominent shipping firm of which the late Joseph N. Clark, uncle of ex-Provost Marshal R. M. Clarke, of this city, was the head) In 1910 he went to Oswego (then 8 small hamlet of three hundred inhabitants, but now about the size of Waterbury,, and engaged in the lake trade as one of the firm of Bronson, Townsend (Jacob Townsend of New Haven) < Go. In 1885 he was one of the well known firm of Bronson & Crocker, who conducted the major part of the com mercial business on the lakes and canal for years, and continued in that line until 1S58 being very successful He was elected to the State Senate in 1922 and reelected in 1S29 During his second term as Senator he se- cured the passage of the bill authorizing the constructor or the Oswego canal. At the session of the Senate of 1924, in order to prevent the vote of New York from being cast for William H. Crawford, bill was in- troduced giving the election to the people Seventeen Senators-a majority of the Sen ate-opposed and defeated the bill These seventeen Senators were known as tfthe fla nous seventeen" on account of the popular clamor against them. MT. Bronson was one of these, and the only one living at the time of his death. In the war of 1S12 Mir Rr6n son had charge of the military stores belong ing to the government at Oswego, and, to prevent their being captured by the British, threw them into the river, for which he was taken prisoner and confined in prison at Kingston Waterbury American