Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-02-09
MSS GA1Ek DEAD
School Teacher For Many Years
 Funeral Monday Morning.

V CAOCA Ao6t 0V0ssAu6 ~ AAOA AAvAAsSs " South Main street, after an illness of a few weeks. The deceased had been 8 teacher in the public schools of Wa terbury since 1859. and was one of the best known and most respected women in the community. Some time ago she was placed on the substitute list of teachers and since that time she had done very little active work. The funeral will take place to St Patrick's church Monday morning at S:3O o'clock. - The death of Miss Slater removes the last one of five talented young women who can1e to Waterbury over forty years ago, and engaged in the profession of teaching in the East Main street school, which has since been relegated to the grave of obliv- ion to make room for more com modious structure known as St Pat rick's block. In those days there were no Catholic teachers in Water bury, and not very large number of any other class, for the place was small and the demand for teachers here was far from what 1t Is to-day. Father Hendricken was pastor of the Immaculate Conception parish in Wa terbury at the time, and with a view to facilitating educational matters he opened a school in the old building across the way from the church and called it the Catholic academy. The Inext move was to advertise for two Experienced teachers, and an adver- Itisemeht in the Boston Pilot brought duplication from the Misses Annie F. and Susie Slater, then teaching at New Jersey. This was in the fall of 1859. The girls entered upon their duties and soon attracted such atten- tion to the school that Fath- Ter Hendricken found 1t neces- sary to look up additional tu- tors, and in the spring of 1860 two more of the Slater girls, Elizabeth and Hattie C., arrived here and com menced teaching down stairs in the same building. The next year the school passed from the management of the parish to that of the Center district, and from that time on the teachers were paid by the city instead of by the parish. In 1864 Katie Sla- ter accepted an appointment in the building, so that 1t was no wonder | 1t used to be referred to as the Sis ters' school" In addition to teach ing Hattie c. played the organ in the Immaculate Conception church and the sisters sang in the choir. They also took charge of the altar, taught in the Sunday school, prepared the children for first communion and con- firmation, were prominent at church fairs and festivals and in fact were leaders in every movement gotten up for the benefit of the parish. Nothing pertaining to church matters was considered properly organized unless the Slater girls were identified with 1t. In 1866. two of the girls, Susie and Elizabeth. resigned to enter the married state, the former becoming the wife of William Hendricken. brother of Father Hendricken. and the latter marrying Patrick Brett, then superintendent of the Water bury Buckle Co. Mrs Hendricken died in 1878. leaving one son. Thom- as Hendricken of Detroit. She Is buried in Providence, R. I. MT Brett died in 1871. but his widow lived un- til 1895. She Is buried in St Joseph's cemetery. She was the mother of Attorney F. P. Brett, the present town clerk of Waterbury. In 1871, Hattie c. married Daniel F. Minahan of Ohio, prominent contractor, who built the railroad between here and Watertown. She died in New York in 1875 and was buried in the family plot at Amherst, Mass. She is sur. vived by one daughter. Miss Mary Minahan of this city. Katie was em- ployed in the public schools until
 1891 and after that she kept night school. She died September 14,
 1903. at the summer residence Of the family at Walnut Beach. She is bur fed in St oseph's cemetery Annie was regular teacher from 1859 until
 1895. They had one brother, William Slater, who died here about seventeen years ago and was buried in Am
 herst. The older members of the fam fly were born in Castleton, Vt, but all of them were educated in the public schools and the academy at Amherst, where their father was a prosperous farmer. One sister. Mrs Mary Dwyer of Rochester. N. Y., is the only sur viving member of the family. Their fathers name was John Slater and their mothers Hanora Egan. Hat tie took a course at the Con- vent of Notre Dame in Montreal and Katie attended the Sacred Heart academy at Manhattanville. so that all of them were fully equipped for the profession of teaching and had a remarkably happy faculty of impart- ing what they knew to others. In other walks of life they were tireless workers on behalf of every project that had for its aim the well being of society. Their pupils number some of the brightest men in Water bury to-day. and many of the lead ing lights of the priesthood in differ- ent parts of the country came under their tender care, either at the build- ing on East Main street or on Porter street. where Katie held the positio
 of principal for many yeasr. Alto gether they were a rather remarkable family and future historians fin speaking of Waterbury educators must necessarily accord them an hon. ored place.