Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

of the Republican party, and was overseer
of the poor of his town for a number of
years. He was a director of the Winchendon
Cooperative Bank from its incorporation
until his death. He was one
of the town's most highly respected and
esteemed citizens. Calvin Bryant mar-
ried, October 9, i860, Almeda Dexter, of
Royalston, Massachusetts, born January
2, 1830, daughter of Ebenezer Wheeler
and Cynthia (Walker) Dexter. Mr. Dex-
ter was born March 24, 1780; died in i860.
He was a farmer and mill owner and held
many responsible offices in Royalston.
His wife was born December 19, 1799;
died in May, 1870. The children of Calvin
Turner and Almeda (Dexter) Bryant:
Flora Almeda, born November 21, 1861,
and became a valued teacher in the Winchendon
public schools; Waldo Calvin,
of this review.
Waldo Calvin Bryant, son of Calvin
Turner and Almeda (Dexter) Bryant, was
born December 17, 1863, at Winchendon,
Massachusetts. He attended the schools
of his native town until he was fourteen
years of age, when he entered the shops
of Baxter D. Whitney at Winchendon
and began to learn the machinist's trade,
also pursuing his studies during the
school terms and serving at his trade dur-
ing the vacation periods. After finishing
his course of study at the grammar school
when he was sixteen years of age, he entered
Cushing Academy at Ashburnham,
Massachusetts, and prepared for entrance
to Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He
was graduated from the institute in the
class of 1884 at the age of twenty with the
degree of Bachelor of Science. He at
once secured a position in the expert
department of the Thomson-Houston
Electric Company of Lynn, Massachusetts.
He only held that position one
month, and was transferred to Bridge-
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
91
port as assistant to George Cutter in the
operation of the local electric light plant.
He continued to fill that position until the
spring of 1885, when a Bridgeport company
took charge of the local plant, and
he went to Waterbury, Connecticut, to
take charge of a part of the work of super-
intending the Waterbury Electric Light
Company. He was with the Waterbury
Company a little more than three years,
and during that period he had invented
the Bryant "push and pull switch," which
with other electric light supplies he soon
began to manufactureataplant in Bridge-
port. He organized the Bryant Electric
Company, having only a small capital,
but having taken out patents on a number
of electric lighting devices, he continued
to manufacture them until July, 1889,
when he incorporated the Bryant Electric
Company with a capital stock of five thousand
dollars.
Under the skilfully guiding hand of Mr.
Bryant the business of the corporation
took on amazing growth, and it is rated
as at the very forefront of concerns of the
kind in this country. Mr. Bryant fills the
positions of president, treasurer, general
manager and director of the corporation.
He also occupies the offices of president,
treasurer, general manager and director
of the Perkins Electric Switch Manu-
facturing Company. He is a man of in-
fluence in financial circles, and is a direc-
tor of the First National Bank of Bridge-
port, and vice-president and trustee of the
People's Savings Bank. His connection
with other enterprises includes directorships
in the Bridgeport Hydraulic Com-
pany, the Bridgeport Brass Company, the
Bead Chain Manufacturing Company, and
the Siemon Corporation. He is a director
of the Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport
Public Library and Bridgeport Boys'
Club. He is a member of the American