Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

Birchard, daughter of Edwin Birchard, of
Cannon Station, in the town of Wilton,
and their children were : Eli Sturges, of
Brooklyn, New York; Mary Esther, also
of that city ; Jennie, wife of I. D. Hurlbutt,
of Brooklyn ; Edwin B., mentioned below;
and Charles, of Brooklyn. About
twenty years before his death, which occurred
July ID, 1920, Mr. Bennett retired
from active business. He was a man of
more than ordinary executive talent, and
was highly esteemed as a useful and
public-spirited citizen.
(X) Edwin B. Bennett, son of Eli G.
and Mary Esther (Birchard) Bennett,
was born April 23, 1869, in Georgetown,
Connecticut, and received his education in
the public schools of his native place.
After completing his course of study
Mr. Bennett, true to the traditions of his
family, entered the service of the Gilbert
& Bennett Manufacturing Company, receiving
his initiation in the business in
which his father and grandfather had rendered
such notable assistance. It soon
became evident that he had inherited a
full measure of their ability and also of
their energy and aggressiveness, and dur-
ing the twenty-two years of his connec-
tion with the firm he did much for the
strengthening and expansion of the busi-
ness, serving for the greater part of the
time as salesman.
A spirit of enterprise, however, has always
been one of Mr. Bennett's dominant
characteristics, and in 1907 he established
his present business. From a small be-
ginning the concern has grown to noteworthy
proportions, and is now numbered
among Norwalk's most substantial indus-
tries. The product is wire cloth, sold
directly to stores and manufacturers of
wire cloth goods, and finds a market in
every part of the United States and also
in Canada, having a growing export trade.
In 1912 the business was incorporated as
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312
the Bennett Wire Company, with Mr.
Bennett as president, an office which he
has since continuously retained.
While predominantly a business man,
Mr. Bennett never forgets that he is a
citizen, and any cause or movement hav-
ing for its object the improvement of
community conditions invariably enlists
the support of his influence and means.
He and his family are members of Grace
Dutch Reformed Church of Brooklyn,
New York.
Mr. Bennett married Isabelle W. Gib-
son, daughter of James D. Gibson, a na-
tive of Edinburgh, Scotland, who emi-
grated to the United States. Since the
age of nine years Mr. Gibson has been a
resident of New York. Mr. and Mrs.
Bennett are the parents of one child:
Birchard Gibson, born January 17, 1902.
Edwin B. Bennett is the son and grandson
of men who gave the best years of
their lives to the upbuilding of a great in-
dustry, and he himself, as a representative
of the third generation, has ably and
worthily carried on the work. As head
of a large and constantly growing enter-
prise, in the same line of endeavor, he has
added to the long-established prestige of
the family name.
(The Gilbert Line).
The name Gilbert, which has been as-
sociated for more than a century with a
manufacturing enterprise of National rep-
utation, is of French origin, and is a
personal name which was largely introduced
into England at the time of the
Norman Conquest in the form of Gisle-
bertus. The meaning is pledge, or hostage-bright.
Not only is it a very common
surname, but it is the source from which
are derived Gibb, Gibbs, Gybbes, Gibbard,
Gibbings, Gibbonson, Gibson, Gill, Gilks,
Gilpin and many others.
Benjamin Gilbert, founder of the busi-
i
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