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C, manager of the Mutual Machine Company,
also secretary and director. Mrs.
Warren died in February, 1912. She was
a member of the Congregational church
in Coventry. Personally, Mr. Warren is
a man whom it is a pleasure to know. He
is interested in all lines of progress, as
well as the particular work to which he
has given the best years of his life ; a man
with a heart and soul as well as a brilliant
mind.
WHITTAKER, Robert,
Journalist.
Robert Whittaker was born February
1, 1861, in Thurles, Ireland, a son of the
late Henry and Anne (Livingstone)
Whittaker, and the eldest child of his
father's second marriage. Coming to
Stamford in 1869, Robert Whittaker attended
a public school situated near St.
John's Park, the principal being Sipsco
Stevens. When he was thirteen years of
age, preparing for entrance to the high
school, he was encouraged by Mr. Stevens
to take an examination for the secondyear,
class, and was the only pupil from
the graded schools who passed it. He
spent only a year in high school, leaving
it to learn the printer's trade. He de-
veloped a taste for writing, and studied
stenography. In the early eighties, he
was foreman in the office of the Stamford
"Herald," a weekly paper, and also wrote
most of its local news. In 1884 he went
to Port Chester to take charge of the Port
Chester "Enterprise," a weekly paper
started with New York capital, from
which grew the Port Chester "Daily
Item." Desiring to obtain a better training
in newspaper work than could be had
on a country paper, he obtained employment
in New York, in 1887, doing considerable
work for the "Sun," the "World"
and the "Herald," and being for about
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
260
three years employed by the "Evening
Post." Here he had an opportunity to
see how the various departments of a
daily newspaper are conducted. Part of
his work in New York was in the capacity
of a proof-reader, which was an educa-
tion in itself. In 1891, having again become
a resident of Stamford, he received
a proposition from Gillespie Brothers to
perform work upon "Picturesque Stam-
ford," a book issued for the celebration of
the town's anniversary, the understanding
being that, when this work was completed,
he was to take charge of the news
department of a contemplated daily edi-
tion of the "Advocate," which had been
in existence as a weekly since 1829. He
accepted this offer chiefly because he had
a deep affection for Stamford. The story
of his life since April 4, 1892, the date of
the first issue of "The Daily Advocate," is
bound up with that of the newspaper, in
whose progress he has had a large share
as managing editor. In the early days of
the paper, he did practically all of the reporting,
and later, when the town grew
and the paper had a considerable staff, he
found time to do a large amount of writ-
ing in* addition to his work as an editor.
In 1893 he started a feature known as
"Live Local Topics" for the Saturday
edition of the paper. With the exception
of a few weeks, which he spent in vacations
to Europe, this department has been
a regular Saturday feature, read perhaps
more than any other in the paper.
Besides his work, of which the newspaper
has afforded evidence each day, he
has found time to do considerable corre-
spondence for other newspapers. He has
written numerous poems, some of which
have been published in other form than
the newspaper, and many essays on his-
torical, social, political and industrial sub-
jects, and has delivered numerous lectures
and speeches. He has served as a mem-