Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

During all this time Dr. Bennett was de-
voting considerable time to exhaustive
research along special lines, and his next
work was that of Bacteriologist for Bellevue
Medical College, where he was made
Instructor in Bacteriology. It is rarely
indeed that so wide a field is covered in
the preparation for the practice of medi-
cine and surgery. This, taking into con-
sideration Dr. Bennett's educational ad-
vantages and his natural capacity for exactness
and fine discrimination, makes him
a man whom the town of Greenwich is
fortunate to count among her citizens.
He came to Greenwich in February, 1915,
as bacteriologist and diagnostician for
the Board of Health of the town. He was
licensed to practice in the State of Con-
necticut in March, 1917, and has since
engaged in private practice, although still
holding the same office in connection with
the work ot the Board of Health. His
practice is largely in medicine, and he has
been successful in laying a foundation
for the future that should be a matter of
pride to him.
Dr. Bennett married Mary Prendergast,
daughter of Richard Prendergast, born
in Kinsale, Ireland. They are the parents
of five children: Arthur William, Mary
Alberta, Richard, John Clifford, and Al-
bert Godfrey, Jr.
DREYER, W. Arnold,
Manufacturer.
As vice-president and treasurer of the
Dreyer Hat Company, Mr. Dreyer is one
of the controlling forces of a flourishing
and constantly increasing business. As
such he is one of the leading representatives
of the industrial and commercial
interests of South Norwalk, and has
proved himself most loyal in the promotion
of all that can conduce to advance-
ment.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
93
The name of Dreyer is distinctly German
and not Dutch, as some appear to
think. The tamily, though long promi-
nent in New York City, is not of the
Knickerbocker or Holland stock, but evi-
dently had its origin in the Fatherland.
In Brooklyn, New York, long before the
consolidation, a branch of the Dreyers
was included among the influential resi-
dents.
(I) Dreyer, grandfather of \V.
Arnold Dreyer, was a clergyman of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and enlisted
in the Union army as a chaplain from
New York City. He was never again
heard of and his disappearance remains
one of the mysteries of the Civil War.
(II) Charles Wilbur Fisk Dreyer, son
of Dreyer, was born January 29,
1855, in New York City, and was reared
by his widowed mother in Newburgh,
New York. There he attended the public
schools, and at the age of nineteen or
twenty set out to seek his fortune, his
only capital consisting of good moral
training, laudable ambition and a single
five-dollar bill. On arriving in New York
City, Mr. Dreyer was employed as clerk
in a retail hat store, and during the time
he spent there saved his earnings and
lived with such economy that it was not
long before he found himself in circum-
stances which justified him in opening a
retail hat store of his own in Brooklyn.
This he conducted for about ten years, at
the end of that time becoming a partner
in the John C. Wilson Company, owners
of a factory in South Norwalk, Connecti-
cut. Mr. Dreyer was placed in charge of
their New York office. In 1895 he withdrew
from the firm and formed a new
partnership under the title of Wallhizer
& Dreyer. They began as manufacturers
in East Norwalk, but at the end of a year
removed to South Norwalk. The enterprise
was very successful, the firm em-