Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

ploy of the United States Pension Office
in that city.
About this time an opportunity pre-
sented itself for Mr. Moran to enter the
wholesale coal and coke business, and five
years were spent by him in the office of
the Maryland Coal and Coke Company,
and also as salesman, thereby enabling
him to learn the details of both the inside
and outside work. In 191 1 Mr. Moran re-
turned to New London and joined the
F. H. & A. H. Chappell Company as
wholesale salesman. The experience
which he had gained in Boston was of
great value to him in this new position,
and it also placed him in a position to
accept, or rather to grasp the opportunity
which presented itself in 1919. In the lat-
ter year the Norwalk Coal and Supply
Company was organized to take over that
part of the Raymond Brothers business,
and Mr. Moran became treasurer of this
new corporation. In addition to coal,
mason's supplies were also carried. The
business has thrived and is rapidly grow-
ing. Mr. Moran is a member of the
Knights of Columbus, Catholic Union
Council, of Norwalk, and is also a mem-
ber of the South Norwalk Club.
Mr. Moran married Mary E. J. Hanley,
daughter of James T. Hanley, of Boston,
and they are the parents of a daughter,
Ruth, born in May, 1915.
FINCH, John K.,
Curio Collector.
John K. Finch, a well known business
man of Norwalk, Connecticut, is a man
whose sound common sense and able management
of his affairs have been important
factors in his success. The Finch
family derive their name from the bird
of that name, which was undoubtedly
assumed by some early ancestor. It may
have been a sign used to display before
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
197
a store, or it might have been taken from
location of the ancestral home.
George W. Finch, father of John K.
Finch, was born in Banksville, New York.
He learned the trade of shoemaker, which
he followed until the latter part of his
life, at which time he took up farming.
His father was Edward Finch, a shoemaker,
who married Bloomie Ann Davis.
George W. Finch married Mary Ann
Anthony
Losee, and their children were :
L., John K., of further mention ; Charles
D., Frederick O., Elizabeth, Ralph, and
Grace. The family attended the Episco-
pal church, and aided in its good works.
John K. Finch, son of George W. and
Mary Ann (Losee) Finch, was born February
15, 1864, in Banksville, New York.
His boyhood was spent on the farm, and
he attended the public schools of Middle
Patent, New York. When he was twentyone
years of age he came to Norwalk,
Connecticut, and entered the employ of
the Norwalk Iron Works. For a period
of twelve years he remained there as a
pattern keeper, and in February, 1910, re-
signed to enter business on his own ac-
count as an auctioneer and dealer in an-
tiques, curios, and second-hand furniture.
The collecting of antiques had been a
hobby of Mr. Finch's for many years, and
he has been singly successful in his
undertaking. Combined with his business
acumen, Mr. Finch is a man of pleasing
personality, and his desire to please his
customers and satisfy them has been one
of the factors in his success
Mr. Finch has entered into the public
and business life of Norwalk since making
his residence there, and he is interested
in all that pertains to its welfare. He is a
Democrat in politics, and for three years
served as a special policeman for South
Norwalk.
He is a member of the Senior Order of
United American Mechanics, of South