Family Biographies - Franklin B. Bristol II

At 28 years old, Franklin II was much younger than his brothers and may have also been the youngest subject in the three-volume set. 

Papa's biography notes that he obtained a degree in Industrial Electronics Engineering, which was a relatively new and exciting field at that time. According to my father (Franklin III), Papa's background in both mechanical and electrical engineering allowed him to work closely with Uncle Will on many of his inventions during that period. Unlike his brothers, Papa also had the opportunity to work with Uncle Will on the innovative development of movies with sound at his WHB Talking Picture Corporation. After Uncle Will's death in 1930, although the talking picture efforts were discontinued, Papa was able to continue working on various inventions and Bristol Company products.

Franklin B. Bristol II

(March 10, 1901 – October 30, 1997)

Early Life

Franklin Benjamin Bristol, general manager of the William H. Bristol Talking Picture Corporation of Waterbury, was born in Naugatuck, Connecticut, March 10, 1901, the son of Franklin B. Bristol and Cora F. (Russell) Bristol. His father, for whom he is named, was a well-known resident of Naugatuck who became vice president of The Bristol Company of Waterbury when it was founded by William H. Bristol, his brother, in 1889. He is descended from Henry Bristol, who came from England, and was one of the first settlers of New Haven colony, and his great grandfather, Hiel Bristol, was the first of the family to settle in Naugatuck. His grandfather, Benjamin Hiel Bristol, one of the sterling citizens of Naugatuck of his time, was associated with his two sons in founding The Bristol Company.

Education

Franklin B. Bristol, the subject of this biography, was educated in the Naugatuck grammar schools and Naugatuck high school, with two years at the Gunnery school at Washington, Connecticut. He then entered Pratt Institute and was graduated in 1923, following a course in electrical engineering, with the degree of I. E. E.

Career

After leaving Pratt Institute, he entered the plant of The Bristol Company and for approximately two years devoted his attention to the development of radios. In 1925 he took up the work of developing talking moving pictures for the William H. Bristol Talking Picture Corporation and the success which has been attained by the "Bristolphone," an instrument which synchronizes sound with motion pictures, invented by his uncle, Professor William H. Bristol, the "Bristolphone" has been brought to a state of high perfection in the complete motion picture plant and laboratory under the management of Franklin B. Bristol and is being used by many theatres in various parts of the country with a constantly increasing field being developed. Mr. Bristol is a member of the Kiwanis club and of the Congregational church of Naugatuck.

Family

October 5, 1923, he was married to Phyllis Hampson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Philip H. Hampson of Waterbury, at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Two children have been born of the union, Franklin B. Bristol, Jr., and Nancy Bristol.

Residence

Mr. Bristol's residence is at 25 Kenilworth street (see previous post here) and his business address, the William H. Bristol Talking Picture Corporation, Waterbury, Conn. 

Kenilworth Street

Franklin III at Kenilworth Street

The above photo of my father (Franklin III) was taken on the sidewalk in front of his house at 25 Kenilworth Street in Waterbury, Connecticut. His pedal-car may have been designed after a Toledo Pierce Arrow.

Although the photo does not include any details, he may have received the roadster from Uncle Will for his third birthday in February 1928. Uncle Will had adopted Papa (Franklin II) and his brothers in 1905 after their father was killed by a train (see previous posts here and here). Therefore, Uncle Will may have considered my father his "grandson" (and therefore, my generation could probably consider ourselves his "great-grandchildren").

25 Kenilworth Street, from a current Google "Street View" image

My grandparents (Franklin II and Phyllis) had moved into the Kenilworth Street house in 1923 after they were married. At that time, Papa was 22 and Gam was 20. The house had been newly constructed and was located on a 0.14 acre parcel within a residential area of the city.

Franklin III ("Sonny") at Kenilworth Street in October 1927 (click to enlarge)

Although Waterbury has undergone a lot of changes during the past 90+ years (for better or worse), it seems that Kenilworth Street has remained largely unchanged. In comparing the three black-and-white photos above with the current Google image below, although the road is now paved, each of the houses and other features are almost identical!

Current view of Kenilworth Street to west

WW2 Appendix - Additional Photographs (Post 1 of 6)

Franklin in August 1943, one week before leaving for the service

Shortly after completing this story, another box of old photographs was discovered at the lake house from the time of the war. The photos had been taken by Franklin's family during his last few months at home, during his leave from training, and during the time that he was away. The original photos were in black and white and were only about 2 x 3 inches in size.

Most of the photos had been taken by Franklin's father, who seemed to have a good eye for photography. As an engineer, he also appeared to be especially good at adjusting his camera to the various light conditions and then developing the photos in his darkroom.

Papa's darkroom on South Street where he developed his photos

After development, Franklin's mother would carefully write the subject of the photos on the back in pencil before enclosing them with their letters to him overseas. As possible, Franklin would then return the photos to them along with his own letters.

The following appendix contains 52 of the additional photos from that time. Where possible, I have noted the chapter numbers for the corresponding events taking place in the preceding story.

Bob Bristol
March 26, 2019
East Haddam, Connecticut

Papa's Racing Car from 1914 - Photo Contest!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Papa. The photo is identified as "Franklin B. Bristol, Jr." and is dated October 31, 1914 when he was 13 years old. The photo was probably taken by one of his brothers. I am offering a framed 5x7 inch copy of this photo to the first person to guess where he got his wheels!

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I am pleased to announce that Gin Allen was the first person to correctly guess that Papa got his wheels from his baby pram! Back in October 2013, I had posted a photo of him in his stroller from August 1901 when he was 5 months old. Papa was the youngest in the family and therefore he may have been the last one to use it for its intended purpose. Although there were some really good guesses from others, score one for Gin and the younger generation!

Early Photos of Phyllis Hampson Bristol

These early photos of my grandmother, Phyllis Hampson Bristol, were recently provided by her son David. Phyllis was the wife of Franklin II. The photo above is dated 1909 and was therefore taken when she was 6 years old. Because she was the only girl in the family she must have gotten all kinds of special attention!

The second photo looks like it was from a formal sitting when she was perhaps in her late teens, while the third photo is less formal and may have been taken when she was around 30 (?). Her clothing must have been quite fashionable at the time!

 

Formal Photos of Franklin II

 

These formal photos of my grandfather, Franklin II, were recently provided by his son David. The first one appears to have been taken when he was in his early 20s, while the second one may have been taken in his 30s (?). These were perhaps some rare instances when he wasn't seen smiling!

Hampson Family Tree

These hand-written notes by Phillip Hampson show his "family tree on my mother's side." Phillip was the father of Franklin II's wife, Phyllis. Of note, this document indicates that the family was descended from Robert Stephenson, the brother of the famous George Stephenson who was the "inventor of the first locomotive in England." However, Virginia Allen, our family genealogist, has done a great deal of research on this connection and concludes that it was most likely a different Stephenson family. Gin sent me this photo of Phillip's mother, Sarah Ann Aucock, when she was about 38 years old.

Photo of Franklin I and Family from 1902

 

This family photo is from around 1902. According to a card on the back of the frame in my father’s (Franklin III’s) handwriting, from left to right the people are: Howard (1886), Cora (1862), Franklin II (1901), Carlton (1891), and Franklin I (1860), and the photo was taken by Sam (1885).

 

I am always struck by how formal their clothing was back then, even for a picnic! Papa is wearing a dress which was apparently common for boys up to two years old.  A fifth brother (Harold) was born in 1886 but unfortunately died within his first year.

Early Photos of Franklin II

Here are three photos that (I think) were of Papa when he was very young. The first one was dated "1903" while the second one was labeled "Franklin Benjamin Bristol, first of Aug. 1901" and the third one did not contain any information. Papa was born on March 10, 1901. He does not seem very happy about getting his picture taken!

Franklin II Letter from the Gunnery, 1918

I am attaching a letter (see link below) from my grandfather, Franklin Bristol II, to his older brother Howard in October 1918. At that time, he was 17 years old and was attending boarding school at the Gunnery in Washington, Connecticut.
 

Letter:  FB II Letter, Gunnery, Oct 1918

Interestingly, the letter mentions the great concern at that time for influenza. This pandemic reportedly killed about 50 to 100 million people worldwide between 1918 and 1920. The virus mostly affected young adults and ended up killing far more people than were killed by World War I (about 17 million).

I am also posting a photo (one of my favorites) that is labeled "Franklin B Bristol." This photo appears to have been taken a little earlier, perhaps when Papa was around 15 (?). It is difficult to tell where it was taken but the road slopes downward and there appears to be an automobile behind him. Perhaps the photo was taken near their home in Platts Mills in Waterbury.

 

 

Franklin II Letters from Fort Terry, 1916

For the first entry, I am attaching three letters written by my grandfather, Franklin B. Bristol II, to his older brother Howard in July 1916.  During this time, he was 15 years old and was attending army camp at Fort Terry.  The full letters can be viewed by clicking on the links below.

 

 

FB II Letter, July 9, 1916

 

FB II Letter, July 13, 1916

FB II Letter, July 15, 1916

 

I recall Papa telling me about this experience many years later, when he was in his 80s.  He said that the camp was located on Long Island, New York and had been used to train boys that were too young to participate in World War I.  He gave me the impression that it had been a positive experience for him and he had actually gotten to meet Teddy Roosevelt.  Although the letters unfortunately do not mention this event, I was able to find it described (July 25) in the attached New York Times article.

Roosevelt at Fort Terry Article, 1916

I also found a great booklet about this military training camp online.  The camp was run for five weeks beginning on July 6, 1916 and was for boys aged 15 through 18.  Fort Terry was located on Plum Island which is just east of Long Island.  Although the program was considered very successful and was therefore going to be continued the following year, the US entered the war the next spring, in April 1917, so it was probably discontinued.  Then, because the war ended in November 1918, when Papa was only 17 years old, he was probably too young to have been drafted.

 Fort Terry Booklet, 1916