WHB and the Brooklyn Bridge

Adam on the Brooklyn Bridge, looking towards lower Manhattan

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Brooklyn Bridge in New York with my son Adam. We were able to cross over the bridge on a wooden walkway that extended over the busy traffic and East River far below. The bridgework and night-time views of the NYC skyline were amazing!

Our view of the New York skyline from the bridge

The experience brought to mind a letter that Uncle Will had written in 1880, which I had briefly described in a previous post. At that time, the bridge was considered to be one of the greatest engineering feats in the world. Construction of the bridge had begun in 1869 and would take 14 years to complete. The chief engineer on the project was a German immigrant named John Roebling. During the second year of construction, however, his foot was crushed and he died of tetanus. Afterwards, his 32-year old son, Washington Roebling, took over the project as chief engineer.

In November 1880, Uncle Will had written a letter home to his 15-year old sister Sarah, whom they had affectionately called Sadie. At that time, he was in his first semester as an engineering student at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. From his dormitory room on the third floor, he was able to look across the Hudson River to NYC and may have been able to see the stone suspension towers of the bridge on the other side of Manhattan. On the third page of his letter (see below), Uncle Will describes contacting the chief engineer to ask permission to visit the bridge during construction.

He and his classmates were then able to cross over the footpath above the bridge and get a personal tour from another engineer on the project. He writes that:

"It is a grand thing to go up on those piers. They are over 250 feet above the river. The view of NY and the surroundings is magnificent. When on the walk out over the river it almost seems as if one was flying." and "Going across that bridge is the best treat that I have had since I have been here -- I only wish that Papa and Frank could go over it too."

Although separated by 139 years, Adam is also a young engineer. I mentioned to him that Uncle Will's brother Frank (Franklin Benjamin Bristol I) was his great-great grandfather, and Papa (Benjamin Hiel Bristol) was his great-great-great grandfather!

Uncle Will's experience on the bridge that day may have been particularly inspiring for him during his career. After graduating from Stevens in 1884, he would begin teaching there in 1886 and then become a professor of mathematics there in 1899, after starting the Bristol Company with Frank and his father in 1889. While at Stevens, he also patented some of his most successful inventions. The school still offers a William Henry Bristol Endowed Scholarship, which is "awarded to a deserving student with financial need."

Uncle Will's letter from November 1880, page 1 (click to enlarge)

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Mary's Little Lamb

This is an interesting document I found amongst my family history items.  Please note reference at the end to My Friend Flicka!  I remember that series from my childhood even to this day!

Probate Certificates, 1905

Howard's Probate Certificate

Carlton's Probate Certificate



Franklin II's Probate Certificate

 

These probate certificates are from July 1905 (click on images to enlarge). In June 1905, Uncle Will had assumed guardianship of three of Franklin I’s children after Franklin's death in November 1904. By that time, Howard was aged 17, Carlton was 14, and Franklin II was 4. The fourth brother, Sam, was aged 20 and therefore was not considered a minor. Although Uncle Will did not have any children of his own, this generous act probably brought the family closer together and must have fostered a great loyalty towards him.

 

Original Bristol Company Building

Like many successful companies (i.e., Apple, Google, and HP) it turns out that the Bristol Company was started in a garage! Here is a photo of the original carriage barn near Platt’s Bridge in Waterbury where Uncle Will and his brother Franklin I started the business in 1889. Uncle Will was also a professor at Stevens Institute of Technology at that time, while Franklin was probably working at Platt's Mills.

On the back of the photo is written “F.B. Bristol’s barn in which the Bristol Company was started.” According to an article in the Waterbury American from August 1934 (which I will attach in a future posting), before they could begin work, they had to move the horses and carriages to one corner of the building and mortgage the house to finance the necessary tools and equipment.

Two of Franklin I’s sons, Sam and Howard, can be seen standing in front of the building. Sam would later become secretary while Howard would become president.

The business reportedly remained at this location until 1892, when it was moved to its more permanent location with access to the railroad and more room for expansion.

Elise Bristol

                                                                                                                     
This is a picture of William Henry Bristol and his wife Elise Meyers Bristol.  Was this their wedding day?  Note the flowers in her hand.

This is an early picture of Elise Myers Bristol. D: 1924

I found this beautiful tribute to WHB published by The National Cyclopedia of American Biography.  Below the picture is the first page.  There are 8 pages altogether giving a biography beginning with his birth in Waterbury, Conn July 5, 1859 and ending with his death "Mr. Bristol died, without issue, in New Haven, Connecticut, June 18, 1930."  There is no date of publication that I can find but I would imagine it was published somewhere around 1930.

William H. Bristol Letters from Stevens, 1880-1881

I am attaching five letters (see links below) from William H. Bristol to his family during his first year as a student at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. Here is a photo of the first one:

October 7, 1880

http://www.scribd.com/doc/160808246/WHB-Letter-Oct-7-1880

In this letter to his sister Sadie (their nickname for Sarah), Uncle Will describes his experiences as a freshman at Stevens. He mentions that his father is planning to visit. He encloses his class schedule in the mechanical engineering program and a page with the layout of his building which is across the Hudson River from NYC.

November 21, 1880

http://www.scribd.com/doc/160808774/WHB-Letter-Nov-21-1880

In this letter to Sadie, he indicates that he has been excelling at his studies and has been preparing detailed drawings of the technical parts of a steam engine. He also describes meeting an engineer for the Brooklyn Bridge construction project and taking an extensive tour. The Brooklyn Bridge was probably one of the most important engineering projects of that time.

January 23, 1881

http://www.scribd.com/doc/160808925/WHB-Letter-Jan-23-1881

In this letter to his mother back in Naugatuck, he reassures her that he is taking care of himself. He has started to make telephones using materials from the school for a cost of less than 2 dollars. The telephone had been patented four years prior and was considered a novel invention at that time.

February 24, 1880 (1881)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/160809043/WHB-Letter-Feb-24-1881

In this letter to his father, Uncle Will indicates that he has started a prestigious job at the school doing engineering drawings for 25 hours per week for five dollars. Although he has concerns about violating the patent, he is intending to complete his telephone-making project even if “just for curiosities.”

May 29, 1980 (1881)

http://www.scribd.com/doc/160809413/WHB-Letter-May-29-1881

In this letter to Sadie, Uncle Will describes a very ambitious day spent in NYC while his friend Ed Smith (from back home?) was visiting. They took the Hudson River Tunnel to Manhattan where they rode the “elevated railroad,” visited both the American Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, crossed Central Park, attempted to meet the chief engineer to get another tour of the Brooklyn Bridge, he bought a new hat, Ed bought a new suit, they had dinner downtown, they saw the comic opera "Billie Taylor" at the Standard Theater, and then finally travelled back to Stevens.

He also mentions an opportunity to work during the summer for 2 dollars per day, apparently for a professor. This opportunity may have helped him get a position teaching there himself beginning in 1886, two years after graduating, and then eventually becoming a professor of mathematics there while working at the Bristol Company.

Of note, because "Billie Taylor" reportedly did not premiere until October 1880 in London and then in February 1881 in New York at the Standard Theater, this letter was probably from May 1881 rather than 1880. Also, based on his October 1880 letter, he apparently did not start school there until the fall of 1880.

William H. Bristol's Childhood Diary, 1876

I am attaching a copy of William H. Bristol’s leather-bound diary from 1876 (see link below), along with some photographs. Uncle Will kept this “centennial diary” when he was 17 years old and was living in Naugatuck. I only made copies of the pages in the diary that had entries.

 

Diary:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/159022574/WHB-Diary-1876

 

Some random observations:

a.  He probably received this diary as a Christmas present, as “December 25, 1875” is written inside the front cover.
 

b.  He practices writing his signature in several places using his quill pen.

c.  He uses some colored decals on many of the pages which he apparently purchased for 25 cents on January 10.

d.  The pages with the first four days of the year have unfortunately been ripped out, and some of the following pages appear to have been ripped during that process.

e.  As you would expect for someone his age, he seems to gradually lose interest in keeping notes as the year goes on.

f.  He and his cousin go to "Barnum’s Circus" on May 11.

g.  He does not include an entry on his 18th birthday, July 5.

h.  On September 10, he travels to New York and keeps careful track of his expenses.

i.  During the summer months, he and his brother Frank (FB the first) work for “Platt Bros. and Co.” and “Bristol Bros. and Co.” which may have been a precursor to the Bristol Company (?) which started around 1889.