Augustus Sabin Chase

Augustus Sabin Chase was born on August 15, 1828, in Pomfret, Connecticut. He was the only son of Captain Seth Chase (1798–1893) and Eliza Hempstead (Dodge) Chase. His family had ancestral roots tracing back to 17th-century English Colonial settlers. Augustus had three sisters: Angeline, who died in infancy; Hannah Elizabeth ("Lizzie"), who married Allen Aldrich and, after his death, Seth Kimball; and Ellen Maria ("Maria"), who did not marry.

During his youth, Chase was raised on his father's farm known as "Jericho," situated in the Jericho school district of Pomfret, in northeastern Connecticut. He attended the local one-room Jericho school and later, at age sixteen, enrolled at Woodstock Academy. At eighteen, he briefly taught in a country school in Brooklyn, Connecticut, and the following year, worked as a clerk at the Danielson Manufacturing Company store in Killingly.

In 1850, Chase moved to Waterbury, Connecticut, to work at the Waterbury Savings Bank. He quickly advanced from clerk to cashier by 1852 and was appointed president of the bank in 1864, a role he held until his death. His involvement in local industry included acquiring controlling shares in the Waterbury Watch Company, the Benedict & Burnham Manufacturing Company, and the Waterbury Buckle Company, ultimately serving as president of these companies. He also founded the Waterbury National Bank.

In 1876, Chase and a group of investors purchased the assets of the bankrupt U.S. Button Company, establishing the Waterbury Manufacturing Company, where he served as treasurer and later as president. This enterprise became the foundation of what eventually developed into the Chase Companies in 1913 and later Chase Brass and Copper Company in 1936.

Chase played a significant role in the local media, helping organize the American Printing Company in 1868 to sustain the Waterbury American newspaper after its financial decline. He served as its president starting in 1877.

A member of the Republican Party, Chase served as a representative for Waterbury in the Connecticut State Legislature in 1865. Throughout the 1880s, he purchased a residence named "Rose Hill" above Waterbury's main square. His civic engagement included founding the Waterbury Club, serving as its first president, and participating as a trustee of St. Margaret's School, the Waterbury Hospital, the city's school and water boards, and the Board of Agents of the Silas Bronson Library.

Chase was additionally involved with the Second Congregational Society. He served as the first treasurer of the city of Waterbury.

On September 7, 1854, Augustus Sabin Chase married Martha Clark Starkweather, daughter of Dr. Rodney Starkweather and Jane Starkweather of Chesterfield, Massachusetts. They had six children, with three sons educated at Yale University who took over his business interests.

His eldest son, Henry Sabin Chase (1855–1918), graduated from Yale in 1877; he managed the American Printing Company, served as treasurer of the Waterbury Manufacturing Company, and was president of the Chase Companies. Henry married Alice Morton in 1889.

Irving Hall Chase (1858–1951), a Yale graduate of 1880, was secretary of the Waterbury Clock Company and married Elizabeth Hosmer in 1889.

Frederick Starkweather Chase (1862–1947), Yale class of 1887, served as president of the Waterbury Manufacturing Company and married Elsie, the daughter of Reverend Dr. Edmund Rowland. Elsie was an accomplished artist whose paintings appeared in their daughter Justine's 1988 publication, "A World Remembered."

The three daughters were Helen Elizabeth, Mary Eliza ("Kimball"), and Alice Martha ("Streeter").

Augustus Sabin Chase died on June 7, 1896, in Paris, France, due to a chronic kidney infection while on a tour with his daughter Alice. He was interred at Riverside Cemetery in Waterbury.