Veronica D. Blake

VERONICA D. BLAKE. "Brownie." Danbury, Conn. "Tranquility! thou better name Than all the family of Fame!

Veronica was born on December 27, 1905 in Danbury.

Taught at: Wilton Public Schools, South Street School 

Veronica's father, Simon, was born in Connecticut in 1869. Both of his parents had been born in Ireland.  Her mother, Elizabeth, was born in Ireland about 1870.  Simon was among the hatters involved in the hat workers’ strike and subsequent lawsuits brought by the hat manufacturers from 1902 until the final 1917 settlement.  when the courts ruled against the workers. They were in danger of losing their homes until the unions found the money to pay the judgement.

   The 1910 census shows the family living on Keeler Street in Danbury.   Veronica is 6, her sister Marie is 10 (1900), her brother Walter is 13 (1897), her brother John is 15 (1895) and her other brother, Simon Jr. is 18 (1892).   Her father is a hat finisher.  In 1919 the Blake family is living at 31 George St. The Danbury directory lists John as living with them he is listed as a teacher.  There is no listing for Walter.  Simon is a hat finisher, and Simon Jr. is a hatter.

In the 1920 census, the family is still living on Keeler Street. Simon is still a hat finisher and Simon Jr. is a hatter.   Walter and John are no longer listed as living with them in that census.  After each graduated from Danbury High School they attended Niagara University.  They were both outstanding athletes – John (class of 1915) stayed on after graduating to coach and teach. Walter joined the Vincentian order, studied at the seminary located on the University campus and eventually earned a degree in theology in Rome.  Both brothers eventually taught at St. John’s University in Queens. Walter was a professor of theology and John taught sociology.  Walter died on July 15, 1940 after a long illness. John eventually married and had a daughter. He left teaching and was an accountant for a time. He was living in Melville New York at the time of his death in 1974.

 In the 1927 – 1931 city directories the family has moved to 8 Harding Place, Veronica has graduated from the Danbury Normal School and is teaching in Wilton. Simon is employed at 8 Beaver Street. and Simon Jr. is still listed as hatter

The 1930 census has the family still living at 8 Harding Place.  Simon is a watchman at a hat factory and Simon Jr. is a hat finisher.  The 1934 city directory has them living at 48 Main Street. Simon Jr. is a hat finisher at 2 Tooley Lane. Veronica’s father is not listed in the directory and he died on May 2, 1936. 

From 1937 on, Veronica is teaching at 129 South St., South Street School. Her sister Marie is a stenographer and working in Washington D. C. but has retained her Danbury address at 48 Main Street. Her brother, Simon Jr. is a machine operator at the H. McLachlan Hat Factory. Veronica’s mother, Elizabeth, died on October 25, 1947. Simon Jr. passed away on September 8, 1948.

In the 1950 city directory, Veronica is still as 48 Main Street and teaching at South Street School.  Marie has removed to Washington D. C. 

The only other listing for a Veronica Blake who is a teacher is for a woman of that name who is a patient at a tuberculosis sanitarium, Uncas on Thames, in Norwich, Connecticut in 1950. We haven’t been able to verify that this is our Danbury Normal School graduate and have no information on when she may have died.