Joseph B. Sargent

Who was Joseph B. Sargent?

Joseph Bradford Sargent was the founder of Sargent & Co., a manufacturer of locks and hardware, with headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut, and mayor of that town.

He began his career at age 16 when he left his home in to work for a dry-goods firm in Boston. Hired as an office boy, before long Sargent rose to managing the Boston business. With his brother he moved to Georgia to open a dry-goods concern. It was here that he met and married his first wife Elizabeth Collier Lewis who was from Griffin, Georgia. His second wife was Florence Von Karajan.

From Georgia, Sargent moved his family to Brooklyn where he began work in the hardware field. He was successful, eventually becoming a major stockholder in Peck & Walter Hardware of New Britain. In 1857 he gained control, but several years later, when Sargent attempted to purchase property needed for expansion, he was met with opposition. Exasperated, he moved the entire operation to New Haven which had the advantage of being on a harbor with a train line. He purchased with his brothers, George and Edward, property at Water, Wallace and Hamilton Streets. In May 1864 the plant, now known as Sargent & Co., opened for business.