A Brief History of Waterbury's Black Barber Shops

Black barber shops have been an important center of African American communities since the 1800s. Black barbers were among the first African American entrepreneurs to build their businesses in Waterbury. The city's first black-owned barber shop opened in 1846, catering to a primarily white clientele. During the early 1900s, Waterbury’s African American community grew large enough to support a black barber shop dedicated to that community, located in the North Square neighborhood.


 Black Barber Shops of the 1800s

An excellent history of black barber shops, Cutting Along the Color Line, was published in 2013 by Quincy T. Mills. The book illustrates the ways in which barber shops were an opportunity for black men to become entrepreneurs starting the in the early 1800s, and also examines the racial conflicts that emerged—for example, if a black barber wanted to cultivate a wealthy white clientele, he would have to refuse serve to black men.

In the South before the Civil War, many black barbers were enslaved, but in the North, black barbers were free men able to become entrepreneurs and start their own businesses.

Barbers did more than just cut hair and trim beards. During the 1840s, before indoor plumbing became common, taking a regular bath became popular and barber shops expanded their businesses to public bathhouses for people who didn't have their own indoor plumbing (Mills, p. 26). This service continued into the late 1800s.

Waterbury City Directory, 1879

The first barber in Waterbury was a white man, Hamlet Chauncey Porter, who opened up an informal barber shop in the drug store where he worked. According to Anderson’s History of Waterbury (Vol. II, p. 197), Porter’s barber shop closed with his death in 1834.

The second barber shop in Waterbury, according to Anderson’s, was opened in 1846 by “N. Weston,” who advertised “the new room fitted up for him in the basement of the Baptist church.” His customers would have been well-to-do white Waterbury men. Although Anderson’s doesn’t say anything more about it, census records reveal that N. Weston was Nelson Weston, an African American man from Derby.

Waterbury's Baptist Church in 1852. Nelson Weston's barber shop was located in the basement of the church, which was itself located at Exchange Place. (Detail image from the 1852 map of Waterbury surveyed by H. Irvine and published by Richard Clark of Philadelphia.)

By 1850, there were two black-owned barber shops in Waterbury, one owned by Nelson Weston and the other by William Lewis.

The 1860 census shows three black barbers in Waterbury: George W. Hills, LaFayette Minnis, and William Games.

In the years after the Civil War, black barbers in the North faced increasing competition from German and Irish immigrants. Because there were relatively few African Americans in the North, black barber shops continued to cater to white clientele (Mills, p. 63).

The Waterbury City Directories for 1868 and 1869 list seven barber shops (referred to in the directory as hairdressers). Of the seven, two were owned by African Americans, William Games and LaFayette Minnis. The others were Irish and German immigrants.

Waterbury City Directory, 1871

Advertisement in the Hartford Courant, December 17, 1869

By 1875, both Games and Minnis were gone, and Pernett Gregory was the only black barber to own a barber shop in Waterbury. He was joined the next year by Alexander Randolph, who worked for Gregory for a few years before opening his own business.

Other barber shops, run by German immigrants, opened during the 1880s. By 1885, there were twenty hairdressers listed in the City Directory, nearly all of which were owned by Irish, German, and Jewish immigrants. Only two were owned by African Americans, Pernett Gregory and Alexander Randolph.

Downtown Waterbury in 1876. View from the north looking southeast. Map drawn and published by O. H. Bailey & Co.
Collection of Boston Public Library, Norman Leventhal Map Center.

Waterbury’s population grew rapidly during the 1880s and 1890s, primarily due to the arrival of European immigrants. In 1890, there were only 171 African Americans (including Caribbean immigrants) in Waterbury, a city of over 28,000 people. The vast majority of Waterbury’s African American residents by this time worked as waiters, servants, and laborers, their employment opportunities limited by the rampant racism that existed everywhere in the United States at this time.

By 1900, there were 69 barbers for a city of almost 46,000. Pernett Gregory continued to operate his barber shop on East Main Street until 1907, when he moved to New Haven. Alexander Randolph moved to Woodbury around 1892. The other barber shop owners were all Irish, German, Jewish, and now Italian immigrants.

Side note: someone could do a fantastic history exhibit about Waterbury’s barber shops and ethnic groups, telling the history of Waterbury through the barber shops. Every group had its own barbers, often located in the neighborhoods most closely associated with those groups. 



Black Barber Shops of the Early 1900s 

A new generation of African Americans began to establish themselves in Waterbury at the turn of the century, migrating north from Virginia and the Carolinas. Many came here to work in the factories, which were booming during this era. By 1920, there were 951 African Americans in Waterbury out of a total population of 91,715. Another 200 or so were Cape Verdeans and other Portuguese-speaking immigrants with African ancestry (For more, see “The Negro Population of Waterbury” in the October 1923 issue of Opportunity: The Journal of Negro Life, pp. 298-302).

With the growth of the African American population in Waterbury during the years leading up to World War I, there were enough customers to support black-owned barber shops catering to black clientele. The first two decades of the 20th century saw numerous black-owned businesses started in Waterbury, many in the North Square neighborhood.

Detail of the 1899 map of Waterbury showing the North Square neighborhood. Map published by Landis and Hughes. Collection of Library of Congress Geography and Map Division.

Joseph Hatcher started up a barber shop as a side business in his home on Bronson Street in 1900. Bronson Street was in the heart of a new African American community next to Waterbury’s North Square, home to families who came here from down south. Hatcher sold his barber shop in 1914, when he started a trucking business.

Harry Terry took over Joseph Hatcher’s barber shop business at 30 Bronson Street, relocating it to 59 Bishop Street. He added billiards to the barber shop in 1931, during the height of the Great Depression. Terry’s business was the only black barber shop in Waterbury for more than 25 years, from 1914 until about 1940.

William Henley and Charles S. Hoffler started a barber shop, Henley & Hoffler, at 5 Vine Street in 1940. They relocated to North Main Street soon after. William Henley died in 1954, and Charles Hoffler changed the name of the business to Hoffler’s Barber Shop.

Henry C. Robinson started out as a barber working for Harry Terry, opening his own barber shop at 12 Bishop Street in 1944 or ’45. He worked at both locations for several years. In 1958 or ’59, Robinson changed the name of his business to Sanitary Barber Shop. Robinson relocated his barber shop to North Main Street during the 1960s and then to Cooke Street during the 1970s.


Brief Biographies 

Here are very brief biographies of Waterbury's early black barber shop entrepreneurs, those men who owned their own shops prior to World War II. I will add more information and photographs if I find them.


Nelson Weston
(abt. 1812 – 1850s?) 

Nelson Weston was born sometime around 1812 in what would eventually become the Humphreysville section of Derby, and later Seymour. Weston’s father, Juba Weston, was a farmer, a musician, a dance teacher, and one of Connecticut’s Black Governors.

Nelson Weston married Catharine Cam of Bethlehem at Watertown’s Christ Church in 1838. The couple had at least three children: Mary (born about 1840), Horace (1842-1890), and Nelson (1845-1846).

The Nelson Weston family moved to Waterbury in 1846, and Nelson Weston opened the only barber shop in town. Waterbury was an up-and-coming town during the 1840s, fueled by the success of its many small manufacturers. Weston’s barber shop appears to have done well in Waterbury; the 1850 Census recorded that he owned real estate valued at $800 (not a huge amount, but still very respectable for the time).

Tragically, the Westons’ 18-month-old son Nelson died not long after they moved to Waterbury, in August 1846.

In 1850, the elder Nelson Weston was elected the Black Governor of Connecticut. Nelson Weston appears to have died during the 1850s. I have not found any record of his death, but I can say for certain that he was no longer in Waterbury and does not appear to have moved back to Seymour. His wife, Catharine, was still in Waterbury in 1860, but without any of her family. The census lists her as a live-in servant for English painter William L. Woods.

In 1860, the Westons’ son Horace, now 18, was living with Almon and Julia Nichols in New Haven and working as a laborer. By 1875, Horace Weston had established a reputation for being the world’s best banjo player. Based in New York City, he toured Europe and the United States. His obituary stated that his life as a musician began in Waterbury, where, at age 7, he learned to play the accordion and at age 10, the violin (S.S. Stewart’s Banjo & Guitar Journal, June & July 1890). I’ll be writing more about Horace Weston in the coming year. He had a remarkable life and influential career. Although he is well-known, his full biography has not yet been written.



William Lewis 

William Lewis was born in Connecticut around 1815. In 1850, he was living in Waterbury working as a barber. Lewis was married: his wife Allice was about a year older than him and was also born in Connecticut. They had two daughters, Caroline, born about 1848, and Cordelia, born about 1849, and one son, George, born about 1843.

Anderson’s History of Waterbury (Vol. II, p. 197) noted that Lewis’s barber shop was in the basement of “Messrs. Brown’s new hotel” in 1852.

Advertisement, Waterbury American, 6 December 1850
Silas Bronson Library microfilm

George W. Hills 

George W. Hills was born around 1839 in Connecticut. In 1860, he was living in the household of a white family and working as a barber in Waterbury.



William W. Games
(abt. 1828 - January 27, 1912) 

According to Anderson’s History of Waterbury (Vol. II, p. 197), William Games arrived in Waterbury around 1854 and was “remembered by many” in the 1890s. He was born in Maryland around 1828. His barber shop was located on Bank Street in 1871.

The 1860 census shows Games working as a barber in Waterbury. Games’s wife, Sarah, was born in South Carolina around around 1831. The couple had two children at this point, Alfred and William. They shared their home with the Cooper family – Matthew Cooper, born around 1827 in South Carolina, might have been Sarah’s brother. Matthew Cooper was a seaman. His wife, Adaline, was born in Pennsylvania, as were their children, Mary and Harriet. The Cooper family relocated to Philadelphia during the 1860s.

The 1870 census shows two other barbers living in the Games household: James Stout, born about 1850, and James Otho, born about 1845. These two young barbers (both in their twenties) probably worked in the Games barber shop and lodged with their employer.

At some point during the 1870s or ‘80s, William Games relocated to Philadelphia, where his children were already living. He continued to work as a barber until his retirement.



LaFayette T. Minnis
(abt. 1824 - August 21, 1874) 

LaFayette Minnis was born in Virginia during the 1820s. His parents may have been Lafayette and Martha Minnis, who were born free around 1798 and 1800. Lafayette and Martha Minnis were required to register as free persons of color in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1847. They were living in Roanoke in 1860, where Lafayette worked as a bricklayer.

The 1860 Census shows LaFayette T. Minnis, barber, living in Waterbury with his family. His wife was Anna Rebecca (Jones) Minnis, born in Maryland during the 1830s. The couple had at least seven children: Ann, William, Mary, James, Jacob, Frederick, and Neoscoleta (“Letta”).

Minnis’s barber shop was located at Exchange Place, on East Main Street, in 1869. Two years later, it was located behind the Post Office on South Main Street.

The Minnis family lived on lower Willow Street (now Meadow Street) during the early 1870s. LaFayette Minnis died in 1874 and was buried at Riverside Cemetery. His wife was buried there after her death in 1889.

Two of Minnis’s sons, William and James, worked as barbers in Waterbury during the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Gravestone of Lafayette T. Minnis and his wife, Rebecca, at Riverside Cemetery, Waterbury
Photo from Findagrave website

Pernett A. Gregory (October 1841 - April 29, 1912) 

Pernett Gregory owned a successful barber shop in downtown Waterbury from the early 1870s until his retirement in 1907 or 1908. Born in 1841, Gregory grew up in New Milford. He served during the Civil War in the 31st U.S. Colored Infantry under the name Burnett Gregory, mustering out as a 1st Sergeant at Brownsville, Texas on November 7, 1865.

Gregory may have taken over William Games’s barber shop – the 1871 City Directory lists Games on Bank Street, and the 1875 City Directory lists Gregory at 86 Bank Street. Gregory relocated to 57 South Main Street in 1879 or 1880, returned briefly to 86 Bank after a couple of years, then settled in at 45 ½ East Main Street, where his barber shop remained until the early 1890s. The last location of his barber shop was a little further out East Main Street, near South Elm Street.

Pernett Gregory’s son, George, was also a barber, briefly operating his own business in Waterbury. Pernett Gregory rented rooms in his home to other barbers, presumably men who worked for him: barbers Harry Ellis and John Kennard boarded with Gregory in 1880.

Waterbury City Directory, 1880

Waterbury City Directory, 1880

 The 1900 census listed five lodgers living in the Gregory household, all young men who relocated from the south and who were all working at local hotels. The Gregory household also included one live-in maid. Pernett Gregory’s daughter, Sarah, lived next door with her husband, George P. Bracy, an immigrant from Jamaica.

Following his retirement, Pernett Gregory moved to New Haven. He is buried in the Westville Cemetery as Burnett Gregory.

Pernett (Burnett) Gregory's gravestone, Westville Cemetery, New Haven
Photo from Findagrave

Alexander Randolph (c. 1845 - October 1902)

Born in New Jersey around 1845, Alexander Randolph arrived in Waterbury in 1875 or ’76. He had previously worked as a barber in North Brunswick, New Jersey. Randolph initially worked for Pernett Gregory at 86 Bank Street before starting his own barber shop at Earle’s Hotel at 336 Bank Street (on the corner of Bank and Meadow Streets).

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Waterbury, 1884.
Earle's Hotel is at the corner of Bank and Meadow Streets.

Randolph married in 1880. His wife, Josephine DuBois, a relative of W. E. B. Dubois, was born in Cheshire and earned money doing laundry. The couple never had any children.

Randolph continued his business at Earle’s Hotel until 1891 or ’92, when he and his wife relocated to Woodbury.

Earle’s Hotel was a three-story building located across the street from the Naugatuck Railroad depot on Bank Street. During the late 1880s, Earle’s featured “every modern convenience,” including steam heat and indoor plumbing. The hotel had accommodations for 100 guests, a dining room, bar, and pool room. It was promoted as “one of the most popular houses in Waterbury for theatrical companies.” (Leading Business Men of New Haven County, 1887, p. 221)



Joseph E. Hatcher
(April 5, 1876 - June 24, 1955)

Joseph Hatcher moved to Waterbury from Virginia in 1897 or 1898. Like other African American men coming to Waterbury from the south during this period, his first job was as a waiter at the Scovill House hotel on the Green. By 1900, however, he was working as a janitor for American Ring Co. and operating a barber shop out of his home on Bishop Street. By 1910 or so, Hatcher had moved to Pearl Street and his barber shop was located at 30 Bronson Street. Hatcher left the barber shop business in 1914 or 1915 to start a trucking business.

Hatcher was a member of the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge, serving as Most Worshipful Past Grand Master from 1912 to 1914 and again in 1922 (Gwendolyn J. Hatcher, Souls, 2013).

Hatcher and his wife, Henrietta (Marlow) Hatcher, had five children. Only two survived to adulthood, Edward and Raymond Odrick.



Harry Terry
(abt. 1876 – January 30, 1958) 

Harry Terry was born in Elon, Amherst County, Virginia. His father, Elijah, was a shoemaker. Harry Terry arrived in Waterbury in 1914 or ’15, taking over Joseph Hatcher’s barber shop on Bronson Street. After a year, Terry moved the shop to 59 Bronson Street, where he lived with his mother, Matilda Terry (his father remained in Elon, VA). Terry married Eula A. Tillow around 1919. The couple moved to Pearl Street soon after. Tillow’s parents were from South Carolina and were living in Connecticut in 1898 when Eula was born; during the 1920s, they were living in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Matilda Terry died in February 1925 and was buried in New York, possibly Queens, where some of her other children lived. Harry Terry traveled to Long Island later that year to visit his siblings (New York Age, August 1, 1925).

Eula Terry died sometime around 1931. Harry Terry continued his barber shop at 59 Bishop Street, adding billiards to the business during the 1930s. He remarried in 1936 or ’37. His second wife, Emma, was born around 1885 in Connecticut. Emma Terry died in 1952. Harry Terry died six years later.



William Henley
(October 15, 1916 – July 24, 1954) 

William Henley arrived in Waterbury in 1939 or 1940 and opened up a barber shop at 5 Vine Street with Charles Hoffler. Born in Newberry County, South Carolina, Henley listed his nearest relative on his WWII draft registration as his sister, Rosa (Henley) Quinn, who lived in Augusta, Georgia.



Charles S. Hoffler
(January 28, 1911 – April 8, 1987) 

Charles Sansbury Hoffler arrived in Waterbury in 1939 or 1940 and opened up a barber shop at 5 Vine Street with William Henley. Born in Gatesville, North Carolina, Hoffler and his siblings James, Irma, and Virginia all lived with their older sister, Martha (Hoffler) Rice and her husband when they first arrived in Waterbury.

Hoffler married Willie G. Crim in 1943. The couple had two children, Charles and Joan Hoffler, and were members of Mount Olive A.M.E. Zion Church.

After the death of his business partner, William Henley, Hoffler renamed his barber shop Hoffler’s Barber Shop. He continued to operate the barber shop on North Main Street near North Square and, later, on East Farm Street, until his death in 1987.


Henry C. Robinson
(September 8, 1910 – January 21, 1984) 

Henry Carlos Robinson and his wife, Hilda (McIver) Robinson, came to Connecticut from South Carolina in 1940, initially working as live-in servants for the Richardson Bronson family in Watertown. Robinson soon found work as a barber employed by Harry Terry at 59 Bishop Street. By 1945, while still working for Terry, Robinson had opened his own barber shop at 12 Bishop Street. The Robinsons lived at 69 Pearl Street until the 1970s. Hilda passed away in 1975.

Robinson’s business, the Sanitary Barber Shop, remained at 12 Bishop Street until the 1960s, when he relocated to 370 North Main Street. The business moved again during the 1970s, to Cooke Street, and during the 1980s to his home at 82 Kaynor Drive.