Page 10 - North Haven Magazine Issue 24 Summer 2022

Woman in a Man’s World:

Hannah Coady O’Neil

and Coady Bricks by Marisa Hexter

Many times in history, we find stories of companies, businesses, and industries and the people who ran them. Those histories, depending
on the longevity of the industry of business, have long stories; pieced together through all kinds of primary sources and recollections. In
our town, businesses like the Pierpont Store or Stiles Brickyard have those documents to showcase every aspect of their chronicle. Yet,
some other stories don’t have a lot to back up their story. The story below tells the history of Hannah Coady and the brickyard she ran for
well over a decade by herself. This story isn’t told through recollections, diaries, deeds, or the usual archival documents. Instead, Hannah
Coady’s life is spread out through a few census records, advertisements, a hand-drawn map, and one lone article. But her story can still be
told, and that story is of a woman who took over her family’s business after a tragedy, and how she was able to prosper in a tough industry.

annah Coady was born in June of 50 in 1895. Within ten years, Hannah was
H1850 to the Coady Family in Ireland. alone, left to manage the boarding house
Her exact date of birth and place of res- and the brickyard at the same time. The
idence in Ireland is unknown. There are company, now fifteen years old, began to
many reasons Hannah’s family decided flourish under Hannah’s management. It
to immigrate to America: poverty, lack was stated to, at one time, be the largest
of work, or religious freedom can be brick company in the state of Connecti-
some of the many reasons families and cut. Hannah quite possibly was the only
individuals came to America during this woman to be in charge of a company in the
time. Hannah was the youngest of three brick industry in the entire country, and
siblings, having two older brothers, John definitely was the only woman in charge
and Thomas. Thomas Coady was the first on the east coast.
of his family to immigrate, sometime
after 1860 and before 1870, according to While Hannah was proven to be in charge
census records. At this time, Thomas was of the brickyard, census records in the be-
a boarder in the home of Daniel and Mary ginning of the 20th century showed her
Coleman while he worked in the brick- occupation as “Keeping House”, but no
yard. It is possible Coady was hired while mention of her job running a business. At
still in Ireland as it was common for man- one point, she hosted 21 boarders at one
agers of brickyards to travel to Europe in time in her home. Hannah remained in
the search for cheap labor to hire for work charge of the brickyard for about a decade,
in America. By the 1870s, Hannah, John, when at the age of 54, she married Charles Hannah Coady O’Neil faced hardship
and their mother Hanora “Nora” had all O’Neil, who was 17 years younger than when she was left alone after the death of
immigrated and lived with Thomas in the her. They wed quietly in Hamden without her family, yet helped prosper a business
Montowese section of North Haven. Their many of her friends or neighbors know- in which she was the only woman in the
exact address is unknown, but it is be- ing. Her marriage made news in Clay Re- industry. Coady Bricks became a very
lieved they lived in the area of Quinnipiac cords, a periodical for the Clay industry, in wealthy company in the first decade of the
Avenue and Montowese Avenue. 1904. In the same article, the article states 20th century within ten years of Hannah
Hannah accumulated a fortune of $50,000 running the business; all while continuing
Thomas saved his money and by 1880 he from her business. Adjusted in today’s to keep house for her boarders. Hannah is
was able to establish his own brick com- money, that equals $1.5 million! just one of many whose story is not con-
pany manufacturing pallet bricks. At this ventionally told through traditional means
point in census records, Thomas is listed After marrying, Charles took over the of research. If Hannah’s story can be told
as the head of household, while his moth- brickyard, but there are no records of a through census records, how many other
er is “Keeping House”, and Hannah is the change in name of the company. Hannah’s stories are out there waiting between the
housekeeper. Not only did they live there, name continued to appear in advertise- lines, ready to be seen?
but they also hosted ten other boarders. ments, but in census records from 1910,
These borders mostly came from Ireland, her occupation was listed as “Keeping
but there were a few from Poland as well. House”. The brickyard ran until the 1920s
when Charles and Hannah either sold the
Tragedy struck the Coady family during company or their land was bought by an-
the last decade of the nineteenth century. other business. Hannah died at age 73 and
John Coady died in 1884, Hanora followed is buried in New Haven with her mother
in 1893, and Thomas Coady died at age and brothers.

North Haven Magazine - Summer Issue 2022
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