USA > Connecticut > New Haven County > New Haven > A modern history of New Haven and eastern New Haven County, Vol. II > Part 5
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114
Henry Gleason Newton was named in memory of the Rev. Henry Gleason, who had united his parents in marriage and who during his short ministry, ended by his death in 1839, doubled the membership of the First church in Durham. When but fourteen years of age Henry G. Newton united with that church and remained a member thereof until his death. During the last fourteen years of his life he served as one of its deacons, as had his father and grandfather before him. Thus early he made choice of the principles which became the guiding spirit of his life, leading to the adoption of the highest standards of manhood. Liberal educational opportunities were accorded him. After attending Durham Academy he entered the Wesleyan University at Middletown in 1861 but during his first year's study failing health compelled him to put aside his textbooks. He again became a student in that institution in 1867 and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1870. During his college days he became a member of the Ecleetie fraternity and also of the Phi Beta Kappa. In preparation for the profession of law he entered Yale and was graduated from the Law School with the elass of 1872. He won two essay prizes on civil and on common law and by vote of the class became valedictorian. Following his admission to the bar he began the practice of law in New Haven and continued one of the distinguished members of the bar of that eity until his demise. In 1899 he became senior partner in the law firm of Newton, Church & Hewitt and so continued throughout his remaining days. He enjoyed a most extensive practice and was notable among lawyers for the provident care with which he prepared his cases and for the correet manner in which he cited principle or precedent. He was one of the best read lawyers of the state and became a recognized authority on many branches of jurisprudence, particularly probate and bankruptcy law. He tried many important cases before all of the courts of the state and the United States district court and the circuit court of appeals. One of the most important in which he appeared was the appeal of William Jennings Bryan, formerly secretary of state under President Woodrow Wilson, from the action of the probate court in regard to the will of Philo S. Bennett. When Judge William K. Townsend was called to the bench of the United States circuit court Mr. Newton was prominently mentioned for appointment as judge of the United States district court for his district and received the support of prominent law- yers throughout the state. On May 4. 1903, he was admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court. He represented in his professional capacity a number of leading corporations. He was attorney for the Yale National Bank of New Haven and one of its directors. Outside the strict path of his profession he had various important business con- nections. For five years he was a director and for two years president of the People's Bank & Trust Company of New Haven, after which he resigned. In 1886 he became a trustee of the Farmers' & Mechanies' Savings Bank of Middletown and was senior mem- ber of its board at the time of his death. He became a director and member of the executive committee of C. Cowles & Company and was a director and the treasurer of the Merriam Manufacturing Company of Durham.
On the 11th of September, 1885, Mr. Newton was married to Sarah Allen Baldwin, who was born in Norwich, New York, a daughter of Isaac and Alva (Merwin) Baldwin, who removed from the empire state to Cromwell, Middlesex county, Connecticut, during the early childhood of their daughter, who there acquired her education, attending the public and high schools, after which she became a teacher. Having a strong desire to enter the medical profession, she became a student in the New York Medical College for Women, from which institution she was gradnated in the class of 1885.
Although a member of the Durham church, Mr. Newton was a most earnest worker in the Plymouth Congregational church and bible school of New Haven for more than thirty years and he took the keenest and most helpful interest in many lines of work pertaining to the uplift of the individual and the benefit of publie interests. He was a director of Grace Hospital Society, was chairman of the board of directors of the City Missionary Associa- tion from its organization until his death and for many years was a director of the Young Men's Christian Association where he served on the board of trustees. The nature and breadth of his interests was futher indicated by the fact that he was a member of the
38
A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
Sons of the American Revolution, of the Society of Colonial Wars, of the Society of Sons of Founders and Patriots of America, of the Union League Club and of the Graduates Club of New Haven. He was also a member of the Congregational Club of New Haven, of which he served as president in 1589, and he belonged to the American Bar Association. For ten years he was acting school visitor of Durham and throughout almost the entire period of his connection with the bar was attorney for the town. In 1885 he was elected to the general assembly from Durham and became chairman of the judiciary committee of the house, where he was the recognized republiean leader. In 1895 he was elected to the general assembly from New Haven and was made chairman of the committee on humane institu tions. For six years he served as a member of the state board of health. In the midst of all of his other activities he found time for authorship. He wrote the artiele on probate law in the Civil Officer, on bankruptey in the Encyclopedia Britannica, on New Haven bluc laws in the Yale Law Journal, also a sketch of Professor Hadley and an essay on civil law in the Civil Law Journal, and the History of Durham in the History of Middlesex County, published by J. H. Beers & Company. He ever took the deepest interest in the city of his adoption, its people and its institutions, yet he never forgot the home of his birth and never regarded its growth and progress as something foreign to his interests and his life. In fact be cooperated in many movements that led to its upbuilding and invested largely in some of its business enterprises. His home life was largely an ideal one of happiness and contentment and his death was the occasion of deepest and most widepread regret not only in New Haven, and Durham, where he was laid to rest, but also throughout the entire state where he was so widely and honorably known. At the funeral services held in Plymouth church in New Haven, the Rev. Orville A. Petty said in part: "Henry G. Newton would not desire a culogy over his dust. Not desiring it he deserves it; deserving it he does not need it. Yet in simple appreciation all must say that he was companion, churchman. citizen, philanthropist, man. He often thought on the hilltops all alone, but he also ren- dered service every day in the valleys where men, women and children needed a prineely guide: he was at onee a superb individualist and a rare social servant. Brilliant and broad- minded in his thinking, eminent in his profession, loyal in sacrificing social service, a glad friend and a trusted counselor, a public servant and a benefactor of the unfortunate, patron of moral and religious values. Mr. Newton completed a remarkable career. He had such a hold on the heart and life of this community that we all felt a shock when he let go. A many-sided man, he served nobly in several fields always a leader everywhere. lle always found time to help the men who needed him most. Only two days before his promotion he made an address at the City Mission, where he was so well known and so largely loved; his elosing words were-'Have a good time in a Christ-like way.' This phrase uncovered his heart-he aimed to make others glad in the noblest sense."
At the burial service Rev. Joseph Hooper read the following poem, written by William ( roswell Doane, bishop of Albany, New York,
It must be very near; that other land Upon whose very edge we stand, And they pass in at some command We hear not, but their quick cars understand.
It must be very fair; that other shore To win, from what they held so dear. From us who fain would hold them here Our best : to leave us and come back no more.
It must be very full; that other workl Into whose calm and sheltered ports Ships rich with freight of various sorte Sail in, from stormy sens, with sails all furled.
Ye make it nearer, O beloved friends, Whose very dearness draws our hearts
To build. across the gulf that parts, Some bridge to pass to where the parting ends.
39
AND EASTERN NEW HAVEN COUNTY
Ye make it fairer; as your presence here Made this world fair, so Paradise Gains added beauty to our eyes That strain to see you, filled with many a tear.
Ye make it fuller; God has willed it so, Ye are our treasures stored there And-He Himself hath said it, "Where The treasure is the heart" will surely go.
Nearer, and fuller; and more fair to me, Dear land, calm shore, fair world, thou art,
Let thy sweet charm draw us apart From earth and time and sin, to dwell in thee.
And he, my friend; the last to enter in, With whom I took sweet counsel here, Tender and true, without a peer, Wise, fearless, faithful, gone his crown to win,
Grant him, dear Lord; this added sense of peace. That life's long loneliness finds rest In thought of him among the blest, And hope of meeting him where sorrows eease.
William Croswell Doane, Bishop of Albany, New York.
The New Haven County Bar Association held a meeting April 24, 1914, in memory of Henry G. Newton, on which occasion Governor Simeon E. Baldwin said: "My first acquaint- ance with Henry G. Newton was as one of the faculty of the Yale Law School when he was a student there. He was one of the older men in his class; serious, thoughtful and scholarly. Roman law was one of the branches in which he took a special interest. It was then taught by Profesor James Hadley, a sketch of whose life work Mr. Newton subsequently con- tributed to the Civil Law Journal. He practiced at this bar from 1872 until his death, a period of over forty years. The community therefore had time to know well the character of the man. He had its respect as a well read. high-minded lawyer, sound in counsel, and faithful to any and every interest put under his charge. Unquestioned honesty, an ardent love of justice, undaunted courage, originality of thought, keen and accurate analyzing and unwearied industry were characteristics which brought him the respect of fellow members of the bar, as well as of his clients. His kindliness of heart, his loyalty to his friends and to whatever causes he felt were right, and his willingness to give himself unreservedly in their service gained him their affection."
On the same occasion Judge Livingston W. Cleaveland spoke as follows: "Early in my professional life I discovered that Mr. Newton was not only one of the ablest advisers among my friends, but that he was always ready to generously give to a younger member of the profession the benefit of his wide experience and extensive legal knowledge. To his clients he not only gave all that his resourceful mind eould suggest of wise counsel and loyal serv- ices, but he showed them that he felt a genuine interest in their cause, introducing into the situation the personal clement, the value of which to any client is beyond computation or compensation. Henry G. Newton, as known to those of us who knew him best, was in many respects a remarkable man. The acuteness of mind which signalized his college career, qualifying him to carry off mathematical prizes and to distinguish himself in the languages in his academic course at Wesleyan, and essay prizes in both civil and common law in the Yale Law School, stood him in good stead when a knotty problem of law or fact was submitted to his searching anaylsis. He was a dangerous antagonist as many found to their sorrow when a case perhaps lost by him in the court below, became so often a victory in the supreme court of errors, for Mr. Newton was resourceful, original and per-
40
A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
sistent. No case to him was really lost until the court of last resort had shut the door of hope. No task assumed by him was hopeless until every effort had been made to accom- plish the desired result. He did not hesitate to advocate any to him righteous cause how- ever unpopular, and he inspired courage in his fellows by the spirit of optimism with which he approached even disagreeable tasks. llis ethical standards, alway high, made, to him, the electors oath and the oath taken on admission to our bar very sacred obligations."
Judge Cleaveland quoted from a letfer, written by William Jennings Bryan in regard to Mr. Newton, as follows: "He was a most lovable man as well as a man of great ability, and I have always deemed myself fortunate in coming in contact with him. The lives of all such men are to my mind a conchisive answer to those who argue against immortality, for I cannot conceive of the annihilation of so generous a spirit."
It was also at a meeting of the bar association that Harrison Hewitt said: "I cannot remember when I did not know Mr. Newton. While I was in the law school 1 studied in his office. As soon as 1 was admitted to the bar I became his partner and remained so until his death. At the beginning of this association. I felt for Mr. Newton reverence and respect This reverence and respect increased as the years went by and the association became more intimate, and to them was added an affection which ever deepened to the end. I wish I mnight, in the few words I have to say this morning, picture to you, as I see him, the man who evoked these feelings in me as well as in many others of the bar and of the public. In analyzing his characteristics on this occasion, prominence should, of course, be given to those which won for him the eminent position at the bar which he enjoyed. His services to the state, to his church, to charity and to his fellowmen in this community, great though they were, cannot be here considered, except in so far as they shed light on his career as a lawyer. Law is the crystallization of the common sense and common morality of a com- munity, and a man is successful as a lawyer in so far as he is able to apprehend that common sense and common morality and apply it to concrete problems of life. This requires a sort of instinct, born of an attunement to the standards of the community, which must come in large part from native character, but may be helped by a study of the application of that standard to problems which have arisen in the past. This instinct was born in Mr. Newton with a love for our state, its history and institutions, which his fathers had helped to shape and which they had served. To this equipment was added the knowledge arising from a careful unremitting study of our jurisprudence. To these qualities is due his value as an adviser. In dealing with the actual problems of a lawyer's life, Mr. Newton's course was marked with honor, honesty, courage and perseverance. Once convinced of the justice of a cause he was unabashed by any odds against him and undaunted by any adverse decision. He never knew when he was beaten and, at what would have seemed the end, would have just be- gun the fight. In his work as an advocate, the other characteristics which seemed to me most pronounced were quickness and keenness of thought, originality and whole-heartedness. He saw into the heart of things almost intuitively. When attacking a problem in pleading, in the examination of witnesses, or in the argument of a question of law or fact. his ideas were never hackneyed, but were always his own. This originality, combined with a rare power of clear and suecinet statement, and a farsecing shrewdness, made him a pleader to be feared. He never followed the beaten path in cross-examination, and this very fact frequently enabled him to obtain dangerous admissions from witnesses who were biased or untruthful. His arguments were effective because of their originality and force. He never essaved oratory but, when convinced of the justice of his case, he threw his whole personality into what he was saying; and the intense conviction he so manifested went a long way towards producing conviction in others. This same intensity of conviction made Mr. Newton tenacious of a position once taken and gave him a serene reliance on himself, so that adverse rulings never daunted him, and he was always eager to test them to the last resort. He well exemplified the truth of Emerson's saying: 'Trust thyself. Every heart vibrates to that iron strength.' Yet he had no pride of opinion and on questions which he had to decide, kept an open mind until all considerations had been weighed. In his personal relations he was frank kindly and extremely generous of his time, his strength and his money. His loyalty to his friends and to the causes in which he believed, knew no bounds short of all his skill and wisdom, all his time and strength and substance. We who came in closest contact with him will always miss this tower of strength.
41
AND EASTERN NEW HAVEN COUNTY
"While we think of him as a successful and eminent lawyer, as a citizen who served his state, as a man among men, to us he will always be that dearest of all things, a friend."
In editorial comment, the New Haven Register of March 21st said of Henry Gleason Newton: "Yesterday, Judge Newton was engaged, with no apparent abatement of the natural force which for seventy years has characterized him, in those varied activities which made up his busy and useful life. Today lawyers seek counsel, clients seek guidance, philanthropists seek a fellow worker, friends seek the hand of a friend, but in his place they find only a spirit and a memory. That spirit and that memory, the remaining earthly manifestations of a very unusual man, must abide. He was one of the ablest lawyers New Haven has ever known, thorough in learning and reliable in counsel, acknowledged as one of the leaders of the Connecticut bar. He was a public man with a broad understanding of the progress of his times, with strong but fair opinions, with pronounced but sane tendencies. He was a philanthropist in the finest, highest sense. Crown of all, he was one of the sincerest, most faithful of Christians. There were many other sides of this remarkable man, known only to those privileged to come into the inner circle of his acquaintance. To tell of these would not only rasp nerves strained by the parting, but would take long in the telling. His was a personality which must long leave his benedic- tion upon all whom it touched. To have known him even a little is to have known a man to honor, to admire, to respect. To have known him closely is to be better for life and better for eternity."
GEORGE MARTIN WALLACE, B. A., LL. D.
George Martin Wallace, deceased, was for many years a well known citizen of New Haven, a deep student, a leading lawyer and a man prominent in public affairs. Of Scotch and English origin, he was born in North Haven, Connecticut, April 11. 1855, a son of Robert and Harriet Louise ( Moulthrop) Wallace. He attended the public schools of Wallingford. also the Hopkins grammar school of New Haven and the Hudson River Institute at Claveraek, New York. lle entered Yale University in 1877 and was graduated in the class of 1881, one of its leading members. Following the advice of President Noah Porter, he then took a year of travel and study abroad, matriculating after a summer's tour, at the Uni- versity of Berlin for a course in philosophy. Upon his return to this country he entered the Yale Law School, from which he graduated in 1884.
Mr. Wallace was actively engaged in the practice of law both in New llaven and Wallingford, where he made his home, until 1891, serving during this time as prosecuting attorney for the borough of Wallingford and as member of the state legislature. He then gave up the practice of law for a brief period and in January. 1891, became manager of the Chicago office of the R. Wallace & Son's Manufacturing Company, silversmiths, owned and operated by his father. He continued his residence in the west for four years. He then returned to New England and made New Haven his home. Resuming his law, he became one of the best known attorneys in the state, remaining in active practice until his death on the 20th of June, 1916, at Flushing, Long Island.
Mr. Wallace married Miss Annie Jane Lee, a daughter of John and Margaret (Jackson) Lee. There were five children born of this marriage; Robert Lee, who was born January 10, 1884, and died July 6th of the same year; Margaret Lee, born JJune 15, 1888; Katharine Lee and Malcolm Lee, both born August 10, 1892; and Donald Lee, born August 28, 1897. The older son, Malcolm. was graduated from Yale University in 1915, and Donald is a member of the present sophomore class.
Mr. Wallace was devoted to his home and family and was a man of sterling character both in private and public life. He was by nature a student. Philosophy was his favorite study and many unfamiliar with his constant and deep reading have been surprised at his mastery of abstruse subjects. Ilis membership in the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences and in the American Economic Society gives evidence of his continued activity in academie pursuits. This did not interfere, however, with his interest and work in his profession nor did it prevent him from constantly working to promote civic reform and to obtain better economic conditions. He was an acknowledged anthority upon municipal
42
A MODERN HISTORY OF NEW HAVEN
questions and was frequently consulted by writer- upon these subjects throughout the country.
In his younger days Mr. Wallace was a republican but became a supporter of Grover ( leveland, of whom he was a stanch admirer, and from that time forward he continued to give his allegiance to the democratic party. In 1906 he was its nominee as a candidate for congress, and in this republican stronghold came very close to winning the election. He was a member of the New Haven Chamber of Commerce, belonged to the Center Congregational church and was for many years a member of its men's bible class. He also attended every reunion of his class at Yale. He was fond of travel and visited many places of interest both on the European and American continents, including Mexico, Cuba. Central America and C'anada.
DEXTER ALDEN.
Dexter Alden, deceased, in his lifetime a prominent merchant and manufacturer of New Haven, was of the seventh generation in direct descent from John and Priscilla (Mullens) Alden.
The history of the family in America begins with the coming of John Alden to Massachusetts. He was born in England in 1599, was married in 1621 and died at Duxbury September 12, 1687. His wife's parents came over with him in the Mayflower, to die in the February succeeding their landing. John Alden and his wife had eleven children, of whom (II) Joseph, the second child, was born in 1624 and died in 1697. He was admitted a freeman in 1659. Of his five children, (III) Joseph, born in 1667, is in the ancestral line. (III) Joseph Alden became a deacon in the Congregational church. He lived in what is now South Bridgewater, was a noted character in the history of his times and died in 1747. In 1690 he was married to Hannah Denham, of Plymouth, a daughter of Daniel Denham, and they became the parents of ten children. (IV) Samuel Alden, eighth ebild of Joseph, was born in 1705 and died in 1785. In 1728 he married Abiah Edson, a daughter of Capt. Joseph Edson, and they were the parents of nine children of whom (V) Josiah Alden, the fifth in order of birth, born in 1738, was the ancestor of Dexter Alden. Josiah Alden, born in Ludlow, Mass., settled in Bridgewater. In 1761 he married Bathsheba Jones and he became the father of nine children, of whom Benjamin, the youngest son, was the father of Dexter Alden.
(VI) Benjamin Alden was born in 1781 and died in 1841. Mary Hodges, called "Polly," who became his wife, was born in 1783 and died in 1865. They had seven children: Mary, Jefferson, Caroline, David, Dexter, Lucinda and Eliza.
Dexter Alden was born in Ludlow, Massachusetts, October 13, 1812. He was married twice, first time to Eliza, daughter of Leverite and Esther Griswold, of New Haven. Their daughter, Anna Griswold Alden, married William L. Fields, president of the National Tradesmen's Bank, in New Haven. On Dec. 30, 1857, Mr. Alden married Margaret E. Feeter, daughter of John and Naney (Failing) Feeter, of Little Falls, New York. The Feeters constitute an old and honored family in the Mohawk Valley section of New York, and Mrs. Alden's grandfather, Col. William Feeter, was one of the bravest patriots in his section during the . Revolutionary war and in the stirring scenes that led up to it. He belonged to the corps of forty picked men known as the "Tryon County Bulldogs." Col. William Feeter died at the age of eighty-eight years, in 1844. He reared fourteen children of his own to maturity and took into his own home, and eared for as he did his own, six children belonging to poor families in his neighborhood.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.