USA > Connecticut > New London County > A modern history of New London County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 46
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Frank B. Brandegee, son of Augustus and Nancy Christina (Bosworth) Brandegee, was born in New London, July 8, 1864. He is a graduate of Yale. A.B., 1885, and after graduation, following in the footsteps of his father, he studied law and became a member of the New London bar, being admitted in 1888. He located in New London, where he was in practice for many years, being ten years corporation counsel for the city of New London. An ardent Republican, he early entered public life. He was elected a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1888, the year of his admission to the bar, he then being twenty-four years of age. He was again elected in 1899, and at the following session of the House was chosen speaker. He was a delegate to the National Republican Conventions of 1888, 1892, 1900 and 1904, and had then become a State party leader. In 1902 he was elected to fill out an unexpired term in the Fifty-seventh Congress (1902-3) and was re-elected to the Fifty-eighth and Fifty-ninth Congresses, but did not serve his last term, resigning to accept election as United States Senator from Con- necticut to fill out an unexpired term, 1905-1909. At the close of his term he was re-elected to serve the full term of 1909-1915; was again chosen to represent his State for the term 1915-1921, and then was paid the honor of a fourth term in the Senate, 1921-1927. He has held many important com- mittee assignments, and is one of the men of the Senate who exert a strong influence in the work of that body. He is a member of many organizations, political and social ; his clubs, the University, of New York; the Metropolitan and Chevy Chase, of Washington; the Hartford, of Hartford; the Union League and Graduates, of New Haven ; the Thames, of New London; and the Colonial, of Meriden, Connecticut. His home is in New London.
Richard Patrick Freeman, son of Richard Patrick and Mary Belle N.L .- 1-22
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(Magenis) Freeman, was born in New London, April 24, 1869. He completed classical study with graduation from Harvard, A.B., 1891, then entered Yale Law School, whence he was graduated LL.B., class of 1904. He was ad- mitted to the New London county bar the same year, opened a law office in New London, and there has since successfully practiced his profession. He was regimental sergeant-major of the Third Regiment, Connecticut Volun- teer Infantry, during the war with Spain in 1898, and from 1901-1908 was major and judge advocate of the Connecticut National Guard. He is a Re- publican, and since 1915 has represented the Second Connecticut district in the Lower House of Congress. Congressman Freeman is a member of the Masonic order, and of the Congregational church. His home is in New London.
Lucius Brown, son of Daniel and Mary (Stanton) Brown, was born in the town of Griswold, New London county, May 5, 1846. He is a graduate of Brown University, Ph.B., class of 1866, and of Albany Law School, LL.B., 1868. He was admitted to the bar of New London county in 1868, and prac- ticed alone in Norwich until 1878, when he became senior of the firm of Brown & Perkins. He was judge of the city court of Norwich, 1894-1913; member of the State Senate, 1871, 1877, 1878, 1879, and chairman of the committee on judiciary in 1877 and 1878. He is president of the Norwich Savings So- ciety ; a trustee of Brown University since 1908; is a trustee of Connecticut Literary Institute ; is a Republican in politics, and in religious faith a Baptist.
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Gardiner Greene, son of Gardiner and Mary Ricketts (Adams) Greene, was born in Norwich, August 31, 1851. He is a graduate of Norwich Free Academy, 1868; Yale University, A.B., 1873; Columbia University Law School, LL.B., 1877. He practiced law in Utica, New York, 1877-78, then returned to Norwich, was admitted to the New London county bar in 1878, and from that year until 1910 practiced very successfully at that bar, and in all State and Federal courts of the district, rising to high and honorable rank as a lawyer of learning and skill. In 1910 he was elected a judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut, an office he now holds. Judge Greene is a Republican in politics, and in 1891 and 1895 represented his city in the Con- necticut Legislature. In 1902 he was a member of a commission appointed to revise the statutes of the State, and has always been the devoted public- spirited citizen. He is a devout Christian, a trustee of Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Connecticut; senior warden of Christ Church parish, Norwich ; and in 1907, 1910, 1913, 1916 and 1919 sat as a lay delegate in the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal church. He is also a trustee of Norwich Free Academy, a member of the American Bar Association and the Connecticut Bar Association. His college fraternity is Delta Kappa Epsilon ; his Yale society, Wolfs Head.
Edwin Werter Higgins, son of Werter Chapin and Grace Agnes (Taintor) Higgins, was born in Clinton, Connecticut, July 2, 1874. After completing his studies at Norwich Free Academy he entered Yale Law School, whence he was graduated LL.B., class of 1895. In that year he was admitted to the New London county bar, the same year settled in Norwich, and has there
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been in continuous practice until the present (1922), a lawyer of high standing and a citizen whom the people have delighted to honor. He was corporation counsel, 1901-02, for the city of Norwich, and prosecuting attorney in 1905. His business is large, and its course embraced a receivership of the Hopkin & Allen Arms Company. He is a member of the American and Connecticut State Bar Associations, and highly respected as a lawyer of ability and skill. In public life Mr. Higgins has made an equally creditable record. He was a member of the General Assembly in 1899, member of the Republican State Central Committee, 1905-1906; health officer for New London county, 1900- 1905 ; delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1904 and 1916; and when Frank Brandagee resigned his seat in the National House of Repre- sentatives to become United States Senator from Connecticut, Mr. Higgins at the special election held October 2, 1905, to choose a successor, was elected to fill out the unexpired term. When that term expired in 1907, Mr. Higgins succeeded himself and sat as representative from the Third Connecticut dis- trict for eight years in the Fifty-ninth, Sixtieth, Sixty-first and Sixty-second Congresses, 1905-1913. Mr. Higgins is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution ; Phi Sigma Kappa; and in religious faith is a Congregationalist.
Arthur M. Brown, son of George W. and Sarah F. (Young) Brown, was born in Jewett City, New London county, September 24, 1877. After com- pleting public school study at Norwich Free Academy, he cruised around the world for two years as quartermaster on a private yacht, and upon his return began the study of law. In 1901 he was admitted to the New London county bar, and has since practiced his profession continuously in Norwich, his home, however, in Jewett City. Since 1902 Mr. Brown has been counsel for the borough of Jewett City; since 1904, counsel for the town of Griswold; since 1905, health officer for the county of New London; and since 1901 has been treasurer of New London county. In 1901 he was elected a member of the Lower House of the State Legislature; in 1902 was a member of the Con- necticut Constitutional Convention, and in 1903 was chosen State Senator. He is a member of the Masonic order, a Baptist in religious faith, a Republi- can politically, and a man of strong ability who has won the perfect con- fidence of the public.
Bryan Francis Mahan, son of Andrew and Dora (Dougherty) Mahan, was born in New London, May 1, 1856, and there his life has been spent. He is a graduate of Bartlett High School and of Albany Law School, LL.B., 1881, and the same year was admitted to the New London county bar. He opened law offices in New London, and there has continually practiced until the present. His public career has been notable. He has served the city of New London as prosecuting attorney, postmaster and mayor, his legislative dis- trict as member of the General Assembly in 1882-83 ; as State Senator in 1911- 12; and in 1912 was a member of Congress from the Second Connecticut district, serving in the Sixty-third Congress, 1913-1915. He accomplished a great deal for his native city while in public life, the appropration of $1,000,000 for the development of New London harbor being secured through his efforts. In politics Mr. Mahan is a Democrat.
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Abel P. Tanner, son of Abel and Clarissa (Waterous) Tanner, was born in Groton, Connecticut, July 7, 1850, and since 1875 has been a member of the New London county bar and in active practice at that bar. After com- pleting public school study with graduation from high school, he entered Brown University, when he was graduated A.B., 1875. He then pursued a course of law study, and in 1875 was admitted to the bar. He practiced law in Mystic, 1875-1882, then located in New London, his present home and seat of practice. He was corporation counsel in 1912-13, and in 1913 represented his city in the Connecticut General Assembly. In 1906 Mr. Tanner was elected president of the New London Bar Association, and through successive re-elections has held that office for several years. He is a Democrat in politics, and has frequently been the nominee of his party for high office, notably presidential elector in 1896, and for Congress in 1904.
Charles B. Waller, son of Thomas M. and Charlotte (Bishop) Waller, was born in New London, July 27, 1875, and there resides, and like his father, the ex-governor, is an honored member of the New London county bar. He completed his classical education at the University of Minnesota, then pre- pared for professional life at Yale Law School, receiving his LL.B. with the graduating class of 1896. He was admitted to the New London county bar the same year and began practice in New London. He rose rapidly in his profession and in public esteem, being elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1905, and to the State Senate in 1907. When in 1907, Wal- ter C. Noyes resigned his positon as judge of the Court of Common Pleas for New London county to go upon the bench of the Superior Court, Mr. Waller was appointed by Governor Woodruff to fill out the unexpired term. He assumed the duties of his office September 28, 1907, and has held the office continuously until the present, 1922.
The following is a list of the members of the New London county bar who now (1922) occupy positions of trust in the judicial life of the State or county, or positions of importance in national affairs :
Frank B. Brandegee, of New London, United States Senator from Con- necticut, 1905-1927.
Richard P. Freeman, of New London, Member of Congress from Second Congressional district.
Gardiner Greene, of Norwich, Judge of Superior Court of Connecticut (term expired August 31, 1921).
Christopher L. Avery, of Groton, Judge of Superior Court, 1920-1928.
Allyn L. Brown, of Norwich, Judge of Superior Coourt, August 31, 1921- 1929.
Hadlai A. Hull, of New London, State's Attorney for New London county.
George E. Parsons, of Norwich, Clerk of New London County Courts. Harry L. Peterson, of Norwich, Assistant Clerk.
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Richard W. Mansfield, of New London, County Probation Officer. Robert McBurney, Court Messenger at Norwich.
William N. Tubbs, Court Messenger at New London and Librarian of the Law Library.
John M. Thayer and Gardiner Greene, of Norwich, State Referees.
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Charles B. Waller, of New London, Judge of Court of Common Pleas for New London county ; term expires February 2, 1925.
Lewis Crandall, of Norwich, Clerk of that Court.
Charles S. Whittlesey, of New London, Prosecuting Attorney of same Court.
S. Victor Price, Judge of City and Police Court of New London.
Lewis Crandall, Assistant Judge.
Daniel M. Cronin, Prosecuting Attorney.
Clayton B. Smith, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney.
Clayton B. Smith, Clerk of same Court.
John H. Barnes, Judge.
Henry H. Pettis, Assistant Judge.
Lee R. Robbins, Prosecuting Attorney.
Tetley E. Babcock, Clerk of the City Court of Norwich.
Arthur M. Brown, Judge.
Henry H. Burnham, Prosecuting Attorney and Clerk.
John T. Barry, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and Clerk of Town Court of Griswold (post office, Jewett City).
Warren B. Burrows, Clerk and Prosecuting Attorney of town of Groton. Arthur B. Calkins, Judge of Probate Court of New London District. Nelson J. Ayling, Judge of Probate Court of Norwich District.
Wareham W. Bentley, Judge of Probate Court of Bozrah District. Harley P. Buell, Judge of Probate Court of Colchester District. Austin I. Bush, Judge of Probate Court of East Lyme District. Arthur P. Anderson, Judge of Probate Court of Groton District. George E. Briggs, Judge of Probate Court of Lebanon District. Samuel E. Holdridge, Judge of Probate Court of Ledyard District. William Marvin, Judge of Probate Court of Lyme District. Dana D. Home, Judge of Probate Court of Montville District. Charles C. Gray, Judge of Probate Court of North Stonington District. Robert H. Noble, Judge of Probate Court of Old Lyme District. Henry A. Rogers, Judge of Probate Court of Salem District. Elias B. Hinckley, Judge of Probate Court of Stonington District.
George Cutler, Member of Connecticut House of Representatives.
John T. Barry, Member of House of Representatives from town of Griswold.
Attorneys at law, members of the New London county bar (Manual 121) :
Arthur P. Anderson
Thomas F. Dorsey
Guy T. Arms
Richard P. Freeman
William M. Stark
Clayton B. Smith
Nathan Belcher John G. Geary
William Belcher Philip Z. Hankey
John F. Sullivan
Max Boyer Benjamin H. Hewitt
Abel P. Tanner Thomas E. Tolland
Frank B. Brandegee
Charles E. Hickey
Perry J. Hollandersky
John H. Walker Charles B. Waller
Thomas M. Waller
Tracy Waller
Charles B. Whittlesey- All of New London.
Frank H. Allen
Frank Q. Cronin Marion R. Davis
Bryan F. Mahan Frank L. McGuire George C. Morgan
Wallace S. Allis Herman Alofsin
Alfred Coit William T. Connor Lewis Crandall George J. Crocicchia
Daniel M. Cronin
Warren B. Burrows A. B. Calkins Charles H. Hull Charles Chadwick Arthur T. Keefe Frederick P. Latimer John J. Lawless Harry Learned Morris Lubchansky
S. Victor Prince Charles L. Smiddy
C. L. Avery Charles A. Gallup
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Nelson J. Ayling
George E. Parsons
Arthur P. Anderson, of Mystic
Telley E. Babcock
Edmund W. Perkins
Albert J. Bailey
Harry L. Peterson
John H. Barnes
Henry H. Pettis
Leslie L. Brewer
Virtume P. A. Quinn
Traver Briscoe
Lee Roy Robbins Thomas M. Shields
Allyn L. Brown
Arthur M. Brown
William H. Shields
Lucius Brown
William H. Shields, Jr.
George R. McKenna, of Stonington
Henry H. Burnham Edward T. Burke
John M. Thayer - All of Norwich.
Charles W. Cassidy Andrew B. Davies Jeremiah J. Desmond R. M. Douglass Frank N. Gardner Gardiner Greene John D. Hall,
Erastus S. Day, of Col- chester
Austin I. Bush, of East Lyme Marion R. Davis, of East Lyme
Edwin W. Higgins John P. Huntington Charles V. James Edwin C. Johnson
Arthur M. Brown, of Jewett City
Thomas J. Kelly Arthur F. Libby
Earl E. Mathewson
Hibbard E. Norman
W. Tyle Olcott
Henry H. Burnham, of Jewett City John T. Barry, of Jew- ett City Arthur P. Anderson, of Noank
J. Frank Corey, of Nor- wich, and Edith M. Rathbun, of Stoning- ton, are Commission- ers of the Superior Court, but are not members of the bar.
This list is from the Connecticut Register and Manual published by the State, 1921.
The pages that follow are dedicated to the memory of Solomon Lucas, Seneca S. Thresher, Augustus Brandagee, and Jeremiah Halsey, men whom in their lifetime the members of the New London county bar have delighted to honor. The chapter finishes with an eloquent address historical in char- acter.
SOLOMON LUCAS-The memorial meeting of the New London County Bar in honor of the memory of Solomon Lucas, long State's attorney for New London county, was held in Norwich, November 9, 1906. Addresses were delivered by State's Attorney Hadlai A. Hull, Abel P. Tanner, Jeremiah A. Desmond, and John H. Barnes. Mr. Tanner's address follows:
A conspicuous member of this bar for many years, a leader in his chosen profession, has reached the mystic shore that all the dead have reached and whence it is said no voyager returns. Today we come as friends to speak his eulogy, to tell who and what he was, and what he did, and we strive to preserve for future times some measure of his fame. In choosing his niche in memory we come again upon the names of illustrious men who have been lawyers here-Pratt, Foster, Crump, Lippitt, Hovey, Park, Halsey, Wait, Brandagee, these were giants in our profession and it is some consolation to reflect that in distant years our brother will be reckoned among these classic men.
Solomon Lucas was born in Norwich, Connecticut, of English parentage, in 1835. At that time Andrew Jackson was President of the United States and a little while before had coined the famous: "The Union, it must and
Albert Denison, of Mys- tic F. H. Hinckley, of Mys- tic
Fred P. Latimer, of Mystic
Charles L. Stewart
Charles A. Gallup, of Waterford (post of- fice, New London). Harry B. Agard, Henry W. Rathbun, both re- siding in Westerly, Rhode Island. William N. Tubbs, of New London
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shall be preserved." Curiously indeed, when twenty-six years later our friend came to this bar (April, 1861) that sentiment had become the slogan of the North in the momentous issue of the Civil War. Already its people had been startled by the fall of Sumter, when for the first time in this Repub- lic they saw the American flag lowered in surrender to foes who were their own countrymen. In this exciting period Mr. Lucas was chosen to the legis- lature of this State. His distinguished townsman, William A. Buckingham, was governor, and though differing from him in politics he helped sustain the loyal purpose of that splendid man. But retiring at the close of the session of 1863, never to hold political office again, he devoted the remainder of his life to the practice of law.
Mr. Lucas was a man of consummate ability and worth. A child of plain New England people, starting in life poor and with many limitations, he rose by his own exertions to the highest rank in his profession-he was for seven- teen years State's Attorney for this county-and he finished his eminent career with credit and honor. His life is an object lesson to every American boy who climbs the winding ways to wealth and fame. We see the slender country boy working on the farm for his board and clothes; we see the student in the law school at Albany laying the foundation for future success ; we see him as a country schoolmaster teaching others the way of knowledge, toiling for the meagre wages of fifty years ago; we see him later in the office of Counsellor Wait, the eager student exploring the sources of the common law; at last we see him at the bar practicing in all the courts of the state, the apt and finished lawyer of his time. In all conditions he was a candid, sincere, useful man. The friend of social order, he sought in modest ways to raise the standard of civic duty. He was an accomplished advocate, a brilliant cross examiner, in argument fluent, forcible and convincing. A careful manager, but aggressive, and with marvelous endurance, he expressed his cause with vigor, and once engaged he never left the field until the last maneuvre had been tried and the last stand had failed. And yet as a counsel he was usually sound, the cautious adviser who never failed.
It would be superfluous to call him a fearless prosecutor, an honest and faithful public servant. In the coming years we will cherish a grateful remembrance of his fidelity in official station and the virtue and simplicity of his private life. He did not claim to be a perfect man. Doubtless he had the faults and foibles, the infirmities which are common to our race. His continuity of purpose and the desire to always accomplish what he undertook, may have sometimes made him seem severe; but to those who knew him at home and in the social circle he was considerate, he was affable, he was kind. We shall not recall unmoved his death in the court room when absent from home and family friends. After all there is no pathos like that of the unspoken farewell when fate overwhelms us at the bend in the road. But in this world we cannot always live. Here where blossoms wither at last. the oak ceases to be clothed with the leaves of spring. And so our friend "after life's fitful fever" rests unperturbed in the serenity of death, as when some craft on ocean currents tossed for many days, lies in the calm of the last harbor with sails forever furled.
Mr. Lucas was a consistent, active member of the Congregational church. Imbued in life with the faith of the Christian fathers, he carried through all the years the solace of unfailing hope. He was conversant with the metaphor of the ancients, they to whom each day was a symbol of human life-the crimson of morning; the midday of splendor; the waning afternoon ; the gold of sunset ; the creeping shadows, and at last the darkness of the night-and he believed that somewhere "night wakes up morning for the endless day."
And so we, sustained by the same hope, will look to meet again these
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classic men, in brighter spheres where strife and conflict never come and friendship never fails.
SENECA S. THRESHER-On July 2, 1920, the New London County Bar as- sembled at Norwich in a memorial meeting held to honor one of the county's old and able attorneys, Seneca S. Thresher, Abel S. Tanner delivering the address, which follows in part :
A citizen of the far past, Seneca S. Thresher, in life's afternoon, became a solitary figure among men. He belonged to a generation that is dead. Coming to Norwich nearly sixty years ago to begin professional life, he was longer in continuous practice than any other lawyer of this county, so far as I know. The nestor of this bar, holding its chairmanship by the privilege of age, he cherished its customs and traditions, waged its legal contests without rancor, and retired at 87, with his mental vigor still com- plete. I call to mind very distinctly my first acquaintance with him, and with equal distinctness, the last conversation in the shadow of death. These meetings-the first and the last-stand out in memory like the terminals of a long journey, and forty-four years lie between.
I first knew S. S. Thresher as a fellow delegate in a political state con- vention in the city of Hartford, in 1874. He was chairman or secretary of the platform committee and read to that convention the resolutions on which Charles R. Ingersoll was chosen governor for the second time. Up to 1872, Mr. Thresher was a Republican, and I a Democrat, but lately come of age. Thereafter, he, too, was a Democrat to the end of his life. He may have had ambition and coveted public office, but he did not communicate that fact to me, and so far as I know, held no important office beyond that of justice of the peace and of prosecuting agent somewhere in the 70's. He was, presumably, content to illustrate Pope's famous lines :
"Honor and shame from no condition rise; Act well your part, there all the honor lies."
And then, again, he may have pondered, sometimes with regret, the proverbial ingratitude of republics.
As the committee have informed us, Mr. Thresher was a child of Massa- chusetts, born in the quaint town of Swansea, in that corner of the State where dwelt so many of Puritan origin in the early colonial days. It has been facetiously remarked that a man should choose his ancestors with great care. Mr. Thresher's ancestors were chosen for him among the sturdy pioneers. One of his kindred was among the patentees of Rehoboth 300 years ago, when most of New England was a wilderness where the Indian chanted his hymn to the Great Spirit, and the white man answered, sometimes, the call of the wild. He came also of good fighting stock. His people on both the paternal and maternal side, served in the Colonial wars and in the War of the Revolution, and one of them received the thanks of Congress for bravery in the field.
In 1832, when Mr. Thresher was born, this country was favored by exceptionally great men. Calhoun was vice-president ; Webster and Clay were in the senate, and Andrew Jackson was president of the United States. Many of our presidents have been noted phrase-makers, inventing epigrams that have lived; but no saying attained such wide celebrity as that coined by Andrew Jackson, in 1832, when he said: "The Union, it must and shall be preserved." In 1862, when Mr. Thresher was admitted to this bar, that phrase had become national. It had swelled to the chorus of the Union, heard above the roar of battle when a million men from the North resolved that the Republic should endure, that slavery should not live, and that the Union should not die. Mr. Thresher was among the list of the lawyers of this
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