USA > Connecticut > New London County > A modern history of New London County, Connecticut, Volume I > Part 48
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As we stood by his open grave banked with flowers and watered by tears, as in the presence of the judges who honored him and whom he loved, as we committed "earth to earth, ashes to ashes. and dust to dust," as we caught the solemn refrain of the church he loved so well: "This corruptible
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hath put on incorruption, and this mortal hath put on immortality," our hearts responded to the triumphant pæan, "Yea-even so-it is well."
"Death is swallowed up in victory."
The effect of Mr. Brandegee's beautiful eulogy upon his large audience is indescribable. He spoke with the fullness of deep feeling, at times solemnly, gently, then again like a trumpet, making every word a live thing, his voice filled with tears as he spoke of his personal love and association, and to a man his listeners turned away their faces lest the gushing of their own tears be seen. When the speaker finished, John T. Wait, after a moment of deep silence, asked Messrs. Lucas and Wait, who were to speak, if they wished to add their testimony to that of Mr. Brandegee, they could only shake their heads in negation. A master had painted the portrait. And thus the memory of Jeremiah Halsey was honored.
Abel P. Tanner, of New London, one of the oldest members of the New London county bar, was chosen to deliver the historical address on the occa- sion of the rededication of the New London County Court House in the city of New London, September 16, 1910. Mr. Tanner deeply interested his large audience, and his address is so full of value that it is here preserved in full :
The committee to whose unfailing politeness I owe this invitation to speak, informed me not very long ago that I was the oldest attorney in active practice at this end of the county. If correct in their assupmtion, it will ac- count this afternoon for my appearance here in "history." For the courtesy I have received from the commissioners and the bar and the public as well, I am extremely grateful-more than I can tell. But with that acknowledg- ment, I think my friends are mistaken, both as to my age in the profession and my place in the line. To the cold indictment of silvered age, I am still loath to plead guilty. And yet, young as I am, or imagine I am, for it is said a man is no older than he feels, I have begun to note the waning afternoon; already I perceive that the day is far spent, and though the future may have many allurements, that the years of my activity will be few. Still we are all hurrying on to some place in the distance where the line is mustered out ; and from its last bugle note, no marchers "come back." And it is a pretty long line, though we count only those who have practiced law in this town-from John Winthrop, the younger, to the last hopeful accession-and it reaches far back into the past.
Courts of justice have sat in this our city, with few interruptions, con- secutively, two hundred and fifty years-more than half the distance back to the discovery of this western world-and during much of that time New London was the only county seat. In 1660, the General Court, which was the Legislature, also established a primitive tribunal here, known as the "Assist- ants" court, composed of one assistant and three commissioners. A curious feature of it was, that the assistant was really the foreman, and the commis- sioners did the assisting. As its jurisdiction was limited to exactly two pounds, or about $10 of our money, and it could only punish for trifling mis- demeanors, it has always seemed to me that putting four judges into one court session was using a good deal of ammunition on pretty small game.
The first judge of this earliest court in New London was John Tinker, a liquor dealer, but, like our distinguished ex-mayor, the judge was popular not only in New London, but elsewhere as well.
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After a time, the Assistants Court by process of evolution became the County Court, with only a single judge, but with much larger judicial powers ; and it existed a hundred and eighty-eight years.
The county itself was formed in 1667, with Norwich as an inconsequential inember. But Norwich waxed and grew. It grew a little uncomfortable-at times, discordant. Occasionally it made strenuous efforts to get out of the "Wigwam." It even petitioned the General Court in 1674 for liberty to attach itself to Hartford county ; and, would you believe it, it's dissatisfaction was mainly with the way justice was being administered here in New London, for the rest of the county; and Norwich, in its complaint, used plain language. I will read you a sample: "If we must continue as we now are, we beseech you to improve some method by which courts of justice shall be so managed that peaceable and innocent people will not be oppressed."
But though Norwich did not succeed in breaking away from the county, it was nevertheless able to steal a march on New London, and the very next year secured the judge of the County Court. After that, it is conceivable that it gave New London, occasionally, a dose of its own medicine.
Many years after-a great many years-Norwich, apparently not satis- fied with having the judge and the court, began to reach out for the court house, and even cast covetous eyes at the jail. And there is a tradition, if I may call it such, that men from Norwich came down here once and undertook to carry off both these institutions bodily. I have not been able to verify this charge of grand larceny from any authentic record; but in a copy of the "People's Advocate,' a newspaper published back in the 40's, there appears this unique paragraph :
"A Norwich citizen has the custom house, here, in view. We knew Nor- wigians had been trying to carry off the court house and the jail, but we thought the custom house was safe. Well, the lighthouse is at their service whenever they conclude that we have light enough without it."
As a further confirmation, I may remark that, chancing to be here in 1865 at a Fourth of July celebration, while viewing the numerous floats in line I discovered a miniature copy of the old court house on which were these words: "Too old to go to Norwich."
But in 1843 a conspiracy was actually formed with Stonington to abolish this county seat and center all the courts and paraphernalia at Norwich. And how that must have grieved New London, to think that Stonington could do this thing-Stonington, that was once a part of New London, in the days when its first settler, William Chesebro, was a member of our town government, and Stonington was a child after our own heart! Naturally, public furor was high. In New London the matter was a party issue between the Whigs and Democrats. (At that time, there was no Republican party, though there were "Insurgents.") The Whigs affected to treat the subject with indifference, but a great meeting subsequently assembled in this building and one of its resolutions was as follows:
"Whereas the people of Norwich-grasping despoilers-seem determined to concen- trate all public institutions at that place, to the great injury of our people, therefore, Voted: that a committee be appointed consisting of Codington Billings, Charles Doug- lass, and Andrew C. Lippitt, to take steps to keep the court house where it is, with all our rights and privileges."
And now New London began to make efforts to get out of the basket. A petition was drafted, praying the Legislature to create a new county in this district, with New London as the big township, and Norwich left out. Fortunately the General Assembly turned down both propositions; and thus ended this "Tale of Two Cities." Happily there is no longer a conflict between these two communities-nothing but the friendliest rivalry. So that, when N.L .- 1-23
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New London generously congratulates Norwich on her own magnificent court house, the presence of her citizens here this afternoon is evidence that Nor- wich, with equal courtesy, returns the compliment.
The first Superior Court in this State was created in 1711, and made a Circuit Court, with two sessions annually in each county, with Richard Chris- tophers, of New London, as one of its judges. And here, strange to say, there was as yet no court house owned by the public in eastern Connecticut. When the Superior Court sat in New London, it was given accommodations in the old meeting house of the First Congregational Church. Even that was later struck by lightning and nearly torn in two. The first court house erected for use in this county was located in New London in 1724, while Gurdon Saltonstall was governor. It stood forty-three years on a corner of the town square, not far from what is now the intersection of Hempstead with Granite street. It was a common, unpretentious, frame building, 24x48, without cupola or tower, and cost the munificent sum of forty-eight pounds-equiva- lent to about $250 of our money. Manifestly, the cry for municipal economy in New London is not wholly of modern origin. The building was paid for, in part, by the sale of some common lands which the county owned up in "Mohegan."
Not far from the court house stood the first jail ever erected in this county ; and close to the jail, on another part of the Green, was the First Congregational meeting house, with its regulation steeple, destined to be one of the watch towers of the Revolution, wherein (as some poet has said) "Lib- erty its lasting vigil keeps." But the other auxiliaries of defence, such as the powder magazine, etc., were stored in the court house, and the whole was put in charge of Mr. Solomon Coit, a man of consequence. But I do not find that he received any other compensation for his janitorship except the privilege of having his Christian name attached to the most impassable road in New London-Stony Hill, which for many years was called Solomon street. To some it suggested a relation with the wisest of men; and when I perceived this trifling with a great name, I thought of the line from Shakespeare: "To what base uses we may return."
In 1776, for some cause which is not quite clear to us now, a change was made, and thence until 1781 the court house stood on the Paradc. It sat a little west of the present Neptune building, on the space which gets its name from the presence of a fortress there in former years. Close to the water's edge on this old site, stood the common jail; and off to the southwest, but still within the circumference of vision, was that other emblem of civilization, the Gallows Tree.
What this court house was, whether a newly constructed building or one transported there from the former site, we do not know. My own opinion is that it was moved there-probably in sections. Moving wooden buildings is not an unknown industry in New London, even in our day ; and the colonists were inured to habits of economy.
I need hardly say that this court house was consumed by fire during Arnold's invasion, with many other public and private buildings, in that Valhalla of war which "spread woe and desolation throughout this region"; and for three years thereafter the courts of this county were without a home. But in 1784, while Richard Law was mayor, a committee was appointed to provide a new building. The County Court naturally selected the old Parade site. But many objected that it would some time be wanted for commercial purposes ; and eventually the new court house was located at the head of this street. on the site of the first school house building here, with a little addi- tional land given by Joseph Coit. And for fifty-five years this building stood out here, in what would now be the middle of the street opposite; though at
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that time there was no street running to the south, and Broad street, as we know it now, did not exist. In 1839, at the suggestion of Major T. W Williams (new streets having been opened all around it), the building was moved on to the present site, on land procured of Mr. Williams, and here it has remained sevent, -one years.
This court house, of necessity, has a judicial as well as a materialistic and sentimental history ; but the noted causes that have been heard here, and the distinguished lawyers concerned in them, in forgotten years, would make a story longer than I can tell, or you would patiently hear. The argument of Patrick Henry against the Tory, Hook, would suffice to give it lasting fame.
The court room, as originally constructed, had a gallery on three sides as an extra accommodation to the public, but as interest in legal proceedings declined, and other halls were built for public use, this gallery was removed. The present alteration has somewhat curtailed the space railed off for the general public, although I have no doubt that what remains will be ample, but if interest in court proceedings continues to diminish, as it has in the past, the next alteration may reduce this public space to an "Amen corner." To some of us this decay of judicial sentiment is not a hopeful sign.
But though interest in judicial proceedings may have waned, the citi- zens of New London have never lost affection for the building itself. Through all vicissitudes they have clung to it, through good reports and evil, with a tenacity that at times has seemed pathetic. I confess that for many years I did not know the reason why. There was nothing classic or imposing about the old building; and Miss Calkins, the historian, writing as early as 1854, called it "commonplace," and "generally regarded as an unsightly blot, dis- figuring the neighborhood where it stands." But continued agitation of the subject matter has developed a more intimate knowledge of its early history ; and though my views have not changed as to a more enduring edifice, I have come to understand more clearly the cause of this devotion to an ancient relic.
In the first place, there is between town and building, a community of interests. The erection of the court house was contemporaneous with the incorporation of the city; and thus starting out together, they have kept even pace through all the current years and shared a common destiny. And, then, there are its cherished and hallowed associations. This court house is a con- necting link with the great historic past. It carries us back to colonial days -- to the men who were conspicuous in the great Revolutionary drama. Those concerned in its building had shared the privations, the sufferings and the disasters of the seven years' war. Some of them had stood at Concord and Lexington and the slopes of Bunker Hill. They have shared the gloom of Long Island : the exhilaration of Saratoga ; the despair of Valley Forge; and they have felt the wild contagion of joy when Yorktown proclaimed "Corn- wallis is taken." They have seen the British flag hauled down, and in its place, above the dome of a new nation, the Stars and Stripes appear. They saw the rise of constitutional government; they saw their country grow strong and great ; they saw it spread westward towards the Pacific and south to the shores of the Rio Grande, and the stars of added States burst into blossom on the blue of its flag. And these men, in a way, transmitted this structure as a heritage to our time. Around this site cling also legal memories that will always be dear to our profession. For great lawyers have here pressed the'r suits to final issue; and great judges have voiced their sound opinions, and pronounced their benediction. Indeed, in these crude temples of justice throughout the new republic, was laid the foundation of a jurisprudence that has become distinctively American, and which bids fair in time to supplant the more cumbersome system of Continental Europe. When I was a child
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it was the habit of lawyers to quote the common law of England, and cite Law Reports. Today, the English Law Reports are hardly cited more often than the Code Napoleon, or the Pandects of Justinian, in that Rome that crumbled long ago.
In this quaint structure, consummate statesmen have discussed the science of government; religious reformers enjoyed the right of speech; and great orators have electrified the people of their time. Here Cowan and Marshall charmed with their eloquence, and Daniel Webster defended the Constitu- tion of the United States.
A center of social festivities, here our citizens greeted for the last time the gallant Decatur in the War of 1812; and later, voiecd their enthusiastic welcome to General Lafayette. In the Civil War this was a center of patriotic devotion, consecrated alike to the living and the dead.
We who wished a new court house have never lacked reverence which was due to the old. But we wanted to preserve this site to further genera- tions. And today we share in whatsoever pride there is in this completed work. We congratulate the commissioners on what they have done. We are pleased with the remodeled appearance of this building-with its white front and green blinds, suggesting to some of us the happy homes of childhood that we can never go back to. But especially are we pleased with its beauti- ful interior, presenting to the visitor a succession of surprises, which cul- minate in this elegant court room-one of the finest in the State. We thank the architect, Mr. Donnelly, for his splendid ideals; and we are grateful to the builder, Mr. Douglas, for clothing these ideals in material form. And lastly, we congratulate ourselves on the choice of this site-a vindication of our fathers' judgment when they pronounced it the most convenient and best of all locations. And we are confident that whatever happens, whether this structure shall quickly perish, or endure for generations to come, its location will never be abandoned as a court house site, but preserved to future times. And that future is our inspiration. We believe that posterity will look up to this proud eminence and be glad; glad that here the figure of Justice still holds aloft the golden scales ; that civic taste abides ; that government endures ; and that civilization does not fall.
A meeting of the bar of New London county was held in the Court House in Norwich, on Friday, June 30, 1922, in memory of four of its members who within the year had appeared before the Great Judge-Erastus Sheldon Day, William B. Coit, Franklin H. Brown and Joseph T. Fanning. Resolutions with reference to Judge Day, prepared by a committee consisting of Thomas M. Waller, Lucius Brown, John M. Thayer, Gardiner Greene and Abel P. Tanner, were read by Judge Brown. Judge William H. Shields delivered the following fervent eulogy :
Hon. Erastus Sheldon Day, of Colchester, in New London county, died at his home there on August 2, 1921, at the advanced age of eighty-five years, following an illness of only a few days' duration. Mr. Day was born in Colchester on July 7, 1836, and was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Elihu Marvin Day, who both died many years ago. He received his early education in the public schools of his native town, which was supplemented by his later attendance at Wilbraham Academy. Upon the completion of his academic course he pursued the study of the law for one year with Ralph Gilbert, Esq., a practicing lawyer at Hebron, and later took up his legal studies at Hart- ford for two years in the law offices of Welles & Strong, and with the firm of Strong & Nicholas, their successors. He was admitted to the bar at the breaking out of the war of the Southern Rebellion, at Hartford, on March 18,
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1861, and thereupon took up the active practice of his profession in his native town in the village of Colchester and became a busy and prominent lawyer in that section of the State at the New London County Bar, from 1861 to 1897, thirty-six years. In the same year that he was admitted to the bar in 1861, Mr. Day married Catherine Gardner Olmstead, daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth Olmstead, of Westchester, Connecticut. Mrs. Day died at Clifton Springs, New York, on August 15, 1910.
In 1897 Mr. Day was appointed by President Mckinley, United States Consul at Bradford, England, which office he held for twelve years, from 1897 to 1909. In 1909 he resigned the consulship and returned from England to the United States to his home in the village of Colchester, and retired wholly from the activities of the law and politics. Early in his career, Mr. Day attached himself to politics and became an active and ardent member of the Republican party, staunchly adhering to and advocating the principles of that party. In the years 1862, 1864 and 1874, Mr. Day was chosen and sent from Colchester as a representative of that town in the General As- sembly of Connecticut. In the year 1863, Mr. Day was chosen Secretary of the Senate, and performed the duties of that office throughout the term of the sessions of that body. Later for five years, 1886 to 1891, Lawyer Day held the place of chairman of the Republican State Central Committee of Connecticut, and as such had charge and direction of the State and national campaigns of the Republican party in Connecticut in those years. Those political offices held by Mr. Day brought him a State-wide acquaintance with the prominent, influential and leading men in political and legislative life and public affairs of the State, and those prominent men of various activities in turn came to know and respect Mr. Day as a leader for his ability, integrity, fairness, sound judgment and unselfishness in his relations to them and to the subject matters in which they were interested or concerned. His fidelity and loyalty to clients, friends, and fellow men were firm and true and he enjoyed the reputation of being reliable and dependable in every case or exigency. His plighted word was never known or heard to be broken.
A generation and more ago and for many years about that time, there was an extensive legislative legal practice before the General Assembly of the State in which the services of the ablest lawyers were engaged at the capitol. Those legislative cases generally involved large interests and ex- penditures and in some instances vast results. The parties to those causes were variously towns, cities, railroads, insurance companies, and industrial and other corporations and occasionally directly the State itself. Those cases were exhaustively prepared pro and con on the law and the facts and long hearings were held before designated committees of the General Assembly with witnesses and counsel participating, where arguments of counsel at length were had as before a court and jury. For a long time Mr. Day was one of the foremost lawyers in the most important of those contested legis- lative cases and trials. Through that legislative law practice Mr. Day was further brought into close relation and acquaintance with the most promi- nent lawyers and citizens of Connecticut, and gained the reputation of a sound, skillful and able lawyer in that important branch of law practice.
Oftentimes his counsel and advice were sought by party leaders and can- didates regarding impending party conventions and nominations, and by governors concerning appointments about to be made by them of persons to high State offices. In many instances Mr. Day's opinions and recommen- dations were effective and led to nominations and appointments of the very best men to public office. In late years in his reminiscences of those stirring political times and events, Mr. Day took much gratification in recounting and discussing the good records and achievements in office of those promi-
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nent State officials whose selection came about through his quiet and in- partial influence and sound judgment.
Mr. Day had no desire to attain for himself any office in the State. It was well known that he had no personal ambition whatever in that line to serve, and those approaching him for his advice and judgment knew his mind was open and free from any office-seeking desire on his part to affect or prejudice his action or judgment. And so he was the more readily and con- fidently and frequently approached by others for his help, advice and judg- ment in political affairs.
He had friends in every part of the State and in the highest offices of the State, many of whom were under obligations to him for courtesies ex- tended and essential help freely, cheerfully and gratuitously given in im- portant matters to them. Had Mr. Day any aspirations for public office, he could have had nominations and appointments to such places as he might have chosen. It may be truly said of Mr. Day that had he shown and ex- pressed the aspiration and ambition, he could have easily attained the highest judicial office in the State-judge of the Superior Court, or State's Attorney of his county, or even the governorship of his State. He chose the plain and simple life, and was contented to make his home and law office in the small and isolated village of Colchester, where persons having occasion sought him out for his wise counsel, advice and aid.
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