History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 10

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia : J.W. Lewis & Co.
Number of Pages: 1317


USA > Connecticut > New London County > History of New London county, Connecticut : with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 10


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Since his retirement from the Senate, in 1867, Mr. Foster has not taken an active part in politics. His dissatisfaction with what he felt to be the abuses of President Grant's administration led him into the Liberal movement of 1872, although Greeley was not his choice for the Presidency. In the spring of 1875 the Democrats and Liberals tendered him a congres- sional nomination in the Third Connecticut District, which he accepted with great reluctance, but in the same spirit in which he joined the Liberal movement. In the nomination of Hayes, in 1876, he saw a prom- ise of pure administration and a milder policy towards the South, and freshly avowed his allegiance to the Republican party. This loyalty was recognized in 1877 by the tender of a legislative nomination by the local Republicans, which, if he had accepted, would doubtless have resulted in his election as Speaker, and perhaps as United States senator. The honor was, however, declined.


After his retirement from the bench he devoted himself to the practice of his profession, and his ser- vices were in constant demand in difficult cases. His interest in the project for an international code was strong, and he was invited to participate in the meet- ing in Belgium in 1877 to mature the same. He was always a close student of foreign affairs, his knowl- edge of which was supplemented by travel in Europe, and he was also singularly conversant with the diplo- matic history of Europe. He was honored some years ago with an election to membership with the Cobden Club, the famous free-trade organization of England, with whose doctrines he sympathized to some extent, though not a zealous propagandist.


In 1879, Mr. Foster was prominently mentioned in connection with the vacant ambassadorship to Great Britain, but did not receive the appointment. Aside from general scholarship, his eminence in jurispru- dence, and his long practical experience in public affairs, he had the additional and important qualifica- tion for the post of polished manners, thorough famil- iarity with the requirements of its social code, and


delightful conversational powers. Well read, apt at quotation, quick at repartee, brimful of genial humor, kindly in spirit, and possessed of a rare wife, he un- derstood the art of hospitality to perfection. He ac- quired during the long years of his honest industry a handsome competence.


He was a prominent member of Park Congrega- tional Church. Mr. Foster died Sept. 19, 1880.


CHARLES JOHNSON MCCURDY was born at Lyme, Conn., Dec. 7, 1797. His grandfather was a Scotch- Irish Presbyterian from the county of Antrim, in the north of Ireland. He was a successful and wealthy merchant, an ardent patriot, and one of the earliest and boldest in urging on the American Revolution. His father was a graduate of Yale and a lawyer by profession, but devoted himself to agricultural pur- suits and the care of his estate. His mother was Ur- sula Wolcott Griswold, granddaughter on her father's side of the first Governor Griswold, and of that Ur- sula Wolcott whose husband, father, brother, uncle, nephew, and still greater son, Roger Griswold, were all Governors of Connecticut. On her mother's side she was a granddaughter of Rev. Stephen Johnson (called by Bancroft “the incomparable Stephen John- son"), whose powerful essays roused into existence the Sons of Liberty and were among the most efficient causes of the Revolution. The maternal grandmother of Judge McCurdy's mother was Elizabeth Diodate, descended from Dr. Theodore Diodate, a distinguished court-physician of London in the time of James I., brother of Rev. John Diodate, the eminent theologian of Geneva.


Judge McCurdy was graduated at Yale College with high honors in 1817, studied law with Chief Justice Swift, was admitted to the bar in 1819, and soon went into extensive practice at Lyme, and so continued (except when he was abroad) until he was called to the bench. In May, 1822, he married Sarah Ann, daughter of Richard Lord, of Lyme, who died in July, 1835, leaving an only child, now the wife of Prof. Edward E. Salisbury of New Haven. In the years 1827, 1828, 1829, 1833, 1834, 1838, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1844 he was a member of the House of Repre- sentatives of his native State, and in three of those years he was Speaker. In 1832 he was a State-senator, and in the years 1847 and 1848 he was Lieutenant- Governor and president of the Senate. During these years he was influential in shaping the legislation, and one most important act may be especially attrib- uted to him : he effected that great change in the com- mon law by which parties and others interested in the event of suits are allowed to be witnesses,-a change in some sense revolutionizing the administration of justice, which has since been adopted throughout this country and in England.


In 1851 he represented this country at the Court of Austria. The situation was then one of delicacy, as the Austrians were much irritated against our nation on account of the reception of Kossuth, and the American


Chas J. Mccurdy


M. R. Mailt


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Legation at Vienna was supposed to be a place of refuge and protection not only for our citizens, but also for the subjects of other countries, including Great Britain, when endangered or annoyed by the Austrian authorities, exasperated by the recent Hun- garian revolution. His course in liberating from im- prisonment Rev. Mr. Brace will be remembered, and his assistance to the Scotch missionaries who were driven out of Hungary was the subject of commen- dation in the English Parliament.


In 1856 he was appointed a judge of the Superior Court, and in 1863 was raised to the Supreme Bench. He was a member of the Peace-Congress at Washing- ton in February, 1861, and was one of the foremost in resisting the attempted aggressions of the slave- power. He was retired from the bench in December, 1867, by the constitutional limitation as to age. Since then he for some years delivered courses of lectures before the Law-School of Yale College, from which institution he has received the degree of Doctor of Laws.


Judge McCurdy owns the extensive farm and oc- cupies the house which has been the family residence for a period extending back more than a quarter of a century before the Revolutionary war. Washington lodged there in April, 1776, and it was the headquar- ters of Gen. Lafayette in July, 1778, when he rested his detachment of troops at Lyme on their march between Boston and New York, and it again gave him a welcome on his visit to this country in 1824. Here the judge-still in vigorous and active old age, beautified by a noble presence, sparkling wit, keen intelligence, and the gentle Christian graces, with a lively interest in agriculture, literature, art, science, and politics, courteous and social-is now passing the evening of his days, after a life honorable to himself and to the State.


MORRISON REMICK WAITE was born in Lyme, Conn., Nov. 29, 1816. He is the eldest of the eight childen of the late Chief Justice Henry Matson Waite, of Connecticut. His ancestors settled in Lyme, Conn., nearly a hundred years before the Rev- olution. One of the earliest ancestors whose name has been preserved was Thomas Waite, whose son, Marvin Waite, was on the first electoral ticket in Connecticut after the war, and cast his vote for Wash- ington. He had nineteen elections to the General As- sembly ; was judge of the County Court for several years, and one of the commissioners to sell the State land in the "Northwestern Territory" and to fund the proceeds. This was the origin of the noble School Fund of Connecticut.


The present chief justice entered Yale College at the age of sixteen years, and graduated with honor in 1837, in a class which included William M. Evarts, Edwards Pierrepont, Prof. Benjamin Silliman, Jr., and others who have become influential and distin- guished men. He stood high as a scholar, and was eminently genial, courteous, and unobtrusive. He


was distinguished for his evenly-developed and well- balanced mind. After graduating he began the study of law in his father's office in Lyme, but finished his studies preparatory to admission to the bar in the office of Samuel M. Young, Esq., then a prominent attorney in Maumee City, Ohio. On his admission in 1839 he formed a partnership with Mr. Young. The firm having determined to remove to Toledo in 1850, Mr. Waite proceeded to that place, where he opened an office and established a successful business. Two years later Mr. Young followed, and the firm of Young & Waite continued until Mr. Waite's young- est brother, Richard, came to the bar, when the brothers formed a partnership, which continued until the elevation of the senior partner to the chief jus- ticeship. From his advent in practice Mr. Waite's course was stamped with success. He quietly and unostentatiously pursued his professional labors, con- stantly growing in influence and power, both as a lawyer and a citizen. He was soon acknowledged as a leading counselor and advocate in Northwestern Ohio. His distinguished ability, his studious habits, and his conciliatory manners all contributed to his popularity and success. From the first his mind was firmly set upon his profession, from which no attrac- tion could lure him. As a lawyer he was without ambition, save for such distinction as might come of faithful and honorable pursuit of his profession. His studious habits and unflagging industry secured to him familiarity with the law in all its branches.


He proved himself capable of grasping all the minute details affecting in any way a legal question. He manifested a reverence for law which is not a mere slavish worship of forms and technicalities, but an intelligent appreciation of great principles of truth and right underlying the whole fabric of civilized legislation.


Politically, Mr. Waite was a Whig until the dis- bandment of that party, and since that time has been a Republican. He was always too deeply engaged in his profession to become much of a partisan, and con- sequently never came to be recognized as a party leader. This conservative turn of mind tended to lead him in opposition to radical political measures. This was shown during the war in his support of the policy of Mr. Lincoln rather than the more summary meas- ures advocated by some of the anti-slavery leaders. But to all the war measures of the government he gave earnest and effective support, making himself especially useful in aiding the recruiting service of the army.


In 1849, Mr. Waite was elected to the Ohio Legis- lature as a Whig, and served with credit and useful- ness, although acting with the minority. In 1850 he was a candidate for the State Constitutional Conven- tion, but was defeated on strict party grounds, there being a large Democratic majority in the district.


In 1862 he very reluctantly became a candidate for Congress after repeated and persistent importunities


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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.


from prominent citizens of both parties. Leading Republicans in the State had advised the people of the various districts to disregard striet party lines and unite on the simple basis of the support of the gov- ernment and the suppression of the Rebellion. In the Toledo congressional district a convention was held which urged more radical measures than those which the Administration had adopted, demanding the confiscation of the property of leading rebels, and proposing virtually to make the abolition of slavery an end rather than an incident of the war. About the same time appeared a call, signed by Republicans and Democrats, for a convention of those "who were for the maintenance of the government and the deter- mined prosecution of the war, to the putting down of the rebellion and the restoration of the Union."


The first of the conventions nominated Mr. J. M. Ashley, and adopted a radical anti-slavery platform, while the other nominated Mr. Waite and indorsed the war policy of the Administration, pledging itself in all ways and at all times to give its full and undi- vided support to such measures as the government should deem necessary to crush out the rebellion in the shortest time. Not long after this Edwin Phelps was brought out as the Democratic candidate.


Through the superior organization and manage- ment of Mr. Ashley's friends and the laek of organ- ization on the part of the supporters of Mr. Waite, the former succeeded by a plurality vote of seven thousand and thirteen to five thousand eight hundred and fifty for Waite, and five thousand two hundred and thirty-four for Phelps. The high esteem in which Mr. Waite was held at home is shown in the fact that he received within five hundred of all votes cast in Toledo, having a majority of twelve hundred, the most emphatic indorsement ever given to any man by the people of that city. The position of Mr. Waite was substantially the one on which the war was conducted to the end.


Mr. Lincoln's preliminary proclamation of emanci- pation appeared during that campaign, and it was heartily sustained by Mr. Waite and his friends, not only as just towards the rebel slaveholders and the slaves, but as sound war policy, inasmuch as it was calculated to promote the "paramount object, to save the Union." Although not a jealous partisan, he has always been decided and positive in his expression of opinions in strictest accord with the principles and policy of the Republican party. The friends of Mr. Waite repeatedly urged him to become a candidate for judicial positions, but he invariably refused. When Judge Hocking H. Hunter, having been elected to the Supreme Bench of Ohio, declined to serve, Governor Brough offered the position to Mr. Waite, who de- clined the honor. The first position occupied by Mr. Waite in which he attracted the attention of the whole country was that of counsel for the United States in the arbitration at Geneva, under the Treaty of Washington, associated with Hon. Caleb Cushing and


Hon. Wm. M. Evarts. He was not an applicant for the appointment, and was not even aware that such a position was to be filled. The appointment was made at the suggestion of Mr. Columbus Delano, then Sec- retary of the Interior. In November, 1872, Mr. Waite being in New York, closing up an important case which had been pending for a year and a half, re- eeived a dispatch, forwarded to him from Toledo, ap- pointing him one of the counsel for the government at Geneva.


He accepted, and in December departed for his post of duty.


He performed the required service to the entire satisfaction of the government and the country. He took a laboring oar in the preparation of the case. He submitted an argument on the question of the liability of Great Britain for permitting the Anglo- Confederate steamer to take supplies of coal in her ports. In that he displayed high logical power and comprehensive grasp of international questions. Hav- ing successfully closed his labors at Geneva, Mr. Waite returned to his home and resumed the practice of his profession. In April, 1873, he was nominated by both political parties and unanimously elected one of the delegates from Lucas County to the convention called to form a new constitution for the State of Ohio. Upon the assembling of that convention in May, 1873, Mr. Waite was chosen its president. The death of Chief Justice Chase having ercated a vacaney in the highest judicial office in the United States, there was intense interest throughout the country to know who would receive the nomination, Hon. George H. Wil- liams and Hon. Caleb Cushing having been success- ively nominated and withdrawn. On the 20th of Jan- uary, 1874, the President sent to the Senate the name of Mr. Waite. Just one year before, Mr. Waite, on the motion of Caleb Cushing, had been admitted to practice in the Supreme Court. The nomination was the more honorable because of the fact that Mr. Waite not only made no effort to influence the President's choice, but advised against such efforts when offered by his friends. Not only was the appointment made without any solicitation on the part of Mr. Waite, but it is believed that no pressure was brought to bear on the President to bring about the result. Never was an appointment made to this high office in a manner that better befitted it.


When the news of the nomination reached the Ohio Constitutional Convention it found that body in ses- sion, with Mr. Waite presiding.


A gentleman stepped up to congratulate him, and found him ignorant of the fact of his nomination. The news was received in the most enthusiastic man- ner by the members, to all of whom Mr. Waite had become personally endeared. Unusual excitement pervaded the convention during all the remainder of the day, but the calm, unruffled dignity of the presid- ing officer would not have revealed the fact that any- thing unusual had occurred. The Cincinnati Cham-


Siri. ODMail


11


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ber of Commerce gave a public reception to the new chief justice, the convention over which he presided having previously adopted the following resolution :


" Resolved, That this chamber has heard with lively satisfaction of the confirmation of Hon. Morrison R. Waite as chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and rejoice that a citizen of our State of such well-known integrity of character and talent has been chosen for the second position in our govern- ment."


Mr. Waite was confirmed as chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by a vote which was never equaled in its favorable character within the memory of the oldest senator. The nomination was discussed for about an hour, during which speeches were made by Mr. Sumner, Mr. Sherman, Mr. Ed- munds, and Mr. Thurman. The speech of Mr. Sum- ner was one of the best and most impressive which he ever delivered in the Senate. Mr. Sherman also paid him a high tribute. Mr. Waite received every vote cast. He took the oath of office March 4, 1874, and immediately entered upon the duties of his high office.


Sept. 21, 1840, he united in marriage with Miss Amelia C. Warner, of Lyme, Conn., and they have had five children, three of whom are living, two sons and a daughter.


In the prime of intellectual vigor, of prepossessing presence and dignified manners, Chief Justice Waite not only ably fills but really adorns the high position to which he has attained. He has the logical skill, the judicial temper, and the just mind which combine to make the jurist. Added to these high professional qualities, he is distinguished for purity of character, a love for humanity, a generous nature, and a loyalty to his convictions which make him beloved and re- spected as a man.


HON. JOHN TURNER WAIT, of Norwich, the present member of Congress in the Third District, was born at New London, Aug. 27, 1811. He received a mer- cantile training in early life, but giving up that pur- suit, prepared for college at Bacon Academy, Colches- ter, and entered Trinity College in the fall of 1832, where he remained for two years, prosecuting that course of studies which he deemed best adapted to qualify him for the profession of law. He studied law at first with Hon. L. F. S. Foster, of Norwich, and subsequently with Hon. Jabez W. Huntington, and was admitted to the bar in the fall of 1836. He at once commenced practice in Norwich, and has since resided there. Mr. Wait is connected by blood with many of the oldest and leading families in Eastern Connecticut. On his father's side he is associated with the Griswolds and Marvins, of Lyme, while on his mother's side he is a lineal descendant of William Hyde and Thomas Tracy, two of the thirty-five colo- nists who settled at Norwich in 1659. His family have given many prominent members to the legal profession. His father was long one of the leading


lawyers at the bar of New London County, and for several years a judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was a Presidential elector in 1793, and cast his vote for Washington. He was also one of the com- missioners appointed by the General Assembly to dis- pose of the Western lands and establish the present school fund. Mr. Wait's father represented the town of New London for nineteen sessions in the General Assembly, and was several times one of the candi- dates for Congress of the old Republican party during the administration of Mr. Jefferson. Henry M. Waite, the father of the present chief justice of the United | States, and cousin of the subject of this sketch, was also a leading lawyer of New London County, and for a number of years held the position of chief jus- tice of the Supreme Court of the State. Mr. Wait's maternal grandfather was Dr. Philip Turner, in his day a celebrated surgeon. At the early age of nine- teen he was appointed assistant surgeon of a provin- cial regiment under Gen. Amherst, and served through the French war. In 1777, Congress elected him sur- geon-general of the Eastern Department, which sta- tion he filled with great ability till near the close of the war of the Revolution. In 1800 he removed to New York, where he continued in the practice of his profession till he was placed as physician in charge of the troops stationed at the fortifications in the harbor of that city. This office he held until his death in 1815.


Mr. Wait was State's attorney for New London County in 1842-44, and also from 1846 till 1854. Since the organization of the Bar Association in that county in 1874, he has been its president, and for a large number of years has been closely identified with most matters of legal interest in that section of the State. His law practice has been extensive and profitable, his commanding influence at the bar in- suring him all the business that can possibly be at- tended to. For the past twenty-five years he has been engaged in nearly all the important cases, civil and criminal, that have come before the New London County courts. He has not in this respect been con- fined to his immediate locality, for his marked ability has been recognized throughout the State, and his ser- vices sought in important causes in other counties and also before the Federal courts. He was counsel for Mrs. Cobb in the celebrated murder case which at- tracted such wide attention two years ago, and it was no doubt his remarkable plea, occupying seven hours in delivery, that saved her life. Mr. Wait is an cmi- nent jurist, and unquestionably is one of the ablest advocates in Connecticut.


Before the war Mr. Wait was a Democrat in politics, and was nominated by his party for Lieutenant-Goy- ernor for four consecutive years from 1854, receiving each year the highest vote of any candidate on the ticket. In 1860 he advocated the clection of Stephen A. Douglas as President. At the outbreak of the war in 1861 he became a strong Union man. His son,


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HISTORY OF NEW LONDON COUNTY, CONNECTICUT.


Lieut. Marvin Wait, of the Eighth Connecticut Regi- ment, served with distinguished courage on the field. In the gallant charge of that command at Antietam he fell mortally wounded. In 1864, Mr. Wait was one of the electors at large for Connecticut on the Lincoln-Johnson Presidential ticket. He was a mem- ber of the State Senate from the Eighth District during the years 1865 and 1866, the last year serving as presi- dent pro tempore of that body. In 1867 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives from Nor- wich, and was nominated for Speaker by acclamation. Probably no gentleman, as presiding officer of the House, was ever more thoroughly estecmed for "the ability, urbanity, and impartiality with which he dis- charged the duties of the chair." He was again elected to that body in 1871 and in 1873. In the ses- sion of 1871 he won unqualified praise for the elo- quent and effective speech which he delivered in sup- port of the joint resolution declaring Marshall Jewell elected Governor of Connecticut.


In 1874 he was the Republican candidate for Lieu- tenant-Governor, receiving the highest vote on that ticket. Subsequently he was elected to the Forty- fourth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Hon. H. H. Starkweather, and was re-elected to the Forty-fifth, the Forty-sixth, and the Forty- seventh Congress.


As a member of Congress Mr. Wait has cared for the interests of his constituents with untiring vigi- lance and zeal. The extensive industries which give employment to thousands of citizens in the two east- ern counties of the State have had in him an intelli- gent and watchful guardian. As the advocate and friend of home industries he has steadily opposed in Congress every attempt to impair or weaken the laws under which Connecticut manufacturing and mechan- ical interests have sprung up and prospered, and has given his support to every measure calculated to ad- vance the commercial and agricultural prospects of the State. His course on the currency question has been sound and creditable in every respect, and has entitled him to the fullest confidence and esteem of New England business men.




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