USA > Connecticut > Representative men of Connecticut, 1861-1894 > Part 53
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Speaking on the same subject, the New York Sun said: "Mr. Ratcliffe Hicks, president of the company, is a man of remarkable business ability. His success is due, not more to the self-recommending article he set out to manufacture, than to his untiring and ingenious efforts to make every woman in the land give it at least one trial." And the Sun evidently has a very just appreciation of Mr. Hicks's characteristics.
Though by no stretch of the imagination could he be classed as an office seeker, Mr. Hicks has had a share of official honors, and one need not be a prophet to foresee yet higher honors in store for him in the future. He represented the constituency of Tolland in the state legislature of 1866, and had the distinction of being the youngest member at that session1. He was sent again to the legislature in 1893, and was a member of several important committees, rendering excellent service on each. His speech on constitutional reform was his greatest effort, and it brought him much favorable comment. Two paragraphs are selected as showing the style of the whole :
"I have one appeal to make to the members of this House. To inost of them it does not make a penny's difference who carries this state politically two years hence. The sun will shine, the grass will grow and business go on the same, whichever political party triumphs. This country is lost and saved regularly every four years. Let us do right, let us inake a record that we can live by and die by, that merits the approval of our own con- sciences, and of the intelligent future historian who will some day write up the record of this General Assembly. No party has permanently triumphed politically in this country. The party that is down to-day is up to-morrow. The political cauldron of American politics is like the ebb and flow of the ocean, but there is one thing always safe to do, and then, whether success or defeat awaits you, you have the consciousness of having done the right thing, and in the end history will vindicate our action."
He closed with the following ringing words: "I shall vote for this bill, not because I think it will benefit the Democratic party, for I do not think that either political party will reap any permanent political advantages from a constitutional convention, but I shall vote for this bill because it is right. This question rises above all party politics. The state is greater than any political party. Our children and our children's children have an abiding interest in our action to-day. I prefer to stand where the old Roman stood, and to do right though the heavens fall."
Mr. Hicks was city attorney of Meriden from 1869 to 1874, and from 1873 to 1876, he was also attorney for the county of New Haven. Before the Democratic State Con- vention of 1892, it seemed as if he had a safe lead for the nomination as lieutenant- governor. Indeed, several papers went so far as to say that " For second place on the ticket it is given out as if by authority, that Ratcliffe Hicks, formerly of Meriden, but now of Tolland, retired from business, will be the man. Mr. Hicks is a lawyer of recognized ability, and a Democrat of the old school. He would have the advantage of being thoroughly
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known throughout the state, whieli is more than can be said of some of the inen who have been suggested for the place." But for reasons whieh appeared good to him he stepped aside, and the prize went to a personal friend.
Having but just crossed the half century line of life, he is now in the very prime of his manhood, and the citizens of his native state will doubtless find more use for his execu- tive ability and his acquaintance with affairs which is the result of his long legal and business experience, to which may be added the breadth acquired by extended travel in foreign lands. Being of a lively and social disposition, he is a member of the Lotus and Colonial clubs of New York City. He has a comfortable share of this world's goods, being several times a millionaire, with large real estate interests in Meriden, Bridgeport, New Orleans and New York.
Mr. Hicks was married in 1879, to Mrs. Wilbur F. Parker of Meriden, Conn. One child has been added to the family eirele.
W TOOLSEY, THEODORE DWIGHT, D. D., LL.D., ex-president of Yale College, New Haven, was born in New York, Oet. 31, 1801. Died July 1, 1889. The first American aneestor of his line was George Woolsey, who settled among the Dutch, in what is now the state of New York, during the early part of the seventeenth century. The Rev. Benjamin Woolsey, of Southold, L. I., grandson of the original immigrant, graduated at Yale College in 1709, and spent the last twenty years of his life at Dosoris, now Glen Cove, on the same island, in the enjoyment of a considerable estate, which came to him through his wife. His grandson, William Walton Woolsey, born at Dosoris in 1766, became a merehant in New York, and was long an important member of the Chamber of Commerce, treasurer of the American Bible Society, and in connection with various other publie institutions. He married Elizabeth, sister of President Dwight, of Yale College, who had previously married his sister. By her he had seven children, all of whoin attained maturity and beeame heads of families. The sixth of these was Theodore Dwight Woolsey, wlio graduated at Yale College in 1820.
Soon after his graduation young Woolsey went to Philadelphia and read law, says the "Biographical Encyclopedia of Connecticut and Rhode Island " -but with no wish or intention to prepare himself for the practice of the legal profession -in the office of Charles Chauncey, Esq., a near relative of his father by marriage. The two following years were spent at Princeton in the study of theology, to which he had devoted himself. In 1823-25 he served as a tutor in Yale College, having received appointment to that office some months before leaving Princeton. He then resumed the study of theology, and was licensed to preach in 1825. After further study at home he went to Europe, in May, 1827, and was absent a little more than three years, residing for purposes of study in France and Germany for about two years, and spending the remainder of the time chiefly in England and Italy. Returning home in July, 1830, he was elected, in the course of 1831, to the professorship of Greek in his Alma Mater, and held that office for the next fifteen years. During the earlier portion of his ineumbency he published editions of the "Aleestis of Euripides," Camb., 1833, 121110; the "Antigone of Sophocles," 1835, 121110; the "Prometheus of Æsehylus," 1837, 121110; the " Electra of Sophocles," 1837, 121110; and the "Gorgias of
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Plato," chiefly according to "Stallbaum's Text," 1842, 12110- which, taken together, constitute a inore considerable contribution to Greek learning than had been made by any earlier Greek scholar in the United States. The able and critical C. C. Felton, reviewing these productions in the North American, said : "Professor Woolsey has now completed his proposed course of Greek Tragedies. He has given specimens from among the best works of the three masters in an agreeable form, and accompanied by a body of notes which deserve all praise." . A. P. Peabody, in the same periodical, wrote: "We have been astonished to find how easily they (Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4) have initiated the veriest novices in Greek into the intricacies of the ancient drama."
In 1842, Professor Woolsey was one of a committee that established the New Englander, the Rev. Dr. Leonard Bacon being the principal founder and contributor. President Woolsey's papers, we understand, number over sixty. Among these, four extensive articles on the " Revival of Learning in the Middle Ages," several on "Divorce," especially in the United States, and three on the "Treaty of Washington," together with an address on the " Life and Services of President Day," have been the most noticeable. Those on "Divorce" were afterward enlarged and published in a separate work, entitled, "Essays on Divorce and Divorce Legislation, with Special Reference to the United States" (New York, 1869; 1210, pp. 308). On such a topic as this opinions are widely divergent. The Christian public, however, gave them close attention, in view of "the exactness and thoroughness with which they discussed the legal effects of this great question, as well as from the sound discrimination displayed in the examination of its social aspects."
In1 1845, the health of his wife required Professor Woolsey to be absent from his post for a considerable portion of the year, during which he visited England, France and Italy, and had the great satisfaction of going to Athens, and of travelling into the Peloponnesus and Bœotia. Before his return President Day had determined to resign the office which he had filled with inost eminent success and acceptance; and on finding that it was the earnest and general wish of the trustees, the faculty, and the public that he should be the successor of that gentleman, Professor Woolsey, after some weeks of hesitation, consented to occupy his place, which he did for the next quarter of a century. His next volume consisted of " Discourses and Addresses at the Ordination of Rev. Theodore D. Woolsey, LL.D., and his Inauguration as President of Yale College," Oct. 21, 1846 (New Haven, 1846; 8vo, pp. 100:) In his inauguration discourse he expatiated upon the value of a classical education. The preacher was an exemplification of his own theory, and as such had been honored by the diploma of LL.D. from the Wesleyan University in the preceding year. A " Historical Discourse," pronounced before the graduates of Yale College, one hundred and fifty years after the foundation of that institution, was his next publication, and was issued in 1850. Had it been expanded into one or even two volumes, it would doubtless have given greater satisfaction.
Being, by his election to the president's chair, divorced from the teaching of Greek, Dr. Woolsey gave instructions by text-book and lectures in History, Political Economy, and International Law. The latter subject, to which he had not been wholly a stranger, received from him a good deal of attention, and after some fourteen years of study and instruction he published in 1860, his " Introduction to the Study of International Law, Designed as an Aid in Teaching and in Historical Studies." Revised and enlarged editions have since been published -five in all- each containing improvements on the imperfect first one. Some of the highest living authorities have commended this work in the warmest terms. "It is not only excellent in itself," said the North American Review, "but it meets a want long felt. Till now there has not been a fit text-book on International Law for our
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college classes. For this nse President Woolsey's work is especially adapted." It is now used extensively in the academical and collegiate institutions of the United States, and is also a text-book in the English universities. It has been republished twice in England, has been translated into Chinese, under the superintendence of Dr. W. A. P. Martin, president of the Imperial Tungwai College, and also into Japanese.
In 1871, at the ripe age of seventy years, Dr. Woolsey resigned the presidency of the university over whose fortunes he had presided so long, but he ever manifested the deep- est interest in its welfare as a member of the Board of Trustees, or Fellows, as the charter of tlie college calls them, down to the year of his deathi. In the same year appeared in New York a volume of sermons from his pen, entitled, "The Religion of the Past and the Future," also two sermons, published in New Haven, on "Serving our Generation," and "God's Guidance in Youth." After the death of Prof. Francis Lieber, in 1872, president Woolsey re-edited, with notes, his work on "Civil Liberty and Self-Government," (Phila- delphia, Svo, 1874); also his " Manual of Political Ethics," (two vols., 8vo, 1874). In 1878, Dr. Woolsey published a work in two large volumes, entitled, "Political Science," or, the " State Theoretically and Practically Considered," which contains the results of the researches and reflections of many years. Among his other publications is "Helpful Thoughts for Young Men." He also published sundry single sermons, and was a contributor to the Bibliotheca Sacra, Biblical Repository, Journal of the American Oriental Society, College Cour- ant, (New Haven), Independent, etc., etc., and also translated for Dr. Andrews's " Latin- English Lexicon," founded on the larger Latin-German Lexicon of Dr. William Freund, (New York, 1851). His eulogy on the late president C. C. Felton, in the Smithsonian Report, 1861, and his contributions to the Boston Lectures for 1870, entitled, "Christianity and Scepticism," all deserve mention in the record of a busy and beneficent life. He issued a small book on "Communism and Socialisin," -theories which are shaking the founda- tion of European empires, and which make theinselves felt even in our democratic republic - the principal matter of which was first published in the Independent, an influential New York weekly newspaper.
Ex-President Woolsey devoted a considerable part of his time in the latter part of his life to the revision of the New Testament, he being a member and the chairman of the American company engaged in that work in concert with the British revisers. "Through desire, a man having separated himself interineddleth with all knowledge," is a generaliza- tion whose justice this truly representative American scholar most thoroughly vindicates. For several years he was one of the regents of the Smithsonian Institution, and for twenty-five years, until he had reached the age of seventy, one of the most prominent college presidents in the land. Dr. Noah Porter, his chosen successor, forcibly expresses the estimate of Dr. Woolsey, by all who knew him best, in the words: "As a scholar, President Woolsey is distinguished for the exactness of his knowledge, the extent of his erudition, and the breadth and sagacity of his judgment ; as a teacher, for the glow of his imaginative and ethical spirit, and for the vigor of his impartiality in searching after and imparting the truth ; as a theo- logian, for the extent of his biblical knowledge, the catholicity and candor of his theological opinions, and the fervor of his childlike faith; as a friend, for the warmth and endurance of his attachments ; and as a man, for a rare assemblage of qualities which have secured to him an enviable place in the love and respect of his generation. Few men have been inore dis- tinguished in this country for eminence in so great a variety of departinents of scholarship and culture, and few nien have secured for themselves the solid respect of so great a mi1111ber of their countrymen for high personal and moral excellence."
. awan Pollyde
Mascachusetts Publishing Co. Everett, Mass.
OF CONNECTICUT, 1861-1894. 333
President Woolsey was married, Sept. 5, 1833, to Elizabeth M., only daughter of Josiah Salisbury. She died Nov. 3, 1852, leaving three sons and six daughters, of whom one daughter and one son are still living. The son was graduated from Yale University in 1872, and from Yale Law School in 1876, and since 1879 has been professor of international law at the last named department. For his second wife, President Woolsey married Sarah S., danghter of Gilman Pritchard of Boston, Mass., Sept. 6, 1854, who survives him, with two daughters and one son.
YDE, ALVAN PINNEY, head of the law firm of Hyde, Gross & Hyde, was born in Stafford, Marchi 10, 1825. He died in Hartford, Feb. 6, 1894.
Mr. Hyde came of a good old Puritan stock. He was a lineal descendant in the seventh generation of William Hyde, who came from England in 1633, with Rev. Thomas Hooker, and who, three weeks later, was one of the company that followed Hooker to the Connecticut valley and settled the town of Hartford. The name of William Hyde is on the monument in the old Hartford burying-ground, as one of the earliest settlers. He was an original proprietor of the town of Norwich, which was settled in 1660, as was also his son, Samuel. The fourth son of Samuel Hyde was Thomas; the second son of Thomas was Jacob; the second of Jacob was Ephraim; the eldest son of Ephraim was Nathaniel, and the eldest son of Nathaniel was Alvan, who was the father of the subject of this sketch.
Nathaniel Hyde, his grandfather, and Alvan Hyde, his father, were both iron manu- facturers of Stafford, and both of thein successful in their day. Alvan Hyde married Sarah, daughter of Isaac Pinney, Esq., of Stafford. A brief sketch of Mr. A. P. Hyde in the "History of Tolland County," contains the following paragraph: "His parents stood during their lives among the foremost in the old town of Stafford. His father was often elected to represent his town in the state legislature, and was also one of the selectmen of the town. His mother, in the church and in the neighborhood where she lived, was regarded as 'a mother in Israel,' to whom all the poor, the sick and unfortunate were free to apply, with a certainty of having their needs supplied. She was a 'saint,' if ever there was one on earth, her ears and her heart being always open to every appeal of the needy, and her hand as open as her heart to relieve their wants and necessities. His father died, leaving a reputation, not only as a good business man, but as a thoroughly honest man, whose word was as good as any other man's bond. Hence it is not difficult to account for the 'soul of honor' that dwells so characteristically in their son. Their worthy names and examples are justly enshirined in his memory, while their distinctive traits are simply reproductions in characteristic form in him."
After passing through the public schools of his native town, young Hyde was prepared for college at Monson Academy, and, entering Yale College, graduated with honor in the class of 1845. He was a member of the Skull and Bones Society, and occupied a position of respect, influence and leadership in his class. Among his classmates were Gen. Henry B. Carrington, William E. Downes of Birmingham, Gen. Basil Duke of St. Louis, the late Con- stantine C. Esty, ex-congressman from Massachusetts, the late Mayor Carter H. Harrison of Chicago, George W. Sheffield of New Haven, the late Gen. Richard Taylor, son of Ex-Pres. Zachary Taylor, and who served with distinction in the Confederate army, the late Associate Justice William B. Woods of the United States Supreme Court, the late Daniel Chadwick of Lyme, the late Judge Henry Day of New York, and the Rev. John Wheeler Harding of Longmeadow, Mass.
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Choosing the legal profession as one best suited to his tastes as the vocation of his future life, he commenced the study of the intricacies of law in the office of the late Hon. Loren P. Waldo, then the distinguished lawyer of Tolland, and a professor at Yale College. Mr. Hyde was admitted to the bar at Tolland in 1847, but retained his residence in his native town until 1849, when he removed to Tolland, and associated himself with Judge Waldo, who in the meantime had become his father-in-law. This connection lasted for five years, when Mr. Hyde desired a wider field of action and transferred his residence to Hartford, in which change Judge Waldo accompanied him. In 1867, the late Gov. R. D. Hubbard joined the firm, and thic title became Waldo, Hubbard & Hyde. Ten years later Mr. Charles E. Gross was admitted as a partner, and in 1881, on the death of Judge Waldo, the firm assumed the name of Hubbard, Hyde & Gross. About this time Williamn Waldo Hyde and Frank Eldridge Hyde, sons of Mr. Hyde, were made members of the firmn. Both of the new partners were graduates of Yale College, and it is a singular coincidence that all of the members of the firm at that time and since have been distinguished Yalensians. The death of Governor Hubbard in 1884, involved a new change in the firm name, which was then made, and remained Hyde, Gross & Hyde until his death.
Official situations naturally seek men of Mr. Hyde's stamp. He made his entry into political life as a member of the General Assembly for the town of Tolland in 1854. Re- elected in 1858, and again in 1862, he served on several committees of importance. In the Masonic Order Mr. Hyde always evinced a lively interest, and was acquainted with all the degrees up to the thirty-second. He was initiated into Uriel Lodge, located at Merrow Station, in Tolland County, in 1858. Such was his zeal for the order that in May, 1862, he was elevated to the rank of grand master of the Connecticut Grand Lodge, and was reelected the following year. His administration was eminently successful. Next to his home and family Mr. Hyde loved his alma mater. He was an enthusiastic Yale man, and attended all the reunions of his class, and every other Yale event possible. He was president of the Yale Alumni Association of Hartford, but was prevented by his enfeebled condition attending the last annual banquet, over which his son, Mayor Hyde, presided. He was always a host at any Yale entertainment ; his speeches the wittiest and his laughter the most contagious.
Mr. Hyde was an extensive traveller and had visited all sections of the United States, including the far off Alaska, and was not a stranger to many portions of Europe. Always a regular attendant at the South Church, he was at one time a member of the society's committee, and was much interested in church affairs.
In political matters he affiliated with the Democratic party, and was one of the best exponents of its principles in the state. After his removal to Hartford he was the candidate of his party for congressional honors three times, but failed of election in each instance.
Mr. Hyde was a gentleman of broad culture and intelligence, and his standing at the bar was one of marked distinction and honor. He held a high place among the ablest lawyers of the state, and the list of his peers in the profession was extremely limited. His forensic ability was not less brilliant than his legal, and his flights of eloquence commanded universal admiration. As a public speaker his services were often sought after, and he has delivered addresses on numerous prominent occasions. It is only a plain statement of an acknowledged fact to say that Mr. Hyde was one of the most gifted men in Connecticut, and the people of the state would have honored themselves by placing him in any position which was in their power to bestow.
Although Mr. Hyde's career of public service and usefulness was mainly pursued and chiefly accomplished along the lines of his chosen profession, he was, nevertheless, connected with many of the public institutions of the city-social, educational, humane, financial and
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religious-and earnestly engaged for their support and good management. All movements for the improvement of the city and community that commended themselves to his good judgment received his cordial and generous support, and it is universally admitted that by his removal the city of Hartford has lost one of its inost public-spirited, most influential and esteemed citizens. His valuable counsel in the direction of several of our prominent mercantile institutions was highly appreciated. Directly or indirectly he generously assisted many of our benevolent and humane institutions, and was a sympathetic friend and helper of the deserving poor.
Alvan P. Hyde was married in 1849, to Frances Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Loren P. Waldo. Their children are William Waldo Hyde, now mayor of Hartford, and Frank Eldridge Hyde, United States consul at Lyons, France, both of whom have been associated with their father in the practice of the legal profession.
Mr. Hyde had an elegant home on Charter Oak place, the ground including the spot where the Charter Oak, so famnous in Connecticut history, stood for centuries. All the historic associations of the locality were reverently preserved, as he was one of the most ardent of patriots, as well as the most fascinating of orators.
After being in delicate health for several months, necessitating his withdrawal from active business, Mr. Hyde had planned for a journey to Florida with his wife; but on the 6th of February, 1894, the very day of his intended departure, he was taken suddenly ill and sank gradually until he passed away, from heart failure, resulting from the weakened state of his systemn. Many were the tributes paid to his memory by the newspapers representing all shades of political thought, and all united in beating testimony to his sterling worth of character and his almost unequalled ability as a lawyer. The editorial comment of the Hartford Post, a paper not in sympathy with him politically, well voiced the sentiments of the rest:
Hon. A. P. Hyde, who died yesterday, has long been held one of the leading Connecticut lawyers aud oue of the ablest of Democratic advisers in the state. His withdrawal from active practice because of the illuess which has resulted iu his death is a loss to the legal fraternity of the state. In many branches of law he had few superiors. He was perhaps the highest authority on riparian rights iu New England, and his knowledge of this branch of the law as it pertained to Connecticut was complete. As an advocate he was clear, earnest, and successful. With a good grasp of his case lie was a good speaker and when the occasion demanded it he could be eloquent or witty. He was a loval sou of Yale and he has occupied a conspicuous place among its honored alumni.
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