USA > Connecticut > Representative men of Connecticut, 1861-1894 > Part 56
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Judge Loomis was married on Nov. 26, 1848, to Miss Mary E. Bill, daughter of Josiah B. Bill of Lebanon, Conn. This lady died June 1, 1864. On May 20, 1866, he was married, secondly, to Miss Jennie E. Kendall, daughter of Hubbard Kendall of Beloit, Wis., who died March 6, 1876. The only child of Judge Loomis is a daughter, Miss Jennie Grace Loomis, the issue of his second marriage.
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TEARNS, HENRY PUTNAM, A. M., M. D., superintendent of the Retreat for the Insane, Hartford, was born in Sutton, Mass., April 18, 1828.
The name Stearns is found among the earliest annals of the Massachusetts Colony. Capt. John Stearns was one of the first settlers of Watertofvn in that state, and from him the family line comes down through his seventh son, Increase. The latter served two years and three months in the Revolutionary army, and his son, Increase, Jr., finished out the remaining nine months of a three year's terin. Asa, eighth child of Increase Stearns, Jr., married Polly Putnam of Sutton, Mass. She was a descendant in the sixth generation of John Putnam, who with his son, Nathaniel, settled in Salem, Mass., in 1634. Of their four children, Henry P. was the second. His parents were Asa and Polly (Putnam) Stearns, both of them being members of Massachusetts families, and endowed with all the characteristic qualities of the strong, thoughtful and energetic people who colonized the state at the outset of New England history.
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After the usual preparatory cducation, young Stearns matriculated at Yale College, fromn which he honorably graduated with the degree of A. B. in 1853. Natural tastes and apti- tudes, together with the conviction that the largest individual usefulness could be best attained in the medical profession, next led him to attend lectures in the excellent medical schools associated with the Universities of Harvard and Yalc, from the latter of which he received the degree of M. D. in 1855. Desirons of enriching native culture by the best knowledge and most approved art of the Old World, he then crossed the Atlantic, and spent the two following years in diligent study at Edinburgh in connection with the cele- brated school of Scottish physicians and surgeons, which has added so many eminent names to the list of scientific practitioners of the healing art. Returning in 1857, Dr. Stearns first located at Marlboro, Mass., and after practicing successfully there for the space of two years, he removed to Hartford, where he has since inade his home.
In April, 1861, when the call to arms was made, Dr. Stearns offered his services to the government, and was commissioned as surgeon of the First Regiment of Connecticut Volunteers, and at the expiration of their three months' term of service; he received the appointment of surgeon of the United States Volunteers. In this position he served until September, 1865, when he was honorably discharged with the brevet of lieutenant-colonel. Dr. Stearns's commission as surgeon bears the date of April 18, 1861, the day before the passage of the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment through Baltimore, making him the first com- missioned surgeon in Connecticut, and probably in the United States, of volunteer troops. He received his initiation into the realities of actual warfare at the first battle of Bull Run. After being commissioned surgeon of United States Volunteers he was ordered to the Depart- ment of the West, and assigned to the staff of Gen. U. S. Grant, with whom he remained during the winter of 1861-62, and until the army moved up the Tennessee River. In that campaign he was medical director of the right wing of the army under command of Major- General McClernand. At this time he was made inedical director of the United States gen- eral hospitals, and as acting medical inspector, remained in the service until after the close of the war, being mustered out Sept. 1, 1865, with the rank of brevet lieutenant-colonel. His army record is without a stain, and he filled all the trying responsibilities of surgeon in the field and as medical director in the hospitals with rare skill and unswerving fidelity, gaining a reputation for himself to which every soldier who came under his charge will bear abundant testimony.
When Dr. Stearns entered upon the responsible position of superintendent of the Retreat for the Insane at Hartford, he began what has proved to be his life work. For over thirty years he has now been engaged in the discharge of the duties of the office, and has gained a reputation for himself which is not confined to the United States. In February, 1876, he delivered an address to the graduating class in the Medical Department of Yale College, which was afterwards published by the medical faculty. It reveals his intimate acquaintance with the history, theories and practice of medicine, and illustrates his ability not only to describe them, but also to promote the further triumphs of the science and art whose achievements he so eloquently details. Naturally, he refers to the advance in the treatment of insanity during the last fifty years. "I would not," he says, "and hardly could if I would, exaggerate either the cruelties practiced by society in general, towards those afflicted by this most terrible of human maladies, or the utter lack of appreciation by our profession, of the true nature of the disease, before and during the first quarter of the present century. And that was true, not of any one country, but in all the fairest and most civilized countries of Europe. The chronic insane, when they were thought to be harmless, were permitted to wander about from village to village, the
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object of the hootings, mockery and abuse of cruel boys and men. When they became excited or dangerous, they were chained up like wild beasts in barns or sheds built for this purpose, or thrown into dungeons, where they were scourged or beaten, till the evil spirit should be subdued. There they were kept months after montli, neglected or forgotten, without sunlight, in the heats of summer and the frosts of winter, fed with the refuse of tables if fed at all, till wasted to skeletons, and not infrequently starved to death."
After an exceedingly graphic and powerful description of the prisons erected throughout Europe for the detention of the insane, and the horrible treatment therein ineted out to them, Dr. Stearns proceeds to contrast the accommodations and treatment now provided: "So tliat the countries of the whole civilized world seem to be vying with each other in the strife to make amends for past ignorance aud cruelties, and secure better things for the future. The old idea that insanity was a disease of a spiritual nature, has faded away, and now we investigate it as a physical lesion ; we diagnose by study the symptoms and conditions of its different forms, and adapt our course of treatment, as we do in diseases affecting other organs or structures of the body. Nay, more, by as much as insanity is a disease most obscure in its beginnings, and difficult to be investigated, by so much more are we pushing researchies, and putting fortli efforts to unveil the mystery; and, by as much as it is the most fearful of all forms of disease, by so much are we endeavoring to alleviate its sufferings, and surround its unhappy victims with every restorative measure likely to be of service. We build costly mansions surrounded by panoramic views of rivers, mountains, green fields and leafy woods. Airy courts, filled with trees, shrubs and the fragrance of flowers are open for their enjoyment at all hours of the day. Rooms with the cleanest walls and floors, and filled with the purest air and sunshine, adorned with cheerful pictures, and even luxury, have taken the place of dark, narrow and lonely cells. Kindness and sympathy have forever driven into darkness cruelty, chains and scourgings. We strive to allay fearful bodings, and to alleviate sufferings. We bring quiet and sweet repose to the weary and exhausted brain, and by soothing care and gentle steps, we try to lead back the inind disordered and wander- ing again to the bright visions of reason. More than fifty per cent. of the acute cases of insanity admitted to our hospitals now recover; and I boldly declare, without fear of clial- lenge, that if medical science had achieved nothing else for humanity during the past fifty years than to have wrought such a change in our views and treatinent of insanity-a change so great tliat the disease is robbed of half its terrors-it would be entitled to honor a id gratitude, till that time comes when diseased brains and mental suffering shall no more be know11."
The whole is worthy of a wide reading, but lack of space forbids a more extended quinta- tion. Such an address is peculiarly stimulative of enthusiasm and application, and especially when its auditors remember "that advancement in all departments of science generally goes on by the grains contributed by the many, that the largest prizes come only rarely; that there has been but one Newton, one Franklin, one Jenner, and one Wells."
In 1876, Dr. Stearns also published a very valuable series of "Statistics of Insanity Relative to Re-admissions to the Retreat." Some of the figures are quite startling. Another pamphlet, published by Dr. Stearns in 1877, discusses the question: "Are Boards of Lunacy Commissioners Expedient for American Asylums ?" While he admits the excellence of the British system, for reasons growing out of the political constitution of the United States, he deeins the adoption of a similar plan to be altogether impracticable for this country. Each of Dr. Stearns's annual reports contains a mass of information, statistics, etc., relative to his special field, which are simply invaluable to all students, and they are noted for practical suggestions, with which they are filled. He lias also made contributions to the leading magazines of the day, and wherever published his opinions are held in the highest esteein.
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Since 1876, Dr. Stearns has been lecturer on insanity in Yale University. He is a member of the Connectieut State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the New England Psychological Society, the American Medico-Psychological Association (of which he has been president), the British Medico-Psychological Association, and of the Boston Mcdieo-Psychological Society, and of other learned bodies. He holds the office of director in the Traveler's Insurance Company, the Hartford Trust Company, the Billings & Spencer Company, the Hartford Retreat, the Connectieut Humane Society, etc. Dr. Stearns is a member of the Connectieut State Medical Society, of the American Association for the Advancement of Seience, of the New England Psychological Society, and of sundry other seientific and literary organizations.
His contributions to medical literature have mainly taken the forin of pamphlets reprinted from medieal journals. They deal with questions, some of which are as old as humanity itself, and reflect much light upon the occult causes of human suffering. Among the earliest of liis publieations was a paper on "Fracture of the Base of the Skull," in the American Journal of Medical Science for 1866. An essay on the "Use of Chloral Hydrate" appeared in the transactions of "Connectieut Medieal Society for 1874." A critique on the discovery of modern anæsthesia, followed in the New York Medical Record of 1876. It was in answer to a paper by Dr. Henry J. Bigelow of Boston, claiming the honor for Dr. Morton of Boston. With admirable skill and convincing argument he established the truth of his position. In the long list special mention should be made of "Expert Testimony in the ease of United States vs. Guiteau," 1882. (Reprinted from Government Report). "Insanity, Its Causes and Prevention," 260 pages, 1883. "A Case not Wholly Hypothetical," American Journal Insanity, October, 1889. "Some Notes on the Present State of Psychiatry," (Address as president of the American Medieo-Psychological Association, 1891), and "Lectures on Mental Diseases," 1892, a volume of over six hundred pages, which contained his ripest and best thoughts on the specialty of his life.
Henry P. Stearns was married in 1857, to Annie Elizabeth Storie of Dumfries, Seotland. Their children are Henry Stuart, who graduated from Williams College, and later received the degree of LL. B., from Yale University, and is now a practicing lawyer in Boston, Mass .; Ellen Brodie, who died in infaney, and Charles Storie, who is now in business in Hartford.
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HEELER, GEORGE WAKEMAN, of Bridgeport, associate judge of the Superior Court, was born in Woodville, Miss., Dee. 1, 1860.
Stephen Wheeler of Easton, Conn., was a judge of the county court, and his son, Charles, was a man of some mark, who held various loeal offices, and represented his town in the state legislature. George W. Wheeler, son of Charles, after graduating at Amherst College, went to Woodville, Miss., in 1857, where he was the principal of a large school. Returning to the North in 1868, he settled in Hacken- sack, N. J., where he is now an honored judge of the court of common pleas. He married Lucy, daughter of Henry Dowie of Andes, N. Y., and the subject of this sketch is the older of their two children.
The future judge graduated from the Hackensack Academy in 1876, and from Williston Seminary a year later. Entering Yale in 1877, he graduated from the academic department in 1881. Choosing the profession of law, Mr. Wheeler studied its principles with Garrett Aekerson, Jr., of Hackensack, and later took a course at the Yale Law School, from which lie received liis degree in 1883. He at once took up his residence in Bridgeport, where lie has ever since made his home. Forming a partnership with Mr. Howard J. Curtis under the
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firm naine of Wheeler & Curtis, they soon commenced to obtain their full share of the legal practice of the city. This connection lasted until 1893, when Mr. Curtis was elected judge of the court of common pleas, and Mr. Wheeler was appointed by Governor Morris, and confirmed by the legislature, as associate judge of the Superior Court.
Mr. Wheeler was city attorney of Bridgeport from July, 1890, to the same month in 1892, but this was his only official position until his present one. His practice was general in its nature, and his fine reputation is built on no special branch of the law. While he was city attorney of Bridgeport, he had two notable cases placed under his charge, both of which were carried to the Supreme Court and were decided in his favor. One was Somers vs. City of Bridgeport, a police department case, and the other was Rylands ex rel. vs. Pinkerman. His first case before the Supreme Court was won in his twenty-eighth year, Davidson vs. Holden, and the decisions of two lower courts were reversed, inaking quite a triumph for the youthful lawyer.
He is the youngest man who has been appointed to the bench of the Superior Court for many years, if not since the state was forined. Notwithstanding the fact that he has been in the world barely a third of a century, Judge Wheeler upholds the dignity of the judicial ermine as easily as if his years had been doubled, and his course has met with favorable commendations from all parts of the state. At the close of the term at New Haven in the spring of 1894, the Register of that city said :
Judge G. W. Wheeler, who has presided over the civil side of the Superior Court since the opening of the court last fall, will conclude his labors here for the present to-morrow. Judge Wheeler has gained many laurels during his stay in this district, not only ou account of his knowledge of the law but through his keen perception of human nature and his determination to accord every one justice in the true sense of the word.
The legal profession speak in the very highest terms of Judge Wheeler, whom they hold to be the best upholder of the dignity of the court, the most absolute non-respecter of persons, and at the same time the most obliging judge who has graced the bench in this state in a score of years. As one prominent lawyer expressed it this morning : "If appointing young men as judges would give us such men as G. W. Wheeler, I think I echo the sentimeut of the bar of the state when I say that it would be the greatest blessing that the judiciary of the state has received."
At the same time and on the same subject, the Evening Leader had the following paragraph :
Yesterday Judge Geo. W. Wheeler finished holding court in New Haven, and left to begin his duties in another county. It is not an exaggeration to say that uo judge of a Connecticut court ever presided more efficiently, more impartially, and to the greater satisfaction of the public, lawyers, clients, spectators, and all concerned, than Judge Wheeler. Always courteous, he is never forgetful of the dignity of his position, and he is always mindful of the rules of law and practice. Every lawyer is required to conduct his cases strictly according to the rules of practice and evidence, but when necessary to call special attention to a departure from what he considered the proper conduct of the case, Judge Wheeler's reminder was always expressed in a gentlemanly way, which at once gained him the respect of the practitioner. It is safe to say no judge ever presided over this court to the greater satisfaction of the best lawyers of New Haven County.
Judge Wheeler never forgets to be a gentleman. No matter how vexatious the details of the case may be, no matter how wearied he is by long hours of service upon the bench, no matter how much in haste after adjournment of court, he is always ready to give audience to those desiring to address him, and he is always in the highest sense mindful of the feelings of those with whom he is associated. Probably no judge ever worked more hours during a term of court than Judge Wheeler has while presiding over the last term in this county, and certainly no judge ever retired at the end of the term with the more sincere regard and good wishes of all who have watched his couduct or made his acquaintance. He is an able lawyer and a good judge. He is a credit to the legal profession and to the land of his nativity.
Judge Wheeler is a member of the Democratic party from strong conviction, and takes naturally to all the exciting contests of political life. In all the campaigns since he became of age, and up to the time of his appointment as judge, he had a liberal share of work, and his opponents soon learned to respect his ability as a manager. He is a firm believer in the theory that the judiciary should be kept out of the field of political strife, and he carefully practices what he believes.
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UBBARD, RICHARD DUDLEY, of Hartford, ex-governor of Connecticut, was born in Berlin, Sept. 7, 1818. He died Feb. 28, 1884. Aside from its alliterative qualities, 1818 was noted as being the year in which a long line of men prominent in various spheres of action first saw the light.
From the earliest colonial days the Hubbard family has been identified with the history of the state, and few, if any, names appear more frequently and conspicu- ously in its historical records. Many persons distinguished in legal, clerical and political pursuits, as well as in the military service of the United States, have borne this patronymic. Orthographically it would seem to indicate descent from the old Norse stock, which, blended with the Saxon, has done so much to spread Protestant civilization throughout the world. R. D. Hubbard was the son of Lemuel and Elizabeth (Dudley) Hubbard. His father was a native of Berlin, but his mother came from Fayetteville, N. C.
The youth of the future governor was passed in East Hartford, and he was prepared for college at the famous Wright School. He matriculated at Yale College and graduated therefrom in the class of 1839, having just reached his majority. Being of an exceptionally self-reliant nature, he was constitutionally fitted to depend on his own resources. Choosing the profession of law as the one in which to gain a name for himself, he entered the office of Hungerford & Cone at Hartford. Mr. Hubbard accustomed himself to close and eom- prehensive study, and soon acquired a general knowledge of common and statute law, and by this means he became thoroughly qualified for the achievement of the widest success at the bar.
Mr. Hubbard made his entrance into political life as a representative to the state legislature for the town of East Hartford, and received the compliment of a reelection the following year. He held the post of state's attorney for Hartford County from 1846 to 1868, inclusive. Having transferred his residence to Hartford, in 1855, and again in 1858, he represented that city in the legislature. As a member of the judiciary committee and also chairman of the committee on the school fund, he wielded great power in moulding the legislation of the state. For its present high standard of efficiency, the excellent public school system of Connecticut is largely indebted to him for service that was simply invaluable.
During the war for the preservation of the American Union Governor Hubbard's sympathies and services were patriotically extended to the federal government, and his zeal was shown in many practical ways. His interest took special shape in caring for the gallant soldiery from Connecticut. He held that the military value of soldiers, other things being equal, is in proportion to their moral character. This view was shared by Governors Buckingham and Douglass, by Rev. Dr. L. W. Bacon and other elergymen, as well as by such experienced commanders as Washington, Wellington and Napoleon. He cooperated liberally with Dr. Bacon in organizing and sustaining the chaplain's aid committee, whose object was to supply all Connecticut regiments with chapel tents, cireulating libraries and regular newspapers. They also assisted the chaplains in their labors for the improvement of the mental and moral welfare of the men. While it lasted this association was enabled to accomplish much good. The results certainly justified the remark of one of the beneficiaries, that "Connectient is leading every other state, even the Old Bay State, in the aid she is furnishing her chaplains."
The war in the interest of national unity and free institutions ended in 1865. Two years later, Mr. Hubbard was sent to the Fortieth Congress as the representative of the First District. The work of the session was the reconstruction and consolidation of our
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common country, and the devising of measures for protecting the equal rights and privileges and for fostering the welfare of all its citizens. He served as a member of the committee on claims and on expenditures in the post-office department, and was recognized as a careful and painstaking legislator. The second nomination was offered him at the close of his congressional teri11, but, from motives of preference for the legal profession, it was declined. Yielding to the importunities of many friends, Mr. Hubbard accepted the Democratic nomination for governor in 1872, but his candidacy was unsuccessful before the people. In 1876, the office again sought and secured his acceptance, and in the following election lie was triumphantly chosen to the gubernatorial chair. The "Souvenir of the Centennial " states that "Alnost under protest he took part in the canvass by making a few speechies." As the first incumbent of the chief magistracy under the amended constitution of the state, which makes the term of governor biennial in duration, Governor Hubbard held office for two years.
A biographical sketch of him gives the following succinct statement of his mental quali- fications : " His reputation as an orator is of a high order. Few surpass him in magnetismn and attractiveness, have more ample command of language, or hold more closely the attention of auditors. His speeches in Congress received cordial commendation, and his addresses at home have been characterized by great acceptability. His fame as a speaker rests chiefly upon his successful efforts in the courts of law. During his protracted service as state's attorney for Hartford County, he was engaged in some litigations of extraordinary legal interest, in which he acquired wide reputation for cultured ability. Thoroughly familiar with all legal principles, and quick to adduce all pertinent precedents and authorities at pleasure, he also delights to plant himself on those eternal equities which underlie all just legal enact- ments. Remarkable for the aptness of his diction, for the force and beauty of his illustrations, and for the sympathy which bursts from the heart in sympathy with its client, the triumphs live in the memories of legal contemporaries, many of whom regard him as the present leader of the state bar. His personal dignity of manner has sometimes, it is said, been mistaken for haughtiness, but those who know him best affirm with truthfulness his steadfastness in friendship, his kindliness of soul, and his courtesy in intercourse with men. His opinions are the fruit of mature thought, his firinness in harmony with his convictions, and his integrity unquestioned by his wide-spread constituents."
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