USA > Connecticut > Hartford County > The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Vol. I > Part 17
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Trumbull practised law in Hartford until 1794. But he did not neglect his literary pursuits ; and, indeed, it was during this period (in 1782) that he completed his world-famous epie, "MeFingal." (See further, under "State's Attorneys.")
General Dana can hardly be credited to this county, for he was a native of Wallingford, and during his long residence in Middletown but four years of it elapsed prior to the detachment of that township from Hartford County.
Webster, the great lexicographer, a descendant of Governors Web- ster, of Connecticut, and Bradford, of Plymouth Colony, was a native of Hartford, West Society. He may have received part of his legal training from Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth, in whose family he lived for some months. He did not at once upon his admission open a law office, but continued in his favorite occupation of instructor. From 1789 to 1793 he practised law in Hartford ; but at the latter date he resumed literary work, such as he had done in early life. After this he was not an active member of the profession, though he often wrote upon legal and political questions, strongly espousing the Federal cause.
Oliver Lewis, admitted in 1783, may have been the person of that name from Southington, who died in Savannah, Ga., in 1784.
General Samuel Holden Parsons, of Lyme and Middletown, became a member of the Bar of this county in 1783. He was mainly instru- mental in the formation of Middlesex County, whereof he remained a resident until his removal to Ohio.
Ephraim Root, a prominent lawyer, admitted in 1784, practised law in Hartford from that date until 1812.
On Nov. 14, 1783, the foundations were laid for the present Bar Association of Hartford County. The original document, containing the regulations which will govern the signers in recommending "young Gentlemen," candidates for admission to the Bar, is in the possession of Charles J. Hoadly, Esq. It is signed by Sylvester Gilbert, Asher Miller, Samuel W. Dana, Chauncey Goodrich, Thomas Chester, William Whitman, Oliver Wolcott, Jr., Ephraim Root, John Williams, William Moseley, Thomas Seymour, Oliver Ellsworth, Jesse Root, Dyar Throop, Gideon Granger, William Judd, Roger Newberry, Samuel H. Parsons, William Nichols, Joseph Isham, Jr., Samuel Lyman, John Trumbull,
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
Thomas Y. Seymour, Benjamin Farnham, Enoch Perkins, Timothy Pitkin, Jr., Nathaniel Terry, Jr., Gideon Granger, Jr., William Kibbe, William Williston, Gaylord Griswold, and Hezekiah Bissell, -thirty- two in all. They could not all have signed as attorneys at the date borne upon the instrument, for some were not admitted until 1789 and 1790. Judge Miller and Mr. Dana were of Middletown, General Throop of East Haddam, and Captain Isham of Colchester.
In 1785 Chief Judge Stephen Titus Hosmer was admitted from Middletown. But in the same year the formation of Middlesex County made him a member of the Bar of that county. Thomas Webster, of Wethersfield, Newington Society, was admitted the same year; as was William Whitman, of Hartford. Colonel Jesse Root, a native of North- ampton, Mass., entered the legal profession at Hartford in 1785, and practised law there until 1789. This distinguished jurist is mentioned elsewhere.
Joel Barlow, poet and diplomat, while a native of Redding, became a member of the Hartford Bar in 1785, and so remained until 1789. During his residence in Hartford (he lived also some months in Weth- ersfield ) he edited the " American Mereury " and wrote the " Vision of Columbus." It does not appear that he practised law in any other place. Jonathan Brace, mentioned elsewhere, began praetising law in Glastonbury in 1786. He was admitted in Bennington, Vt., in 1779.
Uriel Holmes, admitted in 1787, if he ever lived in Hartford, re- moved to New Hartford, where he practised in his profession, and was sent thence, or from Hartland, a representative to Congress.
Gideon Granger, Jr., of Suffield, admitted in 1789, became a distin- guished member of the Bar. He was active in originating our Common School Fund, and was Postmaster-General, 1801-1814. William Willis- ton, a native of Suffield (?), was admitted the same year. He praetised in Simsbury until 1817.
General Nathaniel Terry, a native of Enfield, after graduation at Yale College became a student of Jesse Root, and was admitted an attorney in 1790. He practised first at Enfield, then at Hartford, 1796-1844. He represented this district in Congress one term, was Judge of the County Court, and a member of the Constitutional Con- vention of 1818. He was a studious and thorough lawyer, devoted to his profession. Gaylord Griswold, Windsor, and Deeins Wadsworth, Farmington and Hartford, were admitted in 1790. The former went to New York about 1793, and became a representative to Congress. The latter disappears from the list of attorneys in 1794.
Hezekiah Huntington, of Tolland, Suffield, and Hartford, joined the Bar in 1791, having been a student of Gideon Granger, Sr., and of John Trumbull. He was many years a lawyer in the latter town.
Joseph Backus, admitted the same year, practised in Glastonbury until 1796, then in Stratford, and finally in Bridgeport. We sup- pose him to have been the author of a volume relating to the Office of Sheriff, ete. One Root, an attorney in Granby, 1797-1799, was proba- bly General Erastus Root, born in Hebron ; removed to New York, where he was a major-general and representative to Congress.
Theodore Dwight, Sr., a native of Northampton, Mass., and a stu- dent of Pierpont Edwards, at New Haven, was admitted from Green- wich, in 1787. He praetised at Haddam until 1791, when he removed
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to Hartford, where he practised until 1813. He served one term as a representative to Congress. After 1815 he followed journalism at Albany and New York, until 1836, when he returned to Hartford. He was Secretary of the Hartford Convention, and published a history of it, besides other works. He was a descendant of Jonathan Edwards.
Heretofore I have given the names and dates of admission of all members of the Bar of this county, so far as a thorough search of origi- nal court records diseloses them. I now give the entire list of Hartford County lawyers, or " Practising Attorneys," as they appear in the " Con- necticut Register" for 1789. They are seventeen : -
Jesse Root, William Nichols, Chauncey Goodrich, Thomas Y. Seymour, John Trumbull, Oliver Wolcott, Jr., Ephraim Root, William Moseley, and Enoch Per- kins, all of Hartford ; John Williams and Thomas Chester, Wethersfield ; Wil- liam Judd, Farmington ; Roger Newberry and Alexander Wolcott, Windsor ; Jonathan Brace, Glastonbury ; Gideon Granger, Suffield ; Benjamin Farnham, Simsbury.
Brief notices have been given, either in this or other divisions of this article, of all whose names are in the list above quoted, excepting Wolcott, Moseley, Williams, and Chester.
Oliver Wolcott, Jr., a native of Litchfield, was not in Hartford after 1789; how much earlier we cannot say. At that date he was thirty-nine years of age. He became Auditor, then Secretary of the United States Treasury, Judge of the United States Circuit Court, President of the Constitutional Convention of 1818, and Governor of the State. Moseley remained in practice in Hartford until 1823. " Squire " John Williams, as he was usually called, was the oldest son of the noted patriot, Ezekiel Williams. He was remarkable for personal beauty and courtliness of manners. Though his name is carried on the list of attorneys until 1813, his circumstances were such that he was not compelled to labor in his profession, and he was never active in the courts of law.
Thomas Chester, member of a family noted for its gentlemen in the best sense of the word, was, after 1796, almost wholly occupied as Clerk of the Courts.
In the decade from 1790 to 1800 the " Connecticut Register " adds twenty-two names to its list of " Practising Attorneys."
Timothy Pitkin, Jr., of Farmington, beginning in 1790, praetised law in that town until 1836. He represented this distriet in Congress, and was five times Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representa- tives. He was perhaps the most noted political writer of his day ; the author of two volumes on the Political History of the United States, and a volume on the Statistical History of the same.
Daniel W. Lewis, of Farmington, was an attorney there, 1791-1792, when he removed to Litehfield (?). William Kibbe was in Enfield, 1792- 1800 ; John Lathrop, in Hartford, 1793-1794. Hezekiah Bissell, Jr., Windsor and Hartford, Judge of the County Court, was in practice from 1793 to 1802. One of the same name was practising in Windham as early at least as 1786. Walter Edwards, Sr., of Hartford, son of Rev. Jonathan Edwards, was an attorney there, 1796-1797. He married a daughter of Captain Moses Tryon, United States Navy, of Wethersfield, and retired from practice. Two of his sons became lawyers in New York.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
Elkanah Smith, of Berlin ; David Parmelee and Zephaniah H. Smith, both of Glastonbury ; and Roger Whittlesey, of Southington, all first ap- pear as attorneys in 1796. Parmelee disappears after 1796, Elkanah Smith after 1801, while Zephaniah H. Smith and Whittlesey practised in their townships until 1833 and 1844, respectively. Whittlesey was a native of Wethersfield, Newington Society. John Sargent, of Wind- sor, beginning in 1797 or earlier, practised law there until 1829. His wife was a daughter of General Robert Newberry, Jr. William Brown, of Hartford, practised from 1798 to 1804. Jonathan Walter Edwards, a native of New Haven, grandson of Jonathan Edwards, the great theologian, and son of President Jonathan Edwards, Jr., practised in Hartford from 1799 until about the time of his death in 1831; a brilliant lawyer.
In the next decade, 1800 to 1810, the Hartford Bar was increased by the astonishing number of sixty members, at least. One of these, Thomas Scott Williams, an attorney from 1805, has been mentioned elsewhere. Of the rest we can only mention the names and places of residence, while in practice, in most instances. Allen Mather and William D. How were in Hartford, 1800-1802; Timothy Dutton, Sims- bury, 1800-1801; William Gay, Suffield, 1800-1843, forty-three years ; David Bissell, Jr., East Windsor and Hartford, 1800-1813 ; Thomas Day, Hartford, 1800-1809.
Mr. Day rendered so many and so valuable services to the profession, and to the public in general, that he is entitled to special mention. He was the principal member of the committee which revised the Statutes in 1808,- the best edition we have ever had. His summary of the various revisions is a valuable contribution to history ; and so is his history of the Courts of the State, prefixed to Vol. I. of the Con- necticut Reports. He was for fifty years the Reporter of the cases adjudicated in the highest court of the State. He was Chief Judge of the County Court, and many years Secretary of State for Connecticut.
Samuel Woodruff, Jr., born in 1760, having first practised law in Wallingford, returned to his native town (Southington) in 1802, where he practised until 1810; thence he went to Granby, and while there became Judge of the County Court. He removed to Windsor about 1827, and practised there about three years. He went on a mission of charity to Greece, and on his return published a volume entitled " A Tour to Greece, Malta, and Asia Minor": Hartford, 1832.
Seth Parsons practised in Suffield forty-four years, beginning in 1800; William Bradley, in Granby and Hartford, 1802-1811. Walter Mitchell, Wethersfield and Hartford, a son of Chief Judge Stephen Mix Mitchell, and Chief Judge of the County Court, practised law, 1803-1849; Thomas Huntington, Jr., in Hartford, 1803-1838 ; John Hooker (son of Rev. John ?), Farmington, 1803; Thomas Holcomb, Granby, 1803-1825 ; James McCooley, Granby, 1803 ; Andrew D. Hill- ver, Simsbury, 1803-1816 ; Elijah Adams, Hartford, 1804; Daniel Dunbar, Berlin, 1804-1841; Joseph L. Smith, Berlin, 1804-1805, re- moved to Florida, and became its territorial governor ; Calvin Butler, Bristol, 1804-1806 ; Hezekiah Flagg, East Hartford and Hartford, 1804-1809; Henry Terry, Enfield, 1804-1828, and was Judge of the County Court ; Samuel Cowles, Farmington and Hartford, 1804-1818; William Arms, Simsbury, 1804; Roger Newberry, 3d, Windsor, 1804-
hours as ever, Thomas Day
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1807; Thomas Scott Williams, Wethersfield and Hartford (noticed elsewhere), 1805-1826; Isaac Perkins, Hartford, 1805-1840; Aaron M. Church, Hartford, 1805-1811; Joseph Trumbull, Hartford, 1805- 1849 - must be added here.
Mr. Trumbull was a grandson of Governor Jonathan Trumbull, Sr. He was admitted to the Bar, in Windham County, in 1803; practised at first in Ohio ; was president of the Hartford Bank for eleven years ; sat two terms as a representative to Congress, and was Governor of Con- necticut 1849-1850.
Ebenezer Granger appears as a lawyer, in Hartford, in 1805-1806 ; John Wales, 1805-1809; Stedman Adams, 1805-1809; Seth Terry, 1805-1865. Mr. Terry was a native of Enfield, and member of a family noted for its achievements in civil and military affairs ; was a law stu- dent of General Nathaniel Terry. He was more than sixty years an active practitioner, mostly as an office lawyer. He was noted for his strict integrity and picty. Samuel Putnam Waldo was a lawyer at East Windsor, 1805-1816. He was the author of several volumes, including a " Life of President Jackson," and the "Tour of President Monroe " through the United States ; and was the compiler of " Robbins' Jour- nal." With these were Samuel Jones, Jr., Glastonbury, 1805-1809 ; Grove Griswold, Granby and Windsor, 1805-1840.
Elisha Phelps, a member of one of the most distinguished families of the colony and State, practised law at Simsbury, his native place, and in Hartford, 1805-1847. He was eminent in his profession, and served three terms as a representative to Congress. He was also Judge of the County Court.
Samuel Henry Woodruff, a native of Southington, practised there, 1805-1829; in Granby, 1830-1848 ; in Tariffville, 1849-1859. He was a lawyer of rare gifts for his profession, but his habits of dissipation pre- vented his attaining to a high eminence.
Joseph H. Russell was in Windsor, 1805-1825. Simeon Abbe was an attorney, in Enfield, in 1806; Jared Scarborough, in Hartford, 1807; Solomon Smith, in Hartford, 1807-1809; Pliny Wight, in East Hart- ford, 1807-1812.
William Dixon, a native of Enfield, and a lawyer there, 1807-1825, was of high rank in his profession, but was noted for some eccentrici- ties of character. He was the father of the late United States Senator, James Dixon. Lemuel Whitman had his law-office in Farmington, his native place, 1807-1841. He held many offices, including that of Judge of the County Court and Representative to Congress. General Nathan Johnson, of Hartford, was in practice there, 1808-1852.
Lauren (or Loren ?) Barnes was an attorney in Bristol, 1808-1809 ; Sherman Everest, Canton and East Windsor, 1808-1816; Ichabod Lord Skinner, Hartford, 1809-1816; Jonathan Law, Hartford, 1809-1820 ; Godfrey Scarborough, Suffield and East Windsor, 1809-1821 ; John M. Gannett, Hartford, 1810-1825 ; Sheldon Wales Candee, Hartford, 1810- 1820. He was a native of Oxford, his wife being a daughter of Jesse Root. He died at Demarara, Guiana, in 1821. Charles Moseley prac- tised in Hartford, 1810-1814; Shubael F. Griswold, Hartford, 1810- 1820; Samuel Root, Hartford, 1810-1817 ; Martin Welles, at Farming- ton, 1811-1813, and at Hartford, 1850-1863. Mr. Welles was a son of General Roger Welles, Sr., of Wethersfield, Newington Society.
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Admitted to the Bar in 1810, he practised, after 1813, at Newburgh, New York, and in New York City, until 1820, when he removed to Wethers- field, and followed farming there until 1850. He was one of the fore- most lawyers and special pleaders of his time, was several times Speaker of the lower house of the General Assembly, and was Chief Judge of the County Court.
Between 1810 and 1820 the members added to the Bar were thirty- seven or more ; somewhat more than half as many as in the next pre- vious decade, when the population was less. Three of these, Judges William Wolcott Ellsworth and John Thomson Peters, and State's At- torney Isaac Toucey, have been noticed elsewhere.
Guy Gaylord was a practising attorney in East Windsor, 1811- 1813; and with him was Charles Reynolds during the same period. Samuel Pettis practised at Wethersfield, 1811-1815, when, as I suppose, he removed to Ohio. Noah A. Phelps, of Simsbury, had his law-office in Hartford, 1812-1820, when he retired from the profession and became Sheriff of the county ; an office which he held for some years. He was also Secretary of State. He was a man of extensive general informa- tion, author of "A History of Simsbury, Granby and Canton," etc.
Thomas S. Seymour, of Hartford, had a law office there one year, 1812. Thomas S. Sill was also there as an attorney, 1812-1813. I suppose him to have been a native of Windsor, and to have removed to Erie, Pennsylvania, and to have represented that district in Congress.
Lorrain T. Pease practised in Enfield (of which place he was a native), 1812-1838, and was Judge of the County Court. George Plummer was in Glastonbury, 1812-1813 ; James H. Smith, in Granby and Canton, 1812-1832 ; Silas Higley, in Granby, more than forty years, 1812-1853; Daniel Miller, Hartford, 1813-1816 ; Elizur Goodrich, Jr., 1813-1821. He was the fourth in the line of descent from the Rev. Elizur Goodrich, of Wethersfield and Durham, all bearing the same name. Ralph Welles, of Hartford, had an office there, 1813-1815; Ralph R. Phelps had his office in East Hartford, 1814-1823, then in Manchester until 1874, - sixty years a practitioner.
Sidney A. Grant, East Windsor; Samuel G. Strong, Glastonbury ; and Frederick W. Jewett, Granby, all appear to have practised in those towns respectively, from 1814 until 1815, when they all disappear.
Ethan Allen Andrews, a native of New Britain, son of Levi and Chloe (Welles) Andrews, both of Wethersfield, Newington Society, began practising law in Berlin in 1814; perhaps two years earlier. He is carried on the list of attorneys there until 1824, but he was part of this time an instructor in select schools, and author of Andrews's Latin-English Lexicon.
Asher Robbins practised law in Wethersfield, his native place, 1814- 1832. He was a public-spirited citizen, and having engaged in manu- facturing enterprises, became financially wrecked. He never resumed his practice. Henry L. (Loomis ?) Ellsworth, son of Chief Justice Oliver Ellsworth, and twin-brother of Governor William Wolcott Ellsworth, practised in Windsor, 1814-1836. President Jackson appointed him Commissioner of the Indian tribes south and west of Arkansas. He was also United States Commissioner of Patents for ten years. Removing to Indiana, he there became the largest farmer in that State, if not in all the West. Died at Fair Haven, in 1858.
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Alfred Cowles, of Farmington, practised there, 1815-1821. John Milton Niles, born in Windsor, was an attorney in Suffield and Hartford for some years, beginning in 1815. He was more active in politics and in literary work than in his profession. A sketch of his life is given elsewhere.
George Wyllys, member of an old and prominent family of Hart- ford, was an attorney there 1816-1822. Henry W. Huntington, member of another distinguished family, had his office there one year only, 1816. John Mitchell, in Bristol, 1816, probably removed to Penn- sylvania. Algernon S. Grant and Ebenezer Lane were attorneys in East Windsor, 1816-1818, and 1816-1817 respectively. George Merrick practised in Glastonbury (South) from 1816 until the year of his death, 1879. He was Judge of the County Court. Elijah Keach, of Wethersfield, Newington Society, practised there thirty years or more, beginning in 1816. He was an eccentric character, always ready with a flaming Democratic speech. Alfred Smith, 1818-1850, a Hartford lawyer, and Judge of the County Court, was learned in his profession, and one of the best legal draughtsmen the Bar ever had. He had few superiors as a member of the legislature. Oliver Ellsworth Williams, a son of Ezekiel Williams, the Wethersfield Revolutionary patriot, was in practice in Hartford, 1819-1870, if the "Connecticut Register" be correct ; but he certainly was not in active practice for ten years or more prior to the latter date. John Watson, 3d, was an East Wind- sor attorney some five years, beginning in 1820 or earlier. Charles Shepard practised in Suffield, 1820-1829; then in Hartford, 1830-1850.
The writer is not aware that any of those admitted to the Bar before 1821 are living. From this date to 1830, inclusive, the number of added members was about thirty-seven.
One of these, Thomas C. Perkins, who first appears in 1821, has been noticed. Probably none of those who became attorneys before 1831 are living.
Samuel Howard Huntington, Judge of the County Court, son of Hezekiah, is borne on the list of Hartford lawyers, 1821-1854 ; Jared Griswold, at Simsbury, Farmington, and Hartford, 1822-1835 ; Francis Parsons, at Hartford, 1822-1861. He was born at Amherst, Mass., and was a nephew of Chief Justice Thomas Scott Williams, in whose office he was a student. He was a model lawyer, and at one time Judge of the County Court.
Ichabod Bulkeley had an office in Hartford one year, 1822; George W. Griswold, in East Hartford, 1822-1826, in Manchester, 1827-1855. Hiram R. Pettibone, in Granby, 1822-1833 ; William C. Gay, Suffield, 1822-1834; Apollos D. Bates, Windsor, 1822-1824.
Ira E. Smith practised in Berlin, 1823-1849; was some time Chief Judge of the County Court. Romeo Lowrey, born in Plainville, was a lawyer in Southington, 1822-1855, during part of which time he pre- sided over the County Court. Horace H. Sill was in Windsor, 1823- 1845; John Gardner Calkins Brainard, the poet, 1824-1828.
Jonathan Edwards, son of Walter, had his office in Hartford, 1824-1832. He removed to Troy, New York, of which city he became mayor.
William Barnes practised in East Windsor, at Warehouse Point, 1825-1873; Simeon F. Dixon, in Enfield and Hartford, 1825-1830 ; VOL. I .- 9.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF HARTFORD COUNTY.
Horace Foote, in Marlborough, the first attorney from that township, in 1825 ; Samuel H. Parsons, in Hartford, 1826-1849 ; William H. Perkins, Windsor, 1826-1828; Nathan Cooley, Hartford, 1827-1828; Alfred Terry (a native of Hartford and a son of General Nathaniel), Hartford, 1827- 1832. He was the father of Major-General Alfred H. Terry, who practised in New Haven ; now in the United States Army.
Benjamin L. Raynor had a law office in Hartford, 1827-1832; soon after which, as I suppose, he removed to Boston. He was the author of a "Life of Thomas Jefferson," published in Wethersfield. Selah B. Treat, in East Windsor, 1827-1831, became a clergyman and secretary of the A. B. C. F. M., residing in Boston. He was a frequent contributor to periodical publications. Frederick W. Jewett, in Simsbury, 1827-1833.
Thomas R. Holt was a Windsor attorney, 1827-1831; Enoch T. Par- sons, in Hartford, 1828-1830; Norman Merriam, Hartford, 1828-1830 ; William M. Holland, Hartford, 1829-1832; Hugh Peters, Hartford, 1829. Mr. Peters was a son of Judge John Thompson Peters. He inclined to poetry, and wrote some pieces which were published. He was drowned, when thirty years of age, in 1832, near Cincinnati, Ohio. Seth P. Beers was in Hartford, 1830-1832 ; but most of his professional life was spent in Litchfield County, where he became a prominent State official. Asa Child was in Hartford, 1830-1832. He removed to Norwich. William Hungerford was a Hartford lawyer from 1830 until a few years before his death, 1873. He was born in East Haddam. A student of Hon. Matthew Griswold and Governor Roger Griswold, at Lyme, he was ad- mitted to the Bar in 1812. He practised in his native town until 1829, when he removed to Hartford, where he became the most learned lawyer in the State. He is said to have read Blackstone's Commentaries through thirty times, and to have delighted in that dryest and most intricate of all legal works, " Fearne on Contingent Remainders." He was largely instrumental, through his briefs in the Supreme Court, in settling the law on important points involved. He was a member of the Constitu- tional Convention of 1818. Probably the history of the profession con- tains no individual lawyer of our State who reached greater attainments in learning.
Charles M. Emerson practised in Hartford, 1830-1838 ; Sheldon Moore, in Southington and Berlin during the same period ; Erastus Smith, first in Windsor, then in Hartford, 1830 to 1878, the year of his death. In his early life he was a school-teacher. He was noted for his wit and his inattention to his personal appearance. He often held Court as a United States Commissioner.
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