USA > New York > Westchester County > Rye > The bar of Rye Township, Westchester County, New York; an historical and biographical record, 1660-1918 > Part 7
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Mr. Choate, proceeding with his memorial, says, in part:
"I greatly value this Memorandum, brief and imperfect as it is, because it shows how accident controls our professional beginnings, and because it adds the name of another great lawyer to those of O'Conor, Southmayd, and Dillon, who had never entered, nor apparently ever thought of entering, a
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law school. In 1857, shortly after the death of Mr. Shepard, Mr. Parsons, then only twenty-eight years old, when on his way to the court house, was stopped on William Street by the late Albon P. Man. He said, 'You are Mr. Parsons,' and on the spot invited Mr. Parsons to become his partner on equal terms. The firm of Man & Parsons became very conspicuous, and lasted until 1884. Mr. Parsons had great qualities which essentially fitted him for leadership as an advocate a sound constitution and good health, a very keen intelligence and almost unerring memory, and adequate knowledge of the law, undy- ing tenacity of purpose, undaunted courage under all circumstances, and a power of analysis that enabled him to separate the wheat from the chaff in the facts of every case, and to present at the outset in his opening a clear statement of the facts, which gener- ally won the case, if winning was possible. To these great and valuable qualities there were, as I think, two drawbacks, which modified not the success, but, as it seems to me, the interest of his long professional career. He was somewhat lacking in imagination and absolutely without a sense of humor. I should be doing great injustice to Mr. Parsons, if I did not insist upon his great strength and purity of char- acter, his conscientiousness and high moral sense, and his strong personality. There was a certain rigid formality in his manner and bearing, a coldness of composition, which kept people at a distance, and a very strenuous insistance upon all the rights of his clients, alike in court and in negotiations, which gave the younger members of the profession, who came in contact with him, a feeling that he was much too severe and unyielding. He certainly was a stiff antagonist, but I am sure that he was wholly incapable of taking an unfair advantage of anybody, and that he never encroached upon the rights of
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those with whom he had to deal. For some years after his admission to the Bar there was no corrup- tion that I can recall in our courts, but by and by there came a brief period of horrible corruption, when the Tweed Ring got into complete and undis- puted control of the city of New York, and injected three of its worst and most cunning instruments into our local judiciary. It was at this shocking point in our history that the Bar arose in its might, and vindicated its title as the conservator of the Common- wealth. It was upon pressure from the Bar Associ- ation that the impeachment of the guilty judges was initiated, and by this time Mr. Parsons had attained so great prominence in the profession that he was very properly selected, with Judge Van Cott and Mr. Albert Stickney, to conduct its prosecution. By the able part that he took in the proceedings he rendered an inestimable service to the people of New York and to the cause of justice everywhere that ought never to be forgotten. It was a great element in Mr. Par- sons' character that he never lost his temper. Mr. Parsons was the ablest and most accomplished all- round lawyer that I have ever encountered. There was hardly a branch of the law in which he was not well versed; his efforts seemed equally well prepared and effective whether before the court or jury, in a trial at first instance or before the Appellate Court, or Court of Appeals on a final hearing, and I think that a large proportion of the cases of importance during the period that I have indicated, embracing every variety of subject of litigation, were contested between us. There was no branch of the law or of equity in which he was not fully equipped, but out- side of court too he was a great lawyer, and I believe was one of the wisest, most sagacious, and safest legal advisers that we ever had. He was a man of singu- larly well regulated habits and fine control over
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himself. While the rest of us during recess would hasten over to Delmonico's for a hearty luncheon, he habitually remained in or near the court room, sub- sisting on a sandwich, or a remainder biscuit. But it was reserved for Mr. Parsons in his old age to set a noble example to his professional brethren, by show- ing with what courage, patience, and fortitude he could bear the burden, at the age of eighty years and upwards, of a prosecution to which he was subjected by the Federal Government in the pursuit of its theory of government by indictment. He was made a defendant in the indictment of the president and directors of the Sugar Company for an alleged criminal violation of the Sherman Act in 1903. The case was not brought to trial until 1912, three years after indictment found, and when that trial did take place, in spite of the most strenuous efforts on the part of the Government and the most unworthy personal abuse heaped upon the head of Mr. Parsons, especially, it was, as I am credibly informed, only by the dissent of a single obstinate juror that the Government was saved from a unanimous verdict of acquittal. After the long agony was over, he had the satisfaction of knowing that it had left no smirch upon his great reputation, and that by his heroic stand he had done a great service to his profession. He lived for four years more in the full enjoyment of the regard and esteem of all who knew him. Mr. Parsons was never so busy at the Bar as not to have time for good works. His charity was most un- bounded, and I have the best authority for saying that in some years he devoted to it more than half of his very liberal income, and in every year a large proportion. When Mr. Parsons' professional suc- cess was permanently established he purchased a considerable estate at Lenox. He had had the fortune or misfortune to be brought up early in life
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as a strict Calvinist, but even this somewhat melted away under the benign influence of country life, and while he always continued to be an elder in the Brick Church in New York, he became and continued for many years until his death a vestryman in the Epis- copal Church at Lenox, which he greatly enriched by the addition of a handsome church house as a me- morial of his first wife. To know Mr. Parsons thor- oughly one had to know him both in summer and winter, at work and at play, for, taking the two together, he rounded out a most estimable and admirable character. At the age of eighty he retired absolutely from his profession and was greatly honored and beloved by the entire community. It would be hard to find in the whole ranks of our profession a more upright and honorable example of true service than the whole history of his life affords, and his name ought to be cherished forever in this Association as one of its most zealous founders and most valuable members and servants."
Great credit is due Mr. Choate for his splendid memorial, and further credit is due him for Mr. Parsons' autobiography because it was Mr. Choate himself who suggested to Mr. Parsons that it be made.
Mr. Parsons first married Mary Dumesnil McIlvaine, daughter of Bowes Reed McIlvaine, November 5, 1856. Ten children were born of this marriage. Four of them died in childhood, and a daughter Helen died in 1892 in her twenty-sixth year. There are living to-day four daughters, Mary, Edith (Mrs. Edith P. Morgan), who for a number of years occupied the Jay Mansion and also Lounsberry,
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Gertrude, and Constance (Mrs. Montgomery Hare), and a son Herbert, to whom his father left Louns- berry. On March 12, 1901, Mr. Parsons married Florence Van Cortlandt Bishop, daughter of Ben- jamin H. Field. No children were born of this marriage.
At the time of his death, Mr. Parsons was presi- dent of the board of trustees of the Brick Presbyte- rian Church, member of the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church, president of the Wo- man's Hospital in the State of New York, president of the General Memorial Hospital for Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases, as well as a member of a number of other societies and clubs. He was at one time a member of the committee to revise the creed of the Presbyterian Church, and of the Com- mittee to prepare forms of service for it, and of its committee to consider the subject of divorce and remarriage. He presented a Memorial Public School at Harrison, N. Y., and with his brother and cousin purchased and gave as a village hall to Rye, the old Square House, which was an inn and visited by Washington in the Revolutionary period.
Mr. Parsons died at his home, 30 East 36th Street, New York City, on January 16, 1915, following an attack of bronchitis. His remains are interred at Lenox, Mass.
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John Erving
John Erving was born in Philadelphia, July 6, 1833, son of the late Col. John Erving and Emily Sophia Langdon (Elwyn) Erving. He was a de- ยท - scendant of General William Shirley, Colonial Gov- ernor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, and of Governor John Langdon of New Hampshire, member of the Continental Congress.
In his early life he attended school at Savannah, Georgia, and Duff's Military School, Staten Island. From 1845 to 1850, he attended the school of the Brothers Peuguet, in New York. He was graduated from Harvard University (A.B.), in 1853, and from Harvard University Law School (LL.B.), in 1855. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1856, at New York City.
On April 22, 1863, in New York City, Mr. Erving married Cornelia Van Rensselaer, who was born in Rennselaer County, a daughter of William P. and Sarah (Rogers) Van Rensselaer, and a granddaughter of Stephen Van Rensselaer of Albany. Of this marriage there were born Susan Van Rensselaer, since deceased, Cornelia Van Rensselaer Hoppin, formerly Cornelia Van Rensselaer Pruyn, of Mount Kisco, N. Y., John Langdon, of Santa Barbara, Cal.,
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JOHN ERVING
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The Bar of Rye Township
Emily E. Cooper, widow of Henry Woodward Cooper, deceased, of Rye, Sarah E. King, wife of James Gore King, of New York City, William Van Rensselaer, of Albany, Katherine Van Rensselaer, of New York City, Eleanor C., of New York City, Shirley, of Albany, and Justine Bayard, of New York City. Mrs. Erving died in New York City, October 17, 1913.
Mr. Erving practiced law for more than forty years, but retired from practice more than twenty years ago. In 1875, he removed to the town of Rye, occupying a house on the northerly end of Manursing Island, now the site of the Browning residence, where he continued to reside until 1903. He died at his residence 17 West 50th Street, New York City, on March 7, 1917, in his 84th year. He was an Episco- palian.
Mr. Erving was a charter member of the Associ- ation of the Bar of the City of New York, and a member of the Harvard and Union League Clubs, Seventh Regiment Veterans Association, and Charles Lawrence Post, 378, G. A. R., of Port Chester. He had been a Republican since 1856.
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John Jacob Post
John Jacob Post was born in New York City, April 29, 1834, the son of Stephen Post, born in New York City February 12, 1810, died May 29, 1879, and Catherine Ann (Harriott) Post, born in New York City, April 30, 1813, died there December 5, 1874.
Mr. Post attended Columbia University Law School in 1856, and in that year was admitted to the New York Bar. He later removed to Rye and resided there from 1880 until 1888. Thereafter he moved to Summit, New Jersey, where he continued to reside until the date of his death, March 19, 1899. He is buried in Cypress Hills Cemetery, Brooklyn.
On April 30, 1866, Mr. Post married Anne Buck- num Osborn of Brooklyn, N. Y., daughter of Joshua Ward and Mary (Otis) Osborn. Of this marriage was born William S. Post, March 29, 1867, who now resides in Summit, New Jersey.
Mr. Post was a member of the 7Ist Regiment, New York, from 1856 until 1881. He was a Republi- can. While in Rye, he was active in Royal Arcanum matters and was one of the charter members of Port Chester Council No. 798, of that Order, joining it September 20, 1883. Mr. Post was a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 4
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Hanford Mead Henderson
The parents of Hanford Mead Henderson were John Henderson, son of Hugh and Mary Henderson, of Londonderry, Ireland, and Mary Tympany, daughter of William and Mary (Holly) Tympany, of Cos Cob, Connecticut.
Mr. Henderson was born at Greenwich, Connecti- cut, July 13, 1834, and removed to Port Chester, N. Y., about 1849, where he continued to reside until the time of his death, which occurred there, suddenly, April 3, 1904. He received his early education at the district schools of Greenwich and Cos Cob and attended the Greenwich Academy for two years. He left school at the early age of twelve.
After moving to Port Chester, he obtained employ- ment in the dry-goods store of Samuel William Kelley. Here he continued until the latter's death, when he purchased the business, and thereafter, with his son Herbert G., continued that business for many years.
Mr. Henderson became prominent in the affairs of the town. He served as justice of the peace from 1866 to 1890. He also served as justice of the court of sessions of this county in 1887, 1888, and 1891, occupying the bench with Judge Isaac N. Mills.
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He was a charter member of Putnam Steamer and Hose Company and the Firemen's Benevolent Fund Association of Port Chester, and assisted in procur- ing the incorporation of the village of Port Chester. Under the law (Laws of 1868, Chapter 818) incorpor- ating that village, he was designated one of the three inspectors of the first election held by the village. Afterward he served as a trustee of the village and also as a member of the local board of education. He represented the New Haven Railroad when it made its change to four tracks in the village of Port Chester, in purchasing property and rights of way.
At an early age, Mr. Henderson affiliated himself with St. Peter's Church in Port Chester, and was a teacher in the Sunday-school thereof for many years. For forty years he served as warden and vestryman of that church. In politics he was a Democrat.
In later years Judge Henderson read law in the office of Maurice Dillon and, on February 16, 1893, was admitted to the New York Bar, at Brooklyn. He engaged in the practice of law from that time until he died.
On November 26, 1857, at Port Chester, Mr. Henderson married Sarah Maria, daughter of Tuttle D. Wheeler, of West Fairlee, Vermont, and Martha (Green) Wheeler, of Tenbury, England. Of this marriage were born Cora Green, Herbert Godine, and Sarah Bertha. Mrs. Henderson died September 30, 1863.
On October 26, 1865, he married Sara Kennaday Godine, daughter of Francis Godine, of Bordeaux,
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HANFORD MEAD HENDERSON
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France, and Susan Cresswell (Brazier) Godine, daughter of John Cresswell Brazier, of London, England, and Sarah (Deveau) Brazier, of New York City. Of this marriage were born Susie Cresswell, wife of Dr. Paul E. Tiemann, Rosalvina Robinson, Laura Vincent, Adelaide Emma, and Mary Bulkley.
The remains of Judge Henderson are interred in Greenwood Union Cemetery, Rye.
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Robert Henry George
Although never admitted to the New York Bar, Robert Henry George was at one time a practicing lawyer, having been admitted to the Iowa Bar in about 1872, and the Missouri Bar in 1878.
Captain George, as he became known, was born in New York City, November 28, 1837, the son of Robert and Anne Jane George. He died at Port Chester, N. Y., March 22, 1917. In early life he re- moved to Pittsburgh, where he was educated, and afterward resided in Alleghany, Pa., where he mar- ried. In June, 1861, after the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted with the Pennsylvanian Volunteers, and afterward took part in many engagements. At Malvern Hill, in 1862, he was wounded in the thigh. Later he was commissioned a second lieutenant and ordered on recruiting service, and then was made first lieutenant, and finally acting quartermaster. While at Rawley with his regiment, peace was declared and he was mustered out. Settling in Council Bluffs, Iowa, he studied law in the office of Colonel John H. Keightly. In 1887, he was ap- pointed assistant sergeant-at-arms of the Kansas State Senate. In the meantime he had worked as city editor of the Fort Scott Monitor. At various
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other times he was connected with newspaper publications and at one time owned the Seneca (Kansas) Tribune. He was connected with the Port Chester Daily Record for a number of years.
Locating in Port Chester more than twenty-five years ago, Captain George soon became a familiar figure. He took an active interest in the affairs of Charles Lawrence Post, No. 378, G. A. R., of Port Chester, and was its commander for several terms and adjutant for fifteen years. He was assistant police justice of the village at the time of his death, having been twice appointed to that office.
Captain George married a second time, his first wife having died many years ago. His second wife is also deceased. He was buried in Greenwood Union Cemetery, Rye, with full military honors.
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Edward Heartt Schell
Edward Heartt Schell resided in the town of Rye for many years and was a lawyer of considerable prominence, maintaining an office in the city of New York. He was graduated from Yale University in 1871, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and from Columbia University Law School in 1873, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In May, 1873, at New York City, he was admitted to the New York Bar. In 1875, and for many years there- after, he had an office at 158 Broadway, New York City. At various times he was associated with Artemus H. Holmes, Edward S. Rapallo, and Henry W. Kennedy. Mr. Schell died a resident of Rye about seven years ago. He was never married.
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Wilson Faron Wakefield
Wilson Faron Wakefield was born at Milford, Otsego County, New York, April 17, 1845, and received his early education in the district schools of that locality.
On October 23, 1861, at the age of sixteen, he enlisted for a three-year term in Co. E, 2nd Regt., N. Y. Heavy Artillery, and was honorably dis- charged November 6, 1863, re-enlisting as a pri- vate on the following day in the same company, and being finally discharged, September 29, 1865, at the age of twenty, having seen service in seven- teen engagements, but passing through all without injury.
Returning to his home he decided to enter the Baptist ministry, and thereupon took up his studies in the University of Rochester, from which he was gradu- ated in 1874. His first charge was at Lake Maho- pac, N. Y., after which he came to the North Baptist Church, Port Chester, N. Y. His pastorate there extended from December 2, 1883, to December 28, 1892. Retiring from the ministry he entered the real estate and insurance business in Port Chester, and later formed a partnership in that business with Edwin A. Knapp. This firm, which eventually
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became one of the leading firms in its line in Port Chester, was, after the death of Mr. Knapp, incor- porated by Mr. Wakefield, who continued its business until he died. While thus engaged Mr. Wakefield was elected Justice of the Peace of the town of Rye, and served for several years. He had the distinction of being the first police justice of the village of Port Chester, serving from May, 1906, until May, 1908. While Justice of the Peace Mr. Wakefield studied law and was admitted to the New York Bar, November 14, 1905.
Mr. Wakefield first married Mary E. Baldwin, who died at Auburn, N. Y. The issue of this mar- riage were Inez, a daughter, who is still living, and Faron, a son, who graduated from Yale, but who died while a senior at Harvard, on October II, 1908. On July 10, 1913, at New Berlin, N. Y., Judge Wake- field married Genevieve D. Reed, a teacher in the Rye public schools. She still survives him.
Mr. Wakefield was a member of the Masonic and Elks Orders, the Knights Templars, the Royal Ar- canum, and Charles Lawrence Post No. 378, G. A. R. In politics, Judge Wakefield was a Republican, and was active in politics in the town of Rye for several years. He allied himself with the Progressive party in 1912.
Judge Wakefield will probably best be remembered as being the originator of the "Children's Picnic, " an annual event which he conceived and which for many years has been held in Port Chester. All the children of the community knew and loved Judge
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Wakefield and to them his death was a great loss. He died at Port Chester from an attack of pneumonia October 22, 1914. He is buried in the Fort Hill Cemetery, Auburn, N. Y.
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Cadwalader Evans Ogden
Cadwalader Evans Ogden, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 24, 1847, and died at St. George, Bermuda, March 6, 1888, was the son of Gouverneur Morris Ogden, who was born in New York City, November 27, 1814, and died at Bar Harbor, Maine, July 14, 1884, and Harriet Verena (Evans) Ogden, who was born at Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1821, and died at New York City, February, 1907. His paternal grand- father was David B. Ogden, and his maternal grandfather, Cadwalader Evans.
Mr. Ogden was graduated from Columbia Univer- sity, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1867, and from Columbia University Law School, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1869, being admitted to the New York Bar in 1869, at New York City. In 1873, Mr. Ogden formed a copartnership with his brother, David B. Ogden, which continued until the former's death. This firm, from 1877 until 1880, main- tained an office in Port Chester, N. Y., in what was known as the Abendroth Block on the corner of North Main Street and Willett Avenue, and while there acted as counsel to the Port Chester Savings Bank.
Mr. Ogden never married. He was an Episco- palian.
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Ebenezer Squires
In Scharf's History of the County of Westchester, which was published in the year 1886, among the list of lawyers of Westchester County appears the name of Ebenezer Squires, as being a resident of Rye. Very careful investigation, however, has failed to confirm this statement, and the probabilities are that no lawyer by the name of Ebenezer Squires ever lived within the town of Rye. Certainly no such person ever maintained a law office there.
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Maurice Dillon
Maurice E. Dillon or Maurice Dillon, as he pre- ferred to be known, was born October 6, 1850, at Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut, one of six children of Edmund and Margaret Enright Dillon. His father, a farmer, was reputed to be one of the most scholarly and well-read men of the community.
Maurice Dillon received his early education in the small public school at Norfolk, where he was known as a close student, and afterward continued his stud- ies at Alleghany, N. Y., where he displayed the same studious habits and close application to work. His first employment was that of a teacher in the schools of Brooklyn, and while there he determined to follow the law as a profession. He entered Columbia University Law School, pursuing his studies along with his occupation as teacher, and was graduated therefrom May 17, 1876, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the same year he was admitted to the New York Bar and shortly thereafter to the Connecticut Bar. He first entered the office of Bangs & Stetson, New York City, later Stetson, Jennings & Russell, but forsaking this employment took up the practice of law independently at Naugatuck, Con- necticut. Not being satisfied with his progress, after
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a few months' practice there, he determined to accept an offer which had been made him by Charles G. Banks and Martin J. Keogh, who were then practicing at Port Chester, N. Y., and New Rochelle, N. Y., to take over their Port Chester office. This he did in about the year 1880. He then located in Port Chester and it was not long before his ability and integrity attracted the attention of the sound men of the community, and his success was assured by his appointment, in 1884, as counsel to the Port Chester Savings Bank. In 1889, he was elected a trustee of that institution, and continued to hold both those positions until the time of his death. His acquaintance with Justice Keogh ripened into a lasting and delightful friendship.
His first office was located in what is known as the Centennial building, on North Main Street, and from there he moved to the First National Bank building, which was erected in 1889. Here he remained until his death. He never held public office except as a member of the local board of education. Although never actively interested in politics, his judgment and advice were often sought in matters relating to public affairs. He was a Democrat, but independently so.
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