USA > New York > Washington County > Washington county, New York; its history to the close of the nineteenth century > Part 55
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In 1861 he was nominated by the Union convention for senator and subsequently endorsed by all other parties and elected without oppo- sition. By his efforts the confusion in the laws respecting murder and the rights of married women was removed, and simple and sen- sible statutes passed in relation thereto.
As an advocate, a judge, a legislator, he was alike eminent and accomplished; and in his private life irreproachable and blameless.
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It has fallen to the lot of few men to acquire and leave behind them such an honorable and unsullied name.
He was married in 1829 at the Troy Female Seminary to Miss Eliza C. Smith and enjoyed during his life the respect and esteem of his aunt, Mrs. Emma Willard, the founder of the Troy Female Seminary and the pioneer in the cause of female education. He lived to bury his only child in 1853 and his estimable wife in 1859 and cut off thus from his family ties, his great heart turned with affection and solici- tude to the welfare of his country. He died at his residence, Sara- toga Springs, on the 31st day of August, 1862.
CHARLES FRVER INGALLS was born at Salem, Washington County, N. Y., January 28, 1795. His parents were Charles and Cynthia (Russell) Ingalls. Charles Ingalls was a graduate of Dartmouth Col- lege and shortly after his graduation removed from Methuen, Mass., to Salem, N. Y., where he read law and in 1802 was admitted to prac- tice in the courts of the State of New York. Shortly after his admis- sion he opened the first law office in Union Village, (now Greenwich) Washington County, N. Y., and there continued the practice of his profession until his death, which occurred September 2, 1812.
Charles Fryer Ingalls adopted the profession of his father and was admitted to the bar, October 9, 1819. He pursued the practice of his profession successfully until a short time previous to his death, which occurred March 5, 1857. He held the office of District Attorney and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County and in 1835 represented that county in the legislature of the State of New York. He was highly esteemed for his learning and ability as a law- yer and for his probity as a citizen. His two sons, Hon. Charles R. Ingalls and Thomas Ingalls read law with their father and became his partners in the business.
In 1860 Hon. Charles R. Ingalls removed to Troy and formed a partnership with Hon. David L. Seymour. Thomas Ingalls continued in practice with his father until the death of the latter and thereafter conducted the business until his decease, which occurred June 18, 1873.
Charles Fryer Ingalls, the subject of the present sketch, married Mary Rogers, the daughter of Nathan and Dorothea Rogers, October
Chat R Ingues
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22, 1818, and they had three children, the two sons already named and one daughter, Mary Ingalls. Of the three, Hon. Charles R. In- galls is the only survivor. Thomas Ingalls was graduated from Trin- ity College, Hartford, Conn., with distinction, and was regarded as a man of marked talent.
HON. CHARLES R. INGALLS, one of the most distinguished members of the bench and bar of New York State, was born at Greenwich. Washington County, N. Y., September 14, 1819. After his school days he entered the office of his father, who was a lawyer, and began the study of law. In June. 1844, he was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court and the Court of Chancery, New York State. Shortly after his admission to the bar, he and his father formed a partnership, which continued until 1860, when Charles R. Ingalls went to Troy and settled permanently. He at once formed a partnership with David L. Seymour under the firm name of Seymour & Ingalls, and the firm soon became recognized as leaders in the legal profession in Troy and the surrounding counties.
In 1863 Charles R. Ingalls was nominated for Justice of the Su- preme Court for the Third Judicial District, and his election followed. In 1870 he became ex-officio a member of the Court of Appeals, and in 1871 he was nominated by both political parties for the same office and was elected for a term of fourteen years.
In 1877 he was appointed for a term of three years by Governor Lucien Robinson, a member of the General Term of the Supreme Court, first department, which comprised the City of New York. From 1885 to 1889 he held the same office, but resigned in 1890 on account of having reached the age limit for Justices of the Supreme Court.
Judge Ingalls served in all twenty-seven years on the Supreme Court bench, and during his judicial career, he ranked among the foremost jurists of America, and today he is one of the most highly respected members of the legal profession in New York State.
Judge Ingalls has been a trustee of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for the last twenty-five years, and is also a trustee of the Emma Wil- lard Institute.
On November 3, 1880, Judge Ingalls married Margaret L. Marvin
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of Troy, and they have one daughter, Margaret Marvin Ingalls, born in 1884.
The Ingalls family is of English descent, Edmund Ingalls, the founder of the family in America, came from Lincolnshire to Massa- chusetts in 1629. Four members of the family were soldiers in the Revolutionary War, and James, an uncle of Judge Ingalls, was killed in the battle of Bunker Hill. Charles Ingalls, (grandfather) was a native of Methune, Mass. He graduated from Dartmouth College, read law at Salem, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar of this state in 1802. He then settled in Greenwich, N. Y., and opened the first law office in that village. His son, Charles F., father of Judge In- galls, took up the same profession which he followed from 1819 until a short time prior to his death in 1870. He served as District Attor- ney, County Judge and Judge of the Court of Appeals.
Judge Ingalls' mother was Mary Rogers, daughter of Nathan and Dorothea (Cleveland) Rogers, who came to Greenwich from Canter- bury, Conn., in the year 1800.
HON. JAMES GIBSON was born at Salem, Washington County, N. Y., September 5, 1816. He was the son of James B. Gibson, who was a prominent lawyer of the county. James Gibson was educated at the Salem Washington Academy and studied law, first in the office of his uncle, Samuel Stevens, and afterwards with Cyrus Stevens and John H. Boyd of Whitehall. He was admitted to the bar in 1836 and from that date up to his death he pursued the practice of his profession in Salem. He was an able lawyer and consequently successful in his profession. In November, 1850, he was elected County Judge and served four years. In 1866 he was elected State Senator for the dis- trict composed of Washington and Rensselaer counties. He was editor of the Washington County Post from 1838 to 1841 and has left behind him a high reputation as a literary man and an historian. The material which he collected relative to Washington County is very valuable.
Judge Gibson was a Republican from the foundation of the party up to 1871 when he became a Liberal Republican. During the latter years of his life he was identified with the Democratic party.
He always took great interest in military affairs and in 1840 raised
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a company of light infantry, of which he was made Captain. This company was attached to the 50th Regiment, State Militia, of which he ultimately became Lieutenant-Colonel. On the disbandment of the 5oth he was attached to the 30th Regiment, N. G. N. Y., and was pro- moted to the rank of Colonel. In 1867 he was made Brigadier-General of the 12th brigade, which disbanded in 1874.
Judge Gibson was prominently associated with the Masonic Fra- ternity, the Odd Fellows, the Episcopal Church, and took an active in- terest in all important public matters. He was president of the Washington County Historical Society; a member of the American Geographical Society ; atrustee of Evergreen Cemetery, and a director of the National Bank at Salem.
On October 17, 1841, Judge Gibson married Jane, daughter of Ira and Wealthy Ann (Gilbert) Woodworth. There only surviving child is Mary, wife of Mr. T. A. Wright, publisher, of New York City. A son, James Gibson, a lawyer of Salem, is deceased.
HON. LUTHER WAIT was born at Fitz-William, New Hampshire, Feb- ruary 7, 1788. Receiving his preliminary education for college he took a four years course at Burlington University, Vermont, where he graduated with honor in 1811.
Whereupon, choosing the legal profession, and wishing to become a student in the office of some prominent lawyer in the State of New York, he was favored with an excellent letter of introduction and commendation from the Governor of Vermont (Governor Van Ness) to Roger Skinner, then an eminent lawyer residing at Sandy Hill, N. Y., and on the strength of such letter received a cordial welcome from Mr. Skinner and entered his office as a law student, and in due time was admitted to the bar as an attorney of the Supreme Court, and became a partner of the Hon. Henry C. Martindale (then a prominent lawyer residing at Sandy Hill) under the firm name of Martindale & Wait, which firm continued for some years. Among other students in their office, was Silas Wright, afterward United States Senator and Governor of the State.
Upon the dissolution of the firm of Martindale & Wait, Mr. Wait, having received the degree of Counsellor of the Supreme Court and Counsellor in the Court of Chancery, continued the practice of the law at Sandy Hill until his death, which occurred April 20, 1857.
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Hon. Luther Wait was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, Surrogate of the County, Master and Examiner in Chancery and for many years a Justice of the Peace, which office he held at the time of his death.
At a meeting of the bar of the county in his memory, held at Salem Circuit, appropriate eulogistic resolutions were adopted; the same being reported to the meeting by a committee, consisting of Judge Rosekrans, Gen. Martin Lee and Judge Luther J. Howe.
Judge Wait was much esteemed by his brother lawyers, as a good lawyer, a man remarkably industrious and devoted to the interests of his clients and as scrupulously honest and honorable in all his dealings.
Among the important suits with which he was connected was the Chancery suit of Rogers vs. Rogers in which he was solicitor for the plaintiff and which after a contest lasting seven years was finally de- cided in the Court of Errors in favor of the plaintiff. (The case is reported in Chancery in I Hopkins' Reports 515, I Paige R. 188, and in the Court of Errors III Wendell 503.) It is a leading case upon the important questions raised and decided therein.
Judge Wait was a prominent member of the Democratic party up to the time of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, which repeal to him was inexcusable, and for which he joined the Republican party under Fremont, opposed to the extension of slavery, and was a mem- ber of that party when he died.
He left surviving him six sons and four daughters, viz: Lucian D., Laysel B., A. Dallas, Jerome, Sheridan and George Addison Wait, and Charlotte E., Milcena B., Susan E. and Aurelia Wait.
His son Lucian D. Wait learned the trade of a jeweler at Troy and went to Skaneateles to reside and remained there for many years and until his death.
Laysel B. Wait was educated as a lawyer and. on admission to the bar went to St. Paul, Minnesota, to practice law, associated with the law firm of Hallingshed & Becker of that place.
Not liking the practice of the law he engaged in mercantile busi- ness in that city and subsequently removed to California where he died.
Jerome Wait went to California in 1854 to engage in the mining business, and has ever since resided there, following that occupation.
Sheridan Wait, after his admission to the bar as a lawyer in 1853,
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in accord with the advice of Horace Greely to young men in the East to "Go West and Grow up with the Country," went first to Ten- nessee and remained there nearly two years, engaged principally as a teacher.
He then concluded that he would be better pleased to be located farter North, and therefore went to St. Louis, on his way to Illinois where he fortunately met and was introduced to Governor French (then Governor of Illinois) who happened to be at the time in that city. The Governor advised him to open a law office at Decatur, Ill., which the Governor said presented a good opening for a young enter- prising lawyer. And the Governor very kindly gave him a letter of introduction to an influential friend of his at Decatur.
Mr. Wait, upon the suggestion of the Governor, opened a law office at Decatur, the county seat of Macon County, Illinois, and in a short time entered into partnership with the late Gov. Richard J. Oglesby, then a young lawyer who had recently come from Kentucky, his na- tive state, and settled at Decatur to practice law. The firm of Ogles- by & Wait were doing a large and profitable business until the com- mencement of the Civil War. When the first gun was fired on Fort Sumpter they closed their law office and both entered the Union Army, and when Colonel Oglesby was appointed to the command of a brigade, Mr. Wait was commissioned Assistant Adjutant General with the rank of Major. At the close of the war Major Wait returned to Decatur and resumed the practice of the law. In 1871 he removed to Chicago and engaged in the real estate business and continued his residence in that city until his death, 28th of July, 1879. At the time of his death he was President of the Chicago and Calumet Dock Com- pany.
Major Wait in early life was a Democrat, an active and efficient member of that party, but never seeking or desiring official prefer- ment, choosing rather to serve in the ranks as a private citizen. But just before the war he was elected Mayor of the city of Decatur on the Union ticket.
Upon his return from the war he joined the Republican party and became one of its most staunch and true supporters, and for six years was a prominent and much esteemed member of the Republican State Committee of Illinois.
He served one term as Canal Commissioner of that State.
Soon after his death a meeting of the Macon County Bar was held
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and appropriate resolutions adopted in memory, as stated therein, of "Sheridan Wait, whose record was never sullied and who was a brave, true, gentle, kind man and a wise and honorable lawyer."
Major Wait was buried with military and civic honors in Green- wood Cemetery at Decatur, July 31st, 1879, the funeral being from the residence there, of his old partner and life-long friend Governor Og- lesby.
George Addison Wait, the youngest son of Luther Wait, enlisted as a soldier in the 121st New York Regiment at Syracuse where that regiment was being organized.
A county bounty of $500 was being paid there to each soldier en- listing in that regiment. Before the regiment left for Washington the County Treasurer paid the soldiers such bounty. George Addison, on his name being called to receive the bounty, directed the Treas- urer to forward the amount ($500) due him to the Secretary of the United States Treasury as a mite donated by him to the United States Government for war purposes.
The County Treasurer accordingly forwarded the same, stating the circumstances, to Secretary Chase, who acknowledged its receipt in a letter, characterising the gift, under the circumstances as entirely unique, and praising in the highest terms the donor for displaying such a noble and unselfish spirit of patriotism, when joining the army, as a private soldier.
The 12Ist regiment was attached to the 6th United States Army Corps and this young man, as a private soldier (without missing a day of service in the field) was with that regiment at Fredricksburg, Gettysburg, and all the battles in which the 6th Corps took part up to and including the battle at Spottsylvania Court-House the 11th of May, 1864, in which he was severely wounded, thereby losing his right arm, amputated close to the shoulder, the following day, by an army surgeon. He was forced in consequence to remain for months in hospital at Alexandria and Philadelphia. Being unable to do further service as a soldier, he was mustered out and honorably dis- charged. He was a remarkably exemplary and worthy young man in all his ways and habits. At the time of his death he was residing in New York city doing clerical work, (having acquired the ability to write well with his left hand) and was studying with a view of becom- ing a lawyer as soon as practicable.
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CHARLES HUGHES was born February 27, 1822. In 1837 he began the study of law in the office of H. B. Northup, at Sandy Hill, N. Y. He was admitted to the bar in January, 1845. In 1852 he was elected to Congress. In 1857 he was elected Clerk of the Court of Appeals. In 1862 he took an active part in organizing the Washington County Regiment, 123d New York Volunteers. In 1877 he was elected Sen- ator of the State of New York. On April 26, 1850, the law firm of Hughes & Northup was formed, which existed until the death of Mr. Hughes, August 10, 1887, a period of more than thirty-seven years.
HON. ROSWELL WESTON, who served as First Judge of Washington County from 1825 to 1827, was a son of Zachariah Weston, a Revolu- tionary soldier, and was born February 24, 1774. He read law with Hon. John Woodsworth, of Troy, and was admitted to the bar and commenced practice at Fort Edward, but soon removed to Sandy Hill, where he remained until his death, which occurred August 18, 1861.
ROBERT DOIG was born in the town of Greenwich, Washington County, N. Y., March 13, 1810. He graduated from Union College in 1836 and in 1838 completed the study of law with Boyd & Billings at Whitehall and was admitted to the bar. He soon became a leading lawyer in Whitehall and held various public offices.
JAMES C. HOPKINS, removed from Sandy Hill to Granville, about 1840, where he formed a co-partnership with Isaac W. Bishop, under the firm name of Bishop & Hopkins. He was State Senator in 1854 and 1855. Afterward he went to Wisconsin, where he became United States District Judge.
DAVID WILSON went from Sandy Hill to Whitehall, became a Mem- ber of Assembly in 1852, and Clerk of that body in 1858. He was an anthor as well as a lawyer, and wrote the book, "Solomon Northup."
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HENRY B. NORTHUP, of Sandy Hill, was a lawyer, noted for his elo- quence and persuasive power with a jury. He was District Attorney from 1847 to 1850, and Member of Assembly in 1856. He died in 1877.
ORVILLE CLARK, who with Judge Weston, formed the co-partner- ship of Weston & Clark, was a man noted in his profession as well as in the business world. He was a State Senator from 1844 to 1848, and was Major General in the Militia, and father of the late Asabel Clark. He died about the year 1863.
NATHANIEL B. MILLIMAN Was for some time a partner with Gen. Orville Clark, at Sandy Hill, and subsequently was associated with Hon. U. G. Paris. He was elected County Clerk in 1852 and moved to Argyle. "At the expiration of his term of office he moved to Fort Edward where he died in 1885.
HENRY C. MARTINDALE, one of the most noted barristers, of Sandy Hill, was Surrogate from 1816 to 1819, District Attorney from 1821 to 1828, Congressman from 1823 to 1831, and was appointed Canal Appraiser in 1840, by Governor Seward, which office he held until 1843. He died about 1858, and was the father of John H. Martindale, who was Attorney General in 1866-67.
HON. MARINUS FAIRCHILD was born at Sackett's Harbor, N. Y., November 21, 1811. He was educated at Watervliet, N. Y., studied law in the City of Albany and in the office of his uncle, Hon. John Crary, at Salem, N. Y., and was admitted to the bar in 1833. From that date until 1846 he was actively engaged in the practice of his profession at Salem, N. Y., when he removed to Albany, where he remained about five years, returning to Salem upon the death of Mr. Crary, and remaining there during the remainder of his own life. He was for several years a partner with Mr. Crary.
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Mr. Fairchild was not only a prominent lawyer but also held the office of Surrogate of Washington County from January 1, 1856, to December 31, 1859, and was District Attorney from 1877 to 1881. In politics he was a Democrat, but was highly regarded by large numbers of his political opponents. He was a man of superior talents. yet very unassuming and when he died on January 20, 1887, the bar of the county met in the Court House at Sandy Hill, on the 25th of that month, and passed a set of resolutions which show the high es- teem in which he was held. He married Harriet Campbell in 1836. His parents were Lewis and Laodicea (Crary) Fairchild.
JUDGE LYMAN HALL NORTHUP, one of the oldest and best known practitioners at the Washington County bar, is a native of the town of Hebron, Washington County, N. Y., and was born December 18, 1821. His parents were John H. and Anna (Wells) Northup. He studied law in the law office of his brother, H. B. Northup, and was admitted to practice in December, 1847, and in April, 1850, formed a partner- ship with Hon. Charles Hughes, which lasted until the latter's death in August, 1887. From 1888 to 1892 Judge Northup was associated with Young & Kellogg, as senior counsel. Since 1892 he has been engaged in practice alone.
Judge Northup has always been public-spirited and identified with every movement for good, as far as his means would allow, and a man in whose integrity and sincerity the public have the utmost confi- dence.
HON. JOSEPH POTTER was born in the town of Easton, Washington,. County, N. Y., November 17th, 1820. He received his preliminary education at the district schools in Easton, a Quaker boarding school at Chatham, Columbia County, N. Y., of which the afterwards cele- brated Hon. William S. Fullerton, was at that time preceptor, and at the Union Village Academy, Greenwich, N. Y., an institution then celebrated as a preparatory school. He entered the sophomore class of Union College at Schenectady, N. Y., and after a distinguished course was graduated with honors in the class of 1842. Subse- quently his Alma Mater conferred upon him the degree of L.L D.
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Having decided to enter the legal profession he studied law with Judge Culver and Judge A. D. Baker at Greenwich, and subsequently in the office of Wheaton, Hammond, Doolittle & Hadly at Albany. In 1845 he was admitted to the bar as Attorney and Counsellor of the Supreme Court and as Solicitor in Chancery.
While in the office of Culver & Baker he taught in the Union Vil- lage Academy at Greenwich. Shortly after his admission to the bar he came to Whitehall and formed a partnership with judge William H. Parker, who died in 1849. Judge Potter's subsequent partners were J. D. Blount, Hon. A. H. Tanner, and his son, J. Sanford Pot- ter, all of whom were students in his office.
From the very commencement of his legal career, Judge Potter evinced not only unusual ability as a lawyer, but also attained a reputation for integrity and soundness as a counsellor, so that early in his career he became prominent in the front rank of the lawyers of northern New York.
The citizens of Washington County were not slow to recognize his abilities and worth, and in 1849 he was elected District Attorney of the County, and at the expiration of his term of office was re-elected. He also served as District Attorney from September 7, 1862, until January 1, 1863, serving out the term of Colonel A. L. McDougall, who had gone to war with his regiment. In 1863 he was elected County Judge, and to this office also, was re-elected at the expiration of his first term, so that he held the position until December 31, 1871. In November, 1871, he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court, and after serving out his full term of fourteen years was re-elected in November, 1885, to the same office and held the position until his term expired by constitutional limitation, at the age of seventy years, in 1890. He also served three years in the Court of Appeals, Second Division, and received his appointment thereto from Governor Hill, a Democratic Governor.
Although eminent as a jurist, it was as a judge that Hon. Joseph Potter achieved his greatest distinction. His rendering and interpre- tation of the law, in which he was thoroughly posted, was ever tem- pered with the finest and highest sense of justice, and it was almost futile to carry a case to the Court of Appeals from his decision. In his conduct of the business of the courts he was always prompt, ener- getic and decisive, and cases brought before him were not allowed to
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lag, but were carried through to an issue; nor were his decisions long delayed. Accuracy and dispatch characterized him in all his duties.
One instance will illustrate well his character and greatness as a judge, because in this case he was brought face to face with one of the strongest and most dangerous forces of his age, and, through his ability and magnificent courage, has made himself a name in the judicial history of America.
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