Commemorative Biographical Record of Fairfield County, Connecticut

The physical ills and infirmities that mortal flesh is heir to demand a distinct class of learned and able men, who, by patient and careful study, have become skilled in the knowledge of diseases and in the application of the appro- priate remedies to relieve suffering humanity. Hence we have physicians and surgeons. We recognize some of this useful and honorable class here among us to-day. May the blessing of God rest upon them, and may He give them the requisite wisdom and skill for this most important and beneficent service. Especially may He vouchsafe to them the wisdom and skill to engineer us all safely through on this occasion, notwithstanding the temptations awaiting us at the coming feast, under which the tables are said to be literally groaning across the way. Let us hope that the groaning will all be confined to the tables. Again; Man is not only physically, but he is morally and mentally, diseased. He is estranged from and at war with the God who made him, and refuses to obey the just and beneficent requirements of the moral law and treads the downward path of disobedience, sin and misery ; hence the necessity of another distinct class of men whose lifework it is, by precept and example, to bring men back from a state of rebellion into proper relations to their Maker and sover- eign; so we have the Ministers of the Gospel of Peace. This noble and self-sacrificing class of men is represented here on this occasion, and we rejoice in this ocular demon- stration that, while they are faithful and untiring in their life work, they are not ofilivious to the social demands of our nature nor forgetful of its amenities. They are doing a noble and glorious work, whose friiit- age, in full measure, it may not be given them to see with the mortal eye, but which shall continue long after the laborer shall have ceased from his toil and been laid away to his rest. But the enemy is so strongly entrenched in our fallen nature that, after God's messengers have done their best to enforce the claims of the moral law, still vast multi- tudes acknowledge no allegiance to the divine requirements and hold themselves amenable to no law, save their own un- bridled passions; and hence arises the necessity for human laws and for a distinct class of men, whose duty and business it is to formulate, interpret, administer and enforce such hu- man laws as shall best subserve the interests and protect the rights of individuals and society. Hence the necessity, the imperative necessity, of the " Yale Lawyers of Fairfield I County." COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD. 20S Mr. President, to speak of the noble dead, who have passed on before to their reward, and to enumerate thi-ir triumphs and their virtues, would be a most interesting and delightful theme; but time forbids; should 1 make the attempt the shades of night would gather around us, before the Roll of Honor could be called, and a fitting mention be made of each. Hear in mind Fairfield County, as a distinct judicial district, with courts of her own, has existed since ItiGlJ. During all these intervening years, two centuries and nearly a ([uarter, the liar of Fairfield County has exerted a powerful and benign influence upon society, and has been a mighty factor in shaping the policy of the State and Nation; and in organizing and establishing those institutions public and private, which constitute the pride, the glory and the safety of our beloved land. Not merely as lawyers, in the technical sense, but as citizens, in every phase of life, the members of the Bar of this county have acted well their part, and we point with pride to the noble record of their deeds, though we may not particularize them on this occa- sion. The history of those, who passed away before my connection with this Bar, has been written by abler pens than mine, and anything I might say would be but a repeti- tion of what has already been better said. And, so far as relates to those who have ceased from their labors, since my remembrance, my partiality might lead me to unduly eulo- gize some whom I remember with filial affection, and to pass over others in silence, equally worthy of honorable men- tion. As my mind runs over the past thirty-four years of my connection with the Bar of this county, how many familiar forms and faces rise up before me! How many familiar voices seem once more to mingle in the exciting contests of the Forum! The Yale Lawyers of Fai'rfield County who have passed over to the majority were an honor and a blessing to the day and generation in which they lived. At the Bar, on the Bench, in the Executive office, in the fields of art, of science, of literature, of history, of poetry, in the halls of legislature, State and National, and on the blood-stained fields of battle, whenever and wherever duty called, they responded with alacrity, and perforiiied faithfully and well the duty assigned to them. They have left us bright examples of devotion to duty, which are a precious legacy to us all. May we prove ourselves worthy of such a priceless inheritance. The luster of their honored names still shines with undiminished bright- ness; may it stimulate us to higher and nobler efforts in our profession. To speak of the living is not always safe. It is sometimes positively dangerous. But, Mr, President, permit me to address a few remarks to the Yale Lawyers of Fair- field County. My brethren, bear in mind that ours is a noble profession. It was not to our crowd that the fearful denun- ciation of old: "Woe unto you lawyers," was addressed. There seems to have been some misapprehension on this subject, and so far as my observation goes, there has been no special effort on the part of those for whom it was really intended to correct the error; but with this simple disclaim- er, on this occasion and in this presence, I will dismiss the subject. As I look upon this gathering here to-day, it occurs to me, that a large number of the Yale Lawyers of Fairfield County are in the earlier stages of their professional career. My brethren, we old fellows are not of much account, our .race is well nigh run, our sun is descending the western sky and fast sinking behind the Everlasting Hills. Your sun, on the contrary, is now climbing the heavens, toward the full meridian day. You have a noble career of honor and use- fulness before you, if you are only true to yourselves, your Alma Mater, and your God. Allow no siren tongue to entice you away from the honest and faithful study and practice of your chosen pro- fession. Let brotherly love and professional courtesy (ire- vail. Let all envy and jealousy be ostracised from among you. Let all your ambition and rivalry be in the line of elevating the standanl of our beloved profession. I am happy to bear most emphatic testimony as to the high and manly character of the Bar of this county, as at present con- stituted, especially the Yale portion of it, but nothing human is so perfect that it may not be improved. Keep steadily at work qualifying yourselves for the honest and able discharge of your professional duties, and your pirofession will cer- tainly take care of you. The higher rounds in the ladder of our profession are not reached without severe mental and moral discipline,, patiently and persistently endured. Like the athlete, if you would gain the prize you must work for it. There is no royal road to distinction. Your feet must tread the dusty, toilsome, common highway, notwithstanding your noble birthright, as sims of Yale. See to it, that you do not barter away or dishonor that birthright. Let it be your proud ambition to honor Yale, to raise the standard of professional aljility, of professional honor, and professional integrity, in this county, so that the name and fame of the Fairfield County Bar, through your efforts and your influence, shall stand second to none in this State, or in this nation; and so, living up to the full measure of the stat- ure of Christian manhood, you shall be an honor to your pro- fession, a blessing to the world, and prove yourselves true sons of Yale. And finally, when you shall have tried your last causes here on earth, and you yourselves shall stand be- fore the Great Judgment Bar, not as advocates but to be judged, you shall hear from the lips of the Great Law Giver and Judge of the Universe the welcome plaudit, " well done! " MON. DANIEL C. WOOD, formerly a rep- resentative in the State Legislature froni' the town of Stratford, Fairfield county, is one of the principal land owners in that locality, and has about one hundred acres of land in and ad- joining the village, much of it being already laid out in lots for building purposes. He also owns about three hundred acres in other parts of the town- ship, besides extensive tracts in Weston and Trumbull, and a half-mile square in Milford, New Haven county. For a number of years Mr. Wood has given his attention to truck farming during the summer season, while in winter he de- votes his time to the lumber business, conduct- inga steam sawmill and also a grain-grinding business at Stratford. He began milling some eighteen years ago. He is justly regarded as one of the worthy self-made men of the county. This enterprising business man is of good pioneer stock, his ancestors having come from England at an early day, and the family has long been identified with the town of Weston, this county. The first of the family in Fairfield county was Thomas Wood, who came from Eng- land, and was one of the earliest settlers here. He married a Miss Hyde, from Hyde Park, in England. Thomas Wood, the grandfather of our subject, was born in Weston and passed his life there. Curtis Wood, father of Hon. Daniel C. Wood, was born in Weston in 1803, and followed agri- cultural pursuits there for many years, his death occurring in 1878. In politics he was a Demo- crat, and he and his wife were devout members of the Episcopal Church. He married Miss Sally Lockwood, who was born in 1805, daughter of Harry Lockwood, of Weston, and a member of 204 COMMEMORATIVE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.