History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

A./.... ^j- >^-^.^. BENCH AND BAR. 19 most persistent and inexorable of ailvoeates. A cause accejitecl liy him became a bond on liis conscience, and lie could do no less than his best in its mana.^enient. He was never a iiolitician, yet few men of the age hud more carefully studied the whole science of govern- ment. Without seeking or wishing ofiice, he rep- resented his adopted town in seven sessions of the State Legislature, and once represented his senatorial district in the State Senate. Once, also, he served the State as its lieutenant-governor. But his tastes and aims were pre-eminently professional, and his success and reward, both iu |)rofessional cmineuee and in substantial wealth, were very great. His es- tate was one of the largest ever gathered in the town, and it was as solid as it was large. Of Mr. Hawley's fine literary tastes almost every plea he made for the last half of liis professional ca- reer, and indeed his most ordinary conversation on ordinary topics, gave most abundant proofs. His lan- guage was exceedingly terse and exact, rising often, under the glow of earnest feeling, to a high degree of strong and fervid eloquence. In his religious cx])e- rience Mr. Hawley's record is peculiarly one of the conscience and heart. Educated early in the faith of the Congregational Clinrch, to the day of his death he accepted and cordially endorsed that faith. With- out ever making a public i)rofession of religion, few men have given better evidence of the control of re- ligious principles, and both his lips and his life mod- estly yet unequivocally assured those who knew him best that his was the faith of Jesus. Mr. Hawley was married Jan. 2S, 1821, by the Rev. Jonathan Judd, rector of St. John's Church, in Stam- ford, to Mary S., daughter of David Holly, Esq., of Stamford. Alfeed a. Holly, son of J(din William and Ke- beeca (Welles) Holly, of Stamford, graduated at Union College in 1818 ; was admitted to the bar, and began practice here. He soon left the profession, and since then has been connected with the Stamford and savings-banks of the town. JOHS BissEL was a student of law in the office of Charles Hawley, and, after being admitted to the bar, opened an office here, liut soon went to New York City. Hox. Teumas SjriTir, formerly United States sen- ator, is also a resident of Stamford. When in prac- tice he ranked among the sound and able lawyers of the Connecticut bar. JosHu.i Be.vl Ferris, son of Joshua and Letitia (Lock wood) Ferris, was born in Oreenwich, Conn., Jan. 1.3, 1S04. The name Ferris is from Leice.ster- shire, England, from Henry, son of Gualchelme de Feriers, house of Feriers, to whom William the Con- queror gave large grants of land in the three shires of Stafford, Derby, and Leicester. Thus the ancestry of Mr. Ferris is traced back through Jeffrey Ferris (spelled Firries in old records of Stamford) from America to England and to France. Jeffrev Ferris, who w'as made freeman in Boston in M'li)'), came with the first settlers, hcljicd pay for the first survey, and received ten acres of the first allot- nieiit of land. Savage says he was from Watcrtown, JIass., going from there to Wethersficld, thence with the first colony to this section. He was one of the eleven Greenwich men who petitioned to be accepted under the New Haven jurisdiction. He lived there- after in Greenwich, and died in KKiG. During the many years the ancestors of Mr. Ferris have resided in Greenwich, they have been agricul- turists, well-to-do, not rich, and in his early years Mr. Ferris attended the common schocds, but while still young was jjlaced under the tutelage of and prei)ared for c<dlege by Eev. Daniel Smith, of Stamford (who was jia.stor of the Congregational church for more than forty years), and entered Yale College in 1819, graduating there in 1823. Immediately thereafter Mr. Ferris began teaching a preparatory school for boys in Stamford, at the same time devoting every hour he could give to the reading of law, on which his mind constantly dwelt. He continued teaching until 1833, but w.as admitted to the bar in 1829. He s]ient some time in Hon. C'harles Hawley's office as clerk of Proljate for Mr. Hawley, wdio was Probate judge. In 1833, Mr. Ferris opened an office as a law- yer, and has been in active practice since. About 1870, Mr. Ferris admitted Calvin G. Child, and after- wards Samuel Fessenden, into partnership. Jlr. Child, in 1875, opened an office for himself, and the firm Las since been " Ferris & Fessenden." Jlr. Ferris married, in 1823, Sally H., daughter of William B. Peters, Esq., whose father was the cele- brated Rev. Dr. Peters, of Hebron, Conn. She wa-s born in Stamford. Their children have been : Harriet (deceased), Samuel J. (lost at sea), Isadore W., Joshua B. (who was drowned), Elizabeth J. (who married William R. Fosdick, of Stamford), Mary L. (who married Rev. E. O. Flagg, of New York), Samuel P. (now a major in the United States army), and Henry .1. (now residing in New York). Mr. Ferris represented Stamford in the State Legis- lature in 1836-38, and was a member of the State Sen- ate during 1840-41 and 1849-50. He was a|ii)ointcd judge of Probate (to succeed Hon. Charles Hawley) by the General Assembly in 1838, and held that office many years. He was also State's attorney for several years. His politics, in early life, were in accord with the Whig party. Since the organization of the Re- publican ]iarty he has given that his sn))port. From the beginning of his practice, Mr. Ferris has taken rank with the ablest lawyers of his age in the county. His client's interests have always been his own, and he has shown great slirewdness in the man- agement of liis ca.ses, and care in preparing the minute details on which success so often depends. As a coun- selor he is careful, far-seeing, an<l safe. His courteous demeanor and unaffected politeness render his com- panionship pleasing, and have tended to win him many I'riends. He has been engaged iu many difficult 20 HISTORY OF FAIRFIELD COUNTi', CONNECTICUT. and labiirious i-a.sc.s in the highest cDurt-s of the State, and hm a reputation for integrity, fidelity to the inter- ests of liis clients, indefatigable labor, and legal acu- men second to no other lawyer in this section of the j State. Many interesting and important cases in which lie has participated might be cited had we sjiace, and , did it comport with the wishes of Mr. Ferris to pub- lish them. I Wii, 1,1AM Thomas Mixok, LL.D., the second son of Simeon H., of this town, graduated at Yale in 18,34, ; and studied law with his father. After being admit- , ted to the bar he commenced practice in his native j town, where he has continued to reside. He has always been ])oi)ular at home, and his townsmen from the first have looked to him as a leader for them in all local movements for the prosperity of the town. He has represented the town in the State Legislature seven times, and once his district in the State Senate. In 1855 he was chosen Governor of Connecticut, and re-elected the next year. He received in 1855 the hon- orary degree of LL.l). from the Wesleyan University at Middletown. In 18r>4 he was appointed by Presi- dent Lincoln consul-general to Havana, which office he resigned in 1867. On returning to his native town lie was chosen to represent the town in the State Legis- lature, and by the Legislature he was appointed judge i of the Superior Court of the State. | Hkxry a. Mitchell, of New Canaan, was here in 1S42 and 1843. I James H. Olm.itead was born in Ridgefield, Conn., Nov. 24, 1830. He was educated at the dis- trict schools of his native town and Ridgefield Acad- emy. He subsequently taught school in Tarrytown, N. Y., and other places, and finally, having decided upon the legal profession as a life-work, went to Stamford and commenced his studies in the office of the late Charles Hawley. He continued his studies with diligence and attention, and in October, 1854, was admitted to the bar, and began practice in his adopteil town of Stamford, where he has since resided. He entered into the practice with vigor and persis- tency, and soon took a prominent i)osition at the Fair- fielil bar. He was appointed State's attorney in 1S74; wa.s reappointed, and again received the aiipointmcnt, but realigned the office July 1, 1880. He was judge of Probate five years, and member of the Legislature in 1874. During his official career as State's attorney he prosecuted ten trials for nnirder, the first being tliat of James Lnttin, and the last the celebrated liiiekholz ca.He. He discharged his official duties fearlessly, and, in the language of a j>resent judge of the Superior Court, " wa-s one of the most vigorous prosecutors in the State." Oct. 2, 1854, he united in marriage with Adelaide F., daughter of the late Col. Lorenzo Meeker, and their family has consisted of eight children, four of whom are living, — viz., Cora Montgomery Meeker, Irving, Fanny, and Mary. Fhaxcis M. Hawley. son of the Hon. Charles, a native of Stamford, graduated at Trinity College, studied law with his father, was admitted to the bar in 1864, and opened here a law-office. Julius B. Curtis was born at Newtown, Conn., Dee. 10, 1825. He was the only son of Nichola.s and Sar.ih A. (Bennett) Curtis, and is a lineal descendant of William Curtis, one of the first settlers of Stratford, Conn. (The birthplace of Mr. Curtis is erroneously given in Huntington's "History of Stamford" a- being at Stamford. ) Mr. Curtis received his early education at the public schools of his native town, supplemented by one year's attendance at the Newtown Academy and at a private school of academic character. But his education was largely obtained by studying alone without the aid of a teacher. He commenced the study of law with Hon. Edward Hinman, of Southbury, Conn., in the .summer of 1846, and afterwards continued his legal readings under Isaac M. Sturges, Esq., then of Newtown, and Hon. Amos S. Treat, completing his studies at the law school at Ballston Springs, Saratoga Co., N. Y., in the summer of 1850, and was admitted to the bar at Fair- field, Conn., at the sc.ssion of County Court held in December, 1850.