History of Fairfield County, Connecticut

yet a young man he ranked anning the leaders of the bar in the amount of his business and the ability and success with which it was conducted." He was judge of Probate in Norwalk, in 1855 and 185(; was State senator, and from 185(5 to 1859 was State's attorney tor Fairfle-ld County. He was elected to Congress in 1859. Being in Washington at the breaking out of the Rebellion, lie enlisted in a volunteer liattalion for the temporary defense of tbi' capital, and srrvr.l until troojis were obtained from tlie North, lie entered the United States service as colonel ottbi' iMl'th L'oii- neeticut Regiment, and served througli tiie war. Ik- was subsequeutly promoted to be brigadier-general. At the close of the war he returned to Norwalk, and in 18G(> was elected to the United States Senate and re-elected in 1872, and was regarded as one of the ablest members of that body. He died Nov. 21, 1875. DwiGiiT Morris was born at Morris, Conn., Nov. 22, 1820. His father, Janu-s Morris, was a gr.idnate of Yale, in the class of 1775, entered the army, and cm- tinned through the Revolution, anil was a literary man, having published a history of Litchfield ( 'ounty and other meritorious contribution; from his jien. Dwight Morris entered Y'ale and le.'t aliont the close of the sophomore year and went to Union College, where he graduated in 1838. The honorary degree of A.M. was received by him in 1878 from Yale College. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1 840, and commenced practice in Bridgeport, where lie lia-< since resided. He represented Bridgeport in the ( ien- eral Assembly in 1845 and 1864; was judge of Pro- bate in 1S45, 1851, and 1852. He raised and com- manded the Fourteenth Regiment, Connecticut Vol- unteers, 18G2. Left the State with the regiment Aug. 25, 1862. September 7th was assigned to the command of the Second Brigade, French's Division, Second Army Corps; commanded the brigade, numbering two thousand men, at Antietam, Scjit. 17, 1862; loss in killed and wounded, five hundred and twenty-nine. He continued the command until Feliruary, 1864, when he was mustered out. In 1864 ln' was nomi- nated by Preddcnt Lincoln judge of llie I'erritory of Idaho, but declined the appointment, and in Feb- ruary, 1866, was apiiointed Consul-Ceneral to H ivn , France, aind remained such until Aug. 1, 1869. In November, 1876, was elected Secretary of State of Connecticut, and at present i.s a representative to the General Court. Ja.mes C. Loomis was born in Windsor, Conn., 16 in>;T01lY OF FAIRFIELD rorXTY. rOXXECTTrTT. April 24, IS117. He prepared lor i-Dllegc at the gram- mar sL'liool ill Ilartforil, anil ciitfred Yale College in 1824, then only seventeen year* of age, and graduated with honor in the cliws of 1828. Among the mem- bers of liis class were Rev. P. T. Holley, of thu city ; ex-frovcrnor Ho]>pin, of Rhode Island; and Judge William Strang, of the United States iSujireme Court. Having decided U])on the law as a life-work, he com- menced his studies at Charlotteville, Ya., and com- pleted them in the office of the late Hon. Clark Bissell, of Xorwalk. He pursued his studies with diligence and attention, and was a<lniitted to the bar in 18;!2, and commenced the practice of his ])rofe.s3ion in \Vestiiort, with the late Hon. Samuel B. Sher- wood, one of the leaders of the Fairfield bar, which at that time wa.s adorned by such brilliant legal lumi- naries as Roger Minot Sherinan, Charles Hawley, Clark Bi.s.scll, T. B. Butler, Reuben Booth, Fitch Wheeler, Henry Dalton, etc. >Ir. Loomis rose rapidly in the profession, and, de- siring a more pnmiising field for successful practice, in 1S40 removed to Bridgeport, where he at once entered into a large practice and jjarticipatcd actively in ])ublic aflairs. In 1848 he formed a copartnership with George \Y. Warner, which continued several years. He was for a number of years the city attorney and legal adviser of the city, and mayor for one term in 1843. His municipal service was at a period of much excite- ment, when important questions of finance, etc., had to be grapi)led with and settled. The employment of a special steamboat to run in connection with the Housatonic Railroad in oppo- sition to the old line at this period caused the exhibi- tion of much bad blood between the partisans of the rival lines, and Mayor Loomis was repeatedly called upon to ap|)car with passe to kecj) the peace on the arrival of trains from .Vlbany. He twice represented his town in the lower house of the State Legislature, and once or twice the Tenth District as State senator, and by virtue of this i>i>sition became a member of the corporation of Yale College. The business and investments of Mr. Loomis were very successful financially, and he finally, a few years previous to his death, withdrew from the active practice of his profession, dividing his tiuR- between the cares of his ])rivatc affairs and numerous public interests, with which he became identified. The most arduous and important public service of the later years of his life was in connection with the public schools of the t'jwn. In April, 187(i, the Utwn voted to consolidate the m^hool districts, and elected ft new board of cdu- cntion for the care and management of the schools, of which he was elected prcsiilent. He at once entered with an inleri-«t and /.est [n'culiar to himself ujion the Work of organization, involving an amount of thought, attention, and labor few can realize. He was one of the first jirojectors of Seaside Park, was a commissioner ther«^, and was very active and influential in its early improvement and manage- ment. At the time of his decease he was president of the Bar Association of Fairfield County, of the board of education, of the Mountain Grove Cemetery, of the Bridgejiort Library Association, and was also an active director in the City National Bank, and trastee of the Peo]>le's Savings-Bank. He manifested a decided interest in religiotts mat- ters; was president of the stockholders' association for the erection of the ])resent edifice of the First Congregational Society from 1849 to about 1860, when its interests became merged in and absorbed by the society, of which he was also a member and liberal supporter. He was a constant attendant upon public worship. In 1833 he united in marriage with Miss Eliza Mitchell, of New Haven, who, together with their young son, died in 1841. In 1844 he married Mary B., daughter of Ira Sherman, Esq. ; their family con- sisted of two children, — a son and a daughter, — both deceased, the former while a member of the senior class in Yale College, and the latter in early childhood. Politically, Mr. Loomis was a conservative Demo- crat, and in 1861 and again in 1862 was the candidate of his party for Governor of the State against Mr. William A. Buckingham. Though he failed of gu- bernatorial lionors at this ])eriod, during his long career almost any position, political or judicial, would seem to have been within, his reach ; but he was never sufficiently ambitious to strive very earnestly for such honors, or to accept them when proffered. His death made a painful void in his home, in the family and social circle, in the church and society to which he was attached, in the legal profcs-sion, and in numerous boards in which lie presided or partici- pated. He died at South Egremont, Mass., Sept. 16, 1877. Amo.s Sherm.\x Treat was born in the town of Bridgewater, Litchfield Co.. Conn., Feb. 5, 1816. He is a son of Daniel A. and Almira Sherman Treat, and is a lineal descendant of Richard Treat, one of the pat- entees in the colonial charter, and of his son Robert Treat, for many years Grovcrnor of Connecticut. On the maternal side he is descended from Samuel Sher- nuin, one of the pioneers of Connecticut. His father owned a small farm in Bridgewater, and died when the subject of this sketch was twelve years of age, leaving a widow and five children. Having decided upon a collegiate course, he prepared for college in Huilson, Ohio, and entered Yale College. After leaving college he taught school in South Carolina, and still biter in New Jersey. He commenced the study of the law with Hon. Jacob W. Miller, of Mor- ristown, N. J., at one time I'nitcd States Senator from that State, anil completed his studies with C. R. But- ler, Esq., of Plymouth, Conn. He was admitted to the bar in Litchfield in 1843, and commenced the practice of his prjfession in Newtown, Conn., where ^''■ ^. o^ BENCH AND BAR. 17 he remained until July 12, \><'A, wlien he reuiove<l to Bridgeport, whore he has si nee resided, exeept I'roni Mav, 1870, to November, 1875, when he lived in Wood- hridjre, in this State. Althotigh aetively engaged m the praetiee of an arducius profession, Mr. Treat has been mueh in i)ublie life, and ha.s manifested a gen- uine interest in public affairs and in all projects tend- ing to advance the material interests of his adopted city and the county in general. He was clerk of the Fairfield ('ounty Court from 1854 to 1850; member ijf the Peace Congress in ]8(!1 ; represented Bridgeport in the Connecticut Legislature in 1858, 18(52, 181)9, and 18711 ; aiul Woodbridge in the same body in 1871, 1872, and 1873. He was Si)eaker of the House in 1872, chosen to that position by the Eei)ubliean party, of which he has been a member since its organization. He was a director in the Bridgeport and City National Banks; director in the (Jas-Light Company many years ; and its president for ten years. While a resident of New- town he w;ls a member of the board of education sev- eral years, and postmaster one year. In the ^lasonic fraternity Mr. Treat has taken a prominent ])osition. He was made a Mason in 1855, and has held nearly all the offices of the lodge, in- cluding Master. He ha.s also held nearly all the offices in Hamilton Commandery, and has been its Eminent Commander, and was Grand Commander of the State Connnandery in 18G8 and 18(50. Dec. 15, 18(»i), he united in marriage with Mary A., only daughter of Treat Clark, of Woodbridge, Conn., and they have one daughter, Mary Clark, born .Jan. 28, 1872. Mr. Treat attends the North Congregational Church.