Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1858-07-28
THE INGERSOLL'S.

JONATHAN INGERsoL.-The life of this
man seems TO have been tissue of ro
mances. almost from his birth. He has
taken part in many, very many different
scenes ard varied phases cf human life,
has mirs'ed in the pomp and pageantry
CT European Courts, crossed Lis legs in
the halmuc's tent, and paced the quar-
ter deck Of ''Man of War;" so long
and oft, while cruising in the b,ue wa
ters of the Mediterranean, that its varied
and beautiful scenery is as familiar 10
him as that of his chilih3od's home
He is descended from some of the best
stock of New England; the names of his
! father, brothers and sister are n0l un-
known to history and 10 fame. Or JON
athen Ingersol, the father of the subject
of this sketch, writer in the New York
Dav Book speaks as follows: "This jur-
ist and politician born in 1857. gradua
ted at Yale College. and after thor
ough cocrse of professional study, was
admitted TO the New Haven, Ct, bar
Possessing remarkable abilities and greai
energy. he rose rapidly to distinction as
a lawyer, and at an early age for tha
day, was elevated to the bench of the
Supreme Court of Connecticut. To thi;
office he was regularly re elected dowr
to the formation of the present constitu
tion of the State" (This, though com
plimentary, was not Gistinctively so.-
During the century and half. that the
tenure of Office of the Judges of the Su
preme Court of Connecticut was but g
single year, not one of them failed of al
annual re. election, till he was incapaci
tated by age. Such stability was never
known elsewhere.)
He was subsequently, for several sue
cessive terms, Lieutenant Governor o.
the State OF the brothers of ar Mr.
Ingersoll, two are distinguished members
OF the New Haven bar. Ralph Isaacs
was for four terms in the Nationa! HOUSE
of Representatives, and during the ad
ministration OF Mr.. Polk, was minister t
Russia. Charles A, is Judge of thI
United States Court, for the district o
Connecticut. Another brother is an eIn.
inent Episcopalian Divine, residing a
Buffalo. Of his sister, Grace Ingersoll,
there are few in literary circles, but are
I conversant 10 some extent, with her his
tory. She was known in her time az
one of the Beauties of the Court of Ma
poleon," and through the late work en-
titled 1.-The Court of Napoleon" by F
B. Goodrich, (onc of the most beautiful
and elegant works extant, her name
and fame is destined TO live many centu.
ries after all OF her that was Of the earth,
has gone forever. F. B. Goodrich, in
his work. copies brief sketch of this
fascinating lady. by S G. Goodrich, as
follows:
"GRACE INGERsoL: How beautiful the
name, how suggestive of what she was
in mind. in person, in character! I saw
| her once, but once, and / was then a
child. yet her image is as distinct as if
had seen her yesterday.
In my boyhood, these New Haven In
gersolls came 10 Ridgefeld occasionally
especially in summer, 10 visit their rela.
tons there. They all seemed to me like
superior beings, especially Mrs. Inger.
soil, who was fair and forty about those
days. On certain occasion, Grace,
who was school companion of my Ell.
der sister, came to our house. | mag
ine she did not see or notice me. Ger
tainly she did not discover in the shy
boy in the corner, her future biographer.
She was tall and slender, yet fully round
ed, with rich, dark bair, and large span
ish eyes-now seeming blue, and now
black, and changing with the objects on
whish she looked, or the play of emo
ton within her breast. In complexion
she was brunette; yet with melting
glow in her cheek, as if she had stolen
from the sun the generous hues which
flowers. Her beauty was in fact so
striking-at once so suberb aud so con-
ciIiating that was both awed and fas-
cinated by her. Wherever she went, l
followed, though keeping a; distance,
and never losing sight Of her. She
spent the afternoon at our house, and
then departed, and | saw her no more.
1t was not long after this that French
man by the name Of Grellet, who had
come 10 The Uniled States on some impor-
tani commercial affairs, CHANGED to be at
GNPM Haven anu saw NIdC6 1I..stf soilf
whom he had already met at New York.
Such beauty as that Of the New Haven
belle is rare in any coudtry; ii is never
Indigenous in France. Even if such
could be born there, the imperious force
of conventional manners would have
stamped itself upon her, and made her
fashionable lady, at the expense of that
Eve like beauty and simplicity which
characterized her. 1t is not astonishing
then, that the strange as
he was to all the beauty of French fash
ionable life-should still have been smit
ten with this new and startling type of
female loveliness.