Litchfield enquirer., 1881-08-18
Hon. 0rigen s. Seymour.

Judge Origen s. Seymour died at his residence in this village at a. m of Friday last, the 10th of August. Although he seemed to have recovered from the severe illness of last win ter, there had developed a stoppage of the duct leading from the gall bladder to the bow els, which, after months of decline, has at last proved fatal.
 Judge Seymour was of an old Litchfeld family, of which Gov. Horatio Seymour of New York, Senator HoratIo Seymour of Yer mont, and many other noted public men of the name, were offshoots. His grandfather, Major Moses Seymour bore distinguished part in the Revolutionary war. and his father, Ozias Seymour, was for many years sheriff of the County. Judge Seymour was born Feb. 9th, 1894, and graduated from Yale College in 1894. Though embarrassed by weakness of the eyes to such degree that he was con- pelled much of the time to depend on having his lessons read to him by others, he stood we'll in college, and was admitted to the bar of this county in 1926. From that time till 1855 he was engaged in the practice of law. He early formed partnership with the Hon. Geo. c. Woodruff and rose to leading posi- tion in the very able bar then practicfng in this county. A Democrat in politics, he fre- quently represented the town in the legisla- ture, and was elected Speaker of the House in 1850. The next year he went to Congress where he remained two terms. He was one of the small number of Anti-Nebraska Dem- ocrats whose opposition nearly defeated the which followed, and which effected com- | plete political revolution in Connecticut and most of the other Northern states, Judge | Seymour did not join the new free-soiers, but remained, through life, a member, though liberal member, of the Democratic party. In 1855, on the reorganization of courts effected by the abolition of the old county courts, four new superior court jndges were appointed. Two of these, Messrs. Park and Butler were of the majority parties American and Republican, two, Messrs. Seymour and Waldo, of the Democratic party, then in the minority. The abolition of the county courts, as it proved, was mistake, and their place has been since partially filled by the establish ment of Common Pleas, District, and other subordinate tribunals Still, the hard work done by Judge Seymour and others of the newly appointed judges did much for 8 time to hide the inadequacy of the judicial force. A more industrious, courteous, intelligent trier of causes has never been seen on our bench than Judge Seymour; and, indeed. the amount of work accomplished by the judges of the reorganized Superior court would seem hardly credible in these easier going judicial times.
 Judge Seymour's eight years term expired
 in 1868, and it so happened that the Peace Democracy, headed by Thomas H. Seymour, | had just been barely beaten in the bitterest political contest seen in Connecticut since the adoption of the Constitution. Though war Democrats, Judges Seymour and Waldo had both voted with their party that spring a doubt was raised whether, if reappointed, they
 might not interfere with the national draft, then first ordered, by writs of habeas corpus; and, fiually, the legislature refused to re-elect either of the Democratic judges. Judge Seymour at once resumed practice at the bar, going into partnership with his son Edward
 w. Seymour, then leading lawyer in this place. A !-
 In 1S64-5 he was nominated for Governor
 by his party, but the favorable turn of the
 war, and the passage of constitutional amend. | zr1
 gave the Republican candidate large majori-
 ty, both years. He continued in active legal
 practice till 1870 when Republican legisla-
 ture appointed him and ex-Senator Foster
 Judges of the Supreme Court of Errors, In
 1873, he succeeded Judge Butler, his old col
 league on the Superior bench of 1855, as Chief
 Judge of the Supreme Court, retiring from
 the constitutional limitation of age, in 1874
 Since his retirement from the bench, Judge
 Seymour has never resumed practice at the
 bar, though much employed as committee and
 arbitrator in the trial of causes. Indeed, we
 are inclined to think that the most important
 public work of his life has been done since his retirement from the bench. In 1877 he wal
 chairman of the commission which exposed
 tue irregularities of the Charter Oak Insurance
 Company. Above all, in 1878, he was chair
 man of the commission which prepared oul
 new code. the most valuable measure of law
 reform ever introduced in this state How
 largely the influence of his name contributed
 to it's adoption, and how largely his private
 advice and his public lectures at the Yale Law
 School have contributed to the easy workins
 ety. In 1876 he was chairman of the com mission whose labors have finally settled tn, ! long disputed boundary between this Stat and New York, and have given Connection . the exclusive jurisdiction of the oyster fisher : ies lying of our southern coast. It is 8 curi , ous fact, that. though life long Democrat ) and though, during the past quarter of cen turY, he has held positions of tine highest trust l they have been given him in every instance b B his policical opponents. Better proof coul hardly be afforded that they came to him un :. sought.
 - In the Episcopal church, of which he Ina '- long been member, Judge Seymour has als 2 held the highest positions open to laymen. Flo : years he has invariably represented Sl ,- MichaePs Parish as delegate to the conver e tions of the diocese; and, since 1868, he ha I represented the laymen of the diocese in ever e national triennial convention of that church a He has always been extremely liberal in nj j. gifts for local and otber church objects.
 The important judiciai and quasi-judici, v positions repeatedly given Judge Seymour b
 Republican legislatures are sufficient eyidenc
 of the very high estimation in which his prt ,s fessional ability has been held throughout til d State. As judge he ranked among the yer d highest working necessarily and accomplish ing much, with but little of the friction ths wastes so much time in court with irritabl n or incompetent judges. His judicial opinion