The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-02-12

have heard of it's wonderful beauty anc
delightful environments. To-day its at
fractions as summer residence are moi
surpassed by those of any other town
in New England. More than century
!, ago the town had fame Of another sort
which mustN have been known to every
New Yorw patriot, for the murmur OF
it reached across the Atlantic. One
who looks through the records Of the
town meetings of Litchfield from 1765
to IT'S will find that there We're discus
sions on the Stamp act the Boston Port
Dill, and other acts of parliamentary
aggression, as clear and well defined as
the debates in that town meeting where
Samuel Adams and Harrison Gray Otis
were the principal speakers. The child
Liberty would not have been born in
the Boston town meeting had not the
Litchfield town meeting and other like
town meetings throughout the colonies
prepared the atmosphere in which alone
that child could breathe. Litchfield
was the principal station on the high
way from Hartford to the Hudson; and
a depot for military stores, a workshop
and provision storehouse for the Con-
1 tinental army were there established
during the revolution. Many distin-
guished royalist prisoners were sent
there, and military atmosphere per-
vaded the place. General Washington
was a frequent visitor, and SO were
other general officers of the American
( forces. including Lafayette, who, when
he visited the United States in 1924,
went to Litchfield to renew old memo
ries with some of his former comrades
in arms The leaden statue of King
George the Third which stood on the
Battery in New York was conveyed to
Hitchfield, and in an orchard In the rear
of the Wolcott house 1t was melted into
bullets for the patriot army. All
through the struggle with the mother
country Litchfiedld was hotbed Of pa
triotism, and when the first law school
in America commenced its regular sys-
tematic course Of instruction there in
1884 the ambitious village had among
its citizens numerous men of exception
al intelligence and culture. One of
them was Andrew Adams. who had
been member of the Continental Con-
gress and was afterward judge of the
supreme court. Oliver Wolcott was
there. He also had been member of
the congress, had signed the Declara-
ton of independence, and was after
ward governor of the state. Ephraim
Kirby, who few years later published
the first volume of law reports ever
published in America, Major Seymour,
who had commanded regiment at the |
surrender of Burgoyne; Benjamin Tall |
madge, perhaps the most noted caval- |
ry commander of the Revolution; Ju- |
Illus Deming, a very prominent and sue
cessful merchant and financier, and |
many others of like character were re-
siding in the town. Into this commune
ty in the year ITS came Tapping Reeve,
a young lawyer just admitted 10 the
bar, to settle in the practice of his pro-
fession. Born III Southold, Long Island,
in 1744, the son ofaRev. Abner Reeve, a
clergyman, he was gradu-
ated at Princeton college in 1853, and
was Immediately appointed teacher in
a grammar school in connection with
the college. In that station and as a
tutor in the college itself. he passed
seven years. He then came to Connect
icut to study law, entering the office of
Judge Root, who was then practicing
lawyer in Hartford, and some years
later a judge of the supreme court.
From Hartford he came to Litchfield.
He had just previously married Sally
Burr, daughter of President Burr Of
Princeton and sister of Aaron Burr.
Until the conclusion Of the Revolution
airy war there was but very little civil
business done In the county at Litch-
field and Mr. Reeve betook himself to
giving instructions to young gentlemen
who looked forward to the legal profess
sion for support and advancement when
luieter times should come. This en-
ployment tended greatly to enlarge
and improve his stock of legal learning,
and led the way for him to begin in 1854
, systematic course of instruction in the
aw and to regular classes. The Law
school dates from that year. 1t con-
-inued in successful operation and with
annual graduating classes unit! 1885,
The catalogue contains the names Of
me thousand and fifteen young men
who were prepared for the bar subse-
luent to the year 1898, most of whom
we're admitted to the practice in the
,ourt at Litchf1eld. The list Of stu
Tents prior to that date Is imperfect,
,ut there are known to have been at
east two hundred and ten More than
wo-thirds of the students registered
rom states other than Connecticut.
Maine sent four, New Hampshire fif-
cen, Vermont twenty-seven,s Massachu-
etts ninety-four, Rhode Island twenty
wo, New York one hundred and twen-
y-four, New Jersey eleven, Pennsylva-
ia thirty, Delaware eighteen, Mary
and thirty-nine, Virginia twentyone,
Worth Carolina. twenty, South Carolina '
orty-five, Georgia sixty-nine, Ohio
our, Indiana, Mississippi and Tonnes ]
ee each one, Kentucky nine, Alabama
hree, and Louisiana seven. There
,ere four from the District of Column
la and one from Calcutta. The great
st number who entered in any single
ear was fifty-four in 1873 c
Opposite the name Of each student A
he catalogue mentions the officers of y
istinction held by him in after years.
n that particular the compilers of the
dialogue have made careful inquiry,
nd the writer has been told by men,
ers Of the bar and of the judiciary In
averal of the states that the informa-
on is accurate and practically COM
lete. Lawyers now living in the orig
lal states will recognize the names Of
any men conspicuous in the juridical