Norwich bulletin., 1920-06-26
TRIBUTES TO. DECEASED ATTORNEYS

ney.
 Reference has already been made to
 MT. Averill's early life in Danbury, as , well as to his ancestry and early train- ing His career here among us began in 1874. when, as a law student he enter ed the office of Jeremiah Halsey It is | another instance of the rare and discrini-
 mating judgment of MT. Halsey, to i i whom this bar owes so much. that Mir. ] i Averill was turned aside from the or i dinary work of the practicing lawyer to | ! become clerk of our courts. In an un-
 usual way, the man and his career seem- ed to meet With goodly heritage, han dicapped by no all assorted conditions, |
 and possessed of ample equipment, he en-
 braced the opportunity which came to
 him. It is as clerk of courts that we l shall especially remember Mir. Averill.
 For a perior of about 35 years he con- l tinued in this service For it he was l we'll fitted. Promptness. dispatch and ac- 1 curacy were his characteristics His abil- I ity was not only repeatedly recognized by | the judges of our courts. but so eXcep- | tional was his aptitude for his work that his reputation became state wide. Some
 times, he performed the nerve and pa-
 tience trying duties of his office. handi-
 capped by certain physical weaknesses of
 which he seldom spoke even to his clos
 est friends How difficult it is to make
 a just estimate of any human life How little do We know of the real struggles
 the victories lost and won!
 It was in 1915. that Mir Averill term
 mated his last official connection with
 our courts This was not an easy thing
 for him to do, but the long period of work, most eXacting in it's nature, had told upon his health.
 It was the last time that I saw M: Averill and only a few days before he
 was called away, that he said to me
 My chief purpose in life will now be to carry out some of the plans which Mrs.
 Averii had made for the improvement of Norwich"
 In his personal makeup Mir. Averih was not of the ',hale fellow well n7etr type It was not as easy for him as
 for some to win popularity or form new T friendships. Notwithstanding this. he was ambitious to be connected with prominent Il men Of affairs and public enterprises and in an unusual way he realized this am. n bition -" ''i-' I It was in his home think. that Mir Il 1 AVeril took his greatest enjoyment. and l. u was here that he delighted to see and > entertain his friends
 s The instances of encoura gement anI assistance unostenta tiously given bv MT
 and Mrs. Averill to young men and ,ro.
 men Who needed such help were man, If more than most of us know. Their sub "a stantal henefactions to public institution, If VIII De lasting memorials of their inter ,r est m the larger and better life of tbef- 'i adopted city. le The Late s. s. Thresher. l- Judge Lucius Brown presentad +b T. following tribute upon the late Sonec ,e s. Thresher: ''eiie0 ly MT Thresher who died March 9s tn LSIS' was the oldest practitioner at ou is par at the time of his death He did no at enter his profession very carly In I;f in out haVlhg m his earlier years a de a cided taste for law, he educated and fiji ve ted himself for it's practice He was nd h. mltted to the practice of his professio IT, Ill New London county in the year 1S6. he navlng practiced at our bar for fifty Id seven years He was a great stickler fo of the old form of pleading; perhaps of might justly be said he approached tn in late Judge Hovey in this respect close ,is than any other member of the bar of hi ar time.
 x- He was successful practitioner e iii pecially so. during his earlier life. Nott ,eI ing seemed to please him better than
 raise new question and compel tn as court to rule and pass on it. He wa of sharp in his sarcasm and was especiaIl as expert in laughing his opponent out ( , court
 inI He was always kind and helpful of younger attorneys and was often cor ,,a suited by them. with whom he most vii
 ingly would take time to stop and di. he cuss the difficult points of their cas or He was great reader and had what a. nd sisted him especially in the arguments ( .b his cases-a strong retentive memor- ng It was always interesting and peasin as | to listen to his sarcasm in the present; of tion of his cases to the court-especial
 if you were not the opposing attorne If He was quick to discover the stror Ii. points of his opponents case. k. He will be missed especially by Il i1 older members who knew him best whi .nt he was in his most active practice. or- Attorney Douglass Speaks. zee Attorney Rodericl M Douglass pr he nounced an eulogy and review of the Ii Of of MT Thresher, whom he had known f
 36 years, speaking in part as follows: Ice Seneca Sanford Thresher was born or Swansea. Mass, on March s. 1892, Il m son of Ashel and Lydia Handy Threshe the His father died when he was years lie age. An elder brother was lost at SC
 He came from Revolutionary stock al la belonged to the Sons of the Revolutio Tn He learned the trade of a Seweler al NV did not take up law until he reach on- full manhood. but he yearned for know de- edge and had a sound mind and bo
 that fitted him for the profession. vas joined tl>e New London county bar tt1e Nov. 14, 1862.
 orn The deceased had been member an- cbris+ church and tauph+ in the Sund us school and held office in the organiz 'tn' tion.
 vas MT. Thresher was always listened ana with marked attention. His argumel
 were able and on these occasions he " MT at his best and had no superior in { ad- presentation and arguments of questi @ @tne of Jaw.
 ur He was democrat and in early l