Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-14

1dlIlSI was OllNeT ELLSWORTH, lllTQ OIlSl JuSGlCe
of the United States, and his mother was
Abigail Wolcott, relative of oliver Wolcott,
signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"Mr Ellsworth a graduate of Yale Col
lege, in the class of 1910; was a classmate of
Prof Morse and perhaps did more than any
other single man, when commissioner of
patents, to secure the appropriation from Con-
gress to test the practicability of the telegraph
in which he firmly believed. He studied law at
Litchfield, Conn.,, Law School.
His father both a farmer and lawyer
in the days when the men of mark lived in
the country and upon farms, and he himself
was in the same way farmer, living first at
Windsor, Conn. and carrying the home
farm at the same time that he commenced
the practice of law at Hartford. He however
soon removed to Hartford and preferred to
engage in politics and various pursuits rather
than adhere to his profession.
He was, by President Jackson, appointed
commissioner to the Indian tribes of the then
Far West and afterward commissioner of the
Patent Office. When commissioner to the In
dams, on one of his trips toward the Rocky
Mountains, Mr. Ellsworth accompanied by
Washington Irving AS commissioner of patents
he was invited to take seat in the cabinet.
Mr.. Ellsworth was one of the earliest to
foreten the value of prairie lands and invested
in these when others laughed at his folly, de-
claring that they were so far from timber as
to be forever unmhabitable. He also interested
capitalists and public men from all sections of
the country in the same class of investments
and in some counties in the West almost the
entire lands they embraced were entered by
him for himself and the parties he represented
"On leaving the Patent Office in 1s45, he re-
moved to La Fayette Ind, to take charge per-
sonally of his large landed interests He had
already improved wide sections though still
residing In Washington, and now, though resd-
ing in the town, he commenced other extensive
improvements. He was always experimenting
and striving after results and probably
used the first moving machine introduced
upon the prairies.
MIR. Ellsworth was thrice married His first
wife was Miss Nancy Goodrich, daughter of
Eizur Goodrich, treasurer of Yale College He
was married second time to Miss Marietta
Bartlett of Guilford Conn., and The last time
to Miss Catherine Smith of Durham Conn.,
Who survived him. He died at Fair Haven,
Conn.,, December a. 1853 having removed from
Indiana only a few months before his death
and was buried at New Haven. Conn"
HE law establishing the Department of Ag-
ricuture as an independent branch of
the Government was signed May Is, 1852,
By President Lincoln, who appointed as the
fist commissioner Isaac Newton the then
chief of the section of agriculture in the Pat
ent Office, who took Office on July l. 1862
Commissioner Newton an enthusiastic,
wide-awake executive and made good use of
the propagating garden at Sixth street and
Missouri avenue well as the 40 acres lying
between Twelfth and Fourteenth streets and
street north and street south, all of which
he conducted as an experimental farm when
the southern part was not being used during
the Civil War by the War Department as a
cattle yard for Army supplies. The present
handsome marble building stands upon part
of this early experimental farm.
One of the first acts of Commissioner New
ton when he took Office in 1862 was to appoint
William Saunders to be superintendent of this
prppagating garden, which proved to be most
fortunate thing for the Government.
1t may well be said that Commissioner New
ton died in the line of duty, for such was
almost the case. Indeed, his death was due
to sunstroke which occurred in July, 1866,
when he was visiting the experimental farm.
According to Charles H. Greathouse, "A large
number of varieties of observation-disclosures
Mediterranean and others now in general use
was being tried. The grain had been cut and
was lying on the ground when thundershower
suddenly appeared. Commissioner Newton was
in his room at the Patent Ofie. He fastened
to the farm, mile away, to instruct the
workmen how to save the wheat free from any
injury. The was hot and he was wearing
a high silk hat In moving hurriedly about
the grounds he became overheated. His son
took him to the little Office on the farm and
summoned medical assistance. Restoratives
applied and he partially recovered. but
was never well again. He died from the effects
of the injury June 19, 1867"
TN looking over the files of The Star for a
reference to Mr. Newtons death, the writer
came across this item in the issue Of June
90 1867:
Death of Isaac Newton.-A meeting OF
the clerks of the Agricultural Bureau was held
in the commissioners room at 10 o'clock this
morning. Mr.. j. w Stokes, acting commits
sioner was called to the chair. Mr.. c. H.
Folwel acted as secretary. Messrs- Grosh