Hon. Henry Gleason Newton passed away on the 31st of March, 1914, but his memory remains as a blessed benediction to those who knew him and of him it may well be said that he has joined "the choir invisible of those immortal dead who live again in lives made better by their presence." He ranked with the most distinguished lawyers of Connecticut, but marked as was his professional ability, it was but one phase of a many-sided character. There was no period in his life at which he did not recognize his obligations to his Maker and to his fellowmen and he was constantly putting forth resultant activity for the benefit of those with whom he came in contact. A native of Middlesex county, Connecticut, he was born at Durham, June 5, 1843, and was descended from one of the oldest and best known families of the state. Among his ancestors of the colonial period were the Rev. Roger Newton, the first minister of Farmington and the second minister of Milford, the Rev. Thomas Hooker, the first minister of Hartford; Major Matthew Mitchell; Captain John Taylor; Cornet Joseph Parsons; Elder John Strong; Elder William Brewster; Rev. John Lathrop; Major John Freeman; Lieutenant-Colonel John Talcott; Captain Samuel Newton; Lieutenant Miles Merwin, and many others. His grandparents were Abner and Abigail (Fairchild) Newton. His father, Deacon Gaylord Newton, was born in Durham, Connecticut, July 31, 1804, and there spent his entire life. For a long period he engaged in teaching school and was for thirty-five winter terms connected with public or select schools in or near Durham. For forty years he was a deacon in the Congregational church and he also served as assessor and selectman of his native town. He married Nancy M. Merwin, who was also a descendent of old Connecticut families and was a successful teacher. They spent their lives in Durham and were there laid to rest. They had a family of three children: Ellen Maria, who was born June 24, 1841, and died October 7, 1863; Henry Gleason, who was born June 5, 1843; and Caroline Gaylord, who was born January 21, 1845, and became the wife of Henry Huntington Newton.

Henry Gleason Newton was named in memory of the Rev. Henry Gleason, who had united his parents in marriage and who during his short ministry, ended by his death in 1839, doubled the membership of the First church in Durham. When but fourteen years of age Henry G. Newton united with that church and remained a member thereof until his death. During the last fourteen years of his life he served as one of its deacons, as had his father and grandfather before him. Thus early ho made choice of the principles which became the guiding spirit of his life, leading to the adoption of the highest standards of manhood. Liberal educational opportunities were accorded him. After attending Durham Academy he entered the Wesleyan University at Middletown in 1861 but during his first year's study failing health compelled him to put aside his textbooks. He again became a student in that institution in 1807 and was graduated therefrom with the class of 1870. During his college days he became a member of the Eclectic fraternity and also of the Phi Beta Kappa. In preparation for the profession of law he entered Yale and was graduated from the Law School with the class of 1872. He won two essay prizes on civil and on common law and by vote of the class became valedictorian. Following his admission to the bar he began the practice of law in New Haven and continued one of the distinguished members of the bar of that city until his demise. In 1899 he became senior partner in the law firm of Newton, Church & Hewitt and so continued throughout his remaining days. He enjoyed a most extensive practice and was notable among lawyers for the provident care with which he prepared his cases and for the correct manner in which he cited principle or precedent. He was one of the best read lawyers of the state and became a recognized authority on many branches of jurisprudence, particularly probate and bankruptcy law. He tried many important cases before all of the courts of the state and the United States district court and the circuit court of appeals. One of the most important in which he appeared was the appeal of William Jennings Bryan, formerly secretary of state under President Woodrow Wilson, from the action of the probate court in regard to the will of Philo S. Bennett. When Judge William K. Townsend was called to the bench of the United States circuit court Mr. Newton was prominently mentioned for appointment as judge of the United States district court for his district and received the support of prominent lawyers throughout the state. On May 4, 1903, he was admitted to practice in the United States Supreme Court. He represented in his professional capacity a number of leading corporations. He was attorney for the Yale National Bank of New Haven and one of its directors. Outside the strict path of his profession he had various important business connections. For five years he was a director and for two years president, of the People's Hank & Trust Company of New Haven, after which he resigned. In 1886 he became a trustee of the Farmers' & Mechanics' Savings Bank of Middletown and was senior member of its board at the time of his death. He became a director and member of the executive committee of C. Cowles & Company and was a director and the treasurer of the Merriam Manufacturing Company of Durham.

On the llth of September, 1885, Mr. Newton was married to Sarah Allen Baldwin, who was born in Norwich, New York, a daughter of Isaac and Alva (Merwin) Baldwin, who removed from the empire state to Cromwell, Middlesex county, Connecticut, during the early childhood of their daughter, who there acquired her education, attending the public and high schools, after which she became a teacher. Having a strong desire to enter the medical profession, she became a student in the New York Medical College for Women, from which institution she was graduated in the class of 1885.

Although a member of the Durham church, Mr. Newton was a most earnest worker in the Plymouth Congregational church and hible school of New Haven for more than thirty years and he took the keenest and most helpful interest in many lines of work pertaining to the uplift of the individual and the benefit of public interests. He was a director of Grace Hospital Society, was chairman of the board of directors of the City Missionary Association from its organization until his death and for many years was a director of the Young Men's Christian Association where he served on the board of trustees. The nature and breadth of his interests was further indicated by the fact that he was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, of the Society of Colonial Wars, of the Society of Sons of Founders and Patriots of America, of the Union League Club and of the Graduates Club of New Haven. He was also a member of the Congregational Club of New Haven, of which he served as president in 1889, and he belonged to the American Bar Association. For ten years he was acting school visitor of Durham and throughout almost the entire period of his connection with the bar was attorney for the town. In 1885 he was elected to the general assembly from Durham and became chairman of the judiciary committee of the house, where he was the recognized republican leader. In 1895 he was elected to the general assembly from New Haven and was made chairman of the committee on humane institutions. For six years he served as a member of the state board of health. In the midst of all of his other activities he found time for authorship. He wrote the article on probate law in the Civil Officer, on bankruptcy in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, on New Haven blue laws in the Yale Law Journal, also a sketch of Professor Hadley and an essay on civil law in the Civil Law Journal, and the History of Durham in the History of Middlesex County, published by J. H. Beers & Company. He ever took the deepest interest in the city of his adoption, its people and its institutions, yet he never forgot the home of his birth and never regarded its growth and progress as something foreign to his interests and his life. In fact be cooperated in many movements that led to its upbuilding and invested largely in some of its business enterprises. His home life was largely an ideal one of happiness and contentment and his death was the occasion of deepest and most widepread regret not only in New Haven, and Durham, where he was laid to rest, but also throughout the entire stute where he was so widely and honorably known. At the funeral services held in Plymouth church in New Haven, the Rev. Orville A. Petty said in part: "Henry G. Newton would not desire a eulogy over his dust. Not desiring it he deserves it; deserving it he does not need it. Yet in simple appreciation all must say that he was companion, churchman, citizen, philanthropist, man. He ofton thought on the hilltops all alone, but he also rendered service every day in the valleys where men, women and children needed a princely guide: he was at once a superb individualist and a rare social servant. Brilliant and broad-minded in liis thinking, eminent in his profession, loyal in sacrificing social service, a glad friend and a trusted counselor, a public servant and a benefactor of the unfortunate, patron of moral and religious values, Mr. Newton completed a remarkable career. He had such a hold on the heart and life of this community that we all felt a shock when he let go. A many-sided man, he served nobly in several fields—always a leader everywhere. He always found time to help the men who needed him most. Only two days before his promotion he made an address at the City Mission, where he was so well known and so largely loved; his closing words were—'Have a good time in a Christ-like way.' This phrase uncovered his heart—he aimed to make others glad in the noblest sense."
At the burial service Rev. Joseph Hooper read the following poem, written by William (Yoswell Doane, bishop of Albany, New York.

                                                                                                                 William Croswell Doane,
                                                                                                                       Bishop of Albany, New York.

The New Haven County Bar Association held a meeting April 24, 1914, in memory of Henry G. Newton, on which occasion Governor Simeon E. Baldwin said: "My first acquaintance with Henry G. Newton was as one of the faculty of the Yale Law School when he was a student there. He was one of the older men in his class; serious, thoughtful and scholarly. Roman law was one of the branches in which he took a special interest. It was then taught by Profesor James Hadley, a sketch of whose life work Mr. Newton subsequently con-tributed to the Civil Law Journal. He practiced at this bar from 1872 until his death, a period of over forty years. The community therefore had time to know well the character of the man. He had its respect as a well read, high-minded lawyer, sound in counsel, and faithful to any and every interest put under his charge. Unquestioned honesty, an ardent love of justice, undaunted courage, originality of thought, keen and accurate analyzing and unwearied industry were characteristics which brought him the respect of fellow members of the bar, as well as of his clients. His kindliness of heart, his loyalty to his friends and to whatever causes he felt were right, and his willingness to give himself unreservedly in their service gained him their affection."

On the same occasion Judge Livingston W. Cleaveland spoke as follows: "Early in my professional life I discovered that Mr. Newton was not only one of the ablest advisers among my friends, but that he was always ready to generously give to a younger member of the profession the benefit of his wide experience and extensive legal knowledge. To his clients he not only gave all that his resourceful mind could suggest of wise counsel and loyal serv-ices, but he showed them that lie felt a genuine interest in their cause, introducing into the situation the personal element, the value of which to any client is beyond computation or compensation. Henry G. Newton, as known to those of us who knew him best, was in many respects a remarkable man. The acuteness of mind which signalized his college career, qualifying him to carry off mathematical prizes and to distinguish himself in the languages in his academic course at Wesleyan, and essay prizes in both civil and common law in the Yale Law School, stood him in good stead when a knotty problem of law or fact was submitted to his searching anaylsis. He was a dangerous antagonist as many found to their sorrow when a case perhaps lost by him in the court below, became so often a victory in the supreme court of errors, for Mr. Newton was resourceful, original and persistent. No case to him was really lost until the court of last resort had shut the door of hope. No task assumed by him was hopeless until every effort had been made to accom-plish the desired result. He did not hesitate to advocate any to him righteous cause how-ever unpopular, and he inspired courage in his fellows by the spirit of optimism with which he approached even disagreeable tasks. His ethical standards, alway high, made, to him, the electors oath and the oath taken on admission to our bar very sacred obligations."

Judge Cleaveland quoted from a letter, written by William Jennings Bryan in regard to Mr. Newton, as follows: "He was a most lovable man as well as a man of great ability, and I have always deemed myself fortunate in coming in contact with him. The lives of all such men are to my mind a conclusive answer to those who argue against immortality, for I cannot conceive of the annihilation of so generous a spirit."

It was also at a meeting of the bar association that Harrison Hewitt said: "I cannot remember when I did not know Mr. Newton. While I was in the law school I studied in his office. As soon as I was admitted to the bar I became his partner and remained so until, his death. At the beginning of this association, I felt for Mr. Newton reverence and respect This reverence and respect increased as the years went by and the association became more intimate, and to them was added an affection which ever deepened to the end.  I wish I might, in the few words I have to say this morning, picture to you, as I see him, the man who evoked these feelings in me as well as in many others of the bar and of the public. In analyzing his characteristics on this occasion, prominence should, of course, be given to those which won for him the eminent position at the bar which he enjoyed. His services to the state, to his church, to charity and to his fellowmen in this community, great though they were, cannot be here considered, except in so far as they shed light on his career as a lawyer.  Law is the crystallization of the common sense and common morality of a com-munity, and a man is successful  as a lawyer in  so  far as he is able to apprehend that common sense and common morality and apply it to concrete problems of life. This requires a sort of instinct, born of an attunement to the standards of the community, which must come in large part from native character, but may be helped by a study of the application of that standard to problems which have arisen in the past.  This instinct was born in Mr. Newton with a love for our state, its history and institutions, which his fathers had helped to shape and which they had served.  To this equipment was added the knowledge arising from a careful unremitting study of our jurisprudence. To these qualities is due his value as an adviser. In dealing with the actual problems of a lawyer's life, Mr. Newton's course was marked with honor, honesty, courage and perseverance.  Once convinced of the justice of a cause he was unabashed by any odds against him and undaunted by any adverse decision. He never knew when he was beaten and, at what would have seemed the end, would have just be-gun the fight.   In his work as an advocate, the other characteristics which seemed to me most pronounced were quickness and keenness of thought, originality and whole-heartedness.  He saw into the heart of things almost intuitively. When attacking a problem in pleading, in the examination of witnesses, or in the argument of a question of law or fact, his ideas were never hackneyed, but were always his own. This originality, combined with a rare power of clear and succinct  statement, and a  farseeing  shrewdness,  made  him  a   pleader  to  be  feared.   He never followed the beaten path in cross-examination, and this very fact frequently enabled him to obtain dangerous admissions from witnesses who were biased or untruthful.    His arguments were effective because of their originality and force.  He never essayed oratory but, when convinced of the justice of his case, he threw his whole personality into what he was saying; and the intense conviction he so manifested  went  a   long  way  towards producing conviction in others. This same intensity of conviction   made Mr.   Newton tenacious of a position  once  taken  and  gave him a  serene  reliance  on  himself,  so  that adverse rulings never daunted  him, and  he was  always  eager  to test  them  to  the  last resort.  He well exemplified the truth of Emerson's saying:  'Trust thyself. Every heart vibrates to that iron strength.' Yet he had no pride of opinion and on questions which he had to decide, kept an open mind  until all  considerations had been  weighed. In his personal relations he was frank kindly and extremely generous of his  time, his  strength and his money.  His loyalty to his friends and to the causes in which he believed, knew no bounds short of all his skill and wisdom, all his time and strength and substance. We who came in closest contact with him will always miss this tower of strength.

"While we think of him as a successful and eminent lawyer, as a citizen who served his state, as a man among men, to us he will always be that dearest of all things, a friend."

In editorial comment, the New Haven Register of March 21st said of Henry Gleason Newton: "Yesterday, Judge Newton was engaged, with no apparent abatement of the natural force which for seventy years has characterized him, in those varied activities which made up his busy and useful life. Today lawyers seek counsel, clients seek guidance, philanthropists seek a fellow worker, friends seek the hand of a friend, but in his place they find only a spirit and a memory. That spirit and that memory, the remaining earthly manifestations of a very unusual man, must abide. He was one of the ablest lawyers New Haven has ever known, thorough in learning and reliable in counsel, acknowledged as one of the leaders of the Connecticut bar. He was a public man with a broad understanding of the progress of his times, with strong but fair opinions, with pronounced but sane tendencies. He was a philanthropist in the finest, highest sense. Crown of all, he was one of the sincerest, most faithful of Christians. There were many other sides of this remarkable man, known only to those privileged to come into the inner circle of his acquaintance. To tell of these would not only rasp nerves strained by the parting, but would take long in the telling. His was a personality which must long leave his benediction upon all whom it touched. To have known him even a little is to have known a man to honor, to admire, to respect. To have known him closely is to be better for life and better for eternity."
 

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