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Torrey E. Wales

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Torrey E. Wales
From 1886's History of Chittenden County, Vermont
Acting Mayor of Burlington
In office
October 6, 1870 – April 3, 1871
Preceded byDaniel Chipman Linsley
Succeeded byLuther C. Dodge
2nd Mayor of Burlington
In office
April 2, 1866 – April 7, 1868
Preceded byAlbert L. Catlin
Succeeded byPhineas D. Ballou
Member of the Burlington, Vermont Board of Aldermen
In office
1874–1875
In office
1869–1871
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives from Burlington
In office
1876–1878
Preceded byBradley Smalley
Succeeded byBradley B. Smalley
In office
1868–1870
Preceded byFred M. Van Sicklen
Succeeded byWalter Carpenter
Judge of the Chittenden County, Vermont Probate Court
In office
1862–1898
Preceded byRoswell B. Fay
Succeeded byMarcellus A. Bingham
State's Attorney of Chittenden County, Vermont
In office
1854–1857
Preceded byLevi Underwood
Succeeded byE. R. Hard
Personal details
Born
Torrey Eglesby Wales

(1820-06-20)June 20, 1820
Westford, Vermont
DiedJuly 5, 1902(1902-07-05) (aged 82)
Burlington, Vermont
Resting placeLakeview Cemetery, Burlington, Vermont
Political partyRepublican (from 1854)[1]
Other political
affiliations		Whig (before 1854)
Spouse(s)Elizabeth C. Mason (m. 1846-1886, her death)
Helen M. Mason (m. 1888-1895, her death)
Children2
EducationUniversity of Vermont
ProfessionAttorney

Torrey Eglesby Wales (June 20, 1820 – July 5, 1902) was an American politician who served as the 2nd Mayor of Burlington, Vermont.

Early life

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Torrey E. Wales was born in Westford, Vermont on June 20, 1820, to Danforth Wales and Louisa Sibley. Danforth was a successful clothier whose business interests later included a gristmill and a sawmill, and he represented Westford for several terms in the Vermont House of Representatives. Louisa died in 1822 and Danforth married Alice Cushman.[2][3]

Wales was educated in the schools of Westford and nearby towns. He attended the University of Vermont, where he was a member of the board of trustees later in life, from 1837 to 1841, and studied law under with Archibald Hyde and later Asahel Peck. He admitted to the bar in 1845, and practiced in Burlington, Vermont.[4][3][5]

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Wales sought a warmer climate in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1846 due to illness and lived there for three years. During his time there he worked as a tutor for a plantation-owning family. After returning to Burlington he resumed practicing law. Prior to the American Civil War, Wales was active in a Burlington militia company, the Howard Guards, and was volunteer fire fighter as a member of Burlington's Boxer Company. He was among the founders of Mary Fletcher Hospital and served as its treasurer. He was a deacon at the College Street Congregational Church for fifteen years.[3][6]

Russell S. Taft studied law under Wales and the two men formed a law firm in 1857, which lasted until 1878. Wales formed Wales & Wales, a law firm with his son George W. Wales, in 1882, and it lasted until George's death in 1890.[2]

Political career

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Chittenden County

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Originally a Whig,[7] and later a Republican, Wales was long active in Vermont politics and government. In 1854, Wales was elected State's Attorney of Chittenden County, and he served until 1857. In 1862, he was elected the county's probate court judge, and he served until 1898.[3][2]

Burlington

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In 1854, he was elected to Burlington's board of selectmen. After Burlington was incorporated as a city, he served as its second mayor from 1866 to 1868. He served on the board of aldermen from 1869 to 1871, and performed the mayor's duties after the resignation of Daniel Chipman Linsley. He again served as an alderman from 1874 to 1875. From 1883 to 1884, Wales was Burlington's city attorney. Among the other offices in which Wales served the city were justice of the peace and street commissioner.[3][7][2]

State legislature

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In 1868 and 1869, Wales was elected to represent Burlington in the Vermont House of Representatives. He was elected to the Vermont House again in 1876 and served until 1878.[3]

Death and burial

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On July 5, 1902 Wales died at his home in Burlington.[3][6] The funeral took place in Burlington at the Congregational Church on College Street.[8] He was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington.[8]

Family

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Wales married Elizabeth Chickering Mason in February 1846, with whom he had two children before her death on April 12, 1886. In July 1888, he married Helen M. White (nee Mason), a niece of his first wife, and remained married until her death in 1896.[6]

In April 1868, George Wales was accidentally shot in the lung by the instructor who was teaching him business writing at a Burlington commercial college.[9][10] George served as private secretary for U.S. Senators Justin Smith Morrill and Henry L. Dawes, and Secretary of Civil and Military Affairs (chief assistant) to Governor John L. Barstow.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Republican Convention". The Enterprise and Vermonter. 5 July 1867. p. 2. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b c d Carleton 1903, p. 107.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Death Notice, Torrey Englesby Wales". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. July 10, 1902. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Carleton 1903, pp. 107–108.
  5. ^ "Biography of Judge Torrey E. Wales". 1886. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015.
  6. ^ a b c d Carleton 1903, p. 108.
  7. ^ a b "Burlington Justices of the Peace". Burlington Sentinel. Burlington, VT. September 9, 1852. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b "Funeral of Judge Wales". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. July 10, 1902. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Painful Accident". The Burlington Weekly Sentinel. 24 April 1868. p. 3. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Elections Items". North Star. 12 September 1868. p. 2. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019 – via Newspapers.com.

Works cited

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