1*^ y 1 . .w^-^'"^-^- ""^p^/^ •-^•"y"''^- ■ ^^^ . * -^ ^ .^" A .^ .*i*!!oL'* -^ '^> '^ ^.^^^%y .V v^ 'J^^.* ^'' '^<^ ^y^^^)^/ ^^ ^^ y >i, •-...:..../ >" ^ ^y^w.* ^ ^ 0^ c°:«. -^o ^^^ .-. /^--. "■•• A." ^ \ ilitarp ©rtrer of m lopal legion of tfje Wlnitth States; 3n iilemoriam Companion iloratio loomis; Wait Hieutenant Commanbtr WiniUh ^tntti ^abp Mth at Cfjicago, SUinoijf STuIp 15. 1916 Circular No. 52. Series 1916. Whole No. 792. Chicago, October 2, 1916. HORATIO LOOMIS WAIT, Lieutenant Commander U. S. Navy. Served in Atlantic Blockade Squadron, 1862. In Admiral Farragut's Gulf Squadron, 1863. On Admiral Dahlgren's "Philadelphia," siege of Charles- ton, South Carolina, 1864-1865. Born New York City, August 8, 1836. Died at Chicago, Illinois, July 15, 1916. By order of Lieut. EDWARD R. BLAKE, Commander. SIMEON H. CRANE, Captain, Recorder. 9n Mttaar^ of ^avnt^a l^oomtH Halt ia3B - 191B Line of Descent RICHARD WAIT, born in England, 1608, came to America, received grants of land at Water- toMii, Mass. His sons were John Wait, Framing- ham, Mass.; Thomas Wait, Sudbury, Mass.; Joseph Wait, Marlboro, jVIass. THOMAS AVAIT, 2d son of Richard, born 1641. His sons were Richard Wait, killed in In- dian War; Thomas, born in 1667, Lyme, Conn.; John Wait, killed in Indian War ; JOSEPH WAIT, Brookfield, INIass.; Thomas Wait of Lyme, Conn., had 4 sons; the 4th was Richard Wait, of Lyme, Conn. His son was Henry M. Wait, Chief Justice of Connecticut; he added final "e" to his name after admission to the bar. His son was Morrison R. Waite, Chief Jus- tice Supreme Court of the U. S. JOSEPH WAIT, of Brookfield, Mass., 4th son of Thomas ; had 1 son. JOHN WAIT, of Brookfield, Mass. His sons were ; 1 John Wait, born 1730 — Captain in Herrick's Rangers. 2 JOSEPH WAIT, born 1732— Lt. Colonel Continental Army. 3 Thomas Wait, born 1735 — Served in Ran- gers, killed in battle. 4 Benjamin Wait, born 1737 — Major Conti- nental Armv. 5 Richard Wait, born 1745 — Captain in Her- rick's Rangers. 6 Jeduthan Wait, born 1754 — Served in Lear- ned's Regiment in 1776. 7 William Wait, born 1756 — Served in Lear- ned's Regiment in 1776. 5 MAR:MADUKE wait, born 1774, Clare- mont, N. H. (son of 2 Joseph Wait), 1st Lieuten- ant 16th U. S. Infantrj^ June 10, 1799. His sons were John Frederick Wait, whose son is FRED H. WAIT, late A. Ensign, U. S. N. 6 JOSEPH WAIT, whose son is 7 HORATIO L. WAIT, late U. S. Navy. Israel C. Wait, late Lieutenant U. S. Navy (died in 1855). Charles Wait, late U. S. Navy (died in 1856>. Chronology of Military Service of Horatio Loomis Wait Private in Company D, 60th, Illinois Infantry, 1861. Commissioned as Asst. Paymaster U. S. Navy, with rank of Master July 17, 1862. Served in the United States Navy for eight years, 1862 to 1870. In South Atlantic Blockading Squadron on U. S. Steamer "Pembina," 1862. In Admiral Farragut's West Gulf Squadron off Mo- bile in 1863. On Admiral Dahlgren's Flag Steamer "Philadel- phia" during the seige of Charleston, South Caro- lina, in 1864 and 1865. On United States Ship "Ino" in 186,5 and 1866 in European Squadron. On Admiral S. C. Rowan's Flag Ship "New Hamp- shire" at Norfolk, Virginia, in 1867. As Inspector at Pensacola Navy Yard, Florida, in 1868 and 1869. With the rank of Lt. Commander, United States Navy, Resigned 1870. Served in the Illinois Naval Reserve, with the rank of Lt. Commander, Payr., I. N. R., from 1894 to 1907. Placed on Retired List at his own request in 1907. HORATIO L. WAIT Horatio Loomis Wait was born on the 18th day of August, 1836. He was of pure New England stock, a descendant of revolutionary ancestors who fought to establish the independence of their country, and was himself among the patriotic band who took up arms at the outbreak of the Civil War, serving with honor until the last embers of the rebellion were stamped out. The family is of English extraction. The first of its members who settled in America was Richard Wait, who came to the Massachusetts colony early in the seventeenth century and received a grant of land in Watertown, Mass. His descendant, John Wait, at the time of the French and Indian War and the War of the Revolution, had seven sons, all of whom fought in their country's cause, five of them becoming commissioned officers, and two being killed in battle. The second of these seven brothers, Joseph Wait, was a Captain in Major Robert Rogers' corps of Rangers in the colonial days, and had many sangui- nary encounters with the savage northern tribes. He was Captain of a company in Ethan Allen's regiment of Green Mountain Boys, and was one of the eighty- three men who with Allen captured Fort Ticonde- roga. Early in the War of the Revolution he raised a regiment and was commissioned as Lieutenant-Colo- nel by John Hancock. Lieutenant-Colonel Wait was 7 mortally wounded in a skirmish just before the battle of Valcour Island, and died on his way home. He was buried beside the road in Clarendon, Vermont, about two miles south of Rutland, where his fellow officers erected a monumental stone, which still stands to mark the spot. His son, Marmaduke Wait, served as first lieutenant in the 16th United States regiment of infantry from the year 1799. In the next genera- tion Israel C. Wait, son of Marmaduke, served as lieutenant in the United States Navy during the Mex- ican War. On his mother's side also, there were several of Mr. Wait's ancestors who held commissions and took ac- tive parts in the colonial wars with the French and Indians, the Revolutionary War and in the Seminole war in Florida. His great uncle, Col. Heileman, was killed while in command at the battle of Micanopy and is buried in the Cemetery at St. Augustine under the memorial obelisk. His parents, Joseph Wait and Harriet Heileman Whitney, were both natives of Vermont. His father was a merchant in the city of New York, and in that city Horatio was born. He was educated at Trinity school. New York, until he entered Columbia College grammar school, where he was fitted for Columbia College. His first business experience was with the banking house of Duncan, Sherman & Co. in New York City. In 1856 he came to Chicago to the Ma- rine Bank, then entered the office of J. Young Scam- mon, where he was engaged in the study of law when the news of the firing on Fort Sumter by the rebels aroused the patriotic spirit of all the loyal citizens of the North. He promptly enlisted in Company D. of the eotli Illinois Infantry, which was raised by Cap- tain L. P. Bradley, but becoming impatient of the delay in filling up and mustering the regiment, he volunteered for service in the Navy, there being a call for young men of banking experience for the pay, accounting and supply department, and was or- dered to report to Rear Admiral Hiram Paulding at the New York navy-yard to be examined for admis- sion to the naval service. He at once obeyed the order, and having passed his examination received a com- mission from President Lincoln personally at Wash- ington, as Assistant Paj^master, with the rank of Master, in the United States Navy. He was always amused by the fact that Lincoln delivered personally only two commissions, his and Gen. U. S. Grant's. He was then ordered to report to Admiral Dupont for duty on the United States steamer "Pembina" engaged in blockading the entrances to Savannah and shelling out the confederates from the batteries they were erecting to command the sea approaches to that City. Soon after he joined this vessel, it was sent on a cruise to the West Indies in pursuit of the rebel privateer "Alabama." Several times they were near enough to see the burning ships which the "Ala- bama" had just destroyed but they did not have an opportunity to destroy the pirate. The "Pembina" was a slower and smaller vessel with a less powerful battery so their plan was to maneuver to ram the "Alabama" at full speed, in which case probably neither ship would have survived and all hands would have been lost. In the winter of 1862 they reported to Admiral Farragut for service in his squadron doing blockading at Pensacola and off Mobile. Here Mr. Wait did his full share of deck and boat duty. The Navy was continually short of competent deck and watch-offi- cers so he volunteered for such duty in addition to his own work as paymaster. The responsibilities of a paymaster in the Navy combine both accounting and supplies so that he had his hands full without standing "watch." The mid-watch, midnight to four a. m., was the one his shipmates most disliked, so he volunteered for that time to relieve the overworked line officers of their most disagreeable task. He also passed many nights on picket and scout duty, in all kinds of win- ter weather, in open boats, watching for the blockade runners or the rebel iron-clads which threatened to dash out and destroy the wooden Union fleet. Dur- ing the great winter gales these picket-boats were sometimes driven ashore and the crews either drowned in the breakers or captured and sent to Andersonville where they regretted not having been drowned. He was many nights scouting in the miasmatic swamps where the Southerners said "no white man could pass the night and live." This blockading service was very arduous and said to be impossible by the European powers who finally sent their warships to report if the impossible had been accomplished. The naval vessels of that time had no heating-plants or other comforts common to- day, so that the ship's company were cold and wet for long periods of time, consequently many accom- plished and valuable officers succumbed to the hard- ships. While participating with Farragut's squadron in 10 the blockade and siege of Mobile, the "Pembina" had several lively engagements with the rebel batteries, captured two blockade-runners, and assisted in the capture of many other vessels. The "Pembina" being sent north for repairs, Mr. Wait was transferred to the steamer "Mary Sanford" which was dispatched to Charleston with ammunition for the monitor fleet, towing a schooner similarly loaded. They had bad weather, when the steamer's engines broke down and another vessel ran into her. Mr. Wait was crushed in the collision and was for some time supposed to be dead, receiving injuries from which he never fully recovered. In the winter of 1863 he was ordered to report to Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren for duty on the admiral's flagship, the steamer "Philadelphia." He had unusual facility with pencil and brush. This was long before the day of the kodak so his sketches made a valuable part of the official reports. Many of them will be found reproduced in naval histories, mostly without credit. He sketched through a telescope the first submarine torpedo-boat, which was being built in Charleston and which sank some of the Union fleet, also its own crew. A copy of this sketch reached the hands of Jules Verne and probably gave him the idea of "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea." At this time he had charge of the fleet of tugs and converted auxiliary vessels, which were named after flowers, "jNIarigold," etc., and were nicknamed "Wait's bouquet." The difficulty of maintaining these small craft during the West Indies cyclone sea- son cannot be appreciated. Once when carrjang im- 11 ()\J? crrcH^r^.'UycL^. portant dispatches in tlie "Jonquil" the green seas broke over her so heavily that almost enough water came down the smoke-stack to extinguish the fires. He was present at the bombardment of Fort Sum- ter, and took part in all the operations during the siege of Charleston until its capitulation, and in the co-operative movements with the Army when Gen. Sherman reached the coast in the neighborhood of Savannah. He assisted at the ceremonies in Fort Sumter when General Anderson again hoisted the same old flag that had been hauled down in 1861, on which occasion an impressive address was delivered by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher. At the close of the war JNIr. Wait was transferred to the U. S. S. "Ino," and made a cruise with the European squadron, visiting the principal cities from England to Italy. These ships had picked comple- ments of officers and men-of-wars-men of the old Navy selected as a reward for meritorious services. The "Ino" being the first vessel of the United States Navy which entered many of the European ports after the close of the war, the officers were the recipients of special official courtesies. While on service with the squadron off Lisbon Mr. Wait was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Commander. His ship re- turned to the United States in 1867, when he was ordered to the U. S. S. "New Hampshire," upon which Rear Admiral S. C. Rowan hoisted his broad pennant at the Norfolk navy yard. His last service was at the Pensacola navy yard, to which he was ordered as Inspector in 1868. In the following year he resigned his commission 13 in the Navy, and returned to Chicago for the purpose of devoting himself to the practice of the legal pro- fession. He resumed his study of law in the office of Barker & Tuley. On the 22nd of August, 1870, he was admitted to the Illinois Bar, and formed a part- nership with ]Mr. Joseph N. Barker under the firm name of Barker & Wait, which afterward became Barker, Buell & Wait. In June, 1876, he was ap- pointed INIaster in Chancery of the Circuit Court of Cook County, and as the duties of this office demanded all his time, the firm of Barker, Buell & Wait was dissolved. The ofiice of master in chancery is one of (Hgnity and importance, being second only in that re- spect to the bench itself. Courts of chancery have a special jurisdiction over all matters in which there is no remedy at common law for the wrong complained of, or where there is no form of action by which relief can be obtained at law in respect of rights Avhich ought to be enforced. These matters must be referred to the master, wlio therefore performs the functions of the judge, and whose report, when confirmed by the judge, is a decision of the case, subject, of course, to appeal to a higlier Court. In the multitude of cases before him during the forty years as Master only one of his findings was reversed by the Supreme Court. Appointed in 1876, Mr. Wait was the oldest master in chancery in the State Courts. Since his appoint- ment a number of additional judges were created for Cook County by act of the legislature, but so well and satisfactorily had jNIr. Wait discharged the labors of the office that he was retained in the same capacity, notwithstanding the election to the bench of judges belonging to a different political party. 14 Mr. Wait was a thoroughly trained lawyer, well versed in the law of evidence, and was clear and prompt in his rulings as to the adniissihility of testi- mony. He was also a rapid and accurate accountant and marshalled the formidable array of figures fre- quently laid before him with a precision which tended to the dispatch of business and the shortening of pre- liminary hearings. Above all, he was a thorough gentleman, uniformly courteous to all parties and so- licitors who had business to conduct before him. No one, happening to step into JVIr. Wait's office when an examination was going on there, would suppose that the mild-mannered, clerical-looking gentleman presiding was, in his youth, one of the gallant officers who fought with Farragut and Dahlgren, and cruised the ocean in search of the terrible "Alabama." ]Mr. Wait was married on the 7th of ISIay, 1860, to ]Miss Chara Conant Long, a descendant of Roger Conant, first Governor of Cape Ann Colony; and a daughter of James Long, an early settler of Chicago, who was one of its most public-spirited citizens and who held public official positions at various times. Mr. Long established in early days the Hydraulic Mills, and created the first water-pipe system for the suj^ply of water to the citizens of Chicago, in pipes made of wooden logs. In politics jVIr. Wait was always a stalwart Repub- lican, and continued to take a lively interest in the prospects of the partj^ which was identified in his mind with the salvation of his country in 1861, and with measures that have tended to promote its subsequent prosperity. When a man has been shot at for four 15 years and has seen his most valued friends and rela- tives killed, or worse, by men trying to overthrow the Government and disrupt the Union, he was naturally distrustful of the same influences when they acquired political control. When Gen. P. IT. Sheridan was at the head of the Illinois commandery of the Loyal Legion, Mr. Wait was elected a companion of that military order, and held various official positions in it, taking a very active interest in its objects, and contributed several essays on military and naval subjects to its collection. He also belonged to Geo. IT. Thomas Post, G. A. K. As an old sailor, he was alwaj^s active in the encourage- ment of aquatic sports, and was elected a life member of the Farragut Boat Club, the leading organization of its time in the promotion of boating and athletics; and an honorary member of tlie Chicago Yacht Club. He was also a member and officer of the Farragut Naval Veteran Association, a society composed of offi- cers and ex-officers of the Navy, who served during tlie War of the Rebellion. He took an active interest in the efforts to organize a Naval Reserve in the State of Illinois as an adjunct to the State jMilitia, drawing the bill which established it, and was elected Pay- master in the organization, mostly officered by gradu- ates of the LTnited States Naval Academy. ]\Ii'. Wait was a n: ember of the Episcopal Church. When the Tyng ^Mission, a Sunday school for the benefit of a class that is not ordinarily reached by the church Sunday schools, was organized he was invited to act as its superintendent, and filled that position with marked success until his removal to ITyde Park rendered it necessarj^ for him to give up the mission work. He then engaged in the Sunday school woi'k in St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Hyde Park. He was a vestryman and warden of St. Paul's parish for nearly forty years. Law and the church did not wholly engross his time, but the literary tastes, fos- tered by his early education, were assiduously culti- vated. With the great masterpieces of the classics he was familiar, and he likewise kept up an intimate acquaintance with current literature. Shortly after his removal to Hyde Park he united with some others in organizing the Hyde Park Lyceum, an association formed to establish a course of lectures and maintain a free library and reading room in that sul^arb, which was kept up until Hyde Park was annexed to the City of Chicago, when the Chicago Public Library estab- lished a delivery station in Hyde Park. Mr. Wait was elected a member of the Chicago Literary Club very soon after it was organized, and held various official positions in that society. He was also a member of the Illinois State Bar Association, the Chicago Bar Association, the Kenwood Club, the Church Club, The Chicago Historical Society, and other similar organizations. He w^as Dean of the Chicago Law School, to which he donated his services as a help to the young men studying law ; at one time a trustee of the Chicago Public Library; and a life member of the Art Institute of Chicago. He assisted in the establishment of the Charity Organization So- ciety, of which the late Judge John G. Rogers was the head, which had for its object the systematizing of charities and the promotion of provident measures for the prevention of pauperism, in which work he was actively engaged for many years until the association was merged into the Relief and Aid Society. He retained his alertness and erect military bearing until he was over seventy, then in 1908 came the loss of his beloved wife who had shared his joys and sor- rows for forty-eight years; ^vhen he began to show advancing age, but he continued in active business until within a month of his death. The end came peacefully, he did not awaken from a quiet sleep. The last words he said were an epitome of his consideration for others all through life. The nurse heard him stirring in the night and asked if there wt^s something she might do for him. His reply was "Yes, lie down and get the sleep you need." Soon afterwards his breathing gradually ceased in tranquil slumber. He lies at rest in Oakwoods Cemetery beside the devoted and patriotic wife who gave him to the service of the Country all through the dark and anxious days of the Civil War. The funeral service was conducted by the Rev. C. H. Bixby, his pastor for so many years. The honorary pall-bearers were members of the Bench and Bar, the active bearers were othcers of the Illinois Naval Reserve, and a firing-squad from the same or- ganization discharged the last volley over the grave. Many of the organizations of which he was a mem- ber issued memorials from wliich a few are selected: 18 The following extract is from the Year Book of the chicactO literary club and was written by Frederick W. Gookin, Secretary: HORATIO LOOMIS WAIT "The Chicago Literary Clul) has had many devoted members but none more constant in his attendance at the meetings, more ready to contribute to the literary exercises, or to serve the club in any way, than was Horatio Loomis Wait. Throughout the entire period of thirty-nine years during which his name was upon the rolls he never missed a meeting that he found it possible to attend. Even advancing years and growing infirmity did not deter him from coming to the Monday evening gatherings, which he often declared were among the pleasantest things in his life. Once only during the sea- son of 1915-1916, though he had reached the age of seventy-nine and was visibly failing in strength, was he obliged to remain away. To none of our members can the meetings ever seem quite the same without his genial presence. His winning personality and gentle manner drew to him all who were privileged to know him well, and his memory will long be cherished by his fellow members in the Club. Mr. Wait was elected a member of the Chicago Lit- erary Club, January 29, 1877, and began at once to take part in its activities. He was President of the Club in the season of 1893-1894. His interest in naval and mili- tary affairs continued throughout his life, and as the following list attests, most of the papers which he read before the Club were the outcome of his experience and studies in that direction." April 1, 1878. "Mirth." November 21, 1881. "Fort Sumter." March 3, 1884. "Reminiscences of the Blockade." October 28, 1889. "The Art of Killing." 19 October 20, 1890. "Novel Forms for Vessels." October 2, 1893. "Inaugural Address" as President. October 10, 1898. "The Deeds and Needs of our Navy." October 21, 1901. "Submarine Warfare." November 11, 1907. "Some Incidents at Fort Barrancas." October 24, 1910. "When General Sherman reached the Coast." October 9, 1911. "Some Incidents of the Blockading Service." October 21, 1912. "Charleston During the Siege." February 9, 1914. "Some Reminiscences of the Civil War." January 11, 1915. "Some Incidents in the War of the Re- bellion." October 15, 1915. "In Time of Peace Prepare for War." The Annual Report of the CHICAGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY contained a biographical sketch of which the following is an extract: "Coinmaiider \Vait was a valued member of the Chicago Historical Society, becoming a sustaining member, 1899. He, from time to time, presented to the Society valu- able historical relics. In tendering to the Society a framed colored lithograph of the Confederate Prison Pen at Andersonville (in which Union prisoners were confined) during the Civil War, he wrote: "I hope the Historical Society will give this a place in their valuable collection, for it treats of the greatest act of deliberate cruelty in the history of the war. Many of our noblest Chicago, Illinois, and Ohio men, starved to death here." 20 The Chicago Legal News published in its columns a series of biographical sketches of members of the Bench and Bar. The following is an extract from one of these which was written by Prof. David Swing, pastor of Central Church. THE ILLINOIS BAR XLIV HORATIO LOOMIS WAIT "The subject of this sketch is one of the strongest young men at the Chicago bar. The excitement of a war experience, which demoralized so many men for business, seems but to have put new vigor into this man's character and steadied him for the longer battle of life. * * * It is an unusual thing in this rushing American life for a man to become complete master of his profession, but when Mr. Wait was appointed to the otTice which he holds, it became evident that the severe training to which he had been subjected and his natural abilities had given him the power of grappling with the diflicul- ties of a subject, and of concpiering it — he was a master in chancery, indeed. He has given perfect satisfaction to the bar and bench in his quasi-judicial office; for a master in chancery comes between the bench and the bar. He has to decide questions foi both, as it were. To him are referred all kinds of intricate matters of dispute between parties, and his decisions are laid be- fore the judge in the subsequent trial. The office is really a judicial one, and the training which a man gets in the position amply fits him for the less arduous office on the bench; and of the young men at the Chicago bar, the one who is most directly in the line of promotion to a judicial office, the best fitted for it by training and habits of thought, is the subject of this sketch." 21 From among the many letters received from old friends it is permissible to quote from Bishop Charles Edward Cheney: "It is with peculiar emotions that I read last evening the announcement that your dear father had passed away. We were born in the same year, and though I was a few months his senior we were contemporaries in a somewhat unusual way. He and your mother were, in my early days in Christ Church, among the closest friends of my blessed wife and myself. After your lather's return from the naval service our friendship was strengthened by the relation that had existed be- tween him and Dr. Hyde during the Civil War. Every remembrance of the past years is freighted with recol- lections of his friendship and with admiration of his character as a man, a patriot and a Christian." and also the following from one of his boj^hood friends, Cien. Theodore S. Peck: "My mind goes back to my early boyhood days when Horatio made his home in Burlington, and we were to- gether almost constantly. He was a delightful playmate and comrade, and the noble traits he then showed grew stronger with his advancing manhood, and made him a leader among men and an example of the highest ideals ol" life. Of a gracious and sympathetic nature, full of cliarm, he won for himself a legion of friends, to whom his memory will ever remain as a priceless heritage. Horatio's years were full and rich in achievement, and he leaves the record of a life nobly lived. "I am glad that he passed away so peacefully, in the fullness of his activity, for it would have been a great trial to him to have lived beyond his usefulness and ability to do for others. His last thought and words were, indeed characteristic of him, and he has left to us all the happy memory of a noble life well lived. He was a brave officer in the Navy during the War for the Union, and later did much for the Naval Reserve, while as a citizen he was ever ready by service, counsel and example to further every worthy cause." He was what is frequently called "a gentleman of 22 the old school," always courteous and considerate. His most marked characteristic was a strong sense of duty, perhaps intensified by his naval training. He was always even-tempered, and his manner was quiet and self-reliant. His family can recall only two occa- sions when his voice was ever raised in anger, once at a serious neglect of duty by a brother officer and again when a faction in the Church sought to displace a saintly minister. He never "took advantage" of anybody, in fact was always over generous, and no old soldier or sailor or poor widow ever appealed to him in vain. He fre- quently gave his professional services to those in trouble or adversity and his death revealed quite a list of pensioners, unknown until that time, who had no other claim upon him than their need. His family life was ideal and his sons remember with gratitude the companionship of a "chum" who taught them swimming, boat-handling and other things dear to the boy's heart. In loving memory and appreciation this tribute is transcribed from various sources by his sons. James Joseph Wait, Henry Heileman Wait. 23 HORATIO J>OOMIS WAIT U. S. Navy FROM A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN IN 1862 HORATIO LOOMIS WAIT Horatio Loomis Wait was born in New York City, August 8, 1836. He died at his residence in Hyde Park, Chicago, July 15, 1916, in the eightieth year of his age. He was elected a member of the Illinois Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States April 7, 1880, Insignia No. 2005. He came from an ancestry on both sides of the best New England families, who were noted for their patriotism, integrity and character. He was the son of Joseph and Harriet Heileman (Whitney) Wait. One of his ancestors, especially distinguished for his service in the Revolutionary War, was Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Wait of the Army of the United States, who was killed in the battle with the British Army at Clarendon, Vermont, September, 1776, where he was buried and where a monument has been erected to his memory. His son was Captain Alarmaduke Wait, U. S. A., who was distinguished for brave and efficient service in the War of 1812. Major Wait was educated in Trinity School, connected with the old Trinity Church on Broadway, New York, in the Columbia Gram- mar School and in Columbia College. He came to Chicago, then in the extreme West, May 1, 1856, influenced thereto by Horatio Gates Loomis, a relative. Here he became a student in the law office of Hon. John Young Scammon, a name familiar to all Chicagoans. When the war cloud of civil war broke and the first gun of that struggle was fired at Fort Sumter in the effort to destroy and dis- rupt the Union of the States, when the call to arms of the brave and patroitic men of the nation by Abraham Lincoln, to defend and preserve the national life, was made, young Wait, with the blood of his forebears coursing warmly in his veins, did not hesitate to answer that call and enlisted in Company "D" of the 60th Illinois Infantry, in which he served until 1862, when, by reason of his life- long interest in the United States Navy, he applied for and obtained a position as Lieutenant Commander in that service. His com- mission was handed him by Abraham Lincoln in person at the White House. This incident he often spoke of to his friends and with justifiable pride. The paper was left to his sons as a priceless heritage. This was the beginning of a service highly creditable during all the subsequent period of the great War. It brought him into close and continuous association with many of the most distinguished commanders and officers of the American Navy of that period; with Farragut, Dahlgren, Dupont, and with him who is yet con- nected with our Navy and highly distinguished for his services not only in that war, but, subsequent to that period, in Manila Bay, George Dewey, the present Admiral of our Navy. Among the many honors which he received for his valiant services was a Congressional medal given him by Act of Congress. Returning to Chicago at the close of the War, Major Wait, as his comrades loved to call him by reason of his rank as Pay- master in the Navy, again entered his life work as a lawyer, in which he became known to the bench and bar of the City of Chi- cago and of the State of Illinois as a Master in Chancery of the Circuit Court, where he had a service of forty years, longer, it is believed, than had ever been known before. He had heard many cases of the highest importance, both as to the amount involved and the legal principles considered by him. No question as to any act of his life, whether as a judicial officer or otherwise, was ever raised. His conclusions as to the facts and the law of cases were, with a really singular unanimity, almost universally affirmed by the trial. Appellate and Supreme Courts. Major Wait was, during his life and to its close, deeply con- cerned in many matters of public interest and affecting the public welfare. His interest in military and naval affairs was constant and effective. He drew the bill creating the Illinois Naval Reserve and was one of the principal factors in the creation of that organization and served as Lieutenant Comimander therein until he was retired by statute. He was a director of the Chicago Historical Society, a member of the IVIilitary Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, a member of George H. Thomas Post, G. A. R., of the Grand Army Hall and Memorial Association, of the Society of Naval Veterans in Chicago, of the Chicago Literary Club, a life member of the Chicago Art Institute, and a director of the Public Library Board of Chicago. Mr. Wait was actively identified with the Episcopal Church in Chicago, first as a member of Bishop Cheney's parish, where he was the Superintendent of Tyng Mission, the first exponent of the social settlement idea. Later he joined St. Paul's Church in Ken- wood, of which he was vestryman, warden and a parishioner for over forty-five years. He was Dean of the Chicago Law School up to the time of his death, where he also lectured and did other very important and valualDle work. He was married to Miss Chara Conant Long, daughter of James Long, of Chicago, who was noted for her loveliness and beauty, for her activities in social affairs and in many good works. She died several years before the death of her husband. The chil- dren born of this union are James Joseph Wait and Henry Heile- man Wait, both of Chicago. To the members of the family surviving, this Military Order tenders its sincere sympathy and regret. Richard S. Tuthill, Edson J. Harkness, John R. Montgomery, Committee. 7 f "^o -^^0^ V -^^ ^