Judge, William Quan, 1851-1896; Theosophists -- United States -- Correspondence; Theosophy
William Quan Judge, son of Alice Mary Quan and Frederick H. Judge,
was born at Dublin, Ireland, on April 13th, 1851. His mother died in
early life at the birth of her seventh child. The lad was brought up
in Dublin until his thirteenth year, when the father removed to the
United States with his motherless children, taking passage on the
Inman Liner, "City of Limerick," which arrived in New York harbour
on July 14th, 1864. Of the years of his childhood there is little to
be said, though we hear of a memorable illness of his seventh year;
an illness supposed to be mortal. The physician declared the small
sufferer to be dying, then dead; but in the outburst of grief which
followed the announcement, it was discovered that the child had
revived, and that all was well with him. During convalescence the
boy shewed aptitudes and knowledge never before displayed, exciting
wonderment and questioning among his elders as to when and how he had
learned all these new things. He seemed the same, and yet not the
same; had to be studied anew by his family, and while no one knew that
he had ever learned to read, from his recovery in his eighth year we
find him devouring the contents of all the books he could obtain,
relating to Mesmerism, Phrenology, Character-Reading, Religion, Magic,
Rosicrucianism, and deeply absorbed in the Book of Revelation, trying
to discover its real meaning. The elder Judge, with his children, lived
for a brief period at the old Merchants' Hotel, in Cortland Street,
New York: then in Tenth Street, and afterward settled in Brooklyn.
William began work in New York as a clerk, afterwards entering the
Law Office of George P. Andrews, who afterwards became Judge of the
Supreme Court of New York. There the lad studied law, living with his
father, who died soon after. On coming of age, William Q. Judge was
naturalised a citizen of the United States, in April, 1872. In May
of that year he was admitted to the Bar of New York. His conspicuous
traits as a lawyer, in the practice of Commercial Law, which became his
specialty, were his thoroughness, his inflexible persistence, and his
industry, which won the respect of employers and clients alike. As was
said of him, then and later: "Judge would walk over hot ploughshares
from here to India to do his duty." In 1874 he married Ella M. Smith,
of Brooklyn, by whom he had one child, a daughter, whose death in early
childhood was long a source of deep, though quiet, sorrow to both.
Mr. Judge in especial was a great lover of children, and had the gift
of attracting them around him, whether in public--as on the steamer
deck--or in private, and this without any apparent notice or effort on
his part. Wherever he went, one would see the children begin to sidle
up to him, soon absorbed in the new friend.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account