John Henry Judge
John Henry Judge was an Irish-American attorney, the younger brother of William Quan Judge, and an early member of the Theosophical Society.
Personal life
John Henry Judge was born in Dublin, Ireland on August 29, 1856 to Frederick "Fred" Hughes Judge (1822-1880) and Alice Mary Quan.[1] The family had seven children, of whom John was the sixth. There were four girls – Lucinda ("Lucy"), Alice, Emily, and Carrie – and three boys – William, John, and Frederick. Mrs. Judge died in 1858 at the birth of the youngest son. On July 14, 1864, the Judge family emigrated to the United States, sailing on the Inman Liner City of Limerick. Fred Judge initially worked in Brooklyn as a clerk, and later was a merchant of building supplies. Six of the children were with him; Carrie was absent from the household – probably dead before she turned twelve.[2][3] The 1870 census shows Fred remarried to Jennie Minerva Burch, with the six children present. William was then studying law and John was at school.[4]
John followed his brother into law practice. They both lived in Brooklyn and kept law offices on Broadway in Manhattan. John was naturalized an an American citizen on September 13,1876.
On September 16,1873 he married Winifred Elizabeth Hollis (1852-1914), whose son Victor Dale Hollis Stockell (1879-1924) lived with them. Winnie was the daughter of a prominent Theosophist, Mrs. Mary Hollis Billing, and in New York was a prominent clubwoman and suffragist. Victor studied law at New York University and remained in the household after his mother died in 1914 in an automobile accident. Mary's sister Sarah was killed in the same accident; John and Victor were injured.[5]
John was married for a second time in 1916, to Daisy Jane Meyler Taylor (25 Sep 1878 - 14 Apr 1968).[6]
On May 22, 1928, John Judge died in Manhattan.[7]
Theosophical Society connections
John Judge became acquainted with Helena Petrovna Blavatsky while he was just a teenager, visiting her with his brother. In 1877 he became one of the earliest members of the Theosophical Society, joining in 1877.[8]
When H.P.B. was writing Isis Unveiled during 1876-77, John Judge assisted her:
[John H. Judge] rendered valuable service in the matter of preparing H.P.B.'s manuscript for the printer, by copying a good portion of the work. This was not an easy task, for typewriters were unknown in those days, and it is necessary to prepare manuscripts for publication by means of handwritten copy. Young John H. Judge... had a great admiration for H.P.B. and considered it a signal privilege to assist her in her literary task.[9]
After Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott left for India late in 1878, John was one of the few workers left in the Theosophical Society in New York, with his brother William and Abner Doubleday.[10]
Notes
- ↑ Some records give the year as 1855.
- ↑ "Frederic Hughes Judge" in the New York, New York, Index to Death Certificates, 1862-1948.
- ↑ New York, State Census, 1865.
- ↑ 1870 United States Federal Census.
- ↑ New York Times December 21, 1914.
- ↑ "John Henry Judge" in U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current.
- ↑ "John H Judge" in the New York, New York, Extracted Death Index, 1862-1948.
- ↑ Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at http://tsmembers.org/. See book 1, entry 119 (website file: 1A/12).
- ↑ "John H. Judge visited the Point Loma Theosophical headquarters in California on August 25, 1914, and related these facts to the body of students gathered to receive him" according to the Raja-Yoga Messenger, Point Loma, Calif., Vol. X, No. 10, October 1914, pp. 16-17.
- ↑ William Quan Judge letter to Henry S. Olcott. April 2, 1879. Printed in The Theosophist 52.4 (January, 1931), 208-210.