The following is a biography of Norwich Rotarian Judge Nelson Ayling from Vol 2: A modern history of New London County, Connecticut; by Marshall, Benjamin Tinkham.
JUDGE NELSON J. AYLING— The life histories of New England’s prominent men run far back and are bound up with the history of this country and with the history of the countries of Europe. The Ayling family came to this country after the coast strip had been fairly well settled and when Pennsylvania was beginning to receive the advance wave of the westward flow of population.
From the County of Surrey, England, came John Ayling, grandfather of Nelson J. Ayling, bringing with him his wife, Jane (Trussler) Ayling, and his family. They settled in Columbus township, Warren County, Pennsylvania, then a comparatively new section close to the frontier where the conditions of pioneer life must be met. They reared a family of thirteen children, each of whom lived to marry and have children of their own. One of the thirteen was Henry M. Ayling, father of Judge Ayling, who, born June 26, 1835, in the County of Surrey, England, came to this country with his father when he was a young lad and lived the strenuous life of the frontier, helping on the farm and adding to his substance by lumbering in the winter season. Later in life, he went into the lumbering business for himself rafting the lumber down the Allegheny River and often down to Ohio river ports. Still later, Henry M. Ayling concentrated his attention upon farming, in which, as in the lumbering business, he was successful, and became one of the substantial men of his section, where he and his wife were very highly esteemed and numbered among the best citizens. He married Mary Carrier, daughter of Nelson and Thurza (Marble) Carrier, the paternal ancestry of whom goes back two hundred years of New England history to the time of the Salem witchcraft, when Martha (.’Mien) Carrier, wife of Thomas Carrier, was burned at the stake in 1692. Henry M. and Mary (Carrier) Ayling had two children: Nelson J., of whom further; and Lola M., whose husband, William R. Carr, holds a position of trust with the Erie Railroad Company. Henry M. Ayling was an active supporter of the Republican party, and served as commissioner of Warren county, Pennsylvania.
Nelson J. Ayling was reared on his father’s farm, where, except for the time he was away at school, he passed the first nineteen years of his life. He did his share of work on the farm and acquired a thorough knowledge of farm work, but his ambitions led in other directions, and when his high school course was finished, he went to Oswego, New York, and entered the business college there, after which he took a position as bookkeeper and stenographer with Sawyer, Manning & Company, yarn and knit goods manufacturers, of Boston, Massachusetts, remaining with them until 1891, when he accepted a similar position with Union Hardware Company, of Torrington, Connecticut.
This last is one of the largest and best known concerns of Connecticut, and they recognized young Ayling’s ability and faithfulness by increasing his responsibilities, making him purchasing agent and giving him full charge of the requisition department. But Mr. Ayling’s connections with the manufacturing business served him only as a means to an end, and the tempting future opening before him in the business world was powerless to hold him when he saw his way clear to begin to realize his ultimate aim. In 1894 he began the study of law with Halsey & Briscoe, of Norwich, Connecticut, and was admitted to the bar of New London county in December, 1898. He began active practice at once, which he continued with unusual success until he was appointed judge of probate of the Norwich District, January I, 1905.
The Norwich Probate District is the largest in the State of Connecticut, and includes seven towns: Norwich, Griswold, Preston, Lisbon, Franklin, Sprague, and Voluntown. To the responsibilities of this large district Mr. Ayling brought qualifications of a high order, not the least being his faithfulness and thoroughness. He has made a close study of the working of the probate courts and of probate law, and in the annual meetings of the Probate Judges Association of the State of Connecticut, has been an earnest and largely successful advocate of standardization of the application of the probate laws of the State, of ways and means management, and of probate court procedure. That the district he serves has appreciated the high quality of his work is evidenced by the fact that since his first election in 1905, he has been bi-annually re-elected without a single interim. In each of these consecutive elections, with the exception of the last three, he has been the candidate of both the Republican and the Democratic parties, a case of fusion which has been true of no other candidate in the history of the district. Politically, Mr. Ayling supports the Republican party, but “that honest service has been appreciated by both parties is clearly shown in the elections of the last sixteen years. He works hard for the success of his party, however, and is considered one of its strongest men in Norwich. In November 1902, he was elected to the Connecticut Senate from the Tenth District, where he served as chairman of three important committees: .Agriculture, Rules (Joint), and Amendments (Joint), and rendered valuable service.
Judge Ayling is a trustee of the Norwich Savings Society. With his numerous and exacting duties, he finds time for fraternal affiliations. He is a member of Somerset Lodge, No. 34, Free and Accepted Masons; of Franklin Chapter, No. 4, Royal Arch Masons; of Franklin Council, No. 3, Royal and Select Masters; Columbian Commandery, No. 4, Knights Templar, Norwich; and of Sphinx Temple, Hartford, Ancient .Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a past commander of Harmony Lodge, No. 27, Knights of Pythias, and a member of Harmony Division, Uniform Rank, Knights of Pythias, Torrington, Connecticut; now a member of Gardner Lodge, No. 16, Norwich; a member of Norwich Lodge, No. 430, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, of which he is a past exalted ruler, having been exalted ruler when the new home on Main street was built, and chairman of the building committee that erected the new lodge room addition; a member of the Past Exalted Rulers’ Association, and of the Arcanum Club, of Norwich.
Judge Ayling is also president and director of the Richmond Lace Works, Richmond, Rhode Island; and a director of the Algonquin Company, of the Manhassett Land Company, and of the Nassau Development Company, all of Norwich, but having offices in New York City. He is also a trustee of the Norwich State Hospital, and a member of the New London County Bar Association and of the Connecticut State Bar Association.
On June 7, 1904. in Norwich, Connecticut, he married Mildred GifTord, daughter of G. Parker and Olive E. (Fisher) Gifford, of that city. They had two children: John Henry, born September 10, 1912, and died June 10, 1920; and Ruth Gifford, born December I, 1915. Mrs. Ayling died March 9, 1916.